When the Northland returned from Demarcation Point she brought exciting news. True, it did not deal with wars or rumors of wars, or any other epochal event that might flash in headlines from a thousand city papers, yet it thrilled Narwhale Cape to the last man. It was of greater moment here than almost any imaginable happening in the outside world. At the edge of the ice, only a few miles from shore, the Northland’s watch had sighted a herd of walrus.
No wonder the villagers ki-kied and hi-hied. Ivak (walrus) was almost the richest gift that the sea could give them. In the first place, he was ook sook—plenty fat. His huge body was one great hogshead of blubber—white, tasty, and filling. The half-digested clams in his stomach were eaten raw and considered a special delicacy. His skin, care
