TCHNER.] 



HUNTING. 



249 



ilar maimer, exceptiug that the liair is left on the skin and the hairy 

 side left within. The oil and fat are put in the skin at the posterior end 

 and it is then tied up like a float. The 

 largest sealskins are used for oilbags, 

 and may contain as much as 300 pounds 

 of fat or oil. 



When a sack of oil is sold the bag is 

 usually retuined to the seller, who again 

 fills it with oil or converts the skin into 

 bootlegs or soles. The leather having 

 become thoroughly impregnated with 

 the oil makes the best for wear, often 

 resisting moisture for three or four 

 days of continuous wet. 



Before leaving the subject of weap- 

 ons and their accessories, I may men- 

 tion No. oOGO, a small pouch made of 

 thick sealskin. The shape is somewhat 

 like that of a leg of mutton. This is 

 used for carrying gun caps. The neck 

 is only large enough to permit one cap 

 to fall out at a time. 



HUNTING. 



Fia. 67.- 



nand sprar for killing seals from 

 kaiali ; Koksoak. 



I have already referred briefly to the 

 various methods of taking seals, white whales, and other ga,me, while 

 describing the boats, spears, and otlier apparatus used in their i)ursuit. 



The most important hunt of the year, however, comes in the autumn, 

 when the reindeer are migrating in large herds and crossing the rivers. 

 The deer are wanted now for their flesh for food and their skins for 

 clothing. Everything necessary for the chase is taken in the umiak, 

 or perhaps, a whaleboat, to a locality convenient to where the animals 

 cross over. ITere the tent is pitched, and a camp is made. The hunt- 

 ers scour the neighboring land for herds of reindeer, whieli are seen 

 running about under the impulse to seek the opposite sex. As they 

 arrive from different directions, those of one sex must cross the river. 

 Since the females furnish the lightiu' skins for clothing, and the males 

 the greater amount of meat and a heavier skin ior various purposes, 

 deer of both sexes are equally useful. 



A band of three or four, or as many as a hundred, may be sighted 

 slowly winding their way through the openings of the timbered areas 

 on the opposite side of the river. The native with telescope, or binocular 

 in focus, observes their movements until they pause a moment on the 

 bank and then plunge quickly into the water, where they keep well 

 together until the opposite shore is reached. Here, if undisturbed, 

 they will stand to allow the water to drii) from their bodies, and then 

 will walk slowly along to a convenient place to climb the bank and 



