120 THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT [ETH.ANN.IS 



This method of snaring deer is illustrated in figure 35, which repre 

 sents a boot-sole creaser from Xushagak. It is etched on three sides, 

 and on the side shown are two reindeer caught in rawhide snares, with 

 another snare still set between them. 



The white bear is found only at very rare intervals on the mainland 

 south of Bering strait. A single young white bear was killed a few 

 miles south of St Michael during my residence there, and was said to 

 have been the first one seen in many years. On St Lawrence island they 

 are frequently seen on the ice during winter and spring. The hunters 

 there kill them by concealing themselves among the ice hummocks in 

 the course the bear is pursuing, and as he passes shoot him in the head 

 between the eye and the ear. This spot is chosen on account of the 

 thinness of the skull, as the .44-caliber breech-loading guns which 

 they use have not power enough to kill the bear if shot in any other 

 part. I saw a great many skulls of these animals on the island named, 

 and all of them had bullet holes in the same place. 



From Point Hope to Point Barrow bears are not uncommon, and a 

 number of Eskimo living along the coast from Bering strait northward 

 have been frightfully disfigured by encounters with them. A man 

 from Point Hope told me of an encounter with one of these animals 



that took place near his vil 

 lage in the winter of 1880. 

 Two men left the village and 



Fici. 35 Etching on ivory, showing deer snares (jj). WCIlt Ollt Oil the Sea ice dlir- 



ing the night to set their nets 



for seals; while they were setting thfe nets, at some distance from each 

 other, one of them heard the snow cracking under the feet of a white 

 bear which was approaching. The hunter was without weapons of any 

 kind, and as it was too dark to see the animal he quietly lay down flat 

 upon his back on the ice, hoping to escape notice. The bear came 

 directly up to him, and stopping, began smelling along his body, until 

 finally he pressed his cold muzzle against the hunter s nose and mouth 

 and sniffed vigorously several times. As he did this the hunter held 

 his breath until his head swam. Suddenly the bear heard the other 

 hunter moving about and raised his head to listen; then he sniffed at 

 the hunter s face again and started off on a trot toward the other man. 

 When the bear had been gone a few moments the prostrate hunter 

 sprang to his feet and fled for his life toward the shore, hearing the 

 death cry of his comrade as he ran. About noon the next day, when 

 the sun came to the horizon, the villagers armed themselves and went 

 out on the ice, accompanied by the wife of the missing hunter. They 

 reached the place at dawn and found the bear still feasting on the 

 hunter s remains. The wife fired the first shot at him, followed by the 

 others, and the bear fell; then the woman drew a hunting knife and 

 rushing at the bear slashed its sides until the skin hung in shreds, 

 when she stopped from exhaustion. 



