CUSTOMS OR THE ESKIMOS. 149 
is marked, so that during the next winter and spring, if 
food becomes scarce, these meat stores may be’ resorted 
to. When required, the meat thus stored is often quite 
blue or decomposed, but it has to be pretty bad when a 
hungry Eskimo will not eat it. 
Seal hunting is a most curious and interesting form of 
sport. The seals are hunted in entirely different ways 
at different times of the year. 
During the entire winter season they keep holes open 
through the shore ice, but because of the depth of snow 
are not seen until the warm spring sun exposes their 
hiding places. The Eskimo hunter has, however, a way 
of finding them out before this. He harnesses a dog 
that has been trained for the work, and, armed with 
his seal harpoon, leads him out to the snow-covered field, 
where the two walk in a zig-zag course, until the saga- 
cious animal catches the scent of the seal and takes his 
master straight to its secret abode. 
Here, under the hard crusted’ snow, it has formed for 
itself quite a commodious dwelling, but, unlike the 
Eskimo snow-house, its doorway opens into the water 
instead of into the air. This doorway, which is in the 
form of a round hole, just large enough to admit the 
seal, is kept from freezing up by the wary animal, 
which ever keeps itself in readiness, upon the slightest 
suspicion of danger, to plunge into it. 
Usually upon the arrival of the hunter, the seal, if at 
home, hearing the footsteps above, quickly vacates the 
premises. The Eskimo then, taking advantage of its 
absence, ascertains the exact locality of the hole in the 
ice, by thrusting his long slender spear down through 
the snow. When the exact position of the hole is found, 
