Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1883-02-14
HOW THE EsoUIMAUx HUNT REINDEER.

Lieut.. Frederick SchWatba is contributing
TO the New York Forest and ,Strcc0n a series
OF papers descriptive of his hunting adven-
turcs while on his Arctic Franklin search
! expedition. He gives this account of the
EsQuimaux mode Of hunting reindeer:
Another plan much followed by those
natives throughout the Arctic not provided
with firearms is to establish line of stone
monuments ut about fifty to hundred
yards interva! along the crest of some promi-
ncnt ridge, often two and three miles in
length, which runs obliqucly toward and
terminates in the waters edge Of some lake
or wide river. 4 sharp lookout is kept
; from some available point, and if Il herd of
reindeer is found feeding or walking within
the acute angle formed by the shore line
and ridge hristling with stone cairns. the
natives engaged in the chase deplov into a
skirnish line sufficiently long to close the
mouth OF this angle and walk slowly to-
ward the reindeer, their bows and arrows
or spears and their kiaks light skin canoesl
being carried along or concealed in some
convenient place near the waters edge,
The herd, seeing the slow approach Of their
| enemies, trot lcisurcly away until lhey come
within sight Of the rock monuments, which
have been made to initiate the human form
as far as possible, when believing themselves
| TO be surrounded on the land side. thev
! take to the water rs the only means of es-
cape left them. No sooner is the herd fair
~ in, than the agile natives arc in not pur-
suit, with their kiaks flying through the
water, and rapidly overtaking the bewildered
| animals they dispatch them with arrows and
| spears, and haul their carcaSseS on shore TO
be butchercd.
This sport is not without its dangers. as
oitentmes wounded animal or q belliger-
EFT buck seeing flight impossible, with
swinging horns and plunging hoofs turns so
swiftly on his pursucr that he succeeds in
tearing the fragile kiak to pieces, and the
wrecked Esquimau unable TO swim.
browns ii he is not promptly rescued
by some near neighbor, or manages
TO float on the wreck of his boat until
help arrives. 1t is Il singular fact that
he'd oi reindeer, so the natives say,
Will repeatedly Craze right through this line
OF cairns without any further notice than =
few suspicious glances at them rs they pass
by. but the inmate moving figures force them
against these stationary ones their SUSPICION
IS raised to pitch high enough TO make
them prefer the water rather than to trust
them. Yet this is not very hard to comnre.
mend If one knows the almost half amphibi-
| Gus nature Of the arctic deer | have seen
them when taking up Il line of march, wade
and swim right through deep lake that
lhterposed irsclfin their direct conrse rather
than 10 so around it, although this would
not have cXacted Il marked dctour, which
fact, Imagined, must have been as patent
to the deer rs it was to myself And the
tsqnimauE tell me Of even holder deeds.
Nhen pursued and ''cornered" on some of
tile ."n& narrow tongues of land projecting
into Iiudson's Bay: they have known the
; deer to TAX" 10 the sea and swim directly
outward. until thcy were lost to vision and
whether they were thereby drowned or not
they could not tell.