NOTES FROM AN ARCTIC JOURNAL. 41] 
that the birds were nearly all in flight, and were, with rare exceptions, the 
males. The length of the slope on which they were congregated was about 
a mile, and a constant stream of birds was rushing over it, but a few feet 
above the stones; and, after making in their rapid flight the whole length 
of the hill, they returned higher in the air, performing over and over again 
the complete circuit. Occasionally a few hundreds or thousands of them 
would drop down, as if following some leader; and in an instant the rocks, 
for a space of several rods, would swarm all over with them, their black 
backs and pure white breasts speckling the hill very prettily. 
“While I was watching these movements with much interest, my com- 
panion was intent only upon business, and warned me to lie lower, as the 
birds saw me and were flying too high overhead. Having at length got 
myself stowed away to the satisfaction of my savage companion the sport 
began. The birds were beginning again to whirl their flight closer to our 
heads—so close, indeed, did they come that it seemed almost as if I could 
catch them with my cap. Presently I observed my companion preparing 
himself as a flock of unusual thickness was approaching; and, in a moment, 
up went the net; a half-dozen birds flew bang into it, and, stunned with 
the blow, they could not flutter out before Kalutunah had slipped the staff 
. quickly through his hands and seized the net; with his left hand he now 
pressed down the birds, while with the right he drew them out, one by one, 
and, for want of a third hand, he used his teeth to crush their heads. The 
wings were then locked across each other, to keep them from fluttering 
away; and, with an air of triumph, the old fellow looked around at me, 
spat the blood and feathers from his mouth, and went on with the sport, 
tossing up his net and hauling it in with much rapidity, until he had 
caught about a hundred birds; when, my curiosity being amply satisfied, 
we returned to camp and made a hearty meal out of the game which we 
had bagged in this novel and unsportsmanlike manner.” * 
Eider Ducks were breeding in considerable numbers on some 
rocky islets near Reindeer Point, and about fifty were brought 
on board. A few Kittiwakes and Glaucous Gulls were flying 
around. 
After a pull of a couple of miles up the fiord, we landed at-the 
village of Etah, a spot very familiar to the readers of Dr. Kane’s 
narrative. The settlement consisted of three stone “igloos” and 
one roofed over. with canvas spread on spars. The place was 
deserted. The village is situated ina sheltered nook overshadowed 
by gneiss rocks, with a good look-out to the south and west. 
Traces of recent occupation were visible on all sides; the igloos 
* «The Open Polar Sea,’ pp. 890—392. 
