en in the coldest weather here. From this we see that
there could be no chance for heat enough to make the thick ice break up
by thawing. Have you ever seen a tub which was full of water frozen
nearly solid? Then, perhaps you remember that the middle was heaved up
and cracked to pieces by the frost. This, I think, is what takes place
in the Northern seas, only on a far grander scale. A rumbling sound can
be heard for some time before it really breaks up; but when it does
come, there is an awful roar like loudest thunder, and great blocks of
ice are lifted and piled one above another, until they are higher than
the tops of the highest buildings in this country. As it breaks up a
good many times in the same place, these ice mountains are piled higher
and higher, until they get so large we cannot see over them or round
them at all. Each time the ice breaks up, there is an open space where
the water is free from ice, and the walruses and seals come up to
breathe. Sometimes a walrus will crawl away from this opening far enough
for the hunters to head him off and kill him. The walrus is hard to
kill, for he is so watchful, and there is no way to call him as they do
the seal. But when killed he is quite a prize.

In hunting the seal, they take a different plan. The seal is very fond
of its young. The hunters will take advantage of this by lying flat on
the ice and making a sound like the cry of a young seal. In this way
they manage to call the old seal out on the ice. But even then it is not
always easy to catch the seal, for it has a strong, flexible tail, by
means of which it is able to throw itself a good many feet at a time, so
that even when on the ice it sometimes gets away with its awkward rolls
and flops and jumps. A seal is very active and almost always in motion.

Our greatest prize was the whale. Once in a while one would get
entangled in the breaking ice so that it could not get away, and then
everybody would be out to help or see the fun. A great many ropes of
reindeer hide would be brought out and a great many spears stuck into
the animal. Then the men would join together and try to pull the huge
creature out of the water. Even with the help of all the dogs that could
be used it was hard work, but they would manage it after a while. Then
all would give a great shout and have great joy over the whale. One
reason for their rejoicing was that the whale had so much blubber.
Blubber is the inside fat of the whale. The