I was exceedingly anxious to recover the body of Mr. Sonntag before I left the vessel; and, desiring to secure the assistance of Kalutunah for that purpose, I drove over to Etah a few days after he had become fixed there. I had eleven of my new dogs harnessed to the sledge, and Jensen "was himself again."
KALUTUNAH AT HOME.
I found Kalutunah very comfortably fixed and apparently well contented. I carried with me as a present for a house-warming a quarter of a recently-captured deer, and a couple of gallons of oil. Observing our approach, he came out to meet us, and, some snow having drifted into the passage, he scraped it away with his foot, and invited us to enter. This we did on our hands and knees, through a sort of tunnel about twelve feet long; and thence we emerged into a dimly lighted den, where, coiled up in a nest of reindeer-skins which I had given them, was the family of the chief and the wife and baby of Myouk. Kalutunah's wife was stitching away quite swiftly at a pair of boots for my use, and I brought her some more "work," and also some presents, among which was a string of beads and a looking-glass, which much amused the children. Myouk's wife, on the other hand, was quite idle, not even looking after her child, which, startled by our approach, rolled down on the floor about our feet, and thence into the entrance among the snow which lay scattered along the passage. The poor little creature, being almost naked, set up a terrible scream, and its amiable mother, promptly seizing it by one of its legs, hauled it up and crammed into its mouth a chunk of blubber which quickly stopped its noise.
Both this woman and her husband were evidently a great annoyance to the frugal proprietors of the hut; but, with a generous practice of hospitality which I have not found elsewhere, in history or fiction, except in Cedric the Saxon, such a worthless crew are suffered to settle themselves upon a thrifty family without fear of being turned out of doors.
I sat for some time talking to Kalutunah and his industrious wife. There was not room, it was true, with so many people in the hut, to be greatly at one's ease, and I had to dodge my head when I moved, to keep from striking the stone rafters. Besides, the smell of the place had rather a tendency to fill one's mind with longings for the open air; but I managed to remain long enough to conclude some important arrangements with my ally and his useful spouse, and then I took my leave with mutual protestations of friendship and good-will. I said to him at parting, "You are chief and I am chief, and we will both tell our respective people to be good to each other;" but he answered, "Na, na, I am chief, but you are the great chief, and the Esquimaux will do what you say. The Esquimaux like you, and are your friends. You make them many presents." I might have told him that this all-powerful method of inspiring friendship was not alone applicable to Esquimaux.
A MORNING CALL.
This visit was a pleasant little episode. I was much pleased at the honest heartiness with which Kalutunah entered into my plans; while the childish simplicity of his habits and the frankness of his declarations won for him a conspicuous place in my regard.
AN ESQUIMAU FEAST.
He was greatly amused with our guns, and begged for one of them, declaring that he could sit in his hut and kill the reindeer as they passed by. He would put the gun through the window, and he pointed to a hole in the wall about a foot square, where the light was admitted through a thin slab of hard snow. In the centre of it he had made a round orifice, which he said, laughingly, was for the purpose of looking out for the Nalegaksoak,—a well-turned compliment, if it did come from a savage, and all the more adroit that the orifice was really for ventilation, at least it was the only opening by which the foul air could possibly escape. Both himself and wife were highly delighted with the presents which I had brought them. Although they are surrounded by reindeer, venison is a luxury which they rarely enjoy, as they possess no means of capturing the animals. They have not the bows and arrows of the Esquimaux of some other localities. Without waiting for it to be cooked, Kalutunah commenced a vigorous attack upon the raw, frozen flesh. His wife and children were not slow to follow his example, crowding round it where it lay on the dirty floor; and, without halting for an invitation, Mrs. Myouk joined in the feast. And I have never witnessed a feast which seemed to give so much satisfaction to the actors in it, not even hungry aldermen at a corporation banquet. Kalutunah was grinning all over with delight. He was eminently happy. His teeth were unintermittingly crushing the hard kernels which he chipped from the frozen "leg," and a steady stream of the luscious food was pouring down his throat. His tongue had little chance, but now and then it got loose from the venison tangle, and then I heard much of the greatness and the goodness of the Nalegaksoak. The man's enjoyment was a pleasant thing to behold.
But if the reindeer-leg gave satisfaction, the oil gave comfort. The hut was dark and chilly, not having yet become thoroughly thawed out. Kalutunah now thought that he could afford another lamp, and in a few minutes after we had entered a fresh blaze was burning in the corner. I have before explained that the Esquimau lamp is only a shallow dish, cut out of a block of soap-stone. The dried moss which they use for wick is arranged around the edge, and the blaze therefrom gives their only light and heat. Over the lamps hung pots of the same soap-stone, and into these Mrs. Kalutunah put some snow, that she might have the water for a venison-soup, of which she invited us to stay and partake. I knew by former experience too well the nature of the Esquimau cuisine to make me anxious to learn further, so I plead business, and left them to enjoy themselves in their own way. How long they kept up their feast I did not learn, but when Kalutunah came over next morning, he informed me that there was no more venison in the hut at Etah,—a hint which was not thrown away.