372 HUNTING WITH THE ESKIMOS 



ducks, to say nothing of great numbers of brant 

 geese and gulls which rested upon it and were to be 

 seen everywhere. 



It is the custom of the Eskimos to kill ducks on 

 Littleton and McGary Islands and to gather quan- 

 tities of eggs, very plentiful during the nesting 

 period, which they cache as a food reserve for the 

 winter. These are not only a very welcome change 

 from the more or less continuous diet of seal and 

 walrus, at a season when birds and eggs are not to 

 be had, but are prized as great delicacies, just as we 

 in civilization prize out-of -season fruits and vege- 

 tables. 



With nothing to call me in haste to Etah, and 

 anxious, as I always was, to see as many phases of 

 Eskimo life as possible, I decided to remain on the 

 island with Portlooner, and therefore disembarked 

 with him. We made a landing among the rocks 

 after considerable maneuvering and the others con- 

 tinued the voyage to Etah, with instructions to care 

 for the cargo and return with the boat for us in three 

 days. 



As soon as our landing was made, Portlooner and 

 I built a wind-break of rocks behind which to bivouac. 

 Our primitive camp thus made, and all snug, we 

 sallied forth at once to the hunt, each with a shot- 

 gun, his an old muzzle loader, mine a Winchester 

 pump gun. 



Never have I seen such quantities of eggs as we 

 found here. Nests of them were scattered over the 

 whole surface of the island. Portlooner carried a 



