THE TOENIT 



The principal part of their winter dress was a 

 long, wide coat of deerskins, reaching to the knees 

 and trimmed with leather straps. They ate wal- 

 rus, deer, and seal, and when they went sealing in 

 the winter they fastened the lower edge of their 

 coat to the snow by means of pegs. Under the 

 coat they carried a small lamp, over which to melt 

 snow when they were thirsty, and over which to 

 roast some of the seal meat. They sat around a 

 hole in the ice and watched for their prey, and 

 when a seal blew in the hole they whispered, " I 

 shall stab it." Sometimes in their eagerness they 

 forgot the lamp and upset it as they threw the 

 harpoon, and thus got burned. 



Their strength was so great that they could 

 hold a harpooned walrus as easily as the Inuit 

 could hold a seal. These weaker men did not like 

 to play ball with them, for they did not realize 

 how rough they were and often hurt their play- 

 fellows severely. This the playfellows tried to 

 take in good part, and the two lived on friendly 

 terms except for one thing. For some reason the 

 Tornit did not make kayaks for themselves, al- 

 though they saw how convenient they were for 

 hunting when the ice broke up in the spring. 

 Every little while they would steal a boat from 

 the Inuit, who did not dare fight for their 



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