CHAPTER V 

 THE ESKIMO AS A HUNTER 



I^HE Algonkin Indians were so disgusted with 

 the habits of life adopted by the Innuit, that 

 they called them &quot;Eskimo,&quot; a name which means 

 &quot; eater of raw flesh.&quot; It would be difficult to find 

 a much better description, for so barren is the snow- 

 clad country, and so intense the cold, that the 

 Eskimo has no opportunities for practising agri 

 culture ; neither would vegetable food sustain life in 

 this inhospitable region. 



The fatty diet is obtained chiefly from the seal, 

 whale, and walrus, while the reindeer, together with 

 an abundant supply of sea birds and fish, furnish 

 food and clothing. An encounter with polar bears 

 is not looked upon as a regular part of the hunter s 

 life, and a successful combat with one of these 

 animals is an event talked about during many a 

 long winter evening. So proud is the hunter, that 

 he tattoos himself with special marks indicating 

 how many whales or polar bears he has taken ; one 

 great hunter had across his chest tattooed marks 

 in the form of the flukes on the tail of a whale. 

 These showed that he had killed seven of these 

 creatures ; and such was the pride of his wife, that 

 she had tattooed herself in the same way. 



