{"collection":"folklore-oral-tradition","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_39659/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_39659","id":"gutenberg_39659","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/39659","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Archaeology & Anthropology","Category: Environmental Issues","Category: History - Other","Indians of North America -- Qu\u00e9bec (Province) -- Ungava Peninsula -- Folklore","Indians of North America -- Qu\u00e9bec (Province) -- Ungava Peninsula -- Social life and customs","Inuit -- Qu\u00e9bec (Province) -- Ungava Peninsula -- Folklore","Inuit -- Qu\u00e9bec (Province) -- Ungava Peninsula -- Social life and customs"],"text":"Produced by Louise Hope, Carlo Traverso, and the Online\nDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This\nfile was produced from images generously made available\nby the Biblioth\u00c3\u00a8que Nationale de France (BnF/Gallica) at\nhttp://gallica.bnf.fr and The Internet Archive at\nhttp://www.archive.org)\n\n\n\n\n\n[Transcriber's Note:\n\nThis text is intended for users whose text readers cannot use the \"real\"\n(Unicode/UTF-8) version of the file. Characters that could not be fully\ndisplayed have been \"unpacked\" and shown in brackets:\n\n [)e] [)i] [)u] (vowel with breve or \"short\" sign)\n [-e] (e with macron or \"long\" sign)\n\nExcept for [)i], all are rare. The \"oe\" ligature, also rare, is shown as\nseparate letters. The \"cents\" sign \u00a2 is used in place of the correct\ncharacter.\n\nBold or sans-serif type (rare) is shown =like this=. Except for footnote\nmarkers, expanded diacritics and similar, brackets [ ] are in the\noriginal.\n\nCorrections and variant spellings are listed at the end of the e-text,\nalong with some details of vocabulary.\n\nAt the time this article was written, the Ungava district was part of\nthe Northwest Territories. It was transferred to Quebec in 1912. As of\nspring 2012, Ungava corresponds loosely to the Nunavik administrative\ndivision; maps may show either name.]\n\n\n * * * * *\n * * * *\n\n Smithsonian Institution--Bureau Of Ethnology.\n\n ETHNOLOGY\n\n of the\n\n UNGAVA DISTRICT, HUDSON BAY TERRITORY.\n\n By LUCIEN M. TURNER.\n\n * * * *\n * * * * *\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n Page.\n\n Introduction 167\n Fort Chimo and the surrounding region 167\n Climate 172\n Auroras 173\n Vegetation 173\n Animal life 174\n Mammals 174\n Birds 175\n\n The native inhabitants of the country--general sketch 175\n The Eskimo 175\n The Indians 181\n\n Special account of the people around Fort Chimo 184\n The Koksoagmyut 184\n Physical characteristics 184\n Diseases 187\n Marriage 188\n Children 190\n Burial customs 191\n Religion 193\n Outdoor life 202\n Tattooing 207\n Clothing 208\n Dwellings 223\n Household articles 228\n Food and its preparation 232\n Tobacco and snuff 234\n Means of transportation 235\n By water 235\n On land 240\n Weapons and other hunting implements 246\n Hunting 249\n Miscellaneous implements 252\n Amusements 254\n Art 259\n Story-telling and folklore 260\n Origin of the Innuit 261\n The coming of the white people 261\n Origin of living things on the earth and in the water 261\n Origin of the guillemots 262\n Origin of the raven 262\n Origin of the quadrangular spots on the loon's back 262\n Origin of the gulls 263\n Origin of the hawks 263\n Origin of the swallow 263\n The hare 263\n The wolf 263\n Lice 263\n Origin of mosquitoes 264\n Story of the man and his fox wife 264\n The rivals 264\n The jealous man 264\n Story of the orphan boy 265\n The origin of the sun, moon, and stars 266\n Auroras 266\n The sky 266\n The winds 267\n The Nenenot or \"Naskopie\" 267\n Principal characteristics 267\n Clothing 281\n Preparation of the skins for clothing 292\n Dwellings 298\n Sweat houses 300\n Household utensils, etc. 300\n Tobacco and pipes 302\n Means of transportation 304\n By water 304\n By land 308\n Weapons 312\n Hunting 316\n Miscellaneous implements, tools, etc. 317\n Amusements 320\n Festivals 322\n Folklore 327\n Story of the wolverine and the brant 327\n Story of the wolverine 327\n The deer and the squirrel 328\n The young man who went to live with the deer 328\n The wolf's daughter going to seek her lover 330\n The devil punishing a liar 333\n A wolverine destroys his sister 333\n The rabbit and the frog 334\n The wolverine and the rock 336\n Creation of people by the wolverine and the muskrat 338\n Origin of the whitish spot on the throat of the marten 338\n The Indian and his beaver wife 339\n The venturesome hare 340\n The spirit guiding a child left by its parents 342\n Fate of two Indian men 343\n The starving wolverine 345\n The starving Indians 349\n\n\n\n\nILLUSTRATIONS.\n\n Page.\n\nPLATE XXXVI. View on Koksoak River 170\n XXXVII. Eskimo tent 226\n XXXVIII. Stone tobacco pipes 302\n XXXIX. Birchbark canoe, Nenenot, Koksoak river pattern 304\n XL. Nenenot snowshoe--\"swallow-tail\" 308\n XLI. Nenenot snowshoe--\"beaver-tail\" 310\n XLII. Nenenot snowshoe--\"round-end\" 312\n XLIII. Doll, Indian woman, full dress, Nenenot 326\n\nFIG. 21. Eskimo grave. 192\n 22. Magic doll 197\n 23. Belt of magic doll 198\n 24. Talisman attached to magic doll 199\n 25. Talisman 199\n 26. Talisman 199\n 27. Talisman 200\n 28. Eskimo woman's amulet 201\n 29. Eskimo birdskin cap 209\n 30. Eskimo man's deerskin coat (front) 210\n 31. Eskimo man's deerskin coat (back) 211\n 32. Eskimo man's sealskin coat (front) 212\n 33. Eskimo man's sealskin coat (side) 213\n 34. Eskimo woman's deerskin coat 214\n 35. Eskimo woman's deerskin coat 215\n 36. Eskimo woman's deerskin coat 215\n 37. Eskimo woman's deerskin coat 216\n 38. Eskimo woman's sealskin coat 216\n 39. Eskimo woman's deerskin coat 217\n 40. Back view of same 217\n 41. Eskimo boots 218\n 42. Eskimo shoes 219\n 43. Ice shoes, Hudson strait Eskimo 219\n 44. Long waterproof sealskin mitten 220\n 45. Waterproof gut frock 221\n 46. Snow goggles--front 222\n 47. Snow goggles--rear 223\n 48. Deserted Eskimo snowhouses near Fort Chimo 224\n 49. Soapstone lamp, Koksoagmyut 229\n 50. Soapstone lamp, Koksoagmyut 229\n 51. Soapstone lamp, Koksoagmyut 229\n 52. Frame for drying mittens 230\n 53. Soapstone kettle 230\n 54. Soapstone kettle 231\n 55. Wooden dish 231\n 56. Sealskin bucket 232\n 57. Sealskin cup 232\n 58. Tobacco pouch 234\n 59. Eskimo Umiak 235\n 60. Dog whip 244\n 61. Bow, East Main Eskimo (back) 246\n 62. Bow, East Main Eskimo (side) 246\n 63. Arrow, East Main Eskimo 247\n 64. Arrow, East Main Eskimo 247\n 65. Arrow, East Main Eskimo 247\n 66. Bow case, East Main Eskimo 248\n 67. Hand spear for killing seals, from kaiak, Koksoak 249\n 68. Toggle head for hand spear 250\n 69. Sealskin float 250\n 70. Ivory snow knife, Koksoagmyut 253\n 71. Back-scratcher, Koksoagmyut 253\n 72. Ivory needle case, Koksoagmyut 254\n 73. Ivory needle case, Koksoagmyut 254\n 74. Sealskin needle cushion, with thimble, Koksoagmyut 254\n 75. \"Cup and ball,\" Koksoagmyut 256\n 76. Football and driver, Koksoagmyut 256\n 77. Dominoes, Hudson strait Eskimo 257\n 78. Eskimo doll, man 258\n 79. Eskimo doll, woman 258\n 80. Eskimo doll, woman 259\n 81. Eskimo doll, woman 259\n 82. Eskimo violin 259\n 83. Birds carved in ivory 260\n 84. Human figure carved in ivory 260\n 85. Indian medicine lodge 274\n 86. Indian amulet of bearskin 275\n 87. Indian buckskin coat, man's (front) 281\n 88. Indian buckskin coat, man's (back) 282\n 89. Detail of pattern painted on Indian garment 282\n 90. Detail of pattern painted on deerskin robe 283\n 91. Indian buckskin leggings 283\n 92. Indian moccasins 284\n 93. Indian mittens 285\n 94. Beaded headband, Nenenot 286\n 95. Man's winter coat (front) 287\n 96. Man's winter coat (back) 288\n 97. Detail of ornamentation 288\n 98. Man's winter coat, with hood 289\n 99. Man's winter coat, with hood 290\n 100. Nenenot woman in full winter dress 291\n 101. Sealskin headband, Nenenot 292\n 102. Skin scraper (front), Nenenot 292\n 103. Skin scraper (side), Nenenot 292\n 104. Skin-cleaning tool, Nenenot 293\n 105. Skin-cleaning tool (iron-bladed), Nenenot 294\n 106. Paint stick, Nenenot 296\n 107. 296\n 108. Paint stick, Nenenot 296\n 109. Paint stick, Nenenot 297\n 110. Paint stick, Nenenot 297\n 111. Paint cup, Nenenot 297\n 112. Paint cup, Nenenot 297\n 113. Paint cup, Nenenot 298\n 114. Nenenot Indian tent 298\n 115. Wooden bucket, Nenenot 301\n 116. Birchbark basket, Nenenot 301\n 117. Birchbark basket, Nenenot 301\n 118. Stone pestle, Nenenot 302\n 119. Wooden spoon or ladle, Nenenot 302\n 120. Wooden spoon or ladle, Nenenot 302\n 121. Wooden spoon or ladle, Nenenot 303\n 122. Wooden spoon or ladle, Nenenot 303\n 123. Stone tobacco pipe 304\n 124. Pipe cleaner, Nenenot 304\n 125. Spoon for applying grease to canoe 306\n 126. Toboggan, Nenenot, side view 307\n 127. Toboggan, Nenenot, from above 307\n 128. Nenenot snowshoe, single bar 308\n 129. Nenenot snowshoe, single bar 309\n 130. Snowshoe needle, Nenenot 310\n 131. Wooden snowshoe, Little Whale river 311\n 132. Bow, Nenenot 312\n 133. Arrow, Nenenot 313\n 134. Arrow, Nenenot 313\n 135. Arrow, Nenenot 313\n 136. Arrow, Nenenot 313\n 137. Deer lance, Nenenot 314\n 138. White whale spear, Little Whale river 314\n 139. Point of white whale spear enlarged 314\n 140. Reindeer snare, Nenenot 315\n 141. Crooked knife, Nenenot 317\n 142. Awl, Nenenot 318\n 143. Snow shovel, Nenenot 318\n 144. Ice scoop, Nenenot 318\n 145. 319\n 146. Comb, with birchbark case and cleaner 320\n 147. Boards for woman's hair 320\n 148. Swimming board 321\n 149. Fishhook and line 321\n 150. Cup and ball, Nenenot 324\n 151. Drum, Nenenot 324\n 152. Drum, Little Whale river 325\n 153. Rattle, Nenenot 326\n 154. Target, reindeer, buck 326\n 155. Target, reindeer, doe 326\n\n\n\n\nETHNOLOGY OF THE UNGAVA DISTRICT, HUDSON BAY TERRITORY.\n\nBy Lucien M. Turner.\n\n(Edited by John Murdoch.)\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION.\n\n\nUngava bay is on the northern coast of old Labrador--the last great\nbight of the strait between the ocean and the mouth of Hudson bay. Its\nchief affluent is Koksoak or South river, which is several hundred miles\nlong and takes its rise in a picturesque festoonery of lakes looped\nthrough the highlands half way down to Quebec.\n\n\nFORT CHIMO AND THE SURROUNDING REGION.\n\nFort Chimo is in longitude 68\u00b0 16\u00b4 west of Greenwich and latitude 58\u00b0\u00a08\u00b4\nnorth. The post is on the right bank of the Koksoak river, about 27\nmiles from its mouth. The elevation of the level tract on which the\nhouses are situated is but a few feet above high-water mark. The\nlocation was selected on account of its comparative dryness, and also\nbecause the river affords a safer anchorage in that vicinity than lower\ndown.\n\nThe early Moravian missionaries, long before established on the Atlantic\ncoast, desired to extend their labors for the conversion of the Eskimo\nto their teachings. About the year 1825 a vessel ascended the Koksoak\nriver for the purpose of selecting a new missionary station. Nearly\nopposite Fort Chimo is a beacon, yet standing, erected by the people of\nthat vessel. Their reception among the natives was such that they gave a\nglowing account of it on their return. The Hudson Bay Company\nimmediately took steps to erect a trading post upon the river, and a\nsmall party was sent in the year 1831 from Moose Factory to establish a\ntrading post where the trade would appear to promise future development.\nThe men remained there, obtaining a precarious subsistence, as the\nvessel delivering them supplies visited that place only once in two\nyears. Their houses were simple, consisting of a single structure for\nthe official in charge, another for the servants, and two more for the\nstorage of goods. A\u00a0palisade was erected around the houses to prevent\nthe intrusion of the natives, Indians and Eskimo, who were so lately at\nwar with each other that the rancorous feeling had not subsided and\nmight break out afresh at any moment without warning. The remnants of\nthe palisade were yet visible in 1882. The establishment of this trading\npost had a pacifying influence upon the natives, who soon found they\ncould do better by procuring the many valuable fur-bearing animals than\nby engaging in a bloody strife, which the traders always deprecate and\nendeavor to prevent or suppress. After many trials to establish an\noverland communication with the stations on Hamilton inlet, it was found\nto be impracticable, and in 1843 the station was abandoned.\n\nJohn M'Lean, in a work entitled \"Twenty-five Years in the Hudson's Bay\nTerritory,\"[1] gives an account of that portion of the country that came\nunder his knowledge from the year 1838 to 1843.\n\n [Footnote 1: Two vols. in one. London, 1849.]\n\nIn the year 1866 the steamer _Labrador_ was built and sent with a party\nto reestablish the post at Fort Chimo. Since 1866 the post has been a\npaying station, and in later years a good profit has been made.\n\nFort Chimo is the chief trading station of the Ungava district. The\nUngava district proper is the area embraced by the watershed whose\noutflow drains into Ungava bay. The eastern boundary is formed by the\nfoothills on the west side of the coast range, which is the western\nlimit of Labrador. This range has a trend northwest and southeast to\nlatitude 60\u00b0, where it makes a somewhat abrupt angle and pursues a\nnearly north course, terminating with Cape Chidley and the Buttons,\nthe latter a low group of islets some 7 miles north of the cape. The\nsouthern boundary is the \"Height of Land,\" near latitude 55\u00b0. This\nregion is estimated to be from 1,000 to 3,000 feet above sea level. The\ngreater portion of it is comparatively level, and on its surface are\ninnumerable lakes of various sizes, some of which are quite large.\nThe western boundary is not so well known in the southern part of the\nregion, as it has been seldom traversed. It seems to be a high elevation\nextending toward the north-northwest, as numerous streams run from the\nsouthwest and west toward the central or Koksoak valley. Eskimo who have\ntraversed the region many times report that the elevated land abruptly\nends near 58\u00b0\u00a030\u00b4, and that there is formed a wide swampy tract,\nestimated to be about 80 miles wide, which opens to the northeast and\nsouthwest. The northwestern portion of the district is a great area\nabounding in abrupt hills and precipitous mountains of various heights.\nThese heights, estimated to range no higher than 2,600 feet, terminate\nabruptly on the western end of the strait, and the numerous islands in\nthat portion of the water are, doubtless, peaks of this same range\ncontinuing to the northwest.\n\nIt will be thus seen that the district of Ungava is a huge amphitheater\nopening to the north. The interior of the district is excessively varied\nby ridges and spurs of greater or less elevation. The farther south one\ntravels, the higher and more irregularly disposed are the hills and\nmountains. These spurs are usually parallel to the main ranges, although\nisolated spurs occur which extend at right angles to the main range. The\ntops of the higher elevations are covered with snow for the entire year.\nThe summits of the lower ones are shrouded with snow as early as the 1st\nof September, and by the 1st of October the snow line descends nearly to\ntheir bases. The lower lands are full of swampy tracts, lakes, and\nponds.\n\nThe more elevated regions are totally destitute of vegetation, except\nthe tripe des roches, which gives to the hills a somber color, anything\nbut inspiring. Fully three-fourths of the more elevated region is, with\nthe exception of black lichens, barren rock. Everywhere is the evidence\nof long continued glacial action. The southern exposures of all the\nhills show the same character of wearing, and, in many instances, a\u00a0fine\npolish on the rocks forming their bases. This smoothness extends nearly\nto the summits of the higher peaks. These again are somewhat rougher and\noften broken into jagged, angular fragments, frequently of immense size.\nThe more moderate elevations are usually rounded summits on whose higher\nportions may be found huge bowlders of rock having a different character\nfrom that upon which they rest, proving that they were carried there by\nmasses of ice in the glacial ages. The northern extremity of all the\nridges and spurs indicate that the glacial sheet moved to the\nnorth-northwest, for these portions of the rocks are so jagged and sharp\nedged as to appear to have been broken but yesterday.\n\nThe rivers of this district are numerous and several are of great size,\nalthough but two of them are navigable for more than 100 miles, and this\nonly for boats of light draft.\n\nThe river usually known as George's river (Kan\u00b4g\u00fbk\u00a2lua\u00b4luksoak) is the\nlargest on the eastern side. This stream takes its rise about latitude\n55\u00b0 and pursues a moderately tortuous course nearly northward and falls\ninto the eastern side of Ungava Bay. It has a wide bay-like mouth\nnarrowing rapidly at the mouth proper. Swift rapids are formed here on\naccount of an island near the center. Beyond this the river expands and\nhas an average width of half a mile for a distance of about 18 miles\nwhere the river bends eastward and forms rapids for over 2 miles. It is\nnavigable for the steamer _Labrador_ only about 12 miles. Beyond the\nrapids it runs tolerably smooth and deep for nearly 40 miles and thence\nto the source is a series of rapids and falls, rendering portages\nfrequent, and making it utterly impracticable for even a heavy skiff to\nascend beyond 70 miles from the mouth. Indians assert that high falls\noccur about 150 miles from the mouth of the George's river. The water is\nsaid to fall from a terrific height, almost perpendicularly, and it\ncauses the ground to tremble so that the thundering noise may be heard\nfor more than a day's journey from it.\n\nThe tide at the mouth of George's river rises 53 feet, and at the\nAnchorage, opposite the newly established station of Fort George, some\n12 miles from its mouth, 42 feet.\n\nWhale river is the next important river toward the east. Off the mouth\nof this river is a huge island, locally known as Big island. This high\nisland extends parallel to the course of the river, and a reef,\nconnecting its upper end with the mainland, becomes dry at low water.\nThe course of Whale river is not well known. About 40 miles up this\nstream it suddenly contracts and becomes a mere creek, forming the\noutlet of a large lake, whose position is not satisfactorily determined.\nIt is to the banks of this lake that certain families of the Indians\nrepair for summer fishing.\n\nThe next large river is the Koksoak. This stream is the largest in the\ndistrict. It takes its rise from lakes situated on the plateau--the\n\"Height of Land,\"--and pursues a course having a general direction\nnorth-northeast. On emerging from the lake it is rather small, but forks\nand unites again about 40 miles below. The current is sluggish at the\nupper end, and the eastern branch is so narrow that the Indians have to\npart the overhanging alders and willows to afford their canoes a\npassage. This branch is said to be the shorter way to the lake and is\nnot so difficult to ascend, the eastern branch being shallow and\ncontaining a number of rapids.\n\nBelow the junction of the branches the river rapidly becomes larger and\ncontains several very high falls, below which the river flows northwest\nfor a couple of hundred yards and then curves to the north-northeast for\na distance of 5 miles. This portion is only about 700 feet wide. It then\nturns abruptly westward and rushes swiftly through a narrow gorge only\n200 feet wide for a distance of about 7 miles. This course is noted for\nseveral rapids, through which a boat can not make its way without great\ndifficulty. At the end of this 7-mile run the river again bends abruptly\nto the east, and continues that course with little northing until the\nlast bend, some 65 miles below, is reached. At the lower end of the\n7-mile run the ledges and reefs are too numerous to count. From this\nplace to the mouth of the Larch river the Koksoak is obstructed by\nislands, bars, and shoals. Below these, however, it becomes quite broad,\nuntil nearly opposite the high point or promontory below the mouth of\nthe Larch (Pl.\u00a0XXXVI). From this locality it is monotonous till the last\nbend is reached, some 4 miles above Fort Chimo, where it suddenly turns\nto the north and pursues that direction to the sea with little\nvariation. At the last bend, however, a\u00a0large island, locally known as\nBig island, not only obstructs but ends navigation for boats drawing\nover 6 feet. Small boats, such as skiffs and native boats, ascend to the\nlower end of 7-mile run. The principal obstruction to travel in any kind\nof vessel in the Koksoak from Big island to the mouth of the Larch river\nis the presence of two falls or rapids about 40 miles from Fort Chimo.\n\n [Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY ELEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XXXVI\n\n VIEW ON KOKSOAK RIVER.]\n\nThe extreme rise and fall of the tide at the mouth of the river is 62\nfeet 3 inches. The usual rise and fall is from 8 to 12 feet less,\ndepending on the stage of the river. At Fort Chimo the tide rises as\nmuch as 31 feet. The backwater is held in check as far as the upper\nrapids in a common stage of water, and during a high rise in the month\nof June the water is \"backed\" some 3 miles beyond the upper rapids.\n\nThe branches of the Koksoak river are few and unimportant. The larger\ntributary is the Larch river. It is a rapid and almost unnavigable\nstream of variable depth, mostly shallow, and 100 to nearly 400 yards\nwide.\n\nAt about 40 miles from its mouth the Larch forks, the lower or southwest\nfork draining the eastern sides of the same mountains whose western\nslopes are drained by the Little Whale river. This southwest fork of the\nLarch river is quite small and scarcely capable of being ascended,\nalthough it may, with great caution, be descended. This is the course\nfollowed by the Little Whale river Indians when they traverse the\ncountry to join the Naskopies of the Koksoak valley. The northwest\nbranch of the Larch is still smaller and is reported to issue from the\nswampy tract of land in about latitude 58\u00b0\u00a030\u00b4.\n\nThe next large river is the Leaf. Its mouth is about 34 miles northwest\nof Fort Chimo, and it flows into a peculiarly shaped bay named\nTass\u00b4iyak, or \"like a lake.\" The length of the river proper is estimated\nto be but 40 miles, flowing from a very long and narrow lake, having its\nlonger axis extending southwestward and draining the greater part of the\nswampy tract lying in latitude 58\u00b0\u00a030\u00b4. The southwestern portion of this\ntract is merely an area covered with innumerable small lakes so\nintimately connected by short water courses that it is difficult to\ndetermine whether water or land constitutes the greater part of the\narea. The rivers to the west are of less importance and drain the rugged\narea forming the northwestern portion of the district, or that part\nlying under the western third of Hudson strait.\n\nThe principal portion of Hudson strait that came under my observation is\nUngava bay. This bay is a pocket-shaped body of water lying south of the\nstrait and toward its eastern end. Soundings in various portions of this\nbay indicate a depth of 28 to 70 fathoms for the central area. The\nbottom appears to be uniformly the washings from the freshwater streams.\nThe extreme tides of Hudson strait tend to produce the most violent\ncurrents in this bay. Opposite the entrance of Leaf river bay is a\nwhirlpool of considerable size, which causes much trouble to navigation.\nIt is safe enough at high water but very dangerous at half-tide.\n\nThe large island known as Akpatok lies in such a position as to break\nmuch of the current along the south side of the middle of the strait,\nbut to give additional force to the currents at either end. This island\nis about 100 miles long and has an average width of 18 miles. It is the\nlargest island in the strait proper.\n\nThe coast line of the northwest portion of the mainland is imperfectly\nknown, as is the western coast forming the eastern shore of Hudson bay.\nNavigation in any portion of Hudson strait is attended with much danger,\nnot alone from the tremendous energy of the tides but also from the\nquantity of ice to be found at all times. During the months of August\nand September the strait is comparatively free from large fields of ice,\nbut after that date the harbors, coves, and other anchorages are apt to\nbe frozen up in a single night.\n\n\nCLIMATE.\n\nThe temperature is controlled by the direction of the wind. The warmest\nwinds are southeast, south, and southwest during the summer. The\nnortheast winds bring (if\u00a0backing) fog, rain, or snow; the north wind is\nusually cold and disposed to disperse the clouds. The northwest wind is\nalways very cold in winter and chilly in summer. Westerly winds are\nmoderate in winter and summer. The southerly winds are warm at all\nseasons if blowing hard, but very cold if blowing lightly in winter.\nI\u00a0think the coldest light winds of the winter are from a point little\nwest of south. They are doubtless due to the cold from the elevated\nregion--the Height of Land.\n\nThe greatest amount of cloudiness occurs in the spring and fall; rather\nless in July and August, and least during December, January, and\nFebruary. The average cloudiness for the entire year is not less than\neighty-two hundredths of the visible sky.\n\nSleet falls mostly from the middle of September to the beginning of\nDecember. Snow then succeeds it and continues to be the only form of\nprecipitation until the middle of April, when sleet and snow fall until\nthe first rain sets in. The season of rain is very erratic. It may rain\nby the first of May, but rarely does. Snow falls every month in the\nyear; the 2d of July and the 6th of August were the dates farthest apart\nfor this form of precipitation. The character of the rain is usually\nmoderate to hard for the summer showers; although several notable\nexceptions of abundant dashes occur during late June and all of July.\nThe August and September rains are usually light to moderate, but often\npersistent for several days. The snowfalls are light to heavy in\ncharacter, rarely, however, lasting more than twenty-four hours. The\nsleet is usually precipitated in severe squalls. The lower grounds are\npermanently covered with snow by the 1st of December, this covering\nremaining until the 10th of June. At the latter date only the heavier\ndrifts and the snow of the ravines remain. It entirely disappears by the\nlast of July at all elevations no higher than that of Fort Chimo.\n\nThe higher hills retain snow until the last of August, but none is to be\nseen in the vicinity of Fort Chimo after that date. By the middle of\nSeptember snow again covers the tops of the distant high hills.\n\nFogs rarely occur so far inland as Fort Chimo. Those occurring are in\nJuly and August. At times they are very dense; and, as they form during\nthe earliest hours of the day, they are usually dissipated by 4 to 7\na.\u00a0m. While the ice is setting in the river, and driven back and forth\nby the tides, huge volumes of steam arise from the inky water and are\nspread over the land by the light winds prevailing at that season. This\nmoisture deposited on the bushes and trees forms a most beautiful sight.\n\n\nAURORAS.\n\nAuroras may be seen on most of the clear nights of the year. The month\nof June is, on account of its light nights, the only month in which an\naurora is not observable.\n\n\nVEGETATION.\n\nThe northern limit of trees on the Labrador coast is in latitude 57\u00b0.\nHere the conifers are stunted and straggling. Beyond the coast range\nthey attain a slightly higher altitude and thence continue to a point\nabout thirty miles north of the mouth of George's river. On the western\nside of the mouth of this river the trees are pushed back 15 to 20 miles\nfrom the sea. At the mouth of Whale river, the trees attain a height of\n30 to 50 feet on the eastern (right) bank and within 2 miles of the\nshore. On the left bank the trees do not approach to within 10 to 15\nmiles of the coast. At the mouth of False river they form a triangular\nextension and attain considerable size, due in great measure to the\npeculiar formation of a huge amphitheater whose north wall serves as an\nadmirable protection against the cold winds from the bay. On the western\nside of False river the tree line extends in a southwesterly direction\nacross the Koksoak and to the banks of the Leaf river nearly at its\nsource from the large lake. From the south side of this lake the trees\nare very much scattered and attain inconsiderable size, scarcely fitted\nfor other uses than fuel.\n\nA line from this lake southwest to the eastern shore of Hudson bay forms\nthe northern limit of trees for the northwest portion of the region. The\npeople (Eskimo only) who dwell north of this line are dependent upon the\nstunted willows and alders, growing in the deeper ravines and valleys\nhaving a southern exposure. Large pieces of wood are much sought for by\nthe Eskimo of the northwest portion, for use in constructing their\nkaiaks, umiaks and paddles, as well as spear shafts and smaller\nrequirements for which the distorted stems of willow and alder will not\nsuffice.\n\nSouth of the line given as the northern limit of trees the growth slowly\nattains greater size and extension of area. The timber north of the\nHeight of Land is comparatively small, the spruce and larch rarely\nattaining a size greater than 12 to 15 inches at the ground and rapidly\ntapering up for 2 feet or so above the surface. Above the height of 2\nfeet the stems slowly taper and, in a few instances, produce symmetrical\nstems for more than 15 feet. The trees growing within 40 miles of Fort\nChimo seldom exceed 10 inches in diameter, and of the larger trunks the\nlogs are selected to form the material from which the walls of all the\nbuildings at that place are constructed.\n\nThe alders, willows, and a few other bushes attain a greater or less\nsize, depending upon the situation and amount of protection afforded.\nI\u00a0have seen as large stems of these shrubs growing within a mile of Fort\nChimo as I have seen at either Davis inlet or Rigolet.\n\nThe flowering plants are sparsely scattered over the northern areas, and\nthen only in most suitable soils. The ground remains frozen from the\nlast of October--earlier some seasons--to the last of May, or even into\nthe middle of June. The appearance of the annuals is sudden, and they\nrapidly attain their full size and quickly fall before the chilling\nwinds of autumn.\n\n\nANIMAL LIFE.\n\n\nMAMMALS.\n\nThe marine mammals alone appear to be well known, but the number of\ncetaceans can certainly be increased above the number usually reported\ninhabiting the waters immediately bordering upon the region.\n\nThe phocids are best known for the reason that off the shores of\nsoutheast Labrador the pursuit of species of this family is carried on\neach spring to an extent probably surpassing that anywhere else on the\nface of the globe.\n\nAt the mouth of Little Whale river, the white whale is taken to the\nnumber of 500 each year, although the capture is steadily decreasing.\nThe Indians here do the greater part of the labor of driving, killing,\nflaying, and preserving them. At Fort Chimo another station for the\npursuit of white whales is carried on. Here the Eskimo do the driving\nand killing, while the Indians perform the labor of removing the blubber\nand rendering it fit for the oil tanks into which it is placed to put it\nbeyond the action of the weather. The skin of the white whale is tanned\nand converted into a leather of remarkably good quality, especially\nnoted for being nearly waterproof.\n\nOf the land mammals, the reindeer is probably the most abundant of all.\nIt is found in immense numbers in certain localities, and forms for many\nof the inhabitants the principal source of subsistence, while to nearly\nall the residents its skins are absolutely necessary to protect them\nfrom the severity of the winter.\n\nThe black, white and brown bears are common enough in their respective\nareas. The former rarely ranges beyond the woodlands, never being found\nso far north as Fort Chimo. The white bear is common in the northern\nportions bordering the sea and is occasionally found as far south as the\nstrait of Belleisle, to which it has been carried on icebergs or fields\nof ice. Akpatok island and the vicinity of Cape Chidley are reported to\nbe localities infested with these brutes. The brown or barren-ground\nbear appears to be restricted to a narrow area and is not plentiful,\nyet is common enough to keep the Indian in wholsome dread of its vicious\ndisposition when enraged.\n\nThe smaller mammals occur in greater or less abundance according to the\nquality and quantity of food to be obtained. The wolves, foxes, and\nwolverines are pretty evenly distributed throughout the region. The\nhares are found in the wooded tracts for the smaller species and on the\nbarren regions for the larger species.\n\n\nBIRDS.\n\nThe actual residents were ascertained to be less than twenty species for\nthe northern portion of the Ungava district.\n\nOf the actual residents the two species of the genus _Lagopus_ are the\nmost abundant of all birds in the region, and form an important article\nof food for all classes of people inhabiting the district. The winter\nexerts an important influence on the smaller resident species. During\nthe winter of 1882-'83 the number of the four species obtained of the\ngenus _Acanthis_ was almost incredible. Their notes might be heard at\nany time during that season, which was cold, though regularly so, and\nnot specially stormy. In the winter of 1883-'84 not a single individual\nwas observed from the middle of November to the last of March. The\nsame remarks may well apply to the white-winged crossbill (_Loxia\nleucoptera_), which was very abundant the first winter, but during\nthe last winter a very small flock only was observed and these were\napparently vagrants.\n\nAmong the water birds, certain species which were expected to occur were\nconspicuously absent. The character of the country forbids them rearing\ntheir young, as there is little to feed upon; and only a few breed in\nthe immediate vicinity of Fort Chimo. Among the gulls, _Larus argentatus\nsmithsonianus_ is certainly the only one breeding in abundance within\nUngava bay. Of the terns, the Arctic tern (_Sterna paradise\u00e6_) was the\nonly one ascertained to breed in Hudson strait. I\u00a0am not certain that\nthey do breed there every year. Although I saw them in early July, 1883,\nunder conditions that led me to believe that they were on their way to\ntheir nests, yet it was not until 1884 that a number of eggs were\nsecured near that locality.\n\nOf the smaller waders, but two species were actually ascertained to\nbreed in the vicinity of Fort Chimo, yet two or three other species were\nobserved under such circumstances as to leave no doubt that they also\nbreed there.\n\n\n\n\nTHE NATIVE INHABITANTS OF THE COUNTRY--GENERAL SKETCH.\n\n\nTHE ESKIMO.\n\nThe northern portions of the coast of the region under consideration are\ninhabited by the Eskimo, who designate themselves, as usual, by the term\n\"Innuit,\" people (plural of innuk, \"a\u00a0person\"). That they have been much\nmodified by contact with the whites is not to be doubted, and it is\nequally certain that their language is constantly undergoing\nmodifications to suit the purposes of the missionary and trader, who,\nnot being able to pronounce the difficult guttural speech of these\npeople, require them to conform to their own pronunciation. The region\ninhabited by the Innuit is strictly littoral. Their distribution falls\nproperly into three subdivisions, due to the three subtribal\ndistinctions which they maintain among themselves. The first subdivision\nembraces all the Innuit dwelling on the Labrador coast proper and along\nthe south side of Hudson strait to the mouth of Leaf river, which flows\ninto Ungava bay.\n\nThese people apply the term S\u00fb hi\u00b4 n[)i] myut to themselves and are thus\nknown by the other subdivisions. This term is derived from S\u00fb\u00a0hi\u00b4\u00a0n\u00fbk,\nthe sun, and the latter part of the word, meaning people (literally\n\"those that dwell at or\u00a0in\"); hence, people of the sun, sunny side,\nbecause the sun shines on them first. At the present time these people\nare confined to the seashore and the adjacent islands, to which they\nrepair for seals and other food. South of Hamilton inlet I could learn\nof but one of these people.\n\nThe Innuit of pure blood do not begin to appear until the missionary\nstation of Hopedale is reached. Here a number of families dwell,\nalthough mostly at the instigation of the missionaries. Between this\nstation and Hebron are several other Moravian missionary stations, at\neach of which dwell a greater or less number of pure Innuit. North of\nHebron to Cape Chidley there are but few families, some seven in all,\nembracing a population of less than 40 souls. On the west side of Cape\nChidley, as far as the mouth of George's river, only about eight\nfamilies live. These with the George's river Innuit comprise less than\n50 individuals. There is a stretch of coast bordering Ungava bay, from\nGeorge's river to the Koksoak river, which is uninhabited.\n\nThe Koksoak river people include only four or five families and number\nless than 30 souls. The next people are those dwelling at the mouth of\nLeaf river, but they are more properly to be considered under the next\nsubdivision.\n\nThe exact number of the S\u00fbh[)i]n[)i]myut could not be definitely\ndetermined. They are subdivided into a number of small communities,\neach bearing a name compounded of the name of their home and myut, \"the\npeople of.\"\n\nThe inhabitants of Cape Chidley are known as Ki l[)i]n\u00b4[)i]g myut, from\nthe word ki l[)i]n\u00b4[)i]k, wounded, cut, incised, lacerated; hence,\nserrated, on account of the character of the rough rocks and mountains.\n\nThe natives of George's river are known as Kan\u00b4g\u00fbk\u00a2lua\u00b4luksoagmyut;\nthose of the Koksoak river are known as Koksoagmyut.\n\nThe second subdivision includes the Innuit dwelling on the area lying\nbetween the mouth of Leaf river, thence northward, and along the south\nside of Hudson strait. Their western and southern limit extends to about\nlatitude 60\u00b0.\n\nThese Innuit are known by the other subdivisions as Ta h\u00e1g myut. They\napply the same term to themselves. The word is derived from T\u00e1\u00a0hak,\na\u00a0shadow; hence people of the shade or shadow as distinguished from the\nS\u00fb\u00a0h[)i]\u00b4\u00a0n[)i]\u00a0myut, or people of the light or sunshine. These people\nare but little influenced by contact with the white traders, who apply\nto them the term \"Northerners.\" Their habits and customs are primitive,\nand many appear to be entirely distinct from the customs of their\nneighbors south and east. The character of the region in which they\ndwell is very rugged. Huge mountain spurs and short ranges ramify in\nevery direction, forming deep valleys and ravines, along which these\npeople must travel to reach the trading station of Fort Chimo of the\nUngava district, or else to Fort George of the Moose district.\n\nThe distance to the former is so great that only three, four, or five\nsledges are annually sent to the trading post for the purpose of\nconveying the furs and other more valuable commodities to be bartered\nfor ammunition, guns, knives, files and other kinds of hardware, and\ntobacco. Certain persons are selected from the various camps who have\npersonally made the trip and know the trail. These are commissioned to\nbarter the furs of each individual for special articles, which are\nmentioned and impressed upon the mind of the man who is to effect the\ntrade. The principal furs are those of the various foxes. Among them are\nto be found the best class of silver foxes, and wolverenes and wolves.\nThose to be sent are procured the previous winter, and when the snow\nfalls in November or early December the line of sleds starts out for the\ntrading post. The sled which represents the wants of the more western of\nthese Innuit speeds to where the second may be, and they repair to the\nplace of meeting with the third, and thus by traversing the line of\ncoast the arctic caravan is made up. Provisions are supplied by the\nwayside, and when all is in readiness a southern course is traveled\nuntil the frozen morasses on the south of the hills are reached. Thence\nthe course is toward Leaf river and across to Fort Chimo. By the last\nweek of April or the first week of May the visitors are expected at the\ntrading post. They usually bring with them about two-fifths of all the\nfurs obtained in the district; indeed, the quantity often exceeds this\namount. They seldom remain longer than the time needed to complete their\nbartering, as the rapidly melting snow warns them that each day of delay\nadds to their labor in returning.\n\nThe homeward journey is more frequently made along the coast, as there\nthe snow is certain to remain longer upon the ground. It is not\ninfrequent that these travelers experience warm weather, which detains\nthem so long that they do not reach the end of their journey until the\nmiddle of the summer or even until the beginning of the next winter.\nMany of the Innuit who accompany these parties have never seen white men\nuntil they arrive at Fort Chimo; women are often of the party. These\npeople are usually tall and of fine physique. The men are larger than\nthe average white man, while the women compare favorably in stature with\nthe women of medium height in other countries.\n\nThey have quite different customs from those of their present neighbors.\nTheir language is dialectically distinct; about as much so as the\nMalimyut differ from the Kaviagmyut of Norton Sound, Alaska. The\nTahagmyut have a rather harsh tone; their gutturals are deeper and the\nvowels usually rather more prolonged. They are much given to amusement\nand still retain many of the old games, which the S\u00fbh[)i]\u00b4n[)i]myut have\nforgotten or no longer engage in. Their dead are treated with no\nceremony. They simply lash the limbs of the deceased to the body and\nexpose the corpse to the elements, removing it, however, from immediate\nsight of the camp. Old and infirm people are treated with severity, and\nwhen dependent upon others for their food they are summarily disposed of\nby strangulation or left to perish when the camp is moved.\n\nWomen are held in little respect, although the men are very jealous of\nthe favors of their wives, and incontinence on the part of the latter is\ncertain to be more or less severely punished. The male offender, if\nnotoriously persistent in his efforts to obtain forbidden favors, is\nusually killed by the injured lover or husband.\n\nGambling is carried on to such a degree among both sexes that even their\nown lives are staked upon the issue of a game. The winner often obtains\nthe wife of his opponent, and holds her until some tempting offer is\nmade for her return. The only article they possess is frequently\nwagered, and when they lose they are greeted with derision. The women,\nespecially, stake their only garment rather than be without opportunity\nto play. The usual game is played with a number of flattened pieces of\nwalrus ivory. On one side are a number of dots forming various crude\ndesigns, which have received names from their fancied resemblance to\nother objects. These must be matched. The game somewhat resembles\ndominoes, and whether it is original with these Innuit I was unable to\nconclude. They stoutly maintain that it originated with themselves.\nI\u00a0suspect, however, it had its origin in the imitation of some one who\nhad observed the playing of dominoes on board of some of the whaling\nvessels visiting these waters.\n\nFor other amusements these Innuit indulge in a number of tests of\npersonal strength, such as wrestling and leaping.\n\nFeasts are held at stated times in huge structures built of snow blocks.\nThe exact signification of these feasts was not learned, owing to the\nlimited stay these people made each year at Fort Chimo. Their dress\nconsists of the skins of seals and reindeer. The sealskins are worn\nduring rainy weather and by those who are in the canoe or kaiak. The\nskirts of their garments are ornamented with an edging of ivory pieces\ncut into a pear-shape, having a small hole pierced through the smaller\nend.\n\nThese pieces of ivory, often to the number of many scores, give a\npeculiar rattle as the wearer walks along. Their boots are noticeably\ndifferent from those made by the Koksoak river people, inasmuch as the\nsoles are often made with strips of sealskin thongs sewed on a false\nsole, which is attached to the under surface of the sole proper. The\nstrips of thong are tacked on by a stout stitch, then a short loop is\ntaken up, and another stitch sews a portion of the remainder of the\nstrip. This is continued until the entire under surface consists of a\nseries of short loops, which, when in contact with the smooth ice,\nprevents the foot from slipping. This sort of footgear is not made in\nany other portion of the district.\n\nThe third subdivision comprises the Innuit dwelling on the eastern shore\nof Hudson bay, between latitudes 53\u00b0 and 58\u00b0.\n\nThe number of these Innuit could not be definitely ascertained, as they\ntrade, for the most part, at Fort George, belonging to the Moose\ndistrict. Each year, however, a\u00a0party of less than a dozen individuals\njourney to Fort Chimo for the purpose of bartering furs and other\nvaluables. Those who come to Fort Chimo are usually the same each year.\nIn language they differ greatly from the Koksoak Innuit, inasmuch as\ntheir speech is very rapid and much harsher. Many of the words are quite\ndissimilar, and even where the word has the same sound it is not unusual\nthat it has a meaning more or less different from that used by the\nKoksoak Innuit. As these people have been long under the advice and\nteachings of the missionary society of London, it is to be expected that\nthey, especially those nearer the trading station, are more or less\ninfluenced by its teachings. Their customs differ somewhat from the\nother Innuit, though this is due in a great measure to the impossibility\nof procuring the necessary food, and skins for garments, unless they are\nconstantly scouring the plains and hills for reindeer or the shore for\nseals and other marine creatures.\n\nThese people are called by their neighbors and themselves I\u00b4tivi\u00b4\u00a0myut,\nIti\u00b4v\u00fbk signifies the other, farther, distant side (of\u00a0a portion of\nland); hence, the word Itivimyut means people of the other side. The\nnorthern Itivimyut are probably the most superstitious of all the Innuit\ndwelling in the region under consideration.\n\nAlthough the missionaries have devoted considerable energy to the work\nof converting these people, and though many of them profess\nChristianity, these professions prove on examination to be merely\nnominal. As soon as the converts are beyond the teacher's influence,\nthey return to the shaman for guidance.\n\nIn the spring of 1883 a party of these people visited Fort Chimo.\nA\u00a0great number of the Koksoak people were ill, some 30 miles above the\nstation. The visitors had among them a shaman renowned throughout the\nland. He, with the connivance of two or three of the people with whom he\nstopped, began some of the most astonishing intrigues to dispel the evil\nspirit afflicting the people. Several men were parted from their wives,\nand these were compelled to dwell with other men who were at the bottom\nof the conspiracy. Other couples had to flee from that place to prevent\nbeing divorced, at least temporarily. After a time the visitors\ndescended to Fort Chimo, and while the bartering was going on the shaman\nannounced his conversion to Christianity, and vowed never again to\nreturn to practicing shamanism. On the return of the harried fugitives\nthey passed the camp of the Koksoak river people, where they had a few\ndays before been the guests, and stole their supplies of reindeer meat\nand other valuable property, even attempting to purloin a kaiak; and\nthey had proceeded many miles thence before they were overtaken and\ncompelled to relinquish the stolen property. They were seen some months\nafter by some Tahagmyut, to whom they stated their fear of returning\namong the Koksoak people. A\u00a0more plausible scamp does not dwell in those\nregions than this shaman, whose name is S\u00e1pa. His power over the spirit\ncontrolling the reindeer is widely believed in and invoked by the other\nshamans, who feel incapable of turning the heads of the deer and thus\ncompelling them to wander in the desired direction.\n\nAmong these people only have I heard of a son who took his mother as a\nwife, and when the sentiment of the community compelled him to discard\nher he took two other women, who were so persecuted by the mother that\nthey believed themselves to be wholly under her influence. She even\ncaused them to believe they were ill, and when they actually did become\nso they both died.\n\nIn former years the Innuit extended entirely around the shore of Hudson\nbay. Now there is a very wide gap, extending from the vicinity of Fort\nGeorge, on the eastern coast, to the vicinity of Fort Churchill, on the\nwestern coast. At the present time the Innuit occupy the areas\ndesignated in these remarks. That they formerly extended along the\nAtlantic coast far to the south of their present limit is attested by an\nabundance of facts.\n\nThe Innuit of the eastern shore of Hudson bay, the Itivimyut, informed\nme that the Innuit dwelling on the islands of Hudson bay, more or less\nremote from the mainland to the east, are termed Ki\u00b4g[)i]ktag\u00b4myut, or\nisland people. They relate that those islanders have quite different\ncustoms from the mainland people, inasmuch as their clothing consists of\nthe skins of seals and dogs, rarely of reindeer skins, as the latter are\nprocurable only when one of their number comes to the shore to trade for\nsuch articles as can not be obtained on his locality. The spear, kaiak,\nbow and arrow are used, and they have but little knowledge of firearms.\nThese people are represented as often being driven to greatest extremity\nfor food. It is said that their language differs considerably from that\nof their neighbors.\n\nThe Innuit, as a rule, are peaceful and mild-tempered, except when\naroused by jealousy. They are, however, quick enough to resent an insult\nor avenge an injury. They form a permanent attachment for the white man\nwho deals honestly and truthfully with them, but if he attempts any\ndeception or trickery they are certain to be ever suspicious of him,\nand it is difficult to regain their favor.\n\nTheir courage and ability are not to be doubted, and when they are given\na due amount of encouragement they will perform the most arduous tasks\nwithout complaint.\n\n\nTHE INDIANS.\n\nThe Indian inhabitants of this region may be divided into three groups,\ndiffering but slightly in speech, and even less in habits.\n\n(1) The Mountaineers, \"Montagnais\" of the early Jesuit missionaries,\nroam over the areas south of the Hamilton inlet and as far as the Gulf\nof St. Lawrence. Their western limits are imperfectly known. They trade\nat all the stations along the accessible coast. Many of them barter at\nRigolet and Northwest river.\n\nIn customs they differ little from the Indians to the north of them.\nTheir means of subsistence are the flesh of reindeer, porcupines, and\nvarious birds, such as geese, ducks, ptarmigan, and grouse.\n\nThe habits of the reindeer in this portion of the country are very\nerratic. They are often absent from large tracts for several years,\nand appearing in abundance when little expected. The scarcity of the\nreindeer renders the food supply quite precarious; hence, the Indians\nrely much upon the flesh of the porcupine, hare and birds for their\nprincipal food.\n\nTheir clothing is of the tanned skin of the deer when they are able to\nprocure it. As nearly all the skins of the reindeer are used for\ngarments, few are prepared for other purposes; hence the northern\nstations (Fort Chimo) furnish great numbers of these skins in the\nparchment condition to be purchased by the Mountaineers, who cut them\ninto fine lines for snowshoe netting and other purposes.\n\nThey procure the furs of marten, mink, fur beaver, muskrats, lynxes,\nwolverines, wolves, and foxes. A\u00a0considerable number of black bears are\nalso obtained by these Indians. By the barter of these furs they procure\nthe articles made necessary by the advent of the white people among\nthem. They are quiet and peaceable. Many of them profess a regard for\nthe teachings of the Roman missionaries, who have visited them more or\nless frequently for over a hundred and fifty years. I\u00a0was unable to\nobtain the term by which they distinguish themselves from their\nneighbors. That they are later comers in the region than the Innuit is\nattested by the bloody warfare formerly carried on between them, of\nwhich many proofs yet exist. The Mountaineers applied to the more\nnorthern Indians the term of reproach, \"Naskopie.\" This word denotes the\ncontempt the Mountaineers felt for the Naskopies when the latter failed\nto fulfill their promise to assist in driving the Innuit from the\ncountry.\n\nIt was impossible to obtain a satisfactory estimate of the numbers of\nthe Mountaineers. My stay in their vicinity was too short to learn as\nmuch about them as was desired.\n\n(2) The Indians dwelling to the southwest of the Ungava district differ\nrather more than the Mountaineers, in their speech, from the Indians of\nthe Ungava district. They average, for both sexes, slightly taller than\nthe Naskopies. The men are spare, and have small limbs and extremities.\nThe cheek bones are also more prominent, although this is partly due to\nthe thin visage. The women are disposed to be stout, and in the older\nwomen there is a decided tendency to corpulence. The complexion, too, is\nconsiderably darker. The men wear long hair, usually cut so as to fall\njust upon the shoulders. The hair of the women is quite heavy, and is\nworn either in braids or done up in folds upon the side of the head.\n\nIn their personal habits they are much more tidy than their eastern\nrelations. Their dress differs but little from that of their neighbors.\nThe women dress in cloth made of material procured from the traders, and\nsome of these appear respectable enough when so dressed. They have been\nso long in contact with the white people at Moose Factory, some of whom\nhad brought their wives from home with them, that the women have\nimitated the dress of the latter. Certain of these women are skillful in\nworking fancy articles. The men occupy their time in hunting and\nfishing. The reindeer have in recent years become so scarce in the\nvicinity of Fort George that many of the Indians have left that locality\nand journeyed to the eastward, dwelling in proximity to the Naskopies,\nor even with them.\n\nBoth sexes are mild and sedate, although the women are exceedingly\ngarrulous when well acquainted.\n\nThese Indians are often employed to assist in the capture of the white\nwhale, which ascends the lower portions of the larger streams of that\ndistrict. They are the only Indians whom I have seen eating the flesh\nand blubber of these whales. The Naskopies will not touch it, declaring\nit to be too fat. The fins and tail are portions highly prized while\nthey are helping render out the blubber of these whales at Fort Chimo.\n\nA point of great dissimilarity between the Naskopies and the Little\nWhale river Indians is that the birch-bark canoe of the latter is much\nmore turned up at each end, producing a craft well adapted to the swift\ncurrents of the rivers. The occupants are skillful boatmen, and will\nfearlessly face wind and wave that would appall the heart of the\nNaskopie. Sails are sometimes erected in a single canoe. At times two\ncanoes are lashed together and a sail spread from a single mast. This\ndouble boat is very convenient for the traveler. These people are\nstrongly addicted to the practice of polygamy; and while they are\nChristians externally, they are so only as long as they are within the\nreach of the missionary.\n\nAmong those who had come to dwell in the Ungava district were several\nwho had, because of the opportunity, taken two wives. The missionary,\nE.\u00a0J. Peck, suddenly appeared among them as he was on his way to London.\nOn learning of the conduct of the people he gave them a sound rating and\nbesought them to relinquish the practice. They assented, and sent the\nsecond wives away until the missionary was out of the country, and then\nthey took them back.\n\nGirls are often taken as wives before they attain puberty, and for this\nreason they seldom have large families. Two, three, or four children\nform the usual number for each family. They are satisfied if the first\nchild is a male; and to the mother who delivers only female children a\nterm of contempt is often applied. The women appear to be well treated,\nand occasional laxity of morals is not noticed among them so long as it\nis not notorious.\n\nTheir beliefs and traditions were not learned by me, on account of the\npresence of these people at Fort Chimo when other labors occupied my\nentire time.\n\nTheir purchases are made with furs of the same kinds as those procured\nin the Ungava district. The black bear is procured in great numbers by\nthese Indians. They preserve the under lip, dressed and ornamented with\nbeads and strips of cloth, as a trophy of their prowess.\n\nThe harpoon used in striking the white whale of their rivers is an\nimplement doubtless peculiar to those people, and much resembles that of\nthe Innuit.\n\n(3) The third division of Indians includes those dwelling for the most\npart in the Ungava district. The total number of these Indians is about\n350. They apply the term Ne n\u00e9 not--true, ideal men--to themselves,\nalthough known by the epithet Naskopie, which was applied to them by the\nMountaineers of the southeastern portion of the region.\n\nThey differ slightly in customs from their neighbors, but their speech\nis somewhat different, being very rapidly uttered and with most singular\ninflections of the voice. A\u00a0conversation may be begun in the usual tone,\nand in a moment changed to that of a whining or petulant child. It is\nimpossible for the white man to imitate this abrupt inflection, which\nappears to be more common among the males than the females. During\nordinary conversation one would erroneously suppose, from the vehemence\nof gesture, that the speaker was angry. They are much more demonstrative\nthan their neighbors, often shouting at the full strength of their\nvoices when an ordinary tone would apparently suffice. That their voice\nis penetrating may be inferred from the fact that during quiet days it\nis not unusual for parties to converse from opposite sides of the\nKoksoak river, at Fort Chimo, where the river is nearly a mile and a\nhalf wide.\n\nAs certain words are spoken in a voice scarcely louder than a whisper,\nI\u00a0did not believe it possible that they could understand each other at\nso great a distance, until I saw the people on the opposite shore doing\nwhat they were bidden by those with me.\n\nWhen the women get together it is amusing to observe the eagerness of\nthe old crones endeavoring to make their voices heard above the rest.\nThe clerk, while trading with them, often teases them until the entire\nnumber turn their voices on him, and the only relief he has is to expel\nthem all from the store and admit one or two at a time, while the\nremainder throng the windows and shout at the top of their voices.\n\nDuring the spring, when flocks of Canada geese are winging their way\nnorthward, the Indians will imitate their notes so closely that the\nbirds do not discover the source until too late. Some of the party make\none note, while the others imitate the other note. It seldom fails to\nbeguile the geese to the spot.\n\nOwing to the impossibility of getting a reliable person to teach me the\nlanguage of these people I was able to procure but few words. The number\nobtained, however, is sufficient to prove that the people of this\nregion, excluding the Innuit and whites, belong to the Cree branch. The\nMountaineers and Little Whale river Indians belong to the same stock,\nand the difference in their language is due wholly to environment.\n\nThe Indians and Innuit of this region are more or less directly in\ncontact. At Fort Chimo it is especially so. Here, as elsewhere, they do\nnot intermix, an Indian never taking an Innuit wife or the Innuit taking\na squaw for a wife. I\u00a0knew of one instance where a Naskopie went to\ndwell with some Innuit camped near the mouth of the Koksoak, but after\nremaining away for a few days he returned to his own people.\n\n\n\n\nSPECIAL ACCOUNT OF THE PEOPLE AROUND FORT CHIMO.\n\n\nTHE KOKSOAGMYUT.\n\nThe Eskimo with whom I was brought in contact at Fort Chimo were those\nbelonging to that immediate vicinity. They term themselves Koksoagmyut,\nor people of the Koksoak or Big river.\n\nThe people who apply this name to themselves do not number more than a\nscore and a half. There are but four families, and among these are some\nwho belong to other localities, but now dwell with the Koksoagmyut. They\nconsider themselves a part of the people dwelling as far to the north as\nthe western end of Akpatok island, and to the east as far as George's\nriver. The Eskimo dwelling between those points have similar habits, and\nrange indiscriminately over the hunting grounds of that locality, seldom\ngoing farther southward than the confluence of the Larch river or the\nNorth river with the Koksoak.\n\nAmong these few natives now inhabiting the Koksoak valley we find the\nmen to be above the stature usually ascribed to the Eskimo. All but one\nof the adult males are above 5 feet 8 inches. The smallest man is little\nmore than 5\u00bd feet tall. All are well proportioned and present an\nexceptionally good physique. The females are also well proportioned,\nand, in fact, appear to compare well with females of civilized countries\nas far as their stature is concerned. The lower extremities of both\nsexes really are shorter than the general appearance would indicate, and\nthus the body is somewhat longer. The great individual variation in the\nproportional length of the legs is doubtless the result of the way\ninfants are carried in the hood on the backs of the mothers. In this\nconstrained position the limbs were obliged to conform to the shape of\nthe body on which the child, in a manner, grew. While the limbs are not\ndecidedly curved, yet they are not so nearly under the body as those of\nthe whites. In walking, the inner edges of the feet often touch each\nother, and, in a manner, tend to cause the boots to slip outward on the\nfeet.\n\nThe head, hands, and feet appear fairly proportioned; although, as a\nrule, they have small hands and feet. The females have proportionally\nsmaller feet than hands. The head may seem larger than it really is,\non account of the flattened features of the face.\n\nThe average nose is large and flat, and the prominence of this organ is\noften diminished by the wide cheeks and overhanging forehead. In most\ncases the chin projects less than the nose. The average face is round\nand flat, but there are exceptions, as I have seen one or two persons\nwhose faces were a regular oval, and with the exception of the flat\nfront, seen from a side view, were as well formed as one will meet among\nother people.\n\nThe skin has the same differences of color as among white people. The\ngreater number of people are moderately dark, but this depends very\ngreatly on the season of the year. I\u00a0have not seen any white people so\nmuch changed as these are by the exposure to the summer sunshine. In the\nwinter they are confined to their huts and bleach to a lighter color.\nA\u00a0couple of weeks' exposure renders them scarcely recognizable as the\nsame persons. The young children are usually lighter than the adults,\nalthough some are quite dark. The hair is coarse, long and abundant,\nand always straight.\n\nThe few half-breeds seen at Fort Chimo are the young children of\nthe male servants of the company, who have in two instances taken\nfull-blooded Eskimo women for wives and who were married by the agent of\nthe company. These children are quite pretty, the male favoring the\nmother and the girl resembling the father. With these, as with the\nchildren of natives, much depends on the cleanliness of the person.\nThe soot and other filth accumulating on their faces and hands, seldom\nwashed, of course modifies the appearance of the exposed portions of the\nbody. Some of the girls would be attractive enough if a copious amount\nof water was used to remove the ridges of dirt which are too plainly\nvisible. The hands are often much disfigured from numerous cuts and\nbruises, which, when healed over, leave a heightened scar of a whitish\ncolor quite different in color from the surrounding tissue and often\npresenting an unsightly appearance.\n\nBy the time puberty is attained the girls quickly change, and in a few\nyears begin to show the result of their arduous life by the appearance\nof wrinkles, haggardness, and general breaking down, which, although it\nmay progress slowly, is seldom recovered from.\n\nLike the rest of the Innuit, the Koksoagmyut are usually peaceful and\nmild tempered. Among themselves affrays are of rare occurrence. Jealousy\narouses the worst passions, and the murder of the offender is generally\nthe result. When a person becomes so bad in character that the community\nwill no longer tolerate his presence he is forbidden to enter the huts,\npartake of food, or hold any intercourse with the rest. Nevertheless, as\nlong as he threatens no one's life, but little attention is paid to him.\nShould he be guilty of a murder, several men watch their opportunity to\nsurprise him and put him to death, usually by stoning. The executioners\nmake no concealment of their action, and are supported by public opinion\nin the community.\n\nIn the case of a premeditated murder, it is the duty of the next of kin\nto avenge the deed, though years may pass, while the murderer pursues\nhis usual occupations undisturbed, before an opportunity occurs to the\nrelative for taking him by surprise. Sometimes the victim is not\novercome and turns upon the assailant and kills him. The man, now guilty\nof two murders, is suffered to live only at the pleasure of the people,\nwho soon decree his death. That murder is not approved, either by the\nindividual or the community, is well attested by the fact that the\nisland of Akpatok is now tabooed since the murder of part of the crew of\na wrecked vessel, who camped on that island. Such a terrible scene was\ntoo much, even for them; and now not a soul visits that locality, lest\nthe ghosts of the victims should appear and supplicate relief from the\nnatives, who have not the proper offerings to make to appease them.\n\nAged people who have no relatives on whom they may depend for\nsubsistence are often quietly put to death. When an old woman, for\ninstance, becomes a burden to the community it is usual for her to be\nneglected until so weak from want of food that she will be unable to\nkeep up with the people, who suddenly are seized with a desire to remove\nto a distant locality. If she regains their camp, well for her;\notherwise, she struggles along until exhausted and soon perishes.\nSometimes three or four of the males retrace their steps to recover a\nlost whip or a forgotten ammunition bag. They rarely go farther than\nwhere they find the helpless person, and if their track be followed it\nwill be found that the corpse has stones piled around it and is bound\nwith thongs.\n\nAn old woman at Port Chimo had but one eye, and this was continually\nsore and very annoying to the people with whom she lived. They proposed\nto strangle her to relieve her from her misery. The next morning the eye\nwas much better and the proposed cure was postponed.\n\nCases of suicide are not rare, considering the few people of that\nlocality. Pitching themselves from a cliff or producing strangulation\nare the usual methods. Sometimes a gun is used. Remorse and disappointed\nlove are the only causes of suicide.\n\nA man discovered, during a period of great scarcity of food, that while\nhe went in quest of food his wife had secretly stored away a quantity of\nfish and ate of them during his absence only. Coming home unexpectedly,\nhe caught her eating and she endeavored to secrete the remainder. He\nquietly went out of the snow hut and blocked up the entrance. She\ninquired why he did so. His reply was for her to come out and she would\ndiscover why it was done. His tone was not at all reassuring. She\nremained within the hut and perished from starvation, knowing she would\nbe killed if she went out.\n\nInstances are reported where, in times of great scarcity, families have\nbeen driven to cannibalism after eating their dogs and the clothing and\nother articles made of skins. Unlucky or disliked women are often driven\nfrom the camp, and such must journey until they find relief or perish by\nthe wayside.\n\n\nDISEASES.\n\nThe principal diseases from which these people suffer are pulmonary\ntroubles, chiefly arising from their filthy manner of living in crowded\nhuts, too ill ventilated to allow the escape of the odors emanating from\ntheir own bodies and from accumulations of slowly decomposing animal\nfood. All openings must be closed as quickly as possible in order to\neconomize the heat within, for when once chilled it is difficult to\nrestore the house to the proper degree of warmth. An Eskimo would always\nprefer to erect a new hut of snow rather than pass the night in one\nwhich has been deserted for only a single night if the doorway has not\nbeen tightly closed with a block of snow.\n\nWithin the walls, reeking with the exhalations of various putrid\nmatters, the people breathe and rebreathe the air filled with poisonous\ngases; so fully one-half of the Eskimo die of pulmonary troubles. The\nother prevailing diseases are those causing devitalization of the blood,\nsuch as scurvy. Sores break out on the shoulders, elbows, knees, and\nankles. The ravages of these diseases proceed at an astonishing rate,\nsoon carrying off the afflicted person.\n\nThe means of relief usually employed are those which the shaman\n(or\u00a0conjurer, as he is locally known) is able to effect by working on\nthe imagination of the sick, who is in this condition easily influenced.\nThe will power of both the patient and shaman is stretched to its utmost\ntension, and as faith with them, as with many others of fairer skins,\noften produces more of the relief than the ministrations of drugs or\ndrafts, the cure is effected, or else the shaman, like the physician,\nhas not the devil on his side.\n\nThe magnitude of the disease is generally measured by the amount of the\npatient's worldly wealth.\n\n\nMARRIAGE.\n\nA woman is married as soon after puberty as a male comes along who has\nthe requisite physical strength to force her to become his wife. Many of\nthe females are taken before that period, and the result is that few\nchildren are born to such unions and the children are generally weakly.\n\nThe ceremony between the couples is quite simple. The sanction of the\nparents is sometimes obtained by favor or else bought by making certain\npresents of skins, furs, and other valuables to the father and mother.\nThe girl is sometimes asked for her consent, and, if unwilling, often\nenlists the sympathy of the mother, and the affair is postponed to a\nmore favorable opportunity, or till the suitor becomes disgusted with\nher and takes somebody else.\n\nIf the parents are not living, the brothers or sisters must be favorable\nto the union. There is often so much intriguing in these matters that\nthe exact truth can seldom be ascertained.\n\nWhere all obstacles are removed and only the girl refuses, it is not\nlong before she disappears mysteriously to remain out for two or three\nnights with her best female friend, who thoroughly sympathizes with her.\nThey return, and before long she is abducted by her lover, and they\nremain away until she proves to be thoroughly subjected to his will.\nI\u00a0knew of an instance where a girl was tied in a snow house for a period\nof two weeks, and not allowed to go out. She finally submitted, and they\nreturned with the other couple, who were less obstreperous, and\ndoubtless went along to help their male friend and companion. The woman\nleft her husband in the course of two or three weeks, and when he was\nasked about it he acknowledged that she had pulled nearly all the hair\nfrom his head and showed numerous bruises where she had struck him. This\nsame woman was afterward tied to a sled to make her accompany the man\nshe subsequently chose as her husband, who wished her to go to another\npart of the country. It was a lively time, some of the old women pushing\nher and persuading, the younger ones doing all in their power to\nobstruct her. Children are often mated at an early age, and I have known\nof several instances where two friends, desirous of cementing their ties\nof fellowship, engage that their children yet unborn shall be mated. In\nsuch instances the children are always recognized as married, and they\nare allowed by the parents to be so called. I\u00a0knew a small boy of less\nthan seven years who always addressed a girl of apparently a year older\nas his wife.\n\nThe marriageable age of the female varies greatly, although puberty\ntakes place early. I\u00a0have known of a child of fourteen having children.\nI\u00a0heard of a half-breed girl, on the Labrador coast, who became a mother\na few months after the age of thirteen.\n\nMonogamy is generally the rule, but as there are so many counteracting\ninfluences it is seldom that a man keeps a wife for a number of years.\nJealousy resulting from a laxity of morals produces so much disagreement\nthat one or the other of the parties usually leave with little ceremony.\n\nIn rare instances, where there is a compatibility of temper and a\ndisposition to continence, the pair remain together for life.\n\nMany of the girls bear children before they are taken for wives, but as\nsuch incidents do not destroy the respectability of the mother the girl\ndoes not experience any difficulty in procuring a husband. Illegitimate\nchildren are usually taken care of by some aged woman, who devotes to it\nall her energies and affections.\n\nThe number of children born varies greatly, for, although these Eskimos\nare not a prolific race, a\u00a0couple may occasionally claim parentage of as\nmany as ten children. Two or three is the usual number, and many die in\nearly childhood.\n\nWhen the family is prosperous the husband often takes a second wife,\neither with or without the approval of the first, who knows that her\nhousehold duties will be lessened, but knows also that the favors of her\nhusband will have to be divided with the second wife. The second wife is\noften the cause of the first wife's leaving, though sometimes she is\nsent away herself. Three or four wives are sometimes attained by a\nprosperous man, and one instance was known where the head of the family\nhad no less than five wives. The occupation of a single snow house by\ntwo or three wives brings them into close intimacy and often produces\nquarreling. The man hears but little of it, as he is strong enough to\nsettle their difficulties without ceremony, and in a manner better\nadapted to create respect for brute strength than affection for him.\n\nThe females outnumber the males, but the relationship among the\nKoksoagmyut is now so close that many of the males seek their wives from\nother localities. This, of course, connects distant people, and\ninterchange of the natives of both sexes is common.\n\nSeparation of couples is effected in a simple manner. The one who so\ndesires leaves with little ceremony, but is sometimes sought for and\ncompelled to return. Wives are often taken for a period, and an exchange\nof wives is frequent, either party being often happy to be released for\na time, and returning without concern. There is so much intriguing and\nscandal-mongering among these people that a woman is often compelled by\nthe sentiment of the community to relinquish her choice and join another\nwho has bribed a conjurer to decide that until she comes to live with\nhim a certain person will not be relieved from the evil spirit now\ntormenting him with disease.\n\nThe only way for the couple against whom such a plot has been laid to\nescape separation is for them to flee to another locality and remain\nthere until the person gets well or dies, whereupon the conjurer\ndeclares it was their cohabitation as man and wife which afflicted the\ninvalid. A\u00a0designing woman will often cause a man to cast off the legal\nwife to whom he is much attached and come and live with her. In such\ninstances the former wife seldom resents the intrusion upon her\naffections and rights but occasionally gives the other a severe\nthrashing and an injunction to look to herself lest she be discarded\nalso. The children of the cast-off woman are frequently taken by her and\nthey go to live with her relatives as menials on whom devolve the labor\nof severest kinds, she being glad to obtain the refuse of the hovel to\nsupport her life in order that her children may be well taken care of.\n\nSome wives are considered as very \"unlucky\" and after trial are cast off\nto shift for themselves. A\u00a0woman who has obtained the reputation of\nbeing unlucky for her husband is eschewed by all the men lest she work\nsome charm on them.\n\nIn social relations the head of the family comes first, and the oldest\nson second, the other sons following according to respective ages.\n\nThe sons of the first wife, if there be more than one wife, take\nprecedence over those of the second or third wife. It may be that a man\nhas lost his first wife and takes another. The sons of these two are\nconsidered as those of one wife so far as their relation to each other\nis concerned. When the father becomes superannuated or his sons are old\nenough to enable him to live without exertion, the management of affairs\ndevolves on the eldest son, and to the second is delegated the second\nplace. Each may be occupied in different affairs, but the elder alone\nchooses what he himself shall do.\n\nIf the father live to a great age, and some of the men certainly attain\nthe age of more than 80 years, he may have great grandchildren about\nhim, and these never fail to show respect for their ancestor.\n\nAll this family may dwell in a single tent, or in two or more tents.\nWhere the leader directs, there they all repair, although each one who\nis at the head of a family may be left to employ himself as he may\nprefer. These sons, with their wives and children, form a community,\nwhich may have other persons added to it, namely, the persons who are\nrelated to the wives of the sons. There may be but one community in a\nlocality, and this is locally known to the white people as the \"gang\" of\nthe head man.\n\nFamilies whose members have decreased in number by death or by marriage\nmay seek the companionship of one of these communities for protection.\nThe new arrival at once acknowledges his dependence and is, in a manner,\nunder the influence, if not control, of the leader of the community\nwhich he joins.\n\n\nCHILDREN.\n\nA new born babe must not be washed until six or eight hours have\nelapsed. It is then placed to the breast and rarely gets any water to\ndrink until old enough to help itself to it.\n\nThe child may be named while yet in utero. There being no distinctions\nfor sex in names the appellation can scarcely be amiss. Several names\nmay be acquired from the most trivial circumstances. Old names may be\ndiscarded and new names substituted or certain names applied by certain\npeople and not used by others.\n\nLove for offspring is of the deepest and purest character. I have never\nseen a disrespectful Eskimo child. Mothers and fathers never inflict\ncorporal punishment on their children, for these are early taught to\nobey, or rather they are quick to perceive that their parents are their\nprotectors and to them they must go for assistance. Orphan girls are\ntaken as nurses for small children, and the nurse so employed has seldom\nany trouble in controlling the child.\n\nAmong young children at play the greatest harmony prevails. An accident\nresulting in sufficient harm to cause tears obtains the sympathy of all,\nwho strive to appease the injured child by offers of the greatest share\nof the game, the little fellow often smiling with the prospective\npleasure while the tears yet course down his begrimed cheeks. In a\nmoment all is forgotten and joyous shouts sound merrily as the chubby\nyoungsters of both sexes redouble their exertion in playing football or\nbuilding toy houses in the newly fallen snow, where, on the bed of snow\nwithin the wall of the hut, the doll of ivory, wood or rags rolled into\nits semblance, plays the part of hostess whom they pretend to visit and\nwith whom they converse.\n\nAmong the younger boys and girls, of 10 or 12, there is a great spirit\nof cheerful rivalry, to prove their ability to secure such food as they\nare able to capture. If they can procure enough to purchase some\nammunition with which to kill ptarmigan they soon have a certain amount\nof credit. This enables them to provide some coveted luxury for their\nparents, who, of course, aid and encourage them to become successful\nhunters. Within the huts the girls display their skill by sewing\nfragments of cloth into garments for dolls or striving to patch their\ntattered clothes.\n\nThe older boys look with contempt upon these childish occupations and,\nto show their superiority, often torment the younger ones until the\nfather or mother compels them to desist. Pranks of various kinds are\nplayed upon each other and they often exhibit great cunning in their\ndevices to annoy. These boys are able to accompany their elders on\nhunting trips and run ahead of the team of dogs attached to the sled.\n\n\nBURIAL CUSTOMS\n\nWhen a person dies the body is prepared by binding it with cords, the\nknees being drawn up and the heels placed against the body. The arms are\ntied down, and a covering of deerskin or sealskin is wrapped around the\nbody and fastened. The nearest relatives on approach of death remove the\ninvalid to the outside of the house, for if he should die within he must\nnot be carried out of the door but through a hole cut in the side wall,\nand it must then be carefully closed to prevent the spirit of the person\nfrom returning. The body is exposed in the open air along the side of a\nlarge rock, or taken to the shore or hilltop, where stones of different\nsizes are piled around it to prevent the birds and animals from getting\nat it. (See Fig.\u00a021.) It is considered a great offense if a dog be seen\neating the flesh from a body. In case of a beloved child dying it is\nsometimes taken with the people to whom it belonged if they start for\nanother locality before decomposition has progressed too far.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 21. Eskimo grave.]\n\nThe dying person resigns himself to fate with great calmness. During\nillness, even though it be of most painful character, complaint is\nseldom heard; and so great is fortitude that the severest paroxysms of\npain rarely produce even a movement of the muscles of the countenance.\n\nThe friends often exhibit an excessive amount of grief, but only in\nexceptional instances is much weeping indulged in. The loss of a husband\noften entails great hardships on the wife and small children, who eke\nout a scanty living by the aid of others who are scarcely able to\nmaintain themselves.\n\nThese people have an idea of a future state and believe that death is\nmerely the separation of the soul and the material body. The spirits of\nthe soul go either up to the sky, \"keluk,\" when they are called\nKelugmyut, or down into the earth, \"Nuna,\" and are called \"Nunamyut.\"\nThese two classes of spirits can hold communication with each other.\n\nThe place to which the soul goes depends on the conduct of the person on\nearth and especially on the manner of his death. Those who have died by\nviolence or starvation and women who die in childbirth are supposed to\ngo to the region above, where, though not absolutely in want, they still\nlack many of the luxuries enjoyed by the Nunamyut. All desire to go to\nthe lower region and afterwards enjoy the pleasure of communicating with\nthe living, which privilege is denied to those who go above.\n\nIf death result from natural causes the spirit is supposed to dwell on\nthe earth after having undergone a probation of four years rest in the\ngrave. During this time the grave may be visited and food offered and\nsongs sung, and the offering, consisting of oil and flesh, with tobacco\nfor smoking and chewing, is consumed by the living at the grave.\nArticles of clothing may also be deposited near the grave for the spirit\nto clothe itself after the garments have disappeared in the process of\ndecay. It is customary to place such articles as may be deemed of\nimmediate use for the departed soul in the grave at the time the body is\ninterred. Ammunition, gun, kaiak and its appurtenances, with a shirt,\ngloves, knife, and a cup from which to drink are usually so deposited.\nThe spirit of the dead man appropriates the spirits of these articles as\nsoon as they decay. It is often said when an article becomes lost that\nso-and-so (mentioning his name), has taken it.\n\nSome of the people prefer to expose their dead on the flat top of a high\npoint extending into the water. The remains of others are placed along\nthe shore and covered with rocks, while still others are taken to the\nsmooth ridges on which may nearly always be found a huge bowlder carried\nby glacial action and deposited there. Here generally on the south side\nthe body is placed on the bare rocky ridge and stones are piled around\nand upon it.\n\nWhile these people have but little fear of the dead man's bones they do\nnot approve of their being disturbed by others. The Indians, however,\nare known to rifle the graves of Eskimo to obtain the guns, clothing,\netc., which the relatives of the deceased have placed there.\n\nThere are no such elaborate ceremonies pertaining to the festivals of\nthe dead among the people of Hudson strait as obtain among the Eskimo of\nAlaska.\n\n\nRELIGION.\n\nAmong these people there is no such person as chief; yet there is a\nrecognized leader who is influenced by another, and this last is the\nconjurer or medicine-man. These two persons determine among themselves\nwhat shall be done. It sometimes happens that slight differences of\nopinion on the proper course to pursue collectively will cause them to\ngo in different directions to meet after a few months' separation, by\nwhich time all is forgotten and former relations are resumed.\n\nAll the affairs of life are supposed to be under the control of spirits,\neach of which rules over a certain element, and all of which are under\nthe direction of a greater spirit. Each person is supposed to be\nattended by a special guardian who is malignant in character, ever ready\nto seize upon the least occasion to work harm upon the individual whom\nit accompanies. As this is an evil spirit its good offices and\nassistance can be obtained by propitiation only. The person strives to\nkeep the good will of the evil spirit by offerings of food, water, and\nclothing.\n\nThe spirit is often in a material form in the shape of a doll, carried\nsomewhere about the person. If it is wanted to insure success in the\nchase, it is carried in the bag containing the ammunition.\n\nWhen an individual fails to overcome the obstacles in his path the\nmisfortune is attributed to the evil wrought by his attending spirit,\nwhose good will must be invoked. If the spirit prove stubborn and\nreluctant to grant the needed assistance the person sometimes becomes\nangry with it and inflicts a serious chastisement upon it, deprives it\nof food, or strips it of its garments, until after a time it proves less\nrefractory and yields obedience to its master. It often happens that the\nperson is unable to control the influence of the evil-disposed spirit\nand the only way is to give it to some person without his knowledge.\nThe latter becomes immediately under the control of the spirit, and the\nformer, released from its baleful effects, is able successfully to\nprosecute the affairs of life. In the course of time the person\ngenerally relents and takes back the spirit he gave to another. The\nperson on whom the spirit has been imposed should know nothing of it\nlest he should refuse to accept it. It is often given in the form of a\nbundle of clothing. It is supposed that if in hunting somebody merely\ntakes the bag to hang it up the influence will pass to him. The spirit\nis supposed to be able to exert its influence only when carried by some\nobject having life. Hence the person may cast it away for a time, and\nduring that period it remains inert.\n\nBesides this class of spirits, there are the spirits of the sea, the\nland, the sky (for be it understood that the Eskimo know nothing of the\nair), the winds, the clouds, and everything in nature. Every cove of the\nseashore, every point, island, and prominent rock has its guardian\nspirit. All are of the malignant type and to be propitiated only by\nacceptable offerings from persons who desire to visit the locality where\nit is supposed to reside. Of course some of the spirits are more\npowerful than others, and these are more to be dreaded than those able\nto inflict less harm.\n\nThese minor spirits are under the control of the great spirit, whose\nname is \"Tung\u00a0ak.\" This one great spirit is more powerful than all the\nrest besides. The lesser spirits are immediately under his control and\never ready to obey his command. The shaman (or\u00a0conjurer) alone is\nsupposed to be able to deal with the Tung\u00a0ak. While the shaman does not\nprofess to be superior to the Tung\u00a0ak, he is able to enlist his\nassistance and thus be able to control all the undertakings his\nprofession may call for.\n\nThis Tung ak is nothing more or less than death, which ever seeks to\ntorment and harass the lives of people that their spirits may go to\ndwell with him.\n\nA legend related of the origin of the Tung ak is as follows: A\u00a0father\nhad a son and daughter whom he loved very much. The children fell ill\nand at last died, although the father did all in his power to alleviate\ntheir sufferings, showing his kindness and attentions to the last\nmoment. At their death the father became changed to a vicious spirit,\nroaming the world to destroy any person whom he might meet, determined\nthat, as his dear children died, none others should live.\n\nTung ak visits people of all ages, constantly placing obstacles in their\npathway to prevent the accomplishment of their desires, and provoking\nthem beyond endurance so as to cause them to become ill and die and go\nto live with him. Tung\u00a0ak no longer knows his own children and imagines\nall persons that he meets to be his children. Famine, disease, and death\nare sent abroad to search for these lost children.\n\nPeople at last began to devise some means of thwarting the designs of\nTung\u00a0ak and discovered that a period of fasting and abstinence from\ncontact with other people endowed a person with supernatural powers and\nenabled him to learn the secrets of Tung\u00a0ak. This is accomplished by\nrepairing to some lonely spot, where for a greater or less period the\nhermit abstains from food or water until the imagination is so worked\nupon that he believes himself imbued with the power to heal the sick and\ncontrol all the destinies of life. Tung\u00a0ak is supposed to stand near and\nreveal these things while the person is undergoing the test. When the\nperson sees the evil one ready to seize upon him if he fails in the\nself-imposed task to become an \"Angekok\" or great one, he is much\nfrightened and beseeches the terrible visitor to spare his life and give\nhim the power to relieve his people from misfortune. Tung\u00a0ak then takes\npity on him, and imparts to him the secret of preserving life, or\ndriving out the evil which causes death.\n\nThis is still the process by which the would-be shaman fits himself for\nhis supernatural duties.\n\nThe newly fledged angekok returns to his people and relates what he has\nseen and what he has done. The listeners are awed by the recitals of the\nsufferings and ordeal, and he is now ready to accomplish his mission.\nWhen his services are required he is crafty enough to demand sufficient\ncompensation, and frankly states that the greater the pay the greater\nthe good bestowed. A\u00a0native racked with pain will gladly part with all\nof his worldly possessions in order to be restored to health.\n\nThe shaman is blindfolded, or else has a covering thrown over his head\nto prevent his countenance from being seen during the incantation. The\npatient lies on the ground before him and when the shaman is worked up\nto the proper state of frenzy he prostrates himself upon the afflicted\nperson and begins to chase the evil from its seat. The patient often\nreceives blows and jerks sufficiently hard to dislocate the joints. As\nthe spell progresses the shaman utters the most hideous noises, shouting\nhere and there as the evil flees to another portion of the body, seeking\na retreat from which the shaman shall be unable to dislodge it. After a\ntime victory is declared; the operator claims to have the disease under\nhis control, and although it should escape and make itself again felt in\nthe patient, the shaman continues until the person either gets well or\ndies. If the former, the reputation of the shaman is increased\nproportionally to the payment bestowed by the afflicted one. If he dies,\nhowever, the conjurer simply refers his failure to the interference of\nsomething which was beyond his control. This may have been the influence\nof anything the shaman may at the moment think of, such as a sudden\nappearance in the changing auroras, a\u00a0fall of snow, or a dog knocking\ndown something outside of the house. If the people deny that the dog did\nthe act, the shaman replies that the dog was the instrument in the hands\nof a spirit which escaped him. Any little incident is sufficient to\nthwart the success of his manipulations. If any person be the subject of\nthe shaman's displeasure he or she must undergo some sort of punishment\nor do an act of penance for the interference. It is not unusual to see a\nperson with the harness of a dog on his back. This is worn to relieve\nhim or somebody else of a spell of the evil spirit. The tail of a living\ndog is often cut from its body in order that the fresh blood may be cast\nupon the ground to be seen by the spirit who has caused the harm, and\nthus he may be appeased. Numerous mutilations are inflicted upon animals\nat the command of the conjurer, who must be consulted on nearly all the\nimportant undertakings of life in order that he may manage the spirits\nwhich will insure success.\n\nThe implicit belief in these personages is wonderful. Almost every\nperson who can do anything not fully understood by others has more or\nless reputation as a shaman.\n\nSome men, by observation, become skilled in weather lore, and get a\ngreat reputation for supernatural knowledge of the future weather.\nOthers again are famous for suggesting charms to insure success in\nhunting, and, in fact, the occasions for consulting the conjurer are\npractically innumerable. One special qualification of a good shaman is\nthe ability to attract large numbers of deer or other game into the\nregion where he and his friends are hunting.\n\nSome of these shamans are superior hunters and, as their experience\nteaches them the habits of the deer, they know at any season exactly\nwhere the animals are and can anticipate their future movements,\ninfluenced greatly by the weather. Thus the prophet is able to estimate\nthe proximity or remoteness of the various herds of stragglers from the\nmain body of deer which were in the locality during the preceding fall\nmonths. These hunters have not only a local reputation but are known as\nfar as the people have any means of communication.\n\nIn order to cause the deer to move toward the locality where they may be\ndesired the shaman will erect, on a pole placed in a favorable position,\nan image of some famous hunter and conjurer. The image will represent\nthe power of the person as conjurer and the various paraphernalia\nattached to the image assist in controlling the movements of the\nanimals.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 22. Magic doll.]\n\nI obtained one of these objects at Fort Chimo. (Fig. 22.) It is quite\nelaborate and requires a detailed description. It is intended to\nrepresent a celebrated conjurer living on the eastern shore of Hudson\nbay. He occasionally visited Fort Chimo where his reputation as a hunter\nhad preceded him. His name is Sa\u00b4pa.\n\nHe is dressed in a complete suit of the woolen stuff called \"strouds\" at\nFort Chimo, trimmed with black and with fancy tartan gartering. In the\nbelt of polar-bear skin (kak-cung\u00b4-unt) (Fig.\u00a023) are hung strings of\ncolored beads and various amulets. These are, first, a\u00a0wooden doll\n(Fig.\u00a024) ([)i]nug\u00b4-wak, a\u00a0little man) hung to the belt so that he faces\noutward and is always on the alert; then, two bits of wood (ag\u00f3wak)\n(Fig.\u00a025) to which hang strands of beads and lead drops; next, a\u00a0string\nof three bullets (Fig.\u00a026) to symbolize the readiness of the hunter when\ngame approaches; and, last, a\u00a0semicircular piece of wood ornamented with\nstrings of beads (Fig.\u00a027).\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 23. Belt of magic doll.]\n\nThis last is called the tu-a\u00b4-vi-tok, or hastener. The hunter holds it\nin his hand when he sights the game, and the tighter he grasps it the\nfaster he is supposed to get over the ground. It is supposed that by the\nuse of this one may be able to travel faster than the wind and not even\ntouch the earth over which he passes with such incredible speed that he\novertakes the deer in a moment. The entire affair, as it hung on the\npole, was called tung wa\u00b4gn e\u00b4nog ang\u00b4, or a materialization of a\nTung\u00a0ak.\n\nThis object hung there for several days until I thought it had served\nits purpose and could now afford to change ownership. The local conjurer\nwas thus compelled to invoke the assistance of another. I\u00a0am happy to\nadd that the deer did come, and in thousands, actually running among the\nhouses of the station.\n\nThe shaman of the community possesses great influence over its members.\nHe very frequently decides the course to be pursued by man and wife in\ntheir relations with each other, and, conspiring with some evil old\nwoman who loves to show preference for a young man, he often decrees\nthat husband or wife shall be cast off.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 24. Talisman attached to magic doll.]\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 25. Talisman.]\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 26. Talisman.]\n\nIf the person become ill the wife is often accused of working some charm\non her husband in order that she may enjoy the favors of another.\nA\u00a0woman whose husband had recently died was espoused by another who soon\nafter became violently ill. She nursed him with the greatest assiduity\nuntil he convalesced. At this period his mother, with the advice of some\nold hags, decreed that she had been the sole cause of her husband's\nillness and must leave the tent. Her things were pitched out and she was\ncompelled to journey in quest of her relatives.\n\nAnother illustration came under my notice.\n\nA widow was taken to wife by a Koksoak Eskimo. He was soon taken\nviolently ill and she was accused by the shaman of being the cause of\nit, as the spirit of her deceased husband was jealous. Unless she were\ncast off the Koksoak man would never recover. It was then also found\nthat unless the wife of another man should desert him and become the\nwife of a man who already had two of this woman's sisters as wives the\nsick man would die. The woman and her husband escaped divorce by fleeing\nfrom the camp.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 27. Talisman.]\n\nThe shaman may do about as he pleases with the marriage ties, which\noftener consist of sealskin thongs than respect and love. Many old hags\nhave acquired great reputations for being able to interpret dreams. An\ninstance of dream interpretation, which also illustrates how a person\nmay acquire a new name, came under my observation. A\u00a0woman, sitting\nalone, heard a noise like the rapping of someone at the door desiring\nadmittance. She said, \"Come in.\" No one appeared, and she inquired of\nthe girl who acted as nurse for her child if anyone had knocked at the\ndoor. A\u00a0negative answer was given. Further questioning of a white man,\nwho was asleep near by, revealed that he had made no such sound. The\nwoman knew that no man had died within the place and so his spirit could\nnot be seeking admittance. She went to an old woman and related the\naffair, and was informed that it was the rapping of her brother, who had\ndied suddenly some two years before. She must go home and prepare a cup\nof tea, with a slice of bread, and give it to the nurse, as her brother,\nNakvak (the one who died) was hungry and wanted food. She especially\nenjoined upon the woman that the girl must now be known as Nakvak\n(meaning \"found\") and that through her the dead would procure the food\nwhich, although it subserves a good purpose in nourishing the living,\ntends, by its accompanying spirit, to allay the pangs of hunger in the\ndead.\n\nAs I have already said, everything in the world is believed to have its\nattendant spirit. The spirits of the lower animals are like those of\nmen, but of an inferior order. As these spirits, of course, can not be\ndestroyed by killing the animals, the Eskimo believe that no amount of\nslaughter can really decrease the numbers of the game.\n\nA great spirit controls the reindeer. He dwells in a huge cavern near\nthe end of Cape Chidley. He obtains and controls the spirit of every\ndeer which is slain or dies, and it depends on his good will whether the\npeople shall obtain future supplies. The form of the spirit is that of a\nhuge white bear. The shaman has the power to prevail upon the spirit to\nsend the deer to the people who are represented as suffering for want of\nfood. The spirit is informed that the people have in no way offended\nhim, as the shaman, as a mediator between the spirit and the people, has\ntaken great care that the past food was all eaten and that last spring,\nwhen the female deer were returning to him to be delivered of their\nyoung, none of the young (or\u00a0foetal) deer were devoured by the dogs.\nAfter much incantation the shaman announces that the spirit condescends\nto supply the people with spirits of the deer in a material form and\nthat soon an abundance will be in the land. He enjoins upon the people\nto slay and thus obtain the approval of the spirit, which loves to see\ngood people enjoy an abundance, knowing that so long as the people\nrefrain from feeding their dogs with the unborn young, the spirits of\nthe deer will in time return again to his guardianship.\n\nCertain parts of the first deer killed must be eaten raw, others\ndiscarded, and others must be eaten cooked. The dogs must not be allowed\nto taste of the flesh, and not until an abundance has been obtained must\nthey be allowed to gnaw at the leg bones, lest the guardian spirit of\nthe deer be offended and refuse to send further supplies. If by some\nmisfortune the dogs get at the meat, a\u00a0piece of the offending dog's tail\nis cut off or his ear is cropped to allow a flow of blood.\n\nCeremonies of some kind attend the capture of the first slain animal of\nall the more important kinds. I\u00a0unfortunately had no opportunity of\nwitnessing many of these ceremonies.\n\nAs a natural consequence of the superstitious beliefs that I have\ndescribed, the use of amulets is universal. Some charms are worn to ward\noff the attacks of evil-disposed spirits. Other charms are worn as\nremembrances of deceased relatives. These have the form of a headless\ndoll depending from some portion of the garment worn on the upper part\nof the body.\n\nAs many of their personal names are derived from natural objects, it is\nusual for the person to wear a little image of the object for which he\nis named or a portion of it; for example, a\u00a0wing of the bird, or a bit\nof the animal's skin. This is supposed to gratify the spirit of the\nobject. Strange or curious objects never before seen are sometimes\nconsidered to bring success to the finder.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 28. Eskimo woman's amulet.]\n\nTwo articles selected from my collection will illustrate different forms\nof amulets. The first, No. 3018, is a little wooden model of a kaiak.\nThe other (3090, Fig.\u00a028) was worn on the back of a woman's coat. It is\na small block of wood carved into four human heads. These heads\nrepresent four famous conjurers noted for their skill in driving away\ndiseases. The woman, who came from the eastern shore of Hudson's bay,\nwas troubled with rheumatism and wore this charm from time to time as\nshe felt the twinges of pain. She assured me that the pain always\ndisappeared in a few hours when she wore it. It was with the greatest\ndifficulty that I persuaded her to part with it. She was, however, about\nto return home, and could get another there.\n\n\nOUTDOOR LIFE.\n\nThe Eskimo acquire an extended knowledge of the country by early\naccompanying their parents on hunting trips, and as they have to rely\nupon memory alone, they must be observant and carefully mark the\nsurroundings from all the views afforded. The faculty of memory is thus\ncultivated to an astonishing degree, and seldom fails, even in the most\nsevere weather, to insure safety for the individual. I\u00a0knew a native\nstick his ramrod in the ground among scattered stalks of grass which\nattained the height of the rod, yet after several hours he found the\nspot again without the least hesitation. Every rise of land, every curve\nof a stream, every cove in the seashore, has a name descriptive of\nsomething connected with it, and these names are known to all who have\noccasion to visit the place. Though the aspect of the land is entirely\nchanged by the mantle of snow which covers all the smaller objects,\na\u00a0hunter will go straight to the place where the carcass of a single\ndeer was cached many months before on the open beach. The Eskimo are\nfaithful guides, and when confidence is shown to be reposed in them they\ntake a pride in leading the party by the best route. In traveling by\nnight they use the north star for the guide. Experience teaches them to\nforetell the weather, and some reliance may be placed on their\npredictions.\n\nTheir knowledge of the seasons is also wonderful. The year begins when\nthe sun has reached its lowest point, that is, at the winter solstice,\nand summer begins with the summer solstice. They recognize the arrival\nof the solstices by the bearing of the sun with reference to certain\nfixed landmarks.\n\nThe seasons have distinctive names, and these are again subdivided into\na great number, of which there are more during the warmer weather than\nduring the winter. The reason for this is obvious: so many changes are\ngoing on during the summer and so few during the winter. The principal\nevents are the return of the sun, always a signal of joy to the people;\nthe lengthening of the day; the warm weather in March when the sun has\nattained sufficient height to make his rays less slanting and thus be\nmore fervent; the melting of the snow; the breaking up of the ice; the\nopen water; the time of birth of various seals; the advent of exotic\nbirds; the nesting of gulls, eiders, and other native birds; the arrival\nof white whales and the whaling season; salmon fishing; the ripening of\nsalmonberries and other species of edibles; the time of reindeer\ncrossing the river; the trapping of fur-bearing animals and hunting on\nland and water for food. Each of these periods has a special name\napplied to it, although several may overlap each other. The appearance\nof mosquitoes, sand-flies, and horseflies are marked by dates\nanticipated with considerable apprehension of annoyance.\n\nIn order to sketch the annual routine of life, I will begin with the\nbreaking up of the ice in spring. The Koksoak river breaks its ice about\nthe last of May. This period, however, may vary as much as ten days\nearlier and twenty days later than the date specified. The ice in Ungava\nbay, into which that river flows, must be free from the greater portion\nof the shore ice before the river ice can push its way out to sea. The\nwinds alone influence the bay ice, and the character of the weather\ntoward the head waters of the river determines its time of breaking.\n\nThe Eskimo has naturally a keen perception of the signs in the sky and\nis often able to predict with certainty the effects of the preceding\nweather. When the season has sufficiently advanced all the belongings of\neach family are put together and transported down the river on sleds to\nwhere the ice has not yet gone from the mouth of the river. It is very\nseldom that the river ice extends down so far. To the edge of the ice\nthe tent and dogs, with the umiak, kaiak, and other personal property,\nare taken and then stored on shore until the outside ice is free.\n\nThe men wander along the beach or inland hunting for reindeer,\nptarmigan, hares, and other land game. The edge of the water is searched\nfor waterfowl of various kinds which appear earliest. Some venturesome\nseals appear. In the course of a few days the ice in the river breaks up\nand the shore ice of the bay is free; and if there is a favorable wind\nit soon permits the umiak to be put into the water, where, by easy\nstages, depending on the weather, the quantity of floating ice, and the\nfood supply, the hunters creep alongshore to the objective point, be it\neither east or west of the Koksoak. Sometimes the party divide, some\ngoing in one direction and others in another.\n\nThe men seek for seals, hunting in the kaiak, the women and children\nsearching the islets and coves for anything edible. As soon as the\nseason arrives for the various gulls, eiders, and other sea birds to\nnest the women and children are in high glee. Every spot is carefully\nexamined, and every accessible nest of a bird is robbed of its contents.\nBy the 25th of June the people have exhausted the supply of eggs from\nthe last situations visited and now think of returning, as the birds\nhave again deposited eggs and the seals are becoming scarcer.\n\nThe Eskimo arrange to assist the company to drive white whales when the\nseason arrives. This is as soon as they appear in the river at a\nsufficient distance up to warrant that the measures pursued will not\ndrive them out of the fresh water, for if they left they would not soon\nreturn. The date usually fixed upon is about the 12th of July. The\nnatives are summoned, and a large sailboat or the small steam launch is\nsent along the coast to the place where the people were expected to\narrive the 5th of the month. The natives are brought to the whaling\nstation, where they encamp, to await the setting of the nets forming the\nsides of the inclosure into which the whales are to be driven.\n\nThe natives spear the whales in the pound, drag them ashore, skin them,\nand help take the oil and skins to the post, some eight miles farther up\nthe river.\n\nThe same natives who engaged in the whaling are employed to attend the\nnets for salmon, which arrive at variable dates from the 25th of July to\nthe 1st of September. Two or more adult male Eskimo, with their\nrelatives, occupy a certain locality, generally known by the name of the\nperson in charge of that season's work. The place is occupied until the\nruns of the fish are over, when it is time for the natives to be up the\nriver to spear reindeer which cross the river.\n\nThis hunting lasts until the deer have begun to rut and the males have\nlost the fat from the small of the back. The season is now so far\nadvanced that the ice is already forming along the shore, and unless the\nhunter intends to remain in that locality he would better begin to\ndescend the river to a place nearer the sea. The river may freeze in a\nsingle night and the umiak be unable to withstand the constant strain of\nthe sharp-edged cakes of floating ice.\n\nThe head of the family decides where the winter is to be passed and\nmoves thither with his party at once. Here he has a few weeks of rest\nfrom the season's labors, or spends the time constructing a sled for the\nwinter journeys he may have in view. The snow has now fallen so that a\nsnow house may be constructed and winter quarters taken up. A\u00a0number of\nsteel traps are procured to be set for foxes and other fur-bearing\nanimals. The ptarmigans arrive in large flocks and are eagerly hunted\nfor their flesh and feathers. The birds are either consumed for food or\nsold to the company, which pays 6\u00bc cents for four, and purchases the\nbody feathers of the birds at the rate of 4 pounds of the feathers for\n25 cents.\n\nThe Eskimo soon consume the amount of deer meat they brought with them\non their return and subsist on the flesh of the ptarmigan until the ice\nis firm enough to allow the sleds to be used to transport to the present\ncamp meat of animals slain in the fall.\n\nThe traps are visited and the furs are sold to the company in exchange\nfor flour, tea, sugar, molasses, biscuit, clothing, and ammunition.\nHunting excursions are made to various localities for stray bands of\ndeer that have become separated from the larger herds.\n\nThe white men employ\u00e9s of the company have been engaged in cutting wood\nfor the next year's fuel, and the Eskimo with their dog teams are hired\nto haul it to the bank, where it may be floated down in rafts when the\nriver opens.\n\nThus passes the year in the life of the Eskimo of the immediate vicinity\nof Fort Chimo. Some of the Koksoagmyut do not engage in these\noccupations. Some go to another locality to live by themselves; others\ndo not work or hunt, because it is not their nature to do so.\n\nIn all undertakings for themselves they deliberate long, with much\nhesitation and apparent reluctance, before they decide upon the line of\naction. They consult each other and weigh the advantages of this over\nthat locality for game, and speculate on whether they will be afflicted\nwith illness of themselves or family. When the resolution is finally\nmade to journey to a certain place, only the most serious obstacles can\nthwart their purpose.\n\nAt all seasons of the year the women have their allotted duties, which\nthey perform without hesitation. They bring the wood and the water, and\nthe food from the field, if it is not too distant, in which case the men\ngo after it with the dog teams. The women also fashion the skins into\nclothing and other articles, and do the cooking. After a hunt of several\ndays' duration the husband's appearance is anxiously awaited, as is\nindicated by the family scanning the direction whence he is expected.\nThe load is taken from the sled or boat and the incidents of the chase\nrecited to the ever ready listeners.\n\nIn the early spring the women are busily engaged in making boots for\nsummer wear. The skins of the seals have been prepared the fall before\nand stored away until wanted. The method of tanning the skins is the\nsame for each species, differing only in its size and weight.\n\nCertain large vessels made of wood or metal, chiefly the latter, as they\nare easily procured from the traders, are used to hold a liquid, which\nis from time to time added to. When a sufficient amount is collected it\nis allowed to ferment. During the interval the skin of the seal is\ncleansed from fat and flesh. The hair has been removed by shaving it off\nor by pulling it out. The skin is then dressed with an instrument\ndesigned for that purpose, made of ivory, deerhorn, stone, or even a\npiece of tin set in the end of a stout stick several inches long. The\nskin is held in the hand and the chisel-shaped implement is repeatedly\npushed from the person and against a portion of the skin until that part\nbecomes pliable and soft enough to work. It is further softened by\nrubbing between the hands with a motion similar to that of the\nwasherwoman rubbing clothing of the wash. Any portion of the skin which\nwill not readily yield to this manipulation is chewed with the front\nteeth until it is reduced to the required pliability. After this\noperation has been completed the skin is soaked in the liquid, which has\nnow ripened to a sufficient degree to be effective. In this it is laid\nfor a period lasting from several hours to two or three days. The skin\nis now taken out and dried. The subsequent operation of softening is\nsimilar to that just described, and is final. It is now ready to be cut\ninto the required shape for the various articles for which it is\nintended. If it is designed for boots for a man, the measure of the\nheight of the leg is taken. The length and width of the sole is measured\nby the hand, stretching so far and then bending down the long or middle\nfinger until the length is measured. The width of one, two, or more\nfingers is sometimes used in addition to the span. The length is thus\nmarked and the skin folded over so as to have it doubled. The knife used\nin cutting is shaped like the round knife used by the harness-maker or\nshoemaker.\n\nThere is in our collection a wooden model of this form of knife\n(No.\u00a03022), which nowadays always has a blade of metal. Formerly slate,\nflint, or ivory was used for these blades.\n\nThe instrument is always pushed by the person using it. The eye alone\nguides the knife, except on work for a white man, and then greater care\nis exercised and marks employed indicating the required size. This round\nknife is called \u00falo.\n\nAnother important duty of the women is taking care of the family boots.\nWhen a pair of boots has been worn for some time, during a few hours in\nwarm weather they absorb moisture and become nearly half an inch thick\non the soles. When taken off they must be turned inside out and dried,\nthen chewed and scraped by some old woman, who is only too glad to have\nthe work for the two or three biscuit she may receive as pay. Any leak\nor hole is stitched, and when the sole has holes worn through it, it is\npatched by sewing a piece on the under side. The thread used in sewing\nthe boots is selected from the best strips of sinew from the reindeer or\nseal.\n\nSome women excel in boot-making, and at some seasons do nothing but make\nboots, while the others in return prepare the other garments. When the\ntime comes in spring for making sealskin clothes, the women must not sew\non any piece of deerskin which has not yet been sewed, lest the seals\ntake offense and desert the locality which has been selected for the\nspring seal hunt, to which all the people look forward with longing,\nthat they may obtain a supply of food different from that which they\nhave had during the long winter months. As there can be no harm in\nkilling a deer at this season, the flesh may be used, but the skin must\nbe cast away.\n\nAs before stated, the entire family accompany the expeditions; and as\nthe females are often the more numerous portion of the population, they\nrow the umiak at their leisure, now and then stopping to have a few\nhours' run on shore and again embarking. While thus journeying they are\nat times a sleepy crowd, until something ahead attracts attention; then\nall become animated, pursuing the object, if it be a half-fledged bird,\nuntil it is captured. Great amusement is thus afforded for the time,\nafter which they relapse until some excitement again arouses them from\ntheir apparent lethargy. At the camp the men go in quest of larger game,\nleaving the women and children, who search the shore for any living\ncreature they may find, destroying all that comes in their way. Smoking,\neating, and sleeping occupy them until they arrive at a locality where\nfood is abundant. There they earnestly strive to slay all that comes\nwithin reach, and thus often obtain much more than they require, and the\nremainder is left to putrefy on the rocks. The women do the skinning of\nthe seals and birds obtained on this trip. The skins of birds are\nremoved in a peculiar manner. The wings are cut off at the body, and\nthrough the incision all the flesh and bones are taken out. The skin is\nthen turned inside out. The grease is removed by scraping and chewing.\nThe skin is dried and preserved for wear on the feet or for the purpose\nof cleansing the hands, which have become soiled with blood or other\noffal in skinning large game.\n\nWhen the season arrives for hunting the reindeer for their skins, with\nwhich to make clothing for winter, the women help to prepare the flesh\nand bring the wood and water for the camp, while the men are ever on the\nalert for the herds of deer on the land or crossing the water. The women\nhang the skins over poles until the greater portion of the animal matter\nis dry, when they roll them up and store them away until the party is\nready to return to the permanent camp for the winter. Here the skins\ncollected are carefully examined and suitable ones selected for winter\ngarments.\n\nThe skins are moistened with water and the adherent fleshy particles are\nremoved with a knife. They are then roughly scraped and again wetted,\nthis time with urine, which is supposed to render them more pliable. The\noperation is practically the same as that of tanning sealskins. The hair\nis, of course, left on the skin. When the skins are finally dry and\nworked to the required pliability, they are cut into shape for the\nvarious articles of apparel. The thread used in sewing is simply a strip\nof sinew of the proper size. The fibers are separated by splitting off a\nsufficient amount, and with the finger nail the strip is freed from all\nknots or smaller strands which would prevent drawing through the needle\nholes. The thread for this purpose is never twisted or plaited. The\nneedle is one procured from the trader. Small bone needles, imitations\nof these, are sometimes used. In former years the bone needle was the\nonly means of carrying the thread, but this has now, except in the\nrarest instances, been entirely superseded by one of metal.\n\nThe thimble is simply a piece of stiff sealskin sewed into a ring half\nan inch wide to slip on the first finger, and has the same name as that\nmember. In sewing of all kinds the needle is pointed toward the\noperator. The knife used in cutting skins is the same as that previously\ndescribed. Scissors are not adapted to cutting a skin which retains the\nfur. So far as my observations goes, scissors are used only for cutting\ntextile fabrics procured from the store.\n\nIn the use of a knife women acquire a wondrous dexterity, guiding it to\nthe desired curve with much skill, or using the heel of the blade to\nremove strips which may need trimming off.\n\n\nTATTOOING.\n\nIn former years the women were fancifully tattooed with curved lines and\nrows of dots on the face, neck, and arms, and on the legs up to\nmid-thigh. This custom, however, fell into disuse because some shaman\ndeclared that a prevailing misfortune was the result of the tattooing.\nAt present the tattooing is confined to a few single dots on the body\nand face. When a girl arrives at puberty she is taken to a secluded\nlocality by some old woman versed in the art and stripped of her\nclothing. A\u00a0small quantity of half-charred lamp wick of moss is mixed\nwith oil from the lamp. A\u00a0needle is used to prick the skin, and the\npasty substance is smeared over the wound. The blood mixes with it,\nand in a day or two a dark-bluish spot alone is left. The operation\ncontinues four days. When the girl returns to the tent it is known that\nshe has begun to menstruate. A\u00a0menstruating woman must not wear the\nlower garments she does at other times. The hind flap of her coat must\nbe turned up and stitched to the back of the garment. Her right hand\nmust be half-gloved, or, in other words, the first two joints of each\nfinger of that hand must be uncovered. The left hand also remains\nuncovered. She must not touch certain skins and food which at that\nparticular season are in use.\n\n\nCLOTHING.\n\nLike most Eskimo, the Koksoagmyut are clothed almost entirely in the\nskins of animals, though the men now wear breeches of moleskin, duck,\njeans, or denim procured from the trading store. Reindeerskin is the\nfavorite material for clothing, though skins of the different seals are\nalso used. The usual garments are a hooded frock, of different shapes\nfor the sexes, with breeches and boots. The latter are of various shapes\nfor different weather, and there are many patterns of mittens. Rain\nfrocks of seal entrail are also worn over the furs in stormy weather.\nSome of the people are very tidy and keep their clothing in a\nrespectable condition. Others are careless and often present a most\nfilthy sight. The aged and orphans, unless the latter be adopted by some\nwell-to-do person, must often be content with the cast-off apparel of\ntheir more fortunate fellow-beings.\n\nThe hair of the skins wears off in those places most liable to be in\ncontact with other objects. The elbows, wrists, and knees often are\nwithout a vestige of hair on the clothing. The skin wears through and\nthen is patched with any kind of a piece, which often presents a\nludicrous appearance.\n\nThe young boys and girls are dressed alike, and the females do not wear\nthe garments of the adults until they arrive at puberty. It is a\nludicrous sight to witness some of the little ones scarcely able to walk\ndressed in heavy deerskin clothing, which makes them appear as thick as\nthey are tall. They exhibit about the same amount of pride of their new\nsuits as the civilized boy does. They are now able to go out into the\nseverest weather, and seem to delight in rolling around in the snow.\n\nInfants at the breast, so small as to be carried in the mother's hood,\nare often dressed in skins of the reindeer fawns. The garment for these\nis a kind of \"combination,\" the trousers and body sewed together and cut\ndown the back to enable the infant to get them on. A\u00a0cap of calico or\nother cloth and a pair of skin stockings completes the suit.\n\nBoth men and women wear, as an additional protection for their feet in\ncold weather, a\u00a0pair or two of short stockings, locally known as\n\"duffles,\" from the name of the material of which they are made. These\n\"duffles\" are cut into the form of a slipper and incase the stockings of\nthe feet. Over these are worn the moccasins, made of tanned and smoked\ndeerskin. The Eskimo women are not adepts in making moccasins; a\u00a0few\nonly can form a well-fitting pair. They often employ the Indian women to\nmake them, and, in return, give a pair of sealskin boots, which the\nIndian is unable to make, but highly prizes for summer wear in the\nswamps.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 29. Eskimo birdskin cap.]\n\nThe Koksoagmyut do not wear caps, the hood of the frocks being the only\nhead covering. There is, however, in my collection a cap obtained from\none of the so-called \"Northerners,\" who came to Fort Chimo to trade.\nThis cap (No.\u00a03242, Fig.\u00a029) was evidently copied from some white man's\ncap. The front and crown of the cap are made of guillemot and sea-pigeon\nskins, and the sealskin neckpiece also is lined with these skins, so\nthat when it is turned up the whole cap seems to be made of bird skins.\n\nWe may now proceed to the description of the different garments in\ndetail.\n\nThe coat worn by the men and boys, and by the girls until they arrive at\nwomanhood, has the form of a loose shirt, seldom reaching more than 2 or\n3 inches below the hips, and often barely covering the hips. The neck\nhole is large enough to admit the head into the hood, which may be\nthrown back or worn over the head in place of a cap.\n\nThe Innuit of the southern shore of the western end of Hudson Strait\noften cut the coat open in front as far up as the breast (Figs. 30 and\n31, No. 3224). The favorite material for these coats is the skin of the\nreindeer, three good-sized skins being required to make a full-sized\ncoat for a man. Coats made of light summer skins are used as\nunderclothing in winter and for the only body clothing in summer.\nThe skin of the harp seal (_Phoca groenlandica_) is also used for coats,\nbut only when the supply of reindeerskin runs short, or when a man can\nafford to have an extra coat to wear in wet weather. It is not a very\ngood material for clothing, as the skin is roughly tanned, and no amount\nof working will render it more than moderately pliable. Figs. 32 and 33\nrepresent a sealskin coat. These coats are often trimmed round the edges\nwith fringes of deerskin 2 or 3 inches wide, or little pendants of\nivory.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 30. Eskimo man's deerskin coat (front).]\n\nThe collection contains eleven of these coats, Nos. 3221, 3498-3500,\nand 3558 of deerskin, and Nos. 3228, 3533-3537 of sealskin.\n\nThe peculiar shape of the woman's coat is best understood by reference\nto the accompanying figures (Figs. 34, 35, 36, 37 and\u00a038). The enormous\nhood is used for carrying the infant. When sitting, the female usually\ndisposes the front flap so that it will lie spread upon the thighs, or\nelse pushes it between her legs, while the hind flap is either thrown\naside or sat upon.\n\nIt is not unusual for the women to display considerable taste in\nornamenting their garments, using the steel-gray pelt of the harp seal\nto contrast with the black of the harbor seal, and so on. The edges of\nthe hood and sleeves are frequently trimmed with skin from a dark\ncolored young dog; or a strip of polar bear skin, whose long white hairs\nshed the rain better than those of any other mammal.\n\nIt is not rare to find loops of sinew or of sealskin attached to the\nbreast or back of a woman's garments. These are for tying small\narticles, such as a needle case or a snuff-bag, to the clothing for\nconvenience and to prevent loss.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 31. Eskimo man's deerskin coat (back.)]\n\nA peculiar style of ornamentation is shown in Fig. 39 and 40, No. 3005,\na\u00a0woman's coat from Fort Chimo. The front of the skirt is fringed with\nlittle lead drops, bean-shaped in the upper row and pear-shaped in the\nlower, and pierced so that they can be sewed on. These lead drops are\nfurnished by the trader at the price of about a cent and a half each, in\ntrade. The trimming of this frock cost, therefore, about $4. The four\nobjects dangling from the front of the frock are pewter spoon-bowls.\nAcross the breast is a fringe of short strings of different colored\nbeads, red, black, yellow, white, and blue. Jingling ornaments are much\nprized.\n\nThe tin tags from plug tobacco are eagerly sought for, perforated and\nattached in pendant strands 3 or 4 inches long to sealskin strips and\nthus serve the place of beads. I\u00a0saw one woman who certainly had not\nless than a thousand of these tags jingling as she walked. I\u00a0have also\nseen coins of various countries attached to the arms and dress. One coin\nwas Brazilian, another Spanish, and several were English. Coins of the\nprovinces were quite numerous. These were all doubtless obtained from\nthe sailors who annually visit the place, in exchange for little\ntrinkets prepared by the men and women.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 32. Eskimo man's sealskin coat (front).]\n\nThe collection contains five of these coats, Nos. 3005, 3225-3227 of\ndeerskin, and 3504 of sealskin. The last is a very elaborate garment,\nmade of handsomely contrasted pieces of the skin of two kinds of seals,\nthe harbor seal and the harp seal, arranged in a neat pattern.\n\nIt is not common to come across a garment of this kind, as the skins of\nthe proper or desired kinds are sometimes hard to obtain. The woman may\nbe several years in getting the right kind and may have effected many\nexchanges before being suited with the quality and color. The darkest\nskins of the Ka sig yak (harbor seal) are highly prized by both sexes.\nThe women set the higher value upon them. The men wear two styles of leg\ncovering, namely, breeches like a white man's, but not open in front,\nand reaching but a short distance below the knees, or trousers ending in\nstocking feet. Sometimes in very cold weather these trousers may be worn\nunder the breeches. Both breeches and trousers are very short-waisted.\nLong stockings of short-haired deerskin with the hair in are also worn.\nThe women in winter wear breeches made of deerskin fastened around the\nhips by means of a drawstring and extending down the legs to where the\ntops of the boots will cover them a few inches. Some of the women wear\ntrousers which reach only to the upper part of the thighs and are\ncontinuous with the boot which covers the foot, though in that case a\npair of half-boots are added to protect the feet. The hips are covered\nwith breeches which descend low enough on the thigh to be covered by the\nleggings. This style of apparel for the lower portion of the body is\noften extravagantly patched with various colored pieces of white and\ndark strips of skin from the abdomen and sides of the reindeer. When new\nand not soiled they are quite attractive and often contrast well with\nthe tastefully ornamented coat.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 33.--Eskimo man's sealskin coat (side).]\n\nThe long boots or leggings are removed when dirty work is to be done.\nThus, skins to be scraped and dressed are held against the bare leg.\n\nThe leggings also serve as pockets to hold various kinds of little\nthings, like knives, tobacco, and so on.\n\nA person rarely owns more than a single pair of breeches; consequently I\nwas unable to obtain any for the collection.\n\nThe boots and shoes are of different materials and somewhat different\npatterns for different seasons of the year. All have moccasin soles of\nstout material turned up an inch or two all round the foot, a\u00a0tongue\ncovering the top of the foot, joined to a broad heel band which passes\nround behind the ankle. Then the legs are either made long enough to\nreach to the knee or else almost to the ankle. These half-boots are worn\nover the fur stockings in warm weather, or outside the long boots in\nvery severe weather. Indian moccasins are also worn, sometimes over a\npair of inside shoes and sometimes as inside shoes.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 34. Eskimo woman's deerskin coat.]\n\nFor thick waterproof soles the skin of the beaver or the harp seal is\nused. The former wears the better. White whale skin is also used for\nindoor shoes, or for shoes to be worn in cold dry weather; the skins of\nthe smaller seals are used, sometimes with the flesh side out and the\nhair in, sometimes with the grain side out. These thinner skins are\ncomparatively waterproof if the black epidermis is allowed to remain on.\nThe beautiful creamy-white leather, made by allowing the skin to ferment\nuntil hair and epidermis are scraped off together and then stretching\nthe skin and exposing it to dry cold air, does not resist water at all,\nand can only be used for soles in perfectly dry weather.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 35. Eskimo woman's deerskin coat.]\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 36. Eskimo women's deerskin coat.]\n\nBuckskin soles are also used to enable the wearer to walk better with\nsnowshoes on, as the feet are not so liable to slip or clog with snow as\nthey would be if the footing were of sealskin. This latter has also\nanother serious disadvantage. If it is very cold it does not permit the\nmoisture from the feet to pass out as it freezes, rendering the boot\nstiff and slippery on the snowshoe, while the buckskin is porous and\nreadily allows the moisture to escape.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 37. Eskimo women's deerskin coat (back).]\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 38.--Eskimo woman's deerskin coat (side).]\n\nThe tongue and heel band are generally made of tanned sealskin,\ncontrasting colors being often used. The legs are of sealskin, with the\nhair on, or of reindeer skin.\n\nThe figures represent a pair of sealskin boots with buckskin feet\n(Fig.\u00a041) and a pair of half boots with white sealskin soles, black\nsealskin tongue and heelstrap, and buckskin tops (Fig.\u00a042). The tanned\nand smoked reindeer skin for these tops was purchased from the Nascopie\nIndians.\n\nA peculiar style of shoe (Fig. 43), of which I collected four pairs,\nis used by the so-called \"Northerners,\" who derive most of their\nsubsistence from the sea in winter, and who constantly have to travel on\nthe ice, which is often very slippery. To prevent slipping, narrow\nstrips of sealskin are sewed upon a piece of leather, which makes an\nundersole for the shoe, in the manner shown in the figure.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 39.--Eskimo woman's deerskin coat.]\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 40. Backside of same.]\n\nOne end of the strip is first sewed to the subsole and the strip pushed\nup into a loop and stitched again, and so on till a piece is made big\nenough to cover the sole of the shoe, to which it is sewed. These ice\nshoes are worn over the ordinary waterproof boots.\n\nAs I have already said, these boots are all made by the women. The sole\nis cut out by eye and is broadly elliptical in shape, somewhat pointed\nat the toe and heel. The leg is formed of a single piece, so that there\nis but one seam; the tongue or piece to cover the instep may or may not\nbe a separate piece. If it is, the leg seam comes in front; if it forms\none piece with the leg piece, the seam is behind. When the leg is sewed\nup and the tongue properly inserted the sole is sewed on. It is tacked\nat the heel, toe, and once on opposite sides of the foot, to the upper.\nThe sewing of the sole to the upper is generally begun at the side of\nthe seam and continued around. Perpendicular creases at the heel, and\nmore numerously around the toes, take up the slack of the sole and are\ncarefully worked in. The making of this part of the shoe is most\ndifficult, for unless it is well sewed it is liable to admit water.\nThe creases or \"gathers\" are stitched through and through with a stout\nthread, which holds them in place while the operation proceeds, and\nwhich besides has a tendency to prevent the gathers from breaking down.\nThe heel, which comes well up the back of the boot, is stiffened by\nmeans of several threads sewed perpendicularly, and as they are drawn\nshorter than the skin, they prevent the heel from falling and thus\ngetting \"run down.\"\n\nThe seams of the boots, which are turned inside out during the\noperation, are so arranged on the edges that one will overlap and be\ntacked with close stitches over the rest of the seam. This is done not\nonly for comfort when the boot becomes dry and hard while being worn,\nbut also to take the strain from the stitches which hold the edges\ntogether. The value of a pair of boots depends much on the care bestowed\nin tanning and in sewing.\n\nThe hands are protected by mittens of different materials. Fur or hair\nmittens are worn only in dry weather, as the hair would retain too much\nmoisture.\n\nAmong the Innuit the mammals are divided into two classes: the noble and\nthe inferior beasts. The skins of the former are used, though not\nexclusively, by the men, while the latter may be worn only by the women.\nNo man would debase himself by wearing a particle of the fur of the hare\nor of the white fox; the skins of these timid creatures are reserved for\nthe women alone. Either sex may wear the skins of all other mammals,\nexcept at certain times, under restrictions imposed by superstition.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 41. Eskimo boots.]\n\nThe women wear mittens of hare or fox skin, with palms of sealskin or\nIndian-tanned bird's skin. Reindeer skin with the hair on is also used\nfor mittens. The heavy skin from the body is selected for the sake of\nwarmth. When these mittens are to be used when driving dogs the palm is\nmade of sealskin, to enable the wearer to get a firm grasp on the whip\nhandle. The skin of the deer's forelegs, which has hair of a different\ncharacter from that on the body, also makes excellent mittens, specially\nsuited for handling snow in building the snow huts. Mittens are\nsometimes fringed round the wrist with a strip of white bearskin to keep\nout the wind.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 42. Eskimo shoes.]\n\nAll mittens have such short thumbs that they are very inconvenient for a\nwhite man, who habitually holds his thumb spread away from the palm,\nwhereas the Innuit usually keep the thumb apposed to the palm. The\nwrists of the mitten also are so short that considerable of the wrist is\noften exposed. The sleeves of the jacket are generally fringed with wolf\nor dog skin to protect this exposed portion of the wrist.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 43. Ice-shoes, Hudson strait Eskimo.]\n\nSimilar mittens of black sealskin are also worn by the men during damp\nweather, or when handling objects which would easily soil a pair of\nfurred mittens. I\u00a0have never seen a woman wear this kind of covering for\nthe hand. It appears to be exclusively worn by the men.\n\nThe men who engage in the late fall seal hunting protect their hands\nwith waterproof gauntlets, which reach well up over the forearm. These\nkeep the hands from being wet by the spray and by the drip from the\npaddle. Fig. 44, No. 90074, represents one of these long mittens, made\nof black tanned sealskin, and edged with a strip of hairy sealskin over\nan inch wide. The back or upper portion of the mitten is made of a\nsingle piece of black skin, the edge of which is crimped and turned\nunder to protect the fingers. The palm is a separate piece, joined to\nthe backpiece, and on it is a projecting part to form the inner half of\nthe thumb. The outer half of the thumb and the under side of the forearm\nare made of a single piece, stitched to the palm portion and that which\ncovers the back of the hand and arm, so that, including the edging of\nhairy skin, there are only four pieces of skin entering into the make of\na pair of these mittens. They are worn only by the men, and only when\nthey are engaged in work where the hands would be immersed in water\nduring cold weather. As the skin from which they are made is the same as\nthat used for water-tight boots, it is obvious that no moisture can\ntouch the skin of the hand.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 44. Long waterproof sealskin mitten.]\n\nFor protection from rain and wet they wear over their other clothes a\nwaterproof hooded frock (Fig.\u00a045) made of seal entrails, preferably the\nintestines of the bearded seal (_Erignathus barbatus_). The intestines\nof animals killed in October are considered the best for this purpose.\nThey then are not so fat and require less dressing to clean them. The\ncontents are removed and they are filled with water and thoroughly\nwashed out. The fat and other fleshy matter adhering are removed by\nmeans of a knife used as a scraper. This being done, the intestine is\ninflated with air and strung along the tops of the rocks to dry. When\ndry it is carefully flattened and rolled into tight bundles, like a\nspool of ribbon, and laid away until wanted.\n\nWhen required for use it is split longitudinally, and when spread open\nis of variable width from 3 to 5 inches, depending on the size of the\nanimal. The edges of the strips are examined and any uneven portions are\ncut off, making the strip of uniform width. There are three separate\npieces in a garment--the body and hood as one and the sleeves as two.\nSometimes the sleeves are made first and sometimes the body is sewed\nfirst, and of this latter portion the hood is first formed. Strips are\nsewed edge to edge with the exterior of the intestine to form the\noutside of the garment. The edge is turned down, so as to leave a width\nof a third of an inch, and turned to the right; the other strip is\nsimilarly folded, but turned to the left and laid on the other strip.\nSinew from the back of a reindeer or from a seal is made into threads a\nyard or more in length and of the thickness of medium-sized wrapping\ncord. The needle is usually of a number 3 or 4 in size or of less\ndiameter than the thread in order that the thread shall the more\neffectually fill up the hole made by the needle. The two strips are then\nsewed with stitches about nine to the inch, through and through, in a\nmanner, I\u00a0believe, termed running stitches. When a sufficient length is\nobtained a third strip is added, and so on until the required number of\nperpendicular strips form a sufficient width to surround the body. The\nouter edges are then joined and the body of the garment is complete.\nPortions are cut out and the hood assumes the desired shape, resembling\na nightcap attached to the body of a nightgown. The sleeves are sewed in\na similar manner and affixed to the body of the garment. The seams run\nperpendicularly and not around the body in a spiral manner as in\ngarments made by the natives of Alaska for similar purposes. The edge of\nthe hood, the wrists, and the bottom of the garment are strengthened by\nmeans of thin strips of sealskin sewed on the outside of those parts\nwhere they are most liable to be torn. The garment is worn during wet\nweather or while in the kaiak traveling on a rough sea. The bottom of\nthe garment is tied around the hoop of the kaiak in which the wearer\nsits and thus effectually sheds the water from the body, except the\nface, and keeps it from entering the kaiak.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 45. Waterproof gutfrock.]\n\nSometimes a drawstring closes the hood tightly around the face and\nprevents the spray from entering. The string is usually tied at the top\nof the hood, in which case it is rather difficult to untie.\n\nWhen not in use the material must be well oiled and rolled up or it will\nbecome so stiff that it can not be worn until it has been relaxed by\ndipping in water. The sinew with which it is sewed swells when wet and\ntightens the seams.\n\nThere is great difference in the length of the garments worn by the\neastern and the western Eskimo as well as in the manner of arranging the\nstrips of which they are made. The one worn by the people of Hudson\nstrait scarcely reaches to the hips of the wearer and is long enough\nonly to tie around the hoop of the kaiak. The ones worn by the Eskimo of\nNorthern sound, Alaska, falls to the knees, and those made by the Aleuts\nare so long that they interfere with the feet in walking. The material\nprepared by the eastern natives is not so good, as it is coarser and\nstiffer than that of the sea lion (_Eumatopias stelleri_), used by the\nnatives of Alaska.\n\nThe weight of one of these garments when dry scarcely exceeds 6 or 7\nounces.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 46. Snow goggles--front.]\n\nTo protect the eyes from the glare of the snow, which is especially\ntrying when the sun is still low in early spring, snow goggles are worn\nmade to admit the light only through a narrow slit. (Figs. 46, and\u00a047.)\nNos. 3186, 3187, 3188, 3189, 3190, 3191, 3192, 3193, 3197, 3198, 3199,\n3200, and 3201 in the collection show such snow goggles made of wood.\nA\u00a0somewhat curved piece of wood is fashioned to fit the face over the\neyes; a\u00a0notch is fitted for the nose to rest in. The lower side is about\nhalf an inch thick, forming a flat surface. The front is perpendicular\nand blackened with soot or gunpowder mixed with oil and applied to\ndarken the front surface to absorb the light of the sun's rays. Above\nthis is a ledge of half an inch projecting over the narrow longitudinal\nslit through which the wearer may look. This projection is sometimes not\nblackened on the underside, and where wood is scarce it is left off\naltogether. Within, on the side next to the eyes, it is usually gouged\nout to allow the eyelashes free movement. A\u00a0piece of sealskin is affixed\nat each end and either tied in a knot over the head to hold the wood in\nposition, or else a wider strip of skin is slit and one portion worn on\nthe top of the head while the other fits the back of the head to prevent\nthe goggles from falling off when the wearer stoops down.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 47. Snow-goggles--rear.]\n\n\nDWELLINGS.\n\nThe winter dwellings of the Eskimo of Hudson strait consist of the usual\nform of snow house. In this connection I may as well state that the\npopular impression that the snow house described by Arctic travelers is\nthe only thing to be called an iglu is quite erroneous. The word \"iglu\"\nis as fully generic in the Eskimo language as the word \"house\" is in the\nEnglish language. The correct term, as applied by the Eskimo, to the\nsnow house used as a dwelling is \"ig l\u00fa ge ak\" (Fig.\u00a048.)\n\nThe first requisite for a snow house is snow. It must be of sufficient\ndepth and possess certain well-defined qualities. The snow may fall, but\nuntil it has acquired sufficient depth for the size of blocks required\nand firmness enough for strength to withstand the superposed weight\nof the structure it is useless. An instrument termed snowknife\n(p[)u]n[)u]k), shaped like a short sword, is used for the purpose of\ncutting the blocks. The Eskimo seeks a place where the insertion of the\nknife into the bed of snow will prove that the snow is in the proper\ncondition. He must then cut out a block of a size convenient to be\nlifted. This is usually rejected as it may be irregular or broken.\nAdditional blocks, in size from 8 to 10 inches thick, 2\u00a0feet wide, and\nslightly more in length are cut by a motion much resembling the act of\nsawing, cutting the depth of the blade. The knife then cuts the bottom\noff squarely and the block is lifted out, the builder standing where the\nfirst blocks were cut from. The blocks are arranged on the bank of snow\naround the pit in which the man stands. The first block usually is\nsomewhat triangular in shape for a purpose hereafter mentioned. The\nsecond block is cut out and placed near the first, the end clipped with\nthe knife to allow the first joint to be close together. A\u00a0third block\nis cut and placed by the end of the second. It will now be seen that the\nline of blocks is not straight, but curved concavely within. Additional\nblocks are cut and placed end to end with each other until the first one\nlaid is reached. Here a longer block is cut to lay upon the inclined\nside of the triangular-shaped block first used and so placed as to\n\"break\" the joints, and thus render the structure more stable.\nAdditional blocks are placed on the first row, and as the operation\nproceeds it will be seen that the blocks lie in a spiral form, gradually\ndrawing in as the structure rises, forming a dome-shaped wall of snow.\nThe key block at the top is carefully cut to fit the aperture and\ninserted from the outside by the assistance of another person. All the\njoints are carefully stopped up with spawls of snow or with snow crushed\nbetween the hands and forced within the crevices.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 48. Deserted Eskimo snow houses,\n near Fort Chimo.]\n\nThe floor of the snow house is the bed of snow from which the building\nmaterial was taken. The door is cut by taking blocks of snow from under\nthe bottom row of the foundation blocks. A\u00a0trench is made, and along the\nside of it the blocks are placed. An arched covering of the material\nforms a sheltered passageway to the door.\n\nWhen the snow house is to be occupied for a considerable time the\ndoorway may have walls of snow blocks piled as high as the shoulders,\nwith the top left open. This shields the entrance from wind and drifting\nsnow. Various forms of entrance are constructed, often very tortuous;\nand when made a refuge by the numerous dogs they are not pleasant paths\nalong which to creep on hands and knees, for a panic may seize some\ncowardly canine and all the dogs struggle to get suddenly out into the\nopen air. Vicious animals often wait until a white man gets about half\nway through the entry and then make a sudden assault on him.\n\nThe interior of the house is arranged according to the number of persons\ninhabiting it.\n\nA raised bed, on which to sit during the day and sleep during the night,\nis formed either by leaving a part of the snow-bank or else by bringing\nin blocks and arranging them as a solid mass. On this are spread bows of\nspruce, or dry grass, if obtainable, otherwise fine twigs of willow or\nalder, and over these heavy reindeer or bear skins are thrown. On these\nbed-skins are laid other softer skins of reindeer, with which to cover\nthe person on retiring to sleep. A\u00a0window is sometimes set in the side\nof the structure toward the sun. This is simply a piece of thick, clear\nice, from a lake, set in the wall of the dome. It admits light, although\nit is generally light enough during the day within the snow-house unless\nthe walls be built particularly thick, but great thickness in certain\nsituations becomes necessary lest the winds and drifting snow wear away\nthe sides of the structure, causing it to admit the cold or tumble down.\nAround the outside of the hut is sometimes built a protecting wall of\nsnow blocks, two or three feet high, to prevent the drifting snow from\nwearing away the side of the dwelling. A\u00a0storm of a single night's\nduration is often sufficient to destroy a house.\n\nThe interior walls, in severe weather, become coated with frost films\nfrom the breath, etc., condensing and crystallizing on the inside of the\ndome and often presenting by the lamplight a brilliant show of myriads\nof reflecting surfaces scintillating with greater luster than skillfully\nset gems.\n\nIf the roof is not carefully shaped it is liable to cave in from the\nheat within softening the snow, especially in moderate weather, and then\nthe entire structure falls.\n\nWhere the owner of the house has considerable possessions which must be\nprotected from the dogs and the weather, a\u00a0similar structure is prepared\nalongside of the dwelling and often connected with it by means of a\ncommunicating passage-way. An exterior opening may be made and closed\nwith a block of snow. The larger articles, such as bags of oil and\nbundles of skins, are put inside before the walls are up, if intended to\nbe stored for some time.\n\nAs I have slept in these snow-houses I can assert that, while very\nuncomfortable, they afford a protection which can not be dispensed with.\nWhen the doorway is open they soon become very cold, and when closed\nupon several persons the heat becomes intolerable. Odors from the food\nremain long after the remnants are disposed of, and where one has been\noccupied for a long period the accumulation of refuse becomes so great\nthat a new structure is indispensable in order to get rid of it. All the\nwork of the different members of the family is performed within the\nwalls. The skins of animals are dressed and tanned there. The offal of\ngame and the hair from dressed skins mingle in one mass, which soon\nputrefies and creates such a stench that only an Eskimo with most obtuse\nsense of smell could inhabit the place.\n\nWhen spring comes the huts begin to melt and in the course of a few warm\ndays fall down. If the weather is too inclement to permit a skin tent to\nbe occupied, the first hole in the wall may be patched with a deerskin,\nbut this will afford very limited protection from the cold of nights,\nfor, however warm the days, the nights will, until late in May, be so\ncold that only the older individuals withstand the cold.\n\nWhen the structure falls, melted by sun or rain, the miserable occupants\nmust erect temporary shelter of deerskin or cloth on the bare rocky\nridges. Those too poor to own a skin tent have often but a blanket of\ndeerskin, stretched over three or four poles, set to shelter them from\nthe chilly northerly winds usually prevailing at that season.\n\nHere they must sojourn until the ice breaks from the shores of the coves\nand bays, enabling the hunters to procure seals from the sea. Along the\nshores one may often find camping sites of these poor wanderers\nsearching through the day for food and at night camping under the lee of\na wall of rock with little other covering than that worn during the day\nand this often soaked with spray or rain.\n\nImprovidence and indolence result in the most cruel privations toward\nthe end of winter. Many who are too weak and emaciated from lack of food\nto pursue the chase to gain a living starve before reaching the sea and\nare left to perish.\n\nWhen the season is more advanced, and the weather warm enough, those who\nare industrious and provident enough to be the possessors of sealskin\ntents, move into them for the season.\n\nThe skin tent (Pl. XXXVII) is usually made of the skins of the largest\nsquare flipper seals, those too heavy for any other purpose or not\nnecessary for other uses.\n\n [Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY ELEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XXXVII\n\n ESKIMO TENT.]\n\nThe number of skins necessary to form a tent varies with the size\nrequired. Generally as many as ten to fifteen are used, and such a tent\nwill accommodate a good sized family.\n\nThe hair is seldom removed from the skin, which is simply stretched as\nit comes from the animal and freed from fat and fleshy particles. The\nedges are trimmed and a sufficient number of skins are sewed together to\nform a length for one side of the tent. The length of the individual\nskins makes the height of the tent. A\u00a0similar width is prepared for the\nopposite side. The two pieces meet at the rear of the structure and are\nthere tied to the poles. A\u00a0separate piece forms the door and may be\nthrown one side when a person enters or goes out. The poles of the tent\nare arranged as follows: Two pairs of poles are joined near the ends\nwith stout thongs and erected with the lower ends spread to the proper\nwidth, forming the ends of the tent, on which the ridgepole is laid.\nA\u00a0single pole is now placed near each end of the ridgepole, resting on\nthe upright pairs, to prevent lateral motion. Two more such braces are\nplaced on each side and spread so as to give a somewhat rounded end to\nthe tent. Near the middle of the ridgepole is a pair of shorter poles\nleaning against it to prevent the weight of the sides from bending the\nridgepole. It will be seen that eleven poles are necessary to support a\nlong tent, as the skins are very heavy. The skins and poles can be\ntransported when the umiak is able to carry them.\n\nIn case of continued rains the skins are placed so as nearly to meet\nover the ridge and additional skins cover the space left between the\nedges. When the tent is to be taken down the two widths are folded over,\neach by itself, and then rolled into a compact bundle by beginning at\neach end and folding toward the center, leaving sufficient space between\nthe rolls for a person to get his head and shoulders in. Two persons,\none for each roll, now assist the carrier, who kneels, bows his head,\nand places the load on his head and shoulders. The two assist him to\nrise and the heavy load is taken to the umiak and placed in the bottom\nfor ballast. The shorter poles are first laid in on the ribs of the boat\nto keep the skins from the water should any seep through the seams.\nThe second bundle of tenting is laid on the first.\n\nThe tent of skins is the usual shelter during the season from the first\nrain until a sufficient fall of snow occurs in the early winter from\nwhich to construct an iglu gheak.\n\nThe interior of the skin tent is necessarily quite roomy on account of\nthe number of occupants. The farther end often has a stick of timber\nlaid across the floor, and behind this is the bedding for the owner, his\nwives, and children. A\u00a0man who is able to own a tent of this character\nis also wealthy enough to have two or more wives. Along the remainder of\nthe sides within lie the other occupants, either in groups or singly,\ndepending on the degree of relationship existing between them. Guests\nand others temporarily abiding with the host are assigned any portion of\nthe tent that the host may choose to select, usually, if great honor is\nto be shown, the place lately occupied by himself. The central portion\nis reserved for a fireplace for cooking and heating purposes. In this\nstructure is carried on all manner of work incidental to the season. The\ntent is taken from place to place by means of the umiak when the food\nsupply of a locality is exhausted or another region promises greater\nabundance.\n\nAll these summer occupations require a number of persons to successfully\nprosecute them, hence the number dwelling in one tent is not often\ndetrimental, as the adults walk along the shore to drag the boat or\nrelieve it from their weight.\n\nThe owner of a tent is considered an important individual, and his favor\nis retained by every means. A\u00a0period of illness may cause him to lose\nall his belongings and then on recovery he has to start life anew.\nSeveral seasons may elapse before a sufficient number of skins will be\nprocured for him to make a tent, and this is immovable without a boat to\ntransport it, for when a sled might be used for that purpose there is\nalways enough snow from which to erect a shelter.\n\nDuring the winter the skins are stored away on posts erected for the\npurpose, or on piles of rocks where the various species of small animals\nwill not destroy them by eating holes in the oily skin. Mice and ermines\nare very destructive to these skins, often causing sad havoc in a short\ntime. By the spring the owner may be miles away from the scene of the\nprevious autumnal hunt and be unable to go after the tent, which, with\nthe summer rain and decay, becomes useless, imposing the severe task of\ncollecting skins for a second tent.\n\nIn former times these people inhabited permanent winter houses like\nthose used by the Eskimo elsewhere, as is shown by the ruins of sod and\nstone houses to be seen in various parts of the country. These appear to\nhave had walls of stone built up to support the roof timbers, with the\ninterstices filled up with turf or earth. From the depression remaining\nin the inside of these ruins, the floor seems to have been excavated to\na greater or less depth.\n\nThe present inhabitants relate that their ancestors dwelt in these huts,\nbut can not explain why they were deserted, or why such structures are\nnot erected at the present day.\n\n\nHOUSEHOLD ARTICLES.\n\nThere is very little in these dwellings that can be called furniture,\nbesides the bed places already referred to. The other articles requisite\nfor housekeeping consist of a lamp of soapstone, kettles to hang over\nit, a\u00a0frame suspended above the lamp for drying various articles, and\nsundry wooden bowls, buckets, and cups, besides similar vessels made of\nsealskin.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 49. Soapstone lamp, Koksoagmyut.]\n\nThe lamp (poq\u00edla), which is the only source of heat and light in the\nsnow house, is, roughly speaking, a\u00a0large shallow bowl of soapstone\nfilled with oil, which is burned by means of a wick of moss, arranged\nround one edge of the bowl.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 50. Soapstone lamp, Koksoagmyut.]\n\nThe material from which these lamps are made occurs in isolated bowlders\non the surface of the ground at various places in the region. These\nbowlders are often of great size.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 51. Soapstone lamp, Koksoagmyut.]\n\nThe general form of these lamps, which will be best understood from the\nfigures (Figs. 49, 50,\u00a051), is nearly always the same, the variations\nbeing apparently due to the lack of material. The cavity for holding the\noil varies in capacity, according to the size of the lamp, from half a\npint to nearly three quarts. It is, however, never filled to the brim,\nfor fear it should run over. The consumption of oil depends upon the\nnumber of wicks lighted at once, and also on the character of the wick.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 52. Frame for drying mittens.]\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 53. Soapstone kettle.]\n\nThe wick in general use is prepared from a kind of moss, which grows in\nlarge patches close to the ground, the stalks rising perpendicularly,\nand the whole so matted together that it may be cut into any desired\nform. From these patches pieces are cut an inch or two wide, a\u00a0third of\nan inch thick and two or three inches in length, and laid away to dry.\nWhen one of these is to be used the woman squeezes the fibers together\nwith her teeth, trims it, and sets it in the oil, and lights it. The\nlight from one of these wicks is nearly equal to that of an inch wick\nfed with a good quality of kerosene. The heat is very great. For\ncooking, a\u00a0larger wick is used, or two of the smaller ones set side by\nside. Over the lamp is placed a frame for drying wet boots, mittens,\nand such things. Fig. 52 represents one of these (No.\u00a03048), which is a\nsemicircle or bow of wood with the ends fastened to a straight piece of\nwood. Across these strands of sinew or sealskin forms a sort of netting\nhaving large meshes. On this rests the article to be dried. Under this\nis a support formed of two sharp-pointed pegs which are stuck into the\nsnow forming the side of the hut. On the outer end of these is fastened,\nor laid across them, a\u00a0piece of wood. The shape of the support is that\nof a long staple with square corners. In some instances the pegs form\nonly a wide V-shape, and the frame for supporting the articles laid\ndirectly on this. A\u00a0block of wood hollowed out to receive the convex\nbottom of the lamp is sometimes used to support the latter.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 54. Soapstone kettle.]\n\nIn former times cooking over these lamps was universally performed in\nkettles of soapstone, in which cooking was also done by putting heated\nstones into the water. These soapstone kettles are, however, quite\nsuperseded by utensils of civilized manufacture. I, however, succeeded\nin collecting two full-sized stone kettles, and one little one, made for\na child's toy. The figures (Figs. 53,\u00a054) show the shape of these\nvessels sufficiently well. The handles are made of strips of whalebone.\nThe larger kettle (No.\u00a03179) is nearly 13 inches long, and will hold\nnearly a gallon. They were made of different capacities in former times,\nvarying from about a pint to a full gallon.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 55. Wooden dish.]\n\nOblong shallow dishes (pu-ghu\u00b4-tak) for holding oil or food are carved\nfrom larch knots. The figure (Fig.\u00a055) represents a model of one of\nthese. Buckets and cups of various sizes for holding water and other\nfluids are made of tanned seal skin sewed with sinew. The sides of the\nbucket are a strip of seal skin bent into a ring, with a round piece of\nseal skin sewed on for a bottom. Sometimes a seal-skin bail is added, or\na wooden handle sewed to the lips of the cup, making it into a dipper\n(Figs. 56,\u00a057.) Wooden baskets are made in a similar fashion. A strip of\nspruce wood is bent nearly circular. The ends of the strip are fastened\nwith fine iron wire. The bottom is a separate piece and has a rim or\nedge for the upper part to set on, and is held in place by means of\nsmall wooden pegs driven through and into the bottom.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 56. Sealskin bucket.]\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 57. Sealskin cup.]\n\nThe capacity of these vessels is seldom more than a couple of quarts,\nand generally less. They are principally used to ladle water into the\ncooking kettles. All these vessels of native manufacture are being\nrapidly displaced by tin cups and small kettles.\n\n\nFOOD AND ITS PREPARATION.\n\nUnder certain conditions a great portion of their food is eaten raw,\nbut it is invariably cooked when it conveniently can be. Frozen food is\nconsumed in great quantities. I\u00a0have seen them strip and devour the\nback, fat, and flesh from the body of a deer while the fibers were yet\nquivering. The entrails of many species of birds are taken from the body\nand, while yet warm, swallowed much after the manner of swallowing an\noyster. The eggs which have been incubated to an advanced degree are as\neagerly devoured as those quite fresh.\n\nThe deer meat, killed the previous fall and frozen for three or four\nmonths, is cut into huge chunks and gnawed with as much satisfaction as\nthough it was the finest pastry. On such occasions I have seen the\nperson appointed to chop up the frozen meat scatter the pieces among the\nexpectant crowd with as little ceremony as that of throwing ears of corn\nto the hogs in a pen. For a change the frozen pieces of meat are\nsometimes warmed or thawed before the fire.\n\nThe blood of the deer is often mixed with the half-digested mass of food\nin the stomach of the animal, and the stomach, with its contents, with\nthe addition of the blood, eaten raw or boiled. Sometimes it is laid\naside to ferment and then frozen and eaten in this condition.\n\nStrips of fat from a seal and the blood of the animal are put into a\nkettle and heated. The oily liquid is eaten with the greatest relish.\nSeal oil is used for food in about the same manner as we use syrups.\nYears of almost daily intercourse with these people have failed to show\nthe ability of any person to drink seal or whale oil without illness\nresulting. They never drink pure oil under any circumstances, except as\na laxative. The statement often made that these people drink oil as food\nis simply preposterous. Such statements doubtless arose from seeing\nother preparations of food having an abundance of oil upon them. Lean\nflesh is often dipped into oil and then eaten. If partaken of without\noil in as great quantities as these people require, a\u00a0torpid condition\nof the liver and alimentary canal results, and they thus employ the pure\noil to relieve themselves.\n\nVegetable food is little used except in the vicinity of the trading\nstations. Those accustomed to the use of flour, bread, peas, beans, and\nrice are very fond of them, and often express regret that they will be\ndeprived of them when on their hunting expeditions.\n\nNative plants afford little help as food. During the season when the\nvarious berries are ripe all the people gorge themselves. They have a\nspecial fondness for the akpik (_Rubus choemomorus_). The sun scarcely\nreddens the side of these berries, locally known as \"bake apple,\" before\nthe children scour the tracts where they grow, and eat of the\nhalf-ripened fruit with as much relish as the civilized boy does the\nfruit purloined from a neighbor's orchard. Other berries contribute\ntheir share as food.\n\nWhen on trips the women often gather a few green herbs and put them in a\nkettle of water and make an infusion in lieu of tea. They are fond of\ntea, coffee, and sugar. Molasses is eaten alone or with something dipped\nin it.\n\nThe Eskimo drink often and astonishing quantities of water at a time.\nIf the weather be very cold they often drink the water which has been\nheated on a fire, asserting that the hot water does not weaken them as\nmuch as cold water would do.\n\nWhen a seal has been killed and is being brought to camp, the hunter\nsignifies his success from a distance, and those in camp raise a joyous\nshout. The animal is drawn ashore and skinned. The flesh is devoured raw\nas the process goes on, or may be divided, certain portions being given\nthe different persons. The blood is collected, and when the meat is\nboiled it is mixed with the hot liquid and forms a nutritious dish,\neagerly devoured by both adults and young. The children revel in this\ndish to a sacrifice of cleanliness.\n\nThe feast is continued until the flesh has been devoured and the people\ngorged to their utmost capacity. Stories are told and general good humor\nprevails. The different species of fish which frequent the shallow\nwaters of the bays are used as food.\n\n\nTOBACCO AND SNUFF.\n\nAll the adults are addicted to the use of tobacco, both for smoking and\nchewing and in the form of snuff, although it is not everyone that uses\ntobacco in all three ways.\n\nThe plug tobacco, used for smoking and chewing, is carried in a small\npouch of seal skin attached to the belt, which keeps it from being\ndampened by perspiration or rain. Watches are also carried in the same\nreceptacle. Fig. 58 (No.\u00a074485) is such a bag, made of hairy seal skin.\nThe edges alone are trimmed with lighter colored strips of seal skin.\nA\u00a0string holds the mouth of the bag together after it is rolled up.\nA\u00a0loop at one corner enables the bearer to affix it to his belt when\ntraveling to avoid the necessity of opening the bag in which he usually\ncarries such small things.\n\nLeaf tobacco is preferred for the preparation of snuff, but as this is\nnot always to be had plug is often used. This is shredded up and dried,\nand when dry enough is reduced to a powder by inclosing a quantity in a\nfold of seal skin and pounding it with a stone or stick.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 58. Tobacco pouch.]\n\nSnuff is kept in a purse-shaped bag, closed at the mouth with a thong.\nTo it is attached a little spoon made of ivory. Various forms of this\nimplement are made. The general appearance is that of a common spoon,\nof which the ends and sides of the bowl are cut off. At the end of the\nhandle is a slight depression for containing the snuff, which is held\nfirmly against the orifice of the nostril and inhaled by a sudden\nindrawing of the breath while the thumb of the other hand closes the\nopposite nostril.\n\nThe old women appear more addicted to the use of snuff than any of the\nmen. The effect of inhaling the strong snuff is quickly shown in the\nface. It seems to affect people more than the use of tobacco in any\nother way.\n\n\nMEANS OF TRANSPORTATION.\n\nBY WATER.\n\nThe principal means of conveyance by water with the Eskimo of Hudson\nstrait, is the umiak, referred to by most writers as the woman's boat.\nThis appellation is not more applicable than would be the term family\nboat. The women use the boat alone only on rare occasions, and then in\nquiet water and for short distances. Men are nearly always in it, and\nunder the guidance of one of these, the boat is used for long journeys.\n\nThe form of the umiak, in the region under consideration, differs\ngreatly from that of the Eskimo of Bering sea. (See Fig. 59, from a\nmodel.)\n\nThe size of the boat is variable according to the means of the builder\nand the size of the family to be conveyed in it. The length of the keel\nis from 10 to 25 feet. Over all the length is 1 or 2 feet greater than\non the keel. It will be thus seen that the ends are nearly\nperpendicular. It is difficult to determine at the first glance which is\nthe bow and which the stern, so nearly alike are they. They only differ\nin the former being somewhat wider at the upper edge or rail.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 59. Eskimo umiak.]\n\nThe keel is a straight piece of wood hewed from a single stick, nearly 4\ninches square. The stem and stern posts are nearly alike, the latter\nhaving but little slope, and are cut from curved or crooked stems of\ntrees. A\u00a0tree may be found, which, when hewed, will form the sternpost\nand keel in one length. Otherwise the fore and aft posts have places cut\nout for the insertion of the respective ends of the keel, and are\nfastened firmly by stout thongs of sealskin thrust through holes bored\nin the wood and ingeniously lashed. As the bottom of the umiak is flat\nthe sides of the bottom are formed of square rails of sufficient length\nand given the desired spread. They are held at the ends by being joined\nto the keel. Crosspieces notched at the ends separate the bottom rails\nand are steadied in position by being notched so as to sit on the square\nkeel. On the ends of the crosspieces is laid a second rail which\nprevents them from rising and serves to strengthen the ends of the ribs,\nwhich are set alternately with the crosspieces of the keel. The ribs are\nattached to the lower or bottom rail by means of sealskin lashing. Along\nthe upper ends of the ribs is placed a longer rail of smaller diameter\nand usually shaved round. This rail is usually set half its diameter\ninto rounded notches of the upper ends of the ribs and fastened by\nthongs. Within and below the top rail is a shorter rail, generally\nsmaller than the upper, tied by thongs to the ribs and posts fore and\naft. A\u00a0wide board projecting several inches on each side of the stern\nserves as a seat for the steersman. The ends of the top rails are laid\nover this board and attached to it. A\u00a0similar board is placed at the\nforward end or bow, but is, of course, longer as that end is the wider\nof the two.\n\nThree to five thwarts, serving as seats for the occupants, are placed at\nproper intervals, having their ends resting on the inside top rail. One\nof these thwarts also serves to steady the mast, which is stepped into\nthe keel and lashed to the thwart.\n\nOn the side of the boat and resting on the top rail are pieces of wood\nfirmly lashed. A\u00a0notch, or rowlock, is cut into them to serve as rests\nfor the heavy oars. The oars are held into the notch by means of loops\nof stout thong, the ends of the loops passing each other, one from\nforward and the other from aft, and through both of the loop ends the\ninner end of the oar is thrust. The loops serve to hold the oar when not\nin use, otherwise it would float away; yet the position of them allows\nthe oars to lie alongside in the water. The oars are heavy and as much\nas 10 feet long for a large umiak. The women generally run the boat and\nare assisted by the younger men of the party who may not be walking\nalong the shore. Two or more females sit side by side and if they be\ninsufficient a third person faces them and assists in the labor. It is a\nfavorite place for a young man with his sweetheart. The steersman sits\non the after board and attends to the helm and sail when the latter is\nin use. The sail is a nearly square sheet of cloth spread by a yard\nacross the top. The lower corners have each a rope which the helmsman\nholds. A\u00a0fair wind only can be used to advantage as the oomiak, from its\nflat bottom, is unable to go to windward. With a breeze nearly aft they\ncan be made to sail at a good speed.\n\nThe covering of the umiak is made of skins of the largest seals. The\nskins are freed from hair and all adhering flesh and fat, and stretched\nto their utmost tension.\n\nThey are then cut into the proper shape and sewed together. The edge of\none skin overlaps that of the other and the lap is then tacked over the\nshorter edge and attached to the other skin so as to form two seams at\neach junction.\n\nThose portions which are to cover the bottom are sewed with special\ncare, as the seams are liable to be strained in shoving the boat over\nthe oars when it is taken from the water at each camp. When skins are\nsewed side to side in sufficient number to fit the length of the frame\nthey are lifted around it and temporarily placed in position. The\nsuperfluous portions are cut out or additional pieces put in until it\nfits properly on the frame. Holes, 3\u00a0or 4 inches apart, are cut in the\nedges of the skin and stout thongs are passed through these and over the\ntop rail to the inner rail. All the strength of the individual is now\napplied to draw the skin over the top rail. Being wet it readily\nstretches, and when the entire covering is drawn sufficiently tight the\nlashing around the rail is permanently fastened. The boat is then turned\nkeel up to dry. If the skin has been properly cut and stretched it\nsounds like a drum when struck.\n\nWhen in use the greatest care must be exercised to prevent contact with\nrocks, but in shallow water it frequently happens that a hole is cut in\nthe skin of the boat, when the rent must be patched with a piece of\nskin. During the winter months the umiak is placed on staging of posts\nto protect it from the ravages of mice and other animals.\n\nJourneys of considerable length are undertaken in these boats. A\u00a0large\nfamily, or two or more families, may remove to a distance to try their\nfortunes. They always stop at night and during bad weather, and the\njourney is accomplished by easy stages. All the portable possessions of\nthe family are taken in these boats, which are often loaded to such a\ndegree that the older people have to walk along the shores and only go\ninto the umiak to relieve some one who desires to walk. Where the beach\nis good a tracking line is attached to the bow and those on shore drag\nthe boat along. The dogs which accompany the party are sometimes\nharnessed and made to pull. The tracking line is called into requisition\nwhenever a trip is made up a river to the hunting grounds for reindeer.\n\nThe kaiak or skin canoe used by the Eskimo of Hudson strait belongs to\nthe Greenland type. It is quite different from that used by the natives\nof Alaska. These boats vary from 18 to 26 feet in length; the greatest\nwidth, one-third of the distance aft the hole where the rower sits,\nbeing one-seventh to one-ninth of the entire length of the kaiak. The\nends are sharp, the prow much more acute than the stern. The bottom is\nquite flat and the frame for the keel and sides at the bottom is\narranged similarly to that of the umiak. The prow is simply an extension\nof the keel and slopes above the water to a height nearly double that of\nthe stern. The slope of the stern is gradual and short. The side timbers\nat the bottom have the upper surface gouged so as to allow the lower\nends of the nearly perpendicular ribs to rest in the groove. The ribs\nextend across the bottom, resting on the side timber and keel. Their\nupper ends are inserted in the upper rail, which extends the entire\nlength of the kaiak. The upper rails are held apart by crosspieces of\ndifferent lengths, according to position. On the top of these upper\ncrosspieces is laid a piece which extends to the nose of the kaiak.\nA\u00a0similar, but shorter one, is laid from the hole where the rower sits\nto the stern of the kaiak. The hole for his body is placed between a\npair of crossbars where the equilibrium will be best maintained. The\nhoop of wood which outlines the hole is variable in shape, but resembles\nhalf of a short ellipse, the posterior of which is slightly curved to\nfit the back of the rower. Just forward of the seat the upper surface of\nthe canoe is somewhat elevated by the curvature of the crossbars, and it\nthus enables the rower to have greater freedom for his limbs than he\notherwise would. This particular part, the elevation just forward of\nhim, alone resembles any portion of the kaiaks used by the Alaskan\nEskimo, and of these, only the sub-tribes in the vicinity of Bering\nstrait [and thence to Point Barrow.--J.\u00a0M.] have that part of the kaiak\nso fashioned. With that exception the top of the Hudson strait kaiak is\nflat on the top. Just forward of the hatch, two or three stout thongs\nare sewed to the outer edge of each side of the boat and extend across\nthe top. A\u00a0similar thong is placed behind. Under these thongs are placed\nthe paddle, also the spears, and other hunting gear. Small game is\nsometimes tied to these.\n\nThe outfit, consisting of spears and their appurtenances, properly\nbelongs with the kaiak. Of these implements, there are different kinds,\ndepending on the game and the season of the year. As the kaiak is used\nonly during the seasons of open water it is laid aside during the\nwinter.\n\nI remember an instance occurring opposite Fort Chimo. A kaiak had been\nleft until the ice in the river was firm enough to enable the vessel to\nbe brought over on it to the station. One day a woman declared that she\ncould see a wolf tearing the skin from the frame. It was scarcely\ncredited, but in the course of half an hour the wolf started across\ntowards the post. It was met and showed some disposition to attack, but\nwas shot. I\u00a0watched to see where the men went to look at the kaiak, and\nwhen they reached the place I was astounded that the woman could discern\neven the kaiak at such a distance.\n\nThe spear used for white whales and large seals consists of a wooden\nshaft of 6 or 8 feet in length, having a projection on the side, made of\nivory and shaped like the fin of a fish. This fin-shaped piece rests\nagainst the forefinger, while the remainder of the hand grasps the\nshaft. The lower end of the shaft terminates in a piece of bone or ivory\nof 1 to 11/3 inches in diameter. (Fig.\u00a067.) A\u00a0socket is made in the end\nof the bone portion, and the wooden shaft is nicely fitted into it and\nfastened either by thongs or rivets. At the farther end of the bone head\nis a thimble-shaped hole gouged out, and into this a short piece of\nstraight bone or ivory is fitted, having the ends so shaped that they\nwill work smoothly into the hole at the end of the bone head of the\nspear. The farther end of this bone shaft is so shaped that it will work\ninto the bone or ivory portion of the piece into which the spear point\nis fastened. The point is shown in the accompanying figure (Fig.\u00a068) and\nis not much varied in general shape. There are two joints between the\nspear point and the bone shaft head. This enables the spear-point to\nbecome easily detached when the game is pierced. If this were not so,\nthe bone or ivory would soon break with the violent motions of the\nanimal, and the implement would be rendered useless until repaired.\nThongs connect the various parts together, also connecting them with the\nmain shaft of the spear. A\u00a0long line, usually left lying in a coil just\nin front of the hunter, gives ample scope for play until the animal is\nexhausted. If the sea is rough or the hunter unable to cope with the\nquarry, the float, to be described below, is thrown over and the seal or\nwhale allowed to take its course, the hunter following and endeavoring\nto harass the animal as much as possible, giving it a stab with the hand\nspear whenever occasion offers.\n\nIn addition to the whale or seal spear, the hand spear, float, and\npaddle, the kaiaker may have a wooden shaft, on the end of which are\nthree prongs of barbed iron, each prong 8 to 10 inches long, and set in\nthe form of a divergent trident. With this implement, small seals and\nthe white-coated young are killed. Birds, too, are sometimes speared\nwith this trident.\n\nThe hand board, or implement with which certain spears are hurled, is a\npiece of wood of such shape that a description will give but little idea\nof its form. It is about 14 inches long, flat, and has a groove on one\nside into which the rear end of the spear shaft rests, and is supported\nby the three fingers of the hand while the index finger fits into a hole\ncut through the board, of the shape to accommodate that digit. The tip\nof the finger rests against the shaft of the spear. Other notches are\ncut along the side of the board to enable the three fingers to lie in\nposition to give a firm grasp on the end or handle of the board. The\nthumb turns over so as to lie directly on the spear, to steady it, while\nthe other fingers give the spear the necessary straight motion when the\narm is drawn back and raised nearly perpendicularly. When it reaches\nthat position the motion is arrested and the fingers release the\nimplement held along the groove. The hand board or thrower is retained\nand the spear recovered if the object has not been struck. If the aim\nwas good the spear remains attached to the struggling animal, and the\nhand board is quickly placed under one of the thongs stretched across\nthe top of the kaiak. The paddle is held in the left hand and ready for\ninstant use.\n\nThe paddle is quite heavy and of variable length, having long, narrow\nblades, which are alternately dipped into the water. The use of the\npaddle requires some practice before one becomes accustomed to it. When\nin use the paddle rests on the edge of the hoop, forming the rim of the\nhatch, and moves along it in the motion of propulsion.\n\nAs the paddle dips into the water the dripping often causes the clothing\nto become wet. To obviate this, these people use a piece of plaited rope\nor skin to slip nearly to the beginning of the blade. This causes the\ndripping to fall outside of the kaiak; and in cold weather is very\nnecessary, unless heavy mittens of tanned sealskin be worn.\n\nAn implement used for hooking into the body of a sunken seal or whale is\nmade in the following manner: A\u00a0piece of wood is prepared about 8 feet\nlong and three-fourths of an inch thick, having a width of an inch and a\nhalf. The lower end of this has a strong hook made of stout iron set\ninto it. Along the inner edge of the wooden shaft two or three notches\nare cut. The end near the person has a V-shaped notch cut into it. This\nis used for all the purposes of a boat hook, and also to retrieve a\nsunken animal. A\u00a0weight is attached to near the hook end to keep the\nshaft perpendicular in the water. A\u00a0line of sufficient length is\nattached to it. The hunter has marked the locality, and with the hook\n\"feels\" the bottom for the game. When found the hook is jerked into the\nskin and the object brought to the surface. The staff is very necessary\nwhile the kaiak is being moved through narrow channels among the ice\nfields. It is, in fact, available in many instances where the paddle\nwould, from its length, be useless. The kaiak outfit would be incomplete\nwithout the hook.\n\nA young man starts out in life with a gun and ammunition with which to\nprocure game. If he has the energy to become a successful hunter he will\nsoon be able to make a kaiak, and thus procure the marine mammals whose\nskins will afford a covering for an umiak and in the course of time\nadditional skins for a tent. These possessions usually come in the order\nlaid down, and when they are all procured he is generally able to have\nothers under his direction assist in transporting them from place to\nplace; and thus he becomes the head of a gens or family, including his\nbrothers and sisters with their husbands, wives, and children. These\nusually move in a body wherever the head may dictate, and all their\npossessions accompany them on the journey. Brothers often live together\nand own the tent and umiak, the remainder of the household affairs being\nconsidered as individual property and not to be used by all without\npermission.\n\nSome of the men are too improvident to prepare these skins when they\nhave the opportunity, and thus they are unable to own a kaiak, which\nprevents them from providing themselves with the umiak and tent. These\npersons must live with others or dwell by themselves and pass a\nmiserable existence, scarcely noticed by their fellows even during a\nseason of abundance.\n\nThe collection contains one full-sized kaiak, with all its fittings, and\ntheir models, including a toy kaiak cut from a walrus tusk. The model is\njust 9 inches long and quite perfect in form. The double-bladed paddle\naccompanying is made from the same material, and is six inches long.\n\n\nON LAND.\n\nThe universal means of transportation on land is the sled, drawn by\ndogs. The number of dogs used to draw a sled varies according to the\ndistance to be traveled, the character of the country, the condition of\nthe animals, and the weight of the load to be drawn. From one to twenty\ndogs may be used. The common team for general purposes is seven or nine\nanimals.\n\nThe method of constructing sleds differs slightly in different parts of\nthe region, and then only where the material may be difficult to obtain\nor a heavy sled may not be needed. A\u00a0tree of a suitable size is\nselected, generally larch, because of its greater strength, although\nsomewhat heavier than the spruce.\n\nIt is necessary, for greater strength, that each runner be of a single\npiece of timber. The length of the runner is from 12 to 16 feet; the\nheight varies from 10 to 12 inches. The piece must be as nearly free\nfrom knots and crossgrain as possible, for these defects render the wood\nvery brittle during cold weather. The runners are roughly hewn at the\nplace where originally cut, and, when needed, they are brought to the\ntemporary camping place of the Eskimo, and there dressed with plane and\nsaw to the required form. The bottom of the runner is usually 2\u00bd to 3\ninches thick, gradually becoming thinner by one-half an inch to an inch\ntoward the top. This enables the sled to make a wider track at the\nbottom and encounter less friction of the runner sides against the snow\ncrust. The curve at the forward end is long and very gradual. There may\nbe as much as 3 feet of the curved part, which rises above the level of\nthe lower edge of the runner. This enables the sled to creep easily over\nany obstruction. The runners are now placed parallel, separated by a\ndistance of 14 to 16 inches, and on these are fastened crossbars 3\ninches wide, of sufficient length to allow about an inch to project over\nthe outer edge of each runner. Near the ends of these slats is cut a\nnotch on each edge. Sometimes a hole is also bored through the slat\nbetween the notches. These are for the purpose of fastening the slats to\nthe runners. A\u00a0sufficient number having been prepared, and placed 1 or 2\ninches apart, they are now laid on the flat top of the runner. Holes are\nbored through the top of the runner to correspond with the holes and\nnotches of the slats. Through these and over the slats a stout piece of\nheavy sealskin line is threaded, and so on through and over the slats\nand runner until it is firmly fastened. The line must be well soaked in\nwater to render it flexible and allow it to stretch, otherwise the\njoints where it was tied would soon work loose. The line shrinks while\ndrying, and draws as tight as though made of the best iron. No metal is\nused, for the reason that it would snap as easily as chalk during cold\nweather. The use of the thongs in binding the slats to the runners\nallows freedom to the motion of the sled when passing over inequalities\nof surface, where a rigidity of the sled would soon cause it to break.\nThe bottom of the runner is shod with iron brought by the traders for\nthat purpose. It is simply extra-wide hoop-iron and of a width to fit.\nIt is fastened on with screws, the heads of which are countersunk.\n\nAnother kind of shoe is put on when traveling in very cold weather.\nA\u00a0swampy track is searched for soil of half-decomposed vegetation and\npure humus, as nearly free from sand and gravel as possible. It must\npossess certain qualities or it may not have the requisite\nstrength--much, I\u00a0presume, as mortar often requires to be tempered with\nmore or less lime or sand when it is too rich or too poor. The Eskimo\ntempers his mortar with the almost impalpable soil found under the\nlarger spreading trees of the forest. It is the slowly decomposed\nvegetation fallen from branches and trunks. The manner of preparing it\nis as follows: A\u00a0large kettle is partially filled with the material and\nheated to the boiling point, being constantly stirred, and while yet\ncool enough all coarse sticks, grass blades, pebbles, etc., are\ncarefully removed as the fingers discover them in working the mortar.\nThe sled is turned over with the bottom of the runner up. The mud is now\napplied by the hands, a\u00a0couple of pounds being taken and pressed on the\nrunner, which has previously been wetted. This process of adding to the\nrunner is continued until it attains an additional depth of 3 or 4\ninches and a width of 3 to 5 inches. It now resembles the rail of a\nstairway. When it has been thoroughly gone over to fill up any\ninequalities the sled is set aside in order that the mud may freeze\nsolid. The sled must be handled with care, as the least jar or jolt will\nbreak the \"setting\" mud. After it is frozen the owner takes a plane and\nplanes it down to the proper shape and smoothness. It is somewhat\ndifficult to describe the shape in words, unless it be compared to the\nupper part of the =T= rail of a railroad inverted--neither rounded nor\nflat, but so fashioned as to give the best bearing surface with the\nleast friction. When the plane has finished its work the color of the\nmud is a rich chestnut brown. The builder now takes water in his mouth\nand spirts it in a spray along the mud. As soon as the water touches the\nrunner it must be spread evenly with a hand incased in a mitten of\nreindeer skin, rubbing back and forth until the runner looks like a bar\nof black glass. The sled is then ready for use. Great care is necessary\nto avoid rocks or stones, as these cut the polished mud and roughen it.\nIf a sudden lurch causes a portion of the mud to drop out the piece is\nfrozen on again by means of water, or if crumbled a piece of ice is cut\nto the shape and caused to adhere by water freezing it to the runner.\n\nIt is not often that one may find a sled shod with bone, as is the\ncustom with the Eskimo farther north, and especially farther west. The\nonly instance where I have seen bone used was by some of the people from\nthe western extremity of Hudson strait. These had only a portion of the\ncurve and a part of the runner shod with bone and pieces of reindeer\nhorn, secured to the runner by means of pegs.\n\nThe greatest objection to the use of mud is that a few hours of warmth\nmay cause it to loosen and render it worthless. The polish suffers when\ntraveling over rough ice, and especially where sand has drifted from\nsome exposed bank to the surface of the snow. This causes very hard\npulling, and soon roughens the running surface of the sled. To repair\nsuch damage the native stops, at a convenient place, to obtain water,\nwhich is spirted on the runner and rubbed evenly until it acquires a\nthickness of one-eighth of an inch. This coating of ice may last for the\nentire day of travel where the \"roads\" are good.\n\nThe harness for the dogs consists of two large nooses, placed one above\nthe other. These are joined by two perpendicular straps of 4 or 5 inches\nin length at a sufficient distance from the end to allow the head of the\ndog to pass through so that one noose will lie along the back and the\nother between the forelegs. At the rear ends of the nooses is a long\nthong of the heaviest sealskin of variable length depending on the\nposition or place the dog is to have in the team. The body harness is\nmade of sealskin, with or without the hair on, stout canvas, or other\nmaterial which may be convenient. Thin undressed sealskin makes the best\nharness, and is not so liable to chafe the neck of the animal. The trace\nattached to each dog is generally of stout sealskin thong cut\nthree-eighths of an inch wide, and the corners are carefully pared until\nthe trace in form resembles a hoop for a small keg. The trace varies\nfrom 10 to 30 feet in length, and is attached to a longer but much\nstouter thong of heavier sealskin or walrus hide prepared in the form\ndescribed for the trace. The thong to which all of the traces of\nvariable lengths are fastened is termed the \"bridle.\" The bridle has,\nusually, apiece of ivory, called \"toggle,\" at the end farthest from the\nsled. A\u00a0few inches back of the toggle is a short piece of stout thong\nplaited in the bridle end. This thong has a slit cut in the farther end.\nIt is passed through slits cut in the end of each trace and then looped\non the toggle. It will now be understood that the traces all start from\none place, but their different lengths give different positions to the\ndogs of the team so that they may move freely among rough pieces of ice\nwithout interfering with each other. This has some advantages, but it\nnecessitates watching the traces as they are liable to catch around any\nprojection above the surface.\n\nThe bridles are also of varying lengths, from 15 to 40 feet. The rear\nend has two stout thongs plaited into it, forming a loop for each thong.\nThese are known as the \"yoke,\" and are looped over toggles, one on each\ninner side of the runner.\n\nAny load to be carried on the sled is usually placed so as not to\nproject much over the side, for in deep snow, with a crust too weak to\nsupport the weight, it would simply act as a drag and seriously impede\ntravel if not entirely stop it. The load must also be distributed to the\nbest advantage along the sled so as not to have too great a weight at\neither the front or rear, although generally a heavier portion is placed\nbehind to allow the sled to steer or follow. The runners are so low that\nthe sled seldom upsets unless the ice is very rough, in which case it\noften requires two men to attend to it, another to free the traces from\nobstructions, and a fourth to lead or drive the dogs. A\u00a0smaller number\nrender traveling under such conditions very tedious.\n\nThe driver is always armed with a whip (Fig. 60). There appear to be as\nmany kinds of whips as there are individuals using them. Each whip\ncharacterizes, in a manner, the person who makes it. A\u00a0great amount of\ningenuity is expended in preparing the lash, which is simply\nindescribable. The handle of the whip is from 9 to 11 inches in length\nand shaped somewhat like the handle of a sword without the guard.\nA\u00a0stout loop of thong is affixed to the stock above where the hand\ngrasps it. This loop is thrown over the wrist to prevent the weight of\nthe whip drawing the stock from the hand and also to retain the whip\nwhen it is allowed to trail behind.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 60. Dog whip. {\u00bc}]\n\nAt the farther end of the stock a portion of the wood is cut out to\nallow the insertion of the end of the lash which is fastened by means of\nfiner thongs. The butt end of the lash is five-sixteenths of an inch\nthick and nearly 2 inches wide. It is composed of eight heavy thongs\nplaited in a peculiar manner, depending on the number of thongs used and\nthe fancy of the maker. The thongs are plaited by inserting the end of\neach thong through a succession of slits cut at the proper distance and\nso matted together that it is difficult to determine the \"run\" of the\nthong. The size decreases from the handle by dropping out a strand until\nat 18 inches from the stock only four thongs are left, and these form a\nsquare plait for a foot in length. This square form is succeeded by only\ntwo thongs which make a flat plait of 2 feet in length. At the end of\nthis a simple piece of heavy thong completes the lash. The length of a\nwhip may be as much as 35 feet, weighing 3 or 4 pounds. Some of the\nnatives acquire a surprising dexterity with this formidable weapon,\noften being able to snip the ear of a particular dog at a distance of\nthe length of the whip. I\u00a0have known them to snap the head from a\nptarmigan, sitting along the path of the team. Children practice with\nthe whip as soon as they can manage it.\n\nThe Eskimo dog fears nothing but the whiplash. They attack each other\nwith savage ferocity, and several dogs may be engaged in terrific\nbattles, yet the swish of a whip or even a stick thrown hurtling through\nthe air is sufficient to cause them to slink off in abject terror,\nwhining piteously in fear of the expected lash.\n\nThe weight or load put upon a sled may be as much as 1,200 pounds. The\ncharacter of the road alone determines the weight, number of dogs, and\nrate of travel. The latter may average over a smooth surface 5 miles\nhourly for twelve hours continuously, excluding the few minutes given\nthe dogs to \"blow\" (rest), etc. I\u00a0knew an instance where three men with\nempty sled and seven dogs traveled 94 miles in eighteen hours. I\u00a0have\ngone 19 miles in three hours; and again I have known only 3 or 4 miles\nto be made in ten hours, through rough ice or deep, newly fallen snow.\n\nThe disposition and condition of the dogs chiefly determines the number\nattached to the sled. With these animals there is the same difference as\nis to be found in horses or other beasts of draft. Some are energetic\nand well-behaved; others as stubborn or lazy as is possible. Strange\ndogs in the team are liable to be pitched upon by all the others and\nwith the long traces ensues such an entanglement of lines, dogs, and\nflying snow as is difficult to conceive. The good qualities of the\ndriver are manifested by his ability in keeping the dogs in order and\nshowing promptness in separating them when quarreling. Fighting among\nthe dogs can always be prevented by the driver keeping the dogs in\nproper position.\n\n\nWEAPONS AND OTHER HUNTING IMPLEMENTS.\n\nThese people are now provided with firearms, which have entirely\nsuperseded the bow and arrow.\n\nThe bow formerly used in this region appears to have been similar to the\none obtained from a party of East Main Innuit, who made their way to\nFort Chimo. This bow has accordingly been figured and described (Figs.\n61 and 62--90137).\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 61.--Bow. East Main Eskimo (back).]\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 62.--Bow. East Main Eskimo (side).]\n\nIt is made of larch wood and has a backing of eight double strands of\ntwisted sinew. This sinew is in one piece sixteen times the length of\nthe bow. One end is looped and passed over one \"nock\" of the bow and\ncarried back and forth from nock to nock eight times. This backing has\ntwo turns of twist put in from the middle to increase its elasticity,\nand is lashed to the middle of the bow with a stout thong of reindeer\nskin. The bowstring is of twisted sinew with a loop at each end.\n\nWith this bow were seven arrows. Three of these are for shooting\nreindeer and wolves. They have an iron point set in a short foreshaft of\nreindeer antler, and a wooden shaft about 16 inches long (Fig.\u00a063).\nThree more are pointed with large nails, one of which has been beaten to\na chisel-shaped point (Figs. 64 and\u00a065). They are intended for large\ngame at short range, or for small game, such as hares and ptarmigan.\nThese six arrows are feathered with the tail feathers of the raven.\nThe last arrow is a simple shaft, without feathering or head, and is\nintended for small game, such as a wood hare crouching under a spruce\ntree, or the little red squirrel on the top of a low tree.\n\nIn drawing the bow, the Innuit invariably hold the arrow between the\nmiddle two fingers of the right hand, and the string is drawn with all\nfour fingers, and released by straightening them.\n\nThe bow and arrows are carried in bow case and quiver fastened together\nand slung on the back. Fig. 66 represents a model (No.\u00a03257) of such a\nbow case. The bow case is made of buckskin and is of sufficient length\nto contain the bow, excepting the extreme end, which is left projecting\nfor convenience in handling. The case is tied around the bow at the\nprojecting end. The quiver is attached to the bow case and contains two\nmodels of arrows for shooting large game. The arrows are tipped with\nleaf-shaped pieces of tin. They are feathered with portions of feathers\napparently taken from the tail of a raven. The mouth of the quiver is\nalso drawn up with a string to prevent the loss of arrows. I\u00a0have not\nseen the Eskimo of Hudson strait use such a cover for their bows and\narrows, but the opportunities to observe them are very limited, as few\nare used. I\u00a0am led to conclude that only the poorer individuals of\neither locality have the bow and arrow at the present day.\n\n [Illustration: FIGS. 63, 64, and 65.--Arrows. East Main Eskimo.]\n\nI have already described the large harpoon used for striking white\nwhales and large seals from the kaiak. A\u00a0short-head spear (Fig 67, No.\n90164) is used for dispatching wounded seals or white whales, or for\nkilling white whales when they have been driven into a shallow arm of\nthe sea when the tide ebbs and leaves them partly uncovered. It has a\nshort wooden shaft with a ferrule of ivory, holding a short ivory loose\nshaft, kept in place by thongs, on which is mounted a toggle head like\nthat used on the big harpoon. The line is either attached to the kaiak\nor to a small float made of the inflated intestine or skin of a seal.\nThe toggle heads for these spears are made of ivory, and fitted with\niron blades (Fig.\u00a068). I\u00a0have already referred to the large sealskin\nfloat in describing the kaiak.\n\nFig. 69 (No. 3531) is such a large sealskin float or \u00e1 va tuk. The skin\nis removed from the body by skinning around the gums and carefully\ntaking out all the flesh and bones through this orifice. As the\noperation proceeds the skin is turned back and at the completion of the\nwork is inside out. The flesh side, now the exterior, is carefully\nscraped to free it from all fleshy matter. The hind flippers are cut off\nat the ankle and the skin either sewed or stoutly wrapped with thong.\nThe fore flippers are usually left attached to the skin after the flesh\nhas been scraped from them. The skin is now inflated with air and hung\nup to dry. In a few hours it is turned with the hairy side out and again\ninflated for awhile. The mouth and all other openings in the skin are\ncarefully sewed up. A\u00a0large button of ivory, shaped much like a pulley,\nnearly 2 inches in diameter, is put where the mouth of the skin is and a\nportion of the skin carefully wrapped around it, thongs of sealskin\ntightening the moist skin in the groove of the mouthpiece. This piece\nhas a hole about one-third of an inch in diameter bored through it. The\nhind flippers and tail have a stick of 2 or 3 inches in length placed\nwithin the skin and are then firmly bound around the stick, which serves\nto stop up any hole and also to furnish a handle by which to drag or\nhold the float. The hole in the mouth-piece is plugged with a stopper of\nwood. When the float is wanted for use the skin is inflated. When\ninflated the float has a diameter about two-thirds the length. If it is\nto be attached to a tracking line the float is fastened by the stick,\nwhich is secured within the skin of the hind flippers and dragged\nbackwards. The function of the float in this instance is to prevent the\ntracking line from becoming \"fouled\" among the rocks and stones of the\nbeach along which the line runs in towing a boat (or\u00a0umiak). In a\nsimilar manner it is affixed to the harpoon line used for large marine\nmammals, such as the white whale and the larger species of seals. This\nfloat not only retards the flight of the speared animal, but it serves\nto mark the spot where it sinks, for at certain seasons the seals sink\nas soon as they die. A\u00a0speared animal always sinks more quickly than one\nshot dead with a ball, probably because its struggles are more prolonged\nin the first instance and exhaustion of breath is more complete.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 66. Bow case. East Main Eskimo.]\n\nThe hair of the animal whose skin is intended for a float is sometimes\nscraped off before the skin is removed from the body, otherwise it may\nbe left until the skin is partly dry and then be shaved off. The manner\nof loosening the hair is similar to that used by butchers of hogs, only\nthat the boiling water is poured on and a small patch of hair pulled off\nat a time, instead of submerging the entire animal. The hair from the\ngreen skin must be carefully pulled out or else the black scurf adhering\nwill be detached and thus render the skin less nearly waterproof.\n\nThe skins or bags used for holding oil and fat are prepared in a similar\nmanner, excepting that the hair is left on the skin and the hairy side\nleft within. The oil and fat are put in the skin at the posterior end\nand it is then tied up like a float. The largest sealskins are used for\noilbags, and may contain as much as 300 pounds of fat or oil.\n\nWhen a sack of oil is sold the bag is usually returned to the seller,\nwho again fills it with oil or converts the skin into bootlegs or soles.\nThe leather having become thoroughly impregnated with the oil makes the\nbest for wear, often resisting moisture for three or four days of\ncontinuous wet.\n\nBefore leaving the subject of weapons and their accessories, I\u00a0may\nmention No. 3069, a\u00a0small pouch made of thick sealskin. The shape is\nsomewhat like that of a leg of mutton. This is used for carrying gun\ncaps. The neck is only large enough to permit one cap to fall out at a\ntime.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 67.--Hand spear for killing seals from kaiak;\n Koksoak.]\n\n\nHUNTING.\n\nI have already referred briefly to the various methods of taking seals,\nwhite whales, and other game, while describing the boats, spears, and\nother apparatus used in their pursuit.\n\nThe most important hunt of the year, however, comes in the autumn, when\nthe reindeer are migrating in large herds and crossing the rivers.\nThe deer are wanted now for their flesh for food and their skins for\nclothing. Everything necessary for the chase is taken in the umiak, or,\nperhaps, a\u00a0whaleboat, to a locality convenient to where the animals\ncross over. Here the tent is pitched, and a camp is made. The hunters\nscour the neighboring land for herds of reindeer, which are seen running\nabout under the impulse to seek the opposite sex. As they arrive from\ndifferent directions, those of one sex must cross the river. Since the\nfemales furnish the lighter skins for clothing, and the males the\ngreater amount of meat and a heavier skin for various purposes, deer of\nboth sexes are equally useful.\n\nA band of three or four, or as many as a hundred, may be sighted slowly\nwinding their way through the openings of the timbered areas on the\nopposite side of the river. The native with telescope, or binocular in\nfocus, observes their movements until they pause a moment on the bank\nand then plunge quickly into the water, where they keep well together\nuntil the opposite shore is reached. Here, if undisturbed, they will\nstand to allow the water to drip from their bodies, and then will walk\nslowly along to a convenient place to climb the bank and penetrate the\nstrip of woods or bushes and emerge into the open country beyond. As\nsoon as the native sees the deer everything is put in readiness on the\nkaiak, and with quick strokes of the double-bladed paddle he is behind\nand below the now terrified animals. They rear and plunge in frantic\nconfusion, endeavoring to escape their most dreaded foe. The hunter\ncalmly drives the herd through the water as the shepherd does his flock\non land. Those disposed to break away are rounded up and driven back.\nThe greatest care must be exercised not to let the animals get below the\nkaiak, or they will swim faster with the stream than the hunter can\npaddle. As there are, generally, two or more kaiaks, it is an easy\nmatter for the men to drive the animals wherever they desire. When the\ncamp is above, the deer are driven diagonally across so as to make them\ncome out near the camp. If the site is below, the animals are allowed to\ndrop down to a convenient place. These maneuvers depend on the wind,\nas the sense of smell of the deer is very acute at this season, and the\nscent of the camp, if detected, would throw the animals into such terror\nthat the greater number would escape.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 68.--Togglehead for hand spear.]\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 69.--Sealskin float.]\n\nWhen near the place the hunter takes his deer spear, which is exactly\nlike the one used by the Indians, and quietly stabs the animal in a\nvital spot, endeavoring so to wound the beast that it will have only\nenough strength to enable it to attain the shallow water or shore,\nand not to wander off. Among the hundreds of times I have had the\nopportunity to witness this, I\u00a0never knew a deer wounded with the spear\nto turn back to swim in the direction from which it came. They appear to\ndread the water, and strive most frantically to regain the land where,\nif mortally wounded, they stand; the limbs gradually diverging to\nsustain their trembling body; the eyes gazing piteously at the foe, who\noften mocks their dying struggles, or pitches a stone at their quivering\nlegs to make them fall. A\u00a0convulsive struggle as the blood fills the\ninternal cavity, a\u00a0sudden pitch, and the life is gone without sigh or\ngroan. As many of the herd as can be speared are quickly dispatched and\nthe entire number secured if possible. It is supposed that the ones\nwhich return to the shore whence they came give the alarm and frighten\nother arrivals away from the starting point. The hunters strive to\nprevent their return, and will often allow two, near the camp, to escape\nin order to pursue the retreating animal.\n\nThose which have been killed and are lying in the water are dragged on\nland and skinned. The pelt is taken off as that of a beef is when\nskinned by a butcher. The ears and the skin of the head are left on.\nThe body is opened and the viscera are removed. The intestines are freed\nfrom the fat; the stomach is cleansed of the greater portion of its\ncontents, and the blood which collected within the cavity is scooped up\nwith the hands and ladled into that receptacle; and both are reserved\nfor food. The heart and liver are taken to the camp, where they help to\nform a variety in the animal food of these people. Other portions of the\nflesh are also consumed. The sinew, which lies along the lumbar region\njust below the superficial muscles, is exposed by a cut, and with the\npoint of a knife or tip of the finger loosened from its adherent flesh.\nOne end, usually the forward end, is detached and a stout thong tied to\nit, and it is jerked from its attachment by a vigorous pull. It requires\na strong person to remove this tendon from the body of a lean animal.\nA\u00a0stroke of the knife frees the wide layer of sinew from blood and\nparticles of flesh. This is now laid aside for awhile, then washed to\nfree it from the blood, which would stain it dark in color and also tend\nto diminish the strength of the fibers by rotting them. It is now spread\nout and allowed to dry. The body is cut across the small of the back and\nlaid aside. The head is severed from the neck and discarded if there be\nno portion of the horns which is needed to serve some purpose, such as a\nhandle for a knife or other tool. If the head be that of a young deer it\nis often taken to the camp and put into a pot and boiled in the\ncondition in which it comes from the field. When cooked for a long time\nit becomes very soft; the muscles of the jaw being reduced to a\nsemigelatinous condition, which makes an excellent article of food.\n\nThe tongue is invariably taken out entire, and is considered the\ngreatest delicacy, either frozen, raw or cooked, or dried and smoked.\nIn fact a tongue from the reindeer is good at any time or condition.\n\nThe hindquarters are seldom separated, but are placed within the\nthoracic cavity, and either cached near the scene of slaughter or placed\non the kaiak and taken to a spot where others are deposited from which\nsupplies may be taken when the food for the winter is required.\n\nHere and there along the bank will be placed the body of a single deer,\nsometimes two or three, which have been killed too far from the present\ncamp for the hunter to bring them home. These spots are marked or\nremembered by some visible surrounding, lest the deep snows of winter\nobscure the locality, and often the place can not be found when wanted.\nThe cache in which the flesh is deposited is simply a few stones or\nbowlders laid on the ground and the meat put upon them. A\u00a0rude sort of\nwall is made by piling stones upon the meat until it is hidden from the\nravages of ravens, gulls, foxes, wolves and the detested wolverine.\n\nAs soon as the hunter considers that the deer of that particular\nlocality have ceased to cross, he will repair to another station and go\nthrough the same process. The deer which are first slain, when the\nhunting season arrives, and the weather is still so warm that the flies\nand decomposition ruin the meat, are reserved for supplies of dog food.\n\n\nMISCELLANEOUS IMPLEMENTS.\n\nI have already, in the earlier pages of this paper, referred to various\ntools and implements.\n\nIn addition to these, the Koksoagmyut have comparatively few tools.\n\nIn former ages stone and ivory were fashioned into crude implements for\nthe purposes which are now better and more quickly served by instruments\nof iron or steel.\n\nThese people have now been so long in more or less direct contact with\ntraders who have supplied them with these necessaries that it is rare to\nfind one of the knives used in former times. Certain operations,\nhowever, are even to this day better performed with a knife made of\nivory. The ice from the kaiak bottom or the sides of the boat may best\nbe removed by means of an ivory knife, resembling a snow knife but\nshorter. The steel knife is always kept sharp and if so used would, on\nthe unyielding, frozen skin-covering of those vessels, quickly cut a\nhole. The Eskimo living remote from the trading stations use a snow\nknife made from the tusk of a walrus or the main stem of the reindeer\nantler.\n\nThat steel or iron is deemed an improvement on the former materials from\nwhich cutting instruments were made is shown by the crude means now\nemployed. If the person has not a knife an unused spearhead, having an\niron point, is often employed instead for skinning animals and dressing\nthe skins.\n\nStone heads for weapons of all kinds have been discarded. Ivory spears\nare at times used but these only when the hunter is close to the prey.\n\nSome of the men have acquired considerable skill in fashioning iron into\nthe required shape. They eagerly stand around anyone who may be at work,\nand evince the greatest curiosity in anything new.\n\nThe collection contains two of the snow knives referred to above. No.\n3067 is a large snow knife, made from the lower portion of the main stem\nof the horn of the male reindeer. It is simply half of the split horn\nwith the middle scooped out. The length is 12 inches. This form of\ninstrument is used more especially to smooth down the inequalities of\nthe blocks of snow after being placed in position. No. 3140 (Fig.\u00a070) is\na large snow knife made of walrus ivory. It is 13 inches long and nearly\n2 inches wide for the greater part of the blade, which terminates in a\nrounded point. The instrument has two edges, and in general appearances\nresembles a double-edged Roman sword. The handle is cut to fit to the\nhand.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 70.--Ivory snow knife, Koksoagmyut.]\n\nAmong other peculiar implements collected is one represented in Fig. 71\n(No.\u00a03555), which is a \"back-scratcher.\" This instrument consists of a\nshaft made from a limb of a larch tree. It is 17 inches long and about\nthree-fourths of an inch through, flattened to less than half an inch\nand tapering toward the end to be held in the hand. On the lower end is\na dish-shaped piece of reindeer horn, two and one-eighth inches long and\nseven-eighths of an inch wide. Through the center of the piece of horn\nan oblong hole has been cut for the insertion of the shaft or handle.\nThe edges of the horn piece are sharp as can be made. This piece is\none-third of an inch thick, and having the sharp edge up is convenient\nfor thrusting down the back to scratch one's self in places where the\nhand could not reach on account of thick deerskin clothing. The Eskimo\nname of the instrument is ku-m\u00e9-u-t\u00eek, or that which removes lice.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 71.--Back-scratcher, Koksoagmyut.]\n\nThe steel needles obtained from the traders are kept in a little ivory\nreceptacle of various shapes, two of which are shown in Figs. 72 and 73.\n\nThis is hollow and filled with any sphagnum moss. One end is permanently\nclosed by a wooden or ivory plug, held in by little pegs. The plug in\nthe other end is easily taken out. The needle case is usually pierced to\nreceive a loop by which it may be hung to the belt or the workbag.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 72.--Ivory needle case. Koksoagmyut.]\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 73.--Ivory needle case. Koksoagmyut.]\n\nNeedles are also kept in a kind of small cushion (Fig. 74) made of\nsealskin, elaborately ornamented with beads and stuffed with sphagnum\nmoss. The cushion is perforated around the edge to receive the needles,\nwhich would not easily go through the tough skin.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 74.--Sealskin needle cushion, with thimble.\n Koksoagmyut.]\n\nAccompanying one of these needle cushions in the collection is one of\nthe old-fashioned thimbles such as are still used, although metal\nthimbles are preferred. It is simply a strip of sealskin sewed into a\nring large enough to fit the forefinger, and is usually attached to the\nneedle cushion by a thong with an ivory toggle on the end, to prevent\nthe thimble from slipping off.\n\nSmall articles used in sewing, such as scraps of skin, needle cases,\nsinew thread, thimbles, etc., are carried in small bags of deerskin,\nwhich are often elaborately ornamented with beads of various colors,\nlike the specimen in the collection, No. 3047.\n\n\nAMUSEMENTS.\n\nNotwithstanding the fact that these people have had their lot cast upon\nthe frozen shores of the sea, they appear happy and contented and loath\nto leave the land of their birth. Although it is a constant struggle\namidst the terrible storms of a region where for eight months in the\nyear the soil is frozen and the few warm days of summer bring forth a\nscanty vegetation, yet so strong is their love for these inhospitable\nshores that the absent pine for a return and soon lose their hold on\nlife if they are not able to do so.\n\nDuring the intervals between the hunts and when food is still plentiful,\nthe Eskimo, divert themselves with games of various kinds of their own.\nThey are also quick to adopt other games which require outdoor exercise.\n\nFootball calls out everybody, from the aged and bent mother of a\nnumerous family to the toddling youngster scarcely able to do more than\nwaddle under the burden of his heavy deerskin clothes. Wrestling among\nthe men is indulged in for hours at a time. The opponents remove all\ntheir superfluous garments, seize each other around the waist and lock\nhands behind each other's backs. The feet are spread widely apart and\neach endeavors to draw, by the strength of the arms alone, the back of\nhis opponent into a curve and thus bring him off his feet. Then with a\nlift he is quickly thrown flat on his back. The fall must be such that\nthe head touches the ground. Where the contestants are nearly matched\nthe struggle may continue so long that one of them gives up from\nexhaustion. The feet are never used for tripping. Such a procedure would\nsoon cause the witnesses to stop the struggle.\n\nThe Eskimo and Indians often engage in comparative tests of their\nstrength in wrestling. The Eskimo prove the better men in these\nengagements. Throwing stones at a mark is a sport for the younger men,\nsome of whom acquire surprising dexterity.\n\nIf a pack of playing-cards can be obtained they engage in games which\nthey have learned from the white people and teach each other. Small\nstakes are laid on the result of the game. The women appear to exhibit a\ngreater passion for gambling than the men do. They will wager the last\narticle of clothing on their persons till the loser appears in a nude\ncondition before spectators. Then the winner will usually return at\nleast a part of the clothing, with an injunction to play more and lose\nless.\n\nThe young girls often play the game of taking an object and secreting it\nwithin the closed hand. Another is called upon to guess the contents.\nShe makes inquiries as to the size, color, etc., of the object. From the\nanswers she gradually guesses what the thing is.\n\nA favorite game, something like cup and ball, is played with the\nfollowing implements: A\u00a0piece of ivory is shaped into the form of an\nelongate cone and has two deep notches or steps cut from one side\n(Fig.\u00a075). In the one next the base are bored a number of small holes\nand one or two holes in the upper step. The apex has a single hole. On\nthe opposite side of the base two holes are made obliquely, that they\nwill meet, and through them is threaded a short piece of thong. To the\nother end of the thong is attached a peg of ivory, about 4 inches long.\nThe game is that the person holding the plaything shall, by a dextrous\nswing of the ball, catch it upon the ivory peg held in the hand. The\nperson engages to catch it a certain number of times in succession, and\non failure to do so allows the opponent to try her skill. The skull of a\nhare is often substituted for the ivory \"ball,\" and a few perforations\nare made in the walls of the skull to receive the peg. It requires a\ngreat amount of practice to catch the ball, as the string is so short\nthat one must be quick to thrust the peg in before it describes the part\nof a small circle.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 75.--Cup and ball. Koksoagmyut.]\n\nThe children sometimes use a stick or other sharp-pointed instrument to\nmake a series of straight lines in the newly fallen snow and at the same\ntime repeat certain gibberish. This was at first very confusing to me,\nbut a woman repeated the words and I guessed from her description where\nthe idea sprang from.\n\nThese people had heard of the teachings of the Labrador missionaries\n(Moravians), all of whom are Germans, and as the Eskimo of that coast\nuse the German numerals in preference to their own, the natives of that\nregion have at some time repeated the names of those numerals to certain\nof the Hudson strait people and they have taught each other.\n\nThe names of the German numerals as sounded by the Koksoagmyut are as\nfollows. The numbers are one to fifteen, consecutively:\n\n\u00c1i i; chu v\u00e1i i; ta l\u00e1i i; pi \u00fb\u00b4 la; pi li pi; ts\u00e9k si; ts\u00e9 pa; \u00e1k ta;\nn\u00e1i na; ts\u00e9 na; \u00e1i\u00a0lu\u00a0p\u00fbk; chu\u00a0v\u00e1i\u00a0lu\u00a0puk; ta\u00a0lak\u00a0si\u00a0na; pi\u00a0\u00fbk\u00b4\u00a0si\u00a0na,\nand pi\u00a0lip\u00b4\u00a0si\u00a0na.\n\nI have already referred to the game of football as played by these\npeople.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 76.--Football and driver. Koksoagmyut.]\n\nFig. 76 represents the football (No. 3070) and the whip for driving it.\nThe Eskimo are very fond of this game. All the people of every age, from\nthe toddling infant to the aged female with bended back, love to urge\nthe a\u00ed\u00a0uk\u00a0to\u00fak, as the ball is termed. The size of the ball varies from\n3 to 7 inches in diameter. They have not yet arrived at perfection in\nmaking a spherical form for the ball, but it is often an apple shape. It\nis made by taking a piece of buckskin, or sealskin, and cutting it into\na circular form, then gathering the edges and stuffing the cavity with\ndry moss or feathers. A\u00a0circular piece of skin is then inserted to fill\nthe space which is left by the incomplete gatherings. This ball is very\nlight and is driven either by a blow from the foot or else by a whip of\npeculiar construction. This whip consists of a handle of wood 8 to 12\ninches in length. To prevent it from slipping out of the hand when the\nblow is struck, a\u00a0stout thong of sealskin is made into the form of a\nlong loop which is passed over the hand and tightens around the wrist.\nTo the farther end of the whip handle are attached a number of stout\nthongs of heavy sealskin. These thongs have their ends tied around the\nhandle and thus form a number of loops of 12 to 20 inches in length.\nThese are then tied together at the bottom in order to give them greater\nweight when the ball is struck by them. A\u00a0lusty Eskimo will often send\nthe ball over a hundred yards through the air with such force as to\nknock a person down.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 77.--Dominoes. Hudson Strait Eskimo.]\n\nAt Fort Chimo the game is played during the late winter afternoons when\nthe temperature is 30\u00b0 or 40\u00b0 below zero. It is exciting and vigorous\nplay where a large crowd joins in the game.\n\nSometimes the ball is in the form of two irregular hemispheres joined\ntogether, making a sphere which can be rolled only in a certain\ndirection. It is very awkward and produces much confusion by its erratic\ncourse. Nos. 3461, 3287, and 3460 are footballs of the pattern first\ndescribed.\n\nThe Innuit who come from the western end of Hudson strait, the so-called\n\"Northerners,\" have a game which they play with sets of pieces of ivory\ncut into irregular shapes, and marked on one face with spots arranged in\ndifferent patterns (Fig.\u00a077). The number of pieces in a set varies from\n60 to 148. The name of the set is \u00c1\u00a0ma\u00a0zu\u00b4\u00a0a\u00a0l\u00e1t, and somewhat resembles\nour game of dominoes.\n\nThe game is played in the following manner: Two or more persons,\naccording to the number of pieces in the set, sit down and pile the\npieces before them. One of the players mixes the pieces together in\nplain view of the others. When this is done he calls them to take the\npieces. Each person endeavors to obtain a half or third of the number if\nthere be two or three players. The one who mixed up the pieces lays down\na piece and calls his opponent to match it with a piece having a similar\ndesign. If this can not be done by any of the players the first has to\nmatch it and the game continues until one of the persons has exhausted\nall of the pieces taken by him. The pieces are designed in pairs, having\nnames such as Ka\u00a0mi\u00fa\u00a0tik (sled), Kaiak (canoe), Kal\u00e9\u00a0sak (navel), \u00c1\u00a0ma\nzut (many), a\u00a0ta\u00fa s\u00efk\u00a0(1), M\u00e1\u00a0kok\u00a0(2), P\u00efng\u00a0a\u00a0sut\u00a0(3), Si\u00a0t\u00e1\u00a0m\u00fbt\u00a0(4),\nand T\u00e1\u00a0li\u00a0mat\u00a0(5). Each of the names above must be matched with a piece\nof similar kind, although the other end of the piece may be of a\ndifferent design. A\u00a0Kamutik may be matched with an Amazut if the latter\nhas not a line or bar cut across it; if it has the bar it must be\nmatched with an Amazut.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 78.--Eskimo doll, man.]\n\nThis game is known to the people of the Ungava district, but those only\nwho have learned it from the Northerners are able to play it. The\nnorthern Eskimo stake the last article they possess on the issue of the\ngame. Their wives are disposed of temporarily, and often are totally\nrelinquished to the victor. I\u00a0have heard that the wives so disposed of\noften sit down and win themselves back to their former owners.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 79.--Eskimo doll, woman.]\n\nThe little girls play with dolls like civilized children, and build\nlittle snow huts, where they have all their playthings and play at\nkeeping house. The collection contains eleven dolls, most of them\nelaborately and accurately dressed, as shown by the illustrations (Figs.\n78, 79, 80,\u00a081) and large quantities of doll clothing.\n\nThe only musical instrument which I observed among these people was a\nviolin of their own manufacture, made, of course, in imitation of those\nthey had seen used by the whites. Its form is sufficiently well shown by\nthe figure (Fig.\u00a082), and is made of birch, or spruce, and the two\nstrings are of coarse, loosely twisted sinew. The bow has a strip of\nwhalebone in place of horsehair, and is resined with spruce gum. This\nfiddle is held across the lap when played.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 80.--Eskimo doll, woman.]\n\nThe old woman of whom I procured the instrument was able to play several\nairs--such as they sing among themselves. I\u00a0was surprised at the\nfacility with which she made the various notes on such a crude imitation\nof a violin.\n\n\nART.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 81.--Eskimo doll, woman.]\n\nArt is but slightly developed among these people. Their weapons and\nother implements are never adorned with carvings of animals and other\nnatural objects or with conventional patterns, as is the case in so\ngreat a degree among the Eskimo of Alaska. They are, however, not devoid\nof artistic skill, as is shown by the good taste often exhibited in the\ntrimming of their garments, and also by the dolls, which I have already\nreferred to and figured.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 82.--Eskimo violin.]\n\nThe collection also contains several small ivory carvings, which possess\nconsiderable artistic merit. Among these, the small objects, (Fig.\u00a083),\ncollected from the so-called Northerners, represent various waterfowl\ncut from pieces of walrus ivory. The various species thus carved are\nloons, ducks, geese, sea pigeons, and murres. One represents a female\neider with two young mounted upon her back. It is readily discerned, in\nmost instances, what position and action of the bird was intended to be\nrepresented. The last shows in the plainest possible manner that the\nloon is just starting to swim from an object which has given it alarm.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 83.--Birds carved in ivory.]\n\nThese carvings are fashioned from the tusks of the walrus or the teeth\nof various large mammals, and are simply tests of the skill of the\nworker, who prepares them as toys for the children. Notwithstanding the\nassertions of others, who claim to have knowledge of it, I\u00a0must state\nthat on no occasion have I seen or heard, while among these people, of\nthese objects being used in any game.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 84.--Human figure, carved in ivory.]\n\nIn addition to these we have a very artistic figure of a polar bear,\nand two human figures, 1\u00be inches long (Fig.\u00a084), representing tattooed\nwomen, and two carvings representing bags of oil.\n\n\nSTORY-TELLING AND FOLK LORE.\n\nLike all other Eskimo, the Koksoagmyut are exceedingly fond of\nstory-telling. Sitting in the hut, engaged in their evening work, the\nold men tell what they have seen and heard. The old women relate the\nhistory of the people of former days, depending entirely on memory,\noften interspersed with recitations apparently foreign to the thread of\nthe legend. The younger members sit with staring eyes and countenances\nwhich show their wondering interest in the narration. Far into the night\nthe droning tone of her voice continues reciting the events of the past\nuntil one by one the listeners drowsily drop to sleep in the position\nthey last assumed.\n\nI was fortunately able to collect a number of these ancient legendary\nstories, some of them of considerable length.\n\n_Origin of the Innuit._--A man was created from nothing. It was summer\nand he journeyed until he found a woman in another land. The two became\nman and wife, and from them sprang all the people dwelling there. [It is\nextremely difficult to get the native to go beyond the immediate\nvicinity in which he lives while relating these stories and legends.\nThey invariably maintain that it was \"here\" that the event took place.]\n\n_The Coming of the White People._--The Eskimo were on the verge of\nstarvation and had eaten nearly all their food. They saw that in a few\nmore days death would come. The greatest Tungaksoak or great Tung\u00a0ak\ndetermined to bring relief and prophesied that people having light hair\nand white skins would come in an immense \u00famiak. He placed a young puppy\non a chip and another on an old sealskin boot, and set them adrift on\nthe water. The puppies drifted in different directions, and in the\ncourse of time the one on the chip returned and brought with it the\nIndians. A\u00a0long time after that, when the people had nearly forgotten\nthe other puppy, a\u00a0strange white object like an iceberg came directly\ntoward the shore. In a few moments the puppy, now a man, announced that\nthe people had come with many curious things in their vessel. The man\nimmediately became a dog.\n\n_Origin of living things on the earth and in the water._--A long time\nago a man who was cutting down a tree observed that the chips continued\nin motion as they fell from the blows. Those that fell into the water\nbecame the inhabitants of the water. Those that fell on the land became\nthe various animals and in time were made the food of mankind. (This was\nthe version given me by a person living at Fort Chimo.) Another person\nfrom farther west gave the following account of the origin of the living\nthings of the earth: Previous to a time when water covered the earth the\npeople lived on such food as they could always find prepared for them in\nabundance. They did not know of any animals at that time on the land or\nin the water. The water finally went away and the seaweeds became trees,\nshrubs, bushes, and grass. The long seaweeds were the trees and the\nsmaller kinds became the bushes and grass. The grass, however, was in\nsome manner put in various places by a walrus at a later date than the\nappearance of the trees.\n\nA woman who had lost her husband lived among strangers. As they desired\nto change the place of their habitation, they resolved to journey to\nanother point of land at a distance. The woman who was depending on\ncharity had become a burden of which they wished to rid themselves. So\nthey put all their belongings into the umiak and when they were on the\nway they seized the woman and cast her overboard. She struggled to\nregain the side of the boat, and when she seized it, the others cut off\nher fingers which fell into the water and changed to seals, walrus,\nwhales, and white bears. The woman in her despair, screamed her\ndetermination to have revenge for the cruelty perpetrated upon her. The\nthumb became a walrus, the first finger a seal, and the middle finger a\nwhite bear. When the former two animals see a man they try to escape\nlest they be served as the woman was.\n\nThe white bear lives both on the land and in the sea, but when he\nperceives a man revengeful feelings fill him, and he determines to\ndestroy the person who he thinks mutilated the woman from whose finger\nhe sprang.\n\n_Origin of the guillemots._--While some children were playing on the\nlevel top of a high cliff overhanging the sea, the older children\nwatched the younger ones lest they should fall down the bluff. Below\nthem the sea was covered with ice, and the strip along the shore had not\nyet loosened to permit the seals to approach. Soon afterward a wide\ncrack opened and the water was filled with seals, but the children did\nnot observe them. The wind was cold, and the children romped in high\nglee, encouraging each other to greater exertion in their sports and\nshouted at the top of their voices. The men saw the seals and hastened\nto the shore to put their kaiaks into the water to pursue them. At this\nthe children increased their shouts, which frightened the seals till\nthey dived out of sight. One of the men was angry, and exclaimed to the\nothers, \"I\u00a0wish the cliff would topple over and bury those noisy\nchildren for scaring the seals.\" In a moment the cliff tipped over and\nthe poor children fell among the fragments of huge rocks and stones at\nthe bottom. Here they were changed into guillemots or sea-pigeons, with\nred feet, and even to this day they thus dwell among the d\u00e9bris at the\nfoot of cliffs next to the water of the sea.\n\n_Origin of the raven._--The raven was a man, who, while other people\nwere collecting their household property preparatory to removing to\nanother locality, called to them that they had forgotten to bring the\nlower blanket of deerskin used for a bed. This skin in the Eskimo\nlanguage is called kak. The man used the word so often that they told\nhim to get it himself. He hurried so much that he was changed into a\nraven, and now uses that sound for his note. Even to this day when the\ncamp is being removed the raven flies over and shouts \"Kak! kak!\" or,\nin other words, \"Do not forget the blanket.\"\n\n_Origin of the quadrangular spots on the loon's back._--A man had two\nchildren that he wished might resemble each other. He painted the one\n(loon) with a white breast and square spots on the back. The other\n(raven) saw how comical the loon appeared, and laughed so much that the\nloon became ashamed and escaped to the water, where it always presents\nits white breast in order to hide the spots of the back which caused so\nmuch ridicule. The raven eluded the attempt to be painted in like\nmanner, and stoutly refused to come near.\n\n_Origin of the gulls._--Some people in a boat desired to go around a\npoint of land which projected far into the water. As the water there was\nalways in a violent commotion under the end of the point which\nterminated in a high cliff some of the women were requested to walk over\nthe neck of land. One of them got out with her children in order to\nlighten the boat. She was directed to go over the place, and they\npromised to wait for her on the other side. The people in the boat had\ngone so far that their voices, giving the direction, became indistinct.\nThe poor woman became confused and suspected they wanted to desert her.\nShe remained about the cliff, constantly crying the last words she\nheard. She ultimately changed into a gull, and now shouts only the sound\nlike \"_go over_, _goover_, _over_, _ove_,\" _etc._\n\n_Origin of the hawks._--Among the people of a village was a woman who\nwas noted for the shortness of her neck. She was so constantly teased\nand tormented about it that she often sat for hours on the edge of high\nplaces. She changed into a hawk, and now when she sees anyone she\nimmediately exclaims, \"Kea! kea! kea! who, who, who was it that cried\n'short neck?'\"\n\n_Origin of the swallow._--Some small children, who were extraordinarily\nwise, were playing at building toy houses on the edge of a high cliff\nnear the village in which they dwelt. They were envied for their wisdom,\nand to them was given the name \"Zulugagnak,\" or, like a raven, which was\nsupposed to know all the past and future. While these children were thus\namusing themselves they were changed into small birds, which did not\nforget their last occupation, and even to this day they come to the\ncliffs, near the camps of the people, and build houses of mud, which\nthey affix to the side of the rock. Even the raven does not molest them,\nand the Eskimo children love to watch the swallow build his iglugiak of\nmud.\n\n_The hare._--The hare was a child who was so ill treated and abused by\nthe other people, because it had long ears, that it went to dwell by\nitself. When it sees anyone the ears are laid down on the back, for, if\nit hears the shout of a person, it thinks they are talking of its long\nears. It has no tail, because it did not formerly have one.\n\n_The wolf_ was a poor woman, who had so many children that she could not\nfind enough for them to eat. They became so gaunt and hungry that they\nwere changed into wolves, constantly roaming over the land seeking food.\nThe cry of the mother may be heard as she strives to console her hungry\nchildren, saying that food in plenty will soon be found.\n\n_Lice_ are supposed to drop from the body of a huge spirit, dwelling in\nthe regions above, who was punished by having these pests constantly\ntorment him. In his rage to free himself the lice dropped down upon the\npeople who condemned him to this punishment.\n\n_Origin of mosquitoes._--A man had a wife who was negligent and failed\nto scrape his skin clothing properly when he returned from his\nexpeditions. He endeavored to persuade her to mend her ways and do as a\nwife should do. She was again directed to remove the accumulated layer\nof dirt from the man's coat. She petulantly took the garment and cleaned\nit in such a slovenly way that when the husband discovered the condition\nof the coat he took some of the dirt from it and flung it after her. The\nparticles changed into mosquitoes, and now (in\u00a0spring), when the warm\ndays come and the women have the labor of cleaning clothes to perform,\nthe insects gather around them, and the women are thus reminded of the\nslovenly wife and what befel her.\n\n_Story of the man and his fox wife._--A hunter who lived by himself\nfound when he returned to the place after an absence that it had been\nvisited and everything put in order as a dutiful wife should do. This\nhappened so often with no visible signs of tracks that the man\ndetermined to watch and see who would scrape his skin clothing and\nboots, hang them out to dry, and cook nice hot food ready to be eaten\nwhen he returned. One day he went away as though going off on a hunt,\nbut secreted himself so as to observe the entrance of anything into the\nhouse. After a while he saw a fox enter. He suspected that the fox was\nafter food. He quietly slipped up to the house and on entering saw a\nmost beautiful woman dressed in skin clothing of wondrous make. Within\nthe house, on a line, hung the skin of a fox. The man inquired if it was\nshe who had done these things. She replied that she was his wife and it\nwas her duty to do them, hoping that she had performed her labor in a\nmanner satisfactory to him.\n\nAfter they had lived together a short time the husband detected a musky\nodor about the house and inquired of her what it was. She replied that\nshe emitted the odor and if he was going to find fault with her for it\nshe would leave. She dashed off her clothing and, resuming the skin of\nthe fox, slipped quietly away and has never been disposed to visit a man\nsince that time.\n\nThe following is a story obtained from Labrador:\n\n_The rivals._--Between two men there existed keen rivalry. Each asserted\nhimself to be the stronger and endeavored to prove himself superior to\nthe other. One of them declared his ability to form an island where none\nhad hitherto existed. He picked up an immense rock and hurled it into\nthe sea where it became an island. The other, with his foot, pushed it\nso hard that it landed on the top of another island lying far beyond.\nThe mark of the footprint is visible to this day, and that place is now\nknown as Tu\u00a0kik\u00b4\u00a0tok.\n\n_The jealous man._--A man fell in love with two women and was so jealous\nof them that he would not permit them to look upon others, much less\nspeak to them. The women finally wearied of the restrictions placed upon\nthem and resolved to desert the man. They fled along the coast until\nthey were faint from hunger. At length they came upon the body of a\nwhale cast on the shore. Here they determined to dwell for a time.\nThe man sought for the women in every possible place with no success.\nA\u00a0conjurer was consulted, and after much deliberation, he told the\ndeserted man to journey to a place where he would find the carcass of a\nwhale and to secrete himself in the vicinity and watch for the women. He\nstarted out accordingly and before long had the pleasure of seeing the\ntwo women. They detected the man hastening toward them and tried to\nsecrete themselves until he should get by. He seized one of them,\nhowever, and bound her with thongs. The other was less disposed to\nsubmit, and the man put out her eyes to deprive her of the privilege of\nlooking at any man. They remained about that locality for some time,\nand various animals of the land came to the carcass to feast upon the\nremains. The man caught a great number of foxes and other valuable furs\nand after a time returned to the camp whence he came.\n\n_Story of the orphan boy._--A small boy, who had neither father, mother,\nnor any living relatives, was dwelling with some people who maltreated\nhim in every way their fancy could suggest. He was kept in the entry way\nto the hut, like a dog, and was permitted to eat only of the skin of\nwalrus when they had it to give him. At other times they would throw to\nhim what they themselves would not eat. They forbade him to have a knife\nwith which to cut his food, and he was compelled to gnaw the bones like\na dog. A\u00a0little girl, the daughter of the head of the family with whom\nhe lived, would secretly take to him a knife with which to divide the\ntough skin of the walrus. She also carried food of better quality to him\nwhen she could do so clandestinely. These kind attentions pleased him\nvery much, and made him long for an opportunity to escape. But how was\nhe to better his condition when the hand of everybody was raised against\nhim on account of his treatment at home? The little girl who had so\noften befriended him could not assist him to escape from such a life. He\nendeavored to lay a plan, but it came to naught. There seemed no help\nfor him. One night he abandoned all hope and threw himself on the ground\nin despair. While there he gazed at the bright moon, and the more\nintently his gaze was fixed upon it the more he thought he discerned the\nface of a man in it, and at last he cried to the man to come and help\nhim escape from his miserable life. The man came down from the moon and\ngave the poor boy a frightful beating, but the more he was beaten the\nlarger he seemed to grow. After a while he became so strong that he\ncould handle a large rock as easily as he had hitherto handled a little\nstone. A\u00a0large, round bowlder from the beach was no more to him than a\nbullet held in the hand of a strong man.\n\nThe moon man then told the boy that he was large enough to take care of\nhimself and do as he pleased with the people who had treated him so\nbadly. With this the two parted, and the moon man went to his hole in\nthe sky, while the boy walked along the beach picking up rocks and\ntossing them along the shore until the character of the water's edge was\nentirely changed. When the boy arrived at the hut it was daylight, for\nhe had tarried so long on the beach testing his strength that the night\nhad slipped away.\n\nThe people were terrified when they saw to what enormous proportions the\nabused boy had grown. He became frenzied the instant he saw his former\npersecutors, and seizing first one and then the other in his hands\ndashed them against the rocks. The blood and brains ran in streams. One\nof the men, seeing his doom, begged for his life and promised his kaiak,\nspears, sled, and wife if he should be spared. The enraged boy continued\nthe slaughter until only the little girl who had so often befriended him\nwas left. She became his wife, and in the course of a few hours the man,\nwhose name was Kou j\u00e9 yuk; became of a natural size again and passed his\nlife in comfort.\n\nThis story was obtained from a man from Labrador. The Eskimo assert that\nthis occurred near Ohak (often pronounced Okak), now a missionary\nstation. They show the rock, which a little imagination gives the\nappearance of having dried blood and brains still upon it.\n\n_The origin of the sun, moon, and stars._--At a time when darkness\ncovered the earth a girl was nightly visited by some one whose identity\nshe could not discover. She determined to find out who it could be. She\nmixed some soot with oil and painted her breast with it. The next time\nshe discovered, to her horror, that her brother had a black circle of\nsoot around his mouth. She upbraided him and he denied it. The father\nand mother were very angry and scolded the pair so severely that the son\nfled from their presence. The daughter seized a brand from the fire and\npursued him. He ran to the sky to avoid her but she flew after him. The\nman changed into the moon and the girl who bore the torch became the\nsun. The sparks that flew from the brand became the stars. The sun is\nconstantly pursuing the moon, which keeps in the darkness to avoid being\ndiscovered. When an eclipse occurs they are supposed to meet.\n\n_Auroras._--Auroras are believed to be the torches held in the hands of\nspirits seeking the souls of those who have just died, to lead them over\nthe abyss terminating the edge of the world. A\u00a0narrow pathway leads\nacross it to the land of brightness and plenty, where disease and pain\nare no more, and where food of all kinds is always ready in abundance.\nTo this place none but the dead and the raven can go. When the spirits\nwish to communicate with the people of the earth they make a whistling\nnoise and the earth people answer only in a whispering tone. The Eskimo\nsay that they are able to call the aurora and converse with it. They\nsend messages to the dead through these spirits.\n\n_The sky._--The sky is supposed to be an immense dome, of hard material,\nreared over the earth, long from east to west and shorter from north to\nsouth. The edges of the land and sea are bounded by high, precipitous\nsides, shelving outward or sloping inward to prevent anything living on\nthe earth from going to the region beyond. There is the source of light\nand heat. The dome of the sky is very cold, and at times covered with\ncrystals of frost which fall in the form of snow or frost films to the\nearth, and then the sky becomes clear. The clouds are supposed to be\nlarge bags of water, controlled by two old women who run with them\nacross the sky, and as the water escapes from the seams it falls in the\nform of rain to the earth. The thunder is their voice and the lightning\nis their torch. If a spark falls from this on anyone he dies and goes to\nthe region above.\n\n_The winds._--At each of the corners of the earth there dwells an\nimmense but invincible spirit, whose head is many times larger than all\nthe remainder of his body. When he breathes the wind blows and his\nbreath is felt. Some breathe violent storms and others gentle zephyrs.\nThe male spirits dwell at the north, northeast, northwest, and west. The\nfemales dwell at the remaining points, and each principal spirit has\ninnumerable intermediate and less powerful attendants.\n\n\nTHE NENENOT OR \"NASKOPIE.\"\n\nThe Indians of the Ungava district are locally known as Naskopie, a\u00a0term\nof reproach applied to them by the mountaineers (the Montagnais of the\nearly Jesuit missionaries) during the earlier days when the former acted\nfalsely in one of their concerted struggles with the Eskimo of the\neastern coast.\n\nThe name given to themselves is Nenenot, a word meaning true, or ideal\nred men. To the west of these people dwell a branch of the tribe along\nthe east shore of Hudson bay. To the southeast dwell the mountaineers.\n\nThe western people differ greatly in customs and many words of their\nlanguage from the Nenenots. The mountaineers differ but little in their\ncustoms, and only in speech as much as would be expected from the\ndifferent locality in which they dwell.\n\nThese three tribes have distinct boundaries, beyond which they seldom\nwander. Of late years, however, a\u00a0gradual influx of the western people\nhas poured into the Ungava district, due to the decrease of the food\nsupply along that portion of the eastern coast of Hudson bay.\n\nThe Nenenots appear, from the best information I could obtain on the\nsubject, to have been driven to their present location during the wars\nwaged against them by the Iroquois in times long gone by and remembered\nonly in tradition.\n\nThey assert that their original home was in a country to the west, north\nof an immense river, and toward the east lay an enormous body of salt\nwater. The former was supposed to be the St. Lawrence river and the\nlatter to be Hudson bay. When they came to their present place they say\nthat they found Eskimo alone, and these only along the coast. They are a\nbranch of the Cree stock, as their language clearly indicates.\n\nMany years ago war was waged upon them by the people whose name is\nremembered with terror even to this day. Most cruel atrocities were\nperpetrated, and in despair they fled from the land of their fathers,\nwhere they had lived as a numerous people, and were pursued by their\nmerciless foes until but a remnant reached what is now known as the\n\"Height of Land.\"\n\nBeing now driven to a strange land, where they found numerous Eskimo on\nall sides, only a few years elapsed before they encroached too greatly\nupon the land which the Eskimo had always held. Contention and struggles\narose, culminating in a disposition to fight, and in the course of time\ndesultory warfare, carried on by single combat or organized raids. This\nlasted for many years, even after the advent of the white men as traders\nalong the coast. Some of the battles were attended with great slaughter\non both sides. The Eskimo seldom ventured far from the coast on their\nraids, but fought bravely when attacked on their own ground. In most\ninstances they outwitted the Indians by decoying them into ambush, and\nkilling great numbers of them. Within the present century they have been\nmore peaceably disposed toward each other. Since the arrival of the\nwhite men at various points along the coast these troubles have ceased,\nand the Indians and Eskimo are now on intimate terms; not that either\nparty have any special regard for the new comers, but they have a mutual\nfear of each other, and the white man now engages their entire\nattention.\n\nIn the early struggles the Indian found the Eskimo to be a sturdy\nopponent, possessed of greater endurance and perseverance than himself.\nAfter the conclusion of the troubles they withdrew to their present\nhaunts, and now wander indiscriminately over the land, although the\nEskimo seldom ventures far into the interior unless it be along the\nvalley of some large stream. They even camp alongside of each other,\nand aged Indian men and women, who have been left behind the parties of\nyoung people who are in quest of fur-bearing animals during the winter\nmonths, are only too glad to have a camp of jolly Eskimo near at hand.\nWith them they can live as parasites until their hosts are exhausted of\nsupplies, or until they move to another locality to relieve themselves\nof the importunities of their unbidden guests.\n\nThe Indian is not the physical superior of the Eskimo. It is true they\nare more expert on snowshoes, because the snowshoes belong to their mode\nof life. They are used by the Eskimo only when they can be purchased by\nbarter from the Indian. The Eskimo snowshoe is merely a rude imitation\nof the form used by the neighboring Indians. In the canoe the Indian is\nat home; so also is the Eskimo in the kaiak, which braves the severest\nweather and the roughest water, on which the Indian would only gaze in\ndread and never venture.\n\nAbility to endure fatigue is less in the Indian than the Eskimo, who\naccomplishes by patient persistence what the Indian desires to do in a\nhurry. I\u00a0have not observed Indians carry such heavy loads as those borne\non the shoulders of Eskimo, who, with ease, ascended a hill of such\nabrupt steepness that an unencumbered person climbed it with difficulty.\nSeveral Eskimo men ascended this hill, each with a barrel of flour on\nhis shoulders.\n\nThe Indian is able to withstand the effect of cold as well as the\nEskimo. The clothing of the latter is certainly better adapted to\nprotect against cold. In times of scarcity of food the Eskimo is able to\ngo without food for a number of days and yet perform a considerable\namount of physical labor, while the Indian would require food on the\nsecond or third day, and refuse to move until it had been furnished.\n\nIn comparison with a white man under the same conditions the natives of\neither class would soon show signs of inferiority, and under prolonged\nexertion but few, even of the Eskimo, would endure the strain. The\nprincipal strength of these people is shown in their success in the\nchase.\n\nThe children are obedient to their parents, who seldom ever chastise\nthem. Disrespect to parents is unknown, and in their intercourse with\neach other there are no clashings during youth. Not until the jealousies\nawakened under the stimulus of their sexual instincts arouse their\npassions do they begin to show enmity and hatred toward each other.\n\nThe males evidently exhibit jealousy to a less degree than the opposite\nsex. The men, after a protracted absence from each other, often embrace\nand shed tears of joy at meeting. The women are less demonstrative.\n\nThe number of children born exceeds the number of deaths. Mortality\nappeared to be low for the two years I was near these people. The\nprevailing diseases are of the lungs and bowels. The lung diseases are\ninduced by constant exposure to extremes of wet and cold and the\ninhalation of foul air laden with terebinthine odors, arising from the\nresinous woods used for fuel. Changes of the wind blowing in at the door\ncause the interior to become filled with smoke, which is endured rather\nthan admit the cold air from without.\n\nAbstinence from fresh food for a long time, with dry meat only to\nsubsist upon, is often broken by the sudden capture of deer. This\naffords an opportunity for gorging until the digestive organs are\nweakened and serious complications arise. It is quite probable that\ngluttony directly produces half of the illnesses that occur among these\npeople. The insufficiency of clothing does not apparently influence\nhealth, as they seem utterly regardless of exposure, and long continued\ndwelling in the tents probably induces nearly, if not quite, all the\nother ills afflicting them. Indolent ulcers and scrofulous complications\nare frequent, but only in few instances are of such character as to\nprevent their following their usual occupations. During illness they are\nstolid, and appear to suffer intense pain without the twitching of a\nmuscle. When death approaches it has but little terror, and is awaited\nwith indifference.\n\nThe remedies employed are only those afforded by the beating of the drum\nand the mumblings of the shaman, who claims to have control of the\nspirit which causes all disease and death. They are, however, firm\nbelievers in the efficacy of potions compounded by the white trader, who\nis fully as ignorant of the disease as the subject himself is. Often a\nharmless mixture of red ink, red pepper, ginger, or other pungent\nsubstance is given, with a multiplicity of confusing directions,\nbewildering the messenger dispatched for relief, who, in repeating them,\noften makes mistakes and advises that the whole quantity be swallowed.\nThe effect is sometimes magical, and the patient recovers. Powders are\nrubbed over the seat of pain and liniments swallowed with avidity.\nStrange as it may seem, they often report good effects, and rarely fail\nto ask for more of the same kind. Both sexes attain a great age--in some\ninstances certainly living over seventy years. Some assert that they\nwere well advanced in years before the white men came in 1827.\n\nThe marriage ceremony is simply a consent to live together, obtained by\nrequest if possible, and by force, if necessary. The man takes a wife as\nsoon as he considers himself able to support one. When the ceremony is\nto be undertaken the consent of the girl's parents or nearest relatives\nis sought, and by holding out tempting inducements in the form of\npresents, the suitor wins them to his favor. The consent of the girl, if\nshe has not yet been married is, of course, granted, if she desires to\ncomply with the wishes of her relatives. If not, the prospective husband\nis informed that they can do nothing to turn her heart. The matter is\nunderstood, and in a short time she is taken forcibly to his or his\nfather's tent. The tie binding the couple is very loose, and on the\nleast provocation may be dissolved by either party. Continence on the\npart of either wife or husband is unusual, and only notorious\nincontinence is sufficient to cause the offender to be put away. Their\nsexual relations are very loose among themselves, but their immorality\nis confined to their own people. To take a second, a\u00a0third, or even a\nfourth wife, is not uncommon, but the additional wives are taken\nprincipally for the purpose of performing labor imposed by the energy of\na successful hunter. It is only the wealthy men who can afford a\nplurality of wives. The several wives often dwell in the same tent, but\nas jealousies frequently arise they resort to fighting among themselves\nto settle their differences. The husband looks on calmly until matters\ngo too far. When he interferes the women are sure of being soundly\nthrashed. A\u00a0woman, however, often assails her husband, and in some\ninstances gives him an unmerciful pounding, much to the amusement of the\nbystanders, who encourage her to do her best. The man is a subject for\nridicule for weeks afterwards. Either sex can endure being beaten, but\nnot being laughed at. They rarely forgive a white man who laughs at\ntheir discomfiture. An amusing incident occurred within a stone's throw\nof Fort Chimo. An Indian had his clothing stripped from him by his\nenraged wife. She then tore the tent from the poles, leaving him naked.\nShe took their property to the canoe, which she paddled several miles up\nthe stream. He followed along the bank until she relented, whereupon\ntheir former relations were resumed, as though nothing had disturbed the\nharmony of their life. The man was so severely plagued by his comrades\nthat for many days he scarcely showed his head out of the tent. Rivalry\nfor the favor of a woman or man is occasionally the source of serious\naffrays. An instance was related to me where two men sought the hand of\na woman, and to settle which should have her, they determined to go in\ntheir canoes to the lake near by and fight with their deer spears. One\nof the men was killed and the other thereupon obtained the woman, who is\nnow living.\n\nThe sexes have their special labors. Women perform the drudgery and\nbring home the food slain by their husbands, fetching wood and water,\ntanning the skins, and making them into clothing. The labor of erecting\nthe tents and hauling the sleds when on their journey during the winter\nfalls upon them, and, in fact, they perform the greater part of the\nmanual labor. They are considered inferior to the men, and in their\nsocial life they soon show the effects of the hardships they undergo.\n\nThe females arrive at puberty at the age of 14 or 15, and are taken as\nwives at even an earlier age. So early are they taken in marriage that\nbefore they are 30 years of age they often appear as though they were\n50. Some of them are hideously ugly, and are so begrimed with smoke from\nthe resinous wood used for fuel and with filth that it is purely\nguesswork to even approximate their age. The women appear to be exempted\nfrom the curse of Eve, and deliver their children with as little concern\nas is exhibited among the brutes. The child is not allowed to receive\nnourishment until the third day, and no water must touch its body. The\ninfant is swaddled in wrappings of skins and cloths. Sphagnum moss is\nused next the body and changed every other day. They begin to walk at an\nearly age, and this is, doubtless, the principal cause of the bowing of\nthe legs so often observed. The girls are neglected and the boys given\nevery advantage. The latter soon discover their importance and rarely\nfail to show their domineering ways to the other sex.\n\nIt is quite rare that twins are born. It is not usual for a mother to\nhave more than four children, although as many as six or eight may be\nborn. As the paternal origin is often obscure, the person having that\nwoman as wife at the time of the child's birth is supposed to be its\nfather.\n\nThe mortuary customs of the Naskopie were but imperfectly learned, for\nwhen a death occurred at the trading station the body was buried like a\nwhite man's. A\u00a0shallow grave was dug in a sandy soil, as this offered\nless trouble in digging, and the body placed in a rudely constructed\ncoffin and covered with dirt. A\u00a0small branch from a tree was placed at\nthe head of the grave, but with what signification I could not\nsatisfactorily determine. I\u00a0received the reply that the white men put\nsomething at the head of their graves, and so do the Indians.\n\nAway from the post the Indians suspend their dead from the branches of\ntrees, if the ground be frozen too hard to excavate, and endeavor to\nreturn in the following summer and inter the body. A\u00a0person who has\ndistinguished himself among the people is often buried where the fire\nhas been long continued within the tent and thawed the ground to a\nsufficient depth to cover the body. The tent is then removed to another\nlocation. The Indians have not that dread of a corpse which is shown so\nplainly among the Eskimo. The former have been known to strip the\nclothing from recently deceased Eskimo, and it is not infrequent for\nthem to appropriate the gun or other implement placed by the side of a\ndead Innuit.\n\nIn response to my inquiry how they disposed of their dead in former\nages, I\u00a0obtained evidence that scaffold burial and suspension from trees\nwere formerly practiced and that subterranean burials were introduced by\nthe missionaries.\n\nThe dead are mourned for according to the position they occupied in\nlife, a\u00a0favorite child often causing an alarming grief in the mother who\nmourns for many days, constantly bemoaning her loss and reminding the\nlisteners of the traits in the child's nature so well remembered. The\nbody is taken to the place of final rest by the friends, the relations\nseldom accompanying it.\n\nThe life of these people is a constant struggle to obtain food and\nraiment. Nothing, however unimportant, is done without much delibation\nand repeated consultation with friends.\n\nThey are also guided to a great extent by their dreams, for they imagine\nthat in the night they are in direct communication with the spirits\nwhich watch over their daily occupations. Certain persons obtain much\nrenown in divining the dreams and these are consulted with the greatest\nconfidence. The drum is brought into use, and during its tumult the\nperson passes into a state of stupor or trance and in a few moments\narouses himself to reveal the meaning of the other's dream.\n\nSuperstition holds these people in its terrible sway and everything not\nunderstood is attributed to the working of one of the numerous spirits.\n\nEvery object, however simple, appears to have its patron spirit, which,\nin order that it may perform its services for the welfare of the people,\nmust be propitiated with offerings most pleasing and acceptable to it.\nThe rule seems to be that all spirits are by nature bad, and must be\npropitiated to secure their favor. Each person has a patron spirit, and\nthese must always be placated lest misfortune come. These spirits assume\nan infinite variety of forms, and to know just what form it assumed when\nit inflicted its baneful effects, the shamans or medicine men must be\nconsulted. These are supposed to be in direct contact with such spirits.\nThe spirit will appear only in the darkness of the conjuring house,\nand then permit itself to be appeased by some atonement made by the\nafflicted, which can be made known only through the shaman. He alone\nindicates the coarse to be pursued, and his directions, to be explicitly\nfollowed, are often so confusing and impossible that the person fails to\nperform them. All these minor spirits are under the control of a single\ngreat spirit having its dwelling in the sky, a\u00a0term as illimitable with\nthose people as with ourselves.\n\nEach animal has its protective spirit, which is inferior to those of\nman. The soul, if such expression may be used, of all animals is\nindestructible, and is capable of reappearing again and again as often\nas the material form is destroyed. There are spirits of beasts, birds,\nfishes, insects, and plants. Each of these has a home to which it\nreturns after death, which is simply a cessation of that period of its\nmaterial form, and each may be recalled at the will of the shaman. If an\nanimal be killed it does not decrease the number of that species, for it\nstill exists, although in a different form.\n\nThe Canada jay is supposed to inform the various animals of the approach\nof Indians, and these rarely fail to kill the jay wherever found.\n\nA species of mouse is supposed to have such dread of man that it dies\nthe instant it wanders near the track of a person. They often find these\ntiny creatures near the path, and believe them to be unable to cross it.\n\nAs the dusk of eve draws near, the silent flitting of the common\nshort-eared owl (_Asio accipitrinus_), and the hawk owl (_Surnia\nfuneria_), attracted by the sounds of the camp, creates direst\nconfusion. The announcement of its presence causes the entire assemblage\nof people to be alert and hastily suspend some unworn garment, that the\nbird may perceive it and thus know that the people are not so poor in\ntheir worldly possessions as the spirit Wiq\u00b4-ti-qu may think; as it only\nannoys people who are too poor to have extra garments. As this\nshort-eared owl frequents only the lower lands, the Indians assert that\nthey are compelled to select the higher points of land as their camping\nsites in order to escape from him.\n\nThe shaman, as I have already said, is believed to be able to control\nall these different spirits by his magic art, and to foretell the\nfuture, but he must be concealed from view while carrying on his\nmysterious performances. Hence a special structure must be erected in\nwhich the shaman goes through various contortions of body until in a\nstate of exhaustion and while in that weakened condition he fancies\nthese things which have such wonderful hold on the minds of the people.\n\nThe tent (Fig. 85) is high and of small diameter. Every crack and\ncrevice in the tent is carefully closed to exclude even the least ray of\nlight.\n\nWhen within it, the shaman begins his operations by groaning and\ngradually increasing the pitch of voice until his screeching can be\nheard a great distance. The din of the drum adds confusion to the\nceremony. This goes on until the shaman announces the appearance of the\nspirit with whom he desires to commune. He implores the spirit to grant\nthe request, and in the course of time informs the people outside that\nhe has succeeded in securing the services of the spirit. All within\nbecomes quiet and only whisperings are heard.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 85.--Indian medicine lodge.]\n\nThe spirit promises to fulfill the obligation he has undertaken, and the\nconjuror throws over the tent and states the result of the interview.\nThis result is always favorable, as his reputation depends upon its\nhappening. Any untoward circumstance, such as a person turning over a\nstone or breaking a twig from a bush while traveling, is sufficient\ncause to break the spell, and the blame can be laid on the shoulders of\nsuch an offender. If the request be not granted within the stipulated\ntime as announced by the shaman at the end of the ceremony, some one is\ncertain to have been the cause of displeasing the spirit, who now\nwithholds the favor until reparation for the offense is made. The\nconjurer is not slow to make some one do penance while he himself is\ngaining time, as he takes good care not to attempt anything out of\nseason.\n\nWhen an Indian kills one of the larger and fiercer wild beasts it is\ncustomary to reserve a portion of the skin or other part of the body as\na memento of the deed.\n\nThese mementos are sacredly kept to show the prowess of the hunter and\nat the same time they serve as a token of the wealth procured by\nbartering the pelt of the animal to the trader. The wolf, bear, and\nwolverine are considered worthy of remembrance, and of the first and\nlast mentioned animals a claw or a tip of an ear may serve as a\nsouvenir.\n\nThe under lip of the bear (Fig. 86) is the portion preserved. The skin\nis cut off and spread flat to dry. The flesh side of the skin is painted\nwith powdered hematite mixed with water or oil.\n\nThe outer edges or lips are ornamented with a single row of many-colored\nbeads. At the apex or middle of the lip is attached a pendant in the\nform of a fish. The fish is 3 or 4 inches long, made of cloth and has a\nrow of beads extending around the entire circumference of the length of\nthe body.\n\nThese mementos are procured with great difficulty from the hunter who\nhas risked his life in the struggles attending the capture of the\nbeasts, for the barren-ground bear of that region is not a timid\ncreature like the black bear; and unless the hunter is well prepared for\nthe animal he would do well to let it alone.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 86.--Indian amulet of bearskin.]\n\nThe occupations of the sexes are so numerous that a detailed account\nalone would suffice, as the various seasons have their regular routine\nlabors besides those unexpectedly appearing. In the spring the Indians\nof both sexes come to the post of Fort Chimo to trade their winter's\nhunt of fur-bearing animals. About the middle of March word is brought\nthat the camp of old men and women with a number of children, left from\nthe parties scattered in all directions during the previous fall, are\nslowly approaching the post. They come by easy stages, camping here and\nthere for a day or two, but striving to be near about the time that the\nearlier parties come in to trade. These latter straggle along from the\nmiddle of April to the last of May, those who had ascended the streams\nto the headwaters often not arriving until after the breaking of the ice\nin the river, which may be as late as the 15th of June. When they\ncollect at the post they have an opportunity to meet after a separation\nof months and enjoy a period of rest. The trading of their furs and\nother articles continues slowly until the parties have made their\nselections of guns, ammunition, tobacco, and cloths, a\u00a0quantity of\nflour, biscuit, peas, beans, rice, and sugar. Molasses is purchased in\nenormous quantities, a\u00a0hogshead of 90 gallons sufficing for only three\nor four days' trade. Other articles of varied character, from needles\nand beads to calico and cloth, are bought by the women.\n\nThe parties receive the allowance given in advance for the prosecution\nof the ensuing winter's hunt, after which they are relied on to raft\ndown the supply of wood cut by the white men for the next winter's\nsupply of fuel. This consumes the season until the middle of July.\nStragglers are out even later. The men, meantime, select the locality\nwhere they will remain for the summer and fall. The winter is to be\noccupied in getting furs. Each head of a party announces his intended\nlocation and the parties gradually leave the post for their destination.\nSome of the Indians in former years were employed to assist the salmon\nfishing, but they proved to be unreliable, either through fear of the\nturbulent waters of the Koksoak or inattention to their task. They were\neasily allured from the nets by the appearance of any game, and as the\ntides in that river do not wait even for an Indian, serious losses\nresulted from carelessness. Hence their places in later years are filled\nby Eskimo, who are better adapted to the work.\n\nThe various parties disperse in different directions in order that the\nentire district may afford its products for their benefit. The Indians\nknow the habits of the animals in those regions so well that they are\nsure, if they go to a particular locality, to find the game they are in\nquest of.\n\nThe reindeer provides them with the greater part of their food and the\nskins of these animals afford them clothing.\n\nAlthough their food consists of reindeer, ptarmigan, fish, and other\ngame, the deer is their main reliance, and when without it, however\ngreat the abundance of other food, they consider themselves starving.\n\nThe deer are procured in several ways, the principal of which is by the\nuse of the lance or spear. In the months of September and October they\ncollect from various directions. During the spring the females had\nrepaired to the treeless hills and mountains of the Cape Chidley region\nto bring forth their young on those elevations in early June or late\nMay. After the young have become of good size the mothers lead them to\ncertain localities whither the males, having gone in an opposite\ndirection, also return. They meet somewhere along the banks of the\nKoksoak river, usually near the confluence of that river with the North\nor Larch. While thousands of these animals are congregated on each bank\nsmall herds are continually swimming back and forth, impelled by the\nsexual instinct. The hair of the young animals is now in excellent\ncondition for making skin garments. The females are thin, not yet having\nrecovered from the exhaustion of furnishing food for their young and\nmaterial for the new set of antlers, which appear immediately after the\nbirth of the fawns. The skin is, however, in tolerable condition,\nespecially in late October. The back of the male is now covered with a\nlarge mass of fat known as \"back fat.\" This deposit is about 1 to 1\u00bd\ninches thick by 2 feet broad and 20 inches long. The males are full of\nvigor and in the best possible condition at this season, as the antlers\nhave become dry and cease to draw upon the animal for material to supply\ntheir immense growth.\n\nThe hunting parties, always on the alert for the herds of deer which are\nhastening to the assembling place, follow them up, and in the course of\ntime conjecture at what point they will congregate. Here they establish\ncamps and intercept the deer when crossing the streams. The canoes are\nheld in readiness, while the hunters scan the opposite hillsides for\ndeer filing along the narrow paths through the forests and bushes\ntowards the river bank. Arrived there, the deer, after a moment's pause,\neagerly take to the water, boldly swimming as they quarter down stream\nwith the current. The animals swim high in the water, scarcely more than\na third of the body immersed. They move compactly, in a crowd, their\nantlers appearing at a distance like the branches of a tree floating\nwith the current. The Indian crouches low and speeds for the canoe.\nSilently it is pushed into the water, and two or three rowers take their\nplaces within. Rapid but noiseless strokes given by sturdy arms soon\nbring the boat below and to the rear of the body of deer, who are now\nthrown into the greatest consternation as they perceive their most\ndreaded foe suddenly by their side. The deer endeavor to retreat, but\nthe men are between them and the shore. The occupants of the canoe now\ndrive the deer quartering up stream and toward the shore where the camp\nis situated. Should they, by some mistake on the part of the hunters,\nstart downstream, they are certain to be separated, and swim so rapidly\nthat unless there be two canoes they will, for the most part, escape.\nIf the herd is well kept together they may be driven at the will of the\npursuer. He strives to direct them to such spot that when the thrust\nwith the spear is given only sufficient vitality will be left to enable\nthe stricken animal to regain the shore. When the spear touches the\nvital part, the animal plunges forward and the instrument is withdrawn.\nA\u00a0hurried thrust pierces another victim, until all the herd, if small,\nmay be slain. The wounded animal now feels the internal cavity filling\nwith blood, and seeks the nearest land whereon its ebbing strength\nscarcely allows it to stand. A\u00a0few wistful turns of the head to the\nright or left, a\u00a0sudden spreading of its limbs to support the swaying\nbody, a\u00a0plunge forward--the convulsive struggles that mark the end. If\nthe band is large, some generally escape. Some may be so wounded that\nthey plunge into the bushes perhaps but a few yards and there lie and\ndie, furnishing food for the beasts and birds of prey.\n\nThe carcases of the deer are stripped of skins and fat and the viscera\nare removed. The fat is laid one side, that from the intestines being\nalso reserved for future rendering.\n\nThe skins are taken to the camps and piled up. Those which are not to be\ntanned immediately are hung over poles to dry, the flesh side turned\nupwards.\n\nThe meat is stripped from the bones and taken to the tents, where it is\nexposed to the smoke and hot air over the fire and quickly dried. Some\nof the Indians are so expert in stripping the flesh from the skeleton\nthat the exact form or outlines of the animal are preserved in the\nprocess of drying. The drying flesh acquires a very dark brown color\nfrom the smoke and blood left within the tissues. Certain portions of\nthe dry meat, especially those from the flanks and abdominal walls,\nare quite palatable; they are crisp, and have a rich nutty flavor. The\nintercostal muscles are also choice portions, while some of the flesh\nfrom the haunches is dry and nearly tasteless. The back fat is often\ndried and smoked, but acquires a disagreeable rancid taste.\n\nThe long bones are cracked and the marrow extracted. This substance is\nthe most highly prized portion of the animal, and in seasons of plenty\nthe deer are often slaughtered for the marrow alone. The fat is placed\nin pots or kettles and rendered over a fire. It is then poured into\nanother vessel to cool, and forms a valuable article of trade and a\nnecessity for food, and is also required in the process of tanning the\nskins.\n\nThe bones containing the marrow are cracked and placed in a kettle, hung\nover a slow fire, and the substance melted. The marrow brings a higher\nprice than the tallow, and is esteemed a choice article of food. The\nheads are thrown to one side until the decomposing brain is wanted to be\nmixed with the semi-putrid liver for the purpose of tanning the skins.\nWhen the flesh has dried sufficiently it is taken down and put into\npackages of about thirty pounds weight each. These bundles are enveloped\nin the parchment like subcutaneous tissue, and stored away until they\nare needed for food. A\u00a0species of mold attacks the flesh if it is not\nfrequently inspected and dried, but as it is harmless, it does not\ninjure the meat. Indians for weeks at a time subsist entirely on this\ndried meat. They also have a season of plenty when the female deer and\nthe bucks of less than two years are on their way to the Cape Chidley\nregion. Here the females bring forth their young unmolested by the old\nbucks and also less annoyed by the myriads of mosquitoes which throng\nthe lower parts of the country.\n\nThe crossing place of the females and young bucks is at or near Fort\nChimo at least each alternate year. About the 5th to the 10th of May the\nassembled Indians anxiously await the coming of the game. In the course\nof a few days the welcome cry of \"Deer!\" is heard, and the camp\nimmediately becomes a scene of great excitement--men hurrying to get\ntheir guns and ammunition, women shouting the direction of the game,\nand children running to the higher eminences to watch the herds.\n\nThe men endeavor to occupy a narrow defile, where the herd will pass\nbetween the hills to the level land beyond. Some station themselves at\nthe top of the ravine, while the swiftest runners hasten to the head of\nthe defile to lie in ambush until the deer, urged from behind, rush\npast, to be met with a volley of balls from all sides. Panic seizes the\nanimals, and wherever they turn an Indian confronts them. Until the deer\nrecover from their paralysis, and once more obey their instinct to\nescape, numbers of them stand quietly waiting to be slaughtered; others\nwalk unconcernedly about, seemingly deprived of the power of flight. The\nIndians hurriedly close upon them, and in a few minutes the entire herd\nis destroyed or dispersed in all directions.\n\nThe guns used on this occasion are the cheapest kind of muzzle-loading\nsingle-barreled shotguns. The balls used are of such size that they will\ndrop to the bottom of the chamber. No patching is used, and a jar on the\nground is deemed sufficient to settle the ball upon the powder. The\nemployment of a ramrod would require too much time, as the Indian is\nactuated by the desire to kill as many as possible in the shortest time.\nThey do not use the necessary care in loading their guns, and often the\nball becomes lodged in the chamber and the gun bursts when fired. When\nshooting downhill the ball often rolls out. It is surprising that so few\nfatal accidents occur. A\u00a0quantity of powder is poured directly into the\ngun from its receptacle, the ball dropped down, and a cap taken from\nbetween the fingers, where it was placed for convenience. Hunters often\npractice the motions of rapid loading and firing. They are remarkably\nexpert, surpassing the Eskimo in this, though the Eskimo is far the\nbetter marksman.\n\nA third method pursued is that of snaring the deer.\n\nA plan adopted to capture deer in the winter is as follows: A\u00a0herd of\ndeer is discovered, and men and women put on their snowshoes. The deer\nare surrounded and driven into a snowbank many feet deep, in which the\naffrighted animals plunge until they nearly bury themselves. The\nhunters, armed with the lance, pursue them and kill them. This means of\nprocuring deer is only adopted when the herd is near a convenient\nsnowbank of proper depth. The snow falling in the winter collects in\ngullies and ravines, and only in seasons where there has been an\nabundance of snow will it attain sufficient depth to serve the purpose.\n\nSmaller game, such as ducks, geese, ptarmigan, hares, rabbits,\nporcupines, beavers, and an occasional lynx, afford variety of food.\nPtarmigan are slaughtered by thousands. Hundreds of pounds of their\nfeathers annually purchase small trinkets for the Indian women, and\nduring this season it is unusual to see a woman without some feathers of\nthese birds adhering to her clothing or hair.\n\nThe women and men annually destroy thousands of the eggs and young of\nthese birds. Rabbits and hares, too, fall beneath the arrow or shotgun.\nPorcupines are more common toward the sources of the streams falling\ninto Hudson Strait. They are found in trees, from which they gnaw the\nbark and terminal portions of the branches for food. The porcupine must\nbe carefully cleaned lest the flesh be unfit for food. The hair and\nspines are removed by scorching or by pouring hot water over the body.\n\nOf the carnivorous mammals the lynx only is eaten, and this when other\nfood is scarce. Bears are so rare that they form but an unimportant\nportion of the Indian's diet. Wolverines, wolves, and foxes are never\neaten.\n\nFish of various kinds are plentiful. The lakes and streams abound with\nsalmon in summer, and trout, white fish, suckers, and a few less common\nspecies are eagerly sought for food. Fish are caught with the hook or\nnet. Fishing through holes in the ice affords an ample supply of fine\ntrout, and the net set along the shore upon the disappearance of the ice\nis sure to reap a rich haul of white fish, suckers, and trout.\n\nIn the preparation of the food little care is exercised to prevent its\ncoming in contact with objectionable substances. The deer meat is laid\nupon the stones of the beach and particles of grit imbed themselves in\nthe substance. The flesh for cooking is often dropped into the vessels\nin which the tallow or marrow is being rendered. Neither children nor\nadults have any regular periods of eating, but appear to be always\nhungry. It is thus not unusual to see a filthy child thrust its hand\ninto the cooling fat to obtain a choice portion of meat as it settles to\nthe bottom.\n\nThe dry meat is often pounded into a coarse powder by means of stone or\nmetal pestles. The meat is placed upon a smooth, hard stone for this\npurpose. The ligaments are picked out, and when a sufficient quantity\nhas been prepared it is put into baskets or bags and stored away for\nfuture use. The cracked bones from which the marrow was extracted are\ncalcined and reduced to powder and used as an absorbent of the fat from\nthe skins in the process of tanning.\n\nThe unborn young of the reindeer, taken from the mother in the spring,\nare considered a prime delicacy by Indians, as well as Eskimo. The eggs\nof various species of birds are eagerly sought for, and it matters\nlittle whether they are fresh or far advanced in incubation. The embryo\nbird, with the attached yolk of the egg, is swallowed with infinite\ngusto. The Indian seldom eats raw flesh unless dried meat be excepted.\n\nEnough has been written concerning the reindeer to show that without it\nthe very existence of the Indian would be imperiled. Both food and\nclothing, the prime necessities of life, are obtained from the animal,\nand its numbers do not seem to decrease with the merciless or\nthoughtless slaughter. Hundreds of carcases are never utilized.\nI\u00a0counted 173 carcases on one side of the river in going a distance of\nabout 80 miles, and when I came to their camps I saw incredible piles of\nmeat and skins going to waste. The winter months are occupied by men in\nhunting the various fur-bearing animals, the principal of which are\nwhite, red, cross, and black or silver foxes, martens, minks,\nwolverines, wolves, muskrats, and beavers: these are abundant. Few\nlynxes and bear are obtained. A\u00a0considerable number of others are found\nin this region and afford fine skins.\n\nSteel traps are generally set, various sizes of traps being used for the\ndifferent animals. A\u00a0great number of otter and beaver are shot in the\nwater. Deadfalls consisting of a log of wood set upon figure-4 triggers\nrarely fail to kill mink and marten. The lynx is usually taken by means\nof a snare with the loop over a circle of low pegs surrounding the\ntongue of the figure-4 set of triggers. The spring, usually a lithe\nsapling, is strong enough to lift the forelegs of the animal from the\nground when the noose encircles its neck.\n\nThe Indian conceives the wolverine to be an animal embodying all the\ncunning and mischief that can be contained in the skin of a beast. To\nits cunning is added great bodily strength, enabling this medium-sized\nanimal to accomplish destruction apparently much beyond its strength.\n\nEvery other animal in the forests where it dwells prefers to give it the\npath rather than engage in struggle with it. When seized in a trap a\nwolverine offers a sturdy resistance. Even a famished wolf, to my\npersonal knowledge, will stand and look at it, but not attempt to cope\nwith it. In this particular instance, however, the wolf may have\nconsidered the predicament of the wolverine another means of strategy\nemployed by that animal to entrap the wolf, and so deemed it wise to\nremain at a respectful distance.\n\nEvery form of torture which the Indian mind is capable of conceiving is\ninflicted upon this animal when it is captured. All manner of vile names\nand reproaches are applied to it. The Indian enjoys relating how he\nsinged its fur off, broke its bones, and tormented it in many ways,\nas it slowly expired under his hand.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 87.--Indian buckskin coat, man's (front).]\n\n\nCLOTHING.\n\nThe apparel worn by the Ungava Indians is quite distinct for the\ndifferent sexes. The method of preparing the skins for the manufacture\nof garments is the same, but the forms of the garments for the sexes are\nso different as to require special consideration.\n\nThe garments worn by the men differ somewhat according to the season of\nthe year, for the extremes of climate are very great. The clothing of\nthe men consists of a coat, breeches, leggings, moccasins, gloves or\nmittens, and cap or headdress.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 88.--Indian buckskin coat, man's (back).]\n\nThe coat consists of the skins of the reindeer tanned into a thoroughly\npliable condition by the process to be described presently.\n\nThe shape of the garment worn in summer (Figs. 87 and 88) is somewhat\nsimilar to that of a frock coat, but without the tails. The back is cut\nfrom a single skin and the skirt cut up from below. Into this is\ninserted a piece of sufficient width to allow movement of the lower\nlimbs. The sides are from the second skin, split down the middle of the\nback and sewed to the skin, forming the back of the garment. The back\nskin forms the covering for the top of the shoulders and extends to the\ncollar seam. The side skins form the front and neck of the garment. The\nsleeves are made of a third skin, and frequently have a roll or cuff to\nincrease the length, if necessary. The collar is merely a strip of skin\nsewed to the neck. It is usually turned down. The front is usually open,\nand if made to be closed it is held in position by a belt or gaudily\ncolored scarf of woolen or cotton purchased from the trader.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 89.--Detail of pattern painted on Indian\n garments.]\n\nThe seams of the clothing are always sewed with sinew like that used by\nthe Eskimo. There are but two seams which run the entire length of the\ncoat, and these are the side seams. The seam at the skirt, the armhole,\nsleeve, and collar are the shorter ones. The coat is always more or less\nornamented with extravagant painted designs. The colors and other\nmaterials used for painting these designs will be described in another\nconnection, as well as the manner of applying them.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 90.--Detail of pattern printed on deerskin\n robe.]\n\nThe patterns of these designs will be best understood by reference to\nthe figures, which show some of them in detail (Figs. 89,\u00a090).\n\nThe colors used often present startling combinations of red, blue,\nyellow, and brown. The portions of the garments upon which these colors\nare placed are the front edges of the opening of the coat, the wrists,\nand rings around the arms or sleeves, the skirt and pyramid-shaped\ndesigns over the hips. The piece intended to widen the skirt behind is\nalways entirely covered with a design of some kind. Over the outside of\nthe seams a line of paint is always applied, nearly always of a red or\nbrown color.\n\nFrequently a series of quadrate blotches or squares produced by\nvariously colored lines runs from the apex of the piece inserted in the\nskirt to the collar.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 91.--Indian buckskin leggings.]\n\nThe length of the coat is such as to reach to the middle of the thigh.\nThe coverings for the lower limbs and for the hips are quite distinct.\nFor the hips the garment is a sort of breeches of which the legs are so\nshort as only to cover the upper portion of the thigh. The breeches are\nheld in place by means of a drawstring in front.\n\nA pair of these breeches is never ornamented with paint, as they are\nusually not exposed to view.\n\nA pair of leggings extends from the upper portion of the thigh to the\nankles. The leggings (Fig.\u00a091) are each made of a single piece somewhat\nin the form of a narrow bag open at each end. They are held in position\nby means of a string attached in front and fastened to the upper\nportions of the breeches. The seam is on the outer side of the leggings\nand along it is sewed a strip of deerskin having the edges cut into\nfringe. The leggings are painted in much the same fashion as the coat.\n\nThe moccasins (Fig. 92) are rarely ornamented, except with beads on the\ntongue or else with a strip of red, blue, or black cloth.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 92.--Indian moccasins.]\n\nIn the construction of a moccasin the measure of the foot is taken if it\nis intended for a person of importance or if the maker attempts to do\nskillful work. The sole is cut out first in the shape of a\nparallelogram. The edges are turned up and creases made around that\nportion of the deerskin which surrounds the toes and a part of the side\nof the foot. The creases are made perpendicular in order to take up a\nportion of the slack of the skin. They are held in position by a stout\nsinew thread run through each one and around to the other side to\nprevent them from separating and thus \"bagging\" over the toes. This is\nthe most particular part of the work and on these stitches depend the\nskill of the maker. The sides of the foot and heel are not creased as\nthe heel-seam takes up the slack for the posterior portion of the\nmoccasin.\n\nThe tongue of the moccasin is a piece cut into a shape resembling that\nmember with the tip of it over the toes. This is sewed to the edges of\nthe creases, and between it and the creases is often sewed a narrow welt\nof skin or cloth. The superfluous edges of the slipper-shaped shoe are\nnow trimmed off, and the top, or portion to cover the ankle, is sewed\non. This portion is a long narrow strip of inferior skin of sufficient\nsize to overlap in front and to come well above the ankles. It is left\nopen like the tops of laced shoes. Just below, or at the edge of the\ntops, a\u00a0long thong of deerskin is inserted through several holes, which\nallows it to pass around the heel and below the ankles, bringing the\nends in front over the tongue. The ends of the tops are laid carefully\nover one another and wrapped round by the ends of the thongs which hold\nthe moccasins on the feet.\n\nCertain portions of the skin make better footwear than other parts. The\nneck skin is too thick and stiff to allow the creases around the toes to\nbe properly made; the flanks are too thin; while the neck is useful for\nthe tongues, the sides for the bottoms, and the flanks and portions of\nthe back, scarred by the grubs infesting the animal, for the tops and\nstrings.\n\nMoccasins for young children often have a seam parallel with the toes\nand the creasing is thus obviated. Those for wearing in the tent or in\nthe dry vicinity of the camp have no tops and are held to the foot by\nmeans of a drawstring.\n\nAs most of the strain in walking comes upon the tongue, and this portion\nis usually ornamented, it is necessary that it should be of a good\nquality of leather. A\u00a0piece of black, blue, or red cloth is generally\nlaid over the tongue for ornament. There is sometimes bead work on this\nportion, but as these people are not skillful in the art of disposing\nthe many colored beads they are not much used for that purpose.\n\nA single deerskin will make five to seven pairs of moccasins for an\nadult, and as they last but two or three weeks as many as fifteen to\ntwenty-five pairs are necessary for each adult.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 93.--Indian mittens.]\n\nThe hands are protected with mittens (Fig. 93) made of smoked deerskin.\nThe skin is folded, and along the fold the shape of the mitten is cut so\nas to leave a part by which the two pieces are joined, and the edges\nformed in the cutting are sewed together. The thumb is made as follows:\nA\u00a0tongue-shaped piece is cut out of the palm and the base of that piece\nis left as the part to form the under or inner covering for the thumb.\nA\u00a0piece is now trimmed that will fit the place cut out and the two parts\nsewed together.\n\nThe thumb of the Indian is, as a rule, shorter than that of the white\nman, and a pair of native-made mittens are quite uncomfortable until the\nthumb portion has been recut and sewed. The wrists of the mittens are\noften gaudily ornamented with strips of red or black cloth. Designs of\nsimple character, such as lines and cross lines producing lattice-work\nfigures, are frequently painted on the back of the mitten. Beads in rows\nand zigzag lines ornament the wrist, and strands of beads are pendant\nfrom the outside seams. The strands are often tipped with tassels of\nvariegated woolen threads. The mittens intended for severe weather are\noften lined with the thin skin of a foetal reindeer, which has short,\nsoft hair. Great exertion often causes the hands to perspire and moisten\nthe hair, and this freezes the instant the mitten is removed from the\nhand, and is liable to freeze the fingers within it.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 94.--Beaded headband. Nenenot.]\n\nThe head-dress of the men for the summer is often a large cotton\nhandkerchief wound turban-fashion around the head to prevent the long\nhair from blowing over the face. These handkerchiefs are of the most\ngaudy patterns, and if they are not worn a simple thong of deerskin\nserves the purpose. The girls and newly married wives often make bands\nof beads, some of which are quite attractively designed, for their\nlovers or husbands. These bands are about an inch wide and several\ninches long. The ends are lengthened with strips of skin. The band is\nplaced over the forehead and tied by the strings behind. These headbands\nare generally the most intricate designs of bead work which these\nIndians display (Fig.\u00a094).\n\nA cap of deerskin is often worn, but it always seems to be in the way,\nand is used mostly in wet weather. A\u00a0piece of stiff deerskin is\nsometimes made into the shape of a visor of a cap and worn over the eyes\nduring the spring when the glare of the sun on the snow produces such\ndistressing inflammation of the eyes. It is fastened to the head by\nmeans of straps tied behind. The greater part of the men prefer to go\nwithout head covering. Some who are able and love a display of fancy\ncolors have a cap made of red cloth and ornamented with beads worked\ninto extravagant patterns. The cap is a high conical affair, and from\nthe weight of beads upon it often falls to one side of the head.\n\nThe winter coat (Figs. 95, 96) worn by the males is of different pattern\nfrom that worn in summer, and is made of skins with the hair inside.\n\nTwo skins, one of which forms the back of the coat the other the front,\nare sewed by side seams running from the armpit to the bottom of the\nskirt. On the shoulder a seam runs to the neck on each side, the back\nskin extending high enough to form the neck while the other skin reaches\nto the neck in front. Here it is slightly cut out or slit for a distance\nof several inches to allow the insertion of the head through the neck\nhole.\n\nSometimes a =V=-shaped piece is inserted into the slit at the front of\nthe neck. To widen the skirts a similar shaped piece is let into the\nmiddle of the back skin; or it may be put between the side seams for the\nsame purpose. The bottom of the skirt is decorated. (Fig.\u00a097.)\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 95.--Man's winter coat (front).]\n\nAt the back of the neck a piece about 8 inches square is attached to the\ngarment. This sometimes serves as a collar, and sometimes it gives\nadditional protection by a double thickness to the shoulders, very often\nthe first part to feel the effect of the piercing winds.\n\nA few of the coats for winter have a hood attached to them (Fig. 98,\u00a099)\nsewed on the back of the neck, which when drawn over the head serves at\nonce as cap and protection.\n\nThe collar and hood are invariably made from the skins on the sides of\nthe head of the deer. If two or more head skins are required they are\nsewed into the form of the deer's head. The collar is ornamented with\nfringes cut from the edges of the skin. Sometimes the interscapular\nprotection is cut into three or four points, each one of which is the\ncheek skin of a deer, and sewed only a portion of the length, the\nremainder being left free and terminating with a series of long strands\nor fringes. The sleeves of these garments have nothing peculiar about\nthem.\n\nAs the Indian is always in the vicinity of the herds of deer it is an\neasy matter for him to obtain the skins when in best condition, and from\nthe finer skins superior garments are made. The shape of the Indian's\ncoat is not so well adapted to afford protection as that of the Eskimo;\nhence, the white men in this region invariably adopt the clothing of the\nlatter in cold weather.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 96.--Man's winter coat (back).]\n\nIndians eagerly accept any cast off garment which a white man has worn,\nand they often procure the clothing offered for trade. Trousers are in\nmuch demand. Coats are deemed great prizes, especially in the wet\nseasons when the moisture would certainly ruin their own clothing by\ncausing the hair to fall off or totally destroy the shape of the tanned\nskin garments. For underclothing the Indian man uses an additional suit\nof ordinary clothing or else dons a shirt procured from the trader.\nDrawers are rarely worn.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 97.--Detail of ornamentation.]\n\nThat these people are little susceptible to the effects of cold may be\ninferred from the fact that I have seen them come to the trading post of\nFort Chimo in the middle of winter when the thermometer had not\nregistered higher than 20\u00b0 below zero for weeks, with no protection for\ntheir legs except a pair of old buckskin leggings so short that the\nbottom did not reach within 3 or 4 inches of the dilapidated moccasins.\nThe feet were, so far as could be ascertained, chiefly protected by a\nwrapping of old baling cloth covered with a pair of moccasins which no\nwhite man would have been seen wearing. I\u00a0observed also that no\nadditional clothing was purchased for the return trip.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 98.--Man's winter coat, with hood.]\n\nThe garments worn by the women in the warmer season consists of thin\ndresses of calico purchased from the traders. Thin shawls serve to\nprotect the head and shoulders. The feet are incased in moccasins. Some\nof the women are able to purchase dresses of cloth, and these are cut\ninto a semblance of the dresses worn by the women of civilized\ncountries. It is not rare to see a woman wearing a skirt made from the\ntanned skin of the deer. The lower portions of the skirt are often\nfancifully ornamented with lines and stripes of paint of various colors,\nextending entirely around the garment. A\u00a0piece of baling cloth is often\nfashioned into a skirt and worn.\n\nThe females appear to be less susceptible to the sudden changes of the\nsummer weather than the men. At least they exhibit less concern about\nthe thickness of their apparel. It is not unusual to see a woman whose\nonly clothing appears to be a thin dress of calico. During the winter\nthe women dress in the most comfortable skins (Fig. 100), blankets,\nshawls, comforts, leggings, and moccasins. During exceptionally severe\nweather, they appear as traveling wardrobes, doubtless carrying their\nall on their back, and in some instances presenting a most comical\nappearance as, loaded with clothing of most miscellaneous character,\nthey waddle over the snow. The winter cap is similar to that worn by the\nmen, but is not so peaked. It is an object on which they expend a great\namount of labor. The material is usually a kind of cloth locally known\nas Hudson bay cloth, either red, dark blue, light blue, or black. The\ncaps of the men and women are usually made from the better grades of\nthis cloth, while the dresses of the women and the leggings of the men\nare of the inferior grades.\n\nIf the cap is to be all one color, in which case it is always red, the\ncloth is cut in two pieces only, and put together so as to produce a\ncup-shape. Sometimes five or six pieces are cut from two or three\ndifferent colors of cloth and the strips sewed together. Over the seams\nwhite tape is sewed to set off the colors. In the center of the strip is\na rosette, cross, or other design worked with beads, and around the rim\nrows of beads variously arranged.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 99.--Man's winter coat, with hood.]\n\nThe body is covered with a heavy robe made of two deerskins sewed\ntogether. This robe is often plain, and when ornamented designs are\npainted only on the bottom of the skirt. These robes are always of skins\nwith the hair on. The flesh side is often rubbed with red ocher while\nthe extreme edge may be painted with a narrow stripe of the same mixed\nwith the viscid matter obtained from the roe of a species of fish. The\nedge stripe of paint is always of a darker brown than the other colors\nfrom the admixture of that substance with the earth.\n\nThis garment is put upon the body in a manner impossible to describe and\ndifficult to understand even when witnessed. It is held together by\nsmall loops of sinew or deerskin. A\u00a0belt around the waist keeps it up.\n\nThe women also wear in winter a sleeveless gown reaching little below\nthe knees and as high as the chin. The sleeves are put on separately,\nlike leggings. They are usually made of red or black cloth.\n\nThe gown is often extravagantly decorated with paint. The flesh side of\nthe skin is rubbed with red ocher, on which are painted in describable\ndesigns. A\u00a0strip of deerskin dotted with beads borders the gown, and\nfrom the edge of the strip hang strings of these ornaments, terminating\nin variously colored tassels of thread.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 100.--Nenenot woman in full winter dress.]\n\nThe leggings of the women differ from those of the men. They extend\nhigher and the bottoms cover the tops of the moccasins. They are made of\nskin or cloth, the latter black or red. To cut out a pair of leggings\nrequires skill. The cloth is doubled and then cut nearly in a circular\nform. A\u00a0size sufficient to fit the limb is sewed up leaving the\ncrescent-shaped remainder a flapping ornament. The \"wings\" are often\nedged with cloth of a different color and on the outer border rows of\nbeads complete the decoration. The two crescents are left free, and as\nthe wind separates them they flap most fantastically. They are always\nworn so as to be on the outer side of the legs. The bottoms of the\nleggings are heavily loaded with numerous rows of fancy beads.\n\nMoccasins are alike for both sexes.\n\nAs additional protection from cold the shoulders are covered with a\nmantle of soft skins from young deer. Blankets purchased from the\ntraders are also sometimes thrown over the shoulders or around the\nwaist.\n\nChildren are clad like adults, excepting that their apparel is less\ncarefully made and they often present a disgusting appearance, with\ntheir clothing glazed with filth and glistening with vermin.\n\nInfants usually have their garments made in the \"combination\" form.\nThe cap forms a separate piece and is fitted so closely that it is not\nremoved until the growth of the head bursts the material of which the\ncap is made.\n\nWhen traveling men and women smoke or snuff a good deal. Tobacco and a\nfew other necessary articles are carried in a bag known as \"fire bag.\"\nThese are made of cloth and trimmed with beads, and are often quite\ntastefully ornamented.\n\nThe detailed figures which I have presented show much better than any\ndescription the designs used in ornamenting their clothing. Some of the\npatterns are rude copies of the designs found upon cheap handkerchiefs,\nscarfs, and other printed fabrics.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 101.--Sealskin headband. Nenenot.]\n\nI have already spoken of the headbands worked for the men by their wives\nand sweethearts. Such a headband, made of sealskin procured from the\nEskimo, is shown in Fig. 101 (No.\u00a03449). The headband is used to support\nthe weight of a load carried on the back, relieving the strain on the\nshoulders and making it easier to breathe. The band passes over the\nforehead to the back, where it is attached to the load. Various forms of\nthese headbands or portage straps are made. Sometimes a piece of birch\nbark is placed under the strap where it touches the forehead. It is said\nthat the bark does not become wet from the moisture induced by the\nsevere exertion and thus burn the head.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 102.--Skin scraper (front). Nenenot.]\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 103.--Skin scraper (back). Nenenot.]\n\n\nPREPARATION OF THE SKINS FOR CLOTHING.\n\nHaving now given a general description of the clothing of the Nenenot, I\nmay proceed to describe the process of preparing the skins of which this\nclothing is made. The skins of the deer, which are to be converted into\nbuckskin and parchment, are laid to one side in a heap, just as they\ncame from the bodies of the animals or after they have gone through a\nprocess to be subsequently described.\n\nWhen the skins have laid in this heap for several days decomposition\nsets in and loosens the hair so it will readily pull out. When the pelt\nis ready for scraping it is thrown over a round stick of wood some 3 or\n4 inches in diameter and 3 or 4 feet long, one end of which rests on the\nground while the other is pressed against the abdomen of the woman who\nis doing the work. Then she takes a tool like a spoke shave (Figs. 102,\n103, No. 3162) made from the radius of the deer, by cutting a slice off\nthe middle part of the back of the bone, so as to make a sharp edge\nwhile the untouched ends serve for handles, and with this scrapes off\nthe loosened hair.\n\nThe sharp edge of the bone instrument coming against the hairs pushes or\npulls them out but does not cut the skin.\n\nThe flesh side of the pelt is now worked to free it from particles of\nflesh and blood, together with as much of the moisture in the skin as\nmay be hastily done, for if the person has a great number of skins to\nattend to she must work rapidly lest they decompose too much and\nputrefy.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 104.--Skin-cleaning tool. Nenenot.]\n\nWhere the hunter has great success in killing deer many of the skins are\nleft untouched because there is no one to attend to them and they are\nthus wasted.\n\nWhen the pelts of the deer or other large animals have been taken from\nthe carcass they are allowed to dry with the adherent flesh, fat, and\nligaments until a convenient opportunity occurs to remove those portions\nfrom the skin, which must be moistened to permit them to be more readily\nscraped off. If the fresh skins are to be cleaned immediately, they are\noperated upon in the same manner as those previously dried. All the\nskins of fur-bearing animals and those furnishing skins for clothing and\nother purposes must be scraped, otherwise they would soon be soiled by\nthe infiltration of the fat among the hairs.\n\nTo remove the adherent particles on the flesh side of the skin a\npeculiar instrument has been devised. The tibia, or large bone of the\nhind leg of the reindeer, is used for this purpose (Fig. 104). The\npeculiar shape of the bone renders it particularly well adapted to form\na combination of saw, chisel, and gouge at the same time. The lower\nportion of the bone is cut squarely off. A\u00a0part of one side of the\nremainder is cut so as to leave one side (the inner side of the bone) in\nthe shape of a chisel, having either a straight edge or else slightly\nrounded. On this edge are cut a number of fine notches, which give the\nedge of the instrument a serrated form. Some of the bones have a\nspatula-shaped piece of iron or steel cut with the serrations upon it\nand the metal piece set in the cavity of the bone. If the leg of a deer\nis not convenient a wooden handle shaped like the long handle of a\nmortising chisel is fashioned, and to it is affixed the metal point by\nmeans of stout lashings (Fig. 105). Around the upper portion of the\nwooden shaft a notch or groove is cut, and in this is tied a stout thong\nin such manner as to form a loop to prevent the hand from slipping down\nthe smooth bone when the blow is struck.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 105.--Skin-cleaning tool, iron-bladed.\n Nenenot.]\n\nThe manner of using this instrument is peculiar and effective. The skin\nis thrown, with the flesh side up, over a stake 2 or 3 feet high driven\nfirmly into the ground. The person kneels down before the stake, and\nwhen the skin is placed so as to afford a convenient portion to begin\nupon, an edge is taken between the fingers of the left hand and lifted\nslightly from the ground. A\u00a0blow is given with the tool which separates\nthe subcutaneous tissue, and by rightly directed blows this may be\nseparated from the skin entire. The skin is then laid aside for further\nworking. The subcutaneous tissue is washed and dried, after which it is\nused for a variety of purposes, such as coverings for bundles of dried\nmeat and other articles.\n\nThe skin is worked over with this instrument to free it from a portion\nof its moisture and is now ready to receive the tanning material which\nconsists of a mixture of putrefying brain, liver, and fat. They\nsometimes soak the skin in wine, which is reputed to add greatly to the\nlasting qualities of the leather, but the odor of that liquid lasts as\nlong as the skin.\n\nThe tanning material is laid on the flesh side of the skin in a thin\nlayer and by rubbing with the hands it is well worked in. Several hours\nor days elapse and the superfluous matter is scraped off. The skin is\nthen scraped and rubbed between the hands, the harder portions with a\nscraper resembling a small scoop, until all the skin is worked into a\npliable condition. If the skin is yet too oily a quantity of powdered\nchalk, clay, calcined bone, or even flour, is thoroughly rubbed over it\nto absorb any fatty matter yet remaining.\n\nThe skins having the hair on, for clothing, or those intended for\nbuckskin, are treated in this manner. Those intended for parchment are\nsimply rubbed with a quantity of fat, and then allowed to dry in that\ncondition, being of a yellowish or pale glue color.\n\nWhere a great number of skins have to be prepared, and some of the more\nenergetic men have as many as two or three hundred buckskins and\nparchment skins for the spring trade, a\u00a0constant application to this\nlabor is necessary in order to prepare them in season. This, in a\nmanner, accounts for the number of wives which an energetic or wealthy\nman may have in order that the products of the chase falling to his\nshare may be promptly attended to.\n\nWhen the skins intended for sale are selected they are bundled up and\ncovered with parchment skins or the subcutaneous tissue.\n\nThe skins intended for use among themselves are generally inferior\ngrades, such as those cut in the skinning process, or else those\nobtained in the earlier or the later part of the season.\n\nA species of gad fly infests the deer, puncturing the skin on both sides\nof the spine, and depositing within the wound an egg which in time is\ntransformed into a grub or larva. These larv\u00e6 attain the size of the\nfirst joint of the little finger, and at the opening of the spring\nweather work their way through the skin and fall to the ground, where\nthey undergo metamorphoses to become perfect insects.\n\nA single animal may have hundreds of these grubs encysted beneath the\nskin, which, on their exit, leave a deep suppurating cavity, which heals\nslowly. The skin forming the cicatrices does not have the same texture\nas the untouched portions.\n\nWhen the skin is dressed it reveals these scars, and of course, the\nvalue of the skin is diminished according to their number. The Indian\noften endeavors to conceal them by rubbing flour or chalk over them.\n\nThe season when the skins are in the best condition is from September to\nthe middle of December. The freshly deposited eggs have not yet produced\nlarv\u00e6 of sufficient size to injure the skin, and the wounds produced by\nthose dropping out in the month of May have healed and left the skin in\ncondition.\n\nCertain skins intended for special purposes must be smoked. The process\nof smoking tends to render it less liable to injury from moisture.\nThe pyroligneous vapors act as antiseptics and thus at least retard\ndecomposition of those articles most exposed to wet. The tents and foot\nwear are always tanned with the smoke and this process is always\nsubsequent to that of bringing the skins into the pliable condition.\n\nThe process adopted by these Indians in smoking the deerskins is as\nfollows: The woods are searched for rotten wood of a special character.\nIt must be affected with a kind of dry rot which renders the fibers of a\nspongy nature. This is procured and thoroughly dried. The skins to be\nsmoked are selected and two of nearly the same size and condition are\nchosen, and sewed into the form of a bag with the hairy side within. The\nafter portions of the skin are suspended from a convenient pole and the\nhead and neck portions left free or open. To the edges of these is sewed\na cloth, usually a piece of baling cloth, and this is also left open.\nThe rotten wood is placed in a pan or vessel and as it smolders, never\nburning into a blaze, the pale, blue, pungent smoke is allowed to ascend\nwithin the cavity of the deerskin bag. The cloth is merely to form a\nconduit for the smoke as the skin should not be too near the fire.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 106.--Paint stick. Nenenot.]\n\nAs the process continues the skins are inspected between the stitches of\nthe sewing and when the operation has progressed sufficiently they are\ntaken down. It will now be found that the surface has assumed a pale,\nclear brown color, the shade of which depends on the length of the\nexposure to the smoke.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 107.]\n\nThe cloth is removed and the skins are immediately folded, with the\nsmoked side within, and laid away for several days to season. If,\nhowever, the skin be left to the influence of the air the coloring\nmatter immediately disappears leaving it of a color only slightly\ndifferent from what it was before it was smoked.\n\nThe scars, made by the larv\u00e6 of the insects, do not \"take\" the smoke as\nwell as the healthy portions and so present a pitted or scaly\nappearance. From the skins having an abundance of the scars are made the\ntents and inferior grades of moccasins and the tops of the better class\nof footwear.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 108.--Paint stick, Nenenot.]\n\nThe paints used for decorating the buckskin garments are applied by\nmeans of bits of bone or horn of a peculiar shape best understood from\nthe figures (Figs. 106-110).\n\nThose with two, three or four tines are used for making the complicated\npatterns of parallel lines, and are always made of antler, while the\nsimple form is sometimes of wood.\n\nA block of wood with one or more bowl-shaped cavities cut in it (Fig.\n111) serves to hold the mixed paints, especially when several colors are\nto be used in succession.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 109.--Paint stick. Nenenot.]\n\nSmall wooden bowls are also employed. (Figs. 112-113.)\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 110.--Paint stick. Nenenot.]\n\nThe pigments used are procured from different sources. From the traders\nare obtained indigo in the crude condition or in the form of washing\nblue, vermilion in small buckskin bags, and a few other colors. An\nabundance of red earth occurs in several localities. The pigments are\nreduced to the finest possible condition and kneaded with the fingers\nuntil ready for the addition of water often mixed with a slight quantity\nof oil or tallow. A\u00a0favorite vehicle for the paint is the prepared roe\nof a sucker (_Catastomus_) abounding in the waters of the district.\nThe female fish are stripped of the mass of ova which is broken up in a\nvessel and the liquid strained through a coarse cloth. The color is a\nfaint yellow which becomes deeper with age. The fluid is allowed to dry\nand when required for use is dissolved in water. It has then a\nsemiviscid consistence and in this condition is mixed with the various\npigments. When a yellowish color is desired the fish-egg preparation is\napplied alone. The albumen gives sufficient adhesive quality to the\npaint and produce a rich glaze, giving a good effect to the otherwise\ndull colors.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 111.--paint cup. Nenenot.]\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 112.--paint cup. Nenenot.]\n\nThe process of preparing the crude mineral colors is quite tedious as\nthe attrition is produced by rubbing the substance between two smooth\nstones, a\u00a0little water occasionally being added to hold the particles\ntogether. The prepared paints are put in the vessels already described,\nand when ready for use a quantity is taken with the finger and placed in\nthe palm of the hand while the other fingers hold the instrument by\nwhich it is to be applied. The paint stick is carefully drawn through\nthe thin layer of paint spread on the other palm and a quantity,\ndepending on the thickness of the layer, adheres to the edges of the\nappliance and by a carefully guided motion of the hand the lines desired\nare produced. The eye alone guides the drawing, however intricate it may\nbe. The artist frequently attempts to imitate some of the delicate\ndesigns on a gaudy bandana handkerchief or some similar fabric. The\nprincipal source of the hematite is a lake near the headwaters of\nGeorge's river where it occurs as a mass of disintegrated rock along the\nmargin. The water has by freezing split great quantities from the mass\nand when there is a strong wind from the opposite direction the water is\noften lashed into a blood-red foam.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 113.--Paint cup. Nenenot.]\n\n\nDWELLINGS.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 114.--Nenenot Indian tent.]\n\nThe Nenenot live, both in summer and in winter, in deerskin tent, (see\nFig. 114), which are constructed in the following manner: A\u00a0sufficient\nnumber of small poles cut from the woods are deprived of their branches\nand brought to the camp site. A\u00a0location is selected and the poles are\nerected in a circle, with tops leaning toward the center so as to form a\ncone 10 to 14 feet in height, having a diameter at its base of from 10\nto 18 feet. The skins forming the cover are those of the reindeer,\nand those selected for this purpose are usually of an inferior grade.\nA\u00a0sufficient number are sewed together to form a strip long enough to\nreach around the poles when set up. As the tents differ in size\naccording to the number of people who occupy them, the skins sewed\ntogether may be from eight to twelve. The first strip is made for the\nlower part of the poles and is attached to them by means of strings\nfastened within. A\u00a0second strip is made to go around the upper part of\nthe poles, and is, of course, correspondingly shorter. It is placed last\nso as to overlap the lower breadth and thus prevent rain and snow from\nblowing in. The door is usually made of one large skin or two smaller\nones. It is tied to the poles at the upper corners and at the lower has\na small log of wood as a weight to prevent it from flapping. The poles\nat the apex are not covered and through them the smoke from the fire\nbuilt in the center within ascends and finds exit.\n\nThe interior of the tent is arranged to suit the occupants. The floor is\nusually covered with the branches of young spruce, and when carefully\nlaid these form an admirable protection from the cold ground and a soft\ncarpeting.\n\nThe women who lay this flooring display great taste, and certain of them\nare noted for their skill in disposing the branches. The center of the\ntent is reserved for the fire which is built there among a few stones.\n\nThe occupants arrange themselves according to the importance of the\nplace they occupy in the family. The owner or head man is always to be\nfound on the side opposite the fire. This is considered a place of\nhonor, to which all guests who are to be complimented are invited to a\nseat.\n\nThe other members of the group arrange themselves along the sides of the\ntent, and those who have been adopted into the family occupy positions\nnext the doorway.\n\nOver the fire may be poles reaching across the tent, and on these will\nbe suspended kettles and pots obtained from the traders. The cooking\nutensils are few in number, one vessel serving various purposes.\n\nThe hunting gear and the skins of animals, together with the articles\nbelonging to the females may be seen suspended from various portions of\nthe interior. Around the edges are the blankets of deerskin, and those\nbought from the traders, lying in disorder. The outer edge of the\ninterior is slightly raised above the center, and affords a convenient\nslope for those who desire to sleep. The occupants always sleep with\ntheir feet toward the fireplace, around which there is no brush, lest it\nbe set on fire during sleep and destroy the tent.\n\nThey have regular hours for sleeping, but as these are only for a period\nof short duration, it is not unusual to find half the inmates asleep at\nany time a tent is visited.\n\nThe preparation of the food appears to go on at all times, and there are\nno regular hours for partaking of their meals, as each person eats when\nconvenient. The food is taken directly from the pot or kettle, and each\none helps himself. Forks are not used, and the food is divided with a\nknife or torn with the fingers.\n\n\nSWEAT HOUSES.\n\nThe Nenenot are in the habit of taking steam baths, for which purpose\nthey use a sudatory or sweat house, constructed as follows: A\u00a0number of\nflexible poles of small size, usually willow or alder, which grow to\nsufficient size along the banks of the streams, are bent to form a\nhemispherical or dome-shaped structure, which is covered with tent\nskins. A\u00a0sandy locality is selected or one free from snow in winter, and\na fierce fire is built. When it is well under way a number of stones are\nthrown into the fire to heat. When the heat is sufficient the fire is\nremoved and the structure is quickly erected over the hot stones and\nsome one from the outside fastens down the edges of the tenting with\nstones to prevent the loss of heat. A\u00a0kettle of water previously placed\nwithin the bath house is used to pour over the stones, when heat rises\nto a suffocating degree and produces the desired perspiration. Water is\nnot used to bathe in, though sometimes a slight quantity is poured upon\nthe head only. The bather remains within the hut until the heat has\nnearly exhausted him.\n\nThese baths are frequently taken, and often when he has just started on\na journey the head of the family will be seized with a desire to have a\nbath. Everything must await this operation before the journey is\nresumed.\n\nAn amusing incident occurred at Fort Chimo in the spring of 1882. That\nseason the reindeer were extremely numerous at that place, as they were\ncrossing to go to the northeast to drop the fawns. Often when the herds\nor bands were panic stricken they rushed among the Indian tents, the\nhouses of the station, and, in fact, everywhere, with yelping dogs and\nscreaming women and children at their heels. An old man and wife were in\nthe sweat house at a time when a very large drove of the deer, in their\nfrantic endeavors to escape their pursuers, headed directly for the\nbath. Some one screamed to the occupants to look out for the deer. The\nman and wife made their exit just as a score or more of the animals\nreached the spot. The man tore up the tenting of the bath house and\nwhirled it in the air, while the old woman cut the most astonishing\nantics. The whole population witnessed the occurrence and did not fail\nto help increase the tumult. Signs of former sudatories are quite common\nalong the paths where the Indians have traveled for many years.\n\n\nHOUSEHOLD UTENSILS, ETC.\n\nEach household is supplied with sundry wooden vessels of various sizes\n(Fig. 115) which serve for buckets for holding water and for drinking\ncups. They are made of strips of thin boards cut from spruce or from\nlarch trees, the wider strips being as much as six inches wide and\none-third of an inch thick. They are steamed and bent into ovoid or\ncircular forms and the ends of the strip overlapping. Then they are\nsewed with split roots from those trees. A\u00a0groove is cut near the lower\nedge and into it is placed a dish-shaped piece of wood for a bottom.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 115.--Wooden bucket, Nenenot.]\n\nThese vessels are identical in shape and function with those\nmanufactured by the Yukon river Indians of Alaska.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 116.--Birchbark basket, Nenenot.]\n\nThey also use berry-dishes or baskets like Fig. 116 made from the bark\nof the spruce peeled in the spring of the year. At this time the bark is\nquite flexible and may be bent into the desired shape. The corners are\nsewed with coarse roots from the same tree and the rim is strengthened\nby a strip of root sewed over and around it by means of a finer strand.\nThese baskets serve a good purpose when the women are picking berries,\nof which they are inordinately fond; and during that season it is a\nrarity to see a woman or man without a mouth stained the peculiar blue\ncolor which these berries impart.\n\nBaskets of this shape frequently have a top of buckskin sewed to them,\nclosed with a drawstring, as shown in Fig. 117 (No.\u00a03485). Such things\nserve to hold trinkets and other small articles.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 117.--Birchbark basket, Nenenot.]\n\nLarge objects are carried in bags, either long or basket-shaped, made of\nthe skins of deer legs. The leg skins are scraped and worked to a\nmoderate degree of pliability and their edges sewed together until a\nsufficient number have been joined to make the bag of the required size.\nThis bag is used to hold the clothing, furs, and other valuables. When\non a trip they are invariably carried. If the journey be performed on\nfoot the two ends are tied with a thong and the bag thrown over the\nshoulder.\n\nIn preparing food stone pestles of various sizes were formerly used of\nthe shape shown in Fig. 118. These pestles are now mostly out of date\nand superseded by cast-iron ones with steel faces, procured from the\ntraders. The metal pounders, however, are so heavy that they are\nobjectionable to people who have to make their burdens on the portages\nas light as possible.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 118.--Stone pestle, Nenenot.]\n\nSpoons to lift pieces of floating meat from the hot liquor in which it\nis cooked, are made of reindeer antler and of wood. The pattern of these\nspoons is shown in the figures (Fig. 119). One shape (No.\u00a03351, Figs.\n120, 121, 122), was perhaps copied from a civilized ladle. Pots are\nsuspended over the fire with pothooks of reindeer antler hung up by a\nloop of thong. These pothooks are also made of wood.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 119.--Wooden spoon or ladle, Nenenot.]\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 120.--Wooden spoon or ladle, Nenenot.]\n\n [Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY ELEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XXXVIII\n\n STONE TOBACCO PIPES.]\n\n\nTOBACCO AND PIPES.\n\nLike all other Indians, these people are inordinately fond of tobacco\nfor smoking, chewing, and snuff; the latter, however, is used only by\naged individuals, especially the females, whose countenances show the\neffect in a manner quite disgusting. The men consider a supply of\ntobacco of as much importance as the supply of ammunition for the\nprosecution of the chase. The first request upon meeting an Indian is\nthat you furnish him with a chew or a pipe full. Little satisfactory\nintercourse can be had with him until he is mollified by a gift of\ntobacco. The first thing that an Indian receives when arriving at the\ntrading post is a clay pipe and a plug of tobacco. The pint of molasses\nand the three or four hard biscuit (which have received the local name\nof 'Canadian padlock,' doubtless because they are so difficult to open),\nare of secondary consideration. When the spring arrivals are camped at\nthe station it is not unusual for several to contribute a number of\nplugs of tobacco and a gallon of molasses. These are boiled together and\nthen water is added to the mixture. This villainous compound is drunk\nuntil a state of stupefaction ensues. The muddled creature under the\ninfluence of that liquor seems like an idiot. The effect is terrible and\ndoes not wear away for several days. The pipes used for smoking are made\nof stone obtained from river pebbles, usually a fine-grained compact\nsandstone. The color of this stone varies from a dark reddish brown\nnearly the color of clotted blood to a lighter shade of that color. The\nred stones often have spots of every size and shape of a yellowish drab\nwhich form a strange contrast with the darker colors. The darker the\nstone the less spotting it will have. The best of all the pipes and\nthose most valued are of greenish sandstone having strata of darker\ncolors which appear as beautiful graining when the pipe is cut into form\nand polished.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 121.--Wooden spoon or ladle, Nenenot.]\n\nOther pipes are of hard slate and very dark without markings. All the\nmaterial is hard and the effect of the fire within renders them harder\nand liable to crack if used in very cold weather. These pipes vary but\nlittle in shape (I\u00a0have figured three--Pl. XXXVIII and Fig. 123--to show\nthe pattern), but there is considerable difference in size. The largest\nones are made of the green stone, while the smaller ones are made of\nother stones. The stem is of spruce wood and is prepared by boring a\nsmall hole through the stick lengthwise and whittling it down to the\nrequired size. It is from 4 to 8 inches long and is often ornamented\nwith a band of many colored beads.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 122.--Wooden spoon or ladle, Nenenot.]\n\nThe rough stone for a pipe is selected and chipped into crude form.\nThe successive operations of wearing it down to the desired size are\naccomplished by means of a coarse file or a harder stone. The amount of\nlabor bestowed upon a pipe consumes several days' time before the final\npolish is given.\n\nThe value set upon these pipes is according to the color of the stone,\nas much as the amount of labor expended in making them. They are always\nfilthy, partly on account of the bad quality of tobacco used. The ashes\nand other accumulations within are removed by means of a bodkin-shaped\ninstrument of bone or horn. The back of a broken horn comb is a favorite\nmaterial for making a decorated pipe-cleaner (Fig. 124). The\nornamentations consist of cruciform and quadrate figures on the handle.\nThe tobacco used for smoking is the commonest black plug of very\ninferior quality, soaked with molasses and licorice. This moist tobacco\nis cut into pieces and a coal of fire placed upon it. They prefer this\nquality, and purchase the lighter and drier kinds only to serve as\nkindling for the darker sort.\n\nThey do not know how to brew or ferment liquors of any kind, and as the\nimportation of intoxicants is wisely prohibited, the native has no\nopportunity to indulge in his craving for liquors, the supply of which\nwas plentiful in former years. A\u00a0spruce beer is made by the servants of\nthe company for the holidays, and a taste is sometimes given to a\nfavorite Indian, who is so easily affected that a pint of this mild beer\nwill send him reeling and happy to his tent, where it soon becomes known\nthat beer is to be had. The importunities for drink are now so frequent,\nthat the barrel must be emptied of its contents in order to avoid the\nconstant beggings for it.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 123.--Stone tobacco pipe.]\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 124.--Pipecleaner, Nenenot.]\n\n [Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY ELEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XXXIX\n\n BIRCH-BARK CANOE, NENENOT, KOKSOAK RIVER PATTERN.]\n\n\nMEANS OF TRANSPORTATION.\n\nBY WATER.\n\nAll the Indians of this region use birch-bark canoes, of the pattern\nshown in the figure (Pl.\u00a0XXXIX, from a photograph; the collection also\ncontains six wooden models of these canoes). The style of canoe used by\nthe Little Whale river Indians of the eastern side of Hudson bay has\nvery much more sheer at the bow and stern than those used in the valley\nof the Koksoak. The canoe of each individual differs from others\naccording to the personal taste or need of the maker. The requirements\nare that the canoe shall be able to transport himself and family,\ntogether with the household property, whenever it is desired to change\ncamps. Some of the canoes are small, others large, often possessed by\ntwo or more individuals in common.\n\nThese canoes are constructed in the following manner: Trees are selected\nwhich when split will afford a number of straight-grained slats free\nfrom knots. These slats are shaved to the required thickness and laid\naside to season. They are 3 or 4 inches wide and less than one-third of\nan inch in thickness. The exterior or longitudinal strips are placed so\nthat their edges will touch each other. The inside strips or ribs are\nplaced about their own width apart, and of course are placed at right\nangles to the longitudinal slats. They are thinner than the side strips\nand become almost like shavings at the bow and stern. The two layers of\nslats form a kind of shell upon which the skin of bark fits tightly.\nThe first process with the bark is to free it from the outside scaling\nlayers; the next is to soak it for several days in fresh water to soften\nit; otherwise, when dry it would crack like an eggshell. When it has\nmacerated a sufficient time it is taken out and laid over a form of clay\nor other earth, which has previously been roughly molded to the shape of\nthe interior of the canoe. The bark is now sewed along the edges of the\nstrips with roots of the spruce tree. These are long and tough, and\nresemble splits of rattan when properly prepared for the purpose by\nsplitting and shaving with a knife. Various sizes of these roots are\nused for the different portions. The threads are also soaked in water\nuntil they become so flexible that they may be tied into a knot without\nbreaking.\n\nWhen the bark skin rudely conforms to the shape of the mold of earth,\nthe rails or round strips of wood along the inner edge of the canoe are\nplaced in position and the ends of the bark strips laid over it and\nsewed. A\u00a0second rail is now laid upon the first and drawn down to it by\nmeans of the root thongs. A\u00a0piece of wood is shaped for the bow and one\nfor the stern and inserted in position, and the end seams of the canoe\nare sewed over these pieces.\n\nThe interior is then ready for the longitudinal strips, which are placed\nat the bottom first and gradually built up on each side until the rails\nare reached. The ribs or transverse strips are next placed in position.\nFive or more crosspieces, or thwarts, are fastened to the side rails to\ngive stiffness to the sides and to prevent collapsing, and they may be\nset either below or above the rail. The greatest care must be exercised\nto give to both sides of the canoe the same shape and to have the keel\nevenly balanced. This is rudely regulated by the eye during the process\nof construction. After all the strips are put in, the boat is allowed to\nseason and dry. This causes the bark to shrink, and while drying the\nwhole is frequently inspected to discover any splits or cracks in the\nbark. The Indian often wets the canoe, lest it dry too rapidly and split\nunder the tension. When the form and make are satisfactory the seams are\nsmeared with a mixture of spruce gum (or\u00a0resin bought from the traders),\nmixed with seal oil to render it less easily broken. This mixture is\nwhile hot laid upon the dry surface with a small paddle.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 125.--Spoon for applying grease to canoe.]\n\nAfter the gum has seasoned for a day or so the canoe is put upon the\nwater and tested for its speed and seaworthiness. All leaks and needed\nrepairs are immediately attended to, and it is at length ready for use.\n\nMany persons have not the skill needed to construct a canoe, and they\nemploy those who have had experience and are known to build an excellent\nboat.\n\nThere are two kinds of canoes in use among those Indians, differing only\nin the shape of the stern and prow. The original form was nearly flat\nalong the rails and had the bow and stern but little turned up. Of later\nyears intercourse with some of their neighbors has induced them to\nmodify the nearly straight edge canoe into an intermediate shape between\ntheir own and that of the East Main Indians, whose canoes are very much\nturned up, and are acknowledged to be far superior vessels to those of\nthe Ungava Indians.\n\nAs the forests in the vicinity of Fort Chimo do not contain birch trees,\nand none are found until the headwaters of the Koksoak are reached,\nwhere they are too small to afford bark of sufficient size and\nthickness, the Indians are compelled to procure the bark from the\ntraders, who import it from the St. Lawrence river and gulf stations to\nFort Chimo. It comes in bundles large enough to cover a single canoe of\nmoderate size. If a canoe is to be very large two bundles are required.\nThe value of a black fox skin purchases a bundle of bark.\n\nDuring the spring months, while the weather is somewhat warm, the men\nare engaged in preparing the strips and bark for the canoe which is to\nconvey them up the river when the ice breaks and the river is open for\nnavigation.\n\nThe paddle has a single blade with a handle scarcely more than half the\nlength of the paddle. It is used with both hands, the strokes being\ngiven on alternate sides as it glides through the water.\n\nWhen it is necessary that a portage be made the voyager takes the canoe\nupon his shoulders by letting one of the center thwarts rest on the back\nof the neck. The hands are thrown backward to hold up the end of the\ncanoe from the ground. A\u00a0headband, such as I have already described, of\nbirch bark or cloth, often fancifully ornamented with beads, fits over\nthe forehead and is attached to the sides of the canoe by means of\nthongs, which prevent the canoe from slipping off the shoulders as the\nporter quickly traverses the narrow pathway through the trees and\nbushes. The ground is often so uneven and rough that long detours have\nto be made by the porter, while the rest of the party may go a shorter\npath to the place where the canoe will again be placed in the water.\nA\u00a0part of the necessary equipments for a trip in a canoe are pieces of\nbark, root threads, and gum to repair any damage resulting from an\naccidental contact with a stone or snag.\n\nWithout the birch-bark canoe the Indian would have difficulty in\nobtaining his living, as it is even more necessary than the sled,\nand nearly as useful as the snowshoe.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 126.--Toboggan, Nenenot, side view.]\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 127.--Toboggan, Nenenot, from above.]\n\nThe paddles used with these canoes are about 5 feet long, having a blade\nabout 30 inches long and 4\u00bd wide. The handle terminates in a sort of\nknob. The paddle referred to, for applying the gum and grease to the\nseams of the canoe, has the shape of a flattened spoon with rounded bowl\n(Fig. 125). The gum is heated, and while hot is poured along the seams\nand pressed into the interstices of the stitches with the paddle. When a\npatch is to be applied over a fracture or broken place in the bark, it\nmay be made to adhere by the sticky properties of the gum alone, if the\ndistance to be traveled is not great. A\u00a0fire is then made and the wax\nheated; the piece of bark is edged with the gum and pressed firmly over\nthe rent. A\u00a0second coat is applied over the edges of the bark, after the\nfirst has become cold. A\u00a0few minutes suffice to repair an apparently\nalarming hole.\n\n\nBY LAND.\n\nFor carrying loads over the snow all the Indians of this region use\nlarge sleds (Figs. 126, 127) called t\u00e1-bas-k\u00e1n, which is a word\nequivalent to the well known name \"toboggan.\" These sleds, as used among\nthe Indians under consideration, differ very greatly in size according\nto the use for which they are designed.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 128.--Nenenot snowshoe, single bar.]\n\nThe method of construction is as follows: A tree is selected as free\nfrom knots as possible and two boards of less than an inch in thickness\nare hewed or split from it. These boards are further dressed to the\nrequired thickness and width. The final operation consists in shaving\nthem down with a \"crooked knife\" to little more than half an inch in\nthickness. One edge of each board is then straightened and the two edges\nplaced together. The length is rarely more than 13 feet. The front end\nis steamed or heated in a kettle of hot water until the boards become\nflexible. The ends are turned up to the desired curve and then bent over\nat the end, where they are held in position by a transverse bar of wood.\nThis bar is slightly concave on the side next the sled and gives the\nnose a curved shape. The curved portion of the front may rise as much as\n18 inches above the surface over which the sled travels. At the place\nwhere the curve begins a second transverse bar is placed, and at a\ndistance behind it a third, fourth, and fifth bars are fastened.\nSometimes an additional bar is to be found on the upper side of the\nbottom. These bars are all fastened to the two bottom boards by means of\nthongs of parchment deerskin, and run through holes on the bottom\nboards. On the under side the thongs are let into places cut out between\nthe two holes, so that the thongs will not be worn when passing over the\nsnow. They are usually fastened in four places, one at each end of the\nbar and one on each side of the crevice between the edges of the two\nboards. From the nose of the first bar run a pair of very stout thongs\nor else twisted sinew, which are drawn tight enough to prevent the nose\nand curve from straightening out. From the end of the first bar to the\nlast one on the heel of the sled is run a stout twisted thong under the\nend of each bar, which there has a notch cut on the under side for the\nline to pass through. This line serves to strengthen the sides and\nprevent the two boards from slipping past each other when passing over\ninequalities of the ground. At the ends of the first bar and connected\nwith the side lines are two long stout thongs of twisted skin, often 25\nfeet long. These are used as traces, by which the sled is dragged. The\nshape of the bottom is often fashioned after all the remainder of the\nwork has been done. The width of the nose is rarely more than 9 inches;\nat the first bar it is about 14 inches and as much as 18 inches between\nthe first and second bars. From the widest part to the heel it gradually\nnarrows to a width of 5 to 7 inches.\n\n [Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY ELEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XL\n\n NENENOT SNOWSHOE--\"SWALLOW-TAIL.\"]\n\nTwo boards are used, as one of sufficient width could not be obtained\nfrom the forests of that region. Besides, a\u00a0single board would certainly\nsplit, while two obviate this danger and render the sled less stiff. In\npassing over rough places the sled must bend to conform to inequalities\nor else it would break. In the construction of this vehicle the Indian\ndisplays much skill and a perfect knowledge of the requirements of the\ncase. The load is placed so as to dispose the weight on that portion\nwhich will bear chiefly on the ground. The great length of the sled\nenables the person to guide it more readily.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 129.--Nenenot snowshoe, single bar.]\n\nWhen on a journey the younger women and the men drag it along. When the\nmen return to the station to trade they alone drag it. A\u00a0small dog is\nsometimes hitched to it by a thong, but as the animal is so small and\nlight, it affords but little assistance. The animal, however, would\ncertainly wander off in search of game along the track, and by being\nhitched to the sled is kept within bounds.\n\nAll the household effects, consisting of tent, cooking utensils,\nclothing, and other articles are placed on the sled when the people are\nchanging camp.\n\nThe Nenenot are skilled in the manufacture and use of snowshoes, of\nwhich four styles are used, viz: The \"swallow-tail,\" \"beaver-tail,\"\n\"round-end,\" and \"single-bar\" (Figs. 128, 129). The frame is of wood,\nnearly an inch wide and half an inch thick, usually in two pieces,\njoined by long lap splices wrapped with deerskin thongs, either at the\nsides or ends of the shoe. In the single-bar shoe the frame is on one\nslip, spliced at the toe. Birch is the favorite material for snowshoes,\nbut is rarely to be had except by those Indians who ascend the Koksoak\nto its headwaters, so that spruce and larch are generally used.\n\nThe arrangement of the toe and heel bars of the snowshoes will be best\nunderstood from the figures. They are usually placed within the frame,\nand set in mortises in the inner side of the frame, before the wrapping\nof the ends of the frames has been drawn together; otherwise the bars\ncould not be placed in the holes to receive them.\n\nThe netting is made of deerskin, with the hair removed, and allowed to\ndry into a condition usually known as parchment. This is cut into strips\nof variable width, depending on the particular use for which it is\nwanted.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 130.--Snowshoe needle, Nenenot.]\n\nA needle of bone, horn, or iron (Fig. 130) is used for netting the\nsnowshoes. The shape of the implement is flat and rounded at each point,\nto enable the needle to be used either backward or forward. The eye\nwhich carries the line is in the middle. Various sizes of needles are\nused for the different kinds of netting, of which the meshes differ\ngreatly in size.\n\nThe line is generally 10 to 20 feet in length, and when the netting is\ncompleted it somewhat resembles the seating of a cane-bottomed chair.\nEach individual varies his work according to fancy, but as the netting\nbetween the bars is made of coarser line, more compactly woven, there is\nless difference there than at the toe or heel.\n\nThe netting of the toe is of finer line and meshes than the middle or\nbetween the bars; while that between the heel bar and heel of the\nsnowshoe is finest of all.\n\nThe netting between the bars holds the joints of the frames where they\nlap over each other.\n\nThe toe and heel spaces of netting are held in place by the line passing\nunder the threads which are wrapped around the bars from the netting\nbetween them, and again are fastened or slipped through loops of thread\nor line which are let through the frame of the snowshoe.\n\nNear the center of the toe-bar is a space left in the netting between\nthe bars to admit the toes of the wearer and allow them free action\nwhile walking. This space is semicircular and is inclosed by several\nstrands of line passing over the toe-bar and forming loops, which have\nthe diagonal lines of the netting passed around them and drawn tight.\n\n [Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY ELEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XLI\n\n NENENOT SNOWSHOE--\"BEAVER-TAIL.\"]\n\nThe snowshoe is held to the foot by a wide buckskin thong attached at\nthe semicircular space back of the toe-bar. The ends must be far enough\napart to admit the width of the foot as far as the toes, and must be\nthen drawn down to prevent the foot from pushing too far forward and\nstriking against the toe-bar. The loop passing over the toes must be\nslack enough to allow free movement of the foot. When the strap suits\nthe foot it is passed around the heel of the wearer and tied\nsufficiently tight to give ease and comfort. If too tight, the weight\nsoon presses the tendon of the heel. If too loose, it drops down and the\ntoe slips from under the toe band.\n\nThe single-bar snowshoes are not much used, because they are somewhat\ndifficult to make. They are of two styles. One has the bar directly\nunder the center of the foot. It is wide, and should be strong enough to\nsustain the weight of any wearer. The other style is where the single\nbar is at the front of the toes, which pattern differs from the\n\"beaver-tail\" style only in the absence of the heel bar. This pattern is\nconsidered the easiest of all to wear and walk in when once learned.\nThe foot straps are exactly like those of the common kinds.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 131.--Wooden snowshoe, Little Whale river.]\n\nThe single bar in the middle of the snowshoe renders it a matter of\ngreat discomfort until one is accustomed to it, as the straps are simply\nloops for the toe and heel. This pattern has been already figured. The\nlargest snowshoes measure as much as 28 inches across and 3 feet in\nlength.\n\nSome of the Indians acquire great expertness in the use of these\nsnowshoes, and are able to run quite rapidly with them. The width of the\nshoes causes one to straddle widely to allow one snowshoe to pass above\nand over the other. Care must be exercised that while bringing the rear\nfoot forward the frame does not strike the ankle and produce a serious\nbruise. In ascending a hill the toe must elevate the snowshoe to avoid a\nstumble. In descending the body must be thrown well back or a pitch\nheels over head ensues, and sometimes the frames strike the back of the\nhead.\n\nTo put them on the feet the foot must enter the loop from forward toward\nthe rear, and when the loop is on the foot the latter must be turned\nwithin the loop and then passed under the toe band.\n\nEverybody wears snowshoes--men, women, and children. Without them travel\nin winter would be an impossibility, and as the capture of furs is made\nin winter and the ground to be hunted over must of necessity be of great\narea, the snowshoe becomes a necessity as much as the canoe in summer.\n\nI collected two peculiar pairs of snowshoes, made of flat spruce boards\n(Fig. 131). They are shaped exactly like netted snowshoes of the \"beaver\ntail\" pattern, and the arrangement of the foot strap is the same as\nusual.\n\nThey came from the Little Whale river Indians, who informed me that they\nwere worn on soft snow.\n\nIn the spring of the year, when the snow is rapidly melted by sun, the\nnetted snowshoes become clogged with slush, rendering the weight very\nfatiguing. Wooden snowshoes are admirably adapted for that season of the\nyear, and may be made in a few hours, while the netted ones require\nseveral days' assiduous labor. The Indians of the Koksoak valley do not\nuse the wooden snowshoes.\n\n\nWEAPONS.\n\nIn former times these Indians used the bow and arrow exclusively, but\nthey have now nearly discarded these weapons for the guns which they\nprocure from the traders.\n\nThe bow and arrow is, however, still used to kill ptarmigan, hares, and\nrabbits. The bow (Fig. 132) consists of a piece of larch or spruce wood\nof 4 to 6 feet in length. It is only slightly narrower and thinner at\nthe ends, and nearly an inch thick and an inch and a half wide at the\ncentral portions. But little ingenuity is displayed in the construction\nof these weapons. They have considerable elasticity, and if broken it is\neasy to obtain a piece of wood from the forest and fashion another. The\nstring is a strand of deerskin, twisted or rolled. It is rare to find a\nbow that has a single string.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 132.--Bow, Nenenot.]\n\nThe arrows are usually 2 feet or 30 inches long, and feathered with\nthree ptarmigan feathers. (Figs. 133-136.) The head is usually an\negg-shaped knob, terminating in a slender point which soon breaks off.\n\n [Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY ELEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XLII\n\n NENENOT SNOWSHOE--\"ROUND-END.\"]\n\nThis weapon is used for small game, as the cost of ammunition is too\ngreat to spend it upon game as readily procured by this cheaper method.\nThe Indian is very expert in the use of the bow and arrow, and is able\nto knock over a ptarmigan or crouching hare every time at 25 yards. The\nforce with which the arrow is projected is astonishing. I\u00a0have seen a\nptarmigan rolled for many yards amid a perfect cloud of feathers when\nstruck by the arrow. It often tears the entire side out of the bird.\n\nIn former years the arrow did great execution among the deer in the\nwater or deep snow banks among which they floundered when driven into\nthem by the Indian who, on snowshoes, was able to travel where the deer\nsank nearly out of sight.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 133.--Arrow, Nenenot.]\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 134.--Arrow, Nenenot.]\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 135.--Arrow, Nenenot.]\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 136.--Arrow, Nenenot.]\n\nAmong the Indian boys it is yet a favorite amusement to shoot small\nbirds with the bow and arrow. Small crossbows also are used by children.\nThey have doubtless been made after those brought by some white man.\nThe children have great sport with these bows.\n\nThe spear, already referred to, for killing the swimming reindeer, is\nshown in Fig. 137. The wooden shaft is 6 feet long, and the steel point,\nwhich is made of a flat file beaten down to a quarter of an inch square,\nis 11 inches long. It is set into the end of the shaft and fastened by a\nwhipping of sinew.\n\nThe weapon is held by the hand in a manner peculiar as well as\nuncomfortable. The closed hand over the butt end of the weapon is so\nplaced as to have the fingers upward and the outside of the hand toward\nthe point, this rather awkward grasp enables the person to let go of the\nweapon in case of threatened disaster resulting from a misdirected\nthrust. The collection also contains three models of deer spears, Nos.\n3205-3207. These are often also used as arrows to shoot at larger game\nwhen the Indian is out hunting ptarmigan, hares, and rabbits. A\u00a0hungry\nwolverene or a famished wolf would prove troublesome to kill with the\nblunt arrows. These models differ from the larger spear only in size.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 137.--Deer lance, Nenenot.]\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 138.--White whale spear, Little Whale river.]\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 139.--Point of white whale spear enlarged.]\n\nThe Little Whale river Indians use a peculiar spear for killing white\nwhales. (Figs. 138, 139). It is modeled after the Eskimo harpoon, but\nhas no \"loose shaft,\" or rather, the fore shaft and loose shaft are in\none piece, and has a circular wooden disk fitted to the butt of the\nshaft, which takes the place of the bladder float, and serves to impede\nthe motions of the animal when struck. Reindeer antler is substituted\nfor the ivory of the Eskimo weapon. The blades are of copper or iron and\nriveted in. These spears are 8 or 10 feet long.\n\nThe snare (Fig. 140) forms one of the less important methods of\nprocuring these animals. It is of parchment made from the skin of the\nreindeer cut into thin narrow thongs. Several of these strands, usually\nthree, are plaited together to form a layer; and of these layers three\nare plaited together to form the snare line. It often is made, however,\nof three single strands cut somewhat wider and creased so that they will\nlie well when the three are plaited. The more strands the greater the\nflexibility of the line, but as there must be a certain amount of\nstiffness to hold it in position the many strands must be woven more\ntightly together. The length varies from 10 to 20 feet, and at the end\nis a loop formed by turning the strands back and splicing them. Through\nthe loop the other end is passed, and the noose is made.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 140.--Reindeer snare. Nenenot.]\n\nWhen a herd of deer is discovered in a favorable locality the people of\nthe vicinity are informed and hasty preparations are made.\n\nThe effort is to cause the deer to pass through a narrow defile\ncontaining bushes. The snares are then placed in position by tying the\nfree end of the line to a suitable tree and suspending the noose where\nthe heads or antlers will become entangled. Some are placed so that when\nthe foot is lifted the noose is carried along and tightens on it.\n\nThe people surround the animals, and at a given signal shout and create\nthe greatest din, to confuse the creatures, which plunge toward the\nplace where the snares are set. One or two hunters concealed in that\nlocality appear suddenly and further confuse the now panic-stricken\nanimals, which rush in every direction before their foes. They become\nimmeshed in the nooses and are held until their throats are cut or they\nare choked by the cord.\n\nIt frequently happens that two deer will be caught in a single snare.\nThe Indians assert that it is a most ludicrous sight to witness two\nsturdy bucks caught by the antlers in a single snare. They appear to\naccuse each other of the misfortune, and struggle terribly to free\nthemselves. In the animals which are strangled by the noose the\ncongested blood distends the veins and renders the flesh very dark.\n\nPrevious to the general use of guns the snaring method was of greater\nimportance than at the present day. Even now the Indian does not lose\nany opportunity of employing the snare.\n\nSome of the snares are made of tanned skin, which is softer and is often\nornamented with strands of beads attached to the end of the line. Some\nof them are colored red, with a mixture of vermilion and hematite\nearths, thinned with water.\n\n\nHUNTING.\n\nI have already described the methods of hunting the reindeer and of\ncapturing small game.\n\nThe beaver is not plentiful in the Ungava district, and not until the\nheadwaters of the Koksoak and the lakes near the source of George's\nriver are reached are they to be found at all, excepting occasional\nstragglers.\n\nThe Indians have few of the skins of this animal to sell at the trading\npost of Fort Chimo.\n\nThe methods of capture differ in some respects from those elsewhere\nemployed.\n\nThe habits of the beaver are so well known that a statement of their\nmanner of life is unnecessary.\n\nThe food supply north of latitude 55\u00b0 is so limited in quality and\nquantity that the scarcity of the animals is due entirely to the absence\nof the food necessary for their existence.\n\nWhen the dams and structures made by the beaver are discovered the\npeople devise means to capture it.\n\nIf it is convenient to get at the holes leading to the structure, which\nare always under water so deep that it will not freeze to the bottom,\nthey are closed with a stick of wood and an opening made in the top of\nthe hut. The animal is then caught by the hind legs or tail and lifted\nout. It seldom attempts to defend itself at first. As soon as the hunter\ncan do so he jerks the animal out, and with a blow on its head kills it.\nIf he should pause for an instant from the time the hand is put on the\nanimal until the death blow is given, that very instant he certainly\nwill be bitten with teeth so sharp and powerful that the fingers may be\nsnipped from the hand as though with a pair of shears. The wound thus\ninflicted is often very severe and difficult to heal, as the bite is not\nonly cutting but crushing.\n\nWhere the water can be drained from the pond or lake in which the\nbeavers' hut is built, the Indians often leave it high and dry by\ndamming off the supply and allowing the water to drain away. As soon as\nthe house is out of water the occupant emerges and is killed. Beavers\nare sometimes shot while sporting on the water during moonlight nights.\n\nSome of the animals are captured by means of a net of peculiar\nconstruction. This net is of fine deerskin thongs netted into a circle\nnearly 2 feet in diameter, with meshes about an inch square. The meshes\nin the outer row are threaded upon a stout thong of deerskin, in length\nabout four times the diameter of the net. This thong is now tied at the\nends, and over one end thus tied is slipped a ring made of spruce root\nand wound with sinew to strengthen it. This ring is about an inch in\ndiameter, only sufficient to allow freedom of the ends of the line. It\nis fastened to one of the meshes of the net in order to keep its place.\n\nWhere the water is too deep and only a single beaver is in the lodge the\nnet is carefully spread over the mouth of the exit so placed as to form\na purse into which the head and neck of the animal will be thrust as it\nleaves the hut. The mouth of the purse now tightens from the ring\nslipping along the string, and thus strangles the animal or else causes\nit to drown as it struggles to escape from the tightening cord.\n\nThe net is said to be a very effective means of capturing the beaver and\nwill succeed when it has become too wary to be shot on the surface of\nthe water.\n\nThe flesh of the beaver is considered valuable food by these people.\nThey prize it highly and prefer the flesh of the female to that of the\nmale.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 141.--Crooked knife, Nenenot.]\n\n\nMISCELLANEOUS IMPLEMENTS, TOOLS, ETC.\n\nOne of the most important tools used by the Nenenot is the \"crooked\"\nknife (Fig. 141). These instruments are made from steel files or knife\nblades. They are of various sizes depending on the amount of material at\nhand. The Indian takes a piece of metal and grinds one side of it flat\nand smooth; the other is edged like a drawing knife. The blade is now\nheated and bent to the desired curve. Some are more bent than others and\nsome have only the point bent to one side. The few left-handed persons\nhave the blade formed to suit themselves. It is set in a handle curved\nfrom the user and bent upward like the blade. At the end of the handle\nis generally to be found a thong on which a wooden button is placed for\nattachment to the belt, as no man ever goes off on a journey without\nthis knife, however short may be the distance.\n\nThe handle is held in the hand at right angles or across the body and\ninvariable drawn toward the user. It is employed for all purposes of\nwhittling or shaving wood and one would be surprised to observe what\nlarge strips will separate when started with this apparently frail\nblade. The strips and slats of canoes, paddles, snowshoes, and in fact\neverything that can be cut from wood, are made with this knife. It\nrequires much skill to guide the blade so as to cut the wood evenly; and\nto this end the thumb, which is placed upon the outer extremity of the\nhandle, must steady the blade. The strain of the blade upon the handle\nis very great, and it must be securely held by means of stout thongs\nwrapped around it.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 142.--Awl, Nenenot.]\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 143.--Snow shovel, Nenenot.]\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 144.--Ice-scoop, Nenenot.]\n\nThe crooked knife is a form of instrument in use among the Indians and\nEskimo alike, and one of the few implements which those widely differing\npeople have in common.\n\nAwls (Fig. 142) are made of steel or iron. The back or spring of a\npocketknife or a portion of a small file appears to be the favorite\nmaterial for forming them. They are usually chisel-shaped and have\nrectangular corners. The handle into which the metal is fastened is\ngenerally of deer horn. The shape of the handle varies from a =Y= shape\nto that of a crescent.\n\nThese tools are constantly required for piercing holes in the various\nwoods used in manufacture. Articles of simple construction the Indian\nprefers to make for himself, rather than pay an extortionate price to\nthe trader. He is able to accomplish remarkable results with rude tools\nof his own make.\n\nSnow shovels are made of wood and are much used, for during the winter,\nwhen the snows are constantly accumulating around the camps, the\noccupants necessarily remove some to form a pathway from the door of\ntheir tent, and as snow forms an admirable protection, it is thrown or\nbanked up around their tents to prevent the wind from blowing under. In\nthe spring nearly all the aged people carry one of the wooden shovels to\nclear away a path or as a help to walk while the slushy snow is so\ntreacherous. Fig. 143 represents a common form of wooden snow shovel.\nThese are often painted with vermillion or indigo.\n\nFig. 144 shows a special form of snow shovel designed for cleaning the\nice from the holes through which the people fish. It usually has a blade\nmade from the brow antler or one of the broad palms from the horns of\nthe reindeer. The horn portion is attached to the wooden shaft or handle\nby means of thongs running through holes bored for that purpose.\n\nThe ice-picks (Fig. 145) used in times gone by were pieces of reindeer\nhorn or bone, shaped like a narrow mortising chisel and attached to\nstaffs of wood. The chisel or pick was fastened to the staff by means of\nstout thongs to prevent a side movement from the groove into which it\nwas set. The upper end of the staff was at times shod with bone or horn\nso as to be available for a walking staff.\n\nThe ice-pick of the present day has a piece of iron or steel substituted\nfor the horn or bone; but, being heavy, it is not so often carried from\nplace to place. An Indian will in an incredibly short time pierce a hole\nthrough 3 feet thickness of ice with it. A\u00a0white man can not equal them\nin this work.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 145.]\n\nCombs for the hair are purchased from the traders. They are highly\nprized and are kept in little birchbark bags. For cleaning out the dirt\nwhich collects on the comb the tail of a porcupine is used. The needles\nor spines are picked out of the tail, leaving the stiff, coarse hairs,\nwhich serve the purpose of cleaning the comb quite well. This tail is\nusually appended to the comb-case.\n\nThe natives sometimes make wooden combs like the one shown in Fig. 146,\nin imitation of those purchased.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 146.--Comb, with birchbark case and cleaner.]\n\nAfter a woman's hair has been combed half of it is collected on each\nside of the head and rolled or wound up on small pieces of board (Fig.\n147) similar in shape to the \"winders\" on which darning or knitting cord\nis wrapped. Strands of beads are now placed upon these to hold the hair\nin place.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 147.--Boards for woman's hair.]\n\nA remarkable object is shown in Fig. 148. It is one of a pair of boards\nprocured from one of the Little Whale river Indians, by whom they are\nused to assist in swimming. One board is held in each hand and used as a\npaddle to push the swimmer along. Indians able to swim are scarce.\nI\u00a0have not seen these boards in use, and am not able personally to speak\nconcerning their alleged function.\n\nThe fish-hook shown in Fig. 149 has a barb of steel or iron. It is on\nthe smaller hooks made of one of the ribs of the larger trout.\n\n\nAMUSEMENTS.\n\nThe boys have no consideration for the females of their own age, but\ntreat them as inferiors and fit for nothing but to be subjects of almost\nconstant annoyance and persecution. When a number of boys collect they\nare sure to maltreat the women, even those advanced in years, and appear\nto delight in any opportunity to subject them to the rudest mischief.\nIf a woman ventures to peep from the tent in summer a shower of water is\nsure to be flung on her by some boy. In winter snowballing is equally\nannoying, and when parties of women go to the woods to get fuel the pack\nof boys is sure to waylay them as they return. If the boys can separate\nthe women their fun is complete; their dresses are torn and their\nbundles of fuel scattered. They often retaliate, however, and strip the\nclothing from some unfortunate boy who is compelled to return to camp in\na nude condition, much to the amusement of the people. This form of\ndisgrace appears to be the most severe which can be inflicted upon a\nmale; and the jokes to which he is afterward subjected keep him the\nobject of ridicule for many days.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 148.--Swimming board.]\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 149.--Fishhook and line.]\n\nBesides practical jokes upon women, running, jumping, wrestling, and\npracticing with the bow and other weapons suited to their age, appear to\nbe the principal amusements of the boys. The girls have never been\nobserved to play at games of any kind. Their chief occupation is to keep\naway from the boys. While walking out the girls generally toss stones or\nchips in the air and strive to keep at least two of them up at once.\nThe Eskimo often practice this also, and, as it appears to be a general\nsource of amusement among the Innuit, I\u00a0suspect that the Indian borrowed\nit from them. Wrestling appears to be the principal test for physical\nstrength and severe contests often engage the stronger individuals. They\nwrestle in the Eskimo fashion, and frequently indulge in trials of\nstrength with these people. As would be expected, the stronger Eskimo\nare always the victors. All these contests, whether among themselves or\nwith the Eskimo, are carried on with the best of good humor.\n\n\nFESTIVALS.\n\nFeasts are given now and then to celebrate success in hunting and\nsimilar achievements.\n\nIn 1883 I was invited to attend a feast of furs to be given by one of\nthe most energetic of the Indians. We repaired to the tents spread on\nthe top of a high wall of rock a few rods from my house. As I approached\nthe scene I observed a tent of different construction. It was nearly\noval at its base and had a diameter of about 18 feet and a length of\nabout 25 feet. The top was drawn to an apex resembling the common roof\nof a house. The entrance to the structure faced southeast. On a pole,\nsupported with one end on the apex of the tent and the other resting on\na post, were numbers of skins of various animals--wolves, wolverine,\nbeaver, otter, foxes, and muskrat, together with a number of the finest\nreindeer skins. The sound of the drum was heard within the structure and\nas I approached the door the noise ceased. I\u00a0paused and was invited to\nenter. Immediately two old men next the drummer moved to one side and\nmotioned me to sit down on the pile of deerskins reserved for me. It was\nevident that the feast had been in progress for some time. Around the\ninterior of the structure groups of men were idly disposed, some\nreclining and others standing. Not a word was spoken for some time,\nand this gave me opportunity to look around. The floor was covered with\nboughs from the neighboring spruce trees, arranged with unusual care,\nforming a soft carpeting for those seated within. I\u00a0saw a number of\npiles of deerskins and several small heaps covered with cloth. To break\nthe silence I inquired if the drum was tired. A\u00a0smile greeted the\ninquiry. Immediately an old man came forward, tightened the snare of the\ndrum, and arranged the string, suspending it from one of the tent poles\nat the proper height for use. He then dipped his fingers into a vessel\nof water and sprinkled a few drops on the membrane of the drum-head to\nprevent it from breaking under the blows to be delivered. The performer\nthen seized the drumstick with the right hand and gave the membrane a\nfew taps; the transverse cord of twisted sinew, holding the small\ncylinders of wood attached to it, repeated the vibration with increased\nemphasis. A\u00a0song was begun and the drum beaten in rhythm to the\nmonotonous chant of o-ho, o-ho, etc. Three songs with tympanic\naccompaniment followed. The songs appeared alike and were easily\nlearned. In the meanwhile the guests were treated to a strange-looking\ncompound which had lain hidden beneath one of the cloths and is known as\n\"pemmican.\" I\u00a0was solicited to accept a piece. The previously assembled\nguests had either brought their own bowls and saucers to eat from or\nelse appropriated those available. Not to be at a loss, one of the young\nmen remarked that he would find one. From among the accumulated filth\naround one of the center poles supporting the structure a bowl was\nproduced. The man coolly took the handkerchief which was tied around his\nforehead to keep his matted hair from his face and wiped out the\ninterior of the bowl, and placing a piece of the pemmican within it,\nhanded it to the attendant whose duty it was to offer it to me.\n\nI, however, found it quite inedible. Other guests constantly arrived and\nsome departed, made happy by their share of this compound of rancid\ntallow and marrow with a due admixture of pounded dry meat of the\nreindeer. I\u00a0soon departed, and attempted to take the remnant of the\npemmican with me. This was instantly forbidden, and information given me\nthat by so doing I should cause all the deer to desert the vicinity, and\nthus make the people starve. I\u00a0explained that such was not my desire,\nand after wishing continued prosperity and enjoyment, I\u00a0made my way out.\nI\u00a0was then informed that the feast would continue for a time, and wind\nup with an invitation to the women, who had hitherto been excluded,\nto come and eat the remnants left by the men. At the end of two days\nthereafter the feast concluded and a dance took place. In this\nperformance there was nothing remarkable. The men sang songs and kicked\nup their heels, while the women shrugged their shoulders as they swayed\ntheir bodies from right to left, and assumed various other postures,\nalthough their limbs were apparently kept in a rigid position,\noccasionally uttering their plaudits as the men made humorous\ncompliments to their generous host.\n\nThis feast was given by one who had been unusually successful in the\ncapture of fur-bearing animals, and, to prove his wealth, displayed it\nbefore the assemblage and gave a feast in consideration of his ability.\nOther feasts of a similar character occur, and differ from this in no\nspecial feature.\n\nThe principal source of amusement with the men is the game of draughts\nor checkers. While the men are in the tent or on the hillsides awaiting\nthe approach of bands of deer their idle moments are employed over this\ngame. Neither hunger nor the sight of game is sufficient to distract\nthem, so intently are they absorbed.\n\nThe game is played as in civilization, with only slight differences.\nI\u00a0am not aware that wagers are laid upon its issue. Some of the men are\nso expert that they would rank as skillful players in any part of the\nworld.\n\nSmall boards that may be carried in the hunting bag are used on trips to\nwhile away the tedium of the long winter evenings with only the light of\nthe flickering fire of the dry limbs of spruce. Far into the night the\nplayers engage, and are only disturbed when one of their tired\ncompanions starts from his sleep to relate a wondrous dream and have it\nexpounded by the listeners, who sit aghast at the revelations.\n\nThey also have a game corresponding to \"cup and ball,\" but it is played\nwith different implements from what the Eskimo use, as may be seen by\nreferring to Fig. 150. The hollow cones are made from the terminal\nphalanges of the reindeer's foot. The tail tied to the end of the thong\nis that of a marten or a mink. The player holds the peg in one hand, and\ntossing up the bones tries to catch the nearest bone on the point of the\npeg. The object of the game is to catch the bone the greatest possible\nnumber of times. It is in no sense a gambling game.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 150.--Cup-and-ball, Nenenot.]\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 151.--Drum, Nenenot.]\n\nThe only musical instrument used by these people is the drum or\ntambourine, which is of the form shown in Fig. 151. These drums vary in\ndiameter from 22 to 26 inches, and are constructed as follows: The\nbarrel is made of a thin slat of spruce, bent into a hoop, with the ends\njoined in a lap, spliced nearly a foot long, which length is sewed by\nfour perpendicular seams. The stitches are made with deerskin thread put\nthrough perforations, near together, made with an awl. The next\noperation is to prepare for a head a thin reindeer skin, which has been\ntanned. The skin is moistened and sewed so that all holes in it are\nclosed. A\u00a0narrow hoop of a size to fit tightly over the barrel of the\ndrum is made and the moist skin stretched over it. The edges of the skin\nare turned inward, and within this hoop is placed the barrel of the\ndrum.\n\nA second hoop, two or three times as wide as the first, is prepared and\nfitted over the barrel and head. It is pushed down as far as the\nelasticity of the membrane will allow, or about half the width of the\ntop hoop. Through the outer hoop have been made a number of holes and\ncorresponding but alternate holes made in the farther edge of the barrel\nof the drum.\n\nThrough these holes a stout thong is threaded and passing from the edge\nof the barrel to the outer hoop is drawn so tightly as to push the inner\nhoop along the outer circumference of the barrel and thus tighten the\nmembrane to the required degree. The outer hoop now projects an inch or\nmore beyond the membrane and thus protects it from injury by careless\nhandling.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 152.--Drum, Little Whale river.]\n\nAcross the membrane is stretched a sinew cord on which are strung, at\nright angles to the cord, a\u00a0number of barrels made from the quills of\nthe wing feathers of the willow ptarmigan. Across the underside of the\nmembrane is stretched a similar cord with quills. These serve the\npurpose of a snare on the drum. The stick used for beating the drum\nconsists of a piece of reindeer horn cut so as to have a thin and narrow\nhandle a foot in length and terminating in a knob more than an inch long\nand as thick as the portion of horn permits. The drum is suspended from\nthe poles of the tent by means of thongs. The performer tightens the\nsnares, and sprinkles a few drops of water on the drumhead lest the\nblows cause it to split under the strain. Nothing is done, nothing\ncontemplated without sounding the drum. It is silent only when the\npeople are asleep or on a tramp from one locality to another.\n\nIf a person is ill the drum is beaten. If a person is well the drum is\nbeaten. If prosperous in the chase the drum is beaten; and if death has\nsnatched a member from the community the drum is beaten to prevent his\nspirit from returning to torment the living.\n\nThe drumbeat is often accompanied with singing which is the most\ndiscordant of all sounds supposed to be harmonious.\n\nThe drums used by the Little Whale river Indians (Fig. 152, No. 3223)\ndiffers greatly in construction from those made by the Ungava Indians.\nThe size is rarely so great, seldom exceeding 22 inches. These drums\nhave two heads or membranes fitted on the barrel and secured by means of\na single hoop for each head. The two hoops are then connected by the\ntightening strings.\n\nThe membranes are invariably made of deer skin in the parchment\ncondition and not of tanned skins. The snares or thongs across the heads\nare finer and have pieces of wood instead of quills as \"rattlers.\" The\ndrumstick is a piece of reindeer horn cut as before described; or else,\nas if to add to the din, a\u00a0gun-cap box is pierced through from side to\nside and a few pebbles or shot placed within. A\u00a0stick is then inserted\nin the hole through the box and the whole covered with buckskin to\nprevent separation of the lid and box. This makes a distracting noise.\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 153.--Rattle, Nenenot.]\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 154.--Target, reindeer, buck.]\n\n [Illustration: FIG. 155.--Target, reindeer, doe.]\n\nRattles for the children (Fig. 153) are made of a hoop of wood bent to a\ncircular form and covered with two heads or membranes. Within it are\nplaced a few pebbles or shot, to produce a rattling sound when the\nmembranes are dry. A\u00a0cord attached to the circumference enables the\nrattle to be suspended from the tent-pole in front of the child for\nwhose amusement it is intended. Other toys are made for the children,\nbut they were not easy for us to obtain. Pl. XLIII represents a doll,\ndressed in a woman's full suit of clothes. The boys amuse themselves by\nshooting with blunt arrows at images of reindeer, bucks, does, and\nfawns, cut out of flat boards stuck up in the snow (Figs. 154, 155).\n\n [Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY ELEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XLIII\n\n DOLL, INDIAN WOMAN, FULL DRESS, NENENOT.]\n\n\nFOLKLORE.\n\nDuring the long winter nights or during the periods of cold or inclement\nweather in which the Indians may not venture out, they sit around the\nfire and relate stories intended for the instruction as well as\nentertainment of the younger people. The older men have a great stock of\nthese stories, and many of the women are noted for their ability in\nentertaining the children, who sit, with staring eyes and open mouth,\nin the arms of their parents or elders.\n\nThe following stories came to me directly and not through the medium of\nanother white person, and probably I am the only white person who has\nheard some of them. I\u00a0have endeavored to give them as nearly in the form\nof the original as the differences between the English and the Indian\nlanguages will permit.\n\n_Story of the wolverene and the brant._--A wolverene calling all the\nbirds together addressed them thus: \"Do you not know that I am your\nbrother? Come to me and I will dress you in feathers.\" After having\ndressed them up he made wings for himself and said: \"Now, brothers, let\nus fly.\" The brant told the wolverene, \"You must not look below while we\nare flying over the point of land when you hear a noise below. Take a\nturn when we take a turn.\"\n\nThe first turn they took the wolverene did not look below, but at the\nsecond turn they took, when they came over the point of land, the animal\nlooked below when he heard the noise of the shouting Indians and down he\ncame like a bundle of rags.[2]\n\n [Footnote 2: When the Indians perceive a flock of these brant\n they make a loud clamor, which frightens the birds so much that\n they lose their senses, fall to the ground and are thus killed.\n These birds are only seen in the spring migrations and then in\n great multitudes, while in the fall it is rare to see even a\n single individual, as they have a different return route than in\n spring.]\n\nAll the Indians ran up to him and exclaimed \"There is a brant fallen\ndown.\" One of the old Indian women got hold of him and began to pluck\nhis feathers off, then to disembowel him. She of course smelled the\nhorrible stench and exclaimed, \"This goose is not fit to eat as it is\nalready rotten!\" She gave the carcass to one of the children to throw\naway. Another old woman came up and inquired, \"Where did you throw the\nbrant goose to? How could it be rotten? It is not long since it was\nkilled.\" The former old woman replied to her, \"Go and see, if you do not\nbelieve.\" She went and found nothing but the dead wolverene.\n\n_Story of the wolverene._--A wolverene was running along the seashore\nand perceived a number of geese, brant, ducks, and loons sitting in the\nwater a short distance off. The wolverene addressing them said, \"Come\nhere, brothers. I\u00a0have found a pretty bees' nest. I\u00a0will give it to you\nif you will come on shore and have a dance.\" All the birds went on land.\nThe wolverene said, \"Let us have a dance and I will sing. Shut your eyes\nand do not open them until we are done dancing.\" He began to sing,\n\"A-ho\u00b4u-mu-hou-mu\u00b4-mu\u00b4-h[)u]m\u00b4.\" The last word was so often repeated\n(accompanied with the act of the wolverene snipping off the heads of the\nbirds) that the loon opened one eye and saw the headless ducks kicking.\nThe loon ran to the water and exclaimed, \"Our brother has killed us!\"\nThe wolverene ran after the loon but the loon dived under the water and\ncame up a distance off and cried out, \"A\u00a0ho ho ho ho ho ho!\" The\nwolverene screamed, \"Hold your tongue, you red-eyed fowl.\" The wolverene\nreturned to where the ducks had been killed; plucked their feathers off\nand cleaned them; put them into a large kettle and boiled them.\n\nWhile attending to the cooking he saw a whisky-jack (Us\u00b4\u00a0ka\u00a0tcon)\n(_Perisoreus canadensis_) flying about. The wolverene took a firebrand\nand threw it at the bird, exclaiming, \"You will be telling on me, you\nlong-tongued bird!\" The jay flew away and told the Indians that \"Our\nbrother (wolverene) has killed a lot of ducks and has them cooked,\"\nadding, \"I\u00a0think he is sleeping. I'll show you where he is if you will\ncome.\" The Indians replied, \"We will go, for we are very hungry.\" They\nwent and found the wolverene asleep alongside the pot. The Indians ate\nall of the meat of the ducks. After they had finished the meat they put\nthe bones back into the kettle and went away. The wolverene awakened\nafter a time, took his dish and said to himself, \"Now, I\u00a0shall have my\ndinner.\" He poured all the broth into his dish and found nothing but the\nbones remaining. In his surprise he said, \"Surely, I\u00a0have been sleeping\na long time; the meat is all boiled away.\" The jay told him that he had\ntold the Indians. The wolverene said, \"Why did you tell? you stupid\nbird; I\u00a0was keeping a nice piece of fat for you.[3] You will not, now,\nget it for your impudence.\"\n\n [Footnote 3: The jay is well known to be particularly fond of\n fat of any kind, hence the tempting morsel withheld was a source\n for future reflection.]\n\n_The deer and the squirrel._--A reindeer called all the mammals and\nbirds together and announced that he would give names to all of them.\nWhen he came to name the squirrel he inquired of the little creature\nwhat name it would prefer. The squirrel replied that it would like to\nhave the same name as the black bear. The reindeer smiled and informed\nthe squirrel that it was too small to have the name of the bear. The\nsquirrel began to cry and wept so long that his lower eyelids became\nwhite.\n\n_The young man who went to live with the deer._--A young man one morning\ntold his old father that he had dreamed the night before that a deer had\nasked him to come and live with them. The old father replied, \"That is a\ngood sign; you will kill many deer after that dream.\" The young man went\naway to hunt, and while out he saw a large herd of deer. A\u00a0young doe\nfrom the band ran up toward him, and he was about to fire at her when\nshe said to him, \"Do not fire, for my father has sent me to you. Please\nput up your arrows.\" She came nearer and informed him that her father\nhad sent her to ask him to come and live with the deer forever.\n\nThe young man inquired, \"How could I live with you when it is upon deer\nthat I live? I\u00a0live in a tent and can not live outside. I\u00a0can not live\nwithout fire. I\u00a0can not live without water.\" The doe replied, \"We have\nplenty of fire, water, and meat; you will never want; you will live\nforever. Your father will never want, as there will be enough deer given\nto him.\" The man consented to go with them. The doe pointed to a large\nhill and said, \"That is our home.\" She told him to leave his deerskin\nmantle, snowshoes, and arrows on the ground, but to keep the bow. As\nthey were walking along they came to a big valley. She informed him that\nthat was their path. The two went toward the steep hillside and found\nthe ground to be covered with deer. Some of the deer were frightened\nwhen they saw the man coming, and started to run. The doe's father said\nto the frightened deer, \"Do you not pity the poor Indians who have to\nhunt for their living while we do not?\" When the young man and the doe\ncame up, the father of the doe addressed the young man, asking if he was\nhungry. The man replied, \"Yes.\" The father then gave him a piece of nice\nmeat and some fat. After the man had finished eating the father\ninquired, \"Is your father also hungry?\" The son replied, \"Yes.\"\n\nThe old buck informed the young man that they would give the son's\nfather some deer to-morrow. After the young man had slept out one night\nhis father, in the morning, went out to look for his son, but found only\nhis mantle, snowshoes, and arrows, which had been cast aside the day\nbefore, and also found the tracks in the valley leading to the home of\nthe deer under the hill. The old man returned to his tent and told the\nother Indians that his son had gone away to live with the deer. The old\nman then said, \"Let us make snares and we will yet take him, as he can\nnot run as fast as the deer.\" The Indians prepared a number of snare\nnooses and went to the valley to set them among the bushes on the path.\nThe father of the young doe saw what was going on in the valley and told\nthe rest, \"Let us go and give the old man some deer.\" He told the young\nman to come with them. The man replied that he could not accompany them,\nas he would be left behind in no time while they were running. The old\nbuck instructed the young man to keep among the rest of the deer and he\nwould not be left behind them. All the deer then went out to the valley.\nThe young man kept among them; and as they were going through the bushes\nhe heard the shouts of the Indians who were concealed behind them. The\ndeer saw the snares and some of the animals fell into the nooses and\nwere caught. The remainder, with the young man, were soon beyond the\nsnares. The Indians began to kill the deer which had been taken in the\nnooses, and when they had finished they found they had not captured the\nyoung man. They consulted together and decided to search among the\ntracks of the escaped deer to ascertain whether his foot-prints were\namong them. They found his track and also the mark of his bow as he had\ndragged it along in the snow.\n\nThe young man's father then said, \"Let him go if he thinks he is able to\nlive with the deer;\" and the people returned to their tents.\n\n_The wolf's daughter going to seek her lover._--An old mother wolf one\nmorning said to her daughter, \"You must go and look for your lover or\nelse we shall all starve to death, as your brothers can not kill any\ndeer.\" The daughter inquired of her mother, \"Who is my lover?\" The\nmother replied, \"The otter is your lover. He lives in the water. If you\ngo to the narrows of the lake you will find him.\" The daughter said she\nwould go. So early in the morning she started off, and as she was going\nalong the shore of the lake she saw an open hole in the ice, and in the\nwater the otter was sitting. The wolf went up to the otter, but the\notter swam away and was going to dive, when the wolf said, \"Do not dive\nand go away. My mother says you are my lover.\" The otter asked, \"How can\nI be your lover when I live in the water?\" The wolf replied, \"You can\nlive on the land as well as in the water.\" The otter answered back,\n\"I\u00a0will not live on the land.\" The wolf retorted, \"You will have to live\non the land, and if you do not come out I shall smother you in the\nwater.\" The otter said, \"You can not smother me, for I have a number of\nholes made in the lake ice.\" The otter dove into the water and\ndisappeared. The wolf began to howl dismally when the otter vanished.\nThe wind began to blow and drifted the snow furiously. The snow fell\ninto the otter's breathing holes and filled them with slushy snow, which\nsoon froze and completely stopped all the holes in the ice but one where\nthe wolf was sitting. This hole was kept clear of snow and ice by the\nwolf scraping it out as fast as it collected. Soon she heard the otter\ngoing to the holes for breath, but when he came near the hole where the\nwolf was sitting she could hear him snuffing for air, and she stood with\nopen jaws ready to seize him when he should appear. The otter was nearly\nexhausted, so the wolf went off a little distance, and the otter came up\nto the surface of the water nearly out of breath. He crept out of the\nwater and rolled himself in the dry snow to take the water off of his\ncoat of fur and exclaimed to the wolf, \"I\u00a0will live with you; I\u00a0will\nlive with you.\" The wolf then addressed her lover and said, \"Did I not\ntell you I would smother you?\" The otter did not reply to this, but\nasked her, \"Have you got a piece of line? Give it to me, and I will go\nto catch some fish for you if you will go and prepare a tent.\" The wolf\ndrew out a piece of fishing line and handed it to the otter. The otter\nwent down into the same hole in the ice whence he had come. He was gone\nsome time, and in the meantime the wolf was busy making the tent, which\nwas completed before the otter returned. Soon after, however, the otter\ncame back to the hole with a long string of fish which he had killed and\nhad them all strung on the line. He left the string of fish in the hole\nin the ice with one end of it fastened to the ice. The otter rolled\nhimself in the snow to remove the water from his fur, and then went to\nthe tent to tell his wife to go and get the fish which he had left in\nthe hole in the ice. The wolf went and hauled up the line, which was\nfull of fish, and began to devour so many that soon she could scarcely\nmove. She hauled the remainder of the fish home to the tent.\n\nThe otter was sleeping when she returned. She proceeded to clean the\nfish and put on a large kettle full of the fish to boil for supper.\nShe then crept into bed with her husband, and the next morning she was\ndelivered of a young otter and a young wolf. After the father and mother\nhad taken their breakfast the latter sat with her head hanging down and\nseemed to be in a miserable mood. The otter inquired of the wife wolf,\n\"What is the matter with you that you sit so quietly?\" The wolf\nanswered: \"I\u00a0wish I had some deerskins with which to make clothing for\nthe children. How nicely I should dress them!\" The otter replied: \"Open\nthe door and I will show you where I get the deer.\" It was yet early,\nand the otter went away to seek the deer. The otter saw a band of thirty\ndeer, but had no gun with which to kill them, so he frightened them,\nand as they were running away he sprang at them each, and jumped through\nthem from end to end. He killed all of them in this manner and then\nrolled in the snow to cleanse himself. After that was done he wended his\nway home, and on arriving informed his wife (for it was then a little\nafter sunset) that on the morrow she should go to bring home the deer he\nhad killed, adding that she could follow his track, and thus find them.\nThe wife had a big pot of fish cooked for him when he returned, and when\nhe had finished his supper he went to bed. As soon as the wife suspected\nher husband to be asleep she went after the deer, and by hauling four at\na time she soon had them all brought, and laid them before the tent.\nWhen that was finished she went to bed. In the morning the otter told\nher to get up and make a fire, as she would have to go for the carcasses\nof the deer which he had killed the day before. The wife replied:\n\"I\u00a0have already brought them all home.\" The otter asked her: \"How could\nyou bring them home in the dark?\" The wife answered: \"Look out through\nthe door if you do not believe me.\" The otter looked and saw the thirty\ndeer all piled up before the door. He turned and looked at his wife, but\nmade no remark. The wolf asked him: \"Why do you look at me, so hard?\"\nThe otter said: \"I\u00a0was wondering how you could get them home in such a\nshort time.\" The wolf said: \"Come, and take your breakfast, for you will\nhave to help me skin the deer.\" After they had finished eating their\nbreakfast they began to skin the deer, and soon had them done. The wolf\ntold her husband to make a stage or scaffold for the meat, adding that\nshe would clean the skins. The otter prepared the stage, which in a\nshort time was completed. The meat was placed on the stage and the skins\nhung up to dry around the tent. They then went in to take their supper.\nThe wife was not in a talkative mood, and soon went to bed. The next\nmorning the wolf hung her head down, and the otter seeing her again in\nsuch mood, inquired what was the matter with her that she should be so\nquiet. The wolf replied: \"I\u00a0am thinking of my poor father and mother and\nbrothers; I\u00a0suppose they will all be starved to death. My old father\ntold me to tell you to put a mark on the middle of the lake so they\nwould know where I am.\" The otter went to the middle of the lake and\nerected a pile as a mark by which the wolf's relations should know it.\nThe brothers of the otter's wife were on the hill looking for the mark\nset up by their sister's husband, and when they saw it they exclaimed:\n\"Our sister has saved us! our sister has saved us!\" and ran back to\ntheir old father's home to give him the joyful intelligence that they\nhad seen the mark put up by the husband of their sister. The old wolf\nthen told his family that they would go and seek their sister and\ndaughter to live with her and her husband. They all went to the hill by\nthe lake, and from the top of it they saw the mark, and from it they\nfollowed the track of the otter until they saw the tent in the edge of\nthe woods. They exclaimed: \"There is our sister's tent, for the\ndeerskins are hanging outside.\" They raised such a joyful shout at the\nprospect before them, that the noise frightened some young otters (for\nthe family had now become larger) which were playing outside. The little\nones scampered in and hid themselves behind their father's back. The\nfather inquired, \"What is the matter, that you are so frightened?\" The\nlittle ones replied: \"We are running from the Hunger\" (for that was the\nname they applied to the wolves). The mother replied: \"Perhaps they see\nmy father, mother, and brothers coming.\" The otter told his wife to go\nout and see. She complied, and when she opened the door they saw a row\nof gaunt wolves; nothing but skin and bones. The newcomers immediately\nfell to, and began to devour the meat which was on the stage. The\notter's wife remonstrated, and said: \"Do not be so greedy; my husband is\nnot a stingy man. I\u00a0take my meals when he is sleeping, and pretend not\nto eat much during the day.\" They all went into the tent and the otter\nsoon went to bed. When they thought he was asleep, they began to eat all\nthe raw meat and fish, and soon finished it. In the morning when the\notter had awakened, he remarked to his wife: \"I\u00a0think your brothers will\nmake a fool of me.\" The wife asked: \"What makes you think so?\" The otter\nreplied: \"They look at me so hard, that I do not know where to turn my\neyes.\" After breakfast the otter and his wolf brothers went away to look\nfor deer. They soon came upon a band of them, and the otter told the\nwolves to go and kill them. The wolves ran after the deer, but got only\none of them. After the deer were frightened by the wolves, the otter\nsprang after the deer and soon killed every one of them in the same\nmanner he had killed the others. He then cleaned himself in the dry snow\nand returned home. The wolves had started for the tent before the otter,\nso when the latter returned they asked the otter: \"How many deer did you\nkill?\" The otter replied: \"I\u00a0killed all that were in the band,\" adding,\n\"In the morning you will have to go for the deer.\" So everything was got\nready for an early start and they all retired to bed. When they awakened\nin the morning, one of the wife's brothers said to another: \"Look at our\notter brother; he has a white mouth.\" The otter turned to his wife and\nsaid to her: \"Did I not tell you that your brothers would make a fool of\nme?\" The otter then took his two otter children in his arms, and told\nhis wife that she would have to make her living as best she could, as he\nwould not live with her any more, that he was going away to leave her.\nHe darted off to the lake, and disappeared under the ice, and was never\nseen again.\n\n_The devil punishing a liar._--A bear (mackwh) had two young cubs which\nshe did not want to let know that summer had come, but kept them in the\nden and would not let them go out. The young ones continually inquired\nif the summer had come, and repeated the question every time the mother\nreturned from the outside. She invariably answered, \"No.\" Some days\nafter she fell asleep, when she had returned from one of her trips, and\nwhile sleeping her mouth opened wide. The young ones said to each other:\n\"Surely the summer is come, for there are green leaves in our mother's\nmouth.\" The mother had told her children how beautiful was the summer\ntime, how green the trees, how juicy the plants, and how sweet the\nberries; so the cubs, impatient, while longing for summer that they\nmight enjoy what was outside of their den, knew by the leaves in their\nmother's mouth that she had deceived them. The older cub told the\nyounger that they would slip out at the top of the den and go out while\ntheir mother was yet sleeping. They crept out and found the weather so\nfine and the surroundings so pleasant that they wandered some distance\noff by the time she wakened from her sleep. She ran out and called\nloudly for her children, seemingly surprised, and exclaimed: \"My sons,\nthe summer has come; the summer has come.\" The cubs hid when they heard\ntheir mother's voice. She called to them until nightfall. The older cub\nsaid to his brother: \"I\u00a0wish the devil (A-qan\u00b4) would hear her and kill\nher for telling us the summer had not come, and keeping us in the house\nso long when it was already pleasant outside.\"\n\nThe mother bear soon screamed to her sons: \"The devil has heard me and\nis killing me.\"\n\nThe cubs heard the devil killing their mother with a stone, pounding her\non the head.\n\nThey became frightened and ran-away.\n\n_A wolverene destroys his sister._--A wolverene having wandered far,\nfor several days without food, suddenly came upon a bear. The former,\nfeeling very hungry, conceived the plan of destroying his larger prey by\nstratagem. The wolverene cautiously approached the bear and exclaimed:\n\"Is that you, sister?\" The bear turned around and saw the wolverene, but\nin a low tone, which the wolverene did not hear, said to herself: \"I\u00a0did\nnot know that I had a brother,\" so ran quickly away. The wolverene\ncontinued to scream: \"Come here, sister, our father has sent me to look\nfor you. You were lost when you were a little girl out picking berries.\"\nThus spoken to, the bear approached the supposed brother, who informed\nher that he knew of a place, on the hill there, where a lot of nice\nberries were ready for eating, saying: \"Do you not see the berries\ngrowing on that hill, sister?\" The bear answered: \"I\u00a0cannot see so great\na distance.\" So the two went up the hillside where the berries grew.\nWhen they arrived at the place, and it was some distance off, the bear\nasked: \"How is it that your eyes are so good?\" The wolverene replied:\n\"My father mashed a lot of cranberries into my eyes and put me into a\nsweat house.\" The bear said: \"I\u00a0wish my eyes were as good as yours.\" The\nwolverene answered: \"I\u00a0will make your eyes as good as mine if you will\ngather a lot of cranberries while I prepare a sweat house.\" The bear\nwent to gather berries while the other prepared the house during her\nabsence. The wolverene selected a stone having a sharp edge, which she\nconcealed under the moss in the sweat house, while she procured a larger\nstone for the pillow.\n\nAfter the sweat house was completed the wolverene cried out: \"Sister,\nthe sweat house is finished!\" The bear returned, bringing a quantity of\nberries. They both went into the sudatory, whereupon the wolverene\ninstructed the bear to lie with her head upon the stone pillow, while he\nprepared the crushed berries to put in her eyes. He then said to her:\n\"Now, sister, do not move; you may find the berries will hurt the eyes\nand make them very sore, but they will be better soon.\" The wolverene\nfilled the bear's eyes full of the sour berries, which made her exclaim:\n\"Brother, they are making my eyes very sore.\" The wolverene answered:\n\"You will find them the better for that. After I get your eyes full of\nthe berries I will blow my breath on them.\" After the eyes of the bear\nwere full of berries the wolverene said: \"You are too good to be a\nsister,\" so he struck her on the head with the sharp-edged stone and\ncleft her skull between the eyes and killed her.\n\n_The rabbit and the frog._--One day a rabbit was wandering among the\nhillsides, and at a short distance from him he observed a tent belonging\nto some Indians. Being timid he crept up to the side of the tent and\npeeped through a small hole, and saw inside of it a frog sitting near\nthe fire. The rabbit seeing no danger accosted the frog thus: \"Brother,\nwhat are you doing?\" The frog replied: \"I am playing with the ashes. My\nbrothers have gone off hunting and I am here as I have a very sore leg\nand can not go far.\" The rabbit rejoined, \"come with me and I will keep\nyou?\" The frog answered, \"I\u00a0can not walk as my leg is too sore.\" The\nrabbit offered to carry the frog on his back. The rabbit took the frog\nand giving him a toss threw him on his back and said: \"This is the way I\nwill carry you.\" So they started for the home of the rabbit, where, upon\narriving, the rabbit placed the frog inside of the tent while the former\nwent out to look for something to eat. While seeking food the rabbit\nsuddenly spied a smoke curling from among the willows which grew along\nthe branch of the creek. He became frightened and started to run\nhomeward exclaiming, \"I\u00a0have forgotten my crooked knife and I must go\nquickly to get it.\" (This part, or what the rabbit says to himself, is\nsung as a song; with an attempt at imitation of the rabbit's voice.) The\nrabbit ran hurriedly home and sprang into the tent, whereupon the frog\nobserving the fright of the other inquired, \"Brother, what is the matter\nthat you are so excited?\" The rabbit answered, \"I\u00a0saw a large smoke.\"\n\"Where is it?\" inquired the frog. The rabbit replied, \"It is from among\nthe willows along the creek that runs near by.\" The frog began to laugh\nat the foolish fear of the rabbit and answered him that the smoke\nproceeded from the lodge of a family of beavers, and taunted the rabbit\nfor being afraid of such a timid creature as a beaver when they are good\nto eat, adding that his own (frogs) brothers often carried him to the\nbeavers' houses to kill them when they were out of food; although his\nbrothers could never kill any of them.\n\nThe rabbit was pleased to hear the frog was such a great hunter, and\ngladly offered to carry the frog to the lodge of the beavers that some\nfood could be procured. The frog accepted the offer and was carried to\nthe creek bank. The rabbit then built a dam of stakes across the stream\nand below the lodges in order that the beavers should not escape. The\nfrog then directed the rabbit to break into the top of the lodge so that\nthe frog might get at the beavers to kill them. While the rabbit was\nbreaking into the lodge of the beavers, the frog purposely loosened some\nof the stakes of the weir below in order to allow the beavers to escape,\nhoping that the rabbit would become angry at him for so doing. When the\nrabbit saw what mischief the frog had done, he took the frog and roughly\nshoved him under the ice into the water. This did not harm the frog as\nit could live under water as well as on land, but the rabbit did not\nknow that, so he believed he had drowned his brother the frog. The\nrabbit then returned to his home, regretting he had acted so harshly and\nbegan to cry for his brother. The frog in the meanwhile, killed all of\nthe beavers and tied them together on a string, then slowly crawled to\nthe rabbit's home with his burden on his back. The frog crept up to the\ntent but was afraid to enter so he began to play with the door flap of\nthe tent to make a noise to attract the attention of the rabbit within.\nFinally he cried out to the rabbit, \"Brother, give me a piece of fire\nfor I am very cold.\" The rabbit did not recognize the tired, weak voice\nof his brother frog, and, afraid lest it be some enemy endeavoring to\nentice him from his home, picked up a piece of dead coal which had no\nfire on it and flung it outside. The frog then said, \"Brother, there is\nno fire on this piece and I can not cook my beavers with it.\" The rabbit\nthen ran out quickly and tenderly carried the frog inside, and\nimmediately the latter began to moan and appear to suffer so much that\nthe rabbit inquired what was the matter and asked if the beavers had\nbitten him. The frog said, \"No, it was you who gave me such a hard push\nthat you have hurt me in the side.\" The rabbit assured the frog that the\ninjury was unintentionally caused. The frog then directed the rabbit to\nprepare and cook the beavers. The rabbit went out to fetch them but he\nbegan to eat and did not stop until they were all devoured. After having\nfinished eating them the rabbit went for a walk. Ere long he noticed a\nhuge smoke curling from the farther end of a valley and becoming greatly\nfrightened he exclaimed, \"I\u00a0have forgotten my crooked knife and I must\ngo quickly to get it.\" He dashed into his door in a terrible state of\nmind. The frog coolly inquired, \"What is the matter that you are so\nscared?\" The rabbit said, \"I\u00a0have seen a great smoke at the farther end\nof the valley through which the creek runs.\" The frog laughed loudly at\nhis fear and said, \"They are deer; my brothers often had me to kill\nthem, as they could not kill any, when we had no meat.\" The rabbit was\ndelighted at that so he offered to carry the frog toward the place.\nThe frog directed the rabbit to make a snowshoe for the one foot of the\nfrog. The rabbit soon had it made and gave it to his brother. The frog\nthen said, \"Carry me up towards the smoke.\" The rabbit slung the frog on\nhis back and away they went in the direction of the deer. The frog then\ntold the rabbit to stand in one place and not to move while he (the\nfrog) would work at the deer, and when he had finished he would call him\nup to the place.\n\nThe frog killed all the deer in a very short time, skinned them, and\nstuck the head and neck of one of the deer into the snow so that it\nwould be looking toward the place whence the rabbit would come. The frog\nthen took the lungs of one of the deer and put it out to freeze. The\ncold turned the lungs white as tallow. The frog shouted for his brother\nrabbit to come quickly. When the rabbit came bounding near he saw the\neyes of the deer's head staring at him in a queer manner; he was so much\nalarmed that he exclaimed to the frog, \"Brother, he sees me.\" The frog\nsmiled and said, \"I\u00a0have killed him; he is dead; come on; I\u00a0have a nice\npiece of fat saved for you.\" (It\u00a0was the frozen lungs of the deer.) So\nhe gave the rabbit a large piece and told him to eat it all and quickly,\nas it was better when frozen and fresh from the deer's back. The rabbit\ngreedily swallowed large portions and did not observe the deception.\nAfter a time they built a lodge or tent for the night. Some few hours\nafter the tent was made the frozen deer lungs which the rabbit had eaten\nbegan to thaw and it made the rabbit so violently ill that he vomited\ncontinually the entire night. The frog had served him this trick as a\npunishment for having eaten all of the beaver meat two days before.\n\n_The wolverene and the rock._--A wolverene was out walking on the\nhillside and came upon a large rock. The animal inquired of the rock,\n\"Was that you who was walking just now?\" The rock replied, \"No, I\u00a0can\nnot move; hence I can not walk.\" The wolverene retorted that he had seen\nit walking. The rock quickly informed the wolverene that he uttered a\nfalsehood. The wolverene remarked, \"You need not speak in that manner\nfor I have seen you walking.\" The wolverene ran off a little distance\nand taunted the rock, challenging it to catch him. The wolverene then\napproached the rock and having struck it with his paw, said, \"See if you\ncan catch me.\" The rock answered, \"I\u00a0can not run but I can roll.\" The\nwolverene began to laugh and said, \"That is what I want.\" The wolverene\nran away and the rock rolled after him, keeping just at his heels.\nThe animal finally began to tire and commenced to jump over sticks and\nstones until at last the rock was touching his heels. At last the\nwolverene tripped over a stick and fell. The rock rolled over on him and\nceased to move when it came upon the hind parts of the wolverene. The\nanimal screamed, \"Get off, go away, you are hurting me; you are breaking\nmy bones.\" The rock remained motionless and replied, \"You tormented me\nand had me run after you, so now I shall not stir until some one takes\nme off.\"\n\nThe wolverene replied, \"I have many brothers and I shall call them.\" He\ncalled to the wolves and the foxes to come and remove the rock. These\nanimals soon came up to where the rock was lying on the wolverene and\nthey asked him, \"How came you to get under the rock?\" The wolverene\nreplied, \"I\u00a0challenged the rock to catch me and it rolled on me.\" The\nwolves and foxes then told him that it served him right to be under the\nrock. They endeavored, after a time, to displace the rock but could not\nmove it in the least. The wolverene then said, \"Well, if you cannot get\nme out I shall call my other brother, the lightning and thunder.\" So he\nbegan to call for the lightning to come to his aid. In a few moments a\nhuge dark cloud came rushing from the southwest, and as it hurried up it\nmade so much noise that it frightened the wolves and foxes, but they\nasked the lightning to take off the coat of the wolverene but not to\nharm, his flesh. They then ran away. The lightning darted back to gather\nforce and struck the rock, knocking it into small pieces and also\ncompletely stripped the skin from the back of the wolverene, tearing the\nskin into small pieces. The wolverene stood naked, but soon began to\npick up the pieces of his coat and told the lightning, \"You need not\nhave torn my coat when you had only the rock to strike.\"\n\nThe wolverene gathered up his pieces of coat and said he would go to his\nsister, the frog, to have her sew them together. He repaired to the\nswamp where his sister dwelt and asked her to sew them. She did so. The\nwolverene took it up and told her she had not put it together properly\nand struck her on the head and knocked her flying into the water. He\ntook up the coat and went to his younger sister, the mouse. He directed\nher to sew his coat as it should be done. The mouse began to sew the\npieces together and when it was done the wolverene carefully examined\nevery seam and said, \"You have sewed it very well; you will live in the\ntall green grass in the summer and in grass houses in the winter.\" The\nwolverene put on his coat and went away.\n\n_Creation of people by the wolverene and the muskrat._--As a wolverene\nwas wandering along the bank of a river he saw a muskrat swimming in the\nedge of the water. He accosted the latter animal with the inquiry,\n\"Who are you? Are you a man or a woman?\" The muskrat answered, \"I\u00a0am a\nwoman.\" The wolverene informed her that he would take her for a wife.\nThe muskrat replied, \"I\u00a0live in the water; how can I be your wife?\" The\nwolverene told her that she could live on the land as well as in the\nwater. The muskrat went up on the bank to where the wolverene was\nstanding. They selected a place and she began to prepare a home for\nthem. They ate their suppers and retired. Soon after a child was born.\nThe wolverene informed his wife that it would be a white man and father\nof all the white people. When this child was born it made a natural\nexit. In due time a second child was born which the wolverene decreed\nshould be an Indian and the father of their kind. This child was born\nfrom its mother's mouth. After a time a third child was born, and the\nwolverene announced it to be an Eskimo and father of its kind. This\nchild was born _ab ano_. In the natural course of events a fourth child\nwas born, and the wolverene decided it to be an Iroquois and father of\nits kind. This child was born from its mother's nose. After a time a\nfifth child was born and the wolverene decreed it should be a Negro and\nfather of its kind. This child was born from its mother's ears. These\nchildren remained with their parents until they grew up. Their mother\nthen called them together and announced to them that they must separate.\nShe sent them to different places of the land, and, in parting, directed\nthem to go to the white men whenever they were in need of anything,\nas the whites would have everything ready for them.\n\n_Origin of the whitish spot on the throat of the marten._--A man had a\nwife whom a marten fell in love with and endeavored to possess. Whenever\nthe man would go away from his home the marten would enter, sit by the\nwoman's side, and endeavor to entice her to leave her husband and go to\nlive with him. One day the man returned unexpectedly and caught the\nmarten sitting by the side of his wife. The marten ran out. The man\ninquired of his wife what the marten wanted there. The woman replied\nthat the marten was striving to induce her to desert him and become his\nown wife.\n\nThe next time the man went off he told his wife to fill a kettle with\nwater and put it on the fire to boil. The man went outside and secreted\nhimself near the house. He soon saw the marten go into the house.\n\nThe man stole quietly to the door of the house and listened to the\nmarten, which was talking to his wife. The man sprang into the house and\nsaid: \"Marten, what are you doing here, what are you trying to do?\" The\nman seized the kettle of hot water and dashed it on the breast of the\nanimal. The marten began to scratch his burning bosom and ran out into\nthe woods; and because he was so severely hurt he now keeps in the\ndensest forests, away from the sight of man.\n\n_The Indian and his beaver wife._--One day an Indian was hunting along\nthe bank of a stream and in the distance saw a beaver's house. In a\nmoment he perceived a beaver swimming toward him. He drew up and was on\nthe point of shooting it when the animal exclaimed, \"Do not shoot,\nI\u00a0have something to say to you.\" The Indian inquired, \"What is it you\nhave to say?\" The beaver asked him, \"Would you have me for a wife?\"\nThe Indian replied, \"I\u00a0can not live in the water with you.\" The beaver\nanswered, \"You will not know you are living in the water, if you will\nfollow me.\" The Indian further remarked that he could not live on\nwillows and other woods like a beaver. The beaver assured him that when\neating them he would not think them to be willows. She added, \"I\u00a0have a\nnice house to live in.\" The man replied, \"My brother will be looking for\nme if I come in and he will not know where I am.\" The beaver directed\nthe man to take off his clothing and leave them on the bank and to\nfollow her. The Indian did as he was instructed. As he was wading\nthrough the water he did not feel the water touching him; so they\npresently began to swim and soon reached the home of the beaver. The\nbeaver told him as she pointed ahead, \"There is my home, and you will\nfind it as good and comfortable as your own tent.\" They both entered and\nshe soon set before him some food which he did not recognize as willow\nbark. After they had slept two nights his brother became alarmed and\nwent to search for him, and soon found his track. In following it up his\nbrother came to where he had left his clothing on the bank of the\nstream.\n\nThe brother was distressed at finding such things, so went sorrowfully\nback to the tent thinking that his brother had been drowned, and so told\nthe other Indians when he arrived. With a heavy heart he went to bed and\nin the morning he awakened and told his wife that he had dreamed his\nbrother was living with a beaver. He told his wife to make some new\nclothing for the lost brother as he would go and seek the haunts of the\nbeavers to discover his brother. The man occupied himself in making a\npair of snowshoes, while the wife prepared the clothing. The next day\nshe had the clothing done and he directed her to make them into a small\nbundle as he would start on the search early the next morning. Other\nyoung men desired to accompany him on the search, but were advised to\nremain at home as their presence would prevent him from reaching the\nbeaver's retreat. Early in the morning he started off, taking the\nclothes and snowshoes with him. After some time he found the place where\nthe beaver had her house and in which he suspected his brother to be\nliving. He went to work to make a dam across the stream so as to\ndecrease the depth of water around the beaver's house. The wife had\nborne two children to the husband by this time, and when the father had\nseen the water going from their house he told the children: \"Your uncle\nis coming and he is certain to kill you.\" The water had soon gone down\nsufficiently to enable the man to cross the stream to where the house\nwas situated.\n\nOn arriving there he began pounding at the mud walls. The father told\nthe children to go out or else the house would fall on them. The man\noutside quickly killed the two young ones. The wife knew she would soon\nbe killed also, and after they had heard the deathblows given to their\nchildren she said to her husband, \"If you are sorry that I am killed and\never want to see me again, keep the right hand and arm of my body; take\noff the skin and keep it about you.\" In a few minutes the brother had\nbegun again to tear out the sides of the lodge. The husband told her to\ngo out, and that his love for her would make him keep her right hand.\nShe then went out and was quickly killed with a stick. When this was\ndone and the husband had heard it all he was very sorry for his wife.\nAgain the man began to destroy the rest of the house and soon had a\nlarge hole in the wall of one side. The husband then said to him, \"What\nare you doing? You are making me very cold.\" The brother replied,\n\"I\u00a0have brought some warm clothing for you and you will not feel cold.\"\n\"Throw them in,\" said the husband, \"for I am freezing.\" He put on the\nclothes, and while he was doing it the brother noticed the hairs which\nhad grown on the other's back, but said nothing about it. The husband\nthen sat in his house until the other was near freezing to death. The\nbrother then said to him, \"Come with me; you can not stay here.\" The\nhusband demanded, as a condition of returning, that the brother should\nnever say anything to him to make him angry if he went back. The brother\npromised him not to do so. They then started to return, the brother\ntaking the bodies of the children and mother on his back, the husband\nwalking ahead. They soon arrived at the home of their people. The\nbrother threw down the beavers and directed his wife to skin them. The\nhusband of the beaver asked for the right hand and arm of the beaver who\nhad been his wife. It was given to him. He got one of the other women to\nskin it, and told her to dry the skin and return it to him. Three nights\nafter their return to their people a great many beavers were killed and\na large kettle full of flesh was boiled for food. The people pressed the\nrunaway brother to eat of the flesh of the beavers. He informed them\nthat if it was the flesh of a female beaver he would not eat it. They\ntold him that the flesh of the male beavers was all finished long ago.\nThey forced him to eat a large piece of meat, and when he had swallowed\nit they gave him more of it. The second piece was no sooner down his\nthroat than a large river gushed from his side. The Indian jumped into\nthe river, while the rest ran away in terror and, as these latter looked\ndown the river, they saw the man swimming by the side of his wife who\nhad been a beaver.\n\n_The venturesome hare._--A hare, which had lost his parents, lived with\nhis grandmother. One day, feeling very hungry, for they were extremely\npoor, he asked his grandmother if he could set a net to catch fish. The\nold woman laughed at the idea of a hare catching fish, but to humor him,\nshe consented, for she was indulgent to him because he was her only\ncharge and looked forward to the time when he should be able to support\nher by his own exertions, and not to rely on the scanty supplies which\nshe was able to obtain. These were very meager, as she was infirm, and\ndreaded exposure. She then told him to go and set the net, but added\nthat she had no fire to cook them with, even if he should catch any. The\nhare promised to procure fire if he caught the fish. He went to set the\nnet in a lake where he knew fish to be plentiful. The next morning he\nwent to the net and found it to be so full of fish that he was unable to\ntake it up. He lifted one end and saw there was a fish in every mesh of\nthe net. He shook out some of the fish and then drew out the net. Part\nof the fish were buried, and a large load taken home. He put the fish\ndown outside of the tent, and went in. He told the old woman to clean\nthe fish and that he would go across the river to the Indians' tent and\nget the fire with which to cook them. The old woman was speechless at\nsuch proposed rashness, but as he had been able to catch so many fish\nshe refrained remarking on his contemplated project of obtaining fire in\nthe face of such danger. While the old woman was cleaning the fish he\nwent back after the net which he had put out to dry on the shore of the\nlake.\n\nHe folded it up, placed it under his arm, and ran to the edge of the\nriver which was far too wide to jump over. He used his cunning and\nassembled a number of whales. These animals came puffing up the stream\nin obedience to his command. He ordered them to arrange themselves side\nby side across the stream so that he could walk across on their backs.\nHe most dreaded the Indians, but jumped into the water to wet his fur.\nThis being done he sprang from one whale to another until he was safe on\nthe opposite shore. He then laid down in the sand and bade the whales to\ndisperse. Some Indian children soon came playing along the sandy bank\nand saw the hare lying there. One of the children picked up the hare and\nstarted home with it. When the boy arrived and told how he had obtained\nthe hare he was directed to put it in the iron tent (kettle) where there\nwas a bright fire crackling.\n\nThe child put down the hare, upon which an old man told the boy to kill\nthe hare. The hare was terribly frightened, but opened a part of one eye\nto ascertain whether there was any place of exit beside the door. In the\ntop of the tent he observed a large round hole. He then said to himself:\n\"I\u00a0wish a spark of fire would fall on my net.\" Instantly the brands\nrolled and a great spark fell on the net and began to burn it. The hare\nwas afraid of the fire, so he sprang out of the hole in the apex of the\ntent. The Indians saw they had been outwitted by a hare, and began to\nshout and pursue the animal, which attained such speed that when he came\nto the bank of the river he had not time to recall the whales. He gave\nan extraordinary leap and cleared the entire expanse of the water. He\nexamined the net and found the fire smouldering. On arrival at his own\nhome he said to his grandmother: \"Did I not tell you I would get the\nfire?\" The old woman ventured to inquire how he had crossed the river.\nHe coolly informed her that he had jumped across.\n\n_The spirit guiding a child left by its parents._--An Indian and his\nwife had but one child, which was so infested with vermin that when the\nparents contemplated going to the tents of some distant friends the\nfather advised the mother to leave the child behind. The next morning\nafter the mother had taken down the tent the little boy asked her\n\"Mother, are you not going to put on my moccasins?\" the mother replied,\n\"I\u00a0shall put them on after I have put on my snow-shoes.\" The little boy\nsaid, \"Surely you are not going to leave me!\" She said, \"No;\" but took\nhold of her sled and started off. The little boy cried out, \"Mother, you\nare leaving me,\" and endeavored to overtake her in his bare feet;\nbut the mother soon was out of sight. The little boy began to cry and\nretraced his steps to the tent place. There he cried until the spirit of\na dead man came to him and asked, \"Where is your mother?\" The boy\nreplied, \"She has gone away and left me.\" \"Why did she leave you?\" asked\nthe old man. \"Because I was so covered with lice,\" replied the boy. The\nspirit said it would remove all of the lice but three. So it began to\npick them off. After this was done the spirit asked, \"Where did your\nmother go?\" The boy pointed out her track. The spirit then said to the\nboy, \"Would you like to go to your mother?\" The boy answered, \"Yes.\" The\nspirit put the boy on his back and started in the path made by the sled\nof his mother. After a while they came to a tree and in looking at it\nthe boy saw a porcupine sitting among the branches. The boy greatly\ndesired to have the animal. So he said, \"Grandfather, I\u00a0wish you would\nkill the porcupine.\" The old man answered, \"It will make too much smoke\nfor me to kill it.\" After a time they came across a hare which the boy\nagain desired to have. To this the man assented. So he put the boy down\nin the snow and soon caught the hare and killed it. It was now becoming\ndark, so they made their camping place for the night. The spirit gave\nthe boy the hare and told him to cook it. After the meat was cooked the\nboy asked the old man what parts of the animal he preferred. The old man\nsaid \"Give me the lungs and kidneys.\" The boy gave him those parts and\nconsumed the remainder himself. They laid down to sleep and in the\nmorning they again started on the sled track. About noon they came to\nthe tents of the Indians, and among them was the tent of the father and\nmother of the little boy. The spirit placed the boy down on the outside\nnear the door of the mother's tent and told him to go in. The boy\nentered and saw his father and mother sitting near the fire. The mother\nin astonishment said, \"Husband, is this not our little boy whom we\ndeserted at our late camp?\" The husband asked the boy, \"Who brought you\nhere?\" The little boy answered, \"My grandfather.\" The mother inquired,\n\"Who is your grandfather?\" The father asked, \"Where is he now?\" The boy\nreplied, \"He is sitting outside.\" The father asked his wife to look\noutside and see if any one was there. The woman did so and informed him\nthat \"I\u00a0see someone sitting there, but I do not know who it is.\" The\nspirit replied, \"You should call me somebody when you are _no one_ to\nleave your child to perish.\" The husband directed his wife to invite the\nold man into the tent.\n\nThe spirit declined to enter. The father then asked the son to tell him\nto come in. The boy went out and conducted the old man within the tent.\nThe latter seated himself across the fire (this is intended to mean\nopposite the door but on the other side of the fire). They slept in the\ntent that night, and when the little boy awakened he found all the\npeople preparing to snare deer. The people asked the little boy to\naccompany them. He did so, and when he was ready to start he asked the\nold man what part of the deer he should bring home for him. The old man\nreplied that he would enjoy the lungs better than any other part. The\nboy promised to bring a quantity for him on his return in the evening.\nToward evening the boy returned loaded with choice bits for the old man\nwho had conducted him to his father and mother. While outside of the\ntent he called to the old man, saying that he had brought home some food\nfor him. Hearing no reply he entered the tent, and not seeing the man he\ninquired of his mother where the person was. The mother announced that\nhe had departed, but did not know where he had gone. It was late,\nbut the boy resolved to rise early and follow his track. He was up at\ndaybreak, and finding the track followed it until he observed the spirit\ncrossing a large lake which was frozen over. The boy cried out to the\nold man to wait for him. The spirit awaited his approach. The boy said\nto him, \"Why did you go away when I had promised you some choice food?\"\nThe spirit replied that it could not dwell among living people, as it\nwas only a spirit and that it was returning to its abode. The old man\nadvised the boy to return to his people. The boy did so, but the next\nmorning the desire to see the good old man seized the boy, and again he\nstarted to find him. The other people then tied the boy to a tree and he\nsoon forgot his benefactor.\n\n_Fate of two Indian men._--Two Indian men who had gone off for the fall\nand winter's hunt were living by themselves. They were very unsuccessful\nin procuring furs and food, so that when the depths of winter had\napproached and the cold was intense they resolved to seek the camp of\ntheir friends. They were provided with nothing but bows and arrows.\nThe next morning they started off and tramped all day without seeing a\nliving thing. They made their camp and lamented they had no food. They\nfinally prepared to sleep, when one of them remarked to the other,\n\"To-night I shall dream of porcupines.\" They slept, and in the morning\nthe one related that he had seen a lot of porcupines around the tent\nwhile he was dreaming. They determined to proceed, but the one finally\nthought if they would stop there for the day and succeeding night they\nwould have all the porcupine meat they would want. They remained there\nthat day, and in the middle of the night they were aroused by a noise\nwhich proved to be porcupines gnawing the bark from the tent poles. The\none man said, \"Slip out and kill some with a stick;\" but added, \"Go out\nin your bare feet.\" He went out barefooted and killed two or three, and\ndashed back into the tent with his feet nearly frozen. He stuck his feet\ninto the hot ashes and told the other man to bring in the animals. The\nother man did so, and began to prepare the flesh for cooking. They ate\none of the porcupines, and by daylight were ready to begin their\njourney. They went idly along, shooting their arrows in sport at\nanything they could see. They continued this amusement until near\nsunset, when one exclaimed, \"My arrow has struck something; see, it is\nmoving;\" The other replied, \"What can it be, when it is sticking only in\nthe snow?\" The other said he would try and find out what it was. He\ncautiously examined, and found when he began to dig it out that the\narrow had entered the den of a bear. So they scratched away the snow and\nsoon saw a long, black hair sticking out of the hole. He jumped back and\nexclaimed, \"It is some sort of animal with black hair.\" The other\nreplied, \"Let us try and get it out. It may be good to eat.\" They\nfinally drove the bear out and soon killed it. They began to skin it,\nwhich was soon done. One of the men then said, \"It is too big and ugly\nto eat; let us leave it.\" The other, however, cut off a large piece of\nfat and put it on the sled. They then prepared their camp, and when\nmorning came they started off and traveled all day. When night came they\nmade their camp and soon had a huge fire burning. One of the men hung\nthe piece of fat over the fire and the oil soon dripped into the fire.\nIt created such a nice smell that one of them said, \"Let us taste the\nfat; it may be good to eat.\" They tasted it and found it so good that\nthey rated each other soundly for being so foolish as to leave such nice\nflesh so far behind them. They resolved to return for it. So they\nreturned for the carcass of the bear, which was far behind them, and as\nit had tasted so good they determined to lose no time in starting. They\nwent immediately, although it was now dark and very cold. They came to\nthe place where it had been left and discovered that the wolves and\nfoxes had eaten all the meat, leaving nothing but the bones. They were\nvery angry, and began to lay the blame each on the other for having left\nit. They regretted they had left such meat for wolves and foxes. They\ndetermined to proceed to where they had camped the third time. On the\nway they became very thirsty, and, stopping at a creek to drink, they\ndrank so long that their lips froze to the ice of the water hole,\nand they miserably perished by freezing.\n\n_The starving wolverene._--On the approach of winter a wolverene, which\nhad been so idle during the summer that he had failed to store up a\nsupply of provisions for himself, his wife, and children, began to feel\nthe pangs of hunger. The cold days and snowstorms were now at hand. The\nfather one day told his wife that he would go and try to discover the\nplace where his brothers, the wolves, were passing the winter and from\nthem he would endeavor to procure some food. The wife desired him not to\nremain away long, else the children would starve to death. He assured\nher that he would be gone no longer than four days, and made\npreparations to start early on the succeeding morning. In the morning he\nstarted and continued his journey until near night-fall, when he came to\nthe bank of a river. On looking at the ice which covered its surface he\ndescried a pack of wolves ascending the river at a rapid rate. Behind\nthese were four others, which were running at a leisurely gait. He soon\novertook the latter group, and was perceived by one of these old wolves,\nwhich remarked to the others, \"There is our brother, the wolverene,\ncoming.\" The animal soon joined the wolves and told them that he was\nstarving, and asked for food. The wolves replied that they had none, but\nthat the wolves in advance were on the track of some deer and would soon\nhave some. The wolverene inquired where they would camp for the night.\nThey told him to continue with them on the track of the others until\nthey came to a mark on the river bank. The wolves, accompanied by the\nwolverene, continued their way until one of the old wolves called\nattention to the sign on the bank and proposed they should go up to it\nand await the return of the others. They went up and began to gather\ngreen twigs to make a clean floor in the bottom of the tent. This was no\nsooner done than the young wolves (the hunters) returned and began to\nput up the tent poles. The old wolves said they themselves would soon\nhave the tent covering in place. The wolverene was astonished at what he\nsaw and wondered whence they would procure the tenting and fire. The old\nwolves laughed as they observed his curiosity, and one of them remarked,\n\"Our brother wonders where you will get the tent cover from.\" The\nwolverene replied, \"I\u00a0did not say that; I\u00a0only said my brothers will\nsoon have up a nice and comfortable tent for me.\" The wolves then sent\nhim off to collect some dry brush with which to make a fire. When he\nreturned the tent was already on the poles. He stood outside holding the\nbrush in his arms. One of the wolves told him to bring the wood inside\nthe tent. He entered and gave the brush to one of the young wolves (the\nleader of the hunters). The leader placed the brush in position to\ncreate a good fire, and while that was being done the wolverene wondered\nhow they would start the fire. One of the old wolves remarked, \"Our\nbrother wonders where and how you will get the fire.\" He made no reply,\nas one of the young wolves (the leader) took up a kettle and went\noutside to get some snow to melt for water, and returned with it full of\nsnow. He set the kettle down and sprang quickly over the pile of brush\nand it started into a blaze in an instant. It was now an opportunity for\nthe wolverene to wonder whence should come the supply of meat to boil.\nOne of the old wolves said, \"Our brother wonders where you will get some\nmeat to cook for supper.\" One of the young wolves went out and brought\nin a brisket of deer's meat. As soon as the wolverene saw the meat he\nasserted that he did not wonder about the source of the supply of meat,\nbut that he only wished there was some meat ready for cooking. The meat\nwas cut up and placed in the kettle and when it was ready it was served\nout. The choicest portions were selected for the wolverene and placed\nbefore him with the injunction to eat all of it. He endeavored to\nconsume it, but the quantity was too great even for him. He, having\nfinished his meal, was about to place the remainder on one of the poles\nwhen a wolf, observing his action, told him not to place it there or\nelse the meat would change into bark. He then laid it down on a piece of\nclean brushwood and when he suspected the eyes of the wolves were not\nturned toward him he stealthily inserted the portion of meat between the\ntenting and the pole. The wolves saw his action and in a few minutes the\nwolverene became very sleepy and soon retired. One of the wolves\ncarefully displaced the meat from the pole, where the wolverene had put\nit, and thrust in its stead a piece of bark. In the morning when the\nwolverene awakened his first thought was of the remnant of food. He\nreached up for it and found nothing but the piece of bark. The wolves\nwere on the alert and one of them said, \"Did I not tell you it would\nchange into bark if you put the meat in that place?\" The wolverene hung\nhis head and answered, \"Yes,\" and again laid down to sleep. By the time\nhe awakened the wolves had a second kettle of meat cooked. They desired\nthe wolverene to arise and eat his breakfast. The leader told him to\nhasten with his meal, as he had discovered some fresh deer tracks. The\nwolverene thought he would watch how they broke camp and see where they\nput the tentings. He went off a few steps and while his back was turned\nthe tent disappeared and he failed to discover where it was secreted.\nThe animals then started off, the young ones taking the lead while the\nfour old ones and the wolverene followed leisurely behind. After they\nhad crossed the river the wolverene began to wonder where they would\nhalt for the night. One of the old wolves told him they must follow the\ntrack of the leader and they would come to the sign made for the site of\nthe camp. They continued for the entire day, but just before sundown\nthey came across the bones of a freshly killed deer from which every\nvestige of meat had been removed, apparently eaten by wolves; so the\nwolverene thought he would stand a poor chance of getting a supper if\nthat was the way they were going to act. The party continued on the\ntrack and soon came upon the mark for the tent site. The wolverene was\nglad to rest, but sat down and began to look ahead in the distance for\nthe returning hunters. After a few minutes he looked around and saw the\ntent standing there. The wolves then sent the wolverene for dry brush,\nwhile they gathered green branches for the tent floor. He brought so\nsmall a quantity that it would not suffice. The young wolves returned at\nthe same time and they directed him to again procure some brush. When he\nreturned he found they had stripped all the fat off of the deer meat,\nalthough, he had not seen them bring any when they returned, and placed\nit around the inside edges of the tent. The brush was put down and again\nthe leader jumped over it and a bright, crackling fire started up.\nThe wolves then said to themselves in a low tone of voice: \"Let us go\noutside and see what our brother will do when he is left alone with the\nfat.\" They went outside and immediately the wolverene selected the\nnicest and largest piece of fat and began to swallow it. The wolves at\nthe same moment inquired of him: \"Brother, are there any holes in the\ntent cover?\" His mouth was so full, in his haste to swallow the fat,\nthat it nearly choked him. They repeated their inquiry and the wolverene\ngasped out the answer, \"yes.\" The wolves then said: \"Let us go inside.\"\nThe wolverene sprang away from the fat and sat down by the fire. They\nput on a large kettle of meat and soon had their supper ready. They gave\nthe wolverene all the fattest portions they could find. Having eaten so\nmuch of the frozen fat he became so violently ill, when the hot food\nmelted the cold fat in his stomach, that he vomited a long time, and was\nso weak that he became chilly and shivered so much that he could not\nsleep. He asked for a blanket, but one of the wolves placed his own\nbushy tail on the body of the wolverene to keep him warm. The wolverene\nshook it off and exclaimed: \"I\u00a0do not want your foul-smelling tail for a\nblanket.\" So the wolf gave him a nice and soft skin blanket to sleep\nunder. When he awakened he announced his intention to return to his\nfamily, as they would soon be dead from hunger. One of the old wolves\ndirected the younger ones to make up a sledload of meat for the\nwolverene to take home with him. The wolf did so, but made the load so\nlarge and long that the wolverene could not see the rear end of the\nsled. When it was ready they told him of it, and, as he was about to\nstart, he requested they would give him some fire, as he could not make\nany without. The leader asked how many nights he would be on the journey\nhomeward. He answered, three nights. The wolf told him to lie down in\nthe snow. He did so and the wolf jumped over his body three times, but\nstrictly enjoined upon him not to look back at the sled as he was going\nalong. The wolverene promised he would comply with his instructions.\nAfter the animal had started and got some little distance from the camp\nof the wolves he thought of the peculiarly strange things he had\nwitnessed while among those animals; and, to test himself, he concluded\nto try the method of making a fire. He stopped, gathered a quantity of\ndry brush and placed it as he had seen the wolves arrange it. He then\nsprang over it and a huge blaze gave evidence of the power within him.\nHe was so astonished that he resolved to camp there. He melted some snow\nand drank the water and retired to rest, without having looked at the\nsled. The next morning he started early and made his camp before sunset,\nas he was very tired. He gathered some brush and made the fire by\njumping over the pile of fuel. His supper was only some melted snow\nwhich he drank and retired. In the morning he started to continue his\njourney homeward and still had not seen the sled which he was dragging.\nAs he was ready to start he was so confident of his ability to create\nfire that he threw away his flint and steel. He traveled all day until\ntoward sunset he was so fatigued that he concluded to make his camp for\nthe night. He was so elated with his newly acquired faculty of making\nfire that he eagerly gathered a great quantity of dried twigs and\nbranches, until a large heap was before him. He jumped over it, and\nturned round to see the flames creep up and watch the sparks fly. There\nwas not a sign of a blaze or a spark to meet his gaze. He again jumped\nover it, and again, until he was so exhausted that he could not clear\nthe top of the pile, and at last he knocked the top of it over, as his\nfailing strength did not enable him to avoid it. The only thing left for\nhim to do was to return for his flint and steel, which he had so\nexultingly thrown aside. The animal berated himself soundly for having\ndone such a silly trick. Not having seen the sled he was surprised to\nfind how quickly he regained the site of the camp of the previous night.\nHaving recovered his flint and steel he returned, and soon had a fire\nstarted; but it was now near daylight. He resolved to start on his\njourney as soon as he had some water melted for a drink. He began to\nthink how quickly he had made the trip for his flint and steel, and\nconcluded that the great length of the sled had been purposely made to\ncause him unnecessary fatigue, as it could not be so very heavy, or else\nthat he must be extraordinarily strong. He determined to examine it,\nand did so. He could not see the farther end of the load. He flattered\nhimself that he was so very strong, and concluded to continue his\njourney. He attempted to start the sled, and found he could not move it\nin the least. He upbraided himself for permitting his curiosity to get\nthe better of his sense. He removed a portion of dry meat and a bundle\nof fat, and made them into a load to carry on his back. He placed the\nremainder on a stage, and was about ready to start homeward to his wife\nand children, whom he believed must be by this time nearly dead from\nstarvation.\n\nHe put the pack of meat on his back and set out. That evening he arrived\nat his home, and as soon as his wife heard him her heart was glad. He\nentered and informed the family that he had brought home a quantity of\nmeat and fat, and had procured so much as to be unable to carry it all\nat once. His wife begged him to fetch her a piece of meat, as she was\nnearly starved. He went out and brought in a large piece of fat. The\nwife devoured such a quantity of it that she became very ill, and\nsuffered all through the night. In the morning the wolverene stated he\nwould return for the meat which he had stored away the previous day.\nHe started in the early morning, so as to return by daylight.\n\nAs soon as the wolverene looked upon the sled loaded with meat the spell\nwas broken. One of the old wolves ordered the young wolves to go and\ndestroy the meat and fat which the wolverene had left on the stage. They\neagerly set out on the track of the sled, and soon saw the staging where\nthe wolverene had stored the remainder of the food. When they came up to\nit they fell to and devoured all but a few scraps of it. The wolves then\nwent away, and in a few hours the wolverene returned. He saw what had\nhappened and exclaimed: \"My brothers have ruined me! My brothers have\nruined me!\" He knew it had been done because he had looked back at the\nsled, although strictly enjoined upon not to do so under any\ncircumstance. He gathered up the fragments which the wolves had left and\nreturned home. When he arrived there he informed his wife that his\nbrothers had ruined him, because they had eaten all the meat which he\nhad stored away while out hunting.\n\n_The starving Indians._--A band of Indians, who had neglected to store\naway a supply of food for a time of scarcity, were upon the point of\nstarvation. An old man who lived at a little distance from the camping\nplace of the band, had wisdom to lay by a good store of dry meat and a\nnumber of cakes of fat, so that he had an abundance while the other\nimprovident people were nearly famished. They applied to him, begging\nfor food, but they were refused the least morsel. One day, however, an\nold man came to him asking for food for his children. The man gave him a\nsmall piece of meat. When the man's children ate this food they began to\ncry for more. The mother told her little boy to stop crying. He\npersisted in his clamor until his mother asked him: \"Why do you not\ngo to the old U\u00b4\u00a0sets kwa n[)e] po?\" (the name means One whose neck\nwrinkles into folds when he sits down). This old man heard the mother\ntell her child to go to him, and muttered to himself, \"That is just what\nI want.\"\n\nThe little boy went to the old man's tent door, and lifting aside the\nflap, said: \"I\u00a0want to come in.\" He went in and the old man addressed\nthe boy by his own name, saying: \"What do you want, U\u00b4\u00a0sets kwa n[)e]\npo?\" in such a kindly voice that the boy felt assured. The boy said:\n\"I\u00a0am very hungry and want some food.\" The old man inquired in an\nastonished voice: \"Hungry? and your meat falling down from the stage?\"\nThe old man bade the boy sit down, while he went out to the stage and\nselected some choice portions and brought them into the tent and gave\nthem to the boy. The old man then asked the boy if he had a sister. The\nboy said that he had a father, mother, and one sister. After the boy had\nfinished eating, the old man directed the boy to come with him and see\nthe meat stages. They went out and the old man said: \"Now, go home and\ntell your father that all of this food will belong to you if he will\ngive me his daughter.\" The little boy went home and repeated what the\nold man had said. The father signified his willingness to give his\ndaughter in marriage to the old man. The boy returned to the old man and\nstated that his father was willing to give away his daughter. The old\nman immediately went out, took some meat and fat from the stage, and\nthen cooked three large kettles of food. When this was done he selected\na suit of clothing for a man and two suits for women. He placed the\nnicer one of the latter near his own seat, and the other two suits\ndirectly on the opposite side of the fireplace (the place of honor in\nthe tent). He then told the little boy to call all the Indians, adding:\n\"There is your father's coat, your mother's dress, and your sister's\ndress. Tell your parents to sit where they see the clothing,\" pointing\nto the clothes intended for them, and the sister to sit near the old\nman, pointing to his own place. The boy ran out and apprised the people,\ntogether with his own relations. The boy returned to the old man's tent\nbefore the guests arrived. The boy's father came first, and the boy\nsaid: \"Father, there is your coat.\" The mother then entered, and the boy\nsaid: \"Mother, there is your dress.\" The sister then entered, and the\nboy pointed to the dress, saying: \"Sister, there is your dress.\" All the\nother Indians then came in and seated themselves. They took two kettles\nof meat and broke the fat into pieces and feasted until all was\nconsumed. The old man helped his wife, her father, mother, and brother\nto the contents of the other kettle. When all the food was finished the\nold man said to the boy, \"U\u00b4\u00a0s[-e]ts kwa n[)e] po, go and set your deer\nsnares.\" The old man went with him to find a suitable place. They could\nfind only the tracks of deer made several days previously. They,\nhowever, set thirty snares and returned home. The next morning they all\nwent to the snares and found a deer in each one. The people began to\nskin the deer and soon had a lot of meat ready for cooking. They began\nto feast, and continued until all was done. By this time a season of\nabundance had arrived.\n\n\n\n\n INDEX.\n\n\n AMULETS, Eskimo 201\n ---- of northern Indians 275\n AMUSEMENTS, Eskimo 254\n ---- of northern Indians 320\n ANIMAL life of the Ungava district 174\n ANIMISM among northern Indians 273\n ARCHERY, Indian 313\n ARROW, Eskimo 246\n ----, Nenenot 312\n ARTS, Eskimo 259\n ----, Nenenot 297\n ATHLETICS, Indian 321\n AURORAS, Eskimo myths concerning 266\n ---- of the Ungava district 173\n AWLS, Nenenot 318\n\n BALL used in primitive football 257\n BASKETS, Birch-bark among the Nenenot 301\n BATHS, Use of ---- 300\n BEAR of the Ungava district 174\n BEAVER, Chase of the 316\n ----, Myths concerning 339\n BELIEFS, Eskimo 196\n ----, Mortuary 192\n BIRCH-BARK canoes, Nenenot 304\n ----, Use of, for baskets 301\n BIRDS carved in ivory by the Eskimo 260\n ---- of the Ungava district 175\n BOATS, Eskimo 235\n BOOTS, Eskimo 179, 205, 217\n BOW cases, Eskimo 247\n ----, Eskimo 246\n ----, Nenenot 312\n BOWLING among the Eskimo 257\n BRANT, Myths concerning 327\n BURIAL among northern Indians 271\n\n CALENDAR, Eskimo 202\n CANNIBALISM among the Eskimo 187\n CANOES, Nenenot 304\n CARD games among the Eskimo 255\n CARVING, Eskimo 260\n CEREMONIAL connected with puberty 208\n CHASE, Methods of the 277, 316\n ----, Usages connected with the 274\n CHECKERS among northern Indians 323\n CHILDBIRTH among northern Indians 271\n CHILDHOOD, Customs relating to 190\n CHILDREN, Condition of, among northern Indians 269\n ----, Eskimo myths concerning 265\n ----, Naming of 190\n CLIMATE of the Ungava district 172\n CLOTHING of northern Indians 208, 281\n COINS, Use of, among the Eskimo 212\n COMBS, Nenenot 319\n CONJURING among northern Indians 193, 274\n COOKING among northern Indians 233, 280\n COSTUME, Eskimo 208\n ----, Nenenot 289\n COURTSHIP among the Eskimo 188\n CREATION myths 338\n CREE Indians, Northern relatives of 267\n CUP-AND-BALL among Northern Indians 255, 323\n CURLING among the Eskimo 257\n CUSTOMS, Indian domestic 178, 183, 185, 205, 275, 299\n ----, Mortuary 191\n\n DEER hunting, Eskimo 249\n ----, Myths concerning 201, 328\n DEERSKIN, Use of 284, 299\n DICE, Primitive game of 178\n DIFFERENTIATION of labor among Indians 271\n DISEASES of the Eskimo 187\n DIVORCE, Eskimo 189\n DOG whip, Eskimo 244\n ----, Habits of the Eskimo 225, 245\n ----, Use of 241, 309\n DOLLS, Eskimo 197, 258\n DOMINOES, Primitive game of 257\n DREAMS, Beliefs concerning 200\n ----, Influence of, among northern Indians 272\n DRUM, Nenenot 322, 324\n DUELING among northern Indians 271\n DWELLINGS, Indian 223, 298\n\n EFFIGIES, Use of, among the Eskimo 260\n ESKIMO, Customs of 168\n ---- myths 193, 195\n ---- of the Ungava district 175\n ----, Whale fishing by 174\n ETHNOLOGY of the Ungava district 167\n\n FESTIVALS, Nenenot 322\n Fetichism among northern Indians 201, 272\n FISH, Use of, for food 280\n FISH-HOOKS, Nenenot 320\n FISHING among the Eskimo 204\n FLOATS, Fishing, Eskimo 248\n FOLK-LORE, Indian 260, 327\n FOOD, ---- 232, 279\n FOOTBALL among the Eskimo 255\n FORT CHIMO, Ethnology of 167\n FORT GEORGE, High tides at 170\n FOX, Eskimo myths concerning 264\n FROG, Myths concerning 334\n FURNITURE, Eskimo 228\n FURS, Eskimo classification of 218\n ---- taken by northern Indians 177, 181\n\n GADFLY infesting the reindeer 295\n GAMBLING among the Eskimo 178\n GAMES, Primitive 178, 255, 323\n GEORGE RIVER, Description of 169\n Genesis among northern Indians 261, 336\n GESTURE, Use of, among northern Indians 183\n GOGGLES, Eskimo 222\n GRAVE, Eskimo 192\n GREAT SPIRIT among the Eskimo 194\n GRUBS in reindeer skins 295\n GUILLEMOTS, Mythic origin of 262\n GULLS, ---- 263\n\n HARE, Myths concerning the 263, 340\n HARNESS, Dog 243\n HARPOON used among northern Indians 183, 240\n HAWKS, Mythic origin of 263\n HEADDRESS, Nenenot 286\n HEMATITE, Use of, among northern Indians 298\n HOUSEHOLD articles, northern 228, 300\n HOUSES of the Ungava district 167\n HUDSON BAY COMPANY, Work of, in the Ungava district 167\n HUDSON BAY TERRITORY, Indians of 167, 267\n HUNTING among northern Indians 203, 240, 249, 276, 279, 316\n ---- implements 238, 246\n\n ICE pick, Primitive 319\n ---- scoop, ---- 318\n IMPLEMENTS of northern Indians 252, 317\n INNUIT, Legendary origin of 261\n ---- of the Ungava district 175\n INTESTINES, Use of, for clothing 220\n INTOXICANTS, Absence of, among the Nenenot 304\n ISLANDS, Mythic origin of 264\n IVORY carving among the Eskimo 260\n\n JAY, Beliefs concerning the 273\n\n KNIVES of northern Indians 206, 252, 317\n KOKSOAGMYUT, Description of 184\n KOKSOAK RIVER, Description of 170\n ----, Ethnology of 167\n\n LABOR, Division of 271\n LABRADOR, Ethnology of 167\n ----, Myths from 264\n LADLES, Nenenot 302\n LAMPS, Eskimo 229\n LANGUAGE, Modification of the Eskimo 176\n LARCH RIVER, Description of 171\n LAW, Common, among the Eskimo 186\n LEAF RIVER, Description of 171\n LEGENDS of northern Indians 260, 327\n LEGGINGS, Nenenot 283, 291\n LICE, Eskimo myths concerning 263\n LITTLE WHALE RIVER Indians, Description of 182\n LODGE, Ceremonies and beliefs respecting 274\n LONGEVITY among northern Indians 190, 270\n LOON, Eskimo myths concerning 262\n LYNX, Use of, for food 279\n\n MAGIC, Primitive 197\n MAMMALS of the Ungava district 174\n MARRIAGE among northern Indians 188, 199, 270\n MARROW, Extraction of 278\n MARTEN, Myths concerning 338\n MCLEAN, JOHN, cited on Hudson Bay territory 168\n MEDICINE lodge of northern Indians 274\n ----, Primitive 269, 274, 325\n ----, Thaumaturgic 194\n MEMENTOES among northern Indians 274\n MIGRATION, Eskimo 203\n MITTENS of northern Indians 219, 284, 285\n MOCCASINS, Nenenot 284\n MONTAGNAIS of the Ungava district 181\n MOON, Beliefs concerning 265\n MORTUARY CUSTOMS and beliefs 178, 191, 271\n MOSQUITOES, Mythic origin of 264\n MOUSE, Beliefs concerning 273\n MURDOCH, JOHN, editor of paper on Ethnology\n of the Ungava district 167\n ----, Reference to work of 238\n MUSIC among northern Indians 322\n MUSKRAT, Myths concerning 338\n MYTHOLOGY, Primitive 261, 327\n MYTHS of the Eskimo 195\n\n NAMES, Eskimo 200\n ----, Topographic, among the Eskimo 202\n NASKOPIE Indians, Description of 183, 267\n NAVIGATION, Eskimo 236\n NEEDLE, Nenenot 310\n NENENOT Indians, Description of 183, 267\n NUMERALS, Use of, among the Eskimo 256\n\n OIL, Consumption of, among the Eskimo 233\n ORNAMENTATION of clothing, Nenenot 283\n OTTER, Myths concerning 330\n OWLS, Beliefs concerning 273\n\n PADDLES, Nenenot 306\n PAINT Sticks, Nenenot 297\n ---- used among northern Indians 296\n PATERNITY, Indefinite, among Indians 271\n PECK, E. J., Influence of, on Indians 182\n PESTLES used among northern Indians 280, 302\n PIPE, Nenenot 302\n POLYGAMY among northern Indians, 270\n POPULATION, Eskimo 176\n PORTAGE, Method of making, among northern Indians 306\n PTARMIGAN, Hunting of 204\n PUBERTY, Ceremonial connected with 208\n\n QUIVERS, Eskimo 247\n\n RABBIT, Myths concerning 334\n RAVEN, Mythic origin of 262\n REINDEER hunting 276, 313\n ----, Myths concerning 200\n ----, Uses of 276\n RELIGION, Primitive 193\n ----, ----, Persistence of 179\n\n SACRIFICE, Primitive 196\n SCAFFOLD burial among northern Indians 272\n SCRAPERS, Nenenot 292\n SEALSKIN, Use of, among northern Indians 221, 232, 292\n SEA PIGEONS, Mythic origin of 262\n SEASONS, Recognition of, by Indians 203\n SENSE development among the Eskimo 202\n SEWING, Primitive 207, 282\n SHAMANISM among northern Indians 194, 273\n ----, Persistence of 179\n SHOES, Eskimo 217\n SINEW, Extraction of 251\n ----, Use of, for sewing 221\n SKIN clothing, Use of 209\n ---- dressing among northern Indians 205, 275, 278, 292\n ---- tents, Eskimo 226\n SKINNING, Peculiar method of 207\n SKY, Myth concerning 266\n SLEDS among northern Indians 240, 306\n SMOKING among northern Indians 234, 291, 302\n SMOKING deerskins 296\n SNARING among northern Indians 279, 315\n SNOW goggles, Eskimo 222\n ---- houses, Description of 223\n ---- shoe, Nenenot 308\n ---- ----, Use of, among northern Indians 311\n ---- shovel, Primitive 318\n SNUFF, Use of, among northern Indians 234, 291, 302\n SOAPSTONE, Use of, for utensils 228\n SOD houses, Eskimo 228\n SPEARS, Primitive 238, 314\n SPIRIT, Beliefs in 194, 272, 333, 342\n SPOONS, Nenenot 302, 306\n SPRUCE BEER, Effect of, on the Nenenot 304\n SQUIRREL, Myths concerning 328\n STARS, Beliefs concerning 266\n STATURE of the Eskimo 177, 184\n STONE houses, Eskimo 228\n STORIES of northern Indians 260, 327\n STRENGTH, Physical, of the Eskimo 268\n SUICIDE among the Eskimo 186\n SUN, Beliefs concerning 266\n SUPERSTITION among northern Indians 179, 272\n SWALLOW, Myths concerning 263\n SWEAT houses, Nenenot 300\n SWIMMING board, Nenenot 320\n\n TALISMAN, Eskimo 197\n TANNING, Primitive 294\n TARGETS, Nenenot 326\n TATTOOING, Eskimo 207\n TEAMS, Dog 241\n TENTS of northern Indians 226, 273, 298\n THROWINGSTICKS, Eskimo 239\n TIDES in the Ungava district 170\n TOBACCO, Use of, among northern Indians 234, 291, 302\n TOBOGGANS, Nenenot 307\n TOPOGRAPHY of the Ungava district 168\n TOYS, Nenenot 326\n TRADING among northern Indians 275\n TRANSPORTATION among northern Indians 304\n TRAPPING among northern Indians 204, 280\n TROPHIES among northern Indians 274\n TURNER, LUCIEN M., Memoir by, on ethnology\n of the Ungava district 167\n\n UNGAVA BAY, Description of 171\n ----, Ethnology of 167\n UNGAVA DISTRICT 267\n UTENSILS, Cooking, among northern Indians 228, 300\n\n VEGETATION of the Ungava district 169, 173\n VENISON, Preservation of 277\n VIABILITY among northern Indians 269\n VIOLIN, Eskimo 259\n\n WEAPONS of northern Indians 246, 312\n WHALE fishing, Indian 174, 203, 247, 314\n WHIP, Eskimo dog 244\n WHITE people, Legends concerning 261\n WIND, Beliefs concerning 267\n WOLF, Myths concerning 263, 330\n WOLVERINE, ---- 327, 333, 345\n ----, Trapping of 281\n WOMEN, Condition of Indian 269, 320\n ----, Myths concerning 264\n WRESTLING, Indian 321\n\n * * * * *\n * * * *\n * * * * *\n\n_Errors and Inconsistencies_\n\nNames and words in indigenous languages may be written as separate\nsyllables (S\u00fb\u00a0hi\u00b4\u00a0n[)i]\u00a0myut), in hyphenated form (S\u00fb-h[)i]-n[)i]-myut),\nor as unified words (S\u00fbh[)i]n[)i]myut)--sometimes within the same\nparagraph. These forms have not been regularized.\n\nInconsistent formatting of figure captions, with or without dash, and\ninconsistent casing of Index entries, is unchanged.\n\n \"They [the Nenenot] assert that their original home was in a country\n to the west [of the Ungava peninsula], north of an immense river,\n and toward the east lay an enormous body of salt water. The former\n was supposed to be the St. Lawrence river and the latter to be\n Hudson bay.\"\n\nThis passage is obviously wrong but has been left unchanged rather than\nguess at the author's intent.\n\n\nVariant spellings (in English):\n\n wolverine : wolverene\n _spelling changes partway through the article, with almost\n no overlap; the Table of Contents generally does not match the\n main text_\n spirt _used consistently_\n carcases (plural) _more common that \"carcasses\"_\n Innuit _always written with double nn_\n\n\nTypographical Errors\n\nList of Illustrations\n\n Figs. 107, 145\n [_missing text is not an error: these Figures have no caption_]\n 31. Eskimo man's deerskin coat (back) 211 [311]\n\nMain Text\n\n The current is sluggish at the upper end [is / is _at line break_]\n quite small and scarcely capable of being ascended [scarely]\n to keep the Indian in wholsome dread [_spelling unchanged_]\n plural of innuk, \"a\u00a0person\" [innuls]\n [_this is probably a transcription error: script \"k\" misread\n as \"ls\"_]\n less than a dozen individuals journey to Fort Chimo [indiviuals]\n during a period of great scarcity of food [or food]\n and after trial are cast off\n [_printing error: \"ft\" in \"after\" invisible_]\n When the father becomes superannuated [superanuated]\n CHILDREN. [_printing error: \"CHIL\" invisible_]\n If death result from natural causes\n [_text unchanged: may be intentional (subjunctive)_]\n no amount of slaughter can really decrease the numbers [realy]\n women acquire a wondrous dexterity\n [wonderous (_spelling \"wondrous\" occurs elsewhere_)]\n Wooden baskets are made in a similar fashion. A strip of spruce wood\n is bent nearly circular.\n [simiilar]\n [_reading conjectural: text reads \"fashion / strip of\"\n at line break without empty spaces_]\n FOOD AND ITS PREPARATION. [_final . missing_]\n the oomiak, from its flat bottom\n [_text unchanged: spelled \"umiak\" everywhere else_]\n a dish-shaped piece of reindeer horn [reinder]\n the other end of the piece may be of a different design [diferent]\n the slovenly wife and what befel her. [_spelling unchanged_]\n without much deliberation and repeated consultation [delibation]\n both sexes come to the post of Fort Chimo to trade [Chino]\n A species of gad fly [_spaced as shown_]\n the tops of the better class of footwear [betterclass]\n needles are used for the different kinds of netting\n [_text has \"dif-/erent\" at line break_]\n fastened by a whipping of sinew [fastended]\n drum beaten in rhythm to the monotonous chant [rythm]\n I\u00a0am not aware that wagers are laid upon its issue. [wages]\n lest the blows cause it to split under the strain [blows, cause]\n\n[Figure Captions]\n\n FIG. 111.--\n FIG. 129.--\n FIG. 132.-- [_all missing . after number_]\n\n[Missing quotation marks in Nenenot Folklore section:]\n\n ... do not open them until we are done dancing.\"\n \"I am playing with the ashes.\n ... and he will not know where I am.\"\n\n\n_Vocabulary_\n\nFor comparison purposes, here are some words from the \"Koksoagmyut\"\nsection of the article, along with the forms used in modern dictionaries\n(Spalding, based in Aivilik, and Schneider, based partly in Ungava).\n\n myut \"literally 'those that dwell at or\u00a0in'\":\n suffix _miut_, plural of _miuq_\n\n --from description of shaman doll\n ag\u00f3wak (part of shaman's belt):\n _arnguaq_ (charm, amulet)\n [)i]nug\u00b4-wak, e\u00b4nog ang\u00b4, inugwak (doll, little man):\n _inunnguaq_: _inuk_ with suffix _nnguaq_ (something that\n resembles X; a toy X)\n kak-cung\u00b4-unt \"belt of polar-bear skin (kak-cung\u00b4-unt)\":\n [[It is unclear whether this word--which is linguistically\n impossible--is intended for the belt or the skin. The word _kauk_\n means the skin of a walrus, or any other thick-skinned animal.]]\n tu-a\u00b4-vi-tok \"hastener\":\n verb root _tuavik-_\n tung\u00a0ak; tung wa\u00b4gn \"the great spirit\":\n _tuurngaq_ (spirit, ghost)\n\n --from description of \"dominoes\" game\n [[The two occurrences of \u00ef in this paragraph may be errors for\n [)i] (short i).]]\n \u00c1 ma zu\u00b4 a l\u00e1t (name of game)\n _amisuralaaq_\n \"ka\u00a0mi\u00fa\u00a0tik (sled)\"\n _qamutiik_ (literally a pair of sled runners, _qamut_)\n \"kaiak (canoe), kal\u00e9\u00a0sak (navel), \u00e1\u00a0ma zut (many)\"\n _qajaq_, _qalaasiq_, _amisut_\n \"a\u00a0ta\u00fa s\u00efk\u00a0(1), m\u00e1\u00a0kok\u00a0(2), p\u00efng\u00a0a\u00a0sut\u00a0(3), si\u00a0t\u00e1\u00a0m\u00fbt\u00a0(4), and\n t\u00e1\u00a0li\u00a0mat\u00a0(5)\"\n _atausi_, _marruuk_, _pingasut_, _sitamat_, _tallimat_\n\n --others (in alphabetical order)\n \u00e1 va tuk \"large sealskin float\":\n _avatuq_\n iglugiak, ig\u00a0l\u00fa\u00a0ge\u00a0ak, iglu gheak (snow house):\n may be _igluvigaq_ (snow house, esp. an abandoned snow house)\n iti\u00b4v\u00fbk \"the other, farther, distant side (of\u00a0a portion of land)\":\n _itivik_\n ka sig yak \"harbor seal\":\n _qasigiaq_ (ranger or freshwater seal)\n ki l[)i]n\u00b4[)i]k \"cut, incised\":\n verb root _kiliq-_\n ki\u00b4g[)i]ktag\u00b4myut \"island people\":\n _qikiqtaq_\n ku-m\u00e9-u-t\u00eek \"that which removes lice\":\n based on _kumak_ (louse)\n nakvak \"meaning 'found'\":\n verb root _nagvaaq-_ (to find by accident)\n ohak \"often pronounced Okak\":\n _uqaq_\n p[)u]n[)u]k \"An instrument termed snowknife\":\n _pana_\n pu-ghu\u00b4-tak (dish for oil or food):\n _puugutaq_\n s\u00fb\u00a0hi\u00b4\u00a0n\u00fbk (the sun):\n _siqiniq_\n tass\u00b4iyak \"like a lake\":\n based on _tasiq_ (lake)\n t\u00e1\u00a0hak (shadow):\n _taqaq_","title":"Ethnology of the Ungava District, Hudson Bay Territory: Eleventh Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1889-1890, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1894, pages 159-350","tradition":"folklore-oral-tradition","translated_text":null,"word_count":86397}