Page:Life with the Esquimaux - 1864 - Volume 2.djvu/271

252 son. Successful be his sealing, his tuktoo hunts, and his conflicts with the polar bear—the lion of the North; and, at last, peace and glory to his noble soul. When all were ready for a start this morning, this old Innuit accompanied me from this island some distance on the ice. At last we locked hands, and, with prolonged 'terboueties,' tears started in his eyes, and rolling down his iron-ribbed face, we parted, probably never to meet again on earth."

Throughout our day's journey there was a continuous gale, with snow-drift closing all from our view; but we finally reached our next encampment, on a small island above Kikitukjua, at 4.30 having gone nearly nine miles.

The following day we parted with Petato and my other Innuit friends, and proceeded some five or six miles direct toward Kingaite coast, making our ninth encampment on the main ice clear of land. We were obliged to remain here encamped for ten days, the desperate struggle being to get enough to sustain life. My hunters and sealers, Sharkey and Koojesse, went down every fair day a distance of five miles to the open water, where were white whales, seals, and ducks in abundance, but they were then all so shy that it was impossible to approach them within killing distance. That they might be successful was our earnest wish, for we were living mostly on dog food—kow— that is, walrus hide with hair on. Besides, we had no oil for the lamp, and without the lamp we were unable to obtain fresh water. One day they came home successful, having caught a seal, the first of the season, and no happier beings could exist than we were for the time at the feast of raw seal that followed. In the evening of the next day, April 28th, Koojesse and Sharkey drove up with two seals, one of about 200 pounds' weight, and the other weighing 100 pounds. This was success indeed, and it enabled them to feed the dogs as well as ourselves. By this time the weather had become so warm