NELSON] SEAL-STALKING—IVORY SCRATCHERS 129 
sometimes covered by the hunter with an arch of snow, and the seals are 
surprised and speared as they come up. When stalking these seals as 
they lie sleeping or sunning themselves on the ice, the hunter wears a 
pair of knee protectors made of white bear or white dog skin, which 
reach from just above the knee to the ankle, and have the long shaggy 
fur outward. They are secured upon the leg by strings along their 
edges, like a legging, but they do not inclose the leg in the rear. A 
huge mitten of the same skin, reaching from the hand to a little above 
the elbow, is also worn on the left arm. Armed with a spear, which has 
a long line fastened to a detachable point, the hunter approaches erect 
as near to the seal as is prudent, then lies flat upon the ice and places 
his bent left arm before him so that the huge fur mitten forms a shield 
between him and the seal. The fur hood is raised over his head, so that 
the long border of gray or whitish fur blends with the mitten. The 
color of the fur harmonizes so well with that of the snow that the hunter 
can creep to within the desired distance of the seal without being 
detected. He is always careful to keep his body flat and in a direct 
line behind the mitten, and trails his gun or spear behind him with his 
right hand until near enough to make sure of his aim. When stalking 
a seal in this manner the hunter carries a small wooden seratcher, con- 
sisting of a neatly carved handle, tipped with seal claws. If the seal 
becomes uneasy or suspicious, the hunter pauses, and with this imple- 
ment scratches the snow or ice in the same manner and with the same 
force as a seal while digging a hole in the ice. Hearing this the seal 
seems satisfied and drops asleep again. ‘This is repeated, if neces- 
sary, until the hunter is within reach of the animal, when he drives his 
spear into it, braces himself, and holds fast to the line. If close to a 
hole, the seal struggles into it. By holding the line the hunter pre- 
vents its escape, and the animal soon drowns and is hauled out. Of 
late years guns are commonly used for this class of hunting, and the 
seal is shot through the head, so that it remains on the ice. 
On the Diomede islands I obtained a typical pair of white bear skin 
knee protectors, having a triangular piece of sealskin sewed on their 
upper edge to extend above the knee, along the leg, and provided with a 
cord which extends thence up to the waist belt of the hunter. 
Figure 7, plate Li, from Point Hope, is an ivory-handle seratcher 
with a ring in the upper end; the handle is crescentic in cross section. 
The lower end is divided into two parts, on which two claws are held 
firmly in position by a sinew lashing. 
Figure 8, plate Lit, from Point Hope, is a similar scratcher with an 
ivory handle, and with three claws fitted on the lower end in the same 
manner as in the preceding specimen. The upper end of the handle is 
carved to represent the head of a seal. 
Figure 9, plate Lu, from St Michael, is a very ancient scratcher 
obtained in the ruins of an old village. It is made of reindeer horn 
and has two points forming a Y-shape end, on which the seal claws 
18 ETH 9 
