CHAPTER IX. 



SEALS. 



** Man bends the ocean monsters to his sway. 

 No terrors daunt him on his arduous way; 

 Through frozen waters, or in sunlit waves, 

 He seeks the Seal, unnumber'd hardships braves 

 To gain a prize so rich in useful store. " 



fT the approach of the Arctic 8ummer, all is 

 bustle and activity among the natives of the 

 Arctic regions. The materials for the summer 

 huts are prepared, and the whole household, 

 consisting of five or six families, move down to 

 the fishing-place, which is generally an island 

 with a low beach, in a southern aspect, for the convenience 

 of launching their boats or drawing the seals which have 

 been taken ashore. They are not confined to any particular 

 spot in the summer, unless abundance of seals are seen; but 

 they generally shift to some other station, which, in the 

 course of former seasons, they may have observed as more 

 suitable. 



The Esquimaux have their regular divisions of work. 

 The men are the carpenters ; the women are the tailors, 

 shoemakers and cooks, helping their husbands or fathers oc- 

 casionally in their fishing. It is heavy work for these poor 

 females, but Providence has endowed them with a strength 

 of constitution and powers of endurance far greater than 

 women in more genial climates possess. They have to haul 

 the seals that have been taken by the men, ashore, and con- 

 vey them to the huts. They also flay and cut up the spoil. 



