192 HUNTING WITH THE ESKIMOS 



my stay. When they are treated properly, Eskimos 

 are the most hospitable people in the world. Cer- 

 tainly no civilized people could have surpassed these 

 Northern barbarians in the quality of their reception, 

 and their manner of impressing their welcome upon 

 me. 



When I awoke after a long restful sleep, Oxpud- 

 dyshou was in the igloo waiting to tell me that in 

 view of the bad condition of the ice here, they had 

 decided to push farther south in further search for 

 walrus, and to invite me to accompany them. I was 

 so ill, however, with a severe cold that had developed, 

 that I felt it would be unwise to take part in what 

 would certainly prove a journey of extreme hard- 

 ships and suffering, and therefore decided to remain 

 where I was. Oxpuddyshou, Sipsu, Awhella, Tuk- 

 shu and Meatok, who were to take part in the south- 

 ern hunt, were ready to go. I let them have one of 

 my oil stoves, gave them some tea, sugar, and two 

 dozen biscuits, and they left us. This left me very 

 short of rations indeed, for I had not anticipated so 

 long an absence from Etah, and had not provided 

 for it. 



The hunting party had been gone but a short time 

 when two Eskimos of the settlement, who had been 

 walrus hunting, came in, both in a half perishing 

 condition. They had barely escaped drowning, and 

 one poor fellow had badly frozen both wrists, and 

 both legs just below the knees where boots and bear- 

 skin trousers meet. They reported the ice in very 

 poor condition, and growing worse. In view of this 



