Wallowa County chieftain. [volume] (Enterprise, Or.) 1909-1911, 1909-11-18

Eskimos must not only gather the
greatest number possible, but must
prepare the skins and make them Into
proprrly fitting garments.
In )ther 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 ot our
most important needs. OF II 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 80 people were kept
busy In the service of the expedition.
The work was we'll done and with
much better knowledge of the fitness
of things than could he done by any
possible gathering of white men.
Use OF the Narwhal.
The quest of the walrus and the mar
whal came In our own immediate plan
! of adventure. The unicorn, or mar
whal, does not often come under the
eye of the white man, though one of
the first animals TO leave our shores.
1t gave for brief spell good results
IN sport and useful material. The
! bubber is the pride of every house
keeper, for it gives 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 q slight aroma Of train oil.
The meat dries easily and Is thus
priced as an appetizer or as n 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 our less urgent jour
neys.
The narwhal. which apart from its
usefulness. is most interesting to den
liens of the arctic deep, played in
schools far off shore, usually along the
edge of large ice. Its long ivory tuslis
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 n secure foot
ing. Others hid behind floating frag-
ments of heavy ice and made a 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 Narwhal
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 is
timid by nature. Fearing to rise for
breath, he plunged along until nearly
strangulated. When it did come up
there were several Eskimos near with
drawn lances, which inflicted deep
gashes.
Again the narwhal plunged deep
down with but one breath and hurried
along as best 1t could. But its speed
slackened. and a line of crimson mark
ed its hidden path. Loss of blood and
want of air did not give 1t a 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 a rule was not gained until
the hunters were far from home. also
far from the shore line. But the Es-
kimo is courageous hunter and an
intelligent seaman.
Towing the Carcass.
To the huge carcass frail kayaks
We're hitched in long line Towing
Is slow, wind and sea combining TO
make the task difficult and dan1erous