AND KAYAK 153 



tough things. I found that the people were 

 very fond of boiled walrus skin ; but it needs 

 a great deal of boiling before English teeth 

 will meet in it, and those parts of the skin 

 that the people do not want to boil and eat 

 can be made into great hard dog whips, and 

 strong and heavy drags for the sleds. 



One day during the winter, when the hunters 

 were busily going to and fro, hunting seals 

 at the sina, I saw a boy walking along the 

 village path, carrying what looked to me like 

 a very large and slimy slug. Whatever horrible 

 thing had the lad got ? He carried it by the 

 middle, and it dangled quivering on each side 

 of his hand. He had an air of importance 

 with him, and everyone he met stopped to 

 have a word with him, and to take a look at 

 his loathsome handful. 



What was it ? 



Behind him marched his father and mother, 

 both looking very proud. " Hai, Martin," I 

 shouted, " what have you got ? " 



" Kissek " (sealskin), he said ; and came 

 trotting along to unroll his package on the 

 snow, and display a fresh sealskin well scraped 

 and washed and sodden with brine, which is 

 never a pleasant object. " My first seal," he 

 said, grinning shyly. " I caught it yesterday." 



He seemed in a hurry to be off, so I let 



