118 HUNTING WITH THE ESKIMOS 



ahead at such a pace that I finally found it necessary 

 to devote my whole attention to sticking to the sledge, 

 until at length we reached rough going on the ice foot, 

 and I turned the sledge upside down, which proved 

 effective in bringing the impatient animals to a stop. 

 When they discovered that I was alone with them 

 they at once grew very ugly. They would have at- 

 tacked me had I come within reach of their traces. 



The igloo was not far away, and I left the dogs 

 and walked to it. My oil stove was on Sipsu's 

 komatik, and with no means of making a fire it was 

 very cold and uncomfortable. When, therefore, in 

 the course of an hour Tukshu and Awhella joined 

 me, announcing that each had killed a seal, and in- 

 viting me to go with them to bring the game in, I 

 was glad of the opportunity. 



It is necessary that seals killed in the winter be 

 skinned at once before the animal blood cools. 

 Otherwise they will freeze so hard that it would be 

 utterly impossible to remove the skins from the car- 

 casses. 



The seals were recovered and we had been in the 

 igloo a considerable time, when Sipsu and Oxpuddy- 

 shou joined us. They had also been successful in 

 the hunt, and brought with them two seals, three blue 

 foxes and eight hares. While I started the oil stove 

 and put a kettle of hares to boiling for dinner, the 

 Eskimos feasted on raw seal. The amount of raw 

 seal meat that an Eskimo can eat at a single sitting 

 is simply beyond belief. When they had finished 



