THE BEAR-STEALER.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 698, 24 December 1909, Page 14

THE BEAR-STEALER.

(BY H. MACKENZIE.)

. At. last tho week-long rain had ceased; the sun shone out, the stems of tho stunted birches showed a dazzling white against tho sombre moorland,' and the spray of a waterfall gleamed iridescent. Perched high on. tho brink of a bluff abovo us, a tiny bird'sang loudly. Svanti tho Lapp, sitting cross-leggea on the ground, watched' the little creaturo turn its head from sido to side, whilst its throat throbbed with song. '."We shall hayo fino weather now," he remarked; "tho bird is telling us of it. Little song-birds aro good friends to all Samolats (Lapps) ever sinco Joukko gave them their feather coats." "And, pray, who was Joukko ?" Svanti looked at me with his expressionless slits of eyes,, for all the world like the black. bear-berries of his country. - "Joukko was a hero who lived long ago," he said, "in the days when Samelats understood the speech of animals, and when there were so many reindeer and elk and bears that all men'ate fresh meat every day ; of their lives and no hunter came home emptyhanded." He paused to sigh over that vanished Golden Ago. "One- morning Joukko

went outas usual to look-to the snares {that he had set overnight, but ho. found .-them-all-destroyed, and : marks on.the ground showed chat. his. patch had been stolen. .He wasi angry; whcn.tho same thing: happened the ' j l€X^ nl ßht he was'angrier; tho third ho trembled with fury, stamped-on the ground, and sang incantations against the thief.- The fourth day. ho determined to lio in-- wait for the robber, though .it was . difficult to do.- 60, because couutry'was bare, and the\nights still light. However, -ho .lay down quite flat; behind .a stone. For loiig hours"ll6 never moved, until tho curlews perched beside him without fear tind ; tho lemmings-Tan over' hifc legs..,. Then he heard the snuffing : noise that a : bear makes,, and,see! there' was a shambling across;.the marshly ground to tho, trap. long the/beast was caught; a few struggles, a-little growling,. and'aU ; was still.. -

'Suddenly Joukko■: saw something moving; . I'.'was a man" following the bear's track on all fours across'the marsh. Ho came close to/the-trap,, and Joukko saw that it was his • mother's brother,• .Klemti.fa 'man of. craft and_ courage. ■ Joukko waited until Klemti -had", dragged the dead bear out of the trap, and then he/took aim. w-ith his"spear; .but at that moment Klemti happened to ; berid down, "tho spear whizzed over : his head, and ,:ho; turned-,-just in.'., time . to avoid - Joukko's knife. Then a fierce fight'began; soon both, wore'bleeding,., when nark! .they heard n growl, and there behind them was tho bear, a gash'in his neck, raging with pain, ready to tear, them . to pieces. '• Klemti commenced :to run;- but Joukko, the fleetest: of foot in' Sameland, caught him. * I would rather that we both should dio, than that, you, slink-: ing wolf, should' escape!'. he shouted. : Now Joukko had dropped his knife in the tussle", and the.blood from a head wound half-blinded him, so that' he could do no more harm toi Klemti than grip his hands', as : they struggled together, o Just then a little bird: flew bjy and: Joukko Called .to' it: 'If'you wish for a. coat warmer than the bco's down,' fly quickly; •to tho swarm and tell them that the honey-; stealer-.is here.' ' And away 'flew' the bird, whilst the two men, tightly locked together," fled' before, the bear. But: tho;: bear was weak, from loss of blood, and the men doubled, and twisted,: never' loosening their- hold of ono anothor; and across the': marsh there came swiftly a little dark cloud, and in ainother moment: the-bear Vnoso and eyes and wounded, neck were black with bees. lie fell down and rolled over and.lover; but his struggles'; grow weaker/ until they : ceased : altogether,' and. this ' time the bear : was, really dead.. Joukko and Klemti;'. looked ; at the great monster. At last one said, 'So much bear-; meat going waste!' 'and the other,,' Such a fine skin,to lose!'; and they let go of each other and came quito close.The. deed of .vengeance ;is donei' 1 said Joukko to the swarm; vfly hoine now, for: the. honey-stealer : possesses a wife who also has a sweet tooth!' So the scared! bees rose buzzing and flew away. Then Joiikko. and Klemti'divided the heir between them,; and thought no more of their quarrel." . Svanti brought forth a hard chunk of tobacco from: the depths of his jumper-like upper garment and begau to haok off a quid with the . reindeer-horn .. handled ' knife '■ I coveted. "What about tho wai'm coat thiit Joukko promised the bird?" I finally in; quired. Svanti did not so much as blink until' his .quid was in his mouth .'and his knife in its sheath.' Then he looked: up at the bluff again,: and still ignoring my question'went'on: "fou must know that until then, all the littlo song-birds had scales like a fish j and very cold it:was'for them, when chill winds' blow." "How did ; they fly without feathers?" I interrupted, hastily.' ."Just as: they fly with, feathers," Svanti. returned, with -.unruffled dig-' Wty, .."As 'I said, scales were cold for them; so.Joukko. killed-a hare and took tho downiest part of its fur and dyed it many colours with a brew of lichens and heather,- and fashioned it into a feather coat to reward the helpful littlo bird." "Well, what then?" . .1 asked. "Why, .that's the • end ■ of the story." ."But how did the big birds, the wild swans, and come by their coats?" I persisted, Svanti frowned., "That-is a' long tale," he said. ''Wait till the winter, and then I will tell you: long, : long, stories. They will soon come now, the frost apd the snow; then hdppy will the reindeer owner be who never sees the eyes of a Svolf-pack gleaming in the dark liko stars in a winter sky!" "Is the wolf so evil a creature?" I asked absently. ■.Svanti, stared. "What is sharper than a wolf's tooth?" he asked impatiently. "What is deepor. ; than n wolf's cunhing? Yet . this I will say,! ji wolf is liked a wicked manonce in a while he will do a good aotion that is remembered long after .tho deeds of the kindly are forgot. Did you ever hear of ranaikka and the she-wolf?" "Never!" I'assured him, waking .up to expectant attention.r'"Tunaikka was the mother, of manv children, but one was a weakling—the: youngest, that still crawled among the fluffy-tailed dogs for playfellows. Tanaikka's husband was unlucky; siokncss and wolves diminished his herd, and ho was never able to-add to their number" by .stealing' from other reindeer owners), . So, by tho iime the wild swans camq flying' 1 northwards, there was. little food left from ' tho winter store, and ' Tanaikka's husband, ~ said: 'We. must kill our youngest , child,.-■ because . his ~ mouth . ; daily lessens the portions' of -tho rest, .although, he ' will.never Brow up jtronjr and useful,' But i

Tanaikka would not agree to this, and thero wero' high words and Jiard blows within the tout. One day. Tanaikka, took her little sickly son in. her arms and set out alone across the marsh to the great rocks by the shore of the Dark Lake. There she laid down her little one among the bloomless heather and . berryless ; Arctic brambles, and called to the she-solves that had their homes close by, 'See,' said Taiiaikka, 'your winter hunger has been the causo of all my misery; you- have lessoned our herd that you might live to rear cubs,' anil now my own littlo cub iis to die for your sakes. , But if tho llcsh of our reindeer kept life within you through the winter, do you now keep lifo in my littlo cub until I come again.' Then sho went home and told her husband that their youngest would trouble' liim no' moro, nud ho was satisfied.

lanaikka and her'husband wandered far, and their, herd increased in numbers. When tho time came to kill the reindeer-bulls for winter-meat, they pitched their tent on the heather noar tho great rocks by the Dark Luke. At night the husband told Tanaikka: T have seen' an evil spirit to-day; small it is, and quick and snarling. It has the smell of a wolf, but its nose is tho noso of a Sainelat.' Tanaikka trembled with pleasure, mid she told her husband that' evil would surely ■ bafoll them if he did' not bring the creature te'the tent alive. Because 'l'anaiirka

!.vras -skilled- in magic- her. husband .obeyed' her,' Atoll-• seo!; it was.' tlieir. youngest son, grown .shaggy and wolf-like, : fierce., and growling, \e't iii time. they - tamed : him, and ho, tho , weakling/grew up strong and fearless, mighty in muscle and\ cunnihg—the hero 7 Kauppi,v of whose courage stories 'are: told to this' day." Svanti .paused to ..yawn noisily. "Ah* yes," sighed he,- "wolves ''hove. ways past our com* prohension, and our/forefathers learnt- much before .they forgot the- ; speech of .animals!?— Manchester.; Guur,diaii.' , - 1 /-h ~