THE CENTRAL ESKIMO.

By Dr. Franz Boas

The following account of the Central Eskimo contains chiefly the results of the author’s own observations and collections made during a journey to Cumberland Sound and Davis Strait, supplemented by extracts from the reports of other travelers. The geographical results of this journey have been published in a separate volume.1 A few traditions which were considered unsuitable for publication by the Bureau of Ethnology may be found in the Verhandlungen der Berliner Gesellschaft für Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte, 1887. The linguistic material collected during the journey will be published separately.

Owing to unfortunate circumstances, the larger portion of the author’s collections could not be brought home, and it has therefore been necessary, in preparing this paper, to make use of those made by C. F. Hall, 1860–1862 and 1865–1869; W. Mintzer, 1873-’74, and L. Kumlien, 1877-’78. Through the kindness of Professor Otis T. Mason, I was allowed to make ample use of the collections of the National Museum and have attached its numbers to the specimens figured. The author’s collection is deposited in the Museum für Völkerkunde at Berlin. I am indebted to the American Museum of Natural History; to Mr. Appleton Sturgis, of New York; to Captain John O. Spicer, of Groton, Conn.; and to Mrs. Adams, of Washington, D.C., for several figures drawn from specimens in their possession.

In citing the various authorities, I have used abbreviations as indicated at the end of titles in the following list of works consulted:

The following is a list of the papers published by the author on the results of his journey to Baffin Land and of studies connected with it. The ethnological remarks contained in these brief communications have been embodied in the present paper. The method of spelling in the first publications differs from that applied in the present paper. It was decided to use the latter after a conference with Dr. H. Rink.

In the spelling of Eskimo words the author has adhered as closely as possible to Kleinschmidt’s orthography, as he did not deem it proper to introduce a linguistic alphabet after so much has been published in another and almost sufficient one.

Accents and lengths have been marked where it seemed to be desirable. In quotations Eskimo words are spelled according to this system where it is possible to recognize their meaning and derivation. In other cases the original spelling of the authors has been retained. The alphabet used in this paper is as follows:

The Eskimo inhabit almost the whole extent of the coast of Arctic America. A large part of this country is occupied by the Central Eskimo, one of the great groups into which that people is divided. They live in the northeastern part of the continent and on the eastern islands of the Arctic-American Archipelago. In Smith Sound they inhabit the most northern countries visited by man and their remains are even found at its northern outlet. The southern and western boundaries of this district are the countries about Fort Churchill, the middle part of Back River, and the coast west of Adelaide Peninsula. Along the whole extent of this line they are the neighbors of Indian tribes, with whom they are generally on very bad terms, a mutual distrust existing between the two races.

The geography of the whole country is known only in outline, and a great portion of it awaits its explorer. Following is a sketch of what is known about it, so far as it is of importance to the ethnologist.

The vast basin of Hudson Bay separates two large portions of the American continent: Labrador and the region of the large Arctic rivers. The southern shore of the bay is inhabited by Indian tribes who interrupt the communication between the Eskimo of both regions. Hudson Bay, however, has the character of a true mediterranean sea, the northern parts of its opposite shores being connected by a number of islands and peninsulas. The low and narrow Rae Isthmus, which presents an easy passage to the Arctic Ocean, unites Melville Peninsula to the main body of the continent. From this peninsula Baffin Land stretches out toward the north of Labrador, with only two narrow channels intervening: Fury and Hecla Strait and Hudson Strait. Another chain of islands, formed by the parts of Southampton Island and Mansfield Island, stretches from Repulse Bay to the northwest point of Labrador, but the distances between the islands and the roughness of the sea prevent communication.

On the western part of the continent the great bays, Chesterfield Inlet and Wager River, are of importance, as they allow the Eskimo, though they are a coast people, to penetrate into the interior of the continent. A narrow isthmus separates the head of the bays from the lakes of Back River. At Coronation Bay the latter approaches the Arctic Ocean very closely, and it is probable that the coast west of Adelaide Peninsula, which is skirted by innumerable islands, is indented by deep inlets extending towards the lakes of Back River. Thus communication between the Arctic Ocean and Hudson Bay is facilitated by this large river, which yields an abundant supply of fish. From Wager River an isthmus leads to its estuary.

Boothia Felix, the most northern peninsula of the continent, is united to it by two narrow isthmuses, the former extending from 415 Pelly Bay to Shepherd Bay, the latter from Lord Mayor Bay to Spence Bay. It is separated from North Somerset by the narrow Bellot Strait. Farther west Adelaide Peninsula and King William Land form the continuation of the continent toward the western extremity of Boothia, thus outlining a spacious bay sheltered from the currents and the pack ice of Melville Sound and the adjoining bays. The eastern sides of Boothia and North Somerset and the western coasts of Melville Peninsula and Baffin Land form a gulf similar to Fox Basin.

Farther north, between Baffin Land and Greenland, North Devon and Ellesmere Land are situated. Thus Baffin Land forms a connecting link for three regions inhabited by Eskimo: the Hudson Bay Territory, Labrador, and Greenland.

The orography of the western coast of Hudson Bay is little known. Most of this coast seems to form a hilly land, consisting generally of granite. Between Wager River and Chesterfield Inlet it rises to a chain of hills of about one thousand feet in height, extending to a plateau farther north. Another chain seems to stretch in a northeasterly direction from Back River to the source of Hayes River. West of Back River Silurian strata prevail. The granite hills form a favorite haunt for the musk ox and reindeer.

Melville Peninsula consists chiefly of a chain of granite hills, sloping down to a Silurian plain in the eastern part of the peninsula. The northeastern part of Baffin Land is formed by a high chain of mountains stretching from Lancaster Sound to Cape Mercy. Long fjords and deep valleys divide them into many groups. Bylot Island, which stands high out of the sea, is separated from the mainland by Pond Bay and Eclipse Sound. The next group stretches from Pond Bay to the fjord of Anaulereë´ling. Farther to the southeast the groups are smaller, and in Home Bay they are separated by wide valleys, particularly near Eχalualuin, a large fjord on the southern side of that bay.

From this fjord an enormous highland, which I named Penny Highland, extends as far as Cumberland Sound, being terminated by the narrow valley of Pangnirtung. The eastern boundary runs through the fjords Maktartudjennaq and Narpaing to Nedluqseaq and Nudlung. In the interior it may extend to about fifteen miles east of Issortuqdjuaq, the most northern fjord of Cumberland Sound. The whole of the vast highland is covered by an ice cap sending forth numerous glaciers in every direction. In Pangnirtung and on Davis Strait they reach the level of the sea.

Penny Highland, which forms the main body of Cumberland Peninsula, has attached to it a few mountain groups of moderate extent: the peninsula of Nudlung and the highland of Eχalualuin and that of Qivitung.

Farther southeast, between the valleys of Pangnirtung and Kingnait-Padli, 416 is situated the highland of Kingnait, with sharp peaks emerging from the ice cap which covers the lower parts of the plateau. The rest of Cumberland Peninsula is formed by the highland of Saumia, which much resembles that of Kingnait. Near Cape Mercy the ice covered highland slopes down to a hilly region, which falls abruptly to the sea.

The southern parts of this range of mountains are composed of gneiss and granite. It may be that Silurian strata occur in some places, but they have not yet been found anywhere in situ. The northern parts are too imperfectly known to enable us to form an idea of their geological character.

The mountains just described slope down to a hilly region, which farther to the west levels off to a plain. The hills are composed of granite, the plains of Silurian limestone, which extends from Prince Regent Inlet to the head of Frobisher Bay.

The peninsula between Cumberland Sound and Frobisher Bay is formed by a plateau, which slopes down gradually to the northwest. It is drained by a great river flowing into Auqardneling, a fjord on the western shore of Cumberland Sound. Near Lake Nettilling the country is very low, the level of the lake being only forty feet above that of the sea. Here the watershed between Cumberland Sound and Fox Basin closely approaches the eastern shore, coming within five miles of the head of Nettilling Fjord. It is formed by a narrow neck of land about a quarter of a mile wide and sixty-five feet above the level of the sea.

From Eskimo reports I conclude that the plateau of Nugumiut, as we may call the peninsula between Frobisher Bay and Cumberland Sound, is comparatively level. Only a single mountain south of Qasigidjen (Bear Sound) rises into the region of eternal snow.

The peninsula between Frobisher Bay and Hudson Strait is formed by a granite highland, the Meta Incognita of Queen Elizabeth. It is covered with ice and sends a few glaciers into the sea. Farther west, near Lesseps Bay and White Bear Sound, the country becomes lower. The narrow isthmus leading from Hudson Strait to Amaqdjuaq cannot be very high, as the Eskimo carry their kayaks to the lake, which I believe is about two hundred feet above the level of the sea.

Last of all I have to mention the highlands of King Cape. The rest of the land is taken up by a vast plain in which two large lakes are situated; the southern, Amaqdjuaq, empties by a short river into Lake Nettilling, whence the long and wide Koukdjuaq runs to the shallow sea. From observations made by Captain Spicer, of Groton, Conn., and information obtained from the Eskimo, we learn that the whole of the eastern part of Fox Basin is extremely shallow and that there are many low islands scattered about in those parts of the sea. The plains of Baffin Land, Fox Basin, and the eastern half of Melville 417 Peninsula may be considered a wide basin of Silurian strata bordered by granitic elevations on every side.

Besides the configuration of the land, the extent of the land ice formed during the winter is of vital importance to the inhabitants of the Arctic region, because during the greater part of the year it affords the only means of communication between the tribes, and because in winter the seal, which constitutes the principal food of the Eskimo, takes to those parts of the coast where extensive floes are formed. Therefore the state of the ice regulates the distribution of the natives during the greater part of the year and must be considered in studying the habits of the Eskimo. The extent of the land ice principally depends on the configuration of the land and the strength of the currents. On a shore exposed to a strong current an extensive floe can only be formed where projecting points of land form deep bays. We find the distribution of ice regulated in accordance with this fact all around the shores of the Arctic Ocean.

The strong current setting out of Lancaster Sound and Smith Sound generally prevents ice from forming under the steep cliffs of the land. Sometimes the pack ice of the sounds is stopped and freezes together into rough floes; a smooth plain is never formed. By far the largest land floe is formed from Bylot Island to Cape Dyer (Okan). In Home Bay it extends to a distance of about eighty miles from the mainland. The formation of this floe is favored by a number of shoals which extend from the peninsulas of Cape Eglinton (Aqojang), Cape Aston (Niaqonaujang), and Qivitung, for the large floes drifting south are stopped by the icebergs aground on these banks. The greater part of the floe is very rough, smooth ice prevailing only in the bays.

The strong southerly current passing through the narrowest part of Davis Strait between Cape Walsingham (Idjuk) and Holsteinborg breaks up the ice all along the shore from Cape Dyer to Cape Walsingham, Exeter Sound alone being covered by a larger floe. The bay between Cape Mickleham (Nuvuktirpang) and Cape Mercy is well covered with ice, which extends to the islands farthest out toward the sea.

Near Cape Mercy the strong tides caused by Cumberland Sound prevent the ice from consolidating in the entrance of the gulf. As the sound widens greatly behind the narrow passage formed by Nuvukdjuaq and Qaχodluin, the tide sets in with great force. For this reason the floe never extends beyond that narrow entrance. Often the head of the open water runs from Qeqerten to Nuvujen, and instances are known where it even reaches the line of Pujetung-Umanaq.

The southwestern shore of Cumberland Sound from Qaχodluin to Cape Brevoort (Qeqertuqdjuaq) is always washed by water, because 418 a strong current, which often breaks up the ice of Field and Grinnell Bay (the bays of Ukadliq and Nugumiut), sets along the coast.

The floe seldom extends to Lady Franklin and Monumental Islands (Kitigtung and Taχolidjuin), but usually runs from point to point, compelling the natives to pass across the land in order to reach the floe of the neighboring bay. Most of the time the edge of the floe covering Frobisher Bay extends to a line from Countess of Warwick Sound (Tuarpukdjuaq) to about fifteen miles southeast of Gabriel Island (Qeqertuqdjuaq), whence it runs south to Kingnait. Sometimes Aqbirsiarbing (Cape True) is the most eastern point inclosed by the ice. A dangerous current sets through the strait between Resolution Island (Tudjaqdjuaq) and the mainland, forming whirlpools which menace every ship that attempts the passage.

Hudson Strait never freezes over. The greater part of the year it is filled with an immense pack which never consolidates into a continuous floe. As there are no large bays along the northern shore of that strait, no land floes of great importance are formed. Only the Bay of Qaumauang, North Bay, and Behm Bay (the bay of Quaiirnang and that east of Akuliaq) are covered with floes which are of importance to the natives. The bays east of Akuliaq and the large fjords of that region form a comparatively large body of ice.

Probably no land ice is formed between King Cape (Nuvukdjuaq) and the northern parts of Fox Basin. According to Parry and the reports of the natives, Fury and Hecla Strait and the bay which forms its eastern outlet are covered by land ice which is connected with the floe of the bays of Fox Basin as far as Piling.

In Hudson Bay there are very few places in which the land ice extends to a considerable distance from the shore. Neither Frozen Strait nor Rowe’s Welcome freezes over, each being kept open by the swiftly running tides. The most extensive floes are formed in Repulse Bay, Wager Bay, and Chesterfield Inlet.

The drifting ice of the Gulf of Boothia never consolidates and even Committee Bay is rarely covered by a smooth land floe. Pelly Bay and the sea on the east coast of Boothia as far as Victoria Harbor (Tikeraqdjuq) freeze over, since they are sheltered by numerous islands. Still larger is the sheet of ice which covers the bay formed by the estuary of Back River, King William Land, and Boothia. The western shore of this peninsula farther north is skirted by a border of land ice the extent of which is unknown.

It is a remarkable fact that, although the extreme western and eastern parts of the country abound with extensive floes, the Hudson Bay region and the Gulf of Boothia are almost devoid of them.

This brief sketch will enable one to understand the geographical distribution and the migrations of the Eskimo tribes who inhabit this country.

In considering the distribution of the tribes it is evident that they are settled wherever extensive floes afford a good sealing ground during the winter. The Sikosuilarmiut live on the large bay east of King Cape, which is sheltered by numerous islands. The Akuliarmiut are settled near Lesseps and North Bays. I am unable to say whether there is a floe near the winter settlement of the Qaumauangmiut, as there are no reports upon the subject. Probably ice is formed in the sound, which is protected by the Middle Savage Islands, and besides it may be that the natives move to North Bay. The important tribe of Nugumiut lives on Frobisher Bay and the adjoining Grinnell and Field Bays. On the largest floe of this part of the country, in Cumberland Sound, including Lake Nettilling, the largest tribe is settled: the Oqomiut. On Davis Strait ice floes are formed between Cape Mickleham and Cape Mercy, in Exeter Sound, and between Okan and Bylot Island. The tribes are distributed accordingly: the Saumingmiut of Ukiadliving, the inhabitants of Qarmaqdjuin with their winter settlement in Exeter Sound, and the Padlimiut and the Akudnirmiut farther north. The immense land floe of Davis Strait is not so valuable a hunting ground for the Eskimo as Cumberland Sound, the ice being very rough a few miles from the coast and at some places even close inshore. When the sea begins to freeze in the fall the newly formed ice is broken up by severe gales and by the currents and is piled up into high hummocks before it consolidates. The sealing on rough ice during the winter is very difficult and unsuccessful, as it is hard to find the breathing holes and the traveling is very laborious. It is only in the northern parts of Home Bay and in the large fjords that smooth ice is formed. The settlements of the natives are manifestly distributed in accordance with these facts. In every place where smooth ice is formed we find that natives either are settled or have been settled. Aqbirtijung, River Clyde, Ijellirtung, 461 Home Bay, Brodie Bay, Merchant Bay, and Padli are the only places along the shore of Davis Strait where smooth ice occurs. On the long shores between them, which are unsheltered from winds and currents, the ice is always very hummocky, and, therefore, the natives do not settle upon them in the winter. In the far north, extensive floes of smooth ice are formed in Eclipse Sound and Admiralty Inlet.

Concerning the country farther west the reports are rather scanty. The southwest shore of Baffin Land and the eastern entrance of Fury and Hecla Strait are always frozen over and afford a good hunting ground. On the mainland, the large floes of Repulse Bay and Wager River, Chesterfield Inlet and the bights all around it, Pelly Bay and the narrow bays adjoining Boothia Peninsula, and the mouth of Back River are important places for the distribution of the Eskimo.

There are only a few districts where the proximity of open water favors walrus hunting during the winter, and all of these have neighboring floes on which seals may be hunted with the harpoon. These places are Sikosuilaq, Akuliaq, Frobisher Bay, Iglulik, the west shore of Hudson Bay, and Smith Sound. As to the remainder the Eskimo live altogether independent of the open water during the winter.

Generally speaking, two conditions are required for winter settlements, viz, the existence of an extensive floe and smooth ice.

The different mode of hunting in the spring causes a different distribution of the settlements. During this season those regions which had been deserted during the winter are most visited by the hunters. On light dog sledges they travel over the rough ice and along the shores of the fjords and islands. The natives who lived in large settlements during the winter are spread over the whole country, in order that every one may have a better chance of traveling over his own hunting ground. In a few places the young sealing induces the Eskimo to leave the winter settlements; in other places the kayaks are prepared for visiting the floe edge, and bears and the returning birds are hunted.

Though the greater variety of food which is to be obtained and the difference in the methods of hunting in the spring require the dispersion over a wide area of the families which had kept together during the winter, the selection of places for the new settlements remains wholly dependent upon the state of the ice.

After the ice breaks up, the distribution of the deer regulates the location of the summer settlements. While during the winter the state of the ice is of decisive importance, the orography of the land comes now into consideration.

Wherever deep valleys give access to an extensive area, wherever practicable roads enable the natives to ascend the plateaus, summer settlements are established. The heads of the fjords are favorite 462 places, as they abound with salmon. The adjoining valleys and the peninsulas which they form give the best chances for a successful deer hunt. These facts are most apparent on the coast of the steep highland of Nugumiut, over which numerous herds of deer roam.

A great influence is also exerted by the extensive plains of the western part of Baffin Land, which abound in deer. We observe that a number of tribes visit these districts, though their winter stations are at a great distance. The Akuliarmiut of Hudson Strait and the Nugumiut travel to Lake Amaqdjuaq, the Oqomiut stay on Lake Nettilling, and the Akudnirmiut visit Majoraridjen. In the same way all the tribes of Hudson Bay visit the land farther west, which is frequented by herds of the musk ox, and they go even as far as Back River. This important fact shows the attraction which is exerted by a rich country on all the tribes of the neighboring districts.

In treating of the single tribes, the routes were mentioned which are followed by the natives as they travel from shore to shore and from settlement to settlement. These routes are established by tradition and the Eskimo never stray from them. In order to obtain a more thorough understanding of the migrations of single individuals and of families, the relations between the tribes and the settlements must be discussed.

By the lively intercourse which is always kept up between the settlements, it cannot fail that marriages between members of different tribes should be of frequent occurrence and that many ties of affinity and consanguinity should thus be created. These relations, however, as distances increase, quickly become less common. For instance, in Cumberland Sound three people are found belonging to Tununirn, about ten belonging to Akudnirn, and quite a number coming from Padli. Also, two Sikosuilarmiut live there, a few natives of Akuliaq and Qaumauang, and very many Nugumiut. Hall’s accounts concerning the Nugumiut and the Aivillirmiut prove a similar proportion of strange natives among these tribes. Every tribe may be said to bring together its immediate neighbors, as it is closely related to them, while those which are separated by the tribe itself are strangers to one another. The importance of this mediate position is regulated by the strength of the tribe, by the significance of the country in reference to its produce, and by the routes crossing it.

Thus, the Sikosuilarmiut and the Nuratamiut are closely connected, and may be considered as forming one group with the Akuliarmiut. The Sikosuilarmiut have intercourse with the Igdlumiut, the inhabitants of the northern shore of Labrador. According to Lucien M. Turner, three tribes may be distinguished there as inhabiting the 463 shores of Ungava Bay and the eastern shore of Hudson Bay. This report differs somewhat from the accounts of the Moravian missionaries who have intercourse with the inhabitants of Ungava Bay near Cape Chidleigh. From their reports four tribes may be distinguished: the Kangivamiut of George River, the Kouksoarmiut of Big River, the Ungavamiut of Hope Advance Bay (which is properly named Ungava), and the Itivimiut of Hudson Bay. I am rather undecided whether Ungava is a bay or a large strait separating Cape Wolstenholme and the adjacent land from the continent, as the name Ungava is also reported south of Cape Wolstenholme. The inhabitants of this shore are the Itivimiut of the Labrador Eskimo and the Igdlumiut of the natives of Baffin Land. Probably the intercourse between Sikosuilaq and Cape Wolstenholme is of no great importance. The Sikosuilarmiut visit Trinity Islands (Nannuragassain) in skin boats to hunt walrus and cross by the three islands Tudjaraaq´djung, Akugdlirn, and Tudjaqdjuara´lung to the opposite shore of Hudson Strait. The passage across the strait is considered very dangerous, and therefore is rarely undertaken. The natives do not utter a single word during the long passage; they believe a destructive gale might be conjured up if they did. Only once have natives been met with on Salisbury Island (Lyon, Attempt to reach Repulse Bay, p. 128), but it is doubtful whether they belonged to the northern or to the southern shore of the strait. As for the rest, the passage is only known to me by reports I received in Cumberland Sound, which were confirmed by the whalers visiting the northern shore of Hudson Strait. I do not know whether any intercourse exists between Sikosuilaq and Southampton Island. It is worth remarking that on Mansfield Island numerous ruins of Eskimo habitations have been found (Gordon, Report on the Hudson’s Bay Expedition, 1884, p. 38).

The Qaumauangmiut are connected with the Nugumiut in the same manner as with the Akuliarmiut, and many are said to winter near North Bay, which is also visited by the Akuliarmiut. From Hall’s reports it would appear that many are settled in Frobisher Bay.

At present the intercourse between the Nugumiut and the Oqomiut is of no significance, as many years may pass without a journey being made from one tribe to the other. Formerly, when many whalers visited Cumberland Sound and Field Bay, a number of Nugumiut immigrated to the sound, and consequently almost half of the Eskimo now settled on the western shore of Cumberland Sound were born in Nugumiut or Ukadliq. At the same time many Oqomiut settled among the Nugumiut. That period was doubtless an exceptional one; at any rate, the long stretch of uninhabited shore between the settlements of the two tribes is not favorable to intimate intercourse. Indeed, even now the Nugumiut are considered strangers in the sound, and, notwithstanding the existence of many intermarriages between the tribes, a number of families are not at all acquainted 464 with one another. It is remarkable that the number of natives born in Nugumiut is much larger on the western shore than on the eastern. They seem to have joined their nearest neighbors, the southern Talirpingmiut, perhaps for the reason that in their district the geographic character of the land is most similar to that of Frobisher Bay. The number of Nugumiut settled among the inhabitants of Nettilling Fjord and among the Kingnaitmiut is far less. Among the Saumingmiut there is no one who has traveled beyond Naujateling, and in Padli or farther north there are very few individuals who have been south of Cumberland Sound. It is only by careful consideration of the birthplace of the different individuals who are members of the settlements of Cumberland Sound that it is possible at the present time to detect the former division of the Oqomiut into subtribes. The inhabitants of the eastern shore are related to the Padlimiut and the Akudnirmiut; those of the western shore, to the Nugumiut. In 1840 a brisk intercourse existed between Padli and the sound (Eenoolooapik, p. 81), and probably sledges crossed the peninsula every winter. Though the intercourse is not so intimate to-day as it is between the settlements of the sound, it is yet active. The Kingnaitmiut form the medium of the regular intercourse between Saumia and Padli, while families removing to Akudnirn travel along the shore of Davis Strait. Among the subtribes of the Oqomiut the Saumingmiut are most nearly related to the Padlimiut and extend their migrations farthest to the north.

The Akudnirmiut, who are closely connected with the Padlimiut, are considered strangers by the Oqomiut. The intercourse between the Akudnirmiut and the Aggomiut is not very frequent, and seems to be maintained as irregularly as that between the Nugumiut and the Oqomiut.

The inhabitants of the northern sounds and of Fury and Hecla Strait frequently visit one another. Parry mentions a number of journeys in each direction (II, p. 436). Hall found natives of Tununirn and Tununirusirn settled in Iglulik (II, p. 356). I myself found two Iglulirmiut among the Akudnirmiut. The intercourse seems to have been always very active, and consequently those tribes may be considered as one group.

The inhabitants of North Devon belong to the Tununirusirmiut, a few families of this tribe sometimes settling on the island and after a few years’ absence returning to their former home.

From Parry’s, Hall’s, and Schwatka’s reports it appears that the Aivillirmiut are closely related to the Iglulirmiut, while the Eskimo of Chesterfield Inlet, the Agutit or Kinipetu, form a separate group.

It is remarkable that between the tribes of Hudson Bay and the more western ones a deep distrust exists, which prevents a frequent and unlimited intercourse. The Sinimiut and Netchillirmiut are 465 feared by the Aivillirmiut, though intermarriages and removals from one tribe to the other are not rare. No doubt they are less closely related than are the neighboring tribes hitherto mentioned. Unfortunately, too little is known of the western tribes to admit of a decided opinion whether or not there exists an important difference in customs and habits. The Sinimiut, the Netchillirmiut, and the Ugjulirmiut may be comprised in one group, for they all hold frequent intercourse with one another and the last two even inhabit the same region at the present time. The change which the relations between these tribes have undergone since 1833 has already been referred to, as has their intercourse with the Ukusiksalirmiut. Schwatka (Science, Vol. IV, p. 543) states that they occasionally meet the Qidneliq of Coronation Bay, but that both tribes distrust each other. Our knowledge about the migrations from North Devon to Ellesmere Land and North Greenland is very scanty, but it is necessary to mention its existence.

Between tribes that are strangers to one another ceremonies of greeting are customary which are not adapted to facilitate intercourse. The ceremonies will be described further on (see p. 609). For the present it will be sufficient to say that duels, with varying details, are common between a stranger and a man of the tribe, and these sometimes result in the death of the former.

Among neighboring tribes these ceremonies are dispensed with, for instance, between the Padlimiut and Oqomiut, Padlimiut and Akudnirmiut, while a Nugumio or an Akudnirmio unknown in Oqo has there to go through the whole of the performance. The exception in favor of the former tribes is doubtless due to the frequent intermarriages with those tribes, whereby a constant acquaintance is kept up.

Real wars or fights between settlements, I believe, have never happened, but contests have always been confined to single families. The last instance of a feud which has come to my knowledge occurred about seventy years ago. At that time a great number of Eskimo lived at Niutang, in Kingnait Fjord, and many men of this settlement had been murdered by a Qinguamio of Anarnitung. For this reason the men of Niutang united in a sledge journey to Anarnitung to revenge the death of their companions. They hid themselves behind the ground ice and killed the returning hunter with their arrows. All hostilities have probably been of a similar character.

One tradition only refers to a real fight between the tribes. On the steep island Sagdluaqdjung, near Naujateling, ruins of huts are found on the level summit. They are said to have been built by Eskimo who lived by the seashore and were attacked by a hostile tribe of inlanders. The tradition says that they defended themselves with bows and arrows, and with bowlders which they rolled down upon the enemy. The occurrence of huts upon the top of an island is very unusual, and this tradition is the only one referring to any kind of fights or wars. Even the tradition of the expulsion of the Tornit a 466 fabulous tribe said to have lived with the Eskimo on these shores, does not refer to a combat. The details of this tradition will be found in a subsequent chapter.

I wish to state here that my inquiries and my understanding of the facts as they have been reported by other travelers do not agree with the opinions given by Klutschak (Deutsche Rundschau für Geographie und Statistik, III, p. 418), who claims for the Eskimo of the west shore of Hudson Bay reservations which are limited by precise lines of demarkation. In comparing this statement with his own and with Gilder’s narratives I am led to believe that the relations between the tribes are the same in these regions as they are farther east. This opinion is strengthened by Dall’s remarks on the Alaska tribes (Science, p. 228, 1885).

The reasons for the frequent removals of individual Eskimo to strange tribes are to be looked for in the customs of the natives. I can only mention here that intermarriage, adoption, and the fear of blood vengeance are the principal ones.

It is peculiar to the migratory habits of the Eskimo that almost without exception the old man returns to the country of his youth, and consequently by far the greater part of the old people live in their native districts.

During the last decades the most important inducement to removals has been the presence of the whalers in certain parts of the country. Since the beginning of our century their fleets have visited the west shore of Baffin Bay and Davis Strait, and thus European manufactures have found their way to the inhospitable shores of the Arctic Sea. The most valuable objects which were bartered were metals and wood. The value of the former may be seen in its economical application for knives and harpoon heads. By means of this trade the Akudnirmiut and the Tununirmiut became far superior to the Oqomiut and the Iglulirmiut, with whom they traded extensively in dogs, skins, &c. The Akuliarmiut and the Qaumauangmiut also enjoyed the advantages which accrued from trade with the ships of the Hudson Bay Company.

When the whalers became better acquainted with the natives and the peculiar jargon which is still in use was developed, the traffic became very active, and reached its height after Cumberland Sound was rediscovered by Penny. As soon as the whalers began to winter in the sound and to employ the natives the latter received firearms and European boats in exchange for their wares, and then their modes of living became materially changed. The immense quantity of European manufactured articles which thus came into the possession of the natives induced the removal of many families to the favored region. Particularly did the Nugumiut and the Akudnirmiut migrate during that period. When in the course of time the 467 Bay of Nugumiut was visited by the whalers removals of members of this tribe became less frequent.

After the Eskimo had become acquainted with the advantages of firearms the natives of Davis Strait also began to trade bearskins for guns and ammunition, having learned how highly they were prized in Cumberland Sound. Besides, they received, in exchange for seals and walrus blubber put up for the whalers, tobacco, pipes, coffee, boxes, &c. In a similar way the Saumingmiut barter with the whalers of Cumberland Sound, whom they visit during the winter, carrying heavy loads of bearskins to the stations.

A brief sketch of the way in which the whaling and the trade with the Eskimo in Cumberland Sound are carried on may be of interest at this point. Two of the whaling stations are still kept up. They are situated on Qeqerten, the settlement of the Kingnaitmiut. When the Eskimo who have spent the summer inland return at the beginning of October they eagerly offer their services at the stations, for they receive in payment for a half year’s work a gun, a harmonium or something of that nature, and a ration of provisions for their families, with tobacco every week. Every Saturday the women come into the house of the station, at the blowing of the horn, to receive their bread, coffee, sirup, and the precious tobacco. In return the Eskimo is expected to deliver in the kitchen of the station a piece of every seal he catches.

The time for the fall fishing commences as soon as the ice begins to form. If the weather, which is generally stormy, permits it, the boats leave the harbor to look out for the whales which pass along the east shore of the sound toward the north. During the last few years the catch has been very unprofitable, only a few whales having been seen. As the ice forms quickly the boats must be brought back about the end of October or the beginning of November. Since the whale fishery has become unprofitable the stations have followed the business of collecting seal blubber and skins, which they buy from the Eskimo. (See Appendix, Note 1.)

A lively traffic springs up as soon as the ice becomes strong enough to allow sledges to pass from shore to shore. The sledges of the stations are sent from one settlement to another to exchange tobacco, matches, coffee, bread, &c. for skins and the spare blubber which the Eskimo have carefully saved up. On the other hand, those natives who require useful articles, such as cooking pots, lamps, &c., collect quantities of hides and blubber and go to Qeqerten to supply their wants. The winter passes quickly amid the stir of business, till everything comes to a stop at the end of March, when the young sealing season fairly opens.

When the sun has reached such a height that the snow begins to melt in favored spots, a new life begins at the stations. The skins which have been collected in the winter and become frozen are 468 brought out of the store room and exposed to the sun’s rays. Some of the women busy themselves, with their crescent shaped knives, in cutting the blubber from the skins and putting it away in casks. Others clean and salt the skins, which are likewise packed away. The men also find enough work to do after the young sealing is over, for the whale boats must be got ready for the spring fishing. Strangers whose services have been engaged by the station for the next few months arrive daily with their families and all their goods to take up their abode on Qeqerten. The boats are dug out of the deep snow, the oars and sails are looked after, the harpoons are cleaned up and sharpened, and everything is in busy preparation. The boats are made as comfortable as possible with awnings and level floors, for the crews are not to come to the shore for about six weeks.

By the beginning of May, the arrangements having been completed, the boats are put upon the sledges, which, under the direction of native drivers, are drawn by dog teams, with their crews, to the floe edge. The sledges being heavily laden and food for the dogs having to be provided by hunting, each day’s stage is rather short. Arriving at the floe edge the sledges are unloaded and the boats are launched. Seals and birds of all kinds are now found in profusion and the chase is opened without delay upon everything that is useful and can be shot. Sledges are regularly sent back to Qeqerten with skins and meat for the families of the Eskimo, while the blubber is packed in casks, which are kept ready on the spot.

The most important object of the expedition is the whale. Harpoons and lines are always in readiness for the contest with the mighty monster. The boats return to the north with the breaking up of the ice and the fishing ends in July. The Eskimo are paid off and dismissed and resume their reindeer hunting, while the whites are glad to enjoy some rest after the weeks of exhausting labor.

The constant contact between the Eskimo and the whalers has effected a perfect revolution in the trade between the Eskimo tribes. As the whale catch in Cumberland Sound has fallen off during the past fifteen years, a remigration of the population of Davis Strait has occurred, ships visiting these shores every fall and a regular traffic being kept up. Therefore many Oqomiut now travel as far as Qivitung in order to trade there. As Nugumiut is still frequently visited by whalers, there is no inducement for the inhabitants to leave their country.

Within a few years the Akuliarmiut also have become amply provided with firearms and European products in general by means of a new whaling station which has been established in their vicinity.

As to the Iglulirmiut, the importation of European manufactures at Pond Bay makes the trade with that region even more important than formerly.

The Aivillirmiut and the Kinipetu have immediate intercourse 469 with the whalers frequenting the western shore of Hudson Bay. Besides, the southern tribes trade with the stations of the Hudson Bay Company.

The more western tribes of Boothia and its environs are dependent on the mediation of the Aivillirmiut for their supply of goods, as they themselves have no chance of communicating with the whites.

Finally, I shall describe the old trading routes which existed between these tribes before matters were totally changed by the influence of the Europeans. Two desiderata formed the principal inducement to long journeys, which sometimes lasted even several years: wood and soapstone. The shores of Davis Strait and Cumberland Sound are almost destitute of driftwood, and consequently the natives were obliged to visit distant regions to obtain that necessary material. Tudjaqdjuaq in particular was the objective point of their expeditions. Their boats took a southerly course, and, as the wood was gathered, a portion of it was immediately manufactured into boat ribs and sledge runners, which were carried back on the return journey; another portion was used for bows, though these were also made of deer’s horns ingeniously lashed together. A portion of the trade in wood seems to have been in the hands of the Nugumiut, who collected it on Tudjaqdjuaq and took it north. Another necessary and important article of trade, soapstone, is manufactured into lamps and pots. It is found in a few places only, and very rarely in pieces large enough for the manufacture of the articles named. Among the places visited by the natives for the purpose of obtaining it may be mentioned Kautaq, east of Naujateling; Qeqertelung, near the former place; Qarmaqdjuin (Exeter Bay), and Committee Bay. The visitors come from every part of the country, the soapstone being dug or “traded” from the rocks by depositing some trifles in exchange. In addition to wood and soapstone, metals, which were extremely rare in old times, have formed an important object of trade. They were brought to Baffin Bay either by the Aivillirmiut, who had obtained them from the Hudson Bay Company and the Kinipetu, or by the Akuliarmiut. Even when Frobisher visited the Nugumiut in 1577 he found them in possession of some iron (Frobisher).

The occurrence of flint, which was the material for arrowheads, may have given some importance to places where it occurs. Formerly an important trade existed between the Netchillirmiut and the neighboring tribes. As the district of the former is destitute of driftwood and potstone they are compelled to buy both articles from their neighbors. In Ross’s time they got the necessary wood from Ugjulik, the potstone from Aivillik. They exchanged these articles for native iron (or pyrite), which they found on the eastern shore of Boothia and which was used for striking fire. After having collected a sufficient stock of it during several years, they traveled to 470 the neighboring tribes. For reasons which have been mentioned this trade is now essentially changed. According to Schwatka there is a mutual distrust between the Ugjulirmiut and the Netchillirmiut on one side and the Qidnelik on the other, for which reason the intercourse between these tribes is very limited.

The following list gives the tribes of the Central Eskimo and their geographical distribution:

The staple food of the Central Eskimo is the seal, particularly Pagomys fœtidus. The methods of hunting this animal differ materially at different seasons, as its mode of life depends on the state of the ice.

In the winter it takes to the smooth parts of the floe a few miles from the coast, where it scratches breathing holes through the ice, in which it rises to blow. It shuns hummocky ice and floes of more than one year’s age. Wherever the edge of the ice is at a great distance from the settlements, the only way of procuring seals is by watching for them at these holes. For the pursuit a light harpoon is used, called unang. The shape of this weapon has been somewhat changed since the introduction of rod iron. Formerly it consisted of a shaft having at one end an ivory point firmly attached by thongs and rivets, the point tapering toward the end. The point was slanting on one side so as to form almost an oblique cone. Thus it facilitated the separation of the harpoon head from the unang. On the opposite end of the shaft another piece of ivory was attached, generally forming a knob. The material used in making the shaft was wood, bone, or ivory, according to the region in which it was manufactured. In Iglulik and in Aggo the narwhal’s horn was the favorite material for the whole implement, a single horn being sufficient to make a whole shaft. Wherever wood could be procured small pieces were ingeniously lashed together. As the shaft is apt to be broken by the struggles of the animal when struck by the weapon, it was strengthened by a stout thong running along the whole length of the shaft. In all other respects the old design corresponds to the modern one. Unfortunately I have seen no specimen of this description, but a figure may be seen in Ross II, p. 272, in the hand of one of the natives. In Alaska a similar harpoon is in use, a specimen of which is represented in Fig. 390. It consists of a wooden shaft, with a stout ivory point at the lower end and another at the upper end. Both are fastened to the shaft by whalebone strings. In the upper end a slanting ivory point is inserted, which serves for attaching the harpoon head to it. The whole shaft is strengthened by a seal line, as shown in the figure.

The unang now in use in Baffin Land and on the western shore of Hudson Bay (Fig. 391) consists of a wooden shaft into which an iron rod (unartenga) is sunk. The latter is pointed at the end (see, also, Fig. 393) in about the same way as the old ivory implement. The socket is secured by a small ivory ring (unaqiuta) or a string wound around the end of the shaft. In the socket close to the iron rod 472 a bent nail is inserted, forming a narrow eye (tagusiarbing). Near the center of the whole implement a small piece of ivory (tikagung; see, also, Fig. 418) is fastened to the shaft, forming a support for the hand when throwing the weapon. At the lower end of the shaft a string of deer sinews or a thong is fastened, forming a loop (nabiring) which passes through a hole drilled through the shaft. A stout iron point is also attached to the lower end of the shaft (tounga).

The natives carry this implement on all their winter excursions, as it is serviceable for numerous purposes. It is always kept within reach on the sledge, as the strong iron point is useful for cutting down hummocks, should any obstruct the passage of the sledges, or for cutting holes through the ice, or it takes the place of a hatchet in breaking the frozen meat which is carried along for dogs’ food. The long iron rod is extremely useful in trying the strength of the ice or the depth of the snow. By taking precautionary measures of this kind the natives pass over extensive floes of weak ice.

The head belonging to the unang is called naulang. Since iron has been introduced in Baffin Land and Hudson Bay, the natives file their harpoon heads out of it, but adhere almost exactly to the old pattern. The old naulang was cut out of bone or more frequently out of ivory (Fig. 392). It was one inch to two inches long and had a piece of metal inserted into the slit at the top. Through the middle of the instrument a hole was drilled parallel to the plane of the blade. The harpoon line passed through the hole, and as soon as the point struck an animal and a strain was put upon the line it turned at a right angle to the latter, thus acting as a toggle. The effect was increased by two points at the lower end of the naulang, called uming (beard). These pressed into the flesh or the skin of the animal and prevented the harpoon head from slipping back.

The modern naulang (Fig. 393) is about the same length as the old one, but much more slender. While the back of the old pattern was straight, the points of the iron one are bent outward and backward in order to increase its effect.

The naulang is fastened to the harpoon line (iparang). This part of the instrument is much longer than the unang, as it must allow for the struggles of the diving seal. The end of the line passes through the hole of the naulang and a loop is formed and secured by deer sinew or arranged as may be seen in Fig. 393. At a distance equal to the length of the iron rod of the unang a small thong (taguta) is attached to the line and serves to fasten it to the shaft (see Fig. 391). It is drawn through 474 the eye formed by the tagusiarbing. As soon as a strain is put upon the naulang the line parts from the shaft, as the taguta is only squeezed into the eye and is easily detached. The harpoon line passes through the nabiring or is fastened by a slipping hitch to the shaft of the unang.

If the unang has a nabiring the line passes through this loop. A few feet below it a small piece of ivory (akparaiktung) is attached to the line, acting as a hook after it has run out. It catches the nabiring and drags the harpoon along, thus impeding the movements of the animal (see Fig. 391).

Fig. 394. Qilertuang or leather strap and clasps for holding coiled up harpoon lines.
a, c (National Museum, Washington. a, 34128; c, 34132.)
b (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.) 1/1

The rest of the line is coiled up and held by the hunter. The end is doubled so as to form a loop which serves as a handle when the line runs out with the diving seal. Generally, a small piece of leather (Fig. 394) with two slits at one end and an ivory clasp (qilertuang) at the other is fastened to this loop; it serves to hold the bights together when the line is detached from the harpoon and rolled up. Some art is bestowed on the manufacture of this clasp (Fig. 394). Usually it represents a seal, the head of which forms a hook on which the slits can be fastened. The clasp is either tied or otherwise secured to the leather strap. Some specimens in the British Museum, which are about one hundred and fifty years old, show that these implements have not undergone any change during that time.

Parry describes another harpoon head used by the Iglulirmiut for the unang. He calls it a siatko (Fig. 395). I myself have not seen any of a similar pattern, but Kumlien gives a sketch of one found in a grave at Exeter Sound (Fig. 396). The principal difference between the naulang and the siatko is that the edge of the former is parallel to the hole through which the line passes, while in the latter their directions are vertical to each other. The head of the whaling harpoon (see Fig. 436) acts on the same principle.

When the day begins to dawn the Eskimo prepares for the hunt. The dogs are harnessed to the sledge and the hunting implements are fitted up. The harpoon line and the snow knife are hung over the deer’s antlers, which are attached to the hind part of the sledge, a seal or bear skin is lashed upon the bottom, and the spear secured under the lashing. The hunter takes up the whip and the dogs set off for the hunting ground. When near the place where he expects to find seals, the hunter stops the team and takes the implements from the sledge, which is then turned upside down. The points of the runners and the short brow antler are pressed into the snow in order to prevent the dogs from running away. A dog with a good scent is then taken from the team and the Eskimo follows his guidance until a seal’s hole is found. In winter it is entirely covered with snow, but generally a very small elevation indicates the situation. The dog is led back to the sledge and the hunter examines the hole to make sure that it is still visited by the seal. Cautiously he cuts a hole through the snow covering and peeps into the excavation. If the water is covered with a new coat of ice the seal has left the hole and it would be in vain to expect its return. The hunter must look for a new hole promising better results.

Fig. 397. Eskimo in the act of striking a seal. (From a photograph.)

If he is sure that the seal has recently visited a hole he marks its exact center on the top of the snow and then fills up his peep hole with small blocks of snow. All these preparations must be made with the utmost precaution, as any change in the appearance of the snow would frighten away the seal. The Eskimo take particular 476 care that no hairs from their clothing fall into the hole or remain sticking in the snow, for they believe that the smell would scare away the animal. The center of the breathing hole must be marked, as the game remains invisible and only a stroke into the center will be likely to hit it. If the snow covering is very thick and strong it is cut down, but is replaced with loose snow, which is heaped around the end of the harpoon, the latter being placed upon the central point. After the harpoon has been extracted a hole remains which forms the mark for the harpooner. If the Eskimo expects the early return of the seal, he spreads a small piece of skin, generally that of a young seal, close to the hole and places his feet upon it, thus keeping them warm. He fastens the naulang to the harpoon shaft, while the lower 477 end of the line is folded up in a coil, which he holds in the left hand. The unang is held in both hands, and thus the hunter sometimes remains for hours, occasionally stooping and listening, until he hears the blowing of the seal. Then, all of a sudden, he stands upright, and, with all his strength, sends the harpoon straight downward into the hole, paying out the line at the same time, but keeping a firm hold of the loop at its end (Fig. 397). Generally the seal is struck near the head. If the line is fastened to the shaft by a slipping hitch it is at once detached and the harpoon either remains sticking in the snow or falls down by the hole. If the line runs through the nabiring, the harpoon is dragged into the water and impedes the movements of the animal. The hunter then begins at once to cut down the snow covering with his knife, which has been left within easy reach, and hauls in the line. As soon as the seal comes to the surface to breathe it is easily dispatched and drawn up on the ice.

The arrangements at the seal hole are more elaborate if the sealer expects to wait a long time. If only a few men go out hunting and famine is impending, he sometimes waits for a whole day or even longer, though it be cold and the wind rage over the icy fields. He builds up a semicircular wall of snow blocks to keep off the piercing wind and makes a seat in the center of it. A skin is spread under his feet and his legs are tied together with a thong, which is fastened by a peculiar kind of buckle (tutareang) with two holes (Fig. 398). One end of the thong is firmly tied to the buckle, passing through one of the holes, while the opposite end passes tightly through the second hole. The thong may be quickly opened by a strong effort on the part of the hunter, while it helps to keep him quiet. At his right hand (Fig. 399; in this drawing it appears on the left) the snow knife is stuck into the snow, while to the left the unang is placed upon two pegs. The coil of the line lies in his lap. His left arm is drawn out of his sleeve, that he may more easily keep warm. Both sleeves are generally held together by a piece of deer’s horn with a branch on each side which serves as a hook. Thus the hunter waits until he hears the breathing of the seal. As it usually stays for several minutes he is in no hurry to get ready. Cautiously he places his left arm into the sleeve, having first disengaged it from the hook. 478 He then takes hold of the coil, picks up his unang, and, having risen, strikes the center of the hole.

Fig. 399. Eskimo awaiting return of seal to blowhole. (From a photograph.)

Ross (II, p. 268) and Rae (I, p. 123) state that the sealing at the hole is more difficult in daylight than in the dark. I suppose, however, that when the snow is deep there is no difference; at least the Eskimo of Davis Strait never complain about being annoyed by the daylight.

Fig. 400. Tuputang or ivory plugs for closing wounds. e (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin. IV A 6706.) b, c, d (National Museum, Washington. b, 10192; c, 10390; d, 9836.) 1/1

Sometimes a small instrument is used in the hunt to indicate the approach of the seal. It is called qipekutang and consists of a very thin rod with a knob or a knot at one end (Parry II, p. 550, Fig. 20). It is stuck through the snow, the end passing into the water, the knob resting on the snow. As soon as the seal rises to blow, it strikes the rod, which, by its movements, warns the Eskimo. Generally it is 479 made of whalebone. Sometimes a string is attached to the knob and fastened by a pin to the snow, as its movements are more easily detected than those of the knob. The natives are somewhat averse to using this implement, as it frequently scares the seals.

Fig. 403. Qanging for fastening thong to jaw of seal. a (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin. IV A 6825.) b, c (National Museum, Washington. b, 34126; c, 34129.) 1/1

After the carcass of the animal has been drawn out of the water, the wounds are closed with ivory plugs (tuputang) (Fig. 400), which are carried in a wooden or leathern case (Fig. 401) and are either triangular or square. The plug is pushed under the skin, which is closely tied to its head. Another form of plug which, however, is 480 rarely used, is represented in Fig. 402. The skin is drawn over the plug and tied over one of the threads of the screw cut into the wood. After the dead animal’s wounds are closed, a hole is cut through the flesh beneath the lower jaw and a thong is passed through this hole and the mouth. A small implement called qanging is used for fastening it to the seal. It usually forms a toggle and prevents the line from slipping through the hole. The patterns represented in Fig. 403 are very effective. The hole drilled through the center of the 481 instrument is wider at the lower end than elsewhere, thus furnishing a rest for a knot at the end of the thong. The points are pressed into the flesh of the seal, and thus a firm hold is secured for the whole implement. The Eskimo display some art in the manufacture of this implement, and frequently give it the shape of seals and the like (Fig. 404). Fig. 405 represents a small button, which is much less effective than the other patterns. A very few specimens consist merely of rude pieces of ivory with holes drilled through them. Fig. 406 shows one of these attachments serving for both toggle and handle.

Fig. 404. Qanging in form of a seal. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin. IV A 6825.) 1/1

Fig. 406. Qanging serving for both toggle and handle. (National Museum, Washington. 10400.) ⅔

In order to prevent the line from getting out of order, a whirl (qidjarung) is sometimes used. Fig. 407 represents one brought 482 from Cumberland Sound by Kumlien, and is described by him (p. 38). There was a ball in the hollow body of this instrument, which could not be pulled through any of the openings. One line was fastened to this ball, passing through the central hole, and another one to the top of the whirl. A simpler pattern is represented in Fig. 408.

On its capture, the seal is dragged to the sledge and after being covered with the bearskin is firmly secured by the lashing. It freezes quickly and the hunter sits down on top of it. If the seal happens to blow soon after the arrival of the hunter, a second one may be procured, but generally the day is far spent when the first seal is killed.

Wherever water holes are found they are frequently visited during the winter by the Eskimo, especially by those who have firearms. They lie in wait at the lower side of the hole, i.e., the side to which the tide sets, and when the seal blows they shoot him, securing him with the harpoon after he has drifted to the edge of the ice. These holes can only be visited at spring tides, as in the intervals a treacherous floe partly covers the opening and is not destroyed until the next spring tide.

In March, when the seal brings forth its young, the same way of hunting is continued, besides which young seals are eagerly pursued. The pregnant females make an excavation from five to ten feet in length under the snow, the diving hole being at one end. They prefer snowbanks and rough ice or the cracks and cavities of grounded ice for this purpose, and pup in these holes. The Eskimo set out on light sledges dragged by a few dogs, which quickly take up the scent of the seals. The dogs hurry at the utmost speed to the place of the hole, where they stop at once. The hunter jumps from the sledge and breaks down the roof of the excavation as quickly as possible, cutting off the retreat of the seal through its hole if he can. Generally the mother escapes, but the awkward pup is taken by surprise, or, if very young, cannot get into the water. The Eskimo draws it out by means of a hook (niksiang) and kills it by firmly stepping on the poor beast’s breast. An old pattern of the hook used is represented according to Kumlien’s drawing in Fig. 409; another, made from a bear’s claw, in Fig. 410; the modern pattern, in Fig. 411.

Sometimes the natives try to catch the old seal in a most cruel way, by using the love of the dam for her pup to lure her to the surface of the hole. They tie a thong to the hind flipper of the pup and throw it into the hole. It dives at once, crying pitifully. When it comes up to breathe the hunter pushes it back, and frequently the dam returns to her young and attempts to draw it away. As soon as she is seen the harpoon is plunged into her body and she is quickly drawn out of the water and killed.

The young seal is also pursued by foxes, which drag it from the excavation and leave nothing but the skin, which becomes a welcome find for the Eskimo.

As the season advances and the rays of the sun become warmer the seals break down the snow roofs and are seen basking beside their holes. The young ones remain with their dams until late in June.

At this season a new method of hunting is practiced, by which seals are caught with greater ease than in winter. The hunter approaches 484 the animal from the windward side until he is within seventy or eighty yards of it. He then lies down, after having fastened a piece of skin under his left arm, upon which he reclines. The skin protects him from the melting snow, facilitates speed, and diminishes the noise as he creeps. He moves on toward the seal, resting on his left arm and side and pushing himself forward with his right foot and left arm (Fig. 412). The seal frequently raises his head and gazes around to make sure that no danger threatens. As long as the seal is looking around the hunter lies flat and keeps perfectly still, or, if he is somewhat close to the animal, imitates its movements by raising his head and rolling and playing with his hands and feet as a seal does with its flippers. Some natives will utter sounds similar to those of a blowing seal or use a small sledge with a white screen to conceal themselves from view. The sealskin clothing makes man and seal look so extremely alike that it is difficult to distinguish one from the other at some distance. If the hunter succeeds in deceiving the animal it lies down again to sleep and he pushes himself on. As the naps of the seal last but a few moments, the Eskimo approaches very slowly. At last he is near enough. He levels his gun and tries to hit the animal’s head, as it must be killed by the first shot, else it jumps into the hole and escapes. If the snow is hard and water has not yet appeared on the top of the ice, a seal may be killed in this way in twenty or thirty minutes. If the snow is very soft and deep it is almost impossible to get near enough, as it is extremely difficult to push one’s self along. The approach is rather easy through rough ice, which conceals the hunter, but the seals seldom frequent such places. Sometimes they are found at the edges of rough ice or near the shore and are easily caught when in this position.

Fig. 412. Eskimo approaching seal. (From a photograph.)

Formerly, the harpoon was used instead of the gun, and is even now preferred by some hunters. The hunter gets near enough to reach the seal with the harpoon, and having struck his prey has a better chance of securing it, as the weapon prevents its escape.

After the shot has been fired or the harpoon thrown, the Eskimo at once jumps to his feet in order to prevent the escape of the animal 485 to its hole, to which it takes if only wounded. An expert hunter can kill from ten to fifteen seals in one day.

Rae, in describing the method of hunting, states (I, p. 170) that the women at Repulse Bay are very skillful, and when they have no harpoon frequently use a small wooden club, with which they strike the seal on the nose, killing it.

Generally two men go sealing together. They set out early in the morning on one sledge, and while one creeps toward the seals the other keeps the dogs quiet. A single hunter cannot hunt successfully at this season with a sledge, for when he leaves it the dogs will either follow him or, if made fast to the ice, raise such a howling that the seal is put upon its guard. Therefore it is necessary that a continuous watch be kept on the dogs. When the shot is fired and they perceive that the seal is killed, no amount of whipping will restrain them; they rush forward until they have reached the victim, which is then lashed on the sledge.

The hunters go on in search of a second seal, at the sight of which the dogs are again stopped. When the Eskimo intend to remain out only a few hours they leave the dead animals at their holes and load them on the sledge on the return journey. A single hunter cannot leave the settlement for a long distance, but is limited to sealing near the village and killing no more animals than he can drag to it himself. Sometimes it happens that the seals are fast asleep. Then the hunter can go up to them without any precaution and kill them immediately, and even a dog team running at full speed can take them by surprise. In winter a similar method of hunting is followed whenever the edge of the floe is close to the land. In such places all kinds of seals lie on the ice, even in the midst of winter, and are pursued in the way which has been already described.

A strange method of hunting is reported by Ross (II, p. 451) as practiced by the Netchillirmiut. Eight men slowly approached the basking seal until it raised its head, when those in front stopped and shouted as loud as they could; on which three others ran up with incredible swiftness and the leader struck it with the spear.

Still later in the season, when the snow is all gone, a very successful method of hunting is practiced. All the inhabitants of the settlements set out at once, men, women, and children, and occupy every seal hole over a large area. The men keep their harpoons ready to strike the animal when it comes up to blow, while the women and children are provided with sticks only, with which they frighten away the seals whenever they rise where they are standing. The animals are compelled to rise somewhere, as otherwise they would be drowned, and thus an ample supply is secured in a short time.

After the breaking up of the ice the natives take to their kayaks and the summer hunt is started. As at this season the methods of 486 catching all kinds of seal and walrus are almost identical, I shall describe them together; and, first, the most important part of the hunting gear, the kayak and its belongings.

The kayak (qajaq) is almost exclusively used for hunting by all Eskimo tribes from Greenland to Alaska. According to Bessels the Ita natives do not know its use, though they have retained the word. As a connection exists between this tribe and those of Baffin Land, I have no doubt that they are acquainted with the use of the boat, though it may be of little avail in that ice encumbered region. When I first visited the tribes of Davis Strait no kayak was to be found between Cape Mercy and Cape Raper, nor had there been any for several years. In the summer of 1884, however, two boats were built by these natives.

The general principles of their construction are well known. The kayak of the Nugumiut, Oqomiut, and Akudnirmiut is bulky as compared with that of Greenland and Hudson Bay. It is from twenty-five to twenty-seven feet long and weighs from eighty to one hundred pounds, while the Iglulik boats, according to Lyon (p. 322), range from fifty to sixty pounds in weight. It may be that the Repulse Bay boats are even lighter still. According to Hall they are not heavier than twenty-five pounds (II, p. 216).

Fig. 413. Frame of a kayak or hunting boat. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.)

The frame of the kayak (Fig. 413) consists, first, of two flat pieces of wood which form the gunwale (apumang). From ten to twenty beams (ajang) keep this frame on a stretch above. The greatest width between them is a little behind the cock pit (p. 487). A strong piece of wood runs from the cross piece before the hole (masing) to the stem, and another from the cross piece abaft the hole (itirbing) to the stern (tuniqdjung). The proportion of the bow end to the stern end, measured from the center of the hole, is 4 to 3. The former has a projection measuring one-fourth of its whole length. Setting aside the projection, the hole lies in the very center of the body of the kayak. A large number of ribs (tikping), from thirty to sixty, are fastened to the gunwales and kept steady by a keel (kujang), which runs from stem to stern, and by two lateral strips of wood (siadnit), which are fastened between gunwale and keel. The stem projection (usujang), which rises gradually, begins at a strong beam (niutang) and its rib (qaning). The extreme end of the stern (aqojang) is bent upward. The bottom of the boat is partly formed by the keel, partly by the side supports. The stern projection has a keel, but in the body of the boat the side supports are bent down to the depth of the keel, thus forming a flat bottom. Rising again gradually they terminate 487 close to the stern. Between the masing and the itirbing is the hole (pa) of the kayak, the rim of which is formed by a flat piece of wood or whalebone bent into a hoop. It is flattened abaft and sharply bent at the fore part. The masing sometimes rests upon a stud.

Fig. 414. Kayak with covering of skin. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.)

The whole frame is covered with skins (aming) tightly sewed together and almost waterproof (Fig. 414). Usually the cover consists of three or four skins of Pagomys fœtidus. When put upon the frame it is thoroughly wetted and stretched as much as possible so as to fit tightly. It is tied by thongs to the rim of the hole. A small piece of ivory is attached to each side of the niutang and serves to fasten a thong which holds the kayak implements. Two more thongs are sewed to the skin just before the hole, another one behind it, and two smaller ones near the stern.

The differences between this boat and that of the Iglulirmiut may be seen from Lyon’s description (page 320). Their kayak has a long peak at the stern, which turns somewhat upward. The rim round the hole is higher in front than at the back, whereas that of the former has the rim of an equal height all around. At Savage Islands Lyon saw the rims very neatly edged with ivory. The bow and the stern of the Iglulik kayaks were equally sharp and they had from sixty to seventy ribs. While the kayaks of the Oqomiut have only in exceptional cases two lateral supports between keel and gunwale, Lyon found in the boats of these natives seven siadnit, but no keel at all. These boats are well represented in Parry’s engravings (II, pp. 271 and 508). Instead of the thongs, ivory or wooden holders are fastened abaft to prevent the weapons from slipping down.

If the drawing in Lyon’s book (p. 14) be correct, the kayak of the Qaumauangmiut (Savage Islands) has a very long prow ending in a sharp peak, the proportion to the stern being 2 to 1. Its stern is much shorter and steeper than that of the northern boats and carries the same holders as that of the Iglulirmiut.

Fig. 415. Model of a Repulse Bay kayak. (National Museum, Washington. 68126.)

Fig. 416. Sirmijaung or scraper for kayak. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.) ½

The model of a Repulse Bay kayak is represented in Fig. 415. The rim of the hole is in the same position as in the Iglulik kayak, the fore part resting on a rib bent like a hoop, whereas in the others 488 it rests on a beam. The stern resembles closely that of the Cumberland Sound boats, while the head is less peaked, the keel having a sharper bend at the beginning of the projection, which does not turn upward. Early in the spring and in the autumn, when ice is still forming, a scraper (sirmijaung) (Fig. 416) is always carried in the 489 kayak for removing the sleet which forms on the skin. When the boat has been pulled on shore, it is turned upside down and the whole bottom is cleaned with this implement. A double bladed paddle (pauting) is used with the boat. It has a narrow handle (akudnang), which fits the hand of the boatman and widens to about four inches at the thin blades (maling), which are edged with ivory. Between each blade and the handle there is a ring (qudluqsiuta).

The kayak gear consists of the large harpoon and its line (to which the sealskin float is attached), the receptacle for this line, the bird spear (with its throwing board), and two lances.

Fig. 418. Tikagung or support for the hand. a, b, c (National Museum, Washington. a, 30000; b, 30005; c, 30004.) d (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.)

The large harpoon (Fig. 417) is used for hunting seals and walrus from the kayak. The shaft (qijuqtenga) consists of a stout pole from four and a half to five feet in length, to which an ivory knob is fastened at the lower end. At its center of gravity a small piece of ivory (tikagung) is attached, which serves to support the hand in throwing the weapon. A remarkable pattern of this tikagung, which nicely fits the hand of the hunter, is represented in the first of the series of Fig. 418, and another one, which differs only in size from 490 that of the unang, in the second. At right angles to the tikagung a small ivory knob is inserted in the shaft and serves to hold the harpoon line. At this part the shaft is greatly flattened and the cross section becomes oblong or rhombic. At the top it is tenoned, to be inserted into the mortice of the ivory head (qatirn). The latter fits so closely on the tenon that it sticks without being either riveted or tied together. The qatirn is represented in Fig. 419. Into the cavity at its top a walrus tusk is inserted and forms with it a ball and socket joint (igimang).

The tusk and the qatirn are fastened to each other in a most ingenious way, which may be readily made out from the engraving (Fig. 420). The principal effect of this arrangement of the holes and the thong is that the tusk is kept steady by two parallel thongs that prevent it from tipping over and only allow a movement in the plane of the flattening of the shaft as soon as any considerable force is applied to the tusk.

The harpoon head used in connection with this weapon is the tokang. To prevent it from being injured, it is carried in a wooden sheath (Fig. 421). The iron point is secured by a string of whalebone or sealskin; the lower part is fastened to the sheath as indicated in the figure. The tokang differs from the naulang in that it is larger and stouter. In some cases great care is bestowed upon the finishing of this important weapon.

An interesting specimen of this variety of harpoon head was found by Kumlien in Cumberland Sound (Fig. 422). It was taken from a whale and differs from the device of that country. The back is bent similar to that of the iron naulang and the barbs have two points each instead of one. The front part is sharply ridged. The specimen is very nicely finished. A few very old harpoon heads of the same pattern are deposited in the British Museum and were of Hudson Strait manufacture; therefore I conclude that Kumlien’s specimen is from the same part of the country.

Fig. 423. Ancient tokang or harpoon head. (In A. Sturgis’s collection, New York.)

Fig. 423 represents an ancient harpoon head of the same style, the locality of which is unfortunately unknown. The specimen is of particular interest, as it shows the method of fastening the stone to the ivory part. A similar specimen is in the collections of the British Museum; it formed part of the Sloane collection. Both these specimens show perforations at the lower end of the harpoon head which 491 are not found in the modern ones. Probably these served for holding the harpoon head to the shaft by means of a thin line, in order to prevent the head from coming off before the seal or walrus was struck. These holes are similar to the ones shown in Figs. 395 and 436.

The harpoon line (alirn) is attached to the tokang in the same way as the iparang is to the naulang. When it is fastened to the igimang, the bend of the tusk facilitates the disengagement of the harpoon head, which turns its back to that of the tusk. Attached to the line at the level of the ivory knob which has been mentioned is the teliqbing (Fig. 424), into the hole of which the knob fits closely. As the line from the tokang to the teliqbing is just long enough to allow it to be pulled down far enough to reach the knob, it holds shaft and head firmly together so long as the tusk remains in its position. As soon as a lateral strain is put upon the tusk the distance between the head and the knob is diminished and the teliqbing slips off, thus disengaging the line with the harpoon head from the shaft. Sometimes the teliqbing has two holes, one being used when the line is wet and longer, the other when it is dry and shorter.

In Iglulik the spear is called qatilik (Fig. 425). In pattern it is the same as that of Akudnirn and Oqo, the only difference, according to Parry’s description, being that the toung (the tusk) is straight and has a notch near its socket (see Fig. 425), while the harpoon head which belongs to it has only a single point at its lower end.

Fig. 426. Avautang or sealskin float. (National Museum, Washington. 30009.)

This harpoon is placed on the right side of the prow of the kayak, with the point directed towards its head. The harpoon line, with the tokang, lies just before the hunter in a flat receptacle (asedlun), which consists of a wooden ring with a handle, held by thongs before the hole of the kayak. The receptacle rests on the skin cover, having no feet, as has the Greenland one. In Hudson Strait it is secured upon holders. The harpoon line is rolled up in a coil, but its end is fastened to the seal float, which lies behind the hunter and is held in place by a thong. The line passes along the right side of the kayak hole. The float (avautang) (Fig. 426) consists of a whole sealskin which had been removed from the animal dexterously, its 493 entire body being pulled through the mouth, which is enlarged by means of a cut along the throat. The nails of the flippers are frequently extracted and the openings sewed up, the hind flippers and the tail being cut off and firmly tied together by a thong, thus forming a neck (atauta), to which the harpoon line is attached. At the head a pipe for blowing up the skin (poviutang) is inserted (Fig. 427); the skin is firmly tied to the ring of the pipe, on which the stopper is secured as soon as the skin is sufficiently inflated. This device is a very convenient one, for it is difficult to inflate the skin without some kind of mouthpiece. If there are any holes in the float they are closed by a button similar to the one shown in Fig. 427 a, which, however, is without a hole.

Fig. 427. Different styles of poviutang or pipe for inflating the float. (National Museum, Washington. a, 29986; b, 34118; c, 34119; d, 34120.)

If the harpoon is to be used for hunting large animals, such as walrus or whales, a very ingenious contrivance is sometimes inserted between the line and the float in the shape of a wooden hoop with a seal or deer skin stretched over it (niutang) (see Fig. 437). Three or four thongs of equal length are fastened to the hoop at equal distances and bound together. At their point of union they are attached to the line. As soon as a walrus is struck and starts to swim away, the hoop is thrown at right angles to the stretched line and exerts a strong resistance when dragged along, thus diminishing the speed of the animal and quickly exhausting its strength. The float prevents its escape, as it is too buoyant to be drawn under water. The animal cannot dive, and thus the hunter does not lose sight of his prey.

For small seals a similar weapon is used, the agdliaq (Fig. 428), 494 the main difference being that it is much smaller and has a seal bladder for a float attached to the shaft. I have not seen this weapon myself, but Kumlien has brought away parts of it. Fig. 429 shows that its point differs only in size from the large igimang. The head (probably the naulang) is tied to the shaft, which acts as a drag.

The points are fastened to the shaft in almost the same way as the former, the only difference being that they are straight; the drill holes do not cross one another. Fig. 430 represents the heads belonging to this spear; Fig. 431, a large one which is used with the large harpoon. As the lines in all these run as is represented in Fig. 429 b, they cannot act as harpoons. I had no opportunity of seeing any of these weapons myself.

In hunting walrus a lance (anguvigang) (Fig. 432) is used which is similar to the igimang. The shaft and the joint are alike in both, only the knob for the teliqbing being absent. The head is made of bone or the straight part of a walrus tusk and has an iron 495 blade on the top. The lance serves to dispatch the animal after it has been harpooned with the igimang.

The joint prevents the shaft from being broken by the struggles of the animal. Its place is behind the hunter on the right side of the kayak, the point being directed toward the stern. Generally a second lance is carried on the left side of the boat parallel with the other. It is either of the same kind or a slender shaft with a long point firmly inserted in it (kapun, ipun). The point is about one and one-third of a foot to one and one-half feet long. This weapon, however, is more particularly in use for hunting deer in the lakes and ponds.

The last implement in the kayak gear to be described is the bird spear, nuirn (Fig. 433), with its throwing board, nuqsang (Fig. 434). It has a shaft of about four feet in length, flattened at the lower end. Among the natives on the east and southeast of Baffin Land it has an iron prong at its point, whereas in Iglulik it has two points of unequal length, with double barbs. Three double barbed prongs are attached to the center of the shaft. They have a sharp bend at their lower part, the points running parallel to the shaft. The prongs of the Greenland dart are straight and diverge from the shaft. The lower end of the bird spear fits into the groove of the throwing board. Therefore the end of the shaft is squared. The ivory knob at the end of the spear contains a small hole for the insertion of the 496 spike which is in the end of the groove. When the board is used it is held firmly in the right hand, the first finger passing through the hole by the side of the groove, the thumb clasping the notch on the left side (Fig. 434 b), the other fingers those on the right side. The shaft is held by the points of the fingers. When the spear is hurled the posterior point of the groove describes a wide circle, and the fingers let go the shaft, which, remaining in its first position, is driven forward by the spike with great violence, and thus it attains considerable velocity.

I will now give a description of the methods of hunting seals and walrus during the summer. As long as ice cakes are drifting in the bays the natives do not use their seal floats, which would be severed from the line and easily torn to pieces. They paddle to a small cake, on which they lift their kayaks, and cautiously move the cake towards another one on which a seal or walrus is asleep. After they have come within range of their game they shoot it. As an abundance of all kinds of seals and walrus are basking on the ice plenty of food can be obtained.

An ingenious way of walrusing during this season is described by Lyon (p. 330):

When the hunters, in their canoes, perceive a large herd sleeping on the floating ice, as is their custom, they paddle to some other piece near them, which is small enough to be moved. On this they lift their canoes, and then bore several holes, through which they fasten their tough lines, and when everything is ready, they silently paddle the hummock towards their prey, each man sitting by his own line and spear. In this manner they, reach the ice on which the walruses are lying snoring; and if they please, each man may strike an animal, though, in general, two persons attack the same beast. The wounded and startled walrus rolls instantly to the water, but the siatko, or harpoon, being well fixed, he cannot escape from the hummock on which the Eskimo have fastened the line. When the animal becomes a little weary, the hunter launches his canoe, and lying out of his reach, spears him to death.

When the ice is gone seals are shot or harpooned with the igimang and the agdliaq. The float prevents their escape and they are killed with the anguvigang or the qapun. Later in summer, when they begin to shed their fur, they lose almost all their blubber and sink when shot; therefore they must be hunted with the harpoon and the float. As the walrus is a dangerous foe should it turn upon the hunters in their light boats, the harpoon is thrown from a great distance, and the animal is not attacked at close quarters until it is well nigh exhausted by dragging the float and the niutang and by loss of blood. A great number of walrus are shot or harpooned while basking on the low islands and rocks.

There are a few shoals and narrow inlets in Frobisher Bay and Cumberland Sound in which great numbers of seals are caught during the summer. In hunting them at those places some of the Eskimo in kayaks occupy the shallow entrance of the inlet, while others scare the seals from its head. As the seals approach its outlet they are speared by those who are lying in wait for them. Since the natives have procured firearms seals are shot from the boats, and in whale boats they even attack the walrus, though they prefer to have drifting ice near at hand in case the fierce animal should turn upon them and tear the boat with its powerful tusks. This method of hunting is very successful in openings which intersect the land floe in spring. To these places an enormous number of seals and walrus 498 resort, and they are shot either when basking at the edge of the water or when blowing.

In the fall, when the small bays are covered with ice and newly formed floes drift to and fro in the open sea, the natives go sealing at the edge of the land ice (Fig. 435). The seals are shot on the drifting ice or in the water and are secured by means of the unang, in the following manner: The hunter jumps upon a small cake, which he pushes on with his spear until he is near the body of the animal, and then drags it upon the land floe with the harpoon line. This method is almost the same as the one used in sealing and walrusing during the winter wherever the open water is close to the shore.

Fig. 435. Sealing at the edge of the ice. (From a photograph.)

This hunt is described by Gilder in the following words (pp. 182–184):

Hall (I, p. 459) describes the hunt, according to his observations in Frobisher Bay, as follows:

The line is coiled, and hung about the neck of the hunter; thus prepared he hides himself among the broken drifting ice, and awaits the moment for striking his game. The spear is then thrown and the hunter at once slips the coil of line off his head, fastens the end to the ice by driving a spear through a loop in it, and waits till the walrus comes to the surface of the water, into which he has plunged on feeling the stroke of the harpoon; then the animal is quickly despatched by the use of a long lance.

Sometimes the walrus when swimming under an extensive floe of new ice are drowned by being frightened down every time they try to come up to blow.

Formerly whaling was one of the favorite hunts of the Central Eskimo and in some places it is even continued to this day. Whales are either pursued in kayaks or in skin boats. If the kayak is used, they are harpooned in the same way as the walrus, a very large float (avautapāq´) being attached to the harpoon head. The whale is pursued by a great number of kayaks and every boatman endeavors to drive his harpoon into the animal, which, by the loss of blood and the resistance of the niutang and floats, is tired out and killed with lances.

More frequently it is pursued in skin boats (p. 527), which for the purpose are propelled by means of paddles (angun). In this case the crew consists entirely of men, although on other occasions the rowing falls to the women’s share; a skillful boatman steers the boat and the harpooner stands in the bow watching his opportunity to strike the whale. The implement used in this pursuit is represented in Fig. 436. I could not procure the weapon itself (sakurpāng´, i.e., the 500 largest weapon), but had a model made by an Akudnirmio, of which the figure is a drawing. The shaft is said to be very long and heavy, measuring from ten to twelve feet. To this shaft a bone point tapering towards the end is firmly attached. The harpoon head consists of two pieces similar to the siatko of the Iglulirmiut (see Fig. 395). The iron edge is inserted into a flat piece of bone, which fits into the slit of a large head. The latter is made from the jawbone of a whale and is extremely heavy. When the whale is struck, both parts, the head and the edge, are disengaged from the shaft and separated from each other, but both enter the flesh of the whale and work in the same way as the tokang.

The long harpoon line is coiled up on the first thwart of the boat. On the second one the niutang and five large floats (Fig. 437), which were fastened to the line, are kept ready and heaved overboard as soon as the harpoon is fast to a whale. The buoys and the niutang tire it out quickly and the boat can easily follow it up. It is lanced with the kalugiang whenever it comes up to blow. This lance consists of a heavy handle with a long point of rod iron; formerly bone or narwhal ivory, with an iron edge inserted into its point, was used for this purpose.

The narwhal and the white whale are hunted in the same way as the walrus and the right whale. There are a few shallow bays to which the white whale resorts in the summer. If a shoal of them has entered such a bay, the Eskimo take to their boats and kayaks, and by throwing stones frighten them into the shallowest part, where they are easily harpooned.

When the snow has melted and the short summer is at hand the Eskimo start for the deer hunt. The tribes possessed of firearms can easily procure deer all the year round, particularly where uneven land facilitates their approach toward the herd; but in summer the hunt is most important, as it is the only season in which deerskins are fit for clothing.

The favorite method of hunting is to attack the deer in the ponds when swimming from one side to the other. In many places the deer in their migrations are in the habit of crossing the narrow parts of lakes, and here the natives lie in ambush with their kayaks. In other places they are driven into the water by the Eskimo and attacked by the drivers or by hunters stationed on the lake. Favorite places for such a chase are narrow peninsulas, generally called nedlung. The Eskimo deploy into a skirmish line and slowly drive the herd to the point of the peninsula, whence the deer, the retreat being cut off, take to the water.

If the shore be too straight to permit this method of hunting, they drive the deer to a hill stretching to the lake. A line of cairns (inugsung) is erected on the top, intended to deceive the deer, which believe them a new line of hunters approaching from the opposite side. They take to the water, as they see no retreat. If there are no hills a line of cairns is erected in some part of the plain. Such monuments are found all over the country, most of them having the appearance of being very old.

As soon as the deer are in the water the natives pursue them in their kayaks, and as their boats are propelled much more swiftly than the animals can swim they are quickly overtaken and killed with the spear (kapun). Sometimes the wounded deer will turn upon the boat, in which cases the hunter must make his escape with the utmost speed, else he will be capsized or the skin of the boat will be torn to pieces by the animal’s antlers.

In some of the narrow valleys with steep faces on both sides the deer are driven toward the hunters. As there is no chance for escape on either side they are killed by the men who lie in ambush. A remarkable tradition referring to the deer hunts of a fabulous tribe in these passes is frequently told by the Eskimo (see p. 635).

Fig. 438. Wooden bow from Iglulik. (From Parry II, p. 550.)

Some places are particularly favorable to these methods of hunting. 502 The herds when traveling north in spring and south in autumn take the same course every year, passing rivers, lakes, and valleys at the deer passes. Here the Eskimo stay during the migrations of the deer, as they are sure to fall in with them and to secure plenty of meat and skins during the season. In spring the rivers and lakes are not yet freed from their icy fetters and the pursuit is more difficult; in the autumn, however, they are easily captured in the water. Some important stations of this kind are the island Qeqertome itoq tudlirn, south of Lake Nettilling; the outlet of this lake, Koukdjuaq, particularly the peninsula formed by the river and the south shore of the lake; the country about Qudjitariaq, farther north, and the narrow valley between Piling and Itirbilung: on the continent, the lakes of Rae Isthmus, particularly North Pole Lake; some passes in the hills north of Chesterfield Inlet; the isthmus of Boothia; the entrance of Qimuqsuq, on Adelaide Peninsula; and Simpson Strait.

Fig. 439. Wooden bow from Cumberland Sound. (National Museum, Washington.)

Referring to the last, Klutschak describes an interesting method of hunting deer which is in vogue in that locality (p. 130). The narrow strait which separates Ita Island from King William Land freezes up early in the season, and the reindeer in trying to cross the strait frequently gather on this island. The Eskimo deploy over the icy bridge and make a terrible noise, frightening the reindeer, which are gradually driven toward a place the ice of which is treacherous at this time of the year. Here they break through and, being able to move only with great difficulty, are easily killed.

Fig. 440. Bows of reindeer antlers. (National Museum, Washington. a, 34053; b, 34055.)

When the deer have scattered over the country they must be stalked, and, wherever the natives have no firearms, bows and arrows are used.

Fig. 441. Bow of antlers, with central part cut off straight, from Pelly Bay. (National Museum, Washington. 10270.)

They have two kinds of bows (pitiqse): a wooden one (Figs. 438 and 439) and another made of reindeer antlers (Figs. 440 and 441). Parry gives a very good description of the former (II, p. 510):

One of the best of their bows was made of a single piece of fir, four feet eight inches in length, flat on the inner side and rounded on the outer, being five inches in girth about the middle where, however, it is strengthened on the concave side, when strung, by a piece of bone ten inches long, firmly secured by tree-nails of the same material. At each end of the bow is a knob of bone, or sometimes of wood covered with leather, with a deep notch for the reception of the string. The only wood which they can procure, not possessing sufficient elasticity combined with 503 strength, they ingeniously remedy the defect by securing to the back of the bow, and to the knobs at each end, a quantity of small lines, each composed of a plat or “sinnet” of three sinews. The number of lines thus reaching from end to end is generally about thirty; but besides these, several others are fastened with hitches round the bow, in pairs, commencing eight inches from one end, and again united at the same distance from the other, making the whole number of strings in the middle of the bow sometimes amount to sixty. These being put on with the bow somewhat bent the contrary way, produce a spring so strong as to require considerable force as well as knack in stringing it, and giving the requisite velocity to the arrow. The bow is completed by a woolding round the middle and a wedge or two here and there, driven in to tighten it.

The bow represented in Fig. 439 is from Cumberland Sound and resembles the Iglulik pattern. The fastening of the sinew lines is different and the piece of bone giving additional strength to the central part is wanting. In Cumberland Sound and farther south wooden bows each made of a single piece were not very rare; the wood necessary for their manufacture was found in abundance on Tudjan (Resolution Island), whence it was brought to the more northern districts.

The bows which are made of antlers generally consist of three pieces, a stout central one slanted on both sides and two side pieces riveted to it. The central part is either below or above the side ones, as represented in Fig. 440. These bows are strengthened by plaited sinews in the same way as the wooden ones and generally the joints are secured by strong strings wound around them. A remarkable bow made of antlers is represented in Fig. 441. The central part is not slanted, but cut off straight. The joint is effected by two additional pieces on each side, a short stout one outside, a long thin one inside. These are firmly tied together with sinews. The short piece prevents the parts from breaking apart, the long one gives a powerful spring. The specimen here represented was brought home by Hall from the Sinimiut of Pelly Bay, and a similar one was brought by Collinson from Victoria Land and has been deposited in the British Museum. The strings are attached to these bows in the same way as to the wooden ones.

Fig. 446. Various forms of arrowhead. (National Museum, Washington. a, 29993; e, 10213.) ½

The arrows (qaqdjung) are made of round pieces of wood generally tapering a little towards the lower end, to which two feathers of an owl or some other bird are attached. The bone heads of these 505 arrows are joined to the shaft as represented in Fig. 442, while metal heads are inserted as shown in Fig. 443. The difference in the methods used by the Mackenzie and the central tribes in fastening the point to the shaft is very striking. The arrow point of the former and of the western tribes is pointed and inserted in the shaft (Fig. 444),5 while that of the latter is always slanted and lashed to it (Figs. 442 and 443). The direction of the slant is either parallel or vertical to the edge (Fig. 445). Other forms of arrows are shown in Fig. 446. A similar difference between the fastenings of the socket to the spear handle exists in the two localities. The western tribes give its base the form of a wedge (Fig. 447), which is inserted in the shaft, while the Central Eskimo use a mortise.

Formerly slate heads were in general use (Fig. 448); now the heads are almost everywhere made of iron or tin, riveted or tied to the 508 point (Fig. 446). In ancient graves flint heads are frequently found, some of which are represented in Fig. 449. On Southampton Island stone heads are in use even at the present time. Fig. 423 probably shows how they were attached to the shank.

Fig. 449. Flint arrowheads from old graves. (National Museum, Washington. c, 30109; d, 34138.) 1/1

The quiver (Fig. 450) is made of sealskin, the hair of which is removed. It comprises three divisions, a larger one containing the bow and a smaller one containing four or six arrows, the head directed toward the lower end of the case. When extracted from the quiver they are ready for use. Between the two compartments there is also a small pouch, in which tools and extra arrowheads are carried.

Fig. 450. Various styles of quiver. a, b Two views of a quiver from Cumberland Sound. (National Museum, Washington. 30015.) c Quiver from Iglulik (from Parry II, p. 550).

When traveling the Eskimo carry the quiver by an ivory handle; when in use it is hung over the left shoulder. Fig. 451 represents quiver handles, the first being fashioned in imitation of an ermine.

Fig. 451. Quiver handles. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin. a, b, IV A 6843.)

If the deer cannot be driven into the water the Eskimo either stalk them or shoot them from a stand. In a plain where the hunter cannot hide himself it is easier to approach the herd if two men hunt together. They advance, the second man hiding behind the first one by stooping a little. The bows or the guns are carried on the shoulders so as to resemble the antlers of a deer. The men imitate their grunting and approach slowly, now stopping and stooping, now advancing. If the deer look about suspiciously they sit down, the second man lying almost flat on the ground, and both, at some distance off, greatly resemble the animals themselves. Ross (II, p. 252) states that the inhabitants of Boothia imitate the appearance of the deer, the foremost of two men stalking a herd bearing a deer’s head upon his own.

It is somewhat difficult to approach the deer near enough to get within range, especially if they are hunted with bow and arrow. Generally it is not necessary to get quite near them, for when feeding the herd moves on in the same direction for some time, and the hunter can hide behind a stone lying in that direction and wait until they are within range. After the first shot has been fired they do not take to flight at once, but stand for a few seconds, struck with surprise, 509 and a clever hunter may kill two or three before they run away. If the country is very level the Eskimo raise heaps of stones or build circular or semicircular walls to conceal themselves and allure the animals by grunting. As the deer possess a very fine scent they must always be approached from the lee side.

An interesting method of hunting is described by Parry (II, p. 512) and confirmed by Hall (II, p. 178). Parry writes:

Two men walk directly from the deer they wish to kill, when the animal almost always follows them. As soon as they arrive at a large stone, one of the men hides behind it with his bow, while the other continuing to walk on soon leads the deer within range of his companion’s arrows.

Hall says that one hunter hides himself behind a stone while the other utters grunting sounds to attract it.

In winter deer are sometimes caught in traps made by digging holes in the snow and covering them with slabs of the same material. Sometimes urine is poured upon and around the trap or salt water ice is placed upon it, in order to allure the deer (Klutschak, p. 131). Having been attracted to the trap they fall through the roof and are speared in the hole.

Wherever the musk ox is found it is eagerly pursued by the Eskimo. Though dogs are of no use in the chase of the nimble deer, they are of great help in hunting this animal. When a track is found the dogs are let loose and soon overtake the herd. The latter form a circle of defense in which they are kept at bay until the hunter approaches. While the dogs continue attacking and dodging, the musk oxen try to hit them with their horns and do not heed the Eskimo, who assails them at close quarters with a lance to which a thong is frequently attached. When an ox is wounded it makes an impetuous attack on the hunter, who dodges to one side. The dogs being at hand again immediately keep it at bay, thus enabling the hunter to let fly another arrow or throw his lance again. Thus the struggle continues until the greater part of the herd is killed. In rare instances an ox dashes out of the circle and escapes from the pack.

Polar bears are hunted in about the same manner as the musk ox. The Eskimo pursue them in light sledges, and when they are near the pursued animal the traces of the most reliable dogs in the team are cut, when they dash forward and bring the bear to bay. As the hunter gets sufficiently near, the last dogs are let loose and the bear is killed with a spear or with bow and arrow. The best season for bear hunting is in March and April, when the bears come up the fjords and bays in pursuit of the young seals. At this season the she bear is accompanied by the cub which was born in February or March. Its skin and flesh are highly prized by the Eskimo. At some places, for instance at Cape Raper and at Cape Kater on Davis Strait, the she bears dig holes in the snow banks, in which they sleep during 510 the winter. The natives seek these holes and kill the bear before it awakes.

The chase of the musk ox and that of the bear have become much easier since the introduction of firearms in Arctic America, and the Eskimo can kill their game without encountering the same dangers as formerly.

Lastly, I mention the methods used in catching smaller animals, such as wolves, foxes, and hares. Wolves are only pursued when they become too troublesome. Frequently they linger about the villages in winter, and when everybody is asleep they attack the store rooms or the dogs, which have the greatest fear of this voracious animal; for, although dogs will brave the bear, they do not venture to resist a single wolf. If a pack of these beasts linger about the village for weeks preying upon the native stores, traps are finally built or the Eskimo lie in ambush near a bait to kill them. The wolf trap is similar to the one used to catch deer. The hole dug in the snow is about eight or nine feet deep and is covered with a slab of snow, on the center of which a bait is laid. A wall is built around it which compels the wolf to leap across it before he can reach the bait. By so doing he breaks through the roof and, as the bottom of the pit is too narrow to afford him jumping room, he is caught and killed there (Rae I, p. 135).

A remarkable method of killing wolves has been described by Klutschak (p. 192) and confirmed by the Eskimo of Cumberland Sound. A sharp knife is smeared with deer’s blood and sunk into the snow, the edge only protruding. The wolves lick the knife and cut their tongues so severely as to bleed to death. Another method is to roll a strip of whalebone, about two feet long, in a coil, which is tied up with sinews. At each end a small metal edge is attached to the whalebone. This strip, wrapped in a piece of blubber or meat, is gulped down by the hungry wolf. As it is digested the sinews are dissolved and the elastic strap is opened and tears the stomach of the animal. A very ingenious trap is described by Parry (II, p. 514):

It consists of a small house built of ice, at one end of which a door, made of the same plentiful material, is fitted to slide up and down in a groove; to the upper part of this a line is attached and, passing over the roof, is led down into the trap at the inner end, and there held by slipping an eye in the end of it over a peg of ice left for the purpose. Over the peg, however, is previously placed a loose grummet, to which the bait is fastened, and a false roof placed over all to hide the line. The moment the animal drags at the bait the grummet slips off the peg, bringing with it the line that held up the door, and this falling down closes the trap and secures him.

Foxes are usually caught in traps. An ice house about six feet high is built of hummocks, which are cut down with the point of the spear. It is covered with ice slabs, only a hole in the center 511 being left. Blocks of snow and slabs of ice are piled up around the building so as to permit easy access to the roof. Some blood is sprinkled round the hole to attract the fox and a larger bait is placed upon the floor of the house. The fox jumps down and, as the only exit is in the center of the roof, cannot escape. Another trap has a slab of ice erected in such a manner as to fall and kill the fox when he touches the bait.

A third trap, similar to the one above mentioned, has been described by Lyon, p. 339:

It is like a small lime kiln in form, having a hole near the top, within which the bait is placed, and the foxes (for these animals alone are thus taken) are obliged to advance to it over a piece of whalebone, which, bending beneath their weight, lets them into prison, and then resumes its former position: thus a great number of them are sometimes caught in a night. In the summer they are but rarely taken, and it is then by means of a trap of stones, formed like the ice trap, with a falling door.

Hares are either killed with small shot or with arrows or caught in whalebone snares, as are ermines and lemmings.

Fig. 452. Whalebone nooses for catching waterfowl. (In the possession of Captain Spicer, of Groton, Conn.)

Waterfowl of all descriptions are caught in abundance in whalebone nooses (Fig. 452) fastened to a long whalebone line or to a thong. The line is set along the edge of a lake, particularly near nesting places. In shallow lakes these lines are placed across the water to catch the diving and swimming birds, which are drawn to the shore with the line. On the low egg islands, which are inhabited by innumerable ducks, snares are set on the nests, and great numbers are caught in a short time. Swans and geese are procured in the same way. Other birds, and particularly partridges, are killed with arrows and with small shot.

Large flocks of ducks and other kinds of birds fly through certain valleys in the fall and in spring when migrating. Great numbers are caught here without any difficulty, as they can be killed with sticks.

A favorite method of catching gulls is by building a flat snow house. One block of the roof is translucent and so thin as to permit the hunter, who is hidden in the house, to push his hand through it. A bait is placed on this block, and as soon as a bird alights to feed it is pulled through the roof into the hut.

By far the greater number of birds are caught during the molting season. Partridges can be caught with the hand and waterfowl are pursued with the kayak. The waterfowl dive as soon as the boat comes near them and being frightened down again as soon as they rise they are eventually drowned. One species of goose (kango) 513 which frequents the lakes of the country is caught in a remarkable way. A circular wall of stones is raised, with a single entrance. The Eskimo drive a flock of these birds towards the building, one man, whom the stupid creatures follow, leading the way. As soon as they have entered the wall the entrance is shut up and they are slaughtered. If they happen to be met with on the water they are encircled by kayaks and driven towards the shore, one boat leading. Then they are driven within the stone wall as already described.

Fig. 454. Ivory fish used as bait in spearing salmon.
a From Repulse Bay. a, c, d (National Museum, Washington. a, 10400; c, 34109; d, 34134.) 1/1
b (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin. IV A 6830.) 1/1

The most important fish is the salmon, which is caught in abundance during the summer. When the lakes begin to break up the salmon descend to the sea, following the narrow lead between the 514 land floe and the water. In some places they are so plentiful as to fill the water completely. Here they are speared with the kakivang (Fig. 453). This instrument consists of a handle which widens towards the end; in the center it has a prong of bone or iron, and two larger ones at the sides, made of deer antlers or musk ox horn. These latter diverge and are furnished with a bone or iron nail on the inner side. The elasticity of these side prongs is increased by thongs or strings holding them tightly together. If the salmon are very plentiful no bait is needed and the natives cannot spear them as quickly as they swim along. When the ice is gone they are caught in the shallow rivers falling from the lakes into the sea. The natives stand on the bank or step into the water. A small ivory fish (Fig. 454) (eχalujang), tied by two or three holes in the back to a plaited string of deer sinews, is used as a bait. Frequently bear’s teeth are used for bait. They are attached to a separate line which the hunter continually moves up and down to attract the attention of the fish. When the salmon comes near the bait it is speared with the kakivang. In the left hand the fisherman holds an instrument for stringing the fish (quqartaun), some illustrations of which are given in Fig. 455. It is made of ivory. A thong fastened to the hole of the instrument has a thick knot at the opposite end. As soon as a salmon is caught it is taken out of the nippers (kakivang) and the point of the 515 quqartaun is pushed into the gills and brought out again at the mouth; thus the fish remains sticking until it is dead. Sometimes it is killed by pushing the ivory point of the instrument into its neck. When dead it is pushed on the thong.

At some places wears are built, above which the fish are caught. These consist of dikes of stones about one and a half or two feet high, which are piled across a creek some distance below high water mark. The salmon cross the wall at high water, but are cut off from the sea at half tide and are speared while there. In other places the forks of rivers are shut off by dikes, above which the salmon gather.

In autumn salmon are caught when ascending the rivers. Sometimes they linger too long in small ponds and, as the rivers quickly dry up at this season, are prevented from getting out of the pools. Here they are caught until late in the season. Some of these ponds freeze to the bottom in winter, and the natives, when visiting them in the spring, cut holes in the ice and take out the frozen fish.

In the early part of the spring salmon are caught with hooks (kakliokia, Iglulik; niksiartaung, Oqo), holes being cut through the ice of the lake. Formerly the hooks were made of deer antlers. Another device consists of a nail, crooked and pointed at one end, the other being let into a piece of ivory or bone (Fig. 456). A third one is represented in Fig. 457.

The fishing line is made of plaited deer sinews and is either held in the hand or tied to a short rod. Along with these hooks baits are used similar to those mentioned in the foregoing description. If the 516 carving represented in Fig. 458 is used, the hook is tied to it by means of two holes on the lower side of the fish, while the line passes through its back. The fish, in coming near the bait, is generally caught by the hook in the back or side. In this manner salmon, trout, and all kinds of sea fish are caught.

Fig. 458. Bait used in fishing with hooks. (National Museum, Washington. 34108.) 1/1

I myself have never seen any nets for fishing, but Klutschak found them in use among the Utkusiksalik tribe, and Petitot (Les grands Esquimaux, p. 278), among the natives of Anderson River. The Labrador Eskimo also use nets.

Most of the implements of the Eskimo are made of some part of the animals which they pursue. The skins are used for clothing, for building purposes, and for covering the frames of boats. Many implements are made of bone, others of walrus tusks or narwhal horn. As wood is extremely scarce, bone or other parts of animals must make up the deficiency. I shall here describe the methods of preparing these materials.

Fig. 459. Butcher’s knife with bone handle. (National Museum, Washington. 34080.) ¼

The skin of the seal (Pagomys fœtidus) is dressed in different ways, according to the purpose for which it is intended. In skinning the animal a longitudinal cut is made across the belly with a common butcher’s knife (saving). Most natives have procured this useful instrument and even in olden times a considerable number had found their way from Hudson Bay territory to their countries. The large knives of their own manufacture (pilaut) are of similar form, a metal edge being inserted into an ivory blade. Figure 459 is a more modern knife, an iron blade being fastened to a bone handle.

The skin, with the blubber, is cut from the flesh with the same knife, or still more easily with the pana, the old device of which is represented in Fig. 460 a (Parry II, p. 550). This knife is about one foot and a half long (Parry II, p. 503). The use of the small prongs near the blade was not explained by Parry. In Fig. 460 b is presented a pana from the eastern coast of Hudson Bay, collected by Dr. R. Bell; the handle is made of bone, the blade of iron. The flippers are cut off at the joints, and thus the whole skin is drawn off in a single piece. In dressing the animal the natives open the belly and first scoop out the blood, then the entrails are taken out, the ribs are separated from the breast bone and from the vertebrae, the fore flippers (with the shoulders and the hind flippers) are taken out, the only part remaining being the head, the spinal column, and the rump bone. Generally these are not eaten, but are used for dogs’ food.

The knife (ulo) used by the women serves to clean and prepare the skins. This implement, with which almost all the cutting is done, is shaped like a crescent, the handle being attached to the center, and 518 greatly resembles a mincing knife. Fig. 461 represents the form which is now in use. Fig. 462 is a very old ulo handle from a stone circle on Qeqertuqdjuaq (Cape Broughton). It is made of bone and has a slit for the slate blade. It is worth remarking that this blade had not been riveted to the handle, but fastened with a kind of glue (see p. 526). There are a few arrow and harpoon heads the blades of which are inserted in the same manner; the bone is heated and the blade is inserted while it is hot. As it is cooling the slit becomes narrower and the blade is firmly squeezed into the bone handle. Part of a slate blade, which had been riveted to the handle, is shown in Fig. 463. Fig. 464 represents a handle from a recent grave.

In preparing the skin the women spread it over a piece of whalebone (asimautang), a small board, or a flat stone, and sit down before it, resting on their knees, the feet bent under the thighs. They hold the skin at the nearest edge and, pushing the ulo forward, remove the blubber from it and deposit the latter in a small tub which stands near the board. As they proceed to the opposite end of the skin, the finished part is rolled up and held in the left hand.

If the skin is to be used with the hair on it, the tough membrane (mami) which covers the inner side is removed in the same way as the blubber and, after it has been carefully patched up and holes have been cut all around the edge, is stretched over a gravelly place or on snow by means of long pegs (pauktun), which hold it a few inches above the ground, thus allowing the air to circulate underneath it. The skin itself is washed and rubbed with gravel, snow, or ice and every hole made by the bullet or by the spear or in preparing it is sewed up. It very seldom happens that the women in preparing it damage the skin or even the thin mami. It is particularly difficult to split the skin near a hole. First they finish the work all around it and then carefully sever the membrane at its edge. The skin is dried in the same way as the membrane. In the early part of spring, though it may still be very cold, a few choice young sealskins are dried on snow walls which face to the south. In order thoroughly to dry a sealskin one fine warm spring day is needed. If the Eskimo are greatly in need of skins they dry them in winter over the lamps. A frame is made of four poles, lashed together, according to the size of the skin. A thong passes through the slits along its edge and around the frame, keeping the skin well stretched. Thus it is placed over the lamps or near the roof of the hut. However, it is disagreeable work to dry the skins inside the huts, and, as they are much inferior to those which are dried on the ground, the Eskimo avoid it if they can. When so prepared the sealskins are only fit for covering tents, making bags, &c.; they are far too hard to be used for clothing, for which purpose the skin of yearlings is almost exclusively used. The young seals, having shed 520 for the first time, have a very handsome coat, the hair being of a fine texture and much longer than in older animals. From the middle of May until late in summer their skins are most suitable for the manufacture of summer clothing, but it is necessary to protect the carcasses of the killed animals from the burning rays of the sun as soon as possible or the skin would be quickly spoiled.

After being dried they are cleaned with the sharp scraper (tesirqun), the modern device of which is represented in Fig. 465. It consists of a handle having a round back and a flat front, with two grooves for the knuckles of the first and second fingers, while the thumb and the other fingers clasp the handle. The scraper itself consists of a rounded piece of tin riveted to the handle. The old scraper (Fig. 466) was made of a deer’s shoulder or of some other bone. I have never seen any that were made of a thigh bone, similar to those found by Lucien M. Turner in Ungava Bay.

Fig. 467. Seligoung or scraper used for softening skins.
(Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin. IV A 6697.)

After being scraped the skin is soaked in salt water and washed again. As soon as it is dry it is softened with the straight scraper (seligoung) (Fig. 467).

Fig. 468 shows some very old stone scrapers found in graves. As the stones are sharpened it is probable that they were used for cleaning the skins. The hole in the right side of the handle is used for the second finger, the grooves on the back for the third and fourth. The bone is fastened to the handle by whalebone straps or thongs.

Fig. 468. Old stone scrapers found in graves.
(National Museum, Washington, a, b, 34083; c, 34084; d, 34085.) ⅔

Skins of Phoca annellata, Phoca cristata, and Phoca grœnlandica are prepared in the same way.

Those which are intended for kayak covers, boots, mittens, quivers, &c. are prepared in a different way. They are either put into hot water or laid in a brook for a few days until the hair begins to loosen. Then both sides are worked with the ulo, in order to clean and shave them. When the hair is removed they are dried and made pliable in the same way as has been described. If it is intended to make the skin as soft as possible it is allowed to become putrid before it is cleansed. Then the hair and the blubber are removed, and afterwards it is left to hang in the sun for a few days until it acquires a light color.

The large ground seal (Phoca barbata) is skinned in a different manner. Its skin is very thick, thicker even than sole leather, and therefore extremely durable and suitable for all sorts of lines, particularly traces, lashings, and harpoon lines, and for soles, drinking 521 cups, and boat covers. This seal is very large, sometimes attaining a length of ten feet. The skin of the back and of the breast dries unequally, and therefore a piece covering the throat and breast is taken out before the rest is skinned, and the parts are dried separately. If it is to be used for lines it is cut by making girdles about six inches in width around the body. The hair and the blubber are removed from 522 these cylindrical rings, from which lines are made by cutting spirally, a strip seventy or eighty feet long being thus obtained. This line is stretched as taut as possible between two rocks, and while drying it undergoes an enormous tension. Before being taken from the rocks the edges are rounded and cleaned with a knife.

Walrus hide is always cut up before being prepared. As soon as the walrus is killed it is cut into as many parts as there are partners in the hunt, every part being rolled up in a piece of skin and carried home in it. Sometimes the skin is used for making boats, but generally it is cut into lines. Both kinds of hide, that of the walrus and that of the ground seal, are as stiff as a board when dried and require much work before being fit for use. They are chewed by the natives until they become thin and pliable. The whole skin must be chewed in this way before it can be used for soles and boat covers. Afterwards it is scraped with the tesirqun and softened with the straight scraper. The new thongs, after being dried between the rocks, must also be chewed until they become sufficiently pliable, after which they are straightened by a stretcher that is held with the feet (Fig. 469). Frequently they are only pulled over the sole of the boot for this purpose, the man taking hold of the line at two points and pulling the intermediate part by turns to the right and to the left over the sole of the foot.

Fig. 469. Stretcher for lines. (National Museum, Washington. 9836.) 1/1

Another kind of line is cut from the hide of the white whale, which is skinned in the same way as the ground seal, but, as it must be slit on the spinal column, the single pieces of line are much shorter, and they cannot be used to the same extent as seal lines. Some lines are cut from the skins of Pagomys fœtidus, but these are weak and greatly inferior to lines of ground seal hide.

Deerskins are dried in summer and dressed after the ice has formed. Like all other kinds of skins they are not tanned, but curried. They are hung up among the rafters of the hut, and the workers—in Oqo and Akudnirn the women, in Hudson Bay the men—take off their jackets and begin preparing them with the sharp scraper. After being cleaned in this way they are thoroughly dried, either by hanging them near the roof of the hut or, according to Gilder, by wrapping them around the upper part of the body next to the skin, after 523 which they are again scraped with the tesirqun. This done, the flesh side is wetted, the skin is wrapped up for half a day or a day, and afterwards undergoes a new scraping. Then it is chewed, rubbed, and scraped all over, thus acquiring its pliability, softness, and light color.

In the spring the skins of bears and of seals are sometimes dried on large frames which are exposed to the sun, the skins being tied to the frames with thongs. Smaller quadrupeds, as foxes and ermines, are skinned by stripping the entire animal through its mouth without making a single cut in the skin. Birds are opened at the breast and the body is taken out through this small hole, the head, wings, and legs being cut off at the neck and the other joints. Ducks are frequently skinned by cutting the skin around the head and the outer joints of the wings and legs and stripping it off. The skins are cleaned by sucking out the fat and chewing them.

Skins of salmon are used for water proof bags; intestines of seals, particularly those of ground seals, are carefully dried and after being sewed together are used for sails, windows, and kayak jackets.

The sewing is done with thread made of deer or white whale sinews. Particularly are those sinews at the back dried and when intended for use they can easily be split as thin as required. At present steel needles are in general use. Wherever they are wanting ivory ones of the same pattern are used (Fig. 470). The thread is fastened 524 to the eyehole by a kind of loop, the short end being twisted around the longer one. Kumlien described a needle of a very different device (p. 25):

This tool was almost exactly like an awl in shape, but had an eye near the point. They must have had to thread this instrument for each stitch. The needle part was apparently of deer horn and the handle of walrus ivory.

Probably it was used like a packing needle for sewing tent covers, &c. The needles (mirqun) are kept in ivory needle cases (umī´ujang). The case represented in Fig. 471 is from a grave in Cumberland Sound. The grooves on both sides are evidently intended for a leather strap which is to be tied around it. This specimen is closed at the bottom and had a stopper for closing the mouth. Fig. 472 is a more common pattern. The ivory piece forms a tube through which a leather strap passes. The needles are stuck into the leather and drawn into the tube. Small ivory implements and ornaments are attached to both ends of the strap.

Fig. 473. Tikiq or thimble. (National Museum, Washington. 10181.) 1/1

Thimbles (tikiq) (Fig. 473) are made of an oblong piece of ground sealskin, fitting to the point of the first finger. A rim is cut around half of its circumference and thus it can be drawn over the finger. The women sew by pulling the thread toward them and making an overcast seam.

Whalebone is used for making elastic thongs and in the place of wood; for example, for kayak ribs, for the rim of the kayak hole, boxes, &c. It requires no particular preparation, being easily split and shaped so as to fit any purpose. If wood is to be bent into hoops or deer horn is to be straightened, it is made pliable by being put into boiling water for some time. Bones of whales and other large animals and the penis bone of the walrus are used instead of poles. In olden times, when iron was extremely rare and an effective saw could not be procured, they split the bone by drilling many holes, one close to the other, afterwards breaking the pieces asunder.

Fig. 474. Instrument for straightening bones.

Small pieces of bone, used for arrows &c., were straightened, after being steamed, with the implement represented in Fig. 474.

Fig. 475. Drill for working in ivory and bone. (National Museum, Washington. 34114.) ⅔

The drill (Fig. 475) is the most important implement for working in ivory and bone. It consists of three parts: the bow with its string 525 (niuqtung), the drill (qaivun), and the mouthpiece (qingmiaq). The string of the bow is twisted around the shaft of the drill, the mouthpiece (which is made of wood or of bone) is taken into the mouth, and the rounded end of the drill is placed in its hole. Then the whole implement is put firmly against the place to be perforated and is set in motion by moving the bow. Instead of the latter, a string is sometimes used with a handle at each end. For one man, however, the first device is handier. The string of the second form is usually pulled by one man while the other holds the mouthpiece.

The same instrument is sometimes used for making fire. Instead of the iron, a piece of hard wood (ground willow) is put into the 526 mouthpiece and placed upon a piece of driftwood cut to the shape represented in Fig. 476. The wooden drill turns rapidly in a hole of the driftwood until it begins to glow. A little moss is applied to the glowing wood and gently blown until it begins to burn. Wherever flint and pyrite are to be had these are used for striking fire. Moss or the wool-like hair of Eryophorum serves for tinder.

Ivory implements are cut out of the tusks with strong knives and are shaped by chipping pieces from the blocks until they acquire the desired forms. In olden times it must have been an extremely troublesome work to cut them out, the old knives being very poor and ineffective. They are finished with the file, which on this account is an important tool for the natives; it is also used for sharpening knives and harpoons. The women’s knives are cut, by means of files, from old saw blades; the seal harpoons, from Scotch whale harpoons. If files are not obtainable, whetstones are used for sharpening the iron and stone implements.

Engravings in bone and ivory are made with the implement represented in Fig. 477. An iron point is inserted in a wooden handle; formerly a quartz point was used. The notch which separates the head from the handle serves as a hold for the points of the fingers. The designs are scratched into the ivory with the iron pin.

Stone implements were made of flint, slate, or soapstone. Flint was worked with a squeezing tool, generally made of bone. Small pieces were thus split off until the stone acquired the desired form. Slate was first roughly formed and then finished with the drill and the whetstone. The soft soapstone is now chiseled out with iron tools. If large blocks of soapstone cannot be obtained, fragments are cemented together by means of a mixture of seal’s blood, a kind of clay, and dog’s hair. This is applied to the joint, the vessel being heated over a lamp until the cement is dry. According to Lyon (p. 320) it is fancied that the hair of a bitch would spoil the composition and prevent it from sticking.

Fig. 478. Framework of Eskimo boat.

The main part of the frame of a boat is a timber which runs from stem to stern (Fig. 478). It is the most solid part and is made of driftwood, which is procured in Hudson Strait, Hudson Bay, and on the northern shore of King William Land. In Iglulik, and probably in Pond Bay, boats are rarely used and never made, as wood is wanting. The central part of this timber is made a little narrower than the ends, which form stout heads. A mortise is cut into each of the latter, into which posts (kiglo) are tenoned for the bow and for the stern. The shape of this part will best be seen from the engraving (Fig. 479). A strong piece of wood is fitted to the top of these uprights and the gunwales are fastened to them with heavy thongs. The gunwales and two curved strips of wood (akuk), which run along each side of the bottom of the boat from stem to stern, determine its form. These strips are steadied by from seven to ten cross pieces, which are firmly tied to them and to the central piece. From this pair of strips to the gunwales run a number of ribs, which stand somewhat close together at the bow and the stern, but are separated by intervals of greater distance in the center of the boat. The cross pieces along the bottom are arranged similarly to the ribs. Between the gunwale and the bottom two or three pairs of strips also run along the sides of the boat and steady its whole frame. The uppermost pair (which is called tuving) lies near the gunwale and serves as a fastening for the cover of the boat. The thwarts, three 528 or four in number, are fastened between the gunwale and these lateral strips. All these pieces are tied together with thongs, rivets not being used at all.

Fig. 480. Umiaq or skin boat.

The frame is covered with skins of ground seals (Figs. 480, 481). It requires three of these skins to cover a medium sized boat; five to cover a large one. If ground seals cannot be procured, skins of harp or small seals are used, as many as twelve of the latter being required. The cover is drawn tightly over the gunwale and, after being wetted, is secured by thongs to the lateral strip which is close to the gunwale. The wooden pieces at both ends are perforated and the thongs for fastening the cover are pulled through these holes.

Fig. 481. Umiaq or skin boat.

The boat is propelled by two large oars. The rowlocks are a very ingenious device. A piece of bone is tied upon the skin in order 529 to protect it from the friction of the oar, which would quickly wear it through (Fig. 481 a). On each side of the bone a thong is fastened to the tuving, forming a loop. Both loops cross each other like two rings of a chain. The oar is drawn through both loops, which are twisted by toggles until they become tight. Then the toggles are secured between the gunwale and the tuving.

The oar (ipun) consists of a long shaft and an oval or round blade fastened to the shaft by thongs. Two grooves and the tapering end serve for handles in pulling. Generally three or four women work at each oar.

For steering, a paddle is used of the same kind as that used in whaling (see p. 499). A rudder is rarely found (Fig. 480), and when used most probably is made in imitation of European devices.

If the wind permits, a sail is set; but the bulky vessel can only run with the wind. The mast is set in the stem, a mortise being cut in the forehead of the main timber, with a notch in the wooden piece above it to steady it. A stout thong, which passes through two holes on each side of the notch, secures the mast to the wooden head piece. The sail, which is made of seal intestines carefully sewed together, is squared and fastened by loops to a yard (sadniriaq) which is trimmed with straps of deerskin. It is hoisted by a rope made of sealskin and passing over a sheave in the top of the mast. This rope is tied to the thwart farthest abaft, while the sheets are fastened to the foremost one.

During the greater part of the year the only passable road is that afforded by the ice and snow; therefore sledges (qamuting) of different constructions are used in traveling.

Fig. 482. Qamuting or sledge.

The best model is made by the tribes of Hudson Strait and Davis Strait, for the driftwood which they can obtain in abundance admits the use of long wooden runners. Their sledges (Fig. 482) have two runners, from five to fifteen feet long and from twenty inches to two 530 and a half feet apart. They are connected by cross bars of wood or bone and the back is formed by deer’s antlers with the skull attached. The bottom of the runners (qamun) is curved at the head (uinirn) and cut off at right angles behind. It is shod with whalebone, ivory, or the jawbones of a whale. In long sledges the shoeing (pirqang) is broadest near the head and narrowest behind. This device is very well adapted for sledging in soft snow; for, while the weight of the load is distributed over the entire length of the sledge, the fore part, which is most apt to break through, has a broad face, which presses down the snow and enables the hind part to glide over it without sinking in too deeply.

Fig. 483. Sledge shoe. (National Museum, Washington. 34096.) ¼

The shoe (Fig. 483) is either tied or riveted to the runner. If tied, the lashing passes through sunken drill holes to avoid any friction in moving over the snow. The right and left sides of a whale’s jaw are frequently used for shoes, as they are of the proper size and permit the shoe to be of a single piece. Ivory is cut into flat pieces and riveted to the runner with long treenails. The points are frequently covered with bone on both the lower and upper sides, as they are easily injured by striking hard against hummocks or snowdrifts. Sometimes whalebone is used for the shoes.

The cross bars (napun) project over the runners on each side and have notches which form a kind of neck. These necks serve to fasten the thongs when a load is lashed on the sledge. The bars are fastened to the runners by thongs which pass through two pairs of holes in the bars and through corresponding ones in the runners. If these fastenings should become loose, they are tightened by winding a small thong round them and thus drawing the opposite parts of the thong tightly together. If this proves insufficient, a small wedge is driven between the thong and the runner.

Fig. 484. Clasp for fastening traces to sledge. (National Museum, Washington. 34110.) ½

The antlers attached to the back of the sledge have the branches removed and the points slanted so as to fit to the runners. Only the brow antlers are left, the right one being cut down to about three inches in length, the left one to one and a half inches. This back forms a very convenient handle for steering the sledge past hummocks or rocks, for drawing it back when the points have struck a snowdrift, &c. Besides, the lashing for holding the load is tied to the right brow antler and the snow knife and the harpoon line are hung upon it.

Fig. 485. Artistic form of clasp for fastening traces to sledge. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.) 1/1

Under the foremost cross bar a hole is drilled through each runner. A very stout thong (pitu) consisting of two separate parts passes through the holes and serves to fasten the dogs’ traces to the sledge. 531 A button at each end of this thong prevents it from slipping through the hole of the runner. The thong consists of two parts, the one ending in a loop, the other in a peculiar kind of clasp (partirang). Fig. 484 represents the form commonly used. The end of one part of the thong is fastened to the hole of the clasp, which, when closed, is stuck through the loop of the opposite end (see Fig. 482). A more artistic design is shown in Fig. 485. One end of the line is tied to the hole in the under side of this implement. When it is in use the loop of the other end is stuck through another hole in the center and hung over the nozzle. The whole represents the head of an animal with a gaping mouth. The dogs’ traces are strung upon this line by means of the uqsirn, an ivory implement with a large and a small eyelet (Fig. 486). The trace is tied to the former, while the latter is strung upon the pitu.

Fig. 486. Uqsirn, for fastening traces to pitu.
a (National Museum, Washington. 34122.) 1/1
b (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.) ½

The dogs have harnesses (ano) made of sealskin (Fig. 487) or sometimes of deerskin, consisting of two bights passing under the fore legs. They are joined by two straps, one passing over the breast, the other over the neck. The ends are tied together on the back, whence the trace runs to the sledge. According to Parry (II, p. 517), 532 the Iglulik harnesses consisted of three bights, one passing over the breast and shoulder and two under the fore legs.

Fig. 487. Ano or dog harness. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin. IV A 6730.)

It was mentioned at another place (p. 475) that in sealing a dog is taken out of the sledge to lead the hunter to the breathing hole. For this purpose the traces of some harnesses are made of two pieces, which are united by the sadniriaq, a clasp similar to that of the pitu (Figs. 487, 488). If the dog is to be taken from the sledge the fore part of the trace is unbuttoned.

Besides this form of sledge a great number of others are in use. Whenever whales are caught their bone is sawed or cut into large pieces, which are shod with the same material. If large bones are not to be had, a substitute is found in walrus skins or rolls of sealskins, which are wetted and sewed up in a bag. This bag is given the desired form and after being frozen to a solid mass is as serviceable as the best plank. In Boothia frozen salmon are used in the same way and after having served this purpose in winter are eaten in the spring. Other sledges are made of slabs of fresh water ice, which are cut and allowed to freeze together, or of a large ice block hollowed out in the center. All these are clumsy and heavy and much inferior to the large sledge just described.

Parry (II, p. 515) states that at Igiulik the antlers are detached from the sledge in winter when the natives go sealing. The tribes of Davis Strait do not practice this custom, but use scarcely any sledge without a pair of antlers.

As to the appearance of the dogs I would refer to Parry (II, p. 515) and other writers and confine my remarks to a description of their use by the Eskimo.

As the traces are strung upon a thong, as just described, the dogs all pull at one point; for that reason they may seem, at first sight, to be harnessed together without order or regularity; but they are arranged with great care. The strongest and most spirited dog has the longest trace and is allowed to run a few feet in advance of the rest as a leader; its sex is indifferent, the choice being made chiefly with regard to strength. Next to the leader follow two or three strong dogs with traces of equal length, and the weaker and less manageable the dogs the nearer they run to the sledge. A team is almost unmanageable if the dogs are not accustomed to one another. They must know their leader, who brings them to terms whenever there is a quarrel. In a good team the leader must be the acknowledged chief, else the rest will fall into disorder and refuse to follow him. His authority is almost unlimited. When the dogs are fed, he takes the choice morsels; when two of them quarrel, he bites both and thus brings them to terms.

Generally there is a second dog which is inferior only to the leader, but is feared by all the others. Though the authority of the leader is not disputed by his own team, dogs of another team will not submit to him. But when two teams are accustomed to travel in company the dogs in each will have some regard for the leader of the other, though continuous rivalry and quarrels go on between the two leaders. Almost any dog which is harnessed into a strange team will at first be unwilling to draw, and it is only when he is thoroughly accustomed to all his neighbors and has found out his friends and his enemies that he will do his work satisfactorily. Some dogs when put into a strange team will throw themselves down and struggle and 534 howl. They will endure the severest lashing and allow themselves to be dragged along over rough ice without being induced to rise and run along with the others. Particularly if their own team is in sight will they turn back and try to get to it. Others, again, are quite willing to work with strange dogs.

Partly on this account and partly from attachment to their masters, dogs sold out of one team frequently return to their old homes, and I know of instances in which they even ran from thirty to sixty miles to reach it. Sometimes they do so when a sledge is traveling for a few days from one settlement to another, the dogs not having left home for a long time before. In such cases when the Eskimo go to harness their team in the morning they find that some of them have run away, particularly those which were lent from another team for the journey. In order to prevent this the left fore leg is sometimes tied up by a loop which passes over the neck. When one is on a journey it is well to do so every night, as some of the dogs are rather unwilling to be harnessed in the morning, thus causing a great loss of time before they are caught. In fact such animals are customarily tied up at night, while the others are allowed to run loose.

Sometimes the harnesses are not taken off at night. As some dogs are in the habit of stripping off their harness, it is fastened by tying the trace around the body. Though all these peculiarities of the dogs give a great deal of trouble to the driver, he must take care not to punish them too severely, as they will then become frightened and for fear of the whip will not work at all.

Before putting the dogs to the sledge it must be prepared and loaded. In winter the shoes of the runners are covered with a thick coat of ice, which diminishes the friction on the snow. If the shoes are of good bone, ivory, or whalebone, the icing is done with water only, the driver taking a mouthful and carefully letting it run over the shoe until a smooth cover of about one third of an inch in thickness is produced. The icicles made by the water which runs down the side of the runner are carefully removed with the snow knife, and the bottom is smoothed with the same implement and afterward somewhat polished with the mitten. Skin runners and others which have poor shoes are first covered with a mixture of moss and water or clay and water. This being frozen, the whole is iced, as has been described. Instead of pure water, a mixture of blood and water or of urine and water is frequently used, as this sticks better to the bone shoe than the former.

This done, the sledge is turned right side up and loaded. In winter, when the snow is hard, small sledges with narrow shoes are the best. In loading, the bulk of the weight is placed behind. When the snow is soft or there are wide cracks in the floe, long sledges with broad shoes are by far the best. In such cases the heaviest part of the load is placed on the middle of the sledge or even nearer the head. 535 Particularly in crossing cracks the weight must be as near the head as possible, for if the jump should be unsuccessful a heavy weight at the hind part would draw the sledge and the dogs into the water.

The load is fastened to the sledge by a long lashing (naqetarun). This is tied to the first cross bar and after passing over the load is drawn over the notch of the next bar, and so on from one notch, over the load, to a notch on the opposite side. After having been fastened in this way it is tightened. Two men are required for the work, one pulling the lashing over the notch, the other pressing down the load and lifting and lowering the thong in order to diminish the friction, thus making the pulling of the other man more effective. The end is fastened to the brow antler. Implements which are used in traveling are hung upon the antlers at the back of the sledge. In spring, when the snow is melting and water is found under it, the travelers frequently carry in their pouch a tube for drinking (Fig. 489).

Fig. 489. Tube for drinking. (National Museum, Washington. 10383.) ¼

When the sledge has been loaded the dogs are hitched to it and the driver takes up the whip and is ready for starting. The handle of the whip is about a foot or a foot and a half in length. It is made of wood, bone, or whalebone and has a lash of from twenty to twenty-five feet in length. The lash is made of walrus or ground seal hide, the lower end being broad and stiff, thus giving it greater weight and a slight springiness near the handle, which facilitates its use. A broad piece of skin clasps the handle, to which it is tied with seal thongs. Another way of making the lower part heavy is by plaiting ground seal lines for a length of a foot or a foot and a half.

When starting the driver utters a whistling guttural sound which sounds like h!h!, but cannot exactly be expressed by letters, as there is no vowel in it, and yet on account of the whistling noise in the throat it is audible at a considerable distance. The dogs, if well rested and strong, jump to their feet and start at once. If they are lazy it requires a great deal of stimulating and lashing before they make a start. If the load is heavy it is difficult to start it and the Eskimo must use some strategy to get them all to pull at once. The sledge is moved backward and forward for about a foot, so as to make a short track in which it moves easily. Then the driver sings out to the dogs, at the same time drawing the traces tight with his hands and pulling at the sledge. The dogs, feeling a weight at the traces, begin to draw, and when the driver suddenly lets go the traces the sledge receives a sudden pull and begins to move. If assistance is at hand the sledge may be pushed forward until it gets under way.

It is extremely hard work to travel with a heavy load, particularly in rough ice or on soft snow. The dogs require constant stimulating; for this purpose a great number of exclamations are in use and almost every Eskimo has his own favorite words for driving. The general exclamation, used for stimulating is the above mentioned h! h! or aq! aq! which is pressed out from the depths of the breast and the palate, the vowel being very indistinct. Others are: djua! the a being drawn very long and almost sung in a high key, or ah! pronounced in the same way; iatit! or jauksa koksa! and smacking with the tongue. If a seal is seen basking on the ice or if the sledge happens to pass a deserted snow hut, the driver says, Ha! Do you see the seal? Ai! A seal! a seal! (Ha! Takuviuk? Ai! Uto! uto!) and Ai! There is a house; a small house! (Ai! Iglu; igluaqdjung!) or, Now we go home! (Sarpoq! Sarpoq!) The latter, however, are only used when the dogs are going at a good rate.

For directing the sledge the following words are used: Aua, aua! Aua! ja aua! for turning to the right; χoiaχoi! ja χoia! for turning to the left. In addition the whip lash is thrown to the opposite side of the dogs. The leader is the first to obey the order, but a turn is made very slowly and by a long curve. If the driver wants to make a sharper turn he must jump up and run to the opposite side of the sledge, throwing the whip lash at the same time toward the team. For stopping the dogs the word Ohoha! pronounced in a deep key, is used.

If the traveling is difficult the driver must walk along at the right side of the sledge and wherever hummocks obstruct the passage he must direct it around them either by pushing its head aside or by pulling at the deer’s skull at the back. But notwithstanding all this stimulating and all the pulling the sledge is frequently stopped by striking a piece of ice or by sinking into soft snow. As soon as it sinks down to the cross bars it must be lifted out, and when the load is heavy the only means of getting on is by unloading and afterwards reloading. In the same way it must be lifted across hummocks through which a road is cut with the end of the spear, which, for this purpose, is always lashed in a place where it is handy for use, generally on the right side of the bottom of the sledge. The difficulties of traveling across heavy ice which has been subjected to heavy pressures have frequently been described. When the sledge stops the dogs immediately lie down, and if they cannot start again, though pulling with all their strength, the leader frequently looks around pitifully, as if to say, We cannot do more!

Traveling with a light sledge and strong dogs is quite different. Then the team is almost unmanageable and as soon as it is hitched up it is off at full speed. The driver sits down on the fore part and lets the whip trail along, always ready for use. Now the dogs have time enough for playing and quarreling with one another. Though 537 they generally keep their proper place in the team, some will occasionally jump over the traces of their neighbors or crawl underneath them; thus the lines become quickly entangled, and it is necessary to clear them almost every hour.

If any dog of the team is lazy the driver calls out his name and he is lashed, but it is necessary to hit the dog called, for if another is struck he feels wronged and will turn upon the dog whose name has been called; the leader enters into the quarrel, and soon the whole pack is huddled up in one howling and biting mass, and no amount of lashing and beating will separate the fighting team. The only thing one can do is to wait until their wrath has abated and to clear the traces. It is necessary, however, to lay the mittens and the whip carefully upon the sledge, for the leader, being on the lookout for the traces to be strung, may give a start when the driver is scarcely ready, and off the team will go again before the driver can fairly get hold of the sledge. If anything has dropped from it he must drive in a wide circle to the same place before he can stop the team and pick it up. On an old track it is very difficult to stop them at all. When attempting to do so the driver digs his heels into the snow to obstruct their progress and eventually comes to a stop. Then he stands in front of the sled and makes the dogs lie down by lashing their heads gently. Should the dogs start off he would be thrown upon the sledge instead of being left behind, which might easily happen should he stand alongside.

The sledge is steered with the legs, usually with the right foot of the driver, or, if it must be pulled aside from a large hummock, by pulling the head aside or by means of the deer’s antlers. If two persons are on the sledge—and usually two join for a long drive—they must not speak to each other, for as soon as the dogs hear them they will stop, turn around, sit down, and listen to the conversation. It has frequently been said that the method of harnessing is inconvenient, as the dogs cannot use their strength to the best advantage; but whoever has driven a sledge himself will understand that any other method would be even more troublesome and less effective. On smooth ice and hard snow any method of harnessing could be used; but, on rough ice, by any other method every cross piece would quickly break on attempting to cross the hummocks. Frequently the traces catch a projecting point and the dogs are then pulled back and thrown against the ice or under the sledge if the trace does not break. If for any reason a dog should hang back and the trace should trail over the snow the driver must lift it up to prevent it from being caught by the sledge runner, else the dog will be dragged in the same way as if the trace were caught by a hummock. Many dogs are able in such cases to strip off their harnesses and thus escape being dragged along, as the team cannot be stopped quickly enough to prevent this. Besides the driver must see to it that the dogs do 538 not step across their traces, which in such cases would run between their hind legs, for should this happen the skin might be severely chafed. If the driver sees a trace in this position he runs forward and puts it back without stopping the team. Particular attention must be paid to this matter when the dogs rise just before starting.

The sledges are not used until the ice is well covered with snow, as the salt crystals formed on the top of the ice in the autumn hurt the dogs’ feet and cause sores that heal slowly. Late in the spring, when the snow has melted and sharp ice needles project everywhere, the feet of the dogs are covered with small pieces of leather, with holes for the nails, which are tied to the leg. As they are frequently lost and the putting on of these shoes takes a long time, their use is very inconvenient.

At this season numerous cracks run through the floe. They are either crossed on narrow snow bridges which join the edges at convenient places or on a drifting piece of ice by floating across.

A few more words in conclusion concerning the training of the dogs. The Eskimo rarely brings up more than three or four dogs at the same time. If the litter is larger than this number the rest are sold or given away. The young dogs are carefully nursed and in winter they are even allowed to lie on the couch or are hung up over the lamp in a piece of skin. When about four months old they are first put to the sledge and gradually become accustomed to pull along with the others. They undergo a good deal of lashing and whipping before they are as useful as the old ones.

If food is plentiful the dogs are fed every other day, and then their share is by no means a large one. In winter they are fed with the heads, entrails, bones, and skins of seals, and they are so voracious at this time of the year that nothing is secure from their appetite. Any kind of leather, particularly boots, harnesses, and thongs, is eaten whenever they can get at it. In the spring they are better fed and in the early part of summer they grow quite fat. In traveling, however, it sometimes happens at this time of the year, as well as in winter, that they have no food for five or six days. In Cumberland Sound, Hudson Strait, and Hudson Bay, where the rise and fall of the tide are considerable, they are carried in summer to small islands where they live upon what they can find upon the beach, clams, codfish, &c. If at liberty they are entirely able to provide for themselves. I remember two runaway dogs which had lived on their own account from April until August and then returned quite fat.

The Eskimo of all these regions are very much troubled with the well known dog’s disease of the Arctic regions. The only places where it seems to be unknown are Davis Strait and Aggo. Here every man has a team of from six to twelve dogs, while in Cumberland Sound, in some winters, scarcely any have been left. (See Appendix, Note 2.)

The houses of the Eskimo differ according to the season. All the tribes from Smith Sound to Labrador and from Davis Strait to Victoria Land are in the habit of building snow houses in winter. Though they erect another more durable kind of winter house, these are more frequently in use. The principles of construction are the same everywhere. A level place is selected for erecting the snow house. To be suitable for cutting into blocks the snowbank must have been formed by a single storm, for blocks which are cut from drifts composed of several layers break when cut. It must be very fine grained, but not so hard that it cannot be readily cut with the saw or the snow knife. The whole building is constructed of blocks of about three feet or four feet in length, two feet in height, and from six inches to eight inches in thickness. They are cut with snow knives or dovetail saws, which for this reason are much in demand. The old snow knife (sulung) was made of ivory and had a slight curve (Fig. 490). 540 The blocks are cut either vertically or horizontally, the former way being more convenient if the snowdrift is deep. Two parallel cuts of the breadth and the depth of the blocks are made through the drift, and after having removed a small block the Eskimo go on cutting or sawing parallel to the surface. A cross cut is then made and the block is loosened with the point of the foot and lifted out of the bank. Vertical blocks are more easily detached from the snowdrift than horizontal ones.

Fig. 490. Various styles of snow knife. (National Museum, Washington. a, 10386; b, 10385.)

Two men unite in building a house, the one cutting the blocks, the other building. At first a row of blocks is put up in a circle, the single pieces being slanted so as to fit closely together. Then the first block is cut down to the ground and the top of the row is slanted so as to form one thread of a spiral line. The builder places the first block of the second row with its narrow side upon the first block and pushes it with his left hand to the right so that it touches the last block of the first row. Thus the snow block, which is inclined a little inward, has a support on two sides. The vertical joint is slanted with the snow knife and tightly pressed together, the new block resting on the oblique side of the former. In building on in this way the blocks receive the shape of almost regular trapezoids. Every block is inclined a little more inward than the previous one, and as the angle to the vertical becomes greater the blocks are only kept in their places by the neighboring ones. In order to give them a good support the edges are the more slanted as their angle is greater.

This method of building is very ingenious, as it affords the possibility of building a vault without a scaffold. If the blocks were placed in parallel rows, the first block of a new row would have no support, while by this method each reclines on the previous one. When the house has reached a considerable height the man who cuts the blocks outside must place them upon the last row. The builder supports them with his head and pushes them to their proper places. The key block and those which are next to it are either cut inside or pushed into the house through a small door cut for the purpose. The key block is generally shaped irregularly, as it is fitted into the hole which remains; usually the last two blocks are triangular. When the vault is finished the joints between the blocks are closed up by cutting down the edges and pressing the scraps into the joints. Larger openings are closed with snow blocks and filled up with loose snow pressed into the fissures. Thus the whole building becomes a tight vault, without any holes through which the warm air inside may escape. Such a snow house, about five feet high and seven feet in diameter, is used as a camp in winter journeys. It takes about two hours for two skilled men to build and finish it. For winter quarters the vaults are built from ten to twelve feet high and twelve to fifteen feet in diameter. In order to reach this height the builder 541 makes a bench on which he steps while finishing the upper part of the building.

The plan of a snow house of the Davis Strait tribes is a little different from that of the Hudson Bay and the Iglulik tribes.

I shall first describe the former according to my own observations (Figs. 491 and 492).

The entrance to the main building is formed by two, or less frequently by three, small vaults. The first one (uadling) is a small dome about six feet in height, with a door two and a half feet in height; the second one is a long passage of equal height formed by an elliptical vault (igdluling). Its roof is generally arched, but sometimes the top is cut off evenly and covered with slabs of snow. Both vaults together form the entrance and are called toqsung. A door about three feet high leads into the main room, the floor of which is about nine inches above that of the former. Two very small vaults are always attached to the whole building (Fig. 491). One is situated alongside of the uadling and the igdluling, and serves as a storeroom for clothing and harness (sirdloang). It is not connected with the interior of the hut, but one of the blocks of the vault can be taken out and is made to serve as a lid. On the left side of the entrance of the main building is another small vault (igdluarn), which is accessible from the main building. It serves for keeping spare meat and blubber. Frequently there is a second igdluarn on the opposite side, and sometimes even a third one in the igdluling. Another appendix of the main building is frequently used, the audlitiving (Fig. 491 and Fig. 492 c). It is a vault similar to the sirdloang and is attached to the back of the main room. It serves for storing up meat for future use.

Directly over the entrance a window is cut through the wall, either square or more frequently forming an arch, which is generally covered with the intestines of ground seals, neatly sewed together, the 542 seams standing vertically (Fig. 493). In the center there is a hole (qingang) through which one can look out. In some instances a piece of fresh water ice is inserted in the hole. According to Ross it is always used by the Netchillirmiut (II, p. 250), who make the slab by letting water freeze in a sealskin.

Fig. 492. Snow house of Davis Strait, sections.

In the rear half and on both sides of the door a bank of snow two and a half feet high is raised and cut off straight, a passage trench five feet wide and six feet long remaining. The rear half forms the bed, the adjoining parts of the side benches are the place for the lamps, while on both sides of the entrance meat and refuse are heaped up. Frequently the snowbank on which the hut is built is deep 543 enough so that the bed needs very little raising, and the passage is cut into the bank. As this is much more convenient in building, the huts are generally erected on a sloping face, the entrance lying on the lower part, which faces the beach.

Fig. 493. Section and interior of snow house.

Before the bed is arranged and the hut furnished the vault is lined with skins, frequently with the cover of the summer hut. The lining (ilupiqang) is fastened to the roof by small ropes (nirtsun), which are fastened by a toggle on the outside of the wall (Fig. 493). In the lower part of the building the lining lies close to the wall; in the upper part it forms a flat roof about two or three feet below the top of the vault. The effect of this arrangement is to prevent the warm air inside from melting the snow roof, as above the skins there is always a layer of colder air. Close to the top of the building a small hole (qangirn) is cut through the wall for ventilation. The lamps require a good draught, which is secured by this hole. The cold air enters through the door, slowly filling the passage, and after being warmed rises to the lamps and escapes through the skin cover and the hole. The moisture of the air forms long ice needles on the inside of the roof. Sometimes they fall down upon the skins, and must be immediately removed by shaking it until they glide down at the sides, else they melt and wet the room thoroughly. Frequently a high ice funnel forms around the hole from the freezing moisture of the escaping air.

The southern and western tribes rarely line the snow house. The continuous dropping from the roof, however, causes great inconvenience, and, besides, the temperature cannot be raised higher than two or three degrees centigrade above the freezing point, while in the lined houses it is frequently from ten to twenty degrees centigrade, 544 so that the latter are much more comfortable. To avoid the dropping the natives apply a cold piece of snow to the roof before the drop falls down, which at once freezes to it, the roof acquiring by this repeated process a stalactitic appearance. The eastern tribes use the lining in their permanent houses without any exception. The western and southern tribes, who leave the walls bare, heap a thick layer of loose snow over the whole building, almost covering it up, the window and the ventilating hole alone excepted. For this purpose snow shovels are used.

The edge of the bed is formed by a long pole. The surface of the snowbank which forms the foundation for the bed is covered with pieces of wood, oars, paddles, tent poles, &c. These are covered with a thick layer of shrubs, particularly Andromeda tetragona. Over these numerous heavy deerskins are spread, and thus a very comfortable bed is made.

According to Parry the arrangement in Iglulik is as follows (II, p. 501):

The beds are arranged by first covering the snow with a quantity of small stones, over which are laid their paddles, tent poles, and some blades of whalebone; above these they place a number of little pieces of network made of thin slips of whalebone, and lastly a quantity of twigs of birch and of the Andromeda tetragona.  ***The birch, they say, had been procured from the southward by way of Nuvuk.  ***There deerskins, which are very numerous, can now be spread without risk of their touching the snow.

At night, when the Eskimo go to bed, they put their clothing, their boots excepted, on the edge of the platform under the deerskins, thus forming a pillow, and lie down with the head toward the entrance. The blankets (qipiq) for their beds are made of heavy deerskins, which are sewed together, one blanket serving for a whole family. The edge of the blanket is trimmed with leather straps.

On the side benches in front of the bed is the fireplace, which consists of a stone lamp and a framework from which the pots are suspended (see Fig. 493). The lamp (qudlirn), which is made of soapstone, is a shallow vessel in the shape of a small segment of a circle. Sometimes a small space is divided off at the back for gathering in the scraps of blubber. The wick consists of hair of Eryophorum or of dried moss rubbed down with a little blubber so as to be inflammable. It is always carried by the women in a small bag. The whole vessel is filled with blubber as high as the wick, which is spread along the straight side of the vessel. It requires constant attention to keep the desired length burning without smoking, the length kindled being in accordance with the heat or light required. The trimming of the wick is done with a bit of bone, asbestus, or wood, with which the burning moss is spread along the edge of the lamp and extinguished or pressed down if the fire is not wanted or if it smokes. At the same time this stick serves to light other lamps (or pipes), the burnt point 545 being put into the blubber and then kindled. Sometimes a long, narrow vessel stands below the lamp, in which the oil that drops from the edge is collected.

In winter the blubber before being used is frozen, after which it is thoroughly beaten. This bursts the vesicles of fat and the oil comes out as soon as it is melted. The pieces of blubber are either put into the lamp or placed over a piece of bone or wood, which hangs from the framework a little behind the wick. In summer the oil must be chewed out. It is a disgusting sight to see the women and children sitting around a large vessel all chewing blubber and spitting the oil into it.

The frame of the fireplace consists of four poles stuck in the snow in a square around the lamp and four crossbars connecting the poles at the top. From those which run from the front to the back the kettle (ukusik) is suspended by two pairs of strings or thongs. It is made of soapstone and has a hole in each corner for the string. The kettle which is in use among the eastern tribes has a narrow rim and a wide bottom (Fig. 494), while that of the western ones is just the opposite. Parry, however, found one of this description in River Clyde (I, p. 286). When not in use it is shoved back by means of the strings. Since whalers began to visit the country a great number of tin pots have been introduced, which are much more serviceable, the process of cooking being quickened.

On the top of the frame there is always a wood or bone hoop with a net of thongs stretched across it (inetang). It serves to dry clothing, particularly boots, stockings, and mittens, over the fire. In the passage near the entrance to the hut there is frequently a small lamp (adlirn), which is very effective for warming the cold air entering through the door, and in the remotest corner in the back of the hut there is sometimes another (kidlulirn). When all the lamps are lighted the house becomes warm and comfortable.

Two small holes are frequently cut in the snowbank which forms the ledge, at about the middle of its height (see Fig. 492 a). They are closed with small snow blocks, each of which has a groove for a handle, and serve to store away anything that must be kept dry. 546 At night the entrance of the inner room is closed with a large snow block, which stands in the passage during the day.

Fig. 495. Plan of double snow house.

These huts are always occupied by two families, each woman having her own lamp and sitting on the ledge in front of it, the one on the right side, the other on the left side of the house. If more families join in building a common snow house, they make two main rooms with one entrance. The plan of such a building is seen in Fig. 495.

The plans of the Iglulik and Hudson Bay houses are different from the one described here. The difference will best be seen by comparing the plans represented in Fig. 496 and Fig. 497, which have been 547 reprinted from Hall and Parry, respectively, with the former ones. Among the eastern tribes I have never seen the beds on the side of the passage, but always at the rear of the house.

Besides these snow houses a more solid building is in use, called qarmang. On the islands of the American Archipelago and in the neighboring parts of the mainland numerous old stone foundations are found, which prove that all these islands were once inhabited by the Eskimo. It has often been said that the central tribes have forgotten the art of building stone houses and always live in snow huts. At the present time they do not build houses, but cover the walls of an old hut with a new roof whenever they take possession of it. There is no need of any new buildings, as the Eskimo always locate in the old settlements and the old buildings are quite sufficient to satisfy all their wants.

Fig. 498. Plan and sections of qarmang or stone house.

Those in good condition have a long stone entrance (ka´teng) (Fig. 498), sometimes from fifteen to twenty feet long. This is made by cutting an excavation into the slope of a hill. Its walls are covered with large slabs of stone about two and a half feet high and three feet wide, the space between the stone and the sides of the excavation being afterwards filled up with earth. The floor of the passage slopes upward toward the hut. The last four feet of the entrance are covered with a very large slab and are a little higher than the other parts of the roof of the passageway. The slab is at the same height as the benches of the dwelling room, which is also dug out, the walls being formed of stones and whale ribs. The plan of the interior is the same as that of the snow house, the bed being in the rear end of the room and the lamps on both sides of the entrance. The floor of the hut is about eight inches higher than that of the passage. The roof and the window, however, differ from those of the snow house. In the front part of the hut the rib of a whale is put up, forming an arch. A great number of poles are lashed to it and run toward the back of the house, where they rest on the top of the wall, forming, as it were, the rafters. The whole curve formed by the rib is covered with a window of seal intestines, while the poles are covered with sealskins, which are fastened in front to the whale rib. At the other end they are either fastened 549 to the ribs in the wall or, more frequently, are steadied by stones. The roof is covered with a thick layer of Andromeda, and another skin, which is fastened in the same way, is spread over both covers. This kind of hut is very warm, light, and comfortable. The stone banks forming the bed are covered as already described.

If three families occupy one house the whale’s rib which forms the window is placed a few feet farther forward than in the previous case, at the end of the large slab which forms the roof of the last part of the passage.

Fig. 499. Plan of large qarmang or stone house for three families.

By means of poles and bones a small side room is built (qareang), the ceiling of which is sewed to that of the main room (Fig. 499). The large slab which is in front of the window (at the end of the passage) is utilized as a storeroom for both families living on that side of the house, a place being left open only in the middle, where the spy hole is. In some instances this side room is inclosed in the stone walls of the hut.

Fig. 500. Plan of stone house in Anarnitung, Cumberland Sound. (From a drawing by L. Kumlien.)

Fig. 500 and Fig. 501 present sketches of plans of some of these 550 houses. From such sketches it appears that several houses might have a common entrance.

Fig. 501. Plan of group of stone houses in Pangnirtung, Cumberland Sound.

In Anarnitung I observed no passage at all for the houses, the walls being entirely above the ground and piled up with bowlders and sod. They are, however, covered in the same way as the others and the entrance is made of snow.

Fig. 502. Plan and sections of qarmang or house made of whale ribs.

A winter house built on the same plan is represented in Fig. 502. The wall is made entirely of whale ribs, placed so that their ends cross one another. The poles are tied over the top of the ribs and the whole frame is covered with the double roof described above. A few narrow snow vaults form the entrance. The front rib forms the door, and thus the hut becomes quite dark. Huts of this kind are also called qarmang or qarmaujang, i.e., similar to a qarmang.

Fig. 503. Storehouse in Ukiadliving. (From a sketch by the author.)

In Ukiadliving I found, along with a great number of fine qarmat, some very remarkable storehouses, such as are represented in Fig. 503. Structures of this kind (ikan´) consist of heavy granite pillars, on the top of which flat slabs are piled to a height of from nine to ten feet. In winter, blubber and meat are put away upon these pillars, which are sufficiently high to keep them from the dogs. Sometimes two pillars, about ten feet apart, are found near the huts. In winter the kayak is placed upon them in order to prevent it from being covered by snowdrifts or from being torn and destroyed by the dogs. In snow villages these pillars are made of snow.

The purpose of the long, kayak-like building figured by Kumlien (see Fig. 500) is unknown to me. I found a similar one, consisting of two rows of stones, scarcely one foot high but twenty feet long, 551 in Pangnirtung, Cumberland Sound, but nobody could explain its use.

In the spring, when the rays of the sun become warmer, the roofs of the snow houses fall down. At this season the natives build only the lower half of a snow vault, which is covered with skins.

Fig. 504. Plan and sections of tupiq or tent of Cumberland Sound.

Still later they live in their tents (tupiq) (Fig. 504). The framework consists of poles, which are frequently made of many pieces of wood ingeniously lashed together. The plan (Fig. 504 a) is the same 552 as that of the winter houses. At the edge of the bed and at the entrance two pairs of converging poles are erected. A little below the crossing points two cross strips are firmly attached, forming the ridge. Behind the poles, at the edge of the bed, six or eight others are arranged in a semicircle resting on the ground and on the crossing point of those poles. The frame is covered with a large skin roof fitting tightly. The back part, covering the bed, is made of sealskins; the fore part, between the two pairs of poles, of the thin membrane which is split from the skins (see p. 519), and admits the light. The door is formed by the front part of the cover, the left side (in entering) ending in the middle of the entrance, the right one overlapping it, so as to prevent the wind from blowing into the hut. The cover is steadied with heavy stones (Fig. 504 c). In Cumberland Sound and the more southern parts of Baffin Land the back of the hut is inclined at an angle of 45°; in Davis Strait it is as steep as 60°, or even more. In the summer tent the bed and the side platforms are not raised, but only separated from the passage by means of poles.

Fig. 505. Plan and sections of tupiq or tent of Pond Bay.

Farther north and west, in Pond Bay, Admiralty Inlet, and Iglulik, where wood is scarce, the Eskimo have a different plan of construction (Fig. 505). A strong pole is set up vertically at the end of the passage, a small cross piece being lashed to its top. The entrance is formed by an oblique pole, the end of which lies in the ridge of the roof. The latter is formed by a stout thong which runs over the top of both poles and is fastened to heavy stones on both sides. If wood is wanting, then poles are made from the penis bones of the walrus. Parry found one of these tents at River Clyde, on his first expedition, and describes it as follows (I, p. 283):

The tents which compose their summer habitations, are principally supported by a long pole of whalebone, 14 feet high, standing perpendicularly, with 4 or 5 feet of it projecting above the skins which form the roof and sides. The length of the tent is 17, and its breadth from 7 to 9 feet, the narrowest part being next the door, and widening towards the inner part, where the bed, composed of a quantity of the small shrubby plant, the Andromeda tetragona, occupies about one-third of the whole apartment. The pole of the tent is fixed where the bed commences, and the latter is kept separate by some pieces of bone laid across the tent from side to side. The door which faces the southwest, is also formed of two pieces of bone, with the upper ends fastened together, and the skins are made to overlap in that part of the tent, which is much lower than the inner end. The covering is fastened to the ground by curved pieces of bone, being generally parts of the whale.

This kind of tent differs from the one described by me only in the construction of its door.

I could not find a description of the tent of the Hudson Bay Eskimo. There is only one illustration in Klutschak (p. 137) and one in Ross (II, p. 581) representing tents of the Netchillirmiut. In the former there are a few conical tents, such as are used by the eastern tribes before a sufficient number of skins for a large tent can be 553 procured. The same kind is represented in Ross’s book. The other tent drawn by Klutschak is similar to the Iglulik one, but the arrangement of the poles in the back part is invisible. The entrance is formed by two converging poles and a rope runs over the ridge and is tied to a rock.

The small tents which are used in the spring are made of a few converging poles forming a cone. They are covered with a skin roof.

Fig. 506. Plan and sections of double winter tent, Cumberland Sound.

Some families, instead of building snow houses or stone houses in winter, cover the summer tent with shrubs and spread over them a second skin cover. In front of the tent snow vaults are built to protect the interior from the cold. In some instances several families join their tents (Fig. 506). In the front part where the tents adjoin each other the covers are taken away and replaced by a whale rib which affords a passage from one room to the other.

The plans of the feasting houses, will be found in another place (p. 600).

The styles of clothing differ among the tribes of the Central Eskimo. In summer the outer garment is always made of sealskins, though the women wear deerskins almost the entire year. The sealskin clothing is made from the skins of Pagomys fœtidus, yearlings being used, and also from those of Callocephalus, if they can be obtained. The latter particularly are highly valued by the natives. The inner garment is made either of the skin of the young seal in the white coat or of a light deerskin. It is cut entirely with the woman’s knife and is sewed with deer sinews.

The prettiest clothing is made by the tribes of Davis Strait. Both men and women wear boots, trousers, and jackets. The style of the men’s clothing may be seen from Figs. 397 and 399, which represent men in the winter clothing, and 412 and 435, which show them in summer clothing. The summer boots are made from the hairless skin of Pagomys fœtidus, the soles from that of Phoca, the sole reaching to the top of the foot. The leg of the boot is kept up by a string passing through its rim and firmly tied around the leg. At the ankle a string passes over the instep and around the foot to prevent the heel from slipping down. On the top of the foot a knob (qaturang) is sometimes attached to the string as an ornament (Fig. 507). The stocking is made of light deerskin. It reaches above the knee, where it has a trimming made from the white parts of a deerskin, whereas the boot ends below the knee. Next to the stocking is a slipper, which is made of birdskin, the feathers being worn next to the foot. This is covered with a slipper of sealskin, the hair side worn outward and the hair pointing toward the heel. The boot finishes the footgear. In the huts the birdskin slippers are frequently laid aside.

The breeches of the men consist of an outside and an inside pair, the former being worn with the hair outside; the latter, which are made of the skins of young seals or of deer, with the hair inside. They are fastened round the body by means of a string and reach a little below the knee. Their make will best be seen from the figures. Only the southern tribes trim the lower end of the trousers by sewing a piece to them, the hair of which runs around the leg, while above it runs downward. This pattern looks very pretty.

The jacket does not open in front, but is drawn over the head. It 555 has a hood fitting closely to the head. The back and the front are made of a sealskin each. The hood of the Oqomiut is sharply pointed, while that of the Akudnirmiut is more rounded. The jackets are cut straight and have a slit in front. Some have a short tail behind, particularly the winter jackets. The cut of the winter clothing, which is made of deerskin, is the same as the former, and it is frequently trimmed with straps of deerskin. The jacket is rarely worn with the hood down, as it is only used while hunting and traveling. It is never brought into the huts, but after being cleaned from the adhering snow with the snowbeater (tiluqtung, as named by the eastern 556 tribes; arautaq, as called by Hudson Bay tribes) is kept in the storeroom outside the house.

The women’s trousers are composed of two pieces. The upper one fits tightly and covers the upper half of the thigh. It is made of the skin of a deer’s belly. The other parts are, as it were, leggings, which reach from a little below the knee to the middle of the thigh and are kept in place by a string running to the upper part of the trousers. The women’s jacket (Fig. 508) is much more neatly trimmed than that of the men. It is frequently adorned with ivory or brass beads running round the edge (Fig. 509). It has a wide and large hood reaching down almost to the middle of the body. In front the jacket has a short appendage; behind, a very long tail which trails along the ground (see Fig. 508). If a child is carried in the hood, a leather girdle fastened with a buckle (Fig. 510) is tied around the waist and serves to prevent the child from slipping down. The first specimen given in Fig. 510 is remarkable for its artistic design.

Fig. 510. Girdle buckles.
a, c, d (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.)
b (National Museum, Washington. 34125.) 1/1

Among the Akudnirmiut of Davis Strait another fashion is more frequently in use much resembling that of Iglulik. The women have a wider jacket with a broader hood, enormous boots with a flap reaching up to the hip, and breeches consisting of one piece and reaching to the knees. Unfortunately I have no drawing of this clothing and must therefore refer to Parry’s engravings, which, however, are not very well executed, and to the figures representing dolls in this costume (see Fig. 528).

When children are about a month old they are put into a jacket made from the skin of a deer fawn and a cap of the same material, their legs remaining bare, as they are always carried in their mother’s 557 hood. In some places, where large boots are in use, they are said to be carried in these. The cap is separate and is always made of the head of a fawn, the ears standing upright on each side of the head. The jacket is either quite open in front or has a short slit. Children of more than two years of age wear the same clothing, with trousers and boots (Fig. 511). When they are about eight years old they are clothed like men (Fig. 512). Girls frequently wear the same kind of dress for some time, until they are from nine to ten years old, when they assume the clothing of the women.