The gold leaf., 1909-10-14

41O" flhdSS " WIN lew
general instructions.
Each local group Of natives was to
fill an important duty and bring to-
gether the tremendous amount of ma
terial required for our house and sled
equipment Each Eskimo village has,
as q rule, certain game advantages.
In some places foxes and hares were
abundant Their skins were in great
demand for coats and stockings. and
Eskimos must not only gather the
greatest number possible, but must
prepare the skips and make them into
properly fitting garments.
In other places reindeer were abun-
dant This skin was very much In
demand for sleeping bags. while the
sinew was required for thread. in
still other places seal was the luck OF
the chase, and its skin was one OF our
most important needs. OF 1t boots
were ordered. and an immense amount
Of line and lashings was prepared.
Thus in one way or another every
man, woman and most of the children
Of this tribe of 25O people were kept
busy in the service of the eyped'tio
The work was we'll done and with
much better knowledge of the fitness
of things than could be done by any
possible gathering of white men.
Use Of tho NarwhaI.
The quest OF the walrus and the mar
whal came in our own immediate plan
Of adventure The unicorn, or mar
whaI, does not often come under the
eye Of the white man, though one OF
the first animals to leave our shores.
1t gave for a brief spell good results
In sport and useful material. The
blubber Is the pride Of every house
keeper, for 1t gives a long. hot fame
to the lamp, with no smoke to spot
the igloo finery. The skin is regarded
as quite delicacy. Cut into squares.
It LOOKS and tastes like scallops. with
only slight aroma Of train oil.
The meat dries easily and Is thus
prized as an appetizer or as lunch
to he eaten en- route in sled or kayak.
In this shape it was an extremely use
full thing for US, for 1t took the place
of pemmican for orr less urgent jour-
neys.
The narwhal, which, apart from its
usefulness, Is most interesting to den
izens Of the arctic feeD. played In
schools far off shore usually along the
edge Of large ice. Its long ivory tusks
rose under Spouts of breath and spray.
When this glad sight was noted every
kayak about camp was manned, and
the Eskimos' skin canoes went like
birds over the water. Some Of the
Eskimos rose to the ice fields and de-
livered harpOOns from secure foot
ing. Others hid behind floating frag-
ments Of heavy fee and made sudden
rush as the animals passed.
Still others came up in the rear, Tor
the narwhal cannot easily see back
ward and does not often turn to watch
its enemies. its speed being so fast
that It can easily keep ahead Of other
troublesome creatures.
Hunting the Narwhai.
The harpoon is always delivered at
close range When the dragging float
marked the end of the line in tow Of
the frightened creature the line of
skin canoes followed The narwhal IL
timid by nature. Fearing to rise for
breath, he plunged along until nearly
strangulated When 1t did come up
there were several Eskimos near with
drawn lances. which inflicted deep
gashes.
Again the narwhal plunged deep
down wi but one breath and hurried
along as best it could But it's speed
slackened. and line of crimson mark
ed its hidden path. Loss of blood and
want of air did not give it chance
to fight Again it came up with a
spout; again the lances were hurled
The battle continued for several
hours. with many exciting adventures,
but in the end the narwhal always sue
cumbed, Offering a prize of several
thousand pounds Of meat and blubber.
Victory, as rule. was not gained until
the hunters were far from home, also
far from the shore line But the Es-
kimo is a courageous hunter and an
Intelligent seaman.
lowing the Carcass.
70 the huge carcass frail KAYAKS
were hitched in a long line Towing
Is slow, wind and sea cOmbinin. to
make the task difficult anc dangerous
One sees nothing of the narwha! anu
very little of the kayak. for dashing
double bladed paddles seesaw with the
regularity of pendulum.
Homecoming takes many hours and
engenderS prodigious amount Of hard
work, but there is energy to spare. for
wealth of meat and fat is the cul-
mination Of all Eskimo ambition.
Seven Of these pQnderous animals
were brought in during five days.
making n heap of more than 10000
pounds Of food and fuel. Then the
narwhals suddenly disappeared. and
we saw no more of them.
Three white whales were also obtain.
ed In similar way at Etah at about
the same time.
CTORMS now came up with such
"a force and frequency that it was
~ not safe to venture out in kay
AXIS. A few walruseS were cap
tured from boats; then sea hunting WIS
confined to the quest of seal through
the young ice
A similar quest was being followed
at every village from Annootok 10
Cape York. But all sea activity would
now soon be limited to a few open
spaces near prominent headlands.
The scene Of the real hunt changed
from the sea to the land. We had as
yet no caribou meat. The little auks
gathered in nets during the summer
and elder duck bagged later disap-
peared fast when used as steady diet
We must procure hare. ptarmigan and
reindeer, for we had not yet learned
to eat with a relish the fishy. iver-like
substance which is characteristic Of
all marine mammals.
Guns and ammunition were distrib-
uted. and when the winds were easy
enough to allow one to venture out
every man sought the neighboring