Across the sub-Arctics of Canada

by J. W. Tyrrell

When, however, the attack is made in the neighborhood of heavy ice, as it frequently is, the hunt is much less likely to result successfully. Because of the floating crystal, the hunter often finds it difficult to follow the movements of his game, and even if successful in this and in placing a harpoon or two, he is often defeated in the end by the line being torn from the float, which has become fast in the broken ice. Thus once freed, the wounded animal usually makes good his escape.

Occasionally these walrus contests result disastrously to the hunter, for the sea-horse is by no means a passive, harmless creature, submitting without resistance to the attacks of its enemies. Frequently one—or a number of them together—will make a charge upon the assailants, attacking them viciously with their huge tusks, which, if brought in contact with an Eskimo, are likely to make a sorry-looking object of him. Of course, through long experience and practice in the chase, the Eskimo hunters become very expert in dodging and foiling a charge, but sometimes they are caught and roughly handled by these uncouth monsters of the sea.

Upon one occasion an old hunter whom I knew, named Coto, met with a bad accident while hunting walruses in his kyack. A number of them charged upon him suddenly, and being unable to get out of their way quickly enough, his frail craft was broken and torn to shreds, and his body was frightfully bruised and lacerated. The poor fellow recovered, however, but only after months of sore suffering.

For a short time during the autumn season the sea-horse is hunted without the assistance of the kyack. The new ice being thin, the walruses break up through it at any place, and sport about in the water-holes which they make. Then the hunters—for several of them usually go together—march out upon the ice and attack them from the edge of the water-holes. This method of hunting is, however, rather dangerous, as the animals have an ugly habit of noting the position of their assailants, then disappearing below the water, and in a moment presenting themselves below the ice at the spot where the men stand.

The Eskimos, who are familiar with this manœuvre, always change their position the moment one of the crafty brutes goes down, and stand, harpoons in hand, ready to receive him when he returns crashing through the ice with deadly designs upon his craftier adversaries.

It is an easier matter to harpoon a walrus thus in the ice than it is to secure him, for here the “oweta” or float cannot be used to advantage, and it is no easy matter to hold a three thousand pounder of the sea. However, this is attempted, and when one or more harpoons are made fast to the walrus the ends of the lines are spiked down to the ice by stout spikes, and in this way the brute is very powerfully anchored; but, as I have before stated, in spite of all that can be done, he often breaks away and takes the lines with him into the deep.

Polar bear hunting is an extremely dangerous and exciting sport. An Eskimo rarely ever cares to tackle a bear single-handed, but two men, armed with lances, do not hesitate to attack this monarch of the north.

The method adopted in hunting a polar is as follows: Two men, armed only with lances, approach it from opposite sides at the same time. Then, as they close upon it, and the bear charges either man, the other rushes forward with his lance. Thus they let out its life-blood. It requires cool heads and steady nerves to be able to cope successfully with a polar in this way, but both of these characteristics the Eskimos possess in a marked degree, and it is comparatively seldom that accidents happen while thus engaged.

These bears, which live almost entirely upon seals, are usually found near the sea-shore, and often out some distance, swimming in the water, where they can live for a considerable length of time. The Eskimos attack them here as well as upon the land, but in the water they are treacherous enemies to deal with, as they are expert swimmers and divers. They are very liable to surprise one by suddenly disappearing and reappearing at embarrassingly close quarters.