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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/33703-8.txt b/33703-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..58e15f8 --- /dev/null +++ b/33703-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1272 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Olof Krarer, The Esquimaux Lady, by Olof Krarer + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Olof Krarer, The Esquimaux Lady + A story of her native home + +Author: Olof Krarer + +Editor: Albert S. Post + +Release Date: September 11, 2010 [EBook #33703] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OLOF KRARER, THE ESQUIMAUX LADY *** + + + + +Produced by Andrew Chesley and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + + + + OLOF KRARER + + THE ESQUIMAUX LADY + + A STORY OF HER NATIVE HOME + + + BY + ALBERT S. POST, A. M. + + + OTTAWA, ILLS. + 1887 + + + + + COPYRIGHT + + BY ALBERT S. POST + + A. D. 1887 + + + * * * * * + + Press of Wm. Osman & Sons. + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + + +In writing this little book, it has been our constant aim to make it, as +nearly as possible, an autobiography, giving Miss KRARER'S own thoughts +and words, avoiding some of the little errors, caused by her imperfect +knowledge of English, which are thought by some to add a certain charm +to her conversation. If, near the conclusion, I may seem to have +departed from this plan, it is only because she desired me to attempt +the expression of her thought in more elaborate language than she can +herself, at present, make use of. + +She is authority for the facts, from beginning to end. + +Hoping that the story of her eventful life may be as interesting to +those who read, as it has already been to thousands who have heard it +from her own lips; and with the heartfelt wish that it may be the means +of enabling her to accomplish her cherished purpose, I am glad to have +this opportunity of assisting in her work. + + ALBERT S. POST. + + + + +OLOF KRARER. + + +I was born in Greenland, on the east coast. I am the youngest of eight +children. My three sisters and four brothers are all living in Iceland. +My father is living in Manitoba. My mother died in Iceland when I was +sixteen years old. + +We lived near the sea-shore in Greenland. Our house was built of snow. +It was round, perhaps sixteen feet across, and coming to a point at the +top. It was lined with fur on all sides, and was carpeted with a double +thickness of fur. + +The way they lined the house was to take a skin of some animal, and hold +it near a fire, which was in the centre of the room. When the skin was +heated through, they took it and pressed it against the wall. In a short +time, it stuck to the wall so tightly that it could not be pulled off +without tearing the skin. + +The door was a thick curtain of fur, hung over the doorway, by heating +the upper part, and letting it stick fast to the wall. Outside of the +door was a long, narrow passageway, just high enough for one of us +little Esquimaux people to stand up straight in. That would be about +high enough for a child six years old, in this country; and it was only +wide enough for one person to go through at a time. If one wanted to go +out, and another wanted to go in, at the same time, one would have to +back out and let the other go first. This passageway was not straight; +but turned to one side, so as not to let the wind blow in. + +Our fireplace was in the centre of the house. The bottom was a large, +flat stone, with other stones and whalebone put about the edge to keep +the fire from getting out into the room. When we wanted to build a fire, +we would put some whalebone and lean meat on the stone; then a little +dry moss was put in, and then my father would take a flint and a whale's +tooth, or some other hard bone, and strike fire upon the moss. Sometimes +he could do it easily, but sometimes it took a long while. After the +fire started he would put some blubber upon it. + +Although it was so very cold, we would often be without a fire, for what +we made the fire of was what we had to live on, and we could not always +afford to burn it. Our fire did not warm the room very much. It was +mostly to give light, so that it might be a little more cheerful in the +room. When we had no fire it was very dark. + +There was no chance to play round and romp inside the snow-house. We +just had to sit with our arms folded and keep still. It was in this way +that my arms came to have such a different shape from people's arms in +this country. Where their muscle is large and strong, I have but very +little; and instead of that, I have a large bunch of muscle on the upper +side of my arms, and they are crooked, so that I can never straighten +them. A doctor in Iceland once tried to straighten one arm by pulling, +but he could not change it one bit; and it was very sore for a long time +afterward and the muscles were much swollen. But it was not so with my +father and brothers. They went out to hunt and had more exercise and +more pulling to do, and so their arms were straight. + +It was a great thing when the men would come home from a hunt, for then +we would have a great deal to talk about:--how far they went, how cold +it was, how they found the bear, or walrus, or seal, and who was most +active and brave in killing it. Father would often say to mother, "Oh, +how I wish you had been along, for we had such a nice drink of warm +blood." The warm blood of a dying animal was considered the greatest +luxury we could get, because we had not any cooked food at all. We ate +it all frozen and raw, except when fresh from the animal. It was a great +thing to strike the animal first with a spear, for the one who drew +first blood was owner of the skin and was the boss of the whole job. +They just had to cut it to suit him. The flesh was divided equally +between all the hunters. + +Sometimes we used to get very tired in the dark snow-house, and then we +would try a little amusement. Two of us would sit down on the fur carpet +and look into one another's faces and _guess who was the prettiest_. We +had to guess, for we had no looking-glass in which to see our own faces. +The one whose face shone slickest with the grease was called the +prettiest. + +If at any time we grew too tired of it all and ventured to romp and +play, we were in danger of being punished. As there were no trees from +which to cut switches there, they took a different way. When any child +was naughty, mother would take a bone and she would put it into the fire +and leave it there until it was hot enough for the grease to boil out. +Then she would take it and slap that on her child and burn it. She was +not particular where she burned her child, only she was careful not to +touch the face. + +I can well remember what I got my last punishment for. I had been +playing with my little brother inside the snow-house and I got mad at +him, and so I threw him down and bit him on the back of the neck. Then +mother heated a bone and burned me on the same place where I bit him. I +got tired of that and didn't do that kind of a trick afterwards. + +But it was not always so that we had to stay in the snow-house. Once in +a while father would come in and say it was not so cold as usual, and +then we would have a chance to look round outside the snow-house. We +never took a long walk. As nearly as I can remember, my father's house +was on a low plain near the sea-shore. It sloped gently inland, and we +could have seen a great way into the back country if it had not been for +the great snowdrifts and masses of ice. There were some steep, jagged +rocks in sight of our village, and during the long daytime enough of the +snow would melt off to leave the rocks bare in a few places. On these +bare spots we would find a kind of brown moss, which we gathered and +dried to light our fires with. + +We never saw anything green in Greenland, and I never could understand +why they called it by that name. + +When we looked out toward the ocean, we could not see very far, for even +in the warmest season there was only a small space of open water, and +beyond that the ice was all piled up in rough, broken masses. + +The great event in our family life, however, was the dog-sleigh ride. +When father told us we could go, we came as near dancing and clapping +our hands for joy as Esquimaux children ever did. But we did not have a +fine cutter, with large horses and chiming bells. We did not even have +an old-fashioned bobsled, in which young men and young women have such +good times in your country. + +Sometimes the sleigh would be made of a great wide piece of bone from +the jaws of a whale, one end of which turned up like a runner. But more +often it would be either a skin of some animal laid flat on the ground, +or a great frozen fish cut in two at the back and then turned right +over. I never saw such a fish in this country, or in Iceland, so I +cannot tell what kind of fish it was. + +Our sleigh was drawn by dogs--sometimes six and sometimes ten or twelve. +Each dog had a collar round his neck and a strip of reindeer hide tied +into the collar and to the sleigh. When the dogs were well broken, they +did not need any lines to guide them; but if they were not well trained, +they had to have lines to control them. While we were getting ready to +start, the dogs would jump about and whine and be as anxious to go as +fiery horses in this country. The trained dogs would run forward and put +their noses right into their collars without any trouble. When all was +ready, away we went! It was great fun! The dogs could carry the sleigh +faster than horses do in this country. Sometimes the sleigh was bumped +and tumbled about a good deal on the rough ice, and once in a while it +tipped over. + +The dogs are about the size of shepherd dogs and have sharp pointed +ears. They are very strong, and have heavy coats of long hair, which +often drags upon the snow. They are of a dirty gray color. + +When my father had as many as ten or twelve dogs, he had a separate +snow-house for them and kept them in that; but when he had lost or lent +his dogs, so that he had only two or three, he would let them come into +the snow-house with us. Our dogs had the same kind of food to live on +that we had, and sometimes when food was scarce they had a hard time of +it. They were never fed when we were going to start out for a sleigh +ride, for then they would lie right down and refuse to move one step. +But whenever we came back from a ride they were well fed. + +Our dogs were very useful to us in other ways than drawing our sleighs, +for they were very sharp and good to hunt. They helped to kill the polar +bear, and to find the seal and walrus. + +Now, in order that you may understand our way of living better, I will +explain that we have six months' night in Greenland, and during that +time nothing is seen of the sun. The moon changes very much as it does +here, and we have the light of the stars. Then most of the time the +beautiful northern lights may be seen dancing and leaping about, with +many colored rainbow beauties. The white snow is always on the ground, +so that even when the moon and northern lights did not show, we could +see to hunt round. Before and after the night time, there was about a +month of twilight, and this was our finest time of the year. We had then +the best chance to hunt. + +In the long day we had the hardest time, for then the sun shone out so +brightly that we would be made snow blind if we ventured far from home. +The day was four months long, and if we did not have food enough stored +away in an ice cave to last us through, we would be in great danger of +starving. + +The best time to hunt is when the ice breaks up. My people know when +this is going to happen by the noise. There is a rumbling sound like +distant thunder. Whoever hears that sound first goes from house to house +and gives warning, so that all may be ready to join in the hunt. Then +the hunters get their spears and let out their dogs, and hurry to the +place where the sound is heard. The polar bear hears the sound also, and +hastens to the place, for it is here that he, too, must make his living. +This is the only time that Esquimaux ever dare to tackle a polar bear, +for when he is going about alone and hungry he is very fierce and +dangerous; but when the ice breaks up the bear goes straight for the +sound. This grows louder and longer, until there is a mighty crash, +louder than thunder, and great walls of ice are thrown high in air, and +a space of open water is to be seen. When the commotion has ceased, my +people crowd along the edge of the water. They first look out for the +bear, for they don't want him to catch any of their seals. They have +some of their dogs loose in front of the sleigh, and some of them +harnessed to it. When they come to the bear, he is busy watching for +seal and pays very little attention to the hunters or their dogs. The +loose dogs run up to him and begin to worry him. He chases some of them, +and the others bite him behind. If he makes a rush at the hunters in +their sleighs, the dog teams draw them swiftly away. The loose dogs keep +on worrying the bear until he becomes furious with rage. Every little +while a sweep of his huge paw lays one of his enemies on the snow, +silent in death. A few minutes later, perhaps, another will be caught up +in the powerful embrace of the great brute. The dogs crowd in and take +hold wherever they can. The bear grows frantic in his struggles to +punish his adversaries. At last he lies at full length panting upon the +snow. Then it is that some hunter ventures to leave his dog-sled and try +to kill him with a walrus tusk. No sooner is he sure that the animal is +dying than he hastens to get a drink of warm blood. Then a long cut is +made down the belly of the animal with the points of the walrus tusks +and the skin is pulled and pushed off with their hands. All hands feast +upon the warm grease that is inside the animal, and after that they +divide the meat and take it home. + +I will now explain that the breaking up of the ice I have told about is +not from thawing. In the warmest time we ever saw in that part of +Greenland where I came from, it never thawed enough to make the water +run in streams. A few bare spots were melted off on the rocks and high +points of land. Once in a while the snow would melt enough to drip a +little, and form icicles, but not often. It was cold, cold, bitter cold, +all the year round, and the people in this country can hardly have an +idea of it, even in the coldest weather here. From this we see that +there could be no chance for heat enough to make the thick ice break up +by thawing. Have you ever seen a tub which was full of water frozen +nearly solid? Then, perhaps you remember that the middle was heaved up +and cracked to pieces by the frost. This, I think, is what takes place +in the Northern seas, only on a far grander scale. A rumbling sound can +be heard for some time before it really breaks up; but when it does +come, there is an awful roar like loudest thunder, and great blocks of +ice are lifted and piled one above another, until they are higher than +the tops of the highest buildings in this country. As it breaks up a +good many times in the same place, these ice mountains are piled higher +and higher, until they get so large we cannot see over them or round +them at all. Each time the ice breaks up, there is an open space where +the water is free from ice, and the walruses and seals come up to +breathe. Sometimes a walrus will crawl away from this opening far enough +for the hunters to head him off and kill him. The walrus is hard to +kill, for he is so watchful, and there is no way to call him as they do +the seal. But when killed he is quite a prize. + +In hunting the seal, they take a different plan. The seal is very fond +of its young. The hunters will take advantage of this by lying flat on +the ice and making a sound like the cry of a young seal. In this way +they manage to call the old seal out on the ice. But even then it is not +always easy to catch the seal, for it has a strong, flexible tail, by +means of which it is able to throw itself a good many feet at a time, so +that even when on the ice it sometimes gets away with its awkward rolls +and flops and jumps. A seal is very active and almost always in motion. + +Our greatest prize was the whale. Once in a while one would get +entangled in the breaking ice so that it could not get away, and then +everybody would be out to help or see the fun. A great many ropes of +reindeer hide would be brought out and a great many spears stuck into +the animal. Then the men would join together and try to pull the huge +creature out of the water. Even with the help of all the dogs that could +be used it was hard work, but they would manage it after a while. Then +all would give a great shout and have great joy over the whale. One +reason for their rejoicing was that the whale had so much blubber. +Blubber is the inside fat of the whale. There is a fine skin over it and +it looks like tallow or leaf lard. It is quite hard in my country, but +would melt down into what you would call whale oil in this country. +After the whale is cut up we would have a great feast and eat all we +could. Then, after taking the meat home, we would spend a long time +eating and sleeping. + +It was only when the ice broke up and the people came together to hunt +that they met one another. All the rest of the time the families stay in +their own homes, and do not visit back and forth as your people do. The +only exceptions are, when a man needs meat, or blubber, or a flint, and +goes to borrow, or when a young man goes to steal his girl. There is no +buying and selling, and no trading. Any one can get what he needs by +asking for it, if it is in the village. The people try to treat each +other as brothers and sisters. + +I will now explain a strange custom among our people. When a young man +gets to be about 25 years old he is full grown and is considered to be +of age. He then begins to think of beginning life for himself. It is a +risky thing in my country to get a wife. A young man has to steal his +girl out of her parents' snow-house and get her away into another. If he +is caught trying to do this the girl's parents turn right on him and +kill him. If he has not pluck enough to steal a girl for himself, he has +to live alone, and when he goes to sleep he crawls head first into a fur +sack. When he wants to get up he must crawl out backwards. I suppose he +is what you would call an old bachelor. + +A young man, who sees a girl he thinks he would like to have for a wife, +makes a great many excuses to come to her father's snow-house. Sometimes +he wants to borrow a flint, or blubber, or something else. If he comes +without any excuse, the girl's parents tell him, "I know very well what +you do want; you want my girl, but you never shall get her." Then he +gets kind of scared and runs off. But he sneaks round again pretty +often. He thinks may be her parents will go out for a dog-sleigh ride, +or may be they would lay them down to sleep some time. If he does get +her out of the snow-house without being caught, the girl's parents send +right back for him and think nobody is any smarter than he is, and do +all they can for him. + +The reason a girl's parents want the young man to steal her is, that +they want to find out whether he is willing to risk his life for his own +girl or not. They think if he is not smart enough to steal a girl, he +would not be smart enough to take care of her--kill a polar bear, so +that she would have enough to live on. + +There are not many old bachelors in my country, for if a man has not +spunk enough to steal a girl he is looked down upon as a sort of soft, +good-for-nothing fellow. + +Many people are disappointed when they see me, because I am not darker +colored, with black hair. More of my people have light hair than dark, +and we know that we are naturally a fair-skinned people, because when a +baby is born in my country it is just as white as any American baby, and +it has light hair and blue eyes. But the mother does not wash it with +soft water and soap, as they do in this country, but she goes to work +and greases it all over, and the child is never washed from the day he +is born till he dies, if he remains in that country. The mother wraps +her little one in the skin of a young seal, which has been made very +soft by pounding and rubbing it on the ice. If baby cries, the mother +will not take it up and care for it, but she puts it in a corner and +leaves it there until it stops crying, and then she takes it up and pets +it. She can only nurse it about a month. Then the mother will warm some +blubber for it; but in a little while it must live just like the rest. +She carries the baby in her hood, and does not expect it to learn to +walk until between two and three years old. Then she makes a suit for it +of young seal's fur. When the child becomes larger, say six or seven +years old, a thicker suit is made of polar bear skin; and then little +"Auska" feels as proud of his new clothes as "Our Charlie" does of his +new boots, and the chubby "Roegnia" rejoices over her white suit as much +as dainty Flora in her arctics and muff and fur collar. But Auska and +Roegnia are dressed more nearly alike than Charlie and Flora. Men's +clothes are just like women's clothes; only a woman's coat comes down to +a point and man's coat is cut off square, and that is all the +difference. They wear fur mittens and fur shoes. + +I think it would be very nice for some ladies in this country, if they +were to go to Greenland; for they would have no washing, no ironing, no +scrubbing and no cooking to do. They don't even have to wash their faces +or comb their hair. Esquimaux people have only the salt ocean water, and +if they had soft, fresh water they dare not use it, for it would be like +poison to their flesh when the thermometer was 60° or 70° below zero. +So, when they eat, my people take a chunk of raw meat in one hand and a +chunk of blubber in the other, and take a bite of each until it is +eaten. Then they carefully rub the grease and fat all over their hands +and face, and feel splendid afterwards. + +The women have long hair, made dark by the smoke and grease. The men +have long hair, also, and a thin, scattering beard over the face, which +they never shave or trim, because they have no razor or shears. + +We had no church or court house, no school or factory, no doctor, lawyer +or merchant, no money, jewelry or timepiece, not an axe, spade or +hammer, no knife, fork or spoon, no bread, no cloth, no wood! I never +saw as much wood in my country as would make one little match. For a +needle we use the tooth of a fish; for thread the sinews of a reindeer. + +Rich people were those who had a flint. Poor people had to go and borrow +it when they wanted to light a fire. Common folks would sit down flat on +the fur carpet, but "tony" people would get blocks of ice or snow and +put in the snow-house and cover them with fur for seats. But it was only +the _most toniest_ people who did that kind of a trick. + +My people believe in good and bad spirits. They think there is a big +Good Spirit and several small ones, and one big bad spirit and several +small ones. They think if they tell a lie or do anything wrong, the bad +spirit will come and hurt them some way. If a baby gets sick the mother +does not do anything for it. She thinks a bad spirit has hold of her +child, and will get her too if she helps it in any way. If baby dies she +lays it away in the cold snow and leaves it without a tear. When a man +is sick they carry him into a separate snow-house, and all they do to +help him is to throw in a piece of poor meat which they do not care +about themselves. If a woman is sick she is not taken from her +snow-house, but is no better cared for. The only disease is something +like consumption in this country. After an Esquimaux dies they drag him +out and bury him in the snow, piling blocks of ice as high as they can +above the grave. If he has not specially given his spear and flint and +skins to some of his friends before he dies, then everything is buried +with him, and the friends go home to think no more about him. If the +white bear comes along and digs up the body they do not care. They never +speak of a departed friend, because they fancy it would annoy the +spirit, which is supposed to be not far off. + +When a man is first taken sick they do one thing for him, if he is not +very bad. They gather round him and sing to the Good Spirit, in hopes +that He will drive away the bad spirit. If the sick man recovers they +think a great deal of him. + +Sometimes my father would tell us stories about his parents and grand +parents, and then he would tell how they said that their parents told +how long, long ago the first people had come from Norway. But no one +knew what Norway was like. Some said it was a great house somewhere; +some said it was the moon, and some said it was where the Good Spirit +lived. + +One thing had a great deal of interest for us all. When the sun shone +out brightly at the beginning of the daytime it marked the first of the +year, just as New Year's Day in this country. Then mother and father +would bring out the sacks. Each one was made of a different kind of fur. +Father had his, mother had hers, and each of the children one. In each +sack was a piece of bone for every first time that person had seen the +sun. When ten bones were gathered they would tie them into a bundle, for +they had not words to count more than ten. + + * * * * * + +In such a land was I born. In such a home was I brought up. In such +pleasures I rejoiced, until there were about fourteen bones in my sack. +Then something happened which changed my whole life. Six tall men came +to our village. Our men were much frightened at first and did not know +what to make of the giants. Some thought them bad spirits. But they were +peaceable, and went hunting with our people and helped them, so that +after a while they came to like one another. The strangers were Iceland +fishermen. After they lived with us for more than a year, they were able +to explain how they were shipwrecked in a storm, and how they got on the +ice and walked on the ice till they came to Greenland. They told how +much they wanted to get back to their families, and how much better +country Iceland was. At last, three Esquimaux families told the +Icelanders they would lend them their dogs and sleds if they would do +them any good. And because they wanted their dogs back again they said +they would go with them. + +So they started out. My father's family was the largest in the party, +there being ten of us in all. Most Esquimaux families had only three or +four children in them--sometimes only one child, and often none at all. +I was a young and giddy thing then, and was glad to go. We traveled a +long way down the coast, hunting as we went. Then we turned right out on +to the ocean itself. On the way there were three polar bears killed and +some seals and other animals, so that we had plenty to eat. I remember +we would sometimes take something to eat when the sledges were flying +over the ice with the dogs at full gallop. At intervals we fed the dogs, +and they gathered closely round the sled and soon all were asleep. When +we woke up we went on again. While on the ocean we often heard the sound +of the ice breaking up, and would have to hurry away to escape being +caught in the upheaval. We finally reached Iceland after being two +months and some days on the way, according to the Icelanders' +calculation, and having traveled about a thousand miles. + +The people in Iceland were astonished to see us little people. They came +to see us from a long distance. We were all weighed and measured. My +father stood three feet five inches, and weighed 160 pounds. My mother +was the same height woman that I am, and weighed 150. None of my +brothers was quite so tall as my father, but they came near his weight. +One of my sisters was only three feet two inches, and weighed 142. I +weighed 136 pounds. Now I am three feet four inches high, and weigh 120. + +The missionaries in Iceland took great interest in us, for they knew we +were all heathens, and they said they would like to take us into their +schools and educate us. So each family was taken into a different +school. Our family was placed in the Lutheran school, and there I +studied for five years. My teacher was a good and kind man. His name was +Ion Thorderson. He was patient with me and helped me to learn; but some +of the scholars were jealous of "the little thing" and made fun of me. +For this they had to carry notes home to their parents, and this secured +to them a good whipping a-piece, so that they were heard to wish "that +little thing" had never come into the school. + +At first we lived several miles from the school, but we did not know +anything about walking, in fact could not walk any distance, so they +sent us on horseback. They used to tie me on so that I would not fall +off. It was a funny sight to behold us eight little tots going to +school. + +I never shall forget the time when a kind friend gave me a pony. He was +very gentle, and small enough so that by leading him along side a large +stone I was able to climb upon his back. He would stand quietly and wait +for me. I loved my pony and thought there was nothing in the world like +him. But this long ride was very hard on us, and finally the teacher +made arrangement so that we could live close to the school. + +The school system was very different in some respects from American +schools. The teacher was always the minister, and the school was +connected with the church. A scholar had first to learn to read, and +must keep at it until he could read better than the teacher. Then he was +called upon to commit to memory large portions of history and of the +Bible; and when he had learned them so well that he could repeat from +beginning to end without the book, he was allowed to begin to write. He +could not take pen in hand before that. After learning to write, he was +taught figures; and after that I do not know what was done. + +The teacher never laid a hand on the scholar in punishment. If he did +anything wrong, a note was sent to his parents, and they flogged him +soundly. + +I enjoyed the life in Iceland, for I saw and learned so much that was +new. + +Some time in the spring there was a holiday, in which the young folks +would cut up pranks, something like the tricks of April-fool Day here. +The girls would try to fasten a small sack of ashes upon the clothing of +the boys, and they, in return, would seek to place a pebble in the +pockets of the girls, endeavoring to do it so slyly that the sack or +pebble would be carried about all day without the one who bore it +knowing anything about it. + +On one of these days, a girl tied a small sack into the beard of one of +the men, while he was asleep, and he wore it all day before anyone told +him, and then they had a great laugh at his expense. I thought I would +try my hand at this, so I made a little sack and tucked it into the +corner of a patch, which a big fellow wore upon his pants, the corner +being ripped just enough to let the sack slip inside. I had great fun +watching him all day, and when night came, he boasted that none of the +girls had fooled him that day. "Oh, yes," said one of his companions, +"the smallest girl in the house has fooled you badly." He felt pretty +cheap when I pointed to the patch, and he found the sack sticking out so +that he might have seen it easily. + +Picking up fuel was hard work, and took a great deal of time. They had +but little wood, and no coal, so that it was necessary to gather the +droppings of animals, and make great piles of this kind of stuff in the +summer, so that it would be dry enough to burn in the winter. + +If mice came about the houses and buildings in the fall, the Icelanders +would fear a hard winter, and much damage to their sheep; for when the +winter grew very severe, and the mice could get nothing else to eat, +they would climb upon the sheep's backs, while they were lying close +together in the sheds, and would burrow into the wool, back of the +shoulder-blades, and eat the flesh, very often causing the death of the +poor animals. + +The Icelanders used sheep's milk a great deal, and I liked it. Sheep's +milk is richer and sweeter than cow's milk. They used to put up a lot of +milk in barrels, and put in some rennet, which would make it curdle into +something like cottage cheese. This they would set aside for winter use, +and all were very fond of it. The family would be considered very poor +who could not put up from eight to ten barrels of this food. + +They sometimes, also, would churn mutton tallow, or whale oil, in the +sheep's milk, and make a kind of butter. Whale oil makes a better butter +than the tallow, and I think I like would it even yet. + +While most people had dishes and knives and forks, it was not customary +to set the table, unless there was company present. Each one had a cup +for himself, made of wood with staves like a barrel, and curiously bound +with whale-bone hoops. They had handles upon them, but I do not know how +fastened. A child's cup would hold about a quart, and a man's cup +sometimes as much as three quarts. When each one had gotten his cup +filled, he would take his place at any convenient spot in the room, on +the bed, or anywhere, and proceed to empty the cup with great haste. We +all had ravenous appetites, but did not always have enough to eat. In +the spring we had a great treat, when the eggs and flesh of wild fowl +were to be had. We fared well when fish were plenty, but at other times +a porridge made of Iceland moss and the curdled milk made up our fare. +Some seasons they can raise a few vegetables in Iceland, but this is not +often. Of late years they cannot raise grain, although they used to +raise good oats. + +One of the books that we had there was a history of America, and in that +it said that money could be picked up off the streets, almost. I have +since found it quite a difficulty. But that book put me into the notion +to come out here. So when a colony of five hundred Icelanders were about +to start for Manitoba, I got my father to come with them. He had just +money enough to bring himself and one of his children, so he naturally +chose his youngest and the one that was most anxious to come. + +My mother died with consumption when we had been in Iceland about a +year. I shall never forget the circumstances of her illness. I hated +her, and turned from her just as we did in Greenland. She thought it was +all right, and told me to keep away and to hate her, for fear the bad +spirit would get me. + +I said to my teacher one day: "I hate my mother." + +"Why, my dear child, you should not do that." + +"But I do hate her; she has a bad spirit in her, and Esquimaux people +always hate their friends when they get bad spirits in them." + +Tears ran down the good man's cheeks as he exclaimed, "Why, the dear +child, she doesn't know anything!" + +Then he took me upon his knee and began to explain that my mother did +not have a bad spirit, but was sick. He dropped his school work +entirely, and for three days devoted himself to explaining the Christian +belief. Then he made me go to my mother and tell her all about it. My +mother was glad--oh, so glad; and she died happy. + +My four brothers and three sisters are in Iceland, yet. I promised when +I left that I would send for them, and I still hope to have them all +with me. + +We sailed in a ship from Iceland to Scotland. I cannot remember at what +city we landed. From there I had my first railway ride, into England, +and was much frightened by the noise and motion of the cars. Then we +sailed to Quebec, and then came to Winnipeg. It took us five months and +five days to come from Iceland to Manitoba. + +When I came to Manitoba, I was sick for nearly two years. The Iceland +ministers were very kind to me, and took care of me while I was sick. +When I got well, I started out to work for my living. I could not speak +one word of English, and I was afraid to try. + +The first person I worked for was a half-breed woman, who had a rough, +quarrelsome lot of children that I had to wait upon. Once in a while I +was called into the front room, and would find some strangers there. One +day the mistress was called away, when I was sent into the room, and the +gentleman and lady who were there gave me a quarter, each. She had been +making money out of me in this way all the while, but all the money I +received for some months of hard labor was what these people gave me. + +Then I was taken sick with the measles. The woman turned me out of +doors. I did not know where to go. I just ran round and round the house. +A young lady, from one of the best families in Winnipeg, found me in +this plight, took me by the hand and led me home. She nursed me till I +was well, and then gave me good clothes and found me a place to work. +She told me to come back to her if I was in trouble again. + +After working for some time in this place, I came to work for Mrs. C., +the lady who is with me now. When she first saw me she thought I was a +little child, and did not see how I could be of any use to her. But she +pitied me because she thought I was cold, and gave me something to do. I +lived with her three months. When I first came to her I could not speak +enough English to tell her I liked coffee better than tea. My work was +washing dishes. They would help me into a chair so that I could reach +the table. When at last I was able to explain, with the help of an +Iceland girl who lived next door, that I desired to travel as a +curiosity, hoping in this way to make money enough to bring my brothers +and sisters from Iceland, Mr. and Mrs. C. consented to come with me. + +My father agreed to let me go, if I would go with respectable people and +remain with them. I had worn my seal skin suit about in Manitoba until +it was worn out, but my father had taken care of my polar bear suit, so +I had that to bring with me. He let me bring his new flint and walrus +tusk, also. + +But a few months afterwards he sent for his spear, because he thought he +could not get along without it, so I returned it to him. He is still +living in Manitoba, and is 65 years old. This is several years older +than people live in Greenland. Oldest people we ever knew were 60 years +old. This I know from the Icelanders, who went round to all the snow +houses and counted the bones in the different sacks. + +When I reached Minneapolis I was taken sick, and the doctors did not +know what to do for me. They kept me in a warm room, and I grew worse +every day. At last Mr. C. heard of a doctor who had been in Greenland, +and sent for him. Under his advice I was taken to Minnetonka and kept in +a cold room, and I got well. + +At first I traveled as a curiosity and charged ten cents. All I could do +was to let the people see me, show my costume, flint and tusk, sing a +few songs, etc. By degrees I learned to answer questions, and at last +came to talk pretty well. While we were at a place in Indiana, called +Cloverdale, some professors and a minister urged me to give a lecture. +They secured a large hall, and when I peeked through a hole in the +curtain I saw about 300 people, and was nearly scared out of my wits. +But Mrs. C. got me mad over something about my dress, and the curtain +went up while I was standing there, and I spoke to them right along. +That was Dec. 30th, 1884. Since then I have been lecturing right along, +except in some short times of sickness, and the hottest weather. I have +been in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Ilinois, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, +Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska, and I hope by next year, to have all my +brothers and sisters with me, so that we can travel together and help +the missionary teachers in Iceland, where we got our education in the +first place. + +A great many funny things have been said to me by visitors, and a great +many curious questions asked. Generally, people are kind and +considerate, but sometimes they are rude and uncivil. I am always glad +to satisfy reasonable curiosity to the best of my ability, but I do not +like impertinence any better than any body else. + +I was somewhat surprised by one old lady, a year or so ago. After she +had listened for some time, and become greatly interested, she came up +and said, "Where did yeou say yeou kum from?" "From the eastern coast of +Greenland." "Greenland! why la, yes. I know that country. My husband's +got a farm there." A farm in Greenland! Well, a good many other people +have made mistakes fully equal to the old lady's. + +Americans, I think you do not realize your blessings in this great land +of plenty, where you have so many fine things. Even here, I often see +sad faces, and hear words of discontent. Sometimes I am a little +discontented myself, when I see something I want, and think I cannot, +or ought not to, have it. But I soon get over that feeling when I +remember my home in the frozen north, where we sat still through the +weary hours, shivering with the cold, choked by the smoke, and often +almost perishing with hunger. + +If I was to go back to my race of people, I would not be able to tell +them about what I see and hear in this country. They have not the +language to express the thought. They have seen nothing like a sewing +machine, or a piano. They have no materials to enable them to make +machines. They never saw a painting or a drawing. Their wild, rude songs +is all they have that is anything like music. They have no idea of a +book. They eat when they're hungry, and sleep when they're sleepy. They +are happy and contented _when they don't know any better_. + +The only relatives we knew about, were brothers and sisters, father and +mother, and our grandparents. As for other relatives, such as uncles, +aunts and cousins, we knew nothing about them. We lived in small +settlements of thirty or forty families. No one seemed to take any +interest in finding out how many settlements there were, or how many +people lived in them. We had only one name each, just as you name +animals in this country. My father's name was Krauker. My name was +Olwar. Before we left Iceland, the whole family were baptized. They +named my father Salve Krarer, and they baptized me Olof Krarer, making +the Iceland names as near like the Esquimaux names as they could, but +giving my father a new name, Salve, which means something like "saved." + + THE END. + + + + +EPITOME. + + + On Iceland's damp and stormy shore, + Mid Geyser's throe and Ocean's roar, + A sturdy race on sterile soil, + Pursue their unremitting toil; + Struggling against stern poverty, + And Denmark's hostile mastery. + Farther northward, bleak and cold, + Bound by Winter's icy hold, + Where eternal snows abound,-- + There the Esquimaux is found. + House of ice and suit of fur; + Food, the flesh of polar bear; + Tusks of walrus, the only arm, + Ferocious beasts alone alarm; + A dog-sleigh ride his only pleasure; + A piece of flint his choicest treasure; + Ambition's height to steal a wife, + For her he dares to risk his life. + He tells no lie nor ever swears; + For neighbor, as for brother, cares. + The golden rule he never heard, + But tries to keep its every word. + Father to son the story told, + How sailors hardy, brave and bold, + Far back in bygone centuries, + Sought to explore the Northern seas; + Storm-bound, shipwrecked and cast-away, + By horrid fate compelled to stay, + They yielded not to grim despair, + But bearded Winter in his lair; + Bravely building their snow house domes, + They settled into northern homes. + Lost to their ken is old Norway, + But cherished still in their memory. + The rising sun began the year; + Four months his rays shone full and clear; + A month he gave a milder light, + 'Twixt the long day and longer night. + For half the year Aurora's beams, + The moon's soft ray, and starry gleams, + Guided the hunter to his home, + Whene'er he chose afar to roam. + Foremost among his tribe and clan, + There lived a hardy little man; + His wife, renowned for spirit high, + Rejoiced in her large family;-- + Four sturdy sons, four maidens brown, + Gathered in harmony around + Their fireplace, and together dwelt, + And love for one another felt. + One fateful day there came along + Six Iceland fishers, stern and strong. + The Esquimaux in terror fled + From spirits evil, so they said; + But meeting them with friendly mien, + The pigmies soon at ease were seen. + The giants more contented grew, + And eager searched for knowledge new; + But erst they thought of native shore, + And longed to view their home once more. + At length, in venturous spirit bold, + Their purpose to their friends they told, + To seek their lov'd land once again, + By crossing on the frozen main. + The trial made, the deed was done! + A victory great, and nobly won! + Three families assistance lent. + Upon returning they were bent, + Till finding this a better land, + They settled on the barren strand; + In mission schools were kindly taught, + And daily grew in word and thought. + + Five years rolled by; consumption's claim + Was laid upon the mother's frame. + The father loved his youngest child, + And with her crossed the ocean wild; + With many mishaps, much fatigue, + They found a home in Winnipeg. + + Five years again had claimed their own; + The daughter now to woman grown, + Though but a little child for size, + Assayed a wond'rous enterprise-- + To win from gen'rous strangers' hand, + By telling of her native land, + Her fortune, and to meet once more + Her sisters three and brothers four. + Pray tell me, friend, didst e'er thou find + A braver spirit, nobler mind, + A name more worthy to go down + On hist'ry's page with bright renown? + + * * * * * + +Captain Holm recently returned to Copenhagen, after having spent two +years and a half exploring the almost unknown region of the east coast +of Greenland. Although ten or twelve expeditions have set out for East +Greenland in the past two centuries, almost all of them in search of the +lost Norsemen, who were supposed to have settled there, only one ship +ever reached the coast. + +The great ice masses, sometimes hundreds of miles wide, that are +perpetually piled up against the shore, have kept explorers from East +Greenland long after all Arctic lands were fairly well known. With three +assistants, Captain Holm landed at Cape Farewell, and then went north +some four hundred miles. He has returned with large collections, +representing the flora, fauna, geology, and anthropology of this +hitherto unknown portion of the earth's surface. He found in those cold +and dismal regions, isolated from the world, a race of people who had +never heard, or known, of the great civilized nations of the earth. They +seemed to lead happy lives, and live in a communicative way in hamlets. +They differ entirely in language, and physical character, from the +Esquimaux of West Greenland.--_Demorest's Monthly_. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Olof Krarer, The Esquimaux Lady, by Olof Krarer + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OLOF KRARER, THE ESQUIMAUX LADY *** + +***** This file should be named 33703-8.txt or 33703-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/3/7/0/33703/ + +Produced by Andrew Chesley and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Post. + </title> + <style type="text/css"> + + p {margin-top: .75em;text-align: justify;margin-bottom: .75em;} + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5 {text-align: center;clear: both;}/* all headings centered */ + hr {width: 33%;margin-top: 2em;margin-bottom: 2em;margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;clear: both;} + + .figcenter {margin: auto; text-align: center;} + + body {margin-left: 10%;margin-right: 10%;} + + .pagenum {/* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + /* visibility: hidden; */ + position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: smaller; + text-align: right; + font-style: normal;} /* page numbers */ + + p.sig {margin-left: 75%;} + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + + .poem {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;} + .poem br {display: none;} + .poem span.i2 {display: block; margin-left: 2em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +Project Gutenberg's Olof Krarer, The Esquimaux Lady, by Olof Krarer + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Olof Krarer, The Esquimaux Lady + A story of her native home + +Author: Olof Krarer + +Editor: Albert S. Post + +Release Date: September 11, 2010 [EBook #33703] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OLOF KRARER, THE ESQUIMAUX LADY *** + + + + +Produced by Andrew Chesley and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + + +</pre> + + + + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[i]</a></span></p> +<div class="figcenter"> +<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="428" height="646" alt="The Esquimaux Lady" title="The Esquimaux Lady" /> +</div> + + + + +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii">[ii]</a></span> +<h4>COPYRIGHT<br /> +<span class="smcap">By Albert S. Post</span><br /> +A. D. 1887</h4> + + +<hr /> + +<h5>Press of Wm. Osman & Sons.</h5> + + + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[iii]</a></span></p> +<h2>INTRODUCTION.</h2> + + +<p>In writing this little book, it has been our constant aim to make it, as +nearly as possible, an autobiography, giving Miss <span class="smcap">Krarer's</span> own thoughts +and words, avoiding some of the little errors, caused by her imperfect +knowledge of English, which are thought by some to add a certain charm +to her conversation. If, near the conclusion, I may seem to have +departed from this plan, it is only because she desired me to attempt +the expression of her thought in more elaborate language than she can +herself, at present, make use of.</p> + +<p>She is authority for the facts, from beginning to end.</p> + +<p>Hoping that the story of her eventful life may be as interesting to +those who read, as it has already been to thousands who have heard it +from her own lips; and with the heartfelt wish that it may be the means +of enabling her to accomplish her cherished purpose, I am glad to have +this opportunity of assisting in her work.</p> + +<p class="sig"><span class="smcap">Albert S. Post.</span></p> + + + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span></p> +<h2>OLOF KRARER.</h2> + + +<p>I was born in Greenland, on the east coast. I am the youngest of eight +children. My three sisters and four brothers are all living in Iceland. +My father is living in Manitoba. My mother died in Iceland when I was +sixteen years old.</p> + +<p>We lived near the sea-shore in Greenland. Our house was built of snow. +It was round, perhaps sixteen feet across, and coming to a point at the +top. It was lined with fur on all sides, and was carpeted with a double +thickness of fur.</p> + +<p>The way they lined the house was to take a skin of some animal, and hold +it near a fire, which was in the centre of the room. When the skin was +heated through, they took it and pressed it against the wall. In a short +time, it stuck to the wall so tightly that it could not be pulled off +without tearing the skin.</p> + +<p>The door was a thick curtain of fur, hung over the doorway, by heating +the upper part, and letting it stick fast to the wall. Outside of the +door was a long, narrow passageway, just high enough for one of us +little Esquimaux people to stand up straight in. That would be about +high enough for a child<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span> six years old, in this country; and it was only +wide enough for one person to go through at a time. If one wanted to go +out, and another wanted to go in, at the same time, one would have to +back out and let the other go first. This passageway was not straight; +but turned to one side, so as not to let the wind blow in.</p> + +<p>Our fireplace was in the centre of the house. The bottom was a large, +flat stone, with other stones and whalebone put about the edge to keep +the fire from getting out into the room. When we wanted to build a fire, +we would put some whalebone and lean meat on the stone; then a little +dry moss was put in, and then my father would take a flint and a whale's +tooth, or some other hard bone, and strike fire upon the moss. Sometimes +he could do it easily, but sometimes it took a long while. After the +fire started he would put some blubber upon it.</p> + +<p>Although it was so very cold, we would often be without a fire, for what +we made the fire of was what we had to live on, and we could not always +afford to burn it. Our fire did not warm the room very much. It was +mostly to give light, so that it might be a little more cheerful in the +room. When we had no fire it was very dark.</p> + +<p>There was no chance to play round and romp inside the snow-house. We +just had to sit with our arms folded and keep still. It was in this way +that my arms came to have such a different shape from people's arms in +this country. Where their muscle<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span> is large and strong, I have but very +little; and instead of that, I have a large bunch of muscle on the upper +side of my arms, and they are crooked, so that I can never straighten +them. A doctor in Iceland once tried to straighten one arm by pulling, +but he could not change it one bit; and it was very sore for a long time +afterward and the muscles were much swollen. But it was not so with my +father and brothers. They went out to hunt and had more exercise and +more pulling to do, and so their arms were straight.</p> + +<p>It was a great thing when the men would come home from a hunt, for then +we would have a great deal to talk about:--how far they went, how cold +it was, how they found the bear, or walrus, or seal, and who was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span> most +active and brave in killing it. Father would often say to mother, "Oh, +how I wish you had been along, for we had such a nice drink of warm +blood." The warm blood of a dying animal was considered the greatest +luxury we could get, because we had not any cooked food at all. We ate +it all frozen and raw, except when fresh from the animal. It was a great +thing to strike the animal first with a spear, for the one who drew +first blood was owner of the skin and was the boss of the whole job. +They just had to cut it to suit him. The flesh was divided equally +between all the hunters.</p> + +<p>Sometimes we used to get very tired in the dark snow-house, and then we +would try a little amusement. Two of us would sit down on the fur carpet +and look into one another's faces and <i>guess who was the prettiest</i>. We +had to guess, for we had no looking-glass in which to see our own faces. +The one whose face shone slickest with the grease was called the +prettiest.</p> + +<p>If at any time we grew too tired of it all and ventured to romp and +play, we were in danger of being punished. As there were no trees from +which to cut switches there, they took a different way. When any child +was naughty, mother would take a bone and she would put it into the fire +and leave it there until it was hot enough for the grease to boil out. +Then she would take it and slap that on her child and burn it. She was +not particular where she burned her child, only she was careful not to +touch the face.</p> + +<p>I can well remember what I got my last punishment for. I had been +playing with my little brother inside the snow-house and I got mad at +him, and so I threw him down and bit him on the back of the neck. Then +mother heated a bone and burned me on the same place where I bit him. I +got tired of that and didn't do that kind of a trick afterwards.</p> + +<p>But it was not always so that we had to stay in the snow-house. Once in +a while father would come in and say it was not so cold as usual, and +then we would have a chance to look round outside the snow-house. We +never took a long walk. As nearly as I can remember, my father's house +was on a low plain near the sea-shore. It sloped gently inland, and we +could have seen a great way into the back country<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span> if it had not been for +the great snowdrifts and masses of ice. There were some steep, jagged +rocks in sight of our village, and during the long daytime enough of the +snow would melt off to leave the rocks bare in a few places. On these +bare spots we would find a kind of brown moss, which we gathered and +dried to light our fires with.</p> + +<p>We never saw anything green in Greenland, and I never could understand +why they called it by that name.</p> + +<p>When we looked out toward the ocean, we could not see very far, for even +in the warmest season there was only a small space of open water, and +beyond that the ice was all piled up in rough, broken masses.</p> + +<p>The great event in our family life, however, was the dog-sleigh ride. +When father told us we could go, we came as near dancing and clapping +our hands for joy as Esquimaux children ever did. But we did not have a +fine cutter, with large horses and chiming bells. We did not even have +an old-fashioned bobsled, in which young men and young women have such +good times in your country.</p> + +<p>Sometimes the sleigh would be made of a great wide piece of bone from +the jaws of a whale, one end of which turned up like a runner. But more +often it would be either a skin of some animal laid flat on the ground, +or a great frozen fish cut in two at the back and then turned right +over. I never saw such a fish in this country, or in Iceland, so I +cannot tell what kind of fish it was.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span>Our sleigh was drawn by dogs--sometimes six and sometimes ten or twelve. +Each dog had a collar round his neck and a strip of reindeer hide tied +into the collar and to the sleigh. When the dogs were well broken, they +did not need any lines to guide them; but if they were not well trained, +they had to have lines to control them. While we were getting ready to +start, the dogs would jump about and whine and be as anxious to go as +fiery horses in this country. The trained dogs would run forward and put +their noses right into their collars without any trouble. When all was +ready, away we went! It was great fun! The dogs could carry the sleigh +faster than horses do in this country. Sometimes the sleigh was bumped +and tumbled about a good deal on the rough ice, and once in a while it +tipped over.</p> + +<p>The dogs are about the size of shepherd dogs and have sharp pointed +ears. They are very strong, and have heavy coats of long hair, which +often drags upon the snow. They are of a dirty gray color.</p> + +<p>When my father had as many as ten or twelve dogs, he had a separate +snow-house for them and kept them in that; but when he had lost or lent +his dogs, so that he had only two or three, he would let them come into +the snow-house with us. Our dogs had the same kind of food to live on +that we had, and sometimes when food was scarce they had a hard time of +it. They were never fed when we were going to start out for a sleigh +ride, for then they would lie right down and refuse to move one step.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span> +But whenever we came back from a ride they were well fed.</p> + +<p>Our dogs were very useful to us in other ways than drawing our sleighs, +for they were very sharp and good to hunt. They helped to kill the polar +bear, and to find the seal and walrus.</p> + +<p>Now, in order that you may understand our way of living better, I will +explain that we have six months' night in Greenland, and during that +time nothing is seen of the sun. The moon changes very much as it does +here, and we have the light of the stars. Then most of the time the +beautiful northern lights may be seen dancing and leaping about, with +many colored rainbow beauties. The white snow is always on the ground, +so that even when the moon and northern lights did not show, we could +see to hunt round. Before and after the night time, there was about a +month of twilight, and this was our finest time of the year. We had then +the best chance to hunt.</p> + +<p>In the long day we had the hardest time, for then the sun shone out so +brightly that we would be made snow blind if we ventured far from home. +The day was four months long, and if we did not have food enough stored +away in an ice cave to last us through, we would be in great danger of +starving.</p> + +<p>The best time to hunt is when the ice breaks up. My people know when +this is going to happen by the noise. There is a rumbling sound like +distant thunder. Whoever hears that sound first goes from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span> house to house +and gives warning, so that all may be ready to join in the hunt. Then +the hunters get their spears and let out their dogs, and hurry to the +place where the sound is heard. The polar bear hears the sound also, and +hastens to the place, for it is here that he, too, must make his living. +This is the only time that Esquimaux ever dare to tackle a polar bear, +for when he is going about alone and hungry he is very fierce and +dangerous; but when the ice breaks up the bear goes straight for the +sound. This grows louder and longer, until there is a mighty crash, +louder than thunder, and great walls of ice are thrown high in air, and +a space of open water is to be seen. When the commotion has ceased, my +people crowd along the edge of the water. They first look out for the +bear, for they don't want him to catch any of their seals. They have +some of their dogs loose in front of the sleigh, and some of them +harnessed to it. When they come to the bear, he is busy watching for +seal and pays very little attention to the hunters or their dogs. The +loose dogs run up to him and begin to worry him. He chases some of them, +and the others bite him behind. If he makes a rush at the hunters in +their sleighs, the dog teams draw them swiftly away. The loose dogs keep +on worrying the bear until he becomes furious with rage. Every little +while a sweep of his huge paw lays one of his enemies on the snow, +silent in death. A few minutes later, perhaps, another will be caught up +in the powerful embrace of the great<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span> brute. The dogs crowd in and take +hold wherever they can. The bear grows frantic in his struggles to +punish his adversaries. At last he lies at full length panting upon the +snow. Then it is that some hunter ventures to leave his dog-sled and try +to kill him with a walrus tusk. No sooner is he sure that the animal is +dying than he hastens to get a drink of warm blood. Then a long cut is +made down the belly of the animal with the points of the walrus tusks +and the skin is pulled and pushed off with their hands. All hands feast +upon the warm grease that is inside the animal, and after that they +divide the meat and take it home.</p> + +<p>I will now explain that the breaking up of the ice I have told about is +not from thawing. In the warmest time we ever saw in that part of +Greenland where I came from, it never thawed enough to make the water +run in streams. A few bare spots were melted off on the rocks and high +points of land. Once in a while the snow would melt enough to drip a +little, and form icicles, but not often. It was cold, cold, bitter cold, +all the year round, and the people in this country can hardly have an +idea of it, even in the coldest weather here. From this we see that +there could be no chance for heat enough to make the thick ice break up +by thawing. Have you ever seen a tub which was full of water frozen +nearly solid? Then, perhaps you remember that the middle was heaved up +and cracked to pieces by the frost. This, I think, is what takes place +in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span> the Northern seas, only on a far grander scale. A rumbling sound can +be heard for some time before it really breaks up; but when it does +come, there is an awful roar like loudest thunder, and great blocks of +ice are lifted and piled one above another, until they are higher than +the tops of the highest buildings in this country. As it breaks up a +good many times in the same place, these ice mountains are piled higher +and higher, until they get so large we cannot see over them or round +them at all. Each time the ice breaks up, there is an open space where +the water is free from ice, and the walruses and seals come up to +breathe. Sometimes a walrus will crawl away from this opening far enough +for the hunters to head him off and kill him. The walrus is hard to +kill, for he is so watchful, and there is no way to call him as they do +the seal. But when killed he is quite a prize.</p> + +<p>In hunting the seal, they take a different plan. The seal is very fond +of its young. The hunters will take advantage of this by lying flat on +the ice and making a sound like the cry of a young seal. In this way +they manage to call the old seal out on the ice. But even then it is not +always easy to catch the seal, for it has a strong, flexible tail, by +means of which it is able to throw itself a good many feet at a time, so +that even when on the ice it sometimes gets away with its awkward rolls +and flops and jumps. A seal is very active and almost always in motion.</p> + +<p>Our greatest prize was the whale. Once in a while<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span> one would get entangled +in the breaking ice so that it could not get away, and then everybody +would be out to help or see the fun. A great many ropes of reindeer hide +would be brought out and a great many spears stuck into the animal. Then +the men would join together and try to pull the huge creature out of the +water. Even with the help of all the dogs that could be used it was hard +work, but they would manage it after a while. Then all would give a +great shout and have great joy over the whale. One reason for their +rejoicing was that the whale had so much blubber. Blubber is the inside +fat of the whale. There is a fine skin over it and it looks like tallow +or leaf lard. It is quite hard in my country, but would melt down into +what you would call whale oil in this country. After the whale is cut up +we would have a great feast and eat all we could. Then, after taking the +meat home, we would spend a long time eating and sleeping.</p> + +<p>It was only when the ice broke up and the people came together to hunt +that they met one another. All the rest of the time the families stay in +their own homes, and do not visit back and forth as your people do. The +only exceptions are, when a man needs meat, or blubber, or a flint, and +goes to borrow, or when a young man goes to steal his girl. There is no +buying and selling, and no trading. Any one can get what he needs by +asking for it, if it is in the village. The people try to treat each +other as brothers and sisters.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span>I will now explain a strange custom among our people. When a young man +gets to be about 25 years old he is full grown and is considered to be +of age. He then begins to think of beginning life for himself. It is a +risky thing in my country to get a wife. A young man has to steal his +girl out of her parents' snow-house and get her away into another. If he +is caught trying to do this the girl's parents turn right on him and +kill him. If he has not pluck enough to steal a girl for himself, he has +to live alone, and when he goes to sleep he crawls head first into a fur +sack. When he wants to get up he must crawl out backwards. I suppose he +is what you would call an old bachelor.</p> + +<p>A young man, who sees a girl he thinks he would like to have for a wife, +makes a great many excuses to come to her father's snow-house. Sometimes +he wants to borrow a flint, or blubber, or something else. If he comes +without any excuse, the girl's parents tell him, "I know very well what +you do want; you want my girl, but you never shall get her." Then he +gets kind of scared and runs off. But he sneaks round again pretty +often. He thinks may be her parents will go out for a dog-sleigh ride, +or may be they would lay them down to sleep some time. If he does get +her out of the snow-house without being caught, the girl's parents send +right back for him and think nobody is any smarter than he is, and do +all they can for him.</p> + +<p>The reason a girl's parents want the young man<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span> to steal her is, that +they want to find out whether he is willing to risk his life for his own +girl or not. They think if he is not smart enough to steal a girl, he +would not be smart enough to take care of her--kill a polar bear, so +that she would have enough to live on.</p> + +<p>There are not many old bachelors in my country, for if a man has not +spunk enough to steal a girl he is looked down upon as a sort of soft, +good-for-nothing fellow.</p> + +<p>Many people are disappointed when they see me, because I am not darker +colored, with black hair. More of my people have light hair than dark, +and we know that we are naturally a fair-skinned people, because when a +baby is born in my country it is just as white as any American baby, and +it has light hair and blue eyes. But the mother does not wash it with +soft water and soap, as they do in this country, but she goes to work +and greases it all over, and the child is never washed from the day he +is born till he dies, if he remains in that country. The mother wraps +her little one in the skin of a young seal, which has been made very +soft by pounding and rubbing it on the ice. If baby cries, the mother +will not take it up and care for it, but she puts it in a corner and +leaves it there until it stops crying, and then she takes it up and pets +it. She can only nurse it about a month. Then the mother will warm some +blubber for it; but in a little while it must live just like the rest. +She carries the baby in her hood, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span> does not expect it to learn to +walk until between two and three years old. Then she makes a suit for it +of young seal's fur. When the child becomes larger, say six or seven +years old, a thicker suit is made of polar bear skin; and then little +"Auska" feels as proud of his new clothes as "Our Charlie" does of his +new boots, and the chubby "Roegnia" rejoices over her white suit as much +as dainty Flora in her arctics and muff and fur collar. But Auska and +Roegnia are dressed more nearly alike than Charlie and Flora. Men's +clothes are just like women's clothes; only a woman's coat comes down to +a point and man's coat is cut off square, and that is all the +difference. They wear fur mittens and fur shoes.</p> + +<p>I think it would be very nice for some ladies in this country, if they +were to go to Greenland; for they would have no washing, no ironing, no +scrubbing and no cooking to do. They don't even have to wash their faces +or comb their hair. Esquimaux people have only the salt ocean water, and +if they had soft, fresh water they dare not use it, for it would be like +poison to their flesh when the thermometer was 60° or 70° below zero. +So, when they eat, my people take a chunk of raw meat in one hand and a +chunk of blubber in the other, and take a bite of each until it is +eaten. Then they carefully rub the grease and fat all over their hands +and face, and feel splendid afterwards.</p> + +<p>The women have long hair, made dark by the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span> smoke and grease. The men +have long hair, also, and a thin, scattering beard over the face, which +they never shave or trim, because they have no razor or shears.</p> + +<p>We had no church or court house, no school or factory, no doctor, lawyer +or merchant, no money, jewelry or timepiece, not an axe, spade or +hammer, no knife, fork or spoon, no bread, no cloth, no wood! I never +saw as much wood in my country as would make one little match. For a +needle we use the tooth of a fish; for thread the sinews of a reindeer.</p> + +<p>Rich people were those who had a flint. Poor people had to go and borrow +it when they wanted to light a fire. Common folks would sit down flat on +the fur carpet, but "tony" people would get blocks of ice or snow and +put in the snow-house and cover them with fur for seats. But it was only +the <i>most toniest</i> people who did that kind of a trick.</p> + +<p>My people believe in good and bad spirits. They think there is a big +Good Spirit and several small ones, and one big bad spirit and several +small ones. They think if they tell a lie or do anything wrong, the bad +spirit will come and hurt them some way. If a baby gets sick the mother +does not do anything for it. She thinks a bad spirit has hold of her +child, and will get her too if she helps it in any way. If baby dies she +lays it away in the cold snow and leaves it without a tear. When a man +is sick they carry him into a separate snow-house, and all they do to +help him is to throw in a piece of poor meat<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span> which they do not care +about themselves. If a woman is sick she is not taken from her +snow-house, but is no better cared for. The only disease is something +like consumption in this country. After an Esquimaux dies they drag him +out and bury him in the snow, piling blocks of ice as high as they can +above the grave. If he has not specially given his spear and flint and +skins to some of his friends before he dies, then everything is buried +with him, and the friends go home to think no more about him. If the +white bear comes along and digs up the body they do not care. They never +speak of a departed friend, because they fancy it would annoy the +spirit, which is supposed to be not far off.</p> + +<p>When a man is first taken sick they do one thing for him, if he is not +very bad. They gather round him and sing to the Good Spirit, in hopes +that He will drive away the bad spirit. If the sick man recovers they +think a great deal of him.</p> + +<p>Sometimes my father would tell us stories about his parents and grand +parents, and then he would tell how they said that their parents told +how long, long ago the first people had come from Norway. But no one +knew what Norway was like. Some said it was a great house somewhere; +some said it was the moon, and some said it was where the Good Spirit +lived.</p> + +<p>One thing had a great deal of interest for us all. When the sun shone +out brightly at the beginning of the daytime it marked the first of the +year, just<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span> as New Year's Day in this country. Then mother and father +would bring out the sacks. Each one was made of a different kind of fur. +Father had his, mother had hers, and each of the children one. In each +sack was a piece of bone for every first time that person had seen the +sun. When ten bones were gathered they would tie them into a bundle, for +they had not words to count more than ten.</p> + +<hr /> + +<p>In such a land was I born. In such a home was I brought up. In such +pleasures I rejoiced, until there were about fourteen bones in my sack. +Then something happened which changed my whole life. Six tall men came +to our village. Our men were much frightened at first and did not know +what to make of the giants. Some thought them bad spirits. But they were +peaceable, and went hunting with our people and helped them, so that +after a while they came to like one another. The strangers were Iceland +fishermen. After they lived with us for more than a year, they were able +to explain how they were shipwrecked in a storm, and how they got on the +ice and walked on the ice till they came to Greenland. They told how +much they wanted to get back to their families, and how much better +country Iceland was. At last, three Esquimaux families told the +Icelanders they would lend them their dogs and sleds if they would do +them any good. And because they wanted their dogs back again they said +they would go with them.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span>So they started out. My father's family was the largest in the party, +there being ten of us in all. Most Esquimaux families had only three or +four children in them--sometimes only one child, and often none at all. +I was a young and giddy thing then, and was glad to go. We traveled a +long way down the coast, hunting as we went. Then we turned right out on +to the ocean itself. On the way there were three polar bears killed and +some seals and other animals, so that we had plenty to eat. I remember +we would sometimes take something to eat when the sledges were flying +over the ice with the dogs at full gallop. At intervals we fed the dogs, +and they gathered closely round the sled and soon all were asleep. When +we woke up we went on again. While on the ocean we often heard the sound +of the ice breaking up, and would have to hurry away to escape being +caught in the upheaval. We finally reached Iceland after being two +months and some days on the way, according to the Icelanders' +calculation, and having traveled about a thousand miles.</p> + +<p>The people in Iceland were astonished to see us little people. They came +to see us from a long distance. We were all weighed and measured. My +father stood three feet five inches, and weighed 160 pounds. My mother +was the same height woman that I am, and weighed 150. None of my +brothers was quite so tall as my father, but they came near his weight. +One of my sisters was only three feet two inches, and weighed 142. I +weighed 136 pounds.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span> Now I am three feet four inches high, and weigh 120.</p> + +<p>The missionaries in Iceland took great interest in us, for they knew we +were all heathens, and they said they would like to take us into their +schools and educate us. So each family was taken into a different +school. Our family was placed in the Lutheran school, and there I +studied for five years. My teacher was a good and kind man. His name was +Ion Thorderson. He was patient with me and helped me to learn; but some +of the scholars were jealous of "the little thing" and made fun of me. +For this they had to carry notes home to their parents, and this secured +to them a good whipping a-piece, so that they were heard to wish "that +little thing" had never come into the school.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span>At first we lived several miles from the school, but we did not know +anything about walking, in fact could not walk any distance, so they +sent us on horseback. They used to tie me on so that I would not fall +off. It was a funny sight to behold us eight little tots going to +school.</p> + +<p>I never shall forget the time when a kind friend gave me a pony. He was +very gentle, and small enough so that by leading him along side a large +stone I was able to climb upon his back. He would stand quietly and wait +for me. I loved my pony and thought there was nothing in the world like +him. But this long ride was very hard on us, and finally the teacher +made arrangement so that we could live close to the school.</p> + +<p>The school system was very different in some respects from American +schools. The teacher was always the minister, and the school was +connected with the church. A scholar had first to learn to read, and +must keep at it until he could read better than the teacher. Then he was +called upon to commit to memory large portions of history and of the +Bible; and when he had learned them so well that he could repeat from +beginning to end without the book, he was allowed to begin to write. He +could not take pen in hand before that. After learning to write, he was +taught figures; and after that I do not know what was done.</p> + +<p>The teacher never laid a hand on the scholar in punishment. If he did +anything wrong, a note was sent to his parents, and they flogged him +soundly.</p> + +<p>I enjoyed the life in Iceland, for I saw and learned so much that was +new.</p> + +<p>Some time in the spring there was a holiday, in which the young folks +would cut up pranks, something like the tricks of April-fool Day here. +The girls would try to fasten a small sack of ashes upon the clothing of +the boys, and they, in return, would seek to place a pebble in the +pockets of the girls, endeavoring to do it so slyly that the sack or +pebble would be carried about all day without the one who bore it +knowing anything about it.</p> + +<p>On one of these days, a girl tied a small sack into the beard of one of +the men, while he was asleep, and he wore it all day before anyone told +him, and then<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span> they had a great laugh at his expense. I thought I would +try my hand at this, so I made a little sack and tucked it into the +corner of a patch, which a big fellow wore upon his pants, the corner +being ripped just enough to let the sack slip inside. I had great fun +watching him all day, and when night came, he boasted that none of the +girls had fooled him that day. "Oh, yes," said one of his companions, +"the smallest girl in the house has fooled you badly." He felt pretty +cheap when I pointed to the patch, and he found the sack sticking out so +that he might have seen it easily.</p> + +<p>Picking up fuel was hard work, and took a great deal of time. They had +but little wood, and no coal, so that it was necessary to gather the +droppings of animals, and make great piles of this kind of stuff in the +summer, so that it would be dry enough to burn in the winter.</p> + +<p>If mice came about the houses and buildings in the fall, the Icelanders +would fear a hard winter, and much damage to their sheep; for when the +winter grew very severe, and the mice could get nothing else to eat, +they would climb upon the sheep's backs, while they were lying close +together in the sheds, and would burrow into the wool, back of the +shoulder-blades, and eat the flesh, very often causing the death of the +poor animals.</p> + +<p>The Icelanders used sheep's milk a great deal, and I liked it. Sheep's +milk is richer and sweeter than cow's milk. They used to put up a lot of +milk in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span> barrels, and put in some rennet, which would make it curdle into +something like cottage cheese. This they would set aside for winter use, +and all were very fond of it. The family would be considered very poor +who could not put up from eight to ten barrels of this food.</p> + +<p>They sometimes, also, would churn mutton tallow, or whale oil, in the +sheep's milk, and make a kind of butter. Whale oil makes a better butter +than the tallow, and I think I like would it even yet.</p> + +<p>While most people had dishes and knives and forks, it was not customary +to set the table, unless there was company present. Each one had a cup +for himself, made of wood with staves like a barrel, and curiously bound +with whale-bone hoops. They had handles upon them, but I do not know how +fastened. A child's cup would hold about a quart, and a man's cup +sometimes as much as three quarts. When each one had gotten his cup +filled, he would take his place at any convenient spot in the room, on +the bed, or anywhere, and proceed to empty the cup with great haste. We +all had ravenous appetites, but did not always have enough to eat. In +the spring we had a great treat, when the eggs and flesh of wild fowl +were to be had. We fared well when fish were plenty, but at other times +a porridge made of Iceland moss and the curdled milk made up our fare. +Some seasons they can raise a few vegetables in Iceland, but this is not +often. Of late years they cannot raise grain, although they used to +raise good oats.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span>One of the books that we had there was a history of America, and in that +it said that money could be picked up off the streets, almost. I have +since found it quite a difficulty. But that book put me into the notion +to come out here. So when a colony of five hundred Icelanders were about +to start for Manitoba, I got my father to come with them. He had just +money enough to bring himself and one of his children, so he naturally +chose his youngest and the one that was most anxious to come.</p> + +<p>My mother died with consumption when we had been in Iceland about a +year. I shall never forget the circumstances of her illness. I hated +her, and turned from her just as we did in Greenland. She thought it was +all right, and told me to keep away and to hate her, for fear the bad +spirit would get me.</p> + +<p>I said to my teacher one day: "I hate my mother."</p> + +<p>"Why, my dear child, you should not do that."</p> + +<p>"But I do hate her; she has a bad spirit in her, and Esquimaux people +always hate their friends when they get bad spirits in them."</p> + +<p>Tears ran down the good man's cheeks as he exclaimed, "Why, the dear +child, she doesn't know anything!"</p> + +<p>Then he took me upon his knee and began to explain that my mother did +not have a bad spirit, but was sick. He dropped his school work +entirely, and for three days devoted himself to explaining the Christian +belief. Then he made me go to my mother and tell her all about it. My +mother was glad--oh, so glad; and she died happy.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span>My four brothers and three sisters are in Iceland, yet. I promised when +I left that I would send for them, and I still hope to have them all +with me.</p> + +<p>We sailed in a ship from Iceland to Scotland. I cannot remember at what +city we landed. From there I had my first railway ride, into England, +and was much frightened by the noise and motion of the cars. Then we +sailed to Quebec, and then came to Winnipeg. It took us five months and +five days to come from Iceland to Manitoba.</p> + +<p>When I came to Manitoba, I was sick for nearly two years. The Iceland +ministers were very kind to me, and took care of me while I was sick. +When I got well, I started out to work for my living. I could not speak +one word of English, and I was afraid to try.</p> + +<p>The first person I worked for was a half-breed woman, who had a rough, +quarrelsome lot of children that I had to wait upon. Once in a while I +was called into the front room, and would find some strangers there. One +day the mistress was called away, when I was sent into the room, and the +gentleman and lady who were there gave me a quarter, each. She had been +making money out of me in this way all the while, but all the money I +received for some months of hard labor was what these people gave me.</p> + +<p>Then I was taken sick with the measles. The woman turned me out of +doors. I did not know where to go. I just ran round and round the house.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span> +A young lady, from one of the best families in Winnipeg, found me in +this plight, took me by the hand and led me home. She nursed me till I +was well, and then gave me good clothes and found me a place to work. +She told me to come back to her if I was in trouble again.</p> + +<p>After working for some time in this place, I came to work for Mrs. C., +the lady who is with me now. When she first saw me she thought I was a +little child, and did not see how I could be of any use to her. But she +pitied me because she thought I was cold, and gave me something to do. I +lived with her three months. When I first came to her I could not speak +enough English to tell her I liked coffee better than tea. My work was +washing dishes. They would help me into a chair so that I could reach +the table. When at last I was able to explain, with the help of an +Iceland girl who lived next door, that I desired to travel as a +curiosity, hoping in this way to make money enough to bring my brothers +and sisters from Iceland, Mr. and Mrs. C. consented to come with me.</p> + +<p>My father agreed to let me go, if I would go with respectable people and +remain with them. I had worn my seal skin suit about in Manitoba until +it was worn out, but my father had taken care of my polar bear suit, so +I had that to bring with me. He let me bring his new flint and walrus +tusk, also.</p> + +<p>But a few months afterwards he sent for his spear, because he thought he +could not get along without it,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> so I returned it to him. He is still +living in Manitoba, and is 65 years old. This is several years older +than people live in Greenland. Oldest people we ever knew were 60 years +old. This I know from the Icelanders, who went round to all the snow +houses and counted the bones in the different sacks.</p> + +<p>When I reached Minneapolis I was taken sick, and the doctors did not +know what to do for me. They kept me in a warm room, and I grew worse +every day. At last Mr. C. heard of a doctor who had been in Greenland, +and sent for him. Under his advice I was taken to Minnetonka and kept in +a cold room, and I got well.</p> + +<p>At first I traveled as a curiosity and charged ten cents. All I could do +was to let the people see me, show my costume, flint and tusk, sing a +few songs, etc. By degrees I learned to answer questions, and at last +came to talk pretty well. While we were at a place in Indiana, called +Cloverdale, some professors and a minister urged me to give a lecture. +They secured a large hall, and when I peeked through a hole in the +curtain I saw about 300 people, and was nearly scared out of my wits. +But Mrs. C. got me mad over something about my dress, and the curtain +went up while I was standing there, and I spoke to them right along. +That was Dec. 30th, 1884. Since then I have been lecturing right along, +except in some short times of sickness, and the hottest weather. I have +been in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Ilinois, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, +Missouri, Kansas,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span> and Nebraska, and I hope by next year, to have all my +brothers and sisters with me, so that we can travel together and help +the missionary teachers in Iceland, where we got our education in the +first place.</p> + +<p>A great many funny things have been said to me by visitors, and a great +many curious questions asked. Generally, people are kind and +considerate, but sometimes they are rude and uncivil. I am always glad +to satisfy reasonable curiosity to the best of my ability, but I do not +like impertinence any better than any body else.</p> + +<p>I was somewhat surprised by one old lady, a year or so ago. After she +had listened for some time, and become greatly interested, she came up +and said, "Where did yeou say yeou kum from?" "From the eastern coast of +Greenland." "Greenland! why la, yes. I know that country. My husband's +got a farm there." A farm in Greenland! Well, a good many other people +have made mistakes fully equal to the old lady's.</p> + +<p>Americans, I think you do not realize your blessings in this great land +of plenty, where you have so many fine things. Even here, I often see +sad faces, and hear words of discontent. Sometimes I am a little +discontented myself, when I see something I want, and think I cannot, +or ought not to, have it. But I soon get over that feeling when I +remember my home in the frozen north, where we sat still through the +weary hours, shivering with the cold, choked by the smoke, and often +almost perishing with hunger.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span>If I was to go back to my race of people, I would not be able to tell +them about what I see and hear in this country. They have not the +language to express the thought. They have seen nothing like a sewing +machine, or a piano. They have no materials to enable them to make +machines. They never saw a painting or a drawing. Their wild, rude songs +is all they have that is anything like music. They have no idea of a +book. They eat when they're hungry, and sleep when they're sleepy. They +are happy and contented <i>when they don't know any better</i>.</p> + +<p>The only relatives we knew about, were brothers and sisters, father and +mother, and our grandparents. As for other relatives, such as uncles, +aunts and cousins, we knew nothing about them. We lived in small +settlements of thirty or forty families. No one seemed to take any +interest in finding out how many settlements there were, or how many +people lived in them. We had only one name each, just as you name +animals in this country. My father's name was Krauker. My name was +Olwar. Before we left Iceland, the whole family were baptized. They +named my father Salve Krarer, and they baptized me Olof Krarer, making +the Iceland names as near like the Esquimaux names as they could, but +giving my father a new name, Salve, which means something like "saved."</p> + +<h5>THE END.</h5> + + + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span></p> +<h2>EPITOME.</h2> + + + <p><span class="poem i2">On Iceland's damp and stormy shore,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Mid Geyser's throe and Ocean's roar,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">A sturdy race on sterile soil,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Pursue their unremitting toil;</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Struggling against stern poverty,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">And Denmark's hostile mastery.</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Farther northward, bleak and cold,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Bound by Winter's icy hold,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Where eternal snows abound,--</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">There the Esquimaux is found.</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">House of ice and suit of fur;</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Food, the flesh of polar bear;</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Tusks of walrus, the only arm,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Ferocious beasts alone alarm;</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">A dog-sleigh ride his only pleasure;</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">A piece of flint his choicest treasure;</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Ambition's height to steal a wife,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">For her he dares to risk his life.</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">He tells no lie nor ever swears;</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">For neighbor, as for brother, cares.</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">The golden rule he never heard,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">But tries to keep its every word.</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Father to son the story told,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">How sailors hardy, brave and bold,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Far back in bygone centuries,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Sought to explore the Northern seas;</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Storm-bound, shipwrecked and cast-away,</span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span> + <span class="poem i2">By horrid fate compelled to stay,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">They yielded not to grim despair,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">But bearded Winter in his lair;</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Bravely building their snow house domes,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">They settled into northern homes.</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Lost to their ken is old Norway,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">But cherished still in their memory.</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">The rising sun began the year;</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Four months his rays shone full and clear;</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">A month he gave a milder light,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">'Twixt the long day and longer night.</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">For half the year Aurora's beams,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">The moon's soft ray, and starry gleams,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Guided the hunter to his home,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Whene'er he chose afar to roam.</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Foremost among his tribe and clan,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">There lived a hardy little man;</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">His wife, renowned for spirit high,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Rejoiced in her large family;--</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Four sturdy sons, four maidens brown,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Gathered in harmony around</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Their fireplace, and together dwelt,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">And love for one another felt.</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">One fateful day there came along</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Six Iceland fishers, stern and strong.</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">The Esquimaux in terror fled</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">From spirits evil, so they said;</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">But meeting them with friendly mien,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">The pigmies soon at ease were seen.</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">The giants more contented grew,</span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span> + <span class="poem i2">And eager searched for knowledge new;</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">But erst they thought of native shore,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">And longed to view their home once more.</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">At length, in venturous spirit bold,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Their purpose to their friends they told,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">To seek their lov'd land once again,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">By crossing on the frozen main.</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">The trial made, the deed was done!</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">A victory great, and nobly won!</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Three families assistance lent.</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Upon returning they were bent,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Till finding this a better land,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">They settled on the barren strand;</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">In mission schools were kindly taught,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">And daily grew in word and thought.</span></p> + + <p><span class="poem i2">Five years rolled by; consumption's claim</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Was laid upon the mother's frame.</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">The father loved his youngest child,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">And with her crossed the ocean wild;</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">With many mishaps, much fatigue,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">They found a home in Winnipeg.</span></p> + + <p><span class="poem i2">Five years again had claimed their own;</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">The daughter now to woman grown,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Though but a little child for size,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Assayed a wond'rous enterprise--</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">To win from gen'rous strangers' hand,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">By telling of her native land,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Her fortune, and to meet once more</span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span> + <span class="poem i2">Her sisters three and brothers four.</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">Pray tell me, friend, didst e'er thou find</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">A braver spirit, nobler mind,</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">A name more worthy to go down</span><br /> + <span class="poem i2">On hist'ry's page with bright renown?</span></p> + +<hr /> + +<p>Captain Holm recently returned to Copenhagen, after having spent two +years and a half exploring the almost unknown region of the east coast +of Greenland. Although ten or twelve expeditions have set out for East +Greenland in the past two centuries, almost all of them in search of the +lost Norsemen, who were supposed to have settled there, only one ship +ever reached the coast.</p> + +<p>The great ice masses, sometimes hundreds of miles wide, that are +perpetually piled up against the shore, have kept explorers from East +Greenland long after all Arctic lands were fairly well known. With three +assistants, Captain Holm landed at Cape Farewell, and then went north +some four hundred miles. He has returned with large collections, +representing the flora, fauna, geology, and anthropology of this +hitherto unknown portion of the earth's surface. He found in those cold +and dismal regions, isolated from the world, a race of people who had +never heard, or known, of the great civilized nations of the earth. They +seemed to lead happy lives, and live in a communicative way in hamlets. +They differ entirely in language, and physical character, from the +Esquimaux of West Greenland.--<i>Demorest's Monthly</i>.</p> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Olof Krarer, The Esquimaux Lady, by Olof Krarer + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OLOF KRARER, THE ESQUIMAUX LADY *** + +***** This file should be named 33703-h.htm or 33703-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/3/7/0/33703/ + +Produced by Andrew Chesley and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Olof Krarer, The Esquimaux Lady + A story of her native home + +Author: Olof Krarer + +Editor: Albert S. Post + +Release Date: September 11, 2010 [EBook #33703] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OLOF KRARER, THE ESQUIMAUX LADY *** + + + + +Produced by Andrew Chesley and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + + + + OLOF KRARER + + THE ESQUIMAUX LADY + + A STORY OF HER NATIVE HOME + + + BY + ALBERT S. POST, A. M. + + + OTTAWA, ILLS. + 1887 + + + + + COPYRIGHT + + BY ALBERT S. POST + + A. D. 1887 + + + * * * * * + + Press of Wm. Osman & Sons. + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + + +In writing this little book, it has been our constant aim to make it, as +nearly as possible, an autobiography, giving Miss KRARER'S own thoughts +and words, avoiding some of the little errors, caused by her imperfect +knowledge of English, which are thought by some to add a certain charm +to her conversation. If, near the conclusion, I may seem to have +departed from this plan, it is only because she desired me to attempt +the expression of her thought in more elaborate language than she can +herself, at present, make use of. + +She is authority for the facts, from beginning to end. + +Hoping that the story of her eventful life may be as interesting to +those who read, as it has already been to thousands who have heard it +from her own lips; and with the heartfelt wish that it may be the means +of enabling her to accomplish her cherished purpose, I am glad to have +this opportunity of assisting in her work. + + ALBERT S. POST. + + + + +OLOF KRARER. + + +I was born in Greenland, on the east coast. I am the youngest of eight +children. My three sisters and four brothers are all living in Iceland. +My father is living in Manitoba. My mother died in Iceland when I was +sixteen years old. + +We lived near the sea-shore in Greenland. Our house was built of snow. +It was round, perhaps sixteen feet across, and coming to a point at the +top. It was lined with fur on all sides, and was carpeted with a double +thickness of fur. + +The way they lined the house was to take a skin of some animal, and hold +it near a fire, which was in the centre of the room. When the skin was +heated through, they took it and pressed it against the wall. In a short +time, it stuck to the wall so tightly that it could not be pulled off +without tearing the skin. + +The door was a thick curtain of fur, hung over the doorway, by heating +the upper part, and letting it stick fast to the wall. Outside of the +door was a long, narrow passageway, just high enough for one of us +little Esquimaux people to stand up straight in. That would be about +high enough for a child six years old, in this country; and it was only +wide enough for one person to go through at a time. If one wanted to go +out, and another wanted to go in, at the same time, one would have to +back out and let the other go first. This passageway was not straight; +but turned to one side, so as not to let the wind blow in. + +Our fireplace was in the centre of the house. The bottom was a large, +flat stone, with other stones and whalebone put about the edge to keep +the fire from getting out into the room. When we wanted to build a fire, +we would put some whalebone and lean meat on the stone; then a little +dry moss was put in, and then my father would take a flint and a whale's +tooth, or some other hard bone, and strike fire upon the moss. Sometimes +he could do it easily, but sometimes it took a long while. After the +fire started he would put some blubber upon it. + +Although it was so very cold, we would often be without a fire, for what +we made the fire of was what we had to live on, and we could not always +afford to burn it. Our fire did not warm the room very much. It was +mostly to give light, so that it might be a little more cheerful in the +room. When we had no fire it was very dark. + +There was no chance to play round and romp inside the snow-house. We +just had to sit with our arms folded and keep still. It was in this way +that my arms came to have such a different shape from people's arms in +this country. Where their muscle is large and strong, I have but very +little; and instead of that, I have a large bunch of muscle on the upper +side of my arms, and they are crooked, so that I can never straighten +them. A doctor in Iceland once tried to straighten one arm by pulling, +but he could not change it one bit; and it was very sore for a long time +afterward and the muscles were much swollen. But it was not so with my +father and brothers. They went out to hunt and had more exercise and +more pulling to do, and so their arms were straight. + +It was a great thing when the men would come home from a hunt, for then +we would have a great deal to talk about:--how far they went, how cold +it was, how they found the bear, or walrus, or seal, and who was most +active and brave in killing it. Father would often say to mother, "Oh, +how I wish you had been along, for we had such a nice drink of warm +blood." The warm blood of a dying animal was considered the greatest +luxury we could get, because we had not any cooked food at all. We ate +it all frozen and raw, except when fresh from the animal. It was a great +thing to strike the animal first with a spear, for the one who drew +first blood was owner of the skin and was the boss of the whole job. +They just had to cut it to suit him. The flesh was divided equally +between all the hunters. + +Sometimes we used to get very tired in the dark snow-house, and then we +would try a little amusement. Two of us would sit down on the fur carpet +and look into one another's faces and _guess who was the prettiest_. We +had to guess, for we had no looking-glass in which to see our own faces. +The one whose face shone slickest with the grease was called the +prettiest. + +If at any time we grew too tired of it all and ventured to romp and +play, we were in danger of being punished. As there were no trees from +which to cut switches there, they took a different way. When any child +was naughty, mother would take a bone and she would put it into the fire +and leave it there until it was hot enough for the grease to boil out. +Then she would take it and slap that on her child and burn it. She was +not particular where she burned her child, only she was careful not to +touch the face. + +I can well remember what I got my last punishment for. I had been +playing with my little brother inside the snow-house and I got mad at +him, and so I threw him down and bit him on the back of the neck. Then +mother heated a bone and burned me on the same place where I bit him. I +got tired of that and didn't do that kind of a trick afterwards. + +But it was not always so that we had to stay in the snow-house. Once in +a while father would come in and say it was not so cold as usual, and +then we would have a chance to look round outside the snow-house. We +never took a long walk. As nearly as I can remember, my father's house +was on a low plain near the sea-shore. It sloped gently inland, and we +could have seen a great way into the back country if it had not been for +the great snowdrifts and masses of ice. There were some steep, jagged +rocks in sight of our village, and during the long daytime enough of the +snow would melt off to leave the rocks bare in a few places. On these +bare spots we would find a kind of brown moss, which we gathered and +dried to light our fires with. + +We never saw anything green in Greenland, and I never could understand +why they called it by that name. + +When we looked out toward the ocean, we could not see very far, for even +in the warmest season there was only a small space of open water, and +beyond that the ice was all piled up in rough, broken masses. + +The great event in our family life, however, was the dog-sleigh ride. +When father told us we could go, we came as near dancing and clapping +our hands for joy as Esquimaux children ever did. But we did not have a +fine cutter, with large horses and chiming bells. We did not even have +an old-fashioned bobsled, in which young men and young women have such +good times in your country. + +Sometimes the sleigh would be made of a great wide piece of bone from +the jaws of a whale, one end of which turned up like a runner. But more +often it would be either a skin of some animal laid flat on the ground, +or a great frozen fish cut in two at the back and then turned right +over. I never saw such a fish in this country, or in Iceland, so I +cannot tell what kind of fish it was. + +Our sleigh was drawn by dogs--sometimes six and sometimes ten or twelve. +Each dog had a collar round his neck and a strip of reindeer hide tied +into the collar and to the sleigh. When the dogs were well broken, they +did not need any lines to guide them; but if they were not well trained, +they had to have lines to control them. While we were getting ready to +start, the dogs would jump about and whine and be as anxious to go as +fiery horses in this country. The trained dogs would run forward and put +their noses right into their collars without any trouble. When all was +ready, away we went! It was great fun! The dogs could carry the sleigh +faster than horses do in this country. Sometimes the sleigh was bumped +and tumbled about a good deal on the rough ice, and once in a while it +tipped over. + +The dogs are about the size of shepherd dogs and have sharp pointed +ears. They are very strong, and have heavy coats of long hair, which +often drags upon the snow. They are of a dirty gray color. + +When my father had as many as ten or twelve dogs, he had a separate +snow-house for them and kept them in that; but when he had lost or lent +his dogs, so that he had only two or three, he would let them come into +the snow-house with us. Our dogs had the same kind of food to live on +that we had, and sometimes when food was scarce they had a hard time of +it. They were never fed when we were going to start out for a sleigh +ride, for then they would lie right down and refuse to move one step. +But whenever we came back from a ride they were well fed. + +Our dogs were very useful to us in other ways than drawing our sleighs, +for they were very sharp and good to hunt. They helped to kill the polar +bear, and to find the seal and walrus. + +Now, in order that you may understand our way of living better, I will +explain that we have six months' night in Greenland, and during that +time nothing is seen of the sun. The moon changes very much as it does +here, and we have the light of the stars. Then most of the time the +beautiful northern lights may be seen dancing and leaping about, with +many colored rainbow beauties. The white snow is always on the ground, +so that even when the moon and northern lights did not show, we could +see to hunt round. Before and after the night time, there was about a +month of twilight, and this was our finest time of the year. We had then +the best chance to hunt. + +In the long day we had the hardest time, for then the sun shone out so +brightly that we would be made snow blind if we ventured far from home. +The day was four months long, and if we did not have food enough stored +away in an ice cave to last us through, we would be in great danger of +starving. + +The best time to hunt is when the ice breaks up. My people know when +this is going to happen by the noise. There is a rumbling sound like +distant thunder. Whoever hears that sound first goes from house to house +and gives warning, so that all may be ready to join in the hunt. Then +the hunters get their spears and let out their dogs, and hurry to the +place where the sound is heard. The polar bear hears the sound also, and +hastens to the place, for it is here that he, too, must make his living. +This is the only time that Esquimaux ever dare to tackle a polar bear, +for when he is going about alone and hungry he is very fierce and +dangerous; but when the ice breaks up the bear goes straight for the +sound. This grows louder and longer, until there is a mighty crash, +louder than thunder, and great walls of ice are thrown high in air, and +a space of open water is to be seen. When the commotion has ceased, my +people crowd along the edge of the water. They first look out for the +bear, for they don't want him to catch any of their seals. They have +some of their dogs loose in front of the sleigh, and some of them +harnessed to it. When they come to the bear, he is busy watching for +seal and pays very little attention to the hunters or their dogs. The +loose dogs run up to him and begin to worry him. He chases some of them, +and the others bite him behind. If he makes a rush at the hunters in +their sleighs, the dog teams draw them swiftly away. The loose dogs keep +on worrying the bear until he becomes furious with rage. Every little +while a sweep of his huge paw lays one of his enemies on the snow, +silent in death. A few minutes later, perhaps, another will be caught up +in the powerful embrace of the great brute. The dogs crowd in and take +hold wherever they can. The bear grows frantic in his struggles to +punish his adversaries. At last he lies at full length panting upon the +snow. Then it is that some hunter ventures to leave his dog-sled and try +to kill him with a walrus tusk. No sooner is he sure that the animal is +dying than he hastens to get a drink of warm blood. Then a long cut is +made down the belly of the animal with the points of the walrus tusks +and the skin is pulled and pushed off with their hands. All hands feast +upon the warm grease that is inside the animal, and after that they +divide the meat and take it home. + +I will now explain that the breaking up of the ice I have told about is +not from thawing. In the warmest time we ever saw in that part of +Greenland where I came from, it never thawed enough to make the water +run in streams. A few bare spots were melted off on the rocks and high +points of land. Once in a while the snow would melt enough to drip a +little, and form icicles, but not often. It was cold, cold, bitter cold, +all the year round, and the people in this country can hardly have an +idea of it, even in the coldest weather here. From this we see that +there could be no chance for heat enough to make the thick ice break up +by thawing. Have you ever seen a tub which was full of water frozen +nearly solid? Then, perhaps you remember that the middle was heaved up +and cracked to pieces by the frost. This, I think, is what takes place +in the Northern seas, only on a far grander scale. A rumbling sound can +be heard for some time before it really breaks up; but when it does +come, there is an awful roar like loudest thunder, and great blocks of +ice are lifted and piled one above another, until they are higher than +the tops of the highest buildings in this country. As it breaks up a +good many times in the same place, these ice mountains are piled higher +and higher, until they get so large we cannot see over them or round +them at all. Each time the ice breaks up, there is an open space where +the water is free from ice, and the walruses and seals come up to +breathe. Sometimes a walrus will crawl away from this opening far enough +for the hunters to head him off and kill him. The walrus is hard to +kill, for he is so watchful, and there is no way to call him as they do +the seal. But when killed he is quite a prize. + +In hunting the seal, they take a different plan. The seal is very fond +of its young. The hunters will take advantage of this by lying flat on +the ice and making a sound like the cry of a young seal. In this way +they manage to call the old seal out on the ice. But even then it is not +always easy to catch the seal, for it has a strong, flexible tail, by +means of which it is able to throw itself a good many feet at a time, so +that even when on the ice it sometimes gets away with its awkward rolls +and flops and jumps. A seal is very active and almost always in motion. + +Our greatest prize was the whale. Once in a while one would get +entangled in the breaking ice so that it could not get away, and then +everybody would be out to help or see the fun. A great many ropes of +reindeer hide would be brought out and a great many spears stuck into +the animal. Then the men would join together and try to pull the huge +creature out of the water. Even with the help of all the dogs that could +be used it was hard work, but they would manage it after a while. Then +all would give a great shout and have great joy over the whale. One +reason for their rejoicing was that the whale had so much blubber. +Blubber is the inside fat of the whale. There is a fine skin over it and +it looks like tallow or leaf lard. It is quite hard in my country, but +would melt down into what you would call whale oil in this country. +After the whale is cut up we would have a great feast and eat all we +could. Then, after taking the meat home, we would spend a long time +eating and sleeping. + +It was only when the ice broke up and the people came together to hunt +that they met one another. All the rest of the time the families stay in +their own homes, and do not visit back and forth as your people do. The +only exceptions are, when a man needs meat, or blubber, or a flint, and +goes to borrow, or when a young man goes to steal his girl. There is no +buying and selling, and no trading. Any one can get what he needs by +asking for it, if it is in the village. The people try to treat each +other as brothers and sisters. + +I will now explain a strange custom among our people. When a young man +gets to be about 25 years old he is full grown and is considered to be +of age. He then begins to think of beginning life for himself. It is a +risky thing in my country to get a wife. A young man has to steal his +girl out of her parents' snow-house and get her away into another. If he +is caught trying to do this the girl's parents turn right on him and +kill him. If he has not pluck enough to steal a girl for himself, he has +to live alone, and when he goes to sleep he crawls head first into a fur +sack. When he wants to get up he must crawl out backwards. I suppose he +is what you would call an old bachelor. + +A young man, who sees a girl he thinks he would like to have for a wife, +makes a great many excuses to come to her father's snow-house. Sometimes +he wants to borrow a flint, or blubber, or something else. If he comes +without any excuse, the girl's parents tell him, "I know very well what +you do want; you want my girl, but you never shall get her." Then he +gets kind of scared and runs off. But he sneaks round again pretty +often. He thinks may be her parents will go out for a dog-sleigh ride, +or may be they would lay them down to sleep some time. If he does get +her out of the snow-house without being caught, the girl's parents send +right back for him and think nobody is any smarter than he is, and do +all they can for him. + +The reason a girl's parents want the young man to steal her is, that +they want to find out whether he is willing to risk his life for his own +girl or not. They think if he is not smart enough to steal a girl, he +would not be smart enough to take care of her--kill a polar bear, so +that she would have enough to live on. + +There are not many old bachelors in my country, for if a man has not +spunk enough to steal a girl he is looked down upon as a sort of soft, +good-for-nothing fellow. + +Many people are disappointed when they see me, because I am not darker +colored, with black hair. More of my people have light hair than dark, +and we know that we are naturally a fair-skinned people, because when a +baby is born in my country it is just as white as any American baby, and +it has light hair and blue eyes. But the mother does not wash it with +soft water and soap, as they do in this country, but she goes to work +and greases it all over, and the child is never washed from the day he +is born till he dies, if he remains in that country. The mother wraps +her little one in the skin of a young seal, which has been made very +soft by pounding and rubbing it on the ice. If baby cries, the mother +will not take it up and care for it, but she puts it in a corner and +leaves it there until it stops crying, and then she takes it up and pets +it. She can only nurse it about a month. Then the mother will warm some +blubber for it; but in a little while it must live just like the rest. +She carries the baby in her hood, and does not expect it to learn to +walk until between two and three years old. Then she makes a suit for it +of young seal's fur. When the child becomes larger, say six or seven +years old, a thicker suit is made of polar bear skin; and then little +"Auska" feels as proud of his new clothes as "Our Charlie" does of his +new boots, and the chubby "Roegnia" rejoices over her white suit as much +as dainty Flora in her arctics and muff and fur collar. But Auska and +Roegnia are dressed more nearly alike than Charlie and Flora. Men's +clothes are just like women's clothes; only a woman's coat comes down to +a point and man's coat is cut off square, and that is all the +difference. They wear fur mittens and fur shoes. + +I think it would be very nice for some ladies in this country, if they +were to go to Greenland; for they would have no washing, no ironing, no +scrubbing and no cooking to do. They don't even have to wash their faces +or comb their hair. Esquimaux people have only the salt ocean water, and +if they had soft, fresh water they dare not use it, for it would be like +poison to their flesh when the thermometer was 60 deg. or 70 deg. below zero. +So, when they eat, my people take a chunk of raw meat in one hand and a +chunk of blubber in the other, and take a bite of each until it is +eaten. Then they carefully rub the grease and fat all over their hands +and face, and feel splendid afterwards. + +The women have long hair, made dark by the smoke and grease. The men +have long hair, also, and a thin, scattering beard over the face, which +they never shave or trim, because they have no razor or shears. + +We had no church or court house, no school or factory, no doctor, lawyer +or merchant, no money, jewelry or timepiece, not an axe, spade or +hammer, no knife, fork or spoon, no bread, no cloth, no wood! I never +saw as much wood in my country as would make one little match. For a +needle we use the tooth of a fish; for thread the sinews of a reindeer. + +Rich people were those who had a flint. Poor people had to go and borrow +it when they wanted to light a fire. Common folks would sit down flat on +the fur carpet, but "tony" people would get blocks of ice or snow and +put in the snow-house and cover them with fur for seats. But it was only +the _most toniest_ people who did that kind of a trick. + +My people believe in good and bad spirits. They think there is a big +Good Spirit and several small ones, and one big bad spirit and several +small ones. They think if they tell a lie or do anything wrong, the bad +spirit will come and hurt them some way. If a baby gets sick the mother +does not do anything for it. She thinks a bad spirit has hold of her +child, and will get her too if she helps it in any way. If baby dies she +lays it away in the cold snow and leaves it without a tear. When a man +is sick they carry him into a separate snow-house, and all they do to +help him is to throw in a piece of poor meat which they do not care +about themselves. If a woman is sick she is not taken from her +snow-house, but is no better cared for. The only disease is something +like consumption in this country. After an Esquimaux dies they drag him +out and bury him in the snow, piling blocks of ice as high as they can +above the grave. If he has not specially given his spear and flint and +skins to some of his friends before he dies, then everything is buried +with him, and the friends go home to think no more about him. If the +white bear comes along and digs up the body they do not care. They never +speak of a departed friend, because they fancy it would annoy the +spirit, which is supposed to be not far off. + +When a man is first taken sick they do one thing for him, if he is not +very bad. They gather round him and sing to the Good Spirit, in hopes +that He will drive away the bad spirit. If the sick man recovers they +think a great deal of him. + +Sometimes my father would tell us stories about his parents and grand +parents, and then he would tell how they said that their parents told +how long, long ago the first people had come from Norway. But no one +knew what Norway was like. Some said it was a great house somewhere; +some said it was the moon, and some said it was where the Good Spirit +lived. + +One thing had a great deal of interest for us all. When the sun shone +out brightly at the beginning of the daytime it marked the first of the +year, just as New Year's Day in this country. Then mother and father +would bring out the sacks. Each one was made of a different kind of fur. +Father had his, mother had hers, and each of the children one. In each +sack was a piece of bone for every first time that person had seen the +sun. When ten bones were gathered they would tie them into a bundle, for +they had not words to count more than ten. + + * * * * * + +In such a land was I born. In such a home was I brought up. In such +pleasures I rejoiced, until there were about fourteen bones in my sack. +Then something happened which changed my whole life. Six tall men came +to our village. Our men were much frightened at first and did not know +what to make of the giants. Some thought them bad spirits. But they were +peaceable, and went hunting with our people and helped them, so that +after a while they came to like one another. The strangers were Iceland +fishermen. After they lived with us for more than a year, they were able +to explain how they were shipwrecked in a storm, and how they got on the +ice and walked on the ice till they came to Greenland. They told how +much they wanted to get back to their families, and how much better +country Iceland was. At last, three Esquimaux families told the +Icelanders they would lend them their dogs and sleds if they would do +them any good. And because they wanted their dogs back again they said +they would go with them. + +So they started out. My father's family was the largest in the party, +there being ten of us in all. Most Esquimaux families had only three or +four children in them--sometimes only one child, and often none at all. +I was a young and giddy thing then, and was glad to go. We traveled a +long way down the coast, hunting as we went. Then we turned right out on +to the ocean itself. On the way there were three polar bears killed and +some seals and other animals, so that we had plenty to eat. I remember +we would sometimes take something to eat when the sledges were flying +over the ice with the dogs at full gallop. At intervals we fed the dogs, +and they gathered closely round the sled and soon all were asleep. When +we woke up we went on again. While on the ocean we often heard the sound +of the ice breaking up, and would have to hurry away to escape being +caught in the upheaval. We finally reached Iceland after being two +months and some days on the way, according to the Icelanders' +calculation, and having traveled about a thousand miles. + +The people in Iceland were astonished to see us little people. They came +to see us from a long distance. We were all weighed and measured. My +father stood three feet five inches, and weighed 160 pounds. My mother +was the same height woman that I am, and weighed 150. None of my +brothers was quite so tall as my father, but they came near his weight. +One of my sisters was only three feet two inches, and weighed 142. I +weighed 136 pounds. Now I am three feet four inches high, and weigh 120. + +The missionaries in Iceland took great interest in us, for they knew we +were all heathens, and they said they would like to take us into their +schools and educate us. So each family was taken into a different +school. Our family was placed in the Lutheran school, and there I +studied for five years. My teacher was a good and kind man. His name was +Ion Thorderson. He was patient with me and helped me to learn; but some +of the scholars were jealous of "the little thing" and made fun of me. +For this they had to carry notes home to their parents, and this secured +to them a good whipping a-piece, so that they were heard to wish "that +little thing" had never come into the school. + +At first we lived several miles from the school, but we did not know +anything about walking, in fact could not walk any distance, so they +sent us on horseback. They used to tie me on so that I would not fall +off. It was a funny sight to behold us eight little tots going to +school. + +I never shall forget the time when a kind friend gave me a pony. He was +very gentle, and small enough so that by leading him along side a large +stone I was able to climb upon his back. He would stand quietly and wait +for me. I loved my pony and thought there was nothing in the world like +him. But this long ride was very hard on us, and finally the teacher +made arrangement so that we could live close to the school. + +The school system was very different in some respects from American +schools. The teacher was always the minister, and the school was +connected with the church. A scholar had first to learn to read, and +must keep at it until he could read better than the teacher. Then he was +called upon to commit to memory large portions of history and of the +Bible; and when he had learned them so well that he could repeat from +beginning to end without the book, he was allowed to begin to write. He +could not take pen in hand before that. After learning to write, he was +taught figures; and after that I do not know what was done. + +The teacher never laid a hand on the scholar in punishment. If he did +anything wrong, a note was sent to his parents, and they flogged him +soundly. + +I enjoyed the life in Iceland, for I saw and learned so much that was +new. + +Some time in the spring there was a holiday, in which the young folks +would cut up pranks, something like the tricks of April-fool Day here. +The girls would try to fasten a small sack of ashes upon the clothing of +the boys, and they, in return, would seek to place a pebble in the +pockets of the girls, endeavoring to do it so slyly that the sack or +pebble would be carried about all day without the one who bore it +knowing anything about it. + +On one of these days, a girl tied a small sack into the beard of one of +the men, while he was asleep, and he wore it all day before anyone told +him, and then they had a great laugh at his expense. I thought I would +try my hand at this, so I made a little sack and tucked it into the +corner of a patch, which a big fellow wore upon his pants, the corner +being ripped just enough to let the sack slip inside. I had great fun +watching him all day, and when night came, he boasted that none of the +girls had fooled him that day. "Oh, yes," said one of his companions, +"the smallest girl in the house has fooled you badly." He felt pretty +cheap when I pointed to the patch, and he found the sack sticking out so +that he might have seen it easily. + +Picking up fuel was hard work, and took a great deal of time. They had +but little wood, and no coal, so that it was necessary to gather the +droppings of animals, and make great piles of this kind of stuff in the +summer, so that it would be dry enough to burn in the winter. + +If mice came about the houses and buildings in the fall, the Icelanders +would fear a hard winter, and much damage to their sheep; for when the +winter grew very severe, and the mice could get nothing else to eat, +they would climb upon the sheep's backs, while they were lying close +together in the sheds, and would burrow into the wool, back of the +shoulder-blades, and eat the flesh, very often causing the death of the +poor animals. + +The Icelanders used sheep's milk a great deal, and I liked it. Sheep's +milk is richer and sweeter than cow's milk. They used to put up a lot of +milk in barrels, and put in some rennet, which would make it curdle into +something like cottage cheese. This they would set aside for winter use, +and all were very fond of it. The family would be considered very poor +who could not put up from eight to ten barrels of this food. + +They sometimes, also, would churn mutton tallow, or whale oil, in the +sheep's milk, and make a kind of butter. Whale oil makes a better butter +than the tallow, and I think I like would it even yet. + +While most people had dishes and knives and forks, it was not customary +to set the table, unless there was company present. Each one had a cup +for himself, made of wood with staves like a barrel, and curiously bound +with whale-bone hoops. They had handles upon them, but I do not know how +fastened. A child's cup would hold about a quart, and a man's cup +sometimes as much as three quarts. When each one had gotten his cup +filled, he would take his place at any convenient spot in the room, on +the bed, or anywhere, and proceed to empty the cup with great haste. We +all had ravenous appetites, but did not always have enough to eat. In +the spring we had a great treat, when the eggs and flesh of wild fowl +were to be had. We fared well when fish were plenty, but at other times +a porridge made of Iceland moss and the curdled milk made up our fare. +Some seasons they can raise a few vegetables in Iceland, but this is not +often. Of late years they cannot raise grain, although they used to +raise good oats. + +One of the books that we had there was a history of America, and in that +it said that money could be picked up off the streets, almost. I have +since found it quite a difficulty. But that book put me into the notion +to come out here. So when a colony of five hundred Icelanders were about +to start for Manitoba, I got my father to come with them. He had just +money enough to bring himself and one of his children, so he naturally +chose his youngest and the one that was most anxious to come. + +My mother died with consumption when we had been in Iceland about a +year. I shall never forget the circumstances of her illness. I hated +her, and turned from her just as we did in Greenland. She thought it was +all right, and told me to keep away and to hate her, for fear the bad +spirit would get me. + +I said to my teacher one day: "I hate my mother." + +"Why, my dear child, you should not do that." + +"But I do hate her; she has a bad spirit in her, and Esquimaux people +always hate their friends when they get bad spirits in them." + +Tears ran down the good man's cheeks as he exclaimed, "Why, the dear +child, she doesn't know anything!" + +Then he took me upon his knee and began to explain that my mother did +not have a bad spirit, but was sick. He dropped his school work +entirely, and for three days devoted himself to explaining the Christian +belief. Then he made me go to my mother and tell her all about it. My +mother was glad--oh, so glad; and she died happy. + +My four brothers and three sisters are in Iceland, yet. I promised when +I left that I would send for them, and I still hope to have them all +with me. + +We sailed in a ship from Iceland to Scotland. I cannot remember at what +city we landed. From there I had my first railway ride, into England, +and was much frightened by the noise and motion of the cars. Then we +sailed to Quebec, and then came to Winnipeg. It took us five months and +five days to come from Iceland to Manitoba. + +When I came to Manitoba, I was sick for nearly two years. The Iceland +ministers were very kind to me, and took care of me while I was sick. +When I got well, I started out to work for my living. I could not speak +one word of English, and I was afraid to try. + +The first person I worked for was a half-breed woman, who had a rough, +quarrelsome lot of children that I had to wait upon. Once in a while I +was called into the front room, and would find some strangers there. One +day the mistress was called away, when I was sent into the room, and the +gentleman and lady who were there gave me a quarter, each. She had been +making money out of me in this way all the while, but all the money I +received for some months of hard labor was what these people gave me. + +Then I was taken sick with the measles. The woman turned me out of +doors. I did not know where to go. I just ran round and round the house. +A young lady, from one of the best families in Winnipeg, found me in +this plight, took me by the hand and led me home. She nursed me till I +was well, and then gave me good clothes and found me a place to work. +She told me to come back to her if I was in trouble again. + +After working for some time in this place, I came to work for Mrs. C., +the lady who is with me now. When she first saw me she thought I was a +little child, and did not see how I could be of any use to her. But she +pitied me because she thought I was cold, and gave me something to do. I +lived with her three months. When I first came to her I could not speak +enough English to tell her I liked coffee better than tea. My work was +washing dishes. They would help me into a chair so that I could reach +the table. When at last I was able to explain, with the help of an +Iceland girl who lived next door, that I desired to travel as a +curiosity, hoping in this way to make money enough to bring my brothers +and sisters from Iceland, Mr. and Mrs. C. consented to come with me. + +My father agreed to let me go, if I would go with respectable people and +remain with them. I had worn my seal skin suit about in Manitoba until +it was worn out, but my father had taken care of my polar bear suit, so +I had that to bring with me. He let me bring his new flint and walrus +tusk, also. + +But a few months afterwards he sent for his spear, because he thought he +could not get along without it, so I returned it to him. He is still +living in Manitoba, and is 65 years old. This is several years older +than people live in Greenland. Oldest people we ever knew were 60 years +old. This I know from the Icelanders, who went round to all the snow +houses and counted the bones in the different sacks. + +When I reached Minneapolis I was taken sick, and the doctors did not +know what to do for me. They kept me in a warm room, and I grew worse +every day. At last Mr. C. heard of a doctor who had been in Greenland, +and sent for him. Under his advice I was taken to Minnetonka and kept in +a cold room, and I got well. + +At first I traveled as a curiosity and charged ten cents. All I could do +was to let the people see me, show my costume, flint and tusk, sing a +few songs, etc. By degrees I learned to answer questions, and at last +came to talk pretty well. While we were at a place in Indiana, called +Cloverdale, some professors and a minister urged me to give a lecture. +They secured a large hall, and when I peeked through a hole in the +curtain I saw about 300 people, and was nearly scared out of my wits. +But Mrs. C. got me mad over something about my dress, and the curtain +went up while I was standing there, and I spoke to them right along. +That was Dec. 30th, 1884. Since then I have been lecturing right along, +except in some short times of sickness, and the hottest weather. I have +been in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Ilinois, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, +Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska, and I hope by next year, to have all my +brothers and sisters with me, so that we can travel together and help +the missionary teachers in Iceland, where we got our education in the +first place. + +A great many funny things have been said to me by visitors, and a great +many curious questions asked. Generally, people are kind and +considerate, but sometimes they are rude and uncivil. I am always glad +to satisfy reasonable curiosity to the best of my ability, but I do not +like impertinence any better than any body else. + +I was somewhat surprised by one old lady, a year or so ago. After she +had listened for some time, and become greatly interested, she came up +and said, "Where did yeou say yeou kum from?" "From the eastern coast of +Greenland." "Greenland! why la, yes. I know that country. My husband's +got a farm there." A farm in Greenland! Well, a good many other people +have made mistakes fully equal to the old lady's. + +Americans, I think you do not realize your blessings in this great land +of plenty, where you have so many fine things. Even here, I often see +sad faces, and hear words of discontent. Sometimes I am a little +discontented myself, when I see something I want, and think I cannot, +or ought not to, have it. But I soon get over that feeling when I +remember my home in the frozen north, where we sat still through the +weary hours, shivering with the cold, choked by the smoke, and often +almost perishing with hunger. + +If I was to go back to my race of people, I would not be able to tell +them about what I see and hear in this country. They have not the +language to express the thought. They have seen nothing like a sewing +machine, or a piano. They have no materials to enable them to make +machines. They never saw a painting or a drawing. Their wild, rude songs +is all they have that is anything like music. They have no idea of a +book. They eat when they're hungry, and sleep when they're sleepy. They +are happy and contented _when they don't know any better_. + +The only relatives we knew about, were brothers and sisters, father and +mother, and our grandparents. As for other relatives, such as uncles, +aunts and cousins, we knew nothing about them. We lived in small +settlements of thirty or forty families. No one seemed to take any +interest in finding out how many settlements there were, or how many +people lived in them. We had only one name each, just as you name +animals in this country. My father's name was Krauker. My name was +Olwar. Before we left Iceland, the whole family were baptized. They +named my father Salve Krarer, and they baptized me Olof Krarer, making +the Iceland names as near like the Esquimaux names as they could, but +giving my father a new name, Salve, which means something like "saved." + + THE END. + + + + +EPITOME. + + + On Iceland's damp and stormy shore, + Mid Geyser's throe and Ocean's roar, + A sturdy race on sterile soil, + Pursue their unremitting toil; + Struggling against stern poverty, + And Denmark's hostile mastery. + Farther northward, bleak and cold, + Bound by Winter's icy hold, + Where eternal snows abound,-- + There the Esquimaux is found. + House of ice and suit of fur; + Food, the flesh of polar bear; + Tusks of walrus, the only arm, + Ferocious beasts alone alarm; + A dog-sleigh ride his only pleasure; + A piece of flint his choicest treasure; + Ambition's height to steal a wife, + For her he dares to risk his life. + He tells no lie nor ever swears; + For neighbor, as for brother, cares. + The golden rule he never heard, + But tries to keep its every word. + Father to son the story told, + How sailors hardy, brave and bold, + Far back in bygone centuries, + Sought to explore the Northern seas; + Storm-bound, shipwrecked and cast-away, + By horrid fate compelled to stay, + They yielded not to grim despair, + But bearded Winter in his lair; + Bravely building their snow house domes, + They settled into northern homes. + Lost to their ken is old Norway, + But cherished still in their memory. + The rising sun began the year; + Four months his rays shone full and clear; + A month he gave a milder light, + 'Twixt the long day and longer night. + For half the year Aurora's beams, + The moon's soft ray, and starry gleams, + Guided the hunter to his home, + Whene'er he chose afar to roam. + Foremost among his tribe and clan, + There lived a hardy little man; + His wife, renowned for spirit high, + Rejoiced in her large family;-- + Four sturdy sons, four maidens brown, + Gathered in harmony around + Their fireplace, and together dwelt, + And love for one another felt. + One fateful day there came along + Six Iceland fishers, stern and strong. + The Esquimaux in terror fled + From spirits evil, so they said; + But meeting them with friendly mien, + The pigmies soon at ease were seen. + The giants more contented grew, + And eager searched for knowledge new; + But erst they thought of native shore, + And longed to view their home once more. + At length, in venturous spirit bold, + Their purpose to their friends they told, + To seek their lov'd land once again, + By crossing on the frozen main. + The trial made, the deed was done! + A victory great, and nobly won! + Three families assistance lent. + Upon returning they were bent, + Till finding this a better land, + They settled on the barren strand; + In mission schools were kindly taught, + And daily grew in word and thought. + + Five years rolled by; consumption's claim + Was laid upon the mother's frame. + The father loved his youngest child, + And with her crossed the ocean wild; + With many mishaps, much fatigue, + They found a home in Winnipeg. + + Five years again had claimed their own; + The daughter now to woman grown, + Though but a little child for size, + Assayed a wond'rous enterprise-- + To win from gen'rous strangers' hand, + By telling of her native land, + Her fortune, and to meet once more + Her sisters three and brothers four. + Pray tell me, friend, didst e'er thou find + A braver spirit, nobler mind, + A name more worthy to go down + On hist'ry's page with bright renown? + + * * * * * + +Captain Holm recently returned to Copenhagen, after having spent two +years and a half exploring the almost unknown region of the east coast +of Greenland. Although ten or twelve expeditions have set out for East +Greenland in the past two centuries, almost all of them in search of the +lost Norsemen, who were supposed to have settled there, only one ship +ever reached the coast. + +The great ice masses, sometimes hundreds of miles wide, that are +perpetually piled up against the shore, have kept explorers from East +Greenland long after all Arctic lands were fairly well known. With three +assistants, Captain Holm landed at Cape Farewell, and then went north +some four hundred miles. He has returned with large collections, +representing the flora, fauna, geology, and anthropology of this +hitherto unknown portion of the earth's surface. He found in those cold +and dismal regions, isolated from the world, a race of people who had +never heard, or known, of the great civilized nations of the earth. They +seemed to lead happy lives, and live in a communicative way in hamlets. +They differ entirely in language, and physical character, from the +Esquimaux of West Greenland.--_Demorest's Monthly_. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Olof Krarer, The Esquimaux Lady, by Olof Krarer + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OLOF KRARER, THE ESQUIMAUX LADY *** + +***** This file should be named 33703.txt or 33703.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/3/7/0/33703/ + +Produced by Andrew Chesley and the Online Distributed +Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was +produced from images generously made available by The +Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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