So rapid and effective was his delivery with his Winchester
repeating carbine, that this unequalled achievement was accomplished in
less than ten minutes; and, well knowing that it was to his splendid
weapon that the credit largely belonged, this undemonstrative savage
held up his rifle and kissed it while he was talking to me about the
affair. On the 30th Toolooah killed twelve reindeer, Joe eight, and
Equeesik and I each three, making a grand total of twenty-six by our
party alone in one day.
We ate quantities of reindeer tallow with our meat, probably about half
our daily food. Breakfast is eaten raw and frozen, but we generally
have a warm meal in the evening. Fuel is hard to obtain, and consists
entirely of a vine-like moss called ik-shoot-ik. Reindeer tallow is
also used for a light. A small flat stone serves for a candlestick, on
which a lump of tallow is placed, close to a piece of fibrous moss
called mun-ne, which is used for a wick. The tallow melting runs down
upon the stone and is immediately absorbed by the moss. This makes a
very cheerful and pleasant light, but is most exasperating to a hungry
man, as it smells exactly like frying meat. Eating such quantities of
tallow is a great benefit in this climate, and we can easily see the
effect of it in the comfort with which we meet the cold.
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