Page:The open Polar Sea- a narrative of a voyage of discovery towards the North pole, in the schooner "United States" (IA openpolarseanarr1867haye).pdf/303

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that that surprise will vanish when he recalls the memorable historical parallel of Burgoyne and his Hessians.

I did not tell Kalutunah that I wished only to bestow benefits upon his people, for no one is more quick to penetrate the hollowness of such declarations than the "untutored savage." He is not so easily hoaxed with philanthropic sentiment as is generally supposed, and he fully recognizes the practical features of being expected to return a quid pro quo. But I did venture upon a little harmless imposition of another sort, giving him to understand that it was useless for the Esquimaux to attempt to deceive me, as I could read not only their acts but their thoughts as well; and, in proof of my powers, I performed before him some simple sleight-of-hand tricks, and after turning up a card with much gravity told him exactly what (it was not much of a venture) Ootinah and his wooden-legged companion had stolen. He was much astonished, said that I was quite right about the stealing, for he had seen the stolen articles himself, and evidently thought me a wonderful magician. He owned to me that he did something in the jugglery business himself; but when I asked him about his journeys to the bottom of the sea, in his Angekok capacity, to break the spell by which the evil spirit Torngak holds within her anger the walrus and seal, in the days of famine, he very adroitly changed the subject, and began to describe a recent bear-hunt which appeared to amuse him greatly. The wounded animal broke away from the dogs, and, making a dive at one of the hunters, knocked the wind out of the unhappy man with a blow of his fore-paw. Kalutunah laughed heartily while relating the story, and seemed to think it a capital joke.