CHAPTER XI.
AMATEUR ESQUIMAUX.
The prosecution of our search had been largely dependent upon our
imitation of the life of the Esquimaux, and I should omit an important
chapter in "Arcticology" if I did not leave on record the story of our
exploits as amateur Esquimaux in subsisting upon the resources of the
country through which our little exploring party passed, going and
coming, in pursuit of its chief object. The seal was our beef and the
walrus our mutton in this long journey.
Seal-hunting varies with the time of the year and the nature of the
ice, for the seals are seldom killed except upon or through the ice. In
the warm, still days of spring they come up through their blow-holes in
the ice and enjoy a roll in the snow or a quiet nap in the sun. Then
they are killed with comparative case. The hunter gets as close as
possible upon the smooth ice without alarming his prey, the distance
varying from four hundred to one hundred yards. He then lies down, or,
more correctly speaking, reclines upon a small piece of bear-skin,
which, as he moves, is dragged along and kept under him as protection
against the cold and wet. His weight rests chiefly on his left hip, the
knee bent and the leg drawn up beneath him upon the bear-skin mat. As
long as the seal is looking toward him the hunter keeps perfectly
still, or raising his head soon drops it upon his shoulder, uttering a
noise similar to that produced by a seal blowing.
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