MY OLD BOAT 71 



fastened the rope that binds our boat to the jetty 

 by the store-house, and I rowed out past Sungolik 

 to the bank where the codfish feed, the place which 

 I know, and where I have seen the codfish gathered 

 thickly together, deep down through the clear water. 

 And while I rowed, old Maria, that wife of mine, 

 was scraping the jiggers to make them bright, so 

 that the codfish might see them easily ; and there, 

 by Sungolik, we fished. And the fish were much to 

 be thankful for, for they were many ; and we caught 

 them faster than we could pull them into the boat. 

 Often they rushed to meet the bright hook before it 

 could reach the bottom of the sea, and we were very 

 happy to get so many fish. We were thinking of 

 how we would salt them and dry them to sell, and 

 how we would buy new blankets and attigeks 

 (smocks) and many other things ; and Maria would 

 dry some without salt, on the poles outside our 

 door, and make pipse, which tastes so good. And so 

 we fished ; but we did not see that the tide was 

 angry and the wind was wild. And suddenly it was 

 a storm, and we were only two old people in a little 

 boat." 



Kornelius paused ; he seemed to be picturing the 

 scene again in his mind, and the pathos of the old 

 man's simple tale brought a picture to my mind too. 

 I seemed to see that little boat tossing on the angry 

 water, with a brave old man tugging at the oars and 

 a brave old woman baling. 



The Eskimo is a wonderfully strong oarsman ; he 

 can row on for hours without resting ; he does not 



