HUNTING WITH FHE ESKIMOS C\J o CvJ o HARRY WHITNEY HUNTING WITH THE ESKIMOS HUNTING WITH THE ESKIMOS THE UNIQUE RECORD OF A SPORTSMAN'S YEAR AMONG THE NORTHERNMOST TRIBE THE BIG GAME HUNTING, THE NATIVE LIFE, AND THE BATTLE FOR EXISTENCE THROUGH THE LONG ARCTIC NIGHT BY HARRY WHITNEY ILLUSTRATED WITH PHOTOGRAPHS BY THE AUTHOR LONDON, W. C. T. FISHER UNWIN 1, ADELPHI TERRACE 1910 Copyright, 1910, by THE CENTURY Co. Published, October, 1910 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES BY THE DEVINNE PRESS ^ TO CAPT. ROBERT A. BARTLETT 263086 CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE i NORTHWARD BOUND 3 ii FAREWELL TO THE SHIPS 23 ni AT ANNOOTOK 46 iv BUFFETED BY STORM AND ICE 61 v ON THE THRESHOLD OF THE LONG NIGHT .... 73 vi A BEAR HUNT TO HUMBOLDT GLACIER 90 vii THE GOING OF THE SUN 105 viii HOME LIFE IN THE IGLOOS 122 ix A NIGHT TRIP TO CAPE RUSSELL 139 x How WE CELEBRATED CHRISTMAS 152 xi ADRIFT ON THE ICE 165 xii HUNTING WALRUS IN THE NIGHT 179 xiii BACK OVER THE GLACIERS 194 xiv PREPARING FOR THE ARCTIC DAY 209 xv THE RETURN OF THE SUN 231 xvi WHEN THE ESKIMOS LEFT us 249 xvii OFF TO ELLESMERE LAND 272 xviii "OMINGMONG !" THE MUSK-OX ! 290 xix ON THE SMITH SOUND ICE 312 xx THE SPRING AWAKENING 330 vii CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE xxi HUNTING THE NARWHAL 346 xxii DUCK SHOOTING ON THE ISLANDS 370 xxiii THE DANGERS OF THE SEA 385 xxiv AMONG THE WALRUS HERDS 402 xxv THE SHIP AT LAST 418 xxvi BACK TO CIVILIZATION . 435 viii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Entering Ellesmere Land, the home of the musk-ox Frontispiece Author in a whale's mouth 5 Stripping blubber from a whale 10 A group of Peary's Eskimos 15 The Erik in Etah Harbor 20 Captain Sam Bartlett in command of the Erik 26 On board the Erik f spying out walrus 29 Encamped on a narwhal hunt 36 Carrying deer meat out of rocky country 39 The author's shack at Etah 43 The whale-boat in a dangerous position ....... 50 Two huntsmen of the Highland tribe 53 Eskimos at their summer home 59 The Roosevelt leaving Etah for Cape Sheridan with Peary in command 70 Kayak in smooth water 78 On Smith Sound ice 85 Wind-break of snow-blocks 93 Camp on the way to Humboldt Glacier ; Mr. Whitney in the foreground 100 Eskimo women fishing through ice. Note the babies on their backs 107 ix LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE The author preparing his breakfast on the march . . . .115 Annootok, showing a snow igloo, and a dory raised from the ground in which dog food was stored 125 Looking for a way through rough ice . . . 132 Loading the sledges 135 Typical scene in Eskimo camp on the ice 145 Musk-ox trophies lashed on sledge 156 A killing; author, rifle in hand, stands over the carcass of a musk-ox he has just shot 162 Curious ice formation in Ellesmere Land 170 Bivouacked in Ellesmere Land 175 Looking for seal from an ice hummock 183 Hare on the run probably the first photograph of Arctic hare ever published 189 Musk-ox wedged between rocks in his death plunge down mountain side. The author, with rifle in hand . . . 200 The Erik in small ice 212 In Ellesmere Land. Heavy going 217 The Erik unloading coal in Etah Harbor , 228 Arctic hare 233 Arctic hare 240 Seal Hunting The seals are shot through a hole in a white cloth or hareskin screen 245 Resting the dogs . .. 263 In Ellesmere Land 273 In Ellesmere Land ; Eiseeyou finds water 280 Building a wind-break 288 Musk-ox at bay 293 The largest trophy of the hunt 298 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PACK Dogs holding up musk-ox 301 The musk-ox. A fine specimen 305 Hauling musk-ox to camp 310 Skinning the musk-ox The skinning must be done quickly before the carcass freezes 313 Rough ice; Smith Sound 317 Eiseeyou and the author with baby musk-ox in his arms . .321 Going snow-blind 327 Little auks 338 Spanning a lead with dog-sled 347 The first narwhal of the season, killed by Kulutinguah, who is indicated by the arrow 354 The return from a seal hunt 363 Kulutinguah's Kooner 373 Shooting duck and gathering eggs ; Littleton Island . . .380 Ready to launch the whale-boat; Kulutinguah in the kayak 389 The Erik working her way through small ice 396 Looking for walrus 410 Shooting a walrus from the whale-boat Walrus come up for about a minute and stay under for perhaps fifteen minutes 415 Iceberg off the Labrador 424 The Roose velt with all sail set off the Labrador . . . .431 Hoisting a polar bear on board 438 A fair-sized walrus 445 INTRODUCTION MR. HARRY WHITNEY has brought out of the Arctic a remarkable and absorbing narrative of thrilling ad- ventures and unusual experiences. It is a narrative unlike any other description of Arctic life and travel. It is a distinctive and valuable contribution to the literature of the region. Not only will it interest and hold the sportsman and lover of wilderness ad- venture, but from an ethnic standpoint it contains much that is new concerning the Highland Eskimos, the most northerly inhabitants of the earth. Complete success in the hunt demanded that Mr. Whitney adopt the Eskimo mode of life, share with the natives their privations and their dangers and lend his aid in their incessant struggle for existence. This brought him into closer touch with the people, both individually and as a whole than has ever been possible for explorers bent upon purely scientific re- search. Throughout an entire year with the native families in igloo and tupek, or with the huntsmen of the tribe on the trail of game, he was afforded an opportunity to observe many phases of the Eskimo life hitherto unrecorded. The chief feature of the narrative, however, is ad- venture. The imaginative writer could hardly pic- xiii INTRODUCTION ture more thrilling incidents and hairbreadth escapes than fell to the lot of Mr. Whitney and his Eskimo companions on their hunts for bear, walrus or musk- ox, on the trail, on the sea, or at times when they were overtaken by the fearful storms and hurricanes characteristic of the region. Hardly a chapter but contains an unusual adventure. Mr. Whitney is a very modest man, however, and in his record he has so undervalued the hazard and peril of many of the positions in which he was placed, that one must read between the lines to fully appreciate them. I lay down the manuscript with reluctance. I am sorry to say farewell to old Kulutinguah, to Ilabrado, to the excitable Tukshu and Sipsu, and the other notable ones of the tribe whom one cannot fail to like and respect. Mr. Whitney has given us a book that is worth while, and one that should take and hold a promi- nent place in the literature of travel and adventure. DILLON WALLACE. New York, June 17, 1910. xiv HUNTING WITH THE ESKIMOS HUNTING WITH THE ESKIMOS i NORTHWARD BOUND THE morning of July seventeenth, 1908, dawned clear and beautiful. The steamer Erik, lying at anchor in Sydney Harbor, was ready to sail. Steam was up, her cargo of coal for the Polar expedition, to which she was attached, was aboard six hundred tons in her hold and bunkers, and innumerable bags piled securely on deck the last of her provisions had been hoisted over her side, and Captain Sam Bartlett, her master than whom there is no abler sailing the northern seas awaited orders from explorer Peary to point her prow toward the Arctic Circle. As Mr. Peary's guest, I had come on the steam- ship Roosevelt from New Bedford, Massachusetts, to Sydney, arriving on the fifteenth, and here met my traveling companions, Mr. G. H. Norton and Mr. E. P. Larned. We three were sportsmen passengers on the Erik, bound for Northern Greenland in search of such shooting as a voyage to Etah might afford, 4 HUNTING WITH THE ESKIMOS and with no other expectation at the time than to re- turn home in the autumn with the ship. For many years I had desired to extend my hunt- ing-trips into this region, and had now taken advan- tage of an opportunity to do so. Walrus and other large aquatic game would be certain to offer good sport, in all probability there would be opportunity for a polar bear hunt, and possibly some trophy might be obtained of the musk-ox, so coveted by sportsmen because of the fact that it inhabits only the most re- mote and inaccessible regions of the Far North. I particularly desired to secure musk-ox and other trophies, not only to round out my own collection representing the big game animals of North America, which for several years I have hunted with some suc- cess, but also to obtain specimens for other scientific collections. The novelty of the voyage, the expected sport, and the collection of trophies were, then, my only reasons for being on the ~Erik, and I had no part whatever in the Polar expedition to which the vessel was attached. My arms consisted of a 30-40, a .35, and a .22 auto- matic Winchester rifle. Mr. Norton and I had to- gether provided ourselves with a whale-boat equipped with a three horse power motor, to be used on short cruises at such times as the ship might be in harbor, and to assist in hunting. Tents, oil stoves and other necessary camping utensils, suited to the region we were to visit, completed our equipment, together with a supply of such articles as we might find useful in LLE S MOUTH NORTHWARD BOUND 7 barter, or as presents to the natives in securing their assistance when required. The Erik, formerly in the Hudson's Bay Com- pany's service, is now regularly employed during the spring months as a sealer, technically called an "ice hunter," as the seal hunting is done on the great ice floes lying off the Labrador coast. Designed for this purpose, and not as a passenger carrying vessel, her accommodations are naturally limited to her needs. It will be understood, therefore, that our passenger quarters were in no wise to be compared with those. on a transatlantic liner, and it will be understood, also, that there was a choice of staterooms. In true sports- man's style, we proceeded to match coins for this choice, and it fell to my lot to lose all around. It was past midnight when sailing orders were finally received, and half past twelve on the morning of July eighteenth when the Erik weighed anchor and steamed out of Sydney Harbor. The night was clear, the deep blue sky studded with bright stars, and the sea smooth and beautiful. It was so entrancing that I remained on the bridge with Captain Bartlett until two o'clock. When I came on deck the following morning the sun shone from a cloudless sky, the air clear and bracing, and the vessel forging ahead at full speed. Above and around us soared innumerable gulls, their white wings glistening in the sunlight. Early in the afternoon St. Paul's Island was passed on our port, with the hulls of two large steamers, wrecked a fort- night before, plainly visible; and presently the dark, 8 HUNTING WITH THE ESKIMOS rock-bound coast of Newfoundland loomed up on our starboard and Cape St. George was soon left behind. In the evening a heavy blanket of fog settled over the sea, and rain set in. So thick was the fog, in fact, that one could not see the length of the ship. Speed was reduced, and throughout the night and next forenoon two minute blasts of the Erik's whistle sounded deep-throated warnings of our presence. Once a great whale with her young rose very near the ship's side, blew several times, and then was swal- lowed up like a phantom by the mist. Finally, near midday on the nineteenth, the sun broke out through low-lying, thick fog banks, and from the lookout in the crow's-nest on the foremast came, "Land ho!" When at length the fog banks melted away, we discovered ourselves plowing through the Straits of Belle Isle, with the bleak, rocky coast of Labrador, punctuated by many stranded icebergs, stretching out on our left. Our first port was to be Hawkes Harbor, South- eastern Labrador, where we were to take aboard from the whaling station there several tons of fresh whale's meat for winter food for the dogs of the Polar party ; and early in the evening the Erik entered the tickle l and dropped anchor. Here we were to remain two days while loading cargo and awaiting the arrival of the Roosevelt. This delay afforded ample time to look over the factory, and to try for trout and salmon i A narrow water passage or strait leading into a harbor, or connecting two larger bodies of water. The word is local, peculiar to Newfound- land and The Labrador. V| NORTHWARD BOUND 11 in a stream which empties into the Bay at its upper end. The whale factory at Hawkes Harbor, typical of the whale factories of the coast, is a big, box-like frame structure, fitted with immense caldrons for rendering the oil, and machinery for working up and utilizing the carcass. In front of it is an extensive cutting-up stage or platform, and sloping down from this into the water a smooth-planked way, up which the carcasses are drawn. Two whales, partly cut up, were on the platform when we arrived, and another, anchored a few yards from shore, was hauled up while we were there. Mr. Collins, the superintendent, had this one measured, at my request, and it was found to be sixty-eight feet four and one-half inches in length, and its weight was estimated, by Mr. Collins, to be seventy-two tons. In these modern factories every part of the whale is utilized. The oil and whalebone of commerce are very valuable, and the manufacture of the carcass into guano after the oil has been extracted, is an industry in itself. Until recently the oil-freed car- cass was considered useless refuse. It was towed fifty miles out to sea and abandoned. The law re- quired this, that the fishing-grounds might not be polluted. But a voyage of fifty miles to sea and back again is costly, and through experiment it was learned not only that this expense might be saved, but that it was possible to manufacture the refuse into a valuable commodity. 12 HUNTING WITH THE ESKIMOS So every part of the whale is turned to account except the smell. Human ingenuity cannot control that; it is too strong. This ghost of departed levia- thans, as big as many leviathans combined, haunts the air for miles around a whale factory, and does not resemble lavender or lilac or other sweet perfumes in the least. Attached to the Hawkes Harbor whale factory is the little steamer Cachelat, and she was in port when we arrived. At her bow a harpoon cannon was mounted. From this the harpoon, containing an ex- plosive bomb, is fired into the whale. If well aimed, it reaches the whale's "life," as the whalers say, and the bomb exploding kills instantly. The harpoon, before being discharged from the cannon, is attached to the vessel by a line, and thus the carcass, which is prevented from sinking, is hauled alongside and lashed to the vessel, and then taken to the factory. Only one of these vessels is permitted to operate in con- nection with any single factory, and the law demands that each factory be located at least fifty miles from the next one. Whaling on the Labrador coast began early in the sixteenth century. The Basques were the first to undertake it actively here, as they were the first to take advantage of the Labrador fisheries. Later came the British, Americans and Newfoundlanders. American whalers ceased activities on the Labrador coast, however, so long ago as 1807, and all of the present-day Labrador fisheries are, I believe, con- trolled by Newfoundland interests. NORTHWARD BOUND 13 It was not until the year 1900 that the modern methods, above outlined, were introduced here from Norway, and it was then, and since, that the factories were built and the -industry for a time grew im- mensely. Previously the old-fashioned methods of row-boat and hand harpoon were the only ones em- ployed, and there are many to-day who bemoan the modern innovations. By the year 1904 a marked de- crease in whales had occurred, due very largely, if not wholly, to increased destruction, and this resulted in the closing of some Newfoundland factories. Thirty tons of the odoriferous whale's meat were taken aboard the Erik, and stored in bins on deck. Even there it smelled to high heaven, and as the warm July sun beat down upon it in the days that followed, its presence in our midst was never forgotten. At two o'clock the following morning Norton and I launched our power whale-boat, and with Harold Bartlett, second mate on the Erik,, and Larned, ran to the bottom of the Bay, seventeen miles, to try our rods at the mouth of a tumbling stream. My first endeavor was for salmon, but two hours' effort failed to reward me with a single rise. Then I turned my attention to trout and was more successful, landing fourteen fine sea trout and a speckled brook trout which weighed four and a half pounds. It was a beauty ! So far from the coast mosquitoes and black flies were terrible simply beyond description both in numbers and activity. They came upon us in clouds and attacked every exposed part of our faces and 14 HUNTING WITH THE ESKIMOS hands. Even our head-nets offered small protection, for in some way the insects managed to get through them. When we reached the Erik in the evening, we found that the Roosevelt had arrived during our ab- sence, and the two ships were impatiently awaiting our return. Anchors were heaved at once, and away we steamed to Turnavik. The following day was clear, the sea smooth and dotted with innumerable icebergs. The two ships raced for Turnavik, first one ahead, then the other, but the Roosevelt, with all sails set and a strong south- west wind, had the advantage finally, and beat us by half an hour. We arrived at eight-thirty in the evening, and im- mediately launched a boat and went ashore to be cor- dially and heartily welcomed by Captain William Bartlett, the father of Captain Bob Bartlett of the Roosevelt, and Captain Sam's brother. He owns Turnavik, which is a cod-fishing station. Here the Roosevelt took aboard ten sacks of salt and all the sealskin boots that could be had. I purchased two pairs of boots for myself, and through Captain Bart- lett's kindness obtained a suitable stick of timber out of which I desired to make a boom for our whale- boat. Several years before this I had been with Captain Will Bartlett on a sealing voyage, and our meeting now called up many delightful reminiscences. That sealing voyage was my first experience in the ice fields, and it was then I had my first taste of the NORTHWARD BOUND 17 rugged life of the north seas. It was a pleasant ex- perience and left with me a remembrance of its in- explicable charm, and a desire to return to it and enjoy again a season of its wild, fascinating freedom. When the Erik steamed out of Turnavik Harbor the next morning a stiff northwest wind was blowing, the air was raw and the sea rough. The wind rose to a gale during the day, and we finally began to ship so many seas that danger of losing our deck cargo of coal and whale meat shut us down to half speed until late in the afternoon, when we ran into an ice floe, with its calming effect. Out of the ice again the sea ran heavy and we were held down to half speed. The whale's meat, however, was not. It was decaying at more than normal speed, with the result that its odor permeated every- thing, and followed us everywhere. There was no getting away from that smell; it followed us into the farthermost corners of the ship. Like an evil spirit it haunted us continually, even as we slept. At length our food tasted of it. One day a particu- larly heavy sea broke the bins in which it was stored, and ten or fifteen tons of the half rotten flesh was spread over the deck. What a mess ! It was so ripe and tender that it would scarcely hold together to be handled, and the poor sailors had more than their share of trouble in endeavoring to capture and con- fine it again. To think of it at this distance is amusing. But then it was a horror! But there were calm, pleasant days, and at such times, and whenever conditions permitted, Norton 18 HUNTING WITH THE ESKIMOS and I busied ourselves putting our whale-boat in good condition. We calked and painted it, and I planed down the stick obtained at Turnavik, fashioning it into a boom which we fitted. On July 27th a heavy fog, which had attended us for several hours, lifted, and lo ! there lay Greenland, her high, rugged coast line topped with snow, with here and there a glimpse of her interior ice cap. No night came now. We were in the latitude of continuous day, and presently the sun made his circle without once in the twenty- four hours dipping below the horizon. How weird and uncanny it was! On the twenty-eighth we crossed the magic circle and were at last literally within the charmed area of the Arctic. Two schools of whales were passed. I counted eight of the monsters blowing at one time, in one of the schools. The other school was very large. One of the whales blew within thirty yards of the Erik. We all ran for our rifles to get a shot at him when he rose again, but when he did he was out of range. Hundreds of water fowl circled about, or dotted the sea, many of them feeding on the oily matter that dripped from the whale meat on the Erik's deck. Presently we were running along the Disco Island coast, which lay about six miles off our starboard. Most of the coast appeared to be over two thousand feet high, and was covered with ice and snow, and in a number of places the interior ice cap could be easily discerned through our glasses. Disco Island, lying off the southwest coast of Greenland, is about eighty- NORTHWARD BOUND 21 five miles in length, and supports three Danish settle- ments. Icebergs were becoming more numerous. Great numbers of them, some of massive proportions and assuming fantastic shapes, dotted the sea, while the coast was lined with stranded ones. As we steamed northward into Melville Bay we passed very close to one of immense size close enough to be impressed by its proportions, and to appreciate the beautiful green and peacock blue colorings of its crystal depths. Upon its top and its sides perched myriads of birds. Rain fell heavily on the evening of July 30th, but shortly before midnight the sun came out clear and beautiful, and the following day was one of the most delightful of the trip warm, almost balmy, with the sea as smooth as glass, and thousands of little auks were hovering about or flying in bunches toward the land. Early in the afternoon Cape York was sighted, though as yet fifty miles or so distant; and not until eleven o'clock at night did we run close in under her cliffs. The wind had risen now to so stiff a breeze that it was not advisable to attempt to launch a boat. Here we lay until early morning, when long blasts of the whistle were blown in the hope of arousing natives. No life was visible, however, and . after three hours of futile effort, we were under steam again, headed for North Star Bay, the nearest harbor, where it was hoped we should overtake the Roosevelt. At North Star Bay we were equally unsuccessful in arousing natives, and as the Roosevelt was not there 22 HUNTING WITH THE ESKIMOS our prow was turned toward Walstenholme Sound. Here again the whistle was blown, and presently we were rewarded by seeing a boat shoot out from shore and pull for us. It contained fourteen Eskimos, and when it drew alongside all climbed aboard. An old Eskimo came to the bridge to act as pilot, and under his guidance the Erik felt her way into harbor, anchor was dropped, and we were at last on our first hunting grounds, where I was destined to tarry through the long Arctic night and experience many adventures in an Arctic winter among the Eskimos. irfe 3Ss