solid ice, and the seal would be away in an instant. If the blow is well-aimed and at the right instant, it pierces the head of the unseen seal, who instantly dives, and runs out the eight or ten fathoms of line which, fastened to the harpoon, is tied around the waist of the Innuit. The snow is then dug away, the breathing-hole enlarged, so as to permit the seal to be drawn through.

The dogs also take special delight in hunting the bear. When a team scent a bear it is impossible to restrain them. Once when Hall was on a journey a bear with her cub was seen on the ice at the foot of a high mountain. When within two hundred yards, the leading dog was cut loose, and he made straight for the bear; one by one the others were set free from the sledge, and all were in hot pursuit. One dog set upon the cub, and finally separated it from its mother; another caught the dam; and both rolled down a precipice, up which the bear scrambled again and escaped, for it was so steep that the dogs could not follow. All the dogs, eleven in number, now set upon the cub. Hall coming up, the young brute made at him; he ran it through with his spear. He expected that the Innuits would applaud his courage and dexterity; but they shook their heads and said nothing at the time. They soon showed the utmost determination to leave the neighborhood, and explained by saying that the old bear would come back at night, smell the blood of the cub, and become enraged, and kill them all. The Innuits avoid killing a young bear until they have dispatched the old one, for they say that knowing the death of her young makes her a hundred times more terrible. Although the liver of the seal is

held to be a great delicacy, the Innuits never eat that or the head of the bear; nor, if they can prevent it, will they suffer their dogs to do so.

The Innuit dogs also sometimes hunt the reindeer. Hall's dogs one day gave chase to a deer, and one of them, Barbekark, sprung at its throat, and bit through skin, windpipe, jugular, and tongue, taking out the piece as clearly as though it had been cut with a knife. Barbekark was brought to the United .States by Mr. Hall, and died there. His stuffed skin showed him to be a noble beast of unusual size.

The walrus enters largely into the supplies of the Innuits. They manifest much courage and skill in harpooning these ungainly beasts. The hunter goes out armed with a lance and a peculiar harpoon made for that purpose. A long hide-rope is attached to the

head of the harpoon, and coiled around the neck of the hunter, who crawls along until he comes within striking distance of the walrus, who lies basking upon the ice. The walrus dives at once; the hunter slips the coil off from his neck, and fastens the end of it to a spear driven into the ice; thus tethering the animal. As soon as the walrus comes up he is dispatched with a long

HEAD OF REINDEER.

lance. Should the Innuit fail to slip off the coil in time, he would infallibly be drawn into the water, and almost certainly lose his life; but as Hall records no instance of such a catastrophe, we infer that these rarely happen.

The Innuits show remarkable ingenuity in availing themselves of every fa

cility afforded by their inhospitable country. Of their igloos or snow-houses we have already spoken. In half an hour a couple of men will build one of these, which answers very well for a temporary shelter. When one is to be built for a longer residence, more care is taken in the construction. A site is chosen where the snow is hard-if possible, over a running stream, so that they

can obtain water without the labor of melting the ice. A circle is marked out for the ground plan. Blocks of snow are cut with a large knife or saw. These blocks are three feet long, eighteen inches wide, and six inches thick, shaped rounding, so that each block forms the segment of a circle of the proposed diameter of the igloo. The blocks are slightly tapered off on the inner side, and are laid spirally, one man building from within, while the other brings the blocks from without. The courses grow smaller and smaller as the dome rises, until there is only a narrow open circle, into which a block of snow is dropped by way of keystone, binding the whole dome firmly together. The man within now carefully examines every part, and if there are any openings left they are stopped up with snow. A hole for a door is then cut; and through this are passed the snow-blocks to build the divan, which forms the seats and bed. A tunnel-like passage is then dug and covered over. This is so low and narrow that one must crawl on all fours to pass through it. The outer door of the passage consists of a block of ice or hard snow fitting closely to the opening and turning upon a sort of pivot. The usual diameter of a family igloo is twelve or sixteen feet, and its height about eight. It will accommodate ten or a dozen people.

When newly built, an igloo is one of the most beautiful structures conceivable. The blocks are more transparent than the clearest alabaster and whiter than the purest marble, but they soon become defaced by the smoke and the filth of all kinds which rapidly accumulates. Apart from the divan, almost the only article of furniture is the stone lamp, which serves the purpose both of lamp and furnace. It reminds one of an implement common among civilized people, and known as an "Etna."

The Innuits show great dexterity in the construction of their implements and in the fabrication of their clothing. Their canoes have been the admiration of every voyager in the Arctic regions, and they are wonderfully dexterous in the management of them. Their sledges have the runners made of bits of bone ingeniously tied together with the sinews of the deer. When they wish them to run very smoothly they shoe them with ice, by simply squirting from their mouths a thin stream of water upon the runner, where it congeals in an instant. The "oodloo," or woman's knife, is shaped like our common meat-chopper. It is made of bone, merely edged with iron; but in the hands of an Innuit woman it takes the place of the knife, hatchet, scraper, and shears of

THE WOMAN'S KNIFE.