CHAPTER XIII. 
WALRUS-nUNTING—ESQUIMAUX HABITS—RETURN TO ETAH—PRE¬ 
PARING FOR ESCAPE — MAKING SLEDGES-DR. HAYES. 
The six storm-arrested strangers were off early in 
the morning: I sent messages of compliment by them 
to Kalutunah, inviting him to visit the brig; and in 
the afternoon Myouk and myself followed them to the 
floes for a walrus-liunt. 
The walrus supplies the staple food of the Rensselaer 
Bay Esquimaux throughout the greater part of the 
year. To the south as far as Murchison Channel, the 
seal, unicorn, and white whale alternate at their appro¬ 
priate seasons; but in Smith’s Sound these last are 
accidental rather than sustained hunts. 
The manner of hunting the walrus depends in a 
considerable degree on the season of the year. In the 
fall, when the pack is but partially closed, they are 
found in numbers, hanging around the neutral region 
of mixed ice and water, and, as this becomes solid with 
the advance of winter, following it more and more to 
the south. I 
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