Mitiarjuk Nappaaluk - Sanaaq - An Inuit Novel

“I’ll go fetch the brushwood I stored away,” she announced. “We’ll need it because we probably won’t be able to move today.”

She left, taking with her the skin of a young utjuk to use as a sled, a leather strap to tow her load, and a stick to knock the snow off the wood.

Arnatuinnaq told her, “I’m going to stop up the cracks on the outside of the igloo. Qumaq will stay at someone else’s place while I plug the holes because I’m afraid she’ll get cold.”

Qalingu dug a hole in the snow, but it was not good snow. He said, “It isn’t any good, so I’ll make the igloo out of packed snow… We’ll trample it today to pack it together. It will harden overnight.”

He cut out a large number of blocks that he broke up with his snow knife. Arnatuinnaq then used her feet to pack the snow. Qalingu told her, “We’re going to be very cold tonight. I probably won’t be able to start building our igloo before tomorrow.”

“The snow is very powdery. It will take long to harden,” replied Arnatuinnaq. “There’s some wet snow a bit further away…”

“It should harden with this cold,” said Qalingu. “It’s going to get really cold.”

Sanaaq was walking up the hill, a snow stick in her hand. Once she arrived at her woodpile, she removed the covering of vegetation she had placed over the brush. A few dwarf willows had been left exposed, however, and were covered with icicles. She beat them with the snow stick and piled them onto the utjuk skin. She stacked her load, tied it up, slipped the snow stick under the utjuk skin, and began pulling the make-do sled home, laden with firewood.

An idea crossed her mind. She hitched her dog to the sled and called out, “ Uit! Uit! ” to make it go forward. The dog jumped to its feet and started off. And so she pressed on, alone with her dog. Suddenly, however, she spotted a polar bear. She was not far from home and, though terrified, fought back the urge to scream. The polar bear being still unaware of her presence, she tried to make her way home by the other side of the hill, while abandoning the dog and the load of wood… She ran ahead, stifling the slightest cry of panic.

Her dog came to the bear tracks and, without showing any sign of fear, bounded off in hot pursuit. The dog, Kajualuk, was barking loudly and sniffing the ground with its snout. “ Muu muu! ” was its muffled grunting.

Meanwhile its master was running silently, as fast as she could, holding back her fear. A short distance from home, she yelled, “ Nanualuk! A big polar bear! My kinfolk!”

Qalingu heard.

“Listen!” He went outside to look. “Listen! She says there’s a polar bear!”

“Yes!” said Arnatuinnaq. “She says there’s a big polar bear. Up there, look at her run… Ii! ”

Qalingu grabbed his rifle and rushed to meet her. The “old woman” and her “old man” finally caught up to each other. Sanaaq explained what had happened. “I saw a big polar bear… The only reason it didn’t kill me is because I went by the other side of the hill… But Kajualuk ran after the bear and has probably caught up to it.”

With his rifle in hand, Qalingu hurried to the bear and the dog. He soon saw them and drew closer. The bear was cornered, the dog nipping the back of its knees whenever it tried to move away. The bear was growling loudly but could not bite the dog, which nimbly ducked every swipe of the bear’s claws and teeth. The dog had not been hurt in the slightest.

Qalingu stopped to take aim. Tikkuu! — the gun went off. He fired several times but failed to reach his target. He was still too far away. Tikkuu! Tikkuu! He fired repeatedly and, despite his poor aim, finally heard a bullet strike home. Though hurt, the bear was not dead. It tried to nurse its wound, nibbling on the flesh. Qalingu drew nearer and shot again, this time fatally. Sanaaq’s dog lapped the blood oozing from the wound. Once he knew the bear was dead, Qalingu went home for a sled and for help with skinning. The sun was still out when he arrived home and walked in. He said, “I killed the bear… Almost ran out of bullets because I missed it so many times… I’ve come for a sled and for help with skinning.”

“That’s great news!” said Sanaaq. “We’re going to have plenty of bear meat! We’ve got to let our camp mates know. I’ll go myself and tell them!”

Arnatuinnaq was rummaging around for the harness.

“I have to hurry up and get the dogs harnessed! But where’s the nuvviti? ”

“Over there,” said Qalingu. “I’m finishing my tea!”

Two of the dogs were missing and Arnatuinnaq called out, “ Hau! Hau! Hau! ” But both had gone running after Qalingu.

Meanwhile Sanaaq was going from one tent to another. “ Jiimialuk! We need your help. Qalingu has killed a polar bear!”

“I’ll help!” answered Jiimialuk.

“Oh! Suvakkualuk! ” exclaimed Aqiarulaaq. “ Qatannguuk! Were you almost devoured by the bear?”

“Yes! Barely got away… I left my firewood behind while the dog I had with me went after it… I was so afraid, I didn’t utter a single word… Qumaq was all I could think about. I told myself, ‘If I am eaten by the bear, she’ll no longer be properly taken care of. Her boots will be in poor shape and, when she feels down, people will make her cry for no good reason. She’ll also be scolded often and neglected… When hungry, she’ll not be given food like the others.’ That’s what I thought, qatannguuk! ”

“ Suvakkualuk! To think that you went there alone, when I should have gone with you, qatannguuk ai! Have a little tea! It’s a bit weak because we’re almost out… You’re really lucky not to have been eaten by the bear. Without you, Qalingu wouldn’t have been able to kill the bear!”

“It’s really the first time in my life I’ve been so afraid. I thought I was done for!”

“ Uit! uit! ” shouted Jiimialuk and Qalingu. They were getting their dog team going again.

Jiimialuk was pulling on the nuvviti to help the dogs climb the hill.

“ Uuppaa! Uuppaa! ” he yelled, throwing a rock at the dogs to quicken their pace. He remarked, “ Ai! I got burned just a short time ago and here I am going to get some bear meat… Good thing I didn’t die back then!” he said jokingly. “I lost an eye while boiling some meat and though missing a lens I’m still alive!”

He came to the dead bear and prepared to help with the skinning.

“Jiimialuk ai! ” said Qalingu. “Let’s start skinning!”

While they were skinning the bear, their dogs, still tied up, grew restless. Five of the dogs harassed them as they worked. Jiimialuk had a piece of the bear’s heart snatched away. As soon as one dog bit into it, the others became even more restless. They were wild with hunger.

“Uai! ” screamed Jiimialuk. “Pack of no-good mutts! Should I feed them the viscera ai, after removing the stomach and setting it aside?”

“Yes, do that,” answered Qalingu. “They shouldn’t eat too much, or else they won’t feel like pulling very hard!”

“Right! Only some of the viscera then, ai? ”

“You’ve got it!”

They skinned the bear by cutting its joints apart and dismembering it. When they were done, they loaded the pieces onto the sled. Their hands were very dirty now, so they cleaned them off in the damp, slushy snow. They then tied the load down with a strap. They were stretching the naqitarvik when it snapped. Jiimialuk, who had been stretching with all his might, was suddenly thrown to the ground and hit his tailbone on a stone.