The Eskimo, or “Enuit,” as he calls himself, being of a jovial, merry disposition, has various forms of amusement. A common one among the men is that of competing with each other in throwing the harpoon at a mark on the snow. With such practice they become powerful and expert throwers.
A rather amusing incident happened in this connection at one time during my Eskimo experiences. I, too, had been diligently exercising myself in the art of harpoon throwing, and one day, having become somewhat expert, was thus amusing myself when a party of natives came along. One of their number, doubtless supposing me to be a novice, stood up at what he thought a safe distance, and cried, “Attay me-loo-e-ak took” (Go ahead, throw). Promptly accepting the challenge, I hurled my harpoon, which made so straight for the astonished man’s breast that he did not know which way to jump, and barely got out of the way in time to save himself. As the shaft passed him and went crashing through a flour barrel behind where he had stood, his companions had a great laugh at his expense.
Another source of much amusement is the game of foot-ball, which they play with the bladder of a walrus. Their game is played neither according to Rugby nor Association rules, but wholly without rule or system. Men and women, old and young, join in the chase after the ball, with equal delight. “Here a woman, carrying her child on her back, may be seen running at full speed after the ball, and the next moment lying at full length with her naked child floundering in the snow, a few feet beyond her. A minute later, the child is in its place, and the mother, nearly choking with laughter, is seen elbowing her way after the ball again.”
A popular kind of indoor sport, played much during the long days of winter, is a game something like our old game of cup and ball. It is played with a block of ivory, cut so as to somewhat resemble the form of a bear, which it is supposed to be. The ivory is drilled full of holes in a regular and systematic way, and to the neck of the block an ivory pin four or five inches in length is attached by means of a sinew cord about a foot long. To prevent twisting of this cord, a little ivory swivel is inserted in the middle of it, and the game is played by swinging up the ivory block and catching it upon the pin. The various holes in the block count differently, so that there is really a good deal of skill in the game.
ESKIMO GAMES AND TOYS.
Running and wrestling are sometimes indulged in, though not often continued with interest.
The children play among themselves much as they do in the civilized south. Their favorite amusement is that of playing house, at which they may be seen busily engaged almost any pleasant summer day about an Eskimo village. The play-houses consist simply of rings of stones, and for dolls the Eskimo children are content with pretty pebbles or chips of wood or ivory. The actors, with their families, go visiting from one house to another, and have their imaginary feasts and all the rest just as our children have.
At Cape Prince of Wales, Hudson Straits, the Eskimos have been observed to play at a game of tilting. For this sport a very large igloe is built, having a great pillar in the centre of it. Ivory rings are hung from the roof, and the players, armed with spears, walk rapidly round the pillar, and vie with each other in catching the rings on their spears.