736 THE WORLD'S WONDERS. 



teeth, a convenient portion, he cuts it off close to b\s lips, an .1 

 then swallows it as quickly as possible, and repeats the process 

 Having taken two or three bites of meat he the i takes one'-? 

 blubber. The red nen have taught the white men how to fbunsh 

 the knife, and what is the proper motion to insure safety to lie 

 lips. The walrus meat is very juicy, and is also very dark, a . e 

 faces and hands of all of us are covered with blood ; and but .o: 

 the beards on tue faces of some of us, it would ue difficult o 

 distinguish the civilized men from the savages. The children 

 have each a strip of beef and blubber, and are disposing of inese 

 equally with the best of us. The seven-year-old stands "With "jis 

 back against the post, straddling across one corner of the i.ip x>r, 

 rapidly shortening a slice which his father has given him. His 

 body is naked to the waist, as, indeed, are the bodies of all our 

 guests. His fa*e and his hands are red with the thick flir'd whicn 

 he squeezes from tne spongy meat, and which streams down his 

 arms, and drops from his chin upon his distended abdomen, over 

 the hemispherical surface of which it courses, leaving crimson 

 stains behind. 



" Still an hour later, 'and there is nothing Jeft upon the loor 

 but a well-picked bone ; and we have wiped our hands wita the 

 bird-skins which the widow has torn from the lumme of which 

 she has made her supper. As usual, she had her* feast alone, 

 and, with little assistance, she has consumed six birds, each 'is 

 large as a young pullet. 



"We have now established the most friendly relations. Mr. 

 Sountag sits behind me, questioning one of the hunters about 

 astronomy. Godfrey is amusing the women and children with a 

 negro song, keeping time with an imaginary banjo. I am seated 

 behind Kalutunah, and we are teaching each other scraps of our 

 widely-different languages. I try to get the savage to articulate 

 yes and wo, and to teach him of what Esquimau words they are 

 equivalents. He pronounces ees and noe, after several efforts, 

 and says inquiringly, tymaT (right?) I nod my head und 

 say tyrna, to encourage him ; whereupon he laughs heartily at 

 my bad pronunciation of the word." 



