The Giant of the North

The Giant of the North, by R.M.
Ballantyne

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Title: The Giant of the North Pokings Round the Pole
Author: R.M. Ballantyne
Release Date: June 7, 2007 [EBook #21733]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
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GIANT OF THE NORTH ***

Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England

The Giant of the North
or, Pokings Round The Pole
by R.M. Ballantyne

CHAPTER ONE.
INTRODUCES OUR HERO AND HIS KINDRED.
The Giant was an Eskimo of the Arctic regions. At the beginning of his
career he was known among his kindred by the name of Skreekinbroot,
or the howler, because he howled oftener and more furiously than any
infant that had ever been born in Arctic land. His proper name,
however, was Chingatok, though his familiars still ventured
occasionally to style him Skreekinbroot.
Now it must not be supposed that our giant was one of those ridiculous
myths of the nursery, with monstrous heads and savage hearts, who live
on human flesh, and finally receive their deserts at the hands of famous
giant-killing Jacks. No! Chingatok was a real man of moderate size--
not more than seven feet two in his sealskin boots--with a lithe,
handsome figure, immense chest and shoulders, a gentle disposition,
and a fine, though flattish countenance, which was sometimes grave
with thought, at other times rippling with fun.
We mention the howling characteristic of his babyhood because it was,
in early life, the only indication of the grand spirit that dwelt within
him--the solitary evidence of the tremendous energy with which he was
endowed. At first he was no bigger than an ordinary infant. He was,
perhaps, a little fatter, but not larger, and there was not an oily man or
woman of the tribe to which he belonged who would have noticed
anything peculiar about him if he had only kept moderately quiet; but
this he would not or could not do. His mouth was his safety-valve. His
spirit seemed to have been born big at once. It was far too large for his
infant body, and could only find relief from the little plump dwelling in
which it was at first enshrined by rushing out at the mouth. The shrieks
of pigs were trifles to the yelling of that Eskimo child's impatience. The
caterwauling of cats was as nothing to the growls of his disgust. The
angry voice of the Polar bear was a mere chirp compared with the
furious howling of his disappointment, and the barking of a mad walrus
was music to the roaring of his wrath.

Every one, except his mother, wished him dead and buried in the centre
of an iceberg or at the bottom of the Polar Sea. His mother--squat, solid,
pleasant-faced, and mild--alone put up with his ways with that
long-suffering endurance which is characteristic of mothers. Nothing
could disturb the serenity of Toolooha. When the young giant, (that
was to be), roared, she fondled him; if that was ineffectual, she gave
him a walrus tusk or a seal's flipper to play with; if that did not suffice,
she handed him a lump of blubber to suck; if that failed, as was
sometimes the case, she gambolled with him on the floor of her
snow-hut, and rubbed his oily visage lovingly over her not less
oleaginous countenance. Need we enlarge on this point? Have not all
mothers acted thus, or similarly, in all times and climes?
From pole to pole a mother's soul Is tender, strong, and true; Whether
the loved be good or bad-- White, yellow, black, or blue.
But Toolooha's love was wise as well as strong. If all else failed, she
was wont to apply corporal punishment, and whacked her baby with
her tail. Be not shocked, reader. We refer to the tail of her coat, which
was so long that it trailed on the ground, and had a flap at the end
which produced surprising results when properly applied.
But the howling condition of life did not last long.
At the age of five years little Chingatok began to grow unusually fast,
and when he reached the age of seven, the tribe took note of him as a
more than promising youth. Then the grand spirit, which had hitherto
sought to vent itself in yells and murderous assaults on its doting
mother, spent its energies in more noble action. All the little boys of his
size, although much older than himself,