During the last decades the most important inducement to removals has been the presence of the whalers in certain parts of the country. Since the beginning of our century their fleets have visited the west shore of Baffin Bay and Davis Strait, and thus European manufactures have found their way to the inhospitable shores of the Arctic Sea. The most valuable objects which were bartered were metals and wood. The value of the former may be seen in its economical application for knives and harpoon heads. By means of this trade the Akudnirmiut and the Tununirmiut became far superior to the Oqomiut and the Iglulirmiut, with whom they traded extensively in dogs, skins, &c. The Akuliarmiut and the Qaumauangmiut also enjoyed the advantages which accrued from trade with the ships of the Hudson Bay Company.
When the whalers became better acquainted with the natives and the peculiar jargon which is still in use was developed, the traffic became very active, and reached its height after Cumberland Sound was rediscovered by Penny. As soon as the whalers began to winter in the sound and to employ the natives the latter received firearms and European boats in exchange for their wares, and then their modes of living became materially changed. The immense quantity of European manufactured articles which thus came into the possession of the natives induced the removal of many families to the favored region. Particularly did the Nugumiut and the Akudnirmiut migrate during that period. When in the course of time the Bay of Nugumiut was visited by the whalers removals of members of this tribe became less frequent.
After the Eskimo had become acquainted with the advantages of firearms the natives of Davis Strait also began to trade bearskins for guns and ammunition, having learned how highly they were prized in Cumberland Sound. Besides, they received, in exchange for seals and walrus blubber put up for the whalers, tobacco, pipes, coffee, boxes, &c. In a similar way the Saumingmiut barter with the whalers of Cumberland Sound, whom they visit during the winter, carrying heavy loads of bearskins to the stations.
A brief sketch of the way in which the whaling and the trade with the Eskimo in Cumberland Sound are carried on may be of interest at this point. Two of the whaling stations are still kept up. They are situated on Qeqerten, the settlement of the Kingnaitmiut. When the Eskimo who have spent the summer inland return at the beginning of October they eagerly offer their services at the stations, for they receive in payment for a half year’s work a gun, a harmonium or something of that nature, and a ration of provisions for their families, with tobacco every week. Every Saturday the women come into the house of the station, at the blowing of the horn, to receive their bread, coffee, sirup, and the precious tobacco. In return the Eskimo is expected to deliver in the kitchen of the station a piece of every seal he catches.
The time for the fall fishing commences as soon as the ice begins to form. If the weather, which is generally stormy, permits it, the boats leave the harbor to look out for the whales which pass along the east shore of the sound toward the north. During the last few years the catch has been very unprofitable, only a few whales having been seen. As the ice forms quickly the boats must be brought back about the end of October or the beginning of November. Since the whale fishery has become unprofitable the stations have followed the business of collecting seal blubber and skins, which they buy from the Eskimo. (See Appendix, [Note 1].)
A lively traffic springs up as soon as the ice becomes strong enough to allow sledges to pass from shore to shore. The sledges of the stations are sent from one settlement to another to exchange tobacco, matches, coffee, bread, &c. for skins and the spare blubber which the Eskimo have carefully saved up. On the other hand, those natives who require useful articles, such as cooking pots, lamps, &c., collect quantities of hides and blubber and go to Qeqerten to supply their wants. The winter passes quickly amid the stir of business, till everything comes to a stop at the end of March, when the young sealing season fairly opens.
When the sun has reached such a height that the snow begins to melt in favored spots, a new life begins at the stations. The skins which have been collected in the winter and become frozen are brought out of the store room and exposed to the sun’s rays. Some of the women busy themselves, with their crescent shaped knives, in cutting the blubber from the skins and putting it away in casks. Others clean and salt the skins, which are likewise packed away. The men also find enough work to do after the young sealing is over, for the whale boats must be got ready for the spring fishing. Strangers whose services have been engaged by the station for the next few months arrive daily with their families and all their goods to take up their abode on Qeqerten. The boats are dug out of the deep snow, the oars and sails are looked after, the harpoons are cleaned up and sharpened, and everything is in busy preparation. The boats are made as comfortable as possible with awnings and level floors, for the crews are not to come to the shore for about six weeks.
By the beginning of May, the arrangements having been completed, the boats are put upon the sledges, which, under the direction of native drivers, are drawn by dog teams, with their crews, to the floe edge. The sledges being heavily laden and food for the dogs having to be provided by hunting, each day’s stage is rather short. Arriving at the floe edge the sledges are unloaded and the boats are launched. Seals and birds of all kinds are now found in profusion and the chase is opened without delay upon everything that is useful and can be shot. Sledges are regularly sent back to Qeqerten with skins and meat for the families of the Eskimo, while the blubber is packed in casks, which are kept ready on the spot.
The most important object of the expedition is the whale. Harpoons and lines are always in readiness for the contest with the mighty monster. The boats return to the north with the breaking up of the ice and the fishing ends in July. The Eskimo are paid off and dismissed and resume their reindeer hunting, while the whites are glad to enjoy some rest after the weeks of exhausting labor.
The constant contact between the Eskimo and the whalers has effected a perfect revolution in the trade between the Eskimo tribes. As the whale catch in Cumberland Sound has fallen off during the past fifteen years, a remigration of the population of Davis Strait has occurred, ships visiting these shores every fall and a regular traffic being kept up. Therefore many Oqomiut now travel as far as Qivitung in order to trade there. As Nugumiut is still frequently visited by whalers, there is no inducement for the inhabitants to leave their country.