The drifting ice of the Gulf of Boothia never consolidates and even Committee Bay is rarely covered by a smooth land floe. Pelly Bay and the sea on the east coast of Boothia as far as Victoria Harbor (Tikeraqdjuq) freeze over, since they are sheltered by numerous islands. Still larger is the sheet of ice which covers the bay formed by the estuary of Back River, King William Land, and Boothia. The western shore of this peninsula farther north is skirted by a border of land ice the extent of which is unknown.
It is a remarkable fact that, although the extreme western and eastern parts of the country abound with extensive floes, the Hudson Bay region and the Gulf of Boothia are almost devoid of them.
This brief sketch will enable one to understand the geographical distribution and the migrations of the Eskimo tribes who inhabit this country.
[DISTRIBUTION OF THE TRIBES.]
[GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.]
The mode of life of all the Eskimo tribes of Northeastern America is very uniform; therefore it is desirable to make a few general observations on the subject before entering into a detailed description of each tribe. All depends upon the distribution of food at the different seasons. The migrations or the accessibility of the game compel the natives to move their habitations from time to time, and hence the distribution of the villages depends, to a great extent, upon that of the animals which supply them with food.
As the inhospitable country does not produce vegetation to an extent sufficient to sustain life in its human inhabitants, they are forced to depend entirely upon animal food. In Arctic America the abundance of seals found in all parts of the sea enables man to withstand the inclemency of the climate and the sterility of the soil. The skins of seals furnish the material for summer garments and for the tent; their flesh is almost the only food, and their blubber the indispensable fuel during the long dark winter. Scarcely less important is the deer, of whose heavy skin the winter garments are made, and these enable the Eskimo to brave the storms and the cold of winter.
That the mode of life of the Eskimo depends wholly on the distribution of these animals will therefore be apparent, for, as already observed, they regulate their dwelling places in accordance with the migrations of the latter from place to place in search of food.
When the constraint of winter is broken the natives leave their old habitations. The warm rays of the sun melt the roofs of their snow houses, the strong vaults which afforded shelter and comfortable warmth during the long cold winter begin to break down, and new houses must be built. They therefore exchange the solid snow houses for light tents, which are very small and poor, until a sufficient number of sealskins for better structures is secured.