RISKING DEATH FOR A MEAL.

Mataura Ensign, Issue 1032, 13 May 1902, Page 3

RISKING DEATH FOR A MEAL.

It is well known that on account of the cold : the dwellers in high latitudes are obliged to eatl more than the inhabitants of warmer regions! Especially is this the case with the Esquimo, who in consequence are often unfairly accused of excessive greediness.

But though his position requires him to con* sume a large e mount of food,the bskimo hunter Buds himself at a loss ts obtain it.

True, there ire generally seals, and occasionlaity whales, to be caught. Nevertheless, they lare not always sufficient to supply bis needs) land so he has recourse to the eggs of the sea fowl or to the birds themselves.

This additienal supply of food is, however, only obtained with the utmost difficulty and not 'infrequently at the cost of the birtl-cat Cher's fe, since these birds generally cboose tha moat .inaccessible portions of the steep icebound dills for their habitation.

The Eskimo fowler must therefore climb,?nd, what is more, drag his net with bim, up all manner of giddy precipices, and Ihcu, percliod on narrow sriow-covered ledges, the sligbtw-t slip on which would be fatal, must reach iiorcss yawning chasms in order to reach Ins quarry. The actual capture is usually a comparatively easy matter.