The Spirit of Slumber
BY LELA OMAN <
Kitkone had been out on the
sea for three days without rest.
His long allick (cfogruk hide made
into rope) was full with seals.
Tied close together by their necks
with the rope, they bobbed and
rode on the big swells of the sea.
The ice-floes that had brought
many sea animals in were being
carried back to the Arctic Ocean
by the tide.
Kitkone must try* to make it to
the shore. When his kyak rode on
a big sea he could see mountain
tops of the mainland. He was
tired and very sleepy. He dipped
his paddle into the water and,
with his mighty strokes, made his
kyak travel easily. The dead seals
buoyantly bobbed, but each one
dragged heavily behind him.
Seals’ weight seemed doubled as
the sleepiness descended upon
him. He shook his head violently
and blinked his eyes.
He had bumped his head on the
ridge of his kyak a couple of
times, and felt very lucky that he
woke up each time while his kyak
wTas still balanced. He dipped his
hand into the salt water and
doused his face. This helped him
to keep awake. Again and again
he did this, but soon even the feel
of the cold water did not keep
him conscious. ,
As he paddled on he heard
singing, laughter, and loud talk.
Like he was among people that
were making merry. He came to
with a bump on his kyak. “This
will never do',” he said. “Perhaps
if I count the strokes I make with
my paddle, I could keep awake.
“Uttoe-seek, aypok, pinayoke,
sisumok, tulleemok (one, two, j
three, four, and five),” he counted
loudly. This kept him awake for
a short time but soon he saw the
seals behind him. Riding on waves
they seemed to beckon to him.
Against the blue-green of the salt
water they were a beautiful sight.
He seemed to hover above them
and he counted them as they
bobbed. “Uttoe-seek, aypok, pin
ayoke, sisumok, tulleemok.”
He came to again with a bang
on the ridge of his kyak. The bang
magnified by a splitting headache.
He was still miles out. He had
been lucky, so far. Always his
senses became alert before it was
toolate. If his kyak capsized while
he failed to reach home there
would be a search party out to
look for him. They would find a
string of seals and a capsized
kyak. His body would be at the
bottom of the sea.
These disturbing thoughts raced
through his mind and carried him
off into dreamland. He saw him
self at the bottom of the sea,
crawling toward the shore. This I
seemed a proper thing to do. At
the bottom of the sea his kyak
heavy, had to be towed. His long
line of seals moved along behind
his kyak. His progress was slow
and depressing. He became con
scious again with a bang on the
ridge of his kyak in front of him.
“I am still here in my kyak!”
he said.
Each and every individual has
a spirit-of-slumber that ladles
sleep out to him in portions. If the
person is very tired it gives him
a big amount. Spirit-oLslumber
carries one into beautiful far-off
land and brings him back to
reality and makes him say, “It
was just a dream after all.”
Kitkone kept coming to reality
with a thud, on the ridge of his
kyak. Kitkone, all senses alert,
was awake once more. He paddled
hard for the shore. He was find
ing, the hard way, that sleep knew
no reason. “Spirit-of-slumber,
leave me alone!” he begged. “You
are killing me. Give me my por
tion when I am safe on the solid
ground.” He heard his own words
ringing hollowly in his ears as he
tried to keep his eyes open. His
heavy-lidded eyes closed once
more.
“Spirit of sleep, I am going to
kill you.” Kitkone pulled his knife
out of the case at his belt and
struck the thin air above him. To
his horror blood trickled to the
ridge where he had bumped his
head so many times! He had killed
his sleep!
Kitkone reached the shore and
home with no mishap. He felt un
easy when thinking of what had
come to pass, thinking of it as a
horrible dream, but he knew that
it was true. In front of him were
bright splotches of blood. This
was no consolation to the guilty
feeling he had now. “At least I
will live for a while,” he kept
thinking.
In his fur bedding he listened
to the laughter and muffled mur
murs from the outside. His wife
and children were butchering his
catch. He laid on his right side
and then on his left, while know
ing' that he never again would
know what it is like to sleep.
When he closed his eyes they
would become wide open, like
they were lidless. They stared un-(
seeingly, making his head ache
with their smarting. His nerves,
taut to a breaking point, he could
not drift off to forgetful sleep to
rest them. His tortured bones
screamed painfully as he shifted
his position.
In this uncomfortable state he
had to- think over what he must
do. He was quite young yet and
his children were small. He must
live for awhile, at least until his
older boys could hunt. What he
had done to get rid of his spirit
of-slumber he must keep as a
secret.
During the following years he
had to learn to do things that he
thought were not possible. His
eyes no longer stared unseeingly.
He made himself relax although
all his senses were alert. He
learned to breathe evenly with
heavy, nasal breaths that sounded
like snoring to fool his wife. When
he became tired of feigning sleep
he would go off by himself and
live alone in the wilderness.
He watched his sons growing
from boys into manhood. He knew
that he would have to tell them
and his wife that he had not slept
for many years. It seemed that he
had lived two lifetimes. It was
nice to live, but his secret was
heavy on his feable mind. Of late
he was careless without meaning
to be. Sometimes forgetting to
snore or forgetting to keep his
eyes closed. Causing his wife to
ask questions that he dared not
answer.
One day he called his children
together and told them of what he
had done. “You do not need me
House and Senate Are
$63,263,007 Apart On
Interior Appropriation
By MORRIS CLEAVENGER
WASHINGTON, W—1The House
and Senate are $63,263,007 apart
on recommended appropriations
to finance operations of the De
partment of Interior in the year
beginning July 1.
The Senate completed action on
the bill Monday, approving on a
voice vote expenditure of $427,
601,006 by the department — as
compared with House-voted ap
propriations of $364,377,989. The
difference will be resolved by a
conference between the two
bodies, unless the House agrees
to the Senate version.
Sen. Humphrey (D-Minn) again
took the floor to assail the $27,
880,099 proposed for the Park
Service as being totally inade
quate.
Declaring the Park Service is
the “forgotten child” of the gov
ernment, he told the Senate that
roads and facilities of national
recreation areas are rapidly de
teriorating.
“Congress is not as interested
in Yellowstone Park as it is in
building officers’ clubs and golf
courses,” he said.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs
appropriation is $84,417,580; Geo
logical Survey $25,860,000; Bu
reau of Mines $19,950,000; Fish
and Wildlife Service $11,667,000.
The Indian Affairs bureau
would get $1,180,000 to hospital
ize in Washington state some 400
Alaskan natives who have tuber
culosis.
Seven-Year-Old Angler
Wins Ketchikan Derby
By Boating 64-lb. Salmon
KETCHIKAN, WV-Seven-year
old David LeGalley Jr., won the
Annette Island Tongass Harbor
Club Salmon Derby near Ketchi
kan Saturday, and here’s how:
He caught a 64-pound, 1-ounce
salmon. That’s 12 V2 pounds heav
ier than David himself.
The boy was fishing with his
parents. His mother caught a 10
pounder. His father handed him
his pole and the youngster soon
hooked the big fish. It broke a
landing net and had to be gaffed
to be brought into their boat.
Under the derby rules parents
were permitted to help boat any
such catches in order to promote
father-son fishing. The boy re
ceived an $80 wrist watch as the
first prize.
Nearly 100 persons fished in the
derby.
238 Sneak From East Into Berlin
BERLIN, OP)—City officials said
238 young Blue Shirts from East
Germany sneaked across the East
West border over the weekend
and asked for political asylum in
Berlin. The youths were attending
a giant three - day Communist
youth rally in East Berlin.
MUNZ AIRWAYS
Sam Ahwinona was a passen
ger to Lost River and Cecelia
Oumiak was taken to Wales.
now. You must go on without me.
I am very tired.” With these
words he finished off his story.
He was resigned to his fate. When
night came, he was found by his
wife, sound asleep. She shook him
to wake him up. He did not wake
up.
Kitkone slept on until there was
no more breath in his body. He
had killed his spirit-of-sleep and
in its turn the spirit-of-sleep had
killed him.
Accuemee
(The End)
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