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THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
^h1 
 
VIEW FROM CAPE CUA08.— Page 90. 
 
THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 POKINGS ROUND THE POLE 
 
 BY R. M. BALLANTYNE 
 
 GRith ZUtt«tratt0nB 
 
 TORONTO 
 
 THE MUSSON BOOK CO. 
 
 LIMITED 
 
 4] 
 
 m. 
 
offi 
 circi 
 a v( 
 friei; 
 been 
 Pole 
 1 
 of hi 
 
 Hai 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 OF ALBERTA LIBRARY 
 
 30( 
 
PRE F A C E. 
 
 The discovery of tho Nortli Told has been 
 delayed too loni,'. 
 
 To settle tliis c;ue9tion, and relieve men's minds 
 of further anxiety and speculation in regard to the 
 circumjacent regioii.s, I lately sent an old friend on 
 a voyage of discovery to the Arctic regions. My 
 friend, though not a " special correspondt it," has 
 been successful. He has discovered the North 
 Pole. 
 
 This volume lays the results and romantic details 
 of his expedition before the reader. 
 
 R.M.B. 
 
 Harrow-on-thk-Hill, 1881, 
 
 30&5 
 
 'ii 
 
 
 1 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAUB 
 1 
 
 16 
 
 CBaP. I.-^INTRODDCIS our HRRO and HI!4 kindrkd, . 
 
 II.— UNKXPKOTED MKETINQS, ALARMS, AND CONtTDENCBS, 
 
 ni.— SHOWS HOW THR ESKIMOS WERR ENTERTAINED BT THE 
 
 WHITE MEN, 88 
 
 rV.— A CATASTROl'UE AND A BOLD DECISION, ... 48 
 
 v.— LEFTTOTHEIU KATK, 88 
 
 VI. — KUTURE PLANS DISCCSSI'a) AND DECIDED, ... 68 
 
 VTL— DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED AND FACED, . , . 80 
 
 Vni.— DIFFICULTIES AND DANOEIIS INCHEASE, AND THE 
 
 CAPTAIN EXPOUNDS HIS VIKWS, .... 95 
 
 IX.— THE CAPTAIN MAKES A STUPENDOUS EFFORT. DIS- 
 APPOINTMENTS AND DISCOVERIES 115 
 
 X.— A 8KKTCHER IN IMMINENT DANOEU. DIFFICULTIES 
 
 INCREASE, AND ABE OVERCOME A3 USUAL, . . 130 
 
 XL— ANOTHER ISLAND DISCOVERED— THE ENGLISHMEN AND 
 ESKIMOS AUKE ARE ASTONISHED IN MORE WAT.S 
 THAN ONE, 147 
 
 XII.— THE OPEN POLAR BASIN AT LAST I ALF WASHES HIM 
 
 SEIF IN IT, . 165 
 
 Xin.— A GALE AND A NARROW ESCAPE, .181 
 
 XIV.— BBOORDS A WONDERFUL APPARITION AND A FURIOUS 
 
 nOHT, 190 
 
VIU 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 (i 
 
 u 
 
 ill 
 
 ( 
 
 !i|l 
 
 XV. 
 
 xvr. 
 xvu. 
 xvui 
 
 P&QK 
 
 202 
 
 — DISCOURSES OK DKEP THINGS, 
 
 —ARRIVAL IN POLOELAND, 213 
 
 — THK EFFECT OK PKllSUASION ON DIVERSK CHARACTERS. 232 
 
 -THE CAPTAIN KLKCTIUFIES AS WKLL AS SURPRISES HIS 
 NEW HUKNDS, 
 
 XIX.— A SHOOTING TRIP TO PARADISE ISLE, AND FURTHER 
 DISPLAY OF THE CAPTAIN'S CONTRIVANCES, 
 
 XX.— BEN.TY'S ENJOYMKNTS INTERRUPTED, AND POLOELAND 
 OVERWHELMED WITH A CATASTROPHE. . 
 
 XXI.— FATE OF THE LOST ONES, 
 
 XXII. - A nGHT IN DEl'KNCE OF WOMAN, AND RIFLK-SHOOTINO 
 EXTRAORDINARY 
 
 XXUI.— LEO VISITS KIuVTLAND AND SEES AS WELL AS HEARS 
 MUCH TO INTEREST UIM THERE, .... 
 
 XXIV.— A GLORIOUS RP:gION CONTEMPLATKU, and a GLORIOUS 
 CHASE PLANNED 
 
 XXV.— IN WHICH A GREAT HUNT IS DESCRIBED, A WAR EXPE- 
 DITION FRUSTRATED, AND A HERO ENNOBLED, 
 
 XXVI.— TELLS OP A WARLIKE EXPEDITION AND ITS HAPPY 
 TERMINATION, 
 
 XXVII.— THE GREAT DISCOVERT, 
 
 XXVIII.— TELLS, AMONil OTHER THINGS, OK A NOTABLE DIS- 
 COVERT, 
 
 XXIX.— A RUNAWAY JOURNEY AND A TREMENDOUS EXPERI- 
 MENT, 
 
 XXX.— LKO IN DANGHR NEXT ! A NOVEL MODE OF RESCUE, 
 
 XXXI.— THK LAST 
 
 240 
 
 254 
 
 266 
 281 
 
 295 
 309 
 327 
 337 
 
 349 
 361 
 
 375 
 
 394 
 412 
 421 
 
THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 OB 
 
 POKTNGS ROUND THE P0L15. 
 
 CHAPTER L 
 
 INTBODUOES OUR HKPO AKD HIS KINBRlSl 
 
 TiTK Giant was an. Eakimo of the Arctic region^ 
 A-t the beginning of his career he was known among 
 his kindred by the name of Skreekinbroot, or the 
 howler, because he howled oftener and more furi' 
 ously than any infant that had ever been born in 
 Arctic land. His proper name, however, was 
 Chingatok, though his familiars still ventured occa- 
 sionally to style him Skreekinbroot. 
 
 Now it must not be supposed that our giant was 
 one of those ridiculous myths of the nursery, with 
 monstrous heads and savage hearts, who live on 
 human flesh, and finally receive their deserts at the 
 hands of famous giant-killing Jacks. No ! Chingatok 
 
I I 
 
 2 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 was a roal man of moderate size — not more than 
 seven feet two in his sealskin boots — with a lithe, 
 handsome figure, immense chest and shoulders, a 
 gentle disposition, and a fine, though fiattish counten- 
 ance, which was sometimes grave with thought, at 
 other times rippling with fun. 
 
 We mention the howling characteristic of his 
 babyhood because it was, in early life, the only indica- 
 tion of the grand spirit that dwelt within him — the 
 solitary evidence of the tremendous energy with 
 which he was endowed. At first he was no bigger 
 than an ordinary infant. He was, perhaps, a little 
 fatter, but not larger, and there was not an oily man 
 or woman of the tribe to which he belonged who 
 would have noticed anything peculiar about him if 
 he had only kept moderately quiet; but this he 
 would not or could not do. His mouth was his 
 safety-valve. His spirit seemed to have been bom 
 big at once. It was far too large for his infant body, 
 and could only find relief from the little plump 
 dwelling in which it was at first enshrined by rushing 
 out at the mouth. The shrieks of pigs were trifles 
 to the yelling of that Eskimo child's impatience. 
 The caterwauling of cats was as nothing to the 
 growls of his disgust. The angry voice of the Polar 
 bear was a mere chirp compared with the furious 
 howling of Ilia disappointment, and the barking of a 
 mad walrus was music to the roaring of his wrath ' 
 
OH POKINGS ttOUND THS rOUL 
 
 Every one, except hia mother, wished him dead and 
 buried in the centre of an iceberg or at the bottom of 
 the Polar Sea. His mother — squat, solid, pleasant- 
 faced, and mild — alone put up with his ways with 
 that long-suffering endurance which is characteristic 
 of mothers. Nothing could dibturb the serenity of 
 Toolooha. When the young giant (that was to be) 
 roared, she fondled him ; if that was ineffectual, she 
 gave him a walrus tusk or a seal's flipper to play 
 with ; if that did not suffice, she handed him a lump 
 of blubber to suck ; if that failed, as was sometimes 
 the case, she gambolled with him on the floor of 
 her snow-hut, and rubbed his oily visage lovingly 
 over her not less oleaginous countenance. Need we 
 enlarge on this point ? Have not all mothers acted 
 thus, or similarly, in all times and climes ? 
 
 From pole to pole a mother's aonl 
 
 Is tender, strong, and tnie ; 
 Whether the loved be good or bad — 
 
 White, yellow, black, or blue. 
 
 But Toolooha's love was wise as well as strong. 
 If all else failed, she was wont to apply corporal 
 punishment, and whacked her baby with her taiL 
 Be not shocked, reader. We refer to the tail of her 
 coat, which was so long that it trailed on the ground, 
 and had a flap at the end which produced surprising 
 results when properly applied. 
 
 But the howling condition of life did not last long. 
 
 
 
 
 
}■'- 
 
 TlIE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 I 'i: 
 
 1 
 
 ! I 
 
 At tlie age of five years little Chingatok began to 
 grow unusually fast, and when ho reached the age of 
 seven, the tribe took note of him as a more than 
 promising youth. Then the grand spirit, which had 
 hitherto sought to vent itself in yells and murderous 
 assaults on its doting mother, spent its energies in 
 more noble action. All the little boys of his size, 
 although much older than himself, began to look 
 up to him as a champion. None went so boldly into 
 mimio warfare with the walrus and the bear as 
 Chingatok. No one could make toy sl'xlges out of 
 inferior and scanty materials so well as he. If any 
 little one wanted a succourer in distress, Skreekin- 
 broot was the lad to whom he, or she, turned. If a 
 broken toy had to be mended, Chingatok could do 
 it better than any other boy. And so it went on 
 until he became a man and a giant. 
 
 When he was merely a big boy — that is, bigger 
 than the largest man of his tribe — he went out with 
 the other braves to hunt and fish, and signalised 
 himself by the reckless manner in which he would 
 attack the polar bear single-handed; but when he 
 reached his fall height and breadth he gave up reck- 
 less acts, restrained his tendency to display his great 
 strength, and became unusually modest and thought- 
 ful, even pensive, for an Eskimo. 
 
 The superiority of Chingatok's mind, as well as his 
 body, soon became manifest. Even amon^ savages. 
 
OR POKINGS KOUNI) THE I'Ol.K.. 
 
 intellectual power commands respect. When coupled 
 with physical force it elicits reverence. The young 
 giant soon became an oracle aud a leading man 
 in his tribe. Those who had wished him dead, and 
 in the centre of an iceberg or at the bottom of the 
 Polar Sea, came to wish that there were only a few 
 more men like him. 
 
 Of course he had one or two enemies. Who has 
 not ? There were a few who envied him his physical 
 powers. There were some who envied him his 
 moral influence. None envied him his intellectual 
 superiority, for they did not understand it. There 
 was one who not only envied but hated him. This 
 was Eemerk, a mean-spirited, narrow-minded fellow, 
 who could not bear to play what is styled second 
 fiddle. 
 
 Eemerk was big enough — over six feet — but he 
 wanted to be bigger. He was stout enough, but 
 wanted to be stouter. He was influential too, but 
 wanted to reign supreme. This, of course, was not 
 possible while there existed a taller, stouter, and 
 cleverer man than himself. Even if ^merk had 
 been the equal of Chingatok in all these respects, 
 there would still have remained one difference of 
 character which would have rendered equality im- 
 possible. 
 
 It was this : our young giant was unselfish and 
 modest. Eemerk was selfish aud vain-gloriou& 
 
 ^M 
 
 m 
 
THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 ir 
 
 V.^ion the latter killed a seal he always kept the tit- 
 bits for himself. Chingatok gave them to his mother, 
 or to any one else who had a mind to have them. 
 And so in regard to everything. 
 
 Chingatok was not a native of the region in which 
 we introduce him to the reader. He and the 
 tribe, or rather part of the tribe, to which he 
 belonged, had travelled from the far north ; so far 
 north that nobody knew the name of the land from 
 which they had come. Even Chingatok himself did 
 not know it. Being unacquainted with geography, 
 he knew no more about his position on the face of 
 this globe than a field-mouse or a sparrow. 
 
 But the young giant had heard a strange rumour, 
 while in his far-off country, which had caused 
 his strong intel)'»ct to ponder, and his huge heart 
 to beat high. Tribes who dwelt far to the south 
 of his northern home had told him that other 
 tribes, still further south, had declared that the 
 people who dwelt to the south of them had met with 
 a race of men 'who came to them over the sea on 
 floating islands; that these islands had something 
 like trees growing out of them, and wings which 
 moved about, which folded and expanded somewhat 
 like the wings of the sea-gull ; that these men's faces 
 were whiter than Eskimo f'^-ces ; that they wore 
 skins of a much more curious kind than sealskins, 
 and that they were amazingly nlaver with their 
 
OK POKINOS ROUND THE POLK. 
 
 Iiands, talked a language that no one could under- 
 stand, and did many wonderful things that nobody 
 could comprehend. 
 
 A longing, wistful expression used to steal over 
 Chingatok's face as he gazed at the southern horizon 
 while listening to these strange rumours, and a very 
 slight smile of incredulity had glimmered on his 
 visagG, when it was told him that one of the floating 
 islands of these Kablunets, or white men, had been 
 seen with a burning mountain in the middle of it, 
 which vomited forth smoke and fire, and sometimes 
 uttered a furious hissing or shrieking sound, not 
 unlike hia own voice when he was a Skreekinbroot. 
 
 The giant said little about these and other subjects, 
 but thought deeply. His mind, as we have said, was 
 far ahead of his time and condition. Let us listen to 
 some of the disjointed thoughts that perplexed this 
 man. 
 
 " Who made me ?" he asked in a low tone, when 
 floating alone one day in his kayak, or skin canoe, 
 "whence came I? whither go I? What is this 
 great sea on which I float ? that land on which I 
 tread ? No sledge, no spear, no kayak, no snow-hut 
 makes itself ! Who made all that which I behold ?" 
 
 Chingatok looked around him, but no audible 
 answer came from Nature. He looked up, but the 
 glorious sun only dazzled his eyes. 
 
 •* There nrnst be One," he continued in a lower 
 
 m 
 
 Iff 
 
 
THE GIANT OK THE NOUTU 
 
 Li- [ 
 
 tone, " who made all thing's ; but who made Him t 
 No one ? It is impossible ! Tiie Makur must have 
 ever been. Ever been !" He repeated this once or 
 twice with a look of perplexed gravity. 
 
 The uorlliem savage had grasped the grand 
 mystery, and, like all true philosophers savage or 
 oivilized who have gone before him, relapsed into 
 silence. 
 
 At last he resolved to travel south, until he should 
 aiTive at the coasts where these strange sights befora 
 described were said to have been seen. 
 
 Having made up his mind, Chingatok began hii 
 arrangements without delay; persiaded a few 
 &,milie8 of his tribe to accompany him, and reached 
 the norti* -western shores of Greenland after a long 
 and trying journey by water and ice. 
 
 Here he spent the winter. When spring came, 
 he continued his journey south, and at last began 
 to look out, Tvith sanguine expectation, for the 
 floating islands with wings, and the larger island 
 with the burning mountain on it, about which he 
 had heard. 
 
 Of course, on his way south, our giant fell in with 
 some members of the tribes through whom the 
 rumours that puzzled him had been transmitted to 
 the far north ; and, as he advanced, these rumours 
 took a more definite, also a more correct, form. 
 In time he came to understand that the floating 
 
OK rOlilNGS KOUND TlIK I'OLK. 
 
 wlandb wuro ^i^;iuitic kayaks, or canoes, witli masts 
 uiul sails, iristoad of trees and wings. The burn- 
 inj5 iiiouutaiu, however, remained au unmodified 
 mystery, which he was still inclined to disbelieve. 
 But these more correct views did not in the least 
 abate Chingatok's eager desire to behold, w.ji 
 his own eyes, the strange men from the unknown 
 south. 
 
 Eemork formed one of the party who had 
 volunteered to join Chingatok on this journey. 
 Not that Eemerk was influenced by large-minded 
 views or a thirst for knowledge, but he could not 
 bear the thought that hi*^ rival should have all the 
 honour of going forth on a long journey of explora- 
 tion to the mysterious south, a journey which was 
 sure to be full of adventure, and the successful 
 accomplishment of which would unquestionably 
 raise him very much in the estimation of his tribe. 
 
 Eemerk had volunteered to go, not as second in 
 command, but as an independent member of the 
 party — a sort of free-lance. Chingatok did not 
 quite relish having Eemerk for a companion, but, 
 being a good-humoured, easy-going fellow, he made 
 no objection to his going. Eemerk took his 
 wife with him. Chingatok took his mother and 
 little siste?- ; also a young woman named Tekkona, 
 who was his wife's sister, These were the only 
 females of the exploring party. Chingatok had left 
 
 
 ' iw 
 
 la 
 
10 
 
 TUB GIANT OK TUB NORTH 
 
 ; '!t 
 
 I 
 
 ti:i 
 
 I ; 
 
 I ' 
 
 (i! 
 
 'ill 
 
 ' 
 
 his wife behind him, because she was not robust 
 at that tiin(5 ; besides, she was very Binall — as is 
 usually the case with giants' wives - and lie was 
 remarkably fond of her, and feared to expose her 
 to severe fatigue and danger. 
 
 The completed party of explorers numbered 
 twenty souls, with their respective bodies, some of 
 which latter were large, some small, but all strong 
 and healthy. Four of the men were friends of 
 Eemerk, whom he had induced to join becr.use 
 he knew them to be kindred spirits who would 
 support him. 
 
 " I go to the ice-cliff to look upon the sea," said 
 Chingatok one morning, drawing himself up to his 
 full height, and unconsciously brushing some of the 
 lamp-black off the roof of his hut with the hood of 
 his sealskin coat. 
 
 At this point it may be well to explain, once for 
 all, that our giant did not speak English, and as it 
 is highly improbable that the reader understands 
 the Eskimo tongue, we will translate as literally 
 as possible — merely remarking that Chingatok's 
 language, like his mind, was of a superior cast. 
 
 "Why goes my son to the ice- cliff?" asked 
 Toolooha in a slightly reproachful tone. " Are not 
 the floes nearer? Can he not look on the great 
 salt lake from the hummocks ? The sun has been 
 hot a long time now. The ice-cliffs are dangeroua 
 
 'r 
 
 I 
 
OK I'OKtNfSS kOUNl) TIIK FOLK. 
 
 11 
 
 Tlieir edges 8i»lit off every day. IT my son go«>8 
 often to thera, he will one day come tumbling down 
 upon the floes and be crushed (lat, and men will 
 carry him to liis mother's feet like a mass of shape- 
 less blubber." 
 
 It is interesting to note how strong a resemblance 
 there is in sentiment and modes of thought between 
 different members of the human family. This 
 untutored savage, this Polar giant, replied, in the 
 Eskimo tongue, words which may be freely 
 translated — 
 
 " Never fear, mother, I know how to take euro 
 of myself." 
 
 Kad he been an Englishman, ho could not have 
 expressed himself more naturally. He smiled as ho 
 looked down at his stout and genial mother, while 
 she stooped and drew forth a choice morsel of walrus 
 flesh from one of her boots. Eskimo ladies wear 
 enormous sealskin boots the whole length of theii 
 legs. The tops of these boots are made extremely 
 wide, for the purpose of stowing away blubber, or 
 babies, or other odd articles that might encumbei 
 their hands. 
 
 Chingatok seemed the personification of savage 
 dignity as he stood there, leaning on a short walrus 
 spear. Evidently his little mother doted on him. 
 So did Oblooria, a pretty little girl of about sixteen, 
 who was his only sister, and the counterpart of her 
 
 mmK 
 
 
 m 
 
 1 
 
 
11 
 
 TIIK CilANT OF THE NOITU 
 
 n 
 
 ' ' t 
 
 motlior, hairy coat ami tail includod, only n fow 
 eizuM Biiiallcr. 
 
 But Cliiiij,'atok'8 dij^Miity was inurrixl Sdincwina 
 when he wunt down ou his bauds and kiieus, in 
 order to crawl through tlie low snow-tuunel which 
 waa tlio only mode of egress from the snow-hut. 
 
 Emerging at the outer end of tlie tunnel, he stood 
 up, drew the hood of his sealskin coat over his head, 
 shouldered his spear, and went off with huge and 
 rapid strides over the frozen billows of the Arctic 
 Sea. 
 
 Spring was far advanced at the time of which we 
 writ(!, and the sun shone not only with daz/iing 
 orilliancy, but with intense power on the fields of 
 ice which still held the ocean in their cold un- 
 yielding embrace. The previous winter had been 
 unusually severe, and the ice showed little or no 
 sign of breaking up, except at a great distance from 
 iand, where the heaving of the waves had craokijd 
 It up into large fields. These were gradually parting 
 from the main body, and drifting away with surface 
 currents to southern waters, there to be liquefied and 
 re- united to their parent sea. 
 
 The particulai' part of the Greenland coust to 
 which the giant went in his ramble is marked by 
 iremendous chtTs descending perpendicularly into 
 the water. These, at one part, are divided by a valley 
 lilled with a great glacier, whicli llnws from the 
 
 
 t 
 
OH rOKINOS ROUND TIIR POLR. 
 
 13 
 
 mountains of the interior with a Htcop declivity to the 
 sea, into which it thrusts its ton«,'uo, or extrenio eiul. 
 This miyhty river of ice complotoly fills the valley 
 from side to sido, heing more than two miles in width 
 and many hundred feet thick. It seems as solid 
 and motionless as the rocks that hem it in, never- 
 theless the markings on the surface resemble the 
 currents and eddies of a stream which haa been 
 suddenly frozen in the act of flowing, and if you 
 were to watch it narrowly, day by day, and week 
 by week, you would perceive, by the changed posi- 
 tion of objects on its surface, that it does actually 
 advance or flow towards the sea. A further proof 
 of this advance is, that although the tongue is 
 constantly shedding off large icebergs, it is never 
 much decreased in extent, being pushed out con- 
 tinuously by the ice which is behind. In fact, it in 
 this pushing pr jcess which onuses the end of the 
 tongue to shed its bergs, becaose, when the point 
 is thmst into deep water and floats, the motion of 
 the sea cracks the floating mass off from that pari 
 which is still aground, and lets it drift away. 
 
 Now it was to these ice-cliffs that the somewhat 
 reckless giant betook himself. Although not well 
 acquainted with that region, or fully alive to the 
 extent of the danger incurred, his knowledge wjw 
 sufficient to render him cautious in the selection t ( 
 the position wliich should form his outlook. 
 
14 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 i 
 
 ir 
 
 And a inagniticent sight indeed presented itself 
 when he took his stand among the glittering pin- 
 nacles. Far as the eye could reach, the sea lay 
 stretched in the sunshine, calm as a mill-pond, and 
 sparkling with ice-jewels of every shape and size. 
 An Arctic haze, dry and sunny, seemed tt float over 
 all like golden gauze. Not only was the sun 
 encircled by a beautiful halo, but also by those 
 lovely lights of the Arctic regions known as 
 parhelia, or mock suns. Four of these made no 
 mean display in emulation of their great original. 
 On the horizon, refraction caused the ice-floes and 
 bergs to present endless variety of fantastic forms, 
 and in the immediate foreground — at the giant's feet 
 — tremendous precipices of ice went sheer down 
 into the deep water, while, away to the right, where 
 a bay still retained its winter grasp of an ice-field, 
 could be seen, like white bee- hives, the temporary 
 3nr»w-hut3 of these wandering Eskimos. 
 
 Well might the eye, as well as the heart, of the 
 fto-called savage rise upwards while he pondered 
 the great mystery of the Maker of all ! 
 
 As he stood on the giddy ledge, rapt in contempla- 
 tion, an event occurred which was fitted to deepen 
 the solemnity of his thoughts. Not twenty yards 
 from the point on which he stood, a great ice-cliff 
 —the size of an average house — snapped off with a 
 rending crash, and went thundering down into the 
 
OR POKINGS ROUND THK POLE. 
 
 n 
 
 doop, which seemed to boil and lieave with sentiont 
 cuiotiou as it received the mass, and swallowed it 
 in a turmoil indescribable. 
 
 Chingatok sprang from his post and sought a 
 safer but not less lofty outlook, while the new-born 
 berg, rising from the sea, swayed majestically to and 
 fro in its new-found cradle. 
 
 " It is not understandable," muttered the giant 
 as he took up his new position and gazed with feel- 
 ings of awe upon the grand scene. " I wonder 
 if the pale-faced men in the floating islands think 
 much about these things. Perhaps they dwell in a 
 land which is still more wonderful than this, and 
 hunt the walrus and the seal like us. It is said 
 they come for nothing else but to see our land and 
 find out what is in it. Why should I not go to see 
 their land ? My kayak is large, though it has no 
 wings. The land may be far off, but am I not 
 strong ? They are pale-faced ; perhaps the reason is 
 that they are starved. That must be so, else they 
 would not leave their home. I might bring some of 
 the poor creatures to this happy land of ours, where 
 there is always plenty to eat. They might send mes- 
 sengers for their relations to come and dwell with us. 
 I will speak to mother about that; she is wise !" 
 
 Like a dutiful son, the giant turned on his heel, 
 descended the cliffs, and went straight home to con- 
 sult with his mother. 
 
 • I. 
 
 ' 4 
 
16 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 CHAPTEE ir. 
 
 tmEXPECTKD JIEETINaS, ALARMS, AND C0NFIDKNCR8. 
 
 *' MoinEii, I have been thinking," said Chingatok, 
 as he crept into his hut and sat down on a raised 
 bench of moss. 
 
 " That 13 not news, my son ; you think much. 
 You are not like other men. They think little 
 and eat much." 
 
 The stout little woman looked up through the 
 omoke of her cooking-lamp and smiled, but her 
 big son was too much absorbed in his thoughts to 
 observe her pleasantry, so she continued the cook- 
 ing of a walrus chop in silence. 
 
 " The Kablunets are not to be seen, mother," re- 
 sumed Chingatok. " I have looked for them every 
 day for a long time, and begin to weary. My 
 thought is now to launch my kayak when we come 
 to open water, load it with meat, take four spears 
 and more lines than a strong luinter needs for a 
 whole season ; then paddle away south to discover 
 the land of the Kablunets. They must be poor ; 
 
OR roKTNOs noinn) ttte pole. 
 
 17 
 
 ^hcy may be starving. I will guide them to our 
 home, and show them this land of plenty." 
 
 He paused abruptly, and looked at his mother 
 with solemn anxiety, for he was well aware that he 
 had given her food for profound reflection. 
 
 We feel tempted here to repeat our remark about 
 the strong resemblance between different merabers 
 of the human family, but refrain. 
 
 This untutored woman of the Arctic lands met 
 her son's proposition with the well-known reply of 
 many civilised persons. 
 
 " Of what use would it be, my son ? No good 
 can come of searching out these poor lands. You 
 cannot benefit the miserable Kablunets. Perhaps 
 they are savage and fierce ; and you are sure to meet 
 sdth dangers by the way. Worse — ^you may die!" 
 
 " Mother," returned Chingatck, '* when the white 
 bear stands up with his claws above my head 
 and his mouth a-gape, does my hand tremble or 
 my spear fail ?" 
 
 " No, my son.** 
 
 " Then why do you speak to me of danger and 
 death?" 
 
 Toolooha was not gifted with argumentative 
 powers. She relapsed into silence and lamp- 
 snioko. 
 
 But her son was not to bo so easi'iy dissuaded. 
 He adopted a line of reasoning which never failed. 
 
 B 
 
 .4 
 
 I !' 
 
18 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTU 
 
 i! 
 
 " Mother," he said, sadly, " it may be tli.it you 
 are riglit, and I am of too fearful a spirit to venture 
 far away from you by myself ; I will remain here if 
 you think me a coward." 
 
 "Don't say so, Chingatok. You know what I 
 think. Go, if you must go, but who will hunt for 
 your poor old mother when you are gone?" 
 
 This was an appeal which the astute little 
 woman knew to be very powerful with her son. 
 She buried her head in the smoke again, and left 
 the question to simmer. 
 
 Chingatok was tender-hearted. He said nothing, 
 but, as usual, he thought much, as he gazed in a 
 contemplative manner at his oily parent, and there 
 is no saying to what lengths of self-sacrifice be 
 would have gone if he had not been aroused, and 
 his thoughts scattered to the winds, by a yell so 
 tremendous that it might well have petrified him on 
 the spot. But it did nothing of the kind. It onJy 
 caused him to drop on his knees, dart through the 
 tunnel like an eel, spring into the open air like an 
 electrified rabbit from its burrow, and stand up with 
 a look of blazing interrogation on his huge counten- 
 anca 
 
 The cry had been uttered by his bosom friend 
 and former playmate Ooiichuk, who came running 
 towards him with frantic gesticulations. 
 
 " The Kablunets 1" he gasped, " the white-faces 
 
 !l,;i . 
 
OR POKINOS ROUND THE POT-E. 
 
 19 
 
 t yon 
 jntiire 
 icre if 
 
 s^hat I 
 int for 
 
 little 
 ir son. 
 md left 
 
 othing, 
 ed in a 
 d there 
 fice he 
 ;ed, and 
 yell so 
 him on 
 It only 
 uffh the 
 like an 
 up with 
 jounten- 
 
 m friend 
 running 
 
 lite-faces 
 
 have come ! — on a floating island ! — alive i — smok- 
 ing! — it is all triH! !" 
 
 "Where?" demanded our giant, whose face 
 blazed up at once. 
 
 "There!" cried Oolichuk, pointing seaward to- 
 wards the ice-hummocks with both hands, and 
 glaring up at his friend. 
 
 Without another word Chingatok ran off in 
 the direction pointed out, followed hotly by his 
 frit^nd. 
 
 Oolichuk was a large and powerful nipn, but his 
 legs were remarkably short. His pace, compared 
 with that of Chingatok, was as that of a sparrow 
 to an ostrich. Nevertheless he kept up, for he was 
 agile and vigorous. 
 
 " Have you seen them — have you spoken ?" asked 
 the giant, abruptly. 
 
 " Yes, all the tribe was there." 
 
 " No one killed ?" 
 
 " No, but terribly frightened ; they made me run 
 home to fetch you." 
 
 Chingatok increased his speed. So did Oolichuk. 
 
 While they run, let us leap a little ahead of 
 tliera, reader, and see what had caused all the 
 excitement. 
 
 The whole party had gone off that morning, with 
 the exception of Chingatok and his mother, to spear 
 seals in a neighbouring bay, where these animals 
 
 1 '^. 
 
 
 ■^;P 
 
20 
 
 THE GIAyr OF TnR NORTn 
 
 had been discovered in great numbers. Doga and 
 sledges had been taken, because a successful liunt 
 was expected, and the ice was sufficiently firm. 
 
 The bay was very large. At 'ts distant southern 
 extremity there rose a great promontory which 
 jutted far out into the sea. While the men were 
 busy there making preparations to begin the hunt, 
 Oblooria, Chingatok's little sister, amused herself by 
 mounting a hummock of ice about thirty feet high. 
 When there, she chanced to look towards the pro- 
 montory. Instantly she opened her eyes and 
 mouth and uttered a squeal that brought her 
 friends running to her side. 
 
 Oolichuk was the first to reach her. He had 
 no need to ask questions. Oblooria's gaze directed 
 his, and there, coming round the promontory, he 
 beheld an object which had never before filled his 
 wondering eyes. It was, apparently, a monstrous 
 rreature with a dark body and towering wings, and 
 a black thing in its middle, from which were 
 vomited volumes of smoke. 
 
 " Kablunets ! white men !" he yelled. 
 
 "Kabluuets! — huk! huk !" echoed the whole tribe, 
 as they scrambled up the ice-hill one after another. 
 
 And they were right. A vessel of the pale-faces 
 had penetrated these northern solitudes, and was 
 advancing swiftly before a light breeze under sail 
 and steam. 
 
OR POKINGS KOUND TUB POLE. 
 
 21 
 
 Despite the preparation their iniiids had received, 
 &nd the fact that they were out in search of these 
 very people, this sudden appearance of them 
 filled most of the Eskimos with akrm — some of 
 them with absolute terror, insomuch that the term 
 " pale-face " became most appropriate to themselves. 
 
 " What shall we do ?" exclaimed Akeetolik, one 
 of the men. 
 
 "Fly!" cried Ivitchuk, another of the men, 
 whose natural courage was not high. 
 
 **No; let us stay and behold!" said Oolichuk, 
 with a look of contempt at his timid comrade. 
 
 " Yes, stay and see," said Eemerk sternly. 
 
 "But they will kill us," faltered the young 
 jiroman, whom we have already mentioned by the 
 Lame of Tekkona. 
 
 "No — no one would kill you" said Eemerk 
 gallautlj " they would only carry you off and keep 
 you." 
 
 While they conversed with eager, anxious looks, 
 the steam yacht — for such she was — advanced 
 rapidly, threading her way among the ice-fields and 
 floes with graceful rapidity and sase, to the unutter- 
 able amazement of the natives. Although her sails 
 were spread to catch the light breeze, her chief 
 motive power at the time was a screw-propeller. 
 
 "Yes, it must be alive," said Oolichuk to 
 Akeetolik, with a look of solemn awe. " The white 
 
 I \'^ 
 
'22 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 i 
 
 men do not paddle. They could not lift paddles 
 bijT enough to move such a great oomiak/ and the 
 wind is not strong ; it could not blow them so fast. 
 See, the oomiak has a tail — and wags it !" 
 
 "Oh! do let us run away!" whispered the trem- 
 bling Oblooria, as she took shelter behind Tekkona. 
 
 " No, no," said the latter, who was brave as well 
 as pretty, " we need not fear. Our men will take 
 care of us." 
 
 " I wish that Chingatok was here ! " whimpered 
 poor little Oblooria, nestling closer to lekkona and 
 grasping her tail, " he fears nothing and nobody." 
 
 "Ay," assented Tekkona with a peculiar smile, 
 " and is brave enough to fight everything and every 
 body." 
 
 " Does Oblooria think that no one can fight but 
 the giant ?" whispered Oolichuk, who stood nearest 
 to the little maid. 
 
 He drew a knife made of bone from his boot, 
 where it usually lay concealed, and flourished it, 
 with a broad grin. The girl laughed, blushed 
 slightly, and, looking down, toyed with the sleeve 
 of Tekkona's fur coat. 
 
 Meanwhile the yacht drew near to tV ^ Hoe on 
 which our Eskimos were grouped. The ice was 
 
 t'^ 
 
 t f 
 
 1 The oomiak is the open boat of skin used by Eskimo women, 
 and 18 capable of holding boveral persons. The kayak, or luan'a canoe, 
 holds only one. 
 
 '■ I I 
 
OK rOXINGS UOUND THE POLE. 
 
 2^ 
 
 cracked liqht across, leaving a lano of open water 
 about ten feet wide between its inner ed«,'o and the 
 shore ice. The Eskimos stood on the land side of 
 this crack, a hundred yards or so from it. On 
 nearing the floe the strange vessel checked her speed. 
 
 " It moves its wings !" exclaimed Eemerk. 
 
 " And turns its side to us," said Ake'^tolik. 
 
 " And wags its tail no more," cried Oolichuk. 
 
 " Oh ! do, do let us run away," gasped Oblooria. 
 
 " No, no, we will not run," said Tekkona. 
 
 At that moment a white cloud burst from the 
 side of the yacht. 
 
 " Hi ! hee ! huk ! " shouted the whole tribe in 
 amazement. 
 
 A crash followed which not only rattled like 
 thunder among the surrounding cliffs, but went like 
 electric fire to the central marrow of each Eskimo. 
 With a united yell of terror, they leaped three 
 feet into the air — more or less — turned about, and 
 fled. Tekkona, who was active as a young deer, 
 herself took the lead ; and Oblooria, whose limbs 
 trembled so that she could hardly run, held on to 
 Oolichuk, who gallantly dragged her along. The 
 terror was increased by a prolonged screech from the 
 steam whistle. It was a wild scramble in sudden 
 panic. The Eskimos reached their sledges, harnessed 
 their teams, left tlieir spears on the ice, cracked 
 their whips, which caused the dogs to join in the 
 
 ifc.i 
 'i'i 
 
14 
 
 TUK GIANT OF Tllli NOKTII 
 
 yelling chorus, and made for the land at a furioua 
 gallop. 
 
 But their foftr began to evaporate in a few min- 
 utes, and Oolichuk was the first to check his pace. 
 
 " Ho ! stop," he cried. 
 
 Eemerk looked back, saw that they were not pur- 
 sued, and pulled up. The others followed suit, and 
 soon the fugitives were seen by those on board the 
 yacht grouped together and gazing intently at them 
 from the top of another ice-hummock. 
 
 The efifect of the cannon-shot on board the yacht 
 itself was somewhat startling. The gun had been 
 loaded on the other side of the promontory for the 
 pui-pose of being fired if Eskimos were not visible 
 on the coast beyond, in order to attract them from 
 the interior, if they should chance to be there. 
 When, however, the natives were discovered on the 
 ice, the gun was, of course, unnecessary, and had 
 been forgotten. It therefore burst upon the crew 
 with a shock of surprise, and caused the Captain, 
 who was in the cabin at the moment, to shoot up 
 from the hatchway like a Jack-in-the-box. 
 
 "Who did that?" he demanded, looking round 
 sternly. 
 
 The crew, wlio had been gazing intently at the 
 natives, did not know. 
 
 " I really cannot tell, sir," said the chief mate, 
 touching his cap. 
 
 I' i 
 
OK roKlNGti KOU^'D Tllk I'ULK. 
 
 96 
 
 I I 
 
 Two strii|)j)in{^' youtlia — one about sixteen, the 
 other cigliU^en~leane(' over tlie siiio and paid no 
 regard to the ([\iestion ; but it was obvious, from the 
 heaving motion of their shouldera, tliiit tliey were 
 not 80 mucli absorbed in contemplation as tliiy pre- 
 tended to be. 
 
 " Come, Leo, Alf, you know Bomething about this.'* 
 
 The Captain was a large powerful man of about 
 forty, with bushy iron-grey curls, a huge Ijoard, and 
 an iUjuilme nose. The two youths turned to liim at 
 once, and Leo, the eldest, eaid respectfully, " We did 
 uot see it done, uncle, but — but we think" — 
 
 " Well, what do you think ?" 
 
 At that moment a delicate-looking, slender lad, 
 about twelve years of age, with fair curly hair, and 
 flashing blue eyes, stepped out from behind the 
 funnel, which had hitherto concealed him, and said 
 boldly, though blushingly — 
 
 "I did it, father." 
 
 " Ha ! just like you ; why did you do it ? eh !" 
 
 " I can hardly tell, father," said the boy, endea- 
 vouring to choke a laugh, " but the Eskimos looked 
 so iunny, and I — I had a box of matches in my 
 pocket, and — and — I thought a shot would r.mko 
 them look so very much funnier, and — and — I was 
 right!" 
 
 " Well, Benjamin, you may go below, and remain 
 there till ii . ther orders." 
 
 i"l 
 
 
 I,' 
 
26 
 
 TIIK GIANT OP TIIK, NORTH 
 
 When Cii|»t;iiii Yixwi called his son " HiMijamin," 
 he. was seriously displeased. At other timoa ho 
 called him IVnjy. 
 
 "Yes, father," replied the hoy, with a very bad 
 grace, and down he went in a state of rebellious 
 despair, for he was wildly anxious to witness all 
 that went on. 
 
 His despair was abated, however, when, in i\\n 
 course of a few minutes, the yacht swuui^ rouml so as 
 to present her stern to the shore, and remained in 
 that position, enabling him to observe proceedings 
 from the cabin windows almost as well as if he had 
 been on deck. He was not aware that his father 
 knowing his son's nature, and wishing to temper 
 discipline with mercy, had placed the vessel in that 
 position for his special benefit ! 
 
 The difHculty new was, how to attract the natives, 
 and inspire them with confidence in the good in- 
 tentions of their visitors. In any case this woul ' 
 have been a difficult matter, but the firing of that 
 unlucky gun had increased the diflBculty tenfold. 
 When, however, Captain Vane saw the natives cease 
 their mad flight, and turn to gaze at the vessel, his 
 hopes revived, and he set about a series of ingenious 
 efforts to attain his end. 
 
 First of all, he sent a boat in charge of his two 
 nephews, Leonard and Alphonse Vandi^rvell, to set 
 up a small table uu Llie ice, on which were tempt- 
 
 brl 
 
OK PuKINlib KUl'Nl) TlIK lOLF. 
 
 17 
 
 la 
 
 iiigly iirran;^,'('(l various pri'sj-ntH, consisting' of knives. 
 buu<ls, looking ^'lasses, and articles of clothing. 
 Having done this, they retired, like wary anglers, 
 to watch for a bite. But the tisli would not rise, 
 though they observed the proceedinjzs with profound 
 attention from the distant hummock. After wait- 
 ing a couple of hours, the navigators removed tho 
 table and left an Eskimo dog in its place, with a 
 string of blue beads tied rouud its neck. But this 
 bait also failed. 
 
 "Try something emblematic, uncle," suggested 
 Leonard, the elder of the brothers before men- 
 tioned. 
 
 "And get Bcnjy to manufacture it," said 
 Alphonse. 
 
 As Benjy was possessed of the most fertile ima- 
 gination on board, he was released from punishment 
 and brought on deck. The result of his effort of 
 genius was the creation of a huge white calico flag, 
 on which were painted roughly the figure of a sailor 
 and an Eskimo sitting on an iceberg, with a kettle 
 of soup between them. On one side were a pair of 
 hands clasped together; on the other a sprig of 
 heath, the only shrub that could be seen on the 
 shore. 
 
 '* Splendid !" exclaimed Leo and Alf iu the same 
 breath, as they held the flag up to view. 
 
 "You'll become a Royal Academician if you 
 
 
 .ft! 
 
 i 
 
 M 
 
 ' f Si 
 
 ! ' 
 
28 
 
 TUi: (ilAKT OF THE NOKTU 
 
 cultivate your tulunts, Benjy," said the Captain, who 
 was proud, as well as fond, of this his only child. 
 
 The boy said nothing, but a pleased expression 
 and a twinkle in his eyes proved that he was suscep- 
 tible to flattery, though not carried off his legs by it. 
 
 The banner with the strange device was fixed to 
 a pole which was erected on an ice-huramock be- 
 tween the ship and the shore, and a hag containing 
 presents was hung at the foot of it. 
 
 Still these Eskimo fish would not bite, though 
 they " rose " at the flag. 
 
 Oolichuk's curiosity had become so intense that 
 he could not resist it. He advanced alone, very 
 warily, and looked at it, but did not dare to touch 
 it. Soon he was joined by Eemerk and the others. 
 Seeing this. Captain Vane sent to meet them an 
 interpreter whom he had procured at one of the 
 Greenland settlements in passing. Just as this 
 man, whose name was Anders, stepped into the 
 boat alongside, it occurred to the Eskimos that 
 their leader should be sent for. Oolichuk under- 
 took to fetch him; he ran back to the sledges, 
 harnessed a small team, and set off like the wind. 
 Thus it came to i)ass that Chiiigatok and hia mother 
 were startled by a yell, as before mentioned, 
 
 Mcnuwhile Anders was put on the ice, and ad- 
 vanced alone and unarmed towards the canal, or 
 chasm, which separated the parties. He carried a 
 
 to 
 
 !| I 
 
on PDKINOS BOUND TITK POLK. 
 
 30 
 
 I 
 
 small whito flag and a bag containing presents. 
 Innocent- looking and defenceless though he was, 
 however, the Eskimos approached him with hesita- 
 ting steps and slow, regarding every motion of the 
 interpreter with suspicion, and frequently stooping 
 to thrust their hands into their boots, in which they 
 all carried knives. 
 
 At last, when within hearing, Anders shouted a 
 peaceful message, and there was much hallooing 
 and gcisticnlation among the natives, but nothing 
 comprehensible came of it. After a time Anders 
 thought ho recognised words of a dialect with which 
 he was acquainted, and to his satisfaction found 
 that they underetood him. 
 
 " Kakeite ! kakcite ! — come on, con^e on," he cried, 
 holding up the present. 
 
 "Nakrie! nakrie! — no, no, go away — you want 
 to kill us," answered the doubtful natives. 
 
 Thereupon Andsrs protested that nothing waa 
 further from his thoughts, that be was a man and a 
 friend, and had a mother like themselves, and that 
 he wanted to please them. 
 
 At this Eemerk approached to the edge of the 
 canal, and, drawing a knife from his boot, said, " Go 
 away ! I can kill you." 
 
 Nothing dauu^cl, Anders said he was not afraid, 
 and taking a go<xl English knife from his bag threw 
 it across the carwV 
 
 1-. J 
 
 
 .i.'i 
 
 t II 
 
ao 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 Kcmerk picked it up, and was so pleased that he 
 *ixclaimed, " Heigh-yaw ! heigli-yaw !" joyously, and 
 pulled his nose several times. Anders, nnderstand- 
 KOg this to be a sign of friendship, iiii mediately 
 pulled his own nose, smiled, and tinew several 
 trinkets and articles of clothing to the other natives, 
 who had by that time drawn together in a group, 
 and were chattering in great surprise at the things 
 >>resented. Ivitchuk was perhaps the most excited 
 »»mong them. He chanced to get hold of a round 
 box, in the lid of wliich was a mirror. On beliolding 
 iiimself looking at himself, he made such an awful 
 face that he dropt the glass and sprang backward, 
 tripping up poor Oblooria in the act, and tumbling 
 over her. 
 
 This was greeted with a shout of laughter, and 
 Anders, now believing that friendly relations had been 
 t?stablished, went to the boat for a plank to bridge 
 the chasm. As Leo and Alf assisted him to carry the 
 plank, the natives again became grave and anxious. 
 
 " Stop !" shouted Eemerk, " you want to kill us. 
 What great creature is that ? Does it come from 
 lihe moon or the sun ? Does it eat fire and smoke ?" 
 
 "No, it is only a dead thing. It is a wooden 
 uouse." 
 
 "You lie!" cried the polite Eemerk, "it shakes 
 its wings. Tt vomits fire and smoke. It has a tail 
 und wass it" 
 

 on I'OKINGS HOUND TIIK I'OLE. 
 
 31 
 
 While speaking he slowly retreated, for the p'ank 
 was being placed in position, and the other natives 
 were showing symptoms of an intention to fly. 
 
 Just then a shout was heard landwards. Turning 
 round they saw a dog-sledge flying over the ice 
 towards them, with Oolichuk flourishing the long- 
 lashed whip, and the huge form of their lei.der 
 beside him. 
 
 In a few seconds they dashed up, and Chingatok 
 sprang upon the ice. Without a moment's hesita- 
 tion he strode towards the plank and crossed it. 
 Walking up to Anders he pulled his own nosa 
 The interpreter was not slow to return the saluta- 
 tion, as he looked up at the giant with surprise, not 
 unmingled with awe. In addition, he grasped his 
 huge hand, squeezed, and shook it. 
 
 Chingatok smiled blandly, and returned the 
 squeeze so as to cause the interpreter to wince. 
 Then, perceiving at once that he had got pos- 
 session of a key to the affections of the strangers, 
 he offered to shake hands with Leonard and his 
 brother, stooping with regal urbanity to them 
 as he did so. By this time the Captain and first 
 mate, with i3enjy and several of the crew, were 
 approaching. Instead of exhibiting fear, Chingatok 
 advanced to meet them, and shook hands all round. 
 He gazed at Captain Vane with a look of admiration 
 which was not at first quite accountable, until he 
 
 i! 
 
 \ r 
 
 
 • 
 9: 
 
 'i', 
 
 r-' 'Is 
 
 : I ■ kt**l 
 
 ■M 
 
 
32 
 
 THE OIANT OF TIFE NORTH 
 
 I I 
 
 laid his hand getitly on the Captain's magnificent 
 beard, and stroked it. 
 
 The Captain laughed, and again grasped the hand 
 of the Eskimo. They both squeezed, but neither 
 could make the otlier wince, for Captain Vane was 
 remarkably powerful, though comparatively short 
 of limb. 
 
 " Well, you are a good fellow in every way," ex- 
 claimed the Captain. 
 
 " Heigh, yah !" returned Chiw^atok, who no doubt 
 meant to be complimentary, thoagh we confess our 
 inability to translate. It was obvious that two 
 (sympathetic souls had met. 
 
 "Come across," shouted Chingatok, turning 
 ftbniptly to his companions, who had been gazing at 
 his proceedings in open-mouthed wonder. 
 
 The whole tribe at once obeyed the order, and in 
 a few minutes they were in the seventh heaven of 
 delight and good-will, receiving gifts and hand- 
 shakings, each pulling his own nose frequently by 
 way of expi'essing satisfaction or friendship, and 
 otlierwise exchanging compliments with the no 
 less amiable and gratified crow of the steam yaolit 
 WhiUhmr, 
 
 t 
 
OR POKING S r.OUND TTTE POLE. 
 
 88 
 
 j , 1 ; 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 ■HOWS HOW THK ESKIMOS WKUK ENTERTAINKD nT THE WHITK MKN. 
 
 The WJdtehear steam yacht, owned and com- 
 manded by Captain Jacob Vane, had sailed from 
 England, and was bound for the North Pole. 
 
 "I'll find it—I'm bound to find it," was the 
 Captain's usual mode of expressing himself to hia 
 intimates on the subject, " if there 'a a North Pole in 
 the world at all, and my nephews Leo and Al! 
 will help me. Leo's a doctor, almost, and Alf 's a 
 scientific Jack-of-all-trades, so we can't fail I'll 
 take my boy Benjy for the benefit of his health, 
 and see if wc don't bring home a chip o' the Pole big 
 enough to set up beside Cleopatra's Needle on the 
 Thames embankment." 
 
 There was tremendous energy in Captain Vane, and 
 indomitable resolution ; but energy and resolution 
 cannot achieve all things. There are other factors 
 in the life of man which help to mould his destiny. 
 
 Short and sad and terrible — ay, we might even 
 say tremendous — was the WMtehear's wild career. 
 
 
 
 H 
 
 {• { *a 
 
 . 1 
 
34 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 i I 
 
 Up to the time of Imr mooting with tho Eskimos, 
 all had gone well. Fair weather aud favouring 
 winds had blown her across the Atlantic. Sun- 
 sliine and success had received her, as it were, in the 
 Arctic regions. The sea was unusually free of ice. 
 Upernavik, the last of the Greenland settlements 
 touched at, was reached early in the season, and the 
 native interpreter Anders secured. The dreaded 
 " middle passage," near the head of Baffin's Bay, was 
 made in the remarkably short space of fifty hours, 
 and, passing Cape York into the North Wa<"or, they 
 entered Smitli's Sound without having received more 
 than a passing bump — an Arctic kiss as it were — 
 from the Polar ice. 
 
 In Smith's Sound fortune still favoured them. 
 These resolute intending discoverers of the North 
 Pole passed in succession the various " farthests " of 
 previous explorers, and the stout brothers Vander- 
 vell, with their cousin Benjy Vane, gazed eagerly 
 over the bulwarks at the swiftly-passing headlands, 
 while the Captain pointed out the places of interest, 
 and kept up a running commentary on the brave 
 deeds and high aspirations of such well-known men 
 as Frobisher, Davis, Hudson, Ross, Parry, Franklin. 
 Kane, M'Clure, Rae, M'Clintock, Hayes, Hall, Nares, 
 Markham, and all the other heroes of Arctic story. 
 
 It was an era in the career of those three youths 
 thati stood out bright and fresh — never to be for- 
 
OR POKINOR ROUND THT! POLK. 
 
 35 
 
 gotton— this first burst of the roalities of the Arctic 
 world on minds which had been previously wtdl 
 informed by books. The climax wns reached on 
 the day when the Eskimos of the far north were 
 met with. 
 
 But from that time a change took place in their 
 experience. Fortune seemed to frown from that 
 memorable day. We say " seemed," because knitted 
 brows do not always or necessarily indicate what is 
 meant by a frown. 
 
 After the first fears of the Eskimos had been 
 allayed, a party of them were invited to go on board 
 the ship. They accepted the invitation and went, 
 headed by Chingatok. 
 
 That noble savage required no persuasion. From 
 the first he had shown himself to be utterly devoid 
 of fear. He felt that the grand craving of his 
 nature — a thirst for knowledge — was about to be 
 gratified, and that would have encouraged him to 
 risk anything, even if he had been much less of a 
 hero than he was. 
 
 But if fear had no influence over our giant, the 
 same cannot be said of his companions. Oolichuk, 
 indeed, was almost as bold, though he exhibited 
 a considerable amount of caution in his looks 
 and movements ; but Eemerk, and one or two of 
 his friends, betrayed their craven spirits in frefiuont 
 startled looks and changhig colour. Ivitchuk wa« 
 
 
 % 
 
86 
 
 THE GIANT OP THE NOIlTTI 
 
 i ! I 
 
 a strange compound of nervousness and courage, 
 while Akeetolik appeared to have lost the power of 
 expressing every feeling but one — that of blank 
 amazement. Indeed, surprise at what they saw on 
 board the steam yacht was the predominant feeling 
 amongst these children of nature. Their eyebrows 
 seemed to have gone up and fixed themselves in the 
 middle of their foreheads, and their eyes and mouths 
 to have opened wide permanently. None of the 
 women accepted the invitation to go aboard except 
 Tekkona, and Oblooria followed her, not because she 
 was courageous, but because she seemed to cling to 
 the stronger nature as a protection from undefined 
 and mysterious dangers. 
 
 " Tell them," said Captain Vane to Anders, the 
 Eskimo interpreter, "that these are the machines 
 that drive the ship along when there is no wind." 
 
 He pointed down the hatchway, where the com- 
 plication of rods and cranks glistened in the hold. 
 
 " Huk ! " exclaimed the Eskimos. They sometimes 
 exclaimed Hi ! ho ! hoy ! and hah ! as things were 
 pointed out to them, but did not venture on language 
 more intelligible at first 
 
 " Let 'em hear the steam-whistle," suggested the 
 mate. 
 
 Before the Captain could countermand the order, 
 Beiijy had touched the handle and let off a short, 
 sharp skirl '^'he effect on the natives was powerful 
 
oil POKINGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 37 
 
 Ithe 
 
 ler, 
 lort, 
 Iful 
 
 They lea;>etl, with a simultauiious yell, at Icubt a 
 foot off the deck, with the exception of Cliin<,'atok, 
 though e/cn he was visibly startled, while Oblooria 
 seized Tekkoua round the waist, and buried her lace 
 in her friend's jacket. 
 
 A brief explanation soon restored them to eciuaiii- 
 inity, and they were about to pass on to some other 
 object of interest, when both the steam-whistle and 
 the escape-valve were suddenly opened to their full 
 extent, and there issued from the engine a hissing 
 yell so prolonged and deafening that even the 
 Captain's angry shout was not heard. 
 
 A yard at least was the leap into the air made 
 by the weakest of the Eskimos — except our giant, 
 who seemed, however, to shrink into himself, while 
 he grasped his knife and looked cautiously round, 
 as if to guard himself from any foe that might 
 appepx, Eemerk fairly turned and fled to the 
 stern of the yacht, over which he would certainly 
 have plunged had he not been forcibly restrained 
 by two stout seamen. The others, trembling 
 violently, stood still, because they knew not what to 
 do, and poor Oblooria fell flat on the deck, catching 
 Tekkona by the tail, and pulling her down beside 
 her. 
 
 "You scoundrel!" exclaimed the Captain, when 
 the din ceased, " I — I — go down, sir, to — " 
 
 " Oh ! father, don't be hard on me," pleaded Benjy, 
 
 \m 
 
 ' 
 
 
 !^ 
 
 ! 
 
 *i 
 
88 
 
 THE GIANT OK Till: NORTH 
 
 with a gleefully horrified look, " I really could not 
 lesist it. The — the temptation was too strong !" 
 
 " The temptation to give you a rope's-ending is 
 almost too strong for me, lienjamin," returned the 
 Captain sternly, but there was a twinkle in his eye 
 notwithstanding, as he turned to explain to Chinga- 
 tok that his son had, by way of jest, allowed part of 
 the mighty Power imprisoned in the machinery to 
 escape. 
 
 The Eskimo received the explanation with 
 dignified gravity, and a faint smile played on his 
 lips as he glanced approvingly at Benjy, for he 
 loved a jest, and was keenly alive to a touch of 
 humour. 
 
 " What power is imprisoned in the machinery ?** 
 asked our Eskimo through the interpreter. 
 
 "What power?" repeated the Captain with a 
 puzzled look, "why, it's boiling water — steam." 
 Here he tried to give a clear account of the nature 
 and power and application of steam, but, not being 
 gifted with capacity for lucid explanation, and the 
 mind of Anders being unaccustomed to such 
 matters, the result was that the brain of Chingatok 
 was filled with ideas that were fitted rather to 
 amaze than to instruct him. 
 
 After making the tour of the vessel, the party 
 again passed the engine hatch. Chingatok touched 
 the interpreter quietly, and said in a low, grave tone. 
 
 U 
 
OR r'OKIN(;S ROUND THE I'OLK. 
 
 99 
 
 '• t' 
 
 a 
 
 n 
 
 ' to 
 
 " Toll IMacklieard (tliUH he styled the CHptain) to let 
 the Power y<'ll .'i;^;iiii !" 
 
 Anders glanced np in the [riJint's grave counten- 
 ance with a look of amused surjmse. He under- 
 stood him, and whispered to the Captain, who smiled 
 intelllL^ently, and, turning to his son, said — 
 
 " Do it again, Henjy. Give it 'em strong." 
 
 Never before did that lad obey his father with such 
 joyous alacrity. In another instant the whistle 
 shrieked, and the escape-valve hissed ten times more 
 furiously than before. Up went the Eskimo — three 
 feet or more — as if in convulsions, and away went 
 Eemerk to the stem, over which he dived, swam to 
 the floe, leaped on his sledge, cracked his whip, and 
 made for homo on the wings of terror. Doubtless 
 an evil conscience helped his cowardice. 
 
 Meanwhile Chingatok laughed, despite hie struggles 
 to be grave. This revealed the trick to some of his 
 quick-witted and humour-loving companions, who 
 at once burst into loud laughter. Even Oblooria 
 dismissed her fears and smiled. In this restored 
 condition they were taken down to the cabin and 
 fed sumptuously. 
 
 That night, as Chingatok sat beside his mother, 
 busy with a seal's rib, he gradually revealed to lier 
 the wonders he had seen. 
 
 " The white men are very wise, mothoi/* 
 
 " So you have saiil i'uiu" times, my soix.** 
 
 
 I 
 
 '% 
 
 M 
 
 ■H. i 
 
«0 
 
 TlIK UIAiiT OP TllJC NOKTII 
 
 ! I 
 
 " liut you cannot uiidnratuiid it." 
 
 " liut n»y son can miikc; mo undtiratund," suid 
 Tuuluohu, helping thti amiublu giant tu a sucoud 
 lib. 
 
 Chingutok ga/ud ut his litlle mother with a look 
 of solemnity that evidently perplexed her. She 
 became restless under it, and wiped her i'oreheud 
 uneasily with the Hap at the end of her tail. The 
 youth seemed about to speak, but he only sighed 
 aud addressed himself to the second rib, over which 
 ne continued to gaze while he masticated. 
 
 " My thoughts are big, mother," he said, laying 
 down the bare bone. 
 
 " That may well be, for so is your head, my 
 son," she replied, gently. 
 
 " I know not how to begin, mother." 
 
 " Another rib may open your lips, perhaps," sug- 
 gested the old woman, softly. 
 
 " True ; give me one," said Chingatok. 
 
 The third rib seemed to have the desired eifect, 
 for, while busy with it, he began to give his parent 
 a graphic account of the yacht and its crew, aud 
 it was really interesting to note how correctly he 
 described all that he understood of what he had 
 seen. But some of the things he had partly failed 
 to compreliend, and about these he was vague. 
 
 "And they have a — a Power, mother, shut up 
 in a hard thing, so that it can't get out unless they 
 
OR P0KIN08 KOUXD TUK POLK, 
 
 41 
 
 let it, and it drives tlu; hi^' c:aiioe tiiruugh thu wator. 
 It is very strong— terrible !" 
 
 " Is it a devil ?" asked Toolooha. 
 
 "No, it is not alive. It is dead. IL is UuU" he 
 pointed with empluisis to a pot liaiij^'ing over the 
 lamp out of which a little steam was issuing, and 
 looked iit his mother with awful solemnity. Sho 
 returned the look with something of incredulity. 
 
 *' Yes, mother, the Power is not a beast. It lives 
 not, yet it drives the white man's canoe, which is 
 as big as a little iceberg, and it ^vhistles ; it shrieks ; 
 it yells !" 
 
 A slightly sorrowful look rested for a moment on 
 Toolooha's benign countenance. It was evident 
 that she suspected her son either of derangement, 
 or having forsaken the paths of truth. But it 
 passed like a summer cloud. 
 
 "Tell me more," she said, laying her hand affec- 
 tionately on the huge arm of Ch;i;gatok, who had 
 fallen into a contemplative mood, and, with hands 
 clasped over one knee, sat gazing upwards. 
 
 Before he could reply the heart of Toolooha was 
 made to bound by a shriek more terrible than she 
 nad ever before heard or imagined. 
 
 Chingatok caught her by the wrist, held up a finger 
 as if to impose silence, smiled brightly, and listened. 
 
 Again the shriek was repeated with prolonged 
 power. 
 
 i ' 
 
 ■ ; !t J 
 
 mS 
 
42 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 I ' 
 
 " Tell me, my son," gasped Toolooha, " is Oblooria 
 — are the people safe? Why came you to me 
 alone V" 
 
 "The little sister and tbj people are safe. I 
 came alone to prevent your being taken by surprise. 
 Did I not say that it could shriek and yell ? This 
 is the white man's big canoe." 
 
 Dropping the old woman's hand as he spoke, 
 Chingatok darted into the open air with the af^ility 
 of % Pohtr bear, and Toolooha followed with the 
 speed of an Arctic hare. 
 
 1 i 
 
 '.'I i 
 
 t 
 
OR rOKU^GS ROUND TILK POLB 
 
 43 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 II- *:i 
 
 A CATASTROPHE AND A BOLD DECISIOK. 
 
 Two days after her arrival at the temporary 
 residence of the noi-tliern Eskimos, the steam yacht 
 Wh'}*ebear, while close to the shore, was beset by 
 ice, so that she could neither advance nor retreat. 
 Everywhere, as far as the eye could reach, the sea 
 was covered with hummocks and bergs and fields of 
 ice, so closely packed that there was not a piece 
 of open water to be seen, with the exception of one 
 small basin a few yards ahead of the lead or lane of 
 water in which the vessel had been imprisoned. 
 
 "No chance of escaping from this, I fear, for a 
 long time," said Alf Vandervell to his brother, as 
 they stood near the wheel, looking at the desolate 
 prospect 
 
 " It seems quite hopeless," said Leo, with, how- 
 ever, a look of confidence that ill accorded with his 
 words. 
 
 " I do believe we are frozen in for the winter,** 
 said Benjy Vane, coming up at the moment 
 
 \l iP 
 
 i ■ 
 
 
 
44 
 
 TUB GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 " There speaks i«^no»'aiice," said the Captain, whoso 
 head appeared at the cabin hatchway. If any of 
 you had been in these regions before, you would have 
 learned that nothing is so uncertain as the action of 
 pack ice. At one time you may be hard and fast, 
 so that you couldn't move an inch. A few hours 
 after, the set of the currents may loosen the pack, 
 and open up lanes of water through which you may 
 easily make your escape. Sometimes it opens up 
 so as to leave almost a clear sea in a few hours." 
 
 "But it is pretty tight packed just now, father* 
 and looks wintry -like, doesn't it?" said Benjy in a 
 desponding tone. 
 
 " Looks I boy, ay, but things are not what they 
 seem hereaway. You saw four mock suns round 
 the real one yesterday, didn't you? and the day 
 before you saw icebergs floating in the air, eh ?" 
 
 " True, father, but these appearances were decep- 
 tive, whereas this ice, which looks so tightly packed, 
 is a reality." 
 
 "That is so, lad, but it is not set fast for the 
 winter, though it looks like it. Well, doctor," added 
 the Captain, turning towards a tall cadaverous man 
 who came on deck just then with the air and tread of 
 an invalid, " how goes it with you? Better, I hope V* 
 
 He asked this with kindly interest as he laid his 
 strong hand on the sick man's shoulder; but the 
 doctor shook his head and smiled sadly. 
 
on roKTNGS Roum) rnE polr. 
 
 4ff 
 
 " It is a great misfortune to an expedition, Captaiu, 
 when the doctor himself falls sick," he said, sitting 
 down on the skylight with a sigh. 
 
 "Come, come, cheer up, doctor," returned the 
 Captain, heartily, " don't be cast down; we '11 all turn 
 doctors for the occasion, and nurse you well in spite 
 of yourself." 
 
 " I '11 keep up all heart, Captain, you may depend 
 on't, as long as two of my bones will stick together, 
 but — well, to change the subject; what are you 
 ^oing to do now ?" 
 
 " Just all that can be done in the circumstances," 
 replied the Captain. " You see we cannot advance 
 over ice either with sail or steam, but there 's a basin 
 just ahead which seems a little more secure than 
 that in which we lie. I '11 try to get into it There 
 is nothing but a neck of ice between us and it, which 
 I think I could cut by charging it under full steam, 
 and there seems a faint gleam of something far ahead, 
 whicli encourages me. Tell the steward to fetch 
 my glasses, Benjy." 
 
 " Butterface 1" shouted the boy. 
 
 " Yis, massa." 
 
 " Fetch the Captain's glasses, please." 
 
 " Yis, massa." 
 
 A pair of large binoculars were brought up by a 
 huge negro, whose name was pre-eminently unsug- 
 gestive of his Appearance. 
 
 ti- 
 
 'i ' 
 
 i I 
 
 m 
 
 I 
 i 
 
 t 
 
 
 
\^ 
 
 46 
 
 Tm! OIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 V i 
 
 After a long steady gaze at the horizon, the Cap- 
 tain shut up the glass with an air of determination, 
 and ordered the engineer to get up full steam, and 
 the crew to be ready with the ice-poles. 
 
 There was a large berg at the extremity of the 
 lakelet of open water into which Captain Vane 
 wished to break. It was necessary to keep well out 
 of the way of that berg. The Captain trusted chiefly 
 to his screw, but got out the ice-poles in case they 
 should be required. 
 
 When all the men were stationed, the order was 
 given to go ahead full steam. The gallant little 
 yacht charged the neck of ice like a living creature, 
 hit it fair, cut right through, and scattered the frag- 
 ments right and left as she sailed majestically into 
 the lakelet beyond. The shock was severe, but no 
 harm was done, everything on board having been 
 made Jis strong as possible, and of the very best 
 material, for a voyage in ice-laden seas. 
 
 An unforeseen event followed, however, which 
 ended in a series of most terrible catastrophes. The 
 neck of ice through which they had broken hail 
 acted as a check on the pressure of the great body 
 of the floe, and it was no sooner removed than the 
 heavy mass began to close in with slow but irresis- 
 tible power, compelling the little vessel to steam 
 close up to the iceberg — so close that some of the 
 upper parts actually overhung the deck. 
 
OU POKINGS ROUND THK POLE. 
 
 47 
 
 hich 
 The 
 hail 
 body 
 the 
 Besis- 
 eam 
 the 
 
 They worn slowly forced into this daugunuis 
 l)()sition. With breiithless anxiety the Captain and 
 crew watched the apparently gentle, but really 
 tremendous grinding of the ice against the vessel's 
 side. Even the youngest on board could realise the 
 danger. No one moved, for nothing whatever could 
 be done. 
 
 " Everything depends, under God, on the ice easing 
 off before we are crushed," said the Captain. 
 
 As he spoke, the timbers of the yacht seemed to 
 groan under the pressure ; then there was a succession 
 of loud cracks, and the vessel was thrust bodily up 
 the sloping sides of the berg. While in this position, 
 with the bow high and dry, a mass of ice was forced 
 against the sternpost, and the screw-propeller was 
 snapped off as if it had been made of glass. 
 
 Poor Captain Vane's heart sank as if he had 
 received his death-blow, for he knew that the yacht 
 was now, even in the event of escaping, reduced to 
 an ordinary vessel dependent on its sails. The 
 shock seemed to have shaken the berg itself, for 
 at that moment a crashing sound was heard over- 
 head. The terror-stricken crew looked up, and for 
 one moment a pinnacle like a church spire was 
 seen to flash through the air right above them. It 
 fell with an indescribable roar close alongside, 
 deluging the decks with water. There was a 
 momentary sigh of relief, which, however, was chasetl 
 
 m 
 
 I 
 
48 
 
 TFTE OIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 i ! 
 
 away by a succession of falling masses, varying from 
 a pound to a ton in weight, which came down on 
 the deck like cannon shots, breaking the topmasts, 
 and cutting to pieces much of tlie rigging. Strange 
 to say, none of the men were seriously injured, though 
 many received braises more or less severe. 
 
 During this brief but thrilling period, tlie brothers 
 Vanderveil and Benjy Vane crouched close together 
 beside the port bulwarks, partially screened from 
 the falling ice by the mizzen shrouds. The Captain 
 stood on the quarter-deck, quite exposed, and 
 apparently unconscious of danger, the picture of 
 d'^spair. 
 
 " It can't last long," sighed poor Benjy, looking 
 solemnly up at the vast mass of the bluish-white 
 berg, which hung above them as if ready to 
 fall 
 
 Presently the pressure ceased, then the ice 
 eased off, and in a few minutes the Whitehear slid 
 back into the sea a pitiable wreck ! Now had come 
 the time for action. 
 
 "Out poles, my lads, and shove her off the 
 berg ! " was the sharp order. 
 
 Every one strained as if for lite at the ice-poles, 
 and slowly forced the yacht away from the dreaded 
 berg. It mattered not that they were forcing her 
 towards a rocky shore. Any fate would be better 
 than being crushed under a niouutain.of ice. 
 
OR POKTNOfl R01TNT> THF, POLK. 
 
 49 
 
 )ole8, 
 
 jaded 
 
 her 
 
 )etter 
 
 But the danf,'er was not yet past. No sooher 
 had tliey clcarod the berg, and escaped froin tliat 
 form of destruction, than tlie ice began again to 
 close in, and this time the vessel was "nipped" 
 with such severity, that some of her principal 
 timbers gave way. Finally, her back was bi oken, 
 and the bottom forced in. 
 
 " So," exclaimed the Captain, with a look of pro- 
 found grief, " our voyage in the Whitebear, lads, haa 
 come to an end. All that we can do now is to get 
 the boats and provisions, and as much of the cargo 
 as we can, safe on the ice. And sharp's the word, 
 for when the floes ease off, the poor little yacht will 
 certainly go to the bottom." 
 
 " No, massa," said the negro steward, stepping on 
 deck at that moment, "we can't go to de bottom, 
 cause we's dare a-ready !" 
 
 "What d'ye mean, Butterface?" 
 
 " Jus' what me say," replied the steward, with a 
 look of calm resignation. " I's bin b'low, an' seed 
 de rocks stickin' troo de bottom. Der's one de size 
 ob a jolly-boat's bow comed right troo my pantry, 
 an' knock all de crockery to smash, an' de best tea- 
 pot, he's so flat he wouldn't know hisself in a 
 lookin'-glass." 
 
 It turned out to be as Butterface said. The pack 
 had actually thrust the little vessel on a shoal, 
 v/hich extended out from tl»e headland off which 
 
 D 
 
50 
 
 THK GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 the catastrophe occurred, and there was therefore no 
 feiir of ber sinking. 
 
 " Well, we've reason to be thankful for that, at 
 all events," said the Captain, with an attempt to 
 look cheerful ; " come, lads, let's to work. Whatever 
 our future course is to be, our first business is to get 
 the boats and cargo out of danger." 
 
 With tremeiidous energy — because action brorght 
 relief to their overitraiued feelings — the crew of 
 the ill-fated yacht set to work to haul the boats 
 upon the grounded ice. The tide was falling so 
 that a great part of the most valiable part of the 
 cargo was placed in security beff re the rising tide 
 interrupted the work. 
 
 This was fortunate, for, wh^^n the water reached 
 a certain point the ice began to move, and the poor 
 little vessel was so twisted about that they dared 
 not venture on board of her. 
 
 That night- -if we may call it night in a region 
 where the sun never quite went down — the party 
 encamped on the north-western coast of Greenland, in 
 the lee of a huge cLIf, just beyond which the tongue 
 of a mighty glacier dipped into the sea. For Con- 
 venience the party divided into two, witL a blazing 
 fire for each, round which the castftvvajs circled, 
 conversing in subdued, sad tones while supper was 
 Deing prepared. 
 
 It was a solemn occasion, and a scene of in- 
 
oil roKiNoa RoirNP tub poi.k. 
 
 51 
 
 id.in 
 ngue 
 ccn- 
 izing 
 kled, 
 was 
 
 If in- 
 
 describable grandeur, with tlie almost eternal glacir-r 
 of Greenland — the ^reut Humboldt jilacier — 
 shedding its bergs into the dark blue sea, tlie waters 
 of which had by that time been partially cleared to 
 the northward. On the left waa the weird pack and 
 its thousand grotesque forms, with the wreck in its 
 iron grasp; on the right the perpendicular cliffs, and 
 the bright sky over all, with the smoke of the camp- 
 fires rising into it from the foreground. 
 
 "Now, my friends," said Captain Vane to the 
 crew when assembled after supper, " I am no longei 
 your commander, for my vessel is a wreck, but as 
 I suppose you still regard me as your leader, T 
 assemble you here for the purpose of considering 
 our position, and deciding on what is best to be 
 done." 
 
 Here the Captain said, among other things, it waa 
 his opinion that the Whitebear was damaged beyond 
 the possibility of repair, that their onW chance of 
 escape lay in the boats, and that the distance be- 
 tween the place on which they stood and Uper- 
 navik, although great, was not beyond the reach 
 of resolute men. 
 
 " Jefoi-^ going further, or expressing a decided 
 opinion," he added, " I would hear what the officers 
 have to say on this subject. Let the first mate 
 s^eak." 
 
 "It's my opiiiion," said the mate, "that thcio's 
 
62 
 
 nil OIANT OF TIE NORTH 
 
 .•!ir 
 
 only one thinj» to be done, namely, to start for hnrno 
 as soon and aa fast as we can. Wo have good boats, 
 plenty of provisions, and are all stout and healthy, 
 excepting our doctor, whom we will take good 
 care of, and expect to do no rough work." 
 
 " Thanks, mate," said the doctor with a laugh, 
 " I think that, at all events, I shall keej) well enough 
 to physic you if you get ill." 
 
 "Are you willing to take charge of the party 
 in the event of my deciding to remain here?" 
 asked the Captain of the mate. 
 
 " Certainly, sir," he replied, with a look of slight 
 surprise. "You know I am quite able to do so. 
 The second mate, too, is as able as I am. For that 
 matter, most of the men, I think, would find littlo 
 difficulty in navigating a boat to Upemavik." 
 
 " That is well," returned the Captain, " because I 
 do not intend to return with you." 
 
 " Not return I" exclaimed the doctor; "surely you 
 don't mean to winter here." 
 
 "No, not here, but further north," replied the 
 Captain, with a smile which most of the party 
 ictuTueu, for they thought he was jesting. 
 
 l^enjy Vane, however, did not think so. A 
 gleeful look of triumph caused his face, as it wore, 
 to sparkle, and he said, eagerly — 
 
 " We'll winter at the North Pole, father, eh ?" 
 
 This was greeted with a general laugh. 
 
 
 w:r 
 
OU POKINUS UOUND TUR I'ULR. 
 
 63 
 
 the 
 irfcy 
 
 A 
 roie, 
 
 " Hut seriouflly, uncle, what du you iiiuuu to du ?" 
 Mkoil Leonard Vaudervell, who, with hia brother, 
 was uot unhopeful tliut the Captain meditated some- 
 thing desperate. 
 
 ' Benjy is uot far off the mark. I intend to winter 
 at the Pole, or as near to it as I can manage to get." 
 
 " My dear Captain Vane," said the doctor, with 
 an auxious look, " you cannot really mean what you 
 say. You must be Jesting, or mad." 
 
 " Well, as to madness," returned the Captain with 
 a peculiar smile, " you ought to know best, for it's a 
 perquisite of your cloth to pronounce people mad or 
 sane, though some of yourselves are as mad as the 
 worst of us ; but in regard to jesting, nothing, I 
 assure you, is further from my mind. Listen I" 
 
 He rose from the box which had formed his seat, 
 and looked earnestly round on his men. As he stood 
 there, erect, tall, square, powerful, with legs firmly 
 planted, and apart, as if to guard against a lurch of 
 his ship, with his bronzed face flushed, and his dark 
 eye flashing, tkey all understood that their leader^s 
 mind was made up, and that what he had resolved 
 upon, he would certainly attempt to carry out. 
 
 " Listen," he repeated ; " it was my purpose on 
 leaving England, as you all know, to sail north as 
 far as the ice would let me ; to winter where we 
 should stick fast, and organise an over-ice, or overland 
 journey to the Pole with all the appliances of recent 
 
 \1 
 
 
 i*^: 
 
54 
 
 TIIK (HANT OP TIIK NOItTII 
 
 '1"^! 
 
 Hoioiilific ilisnovory, and all the ftdvantapps of know- 
 ledge n(;(|uire(l by former explorers. It has pleased 
 God to destroy my ship, Imt my lif(! and my hopes 
 are spared. So are my stores and scientific 
 instruments. 1 intend, therefore, to carry out my 
 ori<j[inal purpose. I believe that former explorers 
 liave erred in some points of their procedure. 
 These errors T shall steer clear of. Former travel- 
 lers have ignored some facts, and despised some 
 appliances. These facts T will recognise; these 
 appliances I will utilise. Vrith a steam yacht, you, 
 my friends, who have shown so much enthusiasm 
 and courage up to this point, would have been of 
 the utmost service to me. As a party in boats, or 
 on foot, you would only hamper my movementa 
 T mean to prosecute this enterprise almost alone. 
 I shall join myself to the Eskimos." 
 
 He paused at this point as if in meditation. 
 Benjy, whose eyes and mouth had been gradually 
 opening to their widest, almost gasped with astonish- 
 ment as he glanced at his cousins, whose expressive 
 countenances were somewhat similarly affected. 
 
 "I have had some long talks," continued the 
 Captain, " with that big Eskimo Chingatok, through 
 our interpreter, and from what he says I believe my 
 chances of success are considerable. I am all tho 
 more confirmed in this resolution because of the 
 readiness and ability of my first mate to guide you 
 
OR POKINCH ROUND THK POLR. 
 
 05 
 
 the 
 )ugh 
 my 
 tho 
 the 
 you 
 
 out of tho Arcti(; rei^'ifJiiH, and your willinj^ncss to 
 trust him. Anders hiis agreed to go with nio as 
 inter])reter, and now, all 1 want is one other 
 man, because — " 
 
 " Put me down, fatlier," cried Bcnjy, in a hurst of 
 excitement — " / 'm your man." 
 
 *' Hush, lad," said the Captain with a little smile, 
 " of course I shall take you with niu and also your 
 two cousins, but I want one other man to complete 
 the party — but he must be a heartily willing maa 
 — who will volunteer ?** 
 
 There was silence for a few momenta. It was 
 broken by the doctor. 
 
 " I for one won't volunteer," he said, " for I 'm too 
 much shaken by this troublesome illness to think ol 
 such an expedition. If I were well it might be other- 
 wise, but perhaps some of the others will ofifer." 
 
 " You can't expect me to do so," said the mate, " for 
 I *ve got to guide our party home, as agreed on ; 
 besides, under any circumstances, I would not join 
 you, for it is simple madness. You '11 forgive me, 
 Captain. I mean no disrespect, but I have saOed 
 many years to these seas, and I know from experi- 
 ence that what you propose is beyond the power 
 of man to accomplish." 
 
 "Experience!" repeated the Captain, quiskly 
 " Has your experience extended further north than 
 this point ?" 
 
56 
 
 TlIE GUNT OF TU£ NOBTH 
 
 f ' 
 
 " No, sir, I have not been further iiortli than this 
 — nobody hm. It is beyond the utmost limit 
 yet reached, so far as 1 know." 
 
 " Well, then, you cannot speak from experience 
 about what I propose," said the Captain, turning 
 away. " Come, lads, I havd no wish to constrain 
 you, I merely give one of you the chance." 
 
 Still no one came forv ^rd. 'Ever/ man of the 
 crew of the Whitebear had had more or less personal 
 acquaintance with Arctic travel and danger. They 
 would have followed Captain Vart' anywhere in the 
 yacht, but evidently they had no taste for what he 
 was about to undertake. 
 
 At last one stepped to the front. It wa£. Butter- 
 face, the steward. This intensely black negro was 
 a bulky, powerful man, with a modest spirit and a 
 strange disbelief in his own capacities, though, in 
 truth, these were very considerable. He came for- 
 ward, stooping slightly, and rubbing his hands in a 
 deprecating manner. 
 
 "'Scuse me, maasa Gipting. PVaps it bery pre- 
 sumsheeous in dis yer chile for to speak afore his 
 betters, but as no oder man 'pears to want to volun- 
 teer, I 's Tvillin* to go in an' win. Ob course I aint 
 a man — on'y a nigger, but I 's a willin* nigger, an' 
 kin do a fev/ small tings — cook de grub, washup de 
 cups an' sarsers, pull a oar, clean yer boots, fight de 
 Eskimos ef you wants me to, an' ginrally to scrim- 
 
OK POKINGS UOUKD THE POLE. 
 
 67 
 
 mage around u'most anything. Moreover, I eata 
 no more dan a babby — 'sep wen I *8 hungry — an' 
 1 11 foUer you, massa, troo tick and tin — to de 
 Nort Pole, or de Sout Pole, or de East Pole, or de 
 West Pole— or any oder Pole wotsomediver — all 
 de same to Butterface, s' long's you'll let 'im stick 
 by you." 
 
 The crew could not help giving the negro a cheer 
 as he finished this loyal speech, and the Captain, 
 although he would ha ye preferred one of the other 
 men, gladly accepted his services. 
 
 A few days later the boats were ready and pro- 
 visioned; adieus were said, hats and handkerchiefs 
 waved, and soon after Oaptain Vane and his son and 
 two nephews, with Anders and Butterface, were left 
 to fight their battles alone, on the margin of an 
 imexploied, mysterious Polar sea 
 
 , ) 
 
 W 
 
 ii 
 
 il 
 
 %\^ 
 
 i il 
 
68 
 
 THE GIAMT OF TUE NORTH 
 
 CHATTER V. 
 
 LKrr TO THBIB FATS. 
 
 There are times, probably, in all conditions ot 
 life, when men feel a species of desolate sadness 
 creeping over their spirits, which they find it hard 
 to shake off or subdua Such a time arrived to our 
 Arctic adventurers the night after they had partod 
 from the crew of the wrecked Whitebear. Nearly 
 everything around, and much within, them was 
 calculated to foster that feeling. 
 
 They were seated on the rocky point on the 
 extremity of which their yacht had been driven. 
 Behind them were the deep ravines, broad valleys, 
 black beetling cliffs, grand mountains, stupendous 
 glaciers, and dreary desolation of Greenland. To 
 right and left, and in front of them, lay the chaotic 
 ice-pack of the Arctic sea, with lanes and pools of 
 water visible here and there like lines and spots of ink. 
 Icebergs innumerable rose against the sky, which at 
 the time was entirely covered with grey and gloomy 
 clouds. Gusts ot wind swept over the frozen waste 
 
^ 
 
 OK POKINGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 59 
 
 now and then, as if a squall which had recently 
 passed, were sighing at the thought of leaving any- 
 thing undestfoyed behind it. When we add to this, 
 that the wanderers were thinkingot" the comrades who 
 had just left them — the last link, as it were, with 
 the civilised world from which they were self-exiled, 
 of the unknown dangers and difficulties that lay 
 before them, and of the all but forlorn hope they had 
 undertaken, there need be little wonder that for 
 some time they all looked rather gi'ave, and were 
 dibposed to silence. 
 
 But life is made up of opposites, light and shade, 
 hard and soft, hot and cold, sweet and sour, for the 
 purpose, no doubt, of placing man between two 
 moral battledores so as to drive the weak and erring 
 shuttlecock of his will right and left, and thus keep 
 it in the middle course of rectitude. No sooner had 
 our adventurers sunk to the profoundest depths of 
 gloom, than the battledore of brighter influences 
 began to play upon them. It did not, however, 
 achieve the end at onca 
 
 " I'm in the lowest, bluest, dreariest, grumpiest, 
 and most utterly miserable state of mind I ever 
 was in in all my life," said poor little Benjy Vane, 
 thrusting his hands into his pockets, sitting down 
 on a rock, and gazing round on the waste wilderness, 
 which had only just ceased howling, the very pep 
 Bonification of despair. 
 
 I, 
 
 If 
 
 I ^1 
 
 ■ t 
 
 4 
 
 ■ ti 
 
60 
 
 TUE GIANT OF TIIB NOKTH 
 
 "So's I, massa," said IJutterface, looking up from 
 a couipound of wet coal aud driftwood wiiich he had 
 been vainly trying to coax into a tlanie for cooking 
 purposes ; " I's moet 'orribly miserable !" 
 
 There was a beaming grin on the negro's visage 
 tliat gave the lie direct to his worda 
 
 " That's always the way with you, Benjy," said 
 the Captain, " either bubblin' over with jollity an' 
 mischief, or down in th^ deepest blues." 
 
 " Blues ! father," cried the boy, " don't talk of 
 blues — it's the blacks I'm in, the very blackest of 
 blacks." 
 
 " Ha ! jus* like me," muttered Butterface, sticking 
 out his thick lips at ihe unwilling fire, and giving a 
 blow that any grampus might have envied. 
 
 The result was that a column of almost solid 
 smoke, which had been for some time rising thicker 
 and thicker from the coals, burst into a bright 
 flame. This was the first of the sweet influences 
 before referred to. 
 
 " Mind your wool, Flatnose," cried Benjy, as the 
 negro drew quickly back. 
 
 It- may be remarked here that the mysterious bond 
 of sympathy which united the spirits of Benjy 
 Vane and the black steward found expression in 
 kindly respect on the part of the man, and in 
 various eccentric courses on the part of the boy— 
 among others, in a habit of patting him on the 
 
OR POKTNOR TIOTTND TIIF, TOIZ. 
 
 6j 
 
 
 -T 
 » 
 
 "/'■ 
 
 ^ 
 
 })fink, and givinjj him a clioice selection of impromptu 
 names, such as ]ilack-mug, Yellow-eyes, Square-jaws, 
 and the like. 
 
 " What have you got in the kettle ?" asked I^eo 
 Vandervell, T;ho came up with some dry driftwood 
 at the moment. 
 
 " Bubbleumsqueak," replied the cook. 
 
 "What sort o' squeak is that?" asked Leo, as he 
 bent his tall strong frame over the fire to investi- 
 gate the contents of the kettle. 
 
 "What am it, massa? Why, it am a bit o' salt 
 pork, an' a bit o' dat bear you shooted troo de noso 
 yes'rday, an' a junk o* walrus, an' two puffins, an* 
 Bome injin corn, a leetil pepper, an' a leetil salt." 
 
 "Good, that sounds well," said Leo. "I'll go 
 fetch you some more driftwood, for it'll take a deal 
 of boiling, that will, to make it eatable." 
 
 The driftwood referred to was merely some 
 pieces of the yacht which had been cabt ashore by 
 the hurly-burly of ice and water that had occurred 
 during the last tide. No other species of driftwood 
 was to be found on that coast, for the neighbouring 
 region was utterly destitute of trees. 
 
 " Where has Alf gone to ?" asked the Captain, as 
 Leo was moving away. 
 
 " Oh, he's looking for plants and shells, as usual," 
 answered Leo, with a smile. " You know his heart 
 i.s set upon these tilings." 
 
 
 
 • I 
 
 1^1 
 
62 
 
 TIIK GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 "He'll have to set his heart on helping wi* the 
 carj];o .'il'tor supper," said the Captain, drawing a small 
 note-book and pencil from his ]>ocket. 
 
 A few more of the sweet and reviving influences 
 of life now began to circle round the wanderers. 
 Among them was the savoury odour that arose 
 from the pot of bubbleumsqueak, also the improved 
 appearance of the sky. 
 
 It was night, almost midnight, nevertheless the 
 sun was blazing in the heavens, and as the storm- 
 clouds had rolled away like a dark curtain, his 
 cheering rays were by that time gilding the ice- 
 bergs, and rendering the land-cliffs ruddily. The 
 tiavellers had enjoyed perpetual daylight for several 
 weeks already, and at that high latitude they could 
 count on many more to come. By the time supper 
 was ready, the depressing influences were gone, and 
 the spirits of all had recovered their wonted tone. 
 Indeed it was not to the discredit of the party that 
 they were so much cast down on that occasion, for 
 the parting, perhaps for ever, from the friends 
 with whom they had hitherto voyaged, had much 
 more to do with their sadness than surrounding 
 circumstances or future trials. 
 
 " What plan do you intend to follow out, uncle?" 
 asked Alphonse Vandervell, as they sat at supper 
 that night round the kettle. 
 
 " That depends on many things, lad," replied the 
 
\r 
 
 OR rOKINOS ROUND THK POI.K. 
 
 63 
 
 f 
 
 Captain, laying down his spoon, anil leaning his 
 oaclc against a convenient rock. " If the ico moves 
 off, I shall adopt one course ; if it holds fast 1 sliall 
 try another. Then, if you insist on gathering and 
 carrying along with you such pocket4oads of 
 specimens, plants, rocks, etc., as you've brought in 
 this evening, I'll have to build a sort of Noah's 
 ark, or omnibus on sledge runners, to carry 
 them." 
 
 " jknd suppose I don't insist on carrying these 
 things, what then ?" 
 
 "Well," replied the Captain, "in that case I 
 would — well, let me«*ee -a little moie of the bubble, 
 Benjy." 
 
 " Wouldn't you rather some of the squeak ?" 
 asked the boy. 
 
 " Both, lad, both — some of everything. Well, as 
 I was saying — and you've a right to know what's 
 running in my head, seeing that you have to help 
 me carry out the plans — I'll give you a rough 
 notion of 'em." 
 
 The Captain became more serious as he explained 
 his plans. " The Eskimos, you know," he continued, 
 " have gone by what I may call the shore ice., two 
 days' journey in xdvance of this spot, taking our 
 dogs along with them. It was my intention to 
 have proceeded to the same point in our yacht, and 
 there, if the sea was open, to have taken on board 
 
 10 
 
64 
 
 TnR OTA NT OP TTTT? NORTH 
 
 ) ',{ 
 
 that mftf^Tiificent P>kimo ^/mut, (^hinf»atok, with his 
 family, and steered away due north. In the event 
 of the pack heinj; impassable, I had intended to 
 have laid the yacht up in seme safe harbour; 
 hunted and fished until we had a ptocV of dried and 
 salt/. '^ provisions, enrngh ; In > t t yo years, and 
 then to have startcu northwiju m sT?dges, under the 
 guidance of Chingatok, witli -i £ev nicked men, 
 leaving the rest and the yacht in charge ».f the mate. 
 The wreck of the Whitebear has, however, forced me 
 to modify these plans. I shall now secure as much 
 of our cargo as we have been able to save, and leave 
 it here en cache — " 
 
 "What sort of cash is that, father V* asked Benjy. 
 
 "You are the best linguist among us, Jjbo, tell 
 him," said the Captain, turning to his nephew. 
 
 **'En cache' is French for 'in hiding,'" returned 
 Leo, with a laugh. 
 
 "Why do you speak French to Englishmen, 
 father?" said Benjy in a pathetic tone, but with a 
 pert look. 
 
 " 'Cause the expression is a common one on this 
 side the Atlantic, lad, and you ought to know it. 
 Now, don't interrupt me again. Well, having 
 placed the cargo in security " (" En cacJie " muttered 
 ]ienjy with a glance at Butterface), " I shall rig up 
 the sledges brought from England, load them wil.h 
 what we require, and follow up the Eskimos. You're 
 
^"5 
 
 # 
 
 OR P0KIN08 ROUND THE POTB. 
 
 66 
 
 re 
 
 Biire, Anilers, hat you undp"n9tood Chingatok's 
 description oi th i place ?" 
 
 The interpre: t declared that he was quite suro. 
 
 "After tha>," resumed the '"Captain, "I'll act 
 according to the information the said Eskimos can 
 give me. 1)' yo know, I have a strong suspicion 
 that our Arctic giant Chingatok is a philosopher, if 
 I may judge from one or two questions he put 
 and observations he made when we first met He 
 says he has come from a fine country which lies 
 far — very far — to the north of this ; so far that I 
 feel quite interested and hopeful about it. I expecfc 
 to have more talk with him soon on the subject 
 A little more o' the bubble, lad ; really, Butterfaco, 
 your powers in the way of cookery are wonderful." 
 
 " Chingatok seems to me quite a remarkable 
 fellow for an Eskimo," observed Leo, scraping the 
 bottom of the kettle with his spoon, and looking 
 inquiringly into it " I, too, had some talk with him 
 — through Anders — when we first met, and from 
 what he said I can't help thinking that he has come 
 from the remote north solely on a voyage of discovery 
 into what must be to him the unknown regions of 
 the south. Evidently he has an inquiring mind." 
 
 " Much like yourself, Leo, to judge from the way 
 you peer into that kettle," said Benjy ; " please don't 
 scrape the bottom out of it. There 'a not much 
 tin to mend it with, you know, in these regions." 
 
 
 m 
 
66 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 "Brass will do quite as well," retorted Leo, 
 " and there can be no lack of that while you are 
 here." 
 
 "Come now, Benjy," said Alf, "that insolent 
 remark should put you on your mettle." 
 
 " So it does, but I won't open my lips, because I 
 feel that I should speak iron-ically if I were to 
 reply," returned the boy, gazing dreamily into the 
 quiet countenance of the steward. " What are you 
 thinking of, you lump of charcoal ?" 
 
 " Me, massa ? me tink dere 'pears to be room for 
 more wittles inside ob me ; but as all de grub *s 
 eated up, p Yaps it would be as well to be goin' an" 
 tacklin' suffin' else now." 
 
 "You're right, Butterface," cried the Captain, 
 rousing himself from a reverie. " What say you, 
 comrades ? Shall we turn in an' have a nap ? It 's 
 past midnight." 
 
 " I 'm not inclined for sleep," said Alf, looking 
 up from some of the botanical specimens he had 
 collected. 
 
 " No more am I," said Leo, lifting up his arms 
 and stretching his stalwart frame, which, notwith- 
 standing his youth, had already developed to 
 almost the full proportions of a powerful man. 
 
 " I vote that we sit up all night," said Benjy, 
 "the sun does it, and why shouldn't we ?" 
 
 " Well, I 've no objection," rejoined the Captain, 
 
 -Hi 
 alon( 
 Se 
 shou 
 aroui 
 porte 
 whit 
 Benj; 
 of an 
 with 
 bum( 
 
»f 
 
 OR I'OKINGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 67 
 
 "V'it we must work if wc don't sleep—so, come 
 along." 
 
 SeLtin;^ the example, Captain Vane began to 
 shoulder tlie hags and boxes which lay scattered 
 around with the energy of an enthusiastic railway 
 porter. The other members of the party were not a 
 whit behind him in diligence and energy. Even 
 Benjy, delicate-looking though he was, did the work 
 of an average; man, besides enlivening the proceedings 
 with snatches of song and a flow of small talk of a 
 humorous and slightly insolent nature. 
 
 
 'if 
 
68 
 
 THJS GIANT OF THE NOKTO 
 
 CHArTKR VL 
 
 VOTUBR PLAIfR DISCnSBSD AND DKCIDKD. 
 
 Away to the nortliward of the spot where the 
 Whitebear had been wrecked there stretched a point 
 of land far out into the Arctic Ocean. It was about 
 thirty miles distant, and loomed hugely bluff and 
 grand against the brilliant sky, as if it were the 
 forefront of the northern world. No civilised eyes 
 had ever beheld that land before. Captain Vane 
 knew that, because it lay in latitude 83° north, 
 which was a little beyond the furthest point 
 yet reached by Arctic navigators. He therefore 
 named it Cape Newhope. Benjy thought that it 
 should have been named Butterface-beak, becL upe 
 the steward had been the first to observe it, but his 
 father thought otherwise. 
 
 About three miles to the northward of this point 
 of land the Eskimos were encamped. According to 
 arrangement with the white men they had gone 
 there, as we have oaid, in charge of the dogs brought 
 by Captain Vane from Upernavik, as these 
 
*»' 
 
 H 
 
 OR rOKIXCH ROUND TIIK I'OI.F. 
 
 69 
 
 animals, il wiis thoDghl, stoud much in iiuud uf 
 exercise. 
 
 Here the iiiitiveM had foiiml uml tukuii poosesHiun 
 of a numljcr uf deserted Eskimo liiits. 
 
 These rudo buildings were the abodes to whicli 
 the good people migrated wlien summer heat became 
 80 groat as to render their suow-huts sloppily 
 disagreeable. 
 
 In one of the huts sat Chingatok, his arms rest- 
 ing on his knees, his huge hands clasped, and 
 his intelligent eyes fixed dreamily on the lamp- 
 flame, over which his culinary mother was bending 
 in busy sincerity. There were many points of 
 character in which this remarkable mother and son 
 resembled each other. Both were earnest — intensely 
 so — and each was enthusiastically eager about 
 small matters as well as great. In short, they both 
 possessed great though uncultivated minds. 
 
 The hut they occupied was in some respects as 
 remarkable as themselves. It measui-ed about six 
 feet in height and ten in diameter. The walls were 
 made of flattish stoneG, moss, and the bones of seals, 
 whales, narwhals, and other Arctic creatures. The 
 stones were laid so that each ' verlapped the one 
 below it, a very little inwards, an I thus the walls 
 approached each otlier gradually as they rose from 
 the foundation ; the top being finally closed by slabs 
 of blate stone. Similar stones covered the floor— 
 
 II 
 
 t ' 
 
 
70 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NOKTH 
 
 one half of which floor was raised a foot or so nbove 
 the other, and this raised half served for a seat by 
 day as well as a couch by night. On it were spread 
 a thick layer of dried moss, and several seal, dog, 
 and bear skins. Smaller elevations in the corners 
 near the entrance served for seahs. The door was a 
 cur; ain of sealskin. Above it was a small window, 
 glazed, so to speak, with strips of semi-transparent 
 dried intestines sewed together. 
 
 Toolooha's cooking-lamp was made of soapstone, 
 formed iike a clam-shell, and about eight inches in 
 d.ameter ; the fuel was seal- oil, and the wick was 
 of moss. It smoked considerably, but Eskimos are 
 smoke-proof. The pot above it, suspended from the 
 roof, was also made of soapstone. Sealskins hung 
 about the walls drying; oily mittens, socks and 
 boots were suspended about on pegs and racks of 
 rib-bones. Lumps of blubber hung and lay about 
 miscellaneously. Odours, not savoury, were there- 
 fore prevalent— but Eskimos are smell-proof. 
 
 "Mother," said the giant, raising his eyes from 
 uhs flame to his parent's smoke-encircled visage, 
 " they are a most wonderful people, these Kablunets , 
 Blackbeard is a great man — a grand man — but I 
 think he is — " 
 
 Chingatok paused, shook his head, and touched 
 his forehead with a look of significance worthy of a 
 wliitt man. 
 
— ^. 
 
 1* 
 
 OR I'OKLVGS ROUND THE ro:.E. 
 
 71 
 
 " "Why think you so, my son ?" asked the old 
 woman, sneezing, as a denser cloud than usual went 
 up lier nose. 
 
 " Because he has come here to search for nothing." 
 
 " Nothing, my son ?" 
 
 " Yes — at least that is what he tried to explain 
 to me. Perhaps the interpreter could not explain. 
 He is not a smart man, that interpreter. He re- 
 sembles a walrus w^itli his brain scooped out He 
 spoke much, but I could not understand." 
 
 " Could not understand ? " repeated Toolooha, 
 with an incredulous look, " let not Chingatok say so. 
 Is there anything that passes the lips of man which 
 he cannot understand ?" 
 
 " Truly, mother, I once thought there was not," 
 replied the giant, with a modest look, " but I am 
 mistaken. The Kablunets make me stare and feel 
 foolish." 
 
 " But it is not possible to search for nothing" 
 urged Toolooha. 
 
 " So I said," replied her son, " but BJackbeard only 
 laughed at me." 
 
 '* Did he ?" cried the mother, with a much 
 relieved expression, " then let your mind rest, my 
 son, for Blackboard must be a fool if he laughed 
 at you." 
 
 " Blackbeard is no fool," replied Chingatok. 
 
 " Has he not come to search for new lands fwre, 
 
 11 
 
 U 
 
 
72 
 
 TUE GIANT OF TUK NOKTH 
 
 as you went to search for them there?" asked 
 Toolooha, pointing alternately north and south. 
 
 "No — if I have understood him. Perhaps the 
 brainless walrus translated his words wrongly." 
 
 "Is the thing he searches for something to eat?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 " Something to drink or wear ? " 
 
 " No, I toll you. It is nothing ! Yet he gives it 
 a name. He calls it Nort Pole !" 
 
 Perhaps it is needless to remind the reader that 
 Chingatok and his mother conversed in their native 
 tongue, which we have rendered as literally as 
 possible, and that the last two words were his broken 
 EngUsh for "North Pole"! 
 
 "Nort Pole 1" repeated Toolooha once or twice 
 contemplatively. " Well, he may s(3arch for nothing 
 if he will, but that he cannot find." 
 
 "Nay, mother," returned the giant with a soft smile, 
 " if he will search for nothing he is sure to find it !" 
 
 Chingatok sighed, for his mother d"d not see the 
 joke. 
 
 " Blackbeard," he continued with a grave, puzzled 
 manner, " said that this world on which we stand 
 floats, in the air like a bird, and spins round !" 
 
 " Then Blackbeard is a liar," said Toolooha quietly, 
 though without a thought of being rude. Slie 
 merely meant what she said, and said what she 
 meant, being a naturally candid woman. 
 
It 
 
 on roKiNoa kounu tue pole. 
 
 73 
 
 •* That may be so, mother but I tliink not." 
 
 "How can the world float without wings?" 
 demanded the old woman indignantly. " If it 
 spinned should we not feel the spinning, and grow 
 giddy?" 
 
 "And IJlackbeard says," continued the giant, 
 regardless of the questions propounded, " that it 
 spins round upon this NuH Fole, which he say.s is 
 not a real thing, but only nothing. I asked 
 Blackbeard — How can a world spin upon nothing?" 
 
 ** And what said he to that ? " demanded Toolooha 
 quickly. 
 
 " He only laughed. They all laughed whon the 
 brainless walrus put my question. There is one 
 little boy — the son I think of Blackbeard — who 
 laughed more than all the rest He lay down on 
 the ice to laugh, and rolled about as if he had the 
 bowel-twist." 
 
 "That son of Blackbeard must be a fool more 
 than his father," said Toolooha, casting a look of 
 indignation at her innocent kettle. 
 
 " Perhaps ; but he is not like his father," returned 
 Chingatok meekly. "There are two other chiefs 
 among the Kablunets who seem to me fine men. 
 Tliey are very young and wise. They have learned 
 a little of our tongue from the Brainless One, and 
 asked me some questions about the rocks, and the 
 moss, and the flowers. They uio tall and atiung. 
 
 ^i 
 
 lit 
 
 5:1 ■ 
 
 !''!ff 
 
74 
 
 TDE GIANT OF THE NOItTH 
 
 i ; 
 
 ( ; 
 
 J- 
 
 One of them is very f:^ve and seems to think much, 
 like myself. He also spoke of this Nothing — this 
 Nort Pole. They are all mad, 1 think, about that 
 thing — that Nothing !" 
 
 The conversation was interrupted at this point 
 by the sudden entrance of the giant's little sister 
 with the news that the Kablunets were observed 
 coming round the great cape, dragging a sledge. 
 
 " Is not the big oomiak with them ? " asked her 
 brother, rising quickly. 
 
 "No, we see no oomiak — no wings — no fire," 
 answered Oblooria, " only six men dragging a 
 sledge." 
 
 Chingatok went out immediately, and Oblooria 
 was about to follow when her mother recalled her. 
 
 " Come here, little one. There is a bit of blub- 
 ber for you to suck Tell me, saw you any sign 
 of madness in these white men when they were 
 talking with your brother about this — this — Noit 
 Pole." 
 
 " No, mother, no," answered Oblooria thought- 
 fully, " I saw not madness. They laughed much, it 
 is true — but not more than Oolichuk laughs some- 
 times. Yes — I think again ! There was one who 
 seems mad — the small boy, whom brother thinks 
 to be tb«i son of Blackbeard — Benjay, they call 
 him." 
 
 "Hah! 1 c'lougiit so," exclaimed Toolooha, 
 
'H 
 
 OB POKINGS ROUND TJIE POLE. 
 
 75 
 
 evideully pleased at her penetration on tliis point. 
 " Go, child, I cannot quit the lamp. Bring me news 
 of \vi»at they say and do." 
 
 Oblooria obeyed with alacrity, bolting her strip 
 of half-cooked blubber as she ran ; her mother 
 meanwhile gave her undivided attention to the 
 duties of the lamp. 
 
 The white men and all the members of the 
 Eskimo band were standing by the sledge engaged 
 in earnest conversation when the little girl came 
 forward. Captain Vane was speaking. 
 
 " Yes, Chingatok," he said, looking up a the tall 
 savage, who stood erect in frame but with bent head 
 and his hands clasped before him, like a modest 
 chief, which in truth he was. "Yes, if you will 
 guide me to your home in the northern lands, I will 
 pay you well — for I have much iron and wood and 
 such things as I think you wish for and value, and 
 you shall also have my best thanks and gratitude. 
 The latter may not indeed be worth much, but, 
 nevertheless, you could not purchase it with all the 
 wealth of the Polar regions." 
 
 Chingatok looked with penetrating gaze at 
 Anders while he translated, and, considering the 
 nature of the communication, the so-called Brain- 
 less One proved himself a better man than the 
 giant gave him credit for. 
 
 " Does Blackbeard," asked Chingatok, after u few 
 
 ii 
 
 it 
 
 in 
 
 Or } 
 
 
76 
 
 TUE GIANT OF THE NOUTII 
 
 aecoiids' thought, •* expect uj fmd thia Nothing — 
 this Norl Pole, iu my country ?" 
 
 " Well, I cannot exactly say that 1 do," replied 
 the Captain; " you see, I 'in not quite sure, from what 
 you tell me, where your country is. It may not 
 reach to the Pole, but it is enough for me that it lies 
 in that direction, and that you tell me there is much 
 open water there. Men of my nation have been 
 in these regions before now, and some of them have 
 said that the Polar Sea is open, others that it is 
 covered always with ice so thick that it never melts. 
 Some have said it is a ' sea of ancient ice ' so rough 
 that no man can travel over it, and that it is not 
 possible to reach the North Pole. I don't agree with 
 that. I had been led to expect to fall in with this 
 sea of ancient ice before I had got thus far, but it is 
 not to be found. The sea indeed is partly blocked 
 with ordinary ice, but there is nothing to be seen 
 of this vast collection of mighty blocks, some of 
 them thirty feet high — this wild chaos of ice which 
 so effectually stopped some of those who went 
 before me." 
 
 This speech put such brains as the Brainless One 
 possessed to a severe test, and, after all, he failed to 
 convey its full meaning to Chingatok, who, however, 
 promptly replied to such portions as he understood. 
 
 " What Blackbeard calls the sea ol old ice does 
 exist/' he said ; " 1 have seen it. No man uould 
 
■> - 
 
 I* 
 
 OR POKINOS ROUND Tin: POLK 
 
 77 
 
 11 
 m 
 
 travel on it, only the birds can cross it. But ice is 
 not land. It changes jilace. It is here to day ; it 
 is there to-mono w. Next day it is j^one. We 
 cannot tell where it goes to or when it will come 
 back. The very old ice comes back again and 
 again. It is slow to become like your j.."ort Pole — 
 nothing. But it melts at last and more comes in 
 its place — growing old slowly and vanishing slowly. 
 It is full of wonder — like the stars ; like the jump- 
 ing flames ; like the sun and moon, which we can 
 not understand." 
 
 Chiugatok paused and looked upwards with a 
 solemn expression. His mind had wandered into 
 its favourite channels, and for the moment he forgot 
 the main subject of conversation, while the white 
 men regarded him with some surprise, his comrades 
 with feelings of interest not unmingled with awe. 
 
 " But," he continued, " I know where the sea of 
 ancient ice-blocks is just now. I came past it in 
 my kayak, and can guide you to it by the same 
 way." 
 
 " That is just what I want, Chingatok," said the 
 Captain with a joyful look, " only aid me in this 
 matter, and I will reward you well. I 've already 
 told you tliat my ship is wrecked, and that the crew, 
 except those you see here, have left me ; but I have 
 saved all the cargo and buried it in a place of 
 security witli the exception of those things which 
 
78 
 
 THE GIANT OP THE NOKTU 
 
 I need for my expedition. One half of these things 
 are on this sledge,— the other half on a sledge left 
 behind and ready packed near the wreck. Now, I 
 want you to send men to fetch that sledge here." 
 
 " That shall be done," said Chingatok. 
 
 " Thanks, thanks, my good fellow," returned the 
 Captain " and we must set about it at once, for tie 
 summer is advancing, and you know as well as I do 
 that the hot season is but a short one in these 
 regions." 
 
 " A moment more shall not be lost," said the 
 giant. 
 
 He turned to Oolichuk, who had been leaning on 
 a short. sDear, and gazing open-mouthed, eyed, and 
 eared, during the foregoing conversation, and said 
 a few words to him and to the other Eskimos in a 
 low tone. 
 
 Oolichuk merely rodded his head, said " Yah !** 
 or something similarly significant, shouldered his 
 spear and went off in the direction of the Cape of 
 Newhope, followed by nearly all the men of the 
 party." 
 
 " Stay, not quite so fast," cried Captain Vane. 
 
 " Stop !" shouted Chingatok. 
 Oolichuk and his men paused. 
 
 " One of us had better go with them," said the 
 Captain, " to show the place where the sledge has 
 been left" 
 
 no 
 
 Th 
 
(* 
 
 OR POKINOS ROUND Till', VtY.M. 
 
 70 
 
 " I will go, uncle, if you '11 allow me," saiU Loo 
 Vaudervell. 
 
 " Oh ! let me go too, father," pleaded lieTijy, " I 'm 
 not a bit tired ; do." 
 
 " You may both go. Take a rifle with you, Leo. 
 There *?, no saying what you may meet on the way." 
 
 In half-an-hour the party under Oolichuk had 
 reached the extremity of the cape, and Captain Vane 
 observed that his volatile son mounted to the top 
 of an ice-block to wave a farewell. He looked like 
 a black speck, or a crow, in the far distance. 
 Another moment, and the speck had disappeai-ed 
 taxioxm the hummocks of the ice- locked acM. 
 
 N 
 
 ll 
 
 II 
 
 ,m 
 
 
80 
 
 TUB OLLNT OF TUB NOUTH 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 DnnctrLTiEs kncountered akd faceti. 
 
 Tliny had not quite doubled the Cape of Newliope, 
 ftnd *vere about to round the point which concealed 
 the s])ot that had been named Wreck Bay, when 
 thoy suddenly found themselves face to face with a 
 Polar bear ! 
 
 Bruin was evidently out for an evening stroll, for 
 he seemed to have nothing particular to do. 
 
 Surprise lit up alike the countenances of the men 
 and the visage of the bear. It was an unexpected 
 meeting on both sides. The distance between them 
 was not more than thirty feet. Leo was the only 
 one of the party who carried a rifle. More than once 
 during the voyage had Leo seen and shf»t a bear. 
 The sight was not new to him, but never before had 
 he come so suddenly, or so very close, upon this king 
 of the Arctic Seas. He chanced at the time to be 
 walking a few yards in advance of the party in com- 
 pany with Oolichuk and P«enjy. 
 
 The three stopped, stared, and stood as if petrified 
 
«l 
 
 OR rOKINOS ROUND TUB ViM.Y\ 
 
 fil 
 
 for one inoincnt, tlum tlicy uttered a united and liidf 
 involuntjirv roar. 
 
 Ki^lit ruyally did that Ix-ar accept the challtMi'^e. 
 It rose, according to custom, on its liind legs, und 
 immediately hegan tiiat slow, but deadly war- dance 
 with which the race is wont to preface an attack, 
 whll*^ its upper lip curled in apparent derision, 
 exposing its terrible fangs. 
 
 Leo recovered self-possession instantly. Tho rifle 
 leaped to his shoulder, the centre of the bear's breast 
 was covered, and the trigger pulled. 
 
 Only a snap resulted. Leo had forgotten to load! 
 Benjy gasped with anxiety Oolichuk, who had held 
 himself back with a sparkling smile of expectation 
 at the prospect of seeing the Kablunet use his 
 thunder- weapon, looked surprised and disappointed, 
 but went into action promptly with his spear, 
 accompanied by Akeetolik. Leo's rifle, being a 
 breech-loader, was quickly re-charged, but as tho rest 
 of the party stood leaning on their spears with the 
 evident intention of merely watching the combat, tho 
 youth resolved to hold his hand, despite Benjy's 
 earnest recommendation to put one ball between the 
 bear's eyes, and the other into his stomach. 
 
 It was but a brief though decisive battle. Those 
 Eskimos were well used to such warfare. 
 
 Itunning towards the animal with levelled spears, 
 the two men separated on coming close, so that Bruiu 
 
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 THE OIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
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 was forced to a state of indecision as to which enemy 
 he would assail first. Akeetolik settled the point 
 for him by giving him a prick on the right side, thus, 
 as it were, drawing the enemy's fire on himself. 
 The bear turned towards him with a fierce growl, and 
 in so doing, exposed his left side to attack. Oolichuk 
 was not slow to seise the opportunity. He leaped 
 close up, and drove his spear deep into the animal's 
 heart — ^killing it on the spot. 
 
 Next day the party returned to the Eskimo camp 
 with the sledge-load of goods, and the bear on the 
 top. 
 
 While steaks of the same were being prepared by 
 Toolooha, Captain Vane and his new allies were busy 
 discussing the details of the advance. 
 
 " I know that the difficulties will be great," he 
 said, in reply to a remark from the interpreter, " but 
 I mean to &ce and overcome them." 
 
 "Ah!" exclaimed Alf, who was rather fend of 
 poetry : — 
 
 "To dare unknown dangers in a noble cause, 
 Despite an adverse Nature and her tiresome Laws.** 
 
 " Just SO, Alf, my boy, stick at nothing ; never 
 give in ; victory or death, that 's my way of express- 
 ing the same sentiment But there 's one thing that 
 I must impress once more upon you all — namely, 
 that each man must reduce his kit to the very lowest 
 point of size and weight. No extras allowed." 
 
 («. 
 
I*> 
 
 lever 
 
 )ress- 
 
 that 
 
 lely, 
 
 )west 
 
 OR POKINOS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 83 
 
 " "WTiat, not even a box of paper collars ?" asked 
 Benjy. 
 
 •* Not one, my boy, but you may take a strait- 
 waistcoat in your box if you choose, for you 11 be 
 sure to need it." 
 
 " Oh ! father," returned the boy, remonstratively, 
 " you are severe. However, I will take one, if you 
 agree to leave your woollen comforter behind. You 
 won't need that, you see, as long as I am with 
 yuu." 
 
 "Of course," said Alf, "you will allow us to 
 cany small libraries with us ?" 
 
 " Certainly not, my lad, only one book each, and 
 that must be a small one." 
 
 " The only book T possess is my Bible," said Leo, 
 "and that won't take up much room, for it's an 
 uncommonly small one." 
 
 " If I only had my Eobinson Crusoe here," cried 
 Benjy, "I'd take it, for there's enough of adven- 
 ture in that book to carry a man over half the 
 world." 
 
 " Ay," said Alf, " and enough of mind to carry him 
 over the other half. For my part, if we must be 
 content with one book each, I shall take Buzzby's 
 poems." 
 
 "Oh! horrible!" cried Benjy, "why, he's no 
 better than a maudlin,' dawdlin,' drawlin,' cater- 
 wauliu* " 
 
 
 i 
 
84 
 
 THE niAST OF THI NOItTH 
 
 i '!■ 
 
 "Come, Benjy, don't be insolent; he's second 
 only to Tennyson. Just listen to this morceau by 
 Buzzby It is an Ode to Courage : — 
 
 ' High I hot ! hillarious compound of ' " 
 
 " Stop ! stop ! man, don't begin when we 're in the 
 middle of our plans," interrupted Benjy, "let ua 
 hear what book Butterface means to take." 
 
 " I not take no book, massa, only take my flute. 
 Music is wot 's de matter wid me. Dat is de ting 
 what hab charms to soove de savage beast." 
 
 " I wouldn't advise you try to soothe a Polar bear 
 with it," said Leo, " unless you have a rifle handy." 
 
 " Yes — and especially an unloaded one, which in 
 very eflective against Polar bears," put in the Captain, 
 with a sly look. " Ah ! Leo, I could hardly have 
 beKeved it of you — and you the sportsman of our 
 party, too ; our chief huntsman. Oh, fie I" 
 
 " Come, uncle, don't be too hard on that little 
 mistake," said Leo, with a slight blush, for he wai 
 really annoyed by the unsportsmanlike oversight 
 hinted at ; " but pray, may I ask," he added, turn- 
 ing sharply on the Captain, " what is inside of these 
 three enormous boxes of yours which take up so 
 much space on the sledges ? " 
 
 " You may ask, Leo, but you may not expect an 
 answer. That is my secret, and I mean to keep it 
 as a sort of stimulus to your spirits when the hard- 
 ships of the way begin to tell on you. Ask 
 
OR P0KING8 ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 9w 
 
 Chingatok, Anders," continued the Captain, taming 
 to the interpreter, "if he thinks we have enough 
 provisions collected for the journey. I wish to start 
 immediately." 
 
 "We have enough," answered Chingatok, who 
 had been sitting a silent, but deeply interested 
 observer — so to speak— of the foregoing conversation. 
 
 " Tell him, then, to arrange with his party, and be 
 prepared to set out by noon to-morrow.** 
 
 That night, by the light of the midnight sun, the 
 Eskimos sat round their kettles of bear-chops, and 
 went into the pros and cons of the proposed expe- 
 dition. Some were enthusiastically in favour of 
 casting in their lot with the white men, others were 
 decidedly against it, and a few were undecided. 
 Among the latter was Akeetolik. 
 
 " These ignorant men," said that bold savi^e, '* are 
 foolish and useless. They cannot kill bears. The 
 one named Lo (thus was Leonard's name reduced to 
 its lowest denomination) is big enough, and looks 
 very fine, but when he sees bear he only stares, 
 makes a little click with his thunder- weapon, and 
 looks stupid." 
 
 "Blackbeard explained that," said Oolichuk; "Lo 
 made some mistake." 
 
 " That may be so," retorted Akeetolik, " but if you 
 and me had not been there, the bear would not 
 make a mistake." 
 
I 
 
 t - 
 
 ; i 
 
 . I 
 
 TIIE GIANT OK THE NORTH 
 
 " I will not go with these Kablunets," said Eemerk 
 with a frown, "they are only savages. They are 
 not taught. No doubt they had a wonderful boat, 
 but they have not been able to keep their boat 
 They cannot kill bears ; perhaps they cannot kill 
 seals or walruses, and they ask us to help them to 
 travel — ^to show them the way! They can do 
 nothing. They must be led like children. My 
 advice is to kill them all, since they are so useless, 
 and take their goods." 
 
 This speech was received with marks of decided 
 approval by those of the party who were in the 
 habit of siding with Eemerk, but the rest were 
 silent. In a few moments Chingatok said, in a low, 
 quiet, but impressive tone : " The Kablunets are not 
 foolish or ignorant. Th^ are wise — far beyond 
 the wisdom of the Eskimos. It is Eemerk who is 
 like a walrus without brains. He thinks that his 
 little mind is outside of everything, and so he has 
 not eyes to perceive that he is ignorant as weU 
 as foolish, and that other men are wise." 
 
 This was the severest rebuke that the good- 
 natured Chingatok had yet administered to Eemerk, 
 but the latter, foolish though he was, had wisdom 
 enough not to resent it openly. He sat in moody 
 silence, with his eyes fixed on the ground. 
 
 Of course Oolichuk was decidedly in favour of 
 joining the white men, and so was Ivitchuk, who 
 
OR POKINGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 87 
 
 soon brought round hia hesitating friend Akeetolik, 
 and several of the others. Oblooria, being timid, 
 would gladly have sided with Eemerk, but she 
 hated the man, and, besides, would in any case have 
 cast in her lot with her mother and brother, even if 
 free to do otherwise. 
 
 The fair Tekkona, whose courage and faith were 
 naturally strong, had only one idea, and that was to 
 follow cheerfully wherever Chingatok led ; but she 
 was very modest, and gave no opinion. She merely 
 remarked : " The Kablunets are handsome men, 
 and seem good." 
 
 As for Tnolooha, she had enough to do to attend 
 to the serious duties of the lamp, and always left 
 the settlement of less important matters to the 
 men. 
 
 " You and yours are free to do what you please," 
 said Chingatok to Eemerk, when the discussion 
 drew to a close. "I go with the whit" men to- 
 morrow." 
 
 "What says Oblooria?" whispered Oolichuk 
 when the rest of the party were listening to 
 Eemerk's reply. 
 
 "Oblooria goes with her brother and mother," 
 answered that young lady, toying coquettishly with 
 her sealskin tail. 
 
 Oolichuk's good-humoured visage bean.ed with 
 satisfaction, and his flat nose curled up — as muob 
 
 |i| 
 
 :« 1 i 
 
(M 
 
 M 
 
 THE GIANT OF TIIE NOIITH 
 
 1 i 
 
 as it was possible for such a feature to curl — with 
 contempt, as he glanced at Eemerk and said — 
 
 "I have heard many tales from Anders — the 
 white man's mouthpiece — since we met. He tells 
 me the white men are very brave and fond of 
 running into danger for nothing but fun. Those 
 who do not like the fun of danger should join 
 Eemerk. Those who are fond of fun and danger 
 should come with our great chief Ghingatok — huk I 
 Let us divide." 
 
 Without more palaver the band divided, and it 
 was found that only eight sided with Eemerk. All 
 the rest cast in their lot with our giant, after which 
 this Arctic House of Commons adjourned, and its 
 members went to rest 
 
 A few days after that, Captain Vane and his 
 Eskimo allies, having left the camp with Eemerk 
 and his friends far behind them, came suddenly one 
 fine morning on a barrier which threatened effectu- 
 ally to arrest their further progress northward. This 
 was nothing less than that tremendous sea of 
 "ancient ice" which had baffled previous naviga- 
 toxs and sledging parties. 
 
 " Chaos! absolute chaos f exclaimed AlfVandervell, 
 who was first to recover from the shock of surprise, 
 not to say consternation, with which the party beheld 
 ^e scene on turning a high cape. 
 
 " It looks bad,'* said Captain Vane, gravely, " but 
 
OU I'OKINGS ROUND THE POLB. 
 
 •9 
 
 things often look worse at a first glance than they 
 really are." 
 
 " I hope it may be so in this case," said Leo, in a 
 low tone. 
 
 " Good-bye to the North Pole !" said Benjy, with 
 a look of despondency so deep that the rest of the 
 party laughed in spite of themselves. 
 
 The truth was that poor Benjy had suffered much 
 during the sledge journey which they had begun, for 
 although he rode, like the rest of them, on one of 
 the Eskimo sledges, the ice over which they had 
 travelled along shore had been sufficiently nigged to 
 necessitate constant getting ofif and on, as well as 
 much scrambling over hummocks and broken ice. 
 We have already said that Benjy was not very robust, 
 though courageous and full of spirit, so that he was 
 prone to leap from the deepest depths of despair to 
 the highest heights of hope at a moment's notice — 
 or vice versd. Not having become inured to ice- 
 travel, he was naturally much cast down when the 
 chaos above-mentioned met his gaie. 
 
 " Strange," said the Captain, after a long silent 
 look at the barrier, " strange that we should find it 
 here. The experience of former travellers placed it 
 considerably to the south and west of this." 
 
 "But you know," said Leo, "Chingatok told us 
 that the old ice drifts about just as the more recently 
 formed does. Who knows but we may find the 
 
 Vi 
 
 »■' 
 
 if' 
 
 
 
 I. 
 
 ^■1 
 
90 
 
 THE GIANT OF TIIK NOKTII 
 
 : 1 
 
 end of it not far off, and porliaps may reach open 
 water beyond, where we can make skin canoes, and 
 launch forth on a voyage of discovery," 
 
 " I vote that we climb the cliffs and try to see 
 over the top of this horrid ice-jumble," said Bcnjy. 
 
 " Not a bad suggestion, lad. Let us do so. We will 
 encamp here, Anders. Let all the people have a 
 good feed, and tell Chingatok to follow us. You 
 will come along with him." 
 
 A few hours later, and the Captain, Leo, Alf, 
 Benjy, Chingatok, and the interpreter stood on the 
 extreme summit of the promontory which they had 
 named Cape Chaos, and from which they had a 
 splendid bird's-eye view of the whole regior^. 
 
 It was indeed a tremendous and never-to-be-for- 
 gotten scene. 
 
 As far as the eye could reach, the ocean was 
 covered with ice heaped together in some places in 
 the wildest confusion, and so firmlywedged in ap- 
 pearance that it seemed as if it had lain there in a 
 solid mass from the first day of creation. Elsewhere 
 the ice was more level and less compact. In the midst 
 of this rugged scene, hundreds of giant icebergs rose 
 conspicuously above the rest, towering upwards in 
 every shape and of all sizes, from which the bright 
 sun was flashed back in rich variety of form, from 
 the sharp gleam that trickled down an edge of ica 
 to the refulgent blaze on a glassy face which almost 
 
'T 
 
 OR P0KINO8 ROUND THE POLK. 
 
 91 
 
 
 rivalled the sun himself in brilliancy. These ice- 
 bergs, extending as they did to the horizon, where 
 they min^'led with and were lost in the pearl-grey 
 sky. gave an impression of vast illimitable perspec- 
 tiv6. Although no sign of an open sea was at first 
 observed, there was no lack of water to enliven the 
 scene, for hero and there, and everywhere, were pools 
 and pondr, and even lakes of goodly size, which had 
 been formed on the surface by the melting ice. la 
 these the picturesque masses were faithfully reflected, 
 and over them vast flocks of gulls, eider-ducks, 
 puf&ns, and other wild-fowl of the north, disported 
 themselves in garrulous felicity 
 
 On the edge of the rocky pre* pice, from which 
 they had a bird's-eye view of the scene, our dis- 
 coverers stood silent for some time, absorbed in 
 contemplation, with feelings of mingled awe and 
 wonder. Then exclamations of surprise and admira- 
 tion broke forth. 
 
 " The wonderful works of God !" said the Captain, 
 in a tone of profound reverence 
 
 " Beautiful, beyond belief!" murmured Alf. 
 
 " But it seems an effectual check to our advance," 
 said the practical Leo, who, however, was by no 
 means insensible to the extreme beauty of the scenei 
 
 "Not effectual, lad; not efiectual," returned the 
 Captain, stretching out his hand and turning to the 
 interpreter ; " look, Anders, d'ye see nothing on the 
 
 • ■d 
 
 11 
 
93 
 
 TUB OIANT OF THE Nt)BTH 
 
 l> t 
 
 horizon away to the nor'ard? Isu't Uiat a bit of 
 water-sky over there ?" 
 
 "Ya," replied the interpreter, gazing intently, 
 "there be watter-sky over there. Ya. But not 
 possobubble for go there. Ice too big an' brokkin 
 up. 
 
 "Ask Ghingatok what he thinks," returned the 
 Captain. 
 
 Chingatok's opinion was that the water-sky indi- 
 cated the open sea. He knew that sea well — had 
 often paddled over it, and his own country lay in it. 
 
 " But how ever did he cross that ice ?" asked the 
 Captain ; "what says he to that, Anders ?" 
 
 " I did not cross it," answered the Eskimo, through 
 Anders. " When I came here with my party the ice 
 was not there ; it was far ofif yonder." 
 
 He pointed to the eastward. 
 
 " Just so," returned the Captain, with a satisfied 
 nod, "that confirms my opinion. You see, boys, 
 that the coast here trends off to the east'ard in a 
 very decided manner. Now, if that was only the 
 shore of a bay, and the land again ran off to the 
 nor'ard, it would not be possible for such a sea 
 of ice to have come from that direction. I there- 
 fore conclude that we are standing on the most 
 northern cape of Greenland ; that Greenland itself 
 is a huge island, unconnected with the Polar lands ; 
 that we are now on the shores of the great Polar 
 
OR POKTNOS ROUND TlfK fOTA 
 
 9S 
 
 basin, in which, somowhero not very far from tiie 
 Vole itself, lies the home of our friend Chin^'ntok — 
 at least so I ju(i«,'e from what ho has said. More- 
 over, I feel sur« that the water-slcy we see over there 
 indicates the commencement of that 'open sea ' which, 
 I hold, in common with many learned men, lies 
 aroimd the North Pole, and which I am determined 
 to float upon before many days go by " 
 
 " We 'd better spread our wings then, father, and 
 be off at once," said Benjy ; " for it 's quite certain 
 that we '11 never manage to scram bio over that ice- 
 jumblo with sledges." 
 
 " Nevertheless, I will try, Benjy.** 
 
 " But how, uncle ?" asked Leo. 
 
 "Ay, how?" repeated Alf, "thcU is the question." 
 
 "Come, come, Alf, let Shakespeare alone," said 
 the pert Benjy, "if you miLst quote, confine your- 
 self .to Buzzby." 
 
 " Nay, Benjy, be not so severe. It was but a slip. 
 Besides, our leader has not forbidden our carrying 
 a whole library in our heads, so long as we take only 
 one book in our pockets. But, uncle, you have not 
 yet told us how you intend to cross that amazing 
 barrier which Benjy has appropriately styled an ice- 
 jumble." 
 
 " How, boy ?" returned the Captain, who had been 
 gazing eagerly in all directions while they talked, 
 ** it is impossible for me to say how. All that f ran 
 
 m 
 is'' 
 
94 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 i; 
 
 ' : 
 
 speak of with certainty as to our future movements 
 is, that the road l>y which we have come to the top 
 of this cliff will lead us to the bottom again, where 
 Toolooha is preparing for us an excellent supper of 
 bear- steaks and tea. One step at a time, lads, is my 
 motto ; when that is taken we shall see clearly how 
 and where to take the next." 
 
 A sound sleep was the step which the whole party 
 took after that which led to the bear-steaks. Then 
 Captain Vane arose, ordered the dogs to be harnessed 
 to the sledges, and, laying his course due north, 
 steered straight out upon the sea of ancient ice. 
 
 n:': 
 
OR POKINGS BOUND THE POLS. 
 
 90 
 
 CHAPTER VIIL 
 
 b'.fTTCULTIKS AND DANOERa IlICRKASK, AND THE CAPTAIK 
 EXPOUNDS HIS VTKW8. 
 
 The first part of the journey over the rugged ice 
 was not so difficult as had been anticipated, because 
 they found a number of openings — narrow lanes, as 
 it were — winding between the masses, most of which 
 were wide enough to permit of the passage of the 
 sledges ; and when they chanced to come on a gap 
 that was too narrow, they easily widened it with 
 their hatchets aud ice-chisels. 
 
 There was, however, some danger connected with 
 this process, for some of the mighty blocks of ice 
 amongst which they moved were piled in such 
 positions that it only required a few choppings at 
 their base to bring them down in ruins on their heads. 
 One instance of this kind suf&ced to warn them 
 effectually. 
 
 Captain Vane's dog-slydge was leading the way 
 at the time. Leo drove it, for by that time the 
 Eskimos had taught him how to use the short- 
 handled whip with the lash full fifteen feet long* 
 
 ■^ ^ 
 
 
 1, 
 
 I i 
 
 a :1 
 
 
 w 
 
 it? - 
 
96 
 
 THE OTANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 ; ,1 
 
 and Leo was an apt pupil in every athletic and 
 manly exercise. Beside him sat the Captain, Alf, 
 Benjy, and Butterface — the black visage of the latter 
 absolutely shining with delight at the novelty of the 
 situation. Behind came the sledge of Chingatok, 
 which, besides being laden with bear-rugs, sealskins, 
 junks of meat, and a host of indescribable Eskimo 
 implements, carried himself and the precious persons 
 of Toolooha and Tekkona. Next came the sledge of 
 the laughter-loving Oolichuk, with the timid Oblooria 
 and another woman. Then followed the sledges of 
 Ivitchuk and Akeetolil^, laden with the rest of the 
 Eskimo women and goods, and last of all came Cap- 
 tain Vane's two English-made sledges, heavily laden 
 with the goods and provisions of the explorers. These 
 latter sledges, although made in England, had been 
 constructed on the principle of the native sledge, 
 namely, with the parts fastened by means of walrus- 
 sinew lashings instead of nails, which last would 
 have snapped like glass in the winter frosts of the 
 Polar regions, besides being incapable of standing 
 the twistings and shocks of ice-travel. 
 
 All the dogs being fresh, and the floor of the 
 lanes not too rough, the strangely-assorted party 
 trotted merrily along, causing the echoes among the 
 great ice-blocks, spires, and obelisks, to ring to the 
 music of their chattini;, and the cracks of their 
 powerful whips. Suddenly, a shout at the front 
 
OR POKINOS FOU>T> TBK POLE. 
 
 IT 
 
 and an abruj)! pull up, brought the whole column 
 to a halt. The Captain's dogs had broken into a 
 gallop. On turning suddenly round a spur of a 
 glacier about as big as St. Paul's Cathedral, they 
 went swish into a shallow pond which had been 
 formed on the ice. It was not deep, but there was 
 sufficient water in it to send a deluge of spray over 
 the travellers. 
 
 A burst of laughter greeted the incident as they 
 sprang off the sledge, and waded to the dry ice a few 
 yards ahead. 
 
 " No damage done," exclaimed the Captain, as he 
 assisted the dogs to haul the sledge out of the water 
 
 *'No damage 1" repeated Benjy, with a ruefvU 
 look, " why, I 'm soaked from top to toe 1" 
 
 " Yes, you 've got the worst) of it," said Leo, with 
 a laugh ; '' that comes of being forward, Benjy. 
 You would insist on sitting in front" 
 
 "Well, it is some comfort," retorted Benjy, 
 squeezing the water from his garmentis, " thj^t Alf 
 is as wet as myself, for that gives us an opportunity 
 of sympathising with each other. Eh, Alf? Doep 
 Buzzby offer no consolatory reiqarks for such an 
 occasion as this ?" 
 
 ** yes," replied Alf ; " in his beautiful poew on 
 Melancholy, sixth canto, Buzzby says : — 
 
 * When trouble, like a cnrtain spread, 
 ObicurcB the clouded braip, 
 
 O 
 
 '!'.' J 
 
 (• 
 S», 
 
 14 
 
 ■Ml 
 m 
 
 m 
 
 T^ 
 
98 
 
 THE GUNT OF THE NORTH 
 
 And worries on the weary head 
 
 Descend like aoakinj^ rain — 
 Lift up th' umbrella of tlie heart, 
 
 Stride manfully along ; 
 Defy depression's dreary dart, 
 
 And shout in gleeful song. '" 
 
 "Come, Alf, clap on to this tow-rope, an' atop 
 your nonsense," said Captain Vane, who was not in 
 a poetical frame of mind just then. 
 
 " Dat is mos' boosiful potry !" exclaimed Butter- 
 face, with an immense display of eyes and teeth, as 
 he lent a willing hand to haul out the sledge. 
 " Mos' boosiful. But he's rader a strong rem'dy, 
 massa, don' you tink ? Not bery easy to git up a 
 gleefoo' shout when one's down in de mout', bery 
 bad, eh !" 
 
 Alf s reply was checked by the necessity for 
 remounting the sledge and resuming the journey. 
 Those in rear avoided the pond by going round it. 
 
 "The weather's warm, anyhow, and that's a 
 comfort," remarked Benjy, as he settled down in his 
 wet garments. " We can't freeze in summer, you 
 know, and — " 
 
 He stopped abruptly, for it became apparent just 
 then that the opening close ahead of them was too 
 narrow for the sledge to pass. It was narrowed by 
 a buttress, or projection, of the cathedral-berg, which 
 jutted up close to a vast obelisk of ice about forty 
 feet high, if not higher. 
 
OR POKTNOS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 90 
 
 " Notliing for it, hoys, but to cut through," said 
 tlie Captain, jumping out, and seizing an axe, as the 
 sledge was jammed between the masses. The dogs 
 lay down to rest and pant while the men were at 
 work. 
 
 " It 's cut an' come again in dem regins," muttered 
 the negro steward, also seizing an axe, and attacking 
 the base of the obelisk. 
 
 A sudden cry of alarm from the whole party 
 caused him to desist and look up. He echoed the 
 cry and sprang back swiftly, for the huge mass of 
 ice having been just on the balance, one slash at its 
 base had destroyed the equilibrium, and it was 
 leaning slowly over with a deep grinding sound. 
 A moment later the motion was swift, and it fell 
 with a terrible crash, bursting into a thousand 
 fragments, scattering lumps and glittering morsels 
 far and wide, and causing the whole ice-field to 
 tremble. The concussion overturned several other 
 masses, which had been in the same nicely-balanced 
 condition, some near at hand, others out of sight, 
 though within earshot, and, for a moment, the 
 travellers felt as if the surrounding pack were 
 disrupting everywhere and falling into utter ruin, 
 but in a few seconds the sounds ceased, and again 
 all -was quiet. 
 
 Fortunately, the obelisk which had been over- 
 turned fell towards the nortli away from the 
 
 I 
 
 J I 
 
 I 
 
 "1 
 
 
 .N 
 
 il-^- 
 
 
 
100 
 
 THE OIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 ; 'J 
 
 : i 
 
 party ; but although it thus narrowly missed crush- 
 ing them all in one icy tomb, it blocked up tlieir 
 path so completely that the remainder of that day 
 had to be spent in cutting a passage through it. 
 
 Need we say that, after this, they were careful 
 how they used their axes and ice chisels ? 
 
 Soon after the occurrence of this incident, the 
 labyrinths among the ice became more broken, 
 tortuous, and bewildering. At last they ceased 
 altogether, and the travellers were compelled to take 
 an almost straight course right over everything', 
 for blocks, masses, and drifts on a gigantic scale 
 were heaved up in such dire confusion, that nothing 
 having the faintest resemblance to ^ track or p^is^age 
 Gould be found. 
 
 " It 's hard work, this," remarked the Captain to 
 Leo one evening, seating himself on a mass of ice 
 which he had just chopped from an obstruction, and 
 wiping the perspiration from his brow. 
 
 "Hard, indeed," said Leo, sitting down beside 
 him, "I fear it begins to tell upon poor Benjy. 
 You should really order him to rest more than he 
 does, uncle." 
 
 A grim smile of satisfaction played for a minute 
 on the Captain's rugged face, as he glanced at hia 
 son, who, a short distance ahead, was hacking at the 
 ice with a pick-axe, in company with Alf and 
 Butterface and the Eskuno men. 
 
OR POKINGS ROUND THE POTJt. 
 
 101 
 
 " It '11 do him good, lad," replied the Captain. 
 "Hard work is just what my Ueiijy needs. He's 
 not very stout, to be sure, but there is hothirig wrong 
 with his constitution, and he 's got plenty of spirit." 
 
 This was indeed true. Benjy had too much 
 spirit for his somewhat slender frame, but his 
 father, being a herculean man, did not quite perceive 
 that what was good for himself might be too much 
 for his son. Captain Vane was, however, the re- 
 verse of a harsh man. He pondered what Leo 
 had said, and soon afterwaMs went up to his son. 
 
 " Benjy, my lad." 
 
 " Yes, father," said the boy, dropping the head of 
 his pick- axe on the ice, resting his hands on the 
 hftft, and looking up with a flushed coutitensttice. 
 
 "You should rest a bit now and theti, Befljy. 
 You '11 knock yourself up if you don't" 
 
 " Kest a bit, father ! Why, I 've just had a rest, 
 and I 'm not tired — that is, not very. Ain't it f Uti, 
 father? And the ice cuts ilp so easily, and flies 
 about so splendidly — see here.'* 
 
 With flashing eyes out little hero rtdsed his pick 
 knd drove it into the ice., at which hfe had been 
 working, with all his force, so that a gteat rent was 
 made, and a mass the size of a dresSing-table sptang 
 from the side of a betg, and, falling down, burst into 
 a shower of sparkling gems. But this was not all. 
 To Benjy'b intense delight, a mass of many tons in 
 
102 
 
 THIE OIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 il' 
 
 weight was loosened by the fall of the smaller lump, 
 and rolled down with a thunderous roar, causing 
 Butterface, who was too near it, to jump out of the 
 way with an amount of agility that threw the whole 
 party into fits of laughter. 
 
 "What d'ye think o' that, father?" 
 
 "I think it's somewhat dangerous," answered 
 the Captain, recovering his gravity and re-shoulder- 
 ing his axe. " However, as long as you enjoy the 
 work, it can't hurt you, so go ahead, my boy ; it '11 
 be a long time before you cut away too much o' the 
 Polar ice !" 
 
 Eeaching a slightly open space beyond this point 
 the dogs were harnessed, and the party advanced 
 for a mile or so, when they came to another obstruc- 
 tion worse than that which they had previously 
 passed. 
 
 " There 's a deal of ice-rubbish in these regions," 
 remarked Benjy, eyeing the wildly heaped masses 
 with a grave face, and heaving a deep sigh. 
 
 "Yes, Massa Benjy, bery too miicb altogidder," 
 said Butterface, echoing the sigh. 
 
 " Come, we won't cut through this," cried Captain 
 Vane in a cheery voice ; " we '11 try to go over it. 
 There is a considerable drift of old snow that seems 
 to offer a sort of track. What says Chingatok ?" 
 
 The easy-going Eskimo said that it would be as 
 well to go oveT it as through it, perhaps bett.er ! 
 
OR POKIMQS HOUND THE FOLK. 
 
 103 
 
 )tain 
 
 3r it. 
 
 leeias 
 
 1?" 
 |)C as 
 
 So, over it they wont, but they soon began to 
 wish they had tried any other plan, for the snow- 
 track quickly came to an end, and then the difficulty 
 of passing even the empty sledges from one ice mass 
 to another was very great, while the process of 
 carrying forward the goods on the shoulders of the 
 men was exceedingly laborious. The poor dogs, too, 
 were constantly falling between masses, and dragging 
 each other down, so that they gave more trouble at 
 last than they were worth. 
 
 In all these trying circumstances, the Eskimo 
 women were almost as useful as the men. Indeed 
 they would } ave been quite as useful if they had 
 been as strong, and they ^x>re the fatigues and trials 
 of the journey with the placid good humour, and 
 apparent, if not real, humility of their race. 
 
 At last, one afternoon, our discoverers came 
 suddenly to the edge of this great barrier of ancient 
 ice, and beheld, from an elevated plateau to which 
 they had climbed, a scene which was calculated to 
 rouse in their breasts feelings at once of admiration 
 and despair, for there, stretching away below them 
 for several miles, lay a sea of comparatively level 
 ice, and beyond it a chain of stupendous glaciers, 
 which presented an apparently impassable barrier — 
 a huge continuous wall of ice that seemed to rise 
 into the very sky. 
 
 This chain bore all the evidences of being very 
 
 m 
 II 
 
 U 
 
 \ 
 
 i 
 
 ! 
 
 I 
 
 '■;t| 
 
 m 
 
 »*!« 
 
 m, 
 
 '-7 1 ' 
 
 : 
 
 4'l 
 
104 
 
 TIIK GIANT Of THE NORTU 
 
 old ice — compared to which that of the so-called 
 "ancient sea" was absolutely juvenile. On tho 
 ice-plain, which was apparently illimitabld to the 
 right and left, were hundreds of pools of water in 
 which the icebergs, the golden clouds, the sun, and 
 the blue sky were reflected, and on the surface of 
 which myriads of Arctic wild-fowl were sporting 
 about, making the air vocal with their plaintive 
 cries, and rufi^ug the glassy surfaces of the lakes 
 with their dipping wings. The heads of seals wore 
 also observed here and there. 
 
 " These will stop us at last," said Alf, pointing to 
 &e berga with a profound sigh. 
 
 " No, they won't," remarked the Captain quietly. 
 * Nothing will stop us !" 
 
 "That's true, anyhow. Uncle," returned Alf; "for 
 if it be, as Chingatok thinks, that we are in seitrch 
 of nothing, of course wheii w6 find nothing, nothing 
 T^illstopus!" 
 
 " Why, Alf," said Leo, " I wonder that you, ^ho 
 are usually in an enthusiastic and poetical frame! of 
 mind, should be depressed by distant difficulties, 
 instead of admiring such a splendid sight of birds 
 and beasts enjoylflg themselves in what I may style 
 an Arctic he»vefl. You should take exatuple by 
 Benjy." 
 
 That youth did indeed afiford a bright example 
 of rapt enthusiasttt just then, for, standing a little 
 
 li 
 
btle 
 
 OR POKINOS ROUND THE TOLR. 
 
 105 
 
 apart by himself, he gazed at the scone with flushed 
 face, opeu mouth, and glittering eyes, in speechless 
 deli;;lit. 
 
 " Ask Chingatok if he ever saw this range befon;," 
 said the Captain to Anders, on recovering from his 
 first feeling of surprise. 
 
 No, Chingatok had never seen it, except, inde<Ml, 
 the U)[)s of the bergs — at sea, in the far distance — 
 but he had often heard of it from some of bis 
 countrymen, who, like himself, were fond of explor- 
 ing. But that sea of ice was not there, he said, 
 when he had passed on his journey southward. It 
 had drifted there, since that time, from the great sea. 
 
 " Ah 1 the great sea that he speaks of is just 
 what we must find and cross over," muttered the 
 Captain to himself. 
 
 "But how are we to cross over it, uncle?" asked 
 Leo. 
 
 The Captain replied with one of his quiet glances. 
 His followers had Long become accustomed to this 
 silent method of declining to reply, and forbore to 
 press the subject. 
 
 "Come now, boys, get ready to descend to the 
 plain. We '11 have to do it with caution." 
 
 There was, indeed, ground for caution. We have 
 said that they had climbed to an elevated plateau 
 on one of the small bergs which fonned the outsi^.e 
 margin of the rugged ice. The aide of tliiii berg 
 
 u 
 
 m 
 
 
 Mm 
 
 i 
 
106 
 
 THK GIANT OK THR NORTH 
 
 was a steep alope (if Imrd siiuw, so steep that they 
 tli()uj»lit it unwise to attempt the descent by what 
 in Switzerland is termed f^dissadinfj. 
 
 "We'll have to zi;,'-zaf»down, 1 think, "continuod 
 the Captain, settlinj^ liiniself on his sledj^M) ; but the 
 Captain's dons thought otherwise. Undc^r a sudden 
 impulse of reckless free-will, the whole team, giving 
 vent to a howl of mingled glee find fear, dashed 
 down the slope at full gallop. Of course they were 
 overtaken in a few seconds by the sledge, which 
 not only ran into them, but sent them sprawling on 
 their backs right and left. Then it met a slight 
 obstruction, and itself upset, sending Captain Vane 
 and his companions, with its other contents, into 
 the midst of the struggling dogs. With moment- 
 arily increasing speed this avalanche of mixed dead 
 and living matter went sliding, hurtling, swinging, 
 shouting, struggling, and yelling to the bottom. 
 Fortunately, there was no obstruction there, else 
 had destruction been inevitable. The slope merged 
 gradually into the level plain, over which the 
 avalanche swept for a considerable distance before 
 the momentum of their flight was expended. 
 
 When at length they stopped, ana disentangled 
 themselves from the knot into which the traces had 
 tied them, it was found that no one was materially 
 hxwt. Looking up at the height down which they 
 had come, they beheld the Eskimos standing at the 
 
OK h)KIN<.H UOirNI* THK FOLK. 
 
 107 
 
 top with outstretched arms in the attitude uf men 
 who glare in speechless horror. Hut these did not 
 staml thus long. Descendiii',' by a more circuit «)U8 
 route, they soon rejoined the Captain's party, and 
 then, as the night was fur advanced, they encamped 
 on the edge of the ice-plain, on a part tliat was 
 bathed in the beams of the ever-circling sun. 
 
 That night at supper Captain Vane was unusually 
 thoughtful and silent 
 
 " You 're not loping heart, are you, uncle ?" asked 
 Leo, during a pause. 
 
 "No, lad, certainly not," replied the Captain, 
 dreamily. 
 
 "You've not been bumped very badly in the 
 tumble, father, have you?" asked Benjy with an 
 anxious look. 
 
 " Bumped ? no ; what makes you think so ?" 
 
 " i3ecause you 're gazing at Toolooha's lamp as if 
 you saw a ghost in it." 
 
 " Well, perhaps I do see a ghost there," returned 
 the Captain with an effort to rouse his attention 
 to things going on around him. " I see the ghost 
 of things to come. I am looking through Too- 
 looha's lamp into futurity." 
 
 " And what does futurity look like ?" asked Al£ 
 "Bright or dark?" 
 
 "Black — black as me," muttered Butterface, as 
 he approached and laid fresh viands before the party. 
 
 ii 
 
 
io6 
 
 tllE GIANT OF TIIR NORTH 
 
 
 HI 
 
 i ^'• 
 
 ■ |i 
 
 It ought to be told that Butterface had suffered 
 rather severely in the recent glissade on the snow- 
 slope, which will account for the gloomy view he 
 took of the future at that time. 
 
 " Listen," said the Captain, with a look of sudden 
 earnestness; "as it is highly probable that a day 
 or two more will decide the question of our success 
 or failure, I think it right to reveal to you more 
 fully my thoughts, my plans, and the prospects that 
 lie before us. You jtll know very well that there 
 is much diifereuce of opinion about the condition of 
 the sea around the iJ^orth Pole. Some think it 
 must be cumbered with eternal ice, others that it is 
 comparatively free from ice, and that it enjoys a 
 somewhat milder climate than those parts of the 
 Arctic regions with which we have hitherto been 
 doing battle. I hold entirely with the latter view 
 — with those who believe in an open Polar basin. 
 I won't weary you with the grounds of my belief in 
 detail, but here are a few of my reasons — 
 
 '^ It is an admitted fact that there is constant 
 circulation of the water in the ocean. Thait wise 
 and painstaking philosopher, Maury, of the U.S 
 navy, has proved to my mind that this grand 
 circulation of the sea-water round the world is the 
 cause of all the oceanic streams, hot and cold, with 
 trhicli we have been so long acquainted 
 
 " This circulation is a necessitv as well as a fact. 
 
)eea 
 riew 
 isin. 
 jf in 
 
 fact. 
 
 6ff pOkinos bound the pole. 
 
 109 
 
 At the Equatoi' the water is extremely warm and 
 salt, besides lime-laden, in consequence of excessive 
 evaporation. At the Poles it is extremely cold and 
 fresh. Mixing is therefore a necessity. The hot 
 salt-waters of the Equator flow to the Poles to get 
 freshened and cooled. Those of the Poles flow to 
 the Equator to get salted, limed, and warmed. 
 They do this continuously in two grand currents, 
 north and south, all round the world. But the land 
 comes in as a disturbing element; it diverts the 
 water into streams variously modified in force and 
 direction, and the streams also change places vari- 
 ously, sometimes the hot currents travelling north 
 HB under-currents with the cold currents above, 
 sometimes the reverse. One branch of the current 
 comes from the Equator round the Cape of Good 
 Hope, turns up the west coast of Africa and is 
 deflected into the Gulf of Mexico, round which it 
 sweeps, and then shoots across the Atlantic to 
 England and Norway. It is known e^ ovir Gulf 
 Stream. 
 
 "Now, the equatorial warm and salt current 
 enters Baffin's Bay as a submarine current, while 
 the cold and comparatively fresh waters of the 
 Polar regions descend as a surface current, bearing 
 the great ice-fields of the Arctic seas to t'lC south- 
 ward- One thing that gees far to prove this, is the 
 fact that *\ie enormous icebergs t|^rown off from the 
 
 1 
 
 (:' 
 
 
 
no 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 northern glaciers liave heen froquently seen by 
 navigators travelling northward, right against the 
 current flowing south. These huge ice-mountains, 
 floating as they do with seven or eight parts of 
 their bulk beneath the surface, are carried thus 
 forcibly up stream by the under-current until their 
 bases are worn off by the warm waters below, thus 
 allowing the upper current to gain the mastery, and 
 hurry them south again to their final dissolution in 
 the Atlantic. 
 
 " Now, lads," continued the Captain, with the air 
 of a man who propounds a self-evident proposition; 
 " is it not clear that if the warm waters of the south 
 flow into the Polar basin as an under current, they 
 must come up somewhere, to take the place of the 
 cold waters that are for ever flowing away from the 
 Pole to the Equator ? Can anything be clearer than 
 that — except the nose on Benjy's face ? Well then, 
 that being so, the waters round the Pole miLst be 
 comparatively warm waters, and also, comparatively, 
 free from ice, so that if we could only manage to 
 cross this ice-barrier and get into them, we might 
 sail right away to the North Pole." 
 
 " But, father," said Benjy, " since you have taken 
 the liberty to trifle with my nose, I feel entitled to 
 remark that we can't sail in waters, either hot or 
 cold, without a ship." 
 
 " That 's true, boy," rejoined the Captain. " How- 
 
OR rOKINGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 Ill 
 
 iken 
 Id to 
 
 |»t or 
 
 Low- 
 
 ever," he added, with a half humorous curl of 
 his black moustache, "you know I'm not j,'iven 
 to stick at trifles. Time will sliow. Meanwhile 
 I am strongly of opinion that this is the last ice- 
 barrier we shall meet with on our way to the Pole." 
 
 " Is there not some tradition of a mild climate in 
 the furthest north among the Eskimos ? " asked Alf. 
 
 " Of course there is. Tt has long been known tlint 
 tlie Greenland Eskimos have a tradition of an island 
 in an iceless sea, lying away in the far north, where 
 there are many musk oxen, and, from what I have 
 been told by our friend Chingatok, I am disposed 
 to think that he and his kindred inhabit this island, 
 or group of islands, in the Polar basin — not far, 
 perhaps, from the Pole itself. He says there are 
 musk oxen there. But there is another creature, 
 and a much bigger one than any Eskimo, bigger 
 even than Chingatok, who bears his testimony to 
 an open Polar sea, namely, the Greenland whale. 
 It has been ascertained that the ' right ' whale does 
 not, and cannot, enter the tropical regions of the 
 Ocean. They are to him as a sea of fire, a waU 
 of adamant, so that it is imposible for him to swim 
 south, double Cape Horn, and proceed to the North 
 Pacific; yet the very same kind of whale found in 
 Baffin's Bay is found at Behring Straits. Now, the 
 question is, how did he get there ?" 
 
 "Was born there, no doubt," answered Beujy 
 
 i 
 
 4 
 
 
 Si'" 
 
 M 
 
 ■i 
 
 v.l 
 
113 
 
 THE GIANT OP THE NORTH 
 
 " and had no opcasion to make such a long voy- 
 age I " 
 
 "Ahl my boy, but we have the strongest 
 evidence that he was not born there, for you must 
 know that some whalers have a habit of marking 
 their harpoons with date and name of ship ; and as 
 we hp.ve been told by that good and true man 
 Dr. Scoresby, there have been several instances 
 where whales have been captured near Behring 
 Straits with harpoons in them bearing the stamp of 
 ships that were known to cruise on the Baffin's Bay 
 side of America. Moreover, in one or two instances 
 a very short time had elapsed between the date of 
 harpooning o^ the Atlantic and capturing on the 
 Pacific side. These facts prove, at all events, a 
 ' North-west Passage' for whales, and, as whales 
 cannot travel far under ice without breathing, they 
 also tend to prove an open Polar sea. 
 
 " Another argument in favour of this basin is the 
 migration of birds to the northward at certain 
 seasons. Birds do not migrate to frozen regions, 
 and such migrations northward have been observed 
 by those who, like ourselves, have reached the 
 lughest latitudes. 
 
 " Captain Nares of the Alert, in May 1876, when 
 only a little to the southward of this, saw ptarmigan 
 flying in pairs to the north-west, seeking for better 
 feeding-grounds. Du^.ks and geese also passed north- 
 
OR POKINGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 113 
 
 ^hen 
 
 ^igan 
 3tter 
 )rth- 
 
 ♦rard early in June, indicating plainly the existence 
 of suitable ft^eding grounds in the undiscovered and 
 mysterious North. 
 
 " We have now passed beyond the point reached 
 by Captain Nares. My last observation places 1 us 
 in parallel 84° 40', the highest that has yet been 
 reached by civilised man." 
 
 "The highest, uncle?" interrupted Leo. 
 
 "Yes — the highest. Scoresby reached 81° 50' in 
 1806. Parry 82° 45' in 1827— with sledges. That 
 unfortunate and heroic American, Captain Hall, ran 
 his vessel, the Polaris, in the shortest space of time 
 on record, up to latitude 82° 16'. Captain Nares 
 reached a higher latitude than had previously been 
 attained by ships, and Captain Markham, of Captain 
 Nares' expedition, travelled over this very *sea of 
 ancient ice ' with sledges to latitude 83° 20' 26* — 
 about 400 miles from the Pole, and the highest yet 
 reached, as I have said. So, you see, we have beaten 
 them all ! Moreover, I strongly incline to the belief 
 that the open Polar Sea lies just beyond that range 
 of huge icebergs which we see before us." 
 
 The Captain rose as he spoke, and pointed to the 
 gigantic chain, behind one of which the sun was just 
 about to dip, causing its jagged peaks to glow a.^ 
 with intense fire. 
 
 " ]]ut how are we ever to pass that barrier, uncle ?" 
 asked Alf, who was by nature the least sanguine of 
 
 I 
 J 
 
 f'i 
 
 
 :!! H 
 
114 
 
 THE GIANT 0? THE NOKTU 
 
 the party in regard to overcoming difficulties of a 
 geographical nature, although by far the most enthu- 
 siastic in the effort to acquire knowledge. 
 
 " You shall see, to-morrow," answered the Captain; 
 "at present we must turn in and rest. See, the 
 Eskimos have already set us the exampla** 
 
 I ,( 
 
OK POKINOS KOUND THE POLE. 
 
 llf 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 TBB CAPTAIN MAKES A BTUPEXDOUS KKF^)ilT. 
 AND DISOOVBBIES. 
 
 DISAFFOINTMRNTS 
 
 Next morning the ice-plain was crossed at a 
 swinging gallop. Indeed, the dogs were so fresh 
 and frisky after a good rest and a hearty meal that 
 they ran away more than once, and it became a 
 matter of exfT"eme diflBculty to check them. At last 
 the great chain was reached, and the party came to 
 an abrupt halt at the base of one of the largest of the 
 bergs. Captain Vane gazed up at it as Napoleon the 
 First may be supposed to have gazed at the Alps he 
 had resolved to scale and cross. 
 
 The resemblance to alpine scenery was not con- 
 fined to mere form — such as towering peaks and 
 mighty precipices — for there were lakelets and ponds 
 here and there up among the crystal heights, from 
 which rivulets trickled, streams brawled, and cata- 
 racts thundered. 
 
 It was evident, however, that the old giant that 
 frowned on them was verging towards dissolution, 
 for he was honey-combea in all directions. 
 
 
 I? 
 
 ( 
 
 
 ..!^ \ 
 
 
 
 ill! 
 
 m 
 
116 
 
 THE GIANT OP THE NORTH 
 
 ■ I .; 
 
 . ,1 
 
 "Impossible to scale that," said Alf, with o 
 soloniTi look. 
 
 Even Leo's sanguine temperament was dashed for 
 a moment. " We dare not attempt to cut through 
 it," he said, " for masses are falling about here and 
 tlicre in a very dangerous fashion." 
 
 As he spoke, a tall spire was seen to slip from its 
 position, topple over, and go crashing down into a 
 dark blue gulf of ice below it. 
 
 " No chance of success nowl' said Benjamin Vane, 
 gloomily. 
 
 "None wo'somediver," muttered Butterface, his 
 broad black visage absolutely elongated by sympa- 
 thetic despair. For, you must know, as far as his 
 own feelings were concerned, sympathy alone in- 
 fluenced him. Personally, he was supremely in- 
 different about reaching the North Pole. In fact he 
 did not believe in it at all, and made no scruple of 
 saying so, when asl'ed, but he seldom volunteered his 
 opinion, being an extremely modest and polite man. 
 
 During these desponding remarks Captain Vane 
 did not seem to be much depressed. 
 
 " Anders," he said, turning abruptly to the inter- 
 preter, "ask Chingatok what he thinks Can we 
 pass this barrier, and, if not, what ,.ould he advise 
 us to do V 
 
 It was observed that the other Eskimos drew near 
 with anxious looks to hear the opinion of their chiefs 
 
 ti 
 
OR POKINQS KOUNI) TMK POF.K. 
 
 117 
 
 ■I I'" 
 
 we 
 Ivise 
 
 lear 
 Let 
 
 Toolooha and Tekkona, however, sceuied ([uite 
 devoid of anxiety. They ovidontly liad perfect eon- 
 fidence in the giant, and poor little Oblooria glanced 
 up in the face of her friend as if to gather consolation 
 from her looks. 
 
 Ohingatok, after a short pause, said : — 
 "The ico-mountains cannot be passed. The 
 white men have not wings ; they cannot fly. They 
 must return to land, and travel for many days to 
 the open water near the far-off land — there." 
 He pointed direct to the northward. 
 Captain Vane made no reply. He merely turned 
 and gave orders that the lashings of one of the 
 large sledges which conveyed the baggage should 
 be cast loose. Selecting a box from this, he opened 
 it, and took therefrom a small instrument made 
 partly of brass, partly of glass, and partly of wood. 
 
 " You have often wondered, Benjy," he said, 
 " what I meant to do with this electrical machine. 
 You shall soon see. Help me to arrange it, boy, 
 and do you, Leo, uncoil part of this copper wire. 
 Here, Alf, carry this little box to the foot of the berg, 
 and lay it in front of yon blue cavern." 
 
 " Which ? That one close to the waterfall or ' 
 
 " No, the big cavern, just under the most solid 
 part of the berg — the one that seems to grow bluer 
 and bluer until it becomes quite black in its heart. 
 And have a care, Alf, The box you carry is danger- 
 
 
118 
 
 THK GIANT OF THK NORTH 
 
 oua. Don't let it fall. Lay it down gently, and 
 come back at once. Anders," he added, turning 
 round, " let all the people go back with dogs and 
 sledges for a quarter of a mile." 
 
 There was something so peremptory and abrupt 
 in their leader's manner that no one thought of 
 asking him a question, though all were filled with 
 surprise and curiosity as to what he meant to 
 do. 
 
 " Come here, Leo," he said, after his orders had 
 been obeyed. " Hold this coil, and pay it out as I 
 walk to the berg with the end in my hand." 
 
 The coil was one of extremely fine copper wire. 
 Leo let it run as the Captain walked off. A minute 
 or two later he was seen to enter the dark blue 
 cavern and disappear. 
 
 " My dear dad is reckless," exclaimed Benjy, in 
 some anxiety, " what if the roof o' that cave should 
 fall in. There are bits of ice dropping about every- 
 where. What can he be going to do ?" 
 
 As he spoke, the Captain issued from the cave, 
 and walked smartly towards them. 
 
 "Now then, it's all right," he said, "give mp the 
 coil, Leo, and come back, all of you. Fetch the 
 machine, Alf " 
 
 In a few minutes the whole party had retired a 
 considerable distance from the huge berg, the Captain 
 uncoiling the wire as he went. 
 
 u\ 
 
OR rOKTNGS R0U5D THE I'OLK. 
 
 119 
 
 cave, 
 
 
 •* S'urely you 're not Roing to try to Mow it up 
 piecemcial?" said Leo. 
 
 " No, lad, I 'in not Roing to do that, or anything so 
 3I0W," returned the Captain, stopping and arranging 
 the instrument. 
 
 " But if the box contains gunpowder," persisted 
 Leo, " there 's not enough to " 
 
 "It contains dynamite," said tlie Captain, affix- 
 ing the coil to the machine, and giving it a sharp 
 turn. 
 
 If a volcano had suddenly opened fire under the 
 iceberg the effect could not have been more tremen- 
 dous. Thunder itself is not more deep than was 
 the crash which reverberated among the ice-cliffs. 
 Smoke burst in a huge volume from the heart of the 
 berg. Masses, fragments, domes, and pinnacles were 
 hurled into the air, and fell back to mingle with 
 the blue precipices that tumbled, slid, or plunged 
 in horrible confusion. Only a portion, indeed, of 
 the mighty mass had been actually disrupted, but 
 the shock to the surrounding ice was so shattering 
 that the entire berg subsided. 
 
 "Stu — pcadous !" exclaimed Alf, with a look of 
 awe-stricken wonder. 
 
 Benjy, after venting his feelings in a shriek 
 of joyful surprise, seemed to be struck dumb. 
 Anders and Butterface stood still, — speechless. 
 As for the Eskimos, they turned with one hideous 
 
 1 
 
 '111 
 
 1.1.1 
 
 I! 
 
 rl 
 
130 
 
 TUU aiANT or TUE NORTH 
 
 yell, and fled from the spot like iiirtiiiaui — oxccpt- 
 iijg Cliiii;^'al(ik, wiio, althouj^'ii startled, .stood his 
 ground in au attitude expressive of 8Ui)erlativo 
 surprise. 
 
 " So, — it has not di.sappointud nie," remarked 
 the Captain, wheu the hideous diii had ceased, 
 " dynamite is indeed a powerful agent when pro- 
 perly applied : immeasurably more effective than 
 powder." 
 
 "But it seems to me," said Leo, beginning to 
 recover himself, "that although you have brought 
 the berg down you have not rendered it much more 
 
 " That 's true, lad," answered the Captain with 
 a somewhat rueful exjiression. "It does seem a 
 lumpy sort of heap after all ; but there may be 
 found some practicable bits when we examine it 
 more closely. Come, we '11 go see." 
 
 On closer inspection it was found that th Tiined 
 berg still presented an absolutely insurmountable 
 obstacle to the explorers, who, being finaUy com- 
 pelled to admit that even dynamite had failed, left 
 the place in search of a natural opening. 
 
 Travelling along the chain for a considerable time, 
 in the hope of succeeding, they came at last to a 
 succession of comparatively level floes, which con- 
 ducted them to the extreme northern end of the 
 chain, and there they found that the tioes continued 
 
OR POKINOS ROUND TIIK POLK. 
 
 131 
 
 onwnrds in an unbrokon plain to whut appeared to 
 be tliu open sea. 
 
 "That is a water-aky, for certain," exclaimed 
 Captain Vane, eagerly, on the evening when this 
 discovery was made. " The open ocean cannot now 
 he far ott'." 
 
 " There 's a very dark cloud there, father," said 
 Benjy, who, as we have before said, possessed the 
 keenest sight of the party. 
 
 " A cloud, boy I where I Um — Yes, I see some- 
 thing—" 
 
 " It is laud," said Chingatok, in a low voice. 
 
 "Land!" exclaimed the Captain, "are yon 
 •ure ?" 
 
 " Yes, I know it well I passed it on my journey 
 here. We left our canoes and oomiaks there, aud 
 took to slodges because the iloes were unbroken. 
 But these ice-mountains were not here at that time. 
 They have come down since we passed from the 
 great sea." 
 
 " There 1" said the Captain, turning to Leo with a 
 look of triumph, " he still speaks of the great sea ! 
 If these bergs came from it, we must have reached 
 it, lad." 
 
 " But the laud puzzles me," said Leo. " Can it be 
 part of Greenland?" 
 
 " Scarcely, for Greenland lies far to the east'ard, 
 and the latest discoveries made on the north of 
 
 
122 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 ■I 
 
 that land show that the coavSt turns still more 
 decidedly east — tending to the conclusion that 
 Greenland is an island. This land, therefore, must 
 be entirely new land — an island — a continent 
 perhaps." 
 
 " But it may be a cape, father," interposed Benjy. 
 " You know that capes have a queer way of sticking 
 out suddenly from land, just as men's noses stick 
 out from their faces." 
 
 " True, Benjy, true, but your simile is not perfect, 
 for men's noses don't always stick out from their 
 faces — witness the nose of Butterface, which, you 
 know, is well aft of his lips and chin. However, 
 this may be Greenland's nose — who knows ? We 
 shall go and find out ere long. Come, use your 
 whip, Leo. Ho ! Chingatok, tell your hairy kinsmen 
 to clap on all sail and make for the land." 
 
 "Hold on, uncle!" cried Alf, "I think I sie a 
 splendid specimen of — ** 
 
 The crack of Leo's whip, and the yelping of the 
 team, drowned the rest of the sentence, and Alf was 
 whirled away from his splendid specimen (whaUjver 
 it was) for ever ! 
 
 "It is a piece of great good fortune," said the 
 Captain, as they swept along over the hard and 
 level snow, " that the Eskimos have left their boats 
 on this land, for now I shall have two strings to my 
 b^w." 
 

 OR POKINGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 123 
 
 " What is the other string V asked Leo, as he 
 ndniinistered a flip to the flank of a lazy clog. 
 
 " Ah ! that remains to be seen, lad," replied the 
 Captain. 
 
 "Why, what a tyrant you are, uncle!" exclaimed 
 Alf, who had recovered from his disappointment 
 about the splendid specimen. " You won't tell up 
 anything, almost. Who ever before heard of the 
 men of an expedition to the North Poib being kept 
 in ignorance of the means by which they vr«re to 
 get there ?" 
 
 The Captain's reply was only a twinkle of the 
 eye. 
 
 " Father wants to fill you with bliss, Alf," said 
 Benjy, " according to your own notions of that sort 
 of thing." 
 
 ** What do you mean, Ben ? 
 
 ** "^Tiy, have we not all heard you often quote the 
 words : — ' Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be 
 
 * » 
 
 wise. 
 
 " Hear, hear I That *s it, Benjy,** said the Captain, 
 with a nod and a short laugh, while his son assumed 
 the satisfied gravity of look appropriate to one who 
 has m«,de a hit ; " I won't decrease his bliss by i j- 
 moviiig his ignorance yet awbile." 
 
 " Haint Buzzby got nuffin' to say on that 'ere 
 piut?" whispered Butterface to Benjy, who sat just 
 in front of him. 
 
 
 Ml 
 
 
 HI 
 
 '^f: 
 
 
124 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 " Ah ! to be sure. I say, Alf," said the boy with 
 an earnest look, " hasn't your favourite author "ot 
 something to say about the bliss of ignorance ? I 'm 
 almost sure I heard you muttering something in 
 your dreams on that subject the other day." 
 
 " Of course he has. He has a long poem on that 
 subject. Here is a bit of it." 
 
 Alf, tvhose inemory was good, immediately M- 
 sited the following ; — 
 
 •' How sweet is ignorance ! How soothing io th« tAind, 
 To search for treasures in the brain, and nothing Hnd I 
 Consider. When the memory ia richly stored. 
 How apt the victim of redundant knowledge to be bored t 
 When Nothing fills the chambers of the heart and brain, 
 Then negative enjoyment comes with pleasures in her trais I 
 Descending on the clods of sense like summer rain. 
 
 *' Knowledge, 'tis said, gives power, and so it often does ; 
 Knowledge makes sorrow, too, around our pillows hxUL 
 In debt I am, with little cash ; I know it — and asu sad. 
 Of course, if I were ignorant of this — how glad ! 
 A lovihg friend, whom once I knew in glowir.g health, 
 I fas broken down, and also, somehow, lost his wealth. 
 How sad the knowledge makes me ! Better far 
 In ignorance to live, than hear of things that jar, 
 And think of things that are not, — not of tbihgs that are. 
 
 ''•//* ignorance is bliss,' the poet saitn — vhy 'if? 
 Why doubt a fact so clearly proyen« iktubborn, stiff T 
 The heavy griefs and burdens of the world around. 
 The hideous tyranny by which mankind is ground. 
 The earthquake, tenlpest, rush of war, and wail of woti,- 
 Are all as though they were not-^if I do not knowl 
 Wrapped in my robe of ignorance, what can I miss? 
 Am I not saved from all — aud more than all — of this? 
 Do I not revel in a regal realm of bliss ?" 
 
OR POKINQS ROUND THE POLK. 
 
 125 
 
 "'M 
 
 ** r*ravo! Buzzby," cried the Captain, "but, I say, 
 Alf, don't it seem to suiack rather too much of 
 selfishness?" 
 
 " Of course it does, uncle. I do not think Buzzby 
 always sound in principle, and, like many poets, he 
 is sometimes confused in his logic." 
 
 "You're right, Benjy, the laud is clear enough 
 now," remarked the Captain, whose interest in 
 Buzzby was not profound, and whose feelings tor 
 wards logic bordered on the contemptuous, as is 
 often the case with half educated men, and, strange 
 to say, sometimes with highly educated men, as well 
 as with the totally ignorant^so true is it that ex- 
 tnemea meet ! 
 
 In the course of a couple of hours the sledges 
 drew near to the island, which proved to be a large 
 but comparatively low one, rising not more than a 
 hundred feet in any part. It was barren and rugged, 
 with patches of rein-deer moss growing in some 
 parts, and dwarf willows in others. Myriads of 
 sea-birds mq.de it their home, and these received the 
 invaders with clamorous cries, as if they knew that 
 V, hite men were a dangerous novelty, and objected 
 to the innovation. 
 
 Despite their remonstrances, the party landed, and 
 the Eskimos hurried over the rocks to that part of 
 the island where they had left their kayaks and 
 women's boats in charge of a party of natives who 
 
 I I 
 
 >*: 
 
 nil 
 
 
 I 
 
 '§ 
 
 ill 
 
 
 :«!? 
 
 iiJ, 
 
126 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 were resident en the island at the time they passed, 
 and from whom they had borrowed the dogs and 
 sledges with which they had travelled south. 
 
 Meanwhile the wliite men took to rambling ; Leo 
 to shoot wild- fowl for supper, Alf to search for 
 "specimens," and Benjy to scramble among the 
 rocks in search of anything that might " turn up." 
 Butterface assisted the latter in his explorations. 
 While the rest were thus engaged, the Captain 
 extemporised a flag -staff out of two spears lashed 
 together with a small block at the top for the pur- 
 pose of running up a flag, and formally taking pos- 
 Bession of the island when they should re-assemble. 
 This done, he wrote a brief outline of his recent 
 doings, which he inserted in a ginger-beer bottle 
 brought for that very purpose. Then he assisted 
 Anders in making the encampment and preparing 
 supper. 
 
 The two were yet in the midst of the latter 
 operation when a shout was heard in the distance. 
 Looking in the direction whence it came they saw 
 Chingatok striding over the rocks towards them 
 with unusual haste. He was followed by the other 
 Eskimos, who came forward gesticulating violently. 
 
 "My countrjrmen have left the island," said 
 Chingatok when he came up. 
 
 "And taken the kayaks with them?" asked 
 Captain Vane anxiously. 
 
OR POKINOS ROUND THK POLE. 
 
 127 
 
 *• Every one," replied the giant. 
 
 This was depressing news to the Captain, who 
 had counted much on making use of the Eskimo 
 canoes in the event of his own appliances failing. 
 
 " Where have they gone, think you?" he asked. 
 
 " Tell Blackbeard," replied Chingatok, turning to 
 Anders, "that no one knows. Since they went 
 away the lanes of open water have closed, and the 
 ice is solid everywhere." 
 
 "But where the kayak and the oomiak cannot 
 float the sledge may go," said the Captain. 
 
 " That IS tnie ; tell the pale chief he is wise, yet 
 he knows not all things. Let him think. When 
 he comes to the great open sea what will he do 
 without canoes?" 
 
 "Huk !" exclaimed Oolichuk, with that look and 
 tone which intimated his belief that the pale chief 
 had received a " clincher." 
 
 The chattering of the other Eskimos ceased for 
 a moment or two as they awaited eagerly the 
 Captain's ansver, but the Captain disappointed 
 them. He merely said, "Well, we shall see. I 
 may not know all things, Chingatok, nevertheless 
 I know a deal more than you can guess at. Come 
 now, let's have supper, Anders ; we can't wait for 
 the wanderers." 
 
 As he spoke, three of the wanderers came into 
 camp, namely Leo, Beujy, and iUitterface. 
 
 m 
 
 'I 
 
 i 
 
 f ii 
 
 ir 'i 
 
 
 I'Hf 
 
128 
 
 Tin: GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 " ^Miat's come of Alf ?" asked the Captain. 
 
 Neither Leo nor Benjy had seen him since they 
 parted, a quarter of an hour after starting, and both 
 had expected to find him in camp, but Butterface 
 had seen him. 
 
 "Sawd him ninnin'," said the sablo steward, 
 "ninnin* like a mad Kangaroo arter a smallish 
 brute like a mouse. Nebber sawd nuMn' like 
 ^fassa Alf for runnin'." 
 
 " Well, we can't wait for him," said the Captain, 
 "I want to take possession of the island before 
 supper. What shall we call it ?" 
 
 "Disappointment Isle," said Leo, "seeing that 
 the Eskimos have failed us." 
 
 "No — I won't be ungrateful," returned the Oaptftio, 
 " considering the successes already achieved." 
 
 " Call it Content Isle, then," suggested Benjy. 
 
 "But I am not content with partial success. 
 Come, Butterface, haven't you got a suggestion to 
 make." 
 
 The negro shook his woolly head. " No," he said, 
 " I's 'orrible stoopid. Nebber could get nuffin' to 
 come out o' my brain — sep w'en it's kaocked out 
 by accident. You's hard to please, massa. S'pose 
 you mix de two, — dis'pintment an' content, — an' call 
 'im Half-an'-half Island." 
 
 " Home is in sight now," said Chingatok, who had 
 I .ken no interest in the above discussion, as it was 
 
 d: 
 
OR POKINGS ROUND THl! POLB. 
 
 139 
 
 carried on in English. " A few days more and we 
 should be there if we only had our kayaks." 
 
 " There 's the name," exclaimed the Captain 
 eagerly when this was translated, "* Home-in-sight ;' 
 that will do." 
 
 Eising quickly, he bent a Union Jack to the 
 halyards of his primitive flagstaff, ran it up, and in 
 the name of Queen Victoria took possession of 
 Home-insight Island. After having given three 
 liearty British cheers, in which the Eskimos tried 
 to join, with but partial success, they buried the 
 ginger-beer bottle under a heap of stones, a wooden 
 cross was fixed on the top of the cairn, and then tht 
 party sat down to supper, while the Captain made 
 a careful note of the latitude and longitude, which 
 he had previously ascertained. This latest addition 
 to Her Majesty's dominions was put down by him 
 in lat 85° 32', or about 268 geographical miles 
 from the North Pde. 
 
 * . 
 
 
 1 
 
 M? 
 tn 
 
 T.41I 
 
180 
 
 THE GIANT 0? THE NORTH 
 
 CHAPTEE X. 
 
 A SRVTOHER IN IMMINBNT DANOBR. DIFFI0ULTIB8 INCREASI, 
 AND ABB OVBRCOMB AS USUAL. 
 
 The first night on Home-in-sight Island was not 
 80 undisturbed as might have been expected. The 
 noisy gulls did indeed go to sleep at their proper 
 bed-time, which, by the way, they must have ascer- 
 tained by instinct, for the sim could be no certain 
 guide, seeing that he shone all night as well as all 
 day, and it would be too much to expect that gulls 
 had sufficient powers of observation to note the 
 great luminary's exact relation to the horizon. 
 Polar bears, like the Eskimo, had forsaken the spot. 
 All nature, indeed, animate and inanimate, favoured 
 the idea of repose when the explorers lay down to 
 sleep on a mossy couch that was quite as soft as a 
 feather bed, and much more springy. 
 
 The cause of disturbance was the prolonged 
 absence of Alf VandervelL That enthusiastic 
 naturalist's failure to appear at supper was nothing 
 uncommon. His non-appearance when they lay 
 
 ' 
 
OR POKINOS ROtJND THE POLK. 
 
 131 
 
 |t 
 
 down did indeed cause some surprise, but little 
 or no anxiety, and they all dropped into a sound 
 sleep which lasted till considerably beyond raid- 
 night. Then the Captain awoke with a feeling of 
 uneasiness, started up on one elbow, yawned, and 
 gazed dreamily around. The sun, which had just 
 kissed his hand to the disappointed horizon and 
 begun to reascend the sky, blinded the Captain with 
 his beams, but did not prevent him from observing 
 that Alf s place was still vacant. 
 
 " Very odd," he muttered, " Alf didn't use to — to 
 — w'at's 'is name in — this — way — ." 
 
 The Captain's head dropped, his elbow relaxed, 
 and he returned to the land of Nod for another 
 half- hour. 
 
 Again he awoke with a start, and sat upright. 
 
 "This '11 never do," he exclaimed, with a fierce 
 yawn, "something must be wrong. Ho ! Benjy !" 
 
 "Umph!" replied the boy, who, though person- 
 ally light, was a heavy sleeper. 
 
 "Rouse up, Ben, Alf 's not come back. Where 
 did you leave him?" 
 
 " Don' know, Burrerface saw 'im las* — ." Benjy 
 dropped off with a sigh, but was re-aroused by a 
 rough shake from his father, who lay close to him. 
 
 " Come, Ben, stir up Butterface 1 We must go 
 look for Alf." 
 
 Butterface lay on the other side of Benjy, who, 
 
 ( \ 
 
 
 "! 
 
 I'l 
 
 \\ 
 
 it i\ 
 
 I Jl 
 
135 
 
 THE GIANT OK THK NORTH 
 
 
 only half alive to what he was doing, raiscil hia 
 hand and let it fall heavily on the negro's n<se, by 
 way of stirring him np. 
 
 "Hallo! inassa Boii jaiuin ! Vou 's dream in' drof- 
 ful strong dis mornin'." 
 
 "Ger up, ol' ebony!" groaned the boy. 
 
 la a few minutes the whole camp was roused ; 
 sleep was quickly banished by anxiety about the 
 missing one ; guns and rifles were loaded, and a regu- 
 lar search-expedition was hastily organised. They 
 started off in groups in different directions, leaving 
 the Eskimo women in charge of the camp. 
 
 The Captain headed one party, Chingatok another, 
 and I^eo with lienjy a third, while a few of the 
 natives went off independently, in couples or alone. 
 
 "I was sure Alf would get into trouble," said 
 Benjy, as he trotted beside Leo, who strode over the 
 ground in anxious haste. "That way he has of 
 getting so absorbed in things that he forgets where 
 he is, won't make him a good explorer." 
 
 " Not so sure of that, Ben," returned Leo ; " he will 
 discover things that men who are less absorbed, like 
 yon, might fail to note. Let us go round this 
 hillock - separate sides. We might pass him if we 
 went together. Keep your eyes open as you go. 
 He may have stumbled over one of those low preci- 
 pices and broken a leg. Keep your ears cocked 
 also, and give a shout now and then." 
 
 
 'J'-' 
 
Oil POKINUa ROUND TliU POLK. 
 
 133 
 
 We have said that the island was a low one, 
 nevertheless it was extremely rugged, with little 
 ridges and hollows everywhere, like miniature hills 
 and valleys. Through one of these latter Benjy 
 hurried, glancing from side to side as he went, like 
 a red Indian on the war-path — which character, 
 indeed, he thought of, and tried to imitate. 
 
 The little vale did not, however, as Leo had ima- 
 gined, lead round the hillock. It diverged gradu- 
 ally to the right, and ascended towards the higher 
 parts of the island. The path was so obstructed 
 by rocks and boulders which had evidently been at 
 one time under the pressure of ice, that the boy 
 could not see far in any direction, except by mount- 
 ing one of these. He had not gone far when, on 
 turning the comer of a cliff w hich opened up another 
 gorge to view, he behold a sight which caused him 
 to open mouth and eyes to their widest. 
 
 For there, seated on an eminence, with his back to 
 a low precipice, not more than three or four hundred 
 yards off, sat the missing explorer, with book on 
 knees and pencil in hand — sketching; and there, 
 seated on the top of the precipice, looking over the 
 edge at the artist, skulked a huge Polar bear, taking 
 as it were, a surreptitious lesson in drawing ! The 
 bear, probably supposing Alf to be a wardering seal, 
 had dogged him to that position just as Benjy Vane 
 discoverod him, and then, finding the precipice too 
 
 m 
 
 "r^ 
 
 h I 
 
 It 
 
 ■9' 
 
 i% 
 
 i 
 
 .11 
 
 
 w 
 
134 
 
 THK aiANT OK THIi NOIITU 
 
 high for a leaj) perhaps, or doubtioR the character 
 of his inten(i(!(l victim, lie had paused iti uiicertaiuty 
 on the edge. 
 
 The boy's first impulse was to utter a shout of 
 warning, for he had no gun wherewith to shoot the 
 brute, but fear lest that might precipitate an attack 
 restrained him. Benjy, however, was quick-witted. 
 He saw that the leap was probably too much even 
 for a Polar bear, and that the nature of the ground 
 would necessitate a detour before it could get at the 
 artist. These and other thoughts passed through 
 his brain like the lightning flash, and he was on the 
 point of turning to run back and give the alarm to 
 Leo, when a rattling of stones occurred behind him — 
 just beyond the point of rocks round which he had 
 turned. In the tension of his excited nerves he felt 
 as if he had suddenly become red hot. Could this 
 be another bear ? If so, what was he to do, whither 
 to fly ? A moment more would settle the question, 
 for the rattle of stones continued as the steps ad- 
 vanced. The boy felt the hair rising on his head. 
 Hound came the unknown monster in the form of 
 — a man ! 
 
 "Ah! Benjy, I—" 
 
 But the appearance of Benjy's countenance caused 
 Leo to stop abruptly, both in walk and talk. He had 
 found out his mistake about sending the boy round 
 the hillock, and, turning back, had followed him. 
 
OK POKINOS UOUNI) TUF POI.K. 
 
 135 
 
 ! 
 
 felt 
 this 
 ;her 
 
 ' Ah ! look there," snid Benjy, pointing' at the 
 UibUan vivant on the hill-top. 
 
 Leo's ready rifle leaped from his shoulder to his 
 left palm, and a grim smile played on his lips, for 
 long service in a volunteer corps had made him a 
 good judge of distance as well as a sure and deadly 
 shot. 
 
 "Stand back, Benjy, behind this boulder," he 
 whispered. " I '11 lean on it to make more certain." 
 
 He was deliberately arranging the rifle while 
 speaking, but never for one instant took his eye off 
 the bear, which still stood motionl'^ss, with one paw 
 raised, as if petrified with amazement at what it 
 saw. As for Alf, he went on intently with his 
 work, lifting and lowering his eyes continuously, 
 putting in bold dashes here, or tender touches 
 there ; holding out the book occasionally at arm's 
 length to regard his work, with head first on one 
 side, then on the othe., and, in short, going through 
 all those graceful and familiar little evolutions of 
 artistic procedure which arouse one's home feel- 
 ings 80 powerfully everywhere — even in the Arctic 
 regions ! Little did the artist know who was his 
 uninvited pupil on that sunny summer night ! 
 
 With one knee resting on a rock, and his rifle 
 on the boulder, Leo took a steady, somewhat 
 lengthened aim, and fired. The result was stupend- 
 ous! Not only did the shot reverberate with 
 
 
 {■i 
 
 t 
 
 I;! 
 
 '! 
 
 t ' 
 
 
 • 'ii'm 
 
136 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 crashing echoes among surrounding clififs and 
 boulders, but a dying howl from the bear burst 
 o /er the island, like the thunder of a hep vy gun, 
 and went boon mg over the frozen sea. No wonder 
 that the horrified Alf leapt nearly his ow'.i height 
 into the air and scattered his drawing materials 
 right and left like chaff. He threw up his arms, 
 and wheeled frantically round just in time to 
 receive the murdered bear into his very bosom! 
 They rolled down a small slope together ind then, 
 falling apart, lay prone and apparently dead upon 
 the ground. 
 
 You may be sure that Leo soon had hia brother^s 
 nead on his knee, and was calling to him in an 
 agony of fear, quite regardless of the fact that the 
 bear lay at his elbow, giving a few terrific kicks as 
 its huge life oozed out through a bullet-hole in its 
 heart, while Benjy, half weeping with sympathy, 
 half laughing with glee, ran to a neighbouring pool 
 to fetch water in his cap. 
 
 A little of the refreshing liquid dashed on his 
 face and poured down his throat soon restored Alf, 
 who had only been stunned by the fall. 
 
 "What induced you to keep on sketching all 
 night ? *' asked Leo, after the first explanations were 
 over. 
 
 " All night ?" repeated Alf in surprise, " have I 
 been away aU night ? What time is it ?" 
 
 t 
 
liffs and 
 ear burst 
 3»vy gun, 
 o wondci" 
 :i height 
 materials 
 his arms, 
 tiDie to 
 ■ bosom! 
 ^nd then, 
 ead upon 
 
 brother's 
 m in an 
 that the 
 kicks as 
 )le in its 
 mpathy, 
 ing pool 
 
 on his 
 
 red Alf, 
 
 ing all 
 QS were 
 
 have I 
 
 1 I 
 I 
 
 !• ' 1 
 
 ' ! 
 
 ALF AND HIS POLAR PUPIL.— Page 136. 
 
 1 ? 
 
 I 
 
I ; 
 I , 
 
OR POKINGS HOUND THE POLE. 
 
 137 
 
 " Three o'clock in the morninu at the very least," 
 said Leo. "The sun is pretty high, as you might 
 have seen if you had looked at it." 
 
 " But he never looked at it," said Benjy, 
 whose eyes were not yet quite dry, "he never 
 looks at anything, or thinks of anything, when he 
 goes sketching." 
 
 " Surely you must allow that at least I look at 
 and think of my work," said Alf, rising from the 
 ground and sitting down on the rock from which he 
 had been so rudely roused ; " but you vire half 
 right, Benjy. The sun was at my back, you see, 
 hid from me by the cliff over which the bear 
 tumbled, and I had no thoughts for time, or eyes 
 for nature, except the portion I was buay with — by 
 the way, where is it ?" 
 
 " What, your sketch ?" 
 
 " Ay, and the colours. I wouldn't lose these for 
 a sight of the Pole itself. Look for them, Ben, my 
 boy, I still feel somewhat giddy." 
 
 In a few minutes the sketch and drawing- 
 materials were collected, undamaged, and the three 
 returned to camp, Alf leaning on Leo's arm. 
 On the way thither they met the Captain's party, 
 and afterwards the band led by Chingatok The 
 latter was mightily amused by the adventure, and 
 continued for a considerable time afterwards to up- 
 heave his huge shoulders with suppressed laughter. 
 
 »• .i. 
 
 ;l 
 
 ' ! 
 
 M. 
 
 1^" 
 
 MS 
 (. 
 
 i! 
 
 -11 
 
138 
 
 THE GlkUT OF THE NORTH 
 
 When the whole party was re-aasembled the hour 
 was so late, and they had all been so tlioroughly 
 excited, that no one felt inclined to sleep again. 
 It was resolved, therefore, at once to commence the 
 operations of a new day. Butterface was set to 
 prepare coffee, and the Eskimos began breakfast 
 with strips of raw blubber, while steaks of Leo's 
 bear were being cooked. 
 
 Meanwhile Chingatok expressed a wish to see 
 the drawing which had so nearly cost the artist 
 his life. 
 
 Alf was delighted to exhibit and explain it 
 
 For some time the giant gazed at it in silence. 
 Then he rested his forehead in his huge hand as if 
 in meditation. 
 
 It was truly a clever sketch of a surpassingly 
 lovely scene. In the foreground was part of the 
 island with its pearl-grey rocks, red-brown earth, 
 and green mosses, in the midst of which lay a calm 
 pool, like the island's eye looking up to heaven and 
 reflecting the bright indescribable blue of the mid- 
 night sky. Further on was a mass of cold grey 
 rocks. Beyond lay the northern ice-pack, which 
 extended in chaotic confusion away to the distant 
 horizon, but the chaos was somewhat relieved by 
 the presence of lakelets which shone here and there 
 over its surface like shields of glittering azure and 
 burnished gold 
 
* ii 
 
 OR POIUNOS EOUND THE POLE. 
 
 139 
 
 " Ask him wliat he thinks of it," said Leo to 
 Anders, a little surprised at Chingatok's prolonged 
 silence. 
 
 " I cannot speak," answered the ^iant, " my 
 oiind is bursting and my heart is full. With 
 my finger I have drawn faces on the snow. I have 
 seen men put wonderful things on flat rocks with a 
 piece of stone, but this ! — this is my country made 
 little. It looks as if I could walk in it, yet it is 
 flat!" 
 
 "The giant is rather complimentary," laughed 
 Benjy, when this was translated ; " to my eye yo"ir 
 sketch is little better than a daub." 
 
 " It is a daub that causes me much anxiety," 
 said the Captain, who now looked at the drawing 
 for the first time. " D'you mean to tell me, Alf, 
 that you've been true to nature when you sketched 
 that pack ?" 
 
 " As true as I could make it, uncle." 
 
 "I'll answer for its truth," said Leo, "and so 
 wiQ Benjy, for we both saw the view from the top 
 of the island, though we paid little heed to it, 
 being too much occupied with Alf and the bear at 
 the time. The pack is even more rugged than 
 he has drawn it, and it extends quite unbroken to 
 the horizon." 
 
 The Captain's usually hopeful expression forsook 
 him for a little as he commented on his bad fortune. 
 
 ! i 
 
 r, 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 ! 1 
 
 ■ ! 
 
 
 
uo 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NOBTH 
 
 "The aeasou advances, you see," he said, "and it 'd 
 never very long at the best. 1 had hoped we vere 
 done with this troublesome ' sea of ancient ice/ 
 but it seems to turn up everywhere, and from past 
 experience we know that the crossing of it is slow 
 work, as well as hard. However, we mustn't lose 
 heart. * Nebber say die,' as Butterface is fond of 
 remarking." 
 
 " Yis, Massa, nebber say die, but allers say * lib, 
 to de top ob your bent/ Dems my 'pinions w'en 
 dey's wanted. Also * go a-hid. Dat's a grand 
 sent'ment — was horned 'mong de Yankees, an' I 
 stoled it w'en I lef ole Virginny/' 
 
 "What says Ohingatok?" asked the Captain of 
 the Eskimo, who was still seated with the sketch 
 on his knees in profound meditation. 
 
 "Blackboard has trouble before him," answered 
 the uncompromising giant, without removing his 
 eyes from the paper. ** There," he said, pointing to 
 the pack, " you have three days' hard work. After 
 that three days' easy and swift work.. After that 
 no more go on. Must come back." 
 
 •* He speaks in riddles, Anders. What does 
 he mean by the three days of hard work coming to 
 an end ? " 
 
 "I mean/' said Chingatok, "that the ice was 
 loose when I came to this island. It is now closed. 
 The white men must toil, toil, toil — very alow over 
 
OR roKrcr.R bound thf, polf. 
 
 141 
 
 the ice for three days, then they will come to 
 smooth ice, where the dogs ir:*y run for tlnee days. 
 Then they will come to another island, like this 
 one, on the far-oif side of whi-^h there is no ice — 
 nothing but sea, sea, sea. Our kayaks are gone," 
 continued the giant, sadly, **we must come back 
 and travel many days before we find things to 
 make new ones." 
 
 While he was speaking, Captain Vane's face 
 brightened up. 
 
 " Are you sure of what you say, Chingatok?" 
 
 ** Chingatok is sure," replied the Eskimo quietly. 
 
 " Then we '11 conquer our difficulties after all. 
 Come, boys, let 's waste no more time in vile talk, 
 but harness the dogs, and be off at once." 
 
 Of course the party had to travel roimd the 
 island, for there was neither ice nor snow on it. 
 When the other side was reached the real difficulties 
 of the journey were fully realised. During the 
 whole of that day and the next they were almost 
 continuously engaged in dragging the sledges over 
 masses of ice, some of which rose to thirty feet 
 above the general level. If the reader will try to 
 imagine a very small ant or beetle dragging its 
 property over a newly macadamised road, he will 
 have a faint conception of the nature of the work. 
 To some extent the dogs were a hindrance rrither 
 than a help, especi.ally when passing over broken 
 
 i 'li 
 
 i-'ii 
 
 in 
 
 U 
 
 'IN 
 
 i'if 
 
U2 
 
 THE GIANT Of THE NORTH 
 
 1.'!' 
 
 hagmeiits, for they were always tumbling into holes 
 and cracks, out of which they had to be dragged, 
 and were much given to venting their ill-humour 
 on each other, sometimes going in for a free fight, 
 in the course of which they tied their traces into 
 indescribable knots, and drove their Eskimo masters 
 furious. Od ST.oh occasions the whips — both lash 
 and handle— were applied with unsparing vigour 
 until the creatures were cowed. 
 
 Danger, also, as well as toil, was encountered 
 during the journey. On the evening of the second 
 day the sledge driven 1 y Oolichuk diverged a little 
 from the line of march towards what seemed an 
 easier passage over the hummocks. They had just 
 gained the top of an ice-block, which, unknown to 
 the driver, overhung its base. When the dogs 
 reached the edge of the mass, it suddenly gave way. 
 Dowii went the team with a united howl of despair. 
 Their weight jerked the sledge forward, another 
 mass of the ice gave way, and over went the whole 
 affair. In the fall the lashingc broke, and Oolichuk, 
 with several of his kindred, ircjludiug poor little 
 Oblooria, went down in a shower of skins, packages, 
 bags, and Eskimo cooking utensils. 
 
 Fortunately, they dropped on a slope of ice which 
 broke their fall, and, as it were, shunted them all 
 safe V, though violently, to the lower lovel of the pack. 
 
 Bajond a few scratches and bruises, no evil 
 
 •a I 
 
i 
 
 THE SEA OF ANCIENT ICE.-Pao-; 142. 
 
 
 :;:{ 
 
 n 11 
 

 t'' 
 
OR POKTNGS ROUND THE POtK. 
 
 143 
 
 resulted from this accident to these hardy natives 
 of the uorth. 
 
 That night they all encamped, as on the previous 
 night, in the midst of the pack, spreading their 
 skins and furs on the flattest ice they could find, 
 and keeping as far from overlianging lumps as 
 possible. 
 
 " What does Blackbeard mean by coming here ? " 
 asked Cliingatok of Anders, as they lay side by side, 
 gazing up at the blue sky awaiting sleep. " We 
 cannot swim over the sea, and we have no boats." 
 
 " I don't know," answered the interpreter. " Our 
 chief is a wonderful man. He does things that 
 seem to be all wrong, but they turn out mostly to 
 be aU right." 
 
 "Does he ever speak of a Great Spirit ?" asked 
 the giant in a solemn tone. 
 
 " Not to me," replied the other, " but I hear him 
 sometimes speaking to his little boy about his God." 
 
 '* Then he must know his God," returned Ching- 
 atok. " Has he seen him — spoken to him ?" 
 
 Anders was a good deal surprised as well as 
 puzzled by the questions put by his new friend. 
 His extremely commonplace mind had never been 
 exercised by such ideas. " I never asked him about 
 that," he said, " and he never told me. Perhaps he 
 will tell you if you ask him." 
 
 The interpreter turned on his side with a si^h 
 
 m 
 
 |i;Mi 
 
 w 
 
 M 
 
 -Ml 
 
 
144 
 
 TRF. OIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 
 St' 
 
 and went to slnop. The giant lay on his hack 
 ga/inf; lonfj and steadily witli a wistful look at thu 
 unbroken vault of sky, wlioso vast profumlity 
 seemed to thrust him mercilessly hack. As he 
 gazed, a little cloud, light as a pulTof eidor-down, 
 and golden as the sun from which its lustre came, 
 floated into the range of his vision. Ho smiled, for 
 the thought that light may suddenly arise when all 
 around seems blank gave his inquiring spirit rest, 
 and he soon joined the slumbering band who lay 
 upon the ice around him. 
 
 According to Chingatok'a prophecy, on the third 
 day the fagged and weary discoverers surmounted 
 their first difficulty, and came upon comparatively 
 smooth ice, the surface of which resembled hard- 
 trodden snow, and was sufficiently free from ob- 
 structing lumps to admit of rapid sledge travelling. 
 It was late when they reached it, but as they could 
 now all sit on the sledges and leave the hard work 
 to the dogs, the leader resolved to continue the 
 advance without resting. 
 
 " It 's time enough to stop when we 're stopped," 
 he remarked to Leo, while making preparations to 
 start. " We will sleep at the firs* obstruction we 
 meet with, if it's a sufficiently troublesome one. 
 See that the things are well laslied on all the 
 sledges, Alf. Kemember that I hold you respon- 
 sible for lost articles." 
 
OR poKTNna Rorwn thf. polf. 
 
 145 
 
 .11 
 
 "And wli.'it nm 1 iL'sponsiblo for, lather?" O-skt'd 
 IV'ujv with a pert look. 
 
 '• For keei)iii;» out of mischief, Hen. That 's the 
 most I can expect of you." 
 
 " You are oidy a sort of negative blessiuj; to us, 
 you see, Benjy," said Alf, aa he stooped to tighten a 
 rope. " It 's not so much what you do, as what you 
 don't do, that rejoices us." 
 
 " I 'm glad of that," retorted the boy, arranging 
 himself comfortably on liis father's sledge, " because 
 I won't do anything at all for some hours to come, 
 which ought to fill you all with perfect felicity. 
 Awake me, Jaio, if wo cliance to upset." 
 
 " Now then, all ready ?" cried the Captain. " Otf 
 you go, then — clap on all sail ! " 
 
 Crack went the mighty whips, howl went the dogs, 
 and the sledges were soon skimming over the sea at 
 the rate of ten miles an hour. Of course they did 
 not keep that pace up very long. It became neces- 
 sary to rest at times, also, to give the dogs a little 
 food. When this latter process had been completed, 
 the teams became so lively that they tried to run 
 away. 
 
 *' Let them run," said the Captain to I^o. 
 
 " And help them on," added Benjy. 
 
 Leo took the advice of both, applied the lash, and 
 increased the speed so much that the sledge swung 
 from side to siue on the smooth places, sometimes 
 
 > il 
 
 ' \i\ 
 
 >-i4;t* ' \ pa 
 
 ' « 
 
146 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 catching on a lump of ice, and all but throwing out 
 its occupants. Tiie Eskimos entered into the spirit 
 of their leaders. They also plied their lashes, and, 
 being more dexterous than Leo, soon converted the 
 journey into a race, in which Chingatok — his giant 
 arm flourishing an appropriately huge whip — was 
 rapidly coming to the front when a tremendous shout 
 in the rear caused them to pull up. Looking back, 
 Alf s sledge was seen inverted and mixed, as it were, 
 with the team, while Alt' himself and his Eskimo 
 friends were sprawling arcnnd on the ice. No dam- 
 age was done to life or limb, but a sledge- runner 
 had been partially broken, and could not be mended, 
 — so said Oolichuk — in less than an hour. 
 
 "This, then," said the Captain, "is our first 
 obstruction, so here we will make our beds lor ti»fl 
 night" 
 
.■>! 
 
 OR POKINOS ROUND THE POLK. 
 
 147 
 
 CHAPTEK XL 
 
 ii\ 
 
 ANOTHER ISLAND DI8C0VERKD— THE EN0U8HMRN AND ESKIMOH 
 ALIKB ARE ASTONISHED IN MORE WATS THAN ONK. 
 
 As Chingatok had predicted, on the sixth day 
 from Home-in-sight Island the party came to 
 another island, where the great pack abruptly 
 terminated. It was not large, probably ten or 
 twelve miles in length, from the Eskimo account, 
 but the ends of it could not be seen from the 
 spot where they landed. At that point it was 
 only two miles wide, and on the opposite side its 
 shores were laved by an open sea, which was quite 
 free from ice, with the exception of a few scattered 
 floes and bergs — a sea whose waves fell in slow 
 regular cadence on a pebbly beach, and whose 
 horizon was an unbroken line barely distinguishable 
 from the sky. 
 
 Close to it a few black rocks showed above the 
 water, around, which great numbers of gulls, 
 puffins, and other sea-birds disported themselves in 
 clamorous joy ; sometimes flying to the shore as if 
 to have a look at the new comers, and then sheering 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 ' r 
 
 
148 
 
 rmi: tjant of tttr north 
 
 off with a screani — it miglit he a laugh — to tell 
 their comrades what they had .seen. 
 
 " Here, then, at last, is the open Polar Sea," said 
 Captain Vane, after the first long silent gaze of joy 
 and admiration. " I have no doubt of it whatever. 
 And now we shall proceed, I hope without interrup- 
 tion, to the Pole !" 
 
 "Of course you do not intend that we should 
 swim there, do you, uncle ?" said Leo. 
 
 "Of course not, my boy. In those big cases, 
 which have cost us so much labour to bring here, I 
 have three large and stout india-rubber boats — " 
 
 " Ha ! I guessed as much," exclaimed Alf. 
 
 "No doubt," returned the Captain, "but you did 
 not guess all." 
 
 " I hope not," said Leo, for to say truth I don't 
 much relish the idea of rowing over an unknown 
 sea an unknown distance at the rate of three or four 
 miles an hour. I hope you have a patent steam- 
 engine that will drive us along somewhat faster." 
 
 " No, lad, no, I have no such steam-engine or 
 any other miraculous contrivance that sets the laws 
 of nature at defiance, and appears only in nursery 
 tales. This expedition has been undertaken on no 
 hap-hazard or insane plan. It was all cut and dry 
 before we left Old England, and it is much simpler 
 than you suppose." 
 
 " What, then, is to be your motive power, if not 
 
OR POKWUS ROUND TH£ POLE. 
 
 149 
 
 
 oars or sails — which last would not work well, I 
 <ear, in an india-rubber boat?" asked Leo. 
 
 " Kites," replied the Captain. 
 
 " Kites !" repeated both Alf and Leo in surprise. 
 
 " Not paper ones, surely," said Benjy, in a tone 
 of disappointment, not unmingled with contempt. 
 
 "No, Ben, not paper ones," said the Captain, "but 
 you shall see. Let the boxes be unlashed and car- 
 ried into yonder cave. I'll unpack them presently. 
 Meanwhile, Anders, I want you to interpret for me. 
 Go, tell Chingatok I wish to have a talk with him." 
 
 While the brothers went to obey their leader's 
 order, and Benjy to superintend the pitching of the 
 camp. Captain Vane walked along the shore with 
 Anders and the giant. 
 
 " Are you sure, Chingatok, that there is no more 
 ice in this sea?" asked the Captain. 
 
 " No more great packs; only a little here and there, 
 and a few ice-mountains," answered the Eskimo. 
 
 " And no more islands ?" 
 
 " No more islands till you come to the land where 
 I and my people dweU. There are more islands 
 beyond that with people on them — people who are 
 not friendly to us " 
 
 " How far off, now, is your land from this island ?" 
 continued the Captain, with a grave nod to Leo, who 
 joined them at the moment. 
 
 " About three days with a kayak." 
 
 i: 
 
 
 
 i .1 
 
150 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 
 The Captain pondered for a few minutes. 
 
 " Leo," he said, " the observation wliich I took 
 yesterday enables me to place this island in lat. 
 86" 40". I judge that a kayak may travel at the 
 rate of three miles an hour, which, making allow- 
 ance for sleep and rests, gives tlie distance of this 
 island from Chingatok's native land approximately 
 at about 100 miles, so that the home of this giant 
 and his tribe is actually in the near neighbourhood 
 of the Pole itself. If this be so, we may consider 
 that our success, wind, weather, etc. permitting, is 
 absolutely certain." 
 
 The Captain spoke in the deep earnest tones of 
 one under the influence of powerful but suppressed 
 enthusiasm. 
 
 " Now then, Leo," he continued, " we will go and 
 take formal possession of this new discovery. What 
 shall we call it ? Good Hope is too familiar as a 
 cape." 
 
 " Why not Great Hope ? " asked Leo. 
 
 " Good ! That will do well." 
 
 So Captain Vane took possession of Great Hope 
 Island; having fixed its position in lat. 86** 40* 
 north, and long. 60* west. 
 
 After that he proceeded to open the cases which 
 had so long been objects of interest to his own party, 
 and objects of intense curiosity to the Eskimos, who 
 crowded round the eutiauce of tlie shallow cavern 
 
 f 
 
OR POKINGS UOUND THE PULE. 
 
 151 
 
 with eager looks, while their leader went to work 
 with hammer and chisel on the copper fastenings. 
 
 " Wugh ! huk ! hi ! hosh ! ho ! " were something 
 like the exclamations uttered by the Eskimos when 
 the lid of the first case flew up and revealed only a 
 mass of brown paper wrappings. 
 
 It was interesting to observe the utter self-oblivion 
 of these children of nature ! Of course the eyes and 
 mouths of all opened wider and wider while the work 
 went on. We can understand this, for it is charac- 
 teristic of the simple in all nations, but it was not 
 so easy to understand why shoulders should slowly 
 rise and elbows be slightly bent, and the ten fingers 
 gradually expand like claws. Anxiety might account 
 for the way in which some of them softly lifted one 
 foot and then the other ; but why did little Oblooria 
 raise her left foot by imperceptilde degrees, and 
 remiiu poised upon the other as if she were a bird, 
 except on the supposition that she was unconsciously 
 imitating Tekkona, who was doing the same thing ? 
 
 It was interesting, also, to note the slight sub- 
 stratum of consciousness that displayed itself in 
 Oolichuk, who, while regarding the Captain in 
 glaring expectancy, put his arm, inadvertently as 
 it were, round Oblooria's waist — also the complete 
 absence of consciousness in the latter, who was so 
 engrossed with the Captain, that she did not appear 
 to feel the touch of Oolichuk ! These little pecu- 
 
 «;i 
 
 ■n 
 
 1 
 
 m 
 
 fo- 
 
 ri ri 
 
 "1 
 
 m 
 
152 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 liarities, however, although oxtreniely interesting, 
 were not observed by any of the actors on that 
 occiisicm — except, perhaps, by Beujy, who, being 
 sharp-witted, had a knack of seeing round a corner 
 at times ! 
 
 When the contents of the case were turned out, 
 they proved to consist of several coils of rope, and a 
 large square bundle. The uncording of the latter 
 intensified the expectation of the Eskimo to boiling 
 point, and when the brown paper was removed, and 
 a roll of something with a strange, not to say bad, 
 smell was displayed, they boiled over in a series of 
 exclamations to which the former "hiiks" and 
 " hos" were mere child's play. But when the roll 
 was unrolled, and assumed a flat shape not unlike 
 the skin of a huge walrus, they gave a shout. Then, 
 when the Captain, opening a smaller package, dis- 
 played a pair of bellows like a concertina, they 
 gave a gasp. When he applied these to a hole in 
 the flat object, and caused it slowly to swell, they 
 uttered a roar, and when, finally, they saw the flat 
 thing transformed into a goodly- sized boat, they 
 absolutely squealed with delight, and began to caper 
 about in child-like joy. 
 
 In this manner, three cases were opened, and 
 three boats produced. Then the Magician, who went 
 about his work in perfect silence, with a knowing 
 smile on his lips, opened several longish boxes, which 
 
K 
 
 OK rOKiNUS ROUWD THE POLE. 
 
 153 
 
 i 
 
 r^o had guessed to be filled with fishing-rods or 
 spare rifles, but which, it turned out, contained oars 
 for the india-rubber boats. After that, the Captain 
 opened another large case, which roused the sur- 
 prise of his white followers as much as that of the 
 natives. 
 
 "It looks like one of mother's silk dresses," 
 remarked Benjy, as the new wonder was dragged 
 forth. 
 
 " Too voluminous for that," said Alf. 
 
 " A balloon !" exclaimed Leo. 
 
 " No, boys, it 's only a I ite," said the Captain, 
 unfolding it. " I confess it does not look very like 
 one, but its appearance will change by and by." 
 
 And its appearance did change remarkably as it 
 was opened out and put together. 
 
 The construction of this kite was peculiar. Tn 
 the first place, it was square in form, or, rather, 
 diamond-shaped, and its size, when fuUy distended, 
 was eighteen feet by fourteen. 
 
 " The simplicity of it, you see," said the Captain, 
 as he put it together, " is its grtat recommendation." 
 He ceased to speak for a few moments, while 
 engaged with a troublesome joint, and Benjy took 
 advantage of the pause to express a hope that 
 simplicity was not its greatest recommendation, 
 because he had never heard of any one attempting 
 to reach the Pole on the i>trength of simplicity. 
 
 fc 
 
 
 ii)H 
 
 I'i 
 
 I 
 
 m 
 
Ift-J 
 
 THE OIANT OF THE NOKTII 
 
 
 Without noticing this remark, the Captain went 
 on — 
 
 " You seo it would bo froublesorae to carry dis- 
 tending sticks of great lenr'Mi, because they would 
 be in the wav, and .1 t^ _,<■ b Dken. Each soick, 
 therefore, has a joint Ijv tf\r: middle like that of a 
 fishing-rod. There arc * jur • 'h sticks, fastened 
 to, or radiating from, a strong steel central hinge, so 
 that they can be folded together, or opened out into 
 the form of a cross. A small but very strong cross 
 of bamboo fits on the machine, behind the central 
 hinge, and locks it in a distended position, after the 
 silk has been ])laced on it. Strong cords run round 
 the outer edges of the sillc, and there are loops at 
 the corners to attach it to the distenders. Thus, 
 you see, the kite can be put up, or folded into 
 a portable form like an umbrella, though not of 
 course as quickly, nor yet as easily, owing to its 
 great size." 
 
 While he was speaking, the Captain was busily 
 putting the several parts of the kite together. 
 As he concluded, he laid the machine on its face, 
 locked it with the little bamboo cross, and then held 
 it up in triumph, to the delight of his white 
 obsenrers, and the blank astonishment of the 
 Eskimos We say blank, because, unlike the boat, 
 the nature of which they understood before it had 
 been quite inflated, this machine was to them an 
 
OR I'OKINGa UOUNI) i HE 1 OLK. 
 
 155 
 
 If 
 
 of 
 its 
 
 ahru)lu(p nijvStery, o'ld seemed to be of no use at all. 
 Their o, 'niou »>f it was not improved wlifii a sudden 
 jniff oi wind blew it flat "U the ground, causing the 
 Captain to fail on the toj) of it. 
 
 " It 's a little awkward in handling," ho prowled, 
 unlocking the centre-cross. " Hold tiie points down, 
 lads, till I drag it into the umbrella form. There ; 
 it 's all safe now. The truth is, unmauageableness 
 when in hand is the only fault of my kite. Once 
 in the air, it's as tractable as a lamb; getting it 
 up is the chief difficulty, but that is not too great 
 to be overcome." 
 
 " Besides, you know, nothing *s perfect in this 
 world, father," said Benjy, with a wink at Butter- 
 face, who, having acute risible tendencies, exploded. 
 Some of the Eskimos, whose sympathies were strong, 
 joined in the laugh by way of relief to their feelings. 
 
 Wlien the Captain had wound a strap round the 
 closed kite, to restrain its volatile nature, he opened 
 another large case which contained several reels of 
 strong cord, somewhat resembling log-lines, but with 
 this peculiarity, that, alongside of each thick cord 
 there ran a thin red line of twine, connected with 
 though not bound to the other by means of little 
 loops or rings of twine fixed about six feet apait 
 throughout its entire lengtli. 
 
 " These are the cords to fly the kites," said the 
 Captain, taking up one of the reels, which was ua 
 
 11 
 
 fi-j 
 
 4|j 
 
 i 'I 
 
156 
 
 THE UUNT OF THK NOUIH 
 
 
 Pi 
 
 large as a man'H hat. " You bgo I have three sets 
 of silk in that box, and six sets of reels and sticks, 
 besides a few 8})are pieces of the latter, so that we 
 can afford to suffer a little damage. Now, the use 
 of this peculiar sort of double line will be clear 
 when in action, but I may as well explain it. The 
 end of this stout line is to be made fast to the 
 band which you saw on the kite, and the end of this 
 thin red line to the top of its upright stick. You 
 remember well enough how independent ordinary 
 kites are. You cannot cause them to descend except 
 by hauling them in by main force, and you cannot 
 moderate their pull. This kite of mine is capable 
 of exerting a pull equal to six Lorses, with a 
 sufficiently strong wind. So, you see, it would be 
 impossible for a dozen men to hold it. without 
 some check on its power. This check is supplied 
 by the thin red line, which is made of the strongest 
 silk. By pulling it gently you bend the head of 
 the kite forward, so that it ceases to present a flat 
 surface to the wind, which flies off it more or less 
 at the tail By pulling still more on the red line, 
 the traction-power is still further reduced, and, with 
 a good pull, the kite can be made to present its 
 head altogether to the wind, and thus to lie flat on 
 it, when, of course, it will descend slowly to the 
 ground, waving from side to side, like a dropped 
 sheet of paper." 
 
OR P0KIN08 KOUKD THE POLE. 
 
 1B7 
 
 ■' »i 
 
 "Are, you going to try it, I'athur?" jiskfid Ik'iijy 
 ea«,'erly. 
 
 Th(i Captain looked uj» at the clouds with a 
 critical glance. " There 's hardly enough of wind 
 to 'lay, boy. Nevertheless we will try." 
 
 In a very short time the kite was again extended, 
 the centre locked, the thick cord fixed to a loop in 
 the band, and the thin cord to the head of the main 
 stick. While this was being done, the coruei.s were 
 held down by Leo, Beujy, Anders, and Butterlace. 
 
 "How about a tail, father?" asked Benjy, with 
 sudden animation. 
 
 "Ha! I forgot the tail. I've got several tails. 
 It 's well you reminded me." 
 
 " It is indeed," responded the boy, " for I remem- 
 ber well that when my kites lost their tails they 
 used to whirl wildly about until they dashed their 
 heads on the ground. This kite would be little 
 better than a mad elephant without its tail !" 
 
 A short tail, made of the strongest cat-gut, was 
 now fixed to the lower extremity of the kite. It 
 had a bag at the end, to be weighted with stones 
 as required. 
 
 "Now, then, Alf, do you carry the reel away 
 fifty yards or so, and pay out the line as you go. 
 Make a dozen of the Eskimos hold on with you till 
 I come and regulate the puli I must remain her© 
 to set it off." 
 
 ! 
 
 1 ; 
 
 
 :f!1 
 
168 
 
 TI[K OIANT OP TUB NORTH 
 
 
 2: 
 
 Alf (lid Its h« wiiH ordered. Whem he was far 
 eiKJiii^li (lilt, the C'!i])liiiii and [<»;o raided llic iieriid 
 monster witli caution, gnisping it by the shoulders, 
 wliile neiijy held on to the tail. Their great care 
 was to k(!('p it flat, so that it presented nothing hut 
 its thin h(!ad to the wind, Imt this was a difficulty, 
 for it kept fluttering as if anxious to get away, 
 catching a slant of wind underneath now and 
 then, which caused both Leo and the Captain to 
 stagger. 
 
 " Don't hold down the tail, Benjy," cried the 
 Captain, lookiiig anxiously over his shoulder. 
 
 Unfortunately Ben did not hear the "don't." 
 Not only did he hold on with increased vigour, but 
 he gave the tail an energetic pull downwards. The 
 result was that the wind got fairly underneath, and 
 the head was jerked upward. Leo, fearing to tear 
 the silk, let go, and the Captain was thrown 
 violently off. Benjy alone stood to his guns-^r 
 to his tail — with loyal heroism for a moment, but 
 when he felt himself lifted off the ground u faw 
 inches, a feeling of horror seized him. He let go, 
 and came down with a whack. 
 
 Free at last, the huge kite shot upwards like a 
 rocket, and a terrible howl from the Eskimo showed 
 that all was not right at their end of the line. The 
 trutli was that none of them were impressed with 
 the importance of the duty required of them. The 
 
OR P0IUNG8 ROUND THE POLK. 
 
 151) 
 
 'M 
 
 iiuMen fitmiii j»Mked the line out of tlic haiitls f»f 
 some, and tlir<!W othci's to the f^ronnd, iiml Alt', whn 
 iiad for greater security taken a turn of tin- lint- 
 round Ills riglit ann, was (hagged forward at full 
 racing speed. Indeed he was be^'inning to take 
 those tremendous bounds calleil " giant strides," 
 which were i^mv to terminate in bis being draggeil 
 along the ground. 
 
 Captain Vane saw the danger, and was equal to 
 the occasion. Tliere was little time for thought 
 or action. Another moment and Alf would be off 
 the beach into the sea. 
 
 " Let go ! Alf ; let go !" cried Leo, in an agony of 
 alarm. 
 
 '• No, no ! hold on !" shouted the Captain. 
 
 Poor Alf could not help holding on. The turns 
 of the line round his arm held him fast. 
 
 Another moment, and he was abreast of the 
 Captain who sprang at him as he passed like a 
 leopard on his prey and held on. But the pace wa.s 
 little checked with this additional weight. It was 
 beyond the Captain's running powers, and both he 
 and Alf would have been thrown violently to the 
 ground had it not happen d that they had reached the 
 water, into which they plunged with a tremendous 
 splash. They were dragged through it, however, 
 only for a few seconds, for by that time the Captain 
 had succeeded in getting hold of the rod line and 
 
 Hi 
 
 HK 
 
 li:i 
 
 1:11 
 : M 
 
 r 
 
 Mi 
 
 
160 
 
 THE GTANT OF TTTT; NORTH 
 
 ^ 
 
 •i 
 
 
 pulling it soparatoly. Tlie icsult was iramediato 
 and satisfactory. The liv3ad of the kite was thrown 
 forward, acting soiiiowhat as a sail docs when a ship 
 is thrown into the wind, and the two unloitu nates 
 came to an anchor in four feet of water. 
 
 " We mnst not let it into the water, Alf," gasped 
 ^•.he Captain, clearing the water from his eyes. 
 
 "How can we prevent it?" spluttered Alf, 
 shaking the wet hair off his face. 
 
 " Ease your fingers a bit. There ; hold on." 
 
 As he spoke the Captain gave a slight pull on the 
 regulating line. The kite at once caught the wind 
 and soared, giving the two operators an awful tug, 
 which nearly overturned them again. 
 
 " Too much," growled the Captain. " You see it 
 takes some experience to regulate the excitable 
 thing properly. There, now, haul away for the 
 shore." 
 
 By this time they we^e joined by Leo and 
 Chingatok, who ran in*:o the water and aided 
 them indragging the refractory machine ashore. 
 
 " That 's a vigorous beginning, father," remarked 
 Beiijy as they came to laiul. 
 
 "it is, my boy. Go and fetch me Jry clothes 
 while we haul in the kite and make her snug. ' 
 
 '■When do you mean to start?"' asked Leo, as he 
 coiled away the slack- of the line on the reel. 
 
 "The first steady fair -wind that blows from the 
 
OR rOKINGS HOUND ".'TrF poi.r. 
 
 161 
 
 south/' misweieil the Cuittain, " Vnit we must, linvo 
 oue or two experimental trials of the kites aud boats 
 together, before we set out on the real voyage." 
 
 "It's a capital idea," returned Leo enthusias- 
 tically. "There 's a sort of neck-or-notliiiig dash about 
 it that quite suits me. But, uncle, what of the Eski- 
 mos ? The tliree boats won't carry the half of them." 
 
 " I know that, lad, aud shall get over the difSculty 
 by leaving some of them behind. Chingatok says 
 they are quite able to take care of themselves ; can 
 easily regain the Greenland shore, find their canoes, 
 or make new ones, and return to their own land if 
 they choose." 
 
 " But, uncle," said Alf, who was by no means as 
 reckless as his brother, " don't you think it 's rather 
 risky to go off into an unknown sea in open boats, 
 for no one knows how long, to go no one knows 
 exactly where ? " 
 
 " Why, Alf," returned the Captain with a laugh, 
 " if you were as stupid about your scientific pursuits 
 as you are about geographical affairs, you would not 
 be worth your salt. A sea 's a sea, isn't it, whether 
 known or unknown, and the laws that affect all seas 
 are pretty much alike. Of course it is risky. So ir- 
 going on a forlorn hope. So is shooting with a set 
 of fellows who don't know how (<• manage their guns. 
 So is getting on a horse, for it may kick you off 
 or run away. So is eating fish, for you may choke 
 
 • !;" 
 
 Iff 
 
1(52 
 
 THK GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 2| 
 
 r; 
 
 yourself. Everything, almost, is more or less risky. 
 You viust risk sometliiug if you 'd discover the North 
 Pole, which has baffled adventurers from the days of 
 Adam till now. And you are wrong in saying that 
 v^e shall go off for no one knows how long. The 
 distance from this island to the Pole is pretty nearly 
 2 00 a iles.If our kites carry us along at the rate 
 of ten miles an hour, we shall cover the distance in 
 20 hours. If we have calms or contrary winds we 
 may take 20 days. If storms come, we have not 
 much to fear, for the weather is warm, — so, too, is 
 the water. Then, our boats are lifeboats — they can- 
 not sink. As to not knowing where exactly we are 
 going, why, man, we're going to the North Pole. 
 Everybody knows where that is, ard we are going 
 to the home of Chingatok, which cannot be very far 
 from it." 
 
 " Thero. Alf, I hope you are sufficiently answered," 
 said Leo, as he undid the locking-gear of the kite, 
 which by that time lay prone ou its face, as peaceful 
 as a lamb. 
 
 The next three days were spent in flying the 
 other kites, tying them on the boats, acquiring 
 experience, and making preparations for the voyage. 
 It was found that, with a moderate breeze, the kites 
 towed the boats at the rate of ten miles an hour, 
 which was beyond the most sanguine hopes of the 
 Captain. Of course they could not beat ♦lo wind- 
 
* ■■- 
 
 OB rOKINGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 163 
 
 ward with them, but they could sail with a consider- 
 able slant, and they prevented the boats, while thus 
 advancing, from making much lee-way by means of 
 deep lee-hoards, such as are used even at the present 
 day by Dutch ships. 
 
 " But I can't understand," said Benjy, after several 
 trials had been made, "why you should not have 
 fitted sails to the boata, instead of kites." 
 
 " Because a sail only a quarter the size of a kite 
 would upset the boat," said the Captain, " and one 
 small enough to suit it would be little better than 
 a pair of oars. This kite system is like fitting a 
 gigantic sail to a lilliputian boat, d 'ye see ?" 
 
 " I see, father. But I wish it had been a balloon. 
 It would have been greater fun to have gone to the 
 Pole in a balloon !" 
 
 "A balloon will never go there, nor anywhere 
 else, Benjy, except where the wind carries it, for a 
 balloon cannot be steered. It's impossible in the 
 nature of things — as much so as that dream of the 
 visionary, perpetual motion." 
 
 On the fourth day after their arrival at Great Hope 
 Island the wind blew strong and steady from the 
 south, and the explorers prepared to start. The Eski- 
 mos had been told that they were to remain behind 
 and shift for themselves — a piece of news which did 
 not seem to affect them at all, one way or other. 
 Those who were selected to go with tha explorer* 
 
 
 m 
 
 11 
 
1C4 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NOllTn 
 
 r 
 
 s 
 
 r; 
 
 i- 
 
 >: 
 
 m 
 
 r; 
 
 were perfectly willing to do sd. Cliinf^atok, of 
 course, was particularly rtiady. So were his corpu- 
 lent mother and Tekkona and Oblooria ; so also 
 were Oolichuk, Ivitchuk, and Akeetolik. 
 
 It was a splendid sunny afternoon when the kites 
 were finally flown and attached to the three boats 
 which were cojumanded respectively by the Captain 
 Leo, and Alf. These three sat at the bow of each 
 boat manipulating the regulators, and keeping the 
 kites fluttering, while the goods and provisions were 
 put on board. Then the Eskimo women and crowg 
 stepped in, and the stern ropes were cast loose. 
 
 " Let go the check-strings !" shouted the Captain. 
 
 This was done. The huge kites began to strain 
 at once, and the india-rubber boats went rushing out 
 to sea, leaving the remainder of the Eskimo band 
 speechless on the shore. They stood there motion- 
 less, with open mouths and eyes, the very embodi- 
 ment of unbelieving wonder, till the boats had 
 disappeared on the horizon. 
 
"Mt'- 
 
 OB POKINGS ROUND THE POLK. 
 
 165 
 
 CHAPTER XIL 
 
 i; 
 
 THR OPEN POLAB BASIN AT LAST 1 ALF WASHES HIMSELF IN IT. 
 
 Who can imagine or describe the feelings of 
 Captain Vane and his young relatives on finding 
 themselves sweeping at such a magnii cent rate over 
 the great Polar basin? — that mysterious sea, which 
 some believe to be a sea of thick- ribbed ice, and otliers 
 suppose to be no sea at all, but dry land covered 
 with eternal snows. One theorist even goes the 
 length of saying that the region immediately around 
 the Pole is absolutely nothing at all ! — only empty 
 space caused by the whirling of the earth, — a space 
 which extends through its centre from pole to pole ! 
 
 Much amusement did the Captain derive from 
 the contemplation of these theories as he crossed 
 over the grand and boundless ocean, and chatted 
 pleasantly with his son, or Chingatok, or Toolooha, 
 who formed the crew of his little boat. 
 
 The party consisted of thirteen, all told. These 
 were distributed as follows : — 
 
 In the Captain's boat were the three just 
 mentioned. 
 
 ui 
 
 ul 
 
IGG 
 
 TllE GIANT OK THK NORTH 
 
 IS 
 
 2. ,, 
 
 r; 
 
 Ill Leo's boat were Butterface, Oolichuk, and 
 Oblooria. Ifow it came to pass that Oolichuk and 
 Oblooria were jjiitint(j tlie same boat no one seemed 
 to know, or indeed to care, except Oolichuk himself, 
 who, to judge from the expression of his fat face, 
 was much pleased. As for Oblooria, her mild visage 
 always betokened contentment or resignation — save 
 when overshadowed by timidity. 
 
 In Alf's boat were Anders, Ivitchuk, Akeetolik, 
 and Tekkona. The interpreter had been given to 
 Alf because he was not quite so muscular or 
 energetic as the Captain or his brother, while Anders 
 was eminently strong and practical The Eskimo 
 women counted as men, being as expert with oar 
 and paddle as they, and very nearly as strong as 
 most ordinary men. 
 
 What added to the romance of the first day's 
 experience was the fact that, a few hours after they 
 started, a dead calm settled down over the sea, 
 which soon became like a great sheet of undulating 
 glass, in which the rich, white clouds, the clear sky, 
 and the boats with their crews, were reflected as in 
 a moving, oily mirror ; yet, strange to say, the kites 
 kept steady, and the pace of ten or twelve miles an 
 hour (lid not abate for a considerable time. This, 
 of course, was owing to the fact that there was a 
 continuous 3urrent blowing northward in the higher 
 regions of the atmosphere. The sun, meantime, 
 
 
'1 
 
 m 
 
 1 
 
 , 1 
 
 : \ 
 i 
 \ 
 
 i 
 
 TOYAGING ON THE OPEN POLAR SEA.-Pac.e 166. 
 
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 -rf- 
 
b( 
 
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 P< 
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 us 
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 W( 
 
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'Vf'i 
 
 OB POKINGS BOUND THE POLK. 
 
 167 
 
 f^'lowed overhead with four uiock-suna around him, 
 ueverthelesB the heat was not oppressive, partly 
 hocause the voyagers were sitting at rest, and partly 
 bocuiiso a slight current of cool air, the creation of 
 their own progress, fanned their cheeks. Still fur- 
 ther to add to the eharm, flocks of sea-birds circling 
 in the air or dipping in the water, a berg or two 
 floating in the distance, a porpoise showing its 
 back fin now and then, a seal or a walrus coming 
 up to stare in surprise and going down to meditate, 
 perhaps in wonder with an occasional puff from a 
 hizy whale, — all this tended to prevent monotony, 
 and gave I ife to the lovely scene. 
 
 "Is it not the most glorious and altogether 
 astonishing state of things you ever heard or 
 dreamed of, father ?" asked Benjy, breaking a pro- 
 longed silence. 
 
 " Out o' sight, ray boy, out o' sight," replied the 
 f^'aptain. "Never heard nor saw nor dreamed of 
 anything like it before." 
 
 •' P'raps it ts a dream !" said Benjy, with a slightly 
 distressed look. " How are we ever to know that 
 we're Tiot dreaming?" 
 
 The boy finished his question with a sharp cry 
 and leaped up. 
 
 "Steady, boy, steady! Have a care, or you'U 
 upset the boat," said the Captain. 
 
 " What did you do that for, father ?" 
 
 H] 
 
 !' 
 
 ' t'l 
 
 4 
 
 li 
 
168 
 
 TUE GIA.NT OF TilK NOiiTU 
 
 it. 
 
 i' 
 t 
 
 "What, iny boy?" 
 
 " Pinch me ao hiirJ ! Surely you didu'L do it on 
 purpose ? " 
 
 " Indeed I did, H(mi," rei)lic3d the Captain with a 
 lauL,di. " Vou askod liow you were to know you 
 were not dreaming. If you had been dreaming that 
 would liavo wakened you — wouldn't it ?" 
 
 " I dare say it would, lather," returned the boy, 
 resuming,' his seat, " but I 'm convinced now. Don't 
 do it again, please. I wish I know what Chingatok 
 thinks of it. Try to ask him, father. I'm sure 
 you 've had considerable experience in his lingo by 
 this time." 
 
 Beujy refeiTed here, not only to the numerous 
 tonversations which his father had of late carried on 
 with the giant through the interpreter, but to the 
 fact that, having been a whaler in years past, Captain 
 Vane had previously picked up a smattering of 
 various Eskimo dialects. Up to that day he had 
 conversed entirely through the medium of Anders, 
 but as that useful man was now in Alf s boat, the 
 Captain was left to his own resources, and got on 
 much better than he liad expected. 
 
 Chingatok turned his eyes from the horizon on 
 which they had been fixed, and looked dreamily at 
 the Captain when asked what he was thinking about. 
 
 "I have been thinking," said he, "of home, my 
 home over there." He lifted his huge right arm 
 
OH P0KING8 HOUND TUK tuLK. 
 
 ica 
 
 and pointed to the north. " And I huvo b«un 
 thinking," he continued, " that there must be another 
 home up there." He raised his hand and [ oint«^d 
 to the sky. 
 
 " Why do you think so ?" asked the Captain in 
 some surprise. 
 
 " Because it is so beautiful, so wonderful, so full 
 of light and peace," replied the Eskimo. " Some- 
 times the clouds, and the wind, and tlie rain, come 
 and cover it ; but they pass away, and there it is, 
 just the same, always calm, and bright, and beautiful. 
 Could such a place li.ive been made for nothing? 
 Is there no one up there ? not even the Maker of it? 
 and if there is, dues he stay there alone ? Men and 
 women die, but surely there is something in us tliat 
 does not die. If there is no spirit in us that lives, 
 of what use was it to make us at all ? I think we 
 shall have a home up there." 
 
 Chingatok had again turned his eyes to the 
 horizon, and spoke the concluding words as if he 
 were thinking aloud. The Captain looked at him 
 earnestly for some time in silence. 
 
 " You are right, Chingatok," he said at length, or 
 at least attempted to say as best he could — " you 
 are right. My religion teaches me that we have 
 sj)irit3 ; that God — your God and mine — dwells up 
 tliere in what we call heaven, and tliat His people 
 shall dwell with him after death." 
 
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 IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
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 2.5 
 
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 1.25 
 
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 PhotDgraphic 
 
 Sciences 
 
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 ^ 4l 
 
 
 
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 23 WEST MAIN STREET 
 
 WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 
 
 (716) 872-4503 
 
 ■^ 
 
i7U 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NOliTH 
 
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 " His people!" repeated the Jlskimo with a per- 
 plexed look. " Are some men his people and some 
 not?" 
 
 "Undoubtedly," replied the Captain, "men who 
 obey a chiefs commands are hi* men — his friends. 
 Those who refuse to obey, and do every kind of 
 wickedness, are not his friends, but his enemies. 
 God has given us free wills, and we may reject him 
 — we may choose to be his enemies." 
 
 It must not be supposed that Captain Vane 
 expressed himself thus clearly, but the above is the 
 substance of what he attempted by many a strange 
 and complicated sentence to convey. That he had 
 made his meaning to some extent plain, was proved 
 by Chingatok's reply. 
 
 " But I do not know God's commands ; how then 
 can I obey them ?" 
 
 " You may not know them by book," replied the 
 Captain promptly ; " for you have no books, but 
 there is such a thing as the commands or law of God 
 written in the heart, and it strikes me, Chingatok, 
 that you both know and obey more c" your Maker's 
 laws than many men who have His word." 
 
 To this the Eskimo made no answer, for he did 
 not rightly understand it, and as the Captain 
 found extreme difficulty in expressing his meaning 
 on such questions, he was quite willing to drop 
 the conversation. Nevertheless his respect for 
 
 '. 
 
 : 
 
 
OR P0KIN08 ROUND THE POLK. 
 
 171 
 
 Chingat'V was immensely increased from that day 
 forward. 
 
 He tried to explain what had been said to Benjy, 
 and as that youth's mind was of an inquiiing turn 
 he listened with great interest, but at last was forced 
 to confess that it was too deep for him. Thereafter 
 he fell into a mood of unusual silence, and pondered 
 the matter for a long time. 
 
 Awaking from his reverie at last, he said, abruptly, 
 « How 's her head, father ?" 
 
 " Due north, Benjy." 
 
 He pulled out a pocket-compass about the size 
 of an ordinary watch, which instrument it was his 
 habit to guard with the most anxious care. 
 
 "North!" repeated the boy, glancing at the 
 instrument with a look of surprise, "why, we're 
 steering almost due east !" 
 
 " Ah ! Ben, that comes of your judging from 
 appearances without knowledge, not an uncommon 
 siAte of mind in man and boy, to say nothing of 
 woman. Don't you know what variation of the 
 compass is ?" 
 
 "No, father." 
 
 " What ! have you been so long at sea with me 
 and never heard yet about the magnetic pole ?" 
 
 " Never a word, father. It seems to me that pules 
 are multiplying as we get further north." 
 
 "Oh, Benjy, for shame — fie ! fie !" 
 
 f m. 
 
ITS 
 
 TUE GUNT OF THE NORTH 
 
 
 i 
 
 >: 
 
 m 
 
 t 
 
 m ' 
 
 11 
 
 " Maybe if you had told me about it T might 
 have had less to be shamed of, and you too, 
 father." 
 
 "That's true, Benjy. That's true. You're a 
 sharp boy for your age. But don't be disrespectful 
 to your father, Ben ; no good can ever come o' that. 
 Whatever you are, be respectful to your old father. 
 Come, I '11 tell you about it Twn^." 
 
 It will have been observed by this time that 
 iittle Benjamin Vane viras somewhat free in his con- 
 verse with his father, but it must not therefore be 
 supposed that he was really insolent. All his free- 
 dom of speech was vented in good humour, and the 
 Captain knew that. There was, indeed, a powerful 
 bond not only of affection but of sympathy between 
 the little delicate boy and the big strong man. 
 They thoroughly understood each other, and between 
 those who understand each other there may be 
 much freedom without offence, as everybody knows. 
 
 " You must understand," began the Captain, " that 
 although the needle of the mariner's compass is said 
 to point to the north with its head and to the south 
 with its tall, it does not do so exactly, because 
 the magnetic poles do not coincide exactly with the 
 geogi'aphical poles. There are two magnetic poles 
 just as there are two geographical poles, one in the 
 southern hemisphere, the other in the northern. 
 D' ye understand V* 
 
OR P0KING8 ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 172 
 
 " Clear as daylight, father." 
 
 " Well, Benjy, the famous Arctic discoverer, Sir 
 James Ross, in 1832, discovered that the northeru 
 magnetic pole was situated in the island of Boothia 
 Felix, in latitude 70° 5', and longitude 96° 46" W. 
 It was discovered by means of an instrument called 
 the dipping needle, which is just a magnetised 
 needle made for dipping perpendicularly instead 
 of going round horizontally like the mariner's 
 compass. A graduated arc is fitted to it so that 
 the amount of dip at any place on the earth's sur- 
 face can be ascertained. At the magnetic equator 
 there is no dip at all, because the needle being 
 equally distant from the north and south magnetic 
 poles, remains horizontal. As you travel north the 
 needle dips more and more until it reaches the 
 region of the north magnetic pole when it is almost 
 perpendicular — pointing straight down. 
 
 "Now, it is only on a very few places of the 
 earth's surface that the horizontal needle points to 
 the true north and south, and its deviation from 
 the earth's pole in its determination to point to the 
 magnetic pole is called the variation of the compass. 
 This variation is greater or less of course at different 
 places, and must be allowed for in estimating one's 
 exact course. In our present explorations we have 
 got so far beyond the beaten track of travel that 
 greater allowance than usual has to be made. In 
 
 tiS 
 
 >''■:■?■ 
 
 tM 
 
 } '4 
 
 Mm^; 
 
,( '. , 
 
 174 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 >. 
 
 * -, 
 
 p. 
 
 I 
 
 ^i 
 
 fact we have got considerably to the north of the 
 magnetic pole. At the same time we ai*e a good 
 way to the east'ard of it, so that when I see the 
 compass with its letter N pointing to what I know 
 to be the magnetic noilh, I take our geographical 
 position into account and steer almost due east by 
 compass, for the purpose of advancing due north. 
 D'ye see?" 
 
 " I 'm not so sure that I do, father. It seems to 
 me something like the Irishman's pig which you 
 pull one way when you want him to go another. 
 However, I '11 take your word for it." 
 
 " That 's right, my boy ; when a man can't under- 
 stand, he must act on faith, if hs can, for there 's 
 no forcing our beliefs, you know. Anyhow he must 
 be content to follow till he does understand ; always 
 supposing that he can trust his leader." 
 
 "I'm out of my depths altogether now, father. 
 P'r'aps we 'd better change the subject. What d'ye 
 say to try a race with Leo i His boat seems to be 
 overhauling us." 
 
 " No, no, Ben ; no racing. Let us advance 
 into the great unknown north with suitable 
 solemnity." 
 
 "We appear to sail rather better than you do, 
 uncle," shouted Leo, as his boat drew near. 
 
 "That's because you're not so heavily laden," 
 replied the Captain, looking back ; " you haven't got 
 
 ■1 i. 
 
OR rOKTNGS HOUND TIH': POLK 
 
 175 
 
 giants aboard, you soo; iiioioovcr Uit'i<;'s one o' you 
 ratbf-r li^lit-liofld*'*!." 
 
 " Hallu ! uncle , evil coinniamcations, eh V You'd 
 better change Beujy for Oblooria. She's quite 
 quiet, and never jokes. I say, may I go ahead of 
 you ?" 
 
 "No, lad, you mayn't. Take a reef in your 
 regulator, and drop into your proper place." 
 
 Obedient to orders, Leo pulled the regulator or 
 chuok-string until the kite's position was altered 
 so as to present less resistance to the wind, and 
 dropped astern of the Faith, which was the name 
 given by Benjy to his father's boat, the other two 
 being named respectively the Hope and the Charity. 
 
 The prosperous advance did not, however, last 
 very long. Towards evening the three kites sud- 
 denly, and without any previous warning, began to 
 dive, soar, flutter, and tumble about in a manner 
 that would have been highly diverting if it had not 
 been dangerous. This no doubt was the eff'^ct of 
 various counter-currents of air into which they had 
 flown. The order was at once given to haul on the 
 regulators and coil up the towing lines. It was 
 promptly obeyed, but before a few fathoms had been 
 coiled in, the kites again became as steady as before, 
 with this change, however, that they travelled in a 
 north-westerly direction. 
 
 The value of the leeboards now became appe.ent. 
 
 M 
 
 *5? 
 
 
 ^m 
 
176 
 
 Tmi: GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 >. 
 
 \ 
 
 ri,. 
 "I I. 
 
 Si:: 
 
 Tliose were hinged down the midillo so as to fold 
 and become small enough to stuw in the bottom of 
 Bach boat when not in use. "When unfolded and 
 hung over the side, they presented a surface of 
 resistance to the water much greater than that of 
 an ordinary boat's keel, so that very little lee-way 
 indeed was made. By means of the steering-oar 
 Captain Vane kept his boat advancing straight north- 
 ward, while the kite was pulling in a north-westerly 
 direction. The kite was thus compelled by the boat 
 also to travel due north, though of course it did so in 
 a sidelong manner. 
 
 Thus far the advance continued prosperously, the 
 pace being but little checked and the course un- 
 altered, but when, an hour or two later, the wind 
 again shifted so as to carry the kites further to the 
 wpst, the pace became much slower, and the lee- 
 way, or drift to leeward, considerable. Ultimately 
 the wind blew straight to the west, and the boats 
 ceased to advance. " This won't do, uncle," said Leo, 
 who was close astern of the Faith, " I 'm drifting 
 bodily to leeward, and making no headway at alL" 
 
 "Down with the tops, — I mean, the kites," 
 shouted the Captain. " Pass the word to Alf." 
 
 Accordingly, the kites were reeled in, the regu- 
 lators being so pulled and eased off that they were 
 kept just fluttering without tugging during the opera- 
 tion. When, however, they passed out of the wind- 
 
 I 
 
OR FOKIKOB ROUND TBK POLE. 
 
 ITT 
 
 strntnm into the region of calm which still pre- 
 vailed immediately above the sea, the kites descended 
 in an alarming manner, swaying to and fro with 
 occasional wild swoops, which rendered it necessary 
 to haul in on the lines and reel up with the utmost 
 speed. 
 
 Captaitl Vane was very successful in tliis rathei^ 
 difficult operation. While he hauled in the line 
 Benjy reeled it up with exemplary speed, and the 
 kite was finally made to descend on the boat like 
 a cloud. When secured the locking-cross was 
 removed, the distending- rod^ were folded inwards, 
 the restraining, or what We may term the waist- band 
 was applied, and the whole affair was changed into 
 a gigantic Mrs. Gamp umbrella. Being placed in 
 the bow of the boat, projecting over the water, it 
 formed a not ungraceful though peculiar bowsprit, 
 and was well out of the way. 
 
 Leo and Butterface were equally successful, but 
 poor Alf was not so fortunate. The too eager 
 pursuit of knowledge was the cause of Alfs failure 
 AS has often been the case with others ! He took 
 on himself, as chief of his boat, the difficult and 
 responsiblQ task of hauling in the line, — which 
 involved also the occasional and judicious manipula- 
 tion of the regulating cord, when a sudden pufif of 
 wind should tend to send the kite soaring upwards 
 with six or eight horse-power into the sky. To 
 
 M 
 
 'n 
 
 "if 
 
 » ■' 
 
 r 
 
 ■).v 
 
178 
 
 THE OIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 >. 
 
 m 
 m' 
 
 r 
 
 i. 
 
 >: 
 
 p 
 
 
 S I! 
 
 "11: 
 
 III" 
 
 J: 
 
 lYitchuk was assigned the cosy task of gathering 
 in the " slack " and holding on to Alf if a sudden 
 jerk should threaten to pull him overboard. Anders 
 reeled up. 
 
 Just as the kite was passing out of the windy 
 region above into the calm region below Alf beheld 
 floating near the boat a beautiful, and to him 
 entirely new, species of marine creature of the 
 jelly-fish kind. With a wild desire to possess it he 
 leaned over the boat's edge tu the uttermost and 
 Atretched out his left hand, while with his right he 
 held on to the kite ! Need we say that the kite 
 assisted him? — assisted him overboard altogether, 
 and sent him with a heavy plunge into the soa ! 
 
 Ivitchuk dropped his line and stretched out both 
 arms towards the spot where the " Kablunet " had 
 gone down. Akeetolik roared. Anders howled, 
 and dropped his reel. Left to itself, the kilie, with 
 characteristic indecision, made an awful swoop 
 towards the North Pole with its right shoulder. 
 Changing its mind, it then made a stupendous rush 
 with its left to the south-east. Losing presence of 
 mind it suddenly tossed up its tail, and, coming 
 down head foremost, went with fatal facility intiO 
 the deep sea. 
 
 When Alf rose and was dragged panting into the 
 boat, his first glance was upwards, — but not in 
 thankfulness for his preservation ! 
 
 i 
 
 Hi 
 
OR rOKINOS UOUND THE POLP. 
 
 179 
 
 * Gone I** he groaned, rising to his feet. 
 
 But the kite was not gone. The word had barely 
 left his lips when it rose Imlf its length otit of the 
 water, and then fell, in melancholy inaptitude for 
 further mischief, flat upon the sea. 
 
 "Anything damaged?" asked the Captain, as he 
 and Leo rowed their boats towards the Charity. 
 
 " Nothing," replied Alf with a guilty look. " the 
 stick and things seem to be all right, but it has got 
 awfully wet." 
 
 " No matter," said the Captain, laughing at Alfs 
 forlorn look, " the sun will soon dry it. So long as 
 nothing is broken or torn, we'll get on very well. 
 But now, boys, we must go to wor with oars. 
 I There must be no flagging in this dash tor the Pole. 
 
 It's a neck-or-nothing business. Now, mark my 
 orders. Although we've got four oars apiece, we 
 must only work two at a time. I know that young 
 bloods like you are prone to go straining yourselves 
 at first, an* then bein* fit for nothing afterwards. We 
 must keep it up steadily. Two in each boat will 
 pull at a time for one hour, while the other two 
 rest or sleep, and so on, shift about, till another 
 breeze springs up. Don't fold it up tight, Alf. 
 Leave it pretty slack till it is dry, and then put on 
 its belt." 
 
 " Don't you think we might have supper before 
 taking tc the oars ? " suggested Leo. 
 
 ^» 
 
 
 .i^ 
 
 
180 
 
 TIIK aiANT OP THE NORTH 
 
 t 
 i 
 
 'i 
 
 >; 
 
 * 
 
 t 
 
 m * 
 
 CI,:;: 
 
 ""I'l: 
 
 SI? 
 
 \ i; 
 
 :;i:;l 
 
 ll 
 
 'nil 
 
 im 
 
 " I second that motion," cried Itenjy. 
 
 "And I support it," said Alf. 
 
 " Very good, get out the prog ; ftn' wo*ll liiy our- 
 selves alongside, three abieast, as Nelson did at the 
 Ikttle o' the Nile," said the Captain. 
 
 Their food was simple but sufficient Pemmican 
 — a solid greasy nutricious compound — was the 
 foundation. Hard biscuit, chocolate, and sugar 
 formed the superstructure. In default of fire, these 
 articles could be eaten cold, but while their supply 
 of spirits of wine lasted, a patent vesuvian of the 
 most complete and almost miraculous nature could 
 provide a hot meal in ten minutes. Of fresh water 
 they had a two-weeks' supply in casks, but this was 
 economised by means of excellent water proouied 
 from a pond in a passing berg — from which also a 
 lump of clear ice had been hewn, wrapped in a 
 blanket, and carried into the Captain's boat as a 
 supply of fresh water in solid form. 
 
 Laying the oars across the boats to keep them 
 together, they floated thus pleasantly on the glassy 
 sea, bathed in midnight sunshine. And while they 
 feasted in comfort inexpressible — to the surprise, no 
 doubt, of surrounding gulls and puffins — Benjamin 
 Vane once again gave utterance to the opinion that 
 it was the most glorious and altogether astonishing 
 state of things that he had € ?er heard or dreamed of 
 since the world began ! 
 
OK I'UKlNGtt UUUNU lliK k'UUL 
 
 101 
 
 CHAPTER XIIL 
 
 A OALK AND A NAIlltOW ISOArl. 
 
 This is a world of alternations. We need not 
 turn aside to prove that. The calm with which 
 the voyage of our discoverers began lasted about 
 four days and nights, during whioh period they 
 advanced sometimes slowly under oars, sometimes 
 more or less rapidly under kites — if we may ao 
 express it — according to the state of the wind. 
 
 And, during all that time the discipline of two 
 and two — at watch, or at sleep, if not at work — ^was 
 ngidly kept up. For none knew better than Captain 
 Vane the benefit of discipline, and the demoralising 
 effect of its absence, especially in trying circum- 
 stances. It is but just to add thai he iuad no 
 difficulty in enforcing his laws. It is right also to 
 state that the women were not required to conform, 
 even although they were accustomed to hard labour 
 and willing to work as much as required. In all 
 three boats the bow was set apart as the women's 
 quarters, and when Toolooha, Oblooria or Tekkona 
 
 I.; m^ 
 
 tpllt*^ 
 
182 
 
 THE GIANT OP THE NORTH 
 
 i' 
 
 >: 
 
 m ' 
 
 p', 
 \ 
 
 ■J.-' 
 
 
 ii;::;: 
 
 I',,,.. 
 
 ■"iMIl 
 
 11;, III 
 
 1 1 I!" 
 
 showed symptoms of a desire to go to sleep — (there 
 was no retiring for the night in these latitudes) — a 
 blanket stretched on two oars cut their quarters off 
 from those of the men, and maintained the dignity 
 of the sex. 
 
 But soon the serene aspect of nature changed. 
 Grey clouds overspread the hitherto sunny sky. 
 Gusts of wind came sweeping over the sea from 
 time to time, and signs of coming storm became so 
 evident that the Captain gave orders to make all 
 snug and prepare for dirty weather. 
 
 "You see, lads," he said, when the three boats 
 were abreast, and the kites had been furled, " we 
 don't know what may happen to us now. Nobody 
 in the world has had any experience of these 
 latitudes. It may come on to blow twenty-ton 
 Armstrongs instead of great guns, for all we know 
 to the contrary. The lightning may be sheet and 
 fork mixed instead of separate for any light we 've 
 got on the subject, and it may rain whales and 
 walruses instead of cats and dogs ; so it behoves us 
 to be ready." 
 
 " That's true, father," said Beiijy, " but it matters 
 little to me, for I 've made my will. Only I forgot 
 to leave the top with the broken peg and the rusty 
 penknife to Eumty Swillpipe ; so if you survive me 
 and get home on a whale's back — or otherwise — 
 you '11 know what to do." 
 
 I 
 
OR PO KINGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 183 
 
 -(there 
 des) — a 
 •ters off 
 dignity 
 
 hanged, 
 ly sky. 
 >a from 
 ;ame so 
 Lake all 
 
 !e boats 
 ed, " we 
 Nobody 
 >f these 
 mty-ton 
 ve know 
 Leet and 
 it we 've 
 lies and 
 boves us 
 
 matters 
 I forgot 
 iie rusty 
 viva me 
 jrwise — 
 
 "This is not a time for jesting, Ben," said Alf 
 ratlier seriously. 
 
 " Did I say it was ?" inquired Ben, with a sur- 
 prised look. 
 
 Alf deigned no reply, and Butterface laughed, 
 while he and the others set about executing the 
 Captain's orders. 
 
 The arrangements made in these india-rubber 
 boats for bad weather were very simple and com- 
 plete. After the lading in each had been snugly 
 arranged, so as to present as flat a surface on the 
 top as possible, a water-proof sheet was drawn 
 over all, and its edges made fast to the sides of the 
 boat, by means of tags and loops which were easily 
 fastened and detached. As each sheet overhung its 
 boat, any water that might fall upon it was at once 
 run off. This, of course, was merely put on to pro- 
 tect the cargo and any one who chose to take 
 shelter under it. The boat being filled with air 
 required no such sheet, because if filled to over- 
 flowing it would still have floated. All round this 
 sheet ran a strong cord for the crew, who sat outside 
 of it as on a raft, to lay hold of if the waves should 
 threaten to wash them off. There were also various 
 other ropes attached to it for the same purpose, and 
 loops of rope served for rowlocks. 
 
 When all had been arranged, those whose duty it 
 was to rest leaned comfortably against the lumps 
 
 i 
 
 i' 
 
 !i ''Vl 
 
 f ' 
 
 
184 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NOBTH 
 
 ?',...! 
 
 C! 
 
 U 
 
 f. 
 
 > ■:::! 
 • .,.1 
 
 S;;i.::; 
 
 i' , .IK' 
 
 "',11111 
 
 caused by inequalities of the cargo, while the others 
 took to their oars. 
 
 "It's coming 1" cried Benjy, about half-an-hour 
 after all hud been prepared. 
 
 And unquestionably it fvas coming. The boy's 
 quick eyes had detected a line on the southern 
 horizon, which became gradually broader and darker 
 as it rose until it covered the heavens. At the 
 same time the indigo ripple caused by a rushing 
 mighty wind crept steadily over the sea. As it 
 neared the boats the white crests of breaking waves 
 were seen gleaming sharply in the midst of the dark 
 blue. 
 
 "Clap the women under hatches," shouted the 
 Captain, with more good sense than refinement. 
 
 Benjy, Butterface, and Anders at the word 
 lifted a corner of their respective sheets. Obedient 
 Toolooha, Oblooria, and Tekkona bent their meek 
 heads and disappeared. The sheets were refastened, 
 and the men, taking their places, held on to the 
 cords or life-lines. It was an anxious moment. 
 "No one could guess how the boats would behave 
 under the approaching triaL 
 
 " Oars out," cried the Captain, " we must run 
 before it." 
 
 A hiss, which had been gradually increasing as 
 the squall drew near, broke into a kind of roar, 
 and wind and waves rushed upon them as the 
 
 r 
 
 
tiiiSr- 
 
 OK POKINGS ROUND THE POLK. 
 
 165 
 
 men bent their backs to the oars with all their 
 might. 
 
 It was soon found that the boats had so little 
 hold of the water that the wind und oars combined 
 carried them forward so fast as to decrease consider- 
 ably the danger of being whelmed by a falling wave. 
 These waves increased every moment in size, and 
 their crests were so broken and cut off by the gale 
 that the three boats, instead of appearing as they 
 had hitherto done the only solid objects in the 
 scene, were almost lost to sight in the chaos of 
 black waves and driving foam. Although they tried 
 their best to keep close together they failed, and 
 each soon became ignorant of the position of the 
 others. The last that they saw of Alf s boat was in 
 the hollow between two seas like a vanishing cor- 
 morant or a northern diver. Leo was visible some 
 time longer. He was wielding the steering oar in 
 an attitude of vigorous caution, while his Eskimos 
 were pulling as if for their lives. An enormous 
 wave rose behind them, curled over their heads 
 and appeared ready to overwhelm them, but the 
 sturdy rowers sent the boat forward, and the broken 
 crest passed under them. The next billow was 
 still larger. Taken up though he was with his own 
 boat the Captain found time to glance at them 
 with horror. 
 
 "They're gone !" he cried, as the top of the 
 
 i 
 
 1^ ' 
 
 1 s 
 
 
 f 
 
186 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 CI, 4 
 
 -'r'C, 
 
 r:, ;;:l 
 f:.;:;i 
 
 '■\ Ei 
 
 iiiiii: 
 
 
 billow fell, and nothing was seen save the heads of 
 the four men like dark spots on the foam. The 
 boat had in truth been overwhelmed and sunk, but, 
 like a true lifeboat it rose to the surface like a cork 
 the instant the weight of water was removed, and 
 her crew, who had held on to the life-lines and oars, 
 were still safe. 
 
 " Well done the little Hope !" cried the Captain, 
 while Benjy gave vent to his feelings in a cheer, 
 which was evidently heard by Leo, for he was seen 
 to wave his hand in reply. Next moment another 
 wave hid the Hope from view, and it was seen no 
 more at that time. 
 
 " I feel easier now, Benjy, thank God, after thai. 
 Alf is a fair steersman, and our boats are evidently 
 able to stand rough usage." 
 
 Benjy made no reply. He was rubbing the water 
 out of his eyes, and anxiously looking through the 
 thick air in the hope of seeing Leo's boat again. 
 The poor boy was grave enough now. When the 
 might and majesty of the Creator are manifested in 
 the storm and the raging sea, the merely humorous 
 fancies of man are apt to be held in check. 
 
 The Captain's boat went rushing thus wildly 
 onwards, stUl, fortunately, in the right direction ; 
 and for some hours there was no decrease in the force 
 of the gale. Then, instead of abating, as might have 
 been expected, it suddenly increased ^o such an 
 
 a^ 
 
OR POKINGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 187 
 
 extent that speedy destruction appeared to be in- 
 evitable. 
 
 " No sort o' craft could live long in this," muttered 
 the Captain, as if to himself rather than to his 
 son, who sat with a firm expression on his some- 
 what pale countenance, looking wistfully towards 
 the northern horizon. Perhaps he was wondering 
 whether it was worth while to risk so much for such 
 an end. Suddenly he shaded his eyes with his hand 
 and gazed intently. 
 
 " Land !" he exclaimed in a low eager tone. 
 
 "Whereaway, boy? Ay, so there is something 
 there. What say you, Chingatok ? Is it land ?" 
 
 The giant, who, during all this time, had calmly 
 plied a pair of oars with strength equal almost to 
 that of four men, looked over his shoulder without, 
 however, relaxing his efiforts. 
 
 "No," he said, turning round again, "it is an 
 ice-hill." 
 
 "A berg!" exclaimed the Captain. "We will 
 make for it. Tie your handkerchief, Benjy, to the 
 end of an oar and hold it up. It will serve as a 
 guide to our comrades." 
 
 In a wonderfully short space of time the bei-g 
 which Benjy had seen as a mere speck on the hori- 
 zon rose sharp, rugged, and white against the black 
 sky. It was a very large one — so large that it had 
 no visible motion, but seemed as firm as a rock, while 
 
 !^ 
 
 f 5* 
 
 m 
 
 
188 
 
 TUK GIANT OF THE NOKTII 
 
 \ 
 
 -'|C| 
 
 -iiiiii-; 
 11;;*:: 
 
 the billows of the Arctic Ocean broke in thunder 
 on its glassy shore. 
 
 " We *11 get shelter behind it, Ben, my boy," said 
 the Captain, " hold the oar well up, and don't let the 
 rag clap round the blade. Shake it out 30. God 
 grant that they may see it." 
 
 "Amen," ejaculated ]3enjy to the prayer with 
 heartfelt intensity. 
 
 There was danger as well as safety in the near 
 vicinity to this berg, for many of its pinnacles seemed 
 ready to fall, and there was always the possibility 
 of a mass being broken ofif under water, which might 
 destroy the equilibrium of the whole berg, and cause 
 jt to revolve with awfully destnictive power. 
 
 However, there was one favourable point — the 
 base was broad, and the ice-cliffs that bordered the 
 sea were not high. 
 
 In a few more minutes the western end of the 
 berg was passed. Its last cape was rounded, and 
 the FaUh was swept by the united efforts of Chinga- 
 tok, Benjy, and Toolooha (who would not remain 
 under cover) into the comparatively still water o» 
 the lee, or northern side of the berg. 
 
 " Hurrah !" shouted Benjy in a tone that was too 
 energetic and peculiar to have been called forth by 
 the mere fact of his own escape from danger. 
 
 Captain Vane looked in the direction indicated 
 by the boy's glistening eyes — ^glistening with the salt 
 
OR rOKTNOS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 189 
 
 tears of joy as well as with salt sea spray — and there 
 beheld the other two boats coiniug dancing in like 
 wild things on the crests of the heaving waves. 
 They hud seen the signal of the handkerchief, und^Br- 
 stood and followed it, and, in a few minutes more, 
 were under the lee of the ice-cliffs, thanking God 
 and congratulating each other on their deliverance. 
 A sheltered cove was soon found, far enough 
 removed from cliffs and pinnacles to insure moderate 
 safety. Into this they ran, and there they spent the 
 night, setenaded by the roaring gale, and lullabied 
 by the crash of falling spires and the groans of 
 rending ice 
 
 p 
 
 1 1 
 
190 
 
 TUB GIANT OF THE NO&TH 
 
 r 
 
 i 
 
 h 
 
 m 
 
 I' 
 
 » ' 
 
 \ 
 
 
 
 CnAPTER XTV. 
 
 RHCORDH A WONDKRFUL APPARITION AND A rUBTOUS VIOHT. 
 
 When tlie storm had passed, a profound calm 
 once more settled down on the face of nature, as if 
 the elements had been utterly exl austed by the con- 
 flict Once more the sea became like a sheet of 
 unduiating glass, in which clouds and sun and boats 
 were reflected vividly, and once again our voyagers 
 found themselves advancing towards the north, 
 abreast of each other, and rowing sociably together 
 at the rate rf about four miles an hour. 
 
 When advancing under oars they went thus 
 abreast so as to converse freely, but when proceeding 
 under kites they kept in single file, so as to give 
 scope for swerving, in the event of sudden change o* 
 wind, and to prevent the risk of the entanglement 
 of lines. 
 
 "What is that?" exclaimed Benjy, pointing 
 suddenly to an object ahead which appeared at 
 regular intervals on the surface of the water. 
 
 1' 
 
OR POKIKOS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 191 
 
 "A whale, I think," saia Leo. 
 
 " A whale usually spouts on coming up, doesn't 
 it?" said Alf. 
 
 Chingatok uttered an unpronounceable Eskimo 
 word which did not throw light on the subject. 
 
 '• What is it, Anders ?" shouted the Captain. 
 
 " What you say ?" asked the interpreter from Alfa 
 boat, which was on the other side of the Hope. 
 
 " If these squawkin' things would hold their noise, 
 you'd hear better," growled the Captain before 
 repeating the question. 
 
 His uncourteous remark had reference to a cloud 
 of gulls which circled round and followed the boats 
 with remonstrativG cries and astonished looks. 
 
 "It's beast," shouted Anc'ers, "not knows his 
 name in Ingliss." 
 
 " Humph ! a man with half an eye might see it is 
 'beast,'" retorted the Captain in an undertone. 
 
 As he spoke, the " beast " changed its course and 
 bore down upon them. A a it drew near the English- 
 men became excited, for the size of the creature 
 seemed beyond anything they had yet seen. Strange 
 to say, the Eskimos looked at it with their wonted 
 gaze of calm indifference. 
 
 "It's the great sea-serpent at last," said Benjy, 
 with something like awe on his countenance. 
 
 " It does look uncommon like it," replied the 
 Captain, with r perplexed expression on his rugged 
 
 
 m 
 
 
191 
 
 tnH GIANT OP THE NORTH 
 
 
 i;J 
 
 2' 
 
 \ 
 
 'I 
 
 r 
 
 ;.', 
 
 
 ahiii 
 
 ▼isage. " Get out tlie rifles, IjkI ! It 's as well to bo 
 ready. D' ye know what it is, Chiugatok ?" 
 
 Again the giant uttered the uiipronounceahle 
 name, while Benjy got out the fire-arms witli eager 
 haste. 
 
 "Load 'em all, Ben, load *em all, an* cram the 
 Winchester to the muzzle," said the Captain. 
 "There's no sayin' what we may have to encounter; 
 though I huve heard of a gigantic bit of sea-wood 
 bein' mistaken for the great sea-serpent before 
 now." 
 
 " That may he, father," said Benjy, with increasing 
 excitement, " but nobody ever saw a bit of seaweed 
 swim with the activity of a gigantic eel like tJiat. 
 "Why, I have counted its coils as they rise and sink, 
 and I 'm quite sure it 's a hundred and fifty yards 
 long if it 's an inch." 
 
 Those in the other boats were following the 
 Captain's example, — getting out and charging the 
 fire-arms, — and truly there seemed some ground for 
 their alarm, for the creature, which approached at a 
 rapid rate, appeared "inost formidable. Yet, strange 
 to say, the Eskimos paid little attention to it, and 
 seemed more taken up with the excitement of the 
 white men. 
 
 Wlien the creatire had approached to within a 
 quarter of a mile, it diverged a little to the left, and 
 passiid thfc boats at the distance of a few luindrod 
 
OR POKINQS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 193 
 
 yards. Then Captain Vaiio burst into a sudden 
 laugh, and shouted : — 
 
 " Grampuses ! " 
 
 "What?" cried Leo. 
 
 " Grampuses ! " repeated the Captain. " Why, it 'a 
 only c shoal of grampuses following each other in 
 single file, that we've mistaken for one creature !" 
 
 Never before was man or boy smitten with 
 heavier disappointment than was poor Benjy Vane 
 on that trying occasion. 
 
 "Why, what's wrong with you, Benjy?'' asked 
 his father, as he lookod at his woful countenance. 
 
 " To think," said the poor boy, slowly, " that I 'va 
 come all the way to the North Pole for this ! Why 
 1 've believed in the great sea-serpent since ever I 
 could think, I *ve seen pictures of it twisting its coils 
 round three-masted ships, and goin' over the ocean 
 with a mane like a lion, and its head fifty feet out 
 o' the water I Oh I it 's too bad, I 'r have given my 
 ears to have seen the great sea-serpent." 
 
 "There wouldn't have been much of you left, 
 Benjy, if you had given them." 
 
 " Well, well," continued the boy, not noticing his 
 father's remark, "it's some comfort to know that 
 I 've all hut seen the great sea-serpent." 
 
 It is some comfort to us, reader, to be able to 
 record the fact that Benjy Vane was not doomed to 
 total disappointment on that memorable day, for, on 
 
 
 
194 
 
 THK GIANT OP THE NOUTIl 
 
 i 
 
 h i 
 
 ». * 
 
 li 
 
 V 
 
 Pi j 
 
 c 
 
 ; ir..«l 
 
 :3:;i 
 
 •ittC 
 
 
 the same evening, tlio voyagers had an enconnter 
 with walruses which more than made up for the 
 previous misfortune. 
 
 It happened thus : — 
 
 The three hoats were proceeding abreast, slowly 
 but steadily over the still calm sea, when their 
 attention was attracted by a sudden and tremendous 
 splash OT upheaval of water, just off what the Captain 
 styled his " port bow." At the same moment the 
 head of a walrus appeared on the surface like a 
 gigantic black bladder. It seemed to be as large as 
 the head of a small elephant, and its ivory tusks 
 were not less than two feet long. There was a 
 square bluntness about the creature's head, and a 
 savage look about its little bloodshot eyes, which 
 gave to it a very hideous arpect. Its bristling 
 moustache, each hair of which was six inches long, 
 and as thick as a crow quill, dripped with brine, and 
 it raised itself high out of the water, turning its head 
 from side to side with a rapidity and litheness of 
 action that one would not have expected in An 
 animal so unwieldy. Evidently it was looking 
 eagerly for something. 
 
 Catching sight of the three boats, it seamed to 
 have found what it looked for, and made straight 
 at them. Leo quietly got ready his Winchester 
 repeater, a rifle which, as the reader probably knows, 
 can discharge a dozen or more shots in rapid suc- 
 
 y- i 
 
 
OR POKINOS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 190 
 
 cession ; the cartrid'^'cs being contained in a case 
 resembling a thick rum rod under the barrel, from 
 which they are thrust almost instantaneously into 
 their placea 
 
 But before the creature (gained the boats, a second 
 great upheaval of water took place, and another 
 walrus appeared. This was the real enemy of whom 
 he had been in quest. Both were bulls of the largest 
 and most ferocious description. No sooner did they 
 behold each other, than, witli a roar, something 
 betwixt a bark and a bellow, they collided, and a 
 furious fight began. The sea was churned into 
 foam around them as they rolled, reared, spurned, 
 and drove their tusks into each other's skulls and 
 shoulders. 
 
 The boats lay quietly by, their occupants looking 
 on with interest. The Eskimos were particularly 
 excited, bv^ no one spoke or acted. They aU 
 seemed fascinated by the fight. 
 
 Soon one and another and another walrus-head 
 came up out of the sea, and then it was understood 
 that a number of cow walruses had come to witness 
 the combat ! But the human audience paid little 
 regard to these, so much were they engrossed by the 
 chief actors. 
 
 It might have been thought, from the position ol 
 their tusks, which are simply an enlargement and 
 prolongation of the canine teeth, that these comba- 
 
 :| 
 
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196 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 r ! 
 
 -Vl.| 
 
 |;:4 
 
 J.;r;i 
 
 "',.-•1 
 
 
 tanls could only strike with tlicm in a downward 
 direction, but tliis was not so. On the contrary, 
 they turned their thick necks with so much ease 
 and rapidity that they could strike in all directions 
 with equal force, and numerous were the wounds 
 inflicted on either side, as the blood- red foam soon 
 testified. 
 
 We have said that the human spectators of the 
 scene remained inactive, but, at the first pause, the 
 Captain said he thought they might as well put a 
 stop to the fight, and advised Leo to give one of them 
 a shot. 
 
 " We '11 not be the worse for a fresh steak," he 
 added to Benjy, as Leo was taking aim. 
 
 The effect of the shot was very unexpected. 
 One of the bulls was hit, but evidently not in a 
 deadly manner, for the motion of the boat had 
 disturbed Leo's aim. Each combatant turned with 
 A look of wild surprise at the interruptor, and, as 
 not unfrequently happens in cases of interference 
 with fights, both made a furious rush at him. At 
 the same moment, all the cows seemed to be smitten 
 with pugnacity, and joined in the attack. There 
 was barely time to get ready, when the furious 
 animals were upon them. Guns and rifles were 
 pointed, axes and spears grasped, and oars gripped. 
 Even the women seized each a spear, and stood on 
 the defensive. A simultaneous volley checked the 
 
OR POKINGS 5OUND TIIE POLE. 
 
 19; 
 
 enemy for a moinent, and sent one of the cows to 
 the bottom ; but with a furious bellow they charged 
 
 agam. 
 
 Tho great anxiety of the defenders was to prevent 
 the monsters from getting close to tho boats, so as 
 to hook on to them with their tusks, which would 
 probably have overturned them, or jienetrated the 
 inflated sides. In either case, destruction would have 
 been inevitable, and it was only by the active use 
 of oar, axe, and spear that tliis was prevented. 
 
 Twice did one of the bulls charge the Captain's 
 boat, and on both occasions he was met by the 
 tremendous might of Chingatok, who planted the 
 end of an oar on his blunt nose, and thrust him o£f. 
 On each occasion, also, he received a shot from 
 the double barrel of Benjy, who fired the first time 
 into his open mouth, and the second time into his 
 eye, but an angiy cough from the one, and a wink 
 from the other showed that he did not mind it mu..h. 
 ^Meantime the Captain, with the Winchester repeater, 
 was endeavouring — but vainly, owing to the motions 
 of the giant, and the swaying of the boat — to get a 
 shot at the beast, while Toolooha, with an axe, was 
 coquetting with a somewhat timid cow near the 
 stem. 
 
 At last an opportunity offered. Captain Vane 
 poured half a dozen balls as quick as he could tire 
 into the head of the bull, which immediately sank. 
 
 
 M 
 
198 
 
 TUB GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
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 Not less vigorously did the occupants of the other 
 boats receive the charge. Leo, being more active 
 than the Captain, as well as more expert with his 
 repeater, slew his male opponent in shorter time, 
 and with less expenditure of ammunition. Butter- 
 face, too, gained much credit by the prompt manner 
 in which he split the skull of one animal with an 
 axe. Even Oblooria, the timid, rose to the occasion, 
 and displayed unlooked-for heroism. With a barbed 
 seal-spear she stood up and invited a baby walrus 
 to come on — by looks, not by words. The baby 
 accepted the invitation — perhaps, being a pugnacious 
 baby, it was coming on at any rate — and Oblooria 
 gave it a vigorous dab on the nose. It resented the 
 insult by shaking its head fiercely, and endeavouring 
 to back ofif, but the barb had sunk into the wound 
 and held on. Oblooria also held on. Oolichuk, 
 having just driven off a cow walrus, happened to 
 observe the situation, and held on to Oblooria. The 
 baby walrus was secured, and, almost as soon as 
 the old bull was slain, had a line attached to it, 
 and was made fast to the stern. 
 
 "Well done, little girl!" exclaimed Oolichuk in 
 admiration, " you 're almost as good as a man." 
 
 Among civilised people this might have been 
 deemed a doubtful compliment, but it was not so 
 in Eskimo-land. The little maid was evidently 
 »*u«oh pleased, and the title of the Timid One, which 
 
OR P0KING3 ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 199 
 
 Oolichuk was wont to give her when in a speci- 
 ally endearing frame of mind, was changed for tlie 
 Brave One from that day. In a few more minutes 
 the last charge of the enemy was repulsed,, and 
 those of them that remained alive dived back to 
 that native home into which the slain had already 
 sunk. 
 
 Thus ended that notable fight with walinises. 
 
 After consummating the victory with three cheers 
 and congratulating each other, the conquerors pro- 
 ceeded to examine into the extent of damage re- 
 ceived. It was found that, beyond a few scratches, 
 the FaUh and the H<ype had escaped scathless, but 
 the Charity had suffered considerably. Besides a 
 bad rip in the upper part of the gunwale, a small 
 hole had been poked in her side below water, and 
 her air-chamber was filling rapidly. 
 
 " Come here, quick, uncle," cried Alf, in conster- 
 nation, when he discovered this. 
 
 To his surprise the Captain was not so much 
 alarmed as he had expected. 
 
 " It won't sink you, Alf, so keep your mind easy," 
 he said, while examining the injury. " You see I 
 took care to have the boats made in compartments* 
 It will only make you go lop-sided like a lame duck 
 till I can repair the damage." 
 
 " Repair ic, uncle ! how can — " 
 
 "Never mind just now, hand out a blanket, quick 
 
 \.K\\ 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 •4 
 
 ^il 
 
 Hi 
 
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200 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTU 
 
 "it 
 
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 f::;::i 
 
 5 {• 
 
 
 
 "! 
 
 !»:!: 
 
 I '11 exjilain after ; we must undergird her and keep 
 out as much water as we can." 
 
 This operation was soon accomplished. The 
 blanket was passed under the boat and made fast. 
 By pressing against the injured part it checked the 
 inflow of water. Then the cargo was shifted, and 
 part of it was transferred to the other boats, and 
 soon they w^ere advancing as pleasantly, though not 
 as quickly as before, while the Captain explained 
 that he had brought a solution of gutta-percha for 
 the express purpose of repairing damages to the 
 boats, but that it was impossible to use it until they 
 could disembark either on land or on an iceberg. 
 
 " We '11 come to another berg ere long, no doubt, 
 shan't we, Chingatok ? " he asked. 
 
 The Eskimo shook his head and said he thought 
 not, but there was a small rocky islet not far from 
 where they were, though it lay somewhat out of their 
 course. 
 
 On hearing this the Captain changed his course 
 immediately, and rowed in the direction pointed out. 
 
 " There 's wind enough up there, Benjy," remarked 
 his father, looking up to the sky, where the higher 
 clouds were seen rapidly passing the lower strata 
 to the northward, " but how to get the kites set up 
 in a dead calm is more than I can tell." 
 
 " There is a way out of the difficulty, father," 
 said Benjv. uoiuting behind uhcm. 
 
OR POKINOS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 201 
 
 He referred to a slight breeze which was ni filing 
 the sea into what are called cat's paws far astern. 
 
 " Right boy, right. Prepare to hoist your tops'ls, 
 lads," shouted the Captain. 
 
 In a few minutes the kites were expanded and 
 the tow-lines attached. When the light breeze 
 came up they all soared, heavily, it is true, but 
 majestically, into the sky. Soon reaching the upper 
 regions, they caught the steady breeze there, and 
 *.owed the boats along at the rate of eight or ten 
 miles an hour. 
 
 In two hours they sighted the islet which Chinga- 
 iok had mentioned, and, soon afterwards, had landed 
 and taken possession of it, in the usual manner, 
 mider the name of liefuge Island. 
 
 "'^*j|: 
 
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 ^ri 
 
 
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 TIUS GIANT OF TH£ NORTH 
 
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 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 UISOUDRSKS OK OBEP TUU^OS. 
 
 The islet, or rock, for it was little more, which 
 the explorers had reached, was low and extremely 
 barren. Nevertheless it had on it a large colony of 
 sea-fowl, which received the strangers with their 
 wonted clamour of indignation — if not of welcome. 
 
 As it was near noon at the time, the Captain and 
 Leo went with their sextants to the highest part of 
 the island to ascertain its position ; the Eskimos set 
 about making an encampment, unloading the boats, 
 etc., and Alf, with hammer and botanical box, set off 
 on a short ramble along the coast, accompanied by 
 Benjy and Butterface. 
 
 Sometimes these three kept together and chatted, 
 at other times they separated a little, each attracted 
 by some object of interest, or following the lead, it 
 might have been, of wayward fancy. But they 
 never lost sight of each other, and, after a couple of 
 hours, converged, as if by tacit consent, untU they 
 met and sat down to vest on a led<ie of rock. 
 
 
m 
 
 Ott POKINOS ROUND THE POLK. 
 
 203 
 
 " Well, I do like this sort o' thing," remarked 
 Benjy, as he wiped his heated brow. "There is 
 something to me so pleasant and peaceful about 
 a low rocky shore with the sun blazing overhead 
 and the great sea stretching out flat and white in a 
 dead calm with just ripple enough to let you know 
 it is all alive and hearty — only resting, like a good- 
 humoured and sleepy giant." 
 
 " Why, Ben, I declare you are becoming poetical," 
 said Alf with a smile; " your conceptions correspond 
 with those of Buzzby, who writes : — 
 
 * Great Ocean, slumb'ring in majestic calm, 
 Lies like a mighty — a mighty — ' 
 
 I — I fear I 've forgotten. Let me see : — 
 
 'Great Ocean, plnmb'ring in majestic calm, 
 Liea like a mighty — '" 
 
 — " giant in a dwalm," 
 
 suggested Benjy. 
 
 " We '11 change the subject," said Alf, opening his 
 botanical box and taking out several specimens of 
 plants and rocks. " See, here are some bits of rock 
 of a kind that are quite new to me." 
 
 "What's de use ob dem?" inquired Butteiface 
 with a look of earnest simplicity. 
 
 "The use?" said Benjy, taking on himself to 
 reply ; " why, you flatnosed grampus, don't you 
 know that these bits of rock are made for the 
 express purpose of being carried home, identified, 
 classified, labelled, stuck up in a museum, and stared 
 
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 '^'il If 
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 i 
 
204 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NOBTlr 
 
 h] i 
 
 
 c 
 
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 at by wondering ignoramuses, who care nothing 
 wliatevor about tliom, and know less. Geologists 
 are constantly going about the world with their 
 little hammers keeping up the supply." 
 
 "Yes, Butterface," said Alf, "Benjy is partly 
 coiTect; such specimens will be treated as he 
 descril)e3, and be stared at in blank stupidity by 
 hundreds of fellows like himself, but they will also 
 be examined and understood by geologists, who 
 from their profound knowledge of the plans which 
 our Creptor seems to have had in arranging the 
 materials of the earth, are able to joint out many 
 interesting and useful facts which are not visible 
 to the naked and unscientific eye, such, for instance, 
 as the localities where coal and other precious 
 things may be found." 
 
 " Kin dey tell whar' gold is to be found, massa 
 Alf?" 
 
 " yes, they can tell that." 
 
 " Den it 's dis yer chile as wishes," said Butterface 
 with a sigh, " dat he was a jollygist." 
 
 "Oh! Butterface, you're a jolly goose at all 
 events/' said Benjy ; " wouldn't it be fun to go and 
 discover a gold mine, and dig up as much as would 
 keep us in happy idleness all the rest of our lives ? 
 But I say, Alf, have you nothing better than geo- 
 logical specimens in your box — no onthological 
 specimens, eh?" 
 
 •! i 
 
OR rOKTNaS ROUND TnE POLF. 
 
 SOS 
 
 Alf replied by producing from his hox a ]>np(»r 
 parcel which contained some of the required s[»eci- 
 mens in the shape of biscuit and pennnican. 
 
 "Capital! WeD, you are a good fellow, Alf. 
 Let us make a table-cloth of the paper — now, 
 you undisciplined black, don't glare so at the vic- 
 tuals, else you'll grow too hungry for a moderate 
 supply." 
 
 When the trio were in the full swing of vigorous 
 feeding, the negro paused, with his month full, 
 to ask Alf what would be the use of the North Pole 
 when it was discovered. 
 
 "Make matches or firewood of it," said Benjy 
 just as he was about to stop up his impudent 
 mouth with a lump of pcmmican. 
 
 "Truly, of what use the Pole itself may be — 
 supposing it to exist in the form of a thing," said 
 Alf, " I cannot tell, but it has already been of great 
 use in creating expeditions to the Polar regions. 
 You know well enough, Butterface, for you *ve l)een 
 round the Capes of Good Hope and Horn often 
 enough, what a long long voyage it is to the 
 eastern seas, on the other side of the world, and 
 what a saving of time and expense it would be if 
 we could lind a shorter route to those regions, from 
 which so many of our necessaries and luxuries come. 
 Now, if we could only discover an open sea in the 
 Arctic regions which would allow our ships to sail 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
 m4. 
 
 it 
 
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 ■iiir.- 
 
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 m 
 
 
 i 
 
 IS. 
 
 
206 
 
 THE GIANT OF THK NOlCTH 
 
 
 ■■:£ 
 
 <:;3:: 
 
 ■'«ti' 
 
 II 
 
 iir 
 
 in a straiglit line from England across the North 
 Pole to Behring's Straits, tlie voyage to the Eual 
 would be reduced to only about 6000 miles, and we 
 should be able to reach Japan in three or four 
 weeks. Just think what an advantage that would 
 be to commerce !" 
 
 " Tea at twopence a pound an' sugar to match — 
 not to mention molasses and baccy, you ignorant 
 nigger!" said Benjy; — "pass the biscuits." 
 
 "An' now, massa Alf," said Butterface with an 
 eager look, " we's diskivered dis open sea— eh !" 
 
 " Well, it seems as if we had." 
 
 "But what good will it do us," argued Benjy, 
 becoming more earnest in the discussion, " if it 'a all 
 surrounded by a ring of ice such as we have passed 
 over on sledges." 
 
 "If," repeated Alf, "in that *if' lies the whole 
 question. No doubt Enterprise has fought heroic- 
 ally for centuries to overleap this supposed ring of 
 ice, and science has stood expectant on the edge, 
 looking eagerly for the day when human persever- 
 ance shall reveal the secrets of the Far North. It 
 is true, also, that we at last appear to have penetrated 
 into the great unknown, but who shall say that the 
 so-called ice-ring has been fully examined? Our 
 explorations have been hitherto confined to one or 
 two parts of it. We may yet find an ever-open 
 entrance to this open Polar sea, and our ships may 
 
 i-s\ 
 
TO 
 
 p. 
 m 
 
 on POKINGS ROUND THE POLE, 
 
 207 
 
 vet be seen sailing regularly to and fro over tlio 
 North Pole." 
 
 " Just so," said Benjy, " a North Pole steam line 
 once a month to Japan and back — first class accom- 
 modation for second class fiires. Walrus and white 
 bear parties dropped on the way at the Pole Star 
 Hotel, an easy trip from the Pole itself, which may 
 be made in Eskimo cabs in summer and rein-deer 
 sleighs in winter. Keturn tickets available for six 
 months — touching at China, India, Nova Zembla, 
 Kamtschatka, and Iceland. Splendid view of Hecla 
 and the great Mer de Glace of Greenland — fogs 
 permitting. — Don't eat so much, Butterface, else 
 bu'stin' will surely be your doom." 
 
 " Your picture is perhaps a little overdrawn, Ben," 
 rejoined Alf with a smile. 
 
 " So would the ancients have said," retorted Benjy, 
 " if you had prophesied that in the nineteenth cen- 
 tury our steamers would pass through the Straits 
 of Hercules, up the Mediterranean, and over the land 
 to India ; or that our cousins' steam cars would go 
 rattling across the great prairies of America, through 
 the vast forests, over and under the Kocky Mountains 
 from the States to California, in seven days ; or that 
 the telephone or electric light should ever come into 
 being." 
 
 " Well, you see, Butterface," aaid Alf, " there is a 
 great deal to be said in favour of Arctic exploration. 
 
 4' 
 
 'I 
 
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208 
 
 TITR niANT OF THR NOmiT 
 
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 pvoti nt tlio |trp.sent day, and dcsititc! all tlio rplnirr«i 
 tliat wo liave roccjivcd. Sir I'Mwanl SaMiie, one of lli»« 
 greatest Arctic authorities, says of tlio route from 
 tlio Atlantic to the Pacific, tliat it is the preatest 
 geographical achievement wliicli can be attempted, 
 and that it will bo the crowning enterprise of those 
 Arctic researches in which England has liitherto 
 had the pro-eminence. Why, Biittorface," continued 
 Alf, warming with his subject, while the enthusiastic 
 negro listened as it were with every feature of his 
 expressive face, and even the volatile Benjy became 
 attentive, " why, there is no telling what might bo 
 the advantages that would arise from systematic 
 exploration of these unknown regions, which cover 
 a space of not less than two millions five hun- 
 dred thousand square miles. It would advance the 
 science of hydrography, and help to solve some of 
 the difficult problems connected with ]<^iuatorial 
 and Polar currents. It would enable us, it is £ ■'', 
 by a series of pendulum observations at or near the 
 Pole, to render essential service to the science of 
 geology, to form a mathematical theory of the 
 physical condition of the earth, and to ascertain its 
 exact conformation. It would probably throw light 
 on the wonderful phenomena of magnetism and 
 atmospheric electricity and the mysterious Aurora 
 IJorealis — to say nothing of the flora of these regions 
 and the animal life on the laud and in the sea." 
 
 11. 1 
 
 ■*ii i'. 
 

 ih 
 
 on ITiKINCH KOUNl) TMF. I'OLR. 
 
 209 
 
 "Why, Alf," nxclaitiiod nonjy in surprise, *■ T hm! 
 no idea yoti were «o deeply learned on these 
 siibjocts." 
 
 " Deeply learned !" echoed Alf with a laugh, 
 "why, I have only a smatterin;* of them. Just 
 knowledge enough to enable me in some small 
 degree to appreciate the vast amount of knowledge 
 which I have yet to acquire. Why do you look 
 perplexed, Butterface ? " 
 
 " 'Cause, niassa, you 'a too deep for me altogiddor. 
 My brain no big 'nough to hold it all." 
 
 "And your skull's too thick to let it through 
 to the little blob of brain that you do possess," 
 said Benjy with a kindly-contemptuous look at his 
 sable friend. " Oh ! flatnose, you *re a terrible thick- 
 head." 
 
 " You *s right dere, massa," replied the negro, with 
 a gratified smile at what he deemed a compliment. 
 " Vou should ha' seed me dat time when I was leetle 
 boy down in Ole Virginny, whar dey riz me, when 
 my gran'moder she foun* me stickin' my fist in de 
 irolasses-jar an' lickin' it off. She swarmed at me 
 an* fetch' me one kick, she did, an' sent me slap troo 
 a pamiel ob do loft door, an' tumbled me down de 
 back stair, whar I felled over de edge an' landed on 
 de top ob a tar barrel w'ich my head run into. I got 
 on my legs, I did, wiv difficulty, an' runued away 
 never a bit de worse —not even a headache — only it 
 
 
 
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210 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH. 
 
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 •'iiac; 
 
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 was tree months afore I got dat tar rightly out o' 
 my wool. Yes, my head 's t'ick 'nough." 
 
 While Tiutterface was speaking, Leo and the Cap- 
 tain were seen approaching, and the three rose to 
 meet them. There was a grave solemnity in the 
 Captain's look which alarmed them. 
 
 " Nothing wrong I hope, uncle ?" said Alf. 
 
 " Wrong ! no, lad, there 's nothing wrong. On the 
 contrary, everything is right. Why, where do you 
 think we have got to ?" 
 
 " A hundred and fifty miles from the Pole," said 
 Alf. 
 
 " Less, less," said Leo, with an excited look. 
 
 " We are not more," said the Captain slowly, as 
 he took off his hat and wiped his brow, " not more 
 than a hundred and forty miles from it." 
 
 " Then we could be there in three days or sooner, 
 with a good breeze," cried Benjy, whose enthusiasm 
 was aroused. 
 
 " Ay, Ben, if there was nothing in the way ; but 
 it 's quite clear from what Chingatok says, that we 
 are drawing near to his native land, which cannot 
 be more than fifty miles distant, if so much. You 
 remember he has told us his home is one of a 
 group of islands, some of which are large and 
 some small ; some mountainous and others flat and 
 8\7ampy, affording food and shelter to myriads of 
 wild fowl ; 80, you see, after we get there our pro- 
 
X 
 
 sre our pro- 
 
 OIl I'OKINGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 211 
 
 gress northward through such a country, without 
 roads or vehicles, won't be at the rate of ten miles 
 an hour by any means." 
 
 " Besides," added Leo, " it would not be polite to 
 Chingatok's countrymen if we were to leave them 
 immediately after arriving. Perhaps they would 
 not let us go, so I fear that we sha'nt gain the end 
 of our journey yet a while, but that does not matter 
 much, for we 're sure to make it out at last." 
 
 " What makes the matter more uncertain," 
 resumed the Captain, as they sauntered back to 
 camp, "is the fact that this northern archipelago 
 is peopled by different tribes of Eskimos, some of 
 whom are of a warlike spirit and frequently give the 
 others trouble. However, Chingatok says we shall 
 have no difficulty in reaching this Nothing — as he 
 will insist on styling the Pole, ever since I explained 
 to him that it was not a real but uj. imaginary 
 point." 
 
 " I wonder how Anders ever got him to under- 
 stand what an imaginary point is," said Benjy. 
 
 " That has puzzled me too," returned the Captain, 
 " but he did get it screwed into him somehow, end 
 the result is- Nothing!" 
 
 " Out of nothing nothmg comes, remarked Leo, 
 as the giant siiddenly appeared from Vjhind a rock, 
 " but assuredly nothirig can beat Chingatok in size or 
 magnificence, which is mor^d than anything else can. *"' 
 
 I'M 
 
 
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 lit 1 5i M 
 
212 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
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 ".4 
 
 Tlif! Eskimo had been searching for the absentees 
 to announce that dinner was ready, and tliat, Too- 
 looha was impatient to begin ; they all therefore 
 quickened their pace, and soon after came within 
 scent of the savoury mess which had been prepared 
 for them by the giant's s<^uat but amiable motlier. 
 
 ,•( 
 
 ••«».. 
 
OR POKmGS KOUND Tlili POLE. 
 
 313 
 
 CHAPTEE. XVI. 
 
 ' ii 
 
 AliBlVAL IN FOLOELAND. 
 
 Fortune, which had hitherto proved favourable 
 to cur brave explorers, did not desert them at the 
 eleventh hour. 
 
 Soon after their arrival at Kefuge Island a fair 
 wind sprang up from the south, and when the 
 Charity had been carefully patched and repaired, 
 the kites were sent up and the voyage was continued. 
 That day and night they spent again upon the 
 boundless sea, for the island was soon left out of 
 sight behind them, though the wind was not very 
 fresh. 
 
 Towards morning it fell calm altogether, obliging 
 them to haul down the kites and take to the oars. 
 
 "It can't be far off now, Chingatok," said the 
 Captain, who became rather impatient as the end 
 drew near. 
 
 '* Not far," was the brief reply. 
 
 " Land ho !" shouted Benjy, about half-an-hoiir 
 after that 
 
 VM 
 
 
214 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 m * 
 
 '■■:Ci 
 
 
 But Benjy was forced to admit that anxiety had 
 caused him to take an iceberg ou the horizon for 
 land. 
 
 " Well, anyhow you must admit,'' said Benjy, on 
 approaching the berg, "that it's big enough for a 
 fellow to mistake it for a mountain. I wonder 
 what it 's doing here without any brothers or sisters 
 to keep it company." 
 
 " Under-currents brought it here, lad," said the 
 Captain. " You see, such a monster as that must go 
 very deep down, and the warm under -current has 
 not yet melted away enough of his base to permit 
 the surface-cun-ent to carry him south like the 
 smaller members of his family. He is still travel- 
 ling north, but that won't last long. He'll soon 
 become small enough to put about and go the other 
 way. I never saw a bigger fellow than that, Benjy. 
 Hayes the American mentions one which he 
 measured, about; 315 feet high, and nearly a mile 
 long. It had been grounded for two years. He 
 calculated that there must have been seven times 
 as much of it below water as there was above, so 
 that it was stranded in nearly half-a-mile depth of 
 water. This berg cannot be far short of that one 
 in size." 
 
 " Hm ! probably then his little brothers and 
 sisters are being now crushed to bits in Baffin's 
 iiay," said Benjy. 
 
OR POKINIS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 216 
 
 " Not unlikely, Kftn, if they 've not already been 
 melted in the Atlantic, which will be this one's fate 
 at last — sooner or later." 
 
 From a pool on this berg they obtained a supply 
 of pure fresh water. 
 
 When our explorers did at last sight the land it 
 came upon them unexpectedly, in the form of an 
 island so low that they were quite close before 
 observing it. The number of gulls hovering above 
 it might have suggested its presence, but as these 
 birds frequently hover in large flocks over shoals 
 of small fish, little attention was paid to them. 
 
 " Is this your native land, Chingatok?" asked the 
 Captain, quickly. 
 
 " No, it is over there," said the Eskimo, point- 
 ing to the distant horizon ; " this is the first of the 
 islands." 
 
 As they gazed they perceived a mountain-shaped 
 cloud so faint and far away that it had almost 
 escaped observation. Advancing slowly, this cloud 
 was seen to take definite form and colour. 
 
 "I Tmew it was !" said Benjy, "but was afraid of 
 making another mistake." 
 
 Had the boy or his father looked attentively at 
 the giant just then, they would hove seen that hia 
 colour deepened, his eyes glittered, and his great 
 chest heaved a little more than was its wont, as ha 
 looked over his shoulder while labouring at the 
 
 ' )f 
 
 I; 
 
216 
 
 THE GIANT Ul'" TIIK NOUTh 
 
 r ! 
 
 i. ! 
 
 2; J 
 
 
 ::::t: 
 
 '';c-| 
 
 '■■-[ 
 
 1; I 
 
 oars. Vprhaps we should liave said played with the 
 oars, for they were mere toys in his grasp. Chiuga- 
 tok's little mother also was evidently affected by 
 the sight of home. But the Captain and his son 
 saw it not — they were too much occupied with 
 their own thoughts and feelings. To the English- 
 men the sight of land roused only one great all- 
 engrossing thought — the North Pole ! which, despite 
 the absurdity of the idea, would present itself in the 
 form of an upright post oi teirific magnitude — a 
 worthy axle-tree, as it were, for the world to revolve 
 upon. To the big Eskimo laud presented itself in 
 the form of a palatial stone edifice measuring fifteen 
 feet by twelve, with a dear pretty little wife chok- 
 ing herself in the smoke of a cooking-lamp, and 
 a darling little boy choking himself with a mass 
 of walrus blubber. Thus the same object, when 
 presented to difTerent minds, suggested ideas that 
 were 
 
 " Diverse as qalm from thunder, 
 Wide as the poles asuuder." 
 
 It was midnight when the boats drew near to 
 land. The island in which stood the giant's humble 
 home seemed to Captain Vane not more than eight 
 or ten miles in extent, and rose to a moderate 
 height — apparently about five or six hundred feet. 
 It was pictuiesciue iu form and composed of rugged 
 rocks, the luaiks on which, and thye inuumera^blti 
 
w near to 
 
 Oli rOKlNGS K'JUND THE I'OLE. 
 
 217 
 
 boulders everywhere, showed that at some remote 
 period of the world's history, it had been subjected 
 to the influence of glacial action. No glacier was 
 visible now, however— only, on the rocky summit 
 lay a patch or two of the last winter's snow-drift, 
 which was too deep for the summer sun to melt 
 away. From this storehouse of water gushed numer- 
 ous tiny rivulets which brawled cheerily rather than 
 noisily among the rocks, watering the rich green 
 mosses and grasses which abounded in patches every- 
 where, and giving life to countless wild flowers 
 and berries which decked and enriched the land. 
 
 Just off the island — which by a strange coinci- 
 dence the inhabitants had named Poloe — there were 
 hundreds of other islets of every shape and size, 
 but nearly all of them low, and many flat and 
 swampy — the breeding-grounds of myriads of water- 
 fowl. There were lakelets in many of these isles, 
 in the midst of which were stiU more diminutive 
 islets, whose moss-covered rocks and fringing sedges 
 were reflected in the crystal water. Under a cliff 
 on the main island stood the Eskimo village, a col- 
 lection of stone huts, bathed in the slanting light 
 of the midnight sun. 
 
 But no sovLJid issued from these huts or from the 
 neighbouring islands. It was the period of rest for 
 man. and bird. Ala", earth, and water were locked 
 in profound silence and repose. 
 
 "^^ 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 'i 
 : 
 
 
 
 y 
 
 m 
 
 =1 
 
 
 m 
 
 k; VII 
 
218 
 
 niE GIANT OP THE NORTH 
 
 < ( 
 
 m k 
 
 '! I 
 
 
 -:4 
 
 Fi^ i: ! 
 
 " We 've got to Paradise at last, father/ was the 
 first sound that broke the silence, if we except the 
 gentle dip of the oars and the rippling water on the 
 bow 
 
 " Looks like it, Bcnjy," replied the Captain. 
 
 A wakeful dog on shore was the first to scent 
 the coming strangers. He gave vent to a low growl. 
 It was the keynote to the canine choir, which 
 immediately sent up a howl of discord. Forthwith 
 from every hut there leaped armed men, anxious 
 women, and terrified children, which latter rushed 
 towards the cliffs or took refuge among the rocks. 
 
 " Hallo ! Chingatok, your relations are not to be 
 taken by surprise," said the Captain — or something 
 to that effect — in Eskimo. 
 
 The giant shook his head somewhat gravely. 
 
 " They must be at war," he said. 
 
 " At war ! whom with ?" 
 
 •* With the Neerdoowulls," replied Chingatok with 
 a frown. ** They are always giving us trouble." 
 
 "Not badly named, father," said Benjy; "one 
 would almost think they must be of Scotch ex- 
 traction.'* 
 
 At that moment the natives — who had been 
 gesticulating wildly and brandishing spears and 
 bone knives with expressions of fury that denoted 
 a strong desire on their part to carve out the hearts 
 and transfix the livers of the new-comers— suddenly 
 

 OR POKINGS ROUND THE POLK. 
 
 219 
 
 frave vent to a shout of surprise, which was suc- 
 ceeded by a scream of joy. Chingatok had stood 
 up in the boat and been recognised. The giant's 
 dog — an appropriately large one — had been the first 
 to observe him, and expressed its feelings by wag- 
 ging its tail to such an extent that its hind legs had 
 difficulty in keeping the ground. 
 
 Immediately on landing, the party was surrounded 
 by a clamorous crew, who, to do them justice, took 
 very little notice of the strangers, so overjoyed were 
 they at the return of their big countryman. 
 
 Soon a little pleasant though flattish-faced 
 woman pushed through the crowd and seized the 
 giant. This was his wife Pingasuk, or Pretty One. 
 She was petite — not much larger than Oblooria the 
 timid. The better to get at her, Chingatok went 
 down on his knees, seized her by the shoulders, and 
 rubbed her nose against his so vigorously that the 
 smaller nose bid fair to come off altogether. He 
 had to stoop still lower when a stout urchin of 
 about five years of age came up behind him and 
 tried to reach his face. 
 
 " Meltik ! " exclaimed the giant, rubbing noses 
 gently for fear of damaging him, "you are stout 
 and fat, my son, you have been eating much blubber 
 —good." 
 
 At that moment Chingatok's eyes fell on an object 
 which had hitherto escaped his observation. It was 
 
 ,«■!,■ 
 
 . 1, 
 
 m 
 
 ' H 
 
 im 
 
220 
 
 THE GIANT Olf TIIK NOUTII 
 
 * i 
 
 » 
 
 
 a liUlo round yellow lu-jul in his wile's hood, with a 
 pair of sniull black eyes which stared at liini in 
 blank surprise. He made a snatch at it and drew 
 forth — a naked baby ! 
 
 " Our girlie," said the wife, with a pleased but 
 anxious look ; " dou't stjueeze. She is very young 
 and tender — like a baby seal." 
 
 The glad father tried to fold the creature to hi.s 
 bosom ; nearly dropped it iu his excess of tender 
 caution ; thrust it hastily back into his wife's hood, 
 and rose to give a respectful greeting to an aged 
 man with a scrubby white beard, who came forward 
 at the moment. 
 
 " Who are these, my son V' asked the old man, 
 pointing to the Englishmen, who, standing in a 
 group with amused expressions, watched the meet- 
 ing above described. 
 
 " These are the Kablunets, father. I met them, 
 as I expected, in the far off land. The poor creatures 
 were wandering about in a great kayak, which they 
 have lost, searching for nothing !" 
 
 " Searching for nothing ! my son, that cannot be. 
 It is not possible to search for nothing — at least it 
 is not possible to find it." 
 
 " But that is what they come here for," persisted 
 Chingatok ; " they call it the Nort Pole." 
 
 " And what is the Nort Pole, my son ?" 
 
 " It is nothing, father." 
 
OR POKTS'na rOTTNT^ THF, POT.F. 
 
 221 
 
 Tho old ninn Ir.nkod :\t his stiiU'ly son with sonuj- 
 tiiitig of anxii'ty ininf,'lo(l with liis snr)tnso. 
 
 " Ho.8 Chingatok become a fool, like tho Kahbi- 
 netH, since he left home ?" lie asked in a low voice. 
 
 " Chiiigatok is not sure," i-ejilied the giant, gravely, 
 "He has seen so much to puzzle him since he went 
 away, that he sometimes feels foolish." 
 
 The old Eskimo looked steadily at his son for a 
 few moments, and shook his heatl 
 
 " I will speak to these men — these foolish men,** 
 be said. " Do they understand our langtiage ?" 
 
 " Some of them understand and speak a little, 
 father, but they have with them one named Unders, 
 who interprets. Come here, Unders." 
 
 Anders promptly stepped to the front and inter- 
 preted, while the old Eskimo put Captain Vane 
 through an examination of uncommon length and 
 severity. At the close of it he shook his head with 
 profound gravity, and turned again to his son. 
 
 " You have indeed brought to us a set of fools, 
 Chingatok. Your voyage to the far-off lands has 
 not been very successful These men want some- 
 thing that they do not understand ; that they could 
 not see if it was before them ; that they cannot 
 describe when they talk about it, and that they 
 could not lay hold of if they had it." 
 
 "Yes, father," sighed Chincratok, "it is as I fold 
 you — nothing; only the Nort Pole — a mere name." 
 
 ! I 
 
 !■ .' 
 
 f 
 
 ir 
 
 I i 
 
 i'. 
 
222 
 
 THE GIANT OP THK NOnXIl 
 
 2 
 
 > 
 
 \, 
 
 
 A now llfrlit sotiined to break in on Chingatok as 
 he sfilil tliis, for he added quickly, " Rut, father, a 
 name is sonu thing— my name, Chin^iitok, is sonie- 
 thitig, yet it is nothing. You cannot see it, you do 
 not lay hold of it, yet it is there." 
 
 "Toohoo! my son, that is so, no doubt, but your 
 name describes you, and you are something. No 
 one ever goes to a far-off land to search for a name. 
 If this Nort Tole is only a name and not a thing, 
 how can it he ? " exclaimed the old man, turning on 
 his heel and marching off in a paroxysm of meta- 
 physical disgust. 
 
 He appeared to change his mind, however, for, 
 turning abruptly back, he said to Anders, " Tell these 
 strangers that I am glad to see them ; that a house 
 and food shall be given to them, and that they are 
 welcome to Poloe. Perhaps their land — the far-off 
 land — is a poor one ; they may not have enough to 
 eat. If so, they may stay in this rich land of mine 
 to hunt and fish as long as they please. But tell 
 them that the Eskimos love wise men, and do not 
 care for foolishness. They must not talk any more 
 about this search after nothing — this Nort Pole — 
 this nonsense — huk !" 
 
 Having delivered himself of these .sentiments with 
 much dignity, the old man again turned on his heel 
 with a regal wave of the hand, and marched up to 
 his hut. 
 
"(1 
 
 OR FOKINf;S ROUND THE POLF. 
 
 223 
 
 "Tliat mur.t be tlie King of PokM!," wliis])('ro(l 
 CRptain Vane to Leo, oiidettvouring to supprras a 
 smile at the concluding cantion, as tliey followed 
 Anders and one of the natives to the hnt set apart 
 for them. 
 
 The Captain was only half right. Anialatok 
 was indeed the chief of the island, but the respect 
 and deference shown to him by the tribe were owing 
 more to the man's age and personal worth, than to 
 his rank. He had succeeded his father as chief of 
 the tribe, and, during a long life, had led his people 
 in council, at the bunt, and in war, with consummate 
 ability and success. Although old, he still held the 
 reins of power, chiefly because his eldest son and 
 rightful successor — Chingatok's elder brother — was 
 a weak-minded man of little capacity and some- 
 what malignant disposition. If our giant had been 
 his eldest, he would have resigned cheerfully long 
 ago. As it was, he did not see his way to change 
 the customs of the land, the igh he could not tell 
 when, or by whom, or under what circumstances, 
 the order of succession had been established. Pro- 
 bably, like many other antiquated customs, it had 
 been originally the result of despotism on the part 
 of men in power, and of stupid acquiescence on the 
 part of an unthinking people. 
 
 On reaching his hut the old chief sat down, and, 
 
 ning carelessly against the wall, he toyed with 
 
 i 
 
 
 l« 
 
 n 
 
 !.! 
 
 
 
 I* 
 
 i*t 
 
 
 i 
 
224 
 
 rm ciANT OF tht: nohth 
 
 
 fill 
 l^ l:;5| 
 
 11:*,, 
 
 a bit of walrus rib, as an Enf^lishmtvn might with a 
 pair of nut- crackers at dessert. 
 
 " Why did you bring these barbarians here ?" 
 
 " I did not bring them, father, they brought me," 
 said the son with a deprecating glance. 
 
 " Huk !" exclaimed the chief, after which he 
 added, "hum!" 
 
 Tt was evident that he had received new light, and 
 was meditating thereon. 
 
 " My son," continued Amalatok, " these Kabluncts 
 seem to be stout-bodied fellows ; can they fight — 
 are they brave?" 
 
 " They are brave, father, very brave. Even the 
 little one, whom they call Bunjay, is brave — also, he 
 is funnv. I have never seen the Kablunets fight with 
 men, but they fight well with the bear and the walrus 
 and the ice. They are not such fools as you seem to 
 think. True, about this nothing — this Nort Pole — 
 they are quite mad, but in other matters they are very 
 wise and knowing, ay you shall see before long." 
 
 "Good, good," remarked the old chief, llingiiir; 
 the walrus rib at an intnisive dog with signal 
 success, " I am glad to hear you say that, because 
 I may want their help.** 
 
 Amalatok showed one symptom of tme greatness 
 — a readiness to divest himself of prejudice. 
 
 "For what do you require their help, father?" 
 asked Chingatok. 
 
 '^j 
 
• S ! 
 
 OR POKINGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 225 
 
 Instead of auswering, the old chief wrenched off 
 another walrus rib from its native back-bone, and 
 began to gnaw it growlingly, as if it -v^ero his enemy 
 and he a dog. 
 
 "My father is disturbed in his mind/' said the 
 giatit in a syinpathising tone. 
 
 Even a less observant toah than Chlngatok might 
 have seen that the old chief was not orly disturbed 
 in tnind, but also in body, for his features twitched 
 convulsively, and his face grew red as he thought 
 of his wrongs. 
 
 "Listen," said Amalatok, flinging the rib at 
 another intrusive dog, again With success, and lay- 
 ing his hand impressively dn his son's arm. " My 
 enemy, Grabantak — that bellowing walrufe, that sly 
 seal, that empty-skulled pUffin, that porpoiae, Cor- 
 morant, narwhal — s-s-s-s 1" 
 
 The old mati set his teeth ^nd hissed. 
 
 "Well, my father?" 
 
 "It is not well, my son. It is all iU. That 
 marrowless baar is stirring up his people, and there 
 is no doubt that we shall soon be again engaged io 
 a bloody — a useless war." 
 
 "What is it all about, father?" 
 
 " About ! — about nothing." 
 
 "Huk! about Nort. Pole — nothing," mtirtnured 
 Cliingatok — his thoughts diverted by the word. 
 
 "No, it is worse than Nort Tole, worse thah 
 
 p 
 
 \\ 
 
 f 
 
 "Jl ', 
 
 'HtSi' ■ 
 
 
 m\ 
 
>:; 
 
 226 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 ► ..I 
 
 •'iBr» 
 
 ,)' 
 
 nothing," returned the chief sternly ; "it is a small 
 island — very small — so small that a seal would not 
 nave it for a breathing- place. Nothing on it; no 
 moss, no grass. Birds won't stay there — only fly over 
 it and wink with contempt. Yet Grabantak says he 
 must have it — it is within the bounds of his land !" 
 
 " Well, let him have it, if it be so worthless," said 
 Chingatok, mildly. 
 
 "Let him have it!" shouted the chief, start- 
 ing up with such violence as to overturn the 
 cooking-lamp — to which he paid no regard whatever 
 — and striding about the small hut savagely, '* no, 
 never ! I will fight him to the last gasp ; kill all 
 his men; slay his women; drown his children; 
 level his huts ; burn up his meat — " 
 
 Amalatok paused and glared, apparently uncer- 
 tain about the propriety of wasting good meat. 
 The pause gave his wrath time to cool. 
 
 " At all events," he continued, sitting down again 
 and wrenching o& another rib, "we must call a 
 council and have a talk, for we may expect him 
 soon. When you arrived we took you for our 
 enemies.** 
 
 "And you were ready for us," said Chingatok, 
 •with an approving smile. 
 
 "Iluk!" returned the chief with a responsive 
 nod. " Go, Chingatok, call a council of my braves 
 for to-night, and see that these miserable starving 
 
 
an 
 
 
 OR POKINGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 231 
 
 Kablunets have enough of blubber wherewith to 
 stuff themselves." 
 
 Our giant did not deem it worth while to explain 
 to his rather petulant father that the Englishmen 
 were the reverse of starving, but he felt the import- 
 ance of raising them in the old chiefs opinion 
 without delay, and took measures accordingly. 
 
 " Blackbeard," he said, entering the Captain's hut 
 and sitting down with a troubled air, " my father 
 does not think much of you. Tell him that, 
 Unders." 
 
 " I understand you well enough, Chingatok ; go 
 on, and let me know why the old man does noi 
 think well of me." 
 
 " He thinks you are a fool," returned the plain- 
 spoken Eskimo. 
 
 " H'm ! I 'm not altogether surprised at that, lad. 
 I 've sometimes thought so myself. Well, I suppose 
 you 've come to give me some good advice to make 
 me wiser — eh ! Chingatok?" 
 
 " Yes, that is what I come for. Do what I tell 
 you, and my father will begin to think you wise." 
 
 "Ah, yes, the old story,' remarked Benjy, who 
 was an amused listener — for his father translated 
 in a low tone for the benefit of his companions as 
 the conversation proceeded — "the same here aa 
 everywhere — Do as I tell you and all will be well !" 
 
 " Hold your tongue, Ben," whispered All". 
 
 •hi 
 
 t 
 
 ai ^ , 
 
 
228 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 
 
 
 ?'•"• 
 
 
 (l,v 
 
 
 -,'] 
 
 
 ^•? 
 
 >■: 
 
 a 
 
 1 
 
 r. 1 
 
 ►.:.1 
 
 r I 
 
 
 •■ i 
 
 ;'^^' 
 
 
 
 2.) 
 
 |.:c 
 
 Si*': 
 
 "Well, wliat am I to do?" asked the. Captain. 
 
 "Invite my father to a feast," said Chinffatok 
 eagerly^ " and me too, and my mother too ; also my 
 wife, and some of the braves with their wives. 
 And you riiust give us biskit an' — ^what do you call 
 that brown stuff?" 
 
 " Coffee/* suggested the Captain. 
 
 " Yes, cuffy, also tee, and shoogre, and seal st — 
 St— what?" 
 
 " Steak— eh ?" 
 
 "Yes, stik, and cook them all in the strange 
 lamp. You must ask us to see the feast cooked, 
 and then we will eat it." 
 
 It will be observed that when Chingatok inter- 
 polated English words in his discourse his pro- 
 nunciation was not perfect. 
 
 " Well, you are the coolest fellow I 've met with 
 for many a day ! To order a feast, invite yourself 
 to it, name the rest of the company, as well as the 
 victuals, and insist on seeing the cooking of the 
 same," said the Captain in English ; then, in Eskimo, 
 — " Well, Chingatok, I will do as you wish. When 
 would yoU like supper?" 
 
 " Now," replied the giant, with decision. 
 
 " You hear, Butterface," said the Captain when 
 he had translated, " go to work and get your potfl 
 and pans ready. See that you put your best foot 
 foremoou. It will be a turning-point, this feast, I see." 
 
OR rOKINOS ROUND TUK POLE. 
 
 239 
 
 Need we say that the feast was a great success ? 
 The wives, highly pleased at the attention paid 
 them by the strangers, were won over at once. 
 The whole party, when assembled in the hut, 
 watched with the most indescribable astonishment 
 the proceedings of the negro — himself a living 
 miracle — as he manipulated a machine which, in 
 separate compartments, cooked steaks and boiled 
 tea, coffee, or anything else, by means of a spirit 
 lamp in a few minutes. On first tasting the hot 
 liquids they looked at each other suspiciously ; then 
 as the sugar tickled their palates, they smiled, tilted 
 their pannikins, drained tbam to the dregs, and 
 asked for more ! 
 
 The feast lasted long, and was highly appreciated. 
 When the company retired — which did not happen 
 until the Captain declared he had nothing more to 
 give them, and turned the cooking apparatus upside 
 down to prove what he said — there was not a man 
 or woman among them who did not hold and even 
 loudly assert that the Kablunets were wise men. 
 
 After the feast the council of war was held and 
 the strangers were allowed to be present. There 
 was a great deal of talk — probably some of it was 
 not much to the point, but there was no interruption 
 or undignified confusion. There was a peace-party, 
 of course, and a war-party, but the latter prevailed. 
 It too often does so in human affairs. Chiugatok 
 
 ri 
 
 
 r 
 
 ' \ n 
 
 V 
 
 11 
 
 ilil 
 
 (I M.I- \ 
 
 m 
 
r. i 
 
 ?;5 
 
 I i 
 
 
 h 
 
 ' - '.-ii 
 
 It 
 
 ■■i 
 
 •'i5 
 
 330 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 was understood to favour the peace-party, but as 
 his sire was on the other side, respect kept him 
 tongue-tied. 
 
 " These Eskimos reverence age and are respectful 
 to women," whispered Leo to Alf, " so we may not 
 call them savages." 
 
 The old chief spoKe last, summing up the argu- 
 ments, as it were, on both sides, and giving his 
 reasons for favouring war. 
 
 " The island is of no use," he said ; " it is not 
 worth a seal's nose, yet Grabantak wishes to tear it 
 from us — us who have possessed it since the for- 
 gotten times. Why is this ? because he wishes to 
 insult us (*huk!* from the audience). Shall we 
 submit to insult 1 shall we sit down like frightened 
 birds and see the black-livered cormorant steal what 
 is ours ? shall the courage of the Poloes be questioned 
 by all the surrounding tribes? Never! while we 
 have knives in our boots and spears in our hands. 
 We will fight till we conquer or till we are all dead 
 — till our wives are husbandless and our children 
 fatherless, and all our stores of meat and oil are 
 gone ! (' huk ! huk !') Then shall it be said by sur- 
 rounding tribes, ' Behold ! how brave were the 
 I'oloes ! they died and left their wives and little 
 cliiMren to perish, or mourn in slavery, rather than 
 submit to insult!'" 
 
 The "huks" that greeted the conclusion of the 
 
 .''•A 
 
OR rOKINGS ROUND TFIE POLE. 
 
 231 
 
 speech were so loud and numerous that the 
 unfortunate peace-makers were forced to hide their 
 diminished Iieads. 
 
 Thus did Amalatok resolve to go t> war for 
 " worse than Nort Pole — for nothing "* — rather than 
 submit to insult ! 
 
 1 It may not be inappropriate here to point out that Eskimo sayagea 
 are sometimes equalled, if not surpassed, in this respect, by civilinad 
 nud even Christian nations. 
 
 , mi 
 
 i ' '^ii-. 
 
 ill 
 
 U 4 
 
 I i. 
 
 '' LI 
 
I 
 
 ?• ' 
 
 > , 
 
 •: ' • 
 
 *' "'mf 
 
 
 332 
 
 THE GIANT OF TlIE NOBTH 
 
 CHAPTER XVIT. 
 
 TQB EFVKCrr UF TiiRSUASION ON DIVEBSE OHAHACTKtlS. 
 
 The warlike tendencies of Grabantak, the northern 
 eavage, had the effect of compelling Captain Vane 
 and his party to delay for a ionsidorable time their 
 efforts to reach the Pole. This was all the more dis- 
 tressing that they had by that time approached 
 no very near to it. A carefully made observation 
 placed the island of Poloe in lat. 88° 30' 10", about 
 90 geographical, or 104 English statute miles from 
 the Pole. 
 
 There was no help for it, however. To have 
 ventured on Grabantak's territory while war was 
 impending would have been to court destruction. 
 Captain Vane taw therefore that the only way of 
 advencing his own cause was to promote peace 
 between the tribes. With a view to this he sought 
 an interview with the oM chief Amalatok. 
 
 "Why do you wish to go ^o war?" he asked. 
 
 "I do not wish to go to war," ausvvered the 
 chief, fiov/.aing fiercely. 
 
 if 
 
'm 
 
 OK P0KING8 ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 233 
 
 "Why do you go then?" said the Captain in a 
 soothing tone, for he was very anxious not to rouse 
 the chief's anger ; but he was unsuccessful, for the 
 question seemed to set the old man on fire. He 
 started up, grinding his teeth and striding about 
 his hut, knocking over pots, oil cans, and cooking- 
 lamps somewhat like that famous bull which got into 
 a china shop. Finding the space too small for him 
 he suddenly dropped on his knees, crept through 
 the low entrance, sprang up, and began to stride 
 about more comfortably. 
 
 The open air calmed him a little. He ceased to 
 grind his teeth, and stopping in front of the Captain, 
 who had followed him, said in a low growl : — 
 
 "Do you think I will submit to insult?" 
 
 "Som« men have occasionally done so with 
 advantage," answered the Captain. 
 
 " Kablunets may do so, Eskimos never /" returned 
 the old man, resuming his hurried walk to and fro, 
 and the grinding of his teeth again. 
 
 "If Amalatok were to kill all his enemies — all 
 the men, women, and children," said the Captain, 
 raising a fierce gleam of satisfaction in the old 
 mun c face at the mere suggestion, " and if he were 
 to knock down all their huts, and burn up all their 
 kayaks and oomiaks, the insult would still remain, 
 because an insult can only be wiped out by one's 
 enemy confessing his sin and repenting." 
 
 h 
 
 ! 
 
id I 
 
 
 1 *. 
 I 
 
 
 •: i I 
 
 'I , 
 
 ''is 
 
 234 
 
 THE GIANT OF TIIK NOKTH 
 
 For a few seconds Amalatok stood silent ; his 
 eyes fixfd on the ground as if lie were pu/zled. 
 
 "The wliite man is right," he said at length, 
 •'but if I killed them all 1 should be avenged." 
 
 "Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord," leaped 
 naturally to the Captain's mind; but, reflecting 
 that the man before him was a heathen who would 
 not admit the value of the quotation, he paused a 
 moment or two. 
 
 " And what," he then said, " if Grabantak should 
 kill Amalatok and all his men, and carry away the 
 women and children into slavery, would the insult 
 be wiped out in that case ? Would it not rather be 
 deepened ?" 
 
 " True, it would ; but then we should all be dead 
 — we should not care." 
 
 " The men would all be dead, truly," returned the 
 Captain, " but perhaps the women and children left 
 behind might care. They would also suffer." 
 
 "Go, go," saia the Eskimo chief, losing temper 
 as he lost ground in the argument; "what can 
 Kablunets know about such matters ? ^''ou tell me 
 you are men of peace ; that your religion is a religion 
 of peace. Of course, then, you understand nothing 
 about war. Go, I have been insulted, and I musl 
 fight." 
 
 Seeing that it would be fruitless talking to the 
 old chief while he was in this frame of mind, Captain 
 
OR P0KING8 ROUND THE POLi:. 
 
 236 
 
 Vane left him and returned to his own hut, where 
 lie found Chingatok and Leo engaged in earnest 
 conversation — Alf and lienjy being silent listeners. 
 
 " I 'm glad you 've come, uncle," said Leo, making 
 room for him on the turf seat, " because Chingatok 
 and I are discussing the subject of war ; and — " 
 A strange coincidence," internipted the Captain, 
 have just been discussing the same subject with 
 old Amalatok. I hope that in showing the evils of 
 war you arc coming better speed with the son than 
 ] did with the father." 
 
 " As to that," said Leo, " I have no difificulty in 
 tliowing Chingatok the evils of war. He sees them 
 clearly enough already. The trouble I have with 
 him is to explain the Bible on that subject. You 
 aee he has got a very troublesome inquiring sort ot 
 mind, and ever since I have told him that the 
 Bible is the "Word of God he won't listen to my 
 explanations about anything. He said to me in 
 the quietest way possible, just now, ' Why do you 
 give me your reasons when you tell me the Great 
 S])irit has given His ? I want to know what He says.' 
 Well, now, you know, it is puzzling to be brought 
 to book like that, and I doubt if Anders translates 
 well. You understand and speak the language, 
 uncle, better than he does, 1 think, so I want you 
 to help me." 
 
 " I'll tiy, Leo, though I' am ashamed to say I am 
 
 
 
 . V:? I 
 
 I ffl 
 
 ' '; 
 
 1 
 
 ■ \- 
 
 1 
 
 \ , 
 
 1 
 
 ^,i 
 
 \.i 
 
2S« 
 
 THE QlkUT OF TUB NOKTil 
 
 ?■■-" 
 
 I.J i:a 
 
 not eo well read iti the Word myBoIf as I ought to 
 be. What does CMiingatok want tu know ?" 
 
 " He wants to reconcile things, of course. Tliat 
 is always the way. Now I told him that the Groat 
 Spirit is good, and does not wish men to go to war, 
 and that He has written for us a law, namely, that 
 we should ' live peaceably with all men.' Chinga- 
 tok liked this very much, but then I had told him 
 before, that the Great Spirit had told His ancient 
 people the Jews to go and fight His enemies, and 
 take possession of tlieir lands. Now he regards this 
 as a contradiction. He says — How can a man live 
 peaceably with all men, and at the same time go to 
 war with some men, kill them, and take their lands ?" 
 
 " Ah ! Leo, my boy, your difficulty in answering 
 the Eskimo lies in your own partial quotation of 
 Scripture," said the Captain. Then, turning to 
 Chingatok, he added, "My young friend did not 
 give you the whole law — only part of it. The word 
 is written thus : — * if it be possible, as much as 
 lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.' Some- 
 times it is not possible, Chingatok ; then we must 
 fight. But the law says keep from fighting 'as 
 much as you can.' Mind that, Chingatok, and if 
 you are ever induced to go to war for the sake of a 
 little island — for the sake of a little insult, — don't 
 flatter yourself that you are keeping out of it as 
 much as lieth in you.*^ 
 
OR POKIWaS ROUKT) TIIK POLE. 
 
 337 
 
 " Good, good," said the giant, earnestly ; " Black- 
 hoard's words are wise." 
 
 " As to the people of God in the long past," con- 
 tinued the Captain, " God told them to go to war, so 
 tliey went ; but that does not authorise men to go 
 to war at their own bidding. What is right in the 
 Great Father of all may be very wrong in the 
 chiklreu. God kills men every dayi and we do not 
 blame Himi but if man kills his fellow we hunt 
 him down as a murderer. In the long past time 
 the Great Father spoke to His children by His wise 
 and holy men, and sometimes He saw fit to tell 
 them to fight. With His reasons we have nothing 
 to do. KoW) the Great Father speaks to us by Hii 
 Book. In it He tells us to live in peace with ali 
 men — ifpoasihle." 
 
 "Good," said the giant with an approving nod, 
 though a perplexed expression still lingered on his 
 face. "But the Great Father has never before 
 spoken to me by His Book — never at all to my 
 forefathers." 
 
 " He may, however, have spoken by His Spint 
 within you, Chingatok, I cannot tell," returned the 
 Captain with a meditative air. " You have desires 
 for peace and a tendency to forgive. This could 
 not be the work of the spirit of eviL It must have 
 been that of the Good Spirit." 
 
 This seemed to breah ^ipon the Eskimo as a new 
 
 ^1 fl 
 
 
 it; 
 
 \S.\ i 
 
 .1 m 
 
I I 
 
 ■•!;■ 
 
 ;■ I 
 
 ( : 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 t<,i 
 
 233 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 light, and he relapsed into silence as he thought of 
 the wonderful idea that within his breast the Great 
 Spirit, might have beei. working in time past 
 although he knew it not. Then he thought of the 
 many times he had in the past resisted what he had 
 hitherto only thought of as good feelings ; and the 
 sudden perception that at such times he had been 
 resisting the Father of all impressed him for the 
 first time witVt a sensation of guiltiness. It was 
 some time before the need of a Saviour from sin 
 entered into his mind, but the ice had been broken, 
 and at last, through Leo's Bible, as read by him 
 and explained by Captain Vane, Jesus, the Sun of 
 Righteousness, rose upon his soul, and sent in the 
 light for which he had thirsted so long. 
 
 But, as we have said, this effect was not imme- 
 diate, and he remained in a state of uncertainty and 
 sadness while the warlike councils and preparations 
 went on. 
 
 Meanwhile Captain Vane aet himself earnestly to 
 work to Mt on some plan by which, if possible, 
 to turn the feeling of the Eskimo community in 
 favour of peace. At first he thought of going alone 
 and unarmed, with Anders as interpreter, to the 
 land of Grabantak to dissuade that savage potentate 
 from attacking the Poloes, but the Eskimos pointed 
 out that the danger of this plan was so great that 
 he might as well kill himself at once. His own 
 
OR POKINGS ROUl.D THE POLE. 
 
 239 
 
 party, also, objected to it so strongly that he gave it 
 up, and resolved in the meantime to strengthen his 
 Dosition and increase his influence with the natives 
 among whom his lot was cast, by some exhibitions 
 of the powers with which science and art had in- 
 vested himu 
 
240 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NOBTB 
 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 TBE CAPTAIN BLRCTBIFIES AS WELL AB 8UBFRISK8 HIS KKW 
 
 FBIBNDS. 
 
 It will be remembered that the party of English- 
 men arrived at Poloeland under oars, and although 
 the india-rubber boats had been gazed at, and gently- 
 touched, with intense wonder by the natives, they 
 had not yet seen the process of disinflation, or the 
 expansion of the kites. 
 
 Of course, Chingatok and their other Eskimo 
 fellow-travellers had given their friends graphic 
 descriptions of everything, but this only served to 
 whet the desire to see the wonderful oomiaks in 
 action. Several times, during the first few days, the 
 old chief had expressed a wish to see the Kablunets 
 go through the water in their boats, but as the 
 calm still prevailed, and the Captain knew his 
 influence over the natives would depend very much 
 on the effect with which hlL^ various proceedings 
 were carried out, he put him off with the assurance 
 that when the proper time for action came, he would 
 let liim know. 
 
 n 
 
V?i< P01CINGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 241 
 
 ■, "s- 
 
 One night a gentle breeze SDrang up and blew 
 directly off shore. As it seemed likely to last, the 
 Captain waited till the whole community was 
 asleep, and then quietly roused his son, 
 
 "Lend a hand here, Ben," he whispered, "and 
 make no noise." 
 
 Benjy arose and followed his father in a very 
 sleepy frame of mind. 
 
 They went to the place where the india-rubber 
 boats lay, close behind the Englishmen's hut, and, 
 unscrewing the brass heads that closed the air-holea» 
 began to press out the air. 
 
 "That's it, Ben, but don't squeeze too hard, 
 lest the hissing should rouse some of 'em." 
 
 "What'r'ee doin' this for — ee — yaou?" asked 
 Benjy, yawning. 
 
 " You '11 see that to-morrow, lad." 
 
 " Hum ! goin* t* squeeze 'm all ?" 
 
 " Yes, all three, and put 'em in their boxes." 
 
 The conversation flagged at this point, and the 
 rest of the operation was performed in silence. 
 
 Next morning, after breakfast, seeing that the 
 breeze still held, the Captain sent a formal message 
 to Amalatok, that he was prepared to exhibit his 
 oomiaks. 
 
 The news spread like wild-five, and the entire 
 community soon assembled — to the number of 
 several hundreds — in front of the Englishmen's hut, 
 
 Q 
 
nl 
 
 i- ! 
 
 (hi 
 
 f 
 '1 
 
 
 ^i lis 
 
 "•*, 
 
 •'(S 
 
 242 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 where the Captain was seen calmly seated on a 
 packing-case, with a solemn expression on his face. 
 The rest of his party had been warned to behave 
 with dignity. Even Benjy's round face was drawn 
 into something of an oval, and Jjutterface made 
 such superhuman attempts to appear grave, that 
 the rest of the party almost broke down at the 
 sight of him. 
 
 Great was the surprise among the natives when 
 they perceived that the three oomiaks had dis- 
 appeared. 
 
 " My friends," said the Captain, rising, " I will 
 now show yon the manner in which we Englishmen 
 use our oomiaks." 
 
 A soft sigh of expectation ran through the group 
 of eager natives, as they pressed round their chief 
 and Chingatok, who stood looking on in dignified 
 silence, while the Captain and his companions went 
 to work. Many of the women occupied a little 
 eminence close at hand, whence they could see over 
 the heads of the men, and some of the younger 
 women and children clambered to the top of the 
 hut, the better to witness the great sight. 
 
 Numerous and characteristic were the sighs, 
 " huks," grunts, growls, and other exclamations ; all 
 of which were in keeping with the more or less 
 intense glaring of eyes, and opening of mouths, and 
 slight bending of knees and elbows, and spreading 
 
 n 
 
^m 
 
 OR rOKINGS ROUND THE POLF. 
 
 ?13 
 
 of fingers, and raising of hands, as the operators 
 slowly unrolled the india-rubber mass, attached the 
 bellows, gradually inflated the first boat, fixed the 
 thwarts and stretchers., and, as it were, constructed 
 a perfect oomiak in little more than ten minutes. 
 
 Then there was a shout of delight when the 
 Captain and Leo, one at the bow, the other at the 
 stern, lifted the boat as if it had been a feather, 
 and, carrying it down the beach, placed it gently 
 in the sea. 
 
 But the excitement culminated when Chingatok, 
 stepping lightly into it, sat down on the seat, seized 
 the little oars, and rowed away. 
 
 We should have said, attempted to row away, for, 
 though he rowed lustily, the boat did not move; 
 owing to Anders, who, like Eskimos in general, 
 dearly loved a practical joke. Holding fast by the 
 tail-line a few seconds, he suddenly let go, and the 
 boat shot away, while Anders, throwing a handful 
 of water after it, said, " Go off, bad boy, and don't 
 come back; we can do without you." A roar of 
 iauj:,'hter burst forth. Some of the small boys and 
 girls leaped into the air with delight, causing the 
 tails of the latter to wriggle behind them. 
 
 The Captain gave them plenty of time to blow 
 off the steam of surprise. When they had calmed 
 down considerably, he proceeded to open out and 
 arrange one of the kiteu. 
 
 m 
 
 I ■ ..V I , 
 
 r] 
 
 
\ 
 
 '■■,i 
 
 'lar' 
 
 "« 
 
 •ffe: 
 
 ?44 
 
 THE GIAN"." OF THE NORTH 
 
 Of course this threw them hack into the open- 
 eyed and mouthed, and finger-spreading condition, 
 and, if possible, called furtli more surprise than 
 hefore. When the kite soared into the sky, they 
 ishouted ; when it was being attached to the bow of 
 the boat, they held their breath with expectation, 
 many of them standing on one leg; and when at 
 last the boat, with four persons in it, shot away to 
 sea at the rate of eight or ten miles an hour, they 
 roared with ecstasy ; accompanying the yells with 
 contortions of frame and visage which were so in- 
 describable that we gladly leave it all to the reader's 
 imagination. 
 
 There can be no doubt of the fact that the 
 Captain placed himself and his countrymen that 
 day on a pedostAl from which there was no fear of 
 their being afterwards dislodged. 
 
 " Did not I tell you," said Chingatok to his sire 
 that night, in the privacy of his hut, "that the 
 Kablunets are great men ?" 
 
 " You did, my son. Chingatok is wise, and his 
 father is a fool 1" 
 
 No doubt the northern savage meant this self- 
 condemning speech to be understood much in the 
 same way in which it is understood by civilised 
 people. 
 
 " When the oomiak swelled I thought it was going 
 to burst," added the chief. 
 
it it was going 
 
 OR POKTNGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 245 
 
 " So did I, when I first saw it," said Chingatok. 
 
 Father and sou paused a few minutes. Thoy 
 usually did so between each sentence. Evidently 
 they pondered what they said. 
 
 " Have these men got wives ?" asked the chief. 
 
 "The old one has, and Bunjay is his son. The 
 other ones — no. The bhick man may have a wife : 
 I know not, but I should think that no woman 
 wc'uld have him." 
 
 " What made him black ?* 
 
 " I know not." 
 
 " Was he always blpck V 
 
 " The Kablunets say he was — from so big." 
 
 Chingatok measured off the half of his left hand 
 by way of explaining how big. 
 
 " Is he black under the clothes ?'" 
 
 " Yes ; black all over." 
 
 Again the couple paused. 
 
 "It is strange," said the old man, shaking his 
 head. "Perhaps he wfus made black because his 
 father was wicked." 
 
 "Not so," returned the young giint. "I have 
 heard him say his father was a very good man." 
 
 " Strange " rep ?ated the chief, with a solemn look, 
 "he is very ugly — worse than a walrus. Tell me, 
 my son, where do the Kablunets live ? Do they 
 hunt the walrus or the seal ?" 
 
 " Blackbeard has told me mi.ch, father, that I do 
 
 
 i: 
 
 II 
 
 * ii-'l 
 
 ■' 
 
 11 
 
 ■ 'i|l''f 
 
 :8 
 
 •'m 
 
 -'Mi 
 
 ^ illli 
 
I .''i 
 
 I:- 
 
 /^ I 
 
 246 
 
 TlIK GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 not uMderstatid. His people do not hunt much — 
 only a very few of them dc." 
 
 " Wah ! they are lazy ! The few hunt to keep 
 the rest in meat, T suppot •." 
 
 "No, fat'.ev, thr^ ^^ ;. t Lh way. The fe v hunt 
 for fun. The gre- 1 rai'iv ; j'end tlieir time in chang- 
 ing one thing for anuiner. 'hey seem to be never 
 satisfied — always clianging, olinnging — every day, 
 and all day. Gettiiig and giving, and never satisfied." 
 
 " Poor things !" said the chief. 
 
 " And they have no walruses, no white bears, no 
 whales, nothing I" added the son. 
 
 "Miserables! Perhaps that is why they come 
 here to search for nothing!" 
 
 " But, father, if they have got nothing at home, 
 why come here to search for it ?" 
 
 "What do they eat?" asked Amalatok, quickly, 
 as if he were afraid of recurring to the puzzling 
 question that had once already taken him out of his 
 mental depth. 
 
 " They eat all sorts of things. Many of them eat 
 things that are nasty — things that grow out of the 
 ground; things that are very hot and bum the 
 tongue ; things that are poison and make them ill 
 They eat fish too, like us, and other people bring 
 them their meat in great oomiaks from far-ofif lands. 
 They seem to be so poor that they cannot find 
 enough in their own country to feed themselves." 
 
I 
 
 on POKINGS ROUND TtIE POLE. 
 
 247 
 
 ik 
 
 lite bears, no 
 
 "Wro^f'hv; . creatures !" said the old man, p' 'fully. 
 
 "Yes, ai' they drink too. Drink waters so hot 
 and so te lole that they burn their mouths and 
 ill ir msides, and ^o tbc; go mad." 
 
 "Did I not say that they were fools?" said 
 Amalatok, indignantly. 
 
 "But the strangest thing of all," continued 
 Chingatok, lowering his voice, and looking at liis 
 sire in a species of wonder, " is that they fill their 
 mouths with smoke !" 
 
 " What ? Eat smoke ?" said Amalatok in amaze- 
 ment. 
 
 " No, they spit it out." 
 
 "Did Blackbeard tell you that?" 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 "Then Blackbeard is a liar !" 
 
 Chingatok did not appear to be shocked by the 
 old man's plain speaking, but he did not agree with 
 him. 
 
 *' No, father," said he, after a pause, " Blackbeard 
 is not a liar. He is good and wise, and speaks the 
 truth. I have seen the Kablunets do it myself. In 
 the big oomiak that they lost, some of the men did 
 it, so— puff, pull, puff, pull — is it not funny ?" 
 
 Both father and son burst into laughter at this, 
 and then, becoming suddenly grave, remained staring 
 at the smoke of their cooking-lamp, silently medi- 
 tating on these things. 
 
 1 i "• i 
 
 ;l 
 
 ■fell. \i 
 
;j 
 
 !:i la 
 1 ■■■*' 
 
 248 
 
 THK GIANT OP THK NORTH 
 
 While thus enj^acjed, a man entered the low door- 
 way in the only possible manner, ou hands and 
 knees, and, rising, displayed the face of Anders. 
 
 " Black beard sends a inessa^'e to the f^reat old 
 chief," said the interpreter. " lie wishes him to 
 pay the Kablunets a visit. He has something to 
 show to the great old chief." 
 
 " Tell him I come," said the chief, with a toss of 
 the head which meant "be off!" 
 
 "I wonder," said Amalatok slowly, as Anders 
 crept out, " whether Blackbeard means to show us 
 some of his wisdom or some of his foolishness. The 
 wliite men appear to have much of both." 
 
 " Let us go see," said Chingatok. 
 
 They went, and found the Captain seated in front 
 of the door of his hut with his friends round him — 
 all except Benjy, who was absent. They were very 
 grave, as usual, desiring to be impressive. 
 
 " Chief," began the Captain, in that solemn tone 
 in which ghosts are supposed to address mankind, 
 "' I wish to show you that I can make the stoutest 
 and most obstinate wai'ior of Poloeland tremble 
 and jump without touching him." 
 
 "That is not very difllcult," said the old man, 
 who had still a lurking dislike to acknowledge the 
 Englishmen his superiors. " 1 can make any one of 
 them tremble and jump by throwing a spear sA 
 him." 
 
OK rOKINGB KOUNH TFIF I'Ol.K. 
 
 219 
 
 A slifjht titter from the assemMy testified to tho 
 anccess of this nply. 
 
 "But," rejoined the Captain, with deepening 
 soieninity, " I will do it witliout throwing' a spear." 
 
 "So will T, by suddenly howling at him in the 
 dark," said Amalatok. 
 
 At this his men laughed outright 
 
 " But I will not howl or move," said the Captain. 
 
 "That will he clever," returned the chief, solem- 
 nised in spite of himself. " Let Blackbeard proceed." 
 
 " Order one of your braves to stand before me ca 
 that piece of flat skin," said the Captain. 
 
 Amalatok looked round, and, observing a huge 
 ongainly man with a cod-fishy expression of face, 
 who seemed to shrink from notoriety, ordered him 
 to step forward. The man did so with obvious 
 trepidation, but he dared not refuse. The Captain 
 fixed his eyes on him sternly, and, in a low growling 
 voice, muttered in English : " Now, Benjy, give it 
 a good turn." 
 
 Cod-fishiness vanished as if by magic, and, with 
 a look of wild horror, the man sprang into the air, 
 tumbled on his back, rose up, and ran away ! 
 
 It is difficult to say whether surprise or amuse- 
 ment predominated among the spectators. Many 
 of them laughed heartily, while the Captain, still as 
 grave as a judge, said in a low growling tone as if 
 speaking to himself ; — 
 
 i mi 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 it 
 
• '4 
 
 '& 
 
 250 
 
 THE GIANT OP TIFK NOFITII 
 
 " Not quite so stiff, lienjy, not quite so stifl". Met 
 more gentle next time. Don't do it nil at once, boy ; 
 jerk it, lienjy, a turn or so at a time." 
 
 Ft is perhai)3 needless to inform the reader that 
 vhii Captain was practising on the Piskinios witli his 
 ehictrical machine, and that Benjy was secretly 
 turning the handle inside the hut. The machine 
 was connected, by means of wires, with the piece of 
 akin on which the patients stood. These wires 
 had been laid underground, not, indeed, in the 
 darkness, but, during the secrecy and silence of the 
 previous night. 
 
 After witnessing the eflFect on the first warrior, no 
 other brave seemed inclined to venture on the skin, 
 and the women, who enjoyed the fun greatly, were 
 beginning to taunt them with cowardice, when 
 Oolichuk strode forward. He believed intensely, 
 and justifiably, in his own courage. No man, he 
 felt quite sure, had the power to stare him into a 
 nervous condition — not even the fiercest of the 
 Kablunets. Let Blackbeard try, and do his worst ! 
 
 Animated by these stern and self-reliant senti- 
 ments, he stepped upon the mat. 
 
 Benjy, being quick in apprehension, perceived his 
 previous error, and proceeded this time with caution. 
 He gave the handle of the machine a gentle half- 
 turn and stopped, peeping through a crevice in the 
 wall to observe the effect. 
 
 i( 
 
 !i ( 
 
' i 
 
 OK POKINCJS ROUND THE POLF. 
 
 251 
 
 "Hal hal bo! lio! — hi! huk !" laugli.-.l 
 0(jlichuk, as a tickling sensation tlirilhul through 
 all his nervous systyni. The laugh was irresistibly 
 echoed by the assembled community. 
 
 lienjy waited a few seconds, and then gave tho 
 handle another and slightly stronger turn. 
 
 The laugh this time was longer and more ferocious, 
 while the gallant Eskimo drew jjimself together, 
 determined to resist the strange and subtle influence ; 
 at the same time frowning defiance at the Captain, 
 who never for a moment took his coal-black eye 
 off him I 
 
 Again Benjy turned the handle gently. Ue 
 evidently possessed something of the ancient In- 
 quisitor spirit, and gloated over the pains of his 
 victim! The result was that Oolichuk not only 
 quivered from head to foot, but gave a little jump 
 and anything but a little yelL Benjy 's powers of 
 self-restraint were by that time exhausted. He 
 sent the handle round with a whirr ' and Oolichuk, 
 tumbling backwards off the mat, rent the air with 
 a shriek of demoniac laughter. 
 
 Of course the delight of the Eskimos — especially 
 of the children — was beyoi 1 all bounds, and eager 
 were the elibrts made to induc<i another warrior to go 
 upon the mysterious mat, but uot one would ven- 
 ture. They would rather have faced their natural 
 enemy, the great Grabantak, unarmed, any day! 
 
 .!.(! 
 
 I 
 
 if.:!- 
 
 1^ « 
 
 
 !:^ 
 
I 
 
 ' .1 
 
 1 • 
 
 * t 
 
 i, 1 
 
 
 y ''3 
 
 '''V. 
 
 252 
 
 TnK GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 In this difiiculty an idea occurred to Amalatok. 
 Seizing a liuge dog by the neck he dragged it to 
 the mat, aud bade it lie down. The dog crouched 
 and looked sheepishly round. Next moment he 
 was in the air wriggling. Tlien he came to the 
 ground, over which he rushed with a prolonged 
 howl, and disappeared among the rocks on the hill 
 side. 
 
 It is said that that poor dog was never again seen, 
 but Benjy asserts most positively that, a week after^ 
 wards, he saw it sneaking into the /illage with its 
 •ail very much bet"'7een its legs, and an expression 
 of the deepest humility on its countenance. 
 
 "You'd better giv^ them a taste of dynamite, 
 father," said Benjy thai evening, as they all sat 
 rouncl their supper-kettle. 
 
 " No, no, boy. It is bad policy to fire off all your 
 ammunition in a hurry. We '11 give it 'em bit by 
 bit." 
 
 " Just so, impress them by degrees," said Alf. 
 
 *' De fust warrior was nigh bu'sted by degrees," 
 said Butterface, with a broad grin, as he stirred the 
 kettle. " You gib it 'im a'most too strong. Massa 
 Benjee." 
 
 •'Blackboard must be the bad spirit," remarked 
 Amalatok to his son that same night as they held 
 converse together — according to custom — biore 
 (Soing to bed. 
 
 ■ 1 
 
 I)- 
 
OR POKINOS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 253 
 
 "The bad spirit is never kind or good," replied 
 Cliingatok, after a pause. 
 
 " No," said the old man. " never." 
 
 "But Blackbeard is always good and kind," 
 returned the giant. 
 
 This argument seemed unanswerable. At all 
 events the old man did not answer it, but sat 
 frowning at the cooking-lamp under the inlluence 
 of intense thought. 
 
 After a prolonged meditation — during the course 
 of which father and son each consumed the tit-bits 
 of a walrus rib and a seal's flipper — Chingatok re- 
 marked that the white men were totally beyond his 
 comprehension. To which, after another pause, his 
 father replied that he could not understand them 
 at all. 
 
 Then, retiring to their respective couches, they 
 calmly went to sleep — " perchance to dream !'* 
 
 
 in 
 
 ii 
 
 V-M 
 
 
 » 1 
 
254 
 
 THE GIANT OP THE NORTU 
 
 
 
 II, 
 
 ■^ 
 
 I ' 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 k SMOOTIMQ TRI? TO PARAOISK ISI,E, AND FURTHEt; DISPLAY Or 
 THE captain's CONTRTPANCKS. 
 
 While our explorers were thus reduced to a state 
 of forced inaction as regarded the main object of 
 their expedition, they did not by any means waste 
 their time in idleness. On the contrary, each of 
 the party went zealously to woik in the way that 
 was most suitable to his inclination. 
 
 -After going over the main island of Poloe, as a 
 united party, and ascertaining its size, productions, 
 and general features, the Captain told them they 
 might now do as they pleased. For his part he 
 meant to spend a good deal of his time in taking 
 notes and observations, questioning the chief men 
 as to the lands lying to the northward, repairing 
 and improving the hut, and helping the natives 
 iiiiscellaueously so as to gain their regard. 
 
 Of course Leo spent much of his time with his 
 rifle, for the natives were not such expert hunters 
 but that occasionally they were badly off for food 
 
 It 
 
DISPLAY or 
 
 OR POKINCS ROUND THi^ .'OLE. 
 
 255 
 
 Of course, also, Alf shouldered his botanical box and 
 sallied forth hammer in hand, to "break stones," 
 as Butterface put it. Benjy sometimes followed 
 Alf — more frequently Leo, and always canied his 
 father's double-barrelled shot gun. He preferred that 
 because his powers with the rifle 'Tere not yet 
 developed. Sometimes he went with Toolooha, or 
 Tekkona, or Oblooria, in one of the native oomiaks to 
 tish. At other times he practised paddling in the 
 native kayak, so that he might accompany Chingatok 
 on his excursions to the neighbouring islands after 
 seals and wild-fowL 
 
 In the excursions by water Leo preferred one 
 of tbe india-rubber boats — partly because he was 
 strong and could row it easily, and partly because it 
 was capable of holding more game than the kayak. 
 
 These expeditions to the outlying islands weie 
 particularly delightful. There was something so 
 peaceful, yet so wild, so romantic and so strange 
 about the region, that the young men felt as if they 
 had passed into a new world altogether. It is 
 scarcely surprising that they should feel thus, when 
 it is remembered that profound calms usually pre- 
 vailed at that season, causing the sea to appear like 
 another heaven below them ; that the sun never 
 went down, but circled round and round the horizon 
 — dipp'.ng, indeed, a little more and more towards 
 it each night, but not yet disappearing; that 
 
 .S3 
 
 m 
 
 
 ■Mm 
 
 
256 
 
 Tire GIANT OF TUB NORTH 
 
 ^M 
 
 
 \ 
 
 « 
 
 mjniads of wild birds filled tlie air with plaintive 
 crieR ; that whales, and sea-unicorns, and walruses 
 sported around ; that icebergs were only numerous 
 enough to give a certain strangeness of aspect to 
 the scene — a strangeness which was increased by 
 the frequent appearance of arctic phenomena, such 
 as several mock suns rivalling the real one, and 
 objects being enveloped in a golden haze, or turned 
 upside down by changes in atmospheric temperature. 
 
 "No wonder that arctic voyagers are always 
 hankering after the far north," said Leo to Benjy, 
 one magnificent morning, as they rowed towards the 
 outlying islands over the golden sea. 
 
 Captain Vane was with them that morning, and 
 it was easy to see that the Captain was in a 
 peculiar frame of mind. A certain twinkle in his 
 eyes and an occasional sinile, apparently a^. nothing, 
 showed that his thoughts, whatever they night be, 
 were busy. 
 
 Now, it cannot havp failed by this time to strike 
 the intelligent reader, that Captain Vane was a man 
 given to mystery, and rather fond of taking by 
 surprise not only Eskimos but his own. companions. 
 On the bright morning referred to he took with 
 him in the boat a small flat box, or packing-case, 
 measuring about three feet square, and not more 
 than ibur inches deep. 
 
 As they drew near to Leo's favourite 
 
 !^ * 
 
plaint-ivt 
 I walruses 
 
 uumerous 
 ; aspect to 
 creased by 
 mena, such 
 1 one, and 
 }, or turned 
 ,emperature. 
 
 are always 
 50 to Benjy, 
 
 towards the 
 
 morning, aad 
 ji was in a 
 
 inkle in his 
 Ly &r. nothing, 
 
 Ley iiigl^t he, 
 
 OR POKINGB ROUND THE P0L£. 
 
 26T 
 
 ground, — a long flat island with several small lakes 
 on it which were bordered by tall reeds and sedges, 
 where myriads of ducks, geese, gulls, plover, puffins, 
 and other birds revelled in abject felicity, — Benjy 
 asked his father what he had got in the box. 
 " I 've got somethin' in it, Benjy, — somethin*." 
 "Why, daddy," returned the boy with a laugh, 
 " if I were an absolute lunatic you could not treat 
 me with greater contempt. Do you suppose I am 
 BO weak as to imagine that you would bring a 
 packing-case all the way from England t th-j Nortt 
 Pole with nothing in it ?" 
 
 " You 're a funny boy, Benjy," said the Captaixi, 
 regarding his son with a placid look. 
 
 "You're a funny father, daddy," answered tha 
 son with a shake of the head ; " and it 's fortunate 
 for you that I 'm good as well as funny, else I 'd 
 give you some trouble." 
 
 "You've got a good opinion of yourself, Ben, 
 anyhow," said Leo, looking over his shoulder as he 
 rowed. " Just change the subject and make your- 
 self useful Jump into the bow and have the boat- 
 hook ready ; the water shoals rather fast here, and I 
 don't want to risk scraping a hole in our little craft." 
 The island they were approaching formed part 
 of the extensive archipelago of which Poloe was 
 the main or central island. Paradise Isle, as Leo 
 had named it, lay about two miles from Poloe. The 
 
 B 
 
 -y'^ 
 
 in 
 
 
 a 
 
 ■ 4 I'M 
 
' 1 ••'< 
 
 ) 
 
 i 
 
 fei 
 
 
 ' i ^'-^ 
 
 '■ ^ .■■■5 I 
 
 258 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 boat soon touched its shingly beach, but before it 
 could scrape thereon its occupants stepped into 
 the water and carefully carried it on shore. 
 
 " Now, Benjy, hand me the rifle and cartridges," 
 said Leo, after the boat was placed in the shadow 
 of a low bank, " and fetch the game bag. What ! 
 you don't intend to carry the packing-case, uncle, 
 do you?" 
 
 " I think I 'd better do it," answered the Captain, 
 lifting the case by its cord in a careless way ; " it 
 might take a fancy to have a swim on its own 
 account, you know. Come along, the birds are grow- 
 ing impatient, don't you see ?" 
 
 With a short laugh, Leo shouldered his rifle, and 
 marched towards the first of a chain of little lakes, 
 followed by Benjy with the gamo-bag, and the Cap- 
 tain with the case. 
 
 Soon a splendid grey wild-goose was seen swim- 
 ming at a considerable distance beyond the reeds. 
 
 " There *s your chance, now, Leo," said the Captain. 
 
 But Leo shook his head. " No use," he said ; " if 
 I were to shoot that one I 'd never be able to get it ; 
 the mud is too deep for wading, and the reeds too 
 thick for swimming amongst. It's a pity to kill birds 
 that we cannot get hold of, so, you see, I must walk 
 along the margin of the lake until I see a bird in »» 
 good position to be got at, and then pot him." 
 
 "But isn't that slow work, lad?" asked the Captain. 
 
OR POKINGS ROUND THIS POLK. 
 
 259 
 
 " It might be slow if I missed often or wounded 
 my birds," replied Leo, " but I don't often miss." 
 
 The youth might with truth have said he never 
 missed, for his eye was as true and bis hand as 
 sure as that of any Leatherstocking or xlobin Hood 
 that ever lived. 
 
 " Why don't you launch the boat on the lake ?" 
 asked the Captain. 
 
 " Because I don't like to run the risk of damaging 
 it by hauling it about among mud and sticks and 
 overland. Besides, that would be a cumbersome 
 way of hunting. I prefer to tramp about the mar- 
 gin as you see, and just take what comes in my 
 way. There are plenty of birds, and I seldom 
 walk far without getting a goodish — hist ! There 's 
 one !" 
 
 As he spoke another large grey goose was seen 
 stretching its long neck amongst the reeds at a 
 distance of about two hundred yards. The crack of 
 the rifle was followed by the instant death of the 
 goose. At the same moment several companions of 
 the bird rose trumpeting into the air amid a cloud 
 of other birds. Again the rifle's crack was heard, 
 and one of the geese on the wing dropped beside 
 its comrade. 
 
 As Leo carried his repeating rifle, he might easily 
 have shot another, but he refrained, as the bird 
 would have been too far out to be easily picked up. 
 
 M 
 
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 L 
 
 ifW' 
 
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 ■ f'l 
 
 
 ii'y 
 
 
 Ik 
 
 Hi- 
 
 ■9: ' 
 
 n-rM 
 
260 
 
 TIIK GIANT OF THE NORXn 
 
 
 r i J 
 
 i: 
 
 
 " Now, Benjy, are you to go in, or am 1 ?" asked 
 the sportsman with a sly look. 
 
 " Oh ! I suppose / must," said the boy with an 
 affectation of beinfj martyred, though, in truth, 
 nothing charmed liim so much as to act the part of 
 a water-dog. 
 
 A few seconds more, and ho was stripped, for his 
 garments consisted only of shirt and trouseis. But 
 it was more tlian a few seconds before he returned 
 to land, swimming on his back and trailing a goose 
 by the neck with each hand, for the reeds were 
 thick and the mud softish, and the second bird had 
 1 een further out than he expected. 
 
 "It's glorious fun," said Benjy, panting vehe- 
 mently as he pulled on his clothes. 
 
 " It 's gloriously knocked up you '11 be before long 
 at that rate, ' said the Captain. 
 
 " Oh ! but, uncle," said Leo, quickly, " you must 
 not suppose that I give him all the hard work. We 
 share it between us, you know. Benjy some- 
 times shoots and then I do the retrieving. You 've 
 no idea how good a shot he is becoming." 
 
 " Indeed, let me see you do it, my boy. D* ye 
 see that goose over there?" 
 
 " What, the one near the middle of the lake, about 
 four hundred yards off?" 
 
 "Ay, Benjy, I want that goose. You shoot it, 
 my boy." 
 
1 X' aakcd 
 
 ly with an 
 
 in truth, 
 
 the part of 
 
 ptd, for his 
 iseis. But 
 tie returned 
 ling a goose 
 reeds were 
 nd bird had 
 
 nting vehe- 
 
 j before long 
 
 I " you must 
 work. We 
 ,enjy some- 
 ng. You've 
 
 ^O" 
 
 boy. D'ye 
 lie lake, about 
 
 'ou shoot it, 
 
 OR P0KING3 ROUND THli: POLE. 
 
 261 
 
 "But you'll never be able to get it, uncle," said 
 Leo 
 
 " Benjy, I want that goose. You shoot it" 
 
 There was no disobeying this peremptory com- 
 mand. Leo handed the rifle to the boy. 
 
 "Down on one knee, Ben, Hythe position, my 
 boy," said the Captain, in the tone of a disciplinarian. 
 Beujy obeyed, took a long steady aim, and fired. 
 
 •' Bravo !" shouted the Captain as the bird turned 
 breast up. " There 's that goose's brother comin' to 
 see what 's the matter with him ; just cook his goose 
 too, Benjy." 
 
 The boy aimed again, fired, and missed. 
 
 "Again !" cried the Captain, "look sharp !" 
 
 Again the boy fired, and this time wounded the 
 bird as it was rising on the wing. 
 
 Although wounded, the goose was quite able to 
 swim, and made rapidly towards the reeds on the 
 other side. 
 
 "What! am I to lose that goose?" cned tiio 
 Captain indignantly. 
 
 Leo seized the rifle. Almost without taking time 
 to aim, he fired and shot the bird dead. 
 
 " There," said he, laughing, " but I suspect it is a 
 lost goose after all. It will be hard work to get 
 either of these birds, uncle. However, I '11 try." 
 
 Leo was proceeding to strip wheii the Captain 
 forbade him. 
 
 i 
 
 ^ 
 
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 \ K. 
 
 H i 
 
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262 
 
 Tint OTANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 li i 
 
 1/ 
 
 " Don't trouble yourself, lad," he said, " I '11 go 
 for them myself." 
 
 "You, uncle?" 
 
 " Ay, me. D 'ye suppose that nohody can swim 
 but you and Benjy ? Here, help rae to open this box." 
 
 In silent wonder and expectation Leo and Benjy 
 did as they were bid. When the mysterious pack- 
 ing-case was opened, there was displayed to view a 
 mass of waterproof material. Tumbling this out 
 and unrolling it, the Captain displayed a pair of 
 trousers and boots in one piece attached to some- 
 thing like an oval life-buoy. Thrusting his legs 
 down into the trousers and boots, he drew the buoy 
 — which was covered with india-rubber cloth — up 
 to his waist and fixed it there. Then, putting the 
 end of an india-rubber tube to his mouth, he began 
 to blow, and the buoy round his waist began to 
 extend until, it took the form of an oval. 
 
 " Now, boys," said the Captain, with profound 
 gravity, " I 'm about ready to go to sea. Here, you 
 observe, is a pair o' pants that won't let in water. 
 At the feet you'll notice two flaps which expand 
 when driven backward, and collapse when moved 
 forwar(i. These are propellers — human web-feet — 
 to enable me to walk ahead, d'ye see? and here 
 are two small paddles with a joint which I can fix 
 together — so — and thus make one double-bladed 
 paddle of *em, about four feet long. It will help 
 
 m 1^ 
 
OR I'OKll^GS ROUND THE I'OLE. 
 
 2G3 
 
 the feet, you understand, but I 'm not dependent on 
 it, for I can walk without the paddles at the rate of 
 two or three miles an hour." 
 
 As he spoke Captain Vane walked quietly into 
 the water, to the wild delight of Benjy, and the 
 amazement of his nephew. 
 
 When he was about waist-deep the buoy floated 
 him. Continuing to walk, though his feet no 
 longer touched ground, he was enabled by the 
 propellers to move on. When he had got out a 
 hundred yards or so, he turned round, took off 
 his hat, and shouted — '' land ho 1" 
 
 " Ship ahoy !" shrieked Benjy, in an ecstasy. 
 
 "Mind your weather eye !" shouted tiie Captain, 
 resuming his walk with a facetious swagger, while, 
 w ith the paddles, he increased his speed. Soon after, 
 he returned to land with the two geese. 
 
 " Well now, daddy," said his son, while he and 
 Leo examined the dress with minute interest, "I 
 wish you'd make a clean breast of it, and let us 
 know how many more surprises and contrivances 
 of this sort you 've got in store for us." 
 
 " I fear this is the last one, Benjy, though there 's 
 no end to the applications of these contrivances. 
 You 'd better apply this one to yourself now, and 
 see how you get on in it." 
 
 Of course Benjy was more than willing, though, 
 as he remarked, the dress was far too big for him. 
 
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 Is 
 
 ..:iii- 
 
 
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 IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
 1.0 
 
 I.I 
 
 1.25 
 
 l^|2£ 1125 
 ui urn 
 
 1.8 
 
 U III 1.6 
 
 Photographic 
 
 Sciences 
 
 Corporation 
 
 23 WEST MAIN STREET 
 
 WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 
 
 (716) 872-4503 
 

264 
 
 TUB OIXNT OF THE NORTH 
 
 i h 
 
 "Never mind that, my boy. A tight fit ain't 
 needful, and nobody will find fault with the cut in 
 these regions." 
 
 " Where ever did you get it, father ?" asked the 
 boy, as the fastenings were being secured round 
 him. 
 
 " I got it from an ingenious friend, who says he 's 
 goin' to bring it out soon. Mayhap it 's in the shops 
 of old England by this time. There, now, off you 
 go, but don't be too risky, Ben. Keep her full, and 
 mind your helm."* 
 
 Thus encouraged, the eager boy waded into the 
 water, but, in his haste, tripped and fell, sending a 
 volume of water over himself. He rose, however, 
 without dififioulty, and, proceeding with greater 
 caution, soon walked off into deep water. Here he 
 paddled about in a state of exuberant glee. The 
 dress kept him perfectly dry, although he splashed 
 the water about in reckless fashion, and did not 
 return to land till quite exhausted. 
 
 Benjamin Vane fi»m that day devoted himself to 
 that machine. He becan^e so enamoured of the 
 " watertramp," as he styled it — not knowing its 
 proper name at the time — that he went about the 
 
 1 Lest it ebould be supposed that the " pedoinotive " here 
 described is the mere creature of the author's brain, it may be 
 well to state that he has seen it in the establishment of the 
 patentees, Messrs. Thornton and Co. of Edinburgh. 
 
OB P0KIN08 ROUND THE POLE, 
 
 205 
 
 tit fit ain't 
 the cut in 
 
 • asked the 
 ured round 
 
 10 says he 's 
 in the shops 
 lOW, off you 
 her full, and 
 
 lakelets in it continually, sometimes fishing, at other 
 times shooting. He even ventured a short distance 
 out CO sea in it, to the amazement of the Eskimos, 
 the orbits of whose eyes were being decidedly 
 enlarged, Benjy said, and their eyebrows perma- 
 nently raised, by the constant succession of astonish- 
 ment-fits into which they were thrown from day to 
 day by their white visitors. 
 
 ied into the 
 ill, sending a 
 ose, however, 
 with greater 
 ter. Here he 
 it glee. The 
 he splashed 
 and did not 
 
 ted himself to 
 
 lOured of the 
 
 knowing its 
 
 ent about the 
 
 edomotive" hei-e 
 brain, it may be 
 .blishment o£ the 
 lurgh. 
 
 Su 
 
366 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NC&TH 
 
 
 ;(! 
 
 li 
 
 If 
 
 i'l. f 
 
 ft 
 
 'J I 
 
 .1 
 
 ." i 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 bknjy's bnjotuents intrrrufted, and folokland ovbbwhklmsd 
 with a catastbopqk. 
 
 One pleasant morning, towards the end of sum- 
 mer, Benjamin Vane went out with his gun in the 
 watertramp on the large lake of Paradise Isle. 
 
 Leo and he had reached the isle in one of the 
 india-rubber boats. They had taken Anders witli 
 them to carry their game, and little Oblooria to 
 prepare their dinner while they were away shoot- 
 ing ; for they disliked the delay of personal atten- 
 tion to cooking when they were ravenous ! After 
 landing Benjy, and seeing him busy getting himself 
 into the aquatic dress, Leo said he would pull off 
 to a group of walruses, which were sporting about 
 off shore, and shoot one. Provisions of fowl aud 
 fish were plentiful enough just then at the Eskimo 
 village, but be knew that walrus beef was greatly 
 prized by the natives, and none of the huge 
 creatures had been killed for some weeks past. 
 
 About this time the threatened war with the 
 northern Eskimos had unfortunately commenced. 
 
OR POKINGS ROUND TUK POLE. 
 
 267 
 
 OVBBWHELMBD 
 
 The insatiable Grabantak had made a descent on 
 one of Amalatok's smaller islands, killed the 
 warriors, and carried off the women and children, 
 with everything else he could lay hands on. Of 
 course Amalatok made reprisals ; attacked a small 
 island belonging to Grabantak, and did as much 
 general mischief as he could. The paltry islet 
 about which the war began was not worthy either 
 of attack or defence ! 
 
 Then Amalatok, burning with the righteous 
 indignation of the man who did not begin the 
 quarrel, got up a grand muster of his forces, and 
 went with a great fleet of kayaks to attack 
 Grabantak in his strongholds. 
 
 But Grabantak's strongholds were remarkably 
 strong. A good deal of killing was done, and some 
 destruction of property accomplished, but that did 
 not effect the conquest of the great northern Savage. 
 Neither did it prove either party to be right or 
 wrong ! Grabantak retired to impregnable fastnesses, 
 and Amalatok returned to Poloeland " covered with 
 glory," — some of his followers also covered with 
 wounds, a few of which had fallen to his own 
 share. The success, however, was not decided. On 
 the whole, the result was rather disappointing, but 
 Amalatok was brave and high-spirited, as some 
 people would say. He was not going to give in ; 
 not he ! He would fight as long as a man was left 
 
 •I 
 
 
 
 !( 1 
 
 I I 
 
268 
 
 XniC GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 i vi 
 
 I 
 
 : < 
 
 n 
 .11 
 
 
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 li 
 
 i 1 ' 
 
 1 ; ■ 
 
 .} ■' 'I- 
 
 to back hi Hi, and bring Grabantak to his knees— or 
 die ! Either event would, of course, have been of 
 immense advantage to both nations. He ground 
 his teeth and glared when he announced this deter- 
 mination, and also shook his fist, but a sharp 
 twinge of pain in one of his unhealed wounds 
 caused him to cease frowning abruptly. 
 
 There was a sound, too, in the air, which caused 
 him to sit down and reflect. It was a mixed and 
 half-stifled sound, as if of women groaning and 
 little children wailing. Some of his braves, of 
 course, had fallen in the recent conflicts — ^fallen 
 honourably with their faces to the foe. Their 
 young widows and their little ones mourned them, 
 and refused to be comforted, because they were 
 not It was highly unpatriotic, no doubt, but 
 natural. 
 
 Amalatok had asked the white men to join him 
 in the fight, but they had refused. They would 
 help him to defend his country, if attacked, they 
 said, but they would not go out to war. Amalatok 
 had once threatened Blackboard if he refused to 
 go, but Blackboard had smiled, and threatened to 
 retaliate by making him "jump 1" Whereupon the 
 old chief became suddenly meek. 
 
 This, then, was the state of affairs when Benjy 
 and Leo went shooliug, on the morning to which we 
 have referred. 
 
OR POKINGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 269 
 
 s knees — or 
 lave been of 
 He ground 
 d this deter- 
 but a sharp 
 aled wounds 
 
 which caused 
 a mixed and 
 groaning and 
 lis braves, of 
 aflicts — ^fallen 
 , foe. Their 
 loumed them, 
 Lse they were 
 doubt, but 
 
 1 to join him 
 
 They would 
 
 attacked, they 
 
 ir. Amalatok 
 
 he refused to 
 
 threatened to 
 
 hereupon the 
 
 when Benjy 
 Ig to which ^ve 
 
 But who can hope to describe, with adequate 
 force, the joyful feeling's of Bfjnjamin Vane as he 
 moved slily al)out the lakelets of Paradise Isle in 
 the watertramp ? The novelty of the situation was 
 80 great The surrounding circumstances were so 
 peculiar. The prolonged calms of the circumpolar 
 basin, at that period of the year, were so new to one 
 accustomed to the variable skies of England ; the 
 perpetual sunshine, the absence of any necessity to 
 consider time, in a land from which night seemed 
 to have finally fled ; the glassy repose of lake and 
 sea, so suggestive of peace; the cheery bustle of 
 animal life, so suggestive of pleasui'e — all these in- 
 fluences together filled the boy's breast with a strong 
 romantic joy which was far too powerful to seek or 
 find relief in those boisterous leaps and shouts which 
 were his usual safety-valves. 
 
 Although not much given to serious thought, 
 except when conversing with his father, Benjy 
 became meditative as he moved quietly about at the 
 edge of the reeds, and began to wonder wiiether 
 the paradise above could exceed this paradise 
 below ! 
 
 Events occurred that day which proved to him 
 that the sublunary paradise was, at least, wofully 
 uncertain in its nature. 
 
 " Now, just keep still, will you, for one moment," 
 muttered Benjy, advancing cautiously through the 
 
 § 
 
 ;l 
 
270 
 
 THE GIANT OF TIIE NORTH 
 
 »*» 
 
 n ira 
 
 outer margin of reeds, among the stems of which he 
 peered earnestly while he cocked his gun. 
 
 The individual to whom he spoke made no reply, 
 because it was a goose — would that it were thus 
 with all geese ! It was a grey goose of the largest 
 size. It had caught a glimpse of the new and strange 
 creature that was paddling about its home, and was 
 wisely making for the shelter of a spot where the 
 reeds were more dense, and where Benjy would not 
 have dared to follow. For, it must be remembered 
 that our young spjrtsman was sunk to his waist in 
 water, and that the reeds rose high over his head, so 
 that if once lost in the heart of them, he might 
 have found it extremely difficult to find his way 
 out again. 
 
 Anxious not to lose bis chance, he gave vent to 
 a loud shout. This had the effect of setting up 
 innumerable flocks of wild-fowl, which, although 
 unseen, had been lurking listeners to the strange 
 though gentle sound of the watertramp. Among 
 them rose the grey goose with one or two unexpected 
 comrades. 
 
 Benjy had not at that time acquired the power 
 of self-restraint necessary to good shooting. He 
 fired hastily, and missed with the first barrel Dis- 
 charging the second in hotter haste, he missed again, 
 but brought down one of the comrades by accident. 
 This was sufficiently gratifying. Picking it up, he 
 
>3\jt 
 
 OR POKmOS ROUND THl POLE. 
 
 271 
 
 ir 
 
 n. 
 
 de no reply, 
 t were thus 
 ' the largest 
 r and strange 
 )ine, and was 
 ot where the 
 ijy would not 
 
 remembered 
 > his waist in 
 er his head, so 
 em, he migbt 
 
 find his way 
 
 gave vent to 
 of setting np 
 hich, although 
 
 ,0 the strange 
 ramp. Among 
 iwo unexpected 
 
 placed it on the boat-buoy in front of him to balance 
 several ducks which already lay on the part in 
 rear. He might have carried a dozen geese on his 
 novel hunbing-dress, if there had been room for 
 them, for its floating power was sufficient to have 
 borne up himself, and at least four, if not £ve, men. 
 
 Pursuing his way cautiously and gently, by means 
 of the webbed feet alone, the young sportsman 
 moved about like a sly water-spirit among the reeds, 
 (.ometimes addressing a few pleasant words, such as, 
 '' how d' ye do, old boy," or, " don't alarm yourself, 
 my tulip," to a water-hen or a coot, or some such 
 bird which crossed his path, but was unworthy of 
 his shot ; at other times stopping to gaze contem- 
 platively through the reed stems, or to float and rest 
 in placid enjoyment, while he tried to imagine him- 
 self in a forest of water-trees. 
 
 Everywhere the feathered tribes first gazed at him 
 in mute surprise ; then hurried, with every variety 
 of squeak, and quack, and fluttering wing, from his 
 frightful presenca 
 
 Suddenly he came in sight of a bird so large that 
 his heart gave a violent leap, and the gun went 
 almost of its own accord to his shoulder, but the 
 creature disappeared among the reeds before he 
 could take aim. Another openmg, Iiowever, again 
 revealed it fully to view ! It was a swan — a hyper- 
 borean wild swan 1 
 
272 
 
 THE OIANT OF THB NORTH 
 
 M 
 
 
 >.^ fe 
 
 
 ;i 
 
 i , * 
 
 
 
 ■ 'If 
 
 ': ■' . , Ir 
 
 Just as he mtide this discovery, the great bird, 
 haviiij^ observed Benjy, spread its enormous win<j8 
 and made olf with an amazing splutter. 
 
 r>ang! went Benjy's gun, both barrels in quick 
 succession, and down fell the swan quite dead, with 
 its head in the water and its feet pointing to the sky. 
 
 " What a feast the Eskimos will have to-night !" 
 was Benjy's first thought as he tramped vehemently 
 towards liis prize. 
 
 But his overflowing joy was rudely checked, 
 for, having laid his gun down in front of him, 
 for the purpose of using the paddle with both 
 hands, it slipped to one side, tilted up, and, dis- 
 appearing like an ariow in the lake, went to the 
 bottom. 
 
 The sinking of Benjy's heart was ncit less complete. 
 He had the presence of mind, howe /er, to seize the 
 reeds near him and check his progress at the exact 
 spot. Leaning over the side of hh little craft, he 
 beheld his weapon quivering, as it were, at the 
 bottom, in about eight feet of water. What was to 
 be done? The energetic youth was not long in 
 making up his mind on that point. Ue would dive 
 for it. But diving in the watertramp was out of the 
 question. Knowing that it was all but impossible 
 to make his way to the shore through the reeds, he 
 resolved to r<3ach the opposite shore, which was in 
 some places free from vegetation. Seizing one of 
 
OR P0KTNO« R0T7NT) TITE POLE. 
 
 27S 
 
 great bird, 
 nous wiuga 
 
 >l8 in quick 
 e dead, with 
 ig to the sky. 
 e to-night!" 
 I vehemently 
 
 iely checked, 
 ront of him, 
 le with both 
 up, and, dis- 
 5, went to the 
 
 less complete. 
 )r, to seize the 
 Is at the exact 
 little craft, he 
 were, at the 
 What was to 
 ^ not long in 
 He would dive 
 was out of the 
 but impossible 
 |h the reeds, he 
 ), which was in 
 Seizing one of 
 
 thft yogAb, he forced it down, and tied it into a knot 
 to mark the spot where his loss had happened. He 
 treated several more reeds in this way till he gained 
 the open water outside, thus marking his path. 
 Then he paddled across the lake, landed, undressed, 
 and E'vam out again, pushing the empty dress before 
 him, intending to use it as a resting-place. 
 
 On reaching the spot, he dived with a degree of 
 vigour and agility worthy of a duck, but found it 
 hard to reach the bottom, as he was not much 
 accustomed to diving. For the same reason he 
 found it difficult to open his eyes under water, so 
 as to look for the gun. While trying to do so, 
 a desperate desire to breathe caused him to leap to 
 the surface, where he found that h had struggled 
 somewhat away from the exact spou After a few 
 minutes' rest, he took a long breath and again went 
 down ; but found, to his dismay, that in his first 
 dive he had disturbed the mud, and thus made the 
 water thick. Groping about rendered it thicker, 
 and he came to the surface the second time with 
 feelings approaching to despair. Besides which, his 
 powers were being rapidly exhausted. 
 
 But Benjy was full of pluck as well as persever- 
 ance. Feeling that he could not hold out much 
 longer, he resolved to make the next attempt with 
 more care — a resolve, it may be remarked, which 
 it would have been better to have made at first. 
 
 S 
 
 •ft^lr 
 
974 
 
 THB GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 
 
 ';». 
 '& 
 
 
 n 
 
 '% 
 
 He swam to the knotted reed, considered well tne 
 position he had occupied when his loss occunud, 
 took an aim at a definite spot with his head, and 
 went down. The result was that bis hands grasped 
 the stock of the gun the moment they reached the 
 bottom. 
 
 Inflated with joy he leaped with it to the surface 
 like a bladder ; laid it carefully on the water-dress, 
 and pushing the latter before him soon succeeded 
 in getting hold of the dead swan. The bird was too 
 heavy to be lifted on the float, he therefore grasped 
 its neck with his teeth, and thus, heavily weighted, 
 made for the shore. 
 
 It will not surprise the reader to be told that Benjy 
 felt hungry as well as tired after these achieve- 
 ments, and this induced him to look anxiously for 
 Leo, and to wonder why the smoke of Oblooria's 
 cooking-larap was not to be seen anywhere. 
 
 The engrossing nature of the events just described 
 had prevented our little hero from observing that a 
 smart breeze had sprung up, and that heavy clouds 
 had begun to drive across the hitherto blue sky, 
 while appearances of a very squally nature were 
 gathering on the windward horizon. Moreover, 
 while engaged in paddling among the reeds he had 
 not felt the breeze. 
 
 It was while taking off the watertramp that he 
 became ful^r alive to these facts, 
 
OR POKINQS ROUND TIIE POLE. 
 
 276 
 
 jd well ine 
 B occurred, 
 8 head, and 
 nds grasped 
 reached the 
 
 the Burface 
 
 1 watei-dress, 
 jn succeeded 
 ) bird was too 
 •efore grasped 
 irily weighted, 
 
 old that Benjy 
 ^hese achieve- 
 anxiously for 
 of Oblooria's 
 
 where. 
 
 just described 
 ■serving that a 
 t heavy clouds 
 lerto blue sky, 
 ty nature were 
 jn. Moreover, 
 ,e reeds he had 
 
 "Tliat'a it," he muttered to himself. "They've 
 been cauf;ht by this breeze and been delayed by 
 having had to pull against it, or perhaps the wal- 
 ruses gave them more trouble than they expected." 
 
 Appeasing his appetite as well as he could with 
 this reflection, he left the watertramp on the ground, 
 with the dripping gun beside it, and hurried to the 
 highest part of the island. Although not much of 
 an elevation, it enabled him to see aU round, and a 
 fooling of anxiety filled his breast as he observed 
 that the once glassy sea was ruffled to the colour of 
 indigo, while wavelets flecked it everywhere, and 
 no boat was visible ! 
 
 " They may have got behind some of the islands," 
 he thought, and continued his look-out for some time, 
 with growing anxiety and impatience, however, be- 
 cause the breeze was by that time freshening to a gale. 
 
 When an hour had passed away the poor boy 
 hecame thoroughly alarmed. 
 
 " Can anything have happened to the boat ? " he 
 said to himself. "The india-rubber is easily cut 
 Perhaps they may have been blown out to sea ! " 
 
 This latter thought caused an involuntary shudder. 
 Looking round, he observed that the depression of 
 the sun towards the horizon indicated that night 
 had set in. 
 
 "This will never do," he suddenly exclaimed 
 aloud. " Leo will be lost. I must risk it I " 
 
 .V, 
 
 i 
 
 n[<hm 
 
 f 
 
 
278 
 
 THE OIATfT OF THE NORTH 
 
 : ; : 3 
 
 1 1 
 
 f 1 
 
 !i 
 
 Turning as he spoke, he ran back to the spot 
 where he had left the water-dress, which he imme- 
 diately put on. Then, leaving gun and game on 
 the beach, he boldly entered the sea, and struck out 
 with feet and paddle for Poloeland. 
 
 Although sorely buffeted by the rising waves, 
 and several times overwhelmed, his waterproof cos- 
 tume proved well able to bear him up, and with 
 comparatively little fatigue he reached the land in 
 less than two hours. Without waiting to take the 
 dress off, he ran up to the Eskimo village and gave 
 the alarm. 
 
 While these events were going on among the 
 islets, Captain Vane and Alphonse Vandervell had 
 been far otherwise engaged. 
 
 " Come, Alf," said the Captain, that same morning, 
 after Leo and his party had started on their expedi- 
 tion, " let you and me go off on a scientific excur- 
 sion, — on what we may style a botanico-geologico' 
 meteorological survey." 
 
 " With all my heart, uncle, and let us take Butter- 
 face with us, and Oolichuk." 
 
 " Ay, lad, and Ivitchuk and Akeetolik too, and 
 Chingatok if you will, for I've fixed on a spot 
 whereon to pitch an observatory, and we must set 
 to work on it without further delay. Indeed I would 
 have got it into working order long ago if it had 
 not been fo^ my hope that the cessation of this 
 
 II 
 
 II 
 
us take Biitter- 
 
 OU FOKINGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 277 
 
 miserable war would have enabled us to get nearer 
 the North Pole this summer." 
 
 The party soon started for the highest peak of 
 the island of Poloe — or Poloeland, as AK preferred 
 to call it. Oolichuk carried on his broad shoulders 
 one of those mysterious cases out of which the 
 Captain was so fond of taking machines wherewith 
 to astonish the natives. 
 
 Indeed it was plain to see that the natives who 
 accompanied them on this occasion expected some 
 sort of surprise, despite the Captain's eamesc assur- 
 ance that there was nothing in the box except a 
 few meteorological instruments. How the Captain 
 translated to the Eskimos the word meteorological 
 we have never been able to ascertain. His own 
 explanation is that he did it in a roundabout man- 
 ner which they failed to comprehend, and which 
 he himself could not elucidate. 
 
 On the way up the hill, Alf made several inter- 
 esting discoveries of plants which were quite new 
 
 to hinn, 
 
 " Ho ! stop, I say, uncle," he exclaimed for the 
 twentieth time that day, as he picked up some 
 object of interest. 
 
 "What now, lad?" said the Captain, stopping 
 and wiping his heated brow. 
 
 " Here is another specimen of these petrifactions 
 -lookl" 
 
 Big; m'i 
 
 ■mm '''■■'■' \"''M 
 
 WVM 
 
 I 
 
 
 |||j 
 
 1 
 
 fe 
 
 . 1 
 
 te'«i.v; 
 
278 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 
 
 \ 
 
 ?fe 
 
 If 
 
 
 "He means a vegetable o' some sort turned to 
 Btone, Chingatok," explained the Captain, as he 
 examined the specimen with an interested though 
 unscientific eye. 
 
 **You remember, uncle, the explanation I gave 
 you some time ago," said the enthusiastic Alf, 
 " about Professor Heer of Zurich, who came to the 
 conclusion that primeval forests once existed in 
 these now treeless Arctic regions, from the fossils of 
 oak, elm, pine, and maple leaves discovered there. 
 Well, I found a fossil of a plane leaf the other day, 
 — not a very good one, to be sure — and now, here 
 is a splendid specimen of a petrified oak-leaf. Don't 
 you trace it quite plainly?" 
 
 " Well, lad, " returned the Captain, frowning at 
 the specimen, " I do believe you're right. There 
 does seem to be the mark of a leaf there, and there 
 is some ground for your theory that this land may 
 have been once covered with trees, though it *s hard 
 to believe that when we look at it." 
 
 " An evidence, uncle, that we should not be too 
 ready to judge by appearances," said Alf, as they 
 resumed their upward march. 
 
 The top gained, a space was quickly selected and 
 cleared, and a simple hut of flat stones begun, while 
 the Captain unpacked his box. It contained a 
 barometer, a maximum and minimum self-regis- 
 tering thermometer, wet and dry bulb, also a black 
 
 
 liU 
 

 OR POKINGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 279 
 
 bulb thermometer, a -l-inch rain-gauge, and several 
 other instruments. 
 
 " I have another box of similar instruments, Alf^ 
 down below," said the Captain, as he laid them 
 carefully out, " and I hope, by comparing the results 
 obtained up here with those obtained at the level of 
 the sea, to carry home a series of notes which will 
 be of considerable value to science," 
 
 When the Captain had finished laying them out, 
 the Eskimos retired to a little distance, and regarded 
 them for some minutes with anxious expectancy; 
 but as the strange things did not burst, or go up 
 Uke sky-rockets, they soon returned with a some- 
 what disappointed look to their hut-building. 
 
 The work was quickly completed, for Eskimos 
 are expeit builders in their way, and the instru- 
 ments had been carefully set up under shelter 
 when the first symptoms of the storm began. 
 
 " I hope the sportsmen have returned," said the 
 Captain, looking gravely round the horizon. 
 
 "No doubt they have," said Alf, preparing to 
 descend the mountain. " Leo is not naturally reck- 
 less, and if he were, the cautious Anders would be 
 a drag on him." 
 
 An hour later they regained the Eskimo village, 
 just as Benjy came running, in a state of dripping 
 consternation, from the sea. 
 
 Need it be said that an instant and vigorous 
 
 7^' 
 
 •??tl 
 
 ■■■ . z 
 
 ■']■':, 
 
280 
 
 THE OIANT OV THE NOKTH 
 
 n 
 
 t 
 
 n 
 
 (hi 
 
 I 
 
 .'J c'S 
 
 > 
 
 m 
 
 I 
 
 •;i 
 
 ''•I 
 
 i. ; 
 
 !i f 
 
 !'f 
 
 I! ; 
 
 
 il 
 
 I'fe 
 
 f earch was instituted ? Not only did a band of the 
 stoutest warriors, headed by Chingatok, set off in a 
 fleet of kayaks, but the Captain and his companions 
 started without delay in the two remaining india- 
 rabber boats, and, flying their kites, despite the risk 
 of doing so in a gale, went away in eager haste 
 over the foaming billows. 
 
 After exerting themselves to the uttermost, they 
 failed to discover the slightest trace of the lost boat. 
 The storm passed quickly, and a calm succeeded, 
 enabling them to prosecute the search more efiect- 
 ively with oar and paddle, but with no better result. 
 
 Day after day passed, and still no member of the 
 band — Englishman or Eskimo — would relax his 
 efforts, or admit that hope was sinking. But they 
 had to admit it at last, and, after three weeks of 
 unremitting toil, they were compelled to give up in 
 absolute despair. The most sanguine was driven to 
 the terrible conclusion that Leo, Anders, and timid 
 little Oblooria were lost ! 
 
 It was an awful blow. What cared Alf or the 
 Captain now for discovery, or scientific investiga- 
 tion ! The poor negro, who had never at any time 
 cared for plants, rocks, or Poles, was sunk in the 
 profoundest depths of sorrow. Benjy's gay spirit 
 was utterly broken. Oolichuk's hearty laugh was 
 silenced, and a cloud of settled melancholy de- 
 scended over the entire village of Poloe. 
 
band of the 
 set off in a 
 companions 
 .ning india- 
 pite the risk 
 eager haste 
 
 iermost, they 
 the lost boat. 
 11 succeeded, 
 
 more effect- 
 better result, 
 lember of the 
 Id relax his 
 g. But they 
 Lree weeks of 
 
 to give up in 
 |was driven to 
 
 srs, and timid 
 
 ^e. 
 
 OK rOikiiNOa iivlUND THK FOUL 
 
 281 
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 FATB or THB LOST OlfBB. 
 
 Leo, Anders, and timid little Oblooria, however, 
 were not lost ! Their case was bad enough, but it 
 had not quite come to that 
 
 On parting from Benjy, as described in the last 
 chapter, these three went after a walrus, which 
 coquetted with them instead of attacking, and drew 
 them a considerable distance away from the island. 
 This would have been a matter of trifling import if 
 the weather had remained calm, but, as we have 
 seen, a sudden and violent gale arose. 
 
 When the coming squall was first observed the 
 boat was far to leeward of Paradise Isle, and as that 
 island happened to be one of the most northerly of 
 the group over which Amalatok ruled, they were 
 thus far to leeward of any land with the exception 
 of a solitary sugar-loaf rock near the horizon. Still 
 Leo and his companions were not impressed with 
 auy sense of danger. They had been so long 
 accustomed to calms, and to moving about in the 
 
 
 ^ii 
 
 \% 
 
 m 
 
 : J 
 
 '3 
 
 
 
 ;;: iii 
 
I i 
 
 
 
 ; < 
 
 . < 
 
 H 
 
 pi 
 
 ■3 
 
 
 \ 
 
 ''■I 
 
 "iS^ 
 
 H i 
 
 jl 
 
 282 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 india-rubber boats by means of paddles with perfect 
 ease and security, that they had half forgotten the 
 force of wind. Besides, the walrus was still playing 
 with them provokingly — keeping just out of rifle- 
 shot as if he had studied fire-arms and knew their 
 range exactly. 
 
 "The rascal!" exclaimed Leo at last, losing 
 patience, " he will never let us come an inch 
 nearer." 
 
 " Try 'im once more," said Anders, who was a keen 
 sportsman, " push him, paddle strong. Ho ! ObJooria, 
 paddle hard and queek." 
 
 Although the interpreter, being in a facetious 
 mood, addressed Oblooria in English, she quite 
 understood his significant gestures, and bent to her 
 work with a degree of energy and power quite sur- 
 prising in one apparently so fragile. Leo also used 
 his oars (for they had both oars and paddles) with 
 such good-will that the boat skinmed over the 
 Arctic sea like a northern diver, and the distance 
 between them and the walrus was perceptibly 
 lessened. 
 
 " I don 't like the looks o* the southern sky," said 
 Leo, regarding the horizon with knitted brows. 
 
 " Hims black 'nough — an/ow," said Anders. 
 
 " Hold. I *11 have a farewell shot at the brute, aud 
 give up the chase," said Leo, laying down the oars 
 and grasping his rifle. 
 
 ii 
 
OR POKINOS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 283 
 
 The ball seemed to take effect, for the walrus 
 dived immediately with a violent splutter, and waa 
 seen no more. 
 
 By this time the squall was hissing towards them 
 so fast that the hunters, giving up all thought of the 
 walrus, turned at once and made for the land, but 
 land by that time lay far off on the southern horizon 
 with a dark foam-flecked sea between it and them. 
 
 " There 's no fear of the boat, Oblooria," said Leo, 
 glancing over his shoulder at the girl, who sat crouch- 
 ing to meet the first burst of the coming storm, " but 
 you must hold on tight to the life-lines." 
 
 There was no need to caution Anders. That 
 worthy was already on his knees embracing a thwart 
 — his teeth clenched as he gazed over the bow. 
 
 On it came like a whirlwind of the tropics, and 
 rushed right over the low round gunwale of the 
 boat, sweeping loose articles overboard, and carry- 
 ing her bodily to leeward. Leo had taken a turn of 
 the life-lines round both thighs, and held manfully 
 to his oars. These, after stooping to the first rush 
 of wind and water, he plied with all his might, and 
 was ably seconded by Oblooria as well as by the 
 interpreter, but a very few minutes of effort sufficed 
 to convince them that they laboured in vain. They 
 did not even " hold their own," as sailors have it, 
 but drifted slowly, yet steadily, to the north. 
 
 " It 's impossible to make head against this," said 
 
 i' t\ 
 
 m':j 
 
 idf^''^^' 
 
384 
 
 Tin!; 0LV14T OF THE NO&TH 
 
 
 pi 
 
 h 
 
 i ■'■ 
 
 I 
 
 M 
 
 Leo, suddenly ceasing his eSbi'ts, " and I count it a 
 piece of good fortune, for which we cannot be too 
 thankful, that there is still land to leeward of us." 
 
 He pointed to the sugar-loaf rock before men- 
 tioned, towards which they were now rapidly drifting. 
 
 "Nothing to eat dere. Nothing to drink," said 
 Anders, gloomily. 
 
 " Oh ! that won't matter much. A squall like this 
 ean't last long. We shall soon be able to start again 
 for home, no doubt. I say, Anders, what are these 
 creatures off the point there ? They seem too large 
 and black for sea birds, and not the shape of seals 
 or walruses." 
 
 The interpreter gazed earnestly at the objects in 
 question for some moments without answering. The 
 rock which they were quickly nearing was rugged, 
 barren, and steep on its southern face, against which 
 the waves were by that time dashing with extreme 
 violence, so that landing there would have been an 
 impossibility. On its lee or northern side, however 
 they might count on quiet water. 
 
 " We have nothing to fear," said Leo, observing 
 that Oblooria was much agitated; "tell her so, 
 Anders; we are sure to find a sheltered creek of 
 some sort on the other side." 
 
 "I fear not the rocks or storm," replied the 
 Eskimo girl to Anders. " It is Grabantak, the chief 
 of Flatland, that I fear." 
 
 -I 
 
 . '. ::4\ 
 
OR fOKiyOS ROUND THR POT.R. 
 
 2R5 
 
 " Grabantak ! " exclaimed Anders and liCO in the 
 same breath. 
 
 " Grabantak is coming with his men ! ** 
 
 Poor little Oblooria, whose face had paled while 
 her whole frame trembled, pointed towards the dark 
 objects which had already attracted their attention. 
 They were by that time near enough to oe distin- 
 guished, and as they came, one after another, round 
 the western point of Sugar-loaf rock, it was all too 
 evident that the girl was right, and that the fleet of 
 kayaks was probably bearing the northern savage 
 and his men to attack the inhabitants of Poloe. 
 
 Leo's first impulse was to seize his repeating rifle 
 and fill its cart: idge-chamber quite full. It may 
 be well to observe here th it the cartridges, being 
 carried in a tight waterproof case, had not been 
 affected by the seas which had so recently over- 
 whelmed them. 
 
 " What 's de use ? " asked Anders, in an unusually 
 sulky tone, as he watched the youth's action. " Two 
 men not can fight all de mans of Flatland." 
 
 " No, but I can pick off a dozen of them, one after 
 another, with my good rifle, and then the rest will fly. 
 Grabantak will fall first, and his best men after him," 
 
 This was no idle boast on the part of Leo. He 
 knew that he could accomplish what he threatened 
 long before the Eskimos could get within spenr- 
 tlirowing distance of his boat 
 
 '*■: 
 
 \W 
 
 ■ . ri 
 
 
 *1 ,-l 
 
 Ui 
 
286 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 
 if3 
 
 fe 
 
 I i : 
 
 J 
 
 " No use," repeated Anders, firmly, still shaking 
 his head in a sulky manner. " When you's bullets 
 be done, more an' morfi inimies come on. Then dey 
 kill you, an* me, an' Oblooria." 
 
 Leo laid down his weapon. The resolve to die 
 fighting to the last was the result of a mere impulse 
 of animal courage. Second thoughts cooled him, and 
 the reference to Oblooria's fate decided him. 
 
 " You are right, Anders. If by fighting to the 
 death I could save Oblooria, it would be my duty 
 as well as my pleasure to fight ; but I see that I 
 haven 't the ghost of a chance against such a host as 
 is approaching, and it would be simply revengeful 
 to send as many as I can into the next world before 
 going there myself. Besides, it would exasperate the 
 savages, and make them harder on the poor girL" 
 
 In saying this I^eo was rather arguing out the 
 point with himself than talking to the interpreter, 
 who did not indeed understand much of what he 
 said. Having made up his mind how to act, Leo 
 stowed his precious rifle and ammunition in a 
 small bag placed for that purpose under one of the 
 thwarts, and, resuming the oars, prepared to meet 
 his fate, whatever it should be. peacefully and 
 unarmed. 
 
 While thus drifting in silence before the gale, the 
 thought suddenly occurred to Leo, " How strange it 
 is that I, who am a Christian — in name at least — 
 
 
OR POKINOS ROUND THB POLE. 
 
 287 
 
 should feel as if it were absurd to pray for God's 
 help at such a time as this ! Surely He who made 
 me and these Eskimos is capable of guarding us? The 
 very least wc can do is to ask Him to guide us I" 
 
 The youth vas surprised at the thought It had 
 flashed upon him like a ray of light. It was not 
 the first time that he had been in even more immi- 
 nent danger than the present, yet he had never 
 before thought of the necessity of asking help from 
 God, as if He were really present and able as well 
 as willing to succour. Before the thought had 
 passed he acted on it He had no time for formal 
 prayer. He Looked up ! It was prayer without 
 words. In a few minutes more the boat was 
 surrounded by the fleet ot kayaks. There were 
 hundreds of these tiny vessels of the north, each 
 with its solitary occupant, using his double-bladed 
 paddle vigorously. 
 
 Need we say that the Strang jrs were at first 
 gazed on with speechless wonder? and that the 
 Eskimos kept for some time hovering round them 
 at a respectful distance, as if uncertain how to act, 
 but with their war-spears ready ? All the time the 
 whole party drifted before the gale towards the 
 island-rock. 
 
 "Anders," said Leo, while the natives remained 
 in this state of indecision, " my mind is made up as 
 to our course of action. We will offer no resistance 
 
 m 
 
sns 
 
 THl OIANT OF TFTF. VrmTH 
 
 ' ' 
 
 
 ^^ 
 
 
 hi 
 
 
 ;- 
 
 
 (\i 
 
 >, * 
 
 !' 
 
 • < 
 
 ■i 
 
 H 
 
 •;< 
 
 ^i 
 
 1 
 
 :iJ ;::: 
 
 '•(S, 
 
 r 1 
 
 whatever to those fellows. Wo mr at be absolutely 
 submissive, unless, indeed, they attempt to ill- treat 
 Oblooria, in wliich case of course we will defend her. 
 Do you hear?" 
 
 This was said with such quiet decision, and the 
 concluding question was put in such a tone, that tho 
 interpreter replied, " Yie, sar," promptly. 
 
 As Leo made no sign of any kind, but continued 
 to guide the boat steadily with the oars, as if his 
 flole anxiety was to round the western point of the 
 island and get into a place of shelter, the natives 
 turned their kayaks and advanced along with him. 
 Naturally they fell into the position of an escort 
 — a part of the fleet paddling on each side of the 
 captives (for such they now were), while the rest 
 brought up the rear. 
 
 "What ails Oblooria, Anders?** asked Leo in a 
 low tone. 
 
 "What is the matter?" asked the interpreter, 
 turning to the girl, who, ever since the approach of 
 the Eskimos, had crouched like a bundle in the 
 bottom of the boat with her face buried in her hands. 
 " There is no fear. Grabantak is a man, not a bear. 
 He will not eat you." 
 
 "Grabantak knows me," ansvv^ered the poor girl, 
 without lifting her head ; " he came to Poloe once, 
 before the war, and wanted me to be the wife of his 
 «on. I want not his son. I want Oolichuk !" 
 
 1 1 
 
 I'l 
 
e absolutely 
 ,t to ill-treat 
 II defend her. 
 
 sion, and the 
 tone, that the 
 
 out continued 
 oars, as if his 
 n point of the 
 er, the natives 
 long with him. 
 a of an escort 
 ich side of the 
 while the rest 
 
 iBked Leo in a 
 
 |ihe interpreter, 
 the approach of 
 bundle in the 
 ?d in her hands, 
 lan, not a bear. 
 
 \\ the poor gSA 
 to Poloe once, 
 the wife of his 
 )olichuk 1" 
 
 OR POKINOB ROUND THF, POI.f. 
 
 289 
 
 The simplicity and candotir of this confesflion 
 caused Leo to lau;^h in apite of himself, wliile poor 
 little Oblooria, who thought it no laughing matter, 
 burst into tears. 
 
 Of course the men of Flatland kept their eyes 
 fixed in wide amazement on Leo. as tiiey paddled 
 along, and this siulden laugh of his impressed them 
 deeply, being apparently without a cause, coupled 
 as it was with an air of absolute indifTerence to 
 his probable fate, and to the presence of so many 
 foes. Even the ruthless land-hungerer, Grabantak, 
 was solemnised. 
 
 In a few minutes the whole party swept round 
 the point of rocks, and proceeded towards the land 
 over the comparatively quiet waters of a little bay 
 which lay under the lee of the Sugar-loaf rock. 
 
 During the brief period that had been afforded 
 
 for thought, Leo had been intently making his plans. 
 
 He now proceeded to carry them out. 
 
 " Hand me the trinket-bundle," he said to Anders. 
 
 The interpreter searched in a waterproof pouch 
 
 in the stem of the boat, and produced a small bundle 
 
 of such trinkets as are known to be valued by 
 
 savages. It had been placed and was always kept 
 
 there by Captain Vane, to be ready for emergencies. 
 
 " They will be sure to take everything from us at 
 
 any rate," remarked Leo, as he divided the trinkets 
 
 into two separate bundles, " so I shall take the wind 
 
 T 
 
 ,i I 
 
 ) I 
 
 ■■bi;.r'i:-ifi 
 
 "vr 
 
290 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 ; 'I 
 
 1 .1 
 
 out of their sails by giving everything up at once 
 with a good grace." 
 
 The Grabantaks, if we may so style them, drew 
 near, as the fleet approached the shore, with increas- 
 ing curiosity. When land was reached they leaped 
 out of their kayaks and crowc'ed round the strangers. 
 It is probable that they would have seized them 
 and their possessions at this point, but the tall 
 strapping figure of Leo, and his quiet manner, 
 overawed them. They held back while the india- 
 rubber boat was being carried by Leo and Anders 
 to a position of safety. 
 
 Poor Oblooria walked beside them with her head 
 bowed down, shrinking as much as possible out of 
 sight. Everybody was so taken up with the strange 
 white man that no one took any notice of her. 
 
 No sooner was the boat laid down than Leo taking 
 one of the bundles of trinkets stepped up to 
 Grabantak, whom he easily distinguished by his 
 air of superiority and the deference paid him by 
 his followers. 
 
 Pulling his own nose by way of a friendly token, 
 Leo smiled benignantly in the chief's face, and 
 opened the bundle before him. 
 
 It is needless to say that delight mingled with 
 the surprise that had hitherto blazed on the visage 
 of Grabantak. i 
 
 " Come here, Anders, and bring the other bundlo 
 
 If; ; 
 
 ;( 
 
? «p 
 
 at once 
 
 e tliem, drew 
 
 with iucreas- 
 jd they leaped 
 
 the strangers. 
 3 seized them 
 but the tall 
 quiet manner, 
 bile the india- 
 fio and Anders 
 
 Q with her head 
 
 possible out of 
 
 with the strange 
 
 tice of her. 
 than Leo taking 
 
 stepped up to 
 
 Lguished by his 
 
 ,ce paid him by 
 
 I a friendly token, 
 chief's face, and 
 
 rht mingled with 
 5ed on the visage 
 
 the other bundle 
 
 OR POKINGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 291 
 
 with you. Tell this warrior that I am very glad to 
 meet with him." 
 
 "Great and unconquerable warrior," began the 
 interpreter, in the dialect which he had found was 
 understood by the men of Poloe, "we have come 
 from far-off lands to bring you gifts — " 
 
 "Anders," said Leo, whose knowledge of the 
 Eskimo tongue was sufficient, by that time, to 
 enable him in a measure to follow the drift of a 
 speech, " Anders, if you don't tell him exactly what 
 I say I '11 kick you into the sea !" 
 
 As Anders stood on a rock close to the water's 
 edge, and Leo looked unusually stern, he thereafter 
 rendered faithfully what the latter told him to say. 
 The speech was something to the following effect : — 
 " I am one of a small band of white men who 
 liave come here to search out the land. We do not 
 want the land. We only want to see it. We have 
 plenty land of our own in the far south. We have 
 been staying with the great chief Amalatok in 
 Poloeland." 
 
 At the mention of his enemy's name the counte- 
 nance of Grabantak darkened. Without noticing 
 this, Leo went on : — 
 
 " When I was out hunting with my man and a 
 woman, the wind arose and blew us hither. W« 
 claim your hospitality, and hope you will hf ip ui 
 to get back again to Poloeland. If you do so we 
 
 I]' 
 
 I'!'* 
 
 i (I 
 
 P t 
 
 
 t 's- 
 
 v!m\^3 
 
) I 
 
 t i 
 
 : .J 
 
 292 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 Hi 3 
 
 e 
 
 
 will reward you well, for white men are powerful 
 and rich. See, here are gifts for Grabautak, and for 
 his wife." 
 
 This latter remark was a sort of inspiration. Lee 
 had observed, while Anders was speaking, that a 
 stout cheerful-faced woman had been pushing aside 
 the men and gradually edging her way toward the 
 Eskimo chief with the air of a privileged person. 
 That he had hit the mark was obvious, for Grabantak 
 turned with a bland smile, and hit his wife a faceti- 
 ous and rather heavy slap on the shoulder. She 
 was evidently accustomed to such treatment, and 
 did not wince. 
 
 Taking from his bundle a gorgeous smoking- cap 
 richly ornamented with brilliant beads, Leo coolly 
 crowned the chief with it. Grabantak drew himself 
 up and tried to look majestic, but a certain twitch- 
 ing of his face, and sparkle in his eyes, betrayed 
 a tendency to laugh with delight. Fortunately, 
 there was another cap of exactly the same pattern 
 in the bundle, which Leo instantly placed on the 
 head of the wife — whose name he afterwards learned 
 was Merkut. 
 
 The chiefs assumed dignity vanished at this. 
 With that childlike hilarity peculiar to the Eskimo 
 race, he laughed outright, and then, seizing the cap 
 from Merkut's head, put it above his own to the 
 amusement of his grinning followers. 
 
ire powerful 
 utak, and for 
 
 iration. Leo 
 Biking, that a 
 pushing aside 
 ly toward the 
 Lleged person, 
 for Grabantak 
 B wife a faceti- 
 jhoulder. She 
 treatment, and 
 
 18 smoking-cap 
 ads, Leo coolly 
 ik drew himself 
 , certain twitch- 
 eyes, betrayed 
 Fortunately, 
 le same pattern 
 placed on the 
 [terwards learned 
 
 finished at this, 
 ir to the Eskimo 
 ^, seizing the cap 
 his own to the 
 
 OR POKINOS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 293 
 
 Leo then selected a glittering clasp knife with 
 two blades, which the chief seized eagerly. It was 
 evidently a great prize — too serious a gift to be 
 hghtly laughed at. Then a comb was presented to 
 the wife, and a string of gay beads, and a pair of 
 scissors. Of course the uses of combs and scissors 
 had to be explained, and deep was the interest 
 manifested during the explanation, and utter the 
 forgetfulness of the whole party for the time being 
 in regard to everything else in the world — Oblooria 
 included, who sat unnoticed on the rocks with her 
 face still buried in her hands. 
 
 When Grabantak's possessions were so numer- 
 ous that the hood of his coat, and the tops of his 
 wife's boots were nearly filled with them, he became 
 generous, and, prince-like (having more than he 
 knew what to do with), began to distribute things to 
 his followers. 
 
 Among these followers was a tall and stalwart 
 son of his own, to whom he was rather stem, and 
 not very liberal Perhaps the chief wished to train 
 him with Spartan ideas of self-deniaL Perhaps 
 he wanted his followers to note his impartiality. 
 Merkut did not, however, act on the same principles, 
 for she quietly passed a number of valuable articles 
 over to her dear son Koyatuk, unobserved by his 
 stem father. 
 Things had gone on thus pleasantly for some 
 
 1 yj 
 
 'M 
 
 
 i' 1 
 
 ! 
 
 1-1 
 
 
 i 
 
 ' i 
 
294 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 Bl 
 
 It 
 
 
 (Si 
 
 '1 a 
 
 ''S; 
 
 
 ii/ 
 
 I ; 
 
 1 I 
 
 time ; the novelty of the gifts, and the interest in 
 tlieir explanation having apparently rendered those 
 people forgetful of the fact that they might take 
 them all at once ; when a sudden change in the 
 state of affairs was wrought by the utterance of oue 
 word. 
 
 " We must not," said Leo to Anders, looking at 
 his follower over the heads of the Eskimos, " forget 
 poor little Oblooria." 
 
 "Oblooria!" roared Grabantak with a start, as 
 if he had been electrified. 
 
 " Oblooria !" echoed Koyatuk, glaring round. 
 
 " Oblooria ! " gasped the entire band. 
 
 Another moment and Grabantak, bursting through 
 the crowd, leaped towards the crouching girl and 
 raised her face. Eecognising her he uttered a yell 
 which probably was meant for a cheer. 
 
 Hurrying the frightened girl into the circle 
 through which he had broken, the chief presented 
 her to his son, and, with an air worthy of a 
 civilised courtier, said: — "Your m/«, Koyatuk— 
 vour Oblooria ! looria ! " 
 
 He went over the last syllables several times, as 
 if he doubted his senses, and feared it was too good 
 news to be true. 
 
 This formal introduction was greeted by the 
 chiefs followers with a series of wild shouts and 
 other demonstoations of extreme joy. 
 
Oli POiO^^Ga HOUND THE TOLfi. 
 
 295 
 
 CHAPTER XXII, 
 
 I! 
 
 -pi 
 
 ml 
 
 ith a start, as 
 
 A riOHT DJ DKPKNCK OF WOMAN, AND BIFLR-SHOOTINfJ 
 EXTRAORDINARY. 
 
 When the excitement had somewhat abated, Leo 
 stepped to the side of Oblooria, and laying his band 
 on her shoulder said firmly, through Anders : — 
 
 " Pardon me, Grabantak, this girl is not the wife 
 of Koyatuk ; she is my sister ! " 
 
 The chief frowned, clenched his teeth, and grasped 
 a spear — 
 
 " When did Kablunet men begin to have Eskimo 
 sisters ? " 
 
 " When they took all distressed women under 
 their protection," returned Leo promptly. " Every 
 woman who needs my help is my sister," he added 
 with a look of self-sufficiency which he was far from 
 feeling. 
 
 This new doctrine obviously puzzled the chief, 
 who frowned, smiled, and looked at the ground, as 
 if in meditation. It seemed to afford great comfort 
 to Oblooria, who nestled closer to her champion. 
 As for Koyatuk, he treated the matter with an air 
 
 ■^:.'' 
 
 m 
 
 tf «'l.>' 
 
 , :'.' 1,1' 
 
 
Ml 
 
 296 
 
 THE GIA.NT OF THE NORTH 
 
 
 f > 
 
 \i i 
 
 of mingled suri)rise and scorn, but dutifully awaited 
 his father's pleasure. 
 
 Koyatuk was physically a fine specimen of a 
 savage, but his spirit was not equal to his body. 
 Like his father he was over six feet high, and 
 firmly knit, being of both larger and stronger 
 build than Leo, whom he now regarded, and of 
 course hated, as his rival — a contemptible one, no 
 doubt ; still — a rival. 
 
 The warriors watched their chief in breathless 
 suspense. To tliem it was a thoroughly new and 
 interesting situatioiL That a white stranger, tall 
 and active, but slender and very young, should dare 
 cingle-handed to defy not only their chief, but, as it 
 were, the entire tribe, including the royal family, 
 was a state of things in regard to which their 
 previous lives afforded no parallel. They could not 
 understand it at all, and stood, as it were, in eager, 
 open-mouthed, and one-legged expectation. 
 
 At last Grabantak looked up, as if smitten by a 
 new idea, and spoke — 
 
 " Can Kablunet men fight ? " lie asked. 
 
 " They love peace better than war," answered Leo, 
 " but when they see cause to fight they can do so." 
 
 Turning immediately to his son, Grabantak said 
 with a grim smile : — 
 
 " Behold your wife, take her ! " 
 
 Koyatuk advanced. Leo placed Oblooria behind 
 
OR rOKINGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 297 
 
 him, and, being unarmed, threw himself into a pugi- 
 listic posture of defence. Tlie young Eskimo laid 
 one of his strong hands on the Englishman's shoul- 
 der, intending to thrast him aside violently. Leo 
 was naturally of a tender disposition. He shrank 
 from dealing a violent blow to one who had not the 
 remotest idea of what was coming, or how to defend 
 himself from the human fist when used as a batter- 
 ing-ram. 
 
 But Leo chanced to be, in a sense, doubly armed. 
 
 During one of his holiday rambles in England lie 
 had visited Cornwall, and there had learned that 
 celebrated " throw " which consists in making your 
 haunch a fulcrum, your right arm a lever, and your 
 adversary a shuttlecock. He suddenly grasped his 
 foe round the "aist with one arm. Next moment 
 the Grabantaks saw what the most imaginative 
 among them had never till then conceived of — 
 Koyatuk's soles turned to the sky, and his head 
 pointing to the ground ! The moment following, he 
 lay flat on his back looking upwards blankly. 
 
 The huk ! hi ! ho ! hooroos ! that followed may be 
 conceived, but cannot be described. Some of the 
 men burst into laughter, for anything ludicrous is 
 irresistible to an Eskimo of the very far north. A 
 lew were petrified. Others there were who resented 
 this indignity to the heir-apparent, and flourished 
 their spears in a threatening manner. These last 
 
 hi 
 
\:ii 
 
 298 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 'i ) 
 
 
 MS 
 
 :;) 
 
 
 I ' 
 
 Grabantak quieted with a look. The incident un- 
 doubtedly surprised that stern parent, but also 
 afforded him some amusement. He said it was an 
 insult that must be avenged. Oddly enough he 
 made use of an expression which sounded curiously 
 familiar to Leo's ears, as translated by Anders. 
 "The insult," said Grabantak, "could only be 
 washed out in blood !" 
 
 Strange, that simple savapjos of the far north 
 should hold to that ridiculous doctrine. We had 
 imagined that it was confined entirely to those 
 further south, whose minds have been more or less 
 warped by civilised usage. 
 
 A ring was immediately formed, and poor Leo 
 now saw that the matter was becoming serious. 
 He was on the eve of fighting an enforced duel in 
 Oblooria's service. 
 
 While the savages were preparing the lists, and 
 Koyatuk, having recovered, was engaged in converse 
 with his father, Leo whispered to Anders — 
 
 "Perhaps Oblooria has no objection to be the 
 wife of this man ?" 
 
 But the poor girl had very strong objections. 
 She was, moreover, so emphatic in her expressions 
 of horror, and cast on her champion such a look of 
 entreaty, that he would have ' 3en more than mortal 
 had he refused her. It was very perplexing. The 
 idea of killing, or beiii^j killed, in such a cause was 
 
 Hi i;^ 
 
incident wn- 
 nt, but also 
 laid it was an 
 y enough he 
 ded curiously 
 I by Anders, 
 tuld only be 
 
 the far north 
 ine. We had 
 irely to those 
 1 more or less 
 
 and poor Leo 
 oniiug serious, 
 forced duel in 
 
 the lists, and 
 (red in converse 
 iders — 
 ion to be the 
 
 mg objections, 
 ler expressions 
 I such a look of 
 lore than mortal 
 [rplexing. The 
 ich a oftuse was 
 
 OR POKINGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 ▼ery repulsive. He tried to reason with Grabantak 
 about the sin of injuring a defenceless woman, and 
 the abstract right of females in general to have some 
 say in the selection of their husbands, but Graban- 
 tak was inexorable. 
 
 "Is the Kablunet afraid?" he asked, with a 
 glance of scornful surprise. 
 
 "Does he look afraid V returned Leo, quietly. 
 Koyatuk now stepped into the middle of the 
 ring of warriors, with a short spear in his right 
 hand, and half-a-dozen spare ones in his left, 
 whereby Leo perceived that the battle before him 
 was not meant to be a mere " exchange of shots," 
 for the " satisfaction of honour." There was 
 evidently no humbug about these Eskimos. 
 
 Two men mounted guard over Anders and 
 Oblooria, who, however, were allowed to remain 
 inside the ring to witness the combat. A warrior 
 now advanced to Leo and presented him with a 
 small bundle of spears. He took them almost 
 mechanically, thanked the giver, and laid them 
 down at his feet without selecting one. Then he 
 stood up, and, crossing his arms on his breast, gazed 
 full at his opponent, who made & hideous face at 
 him and flourished his spear. 
 
 It was quite evident that the Eskimos were 
 perplexed by the white youth's conduct, and knew 
 not what to make of it. The truth is that poor Leo 
 
300 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 J -■' 
 
 • ' '■■? 
 
 I 
 
 S' 
 
 was almost beside himself with conflicting emotions 
 and uncertainty as to wliat he ought to do. Despite 
 all that had taken place, he found it almost im- 
 possible to persuade himself that he was actually 
 about to engage in mortal combat. He had not a 
 vestige of angry feeling in hia heart against the 
 man whom he was expected to fight with to the 
 death, and the extraordinary nature of the complex 
 faces that Koyatuk was making at him tended to 
 foster the delusion that the whole thing was a farce 
 — or a dream. 
 
 Then the knowledge that he could burst through 
 the ring, get hold of his rifle, and sell his life dearly, 
 or, perhaps, cause the whole savage tribe to fly in 
 terror, was a sore temptation to him. All this, 
 coupler' with the necessity for taking instant and 
 vigorous action of some sort, was enough to drive an 
 older head distracted. It did drive the blood 
 violently to the youth's face, but, by a powerful 
 effort of self-restraint, he continued to stand perfectly 
 still, like a living statue, facing the Eskimo. 
 
 At last Koyatuk became tired of making useless 
 faces at his rival. Suddenly poising his spear, he 
 launched it. 
 
 Had Leo's eye been less quick, or his limbs less 
 active, that spear had laid him low for ever. He 
 had barely time to spring aside, when the weapon 
 passed between his side and hie left arm, grazing 
 
![ 
 
 OR POKINOS ROmO) THE POLK. 
 
 SO] 
 
 the latter slightly, and drawing blood which trickled 
 to the ends of his tiugers. 
 
 There could be no further doubt now about the 
 nature of the fight. Catching up a spear from the 
 bundle at his feet he was just in time to receive the 
 Eskimo, who sprang in on him with the intention 
 of coming at once to close quarters. His rush was 
 very furious ; probably with a view to make it 
 decisive. But the agile Leo was equal to the 
 occasion. Bending suddenly so low as to be quite 
 under his opponent's desperate thrust, he struck out 
 his right leg firmly. Koyatuk tripped over it, and 
 ploughed the land for some yards with his hands, 
 head, and knees. 
 
 Considerably staggered in mind and body by the 
 fall, he sprang up with a roar, and turned to renew 
 the attack. Leo was ready. The Eskimo, by that 
 time mad with pain, humiliation, and rage, exercised 
 no caution in his assault. He rushed at his rival 
 like a mad bull. Our Englishman saw his op- 
 portunity. Dropping his own spear he guarded 
 the thrust of his adversary's with his right arm, 
 while, with liis left fist, he planted a solid blow on 
 Koyatuk's forehead. The right fist followed the 
 left like the lightning flash, and alighted on 
 Koyatuk's nose, which, flat by nature, was rendered 
 flatter still by art. Indeed it would be the weakest 
 flattery to assert that he had any nose at all after 
 
 It ' 
 
 \ ■] 
 
302 
 
 THE OIANT OF THK NORTH 
 
 
 ' I 
 
 receiving that blow. It was reduced to the ihape 
 of tt small pancake, from the two holes in which 
 there instantly spouted a stream of blood so copious 
 that it drenched alike its owner and his rival. 
 
 After giving' him this double salute, Leo stepped 
 quickly aside to let him tumble forward, heels over 
 head, which he did with the only half-checked im- 
 petuosity of his onset, and lay prone upon the ground. 
 
 "There, Anders," said the victor, turning round 
 as he pointed to his prostrate foe, "surely Grabantak's 
 son has got enough of blood now to wipe out all the 
 insults he ever received, or is likely to receive, from 
 me." 
 
 Grabantak appeared to agree to this view of the 
 case. That he saw and relished the jest was obvious, 
 for he burst into an uproarious fit of laughter, in 
 which his amiable warriors joined him, and, 
 advancing to Leo, gave him a hearty slap of approval 
 on the shoulder. At the same time he cast a look 
 of amused scorn on his fallen son, wL was being 
 attended to by ^Merkut. 
 
 It mpy be observed here that Merkut was the 
 only woman of the tribe allowed to go on this war- 
 expedition. Being the chiefs wife, she had been 
 allowed to do as she pleased, and it was her 
 pleasure to accompany the party and to travel like 
 the warriors in a kayak, which she managed as well 
 as the best of them. 
 
OR POKINOS ROUND THE POIJl. 
 
 303 
 
 Orahantak now ordered his men to enrftrnp, and 
 f(;ed till the gale should iihate. Tlu'ii, calling Ix;o 
 nnd the interpreter aside, lie questioned tlieni closely 
 as to the condition of the Poloese and the numbers 
 of the white men who hail recently joined them. 
 
 Of course Leo mode Antlers give him a graphic 
 account of the preparations made by his enemies to 
 receive him, in the hope that he might be induced 
 to give up his intentions, but he had mistaken the 
 spirit of the Eskimo, who merely showed his teeth, 
 frowned, laughed in a diabolic manner, and flourished 
 his spear during the recital of Amalatok's warlike 
 arrangements. He wound up by saying that he 
 was rejoiced to learn all that, because it would be 
 all the more to his credit to make his enemy go 
 down on his knees, lick the dust, crawl in his 
 presence, and otherwise humble himself. 
 
 "But tell him, Anders," said Leo, earnestly, "that 
 my white brothers, though few in numl)er, are very 
 strong and brave. They have weapons too which 
 kiU far off and make a dreadful noise." 
 
 Grabantak laughed contemptuously at this. 
 
 "Does the Kablunet," he asked, "think I am 
 afraid to die — afraid of a noise ? does he think that 
 none but white men can kill far off?" 
 
 As he spoke he suddenly hurled his spear at a 
 gull, which, with many others, was perched on a 
 cliff about thirty yards off, and transfixed it. 
 

 304 
 
 TOT GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 n. 
 
 I ;: 
 
 pi 
 
 2 
 
 
 p.' I, 
 
 I I 
 
 ^ 
 
 i 
 
 " Go to the boat, Anders, and fetch my rifle," said 
 Leo in a low tone. 
 
 When the rifle was brought a crowd of Eskimos 
 came with it. They had been closely observing 
 their chief and the stranger during the conference, 
 but remained at a respectful distance until they 
 saw something unusual going on. 
 
 •' Tell the chief," said Leo, " to look at that peak 
 with the solitary gull standing on it." 
 
 He pointed to a detached cone of rock upwards of 
 two hundred yards distant. 
 
 When the attention of the whole party was 
 concentrated on the bird in question, Leo took a 
 steady aim and fired. 
 
 Need we s^y that the effect of the ehot was 
 wonderful ? not only did the braves utter a united 
 yell and give a simultaneous jump, but several of 
 the less brave among them bolted behind rocks, or 
 tumbled in attempting to do so, while myriads of 
 sea-fowl, which clustered tmong the cliffs, sprang 
 from their perches and went screamiiig into the air. 
 At the same time echoes innumerable, which had 
 lain dormant since creation, or at best had '^iven but 
 sleepy response to the bark of walruses and the cry 
 of gulls, took up the shot in lively haste and sent 
 it to £,nd fro from cliff to crag in bewildering con- 
 tinuation. 
 
 "Wonderful!" exclaimed Grrabantak in opca- 
 
 ifl 
 
i! 
 
 - 1 " ' t > 1 1 
 
 OR POKINGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 305 
 
 rifle " said 
 
 of Eskimos 
 J observing 
 
 conference, 
 
 until they 
 
 at that peak 
 
 k upwards of 
 
 e party 'was 
 1, Leo took a 
 
 the ehot was 
 utter a united 
 lut several of 
 Ihind rocks, or 
 lie myriads of 
 
 cliffs, sprang 
 ,g into the air. 
 |le, which had 
 
 had '^iven but 
 les and the cry 
 
 .aste and sent 
 
 iwildering con- 
 
 Itak in opca- 
 
 raouthed amazement, when he beheld the shot gull 
 tumbling from its lofty perch, " Do it again." 
 
 Leo did it again — all the more readily that 
 another gull, unwarned by itc predecessor's fate, 
 tiew to the conical rock at the moment, and 
 perched itself on the same peak. It fell, as before, 
 and the echoes were again awakened, while the 
 sea-birds cawed and screamed more violently than 
 ever. 
 
 The timid ones among the braves, ha>'ing re- 
 covered from their first shock, stood fast this time, 
 but trembled much and glared horribly. The chief, 
 who was made of sterner stuff than many of his 
 followers, did not move, though his face flushed 
 crimson with suppressed emotion. As to the sea- 
 birds, curiosity seemod to have overcome fear, for 
 they came circling and wheeling over-head in clouds 
 so dense that they almost darkenec" the sky — many 
 of them swooping close past the Eskimos and then 
 shearing off and up with wild cries. 
 
 An idea suddenly flashed into Leo's head. Point- 
 ing his rifle upwards he began and continued a 
 rapid fire until all the bullets in it (ten or twelve) 
 were expended. The result was as he had expected. 
 Travelling through such a dense mass of birds, 
 each ball j ".'^rced we know not how many, until it 
 absolutely rained dead and wounded gulls on the 
 heads of the natives, wliile tlie rocks sent forth a 
 
 u 
 
 
 
 il 
 
 I ■. i I 
 
 i ' 1 
 
 ; ■;! 
 
 
 11- i 
 
 ■f'l 
 
 
306 
 
 THK GIANT Oif THE NOKTH 
 
 i <i 
 
 H 
 
 •. ' ''••» 
 
 ;•• 'Si 
 
 .:J ..31 
 
 :>: \ 
 
 11 
 
 '1 
 
 h 
 
 i i 
 
 roar of echoes equal to a continuous fire of musketry. 
 It was stupendous! Nothing like it had occurred in 
 the Polar regions since the world first became a little 
 flattened at the poles ! Nothing like it will happen 
 again until the conjunction of a series of similar 
 circumstances occurs. The timid braves lost heart 
 again and dived like the coneys into holes and 
 corners of the rocks. Others stood still with chatter- 
 ing teeth. Even Grabantak wavered for a moment. 
 But it was only for a moment. Recovering himself 
 he uttered a mighty shout ; tnen he yelled ; then he 
 howled ; then he slapped his breast and thighs ; then 
 he seized a smallish brave near him by the neck 
 and hurled him into the sea. Having relieved his 
 feelings thus he burst into a fit of laughter such as 
 has never been equalled by the wildest maniac 
 either before or since. 
 
 Suddenly he calmed, stepped up to Leo, and 
 wrenched the rifle from his grasp. 
 
 " I will do that ! " he cried, and held the weapon 
 out at arms-length in front of his face with both 
 hands ; but there was no answering shot. 
 
 "Why does it not bark?" he demanded, turning 
 to Leo sternly. 
 
 " It will only bark at my bidding," said Leo, witli 
 a significant smile. 
 
 "Bid it, then," said the chief in a peremptory 
 tone, still holding the rifle out. 
 
 i. 
 
OR POKINGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 307 
 
 
 of mnslcetTy. 
 d occurred in 
 lecame a little 
 t will happen 
 iea of similar 
 ives lost heart 
 ito holes and 
 I with chatter- 
 for a moment, 
 vering himself 
 relied ; then he 
 id thighs ; then 
 n by the neck 
 mg relieved his 
 aughter such as 
 wildest maniac 
 
 to Leo, and 
 
 leld the weapon 
 face with hoth 
 shot. 
 Daanded, turning 
 
 ," said Leo, with 
 n a peremptory 
 
 "You must treat it in the right way, otherwise it 
 will not bark. I will show you." 
 
 Having been shown how to pull the trigger, t\\t 
 chief tried again, but a sharp click was the only 
 reply. Grabantak having expected a shot, he ner- 
 vously dropped the rifle, but Leo w?n prepared, and 
 caught it. 
 
 "You must not be afraid of it; it cannot work 
 properly if you are afraid. See, look there," he 
 added, pointing to the conical rock on which another 
 infatuated gull had perched himself. 
 
 Grabantak looked earnestly. His timid braves 
 began to creep out of their holes, and directed their 
 eyes to the same spot. While their attention was 
 occupied Leo managed to slip a fresh cartridge into 
 the rifle unobserved. 
 
 "Now," said he, handing the rifle to the chief, 
 "try again." 
 
 Grabantak, who was not quite pleased at the hint 
 about his being afraid, seized the rifle and held it 
 out as before. Eesolved to maintain his reputation 
 for coolness, he said to his followers ixL imitation 
 of Leo : — 
 
 " Do you see that guU ?" 
 
 " Huk !" replied the warriors, with eager looks. 
 
 Leo thought of correcting his manner of taking 
 aim, but, reflecting that the result would be a miss 
 in any case, he refraijied. 
 
 ■»■ 4 
 
 ! M 
 
 1 t: i 
 
308 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 Grabantak raised the rifle slowly, as its owner 
 had dona, and frowned along the barrel In doing 
 so, he drew it back until the butt almost touched 
 Ids face. Then he fired. There was a repetition 
 of previous results with some differences. The gull 
 flew away from the rock unhurt ; one of the braves 
 received the bullet in his thigh and ran off shrieking 
 with agony, while the chief received a blow from 
 the rifle on the nose which all but incorporated 
 that feature with his cheeks, and drew from his eyes 
 the first tears he had ever shed since babyhood. 
 
 That night Grabantak sat for hours staring in 
 moody silence at the sea, tenderly caressing his 
 injured nose, and meditating, no doubt, ou things 
 past, present, and to coma 
 
 i I :i 
 
as its ownet 
 •eL In doing 
 Lmost touched 
 IS a repetition 
 ces. The gull 
 i of the braves 
 m off shrieking 
 d a blow from 
 it incorporated 
 vv from his eyes 
 B babyhood, 
 ours staring in 
 Ly caressing his 
 loubt, w things 
 
 OR FOKnTGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 309 
 
 CHAPTER XXIIt 
 
 LRO VISm FLATLAND AND SKB8 AS WELL AS HKAR8 UUOH TO 
 INTBRBST HIM THBRB. 
 
 The result of Cfrabantak's meditation was that, 
 considering the nature and wonderful weapons of 
 the men by whom Amalatok had been reinforced, 
 he thought it advisable to return to his own land, 
 which was not far distant, for the purpose of adding 
 to the force with which he meant to subjugate the 
 men of Poloe. 
 
 "We are unconquerable," he said, while con- 
 versing on the situation with Teyma, his first lieu- 
 tenant, or prime minister ; " everybody knows that 
 we are invincible. It is well known that neither 
 white men, nor yellow men, — no, nor black men, 
 nor blue men, — can overcome the Matlanders. We 
 must keep up our name. It will not do to let the 
 ancient belief die down, that one Flatlander is equal 
 to three men of Poloe, or any other land." 
 
 " The Poloe men laugh in their boots when they 
 hear us boast in this way," said Teyma gently. 
 
 "•'W 
 
 W\ 
 
 ) 
 
 i5 1 
 '1 
 
 
 i'j:. 
 
 y 
 
 ■ )■' 
 
 
 
 %A-' 
 
 il 
 
 i 'I 
 
 'MPn;J!i III &I 
 
 '!!;!>:; 
 
; -I 
 
 1 
 
 310 
 
 THE GIANT OP THE NORTf* 
 
 H 
 
 \ 
 
 ^i 
 
 , f 
 
 I ; 
 
 n- 
 
 We draw attention to the curious resemMance in 
 tliis phrase to our more civilised " laughing in the 
 sleeve," while we point out that the prime minister, 
 although of necessity a man of war, was by nature 
 a man of peace. Indeed his name, Teyma, which 
 signifies peace, had been given him because of his 
 pacific tendencies. 
 
 " What ! would you not have me defend the Flat- 
 land name ?" demanded Grabantak, fiercely. 
 
 " No, I would have you defend only the Flatland 
 property," replied the blunt minister. 
 
 "And is not Puiroe my property?" growled 
 Grabantak, referring to the barren rock which was 
 the cause of war. 
 
 " So is that your property," said Teyma, picking 
 up a stone, " and yet I treat it thus !" (He tossed 
 it contemptuously into the sea.) "Is that worth 
 Fhitlander blood ? would you kill me for that ? shall 
 Eskimo wives and mothers weep, and children 
 mourn and starve for a useless rock in the sea V 
 
 " You always thwart me, Teyma," said Grabantak, 
 trying to suppress a burst of wrath, which he was 
 well aware his fearless minister did not mind in the 
 least. " It is true this island is not worth the shake 
 of a puffin's tail ; but if we allow the Poloe men to 
 take it—" 
 
 "To keep it," mildly suggested Teyma, "they 
 have long had it." 
 
 r 
 
 •I > 
 •I I 
 if t 
 
.1 
 
 OR POKINGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 311 
 
 asemMance in 
 ughing in the 
 )riine minister, 
 was by nature 
 Teyma, which 
 because of his 
 
 efend the Flat- 
 fiercely, 
 ly the Flatland 
 
 • 
 
 3rty?" growled 
 rock which was 
 
 Teyma, picking 
 ji" (He tossed 
 "Is that worth 
 eioTthat? shall 
 and children 
 in the sea ?" 
 said Grabantak, 
 |h, which he was 
 not mind in the 
 worth the shake 
 [he Poloe men to 
 
 Teyma, "they 
 
 " Well, to keep it, if you will," continued the chief 
 testily ; " will not other tribes say that the old name 
 of the Flatlanders is dead, that the war-spirit is gone, 
 that they may come and attack us when they please ; 
 for we cannot defend our property, and they will 
 try to make us slaves ? What ! shall Flatlanders 
 become slaves ? no never, never, never ! " cried 
 Grabantak, furiously, though unconsciously quoting 
 the chorus of a well-known song. 
 
 " No, never," re-echoed Teyma with an emphatic 
 nod, " yet there are many steps between fighting for 
 a useless rock, and being made slaves." 
 
 "Well then," cried Grabantak, replying to the 
 first part of his lieutenant's remark and ignoring the 
 second, " we must fight to prove our courage. As to 
 losing many of our best men, of course we cannot 
 help that. Then we must kill, bum, and destroy right 
 and left in Poloeland, to prove our power. After 
 that we will show the greatness of our forbearance 
 by letting our enemies alone. Perhaps we may 
 even condescend to ask them to become our friends. 
 What an honour that would be to them, and, doubt- 
 less, what a joy !" 
 
 " Grabantak," said Teyma with a look and tone of 
 solemnity which invariably overawed his chief, and 
 made him uncomfortable, " you have lived a good 
 many years now. Did you ever make a friend of 
 an enemy by beating him ?" 
 
Sl'i 
 
 THE filANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 :i ( 
 
 1. i 
 
 H 
 
 i I 
 
 -i! 
 
 " Of course not," said the other with a gesture of 
 impatience. 
 
 " Grabantak, you had a father." 
 
 " Yes," said the chief, with solemn respect. 
 
 " And he had a father.'* 
 
 " True." 
 
 "And he, too, had a father.** 
 
 "Well, I suppose he had." 
 
 " Of course he had. All fathers have hi.d fathers 
 back and back into tlie mysterious Longtime. If 
 not, where did our tales and stories come from? 
 There are many stories told by fathers to sons, and 
 fathers to sons, till they have all come down to us, 
 and what do these stories teach us ? that all fighting 
 is bad, except what must be. Even what m^u$t be 
 is bad — only, it is better than some things that are 
 worse. Loss of life, loss of country, loss of freedom 
 to hunt, and eat, and sleep, are worse. We must 
 fight for these — but to fight for a bare rock, for a 
 name, for a coast, for a fancy, it is foolish! and when 
 you have got your rock, and recovered your name, 
 and pleased your fancy, do the brave young men 
 that are dead return ? Do the maidens that weep 
 rejoice? Do the mothers that pine revive? Of 
 what use have been all the wars of Flatland from 
 Longtime till now ? Can you restore the mountain- 
 heaps of kayaks, and oomiaks, and spears, and 
 walrus-lines, from the smoke into which they van- 
 
OR rOKINOfi noUND THE POLB. 
 
 313 
 
 ished? Can you recall the great rivers of whale-oil 
 fiorn the sea into which they have been poured, or 
 the blood of men from the earth that swallowed it ? 
 Is not war always loss, loss, loss, and never gain? 
 Why cannot we live at peace with those who will, 
 and fight only with those who insist on war ? " 
 
 " Go, Teyraa, stop your mouth with blubber," said 
 the chief, rising ; " I am weary of you. I tell you, 
 Amalatok shall die; Puiroe shall be mine. The 
 tribes shall learn to tremble at the name of Graban- 
 tak and to respect the men of Flatland." 
 
 "Ay, and to love them too, I suppose," added 
 Teyma with a facetious sneer. 
 
 " Boo !" replied his chief, bringing the conversa- 
 tion to an abrupt close by walking away. 
 
 In accordance with their chiefs resolve, the Grab- 
 antak band embarked in their kayaks next morning, 
 the gale having moderated, and with the intention of 
 obtaining reinforcements, paddled back to Flatland, 
 which they reached in a couple of days. 
 
 On the voyage Leo confined himself strictly to 
 the oars and paddles, being unwilling to let the 
 Eskimos into the secret of the kite, until he could 
 do so with effect, either in the way of adding to 
 their respect for the white man and his contrivances, 
 or of making his escape. 
 
 Now, as has been said or hinted, although Grab- 
 antak's son, Eoyatuk, was a stout and tall man, he 
 
S14 
 
 THE OlAUT OF THK NORTH 
 
 i. 
 
 if 
 
 { i 
 
 it' 
 
 was not gifted with much brain. He possessed even 
 less of tliat substance tlian liis fatlier, whose enerj^y 
 and power of muscle, cou})lcd with indoniituble ob- 
 stinacy, enabled him to hold the reins of government 
 wliich were his by hereditary right. Besides being 
 a fearless man, Grabantak was respected as a good 
 leader in war. But Koyatuk had neither the energy 
 of his father, nor his determination. He was vacil- 
 lating and lazy, as well as selfish. Hence he was 
 not a favourite, and when, after landing at Flatland, 
 he endeavoured to renew his claim to Oblooria, 
 neither his father nor the people encouraged him. 
 Tlie timid one was therefore left with Leo and 
 Anders, who immediately fitted up for her a sepa 
 rate screened-off apartment in the hut which was 
 assigned to them in the native village. 
 
 Even Koyatuk's mother did not befriend her son 
 on this occasion. Merkut had her own reasons for 
 proving faithless to her spoilt boy, whom on most 
 occasions she favoured. Knowing his character well, 
 the sturdy wife of Grabantak had made up her mind 
 that Koyatuk should wed a young intelligent, and 
 what you may call lumpy girl named Chukkee, who 
 was very fond of the huge and lazy youth, and who, 
 being herself good-natured and unselfish, would be 
 sure to make him a good -\7ife. 
 
 After one or two unavailing efforts, therefore, and 
 a few sighs, the heir-apparent to the throne of 
 
 Jm.I - '< .Ml!.. 
 
OR POKINQB ROUND TIIR POLK. 
 
 315 
 
 Flatland ceased to trouble Oblooria, and devoted 
 himself to his three favourite occupations — hunting, 
 eating, and repose. 
 
 " Misser Lo," whispered Anders, on the first night 
 after landing, as they busied themselves with the 
 partition above referred to, "we 'scapes from dis 
 here land very easy." 
 
 "How, Anders?" 
 
 " W'y, you 's on'y got wait for nort' vint, den up 
 kite, launch boat, an' — hup ! away." 
 
 " True, lad, but I don't want to escape just yet." 
 
 " Not want to 'scape ?" 
 
 "No. You see, Anders, we are now on very 
 friendly terms with this tribe, and it seems to me 
 that if we were to remain for a time and increase 
 our influence, we might induce Grabantak to give 
 up this war on which he seems to have set his 
 heart. I have great hopes of doing something with 
 Teyma. He is evidently a reasonable fellow, and 
 has much power I think with the chief — indeed 
 with every one. Pity that he is not to succeed 
 Grabantak instead of that stupid Koyatuk. Besides, 
 now I am here I must explore the land if possible. 
 It is a pity no doubt to leave our friends, even 
 for a short time, in ignorance of our fate, but we 
 can't help that at present. Light the lamp, Anders, 
 and let 's see what we 're about." 
 
 The summer was by that time so far advanced 
 
 ■».>»M''';-'U' 
 
1 'i 
 
 816 
 
 THB GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 ■I- ii 
 
 y 
 
 '<•'. 
 
 Ha 
 
 ;•• '■•3 
 
 h 
 
 that the sim descendrd a considerable way below 
 the horizon each night, leaving behind a sweet 
 mellow twilight which deepened almost into dark- 
 ness inside tlie Eskimo huts. These latter, like thoso 
 already described, were made of stone, and the small 
 openings that served for windows did not let in 
 rnnch light at any time. 
 
 The hut which had been assigned by Grabantak 
 to his prisoners — or visitors, for as such he now 
 seemed to regard them — was a large roomy one, 
 made chiefly of clay. It stood on a little mound a 
 hundred yards or so apart from the main village of 
 Flatland, and was probably one of the chiefs private 
 palaces. It was oval in form — like a huge oven — 
 about fifteen feet in diameter, and six feet in height. 
 One-half of the floor was raised about eight inches, 
 thus forming the " breck," which served for a lounge 
 by day, and a couch by night. Its furniture of 
 skins, cooking-lamp, etc., was much the same as 
 that of the Eskimo huts already described, except 
 that the low tunnel -shaped entrance was very long 
 — about twelve feet. Light was admitted by a parch- 
 ment-covered hole or window, with several rents in 
 it, as well as by various accidental holes in the roof. 
 When the lamp was lighted, and skins were 
 spread on the breck, and Leo, having finished the 
 partition, was busy making entries in a note-book, 
 and Anders was amusing himself with a tobacco 
 
n^^i 
 
 OB POKINOS EOUNU THE POLK. 
 
 S17 
 
 pipe — foolish man ! and Oblooria was devoting 
 herself to the lamp, from which various churmiiig 
 sounds and delicious smells emiinatcd — as well aa 
 smoke — this northern residence looked far more 
 cheerful and snu<,' than the luxurious dwellers in 
 civilised lands will readily believe. 
 
 " I wonder," said Leo, looking up from his book 
 after a prolonged silence, " 1 wonder what strange 
 sounds are those I hear." 
 
 "P'r'aps it's de vint," said Anders, puffing a 
 cloud from his lips in sleepy contentment, and 
 glancing upwards. 
 
 When he and Leo looked at the roof of the hut it 
 shook slightly, as if something had lallen on it. 
 
 "Strange," muttered Leo, reverting to his note- 
 book, " it did not look like wind when the sun went 
 down. It must be going to blow hard." 
 
 After a few minutes of silence Leo again looked 
 up inquiringly. 
 
 "Dere's anoder squall," said Anders. 
 
 " More like a sneeze than a squall. Listen ; that 
 is a queer pattering sound." 
 
 They listened, but all was silent. After a minute 
 or so they resumed their occupations. 
 
 The sounds were, however, no mystery to those 
 who were in the secret of them. Knowing the 
 extreme curiosity of his countrymen, Grabantak 
 had placed a sentinel over his guests' hut. with 
 
 i( 
 
318 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 ,i 1 
 
 ) 1 
 
 * 1 
 1 - 1 
 
 'I 
 
 ... f! 
 
 ri a 
 
 1 
 
 'iiS 
 
 ! 1 * !' 
 
 ■in 
 
 '' i 
 
 orders to let no one go net\r it. The sentinel entered 
 on his vigil with that stern sense of duty-unto- 
 drath that is supposed to animate all sentinels. At 
 first the inhabitants of Flatland kept conscien- 
 tiously away icom the forbidden spot, but as the 
 shades of night toned down the light, some of 
 them could not resist drawing near occasionally and 
 listening with distended eyes, ears, and nostrils, 
 as if they expected to drink in foreign sounds 
 at all these orifices. The sentinel grasped his 
 spear, steeled his heart, and stood in front of the 
 door with a look of grand solemnity worthy of the 
 horse-guards. 
 
 At last, however, the sentinel's own curiosity was 
 roused by the eager looks of those — chiefly big boys 
 — who drew ever nearer and nearer. Occasional 
 sounds from the hut quickened his cariosity, and the 
 strange smell of tobacco-smoke at last rendered it 
 unbearable. 
 
 Slowly, ytemly, as if it were part of his duty to 
 spy, he moved to the torn window and peeped in. 
 He was fascinated at once of course. After gazing 
 for five minutes in rapt admiration, be chanced to 
 withdraw his face for a moment, and then found 
 that nine Eskimos had discovered nine holes or 
 crevices in the hut walls, against which their fat 
 faces were thrust, while at least half-a-dozen others 
 were vainly searching for other peep-holes. 
 
itinel entered 
 >f duty-unto- 
 lentinels. At 
 jpt conscien- 
 it, but as the 
 ght, some of 
 sasionally and 
 and nostrils, 
 Dreign sounds 
 1 grasped his 
 a front of the 
 worthy of the 
 
 a curiosity was 
 hiefly big boys 
 ir. Occasional 
 riosity, and the 
 ist rendered it 
 
 OR POKINGS ROUND THE T01.1L 
 
 319 
 
 A scarcely audible hiss caused the rapt nine to 
 look up. A terrible frown and a shake of the 
 official spear caused them tc retire down the slope 
 that led to the hut. 
 
 This was the unaccountable " squall " that had 
 first perplexed Leo and his comrade. 
 
 uvit like tigers who have tasted blood, thv) Flat- 
 landers could not now be restrained. 
 
 "Go !" said the sentinel in a low stem voice to 
 the retreating trespassers, whom he followed to the 
 foot of the slope. " If you come up again I will 
 tell Grabantak, who will have you all speared and 
 turned into whale-buoys." 
 
 The boys did not appear to care much for the 
 threat They were obviously buoyed up with hope. 
 
 "Oh ! do, do let us peep ! just once !" entreated 
 several of them in subdued but eager tones. 
 
 The sentinel shook his obdurate head and raised 
 his deadly spear. 
 
 " We will make no noise," said a youth who was 
 the exact counterpart of Benjamin Vane in all 
 respects except colour and costume — the first being 
 dirty yellow and the latter hairy. 
 
 The sentinel frowned worse than ever. 
 
 "The Kablunets," said another of the band, 
 entreatingly, "shall hear nothing louder than the 
 falling of a snow-flake or a bit of eider-down." 
 Still the sentinel was inexorable. 
 
 • Mm 
 
 m 
 
 1 
 
 ' ^'■ ■" 
 
 w 
 
 ^1 
 
 ''■;■ • 
 
 :-i:l • 
 
 'f^m 
 
320 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NOBTR 
 
 -•'' ''2 
 
 
 The Eskimos were in despai.. 
 
 Suddenly Benjy's counterpart turned and fled to 
 the village on liglit and noiseless toe. He returned 
 immediately with a rich, odffrous, steaming piece of 
 bluhber in his hand. It was a wise stroke of 
 policy. The sentinel had been placed there without 
 any reference to the fact that he had not had his 
 supper. He was ravenously hungry. Can you 
 blame him for lowering his spear, untying his eye- 
 brows, and smiling blandly as he held out Lis hand ? 
 
 " Just one peep, and it is yours," said the counter- 
 part, holding the morsel behind him. 
 
 " My life is in danger if I do," remonstrated the 
 sentinel 
 
 " Your supper is in danger if you don't," said the 
 counterpart. 
 
 It was too much for him. The sentinel accepted 
 the bribe, and, devouring it, returned with the bribers 
 on tiptoe to the hut, where they gazed in silent 
 wonder to their hearts' content. 
 
 "Well, that beats everything," said Leo, laying 
 down his book and pencil, " but I never did hear a 
 gale that panted and snorted as this one does. I'll 
 go out and have a look at it." 
 
 He rose and crawled on hands and knees through 
 the tunnel. The spies rolled off the hut with con- 
 siderable noise and fled, while the sentinel resuming 
 his srpear and position, tried to look innocent 
 
 "' 4 
 
OR POKINGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 321 
 
 ed and fled to 
 He returned 
 Biming piece of 
 wise stroke of 
 i there without 
 ad not had his 
 Try. Can you 
 ntying his eye- 
 d out his hand? 
 aid the counter- 
 
 1. 
 
 ■emonstrated the 
 
 n don't," said the 
 
 sentinel accepted 
 with the bribers 
 gazed in silent 
 
 I said Leo. laymg 
 
 never did hear a 
 
 Lis one does. V\\ 
 
 Ind knees through 
 the hut with con- 
 [sentinel resuming 
 innocent. 
 
 While he was explaining to Anders why he was 
 there, Grabantak himself walked up, accompanied 
 by his lieutenant. They were hospitably enter- 
 tained, and as Ohlooria had by that time prepared 
 a savoury mess, such as she knew the white men 
 loved, the chief and Teyma condescended to sup 
 with their captive-guests. 
 
 Leo had not with him the great cooking machine 
 with which hi"* uncle had effected so much in 
 Poloeland, but he had a tin kettle and a couple 
 of pannikins, with some coffee, sugar, and biscuit, 
 which did good service in the way of conciliating, if 
 not surprising, the chief of Flatland. 
 
 Both he and his lieutenant, moreover, were 
 deeply interested in Anders's proceedings with the 
 pipe. 
 
 At first they supposed he was conducting some 
 religious ceremony, and looked on with appropriate 
 solemnity, but, on being informed of the mistake, 
 Grabantak smiled graciously and requested a "whiff." 
 He received one, and immediately made such a 
 hideous face that Anders could not restrain a short 
 laugh, whereupon the chief hit him over the head 
 with his empty pannikm, but, after frowning fiercely, 
 joined in the laugh. 
 
 Leo then began to questior. the chief about the 
 land over which he ruled, and was told that it was 
 a group of islands of various sizes, like the group 
 
 < > 
 
322 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 
 >. 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 t^i 
 
 
 :l 
 
 
 ■\i ■ ' 
 
 
 >■' f:! ; 
 
 
 
 
 H?« 
 
 
 
 •, < K. 
 
 i\ . f 
 
 
 >■' '4' ' ' 1 
 
 
 -.J ■? , 
 
 
 'N •;§ ^':! 
 
 
 ::K3 :' \ 
 
 
 ' 'I:** 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1i 
 
 
 
 i' ' ; 
 
 H i i 
 
 : , . !i ■ 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 I'i 
 
 "i ,' ■ " 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 ; f 
 
 ' i 
 
 
 
 which belonged to Amalatok, but with more islands 
 in it; that most of these islands were flat, and 
 covered with lakes, large and small, in which were 
 to be found many animals, and birds as numerous 
 almost as the stars. 
 
 " Ask him from what direction these birds come," 
 said Leo, pulling out his pocket-compass and expect- 
 ing that Grabantak would point to the south ; but 
 the chief pointed to the north, then to the south, then 
 to the east, and then to the west ! 
 
 " What does he mean ? I don't understand him," 
 said Leo. 
 
 " The birds come from everywhere — from all round. 
 They come here to breed," said the chief, spreading 
 his hands round him and pointing in all directions. 
 ''Then, when the young are strong and the cold 
 season begins, they spread the wing and go away 
 there — to every place — all round." 
 
 " Anders," said Leo impressively, " do you know 
 I think we have actually arrived at the immediate 
 region of the North Pole ! What the chief says 
 almost settles the question. This, you see, must 
 be the warmest place in the Polar regions; the 
 central spot around the Pole to which migratory 
 birds flock from the south. If voyagers, crossing 
 the Arctic circle at all parts, have observed these 
 birds ever flying north, it follows that they must 
 have some meeting-place near the Pole, where 
 
 lit I: 
 
OR POKINGS ROITND THE POLl. 
 
 323 
 
 I more islands 
 wexo flat, and 
 in which were 
 5 as numerous 
 
 36 birds come," 
 ass and expect- 
 bhe south; but 
 the south, then 
 
 iderstand him," 
 
 -from all round. 
 
 chief, spreading 
 
 in all directions. 
 
 and the cold 
 
 g and go away 
 
 [ " do you know 
 the immediate 
 the chief says 
 
 I you see, must 
 
 lar regions; the 
 
 7hich migratory 
 
 )yagers, crossing 
 
 observed these 
 
 that they mmt 
 
 [he Pole, where 
 
 they breed and from \\ hich they depart in autumn. 
 Well, according to Grabantak, this is the meeting- 
 place, therefore this must be near the Pole ! How I 
 wish uncle were here !** 
 
 Leo had been more than half soliloquising; he now 
 looked up and burst into a laugh, for the interpreter 
 was gazing at him with an expression of blank 
 stupidity. 
 
 " You 's kite right, Missr Lo," he said at last, with 
 a meek smile, " kite right, no doubt ; only you 's too 
 cUbber for me." 
 
 " Well, Anderr 1 11 try not to be quite so clibber 
 in future ; but ask Grabartak if he will go with me 
 on an expedition among these islands. I want very 
 much to examine them alL" 
 
 " Examine them all ! " repeated the chief with 
 emphasis when this was translated ; " tell the young 
 Kablunet with the hard fist, that the sunless time 
 would come and go, and the sun-season would 
 come again, before he could go over half my lands. 
 Besides, I have more important work to do. I 
 must first go to Poloeland, to kill and burn and 
 destroy. After that I will travel with Hardfist." 
 
 Hardfist, as the chief had styled him in reference to 
 his late pugilistic achievements, felt strongly inclined 
 to use his fists on Grabantak's skull when he men- 
 tioned his sanguinary intentions, but recalling Alf s 
 oft-Quoted words, " Discretion is the better part of 
 
 i-,^ 
 
 ''■v-m 
 
324 
 
 THE 01 A XT OF Tin; NORTH 
 
 Ha 
 
 1^ 
 
 valoiir," he restrained himself. He also entered into 
 a long argument with the savj^ge, in the hope of con- 
 verting him to peace principles, but of course in vain. 
 The chief was thoroughly bent on destroying his 
 enemies. 
 
 Then, in a state of almost desperate anxiety, Leo 
 sought to turn him from his purpose by telling him 
 about God the Father, and the Prince of Peace, 
 and, pulling out his Bible, began to read and make 
 Anders interpret such passages of the Word as bore 
 most directly on his subject. While acting in this, 
 to him, novel capacity as a teacher of God's Word, 
 Leo more than once lifted up his heart in brief 
 silent prayer that the Spirit might open the heart 
 of the savage to receive the truth. 
 
 The chief and his lieutenant listened with inter- 
 est and surprise. Being savages, they also listened 
 with profound respect to the young enthusiast, but 
 Grabantak would not give up his intention. He 
 explained, however, that he meant first to go to the 
 largest and most central island of his dominions, to 
 make inquiiy there of the Man of the Valley what 
 would be the best time to set out for the war. 
 
 " The Man of the Valley ! " asked Leo, " who is 
 that?" 
 
 " He is an Eskimo," replied Grabantak, with a 
 sudden air of solemnity in his manner, "whose 
 first forefather came in the far past longtime, iron) 
 
30 entered into 
 16 bope of con- 
 : course in vain, 
 destroying his 
 
 itc anxiety, Leo 
 ) by telling bim 
 rince of Peace, 
 ) read and malte 
 ,he Word as bore 
 le acting in this, 
 r of God's Word, 
 L3 heart in brief 
 t open the heart 
 
 lenedwitb inter- 
 bbey also listened 
 ig enthusiast, but 
 .8 intention. He 
 
 first to go to the 
 his dominions, to 
 
 the Valley what 
 'or the war. 
 
 ed Leo, "who is 
 
 Irabantak, with a 
 manner, "whose 
 last longtime, iron) 
 
 OR POKINGS ROUND THE POLK. 
 
 S25 
 
 nobody knows where ; but this first forefather never 
 
 had any father or mother. He settled among the 
 
 Eskimos and taught them many things. He married 
 
 one of their women, and his sons r nd daughters were 
 
 many and strong. Their descendants inhabit the 
 
 Great Isle of Flatland at the presen*: day. They are 
 
 good and strong ; great hunters and warriors. The 
 
 first forefather lived long, till he became white and 
 
 blind. His power and wisdom lay in a little strange 
 
 thing which he called " buk" How it made him 
 
 strong or wise no one can tell, but so it was. His 
 
 name was Makitok. When he died he gave buk to 
 
 his eldest son. It was wrapped up in a piece of 
 
 sealskin. The eldest son had much talk with his 
 
 father about this mystery-thing, and was heard to 
 
 speak much about the Kablunets, but the son w juld 
 
 never tell what he said. Neither would he unwrap the 
 
 mystery-thing, for fear that its power might escape. 
 
 So he wrapped it up in another piece of sealskin, 
 
 and gave it to his eldest son, telling him to hand it 
 
 down from son to son, along with the name Makitok. 
 
 So buk has grown to be a large bundle now, and no 
 
 one understands it, but ever}/ one has great reverence 
 
 for it, and the Makitok now in possession is a great 
 
 mystery-man, very wise ; we always consult him on 
 
 unportant matters." 
 
 Here was food for reflection to Leo during the 
 remainder of that night, and tor many hours did his 
 
 fit '■% i 
 
 >fil 
 
 J." '11*1 
 
32b' 
 
 ■rtlE GIANT OF THE NOKTH 
 
 . I '•.2 
 
 "■iB 
 
 sleepless mind puzzle over the mystery of Makitok, 
 the Man of the Valley. 
 
 This sleepless condition was, not unpleasantly, 
 prolonged by the sounds of animal life that entered 
 his oven-like dwelling during great part of the night. 
 Evidently great numbers of the feathered tribes 
 were moving about, either because they meant to 
 retire at dissipate Jly L*te, or had risen nt unreason- 
 ably early, hours. Among them he clearly distin- 
 guished the musical note of the long-tailed duck 
 and the harsh scream of the g^eat northerr diver, 
 while the profound calmness of tha weather enabled 
 him to hear 8^ in^ jrvals ihe soft blow and the lazy 
 plash of a white- vhale, turning, it might be, on his 
 other side in his water-bed on the Arctic Sea. 
 
 Following the whale's example, Leo turned round 
 at last, buried his face in a reindeer pillow, and 
 took refuge in oblivion. 
 
 I i 
 
 J', 
 
 "' I 
 
 :i 
 
 4 V* 
 
OB FOKll^GS BOUND TUE POLK. 
 
 327 
 
 jry of Makitok, 
 
 b unpleasantly, 
 ife that entered 
 art of the night, 
 'eathered tribes 
 they meant to 
 ?en pt unreason- 
 3 clearly distin- 
 ong-tailed duck 
 , northerr diver, 
 weather enabled 
 low and the lazy 
 might be, on his 
 Arctic Sea. 
 ,eo turned round 
 .eer pillow, and 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 A GLORIOUS BEOION CONT£MPLATKD, AND A OLOBIOUB 
 CHASE PLANNED. 
 
 Leo did not slumber long. Very early iu the 
 morning he awoke with that sensation about him 
 which told that at that time further repose was 
 not attainable. He therefore rose, donned the few 
 garments which he had put off on lying down, crept 
 through his tunnel, and emerged into the open air. 
 
 And what a vision of glorious beauty met his en- 
 raptured eyes, while the fresh sea-breeze entered, 
 like life, into his heaving chest ! It was still a 
 profound calm. Earth, aii, water, sky, seemed to 
 be uniting in a silent act of adoration to their great 
 Creator, while the myriad creatures therein con- 
 tained were comparatively quiet in the enjoyment 
 of His rich and varied bounties. It seemed &3 if the 
 hour were too early for the strife of violent passions 
 -too calm for the stirrings of hatred or revenga 
 Everything around spoke only of peace. Sitting 
 down with his back to a sun-lathed rock, and hia 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 !:<^ i! 
 
 
328 
 
 TUB GIANT OF TIIE NOUTH 
 
 
 !•' ' '';2 
 
 1 1 i 
 
 lace to the silver sea, Leo drew out his Bible aud 
 proceeded to read the records of the Prince of 
 I'eace. 
 
 As he lifted his eyes from the words, " marvellous 
 are thy works, and that my soul knoweth right 
 well," to the vision of beauty aud life that lay 
 before him, Leo made the words and the though I, 
 for the first time, his own. 
 
 The prospect embraced innumerable islands of all 
 sizes, studding like gems the gently-heaving sea. 
 Over these, countless millions of sea-birds flew or 
 sailed to and fro ; some with the busy fluttering of 
 activity, as if they had something to do and a mind 
 ^ do it ; others loitering idly on the wing, or 
 dipping lightly on the wave, as if to bid their 
 images good-moniing. Burgomaster, yellow-legged, 
 and pink-beaked gulls, large aud small, wheeled in 
 widening circles round him. Occasional flocks of 
 ptarmigan, in the mixed brown and white plumage 
 of summer, whirred swiftly over him and took re- 
 fuge aiuong the rocky heights of the interior, none 
 of which heights rose above three hundred feet. 
 Eider ducks, chattering kittiwa^ es, and graceful tern, 
 auks, guillemots, puffins, geese, and even swans, 
 swarmed on the islands, far and near, while seals, 
 whales, narwhals, dolphins, and grampuses, revelled 
 in the sea, so that the Arctic world appeared almost 
 overcharged with animal life. 
 
OR POKINQS ROUND TIIK POLE. 
 
 329 
 
 Of course the noise of their crios and evolutions 
 would have been great had not distance lent en- 
 chantment to sound as well as view. To Leo there 
 seemed even a sort of restfuluess in the voices of the 
 innumerable wild-fowl. They were so far off, most 
 of them, that the sounds fell on his ear like a gentle 
 }ilaint, and even the thunderous plash of the great 
 Greenland whale was reduced by distance to a 
 ripple like that which fell on the shore at his 
 feet. 
 
 While he was meditating, Anders joined him 
 and responded heartily to his salutation, but Anders 
 was not in a poetical frame of mind that morning. 
 His thoughts had been already turned to an emi- 
 ueutly practical subject. 
 
 "I'm tole," said he, seating himself beside our 
 hero, " dat Grabantak holds a talk ' bout fighting." 
 
 "Ah! a council of war," said Leo. "I know 
 what the result of that will be. When leaders like 
 Grabantak and Amalatok decide for war, most of 
 the people, follow them like a flock of sheep. 
 Although most of the people never saw this 
 miserable island — this Puiroe — and know, and care, 
 nothing about it, you 11 see that the Flatlanders will 
 be quite enthusiastic after the council, and ready 
 to fight for it to the bitter end. A very bitter end 
 it is, indeed, to see men and women make fools of 
 themselves about nothing, and be ready to die 
 
 ..ii.!!i.i 
 
Sdo 
 
 TUB GIANT OF TUK NORTH 
 
 
 
 ' t 
 
 for the same! Will Grabautak allow us to be 
 present at the council, think you ?" 
 
 •' Ho yis. He send me to say you musa come." 
 Leo was right. Nothing could surpass the impetu- 
 osity of Grabantak, except the anxiety of many of 
 the Flatlanders to be led by the nose. Was not the 
 ])oint in question one of vital importance to the 
 wellbeing of the community — indeed of the whole 
 Arctic world ? Teyma mildly asked them what was 
 the point in question, but not a soul could tell, 
 until Grabantak, starting up with furious energy, 
 manufactur^'d a " point," and then explained it in 
 language so intricate, yet so clear, that the whole 
 council stood amazed at their never having seen it 
 before in that light, and then said, more or less em- 
 phatically, " There, that 's what we thought exactly, 
 only we could not state it so well as the great 
 Grabantak 1" 
 
 After this there was no chance for Teyma and his 
 party — and he had a party, even among northern 
 savages, — who believed in men working hard at 
 their own affairs and letting other people alone, as 
 far as that was possible. But the peace party in 
 Arctic land was in a minority at that time, and the 
 council broke up with shouts for Grabantak, and 
 denunciations of death and destruction to the men 
 of Poloeland. 
 
 But things do not always turn out as men — even 
 
 I:: 
 
m 
 
 OR P0KIN08 KOtJND THF. POLE. 
 
 SSI 
 
 illow us to W 
 
 II mnsa come." 
 pass the impetu- 
 iety of many of 
 le. Wa3 not the 
 portance to the 
 id of the whole 
 d them what was 
 soul could tell, 
 I furious energy, 
 1 explained it in 
 r, that the whole 
 er having seen it 
 move or less em- 
 thought exactly, 
 ell as the great 
 
 or Teyma and his 
 among northern 
 
 jvorldng hard at 
 people alone, as 
 
 e peace party in 
 at time, and the 
 Grabantak, and 
 tion to the men 
 
 lut as men — even 
 
 wise men — arrange them. From that day, during 
 the brief period of preparation for the setting out 
 of an expedition to visit Makitok of Groat Isle, 
 Leo received daily visits from the Prime Minister, 
 who was deeply interested and inquisitive about 
 the strange " thing," as he styled the Bible, which 
 told the Kablunets about God and the Prince of 
 Peace. Of course Leo was willing and happy to 
 give him all the information he desired, and, in 
 doing so, found a new and deep source of pleasure. 
 
 Teyma was not the man to hide his light under 
 a bushel. He was a fearless outspoken counsellor, 
 and not only sought to advance the pacific views he 
 held, by talking to the men of his own party in 
 private, but even propounded them in public to 
 Grabantak himself, who, however, could not be 
 moved, though many of his men quietly changed 
 sides. 
 
 With all this Teyma was loyal to his chief. 
 "Whatever he did was in the way of fair and open 
 argument. He was too loyal to help Leo when he 
 made a certain proposal to him one day. 
 
 " Teyma," said Leo, on that occasion, " you have 
 been very friendly to me. Will you do me a great 
 favour ? Will you send a young man in a kayak to 
 Poloeland with a message from me to my people ? 
 They must think I am dead. I wish them to know 
 that I am here, and weU.* 
 
 1 ; • i 
 
 VI' ■ V 
 

 
 
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 N 
 
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 ii; 
 
 ;S 
 
 i;J 
 
 (•.'0 1 
 
 332 
 
 YHE GIANT OF THE NOKTH 
 
 k 
 
 ) ) 
 
 . i I 
 
 "No," replied Teyma promptly; "that would 
 let the mer. of Poloe know that we talk of going to 
 attack them. I do not love war. I wish to let 
 our enemies alone, but if my chief decides for war, 
 it is my duty to help, not to frustrate him. If we 
 go to war with Poloeland, we must take the men of 
 Poloe by surprise. That could not be if a young 
 man wenc with your message." 
 
 Leo saw the force of this, and respected Teyma's 
 disinteiested loyalty to his chief, but felt inclined 
 to argue that, fi<i:jlity to the best interests of his 
 country stood higher than loyalty to a chief. He 
 refrained, however, from pressing the matter at that 
 time. 
 
 Not so Anders. When that worthy saw thi>t 
 Teyma would not act, and that Leo from some 
 inexplicable reason hesitated, he quietly took the 
 matter into his own hands, and so wrought on the 
 feelings of a weak but amiable youth of the tribe, 
 that he prevailed on him to carry a message to the 
 enemy, explaining to him earnestly that no evil, 
 but the reverse, wovld result from his mission ; that 
 the Kablunets were men of peace, who would im- 
 mediately come over to Flatland and put everything 
 right in a peaceable and satisfactory manner. 
 
 " Tell the white men," said Anders, " that we are 
 prisoners in Flatland — alive and well — but they 
 must come to help us quickly." 
 
OR POKINGS ROUND THB POLE. 
 
 333 
 
 No difficulty was experienced in sendinj; the 
 messenger away. There was unlimited personal 
 freedom in Flatland. Young men frequently went 
 off to hunt for days together at a time, without 
 saying anything about their intentions, unless they 
 chose ; so the secret messenger set out. Thus the 
 interpreter lighted the fuse of a mine which was 
 eminently calculated to blow up the plans of 
 Grabantak. 
 
 But another fuse had been lighted which, in a 
 still more efifectual mann'^.r, overturned the plana of 
 that warlike chief. 
 
 It chanced at this time that the Flatlanders ran 
 short of meat. Their habit was to go off on a grand 
 hunt, gather as much meat as they could, and then 
 come home to feast and rejoice with their families 
 until scarcity again obliged them to hunt. Of 
 course there were many among them whose natural 
 activity rebelled against this lazy style of life, but 
 the exertions of these did not sufiBce to keep the 
 whole tribe supplied. Hence it came to pass, that 
 they often began to be in want while in the midst 
 of plenty. A grand hunt was therefore organised. 
 
 They were tired, they said, of ducks and geese 
 and swans. They wanted a change from seals and 
 bears, walruses and such small fry. Nothing short 
 of a whale would serve them ! 
 
 Once stirred up to the point of action, there was 
 
 
 m 
 I if 
 
 '4i 
 
 ;. mm 
 
 i 
 
 
 m ■ 
 
 ^'\ 
 
 
 "M'^* 
 
 i f 
 
 
334 
 
 THE aiANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 Ha 
 
 k 
 
 ii . ■ n, 
 
 V: ' 
 
 
 no lack of energy among these northern Eskimos. 
 Kayaka, lines, and spears were got ready, and 
 oomiaks were launched ; for women and children 
 loved to see the sport, though they did not join in 
 it Everywhere bustle and excitement reigned, and 
 the hubbub was not a little increased by the agitated 
 dogs, which knew well what was a-foot, and licked 
 their lips in anticipation. 
 
 Of course Leo and Anders prepared to go and 
 see the fun. So did Oblooria. It was armnged 
 that Leo and the latter were to go in the india- 
 rubber boat. 
 
 That vessel had been the source of deep, absorb- 
 ing interest and curiosity to the natives. When our 
 travellers landed, it had been conveyed to the side 
 of the hut assigned them, and laid gently on the 
 turf, where it was stared at by successive groups 
 all day. They would have stayed staring at 
 it all night, if they had not been forbidden by 
 Grabantak to approach the Kablunets during the 
 hours of repose. Leo explained its parts to 
 them, but made no reference to its expansive and 
 contractile properties. He also launched it and 
 paddled about to gratify the curiosity of his new 
 friends, but did not show them the kite, which, 
 folded and in its cover, he had stowed away in the 
 hut. 
 
 One night, fearing that the sun might injure tlie 
 
 II i i 
 
OR POKINGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 335 
 
 tiem Eskimos. 
 )t ready, and 
 and children 
 did not join in 
 nt reigned, and 
 by the agitated 
 bot, and licked 
 
 ared to go and 
 b was arranged 
 in the india- 
 
 of deep, absorb- 
 ves. "When our 
 eyed to the side 
 i gently on the 
 Lccessive groups 
 yed staring at 
 in forbidden by 
 nets during the 
 d its parts to 
 3 expansive and 
 aunched it and 
 )sity of his new 
 bhe kite, which, 
 ed away in the 
 
 light injure the 
 
 boat, Leo had squeezed the air out of it, folded it, 
 and stowed it away in the hut beside the kite. The 
 astonishment of the natives, when they came out 
 'jxt morning to stare and wonder, according to 
 custom, was very great. Leo resolved to make a 
 mystery of it, looked solemn when spoken to on 
 the point, and gave evasive replies. 
 
 When, however, the time came for setting off on 
 this grand hunt, he carried his boat, still bundled 
 up in skins, down to the water's edge, where kayaks 
 and oomiaks in hundreds lay ready to be launched. 
 
 The news spread like wild-fire that the Kablunet 
 was going to "act wonderfully !" 
 
 Eveiy man, woman, and child in the place hurried 
 to the spot. 
 
 "It is destroyed!" exclaimed Grabantak, sadly, 
 when he saw the boat unrolled, flat and empty, on 
 the sand. 
 
 We shall not describe the scene in detail. It is 
 sufficient to say that Leo did not disappoint the 
 general expectation. He did indeed " act wonder- 
 fully," filling the unsophisticated savages with 
 unbounded surprise and admiration, whUe he filled 
 the boat with air and launched it. He then stepped 
 into it with Anders, gallantly lifted Oblooria on 
 board, and, seizing the oars, rowed gently out to 
 sea. 
 
 With shouts of delight the Eskimos jumped into 
 
336 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 ]\ r [; 
 
 )^4 
 
 :■; 'J 
 
 ^: 
 
 
 ; ! 
 
 t 
 
 , ) 
 
 I ' 
 
 their kayaks and followed. Their admiration was, 
 however, a little calmed by the discovery that tlio 
 kayaks could beat the Kablunet boat in speed, 
 though the women in their oomiaks could not keep 
 up with it. There was no emulation, however ; Leo 
 carefully refrained from racing. 
 
 He had been supplied with a long lance and a 
 couple of spears, to which latter were attached, by 
 thongs of walrus hide, two inflated sealskins to act 
 as buoys. These Leo had been previously instructed 
 how to use. 
 
 He took the kite with him on this occasion, with- 
 out, however, having much expectation of being able 
 to use it, as the calm still prevailed. It was folded 
 of course, and fixed in its place in the bow. The 
 natives thought it must be a spear or harpoon of 
 strange form. 
 
 It was not long before a whale was sighted. 
 There were plenty of these monsters about, some 
 coming lazily to the surface to blow, others lying 
 quite still, with their backs out of the water as if 
 sunning themselves, or asleep. 
 
 Soon the spirit of the hunter filled each Eskimo 
 bosom. What appeared to be an unusually large 
 whale was observed on the horizoa Kablunets, 
 india-rubber boats, and all le3S important things, 
 were forgotten for the moment ; paddles were plied 
 with energy, and the chase began. 
 
H 
 
 idmiration was, 
 covery that tho 
 boat in speed, 
 could not keep 
 1, however ; Leo 
 
 )ng lance and a 
 
 3re attached, by 
 
 sealskins to act 
 
 iously instructed 
 
 is occasion, with- 
 bion of being able 
 i. It was folded 
 the bow. The 
 lar or harpoon ot 
 
 lale was sighted. 
 Iters about, some 
 dow, others lying 
 .f the water as if 
 
 lued each Eskimo 
 unusually large 
 
 son. Kablunets, 
 tmportant things, 
 
 iddles were plied 
 
 OB POKINQS ROUND THE POLK. 
 
 33^ 
 
 CHAPTET{ XXV, 
 
 nr WHICH A OHFAT HUNT IS DPfCIlIBKD, A WAR KXPRDr-TOn 
 FHUSTBATED, AND A HBKO KNNOBLKD. 
 
 Now, in a fit of unwise ambition, Anders the 
 interpreter resolved to signalise himself, and dis- 
 play his valour on the occasion of this hunt. He 
 borrowed a kayak of one of the natives, and went 
 as an independent hunter. Leo, being quite able 
 to row his boat alone, with Oblooria to steer, did not 
 object. 
 
 The whale which had been selected was a 
 thorough-going Arctic monster of tlie largest size, 
 nearl}' a hundred feet long, which, while on his 
 passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific through 
 Behring Straits, had paused for a nap off the isles 
 of Flatland. 
 
 The fleet of kayaks converged towards the fish 
 Hke a flock of locusts. Despite his utmost efforts, 
 Leo could not do more than keep up in rear of the 
 hunters, for the sharp shuttle-like kayaks shot like 
 arrows over the smooth sea, while his clumsier boat 
 required greater force to propel it. 
 
 ( 'i 
 
 i 
 
 r; 
 
 ill 
 
 I' ' 
 
338 
 
 TIIR GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 '1 
 
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 i 
 
 In a few minutps those Eskimos who were best 
 paddlera crept ahead of the rest. Grabantak and 
 his son took the lead, whether because of right or 
 because of superior strength it was hard to say. 
 Anders, who was a powerful fellow, and an expert 
 canoeman, kept close alongside of them. Not content 
 with this, he attempted to pass them ; but they saw 
 his intention, put on what sporting men call a 
 " spurt," and in a few seconds left him several yards 
 behind. 
 
 On nearing their victiia, Grabantak and Koyatuk 
 checked their speed and got their spears ready. 
 A few minutes later and a dozen of the followers 
 were up and prepared to act, but they all held back 
 — all except the excitable Anders — while the chief 
 and his son glided cautiously towards the fish, one 
 on either side. Suddenly each grasped a spear and 
 drove it with all the force of both arms deep into 
 the whale's flesh. It was a rude awaking! Of 
 course the fish dived instantly. In doing so it flung 
 its tail on high with a superb sweep, sending tons 
 of water, and the impatient Anders, into the air ! 
 
 The interpreter came down in a cataract of spray, 
 with his kayak doubled up but himself uninjured, 
 while the Eskimos greeted the event with a shout 
 of alarm. This changed into laughter when it was 
 found that the ambitious man was none the worse 
 for his toss ; and the women in one of the oomiaks, 
 
 U I I 
 
 'fi^i': 
 
11 
 
 H 
 
 who were beat 
 Grabantak and 
 mse of right or 
 as hard to say. 
 , and an expert 
 im. Not content 
 ai ; but they saw 
 ing men call a 
 lim several yards 
 
 tak and Koyatuk 
 3ir spears ready, 
 of the followers 
 ,hey all held back 
 I— while the chief 
 rards the fish, one 
 asped a spear and 
 h arms deep into 
 ^e awaking! Of 
 |n doing so it flung 
 eep, sending tons 
 (, into the air I 
 cataract of spray, 
 imself uninjured, 
 (vent with a shout 
 ghter when it was 
 ts none the worse 
 le of the oomiaks, 
 
 OR POKINGS ROUND THE POLK. 
 
 339 
 
 paddling quickly up, hauled the drenched and crest- 
 fi>llen man out of the sea. They also picked up his 
 spear with the sealskin buoy attached. Giving him 
 the place of honour in the bow, they put the spear 
 in his hand, and bade him keep up heart and do 
 better next time. 
 
 Meanwhile the whale, having got over its first 
 surprise, and feeling the two large sealskin-floats a 
 somewhat heavy as well as unusual drag, soon came 
 a.Lrain to the surface, not far from the spot where 
 Leo lay on his oars, an amused as well as interested 
 spectator of the scene. 
 
 " Ho ! " shrielied Oblooria, whose eager little 
 heart was easily excited. She pointed to the fish, 
 and gazed at Leo with blazing eyes. 
 
 You may be sure our hero did not lose time. 
 The india-rubber boat leaped over the water as if it 
 had suddenly been endowed with life. The smart 
 Uttle woman carefully airanged the spear and buoy 
 ready to hand. Several ci the kayaks which 
 chanced to be nearest to the whale rushed towards 
 it like sword-fish ; but they had no chance, Leo 
 being so near. He did no^ check his speed on 
 reaching the fish, but allowed the boat to run tilt on 
 its back. The smooth india-rabber glided up on 
 the slippery surface till more than half its length 
 was on the creature's back. It was thus checked 
 without a shock — probably unfeit by the whale. 
 
340 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 
 
 
 Leo seized the spear, leaped up, and, with hoth 
 hands, drove it deep into the flesh, just as the cliioi 
 and his son liad done. The force with which ho 
 drove it was so great that it thnist the boat back 
 into the water. Tl.is was fortunate, for it enabled 
 them n? : * wl; /> -escape the vertex that was 
 instantly !iia<ic I ■' the diving of the now enraged 
 monster ; a ; > v ba^V strolvcs of the oars took them 
 out of the sea of foam i3ft beliind. 
 
 The mfi,8terly manner in which this was done 
 called forth shouts of admiration from the entire 
 fleet, and it greatly surprised Leo himself, for it was 
 the first time he had attempted to use the harpooa 
 
 " It mitst have been chance," he muttered to him- 
 self as he again lay on his oars awaiting the whale's 
 reappearance, "a sort of hai)py accident. I feel 
 convinced I could not do it so well a second time." 
 
 The fish took a longer dive on this occasion, and 
 when he returned to the surface for another breath 
 of air, was at a considerable distance from all parts 
 of the fleet. The instant he was seen, however, 
 every paddle flashed into the sea, and the kayaks 
 darted away in pursuit. They soon came up with 
 their victim, and another spear, with its accompany- 
 ing sealskin buoy, was fixed in its side. Down it 
 went a third time, and reappeared in quite an 
 opposite direction from that in which it had been 
 looked for. 
 
 
iH,: 
 
 t 'ii 
 
 and, with hoth 
 ist as the cliiel 
 with which ho 
 
 the boat back 
 !, for it enabled 
 
 Ttex that was 
 le now enraged 
 5 oars took them 
 
 1 this was done 
 from the entire 
 limself. for it was 
 use the harpoon, 
 muttered to him- 
 dting the whale's 
 iccident. I feel 
 a second time." 
 |his occasion, and 
 |or another breath 
 ,ce from all parts 
 ,s seen, however, 
 . and the kayaks 
 |on came np with 
 ,h its accompany- 
 ,s side. Bown it 
 ired in quite an 
 hich it had beer. 
 
 OR P0KIN08 ROUND THK POLK. 
 
 341 
 
 T) uncertainty iu the m.iveniHiits of the whale 
 w.xa "- .ai tter of small moment to the iccupiers of 
 the li; it kayaks, but it told rather heavily on Leo 
 iu b clumaier boat. lie therefore resolved to 
 ^laddlo gently ab' it, ./ike things easy, watch the 
 progress of the chase, and trust to the chapter of 
 accidents giving him another chance. 
 
 " You see, Oblooria," he said in the Eskimo 
 tongue, 'vhich he was picking up rapidly, " it 's of 
 no use my pulling wildly about in all directions, 
 blowing myself for nothing ; so we'll just hang off- 
 aiid-on here and watch them." 
 
 As this remark called for no direct reply, Oblooria 
 nier. iy smiled — indeed she more than smiled — but 
 said nothing. It is just possible that Leo's render- 
 ing of the phrase "off-and-on" into Eskimo may 
 have oounded ridiculous. 
 
 However this may be, the two sat there for some 
 time, absorbed and silent spectators of the chase. 
 
 " How long will they take to kill it ? " asked Leo 
 when he saw Grabantak thrust somewhere about 
 the thirty- fifth spear into the victim. 
 
 " All day," answered Oblooria. 
 
 " All day ! " repeated Leo in surprise. 
 
 "If they could lance him far in," said the girl, 
 " he would die soon, but his flesh is thick and his 
 life is deep down." 
 
 Leo relapsed into silence. The idea of remaining 
 
 t 
 
342 
 
 THE UlANT OF THE NOllTU 
 
 : -.^ 
 
 I J 
 
 
 h 
 
 f ; ' 
 
 v\ 
 
 ' ■! 
 
 ' <! 
 
 r ' 
 I* ' 
 
 I ! 
 
 a mere spectator all day was diHtasteful to his active 
 miiid and body. He had almost made up his mind 
 to ask one of the natives to lend liim a kayak and 
 change places, when a puff of wind sent a few cats- 
 paws over the hitherto glassy sea. 
 
 He looked quickly in the direction whence it 
 came, and observed a blue line on the horizon. 
 It was a coming breeze. Ere long it touched them, 
 blowing gently, indeed, but steadily. A glance up- 
 wards showed that it was steadier and stronger in 
 the upper regions, and blew towards the south-east, 
 in which direction the chase was being prosecuted 
 with unflagging activity. 
 
 " If there was only enough," muttered Leo, " to 
 take the kite up, I 'd soon be alongside of the whale ; 
 come, I '11 try. Lend a hand, Oblooria." 
 
 The Eskimo girl had, during her voyage to Flat- 
 land, become so well acquainted with the operation 
 of extending and setting up the kite, that she was 
 able to lend effective assistance. In less than ten 
 minutes it was expanded, and although Leo was 
 nearly puUed into the water before he got fair 
 hold of the regulator, while Oblooria was thrown 
 down by an eccentric whisk of the tail, they 
 managed at last to get it fairly over their heads, and 
 soon sent it shooting upwards into the stronger air- 
 current above. Of course they began to rush over 
 the sea at a pace that would have quickly left the 
 
 ; ' j 
 
OR POIUNGS ROUND THE POLK. 
 
 343 
 
 b*»st kayak in the fleet far astern, but Leo did not 
 wish to act precipitately. He sat down in the bow 
 to attend to the regulator, while Oblooria held the 
 steering oar. 
 
 " Keep her away a bit, Oblooria ; starboard — I mean 
 to that side. So, we won't spoil their sport too soon." 
 
 He pulled the regulator as he spoke, and eased 
 the pace, while the Eskimo girl, with eyes glittering 
 from expectancy and hope, turned the boat off to 
 the right. 
 
 Leo seemed to be meditative at first, as if uncer- 
 tain how to proceed. Soon this condition of mind 
 passed. He let go the regulator, and, taking up the 
 long whale lance with which he had been provided, 
 examined its blade and point. The full force of the 
 breeze filled the kite and carried them along at not 
 less than ten miles an hour. 
 
 Hitherto the Eskimos had been so intent on their 
 prey that they had uo eyes for anything else. Again 
 and again had the whale been pierced by the sting- 
 ing harpoons, and the number of inflated sealskins 
 which he was obliged by that time to drag down 
 into the deep was so great that his dives had become 
 more frequent and much shorter. It was obvious 
 that thtj perseverance of his little foes would in the 
 end overcome his mighty strength. It was equally 
 evident, however, that there was still a great deal 
 of fighting power left in him, and as some of the 
 
 '' ' \\t\ 
 
 i 
 
344 
 
 TUK GIANT or TUK NORTH 
 
 
 .;> KB 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^'l:| 
 
 I 
 
 t ■ 
 
 harpoons had come out while several of the floats 
 had broken loose, there was just a possibility that 
 he miglit yet escape if not vigorously followed up. 
 
 Suddenly one of the Eskimos was seen to drop 
 his paddle and point with both hands to the sky, 
 uttering at the same time a cry of surpiise and 
 alarm. There was no mistaking the cry. Every 
 paddle ceased to dip, end every eye was turned to 
 the sky. Of course every voice gave forth a howl 1 
 
 " A mystery ! " shouted Grabantak. 
 
 " An evil spirit ! " cried Koyatuk. 
 
 " A new kind of bird ! " roared Teyma. 
 
 At that moment a cry louder than ever arose. 
 Leo's boat was observed coming like a narwhal over 
 the sea, with the foam flying from its bows ! 
 
 The " new kind of bird," so they at first imagined, 
 had let down a long thin tail, caught the boat of the 
 white man, and was flying away with it ! 
 
 Into the midst of them the boat rushed. They 
 dashed aside right and left. Leo was standing in 
 the bow. He moved not, spoke not, looked at no 
 one, but stood up, bent a littli forward, with a 
 stern frown on his brow, his lips compressed, and 
 the long lance held level in both hands as if in the 
 act of charging. 
 
 " Catch hold of him ! " yelled Grabantak as they 
 flew past. As well might they have tried to catch 
 a comet ! 
 
 ' 4- 
 
 i I 
 
Ok FOKINGU RUUNU TIIK POLE, 
 
 349 
 
 i of the floata 
 KiBsibility that 
 followed up. 
 } seen to drop 
 ids to the sky, 
 )f surprise ai»d 
 le cry. Every 
 ! was turned to 
 J forth a howl 1 
 c. 
 
 jyma. 
 
 han ever arose. 
 
 ) a narwhal over 
 
 lbs bows ! 
 
 ,t first imagined, 
 
 t the boat of the 
 
 ,hit! 
 rushed. They 
 vas standing in 
 ,t, looked at no 
 'orward, with a 
 »mpressed, and 
 tnds as if in the 
 
 Itbantak as they 
 tried to catch 
 
 " Steer a liitla to tlio left," said T^*o in a low tone. 
 
 Obedient, on tlie instimt. the girl made a sharp 
 stroke with the oar. 
 
 " Steady — so. Now, Oblooria, hold on tight for 
 your life ! " 
 
 They were going straight at tho whale. Leo did 
 not dare to think of the result of his intended attack, 
 lie could not guess it. He hoped all would be well, 
 lie had no time to think of pros and cons. They 
 were close to the victim. On it, now, sliding over 
 its back, while the sharp lance entered its body 
 with the full momentum of the charge, — deep down 
 into its vitals ! Blood flew out like a waterspout 
 The lance was torn from Leo's grasp as he fell back- 
 wards. Oblooria leaped up, in wild excitement, 
 dropped her oar, and clapped her hands. At that 
 instant the stout traction-line snapped, and the 
 boat remained fast, while the kite descended in 
 a series of helpless gyrations into the sea. Next 
 moment the whale went down in a convulsive 
 struggle, and the boat, with its daring occupants, 
 was whelmed in a whirlpool of blood and foam. 
 
 No cry proceeded from the Eskimos during this 
 stupendous attack. They seemed bereft alike of 
 voice and volition, but, i beholding the closing cata- 
 strophe, they rushed to the rescue with a united roar. 
 
 Before they could gain the spot, Leo was seen to 
 emerge from the deep, dripping with pink and white 
 
346 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 I 1 
 
 
 
 1 i 
 
 foam like a very water-god. Oblooria followed 
 instantly, like a piebald water-nymph. The boat 
 had not been upset, though overwhelmed, and they 
 had held on to it with the tenacity of a last hope. 
 
 Looking sharply round, as he gasped and swept 
 the water from his eyes, Leo seized the oars, which, 
 being attached to the boat, were still available, and 
 rowed with ail his might away from the approaching 
 Eskimos as if he were afraid of being caught by them. 
 They followed with, if possible, increased surprise 
 at this inexplicable conduct. They made up to 
 him; some even shot ahead of him. Poor Leo was 
 not a moment too soon in reaching his kite, for these 
 people were r^bout to transfix it with their whale- 
 harp jcxis, when Le dashed up and ordered them to 
 desist. 
 
 Having rescued the miserable-looking thing from 
 the sea and hastily folded it, he placed it in the 
 bow. Then breathing freely, ha began to look about 
 him just- as the whale came again to the surface in 
 a dying fiurry. It so chancbd that it came up right 
 under Grabantak's kayak, which it tossed up end 
 over end. This would not have been a serious 
 matter if it had not, the next moment, brought its 
 mighty tail down on the canoe. It then sheered 
 off a hundred yards or so, leaped half its length out 
 of the water, and fell over on its side with a noise 
 like thunderand died. 
 
"^ 
 
 t4 
 
 ooria followed 
 iph. The boat 
 jlmed, and they 
 )f a last hope. 
 3ped and swept 
 the oars, which, 
 .11 available, and 
 the approaching 
 ; caught by them, 
 icreased surprise 
 tey made up to 
 1. Poor Leo was 
 his kite, for these 
 yith their whale- 
 . ordered them to 
 
 )oking thing from 
 placed it in the 
 Igan to look about 
 to the surface in 
 [t it came up right 
 it tossed up end 
 been a serious 
 Lment, brought its 
 It then sheered 
 Ihalf its length out 
 side with a noise 
 
 OR P0KING8 ROUND THE POLK. 
 
 347 
 
 Every one turned to che place where the chiefs 
 kayak lay a complete wreck on the water. Its 
 owner was seen swimming beside it, and was soon 
 hauled into one of the women's oomiaks. Evidently 
 he had been severely hurt, but he would not admit 
 the fact. With characteristic dignity he sternly 
 ordered the fleet to lay hold of the wliale and make 
 for the shore. 
 
 "Tell him his arm is broken," said Leo that 
 evening to Anders, after examining the chiefs 
 hurts in the privacy of his own hut, " and let him 
 know that I am a medicine-man and will try to 
 cure him." 
 
 Grabantak received the information with a look 
 of anger. 
 
 " Then," said he, " Amalatok must live a little 
 longer, for I cannot fight him with a broken arm. 
 Go," he added, looking full at Leo with something 
 Hke admiration, " go, you have done well to-day ; 
 my young men want tc make your nose blue." 
 
 The peremptory nature of the chief's command 
 forbade delay. Leo was therefore obliged to creep 
 out of his hut, wondering intensely, and not a little 
 uncomfortably, as to what having his nose made 
 blue could mean. 
 
 Ke was quickly enlightened by Anders, who told 
 him that the most successful harpooner in a whale- 
 hunt is looked on as a very great personage indeed. 
 
 hi I 
 
 !* '- i 
 
 t'j 
 
 ; ■.^■! i 
 
 Ifiij 
 
 III 
 
'I 
 
 :•' In 
 
 I .' 
 
 
 348 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NOKTH 
 
 and is invariably decorated with what may be styled 
 the Eskimo order of the Blue Kibbon. 
 
 Scarcely had he received this information, when 
 he was seized by the young men and hurried into 
 the midst of an expectant circle, where he submitted 
 with a good grace to the ceremony. A youth ad- 
 vanced to him, made a few complimentary remarks, 
 seized him by the right ear, and, with a little wet 
 paint, drew a broad blue line across his face over 
 the bridge of his nose. He was then informed that 
 he had received the highest honour known to the 
 Eskimos of the far north, and that, among other 
 privileges, it gave him the right of marrying two 
 wives if he felt disposed to do so ! Accepting the 
 honour, but declining the privilege, Leo expressed 
 his gratitude for the compliment just paid him in a 
 neat Eskimo speech, and then retired to his hut in 
 search of much-needed repose, not a little com- 
 forted by the thought that the chiefs broken arm 
 would probably postpone the threatened war for an 
 indefinite period. 
 
 That night ridiculous fancies played about his 
 deerskin pillow, for he dreamed of being swallowed 
 by a mad whale, and whisked up to the sky by a kite 
 with a broken arm and a blue stripe across its nose ! 
 
fT 
 
 on POKINGS ROUND TUE POLE. 
 
 349 
 
 may be styled 
 
 irmation, when 
 id hurried into 
 re he submitted 
 A youth ad- 
 eiitary remarks, 
 ith a little wet 
 IS his face over 
 ;n informed that 
 ir known to the 
 at, among other 
 of marrying two 
 ! Accepting the 
 e, Leo expressed 
 ist paid him in a 
 ired to his hut in 
 ot a little coni- 
 lief s broken arm 
 itened war for an 
 
 played about his 
 being swallowed 
 
 ) the sky by a kite 
 ,e across its nosel 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 TEIXS OP A WABLIKK liXFEDITION AND ITS HAPPY TERMINATION. 
 
 While these stirring events wore taking place in 
 Flatland, our friends in the Island of Poloe continued 
 to fish and hunt, and keep watch and ward against 
 their expected enemies in the u«5ual fashion; but 
 alas for the poor Englishmen! All the light had 
 gone out of their eyes ; all the elasticity had vanished 
 from their spirits. Ah ! it is only those who know 
 what it is to lose a dea: friend or brother, who can 
 understand the terrible blank which had descended 
 on the lives of our discoverers, rendering them, for the 
 time at least, comparatively indifferent to the events 
 that went on around them, and totally regardless of 
 the great object which had carried them so far into 
 those regions of ice. 
 
 They could no longer doubt that Leo and his 
 companions had perished, for they had searched 
 every island of the Poloe group, including that one 
 on which Leo and the Eskimos had fonnd temporary 
 refuge. Here, indeed, a momentary gleam of hope 
 
 
350 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 I I 
 
 
 i '! 
 
 i ,'• 
 
 revived, when Alf found the spent cartridge-cases 
 which his brother had thrown down on the occasion 
 of his shooting for the purpose of impressing his 
 captors, and they searched every yard of the island, 
 high and low, for several days, before suffering 
 themselves to relapse into the old state of despair. 
 No evidence whatever remained to mark the visit 
 of the Eskimos, for these wily savages never left 
 anything behind them on their war expeditions, 
 and the storm had washed away any footprints that 
 might have remained in the hard rocky soil. 
 
 Amalatok — who, with his son and his men, sym- 
 pathised with the Englishmen in their loss, and lent 
 able assistance in the prolonged search — gave the 
 final death-blow to their hopes by his remarks* 
 when Captain Vane suggested that perhaps the lost 
 ones had been blown over the sea to Flatland. 
 
 " That is not possible," said An alatok promptly. 
 
 "Why not? The distance ia not so very great." 
 
 "The distance is not very great, that is true," 
 replied Amalatok. '' If Lo had sailed away to Flat- 
 land he might have got safely there, but Blackbeard 
 surely forgets that the storm did not last more than 
 a few hours. If Lj had remained even a short time 
 on this island, would not tlie calm weather which 
 followed the storm have enabled him to paddle 
 back again to Poloe? No, he must have thought 
 *iie storm was going to be a long one, and thinking 
 

 OR P0KING8 ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 351 
 
 cartridge-cases 
 on the occasion 
 impressing bis 
 ■d of the island, 
 Dcfore suffering 
 state of despair. 
 , mark the visit 
 ,'ages never left 
 ,var expeditions, 
 ty footprints that 
 
 )cky soil. 
 ad his men, sym- 
 tieir loss, and lent 
 search— gave the 
 by his remarks, 
 perhaps the lost 
 to Flatland. 
 jalatok promptly. 
 »t so very great." 
 >at, that is true," 
 |iled away to Flat- 
 re, but Blackbeard 
 .ot last more than 
 even a short time 
 m weather which 
 him to paddle 
 tust have thouglit 
 one, and thinking 
 
 that, must have tried again to face it and paddle 
 against it. In this attempt he has j)erished. With- 
 out doubt Lo and Unders and Oblooria are in the 
 land of spirits." 
 
 Eskimos of the far north, unlike the red men of 
 the prairies, are prone to give way to their feelings. 
 At the mention of the timid one's name, Oolichuk 
 covered his face with his hands and wept aloud. 
 Poor Alf and Benjy felt an almost irresistible desire 
 to join him. All the fun and frolic had gone com- 
 pletely out of the latter, and rs for Alf, he went 
 about like a man half asleep, wit\ a strange absent 
 look in his eyes and a perfect blank on his expreysion- 
 less face. No longer did he roam the hills of Poloe- 
 land with geological hammer and box. He merely 
 went fishing when advised or psked to do so, or 
 wandered aimlessly on the sea- shore. The Captain 
 and Benjy acted much in the same way. In the 
 extremity of their grief they courted solitude. 
 
 The warm hearts of Chingatok and the negro 
 beat strong with sympathy. They longed to speak 
 words of comfort, but at first delicacy of feeliiig, 
 which is found in all ranks and under every skin, 
 prevented them from intruding on sorrow which 
 they knew not how to assuage. 
 At last the giant ventured one day to speak to Alf. 
 " Has the Great Spirit no word of comfort for his 
 Kablunet children?" he askecL 
 
 11'' 
 
 li~' I 
 
 t;' \i i 
 
 i''^ 
 

 i 
 
 ^: 
 
 'i 
 
 >>' f: 
 
 
 :;J : 
 
 h 
 
 ! "1 
 
 352 
 
 THE OIA-NT OF THR NORTn 
 
 " Yes, yes," replied Alf quickly. " He says, ' Call 
 upon me in the time of trouble and I will deliver 
 thee, and thou shalt glorify me.'" 
 
 "Have you not called?" asked Chingatok with a 
 slight look of surprise. 
 
 "No; I say it to my shame, Chingatok. This 
 blow has so stunned me that I had forgotten my God." 
 
 "Call now," said the giant earnestly. "If He 
 is a good and true God, He must keep His promise." 
 
 Alf did call, then and there, and the Eskimo 
 stood and listened with bowed head and reverent 
 look, until the poor youth had concluded his prayer 
 with the name of Jesus. 
 
 The negro's line of argument with Benjy wag 
 different and characteristically lower toned. 
 
 "You muss keep up de heart, Massa Benjy. 
 Nobody nebber knows wot may come for to pass. 
 P'r'aps Massa Leo he go to de Nort Pole by hisself. 
 He was allers bery fond o' takin' peepil by surprise. 
 Nebber say die, Massa Benjy, s' long 's der 's a shot 
 in de locker." 
 
 At any other time Benjy would have laughed at 
 the poor cook's efforts to console him, but he only 
 turned away with a sigh. 
 
 Two days after that the Eskimos of Poloe were 
 assembled on the beach making preparations to go 
 off on a seal hunt. 
 
 "Is that a whale on the horizon or a walrus?" 
 
-^ r y f J 
 
 OR rOKTNOS POITNP TUt POLE. 
 
 353 
 
 lill 
 
 m 
 
 " He says, ' Call 
 d I will deliver 
 
 Ihingatok with a 
 
 Jhingatok. This 
 ,rgottenmyGod." 
 
 nestly. "^ He 
 jep His promise." 
 and the Eskimo 
 ead and reverent 
 icluded his prayer 
 
 with Benjy was 
 er toned. 
 
 [rt, Massa Benjy. 
 
 come for to pass. 
 
 ^rt Pole by hisself. 
 
 ,eepil by surprise. 
 
 [ong's der's a shot 
 
 |d nave laughed at 
 him, but he only 
 
 los of Poloe were 
 [preparations to go 
 
 son or a walrus ?" 
 
 asked the Captain, touching Chingatok on the arm 
 as they stood on the edge of the sea, ready to embark. 
 
 " More like a black guU," said Benjy, " or a 
 northern diver." 
 
 Chingatok looked long and ep nestly at the object 
 in question, and then said with emphasis — 
 
 " A kayak !" 
 
 " One of the young men returning from a hunt, 
 I suppose," said Alf, whose attention was aroused 
 by the interest manifested by the surrounding 
 Eskimos. 
 
 " Not so/' said Amalatok, who joined the group 
 at the moment, "the man paddles like a man of 
 Flatland." 
 
 "What! one of your enemies?" cried the Captain, 
 who, in his then state of depression, would have 
 welcomed a fight as a sort of relief. Evidently 
 Butterface shared his hopes, for he showed the 
 whites of his eyes and grinned amazingly as he 
 clenched his homy hands. 
 
 " Yes — our enemies," said Amalatok. 
 
 " The advanced guard of the host." said the Cap- 
 tain, heartily ; " come, the sooner we get ready for 
 self-defence the better." 
 
 "Yis, dat's de word," said the negro, increasing 
 his grin for a moment and then collapsing into 
 budden solemnity ; " we nebber fights 'cep' in self- 
 defence — oh no — nebber ! " 
 
I •■. 
 
 
 
 
 c:r 
 
 
 K 
 tS 
 
 ' . I 
 
 I I 
 
 !t54 
 
 THE GIANI OF THE NORTH 
 
 "They come not to attack," said Chin^ratok quietly. 
 " Flatlanders never come except in the niglit when 
 men sleep. This is but one man." 
 
 "Perhaps he brings news!" exclaimed Benjy, 
 with a sudden blaze of hope. 
 
 " Perhaps," echoed Alf, eagerly. 
 
 " It may be so," said Chingatok. 
 
 It was not long before the question was set at 
 rest. The approaching kayak came on at racing 
 speed. Its occupant leaped on shore, and, panting 
 from recent exertion, delivered his thrilling message. 
 
 " Prisoners in Flatland," said Ihe Captain at the 
 council of war which was immediately summoned, 
 "but alive and well. Let us be thankful for that 
 good news, anyhow ; but then, they ask us to help 
 them, quickly That means danger." 
 
 "Yes, danger!" shouted Oolichuk, who, at the 
 ^>hought of Oblooria in the hands of his foes, felt an 
 fiimost irresistible desire to jump at some of the 
 youths of his own tribe, and kill them, by way of 
 relieving his feelings. 
 
 " Eest content, Oolichuk," cried Amalatok, with a 
 horrible grinding of his teeth ; " we will tear out 
 their hearts, and batter in their skulls, and — " 
 
 "But," resumed the Captain hastily, "I do not 
 think the danger so great. All I would urge is that 
 we should not delay going to their rescue — " 
 
 "Ho! hv.k ! hi!" interrupted the whole band of 
 
m 
 
 the niglit wheu 
 ^claimed Benjy. 
 
 OR POKINGS ROl;iTD THE POLE. 
 
 356 
 
 s^stioTi was set at 
 tme on at racing 
 hore, and, panting 
 
 thrilling message, 
 he Captain at the 
 iiately summoned, 
 
 thankful for that 
 ley ask us to help 
 
 er." 
 
 ;huk, who, at the 
 
 of his foes, felt an 
 
 ip at some of the 
 
 ^1 them, by way of 
 
 . Amalatok, with a 
 
 " we will tear out 
 IkuUs, and—" 
 IhastUy, "I do not 
 would urge is that 
 
 Mr rescue — " 
 
 [the whole band of 
 
 assembled warriors, leaping up and going through 
 sundry suggestive actions with knives and spears. 
 
 "Does my father wish me to get the kayaks 
 ready?" asked Chiugatok, who, as usual, retained 
 his composure. 
 
 " Do, my son. Let plenty of blubber be stowed 
 in them and war-spears," said the old chief; "we 
 will start at once." 
 
 The promptitude with which theae northern 
 Eskimos prepared for war might be a lesson to the 
 men of civilised communities. We have abeady said 
 that the sun had by that time begun to set for a few 
 hours each day. Before it had reached the deepest 
 twilight that night a hundred and fifty picked 
 warriors, with their kayaks and war material, were 
 skimming over the sea, led by the fiery old chief and 
 his gigantic but peace-loving son. Of course Cap- 
 tain Vane, Benjy, Alphonse Vandervell, and Butter- 
 face accompanied them, but none of the women 
 were allowed to go, as it was expected that the war 
 would be a bloody one These, therefore, with the 
 children, were left in charge of a small body of 
 the big boys of the tribe, with the old men. 
 
 The weather was fine, the sea smooth, and the 
 arms of the invading host strong. It was not long 
 before the sea that separated Poloe Island from 
 Flatland was crossed. 
 
 Towards sunset of a calm and l>eautiful day they 
 
 1' « 
 
 ■] I 
 
 l!f It': I 
 
366 
 
 THK OIANT OK THE NORTH 
 
 7i 
 
 
 >.' t: 
 
 1. r? 
 
 
 
 sighted land. ( lently, with noi.s<>le88 dip of paddle, 
 they glided onward like a phantom licet. 
 
 That same evening Leo and Oblooria 8.7t by the 
 couch of Grabantak, nursing him. The injury 
 received by the chief from the whale had thrown 
 him into a high fever. The irritation of enforced 
 delay on his fiery spirit had made matters worse, 
 and at times he became delirious. During these 
 paroxysms it required twc men to hold him down, 
 while he indulged in wild denunciations of his Poloe 
 fojs, with frequent allusions to dread surgical 
 operations to be performed on the body of Amalatok 
 — operations with which the Eoyal College of Sur- 
 geons is probably unacquainted. Leo, whose know- 
 ledge of the Eskimo tongue was rapidly extending, 
 sought to counteract the patient's ferocity by 
 preaching forgiveness and patience. Being unsuc- 
 cessful, he had recourse to a soporific plant whicl) 
 lie had recently discovered. To administer uii 
 overdose of this was not unnatural, perhaps, in a 
 youthful doctor. Absolute prostration was not the 
 precise result he had hoped for, but it was the result, 
 and it had the happy effect of calming the spirit of 
 Grabantak and rendering him open to conviction. 
 
 Fortunately the Flatlanders were on the look-out 
 when the men of Poloe drew near. One of the 
 Flatland braves was returning from a fishing expedi- 
 tion at the time, saw the advancing host while they 
 
m-^ 
 
 OR POKINOS ROUND TITR POLF. 
 
 357 
 
 dip of pt^'^'^l". 
 cet. 
 
 oria set by the 
 The injury 
 lie had thrown 
 ion of enforced 
 , matters worse, 
 During these 
 hold him down, 
 ions of his Poloe 
 dread surgical 
 3ody of Amolatok 
 .1 College of Sur- 
 Leo, whose know- 
 
 •apidly extending, 
 mt's ferocity hy 
 3e. Being unsuc- 
 )ri(lc plant which 
 'o lulminister uu 
 ral, perhaps, in a 
 ation was not the 
 b it was the result, 
 .ming the spirit of 
 n to conviction. 
 Ire on the look-out 
 Lear. One of the 
 .a fishing expedi- 
 
 Lg host while they 
 
 were yet well out at sea, and came homo at racing 
 speed with the news. 
 
 "Stranfje that they should come to attack us," 
 said Teyma to Leo at the council of war which was 
 immediately called. " It has always, up to this 
 time, been our custom to attack them." 
 
 " Not so strange as you think," said Audors, who 
 now, for the first time, inentioned the sending of the 
 message to Poloeland. 
 
 Black looks were turned on the interpreter, and 
 several hands wandered towards boots in search of 
 daggers, when the prime minister interfered. 
 
 " You did not well, Unders, to act without 1 tting 
 us know," he said with grave severity. " We must 
 now prepare to meet the men of Poloe, whetlier 
 they come as friends or foes. Let the young men 
 arm. I go to consult wiih our chief" 
 
 " You must not consult with Grabantak," said Leo 
 firmly. " He lies limp. His backbone has no more 
 strength than a piece of walrus line. His son must 
 act for him at present." 
 
 " Boo !" exclaimed one of the warriors, with a look 
 of ineffable contempt, " Koyatuk is big enough, but 
 he is brainless. He can bluster and look fierce like 
 the walrus, but he has only the wisdom ot an infant 
 puffin. No, we will be led by Teyma." 
 
 This sentiment was highly applauded by the en- 
 tire council, which included the entire army, indeed 
 
 I 
 

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 Photographic 
 
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 23 WEST MAIN STREST 
 
 WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 
 
 :716) 873-4503 
 
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 308 
 
 THK GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 ^- 1 
 
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 ■I 
 
 the whole grown-up male part of the nation ; so 
 that Koyatuk was deposed on the spot, as all 
 incompetents ought to be, and one of the best men 
 of Flatland was put in his place. 
 
 " But if I am to lead you," said tlie premier 
 firmly, " it shall be to peace, not to war ! " 
 
 " Lead us to what you like ; you have brains," 
 returned the man who had previously said " boo ! " 
 " We know not what is best, but we can trust you." 
 
 Again the approval was unanimous. 
 
 "Well, then, I accept the command until my 
 chief's health is restored," said Teyma, rising. 
 "Now, the council is at an end. To your huts, 
 warriors, and get your spears ready; and to your 
 lamps, girls. Prepare supper for our warriors, and 
 let the allowance of each be doubled," 
 
 This latter command caused no small degree of 
 surprise, but no audible comment was made, and 
 strict obedience was rendered. 
 
 Leo returned to Grabantak's hut, where he found 
 that fiery chief as limp as ever, but with some of 
 the old spirit left, for he was feebly making uncom- 
 fortable references to the heart, liver, and other vital 
 organs of Amalatok and all his band. 
 
 Soon afterwards that band came on in battle 
 array, on murderous deeds intent. The Flatlanders 
 assembled on the beach to receive them. 
 
 '* Leave your spears on the ground behind you," 
 
1 : 
 { 1.1 
 
 OR POKINGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 359 
 
 shouted Teyma to his host ; " advance to the water's 
 edgo, and at my signal, throw up your arms." 
 
 " They have been forewarned," growled Anialatok, 
 grinding his teeth in disappointment, and checking 
 the advance of his fleet by holding up one hand. 
 
 " No doubt," said Captain Vane, who, with Benjy, 
 Alf, and Butterface, was close to the Poloe chief in 
 one of the india-rubber boats, " no doubt my young 
 countryman, having sent a message, expected us. 
 Surely — eh ! Benjy, is not that Leo standing in 
 front of the rest with another man ?" 
 
 The Captain applied his binocular telescope to 
 his eyes as he spoke. 
 
 " Yes, it 's him — thank God I and I see Anders 
 too, quite plainly and Oblooria I" 
 
 "Are they bound hand and foot?" demanded 
 Amalatok, savagely. 
 
 "No, they are as free as you are. And the 
 Eskimos are unarmed, apparently." 
 
 " Ha ! that is their deceit," growled the chief. 
 " The Flatlanders were always sly ; but they shall 
 not deceive us. Braves, get ready your spears !" 
 
 " May it not be that Leo has influenced them 
 peacefully, my father ? " suggested Chingatok. 
 
 "Not so, my son," said the chief savagely. 
 " Grabantak was always sly as a white fox, iierco 
 as a walrus, mean as a wolf, greedy as a black gull, 
 contemptible as — " 
 
 
 If 
 
 13 
 
 :i 
 
 i 
 
r.'i 
 
 f, -^ 
 
 : I 
 
 
 I. "S 
 
 i( 
 
 y :i 
 
 380 
 
 THK GIANT OF TUE NOBTH 
 
 ' :1 
 
 il; 
 
 The catalogue of Grabantak's vices was cut short 
 by the voice of Teyma coming loud and strong over 
 the sea. 
 
 " If the men of Poloe come as friends, let them 
 land. The men of Flatland are about to feed, and 
 will share their supper. If the men of I'oloe como 
 as foes, still I say let them land. The braves of 
 Flatland have sharpened their spears ! " 
 
 Teyma threw up both hands as he finished, and 
 all his host followed suit. 
 
 For a moment or two the Poloese hesitated. 
 They still feared deception. Then the voice of Leo 
 was heard loud and clear : — 
 
 " Why do you hesitate ? come on, uncle, supper 's 
 getting cold. We 've been waiting for you a long 
 time, and are aU very hungry !" 
 
 This was received with a shout of laughter by the 
 Englishmen, high above which rose a wild cheer of 
 joy from Benjy. Amalatok swallowed his warlike 
 spirit, laid aside his spear, and seized his paddle. 
 Chingatok gave the signal to advance, and, a few 
 minutes later, those warriors of the north — those 
 fierce savages who, probably for centuries, had been 
 sworn hercdiiiary foes — were seated round the igloe- 
 lamps amicably smearing their fingers and faces 
 with fat, as they feasted together on chops of the 
 walrus and cutlets of the polar bear. 
 
■n 
 
 !3 ^as cut short 
 and strong over 
 
 riends, let them 
 »out to feed, and 
 I of Toloe como 
 The braves of 
 rsl" 
 he finished, and 
 
 )loese hesitated, 
 the voice of Leo 
 
 ), uncle, supper's 
 [ for you a long 
 
 f laughter by the 
 le a wild cheer of 
 iwed his warlike 
 lized his paddle, 
 lance, and, a few 
 he north— those 
 ituries, had beeu 
 round the igloe- 
 Ingers and faces 
 on chops of the 
 
 OB P0KINO8 SOUND TliB POLE. 
 
 361 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 THE GREAT DISCOVERT. 
 
 FiUENDLY relations having been established be 
 Iween the Flatlanders and the Poloese, both nations 
 turned their attention to the arts of peace. 
 
 Among other things, Captain Vane and Ms party 
 devoted themselves once more, with renewed energy, 
 to the pursuit of discovery and scientific investiga- 
 tion. An expedition was planned to Great Isle, not 
 now for the purpose of consulting Makitok, the 
 oracle, as to the best time for going to war, but to 
 gratify the wishes of Captain Vane, wlio had the 
 strongest reason for believing that he was in the 
 immediate neighbourhood of the Pole. 
 
 " Blackbeard says he must be very near nothing 
 now," observed Chingatok to Anders the day after 
 their arrival. 
 
 " Near nothing ! " exclaimed Teyma, who was 
 sitting close by. 
 
 Of course the giant explained, and the premier 
 looked incredulous. 
 
 " I wish I had not left my sextant behind me in 
 the hurry of departure," said the Captain that evening 
 
 i. 1 
 
ft' 
 
 ill - 
 
 a 
 
 
 iia 
 
 ^ 
 
 S«2 
 
 THE GIANT OF TIIE NORTH 
 
 to Lfa " Bui we came off in such hot haste that I 
 forgot it. However, I '11 ask Amalatok to send a young 
 man back for it. I'm persuaded we cannot now 
 be more than a few miles distant from our goal." 
 
 " I quite agree with you, uncle, for when I looked 
 at the north star last night it seemed to me as 
 directly in the zenith as it was possible to imagine." 
 
 " Ay, lad ; but the unaided eye is deceptive. A 
 few miles of differencecannot be distinguished by 
 it. When did the Pole star become visible ? " 
 
 " Only last night ; I fancied I had made it out 
 the nigho before, but was not quite sure, the day- 
 light, even at the darkest hour, being still too intense 
 to let many of the stars be seen." 
 
 " Well, we shall see. I am of opinion that we 
 are still between twenty and forty miles south of 
 the Pole. Meanwhile, I *11 induce Teyma to get up 
 an expedition to the island of this Maki — what ? " 
 
 " Tok," said Leo ; " Makitok. Everything almost 
 ends in tok or tuk hereabouts." 
 
 " Who, and what, is this man?" asked the Captain. 
 
 " No one seems to know precisely. His origin 
 has been lost in the mists of antiquity. His first 
 forefather — so tradition styles him — seems, like Mel- 
 chisedec, to have had no father or mother, and to 
 have come from no one knows where. Anyhow he 
 founded a colony in Great Isle, and Makitok is the 
 present head of all the families.'' 
 
H 
 
 OR POKINGS ROUND THE POLK. 
 
 363 
 
 lot haste that 1 
 to send a young 
 we cannot now 
 m our goal." 
 r when I looked 
 emed to me as 
 ible to imagine." 
 s deceptive. A 
 listinguished by 
 } visible ? " 
 had made it out 
 le sure, the day- 
 g still too intense 
 
 opinion that we 
 
 miles south of 
 
 |Teyma to get up 
 
 Maki— what?" 
 
 erything almost 
 
 bked the Captain, 
 ely. His origin 
 luity. His first 
 -seems, like Mel- 
 mother, and to 
 Ire. Anyhow he 
 Makitok is the 
 
 Leo then explained about the mystery-thing 
 called buk, which was wrapi)ed up in innumerable 
 pieces of sealskin. 
 
 "Strange," said the Captain, "passing strange. 
 All you tell me makes me the more anxious to visit 
 this man of the valley. You say there is no chance 
 of Grabantak being able to take the reins of govern- 
 ment again for a long time ? " 
 
 " None. He has got a shake that will keep him 
 helpless for some time to come. And thic is well, 
 for Teyma will be ready to favour any project that 
 tends towards peace or prosperity." 
 
 Now, while preparations for the northern expedi- 
 tion were being made, our friend Oolichuk went a 
 wooing. And this is the fashion in which he did it. 
 
 Arraying himself one day, like any other love- 
 sick swain, in his best, he paid a ceremonial visit 
 to Oblooria, who lived with Merkut, the wife of 
 Grabantak, in a hut at the eastern suburb of the 
 village. Oolichuk's costume was simple, if not 
 elegant. It consisted of an undercoat of bird-skins, 
 with the feathers inwards; bearskin pantaloons 
 with the hair out ; an upper coat of the grey seal ; 
 dogskin socks and sealskin boots. 
 
 That young Eskimo did not visit his bride empty- 
 handed. He carried a bundle containing a gift — 
 skins of the young eider-duck to make an under- 
 garment for his lady-love, two plump little auks 
 
 ■,l 
 
 ■«! 
 
364 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NOUTH 
 
 
 U:ii- 
 
 '■^lll 
 
 with which to gratify her palate, and a bladder of 
 oil to wash them down and cause her heart to 
 rejoice. 
 
 Good fortune favoured this brave man, for he met 
 Oblooria at a lonely part of the shore amoDg the 
 boulders. 
 
 Romance lies deep in the heart of an Eskimo — 
 so deep that it is not perceptible to the naked eye. 
 Whatever the Poloe warrior and maiden felt, they 
 took care rot to express in words. But Oolicliuk 
 looked unutterable things, and invited Oblooria to 
 dine then and there. The lady at once assented 
 with a bashful smile, and sat down on a boulder. 
 Oolichuk sat down beside her, and presented the 
 bundle of under-clothing. 
 
 While the lady was examining this with critical 
 eyes, the gentleman prepared the food. Taking one 
 of the auks, he twisted off its head, put his forefinger 
 under the integuments of the neck, drew tho skin 
 down backwards, and the bird was skinned. Then 
 he ran his long thumb-nail down the breast and 
 sliced off a lump, which he presented to the lady 
 with the off-hand air of one who should say, " If you 
 don't want it you may let it alone !" 
 
 Eaw though the morsel was, Oblooria accepted it 
 with a pleased look, and ate it with relish. She also 
 accepted the bladder, and, putting it to her lips, 
 pledged him in a bumper of oil. 
 
 I i 
 
 ll 1 
 
 ::'t 
 
ni 
 
 OR POKINOS ROtTND TTTB POLE, 
 
 365 
 
 ,nd a bladder of 
 36 her heart to 
 
 5 man, for he met 
 jhore amoDg the 
 
 of an Eskimo— 
 to the naked eye. 
 maiden felt, they 
 J. But Oolichuk 
 ivited Oblooriato 
 
 at once assented 
 ,wn on a boulder. 
 md presented the 
 
 this with critical 
 
 food. Taking one 
 
 [, put his forefinger 
 
 !ck, drew tho skin 
 
 IS skinned. Then 
 
 rn the breast and 
 Isented to the lady 
 jhouldsay,"Ifyou 
 
 le !" 
 
 jblooria accepted it 
 
 Ith relish. She also 
 ig it to her lips, 
 
 Oolichuk continued this process until tlie first 
 auk was finished. He then treated the second bird 
 in the same manner, and assisted his ludy-luvc to 
 consume it, as well as the remainder of the oil. 
 Conversation did not flow during the first part of 
 the meal, but, after having drunk deeply, their lips 
 were opened and the feast of reason began. It con- 
 sisted chiefly of a running commentary by the man 
 on the Kablunets and theii* r/ays, and appreciative 
 giggles on the part of the woman ; but they were 
 interrupted at the very commencement by the sud- 
 den appearance of one of the Kablunets sauntering 
 towards them. 
 
 They rose instantly and rambled away in opposite 
 directions, absorbed in contemplation — the one of 
 the earth, and the other of the sky. 
 
 Three days after that, Captain Vane and his party 
 approached the shores of Greut Isle. It was low 
 like the other islands of Flatland, but of greater 
 extent, insomuch that its entire circumference could 
 not be seen from its highest central point. Like the 
 other islands it was quite destitute of trees, but the 
 low bush was luxuriantly dense, and filled, they were 
 told, with herds of reindeer and musk-oxen. Myriads 
 of wild fowl — from the lordly swan to the twittering 
 sandpiper — swarmed among its sedgy lakelets, 
 while grouse and ptsirmigan were to be seen in large 
 flocks on its uplands. The land was clothed iu 
 
r>M 
 
 ij 
 
 P 
 Jiff 
 
 *' to 
 
 Mi! 
 
 4 
 
 :\ry(i 
 
 lllE (;1ANT OK TUB NORTH 
 
 '1 
 
 ir. J 
 
 „., 
 
 mosses and j^rassos f)f tho ricliest green, and decked 
 with variegated wild-flowerg iiud berries. 
 
 The voyagers were received with deep in teres* 
 and great hospitality by the inhabitants of the coast, 
 who, it seemed, never quaiTelled with the neighbour- 
 ing islanders or went to war. 
 
 Makitok dwelt in the centre of the island. Thither 
 they therefore went the following day. 
 
 It was afternoon when they came to the valley 
 in which dwelt the angekok, or, as Ked Indians 
 would have styled hira, the medicine-man. 
 
 It was a peculiar valley. Unlike other vales it 
 had neither outlet or inlet, but was a mere circular 
 basin or depression of vast extent, the lowest part 
 of which was in its centre. Thie slope towards the 
 centre was so gi'adual that th«; descent was hardly 
 perceived, yet Captain Vane oould not resist the 
 conviction that the lowest part of the ¥ale must be 
 lower than the surface of the sea. 
 
 The rich luxuriance of herbage in Great Isle 
 seemed to culminate in this lovely vale. At the 
 centre and lowest part of the valley, Makitok, or 
 rather Makitok's forefathers, had built their dwell- 
 ing. It was a hut, resembling the huts of the 
 Eskimos. No other hut was to be seen. The 
 angekok loved solitude. 
 
 Beside the hut there stood a small truncated cone 
 about fifteen fee^ nigh^ on the summit of which sat 
 
len, and decked 
 
 Ties. 
 
 1 deep intereB"; 
 lilts of the coast, 
 1 the neighbour- 
 
 3 island. Thither 
 
 ay. 
 
 ae to the valley 
 
 as Red Indians 
 ne-man. 
 
 ke other vales it 
 ,s a mere circular 
 ,, the lowest part 
 slope towards the 
 escent was hardly 
 Id not resist the 
 
 the ^le must be 
 
 ge in Great Isle 
 Bly vale. At the 
 lUey, Makitok, ov 
 built their dwell- 
 the huts of the 
 ;o be seen. The 
 
 [all truncated cone 
 imit of which sat 
 
 OR POKINGS BOUND TUB POLE. 
 
 367 
 
 an old white- licarded nuin, who intently watched 
 the approaching' travellers. 
 
 "Behold — Makitok!" said Teyma as they drew 
 near. 
 
 The old man did not move. He appeared to be 
 over eighty years of age, and, unlike Eskimos in 
 general, had a bushy snow-wliite beard. The thin 
 hair on his bead was also white, and his features 
 were good. 
 
 Our travellers were not disappointed with this 
 strange recluse, who received them with an air of 
 retinement and urbanity so far removed from 
 Eskimo manners and character, that Captain Vane 
 felt convinced he must be descended from some 
 other branch of the human fan Uy. Makitok felt 
 and expressed a degree of interest in the obj'^cts of 
 the expedition which had not been observed in any 
 Eskimo, except Chingatok, and he was intelligent 
 and quick of perception far before most of those 
 who surrounded him. 
 
 " And what have you to say about yourself ?** 
 isked the captain that evening, after a long animated 
 conversation on the country and its productions. 
 
 " I have little to say," replied the old man, sadly. 
 " There is no mystery about my family except its 
 beginning in the long past." 
 
 " But is not all mystery in the long past ?" asked 
 the Captain. 
 
 S '!£ 
 
 
f ; 'J 
 
 ^ 
 
 > ; . !i 
 
 I ;:ft 
 
 
 't 
 
 M 
 
 I ;i " : I 
 
 I I 
 
 '' „ 1 
 
 I I 
 
 hi 
 
 sns 
 
 TTHS OTANT OF TWP. ynRTO 
 
 "True, my son, but tlinro is a difTeronce in my 
 mystery. Other Eskiiuoa can trace back from son 
 to father till tlicy ^'et confused and lost, as if sur- 
 rounded by the winter-fogs. But when I trace 
 back — far back — I come to one ninn — my first 
 father, who had no father, it is said, and who came 
 no one knows from where. My mind is not confused 
 or lost ; it is stopped I" 
 
 "Might not the mystery-bundle that you call 
 huJr explain matters ?" asked Alf. 
 
 When this was translated, the old man for the 
 first time looked troubled. ' 
 
 " I dare not open it," he said in an under-tone, 
 as if speaking to himself. " From father to son we 
 have held it sacred. It must grow — ever grow — 
 never diminish !" 
 
 " It 's a pity he looks at it in that light," remarked 
 Leo to Benjy, as they lay down to sleep that night. 
 I have no doubt that the man whom he styles first 
 father wrapped up the thing, whatever it is, to 
 keep it safe, not to make a mystery of it, and that 
 his successors, having begun with a mistaken view, 
 have now converted the re-wrapping of the bundle 
 by each successive heir into a sacred obligation. 
 However, we may perhaps succeed in overcoming 
 the old fellow's prejudices. Good-night, Benjy." 
 
 A snore from Benjy showed that Leo's words had 
 been thrown away, so, with a light laugh, he turned 
 
OR P0KING8 ROUND TIIK POll!. 
 
 3f)9 
 
 (Terence in my 
 back from son 
 lost, aa if 8\ir- 
 when I trace 
 
 man— my A«^ 
 
 and who came 
 
 I is not confused 
 
 B that you call 
 
 old man for the 
 
 n an under-tone, 
 
 father to son we 
 
 ow— ever grow— 
 
 t light," remarked 
 ) sleep that night 
 lom he styles first 
 rhatever it is, to 
 jry of it, and that 
 
 a mistaken view, 
 .ing of the hundle 
 
 sacred obligation, 
 -ed in overcoming 
 ■night, Benjy." 
 
 it Leo's words had 
 
 it laugh, he turned 
 
 over, and soon joined his comrade in the land of 
 dreams. 
 
 For two weeks the party remained on Cfreat Isle, 
 hunting, shooting, fishing, collecting, and iiivestigat- 
 mg ; also, we may add, astonisliing the natives. 
 
 During that period many advontures of a more or 
 less exciting nature befell them, which, however, 
 we must pass over in silence. At the end of that 
 time, the youth who had been sent for tho Captain'H 
 sextant and otlier philosophical instruments arrived 
 with them all — thermometers, barometers, chrono- 
 meters, wind and water gauges, pendulums, etc., safe 
 and sound. 
 
 As the instruments reached Cup Valley (so Benjy 
 had styled Makitok's home) in the morning, it was 
 too early for taking trustworthy observations. The 
 Captain therefore employed the time in erecting an 
 observatory. For this purpose he selected, with 
 Makitok's permission, the tnincated cone close to 
 the recluse's dwelling. Here, after taking formal 
 possession and hoisting the Union Jack, he busied 
 himself, in a state of subdued excitement, prepar- 
 iag for the intended observations. 
 
 "I'll fix the latitude and longitude in a few 
 hours," he said. " Meantime, Leo, you and Benjy 
 had better go off with the rifie and fetch us some- 
 thing good for dinner." 
 
 Leo and Benjy were always ready to go a-hunt- 
 
 2 a 
 
;,; .J 
 
 
 JTO 
 
 r : 
 
 ■i :^^^ 
 
 ! - r 
 
 .1 [i '.■,!.! 1 
 
 ,1 'i" i 
 
 ili 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 ing. They required no second bidding, but were 
 soon rambling over the slopes or wading among the 
 marshes of the island in pursuit of game. 
 
 Leo carried his repeater; Benjy the shot-gun. 
 Both wore native Eskimo boots as long as the leg, 
 which, being made of untanned hide, are, when 
 soaked, thoroughly waterproof.* 
 
 Oolichuk and Butterface carried the game-bags, 
 and these were soon filled with such game as was 
 tiiought best for food. Sending them back to camp 
 with orders to empty the bags and return, Leo and 
 Benjy took to the uplands in search of nobler game. 
 It was not difficult to find. Soon a splendid stag 
 was shot by Leo and a musk-ox by Beujy. 
 
 Not long after this, the bag-bearers returned. 
 
 "You shoots mos' awful well, Massas," said 
 Butterface ; " but it 's my 'pinion dat you bof better 
 go home, for Captain Vane he go mad !" 
 
 " What d* you mean, Butterface ? " asked Leo. 
 
 " I mean dat de Capp'n he 's goed mad, or suffin 
 like it, an' Massa Alf not mush better." 
 
 A good deal amused and surprised by the negro's 
 statement, the two hunters hastened back to 
 Makitok's hut, where they indeed found Captain 
 Vane in a state of great excitement 
 
 ^ The writer kas often waded knee-deep in such boots, for 
 hours at a time, on the swampy shores of Hudson's Bay, without 
 wettinjt his feet in the slightest degree. 
 
•■^ 
 
 on POKINOS HOUND THE POLE. 
 
 871 
 
 iing, Tout were 
 Ling among the 
 
 stme. 
 the shot-gun. 
 
 long as the leg, 
 
 lide, are. when 
 
 the game -hags, 
 ch game as was 
 jm hack to camp 
 , return, Leo and 
 h of nohler game, 
 n a splendid &tag 
 y Beujy. 
 rers returned. 
 
 Massas," said 
 dat you hof better 
 
 oaad !" 
 
 ? " asked Leo. 
 
 oed mad, or suffin 
 
 Btter." 
 
 sed by the negro's 
 
 lastened hack to 
 
 ed found Captain 
 
 nt 
 
 eep in such boots, for 
 1 Hudson's Bay, without 
 
 'Well, uncle, what's the news?" asked Leo; 
 •' found your latitude higher than you expected?" 
 
 "Higher!" exclaimed the Captain, seizing his 
 nephew by both hands and shaking them. " Higher ! 
 I should think so — couldn't be higher. There's 
 neither latitude nor longitude here, my boy ! I 've 
 found it! Come — come up, and I'll show you the 
 exact spot — the North Pole itself I " 
 
 He dragged Leo to the top of the truncated cone 
 on which he had pitched his observatory. 
 
 " There, look round you," he cried, taking off hia 
 hat and wiping the perspiration from his brow. 
 
 "Well, uncle, where is it?" asked Leo, half- 
 amused and half-sceptical 
 
 " Where ! why, don't you see it ? No, of course 
 you don't. You 're looking all round it, lad. Look 
 down, — dovm at your feet. Leonard Vandervell," 
 he added, in sudden solemnity, " you 're on it ! 
 you 're standing on the North Pole now /" 
 
 Leo still looked incredulous. 
 
 " Wimt I you don't believe ? Convince him, 
 Alf." 
 
 " Indeed it is true," said Alf; " we have been test- 
 ing and checking our observations in every possible 
 manner, and the result never varies more than a foot 
 or two. The North Pole is at this moment actually 
 under our feet." 
 
 As we have now, good reader, at last reached that 
 
 ' !v 
 
 im 
 
 J PL, 
 f 1 mm 
 
;.; Kj 
 
 I 
 
 .; 'I 
 
 
 '( : ;i 
 
 , f\ I i 
 
 ■ ! 
 
 372 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 great pomt of geographical interest which has so 
 long perplexed the world and agitated enterprising 
 man, we deem this the proper place to present you 
 with a map of Captain Vane's discoveries. 
 
 " And so," said Benjy with an injured look, " the 
 geography books are right after all; the world is 
 
H 
 
 which has so 
 ted enterprising 
 
 to present you 
 veries. 
 
 
 injured look, " the 
 all ; the world « 
 
 OR POKINOS ROUND THE POLK. 
 
 373 
 
 ' a little flattened at the Poles like an orange.' Well, 
 I never believed it before, and I don't believe yet 
 that it 's like an orange." 
 
 " But it is more than flattened, Benjy," said Leo ; 
 " don't you see it is even hollowed out a little, as if 
 the spinning of the world had made a sort of whirl- 
 pool at the North Pole, and no doubt there is the 
 same at the South." 
 
 Chingatok, who was listening to the conversation, 
 without of course understanding it, and to whom 
 the Captain had made sundry spasmodic remarks 
 during the day in the Eskimo tongue, went that 
 night to Amalatok, who was sitting in Makitok'a 
 hut, and said — 
 
 " My father, Blackbeard has found it ! " 
 
 " Found what, my son ? — his nothing — his Nort 
 Pole?" 
 
 " Yes, my father, he has found his Nort Pole." 
 
 "Is he going to carry it away with him in his 
 soft wind-boat ? " asked the old chief with a half- 
 humorous, half- contemptuous leer. 
 
 " And," continued Chingatok, who was too earnest 
 about the matter to take notice of his father's levity, 
 " his Nort Pole is something after all ! It is not 
 nothing, for I heard him say he is standing on it. 
 No man can stand on nothing ; therefore his Nort 
 Pole which he stands on must be something." 
 
 " He is standing on my out-look. He must not 
 
 1 !i 
 ^1 
 
 I 
 
 II 
 
 ' %n 
 
 .ivm 
 
 m 
 
 I 
 
 h ■ 1 
 
 
! J 
 
 I 
 -{ 
 
 
 'il- i^i' 
 
 !'i 
 
 I' 
 
 '5^l 
 
 .! 
 
 
 
 374 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 carry thM away," remarked Makitok with a por- 
 tentous frown. 
 
 " Boh ! " exclaimed Amalatok, rising impatiently. 
 "I will not listen to the nonsense of Blackbeard. 
 Have I not heard him say that the world stands ori 
 nothing, spins on nothing, and rolls continually 
 round the sun ? How can anything spin on nothing ? 
 And as to the sun, use your own eyes. Do you not 
 see that for a long time it rolls round the world, for 
 a long time it rolls in a circle above us, and for a 
 long time it rolls away altogether, leaving us all in 
 darkness ? My son, these Eablunets are ignorant 
 fools, and you are not much better for believing 
 them. Boo ! I have no patience with the nonsense- 
 talk of Blackbeard." 
 
 The old chief flung angrily out of the hut, leaving 
 his more philosophic son to continue the discussion 
 of the earth's mysteries with Makitok, the reputed 
 wizaixl of the furthest possible north. 
 
Ok P0KIK6S BOUND THI POLK. 
 
 375 
 
 ^ with a por- 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 TILLS. AMONa OTHER THIKQS, OP A NOTABLE DI8C0VBRT. 
 
 Soon after this, signs of approaching winter began 
 to make their appearance in the regions of the 
 North Pole. The sun, which at first had been as a 
 familiar friend night and day, had begun to absent 
 himself not only all night, but during a large portion 
 of each day, giving sure though quiet hints of his 
 intention to forsake the region altogether, and leave 
 it to the six months' reign of night. Frost began 
 to render the nights bitterly cold. The birds, having 
 brought forth and brought up their young, were 
 betaking themselves to more temperate regions, 
 leaving only such creatures as bears, seals, walruses, 
 foxes, wolves, and men, to enjoy, or endure, the 
 regions of the frigid zone. 
 
 Suddenly there came a day in October when all 
 the elemental fiends and furies of the Arctic circle 
 seemed to be let loose in wildest revelry. It was a 
 turning-point in the Arctic seasons. 
 
"mmm 
 
 ri ' 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 '4 .Ij 
 
 376 
 
 THE QLA.NT OF THE NORTH 
 
 By that time Captain Vane and his party had 
 transported all their belongings to Great Isle, where 
 they had taken up their abode beside old Makitok. 
 They had, with that wizard's pennission, built to 
 themselves a temporary stone hut, as Benjy Vane 
 facetiously said, " on the very top of the North Pole 
 itself;" that is, on the little mound or truncated 
 cone of rock, in the centre of the Great Isle, on 
 which they had already set up the observatoiy, and 
 which cone was, in very truth, as nearly as possible 
 the exact position of that long- sought- for imaginary 
 point of earth as could be ascertained by repeated 
 and careful observations, made with the best of 
 scientific instruments by thoroughly capable men. 
 
 Chingatok and his father, with a large band of 
 their followers and some of their women, had also 
 encamped, by permission, round the Pole, where, in 
 the intervals of the chase, they watched, with solemn 
 and unflagging interest, the incomprehensible doings 
 of the white men. 
 
 The storm referred to began with heavy snow — 
 that slow, quiet, down-floating of great flakes which 
 is so pleasant, even restful, in its effect on the senses. 
 At first it seemed as if a golden haze were mixed 
 with the snowfall, suggesting the idea that the sun's 
 rays were penetrating it. 
 
 "Most beautiful!" said Leo, who sat beside the 
 Captain and his friends on the North Pole enjoying 
 
OR POKINCm R0UN1> TlIE POfJ*, 
 
 377 
 
 his party had 
 reat Isle, where 
 B old Makitok. 
 ission, built to 
 as Benjy Vane 
 the North Pole 
 [id or truncated 
 J Great Isle, on 
 observatoiy, and 
 learly as possible 
 rht-for imaginary 
 ined by repeated 
 vith the best of 
 y capable men. 
 a large band of 
 women, had also 
 ,e Pole, where, in 
 ched, with solemn 
 )rehensible doings 
 
 th heavy snow— 
 Treat flakes which 
 :ect on the senses, 
 haze were mixed 
 Idea that the sun's 
 
 Iho sat beside the 
 )rth Pole enjoying 
 
 the view through the open doorway of the hut, and 
 sipping a cup of coffee. 
 " It reminds me," said A If, " of Buzzby's lines : — 
 
 * The snowflakes falling softly 
 
 In the morning's golden prime, 
 Snggestive of a gentle touch 
 
 And the silent flight of Time.'" 
 
 "Behold a more powerful reminder of the flight 
 of Time !" said Benjy, pointing to the aged Makitok, 
 who, with white beard and snow-besprinkled person, 
 came slowly towards them like the living embodi- 
 ment of " Old Father Christmas." 
 
 " Come," said Leo, hastening to assist the old man, 
 " let me help you up the Pole." 
 
 Leo, and indeed all the party, had fallen in with 
 Benjy's humour, and habitually referred thus to 
 their mound. 
 
 "Why comes the ancient one here through the 
 snow?" said Captain Vane, rising and offering 
 Makitok his seat, which was an empty packing-case. 
 " Surely my friend does not think we would forget 
 him? Does not Benjy always carry him his morning 
 cup of coffee when the weather is too bad for him to 
 come hither?" 
 
 " Truly," returned the old man, sitting down with 
 a sigh, " the Kablunets are kind. They never forget. 
 Bunjee never fails to bring the cuffy, though he does 
 sometimes pretend to forget the shoogre, till I have 
 tasted it and made a bad face ; then he laughs and 
 
 ft'j , • i jii! 
 
 :;;h i!!, 
 
* ■.'■ , 
 
 >• ft: 
 <U1 
 
 fc 
 
 f; 
 
 ^!, 
 
 378 
 
 THB GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 ' -r / 
 i I! i 
 
 H 
 
 '.. I 
 
 :.::^». 
 
 ■MM 
 
 
 c.\ , 
 
 remembers that the shoogre is in his pouch. It is 
 his little way. But I come not to-day for cuffy ; I 
 come to warn. There is danger in the air. Black- 
 beard must take his strange things (thus he referred 
 to the philosophical instruments) away from here — 
 from — ha ! — from Nort Pole, and put them in my 
 hut, where they will be safe." 
 
 The Captain did not at once reply. Turning to 
 his companions he said — 
 
 " I see no particular reason to fear this ' danger 
 in the air.' I'll go and consult Chingatok or his 
 father on the point' 
 
 " The ancient one, as you call him," said Benjy, 
 " seems to be growing timid with age." 
 
 " The youthful one," retorted the Captain, " seems 
 to be growing insolent with age. Go, you scamp, 
 and tell Amalatok I want to speak with him." 
 
 Whatever faults our young herd had, disobedience 
 was not one of them. He rose promptly, and soon 
 returned with the chief of Poloeland. 
 
 Amalatok confirmed the wizard's opinions, and 
 both opinions were still more powerfully confirmed, 
 while he was speaking, by a gust of wind which 
 suddenly came rushing at them as it from all points 
 of the compass, converging at the Pole and shooting 
 upwards like a whirlwind, carrying several hats of 
 the party with volumes of the now wildly agitated 
 suow up iutQ the sky. 
 
H 
 
 is pouch. It is 
 lay for cuffy ; I 
 :he air. Black- 
 thus he referred 
 «ray from here — 
 3ut them in my 
 
 3ly. Turning to 
 
 fear this * danger 
 Jhingatok or his 
 
 him," said Benjy, 
 
 age." 
 
 5 Captain, " seems 
 Go, you scamp, 
 with him." 
 had, disobedience 
 •omptly, and soon 
 
 id. 
 
 Id's opinions, and 
 erfully confirmed, 
 it of wind which 
 it from all points 
 |Pole and shooting 
 tg several hats of 
 |W wildly agiUted 
 
 OR POKINQS ROUND THE POLB. 
 
 379 
 
 11 
 
 Thgre was no room for further hesitation. 
 
 " Why, Massa Bunjay, I thought my wooly scalp 
 he goed up 'long wid my hat!" cried Butterface, 
 leaping up in obedience to the Captain's hurried 
 order to look sharp and lend a hand. 
 
 In a short time all the instruments v^eve removed 
 from the observatory and carefully housed in 
 Makitok's hut. Even while they were thus engaged 
 the storm burst on them with excessive violence. 
 The snow which had been falling so softly, was 
 caught up by the conflicting winds and hurled high 
 into the air, or driven furiously over the valley in all 
 directions, for *he gale did not come from any fixed 
 quarter; it rose and sw)oped and eddied about, 
 driving the snow-drift now here, now there, and 
 shrieking as if in wild delight at the chaotic havoc 
 it was permitted to play. 
 
 " Confusion worse confounded ! " gasped Leo, as 
 he staggered past Alf with the last load on his 
 shoulder. 
 
 "And yet there must be order everywhere," ob- 
 served Chingatok, when, after all were safely housed 
 in Makitok's hut that evening, he heard Leo repeat 
 that sentiment 
 
 "Why do you think so, Chingatok?" asked the 
 Captain with some curiosity. 
 
 " Because there is order even in my hut," returned 
 the giant ** Pingaauk (referring to his wife) keeps 
 
 
 irl'l 
 
 ,1 
 

 ■I ' 
 
 r 
 
 380 
 
 TIIK GIANT OF TITF, NORTH 
 
 r i 
 
 %' II 
 
 
 all things in perfect order. Is the World-Maker less 
 wise than Pingasuk ? Sonietimes, no doubt, when 
 Pingasuk is cooking, or arranging, things may seem 
 in disorder to the eye of my little boy Meltik and 
 the small one (refering to baby), but when Meltik 
 and the small one grow older and wiser, they will 
 see that it is not so." 
 
 While Chingatok was speaking, a gust of wind 
 more furious than ever struck the hut and shook 
 it to its foundations. At the same time a loud 
 rumbling sound was heard outsido. Most of the 
 men leaped up, caught hold of spears or knives, and 
 rushed out. Through the driving drift they could 
 just see that the observatory, which was a flimsy 
 structure, had been swept clean away, and that the 
 more solid hut was following it. Even as they gazed 
 they saw its roof caught up, and whirled off as if it 
 had been a scroll of paper. The walls fell immedi- 
 ately after, and the stones rolled down the rocky 
 cone with a loud rattling, which was partially 
 drowned by the shrieking of the tempest. 
 
 For three days the storm lasted. During that 
 time it was almost impossible to show face in the 
 open air. On the night of the third day the fury of 
 the wind abated. Then it suddenly became calm, but 
 wheii Butterface opened the door, and attempted 
 to go out, he found himself effectually checked by 
 a wall of snow. The interior of the hut was pitch 
 
rH 
 
 OR P0KIN08 ROUND THE POLK. 
 
 381 
 
 orld-Maker less 
 no doubt, when 
 ,hing8 may seem 
 V)oy Meltik and 
 )utwhen Meltik 
 I wiser, they will 
 
 , a gust of wind 
 e hut and shook 
 ime time a loud 
 io. Most of the 
 ,ars or knives, and 
 ; drift they could 
 lich was a flimsy 
 ^vay, and that the 
 iven as they gazed 
 whirled off as if it 
 walls fell immedi- 
 down the rocky 
 
 ch was partially 
 
 ;empe8t. 
 
 ;ed. During that 
 show face in the 
 
 trd day the fury of 
 became calm, but 
 
 or, and attempted 
 
 itually checked by 
 the hut was pitch 
 
 dark, and it was not until a lamp had been lif»hted 
 that tlie p:irty found tlioy wen; buried alive! 
 
 To di^' tlieiiiselves nut was not, however, a ditB- 
 cult matter. But wliuL a scene i)resente{l itself tt 
 view when they regained the upper air ! No meta- 
 mori)ho8is conceived by Ovid or achieved by the 
 magic lantern ; no pantomimic transformation ; no 
 eccentricity of dreamland ever equalled it ! When 
 last seen, the valley was clothed in all the rich luxu- 
 riance of autumnal tints, and alive with the twitter 
 and plaintive cry of bird-life. Now it was draped 
 in the pure winding-sheet of winter, and silent in 
 the repose of Arctic death. Nothing almost was 
 visible but snow. Everything was whelmed in white. 
 Only here and there a few of the sturdier clumps 
 of bushes held up their loads like gigantic wedding- 
 cakes, and broke the universal sameness of the 
 scene. One raven was the or^y living representa- 
 tive of the birds that had fled. It soared calmly 
 over the waste, as if it were the wizard who had 
 wrought the change, and was admiring its work. 
 
 "Winter is upon us fairly now, friends," said 
 Captain Vane as he surveyed the prospect from the 
 Pole, which was itsftlf all but buried in the universal 
 drift, and capped with the hugest wedding-cake of 
 all; "so we shall have to accommodate ourseJvAa to 
 circumstances, and prepare for the campaign." 
 
 " T suppose the first thing we shall have to do is 
 
 ml 
 
 VI' 
 
 \t'p 
 
.1 i 
 
 y '•J 
 
 ^ 
 
 • 
 
 I i 
 
 \ ! 
 
 I 
 
 383 
 
 THE OIANT OF TTfT: KORTH 
 
 to build a Bnow-hou.se," said I'cnjy, looking nu'f\illy 
 round, for, as usual, lie was tluprcssed by first 
 appearances. 
 
 " Just 80, I^»Mi jy ; and the sooner we go to work 
 the better." 
 
 Now, the reader inuat not hastily conclude that 
 we are about to inflict on him or her a detailed 
 narrative of a six months' residence at the North 
 Pole. We have no such fell desigu. Much though 
 there is to tell, — much of suflering, more of enjoy- 
 ment, many adventures, numerous stirring incidents, 
 and not a few niishaps — we shall pass over the moat 
 of it in total silence, and touch only on those points 
 which are worthy of special notice. 
 
 Let us leap, then, into the very middle of the 
 Arctic winter. li is continuously dark now. There 
 is no day at all at the Pole ; it is night all round. 
 The last glimmer of the departing sun left them 
 months ago ; the next glimmer of his return will 
 not reach them for months to come. The northern 
 Eskimos and their English visitors were well aware 
 of that, nevertheless tht^re was nothing of gloom or 
 depressed spirits among them. They were too busy 
 for that. Had not meat to be procured, and then 
 consumed? Did not the procuring involve the 
 harnessing of dogs in sledges, the trapping of foxes 
 and wolves, the fighti ~ of walruses, the chasing of 
 polai' bears; and did not the cousumicg thereof 
 
■r-j 
 
 looking r»u'f»illy 
 leased l>y t»st 
 
 ■ we go to work 
 
 ly conclude tluvt 
 r her a detailed 
 CO at the North 
 I. Much though 
 y, more of enjoy- 
 itirring incidents, 
 >ass over the most 
 y on those points 
 
 ry middle of the 
 dark now. There 
 nigh^' all round, 
 nrr sun left them 
 ,f hid return will 
 le. The northern 
 were well aware 
 .thing of gloom or 
 Ley were too husy 
 [rocured, and then 
 Lring involve the 
 trapping of foxes 
 ,ses, the chasing of 
 lonsumiDg thereof 
 
 OH POKTNOS ROUND TIIR POMt. 
 
 S8S 
 
 nflco'^flitnte much culinary work for tlio women, 
 much and frec^uent attention and laltour on tlie part 
 of the whole community, not to mention hours, and 
 sometimes days, of calm repose ? 
 
 Then, as to light, had they not tlie Aurora 
 Borealis, that mysterious shimmering in the north- 
 ern sky which has puzzled philosopliers from the 
 beginning of time, and is not unlikely to continue 
 puzzling them to the end ? Had they not the moon 
 and the stars, which latter shone with a brilliancy 
 almost indescribable, and auiong them the now 
 doubly interesting Pole star, right over-head, with 
 several new and gorgeous constellations unknown to 
 southern climes ? 
 
 Besides all this, had not Captain Vane his scien- 
 tific investigations, his pendulum experiments, his 
 wind-gauging, his ozone testing, his thermometric, 
 barometric, and chronometric observations, besides 
 what Benjy styled his kiteometric pranks ? These 
 last consisted in attempts to bring lightning down 
 from the clouds by meaus of a kite and cord, and in 
 which effort the Captain managed to knock himself 
 down, and well-nigh shattered the North Pole itself 
 in pieces ! 
 
 Moreover, had not Leo to act the part of physician 
 and surgeon to the community ? a duty which he 
 fulfilled so well that tliere never had been before 
 t liat time such a demand for physic in Flatland, and, 
 
 '•*i 
 
 .ill' 'I 
 
 I 
 
mm 
 
 h 
 
 
 i 
 
 6 
 
 : ■!■ 
 
 i i.i,: 
 
 ■ \ 
 
 t I 
 
 I 
 
 384 
 
 THE GIANT OP THE NORTH 
 
 it is probable, there never will be so many sick 
 people there again. In addition to this, Leo had 
 to exercise his marvellous powers as a huntsman. 
 Benjy, of course, played his wonted rSle of mischief- 
 maker and jack-of-all-trades to the entire satisfac- 
 tion of everybody, especi illy on that great occasion 
 when he succeeded in killing a polar bear single- 
 handed, and without the aid of gun or spear or 
 any lethal weapon whatever ; — of which great event, 
 more hereafter. Anders, the southern Eskimo, made 
 himself generally agreeable, and Butterface became 
 a prime favourite, chiefly because of his inexhaust- 
 ible fund of fun and good humour, coupled with 
 his fine musical qualities. 
 
 We have not said much on this latter point 
 hitherto, because we have been unwilling to over- 
 whelm the reader with too sudden a disclosure of 
 that marvellous magazine of power which was latent 
 in our band of heroes ; but we feel it to be our duty 
 now to state that the negro sang his native melodies 
 yrith such pathos that he frequently reduced (per- 
 haps we should say elevated) the unsophiiticated 
 Eskimos to floods of tears, and sometimes to con- 
 vulsions of laughter. As, at Benjy's suggestion, he 
 sometimes changed his moods abruptly, the tears 
 often mingled with the convulsions, so as to produce 
 some vivid illustrations of Eskimo hysteria. 
 But Butterface's strong point was the flute ! No 
 
H 
 
 OR rOKINGS HOUND THE poij:. 
 
 38 r. 
 
 so many sick 
 ) this, Leo had 
 as a huntsman. 
 rdle of mischief- 
 entire satisfac- 
 it great occasion 
 ,lar bear single- 
 gun or spear or 
 rhich great event, 
 jrn Eskimo, made 
 JutterfacG became 
 of his inexhaust- 
 mr, coupled with 
 
 this latter point 
 anwilling to over- 
 in a disclosure of 
 r which was latent 
 A it to be our duty 
 s native melodies 
 [ntly reduced (per- 
 Le unsophiiticated 
 jometimes to con- 
 ijy's suggestion, he 
 [bruptly, the tears 
 LS, so as to produce 
 
 hysteria, 
 -as the flute 1 No 
 
 one who had not witnessed it could adequately con 
 ceive the poutings of thick red lips and general 
 contortions of black visage that seemed necessary in 
 order to draw the tones out of that simple instru- 
 ment. The agonies of expression, the hissing cT 
 wind, and the turning up of whites of large black 
 eyes, — it is past belief ! The fruitless efforts of the 
 Eskimos to imitate him were as nothing to the great 
 original, and their delight at the sound was only 
 equalled by their amazement at the sight. 
 
 Alf assisted the Captain scientifically and other- 
 wise. Of course he was compelled, during the long 
 winter, to lay aside his geological hammer and 
 botanical box ; but, then, had he not the arrange- 
 ment and naming of his specimens ? His chief 
 work, however, was to act the unwonted, and, we 
 may add, unexpected work of a lawgiver. 
 
 This duty devolved on him thus ; — 
 
 When Grabantak recovered healti — which he 
 was very long in doing — his spirit was so far sub- 
 dued that he agreed — somewhat sulkily, it is true 
 — to all that his prime minister had done while he 
 held the reins of government. I'hen he was in- 
 duced to visit Great Isle, where he was introduced 
 to his mortal foe Amalatok, whom he found to 
 be so much a man after his own heart that he no 
 longer sighed for the extraction of his spin d marrow 
 or the excision of his liver, but became a fast friend, 
 
 2 B 
 
 ^ .1 
 
 
 IIP 
 
I ; 
 
 
 
 \ 
 
 i -i' 
 
 386 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 and was persuaded by Alf to agree to a perpetual 
 peace. He also took a great fancy to Ohingatok, who 
 begged of Alf to read to the chief of Flatland some of 
 the strange and new ideas contained in his little book. 
 
 Alf willingly complied, and for hours these 
 northern savages sat in rapt attention listening to 
 the Bible story. 
 
 " My son/' said Grabantak one evening to Chin- 
 gatok, " if we aie henceforth to live in peace, why 
 not unite and become one nation ?" 
 
 " Why not ? " echoed Ohingatok. 
 
 When Amalatok and Makitok heard the question 
 propounded, they also said, "Why not?" and, as 
 nobody objected, the thing was settled off-hand 
 then and there. 
 
 " But," said the prime minister of Flatland, stai't- 
 ing a difl&culty, " who is to be greatest chief?" 
 
 Amalatok, on whose mind the spirit of Christianity 
 had been gradually making an impression, said 
 promptly, " Let Grabantak be chief. He is wise 
 in council and brave in war." 
 
 Grabantak had instantly jumped to the conclu- 
 sion that he ought to be greatest chief, and was about 
 to say so, when Amalatok's humility struck him 
 dumb. Kecovering himself he replied — 
 
 " But there is to be no more war ! and I have 
 been a warrior. Ko, let Amalatok be great chief. 
 He is old, and wisdom lies with age." 
 
0£ POKINGS BOUND TIDE POLS. 
 
 387 
 
 to a perpetual 
 Chingatok, who 
 latland some of 
 n his little book. 
 )r hours these 
 iion listening to 
 
 vening to Chin- 
 ve in peace, why 
 
 leard the question 
 
 ly not?" and, as 
 
 setUed off-hand 
 
 of Flatland, start- 
 
 itest chief?" 
 
 >irit of Christianity 
 
 impression, said 
 
 ef. He is wise 
 
 ied to the conclu- 
 lief, and was about 
 ity struck him 
 
 Iplied- — 
 
 war I and I have 
 Lk be great chief. 
 
 ige." 
 
 **I'm not 80 sure of that!" muttered Captain 
 Vane to himself in English ; then to the giant in 
 Eskimo, " What says Chingatok ? " 
 
 " May I speak, my father ? " said the giant, duti- 
 fully, to Amalatok. 
 
 " You may speak, my son." 
 "Then," continued Chingatok, "I would advise 
 that there should be three chiefs, who shall be equal 
 — my father, Grabantak, and Makitok. Let these 
 consult about our affairs. Let the people appoint 
 twelve men to hold council with them, and what 
 the most of them agree to shall be done." 
 
 After some further talk this compromise was 
 agreed to. 
 
 " But the laws of Poloeland and those of Flatland 
 are different," said Amalatok, starting another 
 objection. " We must have the same laws." 
 
 " My brother chief is wise," said Grabantak. " Let 
 us have new laws, and let that wise young Kablunet, 
 Alf, make them." 
 
 " Both my brother chiefs are wise," said Makitok. 
 " Let it be done, and let him take the laws out of the 
 little thing that speaks to him." (Thus they referred 
 to the Bible, having no word in their language by 
 which to name it.) 
 
 Great was the surprise of Alf at the honour and 
 labour thus thrust upon hrn, but he did not shrink 
 from it. On the contrary, he set to work at once 
 
 i!!!! 
 
 i 
 
 fl ! ill 
 
388 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 >.' hi 
 
 ■^ 
 
 
 ^i 
 
 Vir 
 
 
 I- .'■ 
 
 with notebook and pencil, and set down the two 
 " Great Commandments : " " Thou shalt love the Lord 
 thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, 
 and with all thy mind; and, Thou shalt love thy 
 neighbour as thyself," as the first law in the new 
 code. He set down as the second the golden rule, 
 " Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto 
 you, do ye even so to them." 
 
 Proceeding from these as a basis, he worked his 
 way gradually down the code till he had embraced 
 nearly all the possibilities of Eskimo life — a work 
 which kept him busy all the winter, and was not 
 quite finished when "time and tide" obliged him 
 and his companions to quit the land. 
 
 Now, not long after this eventful council, Benjy 
 Vane burst rather irreverently into his father's hut 
 with excited looks, holding what looked like an old 
 book in his hand. 
 
 " What have you got there, lad ?* 
 
 " I 've got it at last, father ! You know I 've been 
 trying to wheedle old Makitok into letting me 
 open his mysterious bundle. Well, I prevailed on 
 him to let me do it this afternoon. After unrolling 
 bundle after bundle, I came at last to the centre, 
 and found that it contained nothing whatever but 
 this book, wrapped up in an old cotton pocket- 
 handkerchief. The book is very old, father. See, 
 1611 on the first page. I did not take time to 
 
m^M 
 
 OR POKINGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 389 
 
 ':it 
 
 down the two 
 It love the Lord 
 th all thy soul, 
 shalt love thy 
 law in the new 
 the golden rule, 
 should do unto 
 
 s, he worked his 
 tie had embraced 
 Lmo life— a work 
 ter, and was not 
 ,de" ohUged him 
 
 id. 
 
 ul council, Benjy 
 ;o his father's hut 
 ooked like an old 
 
 iu know I've been 
 into letting me 
 bU, I prevailed on 
 After unrolling 
 last to the centre, 
 Ihing whatever but 
 ])ld cotton pocket- 
 old, father. See, 
 not take time to 
 
 glance at more than that, but brought it straight 
 away to you." 
 
 " Hand it over, Benjy," said the Captain eagerly. 
 " This accounts for the mysterious ' buk ' that we 've 
 heard so much about" 
 
 He received the little book with a look of tender 
 curii)sity and opened it carefully, while Leo, Alf, 
 and his son looked on over his shoulder. 
 
 " 1611 sure enough," he said, "though not very 
 legible. The characters are queer, too. Try, Alf, 
 what you can make of it." 
 
 Alf took the book. As he did so old Makitok 
 entered, somewhat anxious as to what they were 
 doing with his treasure. Being quieted by the 
 Captain with a draught of cold tea, and made to sit 
 down, the examination of the book proceeded. 
 
 " It is much worn, and in places is almost illegible, 
 as might be expected," said Alf. " Let me se*<, 
 'Coast of Labrador (something illegible here) 1611. 
 This day the mutineers took possess . . . (can't make 
 out what follows) and put Captain Hudson, with his 
 son, myself, the carpenter, and five sick men into 
 the dingy, casting us (blank) with some (blank) and 
 one cask of water. I begin this diary to-day. It 
 may never be seen by man, but if it does fall into 
 the hands of any one who can read it, he will do a 
 service to ... by conveying . . . England. — JoHK 
 Mackintosh, seaman' 
 
 Hi 
 
 III" ij 
 
 1:1. 
 
 llilUt 
 
890 
 
 THE OUNT OF THE NORTH 
 
 I'' 
 
 ;.; Kj 
 P.] >.t 
 
 1 
 
 n 
 
 " Can it be possible ? " said Alf, looking up from 
 the relic with an expression of deep solemnity, " that 
 we have found a record of that great Arctic explorer, 
 the unfortunate Henry Hudson?" 
 
 " It seems like it, Alf ; read on," said Leo, eagerly. 
 
 We will not further trouble the reader with Alf s 
 laboured deciphering of this curious and ancient note- 
 book, which was not only stained and worn, but in 
 many places rudely torn, as if its owner had seen 
 much hard service. We will merely run over a few of 
 the chief points which it cleared up. Unfortunately, 
 it threw no additional light on the fate of poor 
 Hudson. Many of the first pages of the book 
 which no doubt treated of that, had been destroyed 
 and the legible portion began in the middle of a 
 record of travelling with a sledge-party of Esldmoa 
 to the north of parallel 86* 20" — a higher northern 
 latitude, it will be observed, than had been reached 
 by any subsequent explorer except Captain Vane. 
 No mention being made of English comrades, the 
 presumption remained that they had all been killed 
 or had died — at all events that Mackintosh had 
 been separated from them, and was the only survivor 
 of the party travelling with the Eskimos. 
 
 Further on the journal, which was meagre in 
 detail, and kept in the dry form of a log-book, spoke 
 of having reached a far northern settlement. Ee- 
 ference was also made to a wife and family, leading 
 
OR POKINGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 391 
 
 1 >V\ 
 
 to the conclusion that the seaman had permanently 
 cast in his lot with the savages, and given up all 
 hope of returning to his native land. 
 
 One sentence near the end caused a considerable 
 sensation, and opened their eyes to a fact which they 
 might have guessed if they had not been too much 
 taken up with the spelling out of the faded pencil- 
 ling to think of it at first. 
 
 Alf read it with difficulty. It ran thus : — 
 
 '* Another boy born to-day. His name is Igluk. 
 It is only the eldest boy of a family, in this tribe, 
 who bears his father's surname. My eldest alone 
 goes by the name of Mackintosh. His eldest wiL 
 bear the same name, and so on. But these Eskimoi 
 make a sad mess of it. I doubt if my Scotch kins* 
 men would recognise us under the name of Makitok; 
 which is the nearest — " 
 
 " Makitok ! " shouted Benjy, gazing open-eyed afr 
 the white-bearded wizard, who returned the gaze 
 with some astonishment. 
 
 " Why, old boy," cried the boy, jumping up and 
 seizing the wizard's hand, " you 're a Scotsman!" 
 
 "So he is," said the Captain with a look of 
 profound interest 
 
 "And I say," continued Benjy, in a tone so 
 solemn that the eyes of all the party were turned 
 on him, "we did find him sitting on the North 
 Pole!" 
 
 ..%\ 
 
 11! jfc;.!i 
 
ft} 
 
 0' 
 
 ^\ ft: 
 
 h 
 
 ■ I i 
 
 ik 
 
 I - I 
 
 I ::■•! , 
 
 ' 1 1.' 
 
 iP Wi 
 
 392 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 " And what of that, you excitable goose ? " said 
 the Captain, 
 
 " Goose, father ! Am I a goose for recognising the 
 fulfilment of an ancient prophecy ? Has it not been 
 a familiar saying, ever since I was born, that when 
 the North Pole was discovered, a Scotsman would 
 be found sitting on the top of it V 
 
 " Unfortunately, Ben," returned Alf with a laugh, 
 " the same prophecy exists in other lands. Among 
 the Germans, I believe, it is held that a Bohemian 
 and a Jew will be found on the top of it." 
 
 " That only confirms the correctness of prophecy 
 in general," retorted Benjy, " for this man unites all 
 these in his own person. Does not this notebook 
 prove him to be a Scot ? Have we not just found 
 him ? which proves him to be one of a ' lost tribe * — 
 in other words, a Jew; and, surely, you'll admit 
 that, in appearance at least, he is Bohemian enough 
 for the settlement of any disputed question. Yes, 
 he 's a Scotch Bohemian Jew, or 1 *m a Dutchman." 
 
 This discovery seemed almost too much for Benjy. 
 He could not think or talk of anything else the 
 remainder of that day. 
 
 Among other things he undertook to explain to 
 Makitok something of his o igin and antecedents. 
 
 "Ancient one," he said earnestly, through the 
 medium of Anders, when he had led the old man 
 aside privately, " you come of a grand nation. They 
 
OR rOKINGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 393 
 
 goose?" said 
 
 •ecognising the 
 las it not been 
 orn, that when 
 jotsman would 
 
 If with a laugh, 
 lands. Among 
 lat a Bohemian 
 
 of it." 
 
 ess of prophecy 
 3 man unites all 
 >t this notebook 
 ) not just f&wnd 
 ■ a • lost tribe * — 
 y, you'll admit 
 ohemian enough 
 question. Yes, 
 a a Dutchman." 
 much for Benjy. 
 lything else the 
 
 ok to explain to 
 i antecedents. 
 ly, through the 
 ,ed the old man 
 ,d nation. They 
 
 are called Scots, and are said to be remarkably long- 
 headed and wonderfully cautious. Great warriors, 
 but greater at the arts of peace. Ami the fellow 
 you call your first fatlicr was a Mackintosh (pro- 
 bably chief of aU the Mackintoshes), who sailed 
 nearly 270 years ago to search for this very ' North 
 Pole ' thai we have got liold of at last. But your 
 first father was not the leader, old boy. He was 
 only a seaman. The leader was Henry Hudson — a 
 man who ranks among the foremost of Arctic 
 explorers. He won't be able to understand what 
 that means, Anders, but no matter — translate it the 
 Dest way you can. This Henry Hudson was one of 
 the most thorough and extensive searchers of these 
 •egions that ever sailed the northern seas. He made 
 many important discoveries, and set out on his last 
 voyage intending to sail right over the North Pole 
 to China, which I daresay he would have done, had 
 not his rascally crew mutinied and cast him and his 
 little son, with seven other men, adrift in a little 
 boat — all of whom perished, no doubt, except your 
 first father, Makitok, my ancient tulip !" 
 
 He wound up this summary by grasping and 
 shaking the wizard's hand, and then flung off, to 
 expend his feelings on other members of the com- 
 munity. 
 
 ■Ill 
 
 it IP : 
 
 m 
 
394 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 
 ft i 
 
 1 
 
 
 H'! 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 A RCNAWAT JOUBNIT AND A TRBMRMDOnB KZFBRIliKirr. 
 
 As winter advanced, Captain Vane continued to 
 keep up the interest of the Eskimos, and to increase 
 their respect for the Kahlunets, by gradually unfold- 
 ing the various sources of power which were at his 
 command. 
 
 He did this judiciously, just giving them a taste 
 of the marvellous now and then to whet theii 
 appetites. He was particularly careful, however 
 not to practise on their credulity or to pass himsell 
 off as a conjuror. He distinctly stated that all hia 
 powers were derived from God, — tJieir father and 
 his, — and that he only excelled them in some 
 matters because of having had better opportunities 
 of acquiring knowledge. 
 
 Among other things, he effected an adaptation of 
 his kites which produced results so surprising that 
 we feel bound to describe them particularly. 
 
 During the winter he found, as he had expected, 
 that the average temperature at the Pole was not 
 
 ,. 1 
 
 m { 
 
 1 ■ 
 
OB PO KINGS HOUND THE POLE. 
 
 SOf) 
 
 " il 
 
 tter opportunities 
 
 nearly so cold as that experienced in lower latitudes. 
 As far as mere feeling went, indeed, the cold seemed 
 severe enough ; nevertheless it was not sufficiently 
 intense to freeze the great ocean, which remained an 
 " open basin " all the year round, — a result which 
 was doubtless owing to the upflow of the warm 
 under-currents from the equator, referred to in a 
 previous chapter. 
 
 This, however, did not apply to the waters lying 
 directly around the Poloe and Flatland groups. In 
 these archipelagos the waters being shallow, the 
 frost was quite intense enough to cool them to the 
 bottom. Hence the sea immediately round the 
 islands was covered with a thick coat of solid ice, 
 which resembled in all respects the ordinary Arctic 
 sea-ice, being hummocky in some places, compara- 
 tively smooth in others, with a strong iceberg here 
 and there caught and imprisoned amongst it. 
 
 As this ice surrounded all the Polar land, and 
 stretched out to sea far beyond the reach of vision, 
 it followed that there was little or no difference 
 between the winter experience of our discoverers 
 and that of all other Arctic voyagers. This realm of 
 what we may style island-ice stretched away, all 
 round, in the direction of the Arctic circle, getting 
 thinner and thinner towards its outer margin, until 
 at last it became sludgy, and, finally, melted away 
 into the open sea. This open sea, in its turn, 
 
 fill 
 
396 
 
 THE GIANT OP THB NORTH 
 
 '1: 
 
 
 I- ) i 
 
 . I 
 
 ' $^ 
 
 1 
 
 I ; 
 
 I: 
 
 
 f-l' 
 
 l|::!:|.: 
 
 ♦ ! 
 
 stretched southward, nil round, to the known Arctic 
 rc^'iona. ThuH the Arctic basin was found to be a 
 zone of open water, surrounded by ice on the south, 
 and witli a patch of ice urid liiiid in its centre. 
 
 Now, it was a strong desire on the j)art of Captain 
 Vane to vi«it tlie soutliern edge of this central ice- 
 patch on which he ilwelt, that induced him to try 
 the kite adaptation before referred Lo. 
 
 " Benjy, my boy," said he, one line winter day, 
 when the galaxy of stars, the full moon, and an 
 unusually brilliant aurora, diffused a strong light 
 over the undulations of Cup Valley, " I have a notion 
 of taking a trip to the s'uth'ard soon." 
 
 " Which s'uth'ard d' you think of going to, father ?" 
 asked the boy. 
 
 In case any reader should hastily exclaim, " What 
 a ridiculous question; there can be only one south- 
 ward !" we beg leave to point out that at the North 
 Pole every direction lies to the sol ! ward, and that, 
 as there is necessarily no east or west at all, there 
 is therefore no possibility of stating by compass to 
 what part of the south one intends to go. Of course 
 it was open to the Captain to have said he intended 
 to descend south on one of the degrees of longitude, 
 or between any two of them, and then, immediately 
 on quitting the Pole the old familiar east and west 
 would, as it were, return to him. But he found it 
 more convenient, on the whole, having got beyond 
 
u 
 
 OR P()K(N(i8 HOUND THE POLK. 
 
 397 
 
 e known Arctic 
 3 found to bo a 
 36 on the south, 
 its centre. 
 1 part of Captiiin 
 this central ice- 
 uced him to try 
 
 ,0. 
 
 hue winter day, 
 1 moon, and an 
 i a strong light 
 " I have a notion 
 u. 
 
 oing to, father?" 
 
 exclaim, " What 
 
 only one aouth- 
 bhat at the North 
 
 ! -vard, and that, 
 
 I west at all, there 
 
 HT by compass to 
 
 to go. Of course 
 
 said he intended 
 Irees of longitude, 
 Ihen, immediately 
 tar east and west 
 But he found it 
 
 iving got beyond 
 
 all latitude, to indicate his intended route by well- 
 known objects of the land. 
 
 " 1 'm going to steer for the starboard side of 
 Poloeland," he said, " pay a short visit to Grabantak 
 and Amalatok in passiiig, and then carry on south 
 to the open water." 
 
 " It'll be a longish trip, father." 
 
 " Not so long as you expect, my boy, for I mean 
 to go by exjjress." 
 
 Benjy's eyes twinkled, lor he knew that some 
 new device was working in his father's brain, which 
 brain never failed to bring its plans to maturity. 
 
 "What is it to be, father?" 
 
 " You go and fetch two of the kites, Benjy, and 
 you '11 soon tind out. Overhaul them well and see 
 that everything is taut and shipshape. Let Butter- 
 face help you, and send Alf and Chingatok to me. 
 I suppose Leo is off after musk-oxen, as usual." 
 
 " Yes ; he pretends that the camp wants a supply 
 of fresh meat. He 'd pretend that as an excuse for 
 hunting even if we were all dying of surfeit." 
 
 Soon afterwards the Captain was seen, followed 
 by his usual companions and a company of Eskimos, 
 dragging two sledges to the upper ridge of Cup 
 Valley. One sledge was lightly, the other heavily 
 laden. 
 
 " You 've brought plenty of supplies, I hope, Alf?" 
 asked the leader. 
 
 HI, I 
 
 llil!' !l 
 
 ■m 
 
 ■I K 
 
S98 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NOBTH 
 
 
 '■•' til 
 
 'is 
 
 '\r- 
 
 I • ! ! 
 
 
 ^;^ ; 
 
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 Im 
 
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 " Yes, enough for three weeks. Will that do ?" 
 
 " Quite enough, lad ; but it may not be wanted, as 
 I 'm going south in a direction we *ve not yet tried, 
 where I expect to find the open water close to us. It's 
 well, however, to have enough of meat at all times." 
 
 "No fear of its being too much, father," said 
 Benjy. "When Butterface goes with us, a three 
 weeks' allowance usually disappears in a fortnight," 
 
 " Nebber mind, Massa," said the negro seriously. 
 " You 've plenty for tree weeks dis time, 'cause I 's 
 off my feed. Grot Polar dimspepsy, or suffin' o* 
 dat sort, I tink." 
 
 " You 've brought the electrical machine, of course, 
 and the dynamite, Alf ?" asked the Captain. 
 
 " Of course. I never prepare for a trip without 
 these. There 's no saying, you see, when we may 
 require them— either to blow up obstructions or 
 astonish the natives." 
 
 " The natives are past astonishing no\:'," remarked 
 Benjy ; " nothing short of a ten thousand jar battery 
 would astonish Chingatok, and I 'm quite sure that 
 you couldn't rouse a sentiment of surprise inOolichuk, 
 unless you made him swallow a dynamite cartridge, 
 and blew him inside out. But, I say, daddy, how 
 lone; are you going to keep us in the dark about 
 your plans ? Don't you see that we are in agonies 
 of suspense ?" 
 
 " Only till we gain the ridge, Benjy. It will be 
 
OB POKINGS BOUND THE POLB. 
 
 399 
 
 11 that do?" 
 , be wanted, as 
 , not yet tried, 
 Lose to UB. It's 
 t at all times." 
 , father," said 
 th us, a three 
 in a fortnight." 
 negro seriously. 
 time, 'cause I 's 
 y, or suffin' o' 
 
 chine, of course, 
 Captain. 
 
 a trip without 
 , when we may 
 obstructions or 
 
 noN^" remarked 
 sand jar battery 
 
 quite sure that 
 )rise inOolichuk, 
 lamite cartridge, 
 I say, daddy, how 
 
 the dark about 
 [e are in agonies 
 
 njy. It will be 
 
 down-hill after that, and the snow-crust compara- 
 tively smooth as well as hard." 
 
 Arrived at the ridge, one of the kites was un- 
 folded and sent up. The breeze was steady, and 
 sufficiently strong. It took twenty Eskimos to hold 
 it when allowed full play, and even these it jerked 
 about in a manner that highly diverted them. These 
 Eskimos were very fond of kite-flying, for its own 
 sake, without reference to utility ! 
 
 " I knew you were going to try it on ibe sledge," 
 exclaimed Benjy, with sparkling eyes. 
 
 "Why did you ask me about it, then?" returned 
 the Captain. 
 
 " Do let me make the first trial, father i" 
 
 Captain Vane was fastening the drag-line to the 
 fore part of the light sledge, and refused, at first, to 
 listen to the boy's entreaties, fearing that some 
 accident might befall him. 
 
 " You know how accustomed I am to manage the 
 kites, father. There 's not the least fear ; and I 'U 
 be superhumaniy cautious." 
 
 There was no resisting Benjy's tone and eyes. 
 He was allowed to take his place on tha sledge as 
 manager. Butterface sat behind to steer. Steering 
 was to be managed by means of a stout pole, pressed 
 varyiijigiy on the snow on eitt jr side. 
 
 " Don't go more than a mile or so, my boy," said the 
 Captain, in a serioii.i tone. " It 's only a trial, you 
 
 i 
 
 :f[ 
 
 ) 
 
 ■It 
 
 iii 
 
 "Ml 
 
 i 
 
 ■Vi 
 
 ¥ 
 
400 
 
 THE GIAl.T OF THE NORTH 
 
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 know. If it succeeds, we'll divide the loading of 
 the aledges, and make a fair start in company." 
 
 Benjy promised to manipulate the check-string 
 with care. The struggling natives were ordered to 
 let the kite straighten the slack of the line gradually. 
 
 " Are you ready, Ben ?" 
 
 " All right, father." 
 
 " Got your hand on the check-string ? Mind, it 
 will pull hard. Now — let go !" 
 
 The natives obeyed. Benjy at the same instant 
 hauled sharply on the check-string, intending io 
 tilt the kite well forward, and start in a slow, stately 
 manner, but there was a hitch of some sort some- 
 where, for the string would not act The kite acted, 
 however, with its full force. Up went the fore part 
 of the sledge as it flew off like an arrow from a bow, 
 causing Butterface to throw a back somersault, and 
 leaving him behind. 
 
 Benjy held on to the head of the sledge, and made 
 violent efforts to free the check-string. Fortunately, 
 the surface of the snow was smooth. 
 
 " After him, lads," r oared the Captain, setting a 
 brave example, and for some time heading the 
 natives in the chase ; but a few moments sufficed 
 to prove the hopelessness of the race. 
 
 Tug as Benjy would at the regulator, it refused 
 to act. Fortunately, being made of silk, it did not 
 break. By this time the kite had attained its 
 
OR POKINGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 401 
 
 the loading of 
 company." 
 le check-string 
 rere ordered to 
 J line gradually. 
 
 ring ? Mind, it 
 
 ae same instant 
 3g, intending i o 
 .n a slow, stately 
 gome sort some- 
 
 The kite acted, 
 ent the fore part 
 rrow from a bow, 
 
 somersault, and 
 
 sledge, and made 
 Qg. Fortunately, 
 
 aptain, setting a 
 me heading the 
 moments sufficed 
 
 ce. 
 
 ulator, it ref ased 
 )f silk, it did not 
 had attained its 
 
 maximum speed, equal, as the Captain said, to a 
 twenty-knot breeze. At first the surface of the 
 snow was so smooth and hard, that Benjy, being 
 busy with the obdurate regulator, did not appreciate 
 the speed. 
 
 When he gave up his attox^ipt? wfth a sigh of 
 despair, he had leisure to look around him. The 
 sledge was gliding on with railway speed. One or 
 two solitary hummocks that looked like white 
 sentinels on the level plain, went past him with an 
 awful rush, and several undulations caused by snow- 
 drift were crossed in a light leap which lie barely 
 felt. Benjy was fully aware of his danger. To meet 
 with a hummock no bigger than a wheelbarrow, 
 would, in the circumstances, have entailed destruction; 
 he therefore seized a pole which formed part of the 
 sledge-gear, and tried steering. It could be done, 
 but vith great difficulty, as he had to sit in the 
 front of the sledge to keep it down. 
 
 Eecklessly jovial though he was, the boy could 
 not contemplate his probable fate without misgiving. 
 Nothing was visible in all tLo white illimitable 
 plain save a hummock here and there, with a distant 
 berg on the horizon. He could not expect the level 
 character of the ice to extend far. Whither wa« 
 he going ? South he knew ; but in that direction, 
 his father had often told him, lay the open sea. 
 The moon seemed to smile on him; the aurora 
 
 30 
 
 II" 
 
 
402 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 ft} 
 
 i 
 
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 ■li! 
 
 i-: 
 
 3 1 
 
 
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 '« 
 
 appeared to dance with unwonted vigour, as if in 
 glee ; the very stars winked at him ! 
 
 "What if a chasm or a big hummock should 
 turn u]) ?" thought Benjy. 
 
 The thought seemed to produce the dreaded object, 
 for next moment a large hummock appeared right 
 ahead. Far away though it was, the awful pace 
 brought it quickly near. The poor boy struggled — 
 he absolutely agonised — with the pole. His efforts 
 were successful. The hummock went past like a 
 meteor, but it was a horribly close shave, and Benjy 
 felt his very marrow shrink, while he drew himself 
 up into the smallest possible compass to let it go by. 
 
 A bump soon after told that the ice was getting 
 more rugged. Then he saw a ridge before him. 
 Was it large or small? Distance, the uncertain 
 light, and imagination, magnified it to a high wall ; 
 high as the wall of China. In wild alarm our hero 
 tugged at the regulator, but tugged in vain. The 
 wall of China was upon him — under him. There 
 was a crash. The sledge was in the air. Moments 
 appeared minutes ! Had the vehicle been suddenly 
 furnished with wings ? Xo ! Another crash, which 
 nearly shut up his spine llk<% a telescope, told him 
 that there were no wings. His teeth oame together 
 with a snap. Happily his tongue was not between 
 them ! Happily, too, the sludge did not overturn, 
 but continued its furious flight 
 
0£ FOKINOS BOUND THE POLK. 
 
 40S 
 
 gour, 
 
 as if iii 
 
 Linock should 
 
 Ireaded object, 
 ippeared riglit 
 le awful pace 
 oy struggled— 
 ie. His efforts 
 3nt past like a 
 ave, and Benjy 
 le drew himself 
 8 to let it go by. 
 ice was getting 
 ge before him. 
 the uncertain 
 to a high wall ; 
 alarm our hero 
 in vain. The 
 er him. There 
 air. Moments 
 le been suddenly 
 her crash, which 
 escope, told him 
 th oame together 
 was not between 
 iid not overturn, 
 
 " Oh, you villain ! " exclaimed Benjy, shaking 
 his fist at the airy monster which was thus dragging 
 him to destruction. 
 
 If Benjy had been asked to state the truth just 
 then, he would have found it hard to say whether 
 consternation or delight were uppermost. It was 
 such a glorious rush ! But then, how was it to end ? 
 Well, he did not dare to think of that. Indeed he 
 had not time to thiuk, for troubles came crowding 
 on him. A violent " swish !" and a sudden deluge 
 told him that what he had taken for glassy ice was 
 open water. It was only a shallow pool, however. 
 Next moment he was across it, and bumping 
 violentlv over a surface of broken ice. 
 
 The water suggested the fear that he must be 
 nearing the open sea, and he became supernaturally 
 grave. Fortunately, the last crash had been passed 
 without dislocating the parts of either sledge or 
 rider. A long stretch of smooth ice followed, over 
 which he glided with ever-increasing speed. 
 
 Thus he continued to rush over the frozen sea 
 during a considerable part of that night. 
 
 Poor Benjy ! he became half-mad with excitement 
 at last. The exaltation of his little spirit at the 
 risky neck-or-nothing dash, coupled with horror at 
 the certainty of a terrible climax, was almost too 
 much for him. He gave vent to his feelings in a 
 wild cheer or yell, and, just then, beheld an ice- 
 
 I 
 
 , • 1 
 
 I 
 
;;'■(. 
 
 404 
 
 THE QIAKT OF THE NORTH 
 
 i I 
 
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 .1(5 
 
 K ■ I i 
 
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 ; :[ 
 
 berg of unusual size, looming up on the horizon 
 before him. Knowing by experience that he would 
 soon be up to it, he used his pole with all his might, 
 hoping to steer clear of it. As he drew nearer, he 
 saw a dark line on either side of the berg. A 
 feeling of deadly alarm filled him. It was the open 
 sea ! and he had to choose between being plunged 
 into it or dashed against the berg. It occurred to 
 him then, for the first time, that a third resource 
 was open — he might cut the rope, and let th" kite 
 go free ! Amazed at his stupidity in not thinking 
 of this before, he took out his clasp-knife, but before 
 applying it, made a last effort to move the regulator. 
 Strange to say, the silken cord yielded to the first 
 pull, as if nothing had been wrong with it at all ! 
 The head of the runaway kite was thrown forward, 
 and it came wavering down in eccentric gyrations, 
 while the sledge gradually lost way, and came to a 
 standstill not fifty yards from the berg. 
 
 Up to this point what may be termed the 
 northern island-ice continued unbroken, but beyond 
 the berg it was broken up into floes, and, not six 
 hundred yards out, it tailed away to the southward 
 in what whalers term stream-ica The berg itself 
 was obviously aground. 
 
 The first object that met Benjy's eyes, after com- 
 ing to a halt, was an enormous polar bear. This was 
 no strange sight to the boy by that time, but it was 
 
OR POKINOS ROUND TliE POLE. 
 
 405 
 
 awkward in the circumstances, for he had neither 
 gun nor spear. Even if he had possessed the latter 
 he was too young and light to cope successfully 
 with the shaggy white king of Arctic beasts. 
 
 From the attitude of the animal it appeared to 
 be watching something. In truth, it was so intently 
 engaged with a sleeping seal that it had not 
 observed the approach of the sledge. Profiting by 
 this, Benjy quietly moved away round a colossal 
 buttress of the berg, and took refuge in an ice-cave. 
 But such refuge, he knew, could avail him nothing 
 if the bear should scent him out and search for him. 
 Looking hastily round and up into the dark blue 
 cavern, he espied a projecting ledge of ice about 
 thirteen feet above the level of the floor. On this 
 he resolved to perch himself. 
 
 His first care was to examine the contents of the 
 sledge. We have said it had been lightly laden at 
 starting, which was the reason of the tremendous 
 pace at which it travelled. Although there was 
 neither spear nor gun, the anxious boy was some- 
 what comforted to find an axe strapped in its 
 accustomed place; also a blanket, sleeping-bag, 
 and musk-ox skin, besides a mass of frozen blubber, 
 but there was nothing else of an eatable nature. 
 There was, however, a box containing the captain's 
 sextant, the electrical machine, and a packet of 
 dynamite cartridges. 
 
 ■ ii;'; :i 
 
 Ki li 
 
 
 III: I 
 
406 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 .•il 
 
 1:. tH 
 
 !i -■■ '•' I 
 
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 r>' 
 
 Eegarding these latter objects with a sigh of 
 disappointment, Benjy seized the axe and hastened 
 towards the ledge of ice, muttering to himself in a 
 confidential tone — 
 
 *' You see, old boy, if that bear takes a fancy to 
 call on you, it will be as well to be able to say, ' Not 
 at home,' for he could make short work of you, 
 much though you think of yourself. Yes, this ledge 
 is high enough to bid you defiance, mister bear, and 
 it's long and broad enough to hold me and my 
 belongings. The knobs by which to climb to it, 
 too, are easy — too easy — but I '11 soon rectify that. 
 Now, then, look alive, Benjy, boy, for if that bear 
 don't catch that seal he 'U be sure to look you up." 
 
 Ceasing to speak, he actively conveyed the con- 
 tents of the sledge to his shelf of refuge. Then he 
 cut away the knobs by which he climbed to it, until 
 there was barely sufficient for his own tiny toes to 
 rest on. That done, he went to the mouth of the 
 cavern to look about him. 
 
 What he saw there may be guessed from the fact 
 that he returned next moment, running at full 
 speed, stumbling over ice lumps, bumping his shins 
 and knees, dropping his axe, and lacerating his 
 knuckles. He had met the bear! Need we add 
 that he gained his perch with the agility of a tree- 
 squirrel ! 
 
 The bear, surprised, no doubt, but obviously sulky 
 
OR P0KIN08 ROUND TUK POLE, 
 
 407 
 
 ; obviously sulky 
 
 from the loss of the seal, entered the cave sedattjiy 
 with an inquiring look. It saw Benjy at once, and 
 made prodigious efforts to get at him. As the 
 monster rose on its hind legs and reached its pawp 
 towards his shelf, the poor boy's spirit seemed to 
 melt, indeed his whole interior felt as if reduced to 
 a warm fluid, while a prickly heat broke out at his 
 extremities, perspiration beaded his brow, and his 
 heart appeared to have settled permanently in his 
 throat. 
 
 These distressing symptoms did not, however, 
 last long, for he quickly perceived that the bear's 
 utmost stretch did not reach nearer than three or 
 four feet of him. Some of the alarm returned, 
 however, when the creature attempted to climb up 
 by his own ladder. Seven or eight times it made 
 the attempt, while the boy watched in breathless 
 anxiety, but each time it slipped when half-way up, 
 and fell with a soft heavy thud on the ice below, 
 which caused it to gasp and cough. Then it sat 
 down on its haunches and gazed at its little foe 
 malignantly. 
 
 " Bah ! you brute !" exclaimed Benjy, whose 
 courage was returning, "I'm not a bit afraid of 
 you!" He leant against the wall of his refuge, 
 notwithstanding this boast, and licked the ice to 
 moisten his parched lips. 
 
 After a rest the bear made another trial, and 
 
 
 I ii 
 
 I 
 
 M 
 I 
 
408 
 
 THE GIAKT OF THK NORTH 
 
 1 
 
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 ^ ! 
 
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 :;-i1 
 
 t J 'i|! 
 
 ; ! I 
 1 '!■ 1 
 
 twice it succeeded in planting the claws of one 
 huge paw on the ed{^e of the shelf, but Benjy 
 placed his heel against the claws, thrust them o£f, 
 and sent the bear down each time howling with 
 disappointment. 
 
 Sailing soi'tly among the constellations in the 
 aurora-lighted sky, the moon sent a bright ray into 
 the cavern, which gleamed on the monster's wicked 
 eyes and glistening teeth ; but Beiijy had begun to 
 feel comparatively safe by that time, and was 
 becoming " himself again.** 
 
 " Don't you wish you may get me ?" he asked in 
 a desperately facetious spirit. 
 
 The bear made no reply, but turned to examine 
 the contents of the ice-cave. First he went to the 
 hatchet and smelt it. In doing so he cut his nose. 
 With a growl he gave the weapon an angry pat, and 
 in so doing cut his toes. We fear that Benjy 
 rejoiced at the sight of blood, for he chuckled and 
 made the sarcastic remark, *' That comes of losing 
 your temper, old fellow !** 
 
 That bear either understood English, or the very 
 sound of the human voice caused it irritation, for it 
 turned and rushed at the ice-ledge with such fury 
 that Benjy's heart again leaped into his throat. He 
 had, however, recovered sufficiently to enable him to 
 act with promptitude and discretion. Sitting down 
 with his right foot ready, and his hands resting 
 
OB POKINOS tLOXmt) TUB POLK. 
 
 409 
 
 ?" he asked in 
 
 firmly on the ice behind him, he prepared to receive 
 the char«];e in the only available manner. So 6erce 
 was the onset that the monster ran up the icc-cliit 
 like a cat, and succeeded in fixing the terrible claw.s 
 of both feet on the edge of the shelf, but the boy 
 delivered his right heel with such force that the lell 
 paw slipped off. The left heel followed like light- 
 ning, and the right paw also slipped, letting the 
 bear again fall heavily on the ice below. 
 
 This was more than even a bear could bear. 
 He nished savagely about the cavern, growling 
 hideously, dashing the sledge about as if it had 
 been a mere toy, and doing all the mischief he could, 
 yet always avoiding the axe with particular care — 
 thus showing that polar bears, not less than men, 
 are quite awake to personal danger, even when sup- 
 posed to be blind with rage ! At last he lay down to 
 recover himself, and lick his bloody nose and paw. 
 
 While Benjy sat contemplating this creature, and 
 wondering what was to be the end of it all, a bright 
 idea occurred to him. He rose quickly, took the 
 electrical machine out of its box, and happily found 
 it to be in good working order — thanks to Alf, who 
 had special charge of the scientific instrui lents, and 
 prided himself on the care with which he attended 
 to them. The bear watched him narrowly with its 
 ■wicked little eyes, though it did not S( e fit to cease 
 its paw-licking. 
 
 ij^' 
 
 ii"; kii 
 
 ft 
 
410 
 
 TIIK GIANT OP TIIF. VOFiTFI 
 
 
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 ( 
 
 
 I; 
 
 HiiviriR arranged tlio luiichine, Henjy took the two 
 handles in his left liund, presRed his knee on the 
 board of the instrument to hold it steady, and with 
 his rif^ht hand caused it to revolva Then he hold 
 down the handles as if inviting the bear to come 
 and take them. 
 
 The challenge was accepted at once. Bruin 
 cantered up, rose on his hind le^'s, and stretched 
 his neck to its utmost, but could not reach the 
 handles, though the boy stretched downward as far 
 as possible to accommodate him. The dirty- white 
 monster whined and snickered with intense feeling 
 at thus finding itself so near, and yet so far, from 
 the attainment of its object. 
 
 Sympathising with its desires, Benjy changed his 
 posture, and managed just to touch the nose of his 
 enemy. The bear shrank back with a sort of gaspi 
 appalled — at least shocked — by the result ! After a 
 little, not feeling much the worse for it, the brute 
 returned as if to invite another electric shock — 
 perhaps with some sinister design in view. But 
 another and a brighter idea had entered Benjy's 
 brain. Instead of giving the bear a shock, he tore 
 off a small bit of seal-blubber from the mass at his 
 side, which he dropped into its mouth. It swallowed 
 that morsel with satisfaction, and waited for more. 
 Benjy gave it more. Still it wanted more. 
 
 " You shall have it, my boy," said Beiyy, whose 
 
OR rOKINQB ROUND THE I'OI.K. 
 
 411 
 
 y took the two 
 8 knee on the 
 eatly, and with 
 Then he hold 
 B hear to come 
 
 i once. Bruin 
 , and stretched 
 not reach the 
 iownward as far 
 The dirty-white 
 1 intense feeling 
 yet 80 far, from 
 
 mjy changed his 
 I the nose of his 
 ih a sort of gaspi 
 result ! After a 
 for it, the brute 
 electric shock— 
 I in view. But 
 entered Benjy's 
 a shock, he tore 
 the mass at his 
 ,h. It swallowed 
 waited for more, 
 ed more, 
 jaid Beiuy. whose 
 
 ii 
 
 fyes assumed tnat poruliar ^hiif of glee whicli 
 always preRaj,'ed some <U'?})erat»' int«'iition. 
 
 He opened another small box, and found what be 
 wanted. It wus a small ol)ji'ct scarcely a couijIo 
 of inches in length. He fa.stene(l the wires of the 
 electric machine quickly to it, and then imbedded 
 it in a small piece of blubber which he lowered, as 
 before, to the bear. 
 
 " You '11 probably break the wires or smash the 
 machine, but I '11 risk that," muttered Ben jy 
 through his set teeth. "I only hope you won't 
 chew it, because dynamite mayn't be palatable. 
 There — down with it !" 
 
 The bear happily bolted the morsel. The wires 
 seemed to perplex him a little, but before he had 
 time to examine the mystery, the boy gave the 
 instrument a furious turn. 
 
 Instantly there was a stupendous crash like a very 
 thunderbolt. The bear burst like an over-charged 
 cannon ! Benjy and the berg collided, and at that 
 moment everjrthing seemed to the former to vanish 
 away in smoke, leaving not even a wrack behind ! 
 
 
412 
 
 TBS QlAKt OF THl NOBTH 
 
 
 iir 
 
 I ;;;( i 
 
 
 
 
 '! i 
 
 -t::r. 
 
 ^ 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 LBO IN DANQUl NBZT I A VOYML UODB OF MSOUB. 
 
 When the catastrophe descriVip''. in the last 
 chapter occurred, Captain Vane and his friends, 
 following hard on the heels of the runaway, 
 chanced to be within two miles of the berg in the 
 bosom of which Benjy had found refuge. 
 
 "There he is!" shouted the Captain jojrfully, as 
 the Hash of the explosion reached his eyes and the 
 roar c f the report his ears. " Blessed evidence ! He 'a 
 up to mischief of some sort sti", and that 's proof 
 positive that he 's alive." 
 
 "But he may have perished iii this piece of 
 mischiei," said Alf, anxiously glancing up at the 
 kite, which was dragging the heavily-laden sledge 
 rather slowly over the rough ice. 
 
 " I hope not, Alf. Shake the regulator. Butter- 
 face, and see that it 's clear." 
 
 " All r^ht, Massa. Steam's on de berry strongest 
 what 's possible." 
 
 " Heave some o* the cargo overboard, Alf. We 
 
OR POKINGS BOUND THE POLE. 
 
 413 
 
 OFBISOUB. 
 
 rboard, Alf. We 
 
 musu make haste. Not the meat, lad, not the meat ; 
 everything else before that. So. Mind your helm, 
 Chingatok ; she 'U steer wildish when lightened." 
 
 Captain Yane was right. When Alf had tumbled 
 qome of the heavier portions of lading otT the sledge, 
 it burst away like a wild-horse let go fiee, render- 
 ing it difi&cult at first for Chingatok to steady it. 
 In a few minutes, however, he had it again under 
 control, and they soon reached the berg. 
 
 " The dynamite must have gone off by accident," 
 said the Captain to Alf, as they stumbled over 
 masses of ice which the explosion had brought down 
 from the roof of the cavern. "It's lucky it didn't 
 happen in summer, else the berg might have been 
 blown to atoms. Hallo! what's this? Bit^R of a 
 polar bear, I do believe — and — ^what 1 not Beujy !" 
 
 It was indeed Benjy, flat on his back like a 
 spread-eagle, and covered with blood and brains ; 
 but his appearance was the worst of his case, thougn 
 it took a considerable time to convince his horrified 
 friends of that fact. 
 
 " I tell you I 'm all right, father," said the poor 
 boy, on recovering from the state of insensibility 
 into which his fall had thrown him. 
 
 " But you 're covered from head to foot with 
 blood," exclaimed the anxious father, examining 
 him all over, "though I can't find a cut of any 
 sort about you — only one or two bruises." 
 
 Hu 
 
 !! 
 
 !l 
 
414 
 
 THE GIANT OF I^iX NORTH 
 
 J' 
 
 TV' 
 
 :! ■•■( 
 
 1 ^ :4 
 
 " You '11 find a bump on the top of my head, 
 fether, the size of a cocoa-nut. That 'a what knocked 
 the senses out o' me, but the blood and brains 
 belong to the bear. I lay no claim to them." 
 
 ' Where is the bear ?" asked Alf, looking round. 
 
 "Where is he?" echoed Benjy, bursting into a 
 wild laugh. 
 
 " Oh ! Massa Benjy, don't laugh," said Butterface 
 solemnly ; " you hab no notion wot a awful look you 
 got when you laugh wid sitch a bloody face." 
 
 This made Benjy laugh more than ever. Hia 
 mirth became catching, and the negro's solemn 
 visage relaxed into an irrepressible grin. 
 
 "Oh, you japan-jawed porpoise!" cried Benjy, 
 " you should have seen that bear go off — with sueii 
 a crack too ! I only wish I 'd been able to hold up 
 for two seconds longer to see it properly, but my 
 shelf went down, and I had to go along with it. 
 Blown to bits ! No — he was blown to a thousand 
 atoms ! Count 'em if you can." 
 
 Again Benjy burst into uproarious laughter. 
 
 There was indeed some ground for the boy's wa}' 
 of putting the case. The colossal creature had been 
 so terribly shattered by the dynamite cartridge, that 
 there was scarcely a piece of him larger than a 
 man's hand left to tell the tale. 
 
 " Well, well," said the Captain, assisting his son 
 to rise, " I *m thankful it 's no wors&" 
 
 I ' 
 
OR POKINOi^ BOUND THE POLE. 
 
 415 
 
 issiating his aon 
 
 ** Worse, father ! why, it couldn't be worse, unless, 
 indeed, his spirit were brought alive again and 
 allowed to contemplate the humbling condition of 
 his body." 
 
 " I don't refer to the bear, Benjy, but to yourself, 
 lad. You might have been killed, you know, and 
 I 'm very thankful you were not — though you half- 
 deserve to be. But come, we must encamp here 
 for the night and return home to-morrow, for the 
 wind has been shiiting a little, and will be favour- 
 able, I think, in the morniDg." 
 
 The wind was indeed favourable next morning, 
 we may say almost too favourable, for it blew a 
 stiff bieeze from the south, which steadily increased 
 to a gale during the day. Afterwards the sky be- 
 came overcast and the darkness intense, rendering 
 it necessary to attend to the kite's regulator with 
 the utmost care, and advance with the greatest 
 caution. 
 
 Now, while the Captain and his friends wei-e 
 struggling back to their Polar home, Leo Vandervell 
 happened to be ccnght by the same gale when out 
 hunting. Being of a bold, sanguine, and somewhat 
 reckless disposition, this ""lamrod of the party paid 
 little attention to the weather until it became 
 difficult to walk and next to impossible to see. 
 Then, having shot nothing that day, he turned 
 towards the Pole with a feeling of disappointment 
 
 Hi' 
 
 
416 
 
 THE OIAMT OF THE NORTH 
 
 
 1 
 
 But whan the gale increased so that he could hardly 
 face it, and the sky became obliterated by falling 
 and drifting snow, disappointment gave place to 
 anxiety, and he soon realised the fact that he had 
 lost his direction. To advance in such circum- 
 stances was out of the question, he therefore set 
 about building a miniature hut of snow. Being by 
 that time expert at such masonry, he soon erected 
 a dome-shaped shelter, in which he sat down on his 
 empty game-bag after closing the entrance with a 
 l)lock of hard snow. 
 
 The position of our hunter was not enviable. The 
 hut was barely high enough to let him sit up, and 
 long enough to let him lie down — not to stretch 
 out. The small allowance of pemmican with which 
 he had set out had long ago been consumed. It 
 was so dark that he could not see his hand when 
 close before his eyes. He was somewhat fatigued 
 and rather cold, and had no water to drink. It 
 was depressing to think of going to bed in such 
 circumstances with the yelling of an Arctic storm 
 for a luUaby. 
 
 However, Leo had a buoyant spirit, and resolved 
 to " make the best of it." First of all he groped in 
 his game-bag for a small stove lamp, which he set 
 up before him, and arranged blubber and a wick in 
 it, using the sense of touch in default of sight. 
 Then he struck a light, but not with matches. The 
 
 11 : ii.j'fn :ij>i4]:! 
 
OR POKINGS ROUND TUE POLE. 
 
 417 
 
 Englishmen's small stock of congreves had long 
 since been exhausted, and they were obliged to 
 procure fire by the Eskimo method, namely, a little 
 piece of wood worked like a drill, with a thong of 
 leather, against another piece of wood until the 
 friction produced fire. When a light had been thus 
 laboriously obtained, he applied it to the wick of his 
 lamp, and wished fervently for something to cook. 
 
 It is proverbial that wishing does not usually 
 achieve much. After a deep sigh, therefore, Leo 
 turned his wallet inside out. Besides a few crumbs, 
 it contained a small lump of narwhal blubber and 
 a little packet. The former, in its frozen sta*^9. 
 somewhat resembled hard butter. The latter con- 
 tained a little coffee — not the genuine article, how- 
 ever. That, like the matches, had long ago been 
 used up, and our discoverers were reduced to roasted 
 biscuit-crumbs. The substitute was not bad ! In- 
 side of the coffee-packet was a smaller packet of 
 brown sugar, but it had burst and allowed its 
 contents to mingle with the coffea 
 
 Bejoiced to find even a little food where he had 
 thought there was none, Leo filled his pannikin 
 with snow, melted it, emptied into it the compound 
 of coffee and sugar, put it on the lamp to boil, and 
 sat down to watch, while he slowly consumed the 
 narwhal butter, listening the while to the simmering 
 of the pannikin and the roaring of the gal& 
 
 2 D 
 
 e: 
 
 ll 
 
418 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 ft} 
 J' 
 
 '••' ft: 
 
 i / 
 
 
 rif: 
 
 !: ! 
 
 ! I 
 
 *•' 
 
 ■ :•! I ; 
 
 ?f; .:) fil- 
 ls -l:!'-^ 
 
 
 ;t;:i!i; 
 
 Hi. 
 
 ij. Jif; :i '1 
 
 r'l'lHr;! 
 
 i'i? 
 
 *.1fl| 
 
 'I 
 
 i 
 
 [ ■ 
 i. 
 
 I 
 i 
 
 1 < ■ 
 
 After his meagre meal iie wrapped himself in his 
 blanket, and went to sleep. 
 
 This was all very well as long as it lasted, but he 
 cooled during the night, and, on awaking in the 
 morning, found that keen frost penetrated every 
 fibre of his garments and every pore of his skin. 
 The storm, however, was over ; the moon and stars 
 were shining in a clear sky, and the aurora was 
 dancing meriily. Kising at once he bundled up 
 his traps, threw the line of his small hand-sledge 
 over his shoulder, and stepped out for home. But 
 cold and want of food had been telling on him. He 
 Boon experienced an unwonted sense of fatigue, 
 then a drowsy sensation came over him. 
 
 Leo was well aware of the danger of giving way 
 to drowsiness in such circumstances, yet, strange 
 to say, he was not in the least afraid of being over- 
 some. He would sit down to rest, just for two 
 minutes, and then push on. He smiled, as he sat 
 down in the crevice of a hummock, to think of the 
 frequent and needless cautions which his uncle had 
 given him against this very thing. The smile was 
 still on his lips when his head drooped on a piece 
 of ice, and he sank into a deep slumber. 
 
 Ah, Leonard Vandervell ! ill would it have been 
 for thee if thou hadst been left to thyself that day ; 
 but sharp eyes and anxious hearts were out on the 
 icy waste in search of thee ! 
 
OR POKINGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 419 
 
 i himself in his 
 
 On arriving at his winter quarters, and learning 
 that Leo had not yet returned, Captain Vane at once 
 organised an elahorate search-oxpedition. The man 
 who found him at last was Butterface, 
 
 "Oh, MassaLeo!" exclaimed that sable creature 
 on beholding the youth seated, white and cold, on 
 the hummock; but he said no more, being fully 
 alive to the danger of the situation. 
 
 Rushing at Leo, he seized and shook him violently, 
 as if he had been his bitterest foe. There was no 
 response from the sleeping man. The negro therefore 
 began to chafe, shake, and kick him ; even to slap 
 his face, and yell into his ears in a way that an 
 ignorant observer would have styled brutal. At 
 last there was a symptom of returning vitality in 
 the poor youth's frame, and the negro redoubled his 
 efforts. 
 
 " Ho ! hallo ! Massa Leo, wake up I You 's dyin' 
 you is !" 
 
 « Why — what 's— the— matter— Butterf " 
 
 muttered Leo, and dropped his head again. 
 
 '* Hi ! hallo ! ho — o — o ! " yelled Butterface, 
 renewing the rough treatment, and finally hitting 
 the youth a sounding slap on the ear. 
 
 " Ha ! I be tink dat vakes you up." 
 
 It certainly did wake him up. A burst of 
 indignation within seemed to do more for him than 
 the outward buffetings. He sixnii hJis fist and hit 
 
 'I 
 I 
 
 
420 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE »lrtRTH 
 
 ft' 
 
 Butterface a weak but well intended right-hander 
 on the nose. The negro replied with a sounding 
 slap on the other ear, which induced Leo to grasp 
 him in his arms and try to throw him. Butterface 
 returned the grasp with interest, and soon quite an 
 interesting wrestling match began, the only witness 
 of which sat 3n a neighbouring^ hummock in the 
 form of a melancholy Arctic fox. 
 
 " Hi ! hold on, Massa Leo ! Don't kill me 
 altogidder," shouted Butterface, as he ff 1 beneath 
 his adversary. " You 's a'most right now." 
 
 " Almost Tif ht ! wLat do you mean ? " 
 
 " I mean d it you's bin a'most froze to deaf, but 
 I 's melted you down to life agin." 
 
 The truth at last began to dawn on the young 
 hunter. After a brief explanation, he and the negrt 
 T^alked home together in perfect harmony. 
 
 ni' 
 
 ,: I 
 
 • if 
 
 'ii4 
 
 i v: 
 
 ■X-: 
 
Oii P0KLNG8 hOUND TU£ POLK. 
 
 421 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 TEK LAST. 
 
 In course of time the long and dreary winter 
 passed away, and signs of the coming spring began 
 to manifest themselves to the dwellers in the Polar 
 lands. 
 
 Chief and most musical among these signs were 
 the almost forgotten sounds of dropping water, and 
 of tinkling rUls. One day in April the thermo- 
 meter suddenly rose to eighteen above the freezing- 
 point of Fahrenheit. Captain Vane came from the 
 observatory, his face blazing with excitement and 
 oily with heat, to announce the fact. 
 
 "That accounts for it feeling so like summer," 
 said Benjy. 
 
 " Summer, boy, it 'a like India," returned the 
 Captain, puffing and fanning himself with his cap. 
 " We 'U begin this very day to make arrangements 
 for returning home." 
 
 It was on the evening o^ that day that they heard 
 the first droppings of the melting snow. Long 
 
 li 
 
422 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NOUTII 
 
 
 !■ Ir 
 
 : I 
 
 1 ■ i! ■ 
 U 1 
 
 ii J^ 
 
 ; \-y 
 
 before that, howover, the suu had corae hack to 
 gladden the Polar regions, and break up the reign 
 of ancient night. His departure in autumn had 
 been ao gradual, that it was difficult to say when 
 night began to overcome the day. So, iu like 
 manner, his return was gradual. It was not until 
 Captain Vane observed stars of the sixth magnitude 
 shining out at noon in November, that ho had 
 admitted the total absence of day ; and when spring 
 returned, it was not until he could read the smallest 
 print at midnight in June that he admitted there 
 was " no night there." 
 
 But neither the continual day of summer, nor 
 the perpetual night of winter, made so deep an 
 impression on our explorers as the gushing advent 
 of spring. That season did not come gratlually 
 back like the light, but rushed upon them suddenly 
 with a warm embrace, like an enthusiastic friend 
 after a long absence. It plunged, as it were, upon 
 tL„ region, and overwhelmed it Gushing waters 
 thrilled the ears with the sweetness of an old 
 familiar song. Exhalatic ^-s from the moistened 
 earth, and, soon after, the scent of awakening 
 vegetation, filled the nostrils with delicious fra- 
 grance. In May, the willow-stems were green and 
 fresh with flowing sap. Flowers began to bud 
 modestly, as if half afraid of having come too 
 soon. But there was no cause to fear that. The 
 
 I-; !5 
 
 
OU rOKINGS UOUND THE I'OLIL 
 
 423 
 
 glorious siiii v^as strong in his mi<^ht, and, liko 
 liis Maker, warmed the northern world into exuberant 
 hie. Mosses, poppies, saxifrages, cochlear ia, and 
 other hardy plants began to 8})rout, and migratory 
 l)irds innumerable — screaming terns, cackling ducks, 
 pijiing plover, auks in dense clouds with loudly 
 whining wings, trumpeting geese, eider ducks, 
 burgomasters, etc., began to return with all the 
 noisy bustle and joyous excitement of a family ou 
 its annual visit to much-loved summer quarters. 
 
 But here we must note a difference between the 
 experience of our explorers and that of all others. 
 These myriads of happy creatures — and many others 
 that we have not space to name — did not pass from 
 the south onward to a still remoter north, but 
 came up from all round the horizon, — up all the 
 meridians of longitude, as on so many railway ]mea, 
 converging at the Pole, and settling down for a 
 prolonged residence in garrulous felicity among the 
 swamps and hills and vales of Flatland. 
 
 Truly it was a most enjoyable season and experi- 
 ence, but there is no joy without its alloy here 
 below — not even at the North Pole ! 
 
 The alloy came in the form of a low fever which 
 smote down the stalwart Leo, reduced his great 
 strength seriously, and confined him for many weeks 
 to a couch in their little stone hut, and, of course, 
 the power of sympathy robbed his companion* 
 
434 
 
 THE OIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 ft: 
 
 V 
 
 C' 
 
 P 
 
 i 
 
 
 % :i 
 
 '^- i 
 
 :4i 
 
 '! 
 
 ^r ; 
 
 1 » ' (i 
 
 • ■ ?:( 
 
 of much of that exuberant joy which they shared 
 with the lower animals at the advent of beautiful 
 spring. 
 
 During the period of his illness Leo's chief nurse, 
 comforter, and philosophical companion, was the 
 giant of the North. And one of the subjects which 
 occupied their minds most frequently was the Word 
 of God. In the days of weakness and suffering Leo 
 took to that great source of comfort with thirsting 
 avidity, and intense was his gratification at the 
 eager desire expressed by the giant to hear and 
 understand what it contained. 
 
 Of course Alf, and Benjy, and the Captain, and 
 Butterface, as well as Grabautak, Makitok, and 
 Amalatok, with others of the Eskimos, were fre- 
 quently by his side, but the giant never left him 
 for more than a brief period, night or day. 
 
 "Ah! Chingatok," said Leo one day, when the 
 returning spring had begun to revive his strength, 
 " I never felt such a love for God's Book when I 
 was well and strong as I feel for it now that I am 
 ill, and I little thought that I should find out so 
 much of its value while talking about it to an 
 Eskimo. I shall be sorry to leave you, Chingatok 
 — very sorry." 
 
 " The young Kablunet is not yet going to die," 
 said the giant in a soft voice. 
 
 "I did not mean that," replied Leo, with the 
 
 w i 
 
OR rOKlNOH ROUND TIIJE POLE, 
 
 425 
 
 Leo, with the 
 
 ghost of his former lioai-ty lauj^h ; " I mean that I 
 shall be ol»lij,'ed to leave Flatland and to n.'tum to 
 my own home as soon as the season permits. 
 Captain Vane has been talkin;^' to mo about it. He 
 is anxious now to depart, yet sorry to leave his 
 kind and hospitable friends." 
 
 "I, too, am sorry," returned Chingatok sadly. 
 *• No more shall I hear fron> your lips the sweet 
 words of my Great Father — the story of Jesus. 
 You will take your book away with you." 
 
 " That is true, my friend ; and it would be useless 
 k) leave my Bible with you, as you could not read 
 H, but the truth will remain with you, Chingatok." 
 
 " Yes," replied the giant with a significant smile, 
 • you cannot take that away. It is here — and here." 
 
 He touched his forehead and breast as he spoke 
 Then he continued : — 
 
 " These strange things that Alf has been trying 
 to teach me during the long nights I have lefirned 
 — I understand." 
 
 He referred here to a syllabic alphabet which Alf 
 had invented, and which he had amused himself by 
 teaching to some of the natives, so that they might 
 write down and read those few words and mes- 
 sages in their own tongue which formerly they had 
 been wont to convey to each other by means of 
 signs and rude drawings — after the manner of most 
 savages. 
 
 i: 
 
436 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 
 fe 
 
 I ^ ^: |;^ 
 
 Ik 
 
 "Well, what about that? ' asked Leo, as his com- 
 panion paused 
 
 "Could not my friend," replied Chingatok, 
 "change some of the words of his book into the 
 language of the Eskimo and mark them down ?" 
 
 Leo at once jumped at the idea. Afterv/ards ho 
 spoke to Alf about it, and the two set to work to 
 translate some of the most important passage? of 
 Scripture, and write them down in the syllabic 
 alphabet. For this purpose they converted a seal- 
 skin into pretty fair parchment, and wrote with the 
 ink which Captain Vane had brought with hiin 
 and carefully husbanded. The occupation proved 
 a beneficial stimulus to the invalid, who soon 
 recovered much of his wonted health, and e '^en 
 began again to wander about with his old com- 
 pa'iion the repeating rifle. 
 
 The last event of interest which occuiTed at the 
 North Pole, before the departure of our explorers, 
 was the marriage of Oolichuk with Oblooria. The 
 ceremony was very simple. It consisted in the 
 bridegroom dressing in his best and going to the 
 tent of his father-in-law with a gift, which he laid 
 at his feet. He then paid some endearing Eskimo 
 attentions to his raother-in-law, one of which was 
 to present her with a raw duck, cleaned and dis- 
 membered for immediate consumption. He even 
 assisted that j^Jeased lady immediately to consume 
 
OR POKINGS "OUND THB POLK. 
 
 42: 
 
 eo, as his com- 
 
 the duck, and .vound up by taking timid little 
 Oblooria's hand and leading her away to a hut of 
 his own, which he had specially built and decorated 
 for the occasion. 
 
 As Amalatok had arrived that very day on a visit 
 from Poloeland with his prime minister and several 
 chiefs, and Grabantak was residing on the spot, 
 with a number of chiefs from the surrounding 
 islands, who had come to behold the famous Kab- 
 lunets, there was a sort of impromptu gathering of 
 the northern clans wliich lent appropriate dignity 
 to the wedding. 
 
 After the preliminary feast of the occasion was 
 over. Captain Vane was requested to exhibit some 
 of his wonderful powers for the benefit of a strange 
 chief who had recently arrived from a distant island. 
 Of course oui good-natured Captain complied. 
 
 "Get out the boats and kites, Benjy, boy,** he 
 said; "we must go through our performances to 
 please 'em. I feel as if we were a regular company 
 of play-actors now." 
 
 " Won't you give them a blow-up first, father?" 
 
 " No, Benjy, no. Never put your best foot fore- 
 most The proverb is a false one — as many pro- 
 verbs are. We will dynamite them afterwards, and 
 electrify them last of all. Go, look sharp.** 
 
 So the Captain first amazed the visitor with the 
 kites and india-rubber boats ; then he horrified 
 
428 
 
 THB GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 41 
 
 1. i 
 
 him by blowing a small iceberg of some thousands 
 of tons into millions of atoms ; after which he con- 
 vulsed him and made him "jump." 
 
 The latter experiment was the one to which the 
 enlightened Eskimos looked forward with the most 
 excited and hopeful anticipations, for it was that 
 which gratified best their feeling of mischievous 
 joviality. 
 
 When the sedate and dignified chief was led, all 
 ignorant of his fate, to the mysterious mat, and stood 
 thereon with grave demeanour, the surrounding 
 natives bent their knees, drew up elbows, expanded 
 fingers, and glared in expectancy. When the 
 dignified chief experienced a tremor of the frame 
 and looked surprised, they grinned with satisfaction ; 
 when he quivered convulsively they also quivered 
 with suppressed emotion. Ah ! Benjy had learned 
 by that time from experience to graduate very 
 delicately his shocking scale, and thus lead his 
 victim step by step from bad to worse, so as to 
 squeeze the utmost amount of fun out of him, before 
 inducing that galvanic war-dance which usually 
 tenninated the scene and threw his audience into 
 fits of ecstatic laughter. 
 
 These were the final rejoicings of the wedding- 
 day — if we except a dance in which every man did 
 what seemed best in his own eyes, and Butterface 
 played reels on the flute witli admirable incapacity. 
 
OR POKINGS ROUND THE POLE. 
 
 429 
 
 But there came a day, at last, when the inhabi- 
 tants of Flatland were far indeed removed from the 
 spirit of merriment. 
 
 It was the height of the Arctic summer- time, when 
 the crashing of the great glaciers and the gleaming 
 of the melting bergs told of rapid dissolution, and 
 the sleepless sun was circling its day-and-nightly 
 course in the ever-bright blue sky. The population 
 of Flatland was assembled on the beach of their 
 native isle — the men with downcast looks, the 
 women with sad and tearful eyes. Two india-rubber 
 boats were on the shore. Two kites v/ere flying 
 overhead. The third boat and kite had been dam- 
 aged beyond repair, but the two left were sufficient 
 The Englishmen were about to depart, and tha 
 Eskimos were inconsolable. 
 
 " My boat is on the shore," 
 said Benjy, quoting B3rron, as he shook old Makitok 
 by the hand — 
 
 " And my kite is in the sky, 
 But before I go, once more, 
 I will — bid you — all — good — b — ** 
 
 Benjy broke down at this point. The feeble 
 attempt to be facetious to the last utterly failed. 
 Turning abruptly on his heel he stepped into the 
 Faith and took his seat in the stem. It was the 
 Hope which had been destroyed. The Faith and 
 Charity still remained to them. 
 
 . 
 
 I 
 
 \ : 
 
 M 
 
 ^ 1 
 
430 
 
 TIIE GIANT OF THE NORTH 
 
 .J! 
 
 '•' ft: 
 
 
 M 
 
 We must draw a curtain over that parting scena 
 Never before in human experience had such a dis- 
 play of kindly feeling and profound regret been 
 witnessed in similar circumstances. 
 
 "Let go the tail-ropes !" said Captain Vane in a 
 husky tone. 
 
 " Let go de ropes," echoed Butterface in a broken 
 voice. 
 
 The ropes were let go. The kites soared, and 
 the boats rushed swiftly over the calm and glittering 
 sea. 
 
 On Hearing one of the outer islands the voyagers 
 knew that their tiny boats would soon be shut out 
 froiii view, and they rose to wave a last farewell. 
 The salute was returned by the Eskimos — with 
 especial fervour by Chingatok, who stood high 
 above his fellows on a promontory, and waved the 
 parchment roll of texts which he grasped in his 
 huge right hand. 
 
 Long after the boats had disappeared, the kites 
 could still be scm among the gorgeous clouds. 
 Smaller and smaller they became in their flight to 
 the mysterious south, until at last they seemed 
 undistinguishable specks on the horizon, and then 
 V^anished altogether from view. 
 
 One by one the Eskimos retired to their homes — 
 slowly and sadly, as if loath to part from the scene 
 where the word farewell had been spoken. At last 
 
OR rOKINGS ROUND THE POLK. 
 
 431 
 
 ;aiii Vane in a 
 
 ce in a broken 
 
 all were gone save Cliingatok, who still stood for 
 hours on the promontoiy, pressing the scroll to his 
 heaving chest, and gazing intently at the place on 
 the horizon where his friends had disappeared. 
 
 There was no night to bring his vigil or his medi- 
 tations to a close, but time wore hira out at last. 
 With a sigh, amounting almost to a groan, he turned 
 and walked slowly away, and did not stop until he 
 stood upon the Pole, where he sat down on one of 
 the Captain's stools, and gazed mournfully at the 
 remains of the dismantled observatory. There he 
 was found by old Makitok, and for some time the 
 giant and the wizard held converse together. 
 " I love these Kablunets," said Chingatok. 
 " They are a strange race," returned the wizard. 
 " They mingle much folly with their wisdom. They 
 come here to find this Nort Pole, this nothing, and 
 fliey find it. Then they go away and leave it ! 
 What good has it done them ?" 
 
 " I know not," replied Chingatok humbly, " but 
 I know not everything. They have showed me much. 
 One thing they have showed me — that behind all 
 things there is something else which I do not see. 
 The Kablunets are wonderful men. Yet I pity 
 them. As Blackbeard has said, some of them are 
 too fond of killing themselves, and some are too 
 fond of killing each other. I wish they would come 
 here — the whole nation of them — and learn how to 
 
432 
 
 THE GIANT OF THE NORTH. 
 
 ft: 
 
 
 live in peace and be happy among the Eskimoa 
 But they will rot come. Only a few of their best 
 men venture to come, and I should not wonder if 
 their countrymen refused to believe the half of what 
 they tell them when they get home." 
 
 Old Makitok made no reply. He was puzzled, 
 and when puzzled he usually retired to his hut and 
 went to bed. Doing so on tlie present occasion, he 
 left his companion alona 
 
 "Poor, poor Kablunets," murmured Chingatok; 
 descending from his position and wandering away 
 towards the outskirts of the village, " you are very 
 clever, but you are somewhat foolish. T pity you, 
 but I also love you well !" 
 
 With his grand head down, his arms crossed, ami 
 the scroll of texts pressed close to his broad bosomp 
 the giant of the North wandered away, and finally 
 disappeared among the flowering and rocky up~ 
 lands of the interior. 
 
 THE END 
 
 Printed by T. and A. Constablk, Trintera to His Majesty 
 at tlie Edinburgh University Press 
 
I. 
 
 the Eskimos. 
 J of their best 
 not wonder if 
 le half of what 
 
 I was puzzled, 
 to his hut and 
 it occasion, he 
 
 ed Chingatok; 
 
 andering away 
 
 " you are very 
 
 T pity you» 
 
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 ind rocky up- 
 
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