SEAL-HUNTING AMONG THE FLOES 



some tissue from the neck of a dead seal that lay 

 upon the floor, split it into strips, and chewed and 

 stretched them into threads, which she said were very 

 good if there were nothing better, and far better, 

 to her way of thinking, than English cobbler's thread 

 or catgut. Among the people of Killinek 1 saw the 

 women cut the blubber off the seals in sheets, and dry 

 the malodorous membrane from which the oil had 

 oozed in the sunshine, and this they would make into 

 waterproof clothing for the men ! No wonder that 

 the Eskimo is at his very best in the seal hunt, when 

 so very much depends upon it. 



When a man finds a blow-hole that is, a round 

 hole in the ice that a seal has made for its occasional 

 breath of air he surveys it critically, and decides, first 

 of all, whether it is an old or a new hole, and next 

 whether a seal has been at it lately and is likely to 

 come again. If the result of the examination is to 

 his liking he makes ready for the puije's next visit. 

 He retires a few paces from the hole, arranges his 

 hunting paraphernalia, and lies down to wait. There 

 he stays, as still as a stone, stretched on his face with 

 his head towards the blow-hole and his eyes fixed 

 untiringly upon it. He may be thankful that he is 

 an Eskimo, sleek and fat, with a plentiful circulation 

 to keep him warm, and a keen eye trained to his 

 task ; and, above all, that he has inherited from 

 generations of hunters an unlimited patience and a 

 skill that mere practice could hardly be expected 

 to give. 



Sooner or later the seal comes up to breathe: 

 with a flash the harpoon is sunk in its fat neck, and 

 the line is hissing down into the water as the terrified 

 creature dives in desperation. The moment the 



