THE REINDEER HUNT 



the prowling dogs; women are stitching as if for 

 dear life, getting the boots and clothing ready for 

 the great occasion ; there is stir and bustle all day 

 long. 



To my mind the most interesting of all these 

 preparations is the mending of the guns. I had seen 

 them at this odd occupation many times before I 

 discovered what they were about. 



A man wanders out of his hut with a gun upon 

 his shoulder and a cluster of friends at his heels. He 

 sits down upon a lump of ice, and some lad or other 

 hurries off to set a mark on one of the hummocks, 

 fifty or sixty yards away. Then the firing begins, 

 and after each shot there is a hubbub of voices, and 

 the gun is passed from hand to hand. Perhaps some 

 famous hunter tries a shot, and delivers a slow and 

 weighty opinion, whereupon the voices start jabbering 

 again. When he thinks the trial has been sufficient 

 to assure him of the weaknesses of his weapon, the 

 owner of the gun hammers the barrel with a stone 

 and tries another shot. It is not likely that one 

 hammering will satisfy him ; perhaps he has 

 " straightened " it a little too much, and must give 

 it a few thumps on the other side : he smacks away 

 at it with his stone, and cocks his eye along it and 

 hammers again, and tries another shot ; and so the 

 performance goes on, to the accompaniment of serious 

 and critical remarks, until the gun is " mended." It 

 matters not the least what sort of a gun it be ; a new 

 and costly rifle gets just the same treatment as the 

 veriest old blunderbuss with its stock bound round 

 with twine : whatever the gun, the barrel must be 

 made to accord with Eskimo ideas of straightness ; 

 and the queer thing is that the owner of the gun, 



