Some time
during the winter, after the hunters had all returned from the reindeer
country, a little old man offered to sell Lieutenant Schwatka a very
fine large dog for one pound of powder and a box of caps, and, when
requested to produce his dog, brought in E-luck-e-nuk. The Lieutenant
recognized the animal at once by a broken ear and a loose-jointed tail,
and, smiling graciously, told the would-be dog seller that the dog
already belonged to him by purchase from Shiksik for a similar price,
to her in hand paid about six weeks prior to the present occasion. The
old man did not seem to understand the matter very clearly and went out
for an interpreter, whom he found in "Esquimau Joe." The latter then
stated that the dog in question belonged to the person then present,
and when Lieutenant Schwatka indignantly asserted that every one in
camp declared the dog belonged to Shiksik at the time of purchase, Joe
remarked, "At's all right; he name Shiksik, too." As an example of the
simplicity of the Innuit character, it should be remarked that when the
purchase was originally made, all the people looked complacently and
admiringly on without a word of explanation, though they well knew the
mistake, merely remarking the unexampled generosity of Igeark-too-aloo.
Under such adverse circumstances does the barterer ply his traffic with
the Esquimaux.
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