A NEW YEAR'S GODSEND 



find several of our great hunters gathered there 

 discussing something. Mele himself was sitting on 

 his box, with snow on his boots and his face red 

 with the cold ; he was evidently not long home from 

 another expedition. He was crying silently. " What 

 is the matter?" said I. " Tagga " (look there), said 

 Gustaf, our greatest fur-trapper ; " tagga," and pointed 

 to the table. The group drew away and let me pass, 

 and I saw at once the cause of the excitement ; on 

 the rough boards there lay a beautiful black fox. 

 "Igvit (yours), Mel6?" I asked him. "Ahaila," 

 he sobbed. " I went to-day to my fox-trap, my 

 poor little only fox -trap that I set yesterday and 

 baited with a piece of the seal meat that Daniel 

 sent us for dinner, and that was too much for us 

 to finish ; and there were many other men there 

 setting their fox-traps " " Ilia, ilia, we were there," 

 said some of the men grouped in the hut " and 

 I set my little fox-trap by itself, and their fox-traps 

 were all about, here and there among the trees. 

 And to-day I went again to look at my trap, and 

 behold, I have a black fox. Tattamnarmek (it is 

 wonderful) : some of the other men had foxes, red 

 foxes and white, but my trap only has a black one. 

 Surely God put it there because I am the poorest 

 man and need it the most. Nakomek." And it 

 was New Year's Day ! 



Could I wonder at the man's emotion? Could 

 I help sharing the excitement of the other trappers 

 at this stroke of what we in our enlightenment call 

 " luck " ? Mele and his family were supplied with 

 enough and to spare ; they could buy seal meat and 

 dog's food and blubber and clothes, enough to last 



them the winter through. And I wish the story 



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