oman a dose of
poison." Carefully wrapping the precious missive in a piece of sealskin
and attaching a string, she wore it around her neck as an ornament, and
guarded it zealously.

With the young people, it was a proud day when they had advanced far
enough in their studies to be supplied with a pen for the first time.
Eagerly taking the pen and copy, the scholar would lie flat on the
floor, in the most secluded part of the room, then call loudly to all
the others to stand out of the light. If a blot accidentally occurred,
an attempt would be made to erase it with the finger-nail. So the young
Inupash gradually advanced until he became proficient enough to begin
writing compositions.

The young tribal prince, for his first composition, chose to write upon
the seal, and supposed he had exhausted the subject when he wrote, "Man
he go on ice, shoot him seal. By and by woman she come dog sled, take
him seal home. By and by man he go home tell woman, You cook him seal
very big quick, me big plenty hungry."

Those earlier days have passed by and the mystery of the scrawls has
been solved. The young Inupash are learning to read quite nicely and
can now write their own letters. They still have the English grammar to
master; it is very different from their own, but at length they will
accomplish that task, and at no very distant time. The days when they
used to borrow each other's fingers to do their counting with have gone
by. They are steadily advancing and will, in the course of time, be
numbered among our good and intelligent citizens. They are the only
ones that are naturally fitted to inhabit this, the most northern part
of our country.

End of Project Gutenberg's Short Sketches from Oldest America, by John Driggs

*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SHORT SKETCHES FROM OLDEST AMERICA ***

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