Arctic Survival
THE SHY ESKIMO WHO HEROICALLY KILLED THE GIANT POLAR BEAR
By Howard Rock
Times Editor
My Uncle Nnyukuk, that February i
morning many years ago, went '
hunting, net that he wanted to but
he was under duress to do so. His
Wife, my Aunt Mumangecna. had
given him a barrage of invectives
on his lack of initiative the night
before.
As had been said in earlier
articles. Uncle Nnyukuk was some
what adverse towork and lie was
the same way when it came to
hunting. He tried to do as little as
possible but took care not to cre
ate any serious crises in the little
household.
ft was true that his wife allowed
him to stay home quite a number
of times when he made excuses
however impractical. Aunt Muman
geena was not tvranical as she may
have seemed but she was rather
tolerable under the circumstances
— but only up to a certain point.
When her husband began to make
too many excuses, she became pro
gressively vehement. I found my
self tending tc' side with Muman
geena at such times but it was not
my place to voice opinions; I wasn't
allowed to do so. Respect for one’s
elders was thoroughly taught. But
I did think Uncle Nayukuk should
have hunted more than he did.
Good Looking Man
To take first look of Uncle Na
yukuk would impress one of a man
of some dignity, a man with good
features, intelligent eyes;, rather
large for an Eskimo man, straight
nose. At this particular time he
was around 41 years old. The most
distinguished feature of Uncle Na
yukuk was his black mustache, one
that fell somewhat short of being a
Walrus mustache.
He had good stature and stood
five ieet seven inches. He was a
man who smiled rarely. In all, he
was a good appearing man but this
qualify was lessened to a degree
t>y his reticent nature. He didn’t
mix too well with people.
Cold Morning
1 arose early as did Nayukuk and
Mumsngeena as usual. Mumangee
na said. "Go out and see how the i
W’eather is." I had been under train- j
ing to observe wind directions. I
Cloud formations, and the velocity !
©f the wind. These things, along j
With other rigorous training, were j
required of boys in our village to ]
prepare them for hunters of the j
future.
The skies were cloudless and the j
Stars shone brightly in the pre
dawn darkness. There was a slight
breeze from the north. The tempera- !
tine was around 25 below zero. It
was an ideal day for hunting.
Weather Report
I went back into the little sod
igloo and made my weather report.
Mumangeena was preparing break
fast. From somewhere in the house
she had brought out a piece of slab
bacon she has somehow procured
and saved for a special occasion.
She was cooking the slices of bacon,
probably to lessen the sting of her
tirade directed at Uncle Nayukuk
the night before. She cooked sour
dough hotcakes and strong coffee
to go with them. It was a fine
breakfast.
Mumangeena was very kind that
morning, almost overly so. She
asked her husband whether he
wanted additional helpings. She did
the same for me because I had done
my duty to her satisfaction. The
main reason for her attentiveness
was. of course, her husband was
going hunting.
Donned Parkas
After eating. Uncle Nayukuk si
lently began to get ready to go
with Mumangeena helping all she
could. He donned his three-layer
parka, light under parka of rein
deer fawn skin, main parka of
grown reindeer skin, and a white
calico over-parka.
He put his 30-30 carbine in its
sealskin scabbard. He stuffed his
heaving line, meat for lunch, and
a carton of cartridges into his seal
skin pack sack. He picked his hunt
ing gear up and went out through
the low tiny door, stooping as he
did so.
Once outside, he scanned the skies
carefully and checked the wind di
rection. Satisfied, he flung his rifle
and pack sack around his shoulders
by straps.
Away For The Hunt
In February, daylight was still
short. Hunters left early in the
morning in order to utilize fully
the abbreviated daylight. By the
time they were in likely hunting
■areas it was usually bright enough
to hunt.
Uncle Nayukuk set out towards
the north beach, then on to the
hummocked ice next to the shore.
He headed in the general direction
of northwest. He made his path
skirting ice ridges. The wind
died down and there was great
stillness all around.
As he walked on. the only sound
was the crunch and squeak of his
mukluks with each step on the
packed snow. The sounds seemed
thunderous in the great silence
around him. He felt alone on the
gray-green expanse of Arctic ice
Bleak? Desolate
The Beauty of the Tundra
By Peggy Hale
Bethel High School
(Reprinted from Aurora Borealis)
Desolate! That’s what it is, bleak
End desolate! But it is beautiful in
its desolation.
In the spring and summer the
mosquitoes and sand and driving
Wind are made up for by the beau
tiful long days with the bluest
Bkies and the many greens that the
earth wears, spotted here and there
With kapok and blueberry patches.
But nothing makes up for the lone
liness of a country without trees.
Not one tree for miles. The ravens
©r foxes cannot make up for it —
©ot at all.
When summer leaves, the snows
come to give the land a white
blanket and the land becomes bleak.
The gray skies blend perfectly with
the snowy earth and it all becomes
©ne. The days arc shortened to one
©r two hours at best. The night
comes quickly but sunset is lost
because the sun is covered and
never breaks through. One can
watch the light fade into pitch dark
ness in a few minutes ar*fl then one
can see nothing at all.
But above all this, the loneliness
is awesome. It works its way into
the heart of a traveler or visitor,
snatching up every corner of the
heart till it is ready to burst. It j
preys on scenes where the wind
helps in its weary vyay, blowing
sand or snow across a road which
is the only sign of life that had
been there.
It is silent. Occasionaly a raven’s
caw pierces the air, but that is all.
The wind speeds on toward an un
known destination as if it were
late. It is frightening but it brings |
one just as close to nature as would
a beautiful scene of trees and a
lake. The only thing missing is
companionship. The loneliness
creeps in. twisting its fingers around
one till he almost smothers.
Yes, it is beautiful in its desola
tion — in its bleakness. The empty
sky and dead earth will drive one
| to love it anyway.
in the predawn darkness.
The atmosphere became uncanny
— electric. Uncle Nayukuk had felt
this same atmosphere in previous
times but he felt it more keenly
that morning. Tt was the kind that
raised the hair on the back of one's
neck.
Rose Purple Dawn
As he walked due north, the peep
of dawn began to steal up from the
southern horizon behind him. For
a lengthy period it did not make
appreciable difference in the cover
of darkness. Gradually, it created
a half light of rose purple on the
wide expanse of hummocked ice
ahead. The types of jagged ice
ridges began to loom out of the
ice base in an eerie purple cast
against the dark blue sky on the
northern horizon.
Uncle Nayukuk walked, his muk
luks crunch-crunching on the snow.
The sound of his walk was disturb
ing. He wished that he could still
the noise so that he could blend
with the silence around him.
It was now light enough so he
could see quite well. Some 75 yards
ahead of him was a lofty ice ridge
than ran roughly toward the south
east. He changed his direction to
the east to go around it, to head
northwest once more.
Awesome Silence
The wind had died down to no
thingness enhancing the awesome
silence. He felt as if the Chukchi
Sea was holding its breath to see
what was going to happen. Uncle
Nayukuk approached the end of the
ridge. He noticed that it was re
cently formed. The edges of the
four-foot thick ice wet-e jagged
and 'piled helter-skelter by great
pressure created by the current of
the Chukchi.
The hunter turned to skirt the
ridge and then — the great silence
was suddenly shattered by a deafen
ing roar! Twenty feet directly in
front of him was a giant polar
bear! It reared up on its massive
hind legs with amazing agility and
towered over him snarling furious
ly. It then humped its great back,
kicked powerfully with its hind
legs and charged!
What happened from the instant
the giant bear roared took only a
second or two.
No Time
During one of his rare utter
ances, Uncle Nayukuk related:
“There was no time to pull my
rifle out of the scabbard. I knew
I had no chance if I tried to dodge
either to the right or left of the
charging bear. A polar bear is ex
tremely fast in striking with either
of its fore legs. There was not a
chance to run back from him.”
Pausing briefly, he continued. "It
amazes me how clearly I was think
ing during the short instant. There
was only one thing to do that might
save my life and I took it.”
Dived Through Legs
Instantly bracing his legs, Uncle
Nayukuk dived headlong aiming
for the space between the legs of
the on-coming bear. He landed on
his face in the snow. As he did so
he felt a sharp pressure on his right
rib cage.
He looked back quickly at the
bear over the crook of his left el
bow. He was wary of the bear that
can double back almost instantly if
it turned to its left and would
charge again. He was relieved when
he saw the bear lumbering ahead
turning gradually to the right snarl
ing wickedly as it went. (Accord
ing to Eskimos, polar bear can
turn instantly to the left, but for
some reason the right turn it makes
is rather gradual.)
“I think the bear was startled
with what I did and, fortunately,
it chose to keep running,” said
Uncle Nayukuk quietly.
Quick Pursuit
The hunter got off the snow
quickly pulling his 30-30 out of its
scabbard. The bear entered the field
of hummock ice — and no wonder.
It can traverse the rough surface
with ease where man or other ani
mals have difficulty.
Nayukuk could see the lumbering
bear through indented spaces of the
hummocked ice. He raised his rifle
and aimed for the massive right
shoulder. The bullet hit the mark
paralyzing the right leg. On the
impact the great animal summer
saulted in its tracks. When it stop
ped, it attempted to get up but
fell back repeatedly roaring terri
bly as it did.
The Kill
Nayukuk edged closer to the agi
tated bear and shot aiming for the
head. The roaring stopped abruptly.
The huge beast stiffened and fell
slowly on the snow covered ice. It
convulsed and then was still. The
hunter shot another bullet into the
head to be sure.
He quickly looked around for his
icepick rod that was quickly dis
carded during the sudden action.
He picked it up and grabbed it near
the hooked end with his left hand.
He retained his rifle with his right
hand for instant use if necessary.
He walked cautiously to the pros
trate animal and started to prod it
on its tender spots. There was no
response. Uncle Nayukuk had cap
tured the polar bear.
Marvelled At Kill
He sat down rather wearily on a
ledge of an ice hummock nearby,
filled his pipe and smoked. From
where he sat, he surveyed the ani
mal. He marveled at the size of it.
He doubted that anyone living
in the village had ever seen one
that large.
Uncle Nayukuk commenced to
skin the huge beast. Due to the
size of the bear, it took him quite
a while to complete the job.
The day was a Saturday and I
was not at school. At my Aunt Mu
mangeena's bidding I had been
chopping wood. As I wielded the
heavy axe, I saw Uncle Nayukuk
emerge over the north bank pulling
hard on something he was dragging.
When he pulled it over the bank I
knew it was the skin of a polar
bear from its yellowish white color.
I scrambled up to the roof sky
light and hollered down to Aunt
Mumangeena, “Uncle Nayukuk has
got a polar bear!”
I could hear my aunt excitedly
saying things I couldn’t understand
as I tumbled down the slope of our
sod igloo to run to meet Uncle Na
yukuk. When I got to him, he smil
ed but didn't say a word. I excited
ly asked him questions why the
three layers of parkas were torn to
shreds on his right side. He simply
said, “I’ll tell you later.” I could
plainly see the nail marks which, I i
was sure, were made by the bear. !
Happy Return
I helped him pull the huge bear
skin to our scd ogloo. Aunt Muman
geena was out of the house walking
slowly toward us smiling and mak
ing unintelligible happy sounds. As
we came closer I noticed that there
were tears in her eyes. They were
happy tears, to be sure, I thought
that she, perhaps, was feeling a bit
remorseful about things she had
said to Uncle Nayukuk the night
before, during the heat of frustra
tion on his lack of initiative.
Here he was, bringing home one
of the most prized takes expected
of a hunter. It would have helped
matters a bit perhaps, if Uncle Na
yukuk had taken advantage of the
situation and capitalized on it by
retorting, “Woman, what do you
say to what I’ve done today?” In
stead, he acted as he always had —
quiet and unobtrusive.
Soon, quite a number of the vil
lagers gathered at our igloo. Nayu
kuk, obviously ill at ease with sud
den attention he was getting, hard
ly said anything.
The huge skin was brought into
the igloo and a number of people
followed, including Mumangeena,
Nayukuk and myself. Once inside
the group waited for the hunter to
tell the story. It was clear that
Uncle Nayukuk was having diffi
culty beginning. He was visibly shy
and embarrassed.
Quiet Story
After a lengthy period, he began
to tell of his ordeal shyly and quiet
ly. It was apparent that he felt ob
ligated to the people around him.
He told it in detail. It was amazing
to listen to the man of few words
telling of the event in a quietly dra
matic manner. It was also amazing
to listen to so many words coming
out of the mouth of this reticent
man.
“When I dived and landed in the
snow. I felt a sharp pressure on my
lower right chest. I hoped it wasn’t
serious. The left hind leg of the
bear came down on me just missing
my ribs.” Uncle Nayukuk explain
ed the tear in his parkas.
He concluded, “Not knowing, of
course, that there was a bear be
hind the ridge, I went around it.
The bear had been hunting seal by
a seal breathing hole — and I had
disturbed it.”
Some Skeptics
At the conclusion there was a
noticeable atmosphere of awe in 1he
room. This soon spread through the
whole village. Uncle Nayukuk be
came a hero, but not all at once.
Some people were skeptical of the
truthfulness of the encounter, in
cluding my father..
Next day, he and some other
hunters went to investigate the
scene of action. The proof was con
clusive. The tracks, the seal breath
ing hole, the distance of the charge,
the imprint of Uncle Nayukuk on
the snow when he dived, and the
track of the bear in the vicinity ot
the rib cage, were all there.
Yes. Uncle Nayukuk became the
hero of Point Hope. Boys, like my
self, who expected him to act like
one were disappointed. He didn't
strut or brag about his exploit. He
was exactly the same man as be
fore — mild mannered, reticent. I
probably got more out of it than
did Uncle Nayukuk. I told of the
daring deed to my young friends
time and again and basked in re
flected glory.
Preparing Skin
Aunt Mumangeena, along with her
sister Keshorna, my mother, and
another woman, cleaned the excess
tissues off the huge skin. When
that was done, the skin was taken a
short distance out on the ice where
a hole had been made and dunked
in sea water. When it was pulled
out. I and some other boys stomp
ed on it in cold powdery snow to
clean the hair of oil and dirt.
When it was sufficiently dry, we
dragged it up to the top of a high
ice ridge where a long sloping snow
drift had formed and slid down with
it. This was encouraged because it
helped to clean the Hair more
thoroughly. We did this time and
again and had wonderful time.
It was taken back to the igloo
to thaw out. The next day it was
spread out on hard packed snow
and pegged to freeze dry and then
it was measured.
Mammoth Sale
When it was finnally dry. Uncle
Nayukuk and Aunt Mumangeena
sold it to the native store. They
were paid $62.50, most money ever
paid for a polar bear skin.
At five dollars a foot, current
price at the time, Uncle Nayukuk’s
polar bear measured twelve feet
six inches!
"cuff™ barber shop
423 2nd Ave.
Fairbanks, Alaska
Cliff Cundy