Coining of the Icclaiidcrs. 1 7 



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 tin-^e 

 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 some- 

 thing 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 

 tlian 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 the)- wanted to get back to 

 their families, and how much better country Iceland 

 was. At last, three Esquimaux families told the Ice- 

 landers 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. 



