anket-bag, and each attended to the duty which devolved upon
him. Meetuck held a tin kettle over the flame till the snow with which
it was filled melted and became cold water, and then gradually heated
until it boiled; and all the while he employed himself in masticating a
lump of raw walrus-flesh, much to the amusement of Fred, and to the
disgust, real or pretended, of O'Riley. But the Irishman, and Fred too,
and every man on board the _Dolphin_, came at last to _relish_ raw meat,
and to long for it! The Esquimaux prefer it raw in these parts of the
world (although some travellers assert that in more southern latitudes
they prefer cooked meat); and with good reason, for it is much more
nourishing than cooked flesh, and learned, scientific men who have
wintered in the Arctic Regions have distinctly stated that in those cold
countries they found raw meat to be better for them than cooked meat,
and they assure us that they at last came to _prefer_ it! We would not
have our readers to begin forthwith to dispense with the art of cookery,
and cast Soyer to the dogs; but we would have them henceforth refuse to
accept that common opinion and vulgar error that Esquimaux eat their
food raw _because they are savages_. They do it because nature teaches
them that, under the circumstances, it is best.

The duty that devolved upon O'Riley was to roast small steaks of the
walrus, in which operation he was assisted by West; while Fred undertook
to get out the biscuit-bag and pewter plates, and to infuse the coffee
when the water should boil. It was a strange feast in a strange place,
but it proved to be a delightful one, for hunger requires not to be
tempted, and is not fastidious.

"Oh, but it's good, isn't it?" remarked O'Riley, smacking his lips, as
he swallowed a savoury morsel of the walrus and tossed the remnant, a
sinewy bit, to Dumps, who sat gazing sulkily at the flame of the lamp,
having gorged himself long before the bipeds began supper.

"Arrah! ye won't take it, won't ye?--Here, Poker!"

Poker sprang forward, wagging the stump of his tail, and turned his
head to one side, as if to say, "Well, what's up? Any fun going?"

"Here, take that, old boy; Dumps is sulky."

Poker took it at once, and a single snap caused it to vanish. He, too,
had finished supper, and evidently ate the morsel to please the
Irishman.

"Hand me the coffee, Meetuck," said Fred.--"The biscuit lies beside you,
West; don't give in so soon, man."