10-i TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



large enough for a man to stand upon, to keep the feet from 

 getting chilled by the ice. A little rod of ivory is sometimes 

 thrust down through the hole to indicate the approach of the seal, 

 and the hunter standing or squatting on the stool with his rifle 

 and spear in readiness, waits patiently for the seal to come. As soon 

 as he comes to the surface he is shot through the head and the una 

 is immediately thrust down through the hole to secure him. Tlie 

 ivory icepick, tuu, serves to make the hole large enough to drag 

 him through. Both these methods of hunting are pursued during 

 the whole winter whenever there are open lioles or fields of newly- 

 formed ice, and natives are continually scouring the ice-field armed 

 with rifle and nauligu, in the hopes of finding open holes. The 

 greatest catch of the year known takes place after Nov. 15th, when 

 the sun has sunk below the horizon for his 72 days' absence, and 

 the nights are long and dark, while the days are only a few hours' 

 twilight. At this season, wide cracks frequently form in the pack, 

 miles in length and a mile or two from the shore, and of course are 

 a great resort for the seals. As soon as such a crack is discovered, 

 and scouts are continually on the watch for them, the men turn out 

 in force and skirt along the edge of the crack till they find a suita- 

 ble place for setting their nets. A place is selected where the ice 

 is level and not too thick for about 100 yards from the edge of. the 

 crack, and the nets are set as follows: The net is made of seal- 

 thong in large meshes, and is about 15 or 16 feet long by 10 deep. 

 Two small holes are dug through the ice, about the length of the net 

 apart, in a line parallel to the edge of the crack, and between them 

 is cut a hole large enough to admit the passage of a seal. A long 

 line with a plummet on the end is let down through one of the small 

 holes and grappled and drawn up through the middle hole by a long, 

 slender pole with a hook on the end of it. This is made fast to one 

 upper corner of the net, and a similar line drawn through the other 

 small hole and made fast to the other upper corner. By hauling on 

 these lines the net is drawn down through the middle hole and hangs 

 like a curtain under the ice. A line is also attached to it by which it 

 can again be drawn up through the middle hole. The end lines 

 are loosely made fast to lumps of ice and as darkness sets in the 

 hunter stations himself near the hole and begins rattling gently on 

 the ice with the butt of his spear, scraping v.- ith a tool made of seals' 

 claws mounted on a wooden handle, or making any gentle monoto- 

 nous noise. This excites the curiosity of the seals who are cruising 



