If, however, a man has any reason to suppose that a seal is at work beneath, he immediately attaches himself to the place, and seldom leaves it till he has succeeded in killing the animal.  For this purpose, he first builds a snow-wall about four feet in height, to shelter him from the wind, and, seating himself under the lee of it, deposites his spear, lines, and other implements upon several little forked sticks inserted into the snow, in order to prevent the smallest noise being made in moving them when wanted.  But the most curious precaution to the same effect consists in tying his own knees together with a thong, so securely as to prevent any rustling of his clothes, which might otherwise alarm the animal.  In this situation a man will sit quietly sometimes for hours together, attentively listening to any noise made by the seal, and sometimes using the keip-kuttuk, an instrument hereafter described, in order to ascertain whether the animal is still at work below.  When he supposes the hole to be nearly completed, he cautiously lifts his spear, to which the line has been previously attached, and, as soon as the blowing of the seal is distinctly heard, and the ice consequently very thin, he drives it into him with the force of both arms, and then cuts away with his panna the remaining crust of ice, to enable him to repeat the wounds and get him out.  The neitiek is the only seal killed in this manner, and, being the smallest, is held while struggling either simply by hand, or by putting the line round a spear with the point stuck into the ice.  For the oguke, the line is passed round the man’s leg or arm; and for a walrus, round his body, his feet being at the same time firmly set against a hummock of ice, in which position these people can, from habit, hold against a very heavy strain.  Boys of fourteen or fifteen years of age consider themselves equal to the killing of a neitiek, but it requires a full-grown person to master either of the larger animals.

On the 17th, a number of the Esquimaux coming before the church service, we gave them to understand, by the sun, that none could be admitted before noon, when they quietly remained outside the ships till divine service had been performed.  We then endeavoured to explain to Iligliuk that every seventh day they must not come to the ships, for, without any intention of offending, they had become rather an annoyance in this way.  They now brought with them a great many little canoes and paddles, sledges, figures of men and women; and other toys, most of them already bespoke by the officers and men, and the rest for sale.