Page:The white czar; a story of a polar bear (IA whiteczarstoryof00hawk).pdf/28

 All of this hunting is of the most strenuous kind. It is done on the ice, or in the open sea, and over the roughest country imaginable. Cold that would freeze the white man's blood in his veins is cheerfully endured. Large and dangerous animals are encountered. The Eskimo's only desire is that he may make a good kill for the woman and the little ones at home in the igloo.

The Eskimo's fishing is not as strenuous as the hunting, so the women often help about that. A painted float or colored hooks are used, but no bait. Dried fish is the chief article of food for the dogs on long hunting trips. The eider ducks also furnish good eating, while thousands of eggs are cached each summer by the provident families. It will not matter if they are half rotten when eaten.

The Eskimo's igloo is always very untidy. Vermin abound and the white man stopping for a day in an Eskimo village is infected.

The Eskimos count to twenty on their fingers and toes, but this is the limit of their