48 A Canadian Arctic Expedition, 1913-18 



for game; perhaps I shall find something." But his mother said, "Don't go. 

 You are only a httle boy yet. You may meet a white bear or a black bear 

 and never come home any more." "No," said the boy, "I shall be all right; I 

 shall come back safely. 1 may find something, perhaps a caribou." That night 

 he hardly slept for thinking of his journey on the morrow. Long before dawn 

 he started out and wandered about all day, but saw nothing. At last he came 

 to a great wall of rock where something lurked in the shadow. "What is it?" 

 he said. "Is it a black bear, or perhaps a white one? I'll crawl up close and see." 

 He felt somewhat afraid, but nevertheless he crept a little nearer. At last it 

 was in plain view — a black bear. Every now and then it raised its head and 

 looked around, and then the boy dropped his head and hugged the ground. 

 He was terribly frightened, so frightened that he could not stir from the spot. 

 "Alas," he said to himself, "It is all over now. I shall never go back home to 

 mother again." Presently the bear saw him, and slowly rising to its feet shamb- 

 led towards him. "It's all over now," the boy said to himself; "It's going to 

 eat me." As the bear drew near he looked up at it and slowly stood up, waiting. 

 But the bear said, "Speak, boy, what is it you come for?" and the boy answered, 

 "I came out to look for game. Mother told me not to come. 'You may meet a 

 white bear,' she said, 'or a black one, and it will eat you and you will never come 

 home again.' " But the bear said, "Don't be frightened; I am not going to 

 eat you. I am going to tell you something. When you kill any game, caribou 

 or seal or whatever it may be, and are cutting it up, throw some small pieces 

 on one side for me — I may be hungry. I am your father. If you don't you will 

 never return home." The boy said, "All right." He was terribly frightened 

 and ran all the way home. He panted hard as he entered the house, and his 

 mother, noticing it, asked "What is the matter? What have you seen?" "Noth- 

 ing," said the boy, "I walked about all day and saw nothing." "Oh, but you 

 are panting," she said, "I think you must have seen something." "No," he 

 replied. "I saw nothing. I was afraid it would get dark and I should not be 

 able to find my way home, so I ran. I did not see anything at all." However, 

 he was very tired and soon went to bed and fell asleep. His mother was troubled 

 and unable to sleep, but lay and watched him all night with her eyes half-open. 

 The next day the boy went out hunting again. As he was leaving his mother 

 said, "Don't go hunting; you are only a little boy yet and may never come back 

 again. Wait until you are bigger." But the boy said, "Oh I shall come back 

 all right." So he went away and came upon a large caribou, which he shot and 

 skinned. A few small pieces of meat he threw aside; the rest he packed in his 

 shirt and returned home. His mother was delighted; "Well done," she said, 

 "Well done." They had a good meal that evening, and went to bed satisfied. 

 Another day the boy saw a bearded seal near the shore. He speared it, threw 

 aside some of the meat and dragged the rest home. "Well done, my son," his 

 mother said, "Well dore. We shan't be hungry now." So they lived happily, 

 and the boy became a young man. Ore day he did not go out as usual. His 

 mother said to him, "What is the matter? Are you sick, that you do not go 

 out?" "No," he said, "It's merely that I don't want to go today." "Are you 

 sure it's not because you are feeling unwell and weak, and are afraid you will 

 never reach home again?" "No," he said, "I don't want to go. Do you want 

 me to go away and get lost and never come back?" "No, that is not the reason," 

 she said, "I thought that perhaps you were sick." So the boy stayed at home 

 that day, and ate and slept, ate and slept, until it was time to go to bed. The 

 next day he went out and shot a caribou, but he forgot to throw away any small 

 pieces of meat when he cut it up. Hardly had he started back home when it 

 suddenly became dark and he could not see his way. "How is this?" he said. 

 "It was easy enough to get back home before in the one day. Now it seems as 

 though I shall have to sleep out here and shall not reach home until tomorrow." 

 But neither did he reach home the next day, nor the next, but went on walking 

 and walking until he died. 



