*. 



THE REINDEER HUNT 



shness of the spoor. They turn their sledges 

 pside down before they get within range, and 

 make the team lie down ; then the) dogs are safe, 

 they cannot drag an upturned sledge. Woe 

 tide the luckless hunter who lets his dogs get 

 oo close : away they go no power can stop them 

 hey are as keen as wolves to do a little hunting 

 or themselves, and for the nonce they have become 

 wolves again. 



One man described to me how he came upon 

 :he deer suddenly. He^as driving his dogs along 

 a winding track, when, on rounding a bend, he 

 bund himself driving into the midst of a herd. 

 ' Kappianarmek," he said, and waved his arms to 

 picture his excitement. "No good, dogs no good, 

 uktu too close" and there he was, wildly trying 

 o make the most of what was a very fleeting 

 jpportunity in every sense of the term. 



My neighbours liked to talk about the reindeer 

 hunt. " Ah," they said, " it is fine to see the herd 

 upon the hillsides, all grey and white like the snow 

 upon the rocks. Yes, there are many tuktu : you 

 may watch them all day, marching along the hills, 

 biore and more and always more, a great, great 

 [lumber. Ah, it is fine to watch them but only 

 Eskimo eyes can see them, because our eyes are 

 made for hunting. There they graze, digging through 

 the snow with their forefeet to get at the moss 

 underneath. Often they dig through much snow, 

 more than the height of a man; but they always 

 ind the moss, because they can smell it with their 

 feet ! It is fine to see them and all the cows have 

 fheir little calves beside them, and the old bull is 

 keeping watch. When we shoot the cow, the little 



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