The Snow Baby: A true story with true pictures

by Josephine Diebitsch Peary

“Another Boat-load of Eskimos came aboard”

Finally the Snowland was reached, and the Eskimos were wild with joy when they caught sight of the ship, for they all loved AH-NI-GHI´-TO’S father, and knew he had brought them many useful presents. All wanted to see AH-NI-GHI´-TO, and the women were particularly anxious to see how much she had grown, and if she still looked so white. One woman brought her baby, a wee boy, whose birthday was the same as AH-NI-GHI´-TO’S, to compare the children. When she saw how much larger AH-NI-GHI´-TO was than her boy, she smilingly stepped up beside AH-NI-GHI´-TO’S mother and showed how much taller the American woman was than she, and pointing to AH-NI-GHI´-TO’S tall father, said: “It is no wonder the Snow Baby is so tall.” Another boat-load of Eskimos just then came aboard, and who should be among them but “Billy-Bah”? How glad she was to see AH-NI-GHI´-TO, and how much she had to tell her. She did not want to stay on deck where the others were, but asked if she might go down in the cabin with AH-NI-GHI´-TO. Once away from her people “Billy-Bah” talked English with AH-NI-GHI´-TO, about the people she had known at AH-NI-GHI´-TO’S home; she asked how Hector the big St. Bernard dog was, and if AH-NI-GHI´-TO still had the little kitty “Billy-Bah” used to take to bed every night. Then they played with the dolls and looked at the picture books together. “Billy-Bah” gave AH-NI-GHI´-TO a number of ivory figures of men, women, dogs, bears, walrus, and seals, which she had carved from the teeth of walrus.

AH-NI-GHI´-TO’S father now had several barrels of ship’s biscuit taken ashore, to be distributed among the natives. Everyone on board was anxious to get ashore, that he might get his share. “Billy-Bah” had been told that AH-NI-GHI´-TO would give her biscuit and tea and sugar, so she was content to remain in the cabin. Only one man refused to go, when he was told if he did not go he would not get any biscuit. Upon talking with him it was learned that he was “Billy-Bah’s” husband, and he was afraid the ship might sail away with his wife and without him, if he went ashore. AH-NI-GHI´-TO’S father assured him this would not be the case, and he speedily followed the others in the boats.

“Billy-Bah’s” husband was very proud of his wife, for besides having travelled to the white man’s country and seen wonderful things, she was one of the best seamstresses in the tribe, and kept her husband’s clothing, as well as her own, in good order, though she was now only fifteen years old. But AH-NI-GHI´-TO was sorry to see that she kept herself just as dirty as her companions. It seemed as though she thought she had bathed enough, while in AH-NI-GHI´-TO’S home, to last her during her lifetime.

After AH-NI-GHI´-TO’S father had selected the Eskimos who were to help him move the great heaven-born stone, the old ship turned her nose toward Meteorite Island, where this mass of iron lay. It was snowing so thick and fast that one could not see any distance ahead, and AH-NI-GHI´-TO thought she must be sailing through the clouds, because, when she looked beyond the ship, she could see nothing but whirling snow-flakes above, below, and all about her. The ship moved along very slowly, feeling her way carefully, to avoid collision with the floating icebergs, numbers of which were to be seen before the snow descended. At last the island was safely reached, and AH-NI-GHI´-TO’S father, with the help of the Eskimos, at once began his search for the great meteorite. Everything was now buried under the snow, which was still falling fast. The great iron rock was soon found, however, and the snow removed; then the work of getting it alongside the ship was begun. This was no easy thing, for it was found to weigh nearly one hundred tons.

For a week everybody worked. The Eskimos, with AH-NI-GHI´-TO’S father to lead them, worked by night,—for you know it was daylight all the time, even when the sun was behind the clouds,—and the captain of the ship, with his men, worked during the day.

The great iron stone was shaped like one of the Eskimo tents, and for that reason the natives called it “tupic.” They chatted all the time they were at work, wondering what the woman could have done that she should have been cast out of the sky with her dog and her tent. “Billy-Bah” told AH-NI-GHI´-TO that she had heard her great-grandfather say that his grandfather told him when these stones first fell from the heavens they were red-hot, but after they had cooled, they looked just like other rocks about them, and none of his people thought they were any different, until one day one of the dusky hunters of the tribe had shot his last arrow into a polar bear, and the animal, though wounded, had managed to escape, leaving the hunter without any arrows.

He hastened to the shore, and began looking for sharp stones from which to make new arrow-heads. As he came upon the heaven-born stones, it occurred to him that perhaps these would give him luck, and picking up a large stone, he began to pound down upon one of the sharp brown ridges of the iron stone. Wherever he struck the brown coat became spotted with silver, but instead of knocking off a splinter, the stone with which he struck flew into fragments. He then searched far and near for a piece of rock harder than the one he had been using, and after a long time he found a piece. Hurrying again to the meteorite, he began to pound and chip, and to his joy he saw that he was making an impression on the iron stone. After hours and hours of hard work, he succeeded in getting a splinter. How it glittered in the sunlight; and when he ran his finger over the edge, the spurting blood taught him how sharp it was.