Читать книгу The Monster Book - Nick Redfern - Страница 43

“Nathaniel Neakok, the mighty hunter of polar bears, has quit scoffing at reports about the great Kinik being seen in this northernmost region of North America,” reported the Idaho Falls, Idaho Post-Register, on May 15, 1958. The story continued:

“A Kinik is the name Eskimos give to a bear they say is too big to come out of the water. Its size varies with the individual story. But all agree he is a monster of great size and strength and appetite. Several weeks ago, Neakok laughed so loudly when told Raymond Lalayauk had reported seeing a 30-foot bear that his hearty guffaws echoed and re-echoed across the great, frozen polar wastes. But Neakok isn’t laughing anymore. He has seen a Kinik with his very own eyes.

“This Kinik, Neakok says, was grayish white and only its head was visible as it swam through the water. It was so large he did not attempt to shoot it. Neakok said its head alone must have been five or more feet long—and almost as wide. This was not the first time a monster was reported by respected men of the village. Floyd Ahvakana and Roxy Ekownna, elders in the Presbyterian Church and men of undoubted veracity, tell of seeing a tremendous sea monster in 1932 while hunting with a third Eskimo, now deceased. All three thought it was a Kokogiak [another Eskimo word for Kinik] or 10-legged bear which occupies a prominent role in Eskimo legend.

Kiniks are bears that are so large that they stay in the water all the time, presumably so that buoyancy of the water will allow them to move their huge bulk.

“Until now there have been many scoffers in the village, especially about Kokogiak. And that white men have been known to make reference to the ‘coming tourist season’ or ‘another abominable snowman.’ But since the respected Neakok added his testimony, the scoffers are strangely quiet. Even fearful. You don’t even hear much about how the Arctic’s strange mists distort distances or size, creating weird optical illusions. But you do hear told and retold stories about Kokogiak, the 10-legged bear of Eskimo legend.

The man ran and ran, dodging among the humps of ice but he could not shake his pursuer.

“The stories could go something like this:

“Once upon a time there was a lazy Eskimo. He was the laziest man in the village. One evening after he had heard the village hunters tell of their experiences, the lazy one went out on the ice. He came to a large hole where some seal lungs were floating, showing that a large bear had eaten seal, leaving only the lungs. The man watched and waited by this hole and, sure enough, a monstrous bear came up. As he started out onto the ice, the man rammed his spear in first one eye and then the other, blinding the bear.

“However, the bear came right on out of the water and following this scent gave chase after the fleeing hunter. The man ran and ran, dodging among the humps of ice but he could not shake his pursuer. Finally, he saw ahead two towering walls of ice, with only a narrow corridor between.

“Through this pass he ran but the bear, following close upon his heels, was too big and he stuck fast, unable to back out. The hunter ran around and succeeded in killing the giant, 10-legged bear.

“Many Eskimos—possibly even some white men—still believe there are Kokogiak out there somewhere in the Arctic vastness. And, says wide-eyed Nathaniel Neakok, a 30-foot polar bear too big to shoot.”