The men, by the clever twists and turns they gave their canoes, managed
to keep out of their way, the wounded animals all the time growing
weaker and weaker; and whenever any of those untouched approached so
near as to endanger the canoes, they threw a handful of sand so
dexterously in their eyes, that the enraged animals were blinded and
confused, and immediately swam off.

I regretted that we had not our firearms with us, as we might very soon
have killed a large number without difficulty, provided the report did
not frighten them away.

It was quite dark by the time the canoes returned to the beach, each
towing in triumph the dead body of a walrus. On hearing of their
success, the people who remained on shore set up shouts of joy, and
hastened down to carry off the blubber and the more delicate morsels for
their next day's meal. The greater portion of the flesh was stowed away
in holes in the bank, lined with a coating of snow, and thickly covered
over with large stones, so that no animal could get at them. They have
no fear in this climate of their food being destroyed by vermin or small
insects.

We thought our friends had done eating for the day, but the temptation
of some fresh blubber was too great to be resisted, and to our
astonishment they again set their pot on to boil, and ate till they
could eat no more.

Terence and the rest of my party fared in the same way, in their
respective tents, which I did. Ickmallick, when he had done eating,
made a sign to me to occupy a corner of the family couch; and the whole
family were soon snoring away and making a no very harmonious concert,
when a dozen or more dogs sneaked in and took up their quarters at our
feet.

The lamp was left burning all the night. It is a shallow
crescent-shaped vessel of potstone, or what is called soapstone from its
soapy feel. The wick is composed of dry moss, rubbed between the hands
till it is quite inflammable. It is disposed along the edge of the
lamp, on the straight side, and a greater or smaller quantity lighted,
according to the heat required or the fuel that can be afforded.

I was much pleased by observing the clever way in which the lamp is made
to supply itself with oil, by suspending a long thin slice of whale,
seal, or sea-horse blubber near the flame, the warmth of which causes
the oil to drip into the vessel, until the whole is extracted.

The wick is trimmed by a piece of asbestos stone, and a quantity of