305 



flesh does become somewhat putrid, this does not matter so 

 much, as the Eskimos rather prefer the flesh when it is 

 "high". Seals are even laid out in the spring so that they 

 should become high, and are eaten later as a delicacy. On 

 freezing at the low temperature the meat gradually undergoes 

 a change, so that it becomes soft; when it is then warmed 

 up to one or two degrees below freezing-point it forms quite 

 a nice dish. Pemmican is not prepared as among the North 

 American Indians, but it is a general thing to place birds and 

 the skin of the white whale and narwhal in blubber. 



The many scattered depots lighten the long journeys for 

 the Eskimos to a considerable extent, the depots being regarded 

 as a kind of common feeding-places. This is one of the rea- 

 sons why they are able to make their sledge-journeys of many 

 miles in length with extremely little baggage and almost without 

 provisions. But the depots also have other obvious advantages ; 

 for example, in keeping their riches ou» of sight. If the whole 

 of the booty were brought to the settlement, ДЬе less fortu- 

 nate and the less capable hunters with their families would 

 share in the eating, so long as the food {lasted, instead of 

 going out themselves to hunt. Further, the depots far from 

 the settlements mean several good places for the fox-traps, as 

 the foxes always gather round the depots. 



