52 A SUMMER IN GREENLAND 



paddle being broken when a kayaker has to break 

 through thin ice at every stroke as he propels the 

 kayak over the surface of the ice. A waterproof 

 covering of skin fits on the rim of the circular 

 aperture in the middle of the kayak and is held in 

 position over the shoulders of the kayaker by 

 strips of hide fastened with bone fittings; in rough 

 weather a complete covering is worn and many 

 kayakers are able, if capsized, to turn completely 

 round under water and come up on the other side 

 without being more than superficially wetted. 



There are certain peculiarities in the construction 

 and ornamentation of both kayaks and harpoons 

 characteristic of different localities: Mr Porsild 

 told me that Peter Freuchen, the Danish Manager 

 of the Thule Station in the far north and the com- 

 panion of Rasmussen on many journeys, had been 

 able to follow the wanderings of the Walrus; he 

 found that the Walrus travels from Cape York 

 (Map Ay Y) to the south of Greenland along the 

 west coast and returns to the north up the opposite 

 side of Davis Strait and Baffin Bay. An important 

 piece of evidence was furnished by the discovery 

 in a Walrus taken in the extreme north of a 

 southern type of harpoon which was eventually 

 traced to its owner in South Greenland. 



The introduction of the rifle has not been an 

 unmixed blessing: many birds and other animals 

 are wounded without being killed and there is 

 much indiscriminate slaughter. In Greenland, ex- 

 cept for foxes (May to October), there is unfor- 

 tunately no 'close season.' 



