64 THENORTHPOLE 



of malevolent spirits, led by Tornarsuk, the great 

 devil himself. 



They are constantly trying to propitiate Tornarsuk 

 by incantations; and when they kill game, an offer- 

 ing is made to him. The devil is supposed to have a 

 keen appeciation of these tidbits. On leaving a snow 

 igloo the Eskimos are careful to kick the front out 

 of it, that the evil spirits may not find shelter there, 

 and when they throw away a worn-out garment it is 

 never left intact, but is torn in such a way that the 

 devil may not use it to warm himself. A comfortable 

 devil is presumably more dangerous than a shiver- 

 ing one. Any sudden and unexplained barking or howl- 

 ing among the dogs indicates the invisible presence of 

 Tornarsuk, and the men will run out and crack 

 their whips or fire their rifles to scare away the 

 invader. When, on board the Roosevelt in winter 

 quarters, I was suddenly aroused from sleep by the 

 crack of rifles, I did not think there was a mutiny 

 aboard — only that Tornarsuk had ridden by upon 

 the wind. 



When the ice presses hard against the ship, an 

 Eskimo will call on his dead father to push it away; 

 when the wind blows with special violence, ancestors 

 are again appealed to. Passing along a cliff, on a sledge 

 journey, a man will sometimes stop and listen and then 

 say: "Did you hear what the devil said just then?" 

 I have asked the Eskimo to repeat to me the words of 

 Tornarsuk, up there on the cliff, and I would not dream 

 of laughing at my faithful friends at such a time; the 

 messages of Tornarsuk I receive with a respectful 

 gravity. 



