The second kind of boat is that which is called the oomiak, and is used by the women. It is evident that the slight and fragile kia, useful as it is for hunting purposes, cannot be employed for the conveyance of baggage, or for the transport of more persons than one, and that therefore some other kind of boat must be made. This is a large, clumsy, straight sided, square ended, flat bottomed vessel, more like a skin trough than a canoe, to which it bears about the same analogy as a punt does to a racing skiff. The framework of the oomiak is made of wood and whalebone, and the covering is of seal skin, from which the hair has been removed. When wet, these skins are nearly transparent, so that the forms of the persons sitting in the boat can be indistinctly seen.
The sides of the boat are about three feet in height, and the weight which a well-made oomiak will carry is really wonderful. Captain Lyon mentions that in one of these boats, measuring twenty-five feet in length by eight in width and three in depth, more than twenty human beings were conveyed. There are two very clumsy paddles by which the boat is slowly propelled, and it is steered by another paddle in the stern. The post of steerer is usually occupied by an old man, who is unable any more to manage the kia, but is still capable of guiding the oomiak, and of flinging a knife, a harpoon, a seal hook, or anything that may come to hand, at the women, if they neglect their paddling.
To each oomiak there can be attached a very primitive mast, with its sail. The mast is but a short one, and is stepped in the fore-part of the boat. Toward the top it is pierced, and in the hollow is placed a sheave, or deeply grooved wheel of ivory, on which the halyards run. The sail is that simplest of all sails, the lug, and is made of the intestines of the walrus, split open so as to form strips of some four inches in width. These strips are sewed together, and produce a sail which is remarkable both for its strength and its extreme lightness. The reader will doubtless have noticed the singular contrast between the canoes of the hot and cold parts of the world. In the former, the canoe and sails are entirely of vegetable materials, without a particle of hide, sinew, or any animal product; while, in the latter, the animal world furnishes almost the whole of the materials.
We now come to the sledge, which is quite as important to the Esquimaux as the canoe. The materials and form of the sledge differ exceedingly, so that in these respects no two sledges are alike, while the principle is identical in all. A sledge is nothing more than two runners, connected with each other by a number of cross-pieces, on which the driver can sit and the goods be packed.
The best sledges are those in which the runners are made from the jaw-bone of a whale, sawn into narrow planks and cut into the proper shape. They are always shod with a strip of the same material. Others are made of wood, shod with bone, and in these cases the wooden part is usually in several pieces, which are lashed together with hide thongs. In the winter, the hide of the walrus is often used for runners. It is fully an inch in thickness, and, when frozen, is very much stronger than a board of the same thickness.
When neither wood, bone, nor walrus skin can be procured, the Esquimaux is still at no loss for runners. He cuts long strips of seal skin, and sews the edges of each strip together, so as to make two long tubes. The tubes are next filled with moss and earth, and water is then poured into them. In a minute or two they are frozen as hard as stone, and are then ready to form the runners of a sledge. The lower edge of the runner, whether it be of bone, wood, or skin, is always shod with a coating of ice, which is renewed as soon as it is worn off by friction, which not only causes the sledge to glide faster over the frozen surface, but preserves the valuable material of the runners from being rubbed to pieces.
The cross-bars of the sledge are generally of bone. They project a little beyond the runners on either side, and are so arranged that the sledge is narrower in front than behind. They are not lashed too tightly, as they are required to yield to the jerks and continual strain which the sledge undergoes in its travels.
The sledge is drawn by a team of dogs, varying from seven to ten, or even more, according to the weight to be carried. They are very simply harnessed to it by a strong cord, or trace, made of seal hide, the trace of the leading dog being considerably longer than that of any of the others. Being accustomed to the work of the sledge, as soon as they can walk, their training is very complete, and a good team will do almost anything but speak.
A team of seven dogs drew a heavy sledge, full of men, a mile in four minutes and a half; and Captain Lyon mentions that three dogs drew him the same distance in six minutes, the weight of the sledge being one hundred pounds. Several times, when returning to the ships, the sagacious animals brought him and his companions safely to the vessels, though the night was pitchy dark and the snow-drift blowing about in clouds. They kept their noses to the ground, and galloped on at full speed, in absolute certainty of their proper line.
The dogs are guided, not by reins, but by a whip, the lash of which is from eighteen to thirty feet in length, and the handle only one foot in length, much like the stock-whip of Australia. A skilful driver makes but little use of the whip when he has a good team of dogs, but guides the animals partly by his voice, and partly by flinging the lash of the whip on one side or other of the leader, who perfectly understands the signal. When they are required to stop, the driver gives a cry almost exactly like the “Woa!” of our own country. He then throws the lash gently over their backs, when they all lie down, and will remain couched in the snow for hours even, during their master’s absence.