amazingly increased in a short space of time,
there is no doubt that he would have overtaken his Indian foes ere many
hours had passed, but for the wound in his head, which, although not
dangerous, compelled him more than once to halt and sit down, in order
to prevent himself from falling into a swoon. Hunger had also something
to do with this state of weakness, as he had eaten nothing for many
hours. In his hasty departure from the boat, however, he had neglected
to take any provisions with him, so that he had little hope of obtaining
refreshment before arriving at the village, where some scraps might
perhaps be picked up.

Slowly, and with a reeling brain, he staggered on; but here no relief
awaited him, for every scrap of food had been either taken away or
destroyed by the Indians, and it was with a heavy sigh and a feeling
akin to despair that he sat down beside the blackened ruins of his late
home.

But Esquimaux, more than other men, are accustomed to reverses of
fortune, and the sigh with which he regarded the ruins of his hut had no
reference whatever to the absence of food. He knew that about this time
the mouth of the river would be full of ice, carried up by the
flood-tide, and that seals would, in all probability, be found on it; so
he started up, and hastening along the beach soon gained the floes,
which he examined carefully. A glance or two sufficed to show him that
he was right in his conjecture. On a sheet of ice not more than a
couple of hundred yards from shore were two seals fast asleep. These he
prepared to stalk. Between the floe and the shore ran a stream of water
twenty yards broad. Over this he ferried himself on a lump of loose
ice; and, on reaching the floe, he went down on his hands and knees,
holding the spear in his right hand as he advanced cautiously towards
his victim.

The Esquimau seal-spear is a curious weapon, and exhibits in a high
degree the extraordinary ingenuity of the race. The handle is sometimes
made of the horn of the narwal, but more frequently of wood. It has a
movable head or barb, to which a long line of walrus hide or sealskin is
attached. This barb is made of ivory tipped with iron, and is attached
to the handle in such a way that it becomes detached from it the instant
the animal is struck, and remains firmly imbedded in the wound with the
line fastened to it, while the handle floats away on the water or falls
on the ice, as the case may be.

When the