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Updated: June 19, 2025
Soft beats the heart of Annadoah upon the bosom of Olafaksoah; yea, for very joy it flutters as a mating bird in summer time. Thou wouldst that beasts might rend her little breasts safe are they now in the embrace of the strong man from the south. Ootah! Ootah!" Ootah wrung his hands. "Thy curses fall dead upon the ears of Annadoah, she who hears only the voice of Olafaksoah."
It is against the custom of the tribe that thou shouldst be alone. Thou must take a husband." "No no," she shook her head. "But some one must care for thee. I love thee. Thou wilt forget Olafaksoah. Thy hurt will heal." Annadoah shook her head piteously. "Do the gulls that freeze to death in winter fly in springtime?" she asked, simply. Ootah did not reply. "He was strong," she murmured.
During the days when Olafaksoah and his men were hunting or gathering furs and ivory at nearby villages along the coast, Annadoah sewed skins into garments for Olafaksoah and his men. Sometimes she went with Olafaksoah on his expeditions and employed her coquetry upon the susceptible men of the migrating tribes to secure bargains for him.
She remembered it, as she had seen it on a journey south some summers before; the way thither, dangerous at this season of the year when the ice was breaking, she well knew. Yes, she would seek refuge there. "Perchance Olafaksoah hath returned did he not say he would return in the spring? When the buntings sing?" She laughed spontaneously. "Yea, yea! We will go there, Little Blind Spring Bunting."
Annadoah loved one Olafaksoah, a chief from the south; for him the heart of Annadoah became very great within her. And now the heart of Annadoah aches. For he hath gone to the south. And not until the birds sing in spring will he return. And Annadoah is left alone. Ookiah comes with the lash of wicked walrus thongs, and there is no blubber buried outside Annadoah's shelter. Neither is there oil.
Olafaksoah strode forward with great steps, scowling. He critically surveyed the loads of blubber and gleaming walrus tusks. "Good haul, boy good haul! Game's been pretty scarce all along the coast. It's lucky we got here in time, eh, comrades? What'll you take" he turned to Ootah "I don't know your name." He spoke in broken Eskimo. "Ootah," Annadoah whispered, "that is his name.
As she approached the wooden house she staggered to and fro, and at one time was perilously near the edge of the cliff. Upon her back the infant slept peacefully. "Olafaksoah! Olafaksoah!" she struggled to call, but her voice fell to a whisper. The windows of the grim house were as black as burnt holes; they glared at her unseeingly, without welcome like blind eyes.
And in that frightful moment his untutored mind by instinct realized why she had bandaged and soothed him so tenderly, realized, indeed, that in doing so, in his stead, her mind had conjured up the vision of Olafaksoah. His hands were strong, she had said, they hurt her. Ootah, with ferocity, gripped her little hand tighter.
"Olafaksoah, Olafaksoah," he heard her murmur tenderly, "thou art a great man. Thou art strong. Thy arms hurt me, thy hands make me ache." Then Ootah heard the man's hard voice and Annadoah's repressed murmurs of mingled pain and delight. The day became black about him. He felt that he must get away; a wild madness to run seized him. He felt the impetus of the winds in his feet.
In the clouds he saw the white men dancing with the Eskimo maidens. Day after day they danced day after day Annadoah wept. Olafaksoah had become wearied. Disappointed in the failure to secure greater supplies, he vented his impatience upon Annadoah. Cruelly he bruised her little hands, he mocked and jeered her when she pleaded with him. In fits of anger he often struck her.
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