“Near the place where he expects to find seals, the hunter stops his team and takes the implements from the sledge, which is then turned upside down in such a way as to prevent the dogs from running away. A dog with a good scent is then taken from the team, and the Eskimo follows his guidance until a seal’s hole is found. In winter it is entirely covered with snow, but generally a small elevation indicates the situation. The dog is led back to the sledge, and the hunter examines the hole to make sure that it is still visited by the seal. Cautiously he cuts a hole in the snow covering and peeps into the excavation. If the water is covered with a new coat of ice, the seal has left the hole, and it would be in vain to expect its return. The hunter must look for a new hole promising better results. [Illustration: ESKIMO SEAL HUNTER WAITING AT BREATHING HOLE.] “If he is sure that the seal has recently visited a hole, he marks its exact centre on the top of the snow and then fills up his peep-hole with small blocks of snow. These preparations must be made with the utmost caution, as any changes in the appearance of the snow would frighten away the seal.” The hunter stands on a small piece of seal skin with the harpoon poised in both hands, and there he may have to wait for several hours; sometimes he builds a screen of snow to protect himself from the bitterly cold wind. Now he bends low, and listens intently for the blowing which indicates that a seal is at hand; then suddenly he stands upright, and with all his strength sends down the harpoon into the hole, where the seal is in such a position that it usually receives the weapon in the head. The line is paid out, and at the same time the hunter cuts down the snow covering from the hole, to the edge of which the animal is dragged, and dispatched by a blow on the head. The blood of a seal is highly prized, and to prevent waste all wounds are closed by driving in ivory pegs; sometimes the hunter refreshes himself with a copious drink of the warm blood.