, AND THE CHASE. 623 



% 



reach its atluk, and if he be successful eiiongh to cut off its 

 retreat it becomes an easy prey ; otherwise he must use his 

 sealing-hook very quickly or his game is gone. It sometimes 

 happens that the hunter is unfortunate enough to jump the 

 snow down directly over the hole, when he gets a pretty thor- 

 ough wetting. The women often take part in this kind of seal- 

 ing and become quite expert. The children begin when they 

 are four or five years old ; the teeth and flippers of their first 

 catch are saved as a trophy and worn about the little fellow's 

 neck ; this they think will give him good luck when he begins 

 the next year. 



"There exists a considerable spirit of rivalry among the 

 mothers as to whose offspring has done the best, size, etc., con- 

 sidered $ this runs to such a high pitch that I have known some 

 mothers to catch the Seal and then let the child Mil it, so as to 

 swell the number of his captures. 



"Some of the Eskimo hunters, belonging to the 'Florence/ 

 brought as many as seventy at one load. They were kept 

 frozen, and we almost lived on the meat during the season, and 

 learned to like it very much. 



" Some of the Hispid Seals pup on the ice, without any cov- 

 ering at all ; six instances of this nature came under my obser- 

 vation, and they were all young animals. The young exposed 

 in this manner almost always become the prey of foxes and 

 ravens before they are old enough to take care of themselves. 



"As the season advances and the young begin to shed their 

 coats the roof of their igloo is often, or perhaps always, broken 

 down, and the mother and young can be seen on sunny days 

 basking in the warm sunshine beside their atluk. The mother 

 will take to the water when the hunter has approached within 

 gunshot, and leave the young one to shift for itself, which gen- 

 erally ends in its staring leisurely at the hunter till suddenly it 

 finds a hook in its side. A stout Seal-skin line is then made 

 fast to its hind flippers and it is let into the atluk ; it of course 

 makes desperate efforts to free itself and is very apt to attract 

 the attention of the mother, if she is anywhere in the vicinity. 

 The Eskimo carefully watches the movements of the young one, 

 and as soon as the mother is observed, begins to haul in on the 

 line ; the old one follows nearer and nearer to the surface, till, 

 at last, she crosses the hole at the proper depth and the deadly 

 harpoon is planted in her body and she is quickly drawn out. 

 If the mother has seen the hunter approaching the atluk, how- 

 ever, she will not even show herself. 



