The Native Races of British North America

by Wilfrid D. Hambly

“When the day begins to dawn, the Eskimo prepares for the hunt by gathering his harpoons and harnessing the dogs to the sledge. The harpoon line and the snow knife are hung over the deer’s antlers, which are attached to the hind part of the sledge, a seal or bear skin is lashed upon the bottom, and the spear secured under the lashing. The hunter takes up the whip, and the dogs set off at a great pace for the hunting ground.

“Near the place where he expects to find seals, the hunter stops his team and takes the implements from the sledge, which is then turned upside down in such a way as to prevent the dogs from running away. A dog with a good scent is then taken from the team, and the Eskimo follows his guidance until a seal’s hole is found. In winter it is entirely covered with snow, but generally a small elevation indicates the situation. The dog is led back to the sledge, and the hunter examines the hole to make sure that it is still visited by the seal. Cautiously he cuts a hole in the snow covering and peeps into the excavation. If the water is covered with a new coat of ice, the seal has left the hole, and it would be in vain to expect its return. The hunter must look for a new hole promising better results.

Eskimo Seal Hunter waiting at Breathing Hole.

“If he is sure that the seal has recently visited a hole, he marks its exact centre on the top of the snow and then fills up his peep-hole with small blocks of snow. These preparations must be made with the utmost caution, as any changes in the appearance of the snow would frighten away the seal.”

The hunter stands on a small piece of seal skin with the harpoon poised in both hands, and there he may have to wait for several hours; sometimes he builds a screen of snow to protect himself from the bitterly cold wind. Now he bends low, and listens intently for the blowing which indicates that a seal is at hand; then suddenly he stands upright, and with all his strength sends down the harpoon into the hole, where the seal is in such a position that it usually receives the weapon in the head. The line is paid out, and at the same time the hunter cuts down the snow covering from the hole, to the edge of which the animal is dragged, and dispatched by a blow on the head.

The blood of a seal is highly prized, and to prevent waste all wounds are closed by driving in ivory pegs; sometimes the hunter refreshes himself with a copious drink of the warm blood.

In the month of March, mother seals prepare long burrows in the snow, and here the Eskimo finds the baby seal, which is dragged forth by means of a large hook; the mother, too, is often caught or harpooned because of her courage in attempting to save her young. Perhaps these methods of hunting appear to be somewhat cruel, but it is to be remembered that the Eskimo is constantly fighting hard to sustain life in a severe and inhospitable climate. On some occasions the hunter finds only the skin of a young seal in one of these burrows; the foxes have arrived first and devoured the carcase. With the advance of summer the young seal breaks from its snow burrow, and, until the end of June, the mother and her calf may be seen basking together on the ice, where they are shot or harpooned by the hunter, who, clad in seal skin, can approach to very close range. Many men still prefer a harpoon to the guns which may be obtained from whalers in exchange for skins, but nowadays the head of the harpoon is usually made of iron, which is more effective than sharpened ivory. This method of stalking the seal may produce a bag of from ten to fifteen animals in a day, whereas the winter tactics rarely result in the capture of more than one animal even after twelve hours of weary waiting by the breathing hole.

When the ice breaks, “kayaks” are launched, and the summer hunting of the seal and walrus is soon in full swing. The double pointed canoe, which is widely distributed between the shores of Greenland and Alaska, consists of a stout framework of wood and whalebone, twenty-five feet long, over which are stretched seal skins, sewn firmly together with the sinews of reindeer. The top is covered by skin, with the exception of a small hole just large enough to accommodate a man’s body; a double paddle serves to propel the craft, which is, of course, provided with a large harpoon when used for pursuing a seal or walrus.