Of fish there are two kinds, the grayling and a species of char that we called rather affectionately salmon-trout. In September, 1900, this latter fish kept alive for about ten days my party of six men and twenty-three clogs. It is undoubtedly the finest fish food to be found anywhere, in color a pale pink, like salmon or unripe watermelon. Living in water never warmer than forty degrees, perhaps never above thirty-five degrees, it is the sweetest, firmest fish fiber in the world.
It is no small task to secure a supply of meat sufficient to keep hundreds of dogs alive and in good condition all winter, and to provide fresh meat for a crew of over twenty and some fifty Eskimos. Hunting parties must be kept constantly in the field during the autumn months to meet the demand.
The mainstay in the way of food for the dogs is walrus, and weighing anywhere from 1000 to 3000 pounds, they provide the maximum of meat at a minimum of time and energy. During the months of July, August, and September these animals are to be found in large herds in Wolstenholme and Whale Sounds, where they assemble to feed on the shell-fish abounding in those shallow waters. Here they may be seen basking in the sun on the ice-floes and cakes of ice, singly, or in groups ranging from two or three up into the hundreds. I have seen anywhere from one hundred to one hundred and fifty walrus on one large ice-pan, with an equally large number in the surrounding water; but only on Littleton Island, in Smith Sound, and along the shore of the mainland opposite have I ever seen them on the rocks. It is worthy of note that during the summer months males only, and chiefly the old ones, are to be found in Wolstenholme Sound, the females, calves, and young males haunting the waters about Littleton Island and Oomenak Sound.
GIANT POLAR BEAR KILLED IN BUCHANAN BAY, JULY 4
Note the size of the paws and forearm. A single blow from such a paw sometimes disembowels an Eskimo, smashes all his ribs, or crushes his head like an eggshell
A few walrus are secured by the Eskimos in these waters during the summer, but the bulk of the annual catch, at least two-thirds and possibly three quarters, is made at Cape Chalon in the spring. Virtually all the walrus of this region winter in the open north water off Cape Chalon, sometimes separated from the cape by ten miles of ice, sometimes by twenty-five. Strong winds break up the ice along the edge of the north water early in February, making the distance for an Eskimo to drag his sledge from Cape Chalon just so much less. This breaking up of the border ice is usually followed by low temperatures, which in a few hours make the new ice strong enough to support a sledge and dogs. The hunters leave the cape early in the morning and, driving out to the edge of the old ice, tie their dogs, and with a lance, harpoon, and line begin a search out on the new ice for the walrus. On sighting an animal, a hunter harpoons it, takes a turn of the line round the harpoon-shaft, sticks the harpoon into the ice, and braces it with his foot, while a companion lances the lungs or heart of the huge creature. As soon as the walrus is dead it is pulled out upon the ice, cut up, and placed on the sledges, which have meanwhile been brought out, and is ready to be carried back to the settlement. These hunts are continued until late in the spring, and large quantities of meat are secured.
Hunting walrus in a small whale-boat, however, furnishes the most exciting and dangerous sport north of the arctic circle. With an Eskimo crew at the oars; a sailor at the steering-oar; two other Eskimos, experts with the harpoon, in the bow; an experienced man in the bow with a rifle; and Bartlett or me in the stern, just in front of the man at the steering-oar, we considered a boat well manned. In the way of equipment there should be at least three repeating-rifles, with abundance of ammunition; six or eight harpoons, with lines and floats, spare boat-hooks, and a heavy, short-handled ax for each man, for smashing the walrus in the face when they try to come aboard. A good supply of old coats or blankets should be taken along for plugging up holes punched in the boat by the tusks of the walrus.
At the faintest suggestion of smoke walrus will quickly disappear in the water, and a party nearing a herd of these huge creatures by steamer should keep to leeward of them if possible, and take to the small boats when still far enough away to prevent its presence being detected by the animals. The whale-boats should always be white, to give an appearance of cakes of ice, and the oar-locks carefully muffled to reduce the noise of approach to a minimum. It is a comparatively easy thing to harpoon a walrus asleep on an ice-pan, and sometimes by using small bergs as a screen to hide behind, a party can approach to within a few yards of a herd and harpoon several before they are fully awake. In most cases, however, twenty yards is the nearest a boat can get before the walrus are aroused, and begin to slip into the water. A few shots quickly decide whether they are going to fight or beat a retreat, necessitating a long chase possibly, and adding to the difficulty of harpooning them.
The harpoon equipment of the Eskimo is made up of a tough line of the hide of the square-flipper-seal, one hundred feet long, attached to an iron-edged ivory head fitting on the end of a heavy harpoon-shaft of wood. The other end of the line is attached to an entire sealskin inflated, and some distance from the end is fastened a rectangular drag, attached, like a kite, by a bridle-line. The float, remaining on the surface, marks the position of the animal and prevents its going deeper than the length of the line. Only the largest and most powerful bull walrus can drag it under, and that only for a few minutes. The float also keeps the animal from going to the bottom and being lost after being killed. The drag retards the movements of the animal and tires him out.