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Les cartes planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre filmds d des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clichd, il est filmd d partir ds Tangle supdrieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 NIMEOD IN THE N^ORTH. i FREDERICK SCHWATKA. NIMROD IN THE NORTH OR f 4 HUNTING AND FISHING ADVENTURES IN THE ARCTIC REGIONS. BY FREDERICK SCHWATKA. Laureate of the Paris Geographical Society, and of the Imperial Geoifl Socier- o' HuH.i.. H,>nnr„.. m , Bremen Geog'l Society, etc., etc. Commanrter of ihe Lou.e^t S^S Jr—VS^Za (3201 miles). 1878-7980, and Commander of the Longest Raft Jon raey in the World (1305 miles), 1883. ■^1 NEW YORK : CASSELL & COMPANY, Limited 1885. 55 ii COPTUIQHT, 1885, ByO. M. DUNHAM. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. \V. L. Mershon & Co., Printers and Electrotypers, Rahway, N. J. y^irr]-^ CONTENTS. 4 Chaptbb I. The Polar Beak, . 11. SiiooTixG Amo.ng the Seals and Sea Horses, III. The Rifle and the Reindeer, IV. The Musk-Ox, V. NlMKOD WITH A SlIOT-GUN, VI JNTlMROD WITH A FlSH-: VII. Dor.s AND Dog-Sledgi Vlir. Hunting and Fishing . Alaska, Page 9 34 ^9 87 112 130 142 161 IX. Hunting and Fishing in Far. o. .ALASKA (Co;.^/;,^,,,/^. 177 .?9 mTRODUCTIOJST. In ^^ ntui, o x^imrod m the North, the anti ,v hisconfined himself almost exrlMsiyey to such scenes and ^dventur.. as canle within his personal knouledu^e a few years since, in the region north of Hudson's Bay, and. more recently, in tlxe interior of Alaska. He has sought at tlie same tin.e however, to describe in a general way the ie of the spor sman in the Polar wast, ^-his trials and his triLphs, his cafe' am ns comforts, his camps and his sledges, his singular native all e an.l their ingenious weapons of the chase, and (above all) the aninrils lie may pur.ue-or that may pursue him, -and in doing so has added a very fe.v interesting hunting anecdotes from the Arctic works of others I XIMEOD IN THE NORTH. CHAPTER I. T II E P O L A II li E A II , |UR first introduction to this boreal Bruin, "tlie tiger of the ice,'* us an Arctic writer has aptly termed him, occurred in the latter part of July, 1878, wlien we encountered the Eskimo of the Savage Islands, on the northern coast of Hudson's Strait, who had, among other kinds of Arctic merchandise, a number of pohir bear skins to sell. These simple natives are certainly .easily satisfied, or, more pi-operly speaking, easily cheated ; for half-a-tumblerful of shot secured four sadules of reindeer meat, while a fine polar bear robe was obtained for half-plug (one-twelfth of a pound of ^avy six) of tobacco and a few charges of powder. Twenty-five caps were given for one fiftli as many white fox skins, and many other things were paid for in the same proportion. I bought three dogs-all they had brought in their oow/.v/, or seal-skin scow- for my party, and wIkmi 1 gave them something ap]iroximatelv near their true value (for T was not a little disgusted with the Shylock maimer in which they had been treated), their astonishment knew no bounds, and one old f, 'low, with a huge sjuile breaking through an inch oi dirt, so insisted on rubbing noses with me, that, althouuh the cere- numy was a pledge of etei-nal friendship. I almost repented .,i' the act of justice which he mistook for generosity. 10 ^riMIiOD IX THE NORTH. Polar bears are quite numerous along the shores of Hudson's Sti'ait, and as ^'hey are extremely aquatic in their habits, being- often found on cakes of ice or on icebergs many miles from land, it occasionally hap- pens that American whalers en route through these straits to their whaling grounds in North Hudson's Bay, or the Hudson Bay Company's ships, in their annual visits to their trading posts, encounter Bruin here and have many interesting bouts with hiiu. If he is found cm isolated cakes or small lioes of ice, his capture is almost certain when pursued in the well-manned small boats of the whalers, who have no trouble in overtaking him in a fair race in the water and then shooting liim. But if the ice-cakes are numerous enough to force the rowers to take sinuous courses and make wide deviations, or are i)acked so tightly together as to obstruct the boats, J^ruin generally manages to save his blanket. It the ice-pack is very dense, the only method is the one used by the Eskimo, of bringing him to bay by pursuing dogs, the same as if on land or on the shore ice. So great, indeed, is the polar bears' love for the salt water, that it is a very unusual thing to iind them far from the sea-shore, and the only time I have ever known them to leave it any distance Avas \\ hen the salmon ran up the small streams oi)ened by the perpetually shining sun of the short Arctic summer; for in the ripples and rapids of these cold creeks Bruin iinds a most generous commissary department while it lasts, and at all such phices he is liable to be found. . After the winter has set in and the ice has formed to a considerable depth along the coasts, the Uiitive sledging i)arties that are then follow- ing the shore ice froui one village to another are the ones most likely to coiue in contact with this particular game. In fact, by far the greater number of robes are thus secured by theui. When in tlie summer this solid sheet of ice is broken ui* and driven out to sea, by tlie winds and currents and tides, the polar l)ear often follows his ivy home to its new abode, and it is here and under these circumstances that he is most generally encountered, killed and studied by ciNili/ed man. and iiis habits and pecidiarities noted. His loxc foi' tlie sea, in which he is so characteristically distinct from all (tlhers of his tribe, has dereiinined his scientilic name, Urs/tis' Jlinilimi/s, althoimh the assertions of some 12 NIMROD IN THE NORTH. that liis habits are purely aquatic must be taken with a few girJns of aUovvance. In the suiniiier, as I have said, lie occasionally goes inland in quest of salmon, and in winter, when there is but little difference between the land and the frozen ocean, both being covered with their common mantle of drifting snows, his inland excursions are not at all rare. The absence of encounters between polar bears and men in such places is due more to the rarity of visits by the latter than the former. It is undoubtedly the ease with which they obtain seals or the car- casses of "■flensed" whales, or those which have had their blubber stripped from them by whalers, walrus and other sea-abiding animals, that attracts them so persistently to these abodes. The inland country would not fui-nish them enough to support their huge carcasses for even a few days, unless perchance they should fall in with the meat caches of the inland reindeer hunters, which, by tiie way, the Eskimo say they have been known to destroy a distance of two or three days' sledge-traveling from the main coast (probably thirty or forty miles), although it may be nearer some of the deep tinger-like fiords character- istic of the Arctic coasts of some districts. As showing their maritime character and the great distance to which they will journey on fields and cakes of ice, let one pick up an atlas showing the geographical relations between Iceland and (li-eenland, the distance between which is about equal to that between Kew York City and Washington ; yet thes(^ polar pirates often stray in thisiuanner from the eastei-n coast of Greenland to Iceland in such numb^-rs as to seriously frighten the inhal)itants, being famished and (lesi)erate with luumer after their lonu' ritle and fast en route, and attacking every thing living tliey see, man not excepted. The mitives, hoAvever, have an ingenious way of escajjiug their fury, if they r.ni only spare some article of wearing api)arel to amuse them or arouse their curiosity. A glove, they say. is suflicient for this purpose, for a bear will not stir fuither till he has turned every linger of it inside out, and as these aninuils are not vciy dexterous with their clumsy paws, this takes up enough time to allow the man to esca]>e. The winter camp of our little party for ]878-'70 was p.itclied near Depot Island, in the noi'thernmost part of Hudson's Bav. amid a large THE POLAR BEAR. jg camp of mixed Iwillik, Igloolik and Netschilluk Eskimo. I employed fo.ir families of them, thirteen souls in all, to accompany me on n.y proposed spring sledge journey to the Arctic Sea. Around this winter can.p the natives reported tliat bear were reasonably common, and quite P n mber of them had promised tliat we, the wliite men, sliould be indulge^ m son.e of this exciting sport before the winter should wear away, it we would accompany them on tlieir sledge journey., along the coast. That winter, however, yielded us no sport in this line, although one o the native members of the party, Ik-quee-sik, a big, robi'st ^etsc nlluk, fully six feet in height, killed one bear on or uL Depot Island, while encamped there for walrus hunting to secure oil for my party s sleoge journey, and this was the only bear, I believe, whose tracks were seen near our camp that winter, although such a scarcity was unusual. Bruin had evidently been attracted by the scent from he numerous walrus c-airns, or little rock cacnes where meat is stored, that dotted Depot Island, and he came lumbering along, suspec-ting no danger, early one February morning. Now -early in the morninc." depends upon the season, and in the Arctic February or thereabouts it means nearly eleven o'clock in the forenoon, and consequently our polar ursine friend found every body astir in order to take full advan- tage of the very short day. Ikqueesik's family were alone on the island, many of his associates of the village being absent at the whale- ships w.ntenng at Marble Island, some eighty or ninety miles to the sontlnvard. The consequence was that the bear got fairly into the i age before he was discovered even by Ikqueesik's four or five runty If tie hal -grown bhu-k dogs that looked more like wolverine kittens thJn the true Kskimo class of canines. They were, however, equal to the en.ergency. and Eskimo-like, Ikqueesik had to first come out of his snow lu.t unarmed to see the cause of the disturbance, when Bruin got a |?ood Ong start of him. despite the persistent nippings of the purtuing puppies that delayed him considerably. It was a running chase for : Kood long distance, but the dogs, encouraged by Ikqueesik's approach- ng presence, worked like heroes to delay the bear, and finally succeedell to an extent that gave their master a long shot at the game with his snK)otli-bore musket that luckily planted itself in the foreshoulder and li I 14 NIMROl) IX THE NORTH. brou.^ht Bruin effectively to bay. Loading leisurely at this distance he approached much nearer, and as a result he had one close shave troni a darin- charge of the ferocious beast over tlie huuiniocky ice ; but our Netschilluk Ninirod soon dispatched him and brought his robe triuni- phantly into camp. He was an immense fellow, weighing undoubtedly over a thousand pounds, and would have been a bad customer at close quarters had not his shoulder been rendered worthless at the hrst hre. The size of the polar bear varies considerably even with those that may be considered full-grown specimens, and some naturalists class them as tlie largest of the genus Ursus. yet his famous western brother, the • nr,7\x\ursus HorribiUsX will certainly dispute the point closely with him This one killed by Ikcpieesik was pronounced by the Eskmio to be - an-a-yo-ad'-lo," or very large, and had he been weighed I would uot have been surprised to see him show 1200 pounds ; I certainly would have been surprised had he stopped short of 1000. Captain Lyon a l^ritish Arctic explorer, mentions a polar bear which weighed moo poumls and measured eight feet and seven inches -from tip to tip" It is said that Barentz. in his expedition of 1596, killed two pohu- bears whose skins measured no less than twelve and thirteen feet in length, and which must have represented enormous animals, rivaling even tlie largest grizzly. They were secured on an island near 8pitz- ber..en Franz- Josef Land is pre-eminently the paradise of polar bears, the^Austrian expedition of 1873^4 which discovered the island encount- ering and lulling them by scores, yet the largest one they mentioned ' ' w^s eight feet long, and therefore of unusual size." In Parry' s Arctic voyao-e of 1819, his party succeeded in killing a bear which, although measuring eight feet and two inches in length, only weighed 900 pounds. - It will be seen," says a chronicler of that expedition, " that his wei<.-lit is not at all in pr .poition to his dimensions, for he was a very large animal, as far as length and height went, but although six inciies longer than the bear we killed in this country last summer, he was upward of two hundred pounds lighter." Duriu"- the fall of 1S7S my hir.Ml native hunters, as well as many from the village that had clustered around, for which our tents served as a nucleus, started inland on their annual reindeer liunts to procure THE POLAR BEAR. jg tlie hides of that animal, whicli are used almost exclusively for their winter clothing and bedding. Joe (Ebierbing) attached himself to a young Iw.llik Eskimo, Too-loo'-ah by name, who will appear many tin,es in these accounts as my most valuable and intelligent hunter, loolooah and Joe, as the autumn snows commenced falling, had pitched their sealskin tent on a precipitous hill overlooking a small fresh-water lake where the reindeer, on their autumnal southward migrations could be seen for many miles. When the weather became too cold to allow the tent to be warmed by their rude stone lamps, an igloo or snow-house was built and the hunt continued. One cold, gloomy storm-boding day, when both our heroes were snugly ensconced in bed which with the natives means stripped stark naked, lying between heir dressed reindeer l>lankets), a terrible racket was heard near the hdve, sufhcient to excite their curiosity. Joe Jumped up and, partially and hurriedly dressed, emerged into the open air. Toolooah, less excited, stretched out, back up, with his chin in both hands, eagerly awaiting devek)pments. It turned out to be a big, shaggy polar Lai breaking the ice of the lake where it had an outlet into a small creek and trying to catch the fish that some instinct told him would be found there. As soon as Joe con.prehended the situation, he seized a loaded musket, the only arm on the outside of the hut, and, taking deliberate aim at Bruin, who was about a hundred and fifty yards awav, he let him have an ineffectual shot in the leg. This so astonislied his bearship who had perceived no danger, that he only looked at Joe in amazed ment, howling furiously at his slight wound. - Namiook ! JS'annook'" a bear ! a bear !) yelled Joe, Just after he fired, and then dodged into the low entrance of the snow-house in order to get his AVinchester carbine, his head meeting, with a good round thump, that of Toolooah who, stark naked, was emerging, AVinchester in hand. By the time that Toolooah had strnightened up in front of the entrance, and recov- ered from Ins dizzy collision, the bear had commenced to appreciate t uit he was in an unhenlthy neighborhood, with a high rate of mortal- ity that could only be counteracted by a high rate of speed, and he had just swung his carcass around for a retreat when he got Toolooah's first Hre in his hams. Then he started on the run, Toolooah giving him a it I 16 NIMROD IN THE NORTH. second as he disappeared over a crest about forty or fifty yards further on. He was not yet i)erinanently disabled, altliough carrying tliree wounds more or le^s severe ; and there was no time for our liunters to delay if the prey was to be secured. Despite his immodest appearance, and to the Eskimo mind the moi-e deterring fact that the thermometer was below zero, I'oolooah ran like a race-horse for about a hundred yards and got a long-range shot of about tliree hundred yards at the retreating polar, who wjis looking at him from his haunches on a second ridge. This shot gave him a fatal bullet in his neck. An Eskin\o Nimrod, stark naked, standing half knee-deep in the snow, in the midst of an Arctic winter, gun in hand, over a fallen bear, would be a good picture to hang in one's room of hunting trophies, to contemplate in the summer time. The robe of this bear and that secured by Ik(pieesik had fallen to me, but during my year's absence on the sledge journey from Hudson's Bay to the Arctic Sea, the retiring whaler who had been hired to bring us into Hudson's Bay from the United States appropriated them along with other trophies, for the ])olar bear robe has a market vjdue in civilized marts. In cpiaint old Purchas' "Pilgrimes" is a most interesting account of the ancient way "ye white beare" was hunted, and being short, I trans- cribe it. It was during Barentz's second Arctic exi)edition, chronicled by Gerard de Veer, the historian of the voyage, who says:— "The (Uh of September some of our men went on shore, upon the firme land, (Nova Zembla) to seeke for stones, which are a kinde of diamond, whereof there are many also in the States' Island ; and while they were seeking the stones, two of our men lying together in one i)]ace, a great leane white beare came suddenly stealing out, and caught one of them fast by the necke ; who not knowing what it was that took him by the necke, cryed out and sayd. * Who is it that pulls mee so by the necke i ' Wherewith the other, that lay not farre from him. lifted up his head to see what it was ; and, perceiving it to be a monstrous beare, cryed out and sayd, 'Oh, Mate I it is a beare,' and therewith presently rose up, and ranne away. The l)eare at the first falling ui»on the man, bit his head in sunder and sukt out his blood ; wherewith the rest of the men that were on the land, bein;; about twentie in number, ranne presently THE POLAR BEAR. jy tliither, either to save tlie nmii, or else to drive tlie beare from the ])ocly and liavii.o. charged their pieces, and bent rl eir pikes, set npon lier that was stdl devouring tlie man, but, perceiving them to come towards her hercely and cruelly ranne at then., and got another of them out of the companie, which she tore in pieces, uherewith all the rest ninne away A\ e perceiving, out of our ship and pinnasse, that our men ranne to the BARENTZ'S PARTY AND TIIK BEAKS. sea-Side to save themselves, with all speed entred into our boates, and row.vl as fast as wee could to the shoare to relieve our men. Where bemg on land, wee beheld the cruel spectacle of our two dead men thai had been so <.ruelly killed and torn in pieces by the beare. We. seeino- tliat, encouraged our men to goe l)acke again with us, and with pieces" ourtelaxes. and half-pikes to set upon the beare, but they would not ali agree thereunto ; some of them saying, our men are alrmdy dead, and m 1% I 18 NIMROD IN THE NORTH. we sluill get the beure well enough though we ojipose not ourselves into so o[)en diiuger ; if wee might save our IVllowes' lives then wee would :u;ike h:iste ; but now wee need not nuike such speed, but to take her at an iulvantage, with most securitie for ourselves, for we have to doe with a cruell, tierce, and ravenous beast. Whereupon three of our men went forward, the beare still devouring her i>rey, not once fear- ing the number of our men, and yet they were thirtie at the least ; the three that went forward were Cornelius .lacobson, Williehii (reysen and Hans Von Nutlen, \Vilhehn Barentz s pui'ser ; and, vJun- that the sayd master and pylot had shot three times, and mist, tiic i)urser, stepping somewhat fuilher forward, and seeing the beare to be witliin the length of a shot, presently levelled his piece, and discharging it at the beare, shot her into the head, betweene the eyes, and yet sht-d held the man still fast by the necke, and lifted up her head with the man in her mouth ; but she began somewhat to stagger, wherewith the i)urser and a Scottish man tlrew out tlieir curtelaxes and strooke at her so hard that their curtelaxes burst, and yet sliee would not leave the man ; at last Wiihelm Geysen went to them, and with all his might strooke the beare upon the snout with his piece, at which time the beare fell to the ground, making a great noyse, and Wiihelm Geysen, leaping ujKm her, cut her tln'oat." Just how brave, ferocious, or dangei'ous the polar bear may })e. it is extremely hard to say, owing to the variety of disi)()sition and dissimilar traits it has exhibited in this respect, under the scrutiny of ecpially credil)le observers. One authc^rity says : — " It is the largest, strongest, most powerful and, with a single exception, tlie inost ferocious of bears," the exception evidently meaning the griz/ly. Yet the many mutilated persons I have seen in the great west who have been intimate with the "cinnamon" bear of that region, and describe him as equal in ferocity with, and superior in activity to, the grizzly, would certainly not be willing to surrender his claims to those of the polar bear. Again, the testimony of those who have shot a helpless animal swimming in the sea from the deck of an exi)loring steamer, is of no more value than that of a menagerie keeper who has poisoned a caged liengal tiger. I am inclined to place the polar bear below both the cinnamon and grizzly THE POLAR BEAR. 19 in bravery, althou-li fl.e superior of either in activity. His lonA^ HMie. snake- like foi ■ni, conipaied with the bun''*^'" ^^" •It-ntition is exactly the ....... .,« that of the o her bears. Still, as has 1 n said, the polar bear has exhibited all degrees of bravery, from that of the most ferocious disre- gai-d ol life to the most abject cowardice. The old ^-orsenien than whom no braver men ever lived, came in <.ontact with these gla<-ial grizzlies when their most venturons explorers discovered Greenland and Knc the ]ied, their In.ld leader, is sai.l to have quarreled fuiiousi; with one of his best friends from sheer envy because the latter had ki led a polar bear, and thus distinguished himself among those who valued bravery as highly as it has ever been held since, when his chief should have been given this honored opportunity. Thev certainlv re- ^med him a. a plucky adversary. ''Killing a bear," Jays Chevalier Kink, once Danish inspector of Greenla.ul, -has, in ancient as well as m modern times, been considered one of the most distinguishi,,.,. f^.ts of sportsmanship in Greenland." If the Eskimo of (Greenland are t^^e peers ot their polar brethren on the main c(mtinent, thev would cer tainly pick no mean opponent to be thus distinguished.* All \rotic authorities seem to unite in the assertion that the mother is nnsparinc. m her exhibition of bravery to protect her young, and hardlv a borea^l boc>lc exists that does not recount one or more of these instances of maternal affection ; and yet I am compelled to narrate an incident that came nnder my own personal observation, that will shatter somewhat even this unanimity of opinion. My party of four white men and ioolooahs family were on their southward search along the western coast of King "William's Land, in Angust 1879 nnd I'.nrl .r, 'a ,-T,i..„i I . ^. . -^ of that Imit in this particular instance-. It would seem from this that either Captain Hall's allies were needlessly frightened, or that the disposition of the polar bear varies much with the locality. Joe, who was with Hall in all his Arct. travels and remembered this incident, says that both views are partially correct, and in fact, that the polar bear is very uncertain in his combativeness. Probably had a less active hunter than Toolooah, who was agility i THE POLAR BEAR. gl personified, undertaken the assault, the result would have i)een dmVr- ent; but his rapidity evidently confused tlie animal, so that the whole ti-agedy was over before she really comprehended the sitnation. As illustrating in an interesting adventure the extreme savageness of the polar bear, I take from good authority tae follcwing anecdote:— -Not many years ago, the crew of a boat belonging to a ship in the whale-fishery shot at a bear at a little distance, and wouufied it. The animal set up a dreadful howl, and I'an along the ice toward the boat liefore he reached it a second shot was fired, which hit liim This served but to increase Ids fury. He ],resently swam to the boat and in attempting to get on board, placed one of his fore feet upon the gunwale; but a sailor having a hatchet in his hand cut it off. The animal, however, still continued to swim after them till they arrived at the ship; and several shots were fiivd at him. which took^effect; but on reaching the ship he immediately ascended the deck ; and the crew having fied into the shrouds, he was pursuing them thither when a shot laid him dead on the deck." Mr. Hearne, an Arctic explorer, says that the males of this species are, at a certain time of the vear, so much attached to their Uiates, that he has often seen one of them, when a female was killed, come and put his paws over her, and in this'position sufter himself to be shot rather tnan quit her corpse. About tne middle of October, 1870, while Toolooah was in Terror Bay. he killed three polar bears in about half as many minutes He had descried them from a distance, as he was driving his do-s and sledge over the eastern ridge of the bay, and managed to so dire.-t his course among the hummocks of ice (the ice-hummocks are the immense cakes of ice as large as one and two-stoiy buildings, that have not melted during the summer, and are fi-ozen every winter in a thick mass) as to get within a couple of hundred yards of them before they noticed his presence, when he slipped the dogs from the sled and although the open water along the shore ice, to which thev alw vs' take when pursued, was but one or two hundred paces distant," they were so slow in getting under way, that one was brought to bay by Vhe do-s before it could reach the water, which Toolooah dispatched with'a smgle shot of his Winchester through its head, and so quickly that ■n 22 NIMROD IN THE NORTH. wlien lie gained the eclgo of the ice-Uoe the othei* two were not over forty ov lil'ty yards away, swiuiniing for dear life, altliough they did not manage to save themselves, as two well directed shots laid them out. Then Toolooah, extemijorizing a raft from a small floating cake of i<'e, managed to get out to both of them, and, having taken the precaution to pay out his sledge-lashing from the shore as he went, pulled himself and prey back, and brought us the three robes to ^-erify his powers. It is said that the Eskimo of Cumberland Sound fearlessly attack the polar bear in their frail kiyaks, or light sealskin canoes, but are afraid of them on the ice or land. In October, 1877, an enormous female with two cubs paid an Eskimo encampment in this sound a visit. They swam over one of the fjords, probably scenting a dead whale that was on the beach near the huts. The bears made a very lively time here, and a consider- able outlay of ammunition and dogs was made before they were finally captured. There were about two hundred dogs and half as many natives, besides the crews of two whalers. All this motley crowd made war on the bears. One of the Avhaling captains, a little braver than the rest, got too close to the old bear, and she dealt him a blow that knocked his gun many feet into a snow bank ; she then be<>'an to lunke away wit'i him, but was prevented by the Eskimo and dogs. A young Eskinu) was served in a similar manner, but sustained quite serious injuries. Great consterntition and fear prevailed among the women and children, and that memorable night, when the nannooks be.-ieged their quiet canq), was long a lively topic of conversation. During the season the common hair seal have their young, the bears begin to wander u]) the f jcirds in search of them, and are at this time often found a con- sideral)le distance from the open water. Toolooah killed a monstrous polar bear, that would ])robably turn 11500 or 1400 pounds, the day we reached the northernmost ca])eof King William's Land. July 13. Bruin came u}) the beach from the south, snuffing by thecnmi). when Toolooah and Fi'ank weiv tht> only oik^s not absent, and wliile the dogs w(^re yet harnessed to the unloaded sle(lgt\ But a good view of the situation sent him off on the sea ice a< a smart lope. Toolooah and Frank following him with the light sledge ovei' the terribly i-ougli hummocks of Victoria Channel. The nim^t^en strong « •% |^i'''"i'"" "ii'iigiMiiMWIIlllllHlillll llli^^ 111 Hi m III u NIMROD IN THE NORTH. and excited dogs would have made a spectator think that the sledge ',vas a piece of paste-board, so lightly did it carom from one hummock to another, leaving tracks only on the crests of the snow drifts as they Hew after their enemy. It was a good live-mile chase before Toolooah got near enough to slip his team, and the dogs soon commenced nipping the bear's hamstrings so persistently that he had to sit down on them for protection, and commenced inlaying a sort of juggler's game with the bolder ones' heads. A shot thi'ough the neck so infuriated him that he i)lunged for Toolooah, who was only a few steps away, but the latter' s activity with his Winchester carbine i)ut another shot through the beast's backbone, and he lay spread out on the ice, a huge, helpless mass of bowlings and liivir. There were thus live bears killed on our sledge journey, which lasted from April 1, 1870, to March 20, 1880 — nearly one year — Toolooah scoring them all. This " might jj- hunter" told me tliat he had seen the polar bear climb up the smooth, perpendicular walls of icebergs to escape from his pursuers, and that when the bergs were reasonably high he generally succeeded in eluding them, as it was very dangerous to attempt to ascend l)y cutting niches in the ice-wall for footholds, which is the metliod the natives adopt in pursuing bears under these circumstnnces. This seems almost incredible, and I have never seen it mentioned by previous Arctic travelers ; but I consider Tooloordi altogether too good an authority to lightly cast aside what he affirms. Lieutenant Pnrry, in 1818, after miu'h severe labor, succeeded in getting on to]) of a Hat iceberg in Bafflii's Bay, and there found a white? bear in quiet posses- sion ; who, discovering the party, jumped over the i)erpendi('uliir side of the ice mountain, lifty-one feet into tlie sea, and swam to the nenresr land, whicli was over twenty miles away— or at least disappeared in tliat direction. It may surprise the reader to know that the Eskimo of GnvMilnnd edit and publisli an irregularly issued newspaper in their own language, yet such is the fact, and ii is a creditable fact despite the journal's name — Atavgagdlivtit Xalinginarmik Tvsaruminasassumik I'nivkaf. In n country where the sun rises and sets but <)ur(> a year, it li ay be hard to tell whether it is an annual or a daily publication. Uut whatever th: polar bear. 25 its period of issue, some good hunting stories are told in it. One by Eskimo writers and one translated by Br. Rink, regarding a bear liunt at Narsak, I will reproduce. "At this place, in Greenland," the story runs, "polar bears are very rare. A party of seal hunters, having put to sea, observed a very strange animal swimming. While we pursued it on its track towai-d an island it turned landward, whereupon we gave it a sign by calling out a halloo for bears. Once at our shout it turned to us, but on seeing us it turned back and instantly let its voice be heard. To people who are not accustomed to it, its frightful roai-ing and hissing are most extraordinary. At the same time it sounded just as if one more was approaching, but it only proved to be the echo from a small island in front. When gradually it came near to the shore with- out having yet been wounded, we si)oke to each other of setting al)out it, and having backed our kaijakfi astern, we took out our guns ; but on cocking mine, I observed that the percussion cap had dropped into the oakum. AVhilst I was getting hold of another, Adam tired, and when I was aiming, Andreas also fired, and then I likewise gave a shot. It was really amusing to observe the animal, Avliich I never thought would move so quickly. While the others were reloading 1 put my gun aside and pursued it, thinking my lance would now be better ; but fearing to come too near, I kept a proper distance and threw my lance, but managed it awkwardly, hitting the beast on the nape of its neck. On being hit it stooped down without turning aside in the leaSt, and tlie lance directly fell oir. The second time I missed. AVhen they had loaded anew, Andreas gave one shot more, after which it appeared quite stiff, iind I supposed it to be dead, when suddenly it tui-ned its head toward us and began to wheel round. Adam then gave it tlie last shot. Again it api)eared stiff, but I still expected it would revive, and therefore gave it the linishing stroke with my lance, when it was done for and quite immovable. AVe had heard people say that the bears had a knack of feigning death, but having got its liead so severely wound.'d it r>'ally was dead, and just as we had killed it a ^r///rrZvT" appeared from the noilhslde, who even before we had lired had heard its loud roar, so invfiilly does it resound. TIk^ i.huv to which we intended to tow our giune was close l)y ; we hauled it ashore and began to cut it up. To frfvp 3 r1 fi A 1 ; I i h'i 26 NIMROD IX THE NORTH. people who have never seen sncli a beast, its fatness is really surprisuig; unto the very feet nothing but grease is to be seen. On dragging it up the beach, I measured it, and was just able to span its body completely. On being opened, its inward parts glistened as white as those of a full grown fat reindeer."' Upwards of iifty polar bears, says Dr. Rink, the same authoi-ity we have just quoted, and who was a Danish ofiicial in Greenland many years, are on an average shot yearly in this section of the country, of which more than one-half are shot in the environs of the northernmost settlement of the west coast, and of the remainder the greater part at the southernmost extremity of the country on the same coast, where they arrive with the drift ice around Cape Farewell. Throughout the whole intervening tract bears are scarce, but still they may be found everywhere, and solitary sti-agglers may even be met with unexi)ectedly in summer in the interior of the fjords. In the north of Greenland, on the west coast, the bear is pursued upon the frozen sea with the aid of dogs. It often takes refuge on the top of an iceberg, where it is sur- rounded and h' .d at bay l)y the dogs until it is shot, generally not without some of the latter being lost on the occasion. In the north the male bears at least seem to roam about in winter as far south as (58° north latitude, for wherever the carcass of a whale may be found, oi' a rich hunt of seals or white whales occurs in a certain place witliiu these confines, there several bears are sure soon to make their ai)pearance. In the soutli, where no dogs are to be had, for instance, the nati\es generally try to force the beai- into the water and often kill it with luirpoons from the 7m//a/,-s. At the southernmost stations ])ears have often been shot close to the houses, being apparently attracted by the scent from the human dwelling jilaces. Several years ago a bear had pushed the foremost ])art of his body into a house passage at night, but getting into a difficulty on account of linding it too nai'icw, was kilh'd by the inhabitants, wiio, after having Ix^eii wai'ued by thfir dogs, lircd at it through the doorway and from the window. A\ aiiollier time, a woman staying alone with her child in a iiouse, obsei'ved a bear outside. Thinking it might be likely to give hei' a call, she placed the burning lamp at the window, keeping some straw at hand. The bear soon came THE POLAR BEAR. 2ir on, pusliing its head throu^li the intestine-formed curtain of the window, whereupon slie threw the straw into the lamp, at the blaze of which the bear retivated. It then tried to scratch a hole through the wall from another side, but was killed by some passing travelers. AVhile camped on the northern side of Simpson's Strait, in the fall of '79, and waiting for them to freeze over, we all pai-ticipated in an exciting foot-race of a couple of miles, after a large polar bear that had been started up some seven or eight miles inland. Eruin, however, placed Simpson's Strait between the pursuers and pursued, and thus saved his robe. Toolooah, never exhausted, waylaid a herd of rein- deer that had remained stupid spectators of the bear chase, and by killing two and wounding two others, completed a score of nine in as many hours. AVhile living among the Netschilluk Eskimo, Avho inhabit the shores of Simpson's Strait, 1 remember th^ir telling me a story of a very strange animal they had met at long intervals of many years, when upon their summer reindeer hunts with Jiayahs and spears. They described it as a black monster, as large and heavy as a musk ox, with a face like that of a man and feet like those of a bear. They report them to be very ferocious, making sad havoc among the Eskimo s to tile southward, to liil)ernate. Speaking of hibernating, there is probably no other subject of Arctic zoology ou uiiich tlKM'e is such a vni'iety of opinitm and of which there IS so littli' known, tiiid so much iiiteivsting information yc^t to be gained, as pertains to Ihe hibernation of tli.' northern bear. The very lirst con- clusiim to which one would naturally jump is, that this species of all '4l| nil (; ; [!| -\ ^■"Ifr" 28 NIMROD IN THE NORTH. others would be the very one to seek such a state as a protection from the intense and bitter cold of the polar winter ; and I am much inclined INTERIOU OF A IJEAR irOLE. totliiuk tluit tlic ])ub]ished opinions of niiiny writers have been based on such conclusions i-atlier than on personal observation. Sfmie author- ities are found wIk. deny that the ].olar bear hibernates a I all. in the true sense of the word, and from what little I know of th<' sul)iect, T THE POLAR BEAR. feel disposed to side with them. Dr. Kicliirdson, the naturalist of several Arctic expeditions, and a most conscientions and -olnminons writer on tlie natural history of the polar regions that he traversed, maintains that the hibernating of tliese animals is conhned to the females during the time they are with cub; and yet 1 iind by native testimony that they have slain them while in tliis condition, and I believe this can be relied on. Others think that the mothers remain secluded while the cubs are too weak to elude pursuit, but it is hardly worth while to deny this, so numerous are the cases furnished by civilized and savage observers Avho liave secured the cubs wlien they could not have been mu(di over a few days old. I am prone to believe that the polar bear never hibernates under any circumstances. The mother, for a few days on either side of the cul)s^ birth, may remain secluded in the den she has excavated in some deep snow bank, and is more shy then than at any other time ; but beyond this, and the fact that bear lioles are occasionally found, there is nothing upon which to base any theories in favor of hibernation, while the facts that polar bears of both sexes have been encountered and killed in every month of the year, and in all sorts of conditions, are tlie opposite statements in the case. The bear holes in the snow linnks are very interesting little affairs, but the fact that they are only found after tli{^ cubbing seas(m, and never during the coldest weather of wintei-. would show that they are not used permanently; unless it be argued the maker has too care- fully secreted them to be discovered at this time. Lieutenant Payer, of the Austrian expedition, was fortunate enough to see them occupy, ing thes.> abodes, though even the Eskinu) seldoui, if ever, iiave the opportunity. He says :— '* But almost iuimediately again the bear dis- appeared into the snow, and when we came to the j)lace of liis disap- pearance we discovered the winter retreat of a faiuily of bears. It was cosily hollowed out of a luass of sm)w lying und<>r a I'ocky wall. The bear had shown herself only once, but insisted all our efforts to seduce her to leave the shelter she had chosen. Xor had >ve any special desire to cree]) on all fours into the narrow, dark habitation. Sumbu (one of the dogs) only was bold («uough to follow her; but he saw too many things which led him to return very ciuickly. From the snow which i'l mjIII m NIMROD IN THE NORTH. 1 t !'■ f I ia( l,....n thrown up artluM-ntnuicecr tliis lu.l,., we inferml that this lacl been 1 lie work of tlie bear in her ellorts to eh-se the approach to lier ab.Hh.. It was tJie ih-st time we eanie upon a, lan.ilv of bears in tlieir wu.K.r quarters, or liad the clu.nee of addin- any thin- to our scanty know]e,l<;e as to tlie winter sleep of those animals. I^fiadendorff does not admit that they sleep ,l„ring the winter. He consider.^i the bear fur too lei-n to bo able to do so." Dr. llae, a veteran Arctic explorer in a good deal of the same region YOUXO BEAK CIIAIXED. Where my explorations were east, says that an anecdote was once told hini by a credible native eye-witness of the scene, of a polar bear kdhng a walrus with a piece of ice, which he gives in his own wo.ds as tolUnvs:-- I and two or three otlier Innuits were attempting to api)roach some walrus, in winter, lyino- on the ice close to the water kept open 1 .- tlie strong current in Fox's Channel. As we were getting near we saw that a large white bear was before us. He had reached, in the most stealthy manner, a high ridge oi ice, immediately above whe.e the walrus were lying. He then seiz-.d a inass of ice in his paws, reared US to in iir •ff le m THE POLAR BEAR. g^ himself on liis hind legs, and threw the ice with great force on the head oi ahall-grouii walrus and then sprang down upon it " The Eskimo then ran np, speared the hear, and found the walrus all I at dead thus securing botii aninuils. J)r. Kae adds that the bear threw the ic- as if he were "left-paweil." AVhile the llansa of the second Gernum expedition was beset in the ice on the east coast of Greenland, in September, 1809, a she-bear and her cub approached the vessel. The dam being killed, the youn- one LASSOIXG A POLAIl KKAIJ CIIJ, AUG. 8, 1880 was captured. Tt got away, however, but was recaptured in the water and to make sure of its staying, chained to a huge anchor. The men then built a snow house for it, the tioor being covered with shavings for a bed ; but It despised these luxuries and bedd. , ui the snow Some tHiic alter ,t disappeared with the huge chain, and from tlie wehdit of I'on there is no doubt where it brought up when it attempted to'swim u.vav. ■tijfrii'fliBW ! § f'i! r 82 NIMROD IN THE NORTH. When our stay of two dreary years in the Arctic came to a close, we hade adieu to our Eskimo friends and boarded the whaler "George and Mary," of New liedl"< • d, hound for home. The whaling season hail not been good; one— only one— whale, a seventy-barrel lish— hav;ng been caught; so as we bent onr course for Hndson's Strait. Cai)tain Baker thought he would take a last hurried peep into Roe's Welcome, as we wended our way home, to see if a whale could not be i.iised. 'J'he 8tli of August saw us entering its southern mouth. When scpuirely olf AVhale Point, the man in the crow's nest (the look-out place on the fore- mast to watch for whales) reported a couple of polar bears off our starboard beam. The ship was hove to, and the mate's boat lowered and sent in pursuit, with myself in the bow. It was a she-bear and a three-months' cub we had sighted, who, hearing us lowering the be. .1, immediately took to the water. The cub kept close to its mother and occasionally took a rest on her shoulders. As it became evident to the dam tliat in a fair race she could not escape, she crawled upon a large cake of ice, roaring furiously at us— not unlilve the deep roar of a lion — and faced us for a tight. At about forty yards I put a bullet through her back, just behind the slioulders, which laid her ?wrs cle covthat. Her efforts to back again into the water were ended by a shot from the mate 'through her swaying liead. AVe Avei'e now left to face the little cub. which I was extremely anxious to cai)ture alive. A lance-warp was procured, a running noose made, and the little fellow once lassoed was easily dragged into the water. From the ice-cake to the ship he rode upon the dead body of his mother. No sooner was he pulled up to the deck than we "triangled him" Avith three converging roi)es. at which he bit with a spitefubK^ss that kei)t us at a respectful distance. The captain disai)])ointed us all by ordering him to be shot, as h(^ con- sidered him too dangerous a passenger to have on board in the «nent of a storm, as he nnght break loose and create an uncomfortable consterna- tion, as had been done once before. It was doubtless just as well that the mate put a pistol to his head : for we never afterward saw a seal or Avalrus, and the sleek little rascal would probably have died of starvation on our hands. The mate of tlie "George and Mary" had visited the Arctic regions 1 THE POLAR BEAR. 33 on a whaling cruise some years before, and returning homeward had raptured a polar bear cub, the dam being killed. The robe was striimed Ircm the mother and placed in the bottom of a large cask, and in this fhe cub w.>s imprisoned, the staves being b«,res, as the house-Hies are supposed to possess n .n their feet, and that it is by this nteans they so ilily elnnb npon the huge ice-cakes, where they are so often seen, especially m the Arctic sununer. It is a tl,.,,ry, ho.ever, wluch needs conliru.a"- I'ent y ™":"' ""'l'"''' »"«= l"-"!"--!.- --ooked, are considered a g.e.,t del,<.acy by the Innuits, as the Eskimo call themselves, and I mns say that those who have habituated then.selves to tki^ ■• ., in whole or m part, a.e not disi.„sed to question tlieir liking. They cook fhe,a by snnntering all day in the balf.boiling water contained in their ude, native stone kettles, supported over their peculiar, native stone- honps an, when thus prepared, leaving oat a slight walrus flavor, they are not unlike a dish of pickle,! pig,- feet, served hot The form of governnient of the Iwilliks, if they can be said to have tlehr."'° ;'";'"""""'■ ^ '"" '" "" «l-.vei- of a walrus is awarded the head, an,l one fore and one hi„,l flipper, in .addition to the re..ular share apportion,,! to any ,me who m.ay ,.onie along ami help kiU the -"...a. orev,.n to those lazy beings who only appear in tin.e to help .1. g It to the village near by. Ag,dn. wh. n it reaches the village, the caicass may undergo am.th,.,. sub-division, .,.r the refusal ,.orner of an Innmt s heart is rouiule,! off with the most al,oua,ling charity lie flavor of the walru., is almost identi™! with that of the coarser ams. riiis IS m... surprrsiag, since in North Hudson's B.ay he derives IS main sustenance from these salty bivalves, for procuring which h ulla,iious-Io„king tusks s,.em espe,.ially designed. I thinl I cannot better casern.,, the walrus flavor and meat, tlmn by citing tmr .0 1 , f ough Te.vas beef, marbled with fat. and soaked in clam-inice think he wo would be so near alike, that it would take an E,,ki , To repulsive ; but much of this distaste lies in tlie imagination, and can be ,li i<|{ iin ii I \ m 36 NIMROD IN THE NORTH. overcome in the same way that is done by the frog-hater, who eats frogs as birds, and then imitates Oliver Twis . The llesh of tlie walrus is protected by a thick blanket of fat, or blubber, which allows it to resist the cold water of the Arctic seas. This coating yields nearly a barrel of oil ; and this, with its tusks and occasionally its hide, nudces it a constant victim to the avarice of the human race. Its tusks are its distinguishing feature, their whiteness being conspicuous against its dark breast for a great distance. They are from one to two feet in length when full grown, and weigh nearly live SKrr.L OF WALRUS. ll i pounds, bringing about t\v(Mity-live cents a pound in the ivory market, one side being often larger than tlu^ other. AVlienever this is ilic case, the shorter is usually the stouter, thus etpializing the weight. T think this would indicate tliat tln' morse is not inclined to use the tusks equally in digging for clams, or any other continuous labor with lliem, being, so far as his tusks are concerned, right or left handed, so to speak. The tusks are used as weapons of defense and olfense, and accord- ing to some, the walruses ol'ten take part in closely contested contlicts with polar bears above, and luirwhals beneath, the water. I think the SEALS AND SEA-HORSES 37 polar bears often attack the smaller ones, and succeed in killin- them by a powerful blo\v from their paws, or in stunning- them in thi" man- ner and compieting their destruction at their leisure afterward ; for the bear is cunning enough to crawl right on top of and kill the common Arctic seal, the most wary animal in these regions, and he could there- fore easily do so with the .sJupid sea-horse. Still, I think the larger ones, lying as close to the open water as they usuallv do, and weighhi- about twice as much as their opponents, ought to make a successful defense until they could dive beyond th.'ir reach. Some give Bruin the credit of being smart enough to take a large stone, or block of ice between his paws, and (conveiting himself i,ito a catapult) using it to crack his victim's thick skull by a blow from a distance, especially where he is favored by his position on a precipitous cliif, or the per- pendicuhir wall of an icebero' Th.^ contents of the stomach of a walrus, consisting mostly of crushed Hams, ,s one of the greatest delicacies of the Innuits, but I was never starve to l)low and eject the shell When T first heard of this clam diet of the walrus, 1 thought there w„uld be no troubh' in obtaining them on some of the sand beaches I had seen near cnnip, but I soon f(,und that if I wanted chuns I nu.st take them second- ha.ul. a Ja Inu.if, IVou, the walrus. The shore-ice in North Hudson's Bay iorms to about six to eight feet in thickness, an.l there is an avetage rise an.l n.ll in the ti.le of about iifteen feet: so, for about tuenty-rtve feet below high-water mark (where t he cl,,m is supposed to be happiest) the shore is frozen soli.lly some distauc i„,o the cou.ponent earth or sand, and nochuu with any regard for its personal <-omroit is tu be found nearer than eight or ten feet of the surface of the lowest tides. in; » *l ^I'li 38 NIMROD IN THE NORTH. m !M()st of the autumn of 1878 was occupied by uiy i)ai'ty in surveying the ill-cluu'ted northern shores of tlte bay. Coh^nel (fikler and tlie two men wliik'd away a i)ortion of their time in short excursions witli tlie shot-gun and rifle ; but an accurate census of the faiuia of the neighbor- hood, taken before and after these expeditions, would — like the con- tinuously tempestuous weather of that season — have shown no change. Colonel Gilder was, however, a little more successful on the l()th of October, when he killed two walruses, on an island about twenty miles distant, and brought their tusks back as trophies. I therefore determined to try my luck at the sanu^ Sj)ort, and, combining business with pleasure, linisliingmy survey of the coast to the (uistwai'd, I started on the lOtli with Frank and a boat-load of natives ; but the day after proved squally and tempestuous, and on reaching the island where the natives were camped- nbout ten miles from the walrus island — it sud- denly turned very cold, and my Eskimo hunters could not be indiict'd to proceed further. Here we reujained for three days and nights of bitter cold weather. Then my northern friends determined u]>on a homeward journey back to the mainland, in order to build their igloos or winter snow-houses, as the ice \»as forming ra]iidly and it was now altogether too cold in their foop/l-s, or sealskin tents, to remain there comfortably. T was fairly renumeraled. however, by comjtleting my survey in the vicinity, and on the 'JHd started homeward. 'I'lie slushy ice that alway foi'uis on salt water just befoi'e it freezes, and closely resembles loose snow thrown into the Avater, retarded our i)rogress c very scarce, owing to severe, i)rotracted northern winds holding the ice-tioes off the shor.'. The other half of the natives still had a ].lentiful siii.i.ly of r.'indeer flesh : but Avhat was one mail's meat was auofhcr mair^ p(.ison, and the lirst half had nearly starved to death in devotion to their religion, alongside of the far moi'e esteemed reindeer ment. when a lucky change of wind saved them from breaking this Innuit commandmenl. or i)e)'haps fiom starvation. Hhorlly after their establishment at J)epot Island, their walrus and seal hunting was amply rewarded with success, but I found it impossible to I ■ -I i a f III .'I' 40 NTMli(yy IN THE NORTH. W secure any of tlie ilrsli Tor mvself or for do^-food wliile I lived in my old iu'loo. If 1 would oidy build another, Jis they besought ni■"" ""■"- ""■"■ "•- 'i- <>■- ' ' V' :"' : '"■•'■• '"" '""-■- -"' ■•""""'•"I.V it l,a I, two vo„n.. ;:r ".•■'.' :• -\"".""™ "»■ '■^"••'■"'™ "l-"- ... ,i,.ae then, npon : nke „l ,.e w,ti, the,,, yon,,, „;„., .hee ,.a«t,.tl, he,- y„nn, ones 1 .f„,,e '"V" " """-f '■• "'"' ""•" '"'"^ ""■'" " -"■'- -"1 »M>iu„«,.,l, „, ;■"" ""»„ w.,„ then, ; a„.l when shee will ,.„ven,e herself „;,n, , l-oates, o,. „,ake ,-es,sta„..e against tl,en,, then si,e ,,,sts he,- von,,.- „,„., t.'o,n he,, aga.ne, and witl, all he,. fo,.,.e goeth ro„a,.,l the hoa't , „ Im.,.,.|,v " :; ' '"■'■ "■'■'" ;,'";■ '''■■ ■^"■™" '"■ »"■■"■ I 'ei. thinking to o,e>.,l„.o„. .1. ."t l,y nieans ol ,l,e g,va, e,-ies that tl,e „,..„ ,„a,le. she was ah^a ;';:'";""" "■"•^■^"^■^""■■■-""""kl-.'.vo„„g„nesagai„ei„he,.a,.,nes' I Ley have two teeth stiekia. o,„ ,„. „,,, „„„„„es,„„ eael, si.le one' ;;':;;, :;."*■; "y ";"'• '"; ■■' .-• -"' ■■"- -tee„,ea to i.. as good as a„; none or t'lcpliaiits' teetli." The ,„„.s„i, and ,.a|,„„.e of ,he „al,.„s is gene.ally le.takea with pea,, and sealsk,,. line, and ve,.y ,,„„,, ,.ese„,l,les the killing of a " le .,s now ,„.aet,,.e.l ,,y „,,ali„g ships. Ir st he ,.e„,e,al,e,.ed tw...l,.,,s,s always ,o„n,l ,„.a,. ,1, „ „-a,e,., sin.ply ,.,.aw,ing '"" ; ' ■"^'- "f "■"■ '"■ " .'^" '"■ "lie sh.„.e.i,.e. and neve,- going ru,.,l,e,. "'";,' '™": "'•■'" '- '" -•■"T -' - V ■■' .•ondo,.tal,le si,o, ,o H ■■ - .:^ ds ,.ernge in ,.ase oi' dange,.. He i. a ve,.y el y ani i • """ "■" '"'•'"''■ ""■■■'• '^ ■"" '" •■'" l.-l-tio„a,e is i I :,, Vr !"■'"■'>■ "'"■"•- "-enongi, „,e lee e.lge, so ,l,a, „„e '-'""'' " '"'-•• '■^"•"^'- "ill tl„.ow hi,,, in,,, ,|,e ,vate,. he nar.ve l,„n,e,. „ ,,„, ,h,.e,.ied ,l,e la.ge , st on ,l,e i,.e, h'M .,,,„ls slowly and noiselessly ,owa,d l,i,n, keeping o„t of sight as I sill m In m f: I s m NIMROD JX THE XORTH. nmcli MS i)<)ssil)](>. ill wliich h.' is nivnlly jiid.'d )>> ili.' loii-h liinmiiocks (•r i(v, :iii.l tlh' I'acI llint his lazy, liihlxTly pn-y is .nviici'ally ahoiil half asUvp. csiKM-ially if ii 1..- a liii.' siiiiny day. WJicii su(Iici..iiily dose, which (h-].("nds upon the iicani.'ss of ihc walrus lo Ids ivfunv ],lar in his attenqtt to escape. Now conuvs Die tug of war! It iv(]uires the skillful and united stivngth of two active hunters to manage the lin«>, or the walrus will ])ull it away from them, or cut it oil" clean over the shari) edgv of ^<»'ii«' l»i'ojectiug ice hummock, before they have worried him out siiflicieiitly to kill him with a lance. They ])ull in the line '-# w 14. i SI'JALS AND SEA-IfORSES „ rapidly as it slaokons or pay it mi with a st.a.lily inrreasiiu^ resist nnn- as ,t l.econu.s taut, until th. h.-ast is so exluuisieU that luM„av be imilHd ulono-sul. and clispat.lu.d with u well-directed thrust of ouV of then- sharp lances. The use cf lire-arms, wherever the E.kin.o have '-•'" ;''•'<' to obtain them, has nu.eh simplified the second act of this tra,^edy, as the hunter then has but little trouble in disimtchin-.- lijs game, nnn.edlately after he has fastened to hin. with the harpoon and me and wlule he is yet in his most desperate struggles to escape. AV here walrus are not numerous, and consecpumtly make such short excursions that alnu,st the merest moven.ent is suflici.mt to throw them into the water, the shot frou. a, «,„, cainiot be wholly relied upon • for unless n.stuutly fatal, which recp.ires better aiu. than ^-an usually be taken under such cold, uncomfortable circumstances, the huge monster rol s Huo the welter and sinks to the botto.n, ^vhere he dies and remains nnt, he gases rom putrefaction bring his carcass to the surface again W herever the ual.uses c-ougre^ate in in.mense herds, as in the -A.yln- seas, msi.le of JVring Strait, or as they used to be in the N..t.be,gen seas before the whalers thinne u,any tame sheep on the great ic-e-cakes upon whidr they crawl o..ask n. ,hes,„,; for the first to creep out upon the ice are cLvded I'a.'k a, <.ons,derable distance by the newcomers, and so on, until they <••••■ —I;, l-^g way off from the water's .a^.., and there fall victin^ ;| '"'-pMnlleso, u.an. The above explam.tion of a hunt supposes tiat the hunter has approached over the ice on foo,. which is the case 1 s..eu.. Uheuheisonauis^ asmall island. he,s appr<,ached by several J.ersonsin/Iv.y./:-., (smallskin <•« ana Histead of ].,Ming on to the lim^ -•-t^ht :.ml inflated sealskin, about the size of a half'barrel, to its .^id |.n. throw It over as so.m as the harpoon is fast. At first, the strength o i.-warus,s sufficient to drag the float under the water f<,r one or CiZ'^ ;''^'''■"■"'^"^''•'•^■'••"^''•"'^^^''- a quauei of an hour he is ,owiug it alon,^ ,l.e surface of the water, and u' active hunter seizes ,he <.pportunity to pi.-rc-e him with a lance or shoot hnn through the hea.l or neck. A early all those killed in , ' ! It PI J. , A fllll '■f^ 44 NimiOD IX THE NORTH. I suiimKn' iiro obtaiiitMl in tliis \v;iy. J)iiriiig- July and Auu'iist. 1880, while on I)('i)()t Island, many walruses were thus caijtured. At the hiu'liest point of the island, a convenient monument oi' stones was built, and over tliis my army signal telescoi)e was jjlaced. Hardly live nunutes would elapse before some one, the small boys especially, would be looking through it, scanning the dril'ting ice-pack Tor li\-e oi- six- miles on eitli.M- side. .Vs soon as a walrus was discovered the alaiin would be given through the village, niid seveial natives woidd i>ui oil' in their /iV///«/r.v; and whenever the chase was nearby, T tookmy iiosiiion at the telescope and viewed its exciting incidents. CJreat numbers ol' Arctic walruses, says an old authoi'ity. visit the Mau'dalene Islands, in thedull'oF St. Lawi'ence. everv s])i'inii:. Iniiiie- diately on their arrival, they crawl ui) the slo[)ing rocks of the coast in great numbers, and when the weather is fair, they I'recpiently remain for many days ; but on the lirst ajipearance of rain, they retreat to I he water v .i givat precipitation. In the course of a few weeks ihey assemble in gi'eat nuiiil)ers. Foi'uierly, when undisturbed by the Ameri- cans, their herds have been known to amount to seven or eight 1 housand. These animals are killed by the inhal)itants for the sake of their skin and fat. At a proi)i'r time the hunters, taking advantage of a sea-w ind to prevent the animals from smelling them, eiideavoi' in the uighl, with th(^ assistance of their dogs, to sejiarate the furthest advanced from those nearest the water, driving them in dilfereiit ways. 'Phis is con- sidered a dang(M'ous method, as it is imi)ossible to drive them in any particular dire<'tion, and stmietimes dillicult to avoid being attacked by them. In the darkness of the night, however, many of them lose their kiu)wledge of the direction in w hich they lie with respect to the water, so that they stray about and are killed by the men at their leisurt% those nearest tln' shore lieing their lii'st victims. In this manner, tifleen or six'een hundred lia\e sometimes been killed at one time. They ai'e then skinned, and the coat of fat that surrounds them is taken olf and ilissolved in oil. The slsiu is cut intf> slices, two or three inches wide, and ex[)or1ed to the' L'luted States lor carriage-traces and to England I'or glue. In the year 17(!('», some of the crew of a sloop which sailed to the 3t •I w^ °^''.l *.;"-<• / /!'■•- ,'■ I ■' ' iJJF (,"f"''''''v,/' / ■'/,''!•'' ' '■ ' AVALIirs SEEKIXCr JIKVENGE ' i IHffvl 4t5 NI}m()l) IX THE XORTH. H i: I northward to tradt' with ihf Ivskinu ). were at)aclv"(| in their boat by a ^•reat miiuht'r of these aiiitiials; and not wilhstandiiii;- tiieir ntinost. enth'avors to keep them oil", a sinali one, more (hiiiiii;- tlian I lie lesl. yot ino\(-r tile stern, and. after sittinu- and lookini;' at the men i'or s(»me time, at-ain pinnyed into tlie wat«"r to Ids cnmpanions. At that instant, anotlier of enormous size was ^ettini;- in over liie bow and everv ot iier men MS i)ro\iii,ii- iiiell'ectnal to prevent tlie approacii of siicii an unwel- come visitoi-. tile bow-man took up a u'lin loaded with ix the mu//.le into the animal's mouth and shot him dead, lie i oose-shot. put inniedi- atelv sa ids am would probably I was followed by all his comjjanittns. The [)eo[)le then made the best of th,>ir way to the ship, and just ari'ived before the creatures were ready to make their sectmd attack, which have been much more disastrous than the lirst. The hiir doi^s, to whom they owe more than any other race of peoi)le owe to their domestic animals, must be ])rovided foi\ and In the walrus hide the native sledgman linds the most portable dog-food known in the Arctic regions. SEALS AND SEA-HORSES. ^-^ T1...S. fnithful .-.ninu.l.sMr.not IVd ortener tlinn everv other .lay .v.n wlMM. loo I- . oos rs eut up .nto strips about one or tw<, in.-hes wide tins wdl make then, scpntre, as this is the thi<-kne.ss., an.l fron. a foot to stxteen .uehes lou^. These the do,s swallow, and the natives told ... hat tt takes the.n t wo ,lays to digest, whic-li surprised n.e in regard '"; - "-;">;=-":;";'■ r:,;..!;;"™;" ""^•™- "'■■; '■ ■ "■"^"- •' - .:.;■ -4™l a: ;: ^z,:':''" f'iin'u.l lai- out to sea hv a ston,. Tr .. i , ^>t^ltoni«., Avas "■■ " '-' '"^ ™rn„,.„, „,i: •,„';■:„"' ;:;rr' "'- f ''''™. ""■" j-t .s,„„li of 8.m,l,.„,i,t„„ Ma,„l .,, , ' > '"' '''""' " vn,,l n„ doKs ,„. sl.„|„„s, |„„ „.,,„ „„.„,,„,|,.,, • ""; -f- ;""' " I'" "-'-" ""'» tl... next .„,„„„.„.. „,,e„ ,hev too ' „ [ to7 ','" T"" liavn,.,^ Ion- sinre hHieved ]u„, a,.,,] ^ ^ ' ^"•' ^'^''"^^« i-nt!;::.;;::r^.::::;;-«^ -^?;^^^^ aim^v.nt.ai>its. ti.. t,. The oo,.;oo,, o". ;t^ '^'''" -^-^'l--'>'y -..u-din. to th. kind. a third o^- ha f ; t tf^f "^ """""" '^"""' ''"^^ ^^'^'^^'^ l^-'-'^Wv tiiat of an average M.ilrus, measuring often t.n feet in I: ''' s s d C liii so NIMROD IX THE NORTH. i lengtli. Tlieir rapture dons not differ much froui tliat of n walrus, although i)r<)l)al)ly a greater proportion of them are captured ])y the Jan/ak and lioat metliod (already described) than in any other Avay. Seals are not i)lentiful in any part of the Arctic seas, that is, they never congi'egate in herds or shoals, as is the wont of other species, but are always seen singly or in pairs. On the western coast of the Adelaide Peninsula, jutting out into the Arctic sea, is the country of the Ook- jook-liks, or great seal-eaters, and tliese seals are reported to be very common. The hide of this seal is of the utmost im- portance in the Innuit economy, its skin beinu- the only kind considered lit for making the hunting lines already described, as used by /I'rn/a/i men and others in hari)0(ming seals and walrus ; for it may be truly said thai leir lives dei)end on this line, which is wound around the ni^ck, running out easily, rap- idly and without knots or entanglements, when l)ulled by the harpooned animal. By some natives it is called the ''thong-seal." Its thick skin is always used to make the soles of the sealskin boots and slip])eis, and 1)efore it is sewed on it is rendered absolutely iinijervious 10 wafei- by beiny' chewed for two oi- tliive days by some of the old women ol the tribe. It th<^n looks like finely grained leather. " \'ery stiange ai'c these seal." says Di'. Kan<', in recording his lirst killing of on<> in the ])oli;!' seas. " .\ counteiiance between the dog and the wild Afi'lcan ape, an expression so like that of humanity that it makes gun-murderers hesitate. Ha\e natui'alists ever noticed the expression of this aniinars ])hi/, i '" he asks, as he tells of the dying look given him by his iirst vict'iu. "Curiosity, content- UOK-.IOOK SEALS. SEALS AND SL'A-HOliSES. "." .^ - ...e^.e .jii.:f :::::-: -^.~^^^^^ if J ^v. •*V4 "J'i^AUDEU-.VuSE" OU CltE8TED «EAL. tlie sue of the „„k-j„„k, o,- .„„„„ seven .„• ei«l,t feet in iiii ■ffi 53 NIMEOD IN THE NORTH. At a distance the inflation looks as if it were on liis nose, but it is really on bis forehead. His sealship fell a victim to the rifles of a neighi)oring whaler, waiting, as we were, for the ice-pack to open. The bhuhler-nose is the most i)iignacious of all the seals (a really harmless species of animal ), and when irritated by wounds or close i)ursuit, it will turn ferociously on its pursuer, splashing him with water and snapjiing at him spitefully. By some the hunting of the bladder-nose in a liuynlc is considered dangerous sport. The "saddle-back" seal is the kind pursued by the sealing ships in saudm;-I!.vi-qnelen Land, where seals were newly dis- covered some years ago. So abnndant were tlu>y at tirst, that as many as 1 7(KU.OO were killed in a single year by the creus of the vessel Avhicli liocked thither from all quarters. But in the space of three years they were practically exterminated, there not being enon-h left to make their pursuit remunerative. On the coast of Newfoundland, the decline of the seal fishery, whi<-h at ,me time ranked in importance almost with that of the herring and cod, has been a great misfortune, formerly, however pitiable an,l destitute the po(,rer Classes mi-dit be during the winter, after St. Valentine's day their fortune would take a sudden turn. The busy sound of axes and hammers would reverberate from the hillsides around the harbor, and m.t a rotten old schooner brig or lugger which could float, or floating be insured, but was trimmed i.p an, provisional to take part in the fishing. From that day nntil the end ot tiie month, the excitement of tlie men who were to sail on tlie momentous expedition constantly in.-reased, and the grog-shops pros- pered in proportion to their enthusiasm. For many years this great hshing, or hunting exj.edition on tlie ocean fields of ice, as it mi-ht more properly be called, brought hundreds of thousands of dollars yearly into the exchequer of the community. Lucky was tlie man esteemed who had se.-ured his berth in a ship to be sailed by some smart and experienced captain. For from three weeks to a month the first remark ,m awaking, the last before sleeping-the only observation lm/.ar.le.l ,„ the streets-was the state of the wind and weather and its possible effect on the expediti<.n. All l,a ^ p' ^ i the summer cod-fishery. The return of the fleet was an event of tremen- dous importance. In April of the year 1880, there was a visitation of seals such as would have been deemed extraordinary even in the palmy davs of tb.^ fishery. For many years the hardy fishers of the southern coasts have hardly hoped for a paying harvest, even after fitting- (,„t their rough boats and proceeding to the ice-fields of the ]\-ortli. On this occasion the seals came floating down on great sheets of ice, within easy reach of the hunters, and but for the loss of life that took place, it might have been regarded as a special providence to all concerned. It was during the first days of the niontli of April that the news began to spread tliat the seals were conung, and witliiu a short time the hunters who had remained behind when tlie regular fleet left for the north, began to congratulate themselves on having done so. They were ready for the unanticipated harvest ; and as the ice gathered around, squads of them might have be.Mi s.-en iiurrying from the barber of St. .lohns out through the Narrows into the broad Atlantic. Far away to the north, the south and the east, extended the interminable ice-sheets, with here and there a watery breakage. From Signal Hill, which rises to 600 feet above the sea-level, an almost unbroken view might be obtained extending nearly forty miles seaward. The rich spoils presented to the hunters excited them to recklessness. The w(mien, too, who seem iu this northern latitude to be in complete sympathy with the toils of their husbands and brothers, were affected by tlie general cra/e. It was not uncommon even for wind- and sun-brov.ned damsels, dauuhtei-s of the hardy fishermen, to gird on the seal-hunter's armor and enter tlie lists with their brothers in comi)etiti(m for the ].ri/,.s of the „il fields. The distanc' traversed away from ihe land over tli. ice-sheets vai'ied from one to eight miles, according to the position of the senl-patches or the good n.rtnne of the hnnfer. ,)„,. o,,,^. of men. more foitinu.te limn another, would come upon a large .-olony of the .loon.e.l creatures within II mile or two of tl„. shore, from which. witli..ut the aid of a telescope, all their operations were visibl.«. Oth.Ts. h-ss Inckv, would have to wander over rough ami broken ice for twi.v or thri<-,> the dis- tance before reaching the objects of their search. Men came and w.^nt, SEALS AND SEA-HORSES. 55 and no reoonl of disaster reac-lied the shore. Thousands of doUars vort X of seals were captured daily. For three or four days the liunters had been at work, venturing- further and further upon tlie iee, wlien .sunttle with the h-e. was s.mt (,ut by the government and returned bear- .ng Its quota of the lost. That so u.any escaped was really astonishin.- iH'.-e are migratory seal visiting scm.e parts of the Arctic, but not with sufficient certainty to depend ou tlw-n, for food and so forth at all periods and all districts. The west const of Greenland is the especially fnvored oue. The Kassigiah (fresh-water, or spotted seals) are not very "umerous. and nre generally found at tl,e mouths of rivers, and secured >>v shooting them with a rifle. They are beautifully spotted, the spots < "••r.'i.sn.g ,n size and intensity from the back around to the flarks '•>v are ,n prime condition in Hudson's Bay about Auunst. Those of Hh.Isou s Straits s.-n, to be the tinest in the Arctic. The Kassioi,], skin IS olten seen in <-iviliz.,ion made into shopping-baus, valises, etc i ill niJ 1' 3 1 ^ 111 \l \ i 'fe h I, I SEALS AND SEA-HOIiSES. ins, fo,. ,.„v...ins tl e ",;;": 'T" ""," '''""*'"' *"• »""'"'- ^■><"1'- ' «- <. ^,, . snow, wl,ose njiex is n,t tl,mn.,|, , '"•**'' "■ ''°""' "' "'" qunne.. of a ao'la... TmI L"! ,:/:""7 :''»•" the .,i.e of . it b,vatl,e, when it vi.its these ,,l.„.e' '' """ """"«'' ""•' at. w ;;;r:::;:;:, t ;^:;: ---^ ^^ -« «. <^., „„, ,,..,. n-thin. of it is ,,si,„e o„ .i'tl^erX^I r;! "^''"^ ^'^ ^ «ye,. h„s a powerfn, ally i„ .letectins then ™ ,, ,'", '""""' ''°«- Ins (los-s nose ; ami onc-e f,n,„,l ,,„ -V ?' ' "'*' ''''''" »<'«it of "r >--". in the .. ,„„w ,'"';, ' ;:'°7,"^; '* "^•» •'- point of "■■•en he th,.„sts it ,h„.„,„, ,„,,,„„; 't , o'r: "T-^- '■'""■■"^■• ".« .t out an.l ,"«- polar „ear statin, hin, i„ the fa,; /rf" '■''''"'*'" '"■" gloom revealed ,„ |„. ,„„. „f j,,^ '"; ["" «'"'■ '■I""".' ".speotion in the '" »-^ "".- ....i.-.v,.h„hin«. :ZZCT' ""'"'''"''•' ^""•'"-' ">"1 the water drains off The seal, i? ™""' ""'"'' "" ''"■ i™ '"'• -'■ then the hnnter :.;r;;:::';v"''^™ •'.'-- ^" '-kin «.o"«h ,„ s|,„„f „,en, thr,M,«h the , d s T ,"'"" ''" *"•» '■'"- """'"■ .v."nins nanionless „; i, i^, J j ■'"'"'' *"" *^' '""k HI-, the ';■" ••' » m. w-a.v is the I, t „f : '''" " "" ""' "^'■"- ''" tlf »"imals are unnsnallv warv '„ * ,'"""»"'""«l"l' i" the Arctie. as ""■ '"■>■ --«' i.. .'i.e ...J,' wirhr:;:;:;;r "^ "^'-•-^ """'-" i4 'Hi Hlf M m Plfi ■I'll I, ' 111 58 NDIROD IN THE NORTH. \i i t- I r I Colonel Gilder, in the uVeio York Herald, describes an episode of our seal-huntinii'. wliicli I transcribe :—" We Avere at Marble Tslaiid. The weatlier was calm, so that seal heads were sprinkled plenti- fully npou tlie surface of the water. This inspired Lieutenant Schwatka to try his skill. So, fetching his ritle Ironi tlie cabin and willing his eye-glasses, he shot at a large head about a hundred yards from tlie vessel. The seal made a desperate effort to get down in a hurry, but it was evidently badly hurt, and showed a great deal of 1)1 ood before it accomi)lished its descent. Presently it came up again, and a boat was lowered to pick it up ; but it managed to escape capture, though it was evident that it would soon die. .Vfter breakfast the next morning, when we Avent on deck, the water was still quite smooth, and presently we were surpris^'d to see Avhat appeared to be a dead seal floating in on the tide. There was no doubt that this Avas the seal that Lieutenant Schwatka had killed the previous night, and again the boat was loAA'ered to secui'e it. 'So precautions Avere deemed necessary to avoid making a noise, and avIicu the boat came alongside, one of the men threw down his oar, rolled up his sleeA'es, and stooped doAvn to lift the carcass on board. 1 lis surprise may be imagined a\ hen, after passing his arms around it and pi'ocrcding to lift it, ho I'd* it suddenly begin to struggle and slip from his hold and dive below the surface, Avliile a loud shout \v('nt up from the spectators. It was not Lieutenant Hclnvatka's si'al at all. but one that Avas sound asleei) Avhen it felt the rude embrace of the sailor I '' \i i h I 'I CPIAPTER in. THE RIFLE AXD THE IJEI.VDKEH. . Of all tli« game animals with wliich mv little ^ paitycan,e in contact on my A..ti. expilirion, here :. none with whi.h I ean clain. so rU.^ ■^ personal acquaintance as with tlie Arctic ] aeer. Jiefore we started on our long ..:. ^ •: sledge journey, in the spring of 1870^ i that is, from the time we landed j among the Innnits, my own partv and ; the natives I had employed had killed : l)etween four and live hundred of this ■ 'i»e game. On the sledge trip we s.rured live hundred and twenty-two • w.' added many more to tl.i • *''"'^ ''^''' ''"' '"'""' '° ^^'''^•^^'" '^ J''^>'' p-"a.>,y three^o;;;:^ f ^n; mrr r- ,^ ''''' ^^"^ ^''--^' with us hut one montl.s ". ^ " ^tiZlTT" f ^ ^" "'^'^ the reindeer wliose l..l>;t /, tiuJi/ed food) was derived frcmi ^^'"« '".V .■...,;:■;:,: z::^i:f"' " -- """■■■ -^ ^"«- ^■'.;.-..;pa,,H,,.,,,.,;r:::;.:::::::;;r- - -■■•^ -« ;"'" ^-. r,,,. 1:1::::: : ;:';:::':-;;;"'7-' >!■-'"« •'It the vicinifv -.(■ ' ' '''^'^ ^he limuits hiul .n,,u,,, :;:;:,::;;;"" ''"^ m...,,,,,,, ,,.in,i,...,. ,„.„t,, y".Hi^' i.,„„if i„ ; , V ,'■"""" '■" '"■•' ''"■■■'■""■'"it], ,„o 1...,. «I,„ Inul brought us s.„„. ,viu.i • uu,,f t„ sHI „r Hf it f : ftli I 60 NI.}fRnD TX THE NORTH. i ! I i if iHi i rather tnidf for jjowdcr. cMps imd l)iills. Tlif linlf ]).'irly sinrted about noon oil tlir LV)tli of AuuMist. and Colonel (iildt r ivtnrncd lunne late at niylit on the list of 8ei)t('nil)t'i'. durinii- a heavy storm of snow, very liuniiry and very tired, lie had lu-eii livini^- for the last three or fonr days on native diet — law reindeer meat and wild berries — liavin coidd return in triumph to Arctic Home. But alas for hojjes based on Innuit generosity I A few scattered reindeer were seen, but it was a wild foot- race, with every man for himself— in which the unpracticed Caucasian stood a poor cliance in tht^ contest— over razor-etlged rocks, hidden beneath wet, spongy moss, and other ecpially severe inii)ediments. The cold snap at the end of October began to bring in the scattered native hunters to erect their winter (piarters of snow, and our little camp, so long nearly deserted, began to assume a very lively aspect. A summing-up of the autumn's hunting showed that between four hundred and five hundred reindeer had been killed by the natives who Avere to make theii- cpiartei-s with us that winter. So we felt relieved of all anxiety in regard to a winter's su])i)ly of the v.iy best of Arctic meat, and a plentiful supi)ly of reindeer skins for Avinter clothing and bedding. And these skins were of the finest quality, for the reindeer skins secured in the month of October are snjierior to those taken later in the year, the hair being less liable to come out. and not so heavy as to render the clothing uni)liable. After January the reindeer-skins of this section of the country are worthless, owing to the readiness with which the hair comes out. These are thrown away by the native hunters, they having no nse for the skins whatevei-, except so far as they hold a certain amount of fur on them. During this part of the winter lliey are fed to the dogs, shonld the latt<'r be hungry enough to want them, and probably one in five or ten thousand is tanned of its hair and made into their Jifc-low-tiJii^, or drums, for singing oi- religious cei'emonies. This shedding, from January on. comes, I think, from the summer coat, as the loss of that of the winter coat does not c(mimence nntil s])ring, but lasts nearly through the summer. In short, I think the reindeer sheds |if I THE RIFLE AND THE liEIXDEER. twice annnally, tlie len^rjh of both periods be-'n-^ mn.l. ] , • t e ten...... .e^ions, the ter.. abnost o^^^X 27 '^7 " te«u«„^ „„ .„, .■:,:;:;:'- r:; :;:;r r:;: anoe. Tlie ,r,Joo, ov snou'-l.ut, has been described so oft.n i describe it here Tlif utility- .^i' ^i. • / , "^ "'*^ '^ «s«l. I l,.ne ,va,l so ol,™ of ,!„.(,■ s„flen„j;s whil,. Ihi,,,- i„ „, mnnne,.. and ,„.e».ea i„ olo„.i„« ,na„e f,,,„, ,„;„„. w' t„ I ^ /one, under circumstances tliat to niv ir.rtv un.,i,i i. , '^"'l^eiate ...ea..,. a„„ o, .,.,■ „.,.o„.o. .^^ZZ^J^Z tT:Z .*ni,s , ,.,v,.isU„, in.,|,„,, daily jo,„.„e,s f,,.,,, the.se abo e'lm" „ , intHisoly )„„■ temperatures as -fl,,". _«„» ,,,,, -,,o p ,'""8 *"" '' no provisions excei)t such "-ame i^ u-..« i-;r i f n 'i"^tiM^or,AMtli 1 .^ oin n ^tiiiie .IS «,i>5 Ki letl Ironi d'lv fr» /lo,- *i j. ^i conviction .eeo,„es t«.o-e.„ea ti.t t„e acoes.orie.s:';;fJ:'::, .'r,:: Bill I ,;'^ i;i ill ill i Ifir "! G:i NIMliOD IN THE NORTH. clothing are essential to a well-managed Arctic sledge journey. With their help the subject of the intensity of cold, strange as it may seem, becomes of secondary if not entirely of nunor importance, and if it were not for the long dark night which accompanies the seas(»n of these depressions of temperature, a winter sh'dge journey could })e carried forward in almost any part of the Arctic region appropriate f jr it with no small chance of success. IIKIXDKKI:. .1 s I And now a word in regard to this Innuit reindeer clothing. The native has two suits of it, jin outer one with the hair turned outward, and an inner one Avith the hair turned toward the body. This is true of the coat, trowsers and stockings. With the exception that the inner suit is generally of finer and softer fur, being made from fawn skins, there is no essential difference in the two suits: in fact bv reversin<'' THL RIFLE AND THE HEINDKEli. U3 e the,, „ nay ,e ,„er e,«hty ■„■ e,, to aee if I „o„U «e, through the high h lU k„, „■ , t^ « »«n,ewhe,.e ,et>vee„ Huds„u'» Bay and Wa«er Rive,-, | u v lo ,,„ah ., fa„,,ly and a Ne,..hin„U young ,„a„, JIUkolilluk, ,d x pected to be gone a eonpleot weeks, leaving on Deeember 28 in a ,evem n,»v„,o,,„ „,,„,, lasted for font days. We pushed on. hou-e "; o3 .*.l«e journey, .ianua,,- 1 ,,eing the H,..,t tine dav we Iuu,_„ d a ,- ^ W^ea. s treat it wa. after .so „,„oh dreary, ..is,.,, weathe ,,;,■: that the day was prophetic- of the <'on,ing vear I keut on with x1 heart ; but after a„ we only suoeeeded in n.aking I™« ^J^ ^ oiw' « our havmg .seen reindeer, for it is in,i,ossiWe to proven' Tn . , t fron. attempting to kill then, if he has onee laid eve o, t "e Tl ' Tn ;;;"s:ir: ;: t- ""' r™ *"- '"' '- ""* - --we '^ >-'' " .•^n tn su, h ,1 1 ,« ,s important. Toolooah secured or, reindeer .we ,.an,ped that night at one of his fu-mer ;„>oo. built w de I n! d.vUu,ntmg and where he had ™,V,«^ some four or ti>e .■ar.assls of ■e.n,leer. The Innuit «„/„, or tneat-eairn, is built oflloe I ^J stones oefore the snow becomes deep or solid by freezing, and 'o t .,t ..-tern, afterward, with ti,e addition of plenty of wate'r o ,■„ , protecng ,.over of ice to p.vent ti,e dep,.ed!,tions of \v v ,„, olverjnes, bears and other anin.als, this preventing their s.'aTch On he eighth of .,_„„,ary, having satisfied n,vself that T Cutd «nd p.-act„..al route by this way to the ^Vager R.ver; I started , ". ' l.ut I felt .so,newh,at disappointed that I ha,l seen no .vcent si,,," rf The., huge carcasses, c„ra,.a>v,l with those of the reindeer n,ake them a mo,.e rehable source of food for a large canine fo,.ce than ar the r n eer, and tl„s w.as an important item in my forthcoming sled, ex" 1 on. I reached home, or rather the place we ca,led\o,„e o, te' . th, the coldest weather I expe,-ienced on the trip being on th.,t P . .1 . ihat day I made a ,|o,„ney of twentvflve miles and ..t ■,.. time .l..r„,g the day did I feel at al, uncomfortab.; from the JoW,':' high:; i;- ! n f - f ¥' i i i; i! 04 NIMROD IX THE NORTH. I i. I'l If ^ the thermometer reached during the day being minus T)!)'. Indeed. I might SUV that I really enjoyed the whole trip, and I attribute this almost wholly to the Innuit reindeer clothing I wojv, and constant living in an igloo, like the natives, where the temperature is never above the freezing point and generally from ten to iifteen degi-ees l)elow it. I do n ^i believe— and my opinion is contirmed by the written accounts of oihers— that any Arctic voyagers, housed in warm sliii)s as their base, and clad in the nsual Arctic suits of explorers, could stand such a journey Avithout more or less material discomfort. Once only did I learn the lessen of caution. I took off my right mitten to get a' shot at a passing reindeer, with the wind blowing stifliy in my fnce and the thermometer at mi tins 'iM\ and the peisistent refusal of the frozen gun-lock to work perfectly kept my hand exposed so much longer than I intended, that when I attempted to use it again it seemed paralyzed, and looking at it, I noticed that the skin was white as marble. 'I'oo- looah, Avhowas beside me, noticed it at the same time, and with an Innuit exclamation of surprise, hastily drojiping both his mittens, grasped it between his warm hands, and then holding it against his warmer ])ody, nnder his coo-le-tah or Innuit coat. It soon resumed its functions, and although I felt for some time as if I were holding a hornet's nest, I experienced no more serious residts than a couple of ugly looking blisters, where the iron of the ;;un iiad come in contact with the lia re hand. The reindeer escaped ! As the reindeer clothing is the warmest in the Airtic. so it makes the warmest bedding. Two large skins being made into a long, eotlin- like bag or sack, the hairy side in. are sullicient ])rotection in the cold. -st weather, if one sleeps in a ])ropei'ly constructed iiih,,,. Wlien the iirst severe cold came at North Huds(m's P,ay, I was sleeping nmh'r a blanket and two flne bulfalo rol)es, which I had brought from the great plams, but [ found tiiem, as the thermometer sank below miints \\(f to 40°, to be inadetpiate to secure comfort, until I )>ro(Mnvd a reindeer sleeping- bag, weigliing not half as nmch. after which cold nights wen- no longer dreaded. The lobe of the American bison seems, under the least provocation, to beccmie danni, and then freezes as still" as a ]iin,l„„e,ioul p,.„,,,vs, „ t^ ," '""■" '" '""'""""• '-■'• '"'""■ l..tte.wo„M io Cfo ,i , ,' """" "" "'^ '"""■"^"' ■^" *"^" "- fasts cnsisf.,! „' i " ' T "■ "/"'"""" '""""■^■- '""' '"-"- 1'.-.. Th. .„„.., v,.,.e r„. s.n,! :;,.:;:;:' ■' ;"■' «H„e,.„„s ,„pply„f r,.„..„ ,„i,„u..,. nu., ;.,;;■, ";''■'■■ """ " waiting f,n. the kettle t„ l,„i| This r " "" "■« "'''■'' ah..eheti„toeh.nks.h„;'thel „ z;;;::;™;;;;7;"><'««;^^ niaslied bv tlie Irwh nf ti.. i . , "ngeis. .,nd then ^^enei-allv ".> I lie o.K 1^ ot tile hatchet to ronvpi-i- if ,-.,<^ i i , before beino- eheu-pd Ti. « . .v "' ^"'^^^^^ 'f mfo brasliy rhreiids t-'" tte,.: „„t ^he veLf ;;';;,':. 7',:"*'"; r"'"^ ""■ ""nnth.ll over the h,„iv espeei.,ilv "'"' '''■ " ■"""'"' thee„seirthevh-,ve, I, '"'^f" "'"' " ' " Ii is „h™y.s ;; -'"' ^ .>"»-"::.::.::::;:::;:';:;:,;::;'::!,''■;■ 'll«' |i<»t. Sc.'il •111,1 ,...,1.... . Ill.lt cooked lu if I :f I! 1'' ^^11 ^^rym:^. TI/E lilFLE AND THE or in parr, uiid in tlii^ lary to tlieir taste, wliic]i s manner ^-et all REINDEER. Itness i« imicli less than that de that ti? IS neces- sired by ,'ivilized cooks. pound. i„ \ . : 1 r ;r'" ' '"'■ '"""'-' -"i •■i«i.f,v-,iv,. .vu^u^t. liowever, they Mere so le-m fli-.t Jf ^ nieet any with fat upon then. "' '^ ''''' '''''' ^'* l'i<'i)al)i\ ov..)\ in these months •> M,,.,., ,i nirtak.'n I.v tli." l.,nts or . > nill'seives helinid iMf,,,. .f . • "o.lFs. oi to secret,. . ''"'" l-",i;e ston.vs. contlui.ous to ,,Me of tl,,,;,. „-.,||. , , "'•''"""" •""■■'"'"■>• .-'Pproaehed, Ti.ev were .„ ,.i "•"'"■'"'" ""'Mvas shot the o.lier . . '""' '" ''•■'''■^• ''•••^*'-n..reany,,en> d„: r;: ;rr'7-"'''V -'hM stand three or ionrslu^nVn''"" '''•''--'n-sionateeo : ;r^^^;^^^^ '• 1^ !'• < y ivadilv took to the Wider to swim to islands that were three or fo.ir'mil.vs distant. In this way w niana-ed to ^.'t fonr nidinrt on board the Tivnt. where Mv har to retain th.Mn aliv.s bnt they were so wild that they brok.' their limbs ami inlliete.l other serious wounds, which obligvd us to kill them in order to put an en.l to their sulfei-inu-s." On the 7th of May. our i)arty killed ten reind.vr out of a herd of fourteen. The seen,' was an exceedinu-ly .short one. The herd beiiii,^ deseried about a n'iie distant, lyin- d,,wn on th..sid,M)f a hill, all the Innuit hunters ami (^>h,nel Gihler starf.-d in pursuit, tlu' sledovs ami do.iAS reniainin- on the spot. For about half wav the hunters wer.» hidden IVoni siu-ht by the hills, but m'arly all the r.vst of th.Mlistanee was made by .Tawliii- in Indian tile, in full si-ht of th(> animals, nntil a near hill for a nunute or two allowed them to -et within about :i hundred yards, m lien a voHey of rille shots greeted the asto.nshed herd; and. although oidy one was wounded at the first fire, before the Ix-wil- dered ])and eouM det.>rmine a safe direction to pursue, fen „!' their nnmlxT were woumh"y the game of the hK'ality. they acted with a st.ipiditv i.lainly ivvealing this hu'\. AVhere the reimleer are accustomed "f,, l,..ing hunted with fire-arms, t h,>y l„.,.(.m.' shyen(,ugli to give one exc<-llen"t sport in their capture. Like the antelope, th.'y will circle around until th.'y <'atch -the win.l " before they start off. and this lu'culiaritv. when a few magazim. guns are in full blast, is suicidal. Thev als,, have 7V//-; HIFLE AND THE m, UNDEElt .sonietliing-of the cuno.sity of tl.o antcl C9 iiM f'xiciit. Like ill! ..iiiii.al.s that <>1H", l.iit n..t (levHloped to .s.H-h iity iv,siiliiii'Hif<'i<' ,i^<'t tlie (h)ns and a, sled. Iierd ( N''ve,i reindeer that he had kided w >f ^'ight, with ei^'llt shots of his Wiuel itli theii- carcasses, two oj| lierd ol nx'at that we al)oiit I wo liiindred reindeer, but lowed them to trot ))v will K'sfer. On th K'i's were secured. On the i.|i| out of a c way l)ack I we jiassed a our sh-does were so loaded with liey were sinaces. dihited eyes and distended creature would send 1 1 '•yconi,ngintoline,andgazeatuswith "ostrils. until jisnoit l" drilled 1 1 'OOlK'I'S. AV "'"">'l" ''.v the flank, with t' enjoyed the privih-v of si I'om some sus])iciou8 measured trot, likewell- '•'"•'■ '"ore l.y not takino- advantage of 1 1, lowing our hiinianitv •"'''""•''•' «"i:'niiisticeuntilourheavilyladeush.,l "' ''"nlideiice. and we williiml \' what lighter. Signs of juitiv ics should becon 1.'>(h of May we came iqum a band of tJ *■' ''""1»1<' of old men, luid ev.^r befor. es were daily growing freslK K'sonie 1". and on the CO nse(|uently attracted an staring ey,.s. rivet.-d inteutl iiuusiial degree of th nrty souls, only two of wl seen any white men. uiad If .V ujxm us, followed Ksl I"' white men had been cil Olll. AV.- •'il' ciiri(,sity. and their '■very motion that \\e \v\\] Kmio. the acti(,ii of their m\ IS. as Wl nosities to thes.. simple-minde,! .V appallim \Xi had '"oiifli of IJack's (Ireat Fish \\ • Xpected to meet nati sllowed them their u se was ves upon or jie;,,. ,1, o '('( an. and had (h'p.'iuh'd t 'Ver. where it empties into the A '> a certnin extent uiMm j.rocuring from !l rctic lem il '~t W 70 NIMROl) IN THE NORTH. f F ; \\\- d()^-f^.«.(l and oil, but „„u' we r,„in.l th(^ tables turned. Instead of being beggars, w,. w.mv i.liilanfliroj.isfs, and instead of being receivers Ave wen. oblige.! (o give, for we found our new Innuit friends in a, state <'t s,.n.i-starvation. Their f-.o.j iu the sun.n.er and .-arlv winter is fnrnish,.d by llie numberless sl.oals of saln.on that then 'ascend the (•re.>ks ami smaller riMTs, and are si..>ared as tliev run the gauntlet of ]?A('K s gi{i:at fish ijivkr. tl.e rainUs. The ilesh ..f the musk-ox. whi.l, il„.y hunt with dogs and »)ous and arrows or sp.'ars, all'or.ls theuia j.recarious subsistence d„rin.- the remainder of the year. They kill barely enough reindeer in the summer to suj.ply them will, , n<.ise of walking or crawling ■'" i"-i.i"«- o„t ,„• the «.v, ut any ,„■ t',, i..'.V,.,„l ,>v,.„ty.hv,, ,„. thirty .v,„,is. „„t in the »„„„;, ,..ti,„eth.. "- l"ll'";"l l>.v tiM- n,„ive,, ,h,,,uo.h„.,t ,he.A,.tio not ,„.„vi,i, i, '■■■■"•'"r- '-^ ':'.'■:■ »'""""■"' »"- — "cnts ,.t a,„„t tii-t '""•'•; ■™'"^ ;"':-'i .« -he ....t „t ,„.„„,i„ent ,.:.,.., i ;;: . ",i: : r ^ 't'"'. ""'•■" '""^ '"■""■"■'>• •— •" -'• -■■."' n.,t s ,,t II ,. v,„|e,- „ ,.,!.,. „r s„„„. |„,,«e l.l^e ,„• wi.le rive,. \ si,.,,,, .., <,,„t ,s ke„t ,■,.,„,„„„ „,,„„„,, ,„ .„^^ ^,„„ ., ^^ ,^,,_._, ^^^ _^ . ^ 1> ;"l "^■;'»ulk,„«.„ithi„ , „„„e „„^,1„ lV„.,„e,n.v the .sh,„.e ""■ ■":' ;■"'«:'■ '"-'""« "i'" ■^'"" in,., the „„tive» e„«a«,,l in 1 1 : : '■ '"" ":' ' ^'';"'-^- '""^"■■' '"■■ '•'■"■"-■• "»■"• "o«-., and ,„.,.„„.«, YI-- -'■ I'Kiir /vv/,*, l,ei„,, ,.,„.,.i,.,, ,„„„„ ,„, ,.,„„.,^,„, ■^; ---n.laee „e,„. the „,„e,.-.s e,|.e. The he,.,l, «,..in.Ml •slou a,,,,,..,,,,, „l ,l,ei,. ene,„ies. „.,„ |ei»,„.e|y ,„,y ,„„„ ...ev^e "" "' """;■' ""■ ■ '^ "'- ■'f.N -hi..l, have been™a,le to .^Zt * ;," ;"' ""■"',"^ " -" "" ""^■^"*' ""•■■>• "••'-■»« .he,„selves ,. '""";' "" ;'"■ ' ' ^'•"■■. ""-.v tak,. to ,l,e wate,. a, the onlv na-an ;' ;:'■■""■ '" ' ' ■ ' "« -""'■■■ - the l,e,.,l l-ai,.,y in t , the a ile ""T :";;■ '" '"■' '"'"• M.""«ti„.o„.hthe „.ate,. in t;,..i,. /.„;; Ih.s s|„>,., ,s ,„„ „.i,|,o„t i,s ,la„.e,.s, as olV„tinie,s a «.o„„;ie.l .';; i '""'■■"■"' ' '- -"'« lli,h' -i..h., vviti, .swi," '""'" ■'"■' '*-'■"« '"'"f" <"n,s so swiftly on his ,„„.»„„. th.,M,: i;;;:;'; :„';;„":"'^-. ""•, '■'•"■^"" '■■"■'""■■ "> '■'-• -■' "•>■ -h. : , ■ ,'ei """■ '"■""'" "' '"•'■^""' l'«™I.ti.vrescne.n.yson,e • . . 1. I...... o,. ,nana,.es to ,|,.,„ on the ....-k of l,is „oat „nti| ,,el,, ; ;; ;■ ' ";' ""-'""■■ '• - ""■ ""liv<'» .'.,.>•, that a he,.,l of ,.„i,„,ee, «. 1 ,.,,,eat,..ny ,..a.e .i.^ht th,,,,,,!, this line of ..ni.-ns, ,vitl,„„t C l".-he,. nofee than a few s„s„i,.i„„s ,la„,.es a, the s thev ,11 i,v IM '^ \ '^ NIMROn IN THE NORTH. hut the moment movin,' li.-.uvs force tl.e.u n^ainst tlie.se station.rv ones then- snspieion is n,ise nu.k. the/,, take to tl.e water rather tha.i trust them. \Vt this is not verv h-n aronnd it. althon.ul, this wonld no, iu.ve exacted aniarked detonr, whi.-h faet. I imagine,!, iuust have 1,,.,, as I'Mtent to the deer as it was to myself. The Innnits tell me <,f .ven iH.l.ler exploits. AVhen ],ursned ami -<.ornered " on some of the ion- narrow to,i,,ues of huul projeetinK into Hndson's H.v. thev have knnZ tlu> ,h>er to take to the sea and swin, directly ontwanl, nn",il they were W to^si-ht. Whether they were thereby r have br-,>..ls attd mai1„„d closelv while crawl.no-. Dnrino- the tinie s,.ow is o.i the o,,H:nd thev n.av take sev- eral (k,-s, a.Kl. aft<-r bein.o. s-i.-cessful in the chase, utilize theui to d.^ao- m the carcasses. This is o.ily done, howev.M'. wl.e.v the skins liave l).r(>.ue useless. Then the bi.tcl.e.vd deer is put into the hide and it is use.l as a, sh-do,. The ..atives claini that a doo- will scent a reindeer ""'••I' fiirth.'r i.i a fo- if it be a d.-iftin- one. than under anv other cir- cumstances, rt is nor uni'easonable to infer that the scent will not be so uple of miles distant. The o-reatest t.oublc is to keep the do- ofr the s.vntof ev.TV rabbit or .'abbit-trail that he ccounters. and which he seems more pi'onc p. follow tl.a.i that of i he u-ame d.'sired. On .\u,o-„st S. while encamped in Ter.o.' Bay, and prosecntin- our m^ "11 I I f II XIMliOD IX THE NORTH. SHHirli for traces of SirJolm Fraiikl (•licuni.stiiiices i)r()l)al)Iy woi-tli reljit ill's party, Ikill.^l a hv^ buck uiid »M' h ■oin a fatii-iii iig (•ontiiiuoiis walk of \\\ iiig. While sitting' (louii, restiiiu' MTomid near the .seashore. 1 noticed the reiiid e ()!• six luih's over tlie 1 )OonV iiie, l)eiii<.- then ahout six liundred yard eer grazing rapidly towjiid ' '^ '""" """"" ^'-^ iiiMKired yards away. J sinii)ly o a liorizontal i»osition behind the boulder onwhich I had way. J sinii)ly.slii.i)ed d and converted myself int( own been I'estint! ) an immovable Micawber. 'i'he leind eating ahmg, and when about two hundred yard a patch of clover, liguratively speaking, foi'duriuiitl eer came never left a Jittle si)ot. wlieiv he k s away, evidently struck lenext half-liourhe until my patience was exhausted, llis sk licpt grazing backward and forwai-d dun-colored nuws against which he Avas -endon," so that his white thinks outlined 1 at his head, as he was shock biought iiim d Km was the exact color of tla was thrown, and Avaiting until 1 lis iigure. I took a le im effectual shot, until I ceived m<', and with any soit of aim, started foi- tl liumble servant brin iTazing. iiied, and hit him in the liind foot .' Tin own (m his hams, and I thought I ha paiurulh- K'watei', I was on the hind •fain that laid Now, T was in a quandary ! Tie was 1 furthest outlvino- cake of iiig matters. Yet ice. and the tide settiliii' out w )eyond my ivach fjom th IS not ini])rov- sui)plywas needed, as Toolooah meat was not ])lentiful in camp, and further, a lai- wa on a tiij. that I had ordered ] s soou to leave us foi' i Vio weeks looked like velvet, as tl lini to take : besides, the bucl le ripi.les of salt water brol K s coat ke ovei- it. In shoit. W''^' TJf/'J niFLK AND THE REINDEE R. n re WHS only one method ol" I did not want to lose tluit deer -uid tli.- , . '^I'^t.i, ami ineiu »>ii:s ujuvone method oC bet«,.e„ ,J,e .oe.„ake», „. 1 de«,u,l ,l,i.s n.ed.ocl ]«.,,, li„l,le ,„ i,..„du,v cm„u« than .,,„„i,i„. i„ ,,,,„ „,„ ,„„|,^^^ ^ know the c e„ri, „,„„«,. it „„,,- .,e«„„, t„ b. about five fee . Kea, ' »c,e„ce „,11 tell ,„u that oeea.t ,vater is about two .le.,,.es e, 1 e,' WADIXO FOR A BEAD DEER. than fresh water when ],otli nre holdin,- floating ioe. or two deo-rees colde,. than theice-waterof yon r water-cooler, and other w.tev .^Ip t=.H.s ; m short. ie..l sea wnter is two decrees eold.r tlian fr.e.in'- The hrst^ few steps made n,e .^-nsp fo,- breath, and hy the time T w. , up to n.y n.nhl e n,v teeth had settled down to a reo-nlar drnm-like rntth I persevered, however, keeping- n.y hands npcm the nearest ice in (..s. T i i m '■! ! ■ \ 1 if n NIMROD IM THE XOlnil. lie ^ouh 1 „l,.. \\ |,e„ 1 ,.em.he,l o,„. „|- ,) ,•, |,„,,„_ , „„, ,"r;"-"";"V" ": *"• ■''"'■ "'""*' •'""»"'•'"■■' "- " •"> > . '7";"'""' 7 ™» ' ^"--iHms n,U,.n ,l„. ,,,„!,.,. „. p.. n,s.. , .■ Kn , I i.ut „„ ,, 1 „,v,.|o,l„..s „,.,i„, „o,k,..l lik, ,,|„.,. ,:,„„„„ "1 .1.H ™lk.,l „ »"i- ...to .■...,,„, «v„„,nv«l a „,„„, ,„• „o, ,,,i„„„e,. .„ „ , " ;:;::,",'.'; '.::•/'"";" ■■": '"" """ '"■'■"""■" ' "- "'" ^ """"■■■'' "-- icind.-i-i. and „,.h iviiulew u„itli u tli„i,sancl i' ,, ."'" !'"' " '>■ '''«"■"■'« "f «»'"■!"•■ -.,vs ,.ne ,v,i„.., •• „!,.,.. ■yn.gs. I,,,. ,„■„,. „„,1 s,„inj;...„„s ,„„ I |,|,,i..,|. „,„ ,„„i^.,.^ . 7'' '"'■.'■'"""; "'" '■'!-■".« "Hdllin,.,.r ,l,is .,„|,.ss„„h ; ,.„M "!"■.. l.i-..», wl„.,,. ,i,..s« ,.„n„.iv„„,,.... ,v,.,„,| fail, ,„a„v ,.,|„. n , '".'""""■ 1 a.s. i„.i,le g„ „„t i„ |„„,,i,, ,•„, „„. , .vin.U.er, and ,vl,™ th.y l„.,,.,.hc a l,.,,l. ,h.v s,a,i,. , .,..,„.,,: «nd,.e.. w,d,.K ,„.., ,.,,„,. „,„, „„.n, „n an e,.va'„,l ,„ain ,., „ r ri.en iron, ,l„s ,,Ia,,. ,., as n.ar ,1,. sava«,. I„.,,l a.s ,l,.v ,:n v,.„,m i '■""','; ".""""^ ™"'» "-■ 'l-.v „u, into „,„ sn,;„. , .s " ..'>«nt f,v.Iy „„u tin. wind. This l.-ing d.„„., ,h,,v „lan, sindlar sriH s anap„,,,,nson,U,.,,,h,.,.sid,.. nnd.,- ,„. wind . and ,1,.. ,,an,l,,.,- ..in.,- msj w,tl, tl,e„. „as,„,.e beneath the sn„„, and Leing ehielh ..,,i,|,.d ul the,., seent generally „„se,.ve nothing „l' these ptepandi^ns. ^V very th,ng,s,.e„dy. the hnntetssepan ,e : s„„,e hide the.nselves l,el i>e"sn,nvy,„t,.en,.hn,ents, while,,, hers I i,hl„.„sa„ ,erwe,„„,n ■■ " "''™"";',^ '■*""•■• ""^ '''"""• •-'- ' 'i,e ,„rn,ie pinions, s.ared I,; he.se, the w,l.l reind r reetly to ,l,e , „,„,,,, .„,„ Jj ;"f "•;•!'-*■ 'l.-- '- I--I-.V Iarn,ed „y „ „neea . , i ! ' "'"' T '.'"■'" •'!-"■■' "'""■ '•-•"l«".ions wh e Inrnished „i,|, „ n s' and ,I,e.se nutned.ately cu.un.it terriUe shu.ghter a,u,„g then, i f'1 THE itii-u: Axi) rim ueixdeeu. „ Iu.l>I.«.«,lu.,. „,„•„,.. ,,..,,1 „,,. r,..,lf„,. „,„,„, „„„nm,i„, the Inmt,.,. "No. "HI. tl,.. s„„„. lnj,l„r„l i,i„i„„», a b,,„,a 1...S,,,.. ,o«r,l it i,„„ -I.M-I. .....y , Hv.. the ,.„„e. As so,,,. a.s they co„„. i,„„ this „, h . y„„,en «„ „.„h „.ei,. „„,,tes „i..eo,ly „e,„ss ,„e f ...ther e,.,l J i ,, t .«■ the re„„h...,. i„ -. th..se i„„„e,,i„tely ,.„„ „,„„„a the ,uo„„tui , , I at every till-,, are fimX at l,v the liiiate.'s " The rei„,leer of King ^Vill,a„,•s I.,,,.,, „„ ,„,;, ,„„,,„^,.„ ,„,.„„, .■■■.- ov«. S„,,,,s„„'s S,n,i,s f,.„„, the s.„„h al„,„t ,,,„„, o,?, ; '"■ .,.-e the „,. ,„,,aks „„. A,,„„t the n.i.Mleof Se„te„,be,, thewin ,• eohl ,,,„„„« on ,l..ives them t„ the s„„th ag„i„, aa,l they „„«,.ega J . Its s„„the,.„ part l,ef,„.e the straits have frozen ove,-. ^hich is olten • weeic „,. ten days afte,. thei,. an-ival. I have sai,l that the rein, ee,' vii' s>v„n ..V ,h,„, that ,.o,nes in his .ay. an.l the fact that J.e waits f he «. ,1 ,..,. „ l,„.n, .,el„,.e ,a„s.i„. these straits w„a1„ appear to refnt ,; .Oh';;: "",■ ™- ":™ ''" «"' ^•'"" ■^■'"" "'■- '--* '^"» "■■•■» . e o, Inash. as ,t ,s van„„sly ,.a|,e,l, „ l,i,.h is „„, „„iike a toot ,„• t»o , , loose sa„„. thrown into i,.e-wat,.r. It ,loes not ,ne]t, an.l is snffl ent y tena,.,o„s to i.ape,,.. ,„„ hea.iway „t a sailing ship This Z. ti , » ,„vs an,. ,sla,,,ls, ,„.if,i„„ ,„,„,,„ ;„ ,.,„„„^, „.. _,,^ "^ a 1 , i,at,an „.e-pa,.k. shoahl a rei„,,eer trnst hin.selt to swim thron 1 , he won ,1 „e so nnpe,l,.,, an,, harasse,! as to fall an easy prey to he nnn,tswho ,.o„gregate thereahoats at that tin,e. An,l fh s fact e r,.in,h'er know by some soit of instia,'t To this part of the islan.l w.. <,,„,e i„ „r<,er to lay in a snpph- of ™t, ,■ c.th„,g an,l be,.,ling for ,a,r n,i,..winter retnrn trip to ,1, Ism" t : ;; r r"""- ""- ■■ ' ^■""■'-i-'- ^. ^m. mi ,.« whi , 1. .,. look-oat was ,.ons„.uct,.,l to wat,.h for the animals. On the -.Jth Sep..mb,.ra ,.o,„ snap , r.y ,.o„,plete„ the f,.e,.i„« over of Sin.p. ' " ;""■*■ •■"" "'■■ "-' -'"X »" '""v,! aboa, a n.Ile, n,,,r a :r,::t:™''v'"':r'"'':''"-^'""''""''«' n,,.-,.eingo„;n,ont .m.Une ,1, s ,,,rl,er than the ,.oa,n,..n,.en„.nt of ■ i,.,oo life in .North lu. son s May. The hill was no loag.. ,, ,,.,, ,„ „„ ,„„,,„^ forreim e tor th,.se aa,a,als ha.l be.ane so nn.nerous, as the ,.ol,l weathersettle,i i'f M- \f y Ij!)' THE RIFLE AND THE REINDEER. down upon us, tliat any desired niinil)er could be whatever, t'le valleys almost nmiiy y;irds of our little house of within onddays of the next iiionfh (October) tl On the ;5d the ice w the lirst hnrd w seen from any stjition « well as the top of the hills/ On the passed last day of the month I felt sure that at least a thousand reindeer within iis nian\- viirds of dill- ii'ffK.iw. at . , . ice, and on the lirst and IS just thick eiiouoh to l)ear tl sec- ess. H'ui ou the strait, and ') the number was certaiidv no 1 s M'eii to (TOSS on Tiiat (lay. and ))v the 7tl swarms had departed southward. 1 I the vast herds to bear us comi)any. On the 3()th tl cavuiii' oidy a vei_\ \v\\ sti'au"! iim six killed, 'Poolooah scorinn- twel le total scoi'e showed tweut^ ig self oidy from the fact tliat it ve. a nuiuber to which he limited 1 otherwise dispose of in his stone was the maximuui 1 iim- K' could butcher and 1 l>oj)u]ous but dilai)idated cem(4erv. Vvith neiuhboi'hood look like this w holcsale slau.iihlei' of tl scaveusivi's of the Arctic— the i Xetschilluk luuuits. the hist named l)ein<.' the •"(■h(s, which were now mak ini'- the le reindeer came all the kiu)wn oxes, the W(>lves, the avoI carnivoi'ou? tl'oublesouie of the whole lot. We put them to work verines and the most nuniei'ous and Iv scraping- reindeer skins and makin- our winter skin-clot hii.o. :,nd beddino, .,„a thus .^x tracted s(m,e small compensathm for the vast (piantities of .„eat that whih show them iM be the reindeer of Hoothia, and Xortl been thus declined bv the latei- f v.e were there. If so, ii would 1 Somerset, that hav much wider sti'ait tl I'eezin.ii- of James \{ lan Simi)soirs. althoui-h ll oss's Channel— a l>iiss..d on to th<' mainland by the P.oothia IsH K-se animals could have niiiis. Durin-i' the time these tortuous ehannels. sepnratinu' the many islands of the 1 I'<"Ian'o. iuv frozen over. I know tli t the reind. " airy Aichi- ishind to another; but 1 do not bel 'I'l' cross freelv from on locality of their trails, that tl K've. I'easoniiiu- fi'oni tl le we isUown in full si-hf ; that is thev h loy (>vei' cross uidess the desired land ll in returniuij: thev faketh ;ive no better instinct than their eves. > \'cn ways to reach their norti c most round-about, as well as tl K'rn .uTazin.n- .u-rounds, and i le most direct, i !S not ;it !ill 'i II 1 THE IJKrXDKKU II THE RIFLE AND THE REINDEER. gl unlikely tliut a reindeer horn in JSootliiu may graze d.irinx, his seoond snnnner on K,ng Wi,H,.n Lan^', during his third on J3aring Island nndsoon Jhis is proven by the testimony of the natives of these regH>ns, who say that there is a great disparity in the nun,l,ers that visit them in diiferent years, aiul whose northward emigrations are determined, no donl,t, by some protracted storm, either for<.ing them into, or ,vf u.'n jourm.y on the Sth of Xovember, and did ^ see any ..em.leer (we had ,.ot see,, any .b.ee October 7, until the Uth of Decembe.-. an interval of sixty-six days. The,, we saw two t^mt ,m. the,r fat. under s,.cl. peculiar cbv-nnstances that I must re..,..d : ;. Tl/'"' ''''"^ ''"' f>""^'^'-"^ Hapids at the n.outh of Back's W t.sh 1 .ve... ui.en tlM natives of tl.e advance sledge of the three lepo,-ted /.././.. nvindeer> in .ig„n ,„, ,,„ ,„„„ ,,, ^^^.,, ^„,,^,^,^^ o.ita,nile away, tn>,ting leisu.vly fn.n, ,,s alon,- the west bank of t '- nve... IMore us uas . hn'ge ishn.d in ,he rive... and as it was evi- ''•■'"""" n.eb-n.oven.ents would s,M,n bring then, behind it. Toolooah |-='nI.kean.ce-h,H-set,, ..achi,sru,lhere,.u to cut th^.n oil', hiding Inmsel benin.l ,ts shelre,h,g banks opposite U. the dee... son.e of th. '•••"■'• '';-.<■ s b.Uov,,: di,.ectlyonthet,.a;land sfindng then.selves ;"''>'A^^ fh.. .sh.nd. A hen the siedges .vached the m-a.vr end of the jsh...d, wl.n.h w...: about a ,nih. a,.d a half in length, thev we.v stopped "'•^v'-r the.vsuh. ;;a,-dlyh;.d theyco.netoahaltwi.euashotw..s '"'"■" '■"'"" '''•••><"='l'. ■•'Md w.. all anxiously waited to hear the secmd <^''mo.v. or see Jh. other dee.-. a,.d if i, uould .'un lowa.-d a,.vof the !»M »J^I 'S ■' If I kl I ' is:h\ i »t I* V If 8* NIMROD IN THE NORTH. many liunters, for you may rest assured we were eager to get both so long had we been without fresli venison ; but notJiing w; s seen of it although it seemed impossible for it to get away without again coming m view. The whole matter was soon exph.ined bv Toolooah, who came m to get the dogs, and reported that lie had killed both at one shot This had been done twelve other times by Toolooah, and each time was voted strange enough ; but wlien we had been absent from this kind of game for over two months to then stumble on a couple and anni- hilate them at a single discharge seemed almost too wondei-f id to believe I have said that Toolooah had done this wonderful feat a number of times, and I do not wish to l,e misunderstood. I do not mean to say that he killed one and wounded another so that it was afterwards captured: but that these killings were direct, so tliat no further shooting was necessary. Once he killed three, and the number of times he had at one shot killed one and wounded another, so that it coidd afterwards be slain, was not recorded. On January 2, with the theruionieter at minus 08° F., Toolooah killed two reindeer, and the next day brought tliem into cauip, the thermometer then showing minus 71°, the coldest weather recorded on the trip. I note this to show that American ai'ms. pi-oi)erly cared for, will work at any temperature. At minus 71°-or l(i;5 below the Ireez- ing point-every thing a- p becomes enveloi^ed in a mist that will soon c.mcenl them, if th .. , to rest, from a ]HTson at a distance ; but this vpvy sign make. ir whereabouts doubly certain. Herds of reindeer and musk-oxen can b.' distinguishe.l by this UK-ans at a distance of live or six miles, and at veiy favor!ibl(> heights at iwo or three times that distance. The native hunters claim that even iit these extreme distances, they can tnll the difference between the kinds of animnls by some varying peculiai'ities of their vapors. Keindeer, chased by dogs in such a low temj.erature, lo„k like so nuiny putting steam-engines, "("ormack, to whom we j,re indebte.l for the first reli^ able information ol' the hnbits of this nriyf A large specimen may weigh on'e nindred and fifty pounds," savs Judge C^aton, in another pari'of his '-k, ;• but the average is much less. Ordinarily the liunter<.an easily IN TllK LA.Vi> Ol' Tin: M'OODLAXU i:i:iM)j:j.;i{. il i •I I THE RIFLE AND THE REINDEER. 85 Land would averime as miicli •!« fli.if [ i .• . , ., '''^ "m( n .IS tJiat. i liavt- olh^n seen a buck tli-.t if li.e .-,le,l«e. Of ov«- a tl.onsan.l .MmlHer tliut I l,„ve s,,,, kill' 1 r neve,. «,«■.,„„ „,,„„, ,„.„„ ,„^ .,„„„„,.,„„, ,„,,„gu;; , ''• r I. a heen ,v„lk,nK I-- live ,„o„tl,s Lefore tl.is ,„.,.„..,v,l I„ „ene ."1,1 ,„ u rough, ai,i,n,xi,„Mte ivav, I «„„l.l v,v llnf , , ^T ' ».i.M,.i„ex,.. „r „. „i„„.„„:, aee ':;i:: L :™; r: S.I.V in g,.m.n,l. i„ lo„ki,isa, ,1,..,. ,|mwi,„'. ,i,.,t ,l,..v- ,1, ""■"":;=" '-""'- ' ■■^^-"'-*^' '-- »:;;.:, :,:..;;;.;: ..«. o, , ,. ,.™„lee,.. A„o,„„,,„i,„ ,.,a,,n,.«.,he ,,.,,.1.,, ' ,, Ins o„lj.„n„ ,,„ i. ,„„„„ „„,,„,„„„„„.. ,„„,„,.„, .,j; n, n,„l ,W,.|u.,v I,as .sp„k..„ ,„■ ,„is r,-ai, i„ ,1,,,,. .lispo.ti,,,, :„„| I -l-eve T have ,o,„.h,,, „po„ i,. ,„„, „, .,oin«„o a«„i„, , „uhl , vi . ' ; ':■ " ■ ■■"•'''"'" """'--' I .•on.T,.,a.ing. in hMx-.'l ,|„ „,„, ,, J ..•.e,„ly .„„„„ to tnake ,h„i, t,„,. not v,.,,- .,ifli,.„,t. l,,,,' ' , i, '.'■'■^ ''''■':7™ '""'•""' ''■--">-■...!" i" M,e two sp,.,.i,. a. ,l,,.i,., ■ "^ •■""•^- " "• <■— - i"<— . I. .se..n,s anfottnnat , :'' "'""" '■'■-'■■>■ 1«'«- i'-^ ' " .". np ,vi,h ,.vi,|,.ntlv J , <'<."s,.„.„„o„s,.n.h,,vo,.,. ,ai, V ,|„. ,n,th- vet I f. i th , "" ■^"■"« "■' ""^ «l-ia. ..an,.. ,sho,.hl not ,,0 Is, ,• ., ' , "™; ■;;■■;;;; "■"- ';H;..,e,.n,.,„ miet, „i,„ ,„i,, ,,. „„,, „„, ' , " '.' ''";■, '^">- ■ ■""■>• .'«.'.V if «e fook lid,, .s ,,.. ,„„l «e :i<.|.o,.a,ni'lv off all , ,„..,,.. .„..,i. -.,., ,. . I,- . ,,,,0 «H lil,. I,..„vy SI,, If will. III, I,. Hi oi.,|,.|. I,, j,,.| thi'LiiM, Mil M: m 86 NIMROD IN THE NORTH. i \ 1 1 and purclmsed two-clays' reiiuleer meat of \nm to complete the journey for none could he found on the way, lie said. Our three days length- ened into live, and a terribly storn.y day on the lifth saw us not "yet there, out of meat, and with no signs of reindeer in the country Five hunters sallied forth in the storm, but socm returned, saying it was folly to hunt in such weather and with such prospects. At dark Toolooaii came m. TTe had found the tracks of three deer, five or six miles south of our camp, and followed them in a circle which brought him due north ot our Igloos. He there overtook and killed them all. He had followed their tmil the whole distance, some eighteen or twenty miles, at a fair run Of su,.h stuff was my best liunter made, who that day closed his tot^ score l^,r the sledge journey at 2^0 reindeer, out of a grand total of m killed by all the members of the expedition, which lasted nearly a year. There was a time, in prc-hi.storic years, when the reindeer was the princi].a] game of savage man. So important, indeed, was he deemed that one sub-division of that time was called - the reindeer period-'' and where the grape and „live now grow he was hunted and killed by the rude weapons of ancient man, his bones being shaped into rude implements, and sometinies used, instead of modern drawing-paper for the hrst artistic efforts of the world. ^ ^ i- ^ I CHAPTER IV THE MUSK-OX. WiiEX I first aiTived at in Northern Hudson's B. my canii) IV, in the fall of 1878, the sum total of my MrsK-ox. knowledge about these jjufiuiu oi the boreal zone was a little mixed, probably equal to that of the aver- Jige sportsnum of the temperate climes, who looks on them as a half-fabulous sort of animal that may have existed iu the past when nature was pj-oducing saurians, ,, , . "....viiv. ,,ao iuuiiucini!: saurians .nammoths n„a nnscllaneous monster... but tl.at had !„„,■ rfnee I Jo e «x„nct. or been crowaecl into some oda corner of tl,e earth, wl.ere lived so many wonderful things that to write abont then, at all was to th ow ■ -l"-"- J-»"'-r -va.v, as they travel in winter w .loss an.l sledges, to where the musk-oxen were to be found and v can rest assu.«l I planned for n.vself a, n,usk-ox hunt in the ne t and go mymost trusty natives to approve the ph.n. The hardest .^^ f.oM, l,e large throng who eagerly pr..sse,l for ,„lmission to the p.rtv w ,.„ ,t was hinted that the, as such ,„. ...p,.aiti„„ „ ,.„„,,;;:,■ *!,'/; 7"^] """■ ""■" ''"l"™'i"S"" 'l'-l.ase for their a]I " route, therefore had never been traveled either by white men or natives, and the latter,' who THE MUSK-OX. 8» fomu'd au important element of the propo..,! expedition botli in nnn,- l>ers ami .ervu-es expe,-,..!. l.ad no hesitation iu advising against it, pre emngu detonr of son.e five or «ix luuulred miles, which .oul.; enable tlu.m to Wp on the ocean or bay i.-e. These nomads of the north, as I had occasion to lind ont, are lothto enter a totally unknown oonntry Their reasons were not of a foolishly superstitions nature, as I at inst supposed, but for the more sensible excuse that thev knew almost nothing- of the game of the region, so they said. They 'argued MI'SK-OX. tliat musk-oxen might possibly be fonnd. .^ they were on the outskirts oi tl...,rhnnting.grounds. and if I wouhl only prove to them in some wav that thoy were plentiful, they were willing to undertake the journev and some of the very best hunters among them generouslv and enthusi- astically placed their services at n.y disposal in order to give the nuitter a test. . Accordingly, with this object in view, and the no less p..tent one HI 1.11 ill A .%. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // ^ ? 4 m f/j ,^^^r w NIMROD IN THE NORTH. •m t- i if ■ that I wanted to see the lay of tlie .ountiy on our propose,] mute I started nuth Toolooah and hi.s Innuly to n.ake a prelinnnary reconnais- sance as far i.s \\ a^-r River, about a liundred miles to the northward durrng December and January of 1878 and '70, and althougli no musk- oxen were actually seen and killed, we found n.ost abundant traces of them A\ e could have killed numbers of them probablv had we fol- lowed up any of the many trails we crossed, but we both'thon^dit that twenty or thirty miles of travel wotdd be better expended in penetrating the country ahead of us than wastiwg it on a musk-ox chase ; and this was one of the very few cases where the tracks of an animal served the purpose just as well as his presence. Toolooah also argued that the kilhng of any number over a wide area might drive them out of the country, and our present sport compromise our ulterior object- still It was with some feeling of disappointment that I turned back, my very .access giving rise to that feeling, and returned empty-handed to our camp on Hudson's Bay. The facts we had culled overcame the objec- tions of the natives to such an extent that enough of them rea(^,ily con- sented to accompany us to give me no uneasiness about native help I have told ma former chapter the size of our sledging party to KingA\illiam Land, its arms and ammunition, and the fact that we started on that expedition from Xorth Hudson's Bay on the first davof April, 1879. " By the 8th of that monrh we were, according to our best informed natives in what they termed the musk-ox country-the localitv in which they had been accustomed to hunt these large monsters during winter trips from the sea-coast-where the natives I had with me live the greater part of the year, although the investigations of Toolooah and myselt had extended far beyond this limit. We were extremely anxious "to ^^.i some <,f" the long-haired brutes for then- huge carcasses, c-omi-ared witli those of tlie ivindeer, and the ease with which a whole herd can bcaptured, made tlum, a nu.ch n.ore rH.able source of dog-food for a large canine force, and this was an important fact<.r to c.onsi.ler, wit'- our three tean.s of forty-two dogs to oe ke]it in good condition. The next day, the 9th. while passing through a series of rocky- THE MUSK-OX. 91 topped ridges, we came upon a large trail of musk-cattle in one vallev probably a hundred yards in width, taking in the extreme tracks ; for they seemed to be quietly grazing along. The tracks seemed tolerably ancient, some six or seven days old at least, but one of the peculiarities of these animals, said my native hunters, is that they will travel very slowly when undisturbed and in a good grazing country, and this same large herd or some portion of it, so the Eskimo believed, was not over a day s sledge-journey away, if we should want to pursue them. They tried to persuade me, with all the vehemence of savage logic, to remain a day or two in the vicinity and hunt them, but the larder was still too full and the prospects for more ahead too good, to warrant any sucli delay ; so we pushed on, leaving the musk-ox trail and the Innuit s hopes buried in the same snow. From time to time we kept seeing an occasional isolated track o? stray wanderers from the main herds, but not enough even to arouse the natives from their apathy, until in the afternoon of the 13th of April we came upon the freshest trail we had yet seen of those cold-weather cattle, and the largest too, for all that, and I had the hardest work ima- mable persuading the natives to take up our journey again without follonmg It up. These Eskimo seem to have far more excitability in the presence of game, or its fresh sign, than any other race of people I have ever encountered, not even exce])ting the various Indian tribes of our great Western plains with whom my travels have brought me in f rcpient contact. A sportsman would take them to be the veriest ama- teurs if other considerations did not make him alter his opinions ; and all this enthusiasm reaches its maximum limit in the chase of the musk- ox, as 1 hiive already hinted. liefo. we had fairly got into can.,) o., the evening of the 22d of the month-and by gofng into cau.p on an Arctic sledue journey is meant the building of the ])ecnliarly constructed don.es of .sno^ or snow-houses, the unharnessing of the .logs, ,f r.f.ra-n most furious north-west gale of uind and blinding snow arose, which raged so terri- bly for hve days that even th. natives themselves found it d. ,-idedlv prudent and unquestionably con.fortable not to stavoutof the snow huts lor any considerable length of time, while in th^ dense whirlpools i^ ■n 98 NUmOD IN THE NORTH. of ii\ inn- snow, hunting was simply out of the question. This enforc-d idleness reduced our coniniissary to an ahirniing extent, especially for the dogs, the walrus- hide (or koio, in Eskimo parlance) witli which we had loaded our sledges on leaving Hudson's Eay, and which is the very best of dog-feed on an extended journey, being novv completely exhausted. AVe managed, howe\er, to get under way by the 28th, although the fury of ^'le storm had not yet completely abated, and after traveling nearly twenty miles in a north-northwest direction we went into a picturesque little camp nestling in the high hills, tlie weather being now much better, but the state of our hirder considerably worse, and the prospect in no wise encouraging. Shortly after halting and when the snow-houses were about half comph;ted, Ikqueesik, my Xetschillik Eskimo guide. mIio had absented himself over the hills with a spy-glass prospecting for game, leaving others to do his work on his snow-house, was soon seen tumbling down the high hills near by ; and he came running excitedly into the village, the perspirati 'U in huge beads streaming down his brown, C\\t\ visage, and with my army signal-telescope,. full drawn, under one arm. Amidst his spasmodic gasps for breath, we managed to make out from him tliat he had undoul)tedly seen a herd of eight or ten on-mhuj-mting (nuisk- oxen) from the top of the hill, about four or live miles to the northward, slowly grazing along to the westward on the locky ridge tops as he watched them thrcnigh the telescope, and as perfectly unaware of danger as they had a right to be, considering it wjis the first invasion that their country had ever had from any thing that could do them any harm. Every thing was put aside and dropped just where Ikqueesik's announce- ment found it, and then every Innuit man, woman and child was soon scrambling up to the highest pinnacle of the steep hill near by, while half a dozen dirty and eager faces were clamoring, in a way that would have frightened the game if it had been near, to get a look through the co\'eted telescope. The presence of musk-oxen wasestablislied beyond all peradventure and we w^ere not long in coming to the decision that the next day should be devoted to securing as many as possible of the long-haired monsters, Ikqueesik's discovery of them liaving beeii nuule too late to risk an THE MUSK-OX. 93 attempt at an attack so near niglitfall and while the dogs were so exhausted from their h)ng day's journey. Our dogs, that liad been loosen(Ml from their }iarnesses, were accordingly secured to the over- turned sledges, boxes of ammunition, and every othtr piece of heavy material that was convenient, to prevent them scampering after the gj)me (should they scent them in the niglit from a northern wind), as their ravenous appetites would undoubtedly i)rompt them to do. This done, around each animal's projecting snout was closely wound an extemporized muzzle of seal or walrus-line thongs, to prevent the usual concert of prolonged howls. There is nothing more aggravating than to find. Just about the time the sledges are about half loaded in the morning and one begins to look around for the dogs to harness them up, that about half of them are on a fruitless chase after reindeer or some other game that will not come to bay ; for they will not give up until they are thoroughly exhausted, and then come sneaking back to camp comparatively worthless for the rest of the day. Their bowlings at night are no less unfortunate, and if it has been a clear, cold, moon- light one, when they so delight in these hayings, you can rest assured that no game will be seen the next morning until tlie sledge journey has extended beyond hearing of their loud howls. That evening, with every thing snug and secure around us, all the hunters— some eleven in number— gathered in my igloo, and until latent night adventures with musk-oxen alternated with sippings of coifee from the huge stone kettle over the little Innuit lamp, for the sights of that day had been ample to banish sleep until well after the accustomed hour. Early the following morning a disagreeable, dritting fog threatened seriously to put an end to our expected sport, and lose us the more tangible object of our coveted meat. A council of the chase was ])rieily held, and it was decided that waiting any longer would probably do more harm than the risk of an encounter even in a fog. and we managed to get away soon after eight o'clock— having a formidable looking party of eleven rities, and two Eskimo women with two light sledges and all the dogs, forty-two in number. As we were harnessing the dogs and attaching the traces to the sledges, the great, thick baidvs of clouds seemed to bt^ lifting gradually, and our hopes of success ascended with wm 94 XIMJiOD IN THE NORTH. them. Rut no sooner liad we started tlian tlie clouds settled down upon us again, seeniin-ly damper and denser than before. AVhen a heavy fog covers the ground, considerable reliance for assistance may be placed in the dogs' noses, if the wind is right and the game not far away ; otherwise the tables may be turned, and the game escape by the same means, and it was our sole object now to regulate our course so as to avoid, if possible, the hitter contingency. ^ After some two or three liours of wandering around in the drifting mist, guiding our winding movements as much as possible by the direc- tion of the light wind, which we had previously determined before leaving camp, we suddenly came plump upon the tangled trail, appar- ently not over ten or lif teen minutes old, of some half-a-dozen of these animals, and great fears were entertained by our old musk-ox hunters, from its jumbled appearance, that the animals had heard, or scented our approach, and were now probably doing their level best to escape from the country. A few words of advice were hurriedly given in a low voice by those hunters who, from previous experience and success, were at once recognized as the natural leaders for the chase, and in following this advice the sledges were immediately brought up to the trail and stopped, and the dogs rapidly unhitclied fi'oni them, from one to three and four- even being given to each of the eleven men and boys who were present, who, taking the ends of the harness-traces in their left hands, or tying them in slip-nooses around their waists, started without delay upon the trail, leaving the two emptv sledges and a few of the poorer dogs under the care of the Innuit women, who had come along with the party for that express purpose, and who had instructions to follow on then-ail with the sledges and the dogs that liad been left with them, as soon as firing was lieard, or after a quarter of an liour to twenty minutes had elapsed without such sounds. To prevent \\\e hungry canines left be- liind from following too socm, without the women's consent, the sledges were turned over and the two females sat down on the slats to add obstacles to such an attempt. The dogs, many of them old musk-ox hunters, and seemingly con- scious of the fact, and with appetites doubly sharpened by 'many days' hard work and a constantly diminishing ration, tugged and THE MUSK-OX. 95 jerked like mad nt their lon<,^ seal-skin harness-lines, as they half-buried their eager noses in tlie tumbled snow of the ti-ail, and hurried tlieir human companions ulon- at a flying i-atethat threatened a broken limb or neck at eadi of the rough gorges and jutting precipices of the broken stony hill land, where the exciting chase was being run. The rnpidity with wlii(di an agile native hunter can get over ground at a run when thus attaclied to two or three excited dogs is astonishing beyond measure, and fully equals the average between the man and the dog running sep- arately, and seems double that gait to a spectator not used to it. AVhen- ever a steep valley was encountered and had to be crossed, the Innuits would slide down on their feet, in a s(pu.tting posture, throwing the loose snow aside like dnst from a rolling wagon wheel, until the bottom was reached and crossed, when quick as thought they would throw themselves at full length upon the snow of the ascending bank, and the wild, excited brutes would drag them np it to the top, where,' regaining their feet in an athletic manner, impossible to any one not used to it, they would run on at a constantly accelerating gait, their guns in the meantime being held in the right hand or lashed upon their backs, so that they could readily get at them when the battle-field was reached. Not caring to be disemboweled on the razor-like edge of some slightly projecting stone, or leaving a knee-cap or a bunch of ribs on top of it, I took a slower and more civilized gait, and as I was getting on the other end of this polar wocession from the musk-oxen, the dogs that had been unfortunate enough to be assigned to carry me into a slaughter of these animals, grew furious at the delay, and tugged and jumped and pulled at the harness traces by which I held them at my waist, until T thought they would convert me into a was]), or at least give my waist a more fashionable contour than it had. You may rest assured that I was happy enough when the native hunters ahead' com- menced slip]>ing tlieir dogs, so that I could conscientiously do the same. We had hardly gone a mile across the break-neck country in this harum-scarum chase before it became evident to us that the musk-oxen were but a short distance ahead, on a keen run, and the foremost hunters began loosening their dogs to bring the cattle to bay as soon as possible, and then, for the first time in this exciting chase, these intelligent ^4 Hi 96 NIMRUD IN Till': NORTH. creatures ^^ave ton-tie in d.' p, 1,,,;.; bnyin- a.s tliey (shot forward like arrow.s from tiie bow, and disapix-ared over the crests of tiie biokm hills amidst a perfect bewilderment of flying- snow and fluttering' harness- lim's. It was now merely a matt.'r of lime when the tlyin^' band would be overtaken, and as we pick-d up one leg after the other from thedeej) snow, until they seemed to weigh a ton apiece, we hoped from the innermost coniei-s of our hearts it would not be long. The discord of loud shouts and snai):)ish barkings told us plainly enough that at least some of the animals had been bjoiight to bay not veiy far distant to the fi'ont, and we soon afterward heard a i-apid series of sharp ]-ei)orts from the breech-loadei's and magazine guns of the advanced liunters, that took three-fourths of the weariness and lieavy feeling out of our lower limbs. We white men ari-ived on the l)att]e-field just in time to see the grand final struggle before the last of the oxen sank to eaith. They presented a most formidable looking ai)i)earan('e with theii- rumps firmly wedged together, foiming an nnbioken circle of swaying horns, i)re- sented viciously to the front, with givat blood-shot eye-balls glaring like red-liot shot amidst theescaj.lng steam from their panting nostrils, and pawing and idungiiig at the solid ciivleof furious dogs that encom- passed them. The rapid blazing of magazine guns I'ight in their fright- ened faces— so close, often, as tobuiii their long, shaggy hair— made up a vivid scene that would have impressed the most apathetic for life, if but once encountered, even as we saw it on that day. AVoe to the excited, over-zealous dog that in liis close attacks was nnluckx enough to get his harness-line under the hoofs of a charging and iiifuriated musk-bidl ; for it woidd follow up a straight leash, made by the dog's pulling back, stretched along the hard snow, with a rapidity and cer- tainty that would do credit to a tight-rope performer, and eithei- paw the poor creature to death or Hing him high in tlie air with his horns. The immediate chase being practically over, we tired and i)anting white men rested where the bodies of the first victims fell, but Toolooah, my best native hunter— an agile, wiry young Iwillik Tnnuit of about twenty-six or seven, with the])luckaml endui-anceof a blooded horse.— and half the flying dogs still pressed onward after the scattered rem- THE MUSK-OX. 1)7 Hants of the broken herd, and succeeded in killino- two more aftt liard run of two or thi-ee miles ; (h^uhly liard, indeed, for the fii-lii,.„,.d beasts seem to think tluit their best clunuv for es.-ape was in JV^Iowing th ie very rou-liest parts of tlie country they could lind-a method jiur sued by many wild aidmals. The last musk-ox Toolooah killed he would pi(^ba].lv not luive over- taken if the swiftest do- Parseneuk by name, hml iio't chased him to the edge of a hi-h, steep i)recii)ice. .'vidently too foi'inidable for the ox to make up his mind to leap from at once. H.tc half a second's vacil- lation of the shaooy brute gave the dog a chanc.. to f:.sten on his heels, and in a very short interval of time the beast had exchanged en.ls and Parseneuk was making un involuntary ai'rial ascent, which was not much more than linished before' Toolooali had put three shots from his Winchester cai-bine into the brute's neck ami head; whereup(m the two animals cam.? to earth-or rather snow-together, Parseneuk on the soft snow-drift that had collected under the lee of the twenty-foot ■ precii)ice, fortunately uidiurt. Parseneuk was a trindy built animal, that I had secured with ti'ading matei-ial fi-oni the Kinnepetoo Eskimo Avho iTdia))it the shores and contiguous country of (Jhesterlield Inlet, l)eing one of the very few tribes of the great Innuit fannly, from nearly the Straits of Belle Isle to those of Northern Bering Sea and beyond. Avho live away from the sea-coasts and eat but spailngly of aquatic "food.' They subsist princi])ally npon the liesh of the barren-ground reimleer, and their hunting dogs are adei)ts in securing these fleet animals, Par- seneuk being ])articularly swift and intelligent as a hunter. lie had been the undoubted favorite among the dogs in the Kinne])etoo family from whom he Avas purchased, and as a consecpience I had to appease several members of the family with trifling presents as indirect danuiges to tiieir affections, making Parseneuk cost me fully twice as muclfas the other dogs I purchased fi-om this tribe. He had a beautiful head, with sleek muzzle und fox-like nose, while his pointed ears peered cun- ningly forth from the curly wool on top of his head in strange and striking contrast with those of the many other dogs that I have often met, whose broken and mutilated ears (usually restored in illustrations of Arctif scenes concerning canine matters) showed plaiidy the flghts and ,1 'f mms 08 MMUo:) IX rm: xoi.'rir. 1 ' i i tii ; i. j } i im L -^ (lii:irr.'ls in wliicli they li.id liunn".!. Ix'in.u- mostly (•(•inhafM ovt>r n\h\ victii:ils. |»iirs('UtMiU. iis flic r.iiiiily r:i\(>iil«'. Iiiid Im-cm ijiist'd ;iti*i j'.'d in tli»> /f//ot), or snow lioiis(>. under ilic losicrini; piohTiion of the old niMlroii of III.' I'liniily, :ind Iviiia; sjivcd tlii> (Msjihivi'mMc nrccssily ol" liulilinii: for liis daily hiv;id lu' flms pivscrvcd his curs int:i«'l. I'oor I'lirsciuMik ! hd'on' llic Umi>; slt'diiv joiinicy \\:is coMiitlclcd, his h:ind sonitM'iirs li;id often scivt'd ns cnNliions to prevent the teeth of hiryer (h)ijs from rnhhini^ too severely over e.Mch other, ;intl were h;in,-s that lived tiii'oiiiih the Jonrney in whieli sixty i.i all had participated. Till' chase heinn- o\t>\\ the scallered Imniers and do.ns ualheivd around the lohes and hodiesof theii- victims. The half famished do.ns received all lln'y could eat I heir tirst full feast in over liireeueeUs and after a , traveled slowly cmuiuh, <»ur over fed do-is. with ponderous paunches lirojcctiim' from their lean sides, hardly noticin.u' the most vigorous ap- plications of the well directed whip, lu fact, the next day's journey too was considerably curtailed by the la/y brutes, I hat had surfeite(| themst>lv(>s until they were nearly woi'thless, .-iiid it was not until the st>coud day after, that we commenced lobe reniuuerale(l for our lavish sup|)ly of ration:; u-ivcu them just aflei- the hunt. This over feed iii.u- of half-famished Kskinio do,i;s is always alleuded with these results, and is never resortt>d to except in cases like this particular hunt, wher<' the food Thus ui veil them is so ph'iitiful that it would hav(> to be thrown away if not so disposed of, and as musk-ox meat ranked next to walrus, the best of all. this was not thought of for a moment. The natives of the noi'tli. with w honi my explorations brouiiht me in contact in many lumtiuix adventures, never seek the musk-oxen without a ])lentiful supjily of well-trained dou's, unless it be for a sin,i;le animal or two, while .Miu-aired in other obj(>cts that briiiii' them toe;et her, for, with their hell), the hunters art> almost certain of securinii; the whole 77//'; Ml/SK OX. m hrid, howrv.-rliii-r,.. iml.'ss llic'iniinnls iin-jircidcnf ally. ■ippriHcd of their Mppiojich 111 Noiiic wiiv, !is (Ik'v uciv in om (aicoiiiilcr with fhcin, on '» oltcii lollow a s iirr(Mllll ol" Hie (I. 'rise |o;,r, hut wliicli i , s..|(N.m tl lai-'^'c haiifls of Arctic wolves tliat, j-o oft of liiintrrs, tosi'ciiiv Ilic stray wounded and tliere oil' ;i j)oollv-<'onHllllcted meat le j-ase. Soini'tinies the fowl hunters have seen le morr(»w lor thechiise, and this nrdeiied with yoiin^^ to protect, o care hilt liiilc I'or theatfiicks (.f wolv es. except it he all aijed or <|ccr.'pid fellow t hand, and that may fall a victim, 'j'l oo weak to keep up with thcf leir peculiar inoch^ of defense is pro(d"a'f)/> i\ lur: yoirrii. I ti'(ny !iiiitn;ils lt>i>U lo tlicif inort' iiu-if'ssivc iii'i;4lil»t)is I'dc pictlcc- lioii, .-iiitl this «'(Hili(l<'iin' is not Idsi rvcii ■; ihrir drolh. llirir hmlit s Ix'illL!,- f iH'lvfor." !S(» iM.'iny JIIK'linrs lo hold llimi lo tlicl';!!.!! spol |i;i|i| llu'ir own tiiiii iirrivfs. .\s ihcir iiiiinhi'is I'jill (tiic ;ii ;i limr, (ln' musk ()X» ti resolutely persist in (heir curious jmd sin,iiul;ii' mode of defense, presentinu' their u^ly lookiny- horns lownrd :is ni.iny points (tf the eom pn.-is :is iheir remniniiiy numlters will nilow. When only t\\«» nie lel'i, these, niiii iinr.ps toyeiher, mid, rneinii- from e;ieh (ttlii r. will continue the unt'tpiMJ l>:iltle ntiilinsl theeneniy. :ind even the l;is| " roilofU hope" will l>:icU up iiuoinsf the hnp'sl pile of his dc-id .■iiid dyinu' comrjides, or :iu';iinsi ;i \:\\ixt' rock or snow l);ini\ ;iud i\r\'\ his pursuers, doiis :iiid hur.lers, until his deuih. While (he li(ili> cdves :ire too youn.y iind I'eehic lo l^ke (heir pl:ic"s intlieiV'dil r.'lllks tll.'lt is. until (liey;ire ;il)out eiuht or nine usoiiths old (hey o<-cupy (he hollow ,;(pi;ire or in- terior sp:; • I'ormed l>y their u( when lieireldcrs h;iv( perished in their (hd'ense, with :in inslin"( Itorn of (lusr species, (hey will form in the snrne circidnr older ;ind show liulK. I( is :i curious liiiim- th;it if ;i siiiiile musk ox is eiicon.'itered :iiid biiyed. he will never remain sntislied until he li:is hacked up auainst something!:. how(>v,.i- ;quall, to protect him I'loiu a rear ati.ick. They have almost ;is iiiiicli coiilidenct> in this trick as (he ostrich has iu hiding- its head in (he sand, for a rock no laru"r (liaii a man's head will sullice if nothinii- I'etter is conveniently near. 'The iiiosi siu.uiilar jiart is (he way tlit>y will respect I he same .absurd (l(>fens(>, and my hunters em|ili;i- sized the caution a half a dozen times licfore th<' chase took place not to ntt(Mni>t to run beyond some sliiihtly projecting' rock or siiow hank, and dodii-e around it should tht> relations between myself ;ind a musk-ox re(iuirt> such dodiiiiiLi-. So many times did th<'se f;iil hfiil fellows, who would in !U) way-^ivea piece of advic<' that mi,u-lit lead to daii.ufroiis results witli any one. sp(>ak of this, that simi.le and even absurd as it n]ipenr(>(l 1 was fully forc(>d to believe it. I do not believe the advice would have been of much jiractical hcnetit to a w liiie man. howcvei-, for eonsiderinu- tlit> furious way tliey lookeil on tlmt morniim- of the L'iHli of April, liad one u(>t after me I think no rock less than the si/e of tiie W: sliintcton ..loniiment would have satislied my intense (h'sir<' for an iiitervtMiinji' obstacle. ■/'///■; Ml Sh-n.w 101 'P! I'!n' ('.•lives of which | s iMti'ir aliuiit jh<> iiionlh nl' ' I: <»lscii ill I hi' |ii('vi(»i(s jiiir.'ijfi'.'iph, urt :iukn;ii(| iUi' s;iiiM' (lir(y, l»i«»\\!i ltlllV;il(» cnlvfs (.r th*- («iv;i( Wrst. i.V ii< Ihis |M>i'iit)ii (.-r ih.' ((.iiiiiiv, ;iii(l I i;i\<' •"I||"•'■''• 'I' !'•' i^ ill 'ill willing (o shmd ,i lew iMMiiicii;^ iHifliiiKM I'"'" III'- lilllc nilllSMS he |.ll!s (h. .S.'iiJsUil! 'h(.i|,L-:,S !ll(.l|||(| (hem. Ill whiih'Vci' \v;iy (hey iii.iy r;i|| Jm., ,„„.',s h.'ilid.s in these ilih(.s|.ilj|M(^ rei-iolis, it is iMi|.(.ssil.le to riiniish Iheill ui:li piopn- lioiiiishllieill to siis(;iiii lif.. until they ciin I.e sjil'ely (niiisrencd |(, ji, vessel; which, riK.lVdVel', c'li; ve, where these incst cillioiis ;iiiiMiii!s li;ive been e.xliil.- i(ed Jllive ill (he teilM .•,(,. /,„nes. The iiidives (..id m,. tl,;,t they li;i(l si|c.'.'ed..(| ill k..epi : iiiec.'ilves :ilive •oi' m few (|;iys by uui7.y.]U\ws. which will nof compiire f;ivor:ih|y widi (Ik.s.' ..f (he s;ivii<;<'s <.f (emiM'I'ilte /..n.'S. They !ire niiide of miisk-o\ li ,111, spliced in the center with thon.iis and mehil !'ive(s, and even (hen s.. sh<. rt (hat they liav.- (o I'c l)MiIi Old a( (he .'lids hy loni; splices ..f ivin.le.'r Ji.)rM ; and so much hiiildino- lip is ne.'d.MJ in tliis rnanii.'r that a .ureat welt of sin.'w strin,<;s as larp' as the little iinger ih pljice.l ak.n^^ its hack to give it strength B 3 1*1 m 102 NIMROD IN THE NORTH. and to propel the "r 11 i 1 ■: f h : |i ow. The arrows, too, are weaklings in that line ; tlie small amount of driftwood thrown up on tlieir shores, which is too brash for the bows, has hardly strength enough for arrow shafts, while the tips are generally made from the hard bone on the shin of the reindeer. Yet even y, lih these rude weapons they did not hesitate to atta''k such large game. la the olden times, before fire-arms were known to them, one of tlieir tests of manly courage was for a huiiter to pass within the circle of animals and return, backward and forward, killing one or two of the oxen at each passage. Of such old-time feats the gray-haired men of the tribe still speak. One old Iwillik Innuit— so I was told by his tribe, and they are not given to vain boasting—wliile traveling with a few dogs and a light sledge from one village to another on one of the visits so common among these wanderers of the north, came suddenly and unexpectedly upon a couple of musk-oxen that had strayed from tlieir usual haunts in invading this part of the country. Stopping the sledge and unhitch- ing his dogs from it, he turned them loose after the oxen, and following as fast as he could at a run, soon had the pleasure of seing them brought to bay by the dogs. So little game was ever seen in this well- traveled route, that arms were considered a superfiuous weight and he had none with him. Ills only weapon, if it could be called sucli, was a "snow-knife"— a kind of long, doiible-bladed butcher knife, which the natives use to cut and fit the blocks of snow with in constructintr their winter houses of that material, and which they use for so many other purposes of cuttivig that an Innuit is seldom found without one in his hand. Nothing daunted, however, he courageously attacked them and in a few minutes had secured botli, bringing their meat and robes into camp to displaj'- before his astonished listeners. The danger to be ai)prehended from these formidable and fei'ocious- looking brutes is undoubtedly more apparent than real, judging fnmi the accidents that occur, although a few sensational writers have tried to classify their killing as ecpial in si)ort to that of slaughtering a band of sheep, no doubt to satisfy an idea— of their own— that pe()])le will not believe them, but think it is due to an exuberance of lu'aveiy and heedless disregard of danger on tlieir own parts. Tlieir statenuMits do THE MUSK-OX. 103 not agree with tliose of the Eskimo, that in eases wliere they are extremely anxious to secure tlie herd, they look on a white man in the jmrty as a Jonah of Jumbo proportions. They are nevei- able to get them closer than forty or fifty yards of the !)ayed game, and even at that distance they are so excited that not only are they liable to wound the game, with the results already hinted at, but they make it unsafe for the natives to approach to their usual distance when killing them, and as this happened with one of the identical writei's spoken of, I think my theory is well based. Whenever a white nuin' s tliirst for musk-ox gore liad to be appeased he was given a couple of slow dogs, the natives know- ing that even the slowest would have hard work to hurry him up ; and Avhen the cattle were bayed, all were killed but a yearling, held to its place by the dogs, which the Caucassian could slaughter at his leisure. Probably more than any other species of game that can be dangerous in a fair showing, these horned hyperboreans are caught at such a disa(l\an- tage that their killing loses nearly all the spice of danger, and this is par- ticidarly so when caught near the coast, which they probi.bly visit to ]irocure salt, if salt-licks be scarce in the interior. A hunting party fi'om a whaling ship cruising in Northern Huds(m"s ]?tiy, found a good- sized herd of cattle straying around on a long, n:iri-ow spit of land pi'ojecting from Caiie Jalabert, just below Chesterfield Inlet. They formed a skirmish line aci-oss the base of the linger-like peninsula, and advanced slowly towai-d the docmied band, and when within a hundred and fifty yards— so far awiiy that a shot would not produce utter con- sternation amongst the cattl.s tiieir best mai'ksmen opened tire from behind rocks and nu)unds with Sharp's and Winchester sporting rities, and soon liad them all down. It was a gUn-ious bag, and gave them piospects of much fresh meat for the winter, but as far as sport goes, it {savored too nuich of the slaughtei'-house. Such encounters n<"ar the coast are not infr(^(pient, and esi)ecially so in the case of white men, who seldom i)enetrate into the interior, though it is there that the si)ort, as such, reaches as near i>erfection as i)()ssibl(\ The dogs are fre(pu'ntly killed by being tossed high in the air ])v their hoi-ns, so well shaju'd for that i)uri)ose, which generally intli('t injuries that necessitate the dog s being shot ; or they may j)aw them lo t 'I ,111 m I U'lriTK ^\]:\ Hr\iiN(; mud annually nt the usual'time in the spring. This latter seems to be a true wool, aii.l of the iinest texture. A Mr. Pennant, au English gentleman, writing of the musk-ox, gives il III ■M 106 NIMROD IN THE NORTH. i iin instance of an ingenious man of liis, named Jei-emy, having woven from this inner fleece taken from the musk-ox, a pair of stock- ings, wliich were as fine and durable as any of tlie best sillten nuike. One can hardly help feeling a desire, impractical as it seems, that these boreal brutes might be domesticated, as they could be made to subserve so many practical purposes of food, transportation and clothing, in a country where every little help that can be got becomes so invalua- ble. During the short summer months, just after the inner fleece is shed, it is still found matted in the h)ng, black luiir, and is only pre- vented from falling to the ground by this inter- weaving process. ' This was especially noticeable on a number that we killed on the 20th of April. At a distance they were as mucli blotched by this wool as the American antelope or an Indian "calico" pony. We could readily comb it out with our fingers, and the whalers tell me that they have known the finest mattresses to be made from it where they could cull enough from the robes brought them for trade. The short, curly hair on their low foreheads is very often found matted in little balls or snuill lumps with ordinary dirt and grass, show- ing unmistakably that they use their head and horns in tearing up the earth. This they have often been s-en to do by hunters, when closely pressed and brought to bay by tliem ; but as they are seldom liunted in their isolated grazing districts, this is hardly a fair theory to account for its constancy, and we nuiy suppose that their head and horns are mostly used in this nuuiner in removing the snow from the mossy and grassy parches where tliey graze in the winter time, oi- wliile thesnow is covering tlie gi-ound. Theii- curving horns, from their peculiar shape, Avould certainly nuike very efl'ective snow shovels. Following a herd of grazing oxen, one sees everywhere black spots on the hill-side, and even in the valleys and the deei)est siu^w, where they have pawed or "horned" down to the earth and gotten at the moss," the very riclu'st beds of which they never fail to detect, probably by their power of scent through the jiorous snow. The shape of these weapons of offense nnd der.Mise is certainly most ^ peculiar, and worth describing. Starting IVom the middle line'of (he forehead, in the l)u]l. at wliich point the horns aiv joined base to base, THE MUSK-OX. 107 tliey present a thick, flat plaie or shield, of romigated horn, about a foot in width. As tliese wide, flat shields of horn circle around the eyes at a distance of about two or three inches, their outer edges are gradually incurvated downward until aliout four or live inches from the eye is reached, when a perfect horn is formed whose cross-section would be a circle or nearly one. From here it tapers gradually, like the common ox's horn, to its end, curling upward near its extremity with a jaunty curve worthy of a Limerick flsh-hook, and looldng wo?iderfully well placed for assisting a man up in the world ! To the natives of the north, within whose country these cattle roam, these horns afford many useful implements of the chase and household utensils, and they thoroughly comprehend the well-knovvn principle of steaming and boiling the horn in order to render it soft and pliable while it is being worked and fashioned into these implements and utensils. The native bow I have spoken of already as being usually made of two or three sections of musk-ox horn, tipped with the shorter horn of the reindeer, the whole being flrmly lashed with a braid made from the sinews on the superficial dorsal muscles of tlie reindeer, run- ning the whole length of the back of the bow, to give it strength and elasticity. I found the Eslcimo of King William Land and vicinity using coi)per stripped from Sir John Franklin's ships to rivet their bows together. Except as children's playthings of the chase, to shoot at ptarmigans, and a few other spoi-ts of that character, bows and arrows have entirely disappeared, wherever intercourse with the Hudson's Bay Company or American whalers has placed fire-arms and ammunition in the hands of the natives, and this includes the whole of the great Eskimo or Innuit family, except those stretched along the shores of the Arctic Ocean from about King William Laiul on the east to the furthest poinii reached by American whalers coming from the Pacific on the west. Another implement largely used which is made from the splayed base of a musk-ox's horn is the Eskimo drinking cu]) oi' ladle, which liolds from a pint to a couple of quarts. They also subserve a purpose moreinteresting Hum drinking cui)s, which I will briefly describe. One of these cups, holding about a pint, is tied or neatly lashed to the f: :UMi ,lf Li ; K ■ 108 NIMliOD IN THE NORTH. en.lof a strong, lu,],, fro.u six to eight feet in length, so ns to iV,nn n sm:,ll scoop, and with a, eliisel similarly n.onnte.l, tlie tu<. a.e usedfor a.gging. through tlie thick i<.e of a hike or river to tlie water Vneath A canii) IS always picked near a lake or river which the Eskin.o know by certain signs has not yet frozen to the bottom. This fact is readily as-erta.ned by placing their liattened png noses in close proximity to til.' npper surface, when the pec.diar hues, which they perceive imli- catetlie pr. vs. nee or absence of water. AVhile most of the party are bmlding their huts of snow Tor the night's encampment, some one "takes tlu' ice scoop and chisel, wanders out on the frozen lake, and selects a place for his operations. He then digs a hole with the chisel about a foot or eighteen inches in diameter, and of nearly the same depth, by repeated verti.-al strokes, and when the chopped ice or debris thus iormed commences choking this instrument, it is removed with the ice- scoop, and this alternation of cutting and removal with ice-chisel and loe-scoopis kept up until water is readied, at generally from six to seven feet, the deepest I ever saw being eight feet four inches This digging requires far more dexterity aiul practice than one would at tirst s.giit imagine from the simple explanation. The beginner linds it almost impossible to keep the hole from rapidly tapering to a point lono- before the water is reached, or, in short, to prevent the intende.l cxwZ der from becoming a cone. Moreover, if the debris be too f.'eely chopped, it becomes reduced to a sort of ice-dust which will pack so tirml y toward the finishing of the water-hole that the edge of the scoop cannot l^e wedged under it, with its limited play of action. The children and old women of the village may draw many a meal of goodly-sized salmon through this avenue, and this necessitates that the hole should be of fair size througluMit. One of the most annoying events of my sled.-e- jouruHy was, after a hmg and unsuccessful att.Mupt to .-atch som.'thim- at one of these water-holes, to liiid myself sudd-nly at one end and a big salmon at tlu> other end of a strong sinew tish-line. separated by an ice-hol. through wl,i,.h neither of ns could pass. Many other iinple- ments ami utensils are ingeniously constructed from this horny matter furnished by the musk-ox. The range of musk-cattle is quite extensive. They ocrupy the THE MUSK-OX. jyy extrenu. northern shores of Greenland, on l.otli the east and tlie west coasts, as lar as they have been explored ; and these two ranges are probably conneetedaronnd the northernmost point of this great polar continent. Tliey occur on both shies of Snnth Sound, and in general frecp.ent Arctic America fro.n latitude 00° to 7!)° north, and from lon- gitude 07° 30' west (Greenwich) almost to the Pacific coast, or at least as far as the lower waters of the Mackenzie, where a, fine specimen was procured only last year (1884), and now ornaments a museum in civili- zation. It IS, however, in the great stretch of hilly counti-y Ivin- betH^en North Hudson's Bay and its estuaries on the scmth and elist'and the Arctic o(,ean, with its intricate channels on the north and west, that these animals are found in the largest herds and greatest numbers Captain Hall, in his sledge-journey from liepulse Ear to King AVilliam Land, in 1809, killed seventy-nine musk-oxen, whose hides ahme wei-hed 8713 pounds. Dr. Rae, the Scotch explorer of this region of the Arctic also secured large numbers of them. The musk-ox occurs fossilized ai Eschoscholtz Bay on the north-west coast ; and the fossil oxen found in different sections of the Inited States, and which closely resemble the nu.sk-ox, have be.m described l,y Dr. Leidy of Philadelphia. These were clothed in a long fleece, and roamed through the Mississippi Aal- ley, just l)efore the great drift period. Fossil musk-oxen exist in Siberia and Northern Europe ; but their living descendants, of which but one species is known, are now sti-ictly conlined to the Arctic and sub-Arctic region of the western continent. The musk-ox derives its name fiom th<> ])eculiar odor which it emits and which to a greater or less extent also pervades the meat of the ani- nir.l. In the younger animals, however, it is much mild.^r, an.l in the calves I have never been able to detect it at all. Much of this odor can be obviated by dressing the animal as soon as killed. <>speciallv if It IS cold weather ; and this rule may be said to be more or l,>ss general with all animals and birds having disagreeable odors peculiar to their kind. I have said the robes are almost worthless to th<> natives exce3)t for purposes of traffic. They are sometimes used to spread on the snow-bed as the lirst layer of skins, in order to protect the snow from the heat of f fl: fill 110 NIMROD /N THE NORTH. the body ; but even here tliey are not nearly ,sO serviceable as the robe • of the reindeer, owing to the facility with which the snow can be removed from the latter by a few strokes of a stick. The Eskimo of Hayes River, who are not armed and consequently can procure but a few reindeer (whose hide is the universal Arctic clotliing), often make long boot-leggings and gloves of musk-ox fur ; and this gives them a peculiarly wild and savage appearance, tliat contrasts stmngely with other natives. The almost total absence of wood in their country, the little they get being obtained by barter with distant and more fortunate tribes, forces them to use the skin of the musk-ox for sledging. The ears and fore-legs of the skin being lashed almost together, a sledge- like front is obtained, and_ the articles to be transported are loaded on the t.-ailing body behind, the hair being under. Over lakes, rivers and flat plains it is equal to a wooden sledge, but on very uneven ground its pliability makes it dangerous to fragile loads. When closely pressed, the musk-oxen do not hesitate to tlirow them- selves from the steepest and highest precipices, and the natives speak of occasions where they have secured them in this manner without wasting powder and lead, finding them dead at the foot of the descent. Sir James Clarke Ross had a personal experience of this kind in one of his Arctic expeditions. McClintock once saw a cow on Melville Island, in the Parry Archi- pelago, which was of a pure white color, an albino sort of deviation that is known to occur among the buffaloes of the plains at rare intervals. She was, however, accompanied by a black calf. Melville Island is abundantly supplied with these oxen, not less than one hundred and fourteen having been shot within a year by the crews of two ships wintering there. When inhabiting islands, they do not seem to cross from one to another on the ice, as tlie reiiuleer constantly do, and even confine their annual migrations to very limited areas. Different writers disagree as to whether they can be called migratory at all in the strict sense of the word. If white men are hunting them without dogs, they may station them- selves about a herd, close in to seventy or eighty yard.<^ and then, by picking off the restless ones first, so bewilder the remainder that with THE MUSK-OX. Ill fair luck they may secure them all. There are several instances of such methods being more or less successful. I remember bein- one of a party of six-hve Innuits besides myself- who followed on a fresh trail of a snudl herd of musk-oxen, from about nine o'clock in the morning until nightfull, Avhich was four in the after- noon. We went at a gait which.would be called a good round "dog- trot" for the whole time, except for one rest of a few minutes This IS much easier than one would imagine, with a couple of dogs harnessed to you to tow you along ; yet I confess I was completely fagged out after this little run cf about forty miles, and in a tine condition to be- lieve many stories of endurance while hunting game which I had heard them tell. The thermometer at camp registered 05° below zero yet there was no suffering from the still cold during such exercise, and, in fact, at times I felt uncomfortably warm. One of their peculiarities which I have noticed is that, when slightly wounded, if they have been knocked over on their sides, they seem perfectly powerless to rise, either from fear or from the peculiar forma- tion of their legs. Two of the miimnls we shot on the 29th of April received each a broken shoulder and were knocked on their sides in a way that would not have held a, wounded buffalo down for a minute' The native men, women and boys promptly sat down upon their heaving sides, evidently enjoying the cruel sport ; and all the white men joined them for a mere second, rather to please the:- savage allies than 'them- selves, until I requested them to dispatch the brutes, whicii they did by a well-directed heart-tlirust with a snow-knife. My natives spoke of this occurrence as a rather common incident of the musk-ox battle- field. From all the above we can see that the musk-ox is a remnant of a once great race, a species that has seen its best days far in the past, and is slowly traveling the road to extinction. ' !!f 1 1 I (JIIAPTER V. NIMUOD WITH A SllDT-CiUN, AViiiLK in the wiiilcr time the Aicti (' 1<',U1()11 IS ail :i linos I ) »iir- icn connlrv for t] It"! si)ortsrn!iu HUANT OOCSE in quest of any kind of small game, tlicro is no i)la('(' on this jilanct Avhcrc it is more plentiful (Iniin^ tho short summers, es- IH'cially of the uciuatic vari(»ty, and the lover of dnck-shootiiiff CO gain his fdl in a short time. While I was encainped in North Hudson's Ray it effort at all to take a shot-gun out to one of tl uld cei tainly was considered no le many lakes in this vicin- ity and get a good mess for our little ])arty. Tlu^se lakes, whicl nothing more than great impervious basins of granite, full of d 1 wei'e lamaire water, were so numerous and oftentin les so large that 1 do not believe I exaggerate when I say their superficial measurement would be almost equal to that of one-third of the whole country thereabouts. Certainly NlMItOD WITH A SllUT-aVN. 113 tlw'y wd being shot in the head or neck. As small shot was ecpially effacious in this method of .de- struction, we adopted it, with the elf(>ct of increasing our scores. Our first efforts were often laughable. Colonel Gilder one day turned lit"'' III j ■ ; ! i! : i I ^ \ i; \ 1 ; ii! ; , 114 MM ROD IX TIII'J AOIi'JJ/. a duck's feet into tlic air with a shot at al)nut thirty yards distaiK m, and when the wind had blown it nearlv into shore, all tli<- time kickiii" vi^r„|.(,„.sly, the Colonel, desirousof I'aeilitatin^^its itro^ress, eoinnienced throwing' lai-^rn stones just beyond it. This, however, had the eifect of brin^nii^r it ,i<;ht side up in a liurry. The duek looked around aston- ished, sneezed a ('ouple of times, and when the next stone splaslied alongside of ii, disappeared in tlie water and came up over a lumdred yards away, wliere it coolly ])roceeded to arrange its rumpled featliers after their hist disturbance, (joidd any of the many dealers or manu- facturers in shot-guns get a good record on the Arctic duck. I think they could rest i)erfectly satisfied with this practical test. The compass is a sluggish, uni-eliable instrument in the northern part of this bay, and it became necessary to establish a good long north and south line whilec(mductingmy survey, and, f or reasons unnecessary to explain, i f' ;t upon the expedient of doing so by the culmination of Jupiter. \Iy north point was fixed near camp, and the south one approxima'.ely about a mile away across a lake, and one night I sent Henry Klutschak thei'e to Mx it as accurately as possible by this method. I gave him a small torch to define his positior, and then ex- pected to put him on the meridian by signals at the instant of the culmination, which I knew. My shot-gun case contained ji duck-call, and I fixed upon this as a good instrument to be lieai'd a long distance, and told Henry that one (piack would mean the right, while two would mean the left. The night came and when Henry took his place, I could see that he would be out of the way by a quarter of an hour ahead. I accordingly gave a " cpiack " that sent him nearly as far out of the way on the other side. •' Quack, quack ! " was sent to him, and he had just g(me about half-way back, and got nearly where I wanted him, when there came floating over the lakeanother " quack, quack ! " that dragged hint away out again. A single signal from my call to rectify this was an;rvvere(^ by about half a dozen single and double calls fiom all over the lake, and I soon found that I had stirred up about a hundi'ed ducks, all of them fully educated in til irt of surveying, and most strenuous rivals in sui>erintending this \k .ticular job. I at once gave u]) the "quack" method and ivtunied to ij.e standard rules of the regular NlMkOD WITH A i..n,l..d u 1.,.^ of shot on tluU lake next day, und we lived lor a week on -J„pir.., bi,,i,;^ ,,, h,,,,^ ,.^^„^^^ ^,^^^^^ One writer say« that the mother will lead her youn^^ ones to the water almost as .oo.i as they ereep froiu the eg^^s. (ioi,- before (hem to the shore they trip after, and when she reaehes the ed^^e she take them ness. I have said that the eider favors the little islands in the large lakes, or those along the sea-shore, for protection while breeding, the Arctic fox being the most inveterate egg-sucker I have ever met,' and conse- quently their w(mst enemy. One method they have of circumventing this pest in Spitzbergen is too cnrious to pass by. If driven off their nests, they hastily draw the down of the nest over the eggs, and glne it with a copious supply of yellow fluid, which not only retains the warmth of the eggs for a l(mgtin)e. but is of so extremely olfensive a nature that the foxes will not touch the eggs tainted with it. The eider ducks of Hudson's Bay are mostly the connncm variety, all of those cf King: Wiiliam Land being tlie crested or king-eider. Yet, an indimMvn't observer Avould believe that there were two distinct varieties, so widely different is the plumage of the sexes, and the fact that when in large bands they ar. nearly always sepai'ate. The male is crested witira fleshy topknot of the most vivid yellow, and his whoh" make-up is the most conspicuous contrast of complementary colors, all of the live- liest hues, while the female is a mass of rusty, brownish-black, almost the exact color of the half-dead mos, in which she makes hei- nest, and where she will never be seen until, with a whin- like a ruffed grouse, she spiings up right under youi- feet. Sitting in a line on the edge of a large ice-cake, the males look like a i-egiment of hussars, oi' a scpiad- ron of dashing dragoons in full uniform, while tlie females resemble a procession of Carthusian monks in their s<)ml)er garl). We almost lived on their eggs for a shoi-t time while in King AVil- Ham Land, and the suddenness with which they became addled w;is NIMROD WITH A SHOT-GUN 117 wonderfuJ. One day nine eggs were obtained, all of them good, as had been the previous ones, but the next day (tlie dates I have always re- gretted not recording) twelve out of thirteen were addled, so they had to be thrown away, and after that not one good one could be found, although we kept testing them for thr(>e or four days, until we were convmced tluit further efforts would only result in an unwarranted destruction of small ducks. The nuinner in which the young ones ap- peared a])out three weeks later was almost on a par, and it seemed as 3t we had suddenly been visited by a shower of them. |; live- IIO.ME OF THE EIDER DrCKR. One day, in the early part of September, I walked along the eastern shore of Terror 15a y, and liei-e I saw the eiders marshaling for their southern migrations. This shore is seven or eight miles long, and from Its very southern cape until T reached its head, I was i)assecl by strag- gling bands, reaching half a mile to a mile frcmi slun-e, the outlyim^ members of each little ])arty Ix.ing sufficiently mixed to say the whole was one vast band of (Mder ducks. ' nose nearest the shore, as I approached, ke])t Hying out a couple of hundred yards, and this kej.t a black semi-circle of about that radius constantly on my left as I walked iilong. Hut of all ti.' Arctic ducks that will force themselves upon your '! t '■ Mi t «' « ^1- 118 NIMROD m THE NORTH. notice tlicre is none liko the •old wife •' ov "old sciuaw- of the winter in teini noisy tauk-soJc of the Innnits— the Jeriito zont's [/fcraldit. "N ¥^r lV*V ^^: f'^^-K V<^M'- > (K ; , 'm\ P i } EIDER rH'CFCS I>l!i;i'Ai;i.\laces that a white man will look over a lai-e tract and lind none, an.l a fewTnnuit children will follow and till th.'^r pockets an ' >\ r; N f'v/;^ • J- i T" _, '.V — v? _* 'A ^^ < "\ . .• \ -:^ '"^^ ^ ( ^^ ' " -- ^-. N S-^- i^^"U t- 1^ r"- N <^'- r'^^- ■^;3' ^ > >-. _^ C. r — ~ ~ if-r ^ THE T'TAUMIGA^f I\ SlMMKi:. singly, or at most in pairs, but, as winter-time approaches, thev flock togellier, often in bandsof hundn^ls. TluM^r plumagv is then of \a pure white, and they are so heavy that they waddle abont like over-fed farm ducks. Tlie sportsman at this time seldom lias much trouble in secur- ing ten or flfteen out of a flock, for when frightened they fly but a short distance, and for live ,.r six times after firing they will allow him to approacli very close, l)ut when they have been hunted a great deal with NIMROD WITH A SHOTGUN. 12s firearms they become as sliy as any of the grouse family in warmer climes. They are seldom hunted by the Innuits unless th. pportuni- ties are brought directly before them while in other pursui^ , I Inve often seen the small boy. using them for a target, when practichig with bows and arrows, and they were occasionally successfid in securing one THE PTARMIGAN IN AVINTER, in this way, driving them along the ground like so many chickens in the poultry yai'^ It is said that the Greenland natives hold the idea that ptarmigan, ,.. order to provide for their winter food, garner in a supply of berries into the hollows of the rocks, and during very severe If 126 NIMROl) IX THE NOUril. U cold tlioy form iviivats under the n\mw und ^iiiicli togctlier to keep w.'iriii. This would Imrdly coiucicb with the I'lU't that I liave seen tiiem fseekiu^MlK'ii- food iit jill mouths of the year, und at ull temperatures duriuu" the winter, uidess tlieir luihirs vary in the two countries, TJiey are excellent food and tnsfe vei-y much like tlu? representatives of tlieir •species in the lower /ones. 1 have never lieard them utter any crv beyond a coarse cluckin.ir when wacUlIing along on the ground in fnmt ofai.erson, jind my (pieries among the natives failed to extend my information. T have noted this simi)ly because it has been represented that this bird has a most singular and extraordinary voice, whicli it exerts oidy in the nighttime, and instances are given where supersti- tious iieople have been frightened beyond measure by hearing it. So white is the plumage of these northern grouse, that when they are squatting in the siunv a person searching for them may get within two or thi-ee yards befoi-e he sees them, if lie be not apprised of their position even then by the rapid, woodcock-like "whir" of their retreat. Especially Is this the case in the cold, blustering, snowy weatlier. But bird-life is not the only kind of game in the frigid zone that furnishes food and fun for th(>doubl(>-barreled smooth-bore. 'J'here are the Arctic hare, the fox, tlie lemming and a few other four-footed but small fellows, which are valuable for i)alate or jjcltry and generally the most sagacious of all. Kveiy now and then, when on our sledgv journey, the dogs, half asleep as they toiled away in their tiaces, would suddenly prick up their eais. and. if the sledge was light, dash forward after some unknown o])ject M-liich would fiiudly resolve itself into some insignijicant nibbit trail, and as this boreal bunny is somewhat predis- ]»()sed to the stormiest of weather, like the ptarmigan, he will often lead a team of dogs a meriy run if tlie driver does not stop them, imagijiing they are on the scent of reindeer, as they often are. I always found th.' rabbits living in the <'revices of the boulders heaped over each other, the covering snow forming a little h/loo, which, with their immense coat of hair, is sulfici.'ut to i)rotect them in the coldest weather. 1 hav<" seen them in all months of the year, and if they store up a winter's sup])ly of food (which T do not believe they do) they certainly keep very busy in the winter, maintaining it by accessions NlMIiOD WITI A SHOT GUN. 137 from other quarters. NVhile prol.ubly a tri.lo .smaller than the jaek- mbb.t ot the American plains, in re^^anl t. quantity of meat, he is hi« peer m size if not larger, in t!ie winter, ^vhen lie looks like a great bum le of white leathers. He is not eaten so much by the nativCs as by the wild animals-the foxes, wolves and woheriiies Tile Arctic fox i« much smaller than the common variety we are used BLrE AncTIC FOX. to seeing, nnd equally sagacious. I have seen several, but m some way Inever mannged to outwit one so far as to procure his pelt. He wa's either t,K, far to reach with the scattering arg.nnent of a shot-uun cr tooagile Tor a rifle in any body s hands less active than those of T)r Carver. Tt is not often that the natives get one by shooting, but tliev manage to trap large quantities lor their skins, which they trade to the W 111 II' ; I 4. f I 128 NlMliOl) IX Till': NORTH. ArcHfMviiuIemeii : but even tl K'ir iiit'iit is not ivjccit'd il" \\u^ laidcr IS short. Sonu,' Arctii! explorers Imvc pronomict'd tl the t. bh3, jiiKi i)rol)!ihly it iiuiy Im- by coniicirison when lonn- isoh'ited leir niHjit woriiiv of fi'on 1 Jill sorts of fn'sh meat. The trjii)s of tlie nativ es are simply slabs ol iee, with fh(( coininoii ^,^•Ilre-4 si)ria,ii-, and when they visit the traps :it rare intervals the slab falls on the top of a, small ivctangular jxii of ice, thus iiiclosini;- reynard alive, as otherwi s(; when eiiished and THE WOLVKiaXK. allowed to lie, tlie skin in a few honrs becomes worthless and the fur pulls out. These ice-traps were often seen about Hudson's Bay. On Kini,^ William Land the Netschillidw built pens of the slabs of sand- stone, and then set the trap in winter by coverin.u' it with the usual sla]> of ice. ITavin.c: no means of tradin<,^ off the skins, they use them in making clotlies for their children. Reynard's sagacity extends beyond NIMROD Vi'ITH A SHOT-GUK 129 mere defense, as illustnited in 1 ing, lie iipproaehes the shore, and (sphisl feet, allures the lish m IIS prociuing suhsjstenoe. Wiien tish- ling in the water with his fore- effectiveness. ar him— near enough to s]>ring- upon them with says Crantz. In North similar to that of the Esl even the wolverines, I belli ern Hudson's Jiay, their fishing is kimo dogs, the wolves, the p.dar bear, and ■ve. In this l):iy the rise and fall of the t — .ide IS great, and where the rising tid,. pours into a lake-like inlet with a ro.'ky mouth, the water in falling is di-nined tlirougii great piles of kelp, h.'ld hy the roeky bar, and this entangles all the lish that have been unlucky enough to enter this trap. WIimi-ov, r y.u-n an inlet is found on an island well out at sea, there the Innuits store their dogs for the summer, and here they grow very fat ; and where such lish-t-aps exist along the main sla.re, there the wild, lish-eating nnimals may be found when the ice has not covered the bay. The lish usually caught is a sort of pout, most repulsive in aj.peu.-uu-e, and called by the whalers kelp- lish. When Ross was on his Fn.u. :in search expedition am wintering in the ice, having heard nothing of Franklin's whereabouts, he trapped a great number of Arctics foxe.s, put brass collars around their necks having stamped in them the position of his ships, and turned them loose, thinking and hoping that one might reach Franklin's ships or crexvs, and assist them in their retreat or movements by such timely information. The ermine, the lemming and the true fur-bearing small game of the Arctic, savor so much, of the shop, so much of the market reports alone, that I doubt if theii cold-blooded pursuit for mere gain would be inter- esting to the reatler. I . !' ; 1 !*ll ^i|i ^PRSKi^M X^^V^s-i-^' GKAYLING. Im§ CHAPTEIl YI. NIMKOD WITH A FISII-EOI). To the devotees of Lsaak Walton, the sly old trout, fannhiiv Idmself with his fin under tlie deep shadow of an overhan,i.-inff willow or low bush on a hot summer day, winking and Idinkingatthe feathered hook with a sort of I've-been-there-before expi-ession on his face; the gray- ling, with Ms voracious endeavors to swallow hook, line, pole* and fisherman ; the bass, the pike, the pickerel and all the gamy gladiators of the genial climes are wanting in the frigid zones, yet there is some grand old sport, excitement siuVed with danger, that sauce of man's noblest essays, in many of the fishings of the frigid zones, from the large whale, cleaving the clipper-built boat of his pursuers into fragments NIMROD WITH A FISH-ROD. 131 with one stroke of his gigantic tail, to the smallest finny fellow that scratches its head on the under side of the treacherous ice Ever since Captains Edge and Poole, on the 12th of June IGll struck and captured the iirst whale, and the amphibious sailors of the Dutch English and Scotch have developed this rare sport, it has been a wonder that so many sportsmen in search of gladiatorial game-game that could give as well as receive death-have never crossed wenpons with these tigers of the sea. Perluips their pursuit prones to profit and loss, but so does the buffalo in the hands of hirelings. Perhaps his haunts are too remote to be invaded cheaply. But who ever heard the true sportsman stand on sucli ground when we consider the great expense of excursions i<. such lands as Africa and elsewhere to kill the lion tiger and leopard. AVhatever may be the reason, the noblest game of the sea is left to the hands of those who kill him only for the coin he will bring in the markets. I can imagine nothing more exciting than a good whale chase, and I think it would send any sportsman's blood up to fever heat. I had been promised a royal old chance to participate in siich a chase by the mate of the " Eothen "-the whaler that bore us to Hudson's Bay-should they ever -lower" for one before my little party was set ashore to prosecute its Arctic explorations, but no such chance ever came, although no „ne probably watched the man in the crow's nest at the masthead for -There she blows!" more eao-erly than I, not even those to whom their pocket was a paramount consider- ation. The Innuits catch great nnml)ers of whale, :,nd trade their bone and od to the whaling-ships, and this fa,-t creates considerable rivalry between the different vessels to reach whaling g.-ounds first, in order to bart.n' with these native fishermen who have been plving their vocation for a month before the ships get in. The ancient Innuit or purely native method of killing a whale was to pursue him with the harpoons ami bladders w.> have desc.ibed iu the walrus and seal-hunting by a large number of natives in theii- hn,aks^ ov skin canoes, and literally fill him so full of these that when exhausted, after a long chase, he was unable to sink beneath the surface, and fell an easy prey to their sharp lances made of wood and tipped with walrus ivory. Many of the old 132 NIMROD IN THE NORTH. Iwillik Innuits told me of tlieir ant-ient wliale-liunts, the flesh of these monsters keeping a fair-sized viUage in dog meat for tlie winter, wliile tlie skin— about an inch tlilck— they used themselves. The Avhalebone, cut into strii)s, was used to lash their A-rry^Z: frames together, while the bone proper from the jaw was sawed into long batten-like strips twelve THE NORTHERN AVHALE. or fifteen feet in length, three or four inches wide, and an inch thick. With this they shod their sledges to give them a broad running and bearing surface. This, with the oil and blubber for light and food, made the whale the n'ost useful game the natives could pursue. NIMROD WITH A FISH-ROD. 133 Xovv tlie Ksi imo hunt tlunn like the wlialers, oftentimes in boats supplied by An.eriean or European captains, or o)>tain..I IVom wrecked wha ing Hlups, and .sell the proceeds for almost insignilicant profits, the banelul results of the contact of civilization with savagery. The r r f " ' r'T''""' *'^^ "^" '^ ^*''^^--^^' ^^ f-^ 1-^i- of the crew of these vessels, for nowhere can be found more hardy harpooners or braver boatmen than these natural tishennen in their seas of ice and I r%i r ''''r' ^^--^^^'^-s considered the best part for eating It IS as black as the ace of spades, and when boiled in the tr^•ing-poTs Its tas e .s not unlike that of tripe. It is an excellent artici; ot" diet, m that It assists to keep away that bane of the sailor, the scurvy Before their contact with white men, the natives would not "try out '' he whale blubber in such wholesale quantities as is now done for their benefit, believing, and probably with reason, that the smell of the rendered oil would drive away the reindeer and musk-oxen, especially if lere were an inshore wind. Game once frightened away in this manner, hey know too well, is very slow to return. If ,e natives are whnlin. from a station on the coast, the r...^.., or medicine men on shore assisted by those who have remaine.l behind, beseech their God of the Seas to give the whalemen luck by their vociferous a,un'/,-otr„r,, a svsteni of gj-mnastic devotion more fatiguing than the pursuit of the wlu.le ri.,, use of the whalebone to which the natives put it, and one case of It that came under my personal observation, I must not allow to pass unnoticed. Whenever wolves have been unusually liungrv- have de.4royed a favorite d<,g or two, or dug up a mcA. of reimWr meat just when it was needed, or in any other way have ronsed the ire of tiie lunu.t hunter-he takes a strip of whalebone about the size of thc>se used m corsets. wr.ps it up in a compact helical mass like a watch-spr.ug, having previously shnrj.ened both ends, then ties it to,gether with reindeer sinew, and plasters it with a con.pound of blood and grease, whu-h is alhnved to freeze and for.us a bindino- eenient sufli- nently strong to cut the sinew string at every second or third turn. J Jus, with a lot of similar looking baits of meat and blubber, is thrown n,Hm the snow or gr.unHl. and the hungry wolf devours it along with the others, and when it is thawed o,.t by ,I.e warmth of his n '■■'I 134 NnmOD IN THE NORTH. stomach it elongates anended upon.* Those piscatorial pirates, the sharks, often invade the Arctic, no doubt tempted l)y the carcasses of the whales or seals or walruses, left to rot by white men engaged in their pursuit. 2s'atives, angling from their skin canoes in deep water, occasionally catch a sluggish shark that has ingulfed the bait, but there is no use pulling against such a mountain of flesh and relying upon sheer strength to bring him up ; and this the Innuit Isaak Walton fully knows, and overcomes his strength by sagacity. At every brisk pull of the shark, showing him to be irri- tated, the line is lowered to appease him, but cautiously hauled in again almost immediately, tjie shark slowly rising to tliis strategic manii)u]ation, until, -like a finny fool" he rests upon the surface^of the water merely by the aid of the weakest lishing-line, when with a long knife the tisherman dexterously dispatches him by a well-directed thrust through the s])inal cord. From their well-known voracity in warmer climes, it seems singulai- indeed that they do not often attack the native iishermen in their litile skin canoes, but there is not a recorded or known instance of such an attack, even on the west shor.^ of (xreenl and where sharks are most numerous, and where the native * I know that in a strictly scientitic sense, (lie whale, the narwhal and the porpoise nre mam- mals anil not properly lish at all. But I am treating the subject popul:.. ly an.l not scientifically. NIMROD WITH A FISII-ROD. 137 catch lurge numbers of tliem-froni ten to twenty thousand a year according to 3)r. Kink, Danish insp.rtor of tliis coast for a long period ot time. The usual method of catching these fish can hardly be called lishmg at all. IS'ear a hole in the ice a lighted torch is placed, and two natives stand on opposite sides of the hole, armed with sharp hand- hooks, like the deck-hands at a shute waiting for merchandise, until tlie shark sticks his nose t)ut, when he is treated in about the same business-like manner, as he is hauled on to]) of the ice, where their carcasses often accumulate by hundreds ; for once commenced, their pursuit-if such it may be called-is generally carried on through the whole winter. The cartilaginous bones are the favorite parts for food as the raw, frozen liesh seems to have a depressing effect when eaten for a long time. To this unwholesome meat the dog disease is attributed, which every few years carries off so many valuable dogs. Codfish of several varieties abound in various parts of the Arctic regions, no less than a quaiter of a million of them being caught annu- ally in Greenland alone. There are the large ones s'-niilar to those on the banks of Newfoundland and elsewhere to the south ; but these are only caught in the Ai-ctic seas during the summer with hook and line. The smaller cod-the oowal' of the Innuits-seems to be a more Arctic fish. :\[y first peivsonal contact with this vai'iety was when I met the Netschilluks of King William Land, in a little Cove on the Adelaide Peninsula. A short distance out on the ice of this cove there were a number of holes dug through the ice, some fifteen or twenty, and at nearly every hole was a woman or a child hauling out these herring-like cod as fast as they could put in their lines and pull them out Zj^am. Their lines were made of the sinew stripjied from the superficial dorsal muscles of the reindeei-, their hooks simply being twisted bits of metal, barbless, and deiiending upon the rajud hauling in of the line to retain the fish— a dexterity which they accpiire losiich adegree that they lose but few. Still, our barbed hooks so excited their curiosity that' they were fain to giv(^ us almost anything foi-them, but we were glad enough to exchange them for their i-ough ones of C()i)per that had been crude'ly liammer(Ml fiom the sheeting Htrii)ped from the bottom of Sir John Franklin's ships. Wlienever the wind would blow very strong, the ■ ?! 138 NIMROD IN THE NORTH. fishers would build a lii<.-li smow wall on that side, to protect them, and this could be siiil'ted in a mom nt or so to meet every changiuiL,^ gust of wind. Even tlie many dogs in sneaking around would make out to steal a good nu'id of lish in the course of tlie (hiy. One thought coiUd not but impress itself upon me very forcibly. Very near this place was the spot where the last survivors of Sir John Franklin's ill-fated expedition perished from cold, hunger and scurvy. They had landed, some ten or fifteen in numbei-, in the summer months, when the cold was by no meiuis unbearable, and edible lish were swim- ming in countless numbers under the very keel of their boat. A good supply of fresh fish would have satisfied their hunger and kept the scurvy at bay. '^Man's life hangs upon a thread," says the old proverb ; it certainly hung on a fish-line in this instance. The old women of the village passed around us with their hands full of curious little pearly buttons that came from the head of the oowak, wishing to trade them for needles and such materinl. There is also a large and small kind of halibut in the Arctic seas, caught by whites and natives. The large halibut often weigh a hundred pounds, and a fev.- years ago some American ships went into the busi- ness wx catching them for a commercial speculation, but I think it has failed. The little halibut is much fatter and sweeter, and is angled for in the ice-fiords of Greenland at depths of from t\vo to three hundred fathoms of water. In somewhat shallower water of the same places, at from one hundred and fifty to two hundi-ed fathoms, the same anglers often obtain the "red-fish" whose flesh is rich in oil and agreeable to the palate. The nepisaA'—a fat little finny fellow— runs in shore during the spring to spawn, and then those natives lucky enough to be in the course of their run can live off them for a couple of weeks or more. The northern capelin is a fish that warms the soul of the native from its great abundance when it does come, "and jruiy in a dried state, in wintertime," says Dr. Rink, "frequently be said to have constituted the daily bread of the natives." They are actually shoveled on shore for a month during the running season in the spring, by the help of nets and seines, and strewn over the rocks of the beach like manure over a field. The natives of Greenland do not catch much less than a thousand tons per year, especially if the season be successful. NIMROD WITH A FISHROD. 139 There ison(» tribe of Innuits, jind only one tluit my journeys brought nie in cfnitact with, which .ii:iy be said to live upon tish, or iit least, it is the principal article ol" diet. 1 refer to the Oo-quee-sik Sa-lik Innuits, wlio live on the largest branch of Back's Great Fish Kiver— the Koog- ni-yook— at about forty miles from its mouth, and at the Dangerous Kapids, at the nujuth of Back's Kiver. At the former place, on the Koog-ni-yook, there is a long series of rapids in the river, and when the ice breaks up and is clear of the river, about July, the salmon commence to ascend, and they are speared by the hundred by the fishermen, who boldly wade through the rushing torrent till good standing places are found. The fishing spears used here are about ten or twelve feet long and an inch and a half tliick, and at the lower end is placed a sharpened spike about four inches in length, generally made of copper. Two flar- ing pieces of horn are bound to the shaft, and at the free extremity of each of these is a metal spike bent back like a barb. The points of ihe three spikes, which neariy touch each other, form a triangle whose sides are of almost equal lengtli. \Vhen thrust over a salmon in the water, the central spike pierces his back, the two outer ones flaring over his sides until they are pulled u]), when the elasticity of the musk-ox horn prongs drives them into his sides, and he is "triangled" on three spits that hold him with deadly certainty until he is thrown upon the land. The women clean the fishes, and they are placed to dry on double ro* • • of reindeer-sinew^ strings drawn from one rock to another and back. When dried they are packed in sealskin bags for winter use, and even as late as May, when we visited them, they had a tolerable supply of 'pipsee, as they call it. The Ookqueesik Saliks, of the Dangerous Rapids, catch not only the salmon but a herring-like tish which they call cowwesilliJi. As it comes later in the year they have no time to dry it, so they pUe it away in pens of rock looking like huge granite bee-hives, and often standing as high as they can reach. Late as they are caught, the coioioesilVk have plenty of time to acquire the taint so characteristic of stale fish ; and so much is this killed by freezing and so generously is it liberated again by thawing, that the raw, frozen fish are decidedly a luxury as a diet 140 NIMROD IX THE NORTH. oon.pared with those <-.,„1uhI. Tlii.s is true of mII tainted meats-vast quantities (,!' wliieh are .h-voured by tlie natives througliout these regions. Taken in large quantities sickness supervenes, accompanied by a practical nausea, and cases often occur of death from this cause when driven to it by necessity, or indulging in it too freely under other circumstances. Out of 4,770 deatiis among the Innuits of Greenland tiiirty-six were poisoned by putrilied meat, sixteen died of putrid fever probably brought on by that cause, and seventy-three of complaints of the stomach, thirty-three of vomiting, of w]u<-h over half would be of this cause It my experience among the Innuits would hold in ^lat country. Colonel Gilder would insist on comparing tainted walrus meat to Limburger cheese, and certainly when meats so perfectly marbled ■< « SALMON. With interstitial fat as that of the walrus are tainted, it is more that of the rancidity of old cheese than a true putrefaction ; but no such claims rest with any of the true fishes, even in the Arctic, although we man- aged to accustom ourselves to this diet in homoeopathic doses. In sn.all shnllow streams, these natives select . " e on the rip]i]e and build a dam r.bhquely across, open for al)out a ^ ..... on either end. and inclining to the axis of the stream at as an acute an angle as the lenijth of the rii)ples will allow, so as to keep the dam within them. After the cow- wesilWcsh^y^ passed up the stream the upper opening is closed, and a w m.VdOD WITH A FISH-ROD. ui largo nunif,er of rmtives, getting on tlie up-stivam side of the shoal of «sh, higliteu th.-ni into ivtnniing doun the stream, where they must pass through the lower opening ,,f the wing-dani. This dam is contin- ued along the bank for some distance, if tlien. be one, or the water is directed into a basin if there is none : in either case the iish are penned int<. a phice where tliey are so thick tliey are raked out with a large, wooden rake on the bank, and thence transferred to the large cairns, already described, and used througii the winter for food. But the prim-e of tlie polar lish.^s is the salmon, although the ice makes ,t impossil)]e to get as much fun out of him here as can be had in the temperate zones, and bars such sport for the greater portion of the year. They are caught by means of holes cut througii the ice, and the satisfaction derived is about equal to that of pike or pickerel fishing under the same circumstances. Whenever the native traveler goes into camp and the water-hole is dug, he always makes allow- ance for fishing by making the hol-^ large enough to draw through this icy avenue the largest salmon that may perchance be swimming in the lake He sometimes gets deceived in these calculations. I once found mvself on the upper surface of seven or eight feet of ice, with a twelve-inch broad salmon on the under side, separated from me by the edges of a ten-inch hole, though connected with me by the strongest kind of a sinew line and a stout Limerick fish-hook. Our efforts to get together were finally rendered successful by one of the natives, who enlarged the hole in the ice with liis chisel. N II ESKIMO DOG. CHAPTER VII. DOGS A^D DOG-SLKD(}IXG. I DOUBT very much if tliereisa domestic iiiiiinul ill tlie wide world tliat is so ab- solutely essential to the welfure and comfort of a savage people as an Eskimo dog is to the natives of the north, and esi)ecially those of the American Arci^ic, where it is used the most. It is their horse, ox and reindeer for drawing ve- hicles : their mule and camel for packing their elTects when the snow is off the ground ; their hunting dog for the chase—and by the chase alone do they reap a sustenance from a niggardly nature ; and in case of great ex- tremity. Avhen everything else has failed, the last bitter morsel by which they avert starvation for a while to tide them over the famine. " How large are the Eskimo dogs T' is a question I have been asked more than a dozen times for every Eskimo dog I have ever seen. A fitting answer woidd be, " About the size of a rock."' There seems to be an indefinite impression among the people of the temperate zones that these northern dogs are a distinct breed, and that a descrii^tion of any one of them taken miscellaneously here or there would, with very slight manipulation, serve for any other— as a description of a setter, a terrier or a greyhound would answer, the world over, for any animal of the same species. The Eskimo dogs, as I found them on my sledge- journeys, are about as distinct a breed as the cui- in civilized countries, although a far more useful and intelligent animal in every respect, yet concerning those I found in Alaska I would call my readers' attention to > 4» I f) 2Mlli- ■•■•■.if'' --'--^ EfiKIMO DOGS. '?'' ii ^ I 'T '. i illj 144 NIMROD IN THE NORTH. [m the references to this sul)ject which will oe found in the chapter on. Alaskan hunting-. There is a sort of general similarity in their pointed, woltish ears— if they have not had them broken and disligured in wrangles over cold victuals, as a large proportion of those that I have seen in North Hudson's Bay seem to have had, and in their shaggy coats of warm hair. But, after all, I have seen them when full grown, of all sizes, from a small pointer to a snudl Kewfoundland, and with coats as shaggy and beautiful as the latter and again as coarse and straight as the veriest mongrel ; ^vhile one may have a muzzle as sleek and clean as a fox's and another in the same team a massive mug like a bulldog's, although the latter is rare, and a medium between the two very common. A dog painter visiting the Arctic, or at least that part I visited, would have to take Avitli him every color he had used in painting the various breeds at home, while one who trains the animals would find enough variety of disposition to exeix-ise the brains of a genius. So different are their sizes that the native dog-driver uenerally has a harness for each, and he always knows its assignment when the dogs are hitched up in the morning for the day's journey or work, as the collar of one that would pull the ears as it was put on, might be almost too large for the shoulders of some little runt that had been dwarfed in his puppyhood by too good or bad treatment. The big, aggressive dogs lord it over the snudler and weaker ones in a thousand disagreeable ways, although their pugnacious and overbear- ing insolence does not always reward them with the best to be had, and in a few creditable instances really prevents their getting it. If in the way of food the morsels be made very snudl— that is, the meat cut into bits that can be swallowed at one gull)— the active little ft'llows will be almost sure to get the greater part of it ; for the very fii-st reception of anything eatahle among a number of them, is a terrible tussle between the big belligerents in which the little ones reap the liarvest. There is nothing U'ore comical than to see the big brutes rolling over each other in awi'angle while the little ones devour the dainties, and then note the foolish expression on the combatants' faces as tliey wander around over the clean snow wondering what they were lighting for after all, wliile the smaller fry keep at a respectful distance and lick their chops in the DOGS AND nOG-SLEDGIXG. 145 h ,„ uluj ahvays lea„« toward, tho,e wl,o ,1„ the n.ost ,vo,k for h.n.-that „, the h,g fell„>vs-s,„-h clistribution, are ..ot very co„„no„ Another ..oustaut .source of coaunon annoyance to the little dog., and to the,r n,a.,er.,, ,s felt when the .snowhon^e i» completed and h^long pa., geway o ,„ow olock, ha., been built, and the little one, cr-awl int^ o the n,gh , re. t In thi, they are ,„ually not di,turbed by the '1 It ,','ft'';\f "•'■'" «'"''-"l"'"""g'l- ..igl.t, when they are al.uo,t ,,ure to want the.r protected berth and walk in to take it on the " ;, " ' ."""""• y' '"«'""'« "'« inevitable result, feel that tl^; can ha.dly gue up ,uch a nice warn, berth without nnddng some stru.. g e for theu. r,ght,. The re,„lt generally i, that the larfe^ snow-blo d. ;:;:« .': 'f 7,^'"--. »■• «-- ^^o... U ^ can be called ^ch. i, nea. y aUvay, knocked >n and probably broken, and the exa.,perated innuite, or,o,„eoneof then, get, „p, ,tick or ,ledge-,lat in hand, and h Worou, blovv,t,ght and left, up and down, clear, thepassaglof all the log,, w,thout regard to age, ,i.e or color. Thi, operation is repeated do, ^I""'"T ' T™ '"!'' '" •■' '"'■"""' "''""*'"• """ *■'« «-eU-trained E,kimo 11. ... h,df.,tarved co..d.t.on at ,„o,t ,ca,o,., of the year keep, them in a chrome .,tate of loud belligerency, g.-owlingand lighting 'overev .y th.ng f n,t bear, even a re,en,l,lance to f„o,l. Dm^ing the ni.d,t-es,„ ";. ly those cold, moonlight night„oco,n,non ir, the Arctic wb^e.-thev w,lre,„enty favor you with a con tof p..olo„ged howl,, ,hat n.ake; n .e f ',', , ",'• """""^'"'"'■^- ■'■'"■ -""e d„g.d..iver, awakened .'/".'/" ,W/«-.' at the very top „f hi, ,tentoria,. voice. Thi, i,' I.e small clo,ed if/,,,,, .,ou,.d, not u,.like a 1fi.i„,„ gun i„ an i.on Uke he cl.0 ,gog,.e. The ,l„g, a.-e particularly given to these ..ight rebels when t.ed up, a, they u,aallya,v in ,l,e ea.'ly autun... to p.^v^nt If, ! Ij i 1 , 1 it K ■ 146 XIMROIJ IX THE NOHTIT. tliem scampering away after the reindeer that may be grazing near by and driving tlimi away. At tliis time they are muzzled witli sealskin thongs tied around their noses, so that their howlings nuiy not frighten the game ; and unl«*ss a very energetic one paws his muzzle oil" and liberates his jaws, the sleepy man nuiy have comparative quiet. Every time they are harnessed to the sledge the iirst crack of the whip to start is a sigiud for what might be called in frontier parlance "a free light."' The Iirst dog struck Avith the tip of the lash makes a belligerent spring for his nearest neighbor, who in turn retaliates on the next, and so on, until — like the proverliial row of upright bi'icks wheii one has started to fall— they aie all down in a tanglf of hair, harness and howls, which the native driver at once proceeds to unravel with the butt end of his whip. Having taken their preliminary "bitters," so to speak, they are then ready for a serious start, and trot or walk along the rest of the day's Journey in a manner worthy of Barnum's hapi)y family. They are generally, outside of their work, a most unbearable nui- sance. From two or three to a half dozen heads can always be seen closing the little i(/1oo door, ready to steal any thing eatable that may be left unwatched for a nu)nient or two, and should they capture it, there then ensues a noisy wrangling over the article, which generally terminates in .some big aggressive dog who, by the way, has not risked getting his head broken at the if/loo entrance, walking off as a victor with the spoils, unless speedily recaptured by the innuites, whicli in case of eatables— unless it be frozen hard as a stone ami of unusual size, too large at least to swallow until torn to ])ieces — is very rare. AVhile traveling, the Tnniiits make quite snudl ////oo.v, just large enough to hold everybody when i)i(»i)erly "sjiooned," ai^l store all the harness, meat, etc., in as small an it/Joo as possible alongside. When evei\\body has retired, the dogs commence their engineering to gt't at the c<.inents of the storehouse, sci'atchiug away as if for dear life, until a i)ant)'ei-- like yell from some on<' of tlif male inmates fiightens tliem away temporarily; but they will be very lucky indexed if they are not com- pelled to get u]» once or Iwice during the night and ivpair some dam- ages the dogs have done. This can be easily forestalled by i)ouring or I i 8 148 NIMROD IN THE NORTH. 8i)rinkling water on the snow blocks of the store igloo, and so protect- ing it with :i thick crust of ice ; but witli tlie careless indilference so characteristic of the Eskimo, they seldom do this until the dogs have demolished several small store ujIooh and stolen their edible contents. When we reflect that these animals are fed only every other day, even Avhen there is plenty of food for them, and oftentimes oidy every third or fourth day, if the canine larder is not very full, their voracious feroc- ity is easily understood. On King AV^illiam Land at one time, the dogs of Henry Klutschak's party, returning from Terror Bay to Gladman Pt)int, were seven days without food, doing work all the time ; the men themselves, meanwhile; being nearly three days without any thing to eat. 1 have known them to eat soledeather, pistol-holsters — kindly leaving the i)istol — canvas gun-covers, oilcloth clothes, tarred rope and cloth saturated with grease ; and on our way to Back's liiver, they tore to pieces and par- tially devoured a pair of India-rubber overshoes that I was depending npon for summer wear. We had been fortunate in securing a few reindeer while returning homewards along l^aclc's Great Fish River, most of which we found well inland from the river, and it was also this fact, added to many other reasons not of a s];)orting character, that induced my natives to ask me to leave its barren bed. This scanty supply of reindeer meat, with the rapidly disappearing fish that we had bought of the Eskimo at the mouth of the great river, gave the poor dogs but few scanty meals, which, coupled with the razor-edged Aveather in the depth of an Arctic winter, told terribly n])on them, and before we had left the river in the latter part of December, we had lost one fine dog, and so drained the vitality of the rest that we increased the mortality to twenty-six out of forty-five before we reached Hudson's Bay, on the fourth of the next ^farch. It was pitiable indeed to be compelled to notice the silent siitl'erings of these faithful comi)anions as they slowly fell by the wayside, with a seennng devotion, as if the sacrifice Avere self-imposed to aid us as much as ])ossible on our uncom- fortable journeyings. Ravenous as the;y were, tearing to pieces every thing not made of wood or iron, or raiding fearlessly into the hjloon in quest of food, they DOGS AND DOG-SLEDGING. 149 were faitliful respecters of tli.'ir lininan companions, not even once attempting to luirni tlie little cliildren wlio wander inno.vntlv anion- tliem, pelting them with toy wliips, tliough half an hour afterward they would be savag-ely tearing a dead, starved companion limlj from limb to secure the hide, which was nearly all that was left of him. Every time one of the party entered an /r/Ioo by creeping tlirough the narrow entrance on his hands and feet, tliey wedged themselves in along witli him so tightly that it wms ahuost impossible to move, hoping theivby to steal some stray morsel of meat or blubber. AVhen a person was out of doors among them, every motion he made was intently watch.-d, and if it bore a resemblance to giving them anything eatable, they would make a rush that would pile the pack around him in a most alarming- looking but hanuless way, until something else drew their attention hi another direction. These facts may have sometimes 1(m1 persons to believe that "assault with intent to do bodily harm" was tlie motive aet.iating the tierce-looking gang under these circumstances, but my experience with. Eskimo dogs has been that when starving, if they desired to make a nu^al off tlxeir human allies, it would take more effective means to prevent it than those recorded where the imayiuation of the writers conceived that tli.'ir liv.'s were in danger. The Eskimo of my accpiaintaiice, whom I (piestioned concerning this matter, knew of no such cases. The endurance of the Eskimo dog is his most conspicuous point of superiority to his southern fellows, which he no more resembles in feebleness of flesh than the Indian squaw of the West, carrying her two- bushel basket of potatoes strapped over her head to the agency building, two miles away, resenlbl(^s a society belle with just enoug'li strengtli to roll her eyes at the mention of the last French novel. T have more than hinted at this already in the previous paragraphs, but have not given the most conspicuous cases by any manner of means. On the 14th of November, 187!). one sledge of my])arty, with nineteen dogs, found themselves at tlie head of tli,' Kingniiktook Inlet, journeving toward the Dangerous l?apids at the mouth of Back's Kiver, over a'"liundred miles away, and across a i)erfectly unknown country. That day we fed our dogs a tolerable m.-al only, for not a reindeer had been seen [III lil !':• 150 XlMIiOD IX THI-J XORTH. since early October, when the forniinn- ice in Simpson's Straits had allowed them to cross on their southward migrations, and our supply of venison was getting veiy low. One of those detestable storms, so common to the Ai'ctic, that knows no meteorological law except that of persistency, now set in, and continued in its varying moods until the 7th of December, duriiig which time we of course made very slow progress. Eight (lays after— on the a:?d— we again fed them lightly (having fed them four or live days before! the 14th of 2sovend)erj, for we were in a hilly country and haidly knowing when we would reacli the rapids. Seven days after, on thf 29th, we gave them a tolerable feed, as we now for the first time saw our way clear to our desired point. Again, (m the r)th of December, six days after the last feeding, we reached the rai)ids, tore down a native cairn of iish, and, as the natives were absent, put a knife and a few trinkets in the debris of the rock as payment, according to the custom of the country, and gave our poor animals a, most regal feed. Xot one had fallen by the wayside, although the nineteen of them were so thin and gaunt that I doubt if tln^ whole lot were equal in strength to any half-dozen of them before we left the head of the Ivingmiktook Inlet, when they were in the best condition on my trip of nearly a year in length. I doubt if there are a dozen dogs in the temperate zones that would luive lived half-way through that ordeal of three weeks in the depth of an Arctic winter. The range of the Eskimo dog Ux'iiKj-mlh\ Jn'iiuil\ or l'i(/inih\ in Innuit parlance), is co-extensive witii that i-ace of the human family from which he (h'l'ives his distinctive name, and in many places over- lea])S these boumhiries, and is found among the -ontiguous Indian tribes, who fully ai)preciate his value ms m draft animal. Wiiite inen, especially those engaged in the fur industries, have helped to extend his wanderings until the J<:skinio dog. or tiiose that are eaih'd such, have even crossed the boundai'ies of the I'luted Slates in their legiti- mate duty of sledging. Theiv is also a tendency to call all sledging dogs of the far north Eskimo, some of wiiicli might be more pi-opei'Iy spoken of as Indian dogs, trained to this valuabhM-aniue accomi)lishnient. and even among the Eskimo themselves, -is 1 have more than hinted, can be found u \ ! 154 NIMROD IN THE NORTH. iff III •> ;]' 'ij PiirsentMik— a fiiif, swift liuntin.u- do^' belon^in^^ to Toolooali's team that lias already ligiired extensively iiniiy previous hunting- anecdotes — disai)i)eiiie(l from uh at one time just before we cj-ossed the Strait to Kiiii;- William Lantl, but came back on the fourth day, looking' as if he had swallowed a keg, and was worthlt\ss for a day or two afterward on account of his heavy meal. Tlie natives always dislike to give dogs a hearty meal just before a day's work is expected of them, for then they are the very laziest creatures on tlie earth and require double the usual amount of whipping to get any work out of them. The whip is made just the length of the longest harness trace, so as to just touch the leadei', although I should add that he is whipped less than any other dog in the team. The Avhip is a single, long, supple lash of tanned seal-skin— the skin of the great .seal, ook-JooJi%—\v\t\\ a very short handle, like that of the western " black-snake " whip. The drivers who use it are the best trained men with a whip I have ever seen, and can single out a solitary dog in a rapidly moving comi^act mass of them, and cut him with the tip of the lash on either ear with unfailing dexterity. From their early infancy to childhood and thence to manhood they are constantly using this instrument and thereby ac- quire a versatility with it that no white man can ever equal. Of the Manitoba whips it is said that they "are of plaited cariboo hide, with from 2 oz. to 8 oz. of small shot woven into them to give them weight." In some parts of the Arctic the whip is unknown, and the dogs are driven by a small, stout stick, which is held in the hands when not used, and hurled when necessary at any refractory or lazy dog in the team. As the sledge goes by, the active driver recovers it, to repeat the opera- tion when needed. It would be an almost endless task to describe the many varieties of sledges to be found in the Arctic regions, for they vary with nearly every tribe, so I shall confine myself to those that came under my per- sonal observation. The most primitive and simple sledge of all is one hewn directly out of the ice— bed and runners. One would think such a vehicle must be extremely fragile and liable to go to pieces at any moment, and it is not as strong as a wooden one, but so long as the driver keejis along the level shore ice, its extreme "corpulence" and. 1 1 DOGS AND DOG-SLEDGING. 155 sti'on^jj couistractiou ivnder it a vtM'y sHi-vicfiible conveyance ; besides, it has the advanta^ie of always having- ice on the bottom of its runners, a most necessary iidjiinct to tlie sledges of this region of the world, Some- times these bulky runners are strengthened by freezing in them the bodies of salmon and other lish, which are eaten when the journey is completed. A sledge with tliin ice spread evenly and sniootldy over the bone-shoe of its lunners can l)e hauled over the hard snow-drifts with from on* -third to one-h;ilf as many dogs as it would otherwise take, and nothing in the world mak'sthe native sledge-man so angry as to strike liis runner against a half-concealed stone, and strip the beau- tiful ice-shoe from his sledge. And now let me describe this ''icing" of the runners of a sledge and speak of its gn-at benefits. When a sledge is being built, the last thing to do, if the buiklerhasthematerial, is to shoe it with a batten-like strip of bone taken from the jaw of a whale, which shoe, being a little wider than the runner, projects over on both sides — as shown in cross-section <5° in figure A. Lashings of whalebone, or large woodt 'ii screws, enable them to be fastened securely, and this bone shoe is generally rounded on its bearing surface, or under side. To "ice" the sledge, it is turned boi,- tom side uj), and the first coat put on. Tliis consists of pieces of snow about as big as one's double fist, dipped in water to render it slushy and soft. These the native, Avith the open palm of his hand, ai)plies to the runner, rubbing them backward and forward until they form a level, smooth and solidly frozen surface about two feet along the runner, and crimp over and bind on the projecting flanges of the bone shoe, as shown in tlie upi'ight shading in cross-section in fig. B. This course is continued the whole length t)f the runner. This frozen snow is opaque and looks like a mass of ground glass, and wiien solidly frozen — as it will be even while the man is rubbing it — th«» runner is ready for the second coat, or linisliing touches, so to speak. The native now takes his mouth as full of water as it will hold, and sends a gentle spray over A M ■I !' i 1 it ' ''■ ", i * 11 t '■ ■1 1 f! 166 NIMIiOD IX THE NOIiTII. the frozen snow on tlio runners, and tliis freezes almost as fast as it Htrikes, the sled^e-nuin at the same time rapidly )unnlng the palm of Ills hand l)a('k\var(l and forward over the surface to give it a i)ei-fe('t polish. Sometimes he nses a i)ie('e of polar bear skin for a little while, to save his hand tiie severe friction, but the lust few strokes are always with the oticnpalm of the liand. AN AKCTIC SLEDCiE PAIITY. This process finished, the sledge-runners are as slippery as one can imagine, and I do not think I exaggeratt^ the cdinparison \\]un\ I say it is as mnch easier to pull a sledge, nicely and i)roiierly iced, than one that is not. asit wonld be for a horse to i)nll a Inick witlitlie wheels on than one that had them taken oil". My loiigest sledge was so heavy that it was hard work for any one of the i):irty to turn it over so that Too- looah couhl ice it. and it Mould have taken aconpleand i)robably three to budge it if the runnel's had not ])een iced ; yet Avhen the icing process had been completed. T could take my little linger (and have often done it}, hooked on the cross lashings, and work this ixmuerous DOdFy AND DOG- PLEDGING. 157 vehiclf' backward and forw ard as far as I coiild movr my arm. Several tiiut's, without iioticinju; that tlu' snow crust was unusually sh)i)ing, we have tiinicd tlu; ice-sledge over gently to prevent fractui'iug the ghicial HJioe, and havel)ef'n surprised to see it start down the grade by its own weiglit. It was aluiost as prone to do this as a wheeled veiiicle on rails. Of courst' such )L valuable but fragile adjuncst to their most important means of transportation, must be tlie cause of the liveliest solicitmle and care to tlie native sledge-man, to see thatit is not injured in any w:iy so as to compromise its ntility. In no place does the superiority of a sledge-man show to such good advantage as in his ability to conduct his sledge through a low, rocky portage conr Mug *'\u lakes, or over tlie top of a ridge where nearly all the snow lui^ been l)lown away, withoi t stripi>ing the ice froui his sledge-runners on the many stones that are peeping through the snow in every direction. I have seen my best sledu'e-driver, Tooloah, take his twenty-foot sledge througli a place for a couple of himdred yards where it would seem impossible to spread one's coat without covering a stone, an 1 yet come out unscathed ; but it reqnired the work of a Hercules, bol;;)ing the front of the sledge from one side to the other, and watching tlie rear to see that it was not thrown against or over a rock. So important is it to keep the icing on the ledge-runner bottoms, that if it is ripped olf by ;my accident the Eskimo will stop at tln' tirst lake or river where tliey can get water to wet the snow and give it a second coating, Iiough they mav have to dig through seven or eight feet of ice to get it. When <,iie rellects npon the value of tliis siiupl'- accessory to Arctic sledging, aiid ni)on the importance of sledging tr ait oxi)edition that desires to accom[)lish anything iu thesis regions, and also that rhis art is solely m(;no])oliz»'(l by these i»e()pl(\ it at once shows i lie great advantage of having them as allies, and the comi)arative folly of sledge journeys in rough Arctic countries without them. If a rough, stony place inter- poses itself where the projecting rocks are so numerous that it really becomes impossible to get through, all the persons in the jiarty will take off their reindeer coats and spread them, hairy side np, over the stones that the iced runners would strike in passing by. Lace in the spring, lliil I ■!|i B 158 NUIROD IN THE NORTH. n v< Jj |i|. iiiili wlien the temperature commences approacliing freeziii<.- from a much lower point, the ice will not retain its hold so well on the l)one shoes, and wlien it begins to melt, extra precauticms have to be taken to pre- vent it. Halting t(, rest on a warm, sunnj/ day, the sledge is swung around so that one runner is protected by its shadow, while the other has a number of reindeer clothes or blankets, or any thing of that nature spread along over it ro keep the sun oif. The least little bump, at these temperatuies. is vei-y liable to knock oi! a foot or two of the ice, and then the rest is easily scaled oif. Wiien it becomes so Avarm that the ice will no longer retain its hold, the snow on which the sledge runs becomes of a soft consistency that allows tlu^ bare bone shoes of the runnei-s to glide over it with comparative ease, and every body now wants to ride on the sledge, as when walking they are sinking up to tlie ankles or knees in the half-slushy mass. The worst experience I ever had in sledging was on Back's River, in December, 1870. This stream is full of rapids, which keep open the whole wintei", and the rising steam from them (for they look like huge boiling cauldrons in the intense cold of winter) freezes into a tin^'e, gritty, sand-like mass of snow that covers the true snow-drifts with a coating as of resin powder. This sticks to the sledge-runners in any temperature below 50° ]<\, and I think the thermometer averaged lower than that while we were on the river. But even this was not the worst obstacle to ti-av( . for all the snow that had lodged on the river ice lay along the cracks in the ice, nearly all of which seemed to be perpen- dicular to the axis of the stream. We thus had snow and ice alternately at every few yards, and often every few feet. The ice of the river would strip the icy runner coatings from tJie sledge, and when the snow was reached the ,l(»gs would re(piire the aid of all the members of the party to drag it oa .t. Either ice or snow ahme Avoiild have allowed us to pi-oce hilly country b.-twen it and Hudson's Bay nuich better a(hii)ted to sledging (han even its level bed. DOGS AND DOG-SLEDGING. 159 AVliile on the Hayes River, ii branch of tlie Great Fish River, during- the spring of the year, so late that the ic(^ would not stay on the run- ners, we found a great dejil of snow on tlie river ice was mixed with sand blosvn from the banks during the pievalence of liigli Avinds, and this acted like sandi)jiper on the bare bone shoes, so that by the time we left it we had ground those shoes to about half their usual thickness, and we felt a little uneasy lest they sliould bi'eak under liard knocks. So indeed they did several times, but ne-\er badly enough to i)ut us to serious inconvenience. In a great many i)arts of the Arctic it is imi)o.-:sib]e to procure the bone from a v.hale for sledge-shoes, and then the wet snow is applied directly to the bottom of thertnmers, and before itsai)plicati(ni is mixed with boggy mud, full of root stocks and grass stems to keep it together. A favorite mixture, when it can be obtained, is the undigested mass taken from the stomach of a reindeer. Among the Netschilliks, who confine their sledging to the level coasts of the Arctic Ocean, where it is of tlie best character, and wlio kill no whales to furnish them with bone, we found the runners shod with pure ice. Trenches the length of the sledge are dug in the ice, and into these the runners are lowered some two or three inches, yet not touching the bottom of the trench by fully the same distance. Water is then poured in and allowed to freeze, and Avhen the sledge is lifted out it is shod with shoes of perfectly i)ure and transparent ice. So transparent is this ice, that when the sledge is in rapid motion, it sometimes prodiu'es a peciiliai- oi)ti('al illusion, one imagining that the sledge is some three or four inches from the ground, swinging out behind like a kite's tail in its rapid fiight. When not even wood can beiirocured, t]\o ice-sledge already explained is adopted, or the skin of a polar bear or musk-ox may be used, if it be dragged with the hair ])()inting backward. The ratio of width to length in their sledges varies with the differ<'nt tribes. The Hudson Bay Eskimo observe al)()utthe propoi'tionsus;ally seen in boys' sledges used for coasting, although on a scale live or six times as large. The Kinnepetoos of (-liestHrfield Inlet, on the c(mtrary, often have sledges of from twenty-live to thirty feet in length and only a foot or a foo, and a half in width, claiming that these go over rough ground much easier than those of the ( ., :>mon kind. ii... i 1 ! i : iil ■' ' 1 1 ■ ! : . i!J " ■ ■ 11 Ivj 160 NIMROD IN THE NORTH. " How fast can a sledge go ?" and " How fur can you travel in a (h\y with tlieniT' are indelinite questions, asked nearly- as often as the equally unanswei'able one about the size of the Eskimo dogs, and the reply is al)out as satisfactory— namely— "They can travel nearly as fast and f ull y as far as a horse." ' If the sledge has a maxinuim load (say 150 to 2(K) pounds per dog, on salt water ice, or half that in inland sledging), the party can make from ten to twenty miles a day and keep it up about the same as a light expedition of troops. With a splendid team of from ten to iifteen dogs, drawing only a driver and light sledge, seventy-live or even a hundred miles can be made in a day—for one or two trips— especially along the coast. AVhile in the heavy, hummocky ice of Victoria Channel, I only made ten miles, with a fair load, in four- teen hours' hard work ; yet I havebe< n told of a reliable incident, when life and death hung upon the rapidity of action, and forty-hve dogs were hitched to a light sledge, with two of the ablest native drivers working on the team from each side, where twelve or thirteen miles were made in almost double as many minutes, t-" rescue a lost sailor from the whaling ships in Repulse Bay. CHAPTER VIII. HUNTING AND FISHING IN FAR-OFF ALASKA. Whenever the moose, the noisiest game of the deer tribe, is the central figure in a hunting story, tlie sports- man's mind naturally wand(M-s to Maine and tlie adjacent Canadian provinces, as if that region were his only habitat. And probably it is, in a sportsman's sense, but neverthe- less he extends his wanderings even into that part of the earth bounded by the Arct fUrcle, by folkiwing the valley oi the Yukon River — the grandest stream in our Alaskan possessions, and which dips for a short distance into that frigid z(me. The author, with a party of seven whites and over half a hundred Indians, "packed" their effects on their biicks across the glacier-clad Alaslvan Alps to the lakes at the liead of the Yukon, and buildijig tliere a liirge raft, floated upon it over 1,800 miles down the stream. ]S"«>iirly ino miles of lakes were sailed and "tracked" across, many rapi high Aljjinc country bordering on tjie "iidand ])assage,'" and tlie Indians kill luimbersof lliem. both foi' their glossy. Jet-black robes, and theii- meat, which is considered a great delicacy. Their hunting is sim])le, and consists in trc^eing them with dogs and then shooting tln'm out of the branches lilve squirrels. Through this i)art of Alaska tlie grizzly also roams, if weare to trust the nomenclature of some of the white resi(h'!its. althouiili I believe HUNTING AND FISHING IN ALASKA. 163 what they call the <^i'izzly is only the large brown bear or ' ' barren-ground bear" of this part of the country. I saw none of their robes, and Mr. AVard told me that very few people disturb these animals in wearing them. They have a violent antip;tthy to having their skins offered for sale, and the Indians especially have great resi)ect for this feeling. It seems as if even the little black bears avoid these big brown brothers, according to the same informant, and whei-ever the hunter linds one, he is sure the other does not inhabit the same district. The distric^ts can all be jumbled up like squares on a checker board, but the Indians and the black bears take considerable pains not to intrude on the parts pre- empted by tlie brown ones. The wholesome fear of the brown bear by the natives I found every- where on my travels in Alaska and the British Northwest Territory ; but the other theory regarding the coolness existing between the two kinds of bears is, I think, sliiihtlv misunderstood. At least I found it to be so on one or two occasions, of which I will speak in due time. One thing is universal, and that is the poor quality of the flesh of all the laiger kinds of bear, and as the robe of the brown bear of Alaska is practically wortldess as a fur, there is not much inducement for the natives or any one else to risk encounters with them just for the fun of it. The sides of the steep hills are heavily covered both with upright and fallen timlx^r, ovt-r the latter being a thick carpeting of moss, thoroughly saturated with water from the melting snows and glaciers on the mountain tops. It is almost impossible to describe :i walk in this jungle, and about inqtossible to ]^enetrate some parts of it so that it 4':in be described. Once successful in climbing near to the tops of the liills, howevei', a few openings may there be found in which the climber may possibly see a black-tailed de(n\ a mountain goat, or peichance a bear, but I think that any lover of ganu^ who had ever made one ascent, and still longed for a venison steak or a bear chop, would be found looking around the market stalls for it the second time. From Boca de Quadra Inlet we sailed for Wrangell, the most dilapi- dated, tuuibie-down little village 1 ever saw. It is on an island not far from the mouth of the iStickeen River, the largest stream of this part 164 NIMIiOD IN THE NORTH. m H of Alaska. Up tliis river some distance are the Cassiar gold-mines of British Columbia, and as they "pan out," to use a western nuning- expression, so Jiuctuates Wrangell, its base of supplies. At the time of my visit it was at very low ebb of tide. The hunting and fishin-^ in this locality is the same as that of the whole length of tins nanow strip of Alaska, sometimes called the "tide-water strip.- Amon-st the curiosities offered for sale by the 8tickeen Indians, we found carml ludibut hooks, spoons carved fantasticallv from the horns of the mountain goats and sheep, and other objects, whi<.h showed that the Stickeens do occasionally go hunting and iishing. Throuo-]i all this "tide-water strip," we sau' Indians with theii- faces blackened until they resembled negro minstrels nu.ch more closely th.ui the pro.ul red men, as they are painted. This coating of black helps to prevent their faces bhsteringwhen they are iishing on the srill waters in a blazinusun Chilkat Inlet, the northei'nmost waters of th. -inland passa<-e " was reached June 2. and we disembarked for our overlaml journev to the lieadwaters of the Yukon River. In this section of tl.e countiN "li- he Chilkat Indians-the greatest liunters of the great Tlinkir'naiion - which extends from the mouth of Copper Kiver to iJixon Entrance and of which the Stickeens are a clan. Several passes in the Alaskan coast range of mountains in their country give them unusual facilities for trading with the Indians of the interior, and their excursions inland afford them many hunting adventures. Black bear robes are numerous amongst then., and on their Alpine trips they see manv wild mountain goats, which they secure, and their hair is woven into the most beauti- ±ul blankets of odd and artistic designs, really wonderful forsava-e displays of textile industry. They are constantly spoken of as "blankets," but are really shawls, being woven and worn as such They have long since ceased to exist as wearing ai.parel amon- then, and are kept and sold only as cu.'iosities, for which they fiml a nu.st ready market, or as dancing robes for state occasions. Shortly after our a.-rival we Avere spectators of a bear h, n.t on the most ap,,.-oved theatrical scale. High u], on the steep n.ountain sides in the little clearings about midway between the fingers of the glaciers on the summits and the dense timber at the base, there can nearly every HUNTING AND FISIUXG IN ALASKA. 165 evening be seen a bear or two if tlie w... . her be clear, coming out to feed on the roots and berries lliat there abonnd. Several times avc took our glasses and watched Bruin, for many minutes at a time, In-owsing some two thousand feet above our heads. One beautiful, quiet evening, an nnusnally huge black fellow, with glossy coat, waddletl out into an open field and nosed around for quit.^ a while, looking down at us now and then, as a man standing on the AVashington Monument might view the iMM)i)le looking like little ants promenading in Pennsylvania Avenue. An Imlian with more energy than you usually iind in a whole tiibe, actuated by the large number of spectators he would have for a display -of his prowess, and the i)ros])ects of a bear robe to trade for tea and tobacco, loaded up his musket, liung it over his shoulder caivl.'ssly, looked up at the position of the bear, yawned, and then commenced the ascent with a nonchidant air, as if lie had done the very same tiling two oi- three times a day ever since he was a boy. The minute he entered the dense timber he was effectually hidden from sight, and there was nothing lo do but to watch the bear. Nearly two weary hours had elapsed ; many of tlu^ audience uad gone out several times and returned to their private boxes, which they turned up on end and resum<^d their sitting, when the Indian emerged in the chviring just below the bear. A score of field glasses and tele- scopes were pointed upward as the man was seen to creep toward the doomed animal. When apparently but thirty or forty yards away he peeped over a bush, with t>xtended neck, and then sank cautiously be- hind it, and ran backwards as fast as his legs would carry him, into the h.M.vy l)iMish. A\'e hardly knew what to think, but the'bear Avas more fortunate in his mental evolution, and simply turned tail— the bear has n short tail and a (piick turn-and left the place at about the same rate as the fudian. their combined speed in diametrically oi)])osite directions soon placing each of them beyond danger from the other. The Indian yame down a few hours afterward and reported that he had seen noth- ing of tlK' bear— although he had acted in our jn-esence as if he had seen a thousand ! So givatly do the Thilkats revere the great brown bear of their land, that in their social sub-divisions, named after animals and i 16(5 I' XIMUOD IN THE NORTH. 'e iishes, the brown or - rinnmnon " lu-ur ch.n ;nv 1 1,<. - hio], ,aste " Tlie C^-mvs are aristaerntie but inferior, an.l b„tli l.ok ,l<,wu „n ih,> plebeian W Jiales and Wolves and other /o„]„u.i<,,l divisions. T]i,> -eini.ann.n- bears head i.s the hin-luvst syn.b„l worshiped, and most of ll.ose they taee are made of copper and w<,od-Mhegenuine art iele inspiring ,„ ,,,; tJiat insnres a ])resentati()n of the b;,,.k ! Their lisliino- eonsists mostly of that eharaeler which, while int.-r- estinu'. liardly comes nnder the head <,f sportiii^-. The principal lish they catcli is the salmon, inim.Mise .pauitities of which thev ston^ away ^.r winter nse. It is caught in traps near the rapids and cascades oi tlie rivers near wlu.-li they build their vijlages. lu the large space in f r(,nt of tlieir dwellings are great networks of trellises, heavily laden with drying salmon. Numbers of them are used in making oil, wliich they use as a s(,rt of gravy with dried salmon or berries. A canoe, for want of a^ lar..<.r vessel, IS sunk half way to the top in a hole in the groun.l, and a lit'tle water is put inside of it. Into this the natives throw the salmon^ especially the fat ones, until they are three ,>r four iish deep for nearl^^ lie length of the canoe. Then large stones, that have been lieated as hot as possible in a rude stone furnace, are thrown in and the water is kept boding and steaming till nearly all the oil is - rendered out " and skimmed from the top. The fishes are then traiupled npon, to squeeze out what IS left. September is the givat sahnon month, and after the season IS over the natives indulge in n.any festivities, including danc- ing, singing, ami-better than all -plenty of eating. Trout are also caught, even in the winter tiuu.rby cuttiug h<,les in the ice and sprinkling in salmon eggs, ami then spearin^,^ the iishes when the^- congregate to eat the eggs. Salmon eggs preserved in salu.on oil make a villainous sort of caviare. Here they also catch the Arctic smelt, or - candle-tish,- as they aiv sometimes called, being so fat that when dried and set tire to at on; end they burn u]. slowly until consumed, and ,.an therefo.v be used as candles. Their oil ,of lard-like consistency, is also used as food Millions of small iish are secured by simply driving nails throud. a board, about as far apart as the width of the hsh, and then using it f ^ Kj -iii; HUNTING AND FISH INC. IN ALASKA. 167 somewhat like ji piie,s,on of he Dayay front to onr n.ost fa.scinating -tlies" on the tI.eo,.y hat the .strean, being now fnl, „, saln.on .spa;„. th Iv 1 I , .nd„,at>on o take snch ri.sks while theyhadsncha s„re thing nea.l, .,11 the Indians tnrned o„t ,.„t,i„g ,p,.„ee poles f,„n, a thi,.ke nearby,wheregrewadense„,assof,l,e„,asst,„ight s,.„,.tai„., I -.■y.n." b„t Itttle n,o,.e in dia.neter fron, end to end. and w n . then, ve,.ydes,rable for fishing poles. A fl,.e ha,l swept ,|„.o„ e woods a year,,,, two before and th,..se poles we,,. „„„„ . ,.„, ^ n the V ;rt'ir"'i *"?■ r'"™ - "'••""••■'-'-i .^i*-. ^" eo.".„o„ „, o : Il.e pole (P.p.),, f,.o„, e,gi,t f„ twelve feet lo,,.. and si„,il.,r ,„ •„, or, bnary speard,and,e. , It was these that the Ci.kats w, . , .« tl,e brash for the,,. f„t,„.e .sain, ,„ hnnting after they ret„„,edf™'; #••% HUNTIXG AND FISHIXU m ALASKA. 169 packing my etfncts Mcross the in'jiiutains to the Yukon's Ix-ad.) Tlie bent anns (A. A.) are made of ehistie wood or horn, and readily spring outward to any ordinary force ajjplied. Tile spikes (8. S. S.) are of iron. (•o})per or ivory, and are very sharp at their jjoints. F. is a fish, with dorsal tin at J)., showing the manner of api)lying the instrument in si)earing ii lisii. The next day we had a long, severe day's >)urney of tenor twelve miles, full\ .Hpial to any forty oi- iifty on ordinary roads. In the dense woods we could hear the constant twit- tering of small birds, and the hooting and drumnnng of the larger ones, and this com- bined with the hard work of sti'uggling over fallen trees and through marshy bogs made ns imagine that we were nearer the equator than the Arctic Circle. AVe reached camp that evening about seven o'clock, having been <' twelve hours on tlie way, and having rested about two-thirds of the time, the trail being plenty rough enough to wan-ant it. We camped atapleasant] dace called the "stone-houses"— being only a jumbled mass of huge boidders nndei- which the Indians crawl for i)rotection whenever the snow covers the ground. It was still around us, but we could lind enough places to sleep without getting uinler the large rocks. Just after camping, a large mountain goat was seen nearly at the top of th(^ western ridge, loonung probably three thousand feet above US. I was just able to make him out with the aid of my lield-glass, but the Indians knew him at once w ith their eagle eyes, although his skin was as white as snow, and snow and glaciers snrrounded him on all sides. To add difficulties to his detection, he was as motionless as a statue, but once in a while would exchang.- <>nds with a military prompt- ness suggestive of an okl veteran on guard. It was at onJ of these 1 ;; - t 1 ■ 1 i '• ' 1 iiii i ■is' E' 170 NIMROD IX THE NORTH. ahcut faon movements .h.t I .lete.tecl his pmsenre. Th. terrible en.n,NMr,.we,..j..tmaae]Kulweari.^^^^ tlMttl,eo.,„t was as sale as if he luul been ,.n t<.i, „^ A|..,,.t St Fli-.s until a •• St.ek '' Indian, who luul carried abont a h,u, ir. ,- and tw v ^^,..unds over the trail picked up his tlint-loek ^ . and start^I attu h„u. He disappeared across the valley, but ^,a. ' ■< seen 'vninst the steep sno. on the other side, np which l.e cra.led .JZ „ CIIASnXO MOU.XTAIN GOAT IX TJIK KOTUSK MOUNTAINS. like an ant on a, white wall, the goat still remaining' in his old position on a beetling ridge n.-ar the mountain top. TVfore long the - Stick " was seen to ascend above the goat, and when near liis position a n.is erable little dog that every Tn.lian seems to keep around Inm to in.s- trate his hunting, in trying to follow his master, frightened the -oat HUNTIN(^ AND FISHIXG IN ALASKA. 171 and lie stiiitcl down the inomiiaiTi side, the Indian and liis dog follow- inn- in (•h).se i)uisuit. Tlio nainc t'dged olf fioiii tiie direction of onr cain[) ii.s lie descended, until by thf time he wa.s on a level with it, he was noiii'jy a lialf a ndlo away, when, to every one's astonishment, he turned and made Tor as at a g-ait that might mak<; one think lie was th ordiiiiiiy sul)url)an goat, and that we were snudl hoys crossing a plaidv bridge or otlier disadvantageous place in his favorite locality. Then ther<' was consternation in the camp. One Indian seiml a Springlield carbine that was near and a belt of pistol cartridge's, and started off for a place to intercept the goat. Another followed liim with a double-barreled shot-gun, trying to jam in Creednioor ritie cartridges as he ran, while the least that any one could do was to get on top of the ''stone-houses'' U) see the exciting chase, and yell at the hunters with all his might. A shot from some one turned the animal np the eastern slope, and away he w<'nt, climbing for dear life, Avith no one ahead of the indefatigable " Stick" in the chase— except the goat. Finally he disappeared in the Alpine nusts hanging over the summit glaciers of the eastern ridge, fully as high as the svestern, nnd the Indians retnrned to camp, this little incident having evidently refreshed them after their toiling over the trail with a hundred pounds apiece on their l)acks. The next day— the llth— W(> climbed the Snowy pass, 4,100 feet above sea-level. Even here in the drifting mists numbers of small birds were encountered to enliven the otherwise desolate scene. I noticed that day that my Indians in following a trail on snow, whether up hill or on a level, or even on a slight descent, always fol- lowed in each other's tra(^ks, so that any large body made a trail that looked as if oidy live or six had passed over it ; but when going down a steep descent, each one made his own trail, and they scattered out over many yards. That day's mountainous climbingand descending of lifteen miles, over a third of the distance being on the snow, brought us late in the evening to a beautiful Alpine lake, some ten miles hmir. where our "packers" were to leave us to build a raft and tloat down the river we i)roi)()sed to exi)lore. Imagine my surprise Avhen numbers of the Indians came to me that evening and asked for immediate pay- 172 NIMROD IX THE NORTH. nient, on tlie ftTouiul that tliey wished U, ivt„n, iiuinediatelv some of tlieni dahnino- that they would - double rainiKs" before tliev stoj^jud ISearly all of then, had brought «iio«-,shoes, vet u„n.> w,",v used in ascending the pass, and only a few used tlu-ni when they gor on to the comparatively level sno-.. l.eyond. They have 1uo kinds, of diiferent wulth, but otherwise the same, the narrower kind being used for hunt- ing and wiu-re swift running is re- quired, and the l)road oiu's are em- ployed in this packing tlii'ough the mountain passes, or anywhere Mith heavy loads. The cmly gam." we had seen in (Tossing the mountains Avas a solitary black bea)-cnl)anxi(ms]y look- ing loi- something, which. IVom the distant way in wjiieh it tivated us, was evidently not onr ])arty. Its mother Avonld have suited us better. ^"<"iironrcani]) on this lake came in a mountain civekentiivlv too swiff ^'""-•^■^''" in'^'Tixo A\n'p.\fKixG ^ni.l .Kuverfultc, wade with;afety and ,-1- ^4^:^^^^'^l........u.n.. over wliich a -reen wilh.w tree v, '"'•"'"7"'"' "■""-i"-.-...„.., ^ow my veight is tw<. h:n d :;r '^''^ " '^'"^' ='^ '' '''-'-'^^ + ' '"iMi .iu(i lilty-oue ])onn( s, and niv liisf ■.<■ """1- - 1-- "v«. „„•. ,„,, „,•„, „„„^. ,,',:: vai'ious phiees. broM-ht its ruM <... 1 * , "" • .no.imi niein - i. .is,,,.,, .-„..,; ;; ,'.,,': , t ;.r: ;,: ;; ':""""■-■ '"-" -- fi.rtl.,.,. ,>.. T <'>iira(t Mith the swm watei-. and the ::;;!:H:!;:j:r ':::,;:::;:; v; - •' ■ .^.::it::,J:;;:::r:,:r:,x^;r:;::;:::;;::r^^ h,. HUNTING AND FISHING IN ALASKA. 173 Two of the Tahk-heesh or >' Stick" Indians, who luid come with lis, had stored away in this vicinity a couple of tlie most dilapidated look- ing craft that ever were seen, and a traAeler called irpon to stretch his conscience and call '-cano.'s/' The only thing that ever kept them atloat was the possible reason of the Irishman, "that for every hole where the water might come in there were half ; dozen whe.3 it could runout." These canoes are made from a sort of poplar, and as the treesarenot very large, the mnterial -runs out," so to speak, along the waist, where a. greater amount is recpiired to reach aro-md. This deficiency is made good liy substituting strips tacked or sewed on as gunwales, the crevices being amply chinked with gum. At l)ow and stern a rude attem[)t is made to warp them into cano<' " lines," and this causes a number of cracks, all of which are duly smeared with gum. The thin bottom is a perfect gridiron of slits, all closed with gum.'^and the proportion of the gum increases with the canoe's age. Upon look- ing at them as a means of navigation my previous intentions of l)uil(ling a raft were contii-med, and tiiey were accordingly carried out. On the 14th of June the raft was completed, and on the next day was swung into tlie current of the str am and floated out into the lake. As the rude sail, made fi'om a wall tent, was sprt^ad, the i)rimitive ci'aft co:nmence(l a Joui'ncy that lueasure.j over 1, :}()() miles. We sailed aci'oss the first lake that day in a storm. Ou the next, Ave shot a mile of rap- ids througli the connect iug riv(M'. A couple of days were then si)ent in remodeling our vessel ou a larger scale— 10x43 feet, with two decks to carry our load. One of the d.'Iights of raft making was standing a greater part of tiie day in ice-\vat<"r just fi'om the glaciei's on the moun- tain tops, and in strange conti'ast witii this annoyance were the mnscpd- toes buz/iug around tln^ head while the feet were freezing. Three days were consumed in sailing across the next lake, nearly thirty mi' 's in h'ligth ; but on the afternoon of the LMst, the northern end or outlet of tlu^ lake was reached. As we entered a river lOd to 'ioo yards wide, and started forward at a speed of three or four iniies an hour. l)ut which seemed ten tiiues as fast as lake traveling, since we were so much nearer tlu> shore, where we couhl see our relative nu)ti(m much plainer— our spirits ascejuhd, and the whole brilliant pros^iect of M ^■1 P^' i,. *. ) ... 1 h lit i- h NIMROD IN THE NORTH. gptlin- wholly rirl of the lakes was joyously dismssed and not ended when we giounded and ran np on a mud Hut that took us two hours of hard work, standing waist deej) in ioe water, to get oil". This two-mile stretch of rivei- between the lakes is called by the natives -the place where the caribou cross/' and at certain seasons of the year these aniuials-the woodland reindeer-pass over in large num- bers in migrating to their different feeding grounds. Unfortunately lor us, it was not at this time of the year, although a dejected Tahk- heesl, camp, not far away, of two families, had an arcluoological ham ut reindeer, which we did not care to buy, hanging in front of their brush tent. The numerous tracks co.urmed th." Indian stories, however, and as I looked at our skeleton score and muiu'hed on the government bacon I wished sincerely that June was one of their months of miuration. and the 21st or 22d about the time of their greatest number. TIk^ very lew Indhms living in this part of the country— the '• Sticks "—subsist a great deal on these animals as well as on mountain goats, and even an occasional moose wandering into their distiict, while black bear foi'm no immaterial part of their commissary. One would expect to lind such followers of the chase the very hardiest of all Indians, conformable to the genei-al rule in all countries, that i.la.vs the hu..t<>r above the lish- erman, Imt this does iu)t seem to be true along this great river, where it .'>])pears that the further down the Yukon the Indian resides-that is, the more largely he subsists (,n llsh-the hai'die,', the more robust, the more exacting and impudent he becomes. The country was now more o], en. and it was evident that we were getting out of the mountains. I>,vtty wihl ros.-s in blossom were found niong the banks of the beach, while many wild <..iions were j-uHed. with which we stuffed the tough grous.. that we kilh.Kai.i. experienced a gen- eral change f„r the bwter. Pliere were ever a nuni'.er <»f rheunuiti.- grasshojiiM.rs that feebly jnmpe.l along in tin. r!d Upinc air. as if t„ temptustogolishing: and in fact, -vry thing ^^>■ n.^ed..!. Un- that form of ivcreation was to be had, exc.'pi rhe tjsh. A numb.-r of lines put out over night rewarded us. iiouev-r, -.vith ., lar-e salmon tro.u This was the first fish we had caught on tiie trie, although our piscato- rial efforts had been unceasinu'. HUNTING AND FISHING IN ALASKA. IT.-) B:i(Hiiig winds dcliiycd ns i'oia while, und gave us occasional chances for rauiblii- ■• around tlie country. Every wliere we found the grouse of these regions, all of them with broods; and while the little chiclis went scurrying thi'ougli the tall grass to iind a hiding-idace, the old ones Avallved along in front of the intrudei's, often but a few feet, seenungly devoid of fear, pi-obably never having heard a shot fired. The tenii)ta- tion to kill them was great after having been so long without fivsh meat, which the apix^ite loudly demands In the I'ougli out-of-door life of an explorer. A me.ss of them ruth- lessly destroved by oui- Indians, wlio had no fears of agime-law, noi- sports- man's qualms )f conscience, or com- pa.ssion of any sort, low^ered our desire to zero, for the bii-ds were tougher than whit-lea'her and as tasteless as shav- ings, and thereafter we were willing to allow them all the rights guaranteed by the game-laws of more ci\ilized lands. Quite a number of marmots were seen by our Indians, and their holes and liuinuiocks dotted the hillsides. The Indians catch them I'oi- fur and foo.I (iu '-.ct every thing living is used carved i'rxs I^fastkxino lor rht' lattei- purpo.se) by m^ans of marmot .s.nares. running nooses .slipped over their holes which choke the little anin.als =.s they try to make an exit fron, their homes. A finelv-split crow- iVU.l ruui.ing the whole length of the rib of th. feather, is us.d for the noo-e proper, an.l (he i.stant this is sprung it closes bv its own tlexibil- ry. The rest is a sii>Mv spring tied to a bush n.ar the hole. <,r if there 's no bush at ha.id. a stick driven into the ground serves the purj.ose of nn am-lmr. Sou.e times these pins are fantasticallv .■arved^-espeeiallv ;>yt]ie(,1ulkats, who are adej.ts in this art-.m.l'then thev are -enj- ndly ma.le of bone, some superstitious .dea of luck, probablv. bein-r associated witii then.. Nearly uU the blankets uf this Iribe o] 'J cV,i^' 17« NJMROD IX THE NORTH. \ i- ; I i Indians are made from the.se skins, and tliey are verv Ijoht u.^ their warmtli. ^ The IVu- Tahk-heesli or - Sticks" who had been near us at (!ariI,ou Crossing suddenly disappeared the night after Ave caniped a small raft, of two t<, six or eio-ht logs, on whi.'h they float down with the current in the streams and lu.le and sail across the lakes. We .saw the logs of man v such rafts, some of them closely ivsembling th,> telegraph poLvs of civilizath.n, and this comparison gives one a good ilate it. This was in fi'ont of the r.nly permanent house in th.- Tahk-heesh country. It wasdesertedat the time, but evidently onlv forawhiie, as the spoils of the chase and thelisheries were still lianginn-inside the rafters There were also a great numb,.,- of dried salmon in th.. liouse - ,me of thestaph.s tlien beginning to aj.pear on this part of the riv.-r. nearly two thousand miles from its moutli. Tins .,h .m. when dried b..fore putrefaction sets in. is ,,uite b.-arabh', ranku.g sonu'wher. h.^^^r.n Limburger cheese an.l walrus hide. (V)llecting some of it o.vasionally as we floated by. we used it .as ; lunch, in h(,m,eopathic quantities, un- til suiue of lis got su we rrally imagined we liked it. CHAPTER IX. HUNTING AND Fisiiixo IN FAU-oFF ALASKA.— [Continued.] In floating down the river, whenever we came near any of the low points we were at once visited by myriads of small, black gnats, whose in-essing questions were very pointed, and which formed a hand- some addition to the musquitoes that did not diminish in number as we descended the river. The only protection from them was in being well out f]-om land with a good wind blowing. When forced to camp on shore, a heavy smoke would generally drive them away. The greatest cf)mfort in pitcliing the tent— and it was not every camping place that aiforded us this privilege-was the thouglit that it would enable us to keep out the mus(piitoes, for then we cuild spread our bars with some show of success. The constantly recurring light rains made us often regret that we had hhouacJc,.:, not so much on account of tiie slight wetting we got but because of the constant fear that it was going to^)e much worse tlian it ever proved to be. I defy any one to sle^p out, with only a blanket or two over him, and not feel. wli(>n a great cloud spriiddes a drop or two in his face, that the delug? is coming next. I have trietl it for ten or twelve years, and have not got over the feelin^r yet. On one I ike about thirty miles long, which I named after Professor Marsh, of Vain ('„ll,.ge, I noticd on its eastern slopes i)retty open prairies, covfnvd with the di-ied yellow grass of the previous year, the new gn.A'th having evidently not yet forced its way through tlie dense mass, and more than one was stnu-k by their resemblance— irregular as they seemed-with the stubble fif'lds of oats or wheat in loweA-lime's. I doubt not they furnish good grazing to mountain goats, caribou and moose, and would be suflicient for catth-, could the latter keep on friendly terms with the musquitoes. According to the genei-al teiins of mi f-'r i' 178 the survival of the fittest IX THE NORril. and file growth of flie most used mu8cle> At W M,„-sh, a te»- miserable •■ Stick " Indians put i„ an a„i.e-,r anoe, whileafewscram'v Inlf .f.„.,..,i .1 , 1 "' '" -i" ■ij'l«.ii- . ,, ,„„ , »"•'=» J . lull-stai V eil il<,gs nearly completed the oi.tlit. A duty « „„„ „f assorted sizes „£ ,.l,ildre„ «ni»i,ed the pict.uv of one of t e nosdejecte.1 races of people on the face of the ear,,. They vi i ° t e hsh.lmes a the tnonth of the UK-ondng Ynkon at the hea of e fa^l'n ™"' "'°"°" *" '"" '""^•^- ""'' -'" '"«'■'""• ■'«" " This manner of llshing of theirs is qnite oon,mon in this part of the country and at the tnonth of a nutnber of streams, oi^ wher the ,. i stream debouches into a lake, their long „i„o,v poles, driven i,„< mud far enough to prevent washing away, are often seen sticking , sw,ng„,g backward and forward in the current. On closer e.an.ina, on nbo,e it^. 1 hese poles occasionally did us good .service as buo^ s imli cat,„g he n,nd-t)ats which we conld thereby avoid ; b„t we ne,™ • .nany h.sl, taken ott them. The greatest number are usual is tu vd bymeaaso the double pronged fish-spear, which is con.na.a a , nea y all the n.nt.onso, sub-Arcti,- An.erica, and even fnriher nor.l, ad south, and wl„ch I have represents in an illustration „n page ,«» Inever notic^l the Tahk-heesh or "Sticks" with ,„anv nets- a though hey may easily have had, he,,,, .so slight we,,. ,„v i'uve.stiga- nonsonthtspomt. An,o„g n,y „udi„g ,m„e,.ial. ,0 pav lor se.-v ts « hooks we,.eeage,.,yso„gh, for by all of the „, ns I ,„e, untii WI , e K,ver was passed. Meyoml ,l„„ poin, ,|,e V„K„„ ,„., , „„ m,,«.,g.he»te,.eo,ype.l ih.dso,, May ,lin,.|ock s,„oo,l,.bo„. ,nnsket-,he only k„,.l ofgnn th.owinga ball ,hat thisgreal .nali,,:; ,„n,na„v h.,s ever ,.,.,ncd s,nce it can.e into e.vis,, .„.. They also .sell a ,■ ,'„;•,„;; HUNTING AND FISHING IN ALASKA. 170 of double-banvled ixMY-nssion-cai. shot-nn, whicli the luitives buy, and, loading them with ball.s, iind then, superior to the lirst named instru- ment of - i)ut out, and it was quite amusing' to see the long- '> casts," or i-ather attempts at them, as we rushed by distant rij)- l)les near the bends of the bank, more than one of which were 8uecessl'ul in landing a fine giayjiug. That evening we camped late (about 10 v. m.) n:>ar where a couple of ripi)les were formed by gravel bars running ont into the stream, and some lifty or sixty graylings rewaided the three lines that were kei)t going until about 11, or till it was too dark to fish with any comfort. The grayling caught that evening seemed to be of two distinct sizes, the larger averaging about a i)ound in weight, the smaller about one- fourth as much. On the morning of .July 1, we approached the grand canon of the Yukon River, and the next day its rapids, nearly five miles in length, were ''shot" by the raft. So many of the logs were torn off and the craft so shaken up generally, that the next few days were occupied in repairing it even moi-e solidly than before. If the rnusquitoes had been almost unbearable before, they now be- came; entirely so. Nothing could (>e done unless the wind was blowing or the smoke from a resinous pine lire was so thick that the eyes were in an acute state of intiammntion. A fair wind made me think it possible to go hunting inland ; but it died (h)wn after getting away two or three miles, and my light back to camp with the inusquitoes I Avill always remember as one of the sa- lient points of luy life. It seemed as if there were an upward rain of insects from the grass, which l)ecame a deluge over the nuirshy tracts — and over half the land was marshy. Of course, not a sign of game was s«M'n exce}»t a few old tracks. Indeed, the tracks of an animal are about the only ])art of it that could exist hei'e in the luusquito season — that is to say, from the time the snow is half oil' the ground until the first severe frost, some three or foui- months later. During that time, all the living civatures that can leave ascend the mountains, closely following tlie snow line, and even there they do not get complete cjuiet. the exi)osnre to the constant winds being of far nior<> benefit than the coolness due to the altitude while the musqnitoes are left undisputed masters of the vallevs. 1 f ttl I if I 182 XIMliOD IN THE NORTH. Had there been anv mune witliiu good lange and I had got a fi ur shot, i lionestly doubt if I could have secured it, for tliese pests-riot altogether because of their ravenous attacks on my face (and especially theeyPM^, but for the reason that they were absolutely so thi.-k and dense ^aat no one could have seen clearly through the mass in taking aim. When I got back to cami. I wus thoroughly exhausted ^^itll my incessant fight. I was c<)mi)letely out of breath and had to recover it in a stifling smoke from dry, resinous piii.^ knots. It is not uidikely that a person, especially of a nervous temperament, without a mask or taking refuge out on the broa.l river, or iu a closed house, woidd soon be killed by nervous prostration. 1 know that the native dogs are killed by them under certain circumstances, and I heard reports from persons so reliable that, coupled with my own experiencp, I have neverfor an instant doubted them, that the great brown -gi-izzly" bear of these regions at times is compelled to succumb to them. The state- ment seems almost preposterous, but the explanation is comparatively simple. Bruin, having exhausted all the roots and berries on one mountain, or finding them scarce, thinks lie will cross a valley to another range. Covered with heavy fur on his body, his eves, nose and ear;* are the vulnerable points for the musquitoes, and here of course they congregate in dense swarms. Reaching a swampy stretch, tliev rise in myriads, nntil his fore-paws are kept busy striviny- to keep his eyes- clear, and not succeeding, he becomes enraged, and, bear like, rises'on his haunches to fight. It is now only a mere matter of time until his eyes are so swollen by the attacks that lie is perfectly blind, and wan- ders aimlessly about until he becomes mired in the marsh and starves to death. While waiting at the Grand Canon to repair the raft, our fishin- tackle was kept quite busy, to su<-li an extent that we landed between four and five hnndre,! nice graylings. A fine fishiiig ground we never afterward found on the Ynkon. Nowhere in the live miles of boilin- rapids and cascades was the fishing i,t all <-on.parable to the ripples and gentler whirlpools above and below this stretch. Pleasant, half-cloudy evenings were especially good for s]»o,.t, but sometimes ihe graNlino- would cease biting at all points with a unanimity that suggested i'ntel" ill ! , \i HUNTING AND FISHING IN ALASKA. 183 ligonec— and sonu'tinies they would resume in the same curious way. A bright sun would not rut them oif altogether, but when it was square in their faces it was wonderful how nuiny times they would "rise" before taking the hook. This may be common, as the reason seems evi- dent, but 1 never noticed it so distinctly before. I do not think 1 exaggerate when I say that one little fellow nuule fully two scort* of unsuccessful attempts, retreating behind a boulder each time, the rii)i)le FISHING Foil OKAYLING AT THE LOWER CASCADES. of which was "•'■ favorite point for " rising." Having all the fish that we coidd eat, not only for ourselves and our Indians, but also the Indians who congivgated roundabout us. wt'lumiored these fanciful fel- lows, even changing our Hies to suit their whims if they got too tired of one. AVhite Hies late in the evening, red oiu's under the shadows of the dark green spruce overhanging the streams, brown and bi-ownish-black ones when there were white, ileecy clouds in the sky, and, in general, colors complementary to the predonunating background were the best. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^ /. :a &j ill 1.0 I.I 1.25 112.8 J ■"" IV 111 40 M 120 M. Iillll.6 V] <^ //. ^;. 'c^l c*: Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4503 i/j I 184 NIMROD m THE NOHTH. !'■ !M Thonsanas of small brown moths or millers flll„l the air whenever a gentle wmcl blew from the north, and a, they constantly fell into the ™ huge scores show how very plentiful the latter must have been Had we known all that was aheud of „s, we wonl.l have left the fine hsh.ngof theOt^d Canon with no little regret, bnt in exploit" wholly unknown country one always half believes that, however „ood the pr^ent conditions may be, the prospects are even better. On the 5th of Jnly vvegot away early in the morning, and by noon haci passed the month of the Tahk-heena, or Tahk river, tmingin ftZ the west. Thtsstream is almost as large as the Yukon, and, to onr Z c mfort, was of muddy water, for we anticipated thJt it ^..Id atfect onr grand grayhng bonis, which it did, and we never afterward ft sure of even a mess, I , J" ^r It* ^""'* '"■'' °' '"" '^'"""' ™*^ todwatersof the Yukon- Lake KIuktass,-we caught a fine large salmon trout weighing over eght pounds (the limit „, the Doctor's fish scales), also one or tw" others not SO heavy. -^ ui lho On the 0th we Hoated out of this lake, and no besieger ever saw the flag of a fortrcs. fall with more heartfelt satisfaction than we saw low e.«l for the last t.me the old -..-all-tent that had served ns so Ion. ra sad by day and a shelter by night. pme forests, and they vvere of different dates, for side by side were the standmg trees whose bodies had been Ida.-kened but a f « before, and the old lu-own and tawny stumps, fast sinking to deca v w U ust enough charcoal about them to show the method of their f: "m hatxlly dtsfngu shable from so many great brown bears or buif 1,:; " i^tiir '" "'"-■ - *"^ '--»«"'' -- ~ to pC "How mnch that looks like a big grizzly,- exclaimed one of the members of the party on the bow of the raft, as he pointed at a di't t stump on a 1 igh clay bank almost directly in front It ns The old roots look e.xa,-tly like legs, d.m'ttheyr' chimed in ; second person, as he can.ght the figure designate.1 by the first. HUNTING AND FISHING IN ALASKA. 185 "And the broken limb on the left any one would swear was a head, if he hadn't been floating through stumps Just like it all day long," added a third. " That small limb for a tail gives it dead away, though, for grizzlies never have any — " "It is a grizzly !" broke in a chorus of voices, as the "stump " with its "old roots" and "limbs," broken and small, took on motion "grizzly" bear bluff ox THE UPPER YUKOX. and Avnddled down the slope of the bank, and there was a scrambling around under the piles of bedding and kitchen utensils for rifles and guns, a('c 188 NIMROD IN THE NORTH. »*r*r fol ow the snow line as it retreats up the mountain sides, in the sprint and summer, and only leave tl>eir elevated retreats, exc , t in isoK ef cases, as the snow drives them down into the vail ys, where " recommences m the early (all. One bit of informati n s, ^r s d ! nota .tie the fact that the sub-Arctic moose never make "nlr and othe, books relatmg to the habits of that animal in the south e t° ern Canadian provinces. This is the more singular as th C t^^ t buried under deep snows, and swept by chilly winds-is in«t ,1,„ , On the 12th we shot the last rapidson the river (the Hink '?.„• l , , a l,ttle way beyond tried to get a shot at a n,oI' b, t f ■ „f 'v «" .aw lum cracking through the high willow brush m,; „. „V' 1Z of the party taking him for an Indian runni,-, tow^n , arras wildly to attract attention. We ca «ht occ In 1 "T'"" " hi, broad horns and brown sides ind as he 1 °™";'™"' «""'l'*- "f formed by the mouth of a creel h: 1,^1 on i':; idf "': """""' in the presence of game on this tiij,. '' ^''''^ Selkirk, where the Pelly oouies in, was reached the next rl-,. here we were detained for two or tliree dn vs nn ^' ' '''''' +^. • ,. *^ "^y^ on business connecter! wi+1. the mam object of our expedition. Here too ourh's],;,. '^ ! iTt I e, too, oui hsliing- almost ceased. HUNTING AND FISHING IN ALASKA. 18» The camera being out we took a photograph of the only two \ arieties. of edible fish we had caught with the hook and line on the river— ^vray- ling and a sort of yellow-spotted salmon trout. Coarse and ugly-look- ing eel-pouts were cauglit near Selkirk, but even the Indians looked on them with disgust. Shoals of small graylings, from an inch to an inch and a half in length, were seen on the bright pebbly beaches of the lakes, and eddies of the river. They could be readily caught with a musquito bar as a net, and formed a tempting bait for the salmon trout. Ducks and geese were seen everywhere along the stream, but as the hens w^ere breeding no efforts were made to secure them until later in the season, when we were on the lower river. As we drifted placidly with the auiet current, there was hardly an hour in the day that we did not see ahead of us some maternal duck with her little ducklings stretched out behind her, like canal boats in tow of a huge steamer. They would try to escape by fast swimming, and oftentimes some tired AYAN MOOSE-ARROW. chick would take a short rest on its mother's back. We were drifting in ...e swift current of the central stream while they hugged the slow- waters of the banks, and it would be but a short while before they were tired out and would scramble off into the thick willows and hide. Twelve miles below Selkirk is the Ayan Indian village of Kah-tung, the largest tribal town we saw on the river. These Ayans live chiefly on salmon in tlie summer and on various kinds of game in the winter. They are very poorly supplied with arms and ammunition, being at the greatest extremes from either the trade that enters at the head or the mouth of the river, a sort of neutral ground between the two. They re- lied, therefore, more on bows and arrows and other savage weapons of the chase, than any other tribes we encountered, although even these were not of a striking quality. Their moose arrows were peculiar. Besides the double-barl) forward, common to all arrows, there was a series of barbs continued back on one side of the shaft for about three uii y -Mm\' ■ma ^ - m 190 NIMROD IN THE NORTH. inches. The moose is too heavy an animal to be killed by so weak a misaile as a northern Indian's arrow, unless it be an exceedingly well directed one ; but by this ingenious but cruel design, an arrow onc«, im- bed('eu in a moving muscle, as a wounded moose is trying to escape is slowly carried forward until a vital point is reached, for when once struck with one of these arrows the Ayans will stay on the trail of a INDIANS OF THE MIDDLE YUKON KIVEU KILLING MOOSE. wounded moose like a sleuth-hound until it succumbs even to this slow process. Time is the least valuable article with which an Indian deals. One of my interpreters told me that these Indians, when huntin- moose in the summer, run them into the broad rivers with dogs, and then pursue them in their light birch-bark canoes, killing them with knives, arrows or spears, and thus saving their valuable small lots of powder. They do not liesitate to jump on the back of a swimming HUNTING AND FISHING IN ALASKA. 191 moose and stab it to the vitals with a knif^^, or cut its throat, leav- ing the canoe to look after itself, in the hope that it will be re- stored to him by a near companion after he has killed his prey. In fact, too near an approach in the fragile birch-bark canoe is apt to com- jiromisfc its safety if the animal should begin to toss his head around lil^e an orchestra leader's baton, as he often does, and a canoe ranks much higher in the native's estimation than a moose's carcass. The moose-skins are used as coverings for their rude tents in winter as well as in summer ; for, despite the fact that they live in a country densely timbered with fine trees for log cabins, oven the few they build are of the most squalid and worthless character, which they leave in winter for the better protection of the tent. These winter tents are double ; that is, after one conical tent has been pitched and wrapjied in skins, another set of poles is added, and again covered with skins. There is an air-spa(^e of a foot or two at the bottom between the two tents, and there is a (;ommon apex for the two sets of poles. Over the outer tent is ''banked" a thick covering of snow, which varies with the coldness of the weather, and taking it altogether, one can readily see that such a tent woiild be more comfortable than cross-section thuough ayan winter tent. an ill-built log-cabin — I., interior ; p. p. p. p., Poles ; AS., Air Si.ace ; S., Snow. and the Ayan's constructive ability is of a very low order indeed. July 16 saw us away from Ayanville, and drifting through a high, mountainous and picturesque country. On a northern hill, well up to its summit, we saw a big black bear in an opening, and a little further on three mountain goats sunning themselves on a beetling ridge. When we were nearly ready to start on the morning of the 17th, we found four Ayan Indians from the village above, waiting — each in one of their j^retty canoes — at our camp. They had with them the carcass of a black bear, which they offered us for sale, and on our buying one t if nil •I I' n I. . IS n : 1 ■ ;i ■!■ \l II 192 NIMROD IN THE NORTH. ham, which was all that we could use, they oifered us the rest as a present. We accepted the other hind quarter and they left the rest of the animal on the gravel beach. It happened that all four of the Indians were medicine-men, and as such never ate bear meat. The next evening we camped at a most picturesque spot on the eastern bank, where a large, swift river came tumbling into the main stream. It was so (ilear that we felt confident of a mees of iish, but our confidence was misplaced. The tributary stre.an is called the Beer River, from the large numbers of woodland reindeer that infest its. d MOOSE-SKIN" MOUNTAIN AND MOUTH OF DEER RIVER, valley at certain periods of their migrations, but unfortunately the middle of July was not one of these periods. To the northward loomed up a bright green mountain, from whose side a slide had torn a great mass of the turf, thus exposing the red clay in striking contrast to the green. The red space thus exposed resemble'1 a huge moose-skin stretched on the ground to dry, and the Indians had accordingly named this the Moose-skin Mountain, The next day we had quite a hunting excitement. We saw three or /♦ 1) i HUNTING AND FISHING IN ALASKA. 193 four bears, both black and brown, in an open or untimbered space on the steep l.illside of tlie western sliore. We abandoned all otlier plans and Ivept up a regular skirnush tire on the bears as long as our raft was in range, but the only loss on tlieirside was loss of breath in climbing the steep mountain to a i)lace of safety. That day's experience shat- tered my faith in the tticory that the black and brown bears will not inhabit the same locality at the same time. On the next day we came to the first Indian village on the Yukon that deserved the name of permanent, and even here the logs of the six cabins were so small as to be merely poles. The huts were certainly well ventilated. The village had about 120 souls, and was perched on a high, flat bank overlooking the river. It was at this village that, to me, the most wonderful and striking performance ever given by any natives we encountered on the whole trip was displayed, and in this I re- fer to their method of fishing for salmon. The Yukon is as muddy as any river in the world, from its mouth to the mouth of the White River, well above this village, and this spot of course is no exception. I be- lie /e that I do not exaggerate in the least when I say that if an ordinary pint tin cup was filled with it, nothing coidd be seen at tht ' >ttom of it until the sediment settled. The water is from eight to t.velve feet deep on the fishing banks in front of their houses, where they fish with their nets, or at least that is the length of the poles to which the nets are attached. These nets are large dip nets, and the salmon that I saw them secure with them were caught about two hundred and fifty to three hundred yards from the shore. Standing in front of the row of cabins, some one — generally an old sqr.aw or a child, possibly on duty for that purpose— would an- nounce that a salmon was coming up the river, probably a quarter of a mile away, when some man, ascertaining the fish's position, would run down to the beach, pick up his canoe, paddle and net, and start out into the river rapidly, the net lying on the deck in front of him, his move- ments being guided by his own sight and that of half a dozen others on the beach and bank, all shouting to him at the same time. Evidently in the canoe he could not see well at a distance, for he seemed to rely on the advice of those on shore until the fish was near him. Then ■ IS 111 'kt pg - 3 SB 1 Si r i : 1 ( ' T f 81 HUNTING AND FISHING IN ALASKA. 19B 1-3 I o I H \A H A\'itli on.? or two dextoi-ous and powerful strokes with both hands, he would shoot the (ianoe to the desired position, regulating its liner move- ments by the paddle in his left hand, while with his right he would plunge the net the whole length of its pole to the bottom of the river, from eight to tvv Ive feet, often leaning well over and tiJ^ustinj^^ his arm deep into the water, so as to adjust the mor.th of the net ('covering about two squa'-^ feet) directly over the course of the salmon. In seven attempts that I witnessed at intervals covering three liours, two were suc(^essful, salmon being caught that would weigii probably twenty pounds. When the fish is netted, a turn is given to tlie handle, thus effectually trapping it below the mouth of the net, and, when brought up alongside, a fish-dub, somewhat like a potato-masher, is used to kill it immediately, for the struggles of so large a fish might easily upset a small, cranky canoe. How these Indians, at vhis great distance, can see the motion of isolated running salmon on the bottom of an eight or ten feet deep river, and determine their position near enough to catch them in the narrow mouth of ix small net, when, under the eye, an object at the bottom of a vessel holding that many inches of water from the river is wholly invisible, is a ma.' -lous i)r(jblem that I will not ai tempt to solve. The solution, of course, depends in some way on the motion of the hsh. In vain they attempted to point out to members of my party the coming salmon. I feel perfectly satisfied that none of the white men saw the least traces that the aatives tried to show them. In their liouses and on their scaflFoldings were several hundred salmon that had been caught in this singular way. The only respectable theory that I could evolve, was that the salmon came along near the top of the water, so as to show, or nearly show, the dorsal tin, and that wiien they neared the canoe, the sight of it, or more likely some slight noise, probably made on purpose, sent them to the bottom without any considerable lateral deviation, and that they were thus directed into the mouth of the net. ]\Iy interpi-eter, however, told me tliat this superficial swimming did not take place, but that the motion of the fish was com- municated to tbR top from the bottom. This Indian village was called Klat-ol-Klin, but it is better known 196 NIMROD IN THE NORTH. as Johnny's Village, all of these Indians being anxious to appropriate American names. In the forenoon of July 24 we saw a large buck moose swim from an island to the mainland just back of us, it having evidently scented U'^. We had sincerely hoped that we could find these noble animals in some locality in quantities sufficient to justify our stoi)ping over a day for a hunt,' but the two I have mentioned were the only ones we saw on the river. Years ago they were quite numerous for many miles below HUNTING MOOSE FROM ItlVEii STEAMER "YUKON." this point, but we afterward ascertained that they are now nearly ex- tinct here, an exceedingly severe winter some five or six years ago being held to account for their disappearance. It is to be greatly hoped that they have only been destroyed in i)art, so that they may eventually recover ; for the Yukon valley will give them a safe refuge from civiliza- tion when the liunting of them in Maine and Canada will exist only in liooks and stories. HUNTING AND FISHING IN ALASKA. 197 From where we saw this last moose, the country for 300 miles fur- ther on is as flat as a pancake— a sort of marshy tundra (timbered, however), where the musquitoes revel in numbers, and game is univer- sally scarce. We were about texi days drifting through it, entering the hilly country on the 3d of August, having seen nothing to imi)ress our hearts as hunters nor to relieve our stomachs with fresli meat. Our entry into the "lower ramparts," as this second hilly country is called. PllEPAKl.NG Foil A DAY's TKOUTINO AT OOXALASKA. was celebrated by killing three geese, which we found to be lino eating after a fortnight's feasting on government bacon. From here on to the mouth of the river we found ])lenty of ducks and geese whidi were large enough to kill, and we secured a few messes, but the acme of im- possibility is reach<>d in hunting when floating down a broad river on such an unmanageable affair as a raft. Hcfore moose became scarce on the lower stream, the river steamer Yukon of the Alaska Company, a 198 NIMROD IN THE NORTH. small craft plying on the stream of the same name, would occasionally encounter a herd swimming down the river, and rifles and revolvers "would be brought out, and the exciting scene can be more easily imagined than described. A few days were spent at Oonalaska. in the Aleutian group, as we returned to San Francisco from Bering Sea, and in tlie little mountain streams we had a day or two at trouting — our last act as Nimrods in the North. T I