88 AN ESKIMO VILLAGE 



marks of his writings ; queer ideas, clothed in quaint 

 words. And not all in Eskimo, though Eskimo was 

 Korni's native language. No, so bright a boy was 

 certainly a favourite on the fishing schooners, and 

 there he had picked up some English, so English 

 he would write. 



"Korni," he wrote, "no good; broken leg." 

 " Nis, very good." " Nis " being his way of spel- 

 ling " nurse." 



And Korni took to art ; the books are decorated 

 with his pictures. Himself, his friends especially 

 Edua and Timmo, two cronies only second to him- 

 self in mischief the nurse, the spectacled doctor, 

 all are there, labelled so that all who see may know 

 them. True, the faces are of Eskimo type, the type 

 that comes naturally to Kornelius. Noses are flat ; 

 too flat for our ideas of beauty, but charming to the 

 eyes of Korni ; too flat, indeed, to be a resting-place 

 for spectacles. Cheeks are broad and eyes are small, 

 but the names are underneath and what more 

 could you want ? 



These books, with their writings and their por- 

 traits, call back the days when Korni lay in bed and 

 his leg was painful, but as time passed the pain 

 grew less, and the subdued and quiet Korni began 

 to bubble over. The boyish mischief came to the 

 surface. 



Korni, like most boys, had a taste for exploring. 

 This, added to the fact that he was naturally bright 

 and quick to learn, gave him the courage to do any- 

 thing. 



The beginnings were mild ; Korni wanted to ' ' see 



