336 HUNTING WITH THE ESKIMOS 



The first of the Arctic flowers were now blossom- 

 ing. A plant which had come up within two days 

 burst into bloom, with a small purple flower resem- 

 bling Scotch heather. A hill directly back of camp 

 was covered with it, and it was beautiful indeed. 

 Other wild flowers in great variety, habitants of the 

 region, were now to be expected, and I eagerly 

 watched for them, tramping out over the hills to 

 gather them as they appeared, for a collection which 

 I was making and which I preserved by pressing and 

 drying. 



I observed that for twenty-four hours the little 

 auks had left the hill-side to feed in the open waters 

 of the bay; suddenly they began to rise, millions upon 

 millions of them, to return again to the rookeries on 

 the hills. For five hours clouds of them were passing 

 up from the water to the breeding grounds. It was 

 a marvelous display of bird life, and one that can 

 be seen nowhere else in the world. 



Shortly after the flight of the little auks ceased 

 the sky became obscured by clouds, and in a very short 

 while a fierce blizzard was raging. The snow was 

 wet and did not drift, but walking far in it was out 

 of the question, and every one kept pretty close to 

 cover. I filled in the time with a visit to Sipsu's 

 tupek, not far away, which was warm and comforta- 

 ble, though the floor was covered with bloody seal 

 meat and blubber, and several hundred little auk 

 skins were suspended from the top to dry. Presently 

 I returned to camp to try my hand at making dough- 

 nuts. My efforts produced an article that looked 



