THE SPRING AWAKENING 341 



The meat stowed in the boat, we turned our atten- 

 tion to the three sleeping walrus originally seen, and 

 in a short time one of them, a cow, and much smaller 

 than the other one captured, was killed on the ice. 



Now I learned a new way of melting snow for 

 drinking water. Before dissecting the carcass, the 

 Eskimos cut through the skin and thick coating of 

 fat, and drew out the stomach, which I noticed they 

 were very careful not to puncture. Then the cavity 

 from which the stomach had been removed was filled 

 with snow, which was quickly melted by animal heat. 

 The Eskimos threw themselves on the body, thrust 

 their heads inside, and drank the snow water with 

 great relish. I was very thirsty and also quenched 

 my thirst with it, but it was greasy and fishy and left 

 a disagreeable, oily taste in the mouth. 



Walrus feed on a shell-fish very like our salt water 

 clams. The stomachs of both of the walrus captured 

 were filled with these, and they were very carefully 

 removed by the Eskimos, who consider them a great 

 delicacy, and with great gusto and relish the three 

 feasted upon them. Without washing them they 

 took the little shell-fish up in handfuls, crowding 

 them into their mouths, and consuming great quanti 1 

 ties. I was very hungry myself, for we had been out 

 now many hours, and attempted to eat some of the 

 clams, but my stomach rebelled and I was almost 

 made sick by the strong smell and the fact that the 

 boat and everything around us was covered with thick, 

 dark-colored blood. 



A white man should never go hunting with Eski- 



16 



