THE REINDEER HUNT 



deer hunt was coming. Presently the word went 

 round that the Nautsertortut (scouts) were out, and 

 the excitement became intense. This was early in 

 March, and all day long the people were going in 

 twos and threes to the top of the nearest hill, to 

 watch the sledge track for the home-coming of the 

 scouts. Custom has fixed Easter Tuesday as the 

 day for the beginning of the hunt, and although the 

 custom is a comparatively new one, introduced to 

 give the hunters the opportunity of attending the 

 special services in the church during the Passion 

 Week, it is very loyally observed : no Eskimo would 

 dream of cutting the services to go a-hunting, but so 

 eager are they to have everything ready, and so full 

 are they of the all-important subject of the reindeer, 

 that before Easter comes several of the men will 

 certainly go to spy out the land and to bring back 

 reports of the probable whereabouts of the deer. 

 This is especially the case when Easter falls late ; 

 and when I missed this or that familiar face about 

 the village and asked " Jonase nanneka?" I was able 

 to anticipate the answer, " Nautsertorpok " (he has 

 gone to scout). The scouts seldom bring home any 

 venison ; they have done their part if they bring 

 home a report, such as " I saw no reindeer yet," or 

 " I have seen tracks, kannitomek6rput " (they seem to 

 be near) ; or, best of all, " I saw three deer in the 

 distance, sivorliqjut (the leaders) probably." Then 

 the excitement bubbles over into energy. Men 

 stand grouped round sledges on the snow, planing 

 and smoothing and polishing the runners, binding up 

 slack joints and patching weak places with iron 

 plates ; harpoons are shoved among the rafters of the 

 roof, and kajaks are hoisted on poles, out of reach of 



