He had stalked and killed a caribou calf when he was only two years old and it had nearly cost him his life. The bull had surprised him in the act and had charged the murderer and gored him badly in the shoulder.
Once while in pursuit of a walrus calf, he had been attacked by a killer whale and had escaped miraculously with a mighty gash along his entire side. This had laid him up for nearly a month, but he had been carefully attended by his master, Oumauk, during this sorry time. So it will be seen that even the life of the polar bear is not all roses. If he hunts the other polar creatures, yet he is often hunted himself.
Nor did Whitie entirely escape the rifles of the hunters. Eiseeyou had warned all the Eskimos along Eskimo land coast not to shoot at him; but how was he to be told from any other white bear? So he was once badly wounded by a rifle ball which, luckily for the happiness of Eiseeyou's igloo, did not hit a vital spot.
Finally, to prevent his being shot and killed by some lawless Eskimo, Eiseeyou made a broad, strong leather collar for Whitie and covered it with bright red flannel. This could be plainly seen a hundred yards away, almost as far away as any one would naturally shoot at him. So it became known all through Eskimo Land that the great white bear with the red collar belonged to Eiseeyou and little Oumauk, and was not to be shot.
By this time Whitie, or the White Czar as I shall henceforth call him, lived almost as much away from Eskimo town as he did at home. He was half wild and half domesticated. But the only person in Eskimo Town who could lay a hand on him was Oumauk, and the only man who was not afraid of him was Eiseeyou. But he came and went a much privileged bear, still as much beloved by his small master as ever.
So life with the people of the snow went by until the White Czar was six years old. He had then come to his full stature and weight, which was about six hundred pounds. He had mated three times and often been away from Eskimo Town for months.
Oumauk himself was nine years old and a stalwart lad. There were now several other children in Eiseeyou's igloo, but Oumauk was his favorite.
In the autumn of the year when Oumauk was nine and the White Czar was six years old, a terrible plague visited Eskimo Town. It would not have been serious among white people, but the Eskimo is very dirty and he easily falls a prey to contagious diseases. The disease swept through the little community like wild fire. The Eskimos did what they could. They applied some simple remedies which they secured from the mission farther south, and the local medicine man pounded on his large drum and entreated all the gods of health that he knew of, but all to no avail. Hardly an hour of a day passed but some Eskimo mother ran shrieking from her igloo, wringing her hands and calling to her friends that death had claimed one of her children.