Tales out of school

by Frank R. Stockton

In due course of time, the whales came up, and, after them came the whaling ships. There were whales enough for both the Esquimaux and the whalers. The former laid in large supplies for winter use, and the latter loaded their ships with oil. But the fishing was so very good that one of the whalers staid rather late for such a very northern latitude. From time to time the captain had resolved to go, but a fresh temptation in the shape of a big whale would induce him to defer his departure; and the last of September found the ship still cruising about in that latitude.

FROZEN UP.

By that time the whales were gone, and the vessel was full, and they were really on the point of departure, when, unfortunately, there came upon them a few days of excessively cold weather that was very unusual so early in the season. In a short time the bay was frozen, and the vessel tightly enclosed in the ice. The sailors now began seriously to fear that they would have to winter in that dreadful climate, when, to their joy, the weather moderated somewhat, and the ice broke up. They soon found, however, that this condition of things was worse than the other, for there was great danger of the ship being crushed by the huge masses of loose ice that pressed upon it on every side. The crew worked hard to save the ship, but it is doubtful whether they would have succeeded had it not been for the help of the friendly Esquimaux, who did everything in their power for their visitors.

At one time, they all gave up the ship as lost. The ice closed around them with such a crushing force, that the captain and crew fled to the shelter of the Esquimaux snow houses, where they were most hospitably received, and preparations were made to entertain them all winter.

But the vessel escaped, it seemed, almost by a miracle, and the crew returned to it very soon. Then the ice broke up into smaller pieces and drifted away towards the open sea, and the ship prepared to follow as soon as the channel should be sufficiently open. The Esquimaux bade farewell to the whalers, and went off on an expedition, partly for hunting, but chiefly to gather in their dogs and reindeer under shelter for the winter, leaving a few old men and boys to guard the settlement.

Polargno happened to be one of the boys left behind. The day after the expedition started he walked down to the shore to see if the bay was sufficiently open for the ship to start on its voyage. He found that the vessel was enclosed in thin ice which extended for quite a distance beyond in a solid sheet. But, as the weather was still moderating, this ice would probably break up in a few hours. Some sailors were packing up their things in a tent they had occupied on the shore. They evidently expected certainly to get away this time. But, before Polargno reached the place, they ran out of the tent, and down towards the beach with exclamations of horror. Polargno ran after them, and soon discovered the cause of their excitement.

Lower down could be seen the open sea, and, rising and falling on the waves were blocks of ice, some large and some small. On one of the largest floes stood a sailor, trying to ward off the attack of a polar bear. The bear had evidently just arrived upon the scene, and was walking around the man, preparatory to making a rush upon him. If he once closed with the sailor there was small chance of the latter escaping with his life. The ice floe, on which they both stood, was now almost stationary, having become wedged in a mass of light, loose pieces that were swaying back and forth on the water.

Having taken in this situation at a glance, Polargno did not hesitate an instant, but ran down the shore at his best speed to a spot opposite the ice-floe. The four sailors followed, but they could not equal the speed of the Esquimaux boy, and when they arrived he had taken off his outer suit and boots, retaining only his in-door suit, and light seal-skin boots. The sailors could not imagine what the boy was about, but their attention was absorbed in their comrade who was in such deadly peril, and they paid little heed to Polargno. Two of them had guns, but they found to their dismay, that these were of no use. The distance was too great for them to aim at any particular spot of the beast’s body, and a polar bear is very hard to kill, unless a vital part is struck. If he were only wounded he would be so infuriated that the sailor’s case would be hopeless. And, besides, the bear was now on the farther side of the block of ice, and was thus partly covered from their fire by the man’s body.

All this had passed in the space of a very few minutes; and now, while they were wondering what they could do, and watching for a chance to fire, the sailors suddenly discovered that the Esquimaux boy was far on his way to the help of their comrade. He had made no boast of what he was going to do. He had asked for no help. He knew they could not give him any. The thin cakes of ice, which dipped into the water under his light tread, would have sunk with the weight of one of the sailors. He saw that a fellow-creature was in danger of being killed by a ferocious animal; and, at once, without a care for his own personal safety, he went to the rescue. He had, in his belt, his knife and his hatchet, and, on these, and his dexterity and quickness, and knowledge of the ways of polar bears, he relied for success.