THE HUNTER'S RETURN 



tack and I saw the two masts and the four people. 

 " Ilia, ilia," cried a shrill old voice, " it is Jonasekut ; 

 see that white patch on the sail ; I helped Priscilla to 

 sew that on." " Boat seems loaded," said the cooper ; 

 " plenty seals, maybe." " Nakom6k " (how thankful), 

 said the chorus ; and so the excited talk went on until 

 the boat, with a last long tack, swept gently along- 

 side the jetty. "Jonase-ai," was the greeting a 

 sort of familiar " Hello, Jonas." " Ah," said Jonas, 

 " Aksuse " ; and he began to hand out the meat. His 

 giving seemed quite indiscriminate, and everybody 

 got a share. Children ran home, chattering and 

 laughing with glee, carrying between them great 

 slabs of raw flesh, with a train of dogs slinking 

 furtively behind them in hopes of an accidental share ; 

 older folks followed more sedately, hugging bowls 

 and tubs of meat, but all with the same delighted 

 grin upon their faces in anticipation of that most 

 luscious of all Eskimo dainties, fresh-killed seal. 



I really wondered, as I watched the scene, whether 

 the hunter had anything left for himself. He had, 

 but no more than enough for a good square meal ; he 

 was quite content to follow the generous custom 

 of the people, and share with all and sundry; and 

 the skin and blubber were his only payment for his 

 trouble and skill. He carried the liver to the 

 missionary, and as I watched him I thought that in 

 his open-handed giving there was just the same spirit 

 that prompted little John to open the circle at the 

 dinner bowl to the poor young man. 



This home-coming was the first of many, since 

 the open water gave the people the means of travel- 

 ling for which they had been waiting ; one day it 



was a seal-hunter, another a trout-fisher from the 



251 



