Ethnology of the Ungava District, Hudson Bay Territory
by Lucien M. Turner · English · Gutenberg #39659 · 516,642 chars · public domain (US)
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Title: Ethnology of the Ungava District, Hudson Bay Territory
Author: Lucien M. Turner
Editor: John Murdoch
Release date: May 9, 2012 [eBook #39659]
Language: English
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/39659
Credits: Produced by Louise Hope, Carlo Traverso, and the Online
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ETHNOLOGY OF THE UNGAVA DISTRICT, HUDSON BAY TERRITORY ***
Produced by Louise Hope, Carlo Traverso, and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
file was produced from images generously made available
by the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BnF/Gallica) at
http://gallica.bnf.fr and The Internet Archive at
http://www.archive.org)
[Transcriber's Note:
This text is intended for users whose text readers cannot use the "real"
(Unicode/UTF-8) version of the file. Characters that could not be fully
displayed have been "unpacked" and shown in brackets:
[)e] [)i] [)u] (vowel with breve or "short" sign)
[-e] (e with macron or "long" sign)
Except for [)i], all are rare. The "oe" ligature, also rare, is shown as
separate letters. The "cents" sign ¢ is used in place of the correct
character.
Bold or sans-serif type (rare) is shown =like this=. Except for footnote
markers, expanded diacritics and similar, brackets [ ] are in the
original.
Corrections and variant spellings are listed at the end of the e-text,
along with some details of vocabulary.
At the time this article was written, the Ungava district was part of
the Northwest Territories. It was transferred to Quebec in 1912. As of
spring 2012, Ungava corresponds loosely to the Nunavik administrative
division; maps may show either name.]
* * * * *
* * * *
Smithsonian Institution--Bureau Of Ethnology.
ETHNOLOGY
of the
UNGAVA DISTRICT, HUDSON BAY TERRITORY.
By LUCIEN M. TURNER.
* * * *
* * * * *
CONTENTS.
Page.
Introduction 167
Fort Chimo and the surrounding region 167
Climate 172
Auroras 173
Vegetation 173
Animal life 174
Mammals 174
Birds 175
The native inhabitants of the country--general sketch 175
The Eskimo 175
The Indians 181
Special account of the people around Fort Chimo 184
The Koksoagmyut 184
Physical characteristics 184
Diseases 187
Marriage 188
Children 190
Burial customs 191
Religion 193
Outdoor life 202
Tattooing 207
Clothing 208
Dwellings 223
Household articles 228
Food and its preparation 232
Tobacco and snuff 234
Means of transportation 235
By water 235
On land 240
Weapons and other hunting implements 246
Hunting 249
Miscellaneous implements 252
Amusements 254
Art 259
Story-telling and folklore 260
Origin of the Innuit 261
The coming of the white people 261
Origin of living things on the earth and in the water 261
Origin of the guillemots 262
Origin of the raven 262
Origin of the quadrangular spots on the loon's back 262
Origin of the gulls 263
Origin of the hawks 263
Origin of the swallow 263
The hare 263
The wolf 263
Lice 263
Origin of mosquitoes 264
Story of the man and his fox wife 264
The rivals 264
The jealous man 264
Story of the orphan boy 265
The origin of the sun, moon, and stars 266
Auroras 266
The sky 266
The winds 267
The Nenenot or "Naskopie" 267
Principal characteristics 267
Clothing 281
Preparation of the skins for clothing 292
Dwellings 298
Sweat houses 300
Household utensils, etc. 300
Tobacco and pipes 302
Means of transportation 304
By water 304
By land 308
Weapons 312
Hunting 316
Miscellaneous implements, tools, etc. 317
Amusements 320
Festivals 322
Folklore 327
Story of the wolverine and the brant 327
Story of the wolverine 327
The deer and the squirrel 328
The young man who went to live with the deer 328
The wolf's daughter going to seek her lover 330
The devil punishing a liar 333
A wolverine destroys his sister 333
The rabbit and the frog 334
The wolverine and the rock 336
Creation of people by the wolverine and the muskrat 338
Origin of the whitish spot on the throat of the marten 338
The Indian and his beaver wife 339
The venturesome hare 340
The spirit guiding a child left by its parents 342
Fate of two Indian men 343
The starving wolverine 345
The starving Indians 349
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Page.
PLATE XXXVI. View on Koksoak River 170
XXXVII. Eskimo tent 226
XXXVIII. Stone tobacco pipes 302
XXXIX. Birchbark canoe, Nenenot, Koksoak river pattern 304
XL. Nenenot snowshoe--"swallow-tail" 308
XLI. Nenenot snowshoe--"beaver-tail" 310
XLII. Nenenot snowshoe--"round-end" 312
XLIII. Doll, Indian woman, full dress, Nenenot 326
FIG. 21. Eskimo grave. 192
22. Magic doll 197
23. Belt of magic doll 198
24. Talisman attached to magic doll 199
25. Talisman 199
26. Talisman 199
27. Talisman 200
28. Eskimo woman's amulet 201
29. Eskimo birdskin cap 209
30. Eskimo man's deerskin coat (front) 210
31. Eskimo man's deerskin coat (back) 211
32. Eskimo man's sealskin coat (front) 212
33. Eskimo man's sealskin coat (side) 213
34. Eskimo woman's deerskin coat 214
35. Eskimo woman's deerskin coat 215
36. Eskimo woman's deerskin coat 215
37. Eskimo woman's deerskin coat 216
38. Eskimo woman's sealskin coat 216
39. Eskimo woman's deerskin coat 217
40. Back view of same 217
41. Eskimo boots 218
42. Eskimo shoes 219
43. Ice shoes, Hudson strait Eskimo 219
44. Long waterproof sealskin mitten 220
45. Waterproof gut frock 221
46. Snow goggles--front 222
47. Snow goggles--rear 223
48. Deserted Eskimo snowhouses near Fort Chimo 224
49. Soapstone lamp, Koksoagmyut 229
50. Soapstone lamp, Koksoagmyut 229
51. Soapstone lamp, Koksoagmyut 229
52. Frame for drying mittens 230
53. Soapstone kettle 230
54. Soapstone kettle 231
55. Wooden dish 231
56. Sealskin bucket 232
57. Sealskin cup 232
58. Tobacco pouch 234
59. Eskimo Umiak 235
60. Dog whip 244
61. Bow, East Main Eskimo (back) 246
62. Bow, East Main Eskimo (side) 246
63. Arrow, East Main Eskimo 247
64. Arrow, East Main Eskimo 247
65. Arrow, East Main Eskimo 247
66. Bow case, East Main Eskimo 248
67. Hand spear for killing seals, from kaiak, Koksoak 249
68. Toggle head for hand spear 250
69. Sealskin float 250
70. Ivory snow knife, Koksoagmyut 253
71. Back-scratcher, Koksoagmyut 253
72. Ivory needle case, Koksoagmyut 254
73. Ivory needle case, Koksoagmyut 254
74. Sealskin needle cushion, with thimble, Koksoagmyut 254
75. "Cup and ball," Koksoagmyut 256
76. Football and driver, Koksoagmyut 256
77. Dominoes, Hudson strait Eskimo 257
78. Eskimo doll, man 258
79. Eskimo doll, woman 258
80. Eskimo doll, woman 259
81. Eskimo doll, woman 259
82. Eskimo violin 259
83. Birds carved in ivory 260
84. Human figure carved in ivory 260
85. Indian medicine lodge 274
86. Indian amulet of bearskin 275
87. Indian buckskin coat, man's (front) 281
88. Indian buckskin coat, man's (back) 282
89. Detail of pattern painted on Indian garment 282
90. Detail of pattern painted on deerskin robe 283
91. Indian buckskin leggings 283
92. Indian moccasins 284
93. Indian mittens 285
94. Beaded headband, Nenenot 286
95. Man's winter coat (front) 287
96. Man's winter coat (back) 288
97. Detail of ornamentation 288
98. Man's winter coat, with hood 289
99. Man's winter coat, with hood 290
100. Nenenot woman in full winter dress 291
101. Sealskin headband, Nenenot 292
102. Skin scraper (front), Nenenot 292
103. Skin scraper (side), Nenenot 292
104. Skin-cleaning tool, Nenenot 293
105. Skin-cleaning tool (iron-bladed), Nenenot 294
106. Paint stick, Nenenot 296
107. 296
108. Paint stick, Nenenot 296
109. Paint stick, Nenenot 297
110. Paint stick, Nenenot 297
111. Paint cup, Nenenot 297
112. Paint cup, Nenenot 297
113. Paint cup, Nenenot 298
114. Nenenot Indian tent 298
115. Wooden bucket, Nenenot 301
116. Birchbark basket, Nenenot 301
117. Birchbark basket, Nenenot 301
118. Stone pestle, Nenenot 302
119. Wooden spoon or ladle, Nenenot 302
120. Wooden spoon or ladle, Nenenot 302
121. Wooden spoon or ladle, Nenenot 303
122. Wooden spoon or ladle, Nenenot 303
123. Stone tobacco pipe 304
124. Pipe cleaner, Nenenot 304
125. Spoon for applying grease to canoe 306
126. Toboggan, Nenenot, side view 307
127. Toboggan, Nenenot, from above 307
128. Nenenot snowshoe, single bar 308
129. Nenenot snowshoe, single bar 309
130. Snowshoe needle, Nenenot 310
131. Wooden snowshoe, Little Whale river 311
132. Bow, Nenenot 312
133. Arrow, Nenenot 313
134. Arrow, Nenenot 313
135. Arrow, Nenenot 313
136. Arrow, Nenenot 313
137. Deer lance, Nenenot 314
138. White whale spear, Little Whale river 314
139. Point of white whale spear enlarged 314
140. Reindeer snare, Nenenot 315
141. Crooked knife, Nenenot 317
142. Awl, Nenenot 318
143. Snow shovel, Nenenot 318
144. Ice scoop, Nenenot 318
145. 319
146. Comb, with birchbark case and cleaner 320
147. Boards for woman's hair 320
148. Swimming board 321
149. Fishhook and line 321
150. Cup and ball, Nenenot 324
151. Drum, Nenenot 324
152. Drum, Little Whale river 325
153. Rattle, Nenenot 326
154. Target, reindeer, buck 326
155. Target, reindeer, doe 326
ETHNOLOGY OF THE UNGAVA DISTRICT, HUDSON BAY TERRITORY.
By Lucien M. Turner.
(Edited by John Murdoch.)
INTRODUCTION.
Ungava bay is on the northern coast of old Labrador--the last great
bight of the strait between the ocean and the mouth of Hudson bay. Its
chief affluent is Koksoak or South river, which is several hundred miles
long and takes its rise in a picturesque festoonery of lakes looped
through the highlands half way down to Quebec.
FORT CHIMO AND THE SURROUNDING REGION.
Fort Chimo is in longitude 68° 16´ west of Greenwich and latitude 58° 8´
north. The post is on the right bank of the Koksoak river, about 27
miles from its mouth. The elevation of the level tract on which the
houses are situated is but a few feet above high-water mark. The
location was selected on account of its comparative dryness, and also
because the river affords a safer anchorage in that vicinity than lower
down.
The early Moravian missionaries, long before established on the Atlantic
coast, desired to extend their labors for the conversion of the Eskimo
to their teachings. About the year 1825 a vessel ascended the Koksoak
river for the purpose of selecting a new missionary station. Nearly
opposite Fort Chimo is a beacon, yet standing, erected by the people of
that vessel. Their reception among the natives was such that they gave a
glowing account of it on their return. The Hudson Bay Company
immediately took steps to erect a trading post upon the river, and a
small party was sent in the year 1831 from Moose Factory to establish a
trading post where the trade would appear to promise future development.
The men remained there, obtaining a precarious subsistence, as the
vessel delivering them supplies visited that place only once in two
years. Their houses were simple, consisting of a single structure for
the official in charge, another for the servants, and two more for the
storage of goods. A palisade was erected around the houses to prevent
the intrusion of the natives, Indians and Eskimo, who were so lately at
war with each other that the rancorous feeling had not subsided and
might break out afresh at any moment without warning. The remnants of
the palisade were yet visible in 1882. The establishment of this trading
post had a pacifying influence upon the natives, who soon found they
could do better by procuring the many valuable fur-bearing animals than
by engaging in a bloody strife, which the traders always deprecate and
endeavor to prevent or suppress. After many trials to establish an
overland communication with the stations on Hamilton inlet, it was found
to be impracticable, and in 1843 the station was abandoned.
John M'Lean, in a work entitled "Twenty-five Years in the Hudson's Bay
Territory,"[1] gives an account of that portion of the country that came
under his knowledge from the year 1838 to 1843.
[Footnote 1: Two vols. in one. London, 1849.]
In the year 1866 the steamer _Labrador_ was built and sent with a party
to reestablish the post at Fort Chimo. Since 1866 the post has been a
paying station, and in later years a good profit has been made.
Fort Chimo is the chief trading station of the Ungava district. The
Ungava district proper is the area embraced by the watershed whose
outflow drains into Ungava bay. The eastern boundary is formed by the
foothills on the west side of the coast range, which is the western
limit of Labrador. This range has a trend northwest and southeast to
latitude 60°, where it makes a somewhat abrupt angle and pursues a
nearly north course, terminating with Cape Chidley and the Buttons,
the latter a low group of islets some 7 miles north of the cape. The
southern boundary is the "Height of Land," near latitude 55°. This
region is estimated to be from 1,000 to 3,000 feet above sea level. The
greater portion of it is comparatively level, and on its surface are
innumerable lakes of various sizes, some of which are quite large.
The western boundary is not so well known in the southern part of the
region, as it has been seldom traversed. It seems to be a high elevation
extending toward the north-northwest, as numerous streams run from the
southwest and west toward the central or Koksoak valley. Eskimo who have
traversed the region many times report that the elevated land abruptly
ends near 58° 30´, and that there is formed a wide swampy tract,
estimated to be about 80 miles wide, which opens to the northeast and
southwest. The northwestern portion of the district is a great area
abounding in abrupt hills and precipitous mountains of various heights.
These heights, estimated to range no higher than 2,600 feet, terminate
abruptly on the western end of the strait, and the numerous islands in
that portion of the water are, doubtless, peaks of this same range
continuing to the northwest.
It will be thus seen that the district of Ungava is a huge amphitheater
opening to the north. The interior of the district is excessively varied
by ridges and spurs of greater or less elevation. The farther south one
travels, the higher and more irregularly disposed are the hills and
mountains. These spurs are usually parallel to the main ranges, although
isolated spurs occur which extend at right angles to the main range. The
tops of the higher elevations are covered with snow for the entire year.
The summits of the lower ones are shrouded with snow as early as the 1st
of September, and by the 1st of October the snow line descends nearly to
their bases. The lower lands are full of swampy tracts, lakes, and
ponds.
The more elevated regions are totally destitute of vegetation, except
the tripe des roches, which gives to the hills a somber color, anything
but inspiring. Fully three-fourths of the more elevated region is, with
the exception of black lichens, barren rock. Everywhere is the evidence
of long continued glacial action. The southern exposures of all the
hills show the same character of wearing, and, in many instances, a fine
polish on the rocks forming their bases. This smoothness extends nearly
to the summits of the higher peaks. These again are somewhat rougher and
often broken into jagged, angular fragments, frequently of immense size.
The more moderate elevations are usually rounded summits on whose higher
portions may be found huge bowlders of rock having a different character
from that upon which they rest, proving that they were carried there by
masses of ice in the glacial ages. The northern extremity of all the
ridges and spurs indicate that the glacial sheet moved to the
north-northwest, for these portions of the rocks are so jagged and sharp
edged as to appear to have been broken but yesterday.
The rivers of this district are numerous and several are of great size,
although but two of them are navigable for more than 100 miles, and this
only for boats of light draft.
The river usually known as George's river (Kan´gûk¢lua´luksoak) is the
largest on the eastern side. This stream takes its rise about latitude
55° and pursues a moderately tortuous course nearly northward and falls
into the eastern side of Ungava Bay. It has a wide bay-like mouth
narrowing rapidly at the mouth proper. Swift rapids are formed here on
account of an island near the center. Beyond this the river expands and
has an average width of half a mile for a distance of about 18 miles
where the river bends eastward and forms rapids for over 2 miles. It is
navigable for the steamer _Labrador_ only about 12 miles. Beyond the
rapids it runs tolerably smooth and deep for nearly 40 miles and thence
to the source is a series of rapids and falls, rendering portages
frequent, and making it utterly impracticable for even a heavy skiff to
ascend beyond 70 miles from the mouth. Indians assert that high falls
occur about 150 miles from the mouth of the George's river. The water is
said to fall from a terrific height, almost perpendicularly, and it
causes the ground to tremble so that the thundering noise may be heard
for more than a day's journey from it.
The tide at the mouth of George's river rises 53 feet, and at the
Anchorage, opposite the newly established station of Fort George, some
12 miles from its mouth, 42 feet.
Whale river is the next important river toward the east. Off the mouth
of this river is a huge island, locally known as Big island. This high
island extends parallel to the course of the river, and a reef,
connecting its upper end with the mainland, becomes dry at low water.
The course of Whale river is not well known. About 40 miles up this
stream it suddenly contracts and becomes a mere creek, forming the
outlet of a large lake, whose position is not satisfactorily determined.
It is to the banks of this lake that certain families of the Indians
repair for summer fishing.
The next large river is the Koksoak. This stream is the largest in the
district. It takes its rise from lakes situated on the plateau--the
"Height of Land,"--and pursues a course having a general direction
north-northeast. On emerging from the lake it is rather small, but forks
and unites again about 40 miles below. The current is sluggish at the
upper end, and the eastern branch is so narrow that the Indians have to
part the overhanging alders and willows to afford their canoes a
passage. This branch is said to be the shorter way to the lake and is
not so difficult to ascend, the eastern branch being shallow and
containing a number of rapids.
Below the junction of the branches the river rapidly becomes larger and
contains several very high falls, below which the river flows northwest
for a couple of hundred yards and then curves to the north-northeast for
a distance of 5 miles. This portion is only about 700 feet wide. It then
turns abruptly westward and rushes swiftly through a narrow gorge only
200 feet wide for a distance of about 7 miles. This course is noted for
several rapids, through which a boat can not make its way without great
difficulty. At the end of this 7-mile run the river again bends abruptly
to the east, and continues that course with little northing until the
last bend, some 65 miles below, is reached. At the lower end of the
7-mile run the ledges and reefs are too numerous to count. From this
place to the mouth of the Larch river the Koksoak is obstructed by
islands, bars, and shoals. Below these, however, it becomes quite broad,
until nearly opposite the high point or promontory below the mouth of
the Larch (Pl. XXXVI). From this locality it is monotonous till the last
bend is reached, some 4 miles above Fort Chimo, where it suddenly turns
to the north and pursues that direction to the sea with little
variation. At the last bend, however, a large island, locally known as
Big island, not only obstructs but ends navigation for boats drawing
over 6 feet. Small boats, such as skiffs and native boats, ascend to the
lower end of 7-mile run. The principal obstruction to travel in any kind
of vessel in the Koksoak from Big island to the mouth of the Larch river
is the presence of two falls or rapids about 40 miles from Fort Chimo.
[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY ELEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XXXVI
VIEW ON KOKSOAK RIVER.]
The extreme rise and fall of the tide at the mouth of the river is 62
feet 3 inches. The usual rise and fall is from 8 to 12 feet less,
depending on the stage of the river. At Fort Chimo the tide rises as
much as 31 feet. The backwater is held in check as far as the upper
rapids in a common stage of water, and during a high rise in the month
of June the water is "backed" some 3 miles beyond the upper rapids.
The branches of the Koksoak river are few and unimportant. The larger
tributary is the Larch river. It is a rapid and almost unnavigable
stream of variable depth, mostly shallow, and 100 to nearly 400 yards
wide.
At about 40 miles from its mouth the Larch forks, the lower or southwest
fork draining the eastern sides of the same mountains whose western
slopes are drained by the Little Whale river. This southwest fork of the
Larch river is quite small and scarcely capable of being ascended,
although it may, with great caution, be descended. This is the course
followed by the Little Whale river Indians when they traverse the
country to join the Naskopies of the Koksoak valley. The northwest
branch of the Larch is still smaller and is reported to issue from the
swampy tract of land in about latitude 58° 30´.
The next large river is the Leaf. Its mouth is about 34 miles northwest
of Fort Chimo, and it flows into a peculiarly shaped bay named
Tass´iyak, or "like a lake." The length of the river proper is estimated
to be but 40 miles, flowing from a very long and narrow lake, having its
longer axis extending southwestward and draining the greater part of the
swampy tract lying in latitude 58° 30´. The southwestern portion of this
tract is merely an area covered with innumerable small lakes so
intimately connected by short water courses that it is difficult to
determine whether water or land constitutes the greater part of the
area. The rivers to the west are of less importance and drain the rugged
area forming the northwestern portion of the district, or that part
lying under the western third of Hudson strait.
The principal portion of Hudson strait that came under my observation is
Ungava bay. This bay is a pocket-shaped body of water lying south of the
strait and toward its eastern end. Soundings in various portions of this
bay indicate a depth of 28 to 70 fathoms for the central area. The
bottom appears to be uniformly the washings from the freshwater streams.
The extreme tides of Hudson strait tend to produce the most violent
currents in this bay. Opposite the entrance of Leaf river bay is a
whirlpool of considerable size, which causes much trouble to navigation.
It is safe enough at high water but very dangerous at half-tide.
The large island known as Akpatok lies in such a position as to break
much of the current along the south side of the middle of the strait,
but to give additional force to the currents at either end. This island
is about 100 miles long and has an average width of 18 miles. It is the
largest island in the strait proper.
The coast line of the northwest portion of the mainland is imperfectly
known, as is the western coast forming the eastern shore of Hudson bay.
Navigation in any portion of Hudson strait is attended with much danger,
not alone from the tremendous energy of the tides but also from the
quantity of ice to be found at all times. During the months of August
and September the strait is comparatively free from large fields of ice,
but after that date the harbors, coves, and other anchorages are apt to
be frozen up in a single night.
CLIMATE.
The temperature is controlled by the direction of the wind. The warmest
winds are southeast, south, and southwest during the summer. The
northeast winds bring (if backing) fog, rain, or snow; the north wind is
usually cold and disposed to disperse the clouds. The northwest wind is
always very cold in winter and chilly in summer. Westerly winds are
moderate in winter and summer. The southerly winds are warm at all
seasons if blowing hard, but very cold if blowing lightly in winter.
I think the coldest light winds of the winter are from a point little
west of south. They are doubtless due to the cold from the elevated
region--the Height of Land.
The greatest amount of cloudiness occurs in the spring and fall; rather
less in July and August, and least during December, January, and
February. The average cloudiness for the entire year is not less than
eighty-two hundredths of the visible sky.
Sleet falls mostly from the middle of September to the beginning of
December. Snow then succeeds it and continues to be the only form of
precipitation until the middle of April, when sleet and snow fall until
the first rain sets in. The season of rain is very erratic. It may rain
by the first of May, but rarely does. Snow falls every month in the
year; the 2d of July and the 6th of August were the dates farthest apart
for this form of precipitation. The character of the rain is usually
moderate to hard for the summer showers; although several notable
exceptions of abundant dashes occur during late June and all of July.
The August and September rains are usually light to moderate, but often
persistent for several days. The snowfalls are light to heavy in
character, rarely, however, lasting more than twenty-four hours. The
sleet is usually precipitated in severe squalls. The lower grounds are
permanently covered with snow by the 1st of December, this covering
remaining until the 10th of June. At the latter date only the heavier
drifts and the snow of the ravines remain. It entirely disappears by the
last of July at all elevations no higher than that of Fort Chimo.
The higher hills retain snow until the last of August, but none is to be
seen in the vicinity of Fort Chimo after that date. By the middle of
September snow again covers the tops of the distant high hills.
Fogs rarely occur so far inland as Fort Chimo. Those occurring are in
July and August. At times they are very dense; and, as they form during
the earliest hours of the day, they are usually dissipated by 4 to 7
a. m. While the ice is setting in the river, and driven back and forth
by the tides, huge volumes of steam arise from the inky water and are
spread over the land by the light winds prevailing at that season. This
moisture deposited on the bushes and trees forms a most beautiful sight.
AURORAS.
Auroras may be seen on most of the clear nights of the year. The month
of June is, on account of its light nights, the only month in which an
aurora is not observable.
VEGETATION.
The northern limit of trees on the Labrador coast is in latitude 57°.
Here the conifers are stunted and straggling. Beyond the coast range
they attain a slightly higher altitude and thence continue to a point
about thirty miles north of the mouth of George's river. On the western
side of the mouth of this river the trees are pushed back 15 to 20 miles
from the sea. At the mouth of Whale river, the trees attain a height of
30 to 50 feet on the eastern (right) bank and within 2 miles of the
shore. On the left bank the trees do not approach to within 10 to 15
miles of the coast. At the mouth of False river they form a triangular
extension and attain considerable size, due in great measure to the
peculiar formation of a huge amphitheater whose north wall serves as an
admirable protection against the cold winds from the bay. On the western
side of False river the tree line extends in a southwesterly direction
across the Koksoak and to the banks of the Leaf river nearly at its
source from the large lake. From the south side of this lake the trees
are very much scattered and attain inconsiderable size, scarcely fitted
for other uses than fuel.
A line from this lake southwest to the eastern shore of Hudson bay forms
the northern limit of trees for the northwest portion of the region. The
people (Eskimo only) who dwell north of this line are dependent upon the
stunted willows and alders, growing in the deeper ravines and valleys
having a southern exposure. Large pieces of wood are much sought for by
the Eskimo of the northwest portion, for use in constructing their
kaiaks, umiaks and paddles, as well as spear shafts and smaller
requirements for which the distorted stems of willow and alder will not
suffice.
South of the line given as the northern limit of trees the growth slowly
attains greater size and extension of area. The timber north of the
Height of Land is comparatively small, the spruce and larch rarely
attaining a size greater than 12 to 15 inches at the ground and rapidly
tapering up for 2 feet or so above the surface. Above the height of 2
feet the stems slowly taper and, in a few instances, produce symmetrical
stems for more than 15 feet. The trees growing within 40 miles of Fort
Chimo seldom exceed 10 inches in diameter, and of the larger trunks the
logs are selected to form the material from which the walls of all the
buildings at that place are constructed.
The alders, willows, and a few other bushes attain a greater or less
size, depending upon the situation and amount of protection afforded.
I have seen as large stems of these shrubs growing within a mile of Fort
Chimo as I have seen at either Davis inlet or Rigolet.
The flowering plants are sparsely scattered over the northern areas, and
then only in most suitable soils. The ground remains frozen from the
last of October--earlier some seasons--to the last of May, or even into
the middle of June. The appearance of the annuals is sudden, and they
rapidly attain their full size and quickly fall before the chilling
winds of autumn.
ANIMAL LIFE.
MAMMALS.
The marine mammals alone appear to be well known, but the number of
cetaceans can certainly be increased above the number usually reported
inhabiting the waters immediately bordering upon the region.
The phocids are best known for the reason that off the shores of
southeast Labrador the pursuit of species of this family is carried on
each spring to an extent probably surpassing that anywhere else on the
face of the globe.
At the mouth of Little Whale river, the white whale is taken to the
number of 500 each year, although the capture is steadily decreasing.
The Indians here do the greater part of the labor of driving, killing,
flaying, and preserving them. At Fort Chimo another station for the
pursuit of white whales is carried on. Here the Eskimo do the driving
and killing, while the Indians perform the labor of removing the blubber
and rendering it fit for the oil tanks into which it is placed to put it
beyond the action of the weather. The skin of the white whale is tanned
and converted into a leather of remarkably good quality, especially
noted for being nearly waterproof.
Of the land mammals, the reindeer is probably the most abundant of all.
It is found in immense numbers in certain localities, and forms for many
of the inhabitants the principal source of subsistence, while to nearly
all the residents its skins are absolutely necessary to protect them
from the severity of the winter.
The black, white and brown bears are common enough in their respective
areas. The former rarely ranges beyond the woodlands, never being found
so far north as Fort Chimo. The white bear is common in the northern
portions bordering the sea and is occasionally found as far south as the
strait of Belleisle, to which it has been carried on icebergs or fields
of ice. Akpatok island and the vicinity of Cape Chidley are reported to
be localities infested with these brutes. The brown or barren-ground
bear appears to be restricted to a narrow area and is not plentiful,
yet is common enough to keep the Indian in wholsome dread of its vicious
disposition when enraged.
The smaller mammals occur in greater or less abundance according to the
quality and quantity of food to be obtained. The wolves, foxes, and
wolverines are pretty evenly distributed throughout the region. The
hares are found in the wooded tracts for the smaller species and on the
barren regions for the larger species.
BIRDS.
The actual residents were ascertained to be less than twenty species for
the northern portion of the Ungava district.
Of the actual residents the two species of the genus _Lagopus_ are the
most abundant of all birds in the region, and form an important article
of food for all classes of people inhabiting the district. The winter
exerts an important influence on the smaller resident species. During
the winter of 1882-'83 the number of the four species obtained of the
genus _Acanthis_ was almost incredible. Their notes might be heard at
any time during that season, which was cold, though regularly so, and
not specially stormy. In the winter of 1883-'84 not a single individual
was observed from the middle of November to the last of March. The
same remarks may well apply to the white-winged crossbill (_Loxia
leucoptera_), which was very abundant the first winter, but during
the last winter a very small flock only was observed and these were
apparently vagrants.
Among the water birds, certain species which were expected to occur were
conspicuously absent. The character of the country forbids them rearing
their young, as there is little to feed upon; and only a few breed in
the immediate vicinity of Fort Chimo. Among the gulls, _Larus argentatus
smithsonianus_ is certainly the only one breeding in abundance within
Ungava bay. Of the terns, the Arctic tern (_Sterna paradiseæ_) was the
only one ascertained to breed in Hudson strait. I am not certain that
they do breed there every year. Although I saw them in early July, 1883,
under conditions that led me to believe that they were on their way to
their nests, yet it was not until 1884 that a number of eggs were
secured near that locality.
Of the smaller waders, but two species were actually ascertained to
breed in the vicinity of Fort Chimo, yet two or three other species were
observed under such circumstances as to leave no doubt that they also
breed there.
THE NATIVE INHABITANTS OF THE COUNTRY--GENERAL SKETCH.
THE ESKIMO.
The northern portions of the coast of the region under consideration are
inhabited by the Eskimo, who designate themselves, as usual, by the term
"Innuit," people (plural of innuk, "a person"). That they have been much
modified by contact with the whites is not to be doubted, and it is
equally certain that their language is constantly undergoing
modifications to suit the purposes of the missionary and trader, who,
not being able to pronounce the difficult guttural speech of these
people, require them to conform to their own pronunciation. The region
inhabited by the Innuit is strictly littoral. Their distribution falls
properly into three subdivisions, due to the three subtribal
distinctions which they maintain among themselves. The first subdivision
embraces all the Innuit dwelling on the Labrador coast proper and along
the south side of Hudson strait to the mouth of Leaf river, which flows
into Ungava bay.
These people apply the term Sû hi´ n[)i] myut to themselves and are thus
known by the other subdivisions. This term is derived from Sû hi´ nûk,
the sun, and the latter part of the word, meaning people (literally
"those that dwell at or in"); hence, people of the sun, sunny side,
because the sun shines on them first. At the present time these people
are confined to the seashore and the adjacent islands, to which they
repair for seals and other food. South of Hamilton inlet I could learn
of but one of these people.
The Innuit of pure blood do not begin to appear until the missionary
station of Hopedale is reached. Here a number of families dwell,
although mostly at the instigation of the missionaries. Between this
station and Hebron are several other Moravian missionary stations, at
each of which dwell a greater or less number of pure Innuit. North of
Hebron to Cape Chidley there are but few families, some seven in all,
embracing a population of less than 40 souls. On the west side of Cape
Chidley, as far as the mouth of George's river, only about eight
families live. These with the George's river Innuit comprise less than
50 individuals. There is a stretch of coast bordering Ungava bay, from
George's river to the Koksoak river, which is uninhabited.
The Koksoak river people include only four or five families and number
less than 30 souls. The next people are those dwelling at the mouth of
Leaf river, but they are more properly to be considered under the next
subdivision.
The exact number of the Sûh[)i]n[)i]myut could not be definitely
determined. They are subdivided into a number of small communities,
each bearing a name compounded of the name of their home and myut, "the
people of."
The inhabitants of Cape Chidley are known as Ki l[)i]n´[)i]g myut, from
the word ki l[)i]n´[)i]k, wounded, cut, incised, lacerated; hence,
serrated, on account of the character of the rough rocks and mountains.
The natives of George's river are known as Kan´gûk¢lua´luksoagmyut;
those of the Koksoak river are known as Koksoagmyut.
The second subdivision includes the Innuit dwelling on the area lying
between the mouth of Leaf river, thence northward, and along the south
side of Hudson strait. Their western and southern limit extends to about
latitude 60°.
These Innuit are known by the other subdivisions as Ta hág myut. They
apply the same term to themselves. The word is derived from Tá hak,
a shadow; hence people of the shade or shadow as distinguished from the
Sû h[)i]´ n[)i] myut, or people of the light or sunshine. These people
are but little influenced by contact with the white traders, who apply
to them the term "Northerners." Their habits and customs are primitive,
and many appear to be entirely distinct from the customs of their
neighbors south and east. The character of the region in which they
dwell is very rugged. Huge mountain spurs and short ranges ramify in
every direction, forming deep valleys and ravines, along which these
people must travel to reach the trading station of Fort Chimo of the
Ungava district, or else to Fort George of the Moose district.
The distance to the former is so great that only three, four, or five
sledges are annually sent to the trading post for the purpose of
conveying the furs and other more valuable commodities to be bartered
for ammunition, guns, knives, files and other kinds of hardware, and
tobacco. Certain persons are selected from the various camps who have
personally made the trip and know the trail. These are commissioned to
barter the furs of each individual for special articles, which are
mentioned and impressed upon the mind of the man who is to effect the
trade. The principal furs are those of the various foxes. Among them are
to be found the best class of silver foxes, and wolverenes and wolves.
Those to be sent are procured the previous winter, and when the snow
falls in November or early December the line of sleds starts out for the
trading post. The sled which represents the wants of the more western of
these Innuit speeds to where the second may be, and they repair to the
place of meeting with the third, and thus by traversing the line of
coast the arctic caravan is made up. Provisions are supplied by the
wayside, and when all is in readiness a southern course is traveled
until the frozen morasses on the south of the hills are reached. Thence
the course is toward Leaf river and across to Fort Chimo. By the last
week of April or the first week of May the visitors are expected at the
trading post. They usually bring with them about two-fifths of all the
furs obtained in the district; indeed, the quantity often exceeds this
amount. They seldom remain longer than the time needed to complete their
bartering, as the rapidly melting snow warns them that each day of delay
adds to their labor in returning.
The homeward journey is more frequently made along the coast, as there
the snow is certain to remain longer upon the ground. It is not
infrequent that these travelers experience warm weather, which detains
them so long that they do not reach the end of their journey until the
middle of the summer or even until the beginning of the next winter.
Many of the Innuit who accompany these parties have never seen white men
until they arrive at Fort Chimo; women are often of the party. These
people are usually tall and of fine physique. The men are larger than
the average white man, while the women compare favorably in stature with
the women of medium height in other countries.
They have quite different customs from those of their present neighbors.
Their language is dialectically distinct; about as much so as the
Malimyut differ from the Kaviagmyut of Norton Sound, Alaska. The
Tahagmyut have a rather harsh tone; their gutturals are deeper and the
vowels usually rather more prolonged. They are much given to amusement
and still retain many of the old games, which the Sûh[)i]´n[)i]myut have
forgotten or no longer engage in. Their dead are treated with no
ceremony. They simply lash the limbs of the deceased to the body and
expose the corpse to the elements, removing it, however, from immediate
sight of the camp. Old and infirm people are treated with severity, and
when dependent upon others for their food they are summarily disposed of
by strangulation or left to perish when the camp is moved.
Women are held in little respect, although the men are very jealous of
the favors of their wives, and incontinence on the part of the latter is
certain to be more or less severely punished. The male offender, if
notoriously persistent in his efforts to obtain forbidden favors, is
usually killed by the injured lover or husband.
Gambling is carried on to such a degree among both sexes that even their
own lives are staked upon the issue of a game. The winner often obtains
the wife of his opponent, and holds her until some tempting offer is
made for her return. The only article they possess is frequently
wagered, and when they lose they are greeted with derision. The women,
especially, stake their only garment rather than be without opportunity
to play. The usual game is played with a number of flattened pieces of
walrus ivory. On one side are a number of dots forming various crude
designs, which have received names from their fancied resemblance to
other objects. These must be matched. The game somewhat resembles
dominoes, and whether it is original with these Innuit I was unable to
conclude. They stoutly maintain that it originated with themselves.
I suspect, however, it had its origin in the imitation of some one who
had observed the playing of dominoes on board of some of the whaling
vessels visiting these waters.
For other amusements these Innuit indulge in a number of tests of
personal strength, such as wrestling and leaping.
Feasts are held at stated times in huge structures built of snow blocks.
The exact signification of these feasts was not learned, owing to the
limited stay these people made each year at Fort Chimo. Their dress
consists of the skins of seals and reindeer. The sealskins are worn
during rainy weather and by those who are in the canoe or kaiak. The
skirts of their garments are ornamented with an edging of ivory pieces
cut into a pear-shape, having a small hole pierced through the smaller
end.
These pieces of ivory, often to the number of many scores, give a
peculiar rattle as the wearer walks along. Their boots are noticeably
different from those made by the Koksoak river people, inasmuch as the
soles are often made with strips of sealskin thongs sewed on a false
sole, which is attached to the under surface of the sole proper. The
strips of thong are tacked on by a stout stitch, then a short loop is
taken up, and another stitch sews a portion of the remainder of the
strip. This is continued until the entire under surface consists of a
series of short loops, which, when in contact with the smooth ice,
prevents the foot from slipping. This sort of footgear is not made in
any other portion of the district.
The third subdivision comprises the Innuit dwelling on the eastern shore
of Hudson bay, between latitudes 53° and 58°.
The number of these Innuit could not be definitely ascertained, as they
trade, for the most part, at Fort George, belonging to the Moose
district. Each year, however, a party of less than a dozen individuals
journey to Fort Chimo for the purpose of bartering furs and other
valuables. Those who come to Fort Chimo are usually the same each year.
In language they differ greatly from the Koksoak Innuit, inasmuch as
their speech is very rapid and much harsher. Many of the words are quite
dissimilar, and even where the word has the same sound it is not unusual
that it has a meaning more or less different from that used by the
Koksoak Innuit. As these people have been long under the advice and
teachings of the missionary society of London, it is to be expected that
they, especially those nearer the trading station, are more or less
influenced by its teachings. Their customs differ somewhat from the
other Innuit, though this is due in a great measure to the impossibility
of procuring the necessary food, and skins for garments, unless they are
constantly scouring the plains and hills for reindeer or the shore for
seals and other marine creatures.
These people are called by their neighbors and themselves I´tivi´ myut,
Iti´vûk signifies the other, farther, distant side (of a portion of
land); hence, the word Itivimyut means people of the other side. The
northern Itivimyut are probably the most superstitious of all the Innuit
dwelling in the region under consideration.
Although the missionaries have devoted considerable energy to the work
of converting these people, and though many of them profess
Christianity, these professions prove on examination to be merely
nominal. As soon as the converts are beyond the teacher's influence,
they return to the shaman for guidance.
In the spring of 1883 a party of these people visited Fort Chimo.
A great number of the Koksoak people were ill, some 30 miles above the
station. The visitors had among them a shaman renowned throughout the
land. He, with the connivance of two or three of the people with whom he
stopped, began some of the most astonishing intrigues to dispel the evil
spirit afflicting the people. Several men were parted from their wives,
and these were compelled to dwell with other men who were at the bottom
of the conspiracy. Other couples had to flee from that place to prevent
being divorced, at least temporarily. After a time the visitors
descended to Fort Chimo, and while the bartering was going on the shaman
announced his conversion to Christianity, and vowed never again to
return to practicing shamanism. On the return of the harried fugitives
they passed the camp of the Koksoak river people, where they had a few
days before been the guests, and stole their supplies of reindeer meat
and other valuable property, even attempting to purloin a kaiak; and
they had proceeded many miles thence before they were overtaken and
compelled to relinquish the stolen property. They were seen some months
after by some Tahagmyut, to whom they stated their fear of returning
among the Koksoak people. A more plausible scamp does not dwell in those
regions than this shaman, whose name is Sápa. His power over the spirit
controlling the reindeer is widely believed in and invoked by the other
shamans, who feel incapable of turning the heads of the deer and thus
compelling them to wander in the desired direction.
Among these people only have I heard of a son who took his mother as a
wife, and when the sentiment of the community compelled him to discard
her he took two other women, who were so persecuted by the mother that
they believed themselves to be wholly under her influence. She even
caused them to believe they were ill, and when they actually did become
so they both died.
In former years the Innuit extended entirely around the shore of Hudson
bay. Now there is a very wide gap, extending from the vicinity of Fort
George, on the eastern coast, to the vicinity of Fort Churchill, on the
western coast. At the present time the Innuit occupy the areas
designated in these remarks. That they formerly extended along the
Atlantic coast far to the south of their present limit is attested by an
abundance of facts.
The Innuit of the eastern shore of Hudson bay, the Itivimyut, informed
me that the Innuit dwelling on the islands of Hudson bay, more or less
remote from the mainland to the east, are termed Ki´g[)i]ktag´myut, or
island people. They relate that those islanders have quite different
customs from the mainland people, inasmuch as their clothing consists of
the skins of seals and dogs, rarely of reindeer skins, as the latter are
procurable only when one of their number comes to the shore to trade for
such articles as can not be obtained on his locality. The spear, kaiak,
bow and arrow are used, and they have but little knowledge of firearms.
These people are represented as often being driven to greatest extremity
for food. It is said that their language differs considerably from that
of their neighbors.
The Innuit, as a rule, are peaceful and mild-tempered, except when
aroused by jealousy. They are, however, quick enough to resent an insult
or avenge an injury. They form a permanent attachment for the white man
who deals honestly and truthfully with them, but if he attempts any
deception or trickery they are certain to be ever suspicious of him,
and it is difficult to regain their favor.
Their courage and ability are not to be doubted, and when they are given
a due amount of encouragement they will perform the most arduous tasks
without complaint.
THE INDIANS.
The Indian inhabitants of this region may be divided into three groups,
differing but slightly in speech, and even less in habits.
(1) The Mountaineers, "Montagnais" of the early Jesuit missionaries,
roam over the areas south of the Hamilton inlet and as far as the Gulf
of St. Lawrence. Their western limits are imperfectly known. They trade
at all the stations along the accessible coast. Many of them barter at
Rigolet and Northwest river.
In customs they differ little from the Indians to the north of them.
Their means of subsistence are the flesh of reindeer, porcupines, and
various birds, such as geese, ducks, ptarmigan, and grouse.
The habits of the reindeer in this portion of the country are very
erratic. They are often absent from large tracts for several years,
and appearing in abundance when little expected. The scarcity of the
reindeer renders the food supply quite precarious; hence, the Indians
rely much upon the flesh of the porcupine, hare and birds for their
principal food.
Their clothing is of the tanned skin of the deer when they are able to
procure it. As nearly all the skins of the reindeer are used for
garments, few are prepared for other purposes; hence the northern
stations (Fort Chimo) furnish great numbers of these skins in the
parchment condition to be purchased by the Mountaineers, who cut them
into fine lines for snowshoe netting and other purposes.
They procure the furs of marten, mink, fur beaver, muskrats, lynxes,
wolverines, wolves, and foxes. A considerable number of black bears are
also obtained by these Indians. By the barter of these furs they procure
the articles made necessary by the advent of the white people among
them. They are quiet and peaceable. Many of them profess a regard for
the teachings of the Roman missionaries, who have visited them more or
less frequently for over a hundred and fifty years. I was unable to
obtain the term by which they distinguish themselves from their
neighbors. That they are later comers in the region than the Innuit is
attested by the bloody warfare formerly carried on between them, of
which many proofs yet exist. The Mountaineers applied to the more
northern Indians the term of reproach, "Naskopie." This word denotes the
contempt the Mountaineers felt for the Naskopies when the latter failed
to fulfill their promise to assist in driving the Innuit from the
country.
It was impossible to obtain a satisfactory estimate of the numbers of
the Mountaineers. My stay in their vicinity was too short to learn as
much about them as was desired.
(2) The Indians dwelling to the southwest of the Ungava district differ
rather more than the Mountaineers, in their speech, from the Indians of
the Ungava district. They average, for both sexes, slightly taller than
the Naskopies. The men are spare, and have small limbs and extremities.
The cheek bones are also more prominent, although this is partly due to
the thin visage. The women are disposed to be stout, and in the older
women there is a decided tendency to corpulence. The complexion, too, is
considerably darker. The men wear long hair, usually cut so as to fall
just upon the shoulders. The hair of the women is quite heavy, and is
worn either in braids or done up in folds upon the side of the head.
In their personal habits they are much more tidy than their eastern
relations. Their dress differs but little from that of their neighbors.
The women dress in cloth made of material procured from the traders, and
some of these appear respectable enough when so dressed. They have been
so long in contact with the white people at Moose Factory, some of whom
had brought their wives from home with them, that the women have
imitated the dress of the latter. Certain of these women are skillful in
working fancy articles. The men occupy their time in hunting and
fishing. The reindeer have in recent years become so scarce in the
vicinity of Fort George that many of the Indians have left that locality
and journeyed to the eastward, dwelling in proximity to the Naskopies,
or even with them.
Both sexes are mild and sedate, although the women are exceedingly
garrulous when well acquainted.
These Indians are often employed to assist in the capture of the white
whale, which ascends the lower portions of the larger streams of that
district. They are the only Indians whom I have seen eating the flesh
and blubber of these whales. The Naskopies will not touch it, declaring
it to be too fat. The fins and tail are portions highly prized while
they are helping render out the blubber of these whales at Fort Chimo.
A point of great dissimilarity between the Naskopies and the Little
Whale river Indians is that the birch-bark canoe of the latter is much
more turned up at each end, producing a craft well adapted to the swift
currents of the rivers. The occupants are skillful boatmen, and will
fearlessly face wind and wave that would appall the heart of the
Naskopie. Sails are sometimes erected in a single canoe. At times two
canoes are lashed together and a sail spread from a single mast. This
double boat is very convenient for the traveler. These people are
strongly addicted to the practice of polygamy; and while they are
Christians externally, they are so only as long as they are within the
reach of the missionary.
Among those who had come to dwell in the Ungava district were several
who had, because of the opportunity, taken two wives. The missionary,
E. J. Peck, suddenly appeared among them as he was on his way to London.
On learning of the conduct of the people he gave them a sound rating and
besought them to relinquish the practice. They assented, and sent the
second wives away until the missionary was out of the country, and then
they took them back.
Girls are often taken as wives before they attain puberty, and for this
reason they seldom have large families. Two, three, or four children
form the usual number for each family. They are satisfied if the first
child is a male; and to the mother who delivers only female children a
term of contempt is often applied. The women appear to be well treated,
and occasional laxity of morals is not noticed among them so long as it
is not notorious.
Their beliefs and traditions were not learned by me, on account of the
presence of these people at Fort Chimo when other labors occupied my
entire time.
Their purchases are made with furs of the same kinds as those procured
in the Ungava district. The black bear is procured in great numbers by
these Indians. They preserve the under lip, dressed and ornamented with
beads and strips of cloth, as a trophy of their prowess.
The harpoon used in striking the white whale of their rivers is an
implement doubtless peculiar to those people, and much resembles that of
the Innuit.
(3) The third division of Indians includes those dwelling for the most
part in the Ungava district. The total number of these Indians is about
350. They apply the term Ne né not--true, ideal men--to themselves,
although known by the epithet Naskopie, which was applied to them by the
Mountaineers of the southeastern portion of the region.
They differ slightly in customs from their neighbors, but their speech
is somewhat different, being very rapidly uttered and with most singular
inflections of the voice. A conversation may be begun in the usual tone,
and in a moment changed to that of a whining or petulant child. It is
impossible for the white man to imitate this abrupt inflection, which
appears to be more common among the males than the females. During
ordinary conversation one would erroneously suppose, from the vehemence
of gesture, that the speaker was angry. They are much more demonstrative
than their neighbors, often shouting at the full strength of their
voices when an ordinary tone would apparently suffice. That their voice
is penetrating may be inferred from the fact that during quiet days it
is not unusual for parties to converse from opposite sides of the
Koksoak river, at Fort Chimo, where the river is nearly a mile and a
half wide.
As certain words are spoken in a voice scarcely louder than a whisper,
I did not believe it possible that they could understand each other at
so great a distance, until I saw the people on the opposite shore doing
what they were bidden by those with me.
When the women get together it is amusing to observe the eagerness of
the old crones endeavoring to make their voices heard above the rest.
The clerk, while trading with them, often teases them until the entire
number turn their voices on him, and the only relief he has is to expel
them all from the store and admit one or two at a time, while the
remainder throng the windows and shout at the top of their voices.
During the spring, when flocks of Canada geese are winging their way
northward, the Indians will imitate their notes so closely that the
birds do not discover the source until too late. Some of the party make
one note, while the others imitate the other note. It seldom fails to
beguile the geese to the spot.
Owing to the impossibility of getting a reliable person to teach me the
language of these people I was able to procure but few words. The number
obtained, however, is sufficient to prove that the people of this
region, excluding the Innuit and whites, belong to the Cree branch. The
Mountaineers and Little Whale river Indians belong to the same stock,
and the difference in their language is due wholly to environment.
The Indians and Innuit of this region are more or less directly in
contact. At Fort Chimo it is especially so. Here, as elsewhere, they do
not intermix, an Indian never taking an Innuit wife or the Innuit taking
a squaw for a wife. I knew of one instance where a Naskopie went to
dwell with some Innuit camped near the mouth of the Koksoak, but after
remaining away for a few days he returned to his own people.
SPECIAL ACCOUNT OF THE PEOPLE AROUND FORT CHIMO.
THE KOKSOAGMYUT.
The Eskimo with whom I was brought in contact at Fort Chimo were those
belonging to that immediate vicinity. They term themselves Koksoagmyut,
or people of the Koksoak or Big river.
The people who apply this name to themselves do not number more than a
score and a half. There are but four families, and among these are some
who belong to other localities, but now dwell with the Koksoagmyut. They
consider themselves a part of the people dwelling as far to the north as
the western end of Akpatok island, and to the east as far as George's
river. The Eskimo dwelling between those points have similar habits, and
range indiscriminately over the hunting grounds of that locality, seldom
going farther southward than the confluence of the Larch river or the
North river with the Koksoak.
Among these few natives now inhabiting the Koksoak valley we find the
men to be above the stature usually ascribed to the Eskimo. All but one
of the adult males are above 5 feet 8 inches. The smallest man is little
more than 5½ feet tall. All are well proportioned and present an
exceptionally good physique. The females are also well proportioned,
and, in fact, appear to compare well with females of civilized countries
as far as their stature is concerned. The lower extremities of both
sexes really are shorter than the general appearance would indicate, and
thus the body is somewhat longer. The great individual variation in the
proportional length of the legs is doubtless the result of the way
infants are carried in the hood on the backs of the mothers. In this
constrained position the limbs were obliged to conform to the shape of
the body on which the child, in a manner, grew. While the limbs are not
decidedly curved, yet they are not so nearly under the body as those of
the whites. In walking, the inner edges of the feet often touch each
other, and, in a manner, tend to cause the boots to slip outward on the
feet.
The head, hands, and feet appear fairly proportioned; although, as a
rule, they have small hands and feet. The females have proportionally
smaller feet than hands. The head may seem larger than it really is,
on account of the flattened features of the face.
The average nose is large and flat, and the prominence of this organ is
often diminished by the wide cheeks and overhanging forehead. In most
cases the chin projects less than the nose. The average face is round
and flat, but there are exceptions, as I have seen one or two persons
whose faces were a regular oval, and with the exception of the flat
front, seen from a side view, were as well formed as one will meet among
other people.
The skin has the same differences of color as among white people. The
greater number of people are moderately dark, but this depends very
greatly on the season of the year. I have not seen any white people so
much changed as these are by the exposure to the summer sunshine. In the
winter they are confined to their huts and bleach to a lighter color.
A couple of weeks' exposure renders them scarcely recognizable as the
same persons. The young children are usually lighter than the adults,
although some are quite dark. The hair is coarse, long and abundant,
and always straight.
The few half-breeds seen at Fort Chimo are the young children of
the male servants of the company, who have in two instances taken
full-blooded Eskimo women for wives and who were married by the agent of
the company. These children are quite pretty, the male favoring the
mother and the girl resembling the father. With these, as with the
children of natives, much depends on the cleanliness of the person.
The soot and other filth accumulating on their faces and hands, seldom
washed, of course modifies the appearance of the exposed portions of the
body. Some of the girls would be attractive enough if a copious amount
of water was used to remove the ridges of dirt which are too plainly
visible. The hands are often much disfigured from numerous cuts and
bruises, which, when healed over, leave a heightened scar of a whitish
color quite different in color from the surrounding tissue and often
presenting an unsightly appearance.
By the time puberty is attained the girls quickly change, and in a few
years begin to show the result of their arduous life by the appearance
of wrinkles, haggardness, and general breaking down, which, although it
may progress slowly, is seldom recovered from.
Like the rest of the Innuit, the Koksoagmyut are usually peaceful and
mild tempered. Among themselves affrays are of rare occurrence. Jealousy
arouses the worst passions, and the murder of the offender is generally
the result. When a person becomes so bad in character that the community
will no longer tolerate his presence he is forbidden to enter the huts,
partake of food, or hold any intercourse with the rest. Nevertheless, as
long as he threatens no one's life, but little attention is paid to him.
Should he be guilty of a murder, several men watch their opportunity to
surprise him and put him to death, usually by stoning. The executioners
make no concealment of their action, and are supported by public opinion
in the community.
In the case of a premeditated murder, it is the duty of the next of kin
to avenge the deed, though years may pass, while the murderer pursues
his usual occupations undisturbed, before an opportunity occurs to the
relative for taking him by surprise. Sometimes the victim is not
overcome and turns upon the assailant and kills him. The man, now guilty
of two murders, is suffered to live only at the pleasure of the people,
who soon decree his death. That murder is not approved, either by the
individual or the community, is well attested by the fact that the
island of Akpatok is now tabooed since the murder of part of the crew of
a wrecked vessel, who camped on that island. Such a terrible scene was
too much, even for them; and now not a soul visits that locality, lest
the ghosts of the victims should appear and supplicate relief from the
natives, who have not the proper offerings to make to appease them.
Aged people who have no relatives on whom they may depend for
subsistence are often quietly put to death. When an old woman, for
instance, becomes a burden to the community it is usual for her to be
neglected until so weak from want of food that she will be unable to
keep up with the people, who suddenly are seized with a desire to remove
to a distant locality. If she regains their camp, well for her;
otherwise, she struggles along until exhausted and soon perishes.
Sometimes three or four of the males retrace their steps to recover a
lost whip or a forgotten ammunition bag. They rarely go farther than
where they find the helpless person, and if their track be followed it
will be found that the corpse has stones piled around it and is bound
with thongs.
An old woman at Port Chimo had but one eye, and this was continually
sore and very annoying to the people with whom she lived. They proposed
to strangle her to relieve her from her misery. The next morning the eye
was much better and the proposed cure was postponed.
Cases of suicide are not rare, considering the few people of that
locality. Pitching themselves from a cliff or producing strangulation
are the usual methods. Sometimes a gun is used. Remorse and disappointed
love are the only causes of suicide.
A man discovered, during a period of great scarcity of food, that while
he went in quest of food his wife had secretly stored away a quantity of
fish and ate of them during his absence only. Coming home unexpectedly,
he caught her eating and she endeavored to secrete the remainder. He
quietly went out of the snow hut and blocked up the entrance. She
inquired why he did so. His reply was for her to come out and she would
discover why it was done. His tone was not at all reassuring. She
remained within the hut and perished from starvation, knowing she would
be killed if she went out.
Instances are reported where, in times of great scarcity, families have
been driven to cannibalism after eating their dogs and the clothing and
other articles made of skins. Unlucky or disliked women are often driven
from the camp, and such must journey until they find relief or perish by
the wayside.
DISEASES.
The principal diseases from which these people suffer are pulmonary
troubles, chiefly arising from their filthy manner of living in crowded
huts, too ill ventilated to allow the escape of the odors emanating from
their own bodies and from accumulations of slowly decomposing animal
food. All openings must be closed as quickly as possible in order to
economize the heat within, for when once chilled it is difficult to
restore the house to the proper degree of warmth. An Eskimo would always
prefer to erect a new hut of snow rather than pass the night in one
which has been deserted for only a single night if the doorway has not
been tightly closed with a block of snow.
Within the walls, reeking with the exhalations of various putrid
matters, the people breathe and rebreathe the air filled with poisonous
gases; so fully one-half of the Eskimo die of pulmonary troubles. The
other prevailing diseases are those causing devitalization of the blood,
such as scurvy. Sores break out on the shoulders, elbows, knees, and
ankles. The ravages of these diseases proceed at an astonishing rate,
soon carrying off the afflicted person.
The means of relief usually employed are those which the shaman
(or conjurer, as he is locally known) is able to effect by working on
the imagination of the sick, who is in this condition easily influenced.
The will power of both the patient and shaman is stretched to its utmost
tension, and as faith with them, as with many others of fairer skins,
often produces more of the relief than the ministrations of drugs or
drafts, the cure is effected, or else the shaman, like the physician,
has not the devil on his side.
The magnitude of the disease is generally measured by the amount of the
patient's worldly wealth.
MARRIAGE.
A woman is married as soon after puberty as a male comes along who has
the requisite physical strength to force her to become his wife. Many of
the females are taken before that period, and the result is that few
children are born to such unions and the children are generally weakly.
The ceremony between the couples is quite simple. The sanction of the
parents is sometimes obtained by favor or else bought by making certain
presents of skins, furs, and other valuables to the father and mother.
The girl is sometimes asked for her consent, and, if unwilling, often
enlists the sympathy of the mother, and the affair is postponed to a
more favorable opportunity, or till the suitor becomes disgusted with
her and takes somebody else.
If the parents are not living, the brothers or sisters must be favorable
to the union. There is often so much intriguing in these matters that
the exact truth can seldom be ascertained.
Where all obstacles are removed and only the girl refuses, it is not
long before she disappears mysteriously to remain out for two or three
nights with her best female friend, who thoroughly sympathizes with her.
They return, and before long she is abducted by her lover, and they
remain away until she proves to be thoroughly subjected to his will.
I knew of an instance where a girl was tied in a snow house for a period
of two weeks, and not allowed to go out. She finally submitted, and they
returned with the other couple, who were less obstreperous, and
doubtless went along to help their male friend and companion. The woman
left her husband in the course of two or three weeks, and when he was
asked about it he acknowledged that she had pulled nearly all the hair
from his head and showed numerous bruises where she had struck him. This
same woman was afterward tied to a sled to make her accompany the man
she subsequently chose as her husband, who wished her to go to another
part of the country. It was a lively time, some of the old women pushing
her and persuading, the younger ones doing all in their power to
obstruct her. Children are often mated at an early age, and I have known
of several instances where two friends, desirous of cementing their ties
of fellowship, engage that their children yet unborn shall be mated. In
such instances the children are always recognized as married, and they
are allowed by the parents to be so called. I knew a small boy of less
than seven years who always addressed a girl of apparently a year older
as his wife.
The marriageable age of the female varies greatly, although puberty
takes place early. I have known of a child of fourteen having children.
I heard of a half-breed girl, on the Labrador coast, who became a mother
a few months after the age of thirteen.
Monogamy is generally the rule, but as there are so many counteracting
influences it is seldom that a man keeps a wife for a number of years.
Jealousy resulting from a laxity of morals produces so much disagreement
that one or the other of the parties usually leave with little ceremony.
In rare instances, where there is a compatibility of temper and a
disposition to continence, the pair remain together for life.
Many of the girls bear children before they are taken for wives, but as
such incidents do not destroy the respectability of the mother the girl
does not experience any difficulty in procuring a husband. Illegitimate
children are usually taken care of by some aged woman, who devotes to it
all her energies and affections.
The number of children born varies greatly, for, although these Eskimos
are not a prolific race, a couple may occasionally claim parentage of as
many as ten children. Two or three is the usual number, and many die in
early childhood.
When the family is prosperous the husband often takes a second wife,
either with or without the approval of the first, who knows that her
household duties will be lessened, but knows also that the favors of her
husband will have to be divided with the second wife. The second wife is
often the cause of the first wife's leaving, though sometimes she is
sent away herself. Three or four wives are sometimes attained by a
prosperous man, and one instance was known where the head of the family
had no less than five wives. The occupation of a single snow house by
two or three wives brings them into close intimacy and often produces
quarreling. The man hears but little of it, as he is strong enough to
settle their difficulties without ceremony, and in a manner better
adapted to create respect for brute strength than affection for him.
The females outnumber the males, but the relationship among the
Koksoagmyut is now so close that many of the males seek their wives from
other localities. This, of course, connects distant people, and
interchange of the natives of both sexes is common.
Separation of couples is effected in a simple manner. The one who so
desires leaves with little ceremony, but is sometimes sought for and
compelled to return. Wives are often taken for a period, and an exchange
of wives is frequent, either party being often happy to be released for
a time, and returning without concern. There is so much intriguing and
scandal-mongering among these people that a woman is often compelled by
the sentiment of the community to relinquish her choice and join another
who has bribed a conjurer to decide that until she comes to live with
him a certain person will not be relieved from the evil spirit now
tormenting him with disease.
The only way for the couple against whom such a plot has been laid to
escape separation is for them to flee to another locality and remain
there until the person gets well or dies, whereupon the conjurer
declares it was their cohabitation as man and wife which afflicted the
invalid. A designing woman will often cause a man to cast off the legal
wife to whom he is much attached and come and live with her. In such
instances the former wife seldom resents the intrusion upon her
affections and rights but occasionally gives the other a severe
thrashing and an injunction to look to herself lest she be discarded
also. The children of the cast-off woman are frequently taken by her and
they go to live with her relatives as menials on whom devolve the labor
of severest kinds, she being glad to obtain the refuse of the hovel to
support her life in order that her children may be well taken care of.
Some wives are considered as very "unlucky" and after trial are cast off
to shift for themselves. A woman who has obtained the reputation of
being unlucky for her husband is eschewed by all the men lest she work
some charm on them.
In social relations the head of the family comes first, and the oldest
son second, the other sons following according to respective ages.
The sons of the first wife, if there be more than one wife, take
precedence over those of the second or third wife. It may be that a man
has lost his first wife and takes another. The sons of these two are
considered as those of one wife so far as their relation to each other
is concerned. When the father becomes superannuated or his sons are old
enough to enable him to live without exertion, the management of affairs
devolves on the eldest son, and to the second is delegated the second
place. Each may be occupied in different affairs, but the elder alone
chooses what he himself shall do.
If the father live to a great age, and some of the men certainly attain
the age of more than 80 years, he may have great grandchildren about
him, and these never fail to show respect for their ancestor.
All this family may dwell in a single tent, or in two or more tents.
Where the leader directs, there they all repair, although each one who
is at the head of a family may be left to employ himself as he may
prefer. These sons, with their wives and children, form a community,
which may have other persons added to it, namely, the persons who are
related to the wives of the sons. There may be but one community in a
locality, and this is locally known to the white people as the "gang" of
the head man.
Families whose members have decreased in number by death or by marriage
may seek the companionship of one of these communities for protection.
The new arrival at once acknowledges his dependence and is, in a manner,
under the influence, if not control, of the leader of the community
which he joins.
CHILDREN.
A new born babe must not be washed until six or eight hours have
elapsed. It is then placed to the breast and rarely gets any water to
drink until old enough to help itself to it.
The child may be named while yet in utero. There being no distinctions
for sex in names the appellation can scarcely be amiss. Several names
may be acquired from the most trivial circumstances. Old names may be
discarded and new names substituted or certain names applied by certain
people and not used by others.
Love for offspring is of the deepest and purest character. I have never
seen a disrespectful Eskimo child. Mothers and fathers never inflict
corporal punishment on their children, for these are early taught to
obey, or rather they are quick to perceive that their parents are their
protectors and to them they must go for assistance. Orphan girls are
taken as nurses for small children, and the nurse so employed has seldom
any trouble in controlling the child.
Among young children at play the greatest harmony prevails. An accident
resulting in sufficient harm to cause tears obtains the sympathy of all,
who strive to appease the injured child by offers of the greatest share
of the game, the little fellow often smiling with the prospective
pleasure while the tears yet course down his begrimed cheeks. In a
moment all is forgotten and joyous shouts sound merrily as the chubby
youngsters of both sexes redouble their exertion in playing football or
building toy houses in the newly fallen snow, where, on the bed of snow
within the wall of the hut, the doll of ivory, wood or rags rolled into
its semblance, plays the part of hostess whom they pretend to visit and
with whom they converse.
Among the younger boys and girls, of 10 or 12, there is a great spirit
of cheerful rivalry, to prove their ability to secure such food as they
are able to capture. If they can procure enough to purchase some
ammunition with which to kill ptarmigan they soon have a certain amount
of credit. This enables them to provide some coveted luxury for their
parents, who, of course, aid and encourage them to become successful
hunters. Within the huts the girls display their skill by sewing
fragments of cloth into garments for dolls or striving to patch their
tattered clothes.
The older boys look with contempt upon these childish occupations and,
to show their superiority, often torment the younger ones until the
father or mother compels them to desist. Pranks of various kinds are
played upon each other and they often exhibit great cunning in their
devices to annoy. These boys are able to accompany their elders on
hunting trips and run ahead of the team of dogs attached to the sled.
BURIAL CUSTOMS
When a person dies the body is prepared by binding it with cords, the
knees being drawn up and the heels placed against the body. The arms are
tied down, and a covering of deerskin or sealskin is wrapped around the
body and fastened. The nearest relatives on approach of death remove the
invalid to the outside of the house, for if he should die within he must
not be carried out of the door but through a hole cut in the side wall,
and it must then be carefully closed to prevent the spirit of the person
from returning. The body is exposed in the open air along the side of a
large rock, or taken to the shore or hilltop, where stones of different
sizes are piled around it to prevent the birds and animals from getting
at it. (See Fig. 21.) It is considered a great offense if a dog be seen
eating the flesh from a body. In case of a beloved child dying it is
sometimes taken with the people to whom it belonged if they start for
another locality before decomposition has progressed too far.
[Illustration: FIG. 21. Eskimo grave.]
The dying person resigns himself to fate with great calmness. During
illness, even though it be of most painful character, complaint is
seldom heard; and so great is fortitude that the severest paroxysms of
pain rarely produce even a movement of the muscles of the countenance.
The friends often exhibit an excessive amount of grief, but only in
exceptional instances is much weeping indulged in. The loss of a husband
often entails great hardships on the wife and small children, who eke
out a scanty living by the aid of others who are scarcely able to
maintain themselves.
These people have an idea of a future state and believe that death is
merely the separation of the soul and the material body. The spirits of
the soul go either up to the sky, "keluk," when they are called
Kelugmyut, or down into the earth, "Nuna," and are called "Nunamyut."
These two classes of spirits can hold communication with each other.
The place to which the soul goes depends on the conduct of the person on
earth and especially on the manner of his death. Those who have died by
violence or starvation and women who die in childbirth are supposed to
go to the region above, where, though not absolutely in want, they still
lack many of the luxuries enjoyed by the Nunamyut. All desire to go to
the lower region and afterwards enjoy the pleasure of communicating with
the living, which privilege is denied to those who go above.
If death result from natural causes the spirit is supposed to dwell on
the earth after having undergone a probation of four years rest in the
grave. During this time the grave may be visited and food offered and
songs sung, and the offering, consisting of oil and flesh, with tobacco
for smoking and chewing, is consumed by the living at the grave.
Articles of clothing may also be deposited near the grave for the spirit
to clothe itself after the garments have disappeared in the process of
decay. It is customary to place such articles as may be deemed of
immediate use for the departed soul in the grave at the time the body is
interred. Ammunition, gun, kaiak and its appurtenances, with a shirt,
gloves, knife, and a cup from which to drink are usually so deposited.
The spirit of the dead man appropriates the spirits of these articles as
soon as they decay. It is often said when an article becomes lost that
so-and-so (mentioning his name), has taken it.
Some of the people prefer to expose their dead on the flat top of a high
point extending into the water. The remains of others are placed along
the shore and covered with rocks, while still others are taken to the
smooth ridges on which may nearly always be found a huge bowlder carried
by glacial action and deposited there. Here generally on the south side
the body is placed on the bare rocky ridge and stones are piled around
and upon it.
While these people have but little fear of the dead man's bones they do
not approve of their being disturbed by others. The Indians, however,
are known to rifle the graves of Eskimo to obtain the guns, clothing,
etc., which the relatives of the deceased have placed there.
There are no such elaborate ceremonies pertaining to the festivals of
the dead among the people of Hudson strait as obtain among the Eskimo of
Alaska.
RELIGION.
Among these people there is no such person as chief; yet there is a
recognized leader who is influenced by another, and this last is the
conjurer or medicine-man. These two persons determine among themselves
what shall be done. It sometimes happens that slight differences of
opinion on the proper course to pursue collectively will cause them to
go in different directions to meet after a few months' separation, by
which time all is forgotten and former relations are resumed.
All the affairs of life are supposed to be under the control of spirits,
each of which rules over a certain element, and all of which are under
the direction of a greater spirit. Each person is supposed to be
attended by a special guardian who is malignant in character, ever ready
to seize upon the least occasion to work harm upon the individual whom
it accompanies. As this is an evil spirit its good offices and
assistance can be obtained by propitiation only. The person strives to
keep the good will of the evil spirit by offerings of food, water, and
clothing.
The spirit is often in a material form in the shape of a doll, carried
somewhere about the person. If it is wanted to insure success in the
chase, it is carried in the bag containing the ammunition.
When an individual fails to overcome the obstacles in his path the
misfortune is attributed to the evil wrought by his attending spirit,
whose good will must be invoked. If the spirit prove stubborn and
reluctant to grant the needed assistance the person sometimes becomes
angry with it and inflicts a serious chastisement upon it, deprives it
of food, or strips it of its garments, until after a time it proves less
refractory and yields obedience to its master. It often happens that the
person is unable to control the influence of the evil-disposed spirit
and the only way is to give it to some person without his knowledge.
The latter becomes immediately under the control of the spirit, and the
former, released from its baleful effects, is able successfully to
prosecute the affairs of life. In the course of time the person
generally relents and takes back the spirit he gave to another. The
person on whom the spirit has been imposed should know nothing of it
lest he should refuse to accept it. It is often given in the form of a
bundle of clothing. It is supposed that if in hunting somebody merely
takes the bag to hang it up the influence will pass to him. The spirit
is supposed to be able to exert its influence only when carried by some
object having life. Hence the person may cast it away for a time, and
during that period it remains inert.
Besides this class of spirits, there are the spirits of the sea, the
land, the sky (for be it understood that the Eskimo know nothing of the
air), the winds, the clouds, and everything in nature. Every cove of the
seashore, every point, island, and prominent rock has its guardian
spirit. All are of the malignant type and to be propitiated only by
acceptable offerings from persons who desire to visit the locality where
it is supposed to reside. Of course some of the spirits are more
powerful than others, and these are more to be dreaded than those able
to inflict less harm.
These minor spirits are under the control of the great spirit, whose
name is "Tung ak." This one great spirit is more powerful than all the
rest besides. The lesser spirits are immediately under his control and
ever ready to obey his command. The shaman (or conjurer) alone is
supposed to be able to deal with the Tung ak. While the shaman does not
profess to be superior to the Tung ak, he is able to enlist his
assistance and thus be able to control all the undertakings his
profession may call for.
This Tung ak is nothing more or less than death, which ever seeks to
torment and harass the lives of people that their spirits may go to
dwell with him.
A legend related of the origin of the Tung ak is as follows: A father
had a son and daughter whom he loved very much. The children fell ill
and at last died, although the father did all in his power to alleviate
their sufferings, showing his kindness and attentions to the last
moment. At their death the father became changed to a vicious spirit,
roaming the world to destroy any person whom he might meet, determined
that, as his dear children died, none others should live.
Tung ak visits people of all ages, constantly placing obstacles in their
pathway to prevent the accomplishment of their desires, and provoking
them beyond endurance so as to cause them to become ill and die and go
to live with him. Tung ak no longer knows his own children and imagines
all persons that he meets to be his children. Famine, disease, and death
are sent abroad to search for these lost children.
People at last began to devise some means of thwarting the designs of
Tung ak and discovered that a period of fasting and abstinence from
contact with other people endowed a person with supernatural powers and
enabled him to learn the secrets of Tung ak. This is accomplished by
repairing to some lonely spot, where for a greater or less period the
hermit abstains from food or water until the imagination is so worked
upon that he believes himself imbued with the power to heal the sick and
control all the destinies of life. Tung ak is supposed to stand near and
reveal these things while the person is undergoing the test. When the
person sees the evil one ready to seize upon him if he fails in the
self-imposed task to become an "Angekok" or great one, he is much
frightened and beseeches the terrible visitor to spare his life and give
him the power to relieve his people from misfortune. Tung ak then takes
pity on him, and imparts to him the secret of preserving life, or
driving out the evil which causes death.
This is still the process by which the would-be shaman fits himself for
his supernatural duties.
The newly fledged angekok returns to his people and relates what he has
seen and what he has done. The listeners are awed by the recitals of the
sufferings and ordeal, and he is now ready to accomplish his mission.
When his services are required he is crafty enough to demand sufficient
compensation, and frankly states that the greater the pay the greater
the good bestowed. A native racked with pain will gladly part with all
of his worldly possessions in order to be restored to health.
The shaman is blindfolded, or else has a covering thrown over his head
to prevent his countenance from being seen during the incantation. The
patient lies on the ground before him and when the shaman is worked up
to the proper state of frenzy he prostrates himself upon the afflicted
person and begins to chase the evil from its seat. The patient often
receives blows and jerks sufficiently hard to dislocate the joints. As
the spell progresses the shaman utters the most hideous noises, shouting
here and there as the evil flees to another portion of the body, seeking
a retreat from which the shaman shall be unable to dislodge it. After a
time victory is declared; the operator claims to have the disease under
his control, and although it should escape and make itself again felt in
the patient, the shaman continues until the person either gets well or
dies. If the former, the reputation of the shaman is increased
proportionally to the payment bestowed by the afflicted one. If he dies,
however, the conjurer simply refers his failure to the interference of
something which was beyond his control. This may have been the influence
of anything the shaman may at the moment think of, such as a sudden
appearance in the changing auroras, a fall of snow, or a dog knocking
down something outside of the house. If the people deny that the dog did
the act, the shaman replies that the dog was the instrument in the hands
of a spirit which escaped him. Any little incident is sufficient to
thwart the success of his manipulations. If any person be the subject of
the shaman's displeasure he or she must undergo some sort of punishment
or do an act of penance for the interference. It is not unusual to see a
person with the harness of a dog on his back. This is worn to relieve
him or somebody else of a spell of the evil spirit. The tail of a living
dog is often cut from its body in order that the fresh blood may be cast
upon the ground to be seen by the spirit who has caused the harm, and
thus he may be appeased. Numerous mutilations are inflicted upon animals
at the command of the conjurer, who must be consulted on nearly all the
important undertakings of life in order that he may manage the spirits
which will insure success.
The implicit belief in these personages is wonderful. Almost every
person who can do anything not fully understood by others has more or
less reputation as a shaman.
Some men, by observation, become skilled in weather lore, and get a
great reputation for supernatural knowledge of the future weather.
Others again are famous for suggesting charms to insure success in
hunting, and, in fact, the occasions for consulting the conjurer are
practically innumerable. One special qualification of a good shaman is
the ability to attract large numbers of deer or other game into the
region where he and his friends are hunting.
Some of these shamans are superior hunters and, as their experience
teaches them the habits of the deer, they know at any season exactly
where the animals are and can anticipate their future movements,
influenced greatly by the weather. Thus the prophet is able to estimate
the proximity or remoteness of the various herds of stragglers from the
main body of deer which were in the locality during the preceding fall
months. These hunters have not only a local reputation but are known as
far as the people have any means of communication.
In order to cause the deer to move toward the locality where they may be
desired the shaman will erect, on a pole placed in a favorable position,
an image of some famous hunter and conjurer. The image will represent
the power of the person as conjurer and the various paraphernalia
attached to the image assist in controlling the movements of the
animals.
[Illustration: FIG. 22. Magic doll.]
I obtained one of these objects at Fort Chimo. (Fig. 22.) It is quite
elaborate and requires a detailed description. It is intended to
represent a celebrated conjurer living on the eastern shore of Hudson
bay. He occasionally visited Fort Chimo where his reputation as a hunter
had preceded him. His name is Sa´pa.
He is dressed in a complete suit of the woolen stuff called "strouds" at
Fort Chimo, trimmed with black and with fancy tartan gartering. In the
belt of polar-bear skin (kak-cung´-unt) (Fig. 23) are hung strings of
colored beads and various amulets. These are, first, a wooden doll
(Fig. 24) ([)i]nug´-wak, a little man) hung to the belt so that he faces
outward and is always on the alert; then, two bits of wood (agówak)
(Fig. 25) to which hang strands of beads and lead drops; next, a string
of three bullets (Fig. 26) to symbolize the readiness of the hunter when
game approaches; and, last, a semicircular piece of wood ornamented with
strings of beads (Fig. 27).
[Illustration: FIG. 23. Belt of magic doll.]
This last is called the tu-a´-vi-tok, or hastener. The hunter holds it
in his hand when he sights the game, and the tighter he grasps it the
faster he is supposed to get over the ground. It is supposed that by the
use of this one may be able to travel faster than the wind and not even
touch the earth over which he passes with such incredible speed that he
overtakes the deer in a moment. The entire affair, as it hung on the
pole, was called tung wa´gn e´nog ang´, or a materialization of a
Tung ak.
This object hung there for several days until I thought it had served
its purpose and could now afford to change ownership. The local conjurer
was thus compelled to invoke the assistance of another. I am happy to
add that the deer did come, and in thousands, actually running among the
houses of the station.
The shaman of the community possesses great influence over its members.
He very frequently decides the course to be pursued by man and wife in
their relations with each other, and, conspiring with some evil old
woman who loves to show preference for a young man, he often decrees
that husband or wife shall be cast off.
[Illustration: FIG. 24. Talisman attached to magic doll.]
[Illustration: FIG. 25. Talisman.]
[Illustration: FIG. 26. Talisman.]
If the person become ill the wife is often accused of working some charm
on her husband in order that she may enjoy the favors of another.
A woman whose husband had recently died was espoused by another who soon
after became violently ill. She nursed him with the greatest assiduity
until he convalesced. At this period his mother, with the advice of some
old hags, decreed that she had been the sole cause of her husband's
illness and must leave the tent. Her things were pitched out and she was
compelled to journey in quest of her relatives.
Another illustration came under my notice.
A widow was taken to wife by a Koksoak Eskimo. He was soon taken
violently ill and she was accused by the shaman of being the cause of
it, as the spirit of her deceased husband was jealous. Unless she were
cast off the Koksoak man would never recover. It was then also found
that unless the wife of another man should desert him and become the
wife of a man who already had two of this woman's sisters as wives the
sick man would die. The woman and her husband escaped divorce by fleeing
from the camp.
[Illustration: FIG. 27. Talisman.]
The shaman may do about as he pleases with the marriage ties, which
oftener consist of sealskin thongs than respect and love. Many old hags
have acquired great reputations for being able to interpret dreams. An
instance of dream interpretation, which also illustrates how a person
may acquire a new name, came under my observation. A woman, sitting
alone, heard a noise like the rapping of someone at the door desiring
admittance. She said, "Come in." No one appeared, and she inquired of
the girl who acted as nurse for her child if anyone had knocked at the
door. A negative answer was given. Further questioning of a white man,
who was asleep near by, revealed that he had made no such sound. The
woman knew that no man had died within the place and so his spirit could
not be seeking admittance. She went to an old woman and related the
affair, and was informed that it was the rapping of her brother, who had
died suddenly some two years before. She must go home and prepare a cup
of tea, with a slice of bread, and give it to the nurse, as her brother,
Nakvak (the one who died) was hungry and wanted food. She especially
enjoined upon the woman that the girl must now be known as Nakvak
(meaning "found") and that through her the dead would procure the food
which, although it subserves a good purpose in nourishing the living,
tends, by its accompanying spirit, to allay the pangs of hunger in the
dead.
As I have already said, everything in the world is believed to have its
attendant spirit. The spirits of the lower animals are like those of
men, but of an inferior order. As these spirits, of course, can not be
destroyed by killing the animals, the Eskimo believe that no amount of
slaughter can really decrease the numbers of the game.
A great spirit controls the reindeer. He dwells in a huge cavern near
the end of Cape Chidley. He obtains and controls the spirit of every
deer which is slain or dies, and it depends on his good will whether the
people shall obtain future supplies. The form of the spirit is that of a
huge white bear. The shaman has the power to prevail upon the spirit to
send the deer to the people who are represented as suffering for want of
food. The spirit is informed that the people have in no way offended
him, as the shaman, as a mediator between the spirit and the people, has
taken great care that the past food was all eaten and that last spring,
when the female deer were returning to him to be delivered of their
young, none of the young (or foetal) deer were devoured by the dogs.
After much incantation the shaman announces that the spirit condescends
to supply the people with spirits of the deer in a material form and
that soon an abundance will be in the land. He enjoins upon the people
to slay and thus obtain the approval of the spirit, which loves to see
good people enjoy an abundance, knowing that so long as the people
refrain from feeding their dogs with the unborn young, the spirits of
the deer will in time return again to his guardianship.
Certain parts of the first deer killed must be eaten raw, others
discarded, and others must be eaten cooked. The dogs must not be allowed
to taste of the flesh, and not until an abundance has been obtained must
they be allowed to gnaw at the leg bones, lest the guardian spirit of
the deer be offended and refuse to send further supplies. If by some
misfortune the dogs get at the meat, a piece of the offending dog's tail
is cut off or his ear is cropped to allow a flow of blood.
Ceremonies of some kind attend the capture of the first slain animal of
all the more important kinds. I unfortunately had no opportunity of
witnessing many of these ceremonies.
As a natural consequence of the superstitious beliefs that I have
described, the use of amulets is universal. Some charms are worn to ward
off the attacks of evil-disposed spirits. Other charms are worn as
remembrances of deceased relatives. These have the form of a headless
doll depending from some portion of the garment worn on the upper part
of the body.
As many of their personal names are derived from natural objects, it is
usual for the person to wear a little image of the object for which he
is named or a portion of it; for example, a wing of the bird, or a bit
of the animal's skin. This is supposed to gratify the spirit of the
object. Strange or curious objects never before seen are sometimes
considered to bring success to the finder.
[Illustration: FIG. 28. Eskimo woman's amulet.]
Two articles selected from my collection will illustrate different forms
of amulets. The first, No. 3018, is a little wooden model of a kaiak.
The other (3090, Fig. 28) was worn on the back of a woman's coat. It is
a small block of wood carved into four human heads. These heads
represent four famous conjurers noted for their skill in driving away
diseases. The woman, who came from the eastern shore of Hudson's bay,
was troubled with rheumatism and wore this charm from time to time as
she felt the twinges of pain. She assured me that the pain always
disappeared in a few hours when she wore it. It was with the greatest
difficulty that I persuaded her to part with it. She was, however, about
to return home, and could get another there.
OUTDOOR LIFE.
The Eskimo acquire an extended knowledge of the country by early
accompanying their parents on hunting trips, and as they have to rely
upon memory alone, they must be observant and carefully mark the
surroundings from all the views afforded. The faculty of memory is thus
cultivated to an astonishing degree, and seldom fails, even in the most
severe weather, to insure safety for the individual. I knew a native
stick his ramrod in the ground among scattered stalks of grass which
attained the height of the rod, yet after several hours he found the
spot again without the least hesitation. Every rise of land, every curve
of a stream, every cove in the seashore, has a name descriptive of
something connected with it, and these names are known to all who have
occasion to visit the place. Though the aspect of the land is entirely
changed by the mantle of snow which covers all the smaller objects,
a hunter will go straight to the place where the carcass of a single
deer was cached many months before on the open beach. The Eskimo are
faithful guides, and when confidence is shown to be reposed in them they
take a pride in leading the party by the best route. In traveling by
night they use the north star for the guide. Experience teaches them to
foretell the weather, and some reliance may be placed on their
predictions.
Their knowledge of the seasons is also wonderful. The year begins when
the sun has reached its lowest point, that is, at the winter solstice,
and summer begins with the summer solstice. They recognize the arrival
of the solstices by the bearing of the sun with reference to certain
fixed landmarks.
The seasons have distinctive names, and these are again subdivided into
a great number, of which there are more during the warmer weather than
during the winter. The reason for this is obvious: so many changes are
going on during the summer and so few during the winter. The principal
events are the return of the sun, always a signal of joy to the people;
the lengthening of the day; the warm weather in March when the sun has
attained sufficient height to make his rays less slanting and thus be
more fervent; the melting of the snow; the breaking up of the ice; the
open water; the time of birth of various seals; the advent of exotic
birds; the nesting of gulls, eiders, and other native birds; the arrival
of white whales and the whaling season; salmon fishing; the ripening of
salmonberries and other species of edibles; the time of reindeer
crossing the river; the trapping of fur-bearing animals and hunting on
land and water for food. Each of these periods has a special name
applied to it, although several may overlap each other. The appearance
of mosquitoes, sand-flies, and horseflies are marked by dates
anticipated with considerable apprehension of annoyance.
In order to sketch the annual routine of life, I will begin with the
breaking up of the ice in spring. The Koksoak river breaks its ice about
the last of May. This period, however, may vary as much as ten days
earlier and twenty days later than the date specified. The ice in Ungava
bay, into which that river flows, must be free from the greater portion
of the shore ice before the river ice can push its way out to sea. The
winds alone influence the bay ice, and the character of the weather
toward the head waters of the river determines its time of breaking.
The Eskimo has naturally a keen perception of the signs in the sky and
is often able to predict with certainty the effects of the preceding
weather. When the season has sufficiently advanced all the belongings of
each family are put together and transported down the river on sleds to
where the ice has not yet gone from the mouth of the river. It is very
seldom that the river ice extends down so far. To the edge of the ice
the tent and dogs, with the umiak, kaiak, and other personal property,
are taken and then stored on shore until the outside ice is free.
The men wander along the beach or inland hunting for reindeer,
ptarmigan, hares, and other land game. The edge of the water is searched
for waterfowl of various kinds which appear earliest. Some venturesome
seals appear. In the course of a few days the ice in the river breaks up
and the shore ice of the bay is free; and if there is a favorable wind
it soon permits the umiak to be put into the water, where, by easy
stages, depending on the weather, the quantity of floating ice, and the
food supply, the hunters creep alongshore to the objective point, be it
either east or west of the Koksoak. Sometimes the party divide, some
going in one direction and others in another.
The men seek for seals, hunting in the kaiak, the women and children
searching the islets and coves for anything edible. As soon as the
season arrives for the various gulls, eiders, and other sea birds to
nest the women and children are in high glee. Every spot is carefully
examined, and every accessible nest of a bird is robbed of its contents.
By the 25th of June the people have exhausted the supply of eggs from
the last situations visited and now think of returning, as the birds
have again deposited eggs and the seals are becoming scarcer.
The Eskimo arrange to assist the company to drive white whales when the
season arrives. This is as soon as they appear in the river at a
sufficient distance up to warrant that the measures pursued will not
drive them out of the fresh water, for if they left they would not soon
return. The date usually fixed upon is about the 12th of July. The
natives are summoned, and a large sailboat or the small steam launch is
sent along the coast to the place where the people were expected to
arrive the 5th of the month. The natives are brought to the whaling
station, where they encamp, to await the setting of the nets forming the
sides of the inclosure into which the whales are to be driven.
The natives spear the whales in the pound, drag them ashore, skin them,
and help take the oil and skins to the post, some eight miles farther up
the river.
The same natives who engaged in the whaling are employed to attend the
nets for salmon, which arrive at variable dates from the 25th of July to
the 1st of September. Two or more adult male Eskimo, with their
relatives, occupy a certain locality, generally known by the name of the
person in charge of that season's work. The place is occupied until the
runs of the fish are over, when it is time for the natives to be up the
river to spear reindeer which cross the river.
This hunting lasts until the deer have begun to rut and the males have
lost the fat from the small of the back. The season is now so far
advanced that the ice is already forming along the shore, and unless the
hunter intends to remain in that locality he would better begin to
descend the river to a place nearer the sea. The river may freeze in a
single night and the umiak be unable to withstand the constant strain of
the sharp-edged cakes of floating ice.
The head of the family decides where the winter is to be passed and
moves thither with his party at once. Here he has a few weeks of rest
from the season's labors, or spends the time constructing a sled for the
winter journeys he may have in view. The snow has now fallen so that a
snow house may be constructed and winter quarters taken up. A number of
steel traps are procured to be set for foxes and other fur-bearing
animals. The ptarmigans arrive in large flocks and are eagerly hunted
for their flesh and feathers. The birds are either consumed for food or
sold to the company, which pays 6¼ cents for four, and purchases the
body feathers of the birds at the rate of 4 pounds of the feathers for
25 cents.
The Eskimo soon consume the amount of deer meat they brought with them
on their return and subsist on the flesh of the ptarmigan until the ice
is firm enough to allow the sleds to be used to transport to the present
camp meat of animals slain in the fall.
The traps are visited and the furs are sold to the company in exchange
for flour, tea, sugar, molasses, biscuit, clothing, and ammunition.
Hunting excursions are made to various localities for stray bands of
deer that have become separated from the larger herds.
The white men employés of the company have been engaged in cutting wood
for the next year's fuel, and the Eskimo with their dog teams are hired
to haul it to the bank, where it may be floated down in rafts when the
river opens.
Thus passes the year in the life of the Eskimo of the immediate vicinity
of Fort Chimo. Some of the Koksoagmyut do not engage in these
occupations. Some go to another locality to live by themselves; others
do not work or hunt, because it is not their nature to do so.
In all undertakings for themselves they deliberate long, with much
hesitation and apparent reluctance, before they decide upon the line of
action. They consult each other and weigh the advantages of this over
that locality for game, and speculate on whether they will be afflicted
with illness of themselves or family. When the resolution is finally
made to journey to a certain place, only the most serious obstacles can
thwart their purpose.
At all seasons of the year the women have their allotted duties, which
they perform without hesitation. They bring the wood and the water, and
the food from the field, if it is not too distant, in which case the men
go after it with the dog teams. The women also fashion the skins into
clothing and other articles, and do the cooking. After a hunt of several
days' duration the husband's appearance is anxiously awaited, as is
indicated by the family scanning the direction whence he is expected.
The load is taken from the sled or boat and the incidents of the chase
recited to the ever ready listeners.
In the early spring the women are busily engaged in making boots for
summer wear. The skins of the seals have been prepared the fall before
and stored away until wanted. The method of tanning the skins is the
same for each species, differing only in its size and weight.
Certain large vessels made of wood or metal, chiefly the latter, as they
are easily procured from the traders, are used to hold a liquid, which
is from time to time added to. When a sufficient amount is collected it
is allowed to ferment. During the interval the skin of the seal is
cleansed from fat and flesh. The hair has been removed by shaving it off
or by pulling it out. The skin is then dressed with an instrument
designed for that purpose, made of ivory, deerhorn, stone, or even a
piece of tin set in the end of a stout stick several inches long. The
skin is held in the hand and the chisel-shaped implement is repeatedly
pushed from the person and against a portion of the skin until that part
becomes pliable and soft enough to work. It is further softened by
rubbing between the hands with a motion similar to that of the
washerwoman rubbing clothing of the wash. Any portion of the skin which
will not readily yield to this manipulation is chewed with the front
teeth until it is reduced to the required pliability. After this
operation has been completed the skin is soaked in the liquid, which has
now ripened to a sufficient degree to be effective. In this it is laid
for a period lasting from several hours to two or three days. The skin
is now taken out and dried. The subsequent operation of softening is
similar to that just described, and is final. It is now ready to be cut
into the required shape for the various articles for which it is
intended. If it is designed for boots for a man, the measure of the
height of the leg is taken. The length and width of the sole is measured
by the hand, stretching so far and then bending down the long or middle
finger until the length is measured. The width of one, two, or more
fingers is sometimes used in addition to the span. The length is thus
marked and the skin folded over so as to have it doubled. The knife used
in cutting is shaped like the round knife used by the harness-maker or
shoemaker.
There is in our collection a wooden model of this form of knife
(No. 3022), which nowadays always has a blade of metal. Formerly slate,
flint, or ivory was used for these blades.
The instrument is always pushed by the person using it. The eye alone
guides the knife, except on work for a white man, and then greater care
is exercised and marks employed indicating the required size. This round
knife is called úlo.
Another important duty of the women is taking care of the family boots.
When a pair of boots has been worn for some time, during a few hours in
warm weather they absorb moisture and become nearly half an inch thick
on the soles. When taken off they must be turned inside out and dried,
then chewed and scraped by some old woman, who is only too glad to have
the work for the two or three biscuit she may receive as pay. Any leak
or hole is stitched, and when the sole has holes worn through it, it is
patched by sewing a piece on the under side. The thread used in sewing
the boots is selected from the best strips of sinew from the reindeer or
seal.
Some women excel in boot-making, and at some seasons do nothing but make
boots, while the others in return prepare the other garments. When the
time comes in spring for making sealskin clothes, the women must not sew
on any piece of deerskin which has not yet been sewed, lest the seals
take offense and desert the locality which has been selected for the
spring seal hunt, to which all the people look forward with longing,
that they may obtain a supply of food different from that which they
have had during the long winter months. As there can be no harm in
killing a deer at this season, the flesh may be used, but the skin must
be cast away.
As before stated, the entire family accompany the expeditions; and as
the females are often the more numerous portion of the population, they
row the umiak at their leisure, now and then stopping to have a few
hours' run on shore and again embarking. While thus journeying they are
at times a sleepy crowd, until something ahead attracts attention; then
all become animated, pursuing the object, if it be a half-fledged bird,
until it is captured. Great amusement is thus afforded for the time,
after which they relapse until some excitement again arouses them from
their apparent lethargy. At the camp the men go in quest of larger game,
leaving the women and children, who search the shore for any living
creature they may find, destroying all that comes in their way. Smoking,
eating, and sleeping occupy them until they arrive at a locality where
food is abundant. There they earnestly strive to slay all that comes
within reach, and thus often obtain much more than they require, and the
remainder is left to putrefy on the rocks. The women do the skinning of
the seals and birds obtained on this trip. The skins of birds are
removed in a peculiar manner. The wings are cut off at the body, and
through the incision all the flesh and bones are taken out. The skin is
then turned inside out. The grease is removed by scraping and chewing.
The skin is dried and preserved for wear on the feet or for the purpose
of cleansing the hands, which have become soiled with blood or other
offal in skinning large game.
When the season arrives for hunting the reindeer for their skins, with
which to make clothing for winter, the women help to prepare the flesh
and bring the wood and water for the camp, while the men are ever on the
alert for the herds of deer on the land or crossing the water. The women
hang the skins over poles until the greater portion of the animal matter
is dry, when they roll them up and store them away until the party is
ready to return to the permanent camp for the winter. Here the skins
collected are carefully examined and suitable ones selected for winter
garments.
The skins are moistened with water and the adherent fleshy particles are
removed with a knife. They are then roughly scraped and again wetted,
this time with urine, which is supposed to render them more pliable. The
operation is practically the same as that of tanning sealskins. The hair
is, of course, left on the skin. When the skins are finally dry and
worked to the required pliability, they are cut into shape for the
various articles of apparel. The thread used in sewing is simply a strip
of sinew of the proper size. The fibers are separated by splitting off a
sufficient amount, and with the finger nail the strip is freed from all
knots or smaller strands which would prevent drawing through the needle
holes. The thread for this purpose is never twisted or plaited. The
needle is one procured from the trader. Small bone needles, imitations
of these, are sometimes used. In former years the bone needle was the
only means of carrying the thread, but this has now, except in the
rarest instances, been entirely superseded by one of metal.
The thimble is simply a piece of stiff sealskin sewed into a ring half
an inch wide to slip on the first finger, and has the same name as that
member. In sewing of all kinds the needle is pointed toward the
operator. The knife used in cutting skins is the same as that previously
described. Scissors are not adapted to cutting a skin which retains the
fur. So far as my observations goes, scissors are used only for cutting
textile fabrics procured from the store.
In the use of a knife women acquire a wondrous dexterity, guiding it to
the desired curve with much skill, or using the heel of the blade to
remove strips which may need trimming off.
TATTOOING.
In former years the women were fancifully tattooed with curved lines and
rows of dots on the face, neck, and arms, and on the legs up to
mid-thigh. This custom, however, fell into disuse because some shaman
declared that a prevailing misfortune was the result of the tattooing.
At present the tattooing is confined to a few single dots on the body
and face. When a girl arrives at puberty she is taken to a secluded
locality by some old woman versed in the art and stripped of her
clothing. A small quantity of half-charred lamp wick of moss is mixed
with oil from the lamp. A needle is used to prick the skin, and the
pasty substance is smeared over the wound. The blood mixes with it,
and in a day or two a dark-bluish spot alone is left. The operation
continues four days. When the girl returns to the tent it is known that
she has begun to menstruate. A menstruating woman must not wear the
lower garments she does at other times. The hind flap of her coat must
be turned up and stitched to the back of the garment. Her right hand
must be half-gloved, or, in other words, the first two joints of each
finger of that hand must be uncovered. The left hand also remains
uncovered. She must not touch certain skins and food which at that
particular season are in use.
CLOTHING.
Like most Eskimo, the Koksoagmyut are clothed almost entirely in the
skins of animals, though the men now wear breeches of moleskin, duck,
jeans, or denim procured from the trading store. Reindeerskin is the
favorite material for clothing, though skins of the different seals are
also used. The usual garments are a hooded frock, of different shapes
for the sexes, with breeches and boots. The latter are of various shapes
for different weather, and there are many patterns of mittens. Rain
frocks of seal entrail are also worn over the furs in stormy weather.
Some of the people are very tidy and keep their clothing in a
respectable condition. Others are careless and often present a most
filthy sight. The aged and orphans, unless the latter be adopted by some
well-to-do person, must often be content with the cast-off apparel of
their more fortunate fellow-beings.
The hair of the skins wears off in those places most liable to be in
contact with other objects. The elbows, wrists, and knees often are
without a vestige of hair on the clothing. The skin wears through and
then is patched with any kind of a piece, which often presents a
ludicrous appearance.
The young boys and girls are dressed alike, and the females do not wear
the garments of the adults until they arrive at puberty. It is a
ludicrous sight to witness some of the little ones scarcely able to walk
dressed in heavy deerskin clothing, which makes them appear as thick as
they are tall. They exhibit about the same amount of pride of their new
suits as the civilized boy does. They are now able to go out into the
severest weather, and seem to delight in rolling around in the snow.
Infants at the breast, so small as to be carried in the mother's hood,
are often dressed in skins of the reindeer fawns. The garment for these
is a kind of "combination," the trousers and body sewed together and cut
down the back to enable the infant to get them on. A cap of calico or
other cloth and a pair of skin stockings completes the suit.
Both men and women wear, as an additional protection for their feet in
cold weather, a pair or two of short stockings, locally known as
"duffles," from the name of the material of which they are made. These
"duffles" are cut into the form of a slipper and incase the stockings of
the feet. Over these are worn the moccasins, made of tanned and smoked
deerskin. The Eskimo women are not adepts in making moccasins; a few
only can form a well-fitting pair. They often employ the Indian women to
make them, and, in return, give a pair of sealskin boots, which the
Indian is unable to make, but highly prizes for summer wear in the
swamps.
[Illustration: FIG. 29. Eskimo birdskin cap.]
The Koksoagmyut do not wear caps, the hood of the frocks being the only
head covering. There is, however, in my collection a cap obtained from
one of the so-called "Northerners," who came to Fort Chimo to trade.
This cap (No. 3242, Fig. 29) was evidently copied from some white man's
cap. The front and crown of the cap are made of guillemot and sea-pigeon
skins, and the sealskin neckpiece also is lined with these skins, so
that when it is turned up the whole cap seems to be made of bird skins.
We may now proceed to the description of the different garments in
detail.
The coat worn by the men and boys, and by the girls until they arrive at
womanhood, has the form of a loose shirt, seldom reaching more than 2 or
3 inches below the hips, and often barely covering the hips. The neck
hole is large enough to admit the head into the hood, which may be
thrown back or worn over the head in place of a cap.
The Innuit of the southern shore of the western end of Hudson Strait
often cut the coat open in front as far up as the breast (Figs. 30 and
31, No. 3224). The favorite material for these coats is the skin of the
reindeer, three good-sized skins being required to make a full-sized
coat for a man. Coats made of light summer skins are used as
underclothing in winter and for the only body clothing in summer.
The skin of the harp seal (_Phoca groenlandica_) is also used for coats,
but only when the supply of reindeerskin runs short, or when a man can
afford to have an extra coat to wear in wet weather. It is not a very
good material for clothing, as the skin is roughly tanned, and no amount
of working will render it more than moderately pliable. Figs. 32 and 33
represent a sealskin coat. These coats are often trimmed round the edges
with fringes of deerskin 2 or 3 inches wide, or little pendants of
ivory.
[Illustration: FIG. 30. Eskimo man's deerskin coat (front).]
The collection contains eleven of these coats, Nos. 3221, 3498-3500,
and 3558 of deerskin, and Nos. 3228, 3533-3537 of sealskin.
The peculiar shape of the woman's coat is best understood by reference
to the accompanying figures (Figs. 34, 35, 36, 37 and 38). The enormous
hood is used for carrying the infant. When sitting, the female usually
disposes the front flap so that it will lie spread upon the thighs, or
else pushes it between her legs, while the hind flap is either thrown
aside or sat upon.
It is not unusual for the women to display considerable taste in
ornamenting their garments, using the steel-gray pelt of the harp seal
to contrast with the black of the harbor seal, and so on. The edges of
the hood and sleeves are frequently trimmed with skin from a dark
colored young dog; or a strip of polar bear skin, whose long white hairs
shed the rain better than those of any other mammal.
It is not rare to find loops of sinew or of sealskin attached to the
breast or back of a woman's garments. These are for tying small
articles, such as a needle case or a snuff-bag, to the clothing for
convenience and to prevent loss.
[Illustration: FIG. 31. Eskimo man's deerskin coat (back.)]
A peculiar style of ornamentation is shown in Fig. 39 and 40, No. 3005,
a woman's coat from Fort Chimo. The front of the skirt is fringed with
little lead drops, bean-shaped in the upper row and pear-shaped in the
lower, and pierced so that they can be sewed on. These lead drops are
furnished by the trader at the price of about a cent and a half each, in
trade. The trimming of this frock cost, therefore, about $4. The four
objects dangling from the front of the frock are pewter spoon-bowls.
Across the breast is a fringe of short strings of different colored
beads, red, black, yellow, white, and blue. Jingling ornaments are much
prized.
The tin tags from plug tobacco are eagerly sought for, perforated and
attached in pendant strands 3 or 4 inches long to sealskin strips and
thus serve the place of beads. I saw one woman who certainly had not
less than a thousand of these tags jingling as she walked. I have also
seen coins of various countries attached to the arms and dress. One coin
was Brazilian, another Spanish, and several were English. Coins of the
provinces were quite numerous. These were all doubtless obtained from
the sailors who annually visit the place, in exchange for little
trinkets prepared by the men and women.
[Illustration: FIG. 32. Eskimo man's sealskin coat (front).]
The collection contains five of these coats, Nos. 3005, 3225-3227 of
deerskin, and 3504 of sealskin. The last is a very elaborate garment,
made of handsomely contrasted pieces of the skin of two kinds of seals,
the harbor seal and the harp seal, arranged in a neat pattern.
It is not common to come across a garment of this kind, as the skins of
the proper or desired kinds are sometimes hard to obtain. The woman may
be several years in getting the right kind and may have effected many
exchanges before being suited with the quality and color. The darkest
skins of the Ka sig yak (harbor seal) are highly prized by both sexes.
The women set the higher value upon them. The men wear two styles of leg
covering, namely, breeches like a white man's, but not open in front,
and reaching but a short distance below the knees, or trousers ending in
stocking feet. Sometimes in very cold weather these trousers may be worn
under the breeches. Both breeches and trousers are very short-waisted.
Long stockings of short-haired deerskin with the hair in are also worn.
The women in winter wear breeches made of deerskin fastened around the
hips by means of a drawstring and extending down the legs to where the
tops of the boots will cover them a few inches. Some of the women wear
trousers which reach only to the upper part of the thighs and are
continuous with the boot which covers the foot, though in that case a
pair of half-boots are added to protect the feet. The hips are covered
with breeches which descend low enough on the thigh to be covered by the
leggings. This style of apparel for the lower portion of the body is
often extravagantly patched with various colored pieces of white and
dark strips of skin from the abdomen and sides of the reindeer. When new
and not soiled they are quite attractive and often contrast well with
the tastefully ornamented coat.
[Illustration: FIG. 33.--Eskimo man's sealskin coat (side).]
The long boots or leggings are removed when dirty work is to be done.
Thus, skins to be scraped and dressed are held against the bare leg.
The leggings also serve as pockets to hold various kinds of little
things, like knives, tobacco, and so on.
A person rarely owns more than a single pair of breeches; consequently I
was unable to obtain any for the collection.
The boots and shoes are of different materials and somewhat different
patterns for different seasons of the year. All have moccasin soles of
stout material turned up an inch or two all round the foot, a tongue
covering the top of the foot, joined to a broad heel band which passes
round behind the ankle. Then the legs are either made long enough to
reach to the knee or else almost to the ankle. These half-boots are worn
over the fur stockings in warm weather, or outside the long boots in
very severe weather. Indian moccasins are also worn, sometimes over a
pair of inside shoes and sometimes as inside shoes.
[Illustration: FIG. 34. Eskimo woman's deerskin coat.]
For thick waterproof soles the skin of the beaver or the harp seal is
used. The former wears the better. White whale skin is also used for
indoor shoes, or for shoes to be worn in cold dry weather; the skins of
the smaller seals are used, sometimes with the flesh side out and the
hair in, sometimes with the grain side out. These thinner skins are
comparatively waterproof if the black epidermis is allowed to remain on.
The beautiful creamy-white leather, made by allowing the skin to ferment
until hair and epidermis are scraped off together and then stretching
the skin and exposing it to dry cold air, does not resist water at all,
and can only be used for soles in perfectly dry weather.
[Illustration: FIG. 35. Eskimo woman's deerskin coat.]
[Illustration: FIG. 36. Eskimo women's deerskin coat.]
Buckskin soles are also used to enable the wearer to walk better with
snowshoes on, as the feet are not so liable to slip or clog with snow as
they would be if the footing were of sealskin. This latter has also
another serious disadvantage. If it is very cold it does not permit the
moisture from the feet to pass out as it freezes, rendering the boot
stiff and slippery on the snowshoe, while the buckskin is porous and
readily allows the moisture to escape.
[Illustration: FIG. 37. Eskimo women's deerskin coat (back).]
[Illustration: FIG. 38.--Eskimo woman's deerskin coat (side).]
The tongue and heel band are generally made of tanned sealskin,
contrasting colors being often used. The legs are of sealskin, with the
hair on, or of reindeer skin.
The figures represent a pair of sealskin boots with buckskin feet
(Fig. 41) and a pair of half boots with white sealskin soles, black
sealskin tongue and heelstrap, and buckskin tops (Fig. 42). The tanned
and smoked reindeer skin for these tops was purchased from the Nascopie
Indians.
A peculiar style of shoe (Fig. 43), of which I collected four pairs,
is used by the so-called "Northerners," who derive most of their
subsistence from the sea in winter, and who constantly have to travel on
the ice, which is often very slippery. To prevent slipping, narrow
strips of sealskin are sewed upon a piece of leather, which makes an
undersole for the shoe, in the manner shown in the figure.
[Illustration: FIG. 39.--Eskimo woman's deerskin coat.]
[Illustration: FIG. 40. Backside of same.]
One end of the strip is first sewed to the subsole and the strip pushed
up into a loop and stitched again, and so on till a piece is made big
enough to cover the sole of the shoe, to which it is sewed. These ice
shoes are worn over the ordinary waterproof boots.
As I have already said, these boots are all made by the women. The sole
is cut out by eye and is broadly elliptical in shape, somewhat pointed
at the toe and heel. The leg is formed of a single piece, so that there
is but one seam; the tongue or piece to cover the instep may or may not
be a separate piece. If it is, the leg seam comes in front; if it forms
one piece with the leg piece, the seam is behind. When the leg is sewed
up and the tongue properly inserted the sole is sewed on. It is tacked
at the heel, toe, and once on opposite sides of the foot, to the upper.
The sewing of the sole to the upper is generally begun at the side of
the seam and continued around. Perpendicular creases at the heel, and
more numerously around the toes, take up the slack of the sole and are
carefully worked in. The making of this part of the shoe is most
difficult, for unless it is well sewed it is liable to admit water.
The creases or "gathers" are stitched through and through with a stout
thread, which holds them in place while the operation proceeds, and
which besides has a tendency to prevent the gathers from breaking down.
The heel, which comes well up the back of the boot, is stiffened by
means of several threads sewed perpendicularly, and as they are drawn
shorter than the skin, they prevent the heel from falling and thus
getting "run down."
The seams of the boots, which are turned inside out during the
operation, are so arranged on the edges that one will overlap and be
tacked with close stitches over the rest of the seam. This is done not
only for comfort when the boot becomes dry and hard while being worn,
but also to take the strain from the stitches which hold the edges
together. The value of a pair of boots depends much on the care bestowed
in tanning and in sewing.
The hands are protected by mittens of different materials. Fur or hair
mittens are worn only in dry weather, as the hair would retain too much
moisture.
Among the Innuit the mammals are divided into two classes: the noble and
the inferior beasts. The skins of the former are used, though not
exclusively, by the men, while the latter may be worn only by the women.
No man would debase himself by wearing a particle of the fur of the hare
or of the white fox; the skins of these timid creatures are reserved for
the women alone. Either sex may wear the skins of all other mammals,
except at certain times, under restrictions imposed by superstition.
[Illustration: FIG. 41. Eskimo boots.]
The women wear mittens of hare or fox skin, with palms of sealskin or
Indian-tanned bird's skin. Reindeer skin with the hair on is also used
for mittens. The heavy skin from the body is selected for the sake of
warmth. When these mittens are to be used when driving dogs the palm is
made of sealskin, to enable the wearer to get a firm grasp on the whip
handle. The skin of the deer's forelegs, which has hair of a different
character from that on the body, also makes excellent mittens, specially
suited for handling snow in building the snow huts. Mittens are
sometimes fringed round the wrist with a strip of white bearskin to keep
out the wind.
[Illustration: FIG. 42. Eskimo shoes.]
All mittens have such short thumbs that they are very inconvenient for a
white man, who habitually holds his thumb spread away from the palm,
whereas the Innuit usually keep the thumb apposed to the palm. The
wrists of the mitten also are so short that considerable of the wrist is
often exposed. The sleeves of the jacket are generally fringed with wolf
or dog skin to protect this exposed portion of the wrist.
[Illustration: FIG. 43. Ice-shoes, Hudson strait Eskimo.]
Similar mittens of black sealskin are also worn by the men during damp
weather, or when handling objects which would easily soil a pair of
furred mittens. I have never seen a woman wear this kind of covering for
the hand. It appears to be exclusively worn by the men.
The men who engage in the late fall seal hunting protect their hands
with waterproof gauntlets, which reach well up over the forearm. These
keep the hands from being wet by the spray and by the drip from the
paddle. Fig. 44, No. 90074, represents one of these long mittens, made
of black tanned sealskin, and edged with a strip of hairy sealskin over
an inch wide. The back or upper portion of the mitten is made of a
single piece of black skin, the edge of which is crimped and turned
under to protect the fingers. The palm is a separate piece, joined to
the backpiece, and on it is a projecting part to form the inner half of
the thumb. The outer half of the thumb and the under side of the forearm
are made of a single piece, stitched to the palm portion and that which
covers the back of the hand and arm, so that, including the edging of
hairy skin, there are only four pieces of skin entering into the make of
a pair of these mittens. They are worn only by the men, and only when
they are engaged in work where the hands would be immersed in water
during cold weather. As the skin from which they are made is the same as
that used for water-tight boots, it is obvious that no moisture can
touch the skin of the hand.
[Illustration: FIG. 44. Long waterproof sealskin mitten.]
For protection from rain and wet they wear over their other clothes a
waterproof hooded frock (Fig. 45) made of seal entrails, preferably the
intestines of the bearded seal (_Erignathus barbatus_). The intestines
of animals killed in October are considered the best for this purpose.
They then are not so fat and require less dressing to clean them. The
contents are removed and they are filled with water and thoroughly
washed out. The fat and other fleshy matter adhering are removed by
means of a knife used as a scraper. This being done, the intestine is
inflated with air and strung along the tops of the rocks to dry. When
dry it is carefully flattened and rolled into tight bundles, like a
spool of ribbon, and laid away until wanted.
When required for use it is split longitudinally, and when spread open
is of variable width from 3 to 5 inches, depending on the size of the
animal. The edges of the strips are examined and any uneven portions are
cut off, making the strip of uniform width. There are three separate
pieces in a garment--the body and hood as one and the sleeves as two.
Sometimes the sleeves are made first and sometimes the body is sewed
first, and of this latter portion the hood is first formed. Strips are
sewed edge to edge with the exterior of the intestine to form the
outside of the garment. The edge is turned down, so as to leave a width
of a third of an inch, and turned to the right; the other strip is
similarly folded, but turned to the left and laid on the other strip.
Sinew from the back of a reindeer or from a seal is made into threads a
yard or more in length and of the thickness of medium-sized wrapping
cord. The needle is usually of a number 3 or 4 in size or of less
diameter than the thread in order that the thread shall the more
effectually fill up the hole made by the needle. The two strips are then
sewed with stitches about nine to the inch, through and through, in a
manner, I believe, termed running stitches. When a sufficient length is
obtained a third strip is added, and so on until the required number of
perpendicular strips form a sufficient width to surround the body. The
outer edges are then joined and the body of the garment is complete.
Portions are cut out and the hood assumes the desired shape, resembling
a nightcap attached to the body of a nightgown. The sleeves are sewed in
a similar manner and affixed to the body of the garment. The seams run
perpendicularly and not around the body in a spiral manner as in
garments made by the natives of Alaska for similar purposes. The edge of
the hood, the wrists, and the bottom of the garment are strengthened by
means of thin strips of sealskin sewed on the outside of those parts
where they are most liable to be torn. The garment is worn during wet
weather or while in the kaiak traveling on a rough sea. The bottom of
the garment is tied around the hoop of the kaiak in which the wearer
sits and thus effectually sheds the water from the body, except the
face, and keeps it from entering the kaiak.
[Illustration: FIG. 45. Waterproof gutfrock.]
Sometimes a drawstring closes the hood tightly around the face and
prevents the spray from entering. The string is usually tied at the top
of the hood, in which case it is rather difficult to untie.
When not in use the material must be well oiled and rolled up or it will
become so stiff that it can not be worn until it has been relaxed by
dipping in water. The sinew with which it is sewed swells when wet and
tightens the seams.
There is great difference in the length of the garments worn by the
eastern and the western Eskimo as well as in the manner of arranging the
strips of which they are made. The one worn by the people of Hudson
strait scarcely reaches to the hips of the wearer and is long enough
only to tie around the hoop of the kaiak. The ones worn by the Eskimo of
Northern sound, Alaska, falls to the knees, and those made by the Aleuts
are so long that they interfere with the feet in walking. The material
prepared by the eastern natives is not so good, as it is coarser and
stiffer than that of the sea lion (_Eumatopias stelleri_), used by the
natives of Alaska.
The weight of one of these garments when dry scarcely exceeds 6 or 7
ounces.
[Illustration: FIG. 46. Snow goggles--front.]
To protect the eyes from the glare of the snow, which is especially
trying when the sun is still low in early spring, snow goggles are worn
made to admit the light only through a narrow slit. (Figs. 46, and 47.)
Nos. 3186, 3187, 3188, 3189, 3190, 3191, 3192, 3193, 3197, 3198, 3199,
3200, and 3201 in the collection show such snow goggles made of wood.
A somewhat curved piece of wood is fashioned to fit the face over the
eyes; a notch is fitted for the nose to rest in. The lower side is about
half an inch thick, forming a flat surface. The front is perpendicular
and blackened with soot or gunpowder mixed with oil and applied to
darken the front surface to absorb the light of the sun's rays. Above
this is a ledge of half an inch projecting over the narrow longitudinal
slit through which the wearer may look. This projection is sometimes not
blackened on the underside, and where wood is scarce it is left off
altogether. Within, on the side next to the eyes, it is usually gouged
out to allow the eyelashes free movement. A piece of sealskin is affixed
at each end and either tied in a knot over the head to hold the wood in
position, or else a wider strip of skin is slit and one portion worn on
the top of the head while the other fits the back of the head to prevent
the goggles from falling off when the wearer stoops down.
[Illustration: FIG. 47. Snow-goggles--rear.]
DWELLINGS.
The winter dwellings of the Eskimo of Hudson strait consist of the usual
form of snow house. In this connection I may as well state that the
popular impression that the snow house described by Arctic travelers is
the only thing to be called an iglu is quite erroneous. The word "iglu"
is as fully generic in the Eskimo language as the word "house" is in the
English language. The correct term, as applied by the Eskimo, to the
snow house used as a dwelling is "ig lú ge ak" (Fig. 48.)
The first requisite for a snow house is snow. It must be of sufficient
depth and possess certain well-defined qualities. The snow may fall, but
until it has acquired sufficient depth for the size of blocks required
and firmness enough for strength to withstand the superposed weight
of the structure it is useless. An instrument termed snowknife
(p[)u]n[)u]k), shaped like a short sword, is used for the purpose of
cutting the blocks. The Eskimo seeks a place where the insertion of the
knife into the bed of snow will prove that the snow is in the proper
condition. He must then cut out a block of a size convenient to be
lifted. This is usually rejected as it may be irregular or broken.
Additional blocks, in size from 8 to 10 inches thick, 2 feet wide, and
slightly more in length are cut by a motion much resembling the act of
sawing, cutting the depth of the blade. The knife then cuts the bottom
off squarely and the block is lifted out, the builder standing where the
first blocks were cut from. The blocks are arranged on the bank of snow
around the pit in which the man stands. The first block usually is
somewhat triangular in shape for a purpose hereafter mentioned. The
second block is cut out and placed near the first, the end clipped with
the knife to allow the first joint to be close together. A third block
is cut and placed by the end of the second. It will now be seen that the
line of blocks is not straight, but curved concavely within. Additional
blocks are cut and placed end to end with each other until the first one
laid is reached. Here a longer block is cut to lay upon the inclined
side of the triangular-shaped block first used and so placed as to
"break" the joints, and thus render the structure more stable.
Additional blocks are placed on the first row, and as the operation
proceeds it will be seen that the blocks lie in a spiral form, gradually
drawing in as the structure rises, forming a dome-shaped wall of snow.
The key block at the top is carefully cut to fit the aperture and
inserted from the outside by the assistance of another person. All the
joints are carefully stopped up with spawls of snow or with snow crushed
between the hands and forced within the crevices.
[Illustration: FIG. 48. Deserted Eskimo snow houses,
near Fort Chimo.]
The floor of the snow house is the bed of snow from which the building
material was taken. The door is cut by taking blocks of snow from under
the bottom row of the foundation blocks. A trench is made, and along the
side of it the blocks are placed. An arched covering of the material
forms a sheltered passageway to the door.
When the snow house is to be occupied for a considerable time the
doorway may have walls of snow blocks piled as high as the shoulders,
with the top left open. This shields the entrance from wind and drifting
snow. Various forms of entrance are constructed, often very tortuous;
and when made a refuge by the numerous dogs they are not pleasant paths
along which to creep on hands and knees, for a panic may seize some
cowardly canine and all the dogs struggle to get suddenly out into the
open air. Vicious animals often wait until a white man gets about half
way through the entry and then make a sudden assault on him.
The interior of the house is arranged according to the number of persons
inhabiting it.
A raised bed, on which to sit during the day and sleep during the night,
is formed either by leaving a part of the snow-bank or else by bringing
in blocks and arranging them as a solid mass. On this are spread bows of
spruce, or dry grass, if obtainable, otherwise fine twigs of willow or
alder, and over these heavy reindeer or bear skins are thrown. On these
bed-skins are laid other softer skins of reindeer, with which to cover
the person on retiring to sleep. A window is sometimes set in the side
of the structure toward the sun. This is simply a piece of thick, clear
ice, from a lake, set in the wall of the dome. It admits light, although
it is generally light enough during the day within the snow-house unless
the walls be built particularly thick, but great thickness in certain
situations becomes necessary lest the winds and drifting snow wear away
the sides of the structure, causing it to admit the cold or tumble down.
Around the outside of the hut is sometimes built a protecting wall of
snow blocks, two or three feet high, to prevent the drifting snow from
wearing away the side of the dwelling. A storm of a single night's
duration is often sufficient to destroy a house.
The interior walls, in severe weather, become coated with frost films
from the breath, etc., condensing and crystallizing on the inside of the
dome and often presenting by the lamplight a brilliant show of myriads
of reflecting surfaces scintillating with greater luster than skillfully
set gems.
If the roof is not carefully shaped it is liable to cave in from the
heat within softening the snow, especially in moderate weather, and then
the entire structure falls.
Where the owner of the house has considerable possessions which must be
protected from the dogs and the weather, a similar structure is prepared
alongside of the dwelling and often connected with it by means of a
communicating passage-way. An exterior opening may be made and closed
with a block of snow. The larger articles, such as bags of oil and
bundles of skins, are put inside before the walls are up, if intended to
be stored for some time.
As I have slept in these snow-houses I can assert that, while very
uncomfortable, they afford a protection which can not be dispensed with.
When the doorway is open they soon become very cold, and when closed
upon several persons the heat becomes intolerable. Odors from the food
remain long after the remnants are disposed of, and where one has been
occupied for a long period the accumulation of refuse becomes so great
that a new structure is indispensable in order to get rid of it. All the
work of the different members of the family is performed within the
walls. The skins of animals are dressed and tanned there. The offal of
game and the hair from dressed skins mingle in one mass, which soon
putrefies and creates such a stench that only an Eskimo with most obtuse
sense of smell could inhabit the place.
When spring comes the huts begin to melt and in the course of a few warm
days fall down. If the weather is too inclement to permit a skin tent to
be occupied, the first hole in the wall may be patched with a deerskin,
but this will afford very limited protection from the cold of nights,
for, however warm the days, the nights will, until late in May, be so
cold that only the older individuals withstand the cold.
When the structure falls, melted by sun or rain, the miserable occupants
must erect temporary shelter of deerskin or cloth on the bare rocky
ridges. Those too poor to own a skin tent have often but a blanket of
deerskin, stretched over three or four poles, set to shelter them from
the chilly northerly winds usually prevailing at that season.
Here they must sojourn until the ice breaks from the shores of the coves
and bays, enabling the hunters to procure seals from the sea. Along the
shores one may often find camping sites of these poor wanderers
searching through the day for food and at night camping under the lee of
a wall of rock with little other covering than that worn during the day
and this often soaked with spray or rain.
Improvidence and indolence result in the most cruel privations toward
the end of winter. Many who are too weak and emaciated from lack of food
to pursue the chase to gain a living starve before reaching the sea and
are left to perish.
When the season is more advanced, and the weather warm enough, those who
are industrious and provident enough to be the possessors of sealskin
tents, move into them for the season.
The skin tent (Pl. XXXVII) is usually made of the skins of the largest
square flipper seals, those too heavy for any other purpose or not
necessary for other uses.
[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY ELEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XXXVII
ESKIMO TENT.]
The number of skins necessary to form a tent varies with the size
required. Generally as many as ten to fifteen are used, and such a tent
will accommodate a good sized family.
The hair is seldom removed from the skin, which is simply stretched as
it comes from the animal and freed from fat and fleshy particles. The
edges are trimmed and a sufficient number of skins are sewed together to
form a length for one side of the tent. The length of the individual
skins makes the height of the tent. A similar width is prepared for the
opposite side. The two pieces meet at the rear of the structure and are
there tied to the poles. A separate piece forms the door and may be
thrown one side when a person enters or goes out. The poles of the tent
are arranged as follows: Two pairs of poles are joined near the ends
with stout thongs and erected with the lower ends spread to the proper
width, forming the ends of the tent, on which the ridgepole is laid.
A single pole is now placed near each end of the ridgepole, resting on
the upright pairs, to prevent lateral motion. Two more such braces are
placed on each side and spread so as to give a somewhat rounded end to
the tent. Near the middle of the ridgepole is a pair of shorter poles
leaning against it to prevent the weight of the sides from bending the
ridgepole. It will be seen that eleven poles are necessary to support a
long tent, as the skins are very heavy. The skins and poles can be
transported when the umiak is able to carry them.
In case of continued rains the skins are placed so as nearly to meet
over the ridge and additional skins cover the space left between the
edges. When the tent is to be taken down the two widths are folded over,
each by itself, and then rolled into a compact bundle by beginning at
each end and folding toward the center, leaving sufficient space between
the rolls for a person to get his head and shoulders in. Two persons,
one for each roll, now assist the carrier, who kneels, bows his head,
and places the load on his head and shoulders. The two assist him to
rise and the heavy load is taken to the umiak and placed in the bottom
for ballast. The shorter poles are first laid in on the ribs of the boat
to keep the skins from the water should any seep through the seams.
The second bundle of tenting is laid on the first.
The tent of skins is the usual shelter during the season from the first
rain until a sufficient fall of snow occurs in the early winter from
which to construct an iglu gheak.
The interior of the skin tent is necessarily quite roomy on account of
the number of occupants. The farther end often has a stick of timber
laid across the floor, and behind this is the bedding for the owner, his
wives, and children. A man who is able to own a tent of this character
is also wealthy enough to have two or more wives. Along the remainder of
the sides within lie the other occupants, either in groups or singly,
depending on the degree of relationship existing between them. Guests
and others temporarily abiding with the host are assigned any portion of
the tent that the host may choose to select, usually, if great honor is
to be shown, the place lately occupied by himself. The central portion
is reserved for a fireplace for cooking and heating purposes. In this
structure is carried on all manner of work incidental to the season. The
tent is taken from place to place by means of the umiak when the food
supply of a locality is exhausted or another region promises greater
abundance.
All these summer occupations require a number of persons to successfully
prosecute them, hence the number dwelling in one tent is not often
detrimental, as the adults walk along the shore to drag the boat or
relieve it from their weight.
The owner of a tent is considered an important individual, and his favor
is retained by every means. A period of illness may cause him to lose
all his belongings and then on recovery he has to start life anew.
Several seasons may elapse before a sufficient number of skins will be
procured for him to make a tent, and this is immovable without a boat to
transport it, for when a sled might be used for that purpose there is
always enough snow from which to erect a shelter.
During the winter the skins are stored away on posts erected for the
purpose, or on piles of rocks where the various species of small animals
will not destroy them by eating holes in the oily skin. Mice and ermines
are very destructive to these skins, often causing sad havoc in a short
time. By the spring the owner may be miles away from the scene of the
previous autumnal hunt and be unable to go after the tent, which, with
the summer rain and decay, becomes useless, imposing the severe task of
collecting skins for a second tent.
In former times these people inhabited permanent winter houses like
those used by the Eskimo elsewhere, as is shown by the ruins of sod and
stone houses to be seen in various parts of the country. These appear to
have had walls of stone built up to support the roof timbers, with the
interstices filled up with turf or earth. From the depression remaining
in the inside of these ruins, the floor seems to have been excavated to
a greater or less depth.
The present inhabitants relate that their ancestors dwelt in these huts,
but can not explain why they were deserted, or why such structures are
not erected at the present day.
HOUSEHOLD ARTICLES.
There is very little in these dwellings that can be called furniture,
besides the bed places already referred to. The other articles requisite
for housekeeping consist of a lamp of soapstone, kettles to hang over
it, a frame suspended above the lamp for drying various articles, and
sundry wooden bowls, buckets, and cups, besides similar vessels made of
sealskin.
[Illustration: FIG. 49. Soapstone lamp, Koksoagmyut.]
The lamp (poqíla), which is the only source of heat and light in the
snow house, is, roughly speaking, a large shallow bowl of soapstone
filled with oil, which is burned by means of a wick of moss, arranged
round one edge of the bowl.
[Illustration: FIG. 50. Soapstone lamp, Koksoagmyut.]
The material from which these lamps are made occurs in isolated bowlders
on the surface of the ground at various places in the region. These
bowlders are often of great size.
[Illustration: FIG. 51. Soapstone lamp, Koksoagmyut.]
The general form of these lamps, which will be best understood from the
figures (Figs. 49, 50, 51), is nearly always the same, the variations
being apparently due to the lack of material. The cavity for holding the
oil varies in capacity, according to the size of the lamp, from half a
pint to nearly three quarts. It is, however, never filled to the brim,
for fear it should run over. The consumption of oil depends upon the
number of wicks lighted at once, and also on the character of the wick.
[Illustration: FIG. 52. Frame for drying mittens.]
[Illustration: FIG. 53. Soapstone kettle.]
The wick in general use is prepared from a kind of moss, which grows in
large patches close to the ground, the stalks rising perpendicularly,
and the whole so matted together that it may be cut into any desired
form. From these patches pieces are cut an inch or two wide, a third of
an inch thick and two or three inches in length, and laid away to dry.
When one of these is to be used the woman squeezes the fibers together
with her teeth, trims it, and sets it in the oil, and lights it. The
light from one of these wicks is nearly equal to that of an inch wick
fed with a good quality of kerosene. The heat is very great. For
cooking, a larger wick is used, or two of the smaller ones set side by
side. Over the lamp is placed a frame for drying wet boots, mittens,
and such things. Fig. 52 represents one of these (No. 3048), which is a
semicircle or bow of wood with the ends fastened to a straight piece of
wood. Across these strands of sinew or sealskin forms a sort of netting
having large meshes. On this rests the article to be dried. Under this
is a support formed of two sharp-pointed pegs which are stuck into the
snow forming the side of the hut. On the outer end of these is fastened,
or laid across them, a piece of wood. The shape of the support is that
of a long staple with square corners. In some instances the pegs form
only a wide V-shape, and the frame for supporting the articles laid
directly on this. A block of wood hollowed out to receive the convex
bottom of the lamp is sometimes used to support the latter.
[Illustration: FIG. 54. Soapstone kettle.]
In former times cooking over these lamps was universally performed in
kettles of soapstone, in which cooking was also done by putting heated
stones into the water. These soapstone kettles are, however, quite
superseded by utensils of civilized manufacture. I, however, succeeded
in collecting two full-sized stone kettles, and one little one, made for
a child's toy. The figures (Figs. 53, 54) show the shape of these
vessels sufficiently well. The handles are made of strips of whalebone.
The larger kettle (No. 3179) is nearly 13 inches long, and will hold
nearly a gallon. They were made of different capacities in former times,
varying from about a pint to a full gallon.
[Illustration: FIG. 55. Wooden dish.]
Oblong shallow dishes (pu-ghu´-tak) for holding oil or food are carved
from larch knots. The figure (Fig. 55) represents a model of one of
these. Buckets and cups of various sizes for holding water and other
fluids are made of tanned seal skin sewed with sinew. The sides of the
bucket are a strip of seal skin bent into a ring, with a round piece of
seal skin sewed on for a bottom. Sometimes a seal-skin bail is added, or
a wooden handle sewed to the lips of the cup, making it into a dipper
(Figs. 56, 57.) Wooden baskets are made in a similar fashion. A strip of
spruce wood is bent nearly circular. The ends of the strip are fastened
with fine iron wire. The bottom is a separate piece and has a rim or
edge for the upper part to set on, and is held in place by means of
small wooden pegs driven through and into the bottom.
[Illustration: FIG. 56. Sealskin bucket.]
[Illustration: FIG. 57. Sealskin cup.]
The capacity of these vessels is seldom more than a couple of quarts,
and generally less. They are principally used to ladle water into the
cooking kettles. All these vessels of native manufacture are being
rapidly displaced by tin cups and small kettles.
FOOD AND ITS PREPARATION.
Under certain conditions a great portion of their food is eaten raw,
but it is invariably cooked when it conveniently can be. Frozen food is
consumed in great quantities. I have seen them strip and devour the
back, fat, and flesh from the body of a deer while the fibers were yet
quivering. The entrails of many species of birds are taken from the body
and, while yet warm, swallowed much after the manner of swallowing an
oyster. The eggs which have been incubated to an advanced degree are as
eagerly devoured as those quite fresh.
The deer meat, killed the previous fall and frozen for three or four
months, is cut into huge chunks and gnawed with as much satisfaction as
though it was the finest pastry. On such occasions I have seen the
person appointed to chop up the frozen meat scatter the pieces among the
expectant crowd with as little ceremony as that of throwing ears of corn
to the hogs in a pen. For a change the frozen pieces of meat are
sometimes warmed or thawed before the fire.
The blood of the deer is often mixed with the half-digested mass of food
in the stomach of the animal, and the stomach, with its contents, with
the addition of the blood, eaten raw or boiled. Sometimes it is laid
aside to ferment and then frozen and eaten in this condition.
Strips of fat from a seal and the blood of the animal are put into a
kettle and heated. The oily liquid is eaten with the greatest relish.
Seal oil is used for food in about the same manner as we use syrups.
Years of almost daily intercourse with these people have failed to show
the ability of any person to drink seal or whale oil without illness
resulting. They never drink pure oil under any circumstances, except as
a laxative. The statement often made that these people drink oil as food
is simply preposterous. Such statements doubtless arose from seeing
other preparations of food having an abundance of oil upon them. Lean
flesh is often dipped into oil and then eaten. If partaken of without
oil in as great quantities as these people require, a torpid condition
of the liver and alimentary canal results, and they thus employ the pure
oil to relieve themselves.
Vegetable food is little used except in the vicinity of the trading
stations. Those accustomed to the use of flour, bread, peas, beans, and
rice are very fond of them, and often express regret that they will be
deprived of them when on their hunting expeditions.
Native plants afford little help as food. During the season when the
various berries are ripe all the people gorge themselves. They have a
special fondness for the akpik (_Rubus choemomorus_). The sun scarcely
reddens the side of these berries, locally known as "bake apple," before
the children scour the tracts where they grow, and eat of the
half-ripened fruit with as much relish as the civilized boy does the
fruit purloined from a neighbor's orchard. Other berries contribute
their share as food.
When on trips the women often gather a few green herbs and put them in a
kettle of water and make an infusion in lieu of tea. They are fond of
tea, coffee, and sugar. Molasses is eaten alone or with something dipped
in it.
The Eskimo drink often and astonishing quantities of water at a time.
If the weather be very cold they often drink the water which has been
heated on a fire, asserting that the hot water does not weaken them as
much as cold water would do.
When a seal has been killed and is being brought to camp, the hunter
signifies his success from a distance, and those in camp raise a joyous
shout. The animal is drawn ashore and skinned. The flesh is devoured raw
as the process goes on, or may be divided, certain portions being given
the different persons. The blood is collected, and when the meat is
boiled it is mixed with the hot liquid and forms a nutritious dish,
eagerly devoured by both adults and young. The children revel in this
dish to a sacrifice of cleanliness.
The feast is continued until the flesh has been devoured and the people
gorged to their utmost capacity. Stories are told and general good humor
prevails. The different species of fish which frequent the shallow
waters of the bays are used as food.
TOBACCO AND SNUFF.
All the adults are addicted to the use of tobacco, both for smoking and
chewing and in the form of snuff, although it is not everyone that uses
tobacco in all three ways.
The plug tobacco, used for smoking and chewing, is carried in a small
pouch of seal skin attached to the belt, which keeps it from being
dampened by perspiration or rain. Watches are also carried in the same
receptacle. Fig. 58 (No. 74485) is such a bag, made of hairy seal skin.
The edges alone are trimmed with lighter colored strips of seal skin.
A string holds the mouth of the bag together after it is rolled up.
A loop at one corner enables the bearer to affix it to his belt when
traveling to avoid the necessity of opening the bag in which he usually
carries such small things.
Leaf tobacco is preferred for the preparation of snuff, but as this is
not always to be had plug is often used. This is shredded up and dried,
and when dry enough is reduced to a powder by inclosing a quantity in a
fold of seal skin and pounding it with a stone or stick.
[Illustration: FIG. 58. Tobacco pouch.]
Snuff is kept in a purse-shaped bag, closed at the mouth with a thong.
To it is attached a little spoon made of ivory. Various forms of this
implement are made. The general appearance is that of a common spoon,
of which the ends and sides of the bowl are cut off. At the end of the
handle is a slight depression for containing the snuff, which is held
firmly against the orifice of the nostril and inhaled by a sudden
indrawing of the breath while the thumb of the other hand closes the
opposite nostril.
The old women appear more addicted to the use of snuff than any of the
men. The effect of inhaling the strong snuff is quickly shown in the
face. It seems to affect people more than the use of tobacco in any
other way.
MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION.
BY WATER.
The principal means of conveyance by water with the Eskimo of Hudson
strait, is the umiak, referred to by most writers as the woman's boat.
This appellation is not more applicable than would be the term family
boat. The women use the boat alone only on rare occasions, and then in
quiet water and for short distances. Men are nearly always in it, and
under the guidance of one of these, the boat is used for long journeys.
The form of the umiak, in the region under consideration, differs
greatly from that of the Eskimo of Bering sea. (See Fig. 59, from a
model.)
The size of the boat is variable according to the means of the builder
and the size of the family to be conveyed in it. The length of the keel
is from 10 to 25 feet. Over all the length is 1 or 2 feet greater than
on the keel. It will be thus seen that the ends are nearly
perpendicular. It is difficult to determine at the first glance which is
the bow and which the stern, so nearly alike are they. They only differ
in the former being somewhat wider at the upper edge or rail.
[Illustration: FIG. 59. Eskimo umiak.]
The keel is a straight piece of wood hewed from a single stick, nearly 4
inches square. The stem and stern posts are nearly alike, the latter
having but little slope, and are cut from curved or crooked stems of
trees. A tree may be found, which, when hewed, will form the sternpost
and keel in one length. Otherwise the fore and aft posts have places cut
out for the insertion of the respective ends of the keel, and are
fastened firmly by stout thongs of sealskin thrust through holes bored
in the wood and ingeniously lashed. As the bottom of the umiak is flat
the sides of the bottom are formed of square rails of sufficient length
and given the desired spread. They are held at the ends by being joined
to the keel. Crosspieces notched at the ends separate the bottom rails
and are steadied in position by being notched so as to sit on the square
keel. On the ends of the crosspieces is laid a second rail which
prevents them from rising and serves to strengthen the ends of the ribs,
which are set alternately with the crosspieces of the keel. The ribs are
attached to the lower or bottom rail by means of sealskin lashing. Along
the upper ends of the ribs is placed a longer rail of smaller diameter
and usually shaved round. This rail is usually set half its diameter
into rounded notches of the upper ends of the ribs and fastened by
thongs. Within and below the top rail is a shorter rail, generally
smaller than the upper, tied by thongs to the ribs and posts fore and
aft. A wide board projecting several inches on each side of the stern
serves as a seat for the steersman. The ends of the top rails are laid
over this board and attached to it. A similar board is placed at the
forward end or bow, but is, of course, longer as that end is the wider
of the two.
Three to five thwarts, serving as seats for the occupants, are placed at
proper intervals, having their ends resting on the inside top rail. One
of these thwarts also serves to steady the mast, which is stepped into
the keel and lashed to the thwart.
On the side of the boat and resting on the top rail are pieces of wood
firmly lashed. A notch, or rowlock, is cut into them to serve as rests
for the heavy oars. The oars are held into the notch by means of loops
of stout thong, the ends of the loops passing each other, one from
forward and the other from aft, and through both of the loop ends the
inner end of the oar is thrust. The loops serve to hold the oar when not
in use, otherwise it would float away; yet the position of them allows
the oars to lie alongside in the water. The oars are heavy and as much
as 10 feet long for a large umiak. The women generally run the boat and
are assisted by the younger men of the party who may not be walking
along the shore. Two or more females sit side by side and if they be
insufficient a third person faces them and assists in the labor. It is a
favorite place for a young man with his sweetheart. The steersman sits
on the after board and attends to the helm and sail when the latter is
in use. The sail is a nearly square sheet of cloth spread by a yard
across the top. The lower corners have each a rope which the helmsman
holds. A fair wind only can be used to advantage as the oomiak, from its
flat bottom, is unable to go to windward. With a breeze nearly aft they
can be made to sail at a good speed.
The covering of the umiak is made of skins of the largest seals. The
skins are freed from hair and all adhering flesh and fat, and stretched
to their utmost tension.
They are then cut into the proper shape and sewed together. The edge of
one skin overlaps that of the other and the lap is then tacked over the
shorter edge and attached to the other skin so as to form two seams at
each junction.
Those portions which are to cover the bottom are sewed with special
care, as the seams are liable to be strained in shoving the boat over
the oars when it is taken from the water at each camp. When skins are
sewed side to side in sufficient number to fit the length of the frame
they are lifted around it and temporarily placed in position. The
superfluous portions are cut out or additional pieces put in until it
fits properly on the frame. Holes, 3 or 4 inches apart, are cut in the
edges of the skin and stout thongs are passed through these and over the
top rail to the inner rail. All the strength of the individual is now
applied to draw the skin over the top rail. Being wet it readily
stretches, and when the entire covering is drawn sufficiently tight the
lashing around the rail is permanently fastened. The boat is then turned
keel up to dry. If the skin has been properly cut and stretched it
sounds like a drum when struck.
When in use the greatest care must be exercised to prevent contact with
rocks, but in shallow water it frequently happens that a hole is cut in
the skin of the boat, when the rent must be patched with a piece of
skin. During the winter months the umiak is placed on staging of posts
to protect it from the ravages of mice and other animals.
Journeys of considerable length are undertaken in these boats. A large
family, or two or more families, may remove to a distance to try their
fortunes. They always stop at night and during bad weather, and the
journey is accomplished by easy stages. All the portable possessions of
the family are taken in these boats, which are often loaded to such a
degree that the older people have to walk along the shores and only go
into the umiak to relieve some one who desires to walk. Where the beach
is good a tracking line is attached to the bow and those on shore drag
the boat along. The dogs which accompany the party are sometimes
harnessed and made to pull. The tracking line is called into requisition
whenever a trip is made up a river to the hunting grounds for reindeer.
The kaiak or skin canoe used by the Eskimo of Hudson strait belongs to
the Greenland type. It is quite different from that used by the natives
of Alaska. These boats vary from 18 to 26 feet in length; the greatest
width, one-third of the distance aft the hole where the rower sits,
being one-seventh to one-ninth of the entire length of the kaiak. The
ends are sharp, the prow much more acute than the stern. The bottom is
quite flat and the frame for the keel and sides at the bottom is
arranged similarly to that of the umiak. The prow is simply an extension
of the keel and slopes above the water to a height nearly double that of
the stern. The slope of the stern is gradual and short. The side timbers
at the bottom have the upper surface gouged so as to allow the lower
ends of the nearly perpendicular ribs to rest in the groove. The ribs
extend across the bottom, resting on the side timber and keel. Their
upper ends are inserted in the upper rail, which extends the entire
length of the kaiak. The upper rails are held apart by crosspieces of
different lengths, according to position. On the top of these upper
crosspieces is laid a piece which extends to the nose of the kaiak.
A similar, but shorter one, is laid from the hole where the rower sits
to the stern of the kaiak. The hole for his body is placed between a
pair of crossbars where the equilibrium will be best maintained. The
hoop of wood which outlines the hole is variable in shape, but resembles
half of a short ellipse, the posterior of which is slightly curved to
fit the back of the rower. Just forward of the seat the upper surface of
the canoe is somewhat elevated by the curvature of the crossbars, and it
thus enables the rower to have greater freedom for his limbs than he
otherwise would. This particular part, the elevation just forward of
him, alone resembles any portion of the kaiaks used by the Alaskan
Eskimo, and of these, only the sub-tribes in the vicinity of Bering
strait [and thence to Point Barrow.--J. M.] have that part of the kaiak
so fashioned. With that exception the top of the Hudson strait kaiak is
flat on the top. Just forward of the hatch, two or three stout thongs
are sewed to the outer edge of each side of the boat and extend across
the top. A similar thong is placed behind. Under these thongs are placed
the paddle, also the spears, and other hunting gear. Small game is
sometimes tied to these.
The outfit, consisting of spears and their appurtenances, properly
belongs with the kaiak. Of these implements, there are different kinds,
depending on the game and the season of the year. As the kaiak is used
only during the seasons of open water it is laid aside during the
winter.
I remember an instance occurring opposite Fort Chimo. A kaiak had been
left until the ice in the river was firm enough to enable the vessel to
be brought over on it to the station. One day a woman declared that she
could see a wolf tearing the skin from the frame. It was scarcely
credited, but in the course of half an hour the wolf started across
towards the post. It was met and showed some disposition to attack, but
was shot. I watched to see where the men went to look at the kaiak, and
when they reached the place I was astounded that the woman could discern
even the kaiak at such a distance.
The spear used for white whales and large seals consists of a wooden
shaft of 6 or 8 feet in length, having a projection on the side, made of
ivory and shaped like the fin of a fish. This fin-shaped piece rests
against the forefinger, while the remainder of the hand grasps the
shaft. The lower end of the shaft terminates in a piece of bone or ivory
of 1 to 11/3 inches in diameter. (Fig. 67.) A socket is made in the end
of the bone portion, and the wooden shaft is nicely fitted into it and
fastened either by thongs or rivets. At the farther end of the bone head
is a thimble-shaped hole gouged out, and into this a short piece of
straight bone or ivory is fitted, having the ends so shaped that they
will work smoothly into the hole at the end of the bone head of the
spear. The farther end of this bone shaft is so shaped that it will work
into the bone or ivory portion of the piece into which the spear point
is fastened. The point is shown in the accompanying figure (Fig. 68) and
is not much varied in general shape. There are two joints between the
spear point and the bone shaft head. This enables the spear-point to
become easily detached when the game is pierced. If this were not so,
the bone or ivory would soon break with the violent motions of the
animal, and the implement would be rendered useless until repaired.
Thongs connect the various parts together, also connecting them with the
main shaft of the spear. A long line, usually left lying in a coil just
in front of the hunter, gives ample scope for play until the animal is
exhausted. If the sea is rough or the hunter unable to cope with the
quarry, the float, to be described below, is thrown over and the seal or
whale allowed to take its course, the hunter following and endeavoring
to harass the animal as much as possible, giving it a stab with the hand
spear whenever occasion offers.
In addition to the whale or seal spear, the hand spear, float, and
paddle, the kaiaker may have a wooden shaft, on the end of which are
three prongs of barbed iron, each prong 8 to 10 inches long, and set in
the form of a divergent trident. With this implement, small seals and
the white-coated young are killed. Birds, too, are sometimes speared
with this trident.
The hand board, or implement with which certain spears are hurled, is a
piece of wood of such shape that a description will give but little idea
of its form. It is about 14 inches long, flat, and has a groove on one
side into which the rear end of the spear shaft rests, and is supported
by the three fingers of the hand while the index finger fits into a hole
cut through the board, of the shape to accommodate that digit. The tip
of the finger rests against the shaft of the spear. Other notches are
cut along the side of the board to enable the three fingers to lie in
position to give a firm grasp on the end or handle of the board. The
thumb turns over so as to lie directly on the spear, to steady it, while
the other fingers give the spear the necessary straight motion when the
arm is drawn back and raised nearly perpendicularly. When it reaches
that position the motion is arrested and the fingers release the
implement held along the groove. The hand board or thrower is retained
and the spear recovered if the object has not been struck. If the aim
was good the spear remains attached to the struggling animal, and the
hand board is quickly placed under one of the thongs stretched across
the top of the kaiak. The paddle is held in the left hand and ready for
instant use.
The paddle is quite heavy and of variable length, having long, narrow
blades, which are alternately dipped into the water. The use of the
paddle requires some practice before one becomes accustomed to it. When
in use the paddle rests on the edge of the hoop, forming the rim of the
hatch, and moves along it in the motion of propulsion.
As the paddle dips into the water the dripping often causes the clothing
to become wet. To obviate this, these people use a piece of plaited rope
or skin to slip nearly to the beginning of the blade. This causes the
dripping to fall outside of the kaiak; and in cold weather is very
necessary, unless heavy mittens of tanned sealskin be worn.
An implement used for hooking into the body of a sunken seal or whale is
made in the following manner: A piece of wood is prepared about 8 feet
long and three-fourths of an inch thick, having a width of an inch and a
half. The lower end of this has a strong hook made of stout iron set
into it. Along the inner edge of the wooden shaft two or three notches
are cut. The end near the person has a V-shaped notch cut into it. This
is used for all the purposes of a boat hook, and also to retrieve a
sunken animal. A weight is attached to near the hook end to keep the
shaft perpendicular in the water. A line of sufficient length is
attached to it. The hunter has marked the locality, and with the hook
"feels" the bottom for the game. When found the hook is jerked into the
skin and the object brought to the surface. The staff is very necessary
while the kaiak is being moved through narrow channels among the ice
fields. It is, in fact, available in many instances where the paddle
would, from its length, be useless. The kaiak outfit would be incomplete
without the hook.
A young man starts out in life with a gun and ammunition with which to
procure game. If he has the energy to become a successful hunter he will
soon be able to make a kaiak, and thus procure the marine mammals whose
skins will afford a covering for an umiak and in the course of time
additional skins for a tent. These possessions usually come in the order
laid down, and when they are all procured he is generally able to have
others under his direction assist in transporting them from place to
place; and thus he becomes the head of a gens or family, including his
brothers and sisters with their husbands, wives, and children. These
usually move in a body wherever the head may dictate, and all their
possessions accompany them on the journey. Brothers often live together
and own the tent and umiak, the remainder of the household affairs being
considered as individual property and not to be used by all without
permission.
Some of the men are too improvident to prepare these skins when they
have the opportunity, and thus they are unable to own a kaiak, which
prevents them from providing themselves with the umiak and tent. These
persons must live with others or dwell by themselves and pass a
miserable existence, scarcely noticed by their fellows even during a
season of abundance.
The collection contains one full-sized kaiak, with all its fittings, and
their models, including a toy kaiak cut from a walrus tusk. The model is
just 9 inches long and quite perfect in form. The double-bladed paddle
accompanying is made from the same material, and is six inches long.
ON LAND.
The universal means of transportation on land is the sled, drawn by
dogs. The number of dogs used to draw a sled varies according to the
distance to be traveled, the character of the country, the condition of
the animals, and the weight of the load to be drawn. From one to twenty
dogs may be used. The common team for general purposes is seven or nine
animals.
The method of constructing sleds differs slightly in different parts of
the region, and then only where the material may be difficult to obtain
or a heavy sled may not be needed. A tree of a suitable size is
selected, generally larch, because of its greater strength, although
somewhat heavier than the spruce.
It is necessary, for greater strength, that each runner be of a single
piece of timber. The length of the runner is from 12 to 16 feet; the
height varies from 10 to 12 inches. The piece must be as nearly free
from knots and crossgrain as possible, for these defects render the wood
very brittle during cold weather. The runners are roughly hewn at the
place where originally cut, and, when needed, they are brought to the
temporary camping place of the Eskimo, and there dressed with plane and
saw to the required form. The bottom of the runner is usually 2½ to 3
inches thick, gradually becoming thinner by one-half an inch to an inch
toward the top. This enables the sled to make a wider track at the
bottom and encounter less friction of the runner sides ag
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