The White Czar: A Story of a Polar Bear

by Clarence Hawkes

It was a wild and desolate land towards which the three komatiks or sledges, had pointed their noses. Such a trip as only the hardiest white men ever take. Even then they have an escort of Eskimos and go well equipped. But to the hardy Child of the Snow, it was just another exciting adventure in his adventurous life. There were few landmarks that would have helped a white man. But the Eskimo has a wonderful bump of location, and this is almost as good as a compass. It also enables him to draw very accurate maps of any country he has visited. But strangely enough he has little idea of distance.

In this desolate land there was almost no timber just a few creeping willows and reindeer moss. This was interspersed with a wild medley of rocks, large boulders and small stones. Cliffs and ledges intersected the trail and made the going about as hard as travelling upon Mother Earth could well be. The country had a wild unfinished look where the face of the earth showed at all. This was upon high precipitous hills where the arctic winds had full sweep.

Eiseeyou and his sledge led the way. Although a young man, Eiseeyou was the most skillful and successful hunter in Eskimo town. He was also a famous guide. He could go and come over these frozen barren lands in the arctic night almost as well as any of the other Eskimos could in the full glare of day.

So this was why he led the little caravan. He was closely followed by his friend, Tukshu, while Tunkine, whose dog team was not so fast, usually trailed a score of rods behind.

For hours the three komatiks lurched and slid after the straining dogs, their three drivers ever on the alert, sometimes swinging the team this way or that with a crack of the long whiplash. The winds howled and the snow beat in their faces, which were white with frost, and the dogs' muzzles were white with the frost from their own breath.

The three Eskimos usually ran beside the komatiks. This was partly to keep their feet from freezing, and also to lighten the load. When they were tired, they would jump on and ride for a mile or two; but for the better part of the way they ran.

The pace at first was seven or eight miles an hour, but it soon slowed down to four or five, which was maintained for the greater part of the day. But it took nerve and strength and many lashes from the long sinister whip to keep up this pace.

The Eskimo is merciless as far as his dog team is concerned. He drives with both the lash and the butt of his whip. He never pets his dogs or shows them any kindness. The slightest misbehavior on the part of the team brings terrible punishment.