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THE STORY OF COMOGK THE ESKIMO 121
'Maybe,' said my wife, ' but here it is sure longer maybe, but sure.' 'But I am afraid of the ice that lies between this big island and our old land,' I would say, 'and it will break on our crossing.'
' The break of the ice on our crossing will not be so bad as if we stay here,' was always my wife's answer. To this no words would come to my mouth.
Now came days that were still there were no more big smokes rising from the sea, and these days were the days of the most cold. The nights of these days were the nights of the Big Lights, and these Big Lights were the red of pale meat and like the warm coat of the bear and like the weed of the sea. And sometimes the Big Lights were so strong the moon was the green of clear ice, and all the snow on the land was the green of clear ice, and all the whiteness on the sea was the green of clear ice. And these Big Lights would move slowly like the long waves on the sea, or they would turn, or they would jump, for they were never still. And my wife said these Big Lights were truly the spirits of unborn children playing in the sky, and she said for many days they may be playing in the sky, and now, she said, it was the time we should be crossing the big ice on the sea.
She said this many times and at last I said: 'Maybe you are right -if ever we go, now is the time. In all our ten winters on this big island never have there been such good signs, such stillness on the sea or so much of the Big Light playing in the sky. We will go,' I said. 'Tamak, to this big island.' 'Aye,' she said. 'Aye,' said everyone.
There were yet some stars when we started. The air was still. 'Twavee,' I said. 'Twavee,' said everyone. We had strong dogs, two sledges, twelve dogs to each sledge. All day we travelled over the sea. We did not stop for seal and we did not stop for bear. There was much smooth ice and there was bad ice, but mostly the ice was smooth. We never travelled so fast over the ice of the sea.