s, and thus prepared cuts his way through
the blubber into the flesh or beef, the grain of which is about as firm
as a goose-quill, of this he selects the nicest morsels, and either
broils them on the fire or cooks them as kabobs by cutting them into
small pieces and spitting them on a pointed stick.

By and bye other natives come gaily trooping in from all quarters: by
night they dance and sing, and by day they eat and sleep, and for days
this revelry continues unchecked, until they at last fairly eat their way
into the whale, and you see them climbing in and about the stinking
carcase, choosing tit-bits. In general the natives are very particular
about not eating meat that is fly-blown or tainted, but when a whale is
in question this nicety of appetite vanishes. I attribute this to their
disliking in the first instance to leave the carcase, and then gradually
getting accustomed to its smell; but whatever may be the reason they
remain by the carcase for many days, rubbed from head to foot with
stinking blubber, gorged to repletion with putrid meat, out of temper
from indigestion, and therefore engaged in constant frays, suffering from
a cutaneous disorder by high feeding, and altogether a disgusting
spectacle. There is no sight in the world more revolting than to see a
young and gracefully formed native girl stepping out of the carcase of a
putrid whale. When they at last quit their feast they carry off as much
as they can stagger under, to eat upon the way, and to take as a rarity
to their distant friends.

MODE OF KILLING SEALS AND WILD DOGS.

Killing seals is, from the habits of these animals, necessarily an
exciting species of hunting in the southern and western portions of the
continent. It is only enjoyed by the natives when they can surprise a
seal upon the beach or in the surf, or when they swim off to some of the
small rocky islands which are connected with the main by reefs, and are
at no great distance from it; they are themselves fond of this sport, and
the clambering about the wild rocks of their native shore, at one time
leaping from rock to rock, spearing fish that lie in the quiet pools, in
the next moment dashing into the boisterous surf to spear a large fish,
to battle with a seal, or to turn a turtle, cannot but be an exhilarating
occupation; and when to this we add that their steps are followed by a
wife and children, as dear to them as ours are to us, who are witnesses
of their agility and prowes