Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-10-22

DIR. COOK IN AROrIC COSTUME
sets at midday on Oct. "a and is abb
sent a period Of prolonged night cor
responding to the day and rises on
Feb. 20.
\ Harvesting Food and Fuel.
Then follow the eye opening days of
spring. In the fall, when the harmon.
izing influence Of the sun is withdrawn,
there begins a battle Of the elements
which continues its smoky agitation
until stilled by the hopeless frost of
early night.
At this time, though field work was
painful, the needs of our venture forced
Us to persistent action in the chase of
walrus, seal, narwhal and white whale.
We harvested food and fuel.
Before winter ice spread over the
hunting grounds ptarmigan. hare and
reindeer were sought to supply the ia
BILE during the long night with delica-
cies, while bear and fox pleased the
palates of the Eskimos and their pelts
clothed all.
Many long journeys were made to Sc
cure an important supply Of grass to
pad boots and mittens and also to Sc
cure moss, which serves as wick for
the Eskimo lamp. The months of Sep
tember and October were indeed i'm
portant periods of anxious seeking for
reserve supplies.
Aid From the EskiInos.
There was a complex activity sud-
denly stimulated along the Greenland
coast which did not require general su-
pervision. The Eskimos knew what
was required without a word from us
and knew better than we did where to
find the things worth while. An out
line Of the polar campaign was sent
from village to village. with few
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 a 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 pumber possible, but must
prepare the skins and make them into
properly fitting garments.
In other places reindeer were abnn-
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 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 $50 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 be done by any
possible gathering of white men.
Use Of tho Narwhal.
The quest Of the waIrus 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 a brief spell good results
in sport and useful material. The
blubber is the pride Of every house
keeper. for it gives long, hot flame
to the lamp. with no smoke to spot
the igloo fnery. The skin is regarded
as quite a delicacy. Cut into squares.
It looks and tastes like scallops. with
only a slight aroma Of train oil.
The meat dries easily and Is thus
prized as on appetizer or as a lunch
to he eaten en- route in sled or kayak.
In this shape 1t 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
izens of the arctic deep, played In
schools far of 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 q secure foot
ing. Others hid behind floating frag-
ments of heavy Ice and made sudden
rush as the animals passed.
Still others came up ir 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