“But why?” asked Bob, in surprise. “I should think that would be the very place for them to steer away from.”
“Oh, no,” said Farnum. “You see, all game goes far to the south in Winter, so the Eskimo goes to the ocean because it is the home of the only game left—the seal. He builds his snow house or igloo and camps near the air holes of the seal, spearing them as they come up for air. Occasionally he slays a polar bear, too.”
“I confess I know very little about the Eskimo,” said Jack. “What are his weapons?”
“Bows and arrows tipped with flint or copper, copper-pointed spears, and wooden knives edged with copper,” said Farnum.
“But, a bear,” cried Bob, incredulously. “How could an Eskimo kill a great polar bear with such weapons?”
“Single-handed, he couldn’t,” said Farnum. “But when the bear is hunted, the whole tribe of hunters go together. They attack in a circle. Their spears or harpoons have lines attached. And as these harpoons sink into the body of the bear, the lines pull him this way and that as he charges on his tormenters. Eventually, if the Eskimo are lucky, they have him so surrounded that he cannot move. Then one dashes in and administers the death blow.”
“Then necessity forces them to live in tribal groups?” asked Jack.
Farnum nodded.
“In the Summer they often hunt alone, ranging far, for they are great travelers. But in Winter, the hunters are all back with the tribe.”
“And the Indians?” asked Frank.