Part 14 (2/2)
One of the Newfoundland fishere of his supplies for the winter Of these provisions he had set aside plenty for the Eskimo--for he kne much a ”husky” can eat The Eskimo see he drives
Then all the other Eski: and he fed theether
Grenfell found that the white , had to win the respect of the Eskimo
The Eskimo knows that most of his paleface brethren from the south are wholly unable to paddle their own canoes
The white man, as a rule, cannot slay the seal, nor catch the cod, nor catch anything else except a cold
He cannot stand up to a polar bear with a knife in fair fight
He cannot sit out on a rock in a rain-storm all day without an uer, thirst and frost, and he chokes when the fuet into his throat
Then he is so funny about food! He doesn't care for stinking fish: he doesn't like his round; he doesn't kno much better molasses tastes when mice have fallen into it and expired
The white man washes How silly! He takes a brush made of little white bristles and rubs his teeth with it Well, if the white man's mouth, which is full of water, isn't clean, then what part of him can be clean? And why does he turn up his nose at the Eski dirty?
As for smells, what is a bad s's wonderful address on ”Travel,” before the Royal Geographical Society, he had est places Eskio were ho blubber, rancid whale-loo, the rich perfus, and all the other aroht, so dirt is their peculiar glory A bath in ater wouldas they are, they like a change of food, and if bear-meat is all they find to eat in a certain spot, they hitch up and hike on to a better o They rarely stay in one place more than a year or two
Even the rifle does not see them much When the sealer used a harpoon, he hardly ever e But with the rifle, shooting from afar, the sea often ss up his prey ere he can reach it The walrus has gone to the farthest North and the seal is becoun-shy very fast
As a hunter, the Eskihty hunter north of Nain was out gunning for big birds--ptaruillemot and divers,--when he came on a robust and fierce polar bear, a un, not a rifle It takes a ball cartridge of large calibre to do for Mr Bruin ordinarily--and he can ”ood deal of lead in him But the ”husky” calun pointblank in the face of the astonished animal If the hunter had been at a distance, the bear would have minded the dose about as much as a pinch of pepper As it was, the animal was blinded, and turned in fury on the hunter
The Eskimo tore off his sealskin tunic and threw it over the bear's head, the way a bull-fighter confuses a charging bull with a ar to kill and devour the owner
But the delay was fatal to Mr Bear In jig-tie into the bear's head through the eye,--and the monster expired at his feet
The boys have bows and arrows; they begin by practising on sun, so that by the time they are twelve years old they are veteran hunters
The greatest joy in the life of the Eskimo is to spend a day in a seal-hunt
Hours before dawn, the hunter climbs a rock and looks out to sea, anxious to learn if it will be a good day for his watery business
Then he gets his breakfast In the old days, it was a drink of water
Nowadays, if the Eskimo has learned to like the white man's hot drink, it may be a cup of coffee
At any rate, he drinks his breakfast: he doesn't eat it He says food in his stomach makes him unhappy in the kayak
The only food he takes with hi of tobacco He carries the kayak to the water, puts his weapons where he can get his hands on them instantly, climbs into the hole amidshi+p and fastens his jacket round the circular rim