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| Fridtjof Nansen, Norwegian Explorer |
His journey was considered by most of his fellow Europeans to be a suicidal endeavor, but lo and behold, he and his companions successfully made the traverse, but not quite in time to make the ship that was to initially take them home for the winter. They were just a tad too late, and were forced to winter in Godthaab, a small but wonderfully welcoming settlement for both European and Eskimo alike, and, seeing themselves with little else to do, amused themselves by learning to kayak and understand better the Eskimo methods of hunting and fishing.
It is here that Nansen beheld with wonder some of the capabilities of the Eskimo natives. Although he had encountered some on the Eastern coast, they had little, if any, experience with the strange Europeans and communication was impossible. Those in Godthaab however were wonderfully acclimated to Europeans and coexisted most favorably.
Now, as anyone who has ever set foot in a kayak will know, they are very temperamental and easily upset, and proved much more difficult for Nansen and his compatriots to master especially when considered that they were in the icy waters of Greenland, icy floes drifting past and at times threatening to crush their tiny craft. They of course proved to be very amusing initially to their new friends, floundering and struggling to master the kayak, which only increased Nansen's estimation of them when he saw how easily they handled them.
In his book, The First Crossing of Greenland, he comments "The Eskimo 'kayaks' were, of course, a great attraction to us strangers, and as soon as possible I possessed myself of one. The necessary balance in this narrow, crank little vessel is very difficult for a beginner to acquire. One feels as if he were swinging on a knife-edge, and it is very necessary, so to speak, to keep your hair parted well in the middle. Yet when one sees the Eskimo dancing like sea-birds on the crests of the waves the whole performance seems simply child's play."
In time however Nansen got the hang of it and took great relish in following the Eskimos on their water excursions, and it was here they he was positively flabbergasted by their marksmanship.
Nansen recites "There are not many seal about in the winter, so it does not pay to go after them for mere amusement. We found the birds better worth our attention, and the flight-shooting of the eider-duck was especially attractive. In the earlier part of the winter this generally goes on in the evenings, when the duck come flying in large or small flocks along the shore on their way into the fjords. The 'kayaks' are drawn up in a line, especially just off the promontories. It was quite exciting work to lie there in wait for the duck, and reminded me of the flight-shooting at home when the woodcock come back in the spring. One's eyes are turned southwards, whence the duck should come.
"Suddenly you see the man in the furthest canoe stoop forward and paddle away as hard as he can go, while the rest of the line meanwhile dress up to him. Then he stops, there is a moment's waiting, and then come a flash and a report, which are taken up by the next, and so follow down the line. You see a dark mass to the south of you silently skimming the water. You bring your canoe up a bit to get better into range; you put your paddle in under its strap and get your gun ready.
"By this time you can distinguish every bird. Just as they sweep by you, you let fly into the thickest part of the flock, and if you are lucky you get a couple or more to your shot. Then you load again, gather up your birds, and wait for the next flight. So you pon [?] till it is dark, the line of 'kayaks' shifting backwards and forwards just as the duck happen to fly close to or further from the shore.
"This shooting needs a considerable amount of skill, for the duck fly strongly, and a good command of your canoe is necessary if you are to keep within range and shoot tolerably straight. Many of the natives are amazingly good hands at it. The quickness with which they bring the canoe up to the point, secure the paddle, and get the gun to the shoulder, as well as the accuracy of their aim, even if they have only one bird to cover, is enough to secure the admiration of the best of shots, especially as the little boats in which they sit are the whole time bobbing up and down upon the waves."
This can be considered nothing short of masterful shooting! To those who happen to be unfamiliar with shooting in its forms, stability is but one of the many keys of marksman ship. The position you take, they way you stroke the trigger, even your breathing and heartbeat can throw off a shot completely. And that's on solid ground! Even shotgunning, which fires a cluster of small pellets that can cover a wide area, requires swift reflexes and a durable shoulder. Now imagine performing this in a kayak while ice flows and swells toss your tiny craft willy nilly, back and forth, while also trying to not upset yourself. The expertise required not just in shooting but in boating quickly makes itself vividly evident.
And yet Nansen found even more of these magnificent feats among these people who he admits without reservation he became extremely fond of and held in the highest regard.
To quote "The sport I cultivate most here is eider-duck shooting. One of the best places is a small group of islands known as Imerigsok. Far out on the sea side of these birds are especially abundant, but here there is always a swell and the current runs fast, so that for a new hand the shooting is difficult. But on the whole it is the best form of sport that I have had yet in the 'kayak.' Here the method is different from that practiced in Godthaab, as we paddle about to find our duck. When you catch sight of them you work well off to the windward before you bear down on them. As a rule you cannot get very close in, but as they must rise against the wind they are generally forced to fly by you within shooting range.
"But the thing is to get your canoe into the right position to give you a shot. As the 'kayak' does not give one much turning room, a man who does not shoot from his left shoulder cannot cover his right side, but must be content with the straight ahead or left side shots. So, as the duck rise, and you see which direction they are going to take, you swing the canoe round if necessary, fix the paddle, slip off your right mitten off, fetch out the gun and bring it to your shoulder; but if you are to have any chance of dropping your bird this must all be done in an instant. And if there is any sea running you must be so thoroughly at home in the canoe that you can handle your gun with as much certainty as if you were ashore, to say nothing of keeping your balance at the moment of firing.
"Many of the Kangek men are masters at all this, and I have seen them, in a heavy sea, bring their half-score of birds down without a miss. Now and then I have met out at sea a man of the name of Pedersuak-that is to say, "the great Peter- and we have generally gone on in company. Sometimes we have tried our skill together, but as he is an excellent shot at these birds I have come off second best, much to his amusement and satisfaction.
"One day when we were together two duck came sweeping by us down the wind. They were out of range for me, but were making for Pedersuak. I shouted to him and he saw them but quietly let them pass him. I could not understand what he meant, but presently he raised his gun and brought both down. He explained to me afterwards that he had only waited to get them in line before he fired. I thought it was simply a fluke, but we had not paddled far before two more duck came by, and still better within my companion's reach. He fixed his paddle and held his gun ready, but did not fire. Then, when they were a long way past, the report came and both birds fell. I have often witnessed this performance, and have even see three birds brought down at one shot in the same way."
Skeet and bird shooters beware of envy! Again, to those uninitiated, hitting one fast moving target with both feet planted firmly on the ground with a scattergun is good. To hit two with one shot while on the water, or even three, is absolutely spectacular! And if this weren't enough, these men weren't armed with modern shotguns. They had muzzle loaders! Muzzle loaders, which have free powder and shot, are notoriously and laboriously hard to load. One must pour free powder down the muzzle, get the bullet and patch, ram them both down the barrel, replace the ramrod which can be bloody long and cumbersome, and then place finer powder in the flash pan mounted on the side. If you're lucky, you have one with caps. Legendary is this process. And that's on land. And they can easily be disabled if the powder gets wet from rain. Now, contemplate loading in this manner on the ocean and keeping your powder dry!
"These folk have only muzzle-loaders, but they use heavy charges, and shoot at what we should call absurdly long distances. I have often been out with them and have let birds pass me as being out of range, while an Eskimo by my side has not hesitated to fire, and has, moreover, brought off his shot. The loading of these guns when the sea is breaking over the 'kayak' is not easy. The natives put the butt of the gun forward on the canoe, and hold the muzzle against the face, or rest it on the shoulder, while they take out powder, cap, and wadding, which they always carry in t heir caps to keep them dry. In this way they manage to load in almost any sea without getting water down the barrel. There is a special bag to contain the gun in front, so that it is always at hand."
I can only imagine the number of hours practicing and perfecting this method of hunting and boating requires. I can also imagine how many broken paddles, lost guns, and time spent repenting of excessive swearing modern shooters would accumulate trying to mimic this style. I imagine gun insurance would go up by a very distinct margin, followed by house-wives unloading fusillades in an attempt to drill some sense into the heads of their overzealous husbands and sons. And yet, these wonderful Eskimos had yet another trick up their sleeves to impress Nansen.
"Another way of getting these birds, which is really better sport still, (I'll bet!) is spearing them with the dart; but it is exceedingly difficult, and needs a great deal of practice. Here, again, the Kangek people are supreme. It is truly delightful to see the darts fly from the throwing-stick as if they were shot from a bow, and birds hit from the same distance at which one would fire with a gun if they were lying on the water. I understand that birds are even killed flying in t his way. It is the auk especially that they use their darts upon, and in November and December, when these birds are most plentiful, though they have no more than one or two of these little weapons lying before them on the 'kayak," they come home often with a bag of sixty or seventy. This is more than one can get with a gun, which frightens the birds a long way round, while by the dart only the very nearest are disturbed.
"While I have been here this sport has not been very good, as the birds are said to be shyer now the sun has got so high. Yet the men will bring home twenty, which have been killed in the course of the morning, all by the strength of the arm and an instrument made from wood and bone. Where, then, are the great advantages which our firearms were to bring these people? The advances of civilization are not always so huge as we are often ready to imagine them."
Indeed, it seems impossible to hold this level of skill from these people in too high esteem. Truthfully, before reading this book, I hadn't the faintest clue to the hunting prowess of the natives of Greenland. This knowledge however has utterly thrilled me to my core and I'm beyond delighted to have learned of these wonderful techniques and hunters!
I highly recommend delving into the book The First Crossing of Greenland, not just for these feats of marksmanship, although that alone makes it worth reading, but to learn of the many other things encountered during their trek and the many things they learned of the Eskimos, the trials endured from their journey, and the delights that came from them.
If you enjoyed reading of this half as much as I did, I will consider this time and article well spent!
