CHAPTER X 



A skin canoe The harpoon A seal hunt A night in a green- 

 house Hauling the seal net. 



IF you happen to be along the village on an 

 autumn morning, you may see an Eskimo 

 come out of his hut and drag his skin 

 canoe from its resting-place on the roof of the 

 porch. He balances it upon his head or on 

 his shoulder, and trots away down the beach 

 to the sea ; then he gently lowers the canoe to 

 the water, steps quickly in, and paddles away. 



It all looked so very easy that I thought 

 that I should like to try, so I asked little 

 Johannes to lend me his ca,noe and his paddle. 

 Johannes smiled. " Yes," he said, " I will bring 

 my canoe ; and I think that it would be 

 very good for you to try in the shallow pool 

 there, along the beach, for there you cannot 

 be drowned." 



And so in the evening, when the tide began 

 to fall, and the big pool was left on the beach 

 in front of the houses, Johannes came sweep- 

 ing along with graceful strokes, and drew his 

 canoe up by the spot where I was standing. 

 " Now," he said, " you may begin " ; and I 



133 



