A DAY'S HUNTING AMONG THE ESKIMOS. 455 



himself upon even keel. The water-tight jacket has come a little 

 loose from the ring on one side and some water has got in ; not so 

 much, however, but that he can still keep afloat. The others have 

 in the meantime come up ; they get hold of the lost paddle, and 

 all can again push forward. 



It grows worse and worse for those who have seals in tow ; 

 they lag far behind, and the great beasts lie heaving and jarring 

 against the sides of the kaiaks. They think of sacrificing their 

 prey, but one difficult sea passes after another, and they will still 

 try to hang on for a while. The proudest moments in a hunter's 

 life are those in which he comes home towing his prey, and sees 

 his wife's, his daughter's, and his handmaiden's happy faces 

 beaming upon him from the shore. Far out at sea he already 

 sees them in his mind's eye, and rejoices like a child. No wonder 

 that he will not cast loose his prey save at the direst pinch of 

 need. 



After passing through many ugly rollers, they have at last got 

 under the land. Here they are somewhat protected by a group of 

 islands lying far to the southward. The seas become less violent, 

 and as they gradually get farther in they push on more quickly 

 for home over the smoother water. 



In the meantime the women at home have been in the greatest 

 anxiety. When the storm arose they ran up to the outlook rock 

 or out upon the headlands, and stood there in groups gazing 

 eagerly over the angry sea for their sons, husbands, fathers, and 

 brothers. So they stand watching and shivering, until, with eyes 

 rendered keener by anxiety, they at last discern what seem like 

 black specks approaching from the horizon, and the whole village 

 echoes to one glad shout : " They are coming ! They are coming ! " 

 They begin to count how many there are ; two are missing ! No, 

 there is one of them ! No, they are all there ! They are all there ! 



They soon begin to recognize individuals, partly by their 

 method of paddling, partly by the kaiaks, although as yet they 

 are little more than tiny dots. Suddenly there sounds a wild 

 shout of joy: " Boase kaligpok!" ("Boas is towing") him they 

 easily identify by his size. This joyful intelligence passes from 

 house to house, the children rush around and shout it in through 

 the windows, and the groups upon the rocks dance for joy. Then 

 comes a new shout: "Ama Tobiase kaligpok!" ("Tobias too is 

 towing ") ; and this news likewise passes from house to house. 

 Next is heard : " Ama Simo kaligpok ! " " Ama David kaligpok ! " 

 And now again comes another swarm of women out of the houses 

 and up to the rocks to look out over the sea breaking white 

 against the islets and cliffs, where eleven black dots can now and 

 then be seen far out amid the rolling masses of water, moving 

 slowly nearer. 



