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At the time this article was written, the Ungava district was part of the Northwest Territories. It was transferred to Quebec in 1912. As of spring 2012, Ungava corresponds loosely to the Nunavik administrative division; maps may show either name.

[Contents]
[List of Illustrations]

[Ethnology of the Ungava District:]
[Koksoagmyut]
[Nenenot]

[Index]

[Transcriber’s Notes]

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION—BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY.

ETHNOLOGY
OF THE
UNGAVA DISTRICT, HUDSON BAY TERRITORY.

By LUCIEN M. TURNER.

[CONTENTS.]

[ILLUSTRATIONS.]

Illustrations have been placed as close as practicable to their discussion in the text. The List of Illustrations shows their original location. Figures 107 and 145 have no caption.

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[ETHNOLOGY OF THE UNGAVA DISTRICT,]
HUDSON BAY TERRITORY.

By Lucien M. Turner.

(Edited by John Murdoch.)

[INTRODUCTION.]

Ungava bay is on the northern coast of old Labrador—the last great bight of the strait between the ocean and the mouth of Hudson bay. Its chief affluent is Koksoak or South river, which is several hundred miles long and takes its rise in a picturesque festoonery of lakes looped through the highlands half way down to Quebec.

[ FORT CHIMO AND THE SURROUNDING REGION.]

Fort Chimo is in longitude 68° 16´ west of Greenwich and latitude 58° 8´ north. The post is on the right bank of the Koksoak river, about 27 miles from its mouth. The elevation of the level tract on which the houses are situated is but a few feet above high-water mark. The location was selected on account of its comparative dryness, and also because the river affords a safer anchorage in that vicinity than lower down.

The early Moravian missionaries, long before established on the Atlantic coast, desired to extend their labors for the conversion of the Eskimo to their teachings. About the year 1825 a vessel ascended the Koksoak river for the purpose of selecting a new missionary station. Nearly opposite Fort Chimo is a beacon, yet standing, erected by the people of that vessel. Their reception among the natives was such that they gave a glowing account of it on their return. The Hudson Bay Company immediately took steps to erect a trading post upon the river, and a small party was sent in the year 1831 from Moose Factory to establish a trading post where the trade would appear to promise future development. The men remained there, obtaining a precarious subsistence, as the vessel delivering them supplies visited that place only once in two years. Their houses were simple, consisting of a single structure for the official in charge, another for the servants, and two more for the storage of goods. A palisade was erected around the houses to prevent the intrusion of the natives, Indians and Eskimo, who were so lately at war with each other that the rancorous feeling had not subsided and might break out afresh at any moment without warning. The remnants of the palisade were yet visible in 1882. The establishment of this trading post had a pacifying influence upon the natives, who soon found they could do better by procuring the many valuable fur-bearing animals than by engaging in a bloody strife, which the traders always deprecate and endeavor to prevent or suppress. After many trials to establish an overland communication with the stations on Hamilton inlet, it was found to be impracticable, and in 1843 the station was abandoned.

John M’Lean, in a work entitled “Twenty-five Years in the Hudson’s Bay Territory,”[1] gives an account of that portion of the country that came under his knowledge from the year 1838 to 1843.

In the year 1866 the steamer Labrador was built and sent with a party to reestablish the post at Fort Chimo. Since 1866 the post has been a paying station, and in later years a good profit has been made.

Fort Chimo is the chief trading station of the Ungava district. The Ungava district proper is the area embraced by the watershed whose outflow drains into Ungava bay. The eastern boundary is formed by the foothills on the west side of the coast range, which is the western limit of Labrador. This range has a trend northwest and southeast to latitude 60°, where it makes a somewhat abrupt angle and pursues a nearly north course, terminating with Cape Chidley and the Buttons, the latter a low group of islets some 7 miles north of the cape. The southern boundary is the “Height of Land,” near latitude 55°. This region is estimated to be from 1,000 to 3,000 feet above sea level. The greater portion of it is comparatively level, and on its surface are innumerable lakes of various sizes, some of which are quite large. The western boundary is not so well known in the southern part of the region, as it has been seldom traversed. It seems to be a high elevation extending toward the north-northwest, as numerous streams run from the southwest and west toward the central or Koksoak valley. Eskimo who have traversed the region many times report that the elevated land abruptly ends near 58° 30´, and that there is formed a wide swampy tract, estimated to be about 80 miles wide, which opens to the northeast and southwest. The northwestern portion of the district is a great area abounding in abrupt hills and precipitous mountains of various heights. These heights, estimated to range no higher than 2,600 feet, terminate abruptly on the western end of the strait, and the numerous islands in that portion of the water are, doubtless, peaks of this same range continuing to the northwest.

It will be thus seen that the district of Ungava is a huge amphitheater opening to the north. The interior of the district is excessively varied by ridges and spurs of greater or less elevation. The farther south one travels, the higher and more irregularly disposed are the hills and mountains. These spurs are usually parallel to the main ranges, although isolated spurs occur which extend at right angles to the main range. The tops of the higher elevations are covered with snow for the entire year. The summits of the lower ones are shrouded with snow as early as the 1st of September, and by the 1st of October the snow line descends nearly to their bases. The lower lands are full of swampy tracts, lakes, and ponds.

The more elevated regions are totally destitute of vegetation, except the tripe des roches, which gives to the hills a somber color, anything but inspiring. Fully three-fourths of the more elevated region is, with the exception of black lichens, barren rock. Everywhere is the evidence of long continued glacial action. The southern exposures of all the hills show the same character of wearing, and, in many instances, a fine polish on the rocks forming their bases. This smoothness extends nearly to the summits of the higher peaks. These again are somewhat rougher and often broken into jagged, angular fragments, frequently of immense size. The more moderate elevations are usually rounded summits on whose higher portions may be found huge bowlders of rock having a different character from that upon which they rest, proving that they were carried there by masses of ice in the glacial ages. The northern extremity of all the ridges and spurs indicate that the glacial sheet moved to the north-northwest, for these portions of the rocks are so jagged and sharp edged as to appear to have been broken but yesterday.

The rivers of this district are numerous and several are of great size, although but two of them are navigable for more than 100 miles, and this only for boats of light draft.

The river usually known as George’s river (Kan´gûk¢lua´luksoak) is the largest on the eastern side. This stream takes its rise about latitude 55° and pursues a moderately tortuous course nearly northward and falls into the eastern side of Ungava Bay. It has a wide bay-like mouth narrowing rapidly at the mouth proper. Swift rapids are formed here on account of an island near the center. Beyond this the river expands and has an average width of half a mile for a distance of about 18 miles where the river bends eastward and forms rapids for over 2 miles. It is navigable for the steamer Labrador only about 12 miles. Beyond the rapids it runs tolerably smooth and deep for nearly 40 miles and thence to the source is a series of rapids and falls, rendering portages frequent, and making it utterly impracticable for even a heavy skiff to ascend beyond 70 miles from the mouth. Indians assert that high falls occur about 150 miles from the mouth of the George’s river. The water is said to fall from a terrific height, almost perpendicularly, and it causes the ground to tremble so that the thundering noise may be heard for more than a day’s journey from it.

The tide at the mouth of George’s river rises 53 feet, and at the Anchorage, opposite the newly established station of Fort George, some 12 miles from its mouth, 42 feet.

Whale river is the next important river toward the east. Off the mouth of this river is a huge island, locally known as Big island. This high island extends parallel to the course of the river, and a reef, connecting its upper end with the mainland, becomes dry at low water. The course of Whale river is not well known. About 40 miles up this stream it suddenly contracts and becomes a mere creek, forming the outlet of a large lake, whose position is not satisfactorily determined. It is to the banks of this lake that certain families of the Indians repair for summer fishing.

The next large river is the Koksoak. This stream is the largest in the district. It takes its rise from lakes situated on the plateau—the “Height of Land,”—and pursues a course having a general direction north-northeast. On emerging from the lake it is rather small, but forks and unites again about 40 miles below. The current is sluggish at the upper end, and the eastern branch is so narrow that the Indians have to part the overhanging alders and willows to afford their canoes a passage. This branch is said to be the shorter way to the lake and is not so difficult to ascend, the eastern branch being shallow and containing a number of rapids.

Below the junction of the branches the river rapidly becomes larger and contains several very high falls, below which the river flows northwest for a couple of hundred yards and then curves to the north-northeast for a distance of 5 miles. This portion is only about 700 feet wide. It then turns abruptly westward and rushes swiftly through a narrow gorge only 200 feet wide for a distance of about 7 miles. This course is noted for several rapids, through which a boat can not make its way without great difficulty. At the end of this 7-mile run the river again bends abruptly to the east, and continues that course with little northing until the last bend, some 65 miles below, is reached. At the lower end of the 7-mile run the ledges and reefs are too numerous to count. From this place to the mouth of the Larch river the Koksoak is obstructed by islands, bars, and shoals. Below these, however, it becomes quite broad, until nearly opposite the high point or promontory below the mouth of the Larch (Pl. XXXVI). From this locality it is monotonous till the last bend is reached, some 4 miles above Fort Chimo, where it suddenly turns to the north and pursues that direction to the sea with little variation. At the last bend, however, a large island, locally known as Big island, not only obstructs but ends navigation for boats drawing over 6 feet. Small boats, such as skiffs and native boats, ascend to the lower end of 7-mile run. The principal obstruction to travel in any kind of vessel in the Koksoak from Big island to the mouth of the Larch river is the presence of two falls or rapids about 40 miles from Fort Chimo.

[ BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY ELEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XXXVI]

VIEW ON KOKSOAK RIVER.

The extreme rise and fall of the tide at the mouth of the river is 62 feet 3 inches. The usual rise and fall is from 8 to 12 feet less, depending on the stage of the river. At Fort Chimo the tide rises as much as 31 feet. The backwater is held in check as far as the upper rapids in a common stage of water, and during a high rise in the month of June the water is “backed” some 3 miles beyond the upper rapids.

The branches of the Koksoak river are few and unimportant. The larger tributary is the Larch river. It is a rapid and almost unnavigable stream of variable depth, mostly shallow, and 100 to nearly 400 yards wide.

At about 40 miles from its mouth the Larch forks, the lower or southwest fork draining the eastern sides of the same mountains whose western slopes are drained by the Little Whale river. This southwest fork of the Larch river is quite small and scarcely capable of being ascended, although it may, with great caution, be descended. This is the course followed by the Little Whale river Indians when they traverse the country to join the Naskopies of the Koksoak valley. The northwest branch of the Larch is still smaller and is reported to issue from the swampy tract of land in about latitude 58° 30´.

The next large river is the Leaf. Its mouth is about 34 miles northwest of Fort Chimo, and it flows into a peculiarly shaped bay named Tass´iyak, or “like a lake.” The length of the river proper is estimated to be but 40 miles, flowing from a very long and narrow lake, having its longer axis extending southwestward and draining the greater part of the swampy tract lying in latitude 58° 30´. The southwestern portion of this tract is merely an area covered with innumerable small lakes so intimately connected by short water courses that it is difficult to determine whether water or land constitutes the greater part of the area. The rivers to the west are of less importance and drain the rugged area forming the northwestern portion of the district, or that part lying under the western third of Hudson strait.

The principal portion of Hudson strait that came under my observation is Ungava bay. This bay is a pocket-shaped body of water lying south of the strait and toward its eastern end. Soundings in various portions of this bay indicate a depth of 28 to 70 fathoms for the central area. The bottom appears to be uniformly the washings from the freshwater streams. The extreme tides of Hudson strait tend to produce the most violent currents in this bay. Opposite the entrance of Leaf river bay is a whirlpool of considerable size, which causes much trouble to navigation. It is safe enough at high water but very dangerous at half-tide.

The large island known as Akpatok lies in such a position as to break much of the current along the south side of the middle of the strait, but to give additional force to the currents at either end. This island is about 100 miles long and has an average width of 18 miles. It is the largest island in the strait proper.

The coast line of the northwest portion of the mainland is imperfectly known, as is the western coast forming the eastern shore of Hudson bay. Navigation in any portion of Hudson strait is attended with much danger, not alone from the tremendous energy of the tides but also from the quantity of ice to be found at all times. During the months of August and September the strait is comparatively free from large fields of ice, but after that date the harbors, coves, and other anchorages are apt to be frozen up in a single night.

[1] Two vols. in one. London, 1849.

[ CLIMATE.]

The temperature is controlled by the direction of the wind. The warmest winds are southeast, south, and southwest during the summer. The northeast winds bring (if backing) fog, rain, or snow; the north wind is usually cold and disposed to disperse the clouds. The northwest wind is always very cold in winter and chilly in summer. Westerly winds are moderate in winter and summer. The southerly winds are warm at all seasons if blowing hard, but very cold if blowing lightly in winter. I think the coldest light winds of the winter are from a point little west of south. They are doubtless due to the cold from the elevated region—the Height of Land.

The greatest amount of cloudiness occurs in the spring and fall; rather less in July and August, and least during December, January, and February. The average cloudiness for the entire year is not less than eighty-two hundredths of the visible sky.

Sleet falls mostly from the middle of September to the beginning of December. Snow then succeeds it and continues to be the only form of precipitation until the middle of April, when sleet and snow fall until the first rain sets in. The season of rain is very erratic. It may rain by the first of May, but rarely does. Snow falls every month in the year; the 2d of July and the 6th of August were the dates farthest apart for this form of precipitation. The character of the rain is usually moderate to hard for the summer showers; although several notable exceptions of abundant dashes occur during late June and all of July. The August and September rains are usually light to moderate, but often persistent for several days. The snowfalls are light to heavy in character, rarely, however, lasting more than twenty-four hours. The sleet is usually precipitated in severe squalls. The lower grounds are permanently covered with snow by the 1st of December, this covering remaining until the 10th of June. At the latter date only the heavier drifts and the snow of the ravines remain. It entirely disappears by the last of July at all elevations no higher than that of Fort Chimo.

The higher hills retain snow until the last of August, but none is to be seen in the vicinity of Fort Chimo after that date. By the middle of September snow again covers the tops of the distant high hills.

Fogs rarely occur so far inland as Fort Chimo. Those occurring are in July and August. At times they are very dense; and, as they form during the earliest hours of the day, they are usually dissipated by 4 to 7 a. m. While the ice is setting in the river, and driven back and forth by the tides, huge volumes of steam arise from the inky water and are spread over the land by the light winds prevailing at that season. This moisture deposited on the bushes and trees forms a most beautiful sight.

[ AURORAS.]

Auroras may be seen on most of the clear nights of the year. The month of June is, on account of its light nights, the only month in which an aurora is not observable.

[ VEGETATION.]

The northern limit of trees on the Labrador coast is in latitude 57°. Here the conifers are stunted and straggling. Beyond the coast range they attain a slightly higher altitude and thence continue to a point about thirty miles north of the mouth of George’s river. On the western side of the mouth of this river the trees are pushed back 15 to 20 miles from the sea. At the mouth of Whale river, the trees attain a height of 30 to 50 feet on the eastern (right) bank and within 2 miles of the shore. On the left bank the trees do not approach to within 10 to 15 miles of the coast. At the mouth of False river they form a triangular extension and attain considerable size, due in great measure to the peculiar formation of a huge amphitheater whose north wall serves as an admirable protection against the cold winds from the bay. On the western side of False river the tree line extends in a southwesterly direction across the Koksoak and to the banks of the Leaf river nearly at its source from the large lake. From the south side of this lake the trees are very much scattered and attain inconsiderable size, scarcely fitted for other uses than fuel.

A line from this lake southwest to the eastern shore of Hudson bay forms the northern limit of trees for the northwest portion of the region. The people (Eskimo only) who dwell north of this line are dependent upon the stunted willows and alders, growing in the deeper ravines and valleys having a southern exposure. Large pieces of wood are much sought for by the Eskimo of the northwest portion, for use in constructing their kaiaks, umiaks and paddles, as well as spear shafts and smaller requirements for which the distorted stems of willow and alder will not suffice.

South of the line given as the northern limit of trees the growth slowly attains greater size and extension of area. The timber north of the Height of Land is comparatively small, the spruce and larch rarely attaining a size greater than 12 to 15 inches at the ground and rapidly tapering up for 2 feet or so above the surface. Above the height of 2 feet the stems slowly taper and, in a few instances, produce symmetrical stems for more than 15 feet. The trees growing within 40 miles of Fort Chimo seldom exceed 10 inches in diameter, and of the larger trunks the logs are selected to form the material from which the walls of all the buildings at that place are constructed.

The alders, willows, and a few other bushes attain a greater or less size, depending upon the situation and amount of protection afforded. I have seen as large stems of these shrubs growing within a mile of Fort Chimo as I have seen at either Davis inlet or Rigolet.

The flowering plants are sparsely scattered over the northern areas, and then only in most suitable soils. The ground remains frozen from the last of October—earlier some seasons—to the last of May, or even into the middle of June. The appearance of the annuals is sudden, and they rapidly attain their full size and quickly fall before the chilling winds of autumn.

[ANIMAL LIFE.]

[MAMMALS.]

The marine mammals alone appear to be well known, but the number of cetaceans can certainly be increased above the number usually reported inhabiting the waters immediately bordering upon the region.

The phocids are best known for the reason that off the shores of southeast Labrador the pursuit of species of this family is carried on each spring to an extent probably surpassing that anywhere else on the face of the globe.

At the mouth of Little Whale river, the white whale is taken to the number of 500 each year, although the capture is steadily decreasing. The Indians here do the greater part of the labor of driving, killing, flaying, and preserving them. At Fort Chimo another station for the pursuit of white whales is carried on. Here the Eskimo do the driving and killing, while the Indians perform the labor of removing the blubber and rendering it fit for the oil tanks into which it is placed to put it beyond the action of the weather. The skin of the white whale is tanned and converted into a leather of remarkably good quality, especially noted for being nearly waterproof.

Of the land mammals, the reindeer is probably the most abundant of all. It is found in immense numbers in certain localities, and forms for many of the inhabitants the principal source of subsistence, while to nearly all the residents its skins are absolutely necessary to protect them from the severity of the winter.

The black, white and brown bears are common enough in their respective areas. The former rarely ranges beyond the woodlands, never being found so far north as Fort Chimo. The white bear is common in the northern portions bordering the sea and is occasionally found as far south as the strait of Belleisle, to which it has been carried on icebergs or fields of ice. Akpatok island and the vicinity of Cape Chidley are reported to be localities infested with these brutes. The brown or barren-ground bear appears to be restricted to a narrow area and is not plentiful, yet is common enough to keep the Indian in wholsome dread of its vicious disposition when enraged.

The smaller mammals occur in greater or less abundance according to the quality and quantity of food to be obtained. The wolves, foxes, and wolverines are pretty evenly distributed throughout the region. The hares are found in the wooded tracts for the smaller species and on the barren regions for the larger species.

[BIRDS.]

The actual residents were ascertained to be less than twenty species for the northern portion of the Ungava district.

Of the actual residents the two species of the genus Lagopus are the most abundant of all birds in the region, and form an important article of food for all classes of people inhabiting the district. The winter exerts an important influence on the smaller resident species. During the winter of 1882-’83 the number of the four species obtained of the genus Acanthis was almost incredible. Their notes might be heard at any time during that season, which was cold, though regularly so, and not specially stormy. In the winter of 1883-’84 not a single individual was observed from the middle of November to the last of March. The same remarks may well apply to the white-winged crossbill (Loxia leucoptera), which was very abundant the first winter, but during the last winter a very small flock only was observed and these were apparently vagrants.

Among the water birds, certain species which were expected to occur were conspicuously absent. The character of the country forbids them rearing their young, as there is little to feed upon; and only a few breed in the immediate vicinity of Fort Chimo. Among the gulls, Larus argentatus smithsonianus is certainly the only one breeding in abundance within Ungava bay. Of the terns, the Arctic tern (Sterna paradiseæ) was the only one ascertained to breed in Hudson strait. I am not certain that they do breed there every year. Although I saw them in early July, 1883, under conditions that led me to believe that they were on their way to their nests, yet it was not until 1884 that a number of eggs were secured near that locality.

Of the smaller waders, but two species were actually ascertained to breed in the vicinity of Fort Chimo, yet two or three other species were observed under such circumstances as to leave no doubt that they also breed there.

[ THE NATIVE INHABITANTS OF THE COUNTRY—GENERAL SKETCH.]

[ THE ESKIMO.]

The northern portions of the coast of the region under consideration are inhabited by the Eskimo, who designate themselves, as usual, by the term “Innuit,” people (plural of innuk,* “a person”). That they have been much modified by contact with the whites is not to be doubted, and it is equally certain that their language is constantly undergoing modifications to suit the purposes of the missionary and trader, who, not being able to pronounce the difficult guttural speech of these people, require them to conform to their own pronunciation. The region inhabited by the Innuit is strictly littoral. Their distribution falls properly into three subdivisions, due to the three subtribal distinctions which they maintain among themselves. The first subdivision embraces all the Innuit dwelling on the Labrador coast proper and along the south side of Hudson strait to the mouth of Leaf river, which flows into Ungava bay.

* This is probably a transcription error: script “k” misread as “ls”.

These people apply the term Sû hi´ nĭ myut to themselves and are thus known by the other subdivisions. This term is derived from Sû hi´ nûk, the sun, and the latter part of the word, meaning people (literally “those that dwell at or in”); hence, people of the sun, sunny side, because the sun shines on them first. At the present time these people are confined to the seashore and the adjacent islands, to which they repair for seals and other food. South of Hamilton inlet I could learn of but one of these people.

The Innuit of pure blood do not begin to appear until the missionary station of Hopedale is reached. Here a number of families dwell, although mostly at the instigation of the missionaries. Between this station and Hebron are several other Moravian missionary stations, at each of which dwell a greater or less number of pure Innuit. North of Hebron to Cape Chidley there are but few families, some seven in all, embracing a population of less than 40 souls. On the west side of Cape Chidley, as far as the mouth of George’s river, only about eight families live. These with the George’s river Innuit comprise less than 50 individuals. There is a stretch of coast bordering Ungava bay, from George’s river to the Koksoak river, which is uninhabited.

The Koksoak river people include only four or five families and number less than 30 souls. The next people are those dwelling at the mouth of Leaf river, but they are more properly to be considered under the next subdivision.

The exact number of the Sûhĭnĭmyut could not be definitely determined. They are subdivided into a number of small communities, each bearing a name compounded of the name of their home and myut, “the people of.”

The inhabitants of Cape Chidley are known as Ki lĭn´ĭg myut, from the word ki lĭn´ĭk, wounded, cut, incised, lacerated; hence, serrated, on account of the character of the rough rocks and mountains.

The natives of George’s river are known as Kan´gûk¢lua´luksoagmyut; those of the Koksoak river are known as Koksoagmyut.

The second subdivision includes the Innuit dwelling on the area lying between the mouth of Leaf river, thence northward, and along the south side of Hudson strait. Their western and southern limit extends to about latitude 60°.

These Innuit are known by the other subdivisions as Ta hág myut. They apply the same term to themselves. The word is derived from Tá hak, a shadow; hence people of the shade or shadow as distinguished from the Sû hĭ´ nĭ myut, or people of the light or sunshine. These people are but little influenced by contact with the white traders, who apply to them the term “Northerners.” Their habits and customs are primitive, and many appear to be entirely distinct from the customs of their neighbors south and east. The character of the region in which they dwell is very rugged. Huge mountain spurs and short ranges ramify in every direction, forming deep valleys and ravines, along which these people must travel to reach the trading station of Fort Chimo of the Ungava district, or else to Fort George of the Moose district.

The distance to the former is so great that only three, four, or five sledges are annually sent to the trading post for the purpose of conveying the furs and other more valuable commodities to be bartered for ammunition, guns, knives, files and other kinds of hardware, and tobacco. Certain persons are selected from the various camps who have personally made the trip and know the trail. These are commissioned to barter the furs of each individual for special articles, which are mentioned and impressed upon the mind of the man who is to effect the trade. The principal furs are those of the various foxes. Among them are to be found the best class of silver foxes, and wolverenes and wolves. Those to be sent are procured the previous winter, and when the snow falls in November or early December the line of sleds starts out for the trading post. The sled which represents the wants of the more western of these Innuit speeds to where the second may be, and they repair to the place of meeting with the third, and thus by traversing the line of coast the arctic caravan is made up. Provisions are supplied by the wayside, and when all is in readiness a southern course is traveled until the frozen morasses on the south of the hills are reached. Thence the course is toward Leaf river and across to Fort Chimo. By the last week of April or the first week of May the visitors are expected at the trading post. They usually bring with them about two-fifths of all the furs obtained in the district; indeed, the quantity often exceeds this amount. They seldom remain longer than the time needed to complete their bartering, as the rapidly melting snow warns them that each day of delay adds to their labor in returning.

The homeward journey is more frequently made along the coast, as there the snow is certain to remain longer upon the ground. It is not infrequent that these travelers experience warm weather, which detains them so long that they do not reach the end of their journey until the middle of the summer or even until the beginning of the next winter. Many of the Innuit who accompany these parties have never seen white men until they arrive at Fort Chimo; women are often of the party. These people are usually tall and of fine physique. The men are larger than the average white man, while the women compare favorably in stature with the women of medium height in other countries.

They have quite different customs from those of their present neighbors. Their language is dialectically distinct; about as much so as the Malimyut differ from the Kaviagmyut of Norton Sound, Alaska. The Tahagmyut have a rather harsh tone; their gutturals are deeper and the vowels usually rather more prolonged. They are much given to amusement and still retain many of the old games, which the Sûhĭ´nĭmyut have forgotten or no longer engage in. Their dead are treated with no ceremony. They simply lash the limbs of the deceased to the body and expose the corpse to the elements, removing it, however, from immediate sight of the camp. Old and infirm people are treated with severity, and when dependent upon others for their food they are summarily disposed of by strangulation or left to perish when the camp is moved.

Women are held in little respect, although the men are very jealous of the favors of their wives, and incontinence on the part of the latter is certain to be more or less severely punished. The male offender, if notoriously persistent in his efforts to obtain forbidden favors, is usually killed by the injured lover or husband.

Gambling is carried on to such a degree among both sexes that even their own lives are staked upon the issue of a game. The winner often obtains the wife of his opponent, and holds her until some tempting offer is made for her return. The only article they possess is frequently wagered, and when they lose they are greeted with derision. The women, especially, stake their only garment rather than be without opportunity to play. The usual game is played with a number of flattened pieces of walrus ivory. On one side are a number of dots forming various crude designs, which have received names from their fancied resemblance to other objects. These must be matched. The game somewhat resembles dominoes, and whether it is original with these Innuit I was unable to conclude. They stoutly maintain that it originated with themselves. I suspect, however, it had its origin in the imitation of some one who had observed the playing of dominoes on board of some of the whaling vessels visiting these waters.

For other amusements these Innuit indulge in a number of tests of personal strength, such as wrestling and leaping.

Feasts are held at stated times in huge structures built of snow blocks. The exact signification of these feasts was not learned, owing to the limited stay these people made each year at Fort Chimo. Their dress consists of the skins of seals and reindeer. The sealskins are worn during rainy weather and by those who are in the canoe or kaiak. The skirts of their garments are ornamented with an edging of ivory pieces cut into a pear-shape, having a small hole pierced through the smaller end.

These pieces of ivory, often to the number of many scores, give a peculiar rattle as the wearer walks along. Their boots are noticeably different from those made by the Koksoak river people, inasmuch as the soles are often made with strips of sealskin thongs sewed on a false sole, which is attached to the under surface of the sole proper. The strips of thong are tacked on by a stout stitch, then a short loop is taken up, and another stitch sews a portion of the remainder of the strip. This is continued until the entire under surface consists of a series of short loops, which, when in contact with the smooth ice, prevents the foot from slipping. This sort of footgear is not made in any other portion of the district.

The third subdivision comprises the Innuit dwelling on the eastern shore of Hudson bay, between latitudes 53° and 58°.

The number of these Innuit could not be definitely ascertained, as they trade, for the most part, at Fort George, belonging to the Moose district. Each year, however, a party of less than a dozen individuals journey to Fort Chimo for the purpose of bartering furs and other valuables. Those who come to Fort Chimo are usually the same each year. In language they differ greatly from the Koksoak Innuit, inasmuch as their speech is very rapid and much harsher. Many of the words are quite dissimilar, and even where the word has the same sound it is not unusual that it has a meaning more or less different from that used by the Koksoak Innuit. As these people have been long under the advice and teachings of the missionary society of London, it is to be expected that they, especially those nearer the trading station, are more or less influenced by its teachings. Their customs differ somewhat from the other Innuit, though this is due in a great measure to the impossibility of procuring the necessary food, and skins for garments, unless they are constantly scouring the plains and hills for reindeer or the shore for seals and other marine creatures.

These people are called by their neighbors and themselves I´tivi´ myut, Iti´vûk signifies the other, farther, distant side (of a portion of land); hence, the word Itivimyut means people of the other side. The northern Itivimyut are probably the most superstitious of all the Innuit dwelling in the region under consideration.

Although the missionaries have devoted considerable energy to the work of converting these people, and though many of them profess Christianity, these professions prove on examination to be merely nominal. As soon as the converts are beyond the teacher’s influence, they return to the shaman for guidance.

In the spring of 1883 a party of these people visited Fort Chimo. A great number of the Koksoak people were ill, some 30 miles above the station. The visitors had among them a shaman renowned throughout the land. He, with the connivance of two or three of the people with whom he stopped, began some of the most astonishing intrigues to dispel the evil spirit afflicting the people. Several men were parted from their wives, and these were compelled to dwell with other men who were at the bottom of the conspiracy. Other couples had to flee from that place to prevent being divorced, at least temporarily. After a time the visitors descended to Fort Chimo, and while the bartering was going on the shaman announced his conversion to Christianity, and vowed never again to return to practicing shamanism. On the return of the harried fugitives they passed the camp of the Koksoak river people, where they had a few days before been the guests, and stole their supplies of reindeer meat and other valuable property, even attempting to purloin a kaiak; and they had proceeded many miles thence before they were overtaken and compelled to relinquish the stolen property. They were seen some months after by some Tahagmyut, to whom they stated their fear of returning among the Koksoak people. A more plausible scamp does not dwell in those regions than this shaman, whose name is Sápa. His power over the spirit controlling the reindeer is widely believed in and invoked by the other shamans, who feel incapable of turning the heads of the deer and thus compelling them to wander in the desired direction.

Among these people only have I heard of a son who took his mother as a wife, and when the sentiment of the community compelled him to discard her he took two other women, who were so persecuted by the mother that they believed themselves to be wholly under her influence. She even caused them to believe they were ill, and when they actually did become so they both died.

In former years the Innuit extended entirely around the shore of Hudson bay. Now there is a very wide gap, extending from the vicinity of Fort George, on the eastern coast, to the vicinity of Fort Churchill, on the western coast. At the present time the Innuit occupy the areas designated in these remarks. That they formerly extended along the Atlantic coast far to the south of their present limit is attested by an abundance of facts.

The Innuit of the eastern shore of Hudson bay, the Itivimyut, informed me that the Innuit dwelling on the islands of Hudson bay, more or less remote from the mainland to the east, are termed Ki´gĭktag´myut, or island people. They relate that those islanders have quite different customs from the mainland people, inasmuch as their clothing consists of the skins of seals and dogs, rarely of reindeer skins, as the latter are procurable only when one of their number comes to the shore to trade for such articles as can not be obtained on his locality. The spear, kaiak, bow and arrow are used, and they have but little knowledge of firearms. These people are represented as often being driven to greatest extremity for food. It is said that their language differs considerably from that of their neighbors.

The Innuit, as a rule, are peaceful and mild-tempered, except when aroused by jealousy. They are, however, quick enough to resent an insult or avenge an injury. They form a permanent attachment for the white man who deals honestly and truthfully with them, but if he attempts any deception or trickery they are certain to be ever suspicious of him, and it is difficult to regain their favor.

Their courage and ability are not to be doubted, and when they are given a due amount of encouragement they will perform the most arduous tasks without complaint.

[ THE INDIANS.]

The Indian inhabitants of this region may be divided into three groups, differing but slightly in speech, and even less in habits.

(1) The Mountaineers, “Montagnais” of the early Jesuit missionaries, roam over the areas south of the Hamilton inlet and as far as the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Their western limits are imperfectly known. They trade at all the stations along the accessible coast. Many of them barter at Rigolet and Northwest river.

In customs they differ little from the Indians to the north of them. Their means of subsistence are the flesh of reindeer, porcupines, and various birds, such as geese, ducks, ptarmigan, and grouse.

The habits of the reindeer in this portion of the country are very erratic. They are often absent from large tracts for several years, and appearing in abundance when little expected. The scarcity of the reindeer renders the food supply quite precarious; hence, the Indians rely much upon the flesh of the porcupine, hare and birds for their principal food.

Their clothing is of the tanned skin of the deer when they are able to procure it. As nearly all the skins of the reindeer are used for garments, few are prepared for other purposes; hence the northern stations (Fort Chimo) furnish great numbers of these skins in the parchment condition to be purchased by the Mountaineers, who cut them into fine lines for snowshoe netting and other purposes.

They procure the furs of marten, mink, fur beaver, muskrats, lynxes, wolverines, wolves, and foxes. A considerable number of black bears are also obtained by these Indians. By the barter of these furs they procure the articles made necessary by the advent of the white people among them. They are quiet and peaceable. Many of them profess a regard for the teachings of the Roman missionaries, who have visited them more or less frequently for over a hundred and fifty years. I was unable to obtain the term by which they distinguish themselves from their neighbors. That they are later comers in the region than the Innuit is attested by the bloody warfare formerly carried on between them, of which many proofs yet exist. The Mountaineers applied to the more northern Indians the term of reproach, “Naskopie.” This word denotes the contempt the Mountaineers felt for the Naskopies when the latter failed to fulfill their promise to assist in driving the Innuit from the country.

It was impossible to obtain a satisfactory estimate of the numbers of the Mountaineers. My stay in their vicinity was too short to learn as much about them as was desired.

(2) The Indians dwelling to the southwest of the Ungava district differ rather more than the Mountaineers, in their speech, from the Indians of the Ungava district. They average, for both sexes, slightly taller than the Naskopies. The men are spare, and have small limbs and extremities. The cheek bones are also more prominent, although this is partly due to the thin visage. The women are disposed to be stout, and in the older women there is a decided tendency to corpulence. The complexion, too, is considerably darker. The men wear long hair, usually cut so as to fall just upon the shoulders. The hair of the women is quite heavy, and is worn either in braids or done up in folds upon the side of the head.

In their personal habits they are much more tidy than their eastern relations. Their dress differs but little from that of their neighbors. The women dress in cloth made of material procured from the traders, and some of these appear respectable enough when so dressed. They have been so long in contact with the white people at Moose Factory, some of whom had brought their wives from home with them, that the women have imitated the dress of the latter. Certain of these women are skillful in working fancy articles. The men occupy their time in hunting and fishing. The reindeer have in recent years become so scarce in the vicinity of Fort George that many of the Indians have left that locality and journeyed to the eastward, dwelling in proximity to the Naskopies, or even with them.

Both sexes are mild and sedate, although the women are exceedingly garrulous when well acquainted.

These Indians are often employed to assist in the capture of the white whale, which ascends the lower portions of the larger streams of that district. They are the only Indians whom I have seen eating the flesh and blubber of these whales. The Naskopies will not touch it, declaring it to be too fat. The fins and tail are portions highly prized while they are helping render out the blubber of these whales at Fort Chimo.

A point of great dissimilarity between the Naskopies and the Little Whale river Indians is that the birch-bark canoe of the latter is much more turned up at each end, producing a craft well adapted to the swift currents of the rivers. The occupants are skillful boatmen, and will fearlessly face wind and wave that would appall the heart of the Naskopie. Sails are sometimes erected in a single canoe. At times two canoes are lashed together and a sail spread from a single mast. This double boat is very convenient for the traveler. These people are strongly addicted to the practice of polygamy; and while they are Christians externally, they are so only as long as they are within the reach of the missionary.

Among those who had come to dwell in the Ungava district were several who had, because of the opportunity, taken two wives. The missionary, E. J. Peck, suddenly appeared among them as he was on his way to London. On learning of the conduct of the people he gave them a sound rating and besought them to relinquish the practice. They assented, and sent the second wives away until the missionary was out of the country, and then they took them back.

Girls are often taken as wives before they attain puberty, and for this reason they seldom have large families. Two, three, or four children form the usual number for each family. They are satisfied if the first child is a male; and to the mother who delivers only female children a term of contempt is often applied. The women appear to be well treated, and occasional laxity of morals is not noticed among them so long as it is not notorious.

Their beliefs and traditions were not learned by me, on account of the presence of these people at Fort Chimo when other labors occupied my entire time.

Their purchases are made with furs of the same kinds as those procured in the Ungava district. The black bear is procured in great numbers by these Indians. They preserve the under lip, dressed and ornamented with beads and strips of cloth, as a trophy of their prowess.

The harpoon used in striking the white whale of their rivers is an implement doubtless peculiar to those people, and much resembles that of the Innuit.

(3) The third division of Indians includes those dwelling for the most part in the Ungava district. The total number of these Indians is about 350. They apply the term Ne né not—true, ideal men—to themselves, although known by the epithet Naskopie, which was applied to them by the Mountaineers of the southeastern portion of the region.

They differ slightly in customs from their neighbors, but their speech is somewhat different, being very rapidly uttered and with most singular inflections of the voice. A conversation may be begun in the usual tone, and in a moment changed to that of a whining or petulant child. It is impossible for the white man to imitate this abrupt inflection, which appears to be more common among the males than the females. During ordinary conversation one would erroneously suppose, from the vehemence of gesture, that the speaker was angry. They are much more demonstrative than their neighbors, often shouting at the full strength of their voices when an ordinary tone would apparently suffice. That their voice is penetrating may be inferred from the fact that during quiet days it is not unusual for parties to converse from opposite sides of the Koksoak river, at Fort Chimo, where the river is nearly a mile and a half wide.

As certain words are spoken in a voice scarcely louder than a whisper, I did not believe it possible that they could understand each other at so great a distance, until I saw the people on the opposite shore doing what they were bidden by those with me.

When the women get together it is amusing to observe the eagerness of the old crones endeavoring to make their voices heard above the rest. The clerk, while trading with them, often teases them until the entire number turn their voices on him, and the only relief he has is to expel them all from the store and admit one or two at a time, while the remainder throng the windows and shout at the top of their voices.

During the spring, when flocks of Canada geese are winging their way northward, the Indians will imitate their notes so closely that the birds do not discover the source until too late. Some of the party make one note, while the others imitate the other note. It seldom fails to beguile the geese to the spot.

Owing to the impossibility of getting a reliable person to teach me the language of these people I was able to procure but few words. The number obtained, however, is sufficient to prove that the people of this region, excluding the Innuit and whites, belong to the Cree branch. The Mountaineers and Little Whale river Indians belong to the same stock, and the difference in their language is due wholly to environment.

The Indians and Innuit of this region are more or less directly in contact. At Fort Chimo it is especially so. Here, as elsewhere, they do not intermix, an Indian never taking an Innuit wife or the Innuit taking a squaw for a wife. I knew of one instance where a Naskopie went to dwell with some Innuit camped near the mouth of the Koksoak, but after remaining away for a few days he returned to his own people.

[ SPECIAL ACCOUNT OF THE PEOPLE AROUND FORT CHIMO.]

[ THE KOKSOAGMYUT.]

The Eskimo with whom I was brought in contact at Fort Chimo were those belonging to that immediate vicinity. They term themselves Koksoagmyut, or people of the Koksoak or Big river.

The people who apply this name to themselves do not number more than a score and a half. There are but four families, and among these are some who belong to other localities, but now dwell with the Koksoagmyut. They consider themselves a part of the people dwelling as far to the north as the western end of Akpatok island, and to the east as far as George’s river. The Eskimo dwelling between those points have similar habits, and range indiscriminately over the hunting grounds of that locality, seldom going farther southward than the confluence of the Larch river or the North river with the Koksoak.

[Among these few natives] now inhabiting the Koksoak valley we find the men to be above the stature usually ascribed to the Eskimo. All but one of the adult males are above 5 feet 8 inches. The smallest man is little more than 5½ feet tall. All are well proportioned and present an exceptionally good physique. The females are also well proportioned, and, in fact, appear to compare well with females of civilized countries as far as their stature is concerned. The lower extremities of both sexes really are shorter than the general appearance would indicate, and thus the body is somewhat longer. The great individual variation in the proportional length of the legs is doubtless the result of the way infants are carried in the hood on the backs of the mothers. In this constrained position the limbs were obliged to conform to the shape of the body on which the child, in a manner, grew. While the limbs are not decidedly curved, yet they are not so nearly under the body as those of the whites. In walking, the inner edges of the feet often touch each other, and, in a manner, tend to cause the boots to slip outward on the feet.

The head, hands, and feet appear fairly proportioned; although, as a rule, they have small hands and feet. The females have proportionally smaller feet than hands. The head may seem larger than it really is, on account of the flattened features of the face.

The average nose is large and flat, and the prominence of this organ is often diminished by the wide cheeks and overhanging forehead. In most cases the chin projects less than the nose. The average face is round and flat, but there are exceptions, as I have seen one or two persons whose faces were a regular oval, and with the exception of the flat front, seen from a side view, were as well formed as one will meet among other people.

The skin has the same differences of color as among white people. The greater number of people are moderately dark, but this depends very greatly on the season of the year. I have not seen any white people so much changed as these are by the exposure to the summer sunshine. In the winter they are confined to their huts and bleach to a lighter color. A couple of weeks’ exposure renders them scarcely recognizable as the same persons. The young children are usually lighter than the adults, although some are quite dark. The hair is coarse, long and abundant, and always straight.

The few half-breeds seen at Fort Chimo are the young children of the male servants of the company, who have in two instances taken full-blooded Eskimo women for wives and who were married by the agent of the company. These children are quite pretty, the male favoring the mother and the girl resembling the father. With these, as with the children of natives, much depends on the cleanliness of the person. The soot and other filth accumulating on their faces and hands, seldom washed, of course modifies the appearance of the exposed portions of the body. Some of the girls would be attractive enough if a copious amount of water was used to remove the ridges of dirt which are too plainly visible. The hands are often much disfigured from numerous cuts and bruises, which, when healed over, leave a heightened scar of a whitish color quite different in color from the surrounding tissue and often presenting an unsightly appearance.

By the time puberty is attained the girls quickly change, and in a few years begin to show the result of their arduous life by the appearance of wrinkles, haggardness, and general breaking down, which, although it may progress slowly, is seldom recovered from.

Like the rest of the Innuit, the Koksoagmyut are usually peaceful and mild tempered. Among themselves affrays are of rare occurrence. Jealousy arouses the worst passions, and the murder of the offender is generally the result. When a person becomes so bad in character that the community will no longer tolerate his presence he is forbidden to enter the huts, partake of food, or hold any intercourse with the rest. Nevertheless, as long as he threatens no one’s life, but little attention is paid to him. Should he be guilty of a murder, several men watch their opportunity to surprise him and put him to death, usually by stoning. The executioners make no concealment of their action, and are supported by public opinion in the community.

In the case of a premeditated murder, it is the duty of the next of kin to avenge the deed, though years may pass, while the murderer pursues his usual occupations undisturbed, before an opportunity occurs to the relative for taking him by surprise. Sometimes the victim is not overcome and turns upon the assailant and kills him. The man, now guilty of two murders, is suffered to live only at the pleasure of the people, who soon decree his death. That murder is not approved, either by the individual or the community, is well attested by the fact that the island of Akpatok is now tabooed since the murder of part of the crew of a wrecked vessel, who camped on that island. Such a terrible scene was too much, even for them; and now not a soul visits that locality, lest the ghosts of the victims should appear and supplicate relief from the natives, who have not the proper offerings to make to appease them.

Aged people who have no relatives on whom they may depend for subsistence are often quietly put to death. When an old woman, for instance, becomes a burden to the community it is usual for her to be neglected until so weak from want of food that she will be unable to keep up with the people, who suddenly are seized with a desire to remove to a distant locality. If she regains their camp, well for her; otherwise, she struggles along until exhausted and soon perishes. Sometimes three or four of the males retrace their steps to recover a lost whip or a forgotten ammunition bag. They rarely go farther than where they find the helpless person, and if their track be followed it will be found that the corpse has stones piled around it and is bound with thongs.

An old woman at Port Chimo had but one eye, and this was continually sore and very annoying to the people with whom she lived. They proposed to strangle her to relieve her from her misery. The next morning the eye was much better and the proposed cure was postponed.

Cases of suicide are not rare, considering the few people of that locality. Pitching themselves from a cliff or producing strangulation are the usual methods. Sometimes a gun is used. Remorse and disappointed love are the only causes of suicide.

A man discovered, during a period of great scarcity of food, that while he went in quest of food his wife had secretly stored away a quantity of fish and ate of them during his absence only. Coming home unexpectedly, he caught her eating and she endeavored to secrete the remainder. He quietly went out of the snow hut and blocked up the entrance. She inquired why he did so. His reply was for her to come out and she would discover why it was done. His tone was not at all reassuring. She remained within the hut and perished from starvation, knowing she would be killed if she went out.

Instances are reported where, in times of great scarcity, families have been driven to cannibalism after eating their dogs and the clothing and other articles made of skins. Unlucky or disliked women are often driven from the camp, and such must journey until they find relief or perish by the wayside.

[ DISEASES.]

The principal diseases from which these people suffer are pulmonary troubles, chiefly arising from their filthy manner of living in crowded huts, too ill ventilated to allow the escape of the odors emanating from their own bodies and from accumulations of slowly decomposing animal food. All openings must be closed as quickly as possible in order to economize the heat within, for when once chilled it is difficult to restore the house to the proper degree of warmth. An Eskimo would always prefer to erect a new hut of snow rather than pass the night in one which has been deserted for only a single night if the doorway has not been tightly closed with a block of snow.

Within the walls, reeking with the exhalations of various putrid matters, the people breathe and rebreathe the air filled with poisonous gases; so fully one-half of the Eskimo die of pulmonary troubles. The other prevailing diseases are those causing devitalization of the blood, such as scurvy. Sores break out on the shoulders, elbows, knees, and ankles. The ravages of these diseases proceed at an astonishing rate, soon carrying off the afflicted person.

The means of relief usually employed are those which the shaman (or conjurer, as he is locally known) is able to effect by working on the imagination of the sick, who is in this condition easily influenced. The will power of both the patient and shaman is stretched to its utmost tension, and as faith with them, as with many others of fairer skins, often produces more of the relief than the ministrations of drugs or drafts, the cure is effected, or else the shaman, like the physician, has not the devil on his side.

The magnitude of the disease is generally measured by the amount of the patient’s worldly wealth.

[ MARRIAGE.]

A woman is married as soon after puberty as a male comes along who has the requisite physical strength to force her to become his wife. Many of the females are taken before that period, and the result is that few children are born to such unions and the children are generally weakly.

The ceremony between the couples is quite simple. The sanction of the parents is sometimes obtained by favor or else bought by making certain presents of skins, furs, and other valuables to the father and mother. The girl is sometimes asked for her consent, and, if unwilling, often enlists the sympathy of the mother, and the affair is postponed to a more favorable opportunity, or till the suitor becomes disgusted with her and takes somebody else.

If the parents are not living, the brothers or sisters must be favorable to the union. There is often so much intriguing in these matters that the exact truth can seldom be ascertained.

Where all obstacles are removed and only the girl refuses, it is not long before she disappears mysteriously to remain out for two or three nights with her best female friend, who thoroughly sympathizes with her. They return, and before long she is abducted by her lover, and they remain away until she proves to be thoroughly subjected to his will. I knew of an instance where a girl was tied in a snow house for a period of two weeks, and not allowed to go out. She finally submitted, and they returned with the other couple, who were less obstreperous, and doubtless went along to help their male friend and companion. The woman left her husband in the course of two or three weeks, and when he was asked about it he acknowledged that she had pulled nearly all the hair from his head and showed numerous bruises where she had struck him. This same woman was afterward tied to a sled to make her accompany the man she subsequently chose as her husband, who wished her to go to another part of the country. It was a lively time, some of the old women pushing her and persuading, the younger ones doing all in their power to obstruct her. Children are often mated at an early age, and I have known of several instances where two friends, desirous of cementing their ties of fellowship, engage that their children yet unborn shall be mated. In such instances the children are always recognized as married, and they are allowed by the parents to be so called. I knew a small boy of less than seven years who always addressed a girl of apparently a year older as his wife.

The marriageable age of the female varies greatly, although puberty takes place early. I have known of a child of fourteen having children. I heard of a half-breed girl, on the Labrador coast, who became a mother a few months after the age of thirteen.

Monogamy is generally the rule, but as there are so many counteracting influences it is seldom that a man keeps a wife for a number of years. Jealousy resulting from a laxity of morals produces so much disagreement that one or the other of the parties usually leave with little ceremony.

In rare instances, where there is a compatibility of temper and a disposition to continence, the pair remain together for life.

Many of the girls bear children before they are taken for wives, but as such incidents do not destroy the respectability of the mother the girl does not experience any difficulty in procuring a husband. Illegitimate children are usually taken care of by some aged woman, who devotes to it all her energies and affections.

The number of children born varies greatly, for, although these Eskimos are not a prolific race, a couple may occasionally claim parentage of as many as ten children. Two or three is the usual number, and many die in early childhood.

When the family is prosperous the husband often takes a second wife, either with or without the approval of the first, who knows that her household duties will be lessened, but knows also that the favors of her husband will have to be divided with the second wife. The second wife is often the cause of the first wife’s leaving, though sometimes she is sent away herself. Three or four wives are sometimes attained by a prosperous man, and one instance was known where the head of the family had no less than five wives. The occupation of a single snow house by two or three wives brings them into close intimacy and often produces quarreling. The man hears but little of it, as he is strong enough to settle their difficulties without ceremony, and in a manner better adapted to create respect for brute strength than affection for him.

The females outnumber the males, but the relationship among the Koksoagmyut is now so close that many of the males seek their wives from other localities. This, of course, connects distant people, and interchange of the natives of both sexes is common.

Separation of couples is effected in a simple manner. The one who so desires leaves with little ceremony, but is sometimes sought for and compelled to return. Wives are often taken for a period, and an exchange of wives is frequent, either party being often happy to be released for a time, and returning without concern. There is so much intriguing and scandal-mongering among these people that a woman is often compelled by the sentiment of the community to relinquish her choice and join another who has bribed a conjurer to decide that until she comes to live with him a certain person will not be relieved from the evil spirit now tormenting him with disease.

The only way for the couple against whom such a plot has been laid to escape separation is for them to flee to another locality and remain there until the person gets well or dies, whereupon the conjurer declares it was their cohabitation as man and wife which afflicted the invalid. A designing woman will often cause a man to cast off the legal wife to whom he is much attached and come and live with her. In such instances the former wife seldom resents the intrusion upon her affections and rights but occasionally gives the other a severe thrashing and an injunction to look to herself lest she be discarded also. The children of the cast-off woman are frequently taken by her and they go to live with her relatives as menials on whom devolve the labor of severest kinds, she being glad to obtain the refuse of the hovel to support her life in order that her children may be well taken care of.

Some wives are considered as very “unlucky” and after trial are cast off to shift for themselves. A woman who has obtained the reputation of being unlucky for her husband is eschewed by all the men lest she work some charm on them.

In social relations the head of the family comes first, and the oldest son second, the other sons following according to respective ages.

The sons of the first wife, if there be more than one wife, take precedence over those of the second or third wife. It may be that a man has lost his first wife and takes another. The sons of these two are considered as those of one wife so far as their relation to each other is concerned. When the father becomes superannuated or his sons are old enough to enable him to live without exertion, the management of affairs devolves on the eldest son, and to the second is delegated the second place. Each may be occupied in different affairs, but the elder alone chooses what he himself shall do.

If the father live to a great age, and some of the men certainly attain the age of more than 80 years, he may have great grandchildren about him, and these never fail to show respect for their ancestor.

All this family may dwell in a single tent, or in two or more tents. Where the leader directs, there they all repair, although each one who is at the head of a family may be left to employ himself as he may prefer. These sons, with their wives and children, form a community, which may have other persons added to it, namely, the persons who are related to the wives of the sons. There may be but one community in a locality, and this is locally known to the white people as the “gang” of the head man.

Families whose members have decreased in number by death or by marriage may seek the companionship of one of these communities for protection. The new arrival at once acknowledges his dependence and is, in a manner, under the influence, if not control, of the leader of the community which he joins.

[ CHILDREN.]

A new born babe must not be washed until six or eight hours have elapsed. It is then placed to the breast and rarely gets any water to drink until old enough to help itself to it.

The child may be named while yet in utero. There being no distinctions for sex in names the appellation can scarcely be amiss. Several names may be acquired from the most trivial circumstances. Old names may be discarded and new names substituted or certain names applied by certain people and not used by others.

Love for offspring is of the deepest and purest character. I have never seen a disrespectful Eskimo child. Mothers and fathers never inflict corporal punishment on their children, for these are early taught to obey, or rather they are quick to perceive that their parents are their protectors and to them they must go for assistance. Orphan girls are taken as nurses for small children, and the nurse so employed has seldom any trouble in controlling the child.

Among young children at play the greatest harmony prevails. An accident resulting in sufficient harm to cause tears obtains the sympathy of all, who strive to appease the injured child by offers of the greatest share of the game, the little fellow often smiling with the prospective pleasure while the tears yet course down his begrimed cheeks. In a moment all is forgotten and joyous shouts sound merrily as the chubby youngsters of both sexes redouble their exertion in playing football or building toy houses in the newly fallen snow, where, on the bed of snow within the wall of the hut, the doll of ivory, wood or rags rolled into its semblance, plays the part of hostess whom they pretend to visit and with whom they converse.

Among the younger boys and girls, of 10 or 12, there is a great spirit of cheerful rivalry, to prove their ability to secure such food as they are able to capture. If they can procure enough to purchase some ammunition with which to kill ptarmigan they soon have a certain amount of credit. This enables them to provide some coveted luxury for their parents, who, of course, aid and encourage them to become successful hunters. Within the huts the girls display their skill by sewing fragments of cloth into garments for dolls or striving to patch their tattered clothes.

The older boys look with contempt upon these childish occupations and, to show their superiority, often torment the younger ones until the father or mother compels them to desist. Pranks of various kinds are played upon each other and they often exhibit great cunning in their devices to annoy. These boys are able to accompany their elders on hunting trips and run ahead of the team of dogs attached to the sled.

[BURIAL CUSTOMS.]

When a person dies the body is prepared by binding it with cords, the knees being drawn up and the heels placed against the body. The arms are tied down, and a covering of deerskin or sealskin is wrapped around the body and fastened. The nearest relatives on approach of death remove the invalid to the outside of the house, for if he should die within he must not be carried out of the door but through a hole cut in the side wall, and it must then be carefully closed to prevent the spirit of the person from returning. The body is exposed in the open air along the side of a large rock, or taken to the shore or hilltop, where stones of different sizes are piled around it to prevent the birds and animals from getting at it. (See Fig. 21.) It is considered a great offense if a dog be seen eating the flesh from a body. In case of a beloved child dying it is sometimes taken with the people to whom it belonged if they start for another locality before decomposition has progressed too far.

Fig. 21. Eskimo grave.

The dying person resigns himself to fate with great calmness. During illness, even though it be of most painful character, complaint is seldom heard; and so great is fortitude that the severest paroxysms of pain rarely produce even a movement of the muscles of the countenance.

The friends often exhibit an excessive amount of grief, but only in exceptional instances is much weeping indulged in. The loss of a husband often entails great hardships on the wife and small children, who eke out a scanty living by the aid of others who are scarcely able to maintain themselves.

These people have an idea of a future state and believe that death is merely the separation of the soul and the material body. The spirits of the soul go either up to the sky, “keluk,” when they are called Kelugmyut, or down into the earth, “Nuna,” and are called “Nunamyut.” These two classes of spirits can hold communication with each other.

The place to which the soul goes depends on the conduct of the person on earth and especially on the manner of his death. Those who have died by violence or starvation and women who die in childbirth are supposed to go to the region above, where, though not absolutely in want, they still lack many of the luxuries enjoyed by the Nunamyut. All desire to go to the lower region and afterwards enjoy the pleasure of communicating with the living, which privilege is denied to those who go above.

If death result from natural causes the spirit is supposed to dwell on the earth after having undergone a probation of four years rest in the grave. During this time the grave may be visited and food offered and songs sung, and the offering, consisting of oil and flesh, with tobacco for smoking and chewing, is consumed by the living at the grave. Articles of clothing may also be deposited near the grave for the spirit to clothe itself after the garments have disappeared in the process of decay. It is customary to place such articles as may be deemed of immediate use for the departed soul in the grave at the time the body is interred. Ammunition, gun, kaiak and its appurtenances, with a shirt, gloves, knife, and a cup from which to drink are usually so deposited. The spirit of the dead man appropriates the spirits of these articles as soon as they decay. It is often said when an article becomes lost that so-and-so (mentioning his name), has taken it.

Some of the people prefer to expose their dead on the flat top of a high point extending into the water. The remains of others are placed along the shore and covered with rocks, while still others are taken to the smooth ridges on which may nearly always be found a huge bowlder carried by glacial action and deposited there. Here generally on the south side the body is placed on the bare rocky ridge and stones are piled around and upon it.

While these people have but little fear of the dead man’s bones they do not approve of their being disturbed by others. The Indians, however, are known to rifle the graves of Eskimo to obtain the guns, clothing, etc., which the relatives of the deceased have placed there.

There are no such elaborate ceremonies pertaining to the festivals of the dead among the people of Hudson strait as obtain among the Eskimo of Alaska.

[ RELIGION.]

Among these people there is no such person as chief; yet there is a recognized leader who is influenced by another, and this last is the conjurer or medicine-man. These two persons determine among themselves what shall be done. It sometimes happens that slight differences of opinion on the proper course to pursue collectively will cause them to go in different directions to meet after a few months’ separation, by which time all is forgotten and former relations are resumed.

All the affairs of life are supposed to be under the control of spirits, each of which rules over a certain element, and all of which are under the direction of a greater spirit. Each person is supposed to be attended by a special guardian who is malignant in character, ever ready to seize upon the least occasion to work harm upon the individual whom it accompanies. As this is an evil spirit its good offices and assistance can be obtained by propitiation only. The person strives to keep the good will of the evil spirit by offerings of food, water, and clothing.

The spirit is often in a material form in the shape of a doll, carried somewhere about the person. If it is wanted to insure success in the chase, it is carried in the bag containing the ammunition.

When an individual fails to overcome the obstacles in his path the misfortune is attributed to the evil wrought by his attending spirit, whose good will must be invoked. If the spirit prove stubborn and reluctant to grant the needed assistance the person sometimes becomes angry with it and inflicts a serious chastisement upon it, deprives it of food, or strips it of its garments, until after a time it proves less refractory and yields obedience to its master. It often happens that the person is unable to control the influence of the evil-disposed spirit and the only way is to give it to some person without his knowledge. The latter becomes immediately under the control of the spirit, and the former, released from its baleful effects, is able successfully to prosecute the affairs of life. In the course of time the person generally relents and takes back the spirit he gave to another. The person on whom the spirit has been imposed should know nothing of it lest he should refuse to accept it. It is often given in the form of a bundle of clothing. It is supposed that if in hunting somebody merely takes the bag to hang it up the influence will pass to him. The spirit is supposed to be able to exert its influence only when carried by some object having life. Hence the person may cast it away for a time, and during that period it remains inert.

Besides this class of spirits, there are the spirits of the sea, the land, the sky (for be it understood that the Eskimo know nothing of the air), the winds, the clouds, and everything in nature. Every cove of the seashore, every point, island, and prominent rock has its guardian spirit. All are of the malignant type and to be propitiated only by acceptable offerings from persons who desire to visit the locality where it is supposed to reside. Of course some of the spirits are more powerful than others, and these are more to be dreaded than those able to inflict less harm.

These minor spirits are under the control of the great spirit, whose name is “Tung ak.” This one great spirit is more powerful than all the rest besides. The lesser spirits are immediately under his control and ever ready to obey his command. The shaman (or conjurer) alone is supposed to be able to deal with the Tung ak. While the shaman does not profess to be superior to the Tung ak, he is able to enlist his assistance and thus be able to control all the undertakings his profession may call for.

This Tung ak is nothing more or less than death, which ever seeks to torment and harass the lives of people that their spirits may go to dwell with him.

A legend related of the origin of the Tung ak is as follows: A father had a son and daughter whom he loved very much. The children fell ill and at last died, although the father did all in his power to alleviate their sufferings, showing his kindness and attentions to the last moment. At their death the father became changed to a vicious spirit, roaming the world to destroy any person whom he might meet, determined that, as his dear children died, none others should live.

Tung ak visits people of all ages, constantly placing obstacles in their pathway to prevent the accomplishment of their desires, and provoking them beyond endurance so as to cause them to become ill and die and go to live with him. Tung ak no longer knows his own children and imagines all persons that he meets to be his children. Famine, disease, and death are sent abroad to search for these lost children.

People at last began to devise some means of thwarting the designs of Tung ak and discovered that a period of fasting and abstinence from contact with other people endowed a person with supernatural powers and enabled him to learn the secrets of Tung ak. This is accomplished by repairing to some lonely spot, where for a greater or less period the hermit abstains from food or water until the imagination is so worked upon that he believes himself imbued with the power to heal the sick and control all the destinies of life. Tung ak is supposed to stand near and reveal these things while the person is undergoing the test. When the person sees the evil one ready to seize upon him if he fails in the self-imposed task to become an “Angekok” or great one, he is much frightened and beseeches the terrible visitor to spare his life and give him the power to relieve his people from misfortune. Tung ak then takes pity on him, and imparts to him the secret of preserving life, or driving out the evil which causes death.

This is still the process by which the would-be shaman fits himself for his supernatural duties.

The newly fledged angekok returns to his people and relates what he has seen and what he has done. The listeners are awed by the recitals of the sufferings and ordeal, and he is now ready to accomplish his mission. When his services are required he is crafty enough to demand sufficient compensation, and frankly states that the greater the pay the greater the good bestowed. A native racked with pain will gladly part with all of his worldly possessions in order to be restored to health.

The shaman is blindfolded, or else has a covering thrown over his head to prevent his countenance from being seen during the incantation. The patient lies on the ground before him and when the shaman is worked up to the proper state of frenzy he prostrates himself upon the afflicted person and begins to chase the evil from its seat. The patient often receives blows and jerks sufficiently hard to dislocate the joints. As the spell progresses the shaman utters the most hideous noises, shouting here and there as the evil flees to another portion of the body, seeking a retreat from which the shaman shall be unable to dislodge it. After a time victory is declared; the operator claims to have the disease under his control, and although it should escape and make itself again felt in the patient, the shaman continues until the person either gets well or dies. If the former, the reputation of the shaman is increased proportionally to the payment bestowed by the afflicted one. If he dies, however, the conjurer simply refers his failure to the interference of something which was beyond his control. This may have been the influence of anything the shaman may at the moment think of, such as a sudden appearance in the changing auroras, a fall of snow, or a dog knocking down something outside of the house. If the people deny that the dog did the act, the shaman replies that the dog was the instrument in the hands of a spirit which escaped him. Any little incident is sufficient to thwart the success of his manipulations. If any person be the subject of the shaman’s displeasure he or she must undergo some sort of punishment or do an act of penance for the interference. It is not unusual to see a person with the harness of a dog on his back. This is worn to relieve him or somebody else of a spell of the evil spirit. The tail of a living dog is often cut from its body in order that the fresh blood may be cast upon the ground to be seen by the spirit who has caused the harm, and thus he may be appeased. Numerous mutilations are inflicted upon animals at the command of the conjurer, who must be consulted on nearly all the important undertakings of life in order that he may manage the spirits which will insure success.

The implicit belief in these personages is wonderful. Almost every person who can do anything not fully understood by others has more or less reputation as a shaman.

Some men, by observation, become skilled in weather lore, and get a great reputation for supernatural knowledge of the future weather. Others again are famous for suggesting charms to insure success in hunting, and, in fact, the occasions for consulting the conjurer are practically innumerable. One special qualification of a good shaman is the ability to attract large numbers of deer or other game into the region where he and his friends are hunting.

Some of these shamans are superior hunters and, as their experience teaches them the habits of the deer, they know at any season exactly where the animals are and can anticipate their future movements, influenced greatly by the weather. Thus the prophet is able to estimate the proximity or remoteness of the various herds of stragglers from the main body of deer which were in the locality during the preceding fall months. These hunters have not only a local reputation but are known as far as the people have any means of communication.

In order to cause the deer to move toward the locality where they may be desired the shaman will erect, on a pole placed in a favorable position, an image of some famous hunter and conjurer. The image will represent the power of the person as conjurer and the various paraphernalia attached to the image assist in controlling the movements of the animals.

Fig. 22. Magic doll.

I obtained one of these objects at Fort Chimo. (Fig. 22.) It is quite elaborate and requires a detailed description. It is intended to represent a celebrated conjurer living on the eastern shore of Hudson bay. He occasionally visited Fort Chimo where his reputation as a hunter had preceded him. His name is Sa´pa.

He is dressed in a complete suit of the woolen stuff called “strouds” at Fort Chimo, trimmed with black and with fancy tartan gartering. In the belt of polar-bear skin (kak-cung´-unt) (Fig. 23) are hung strings of colored beads and various amulets. These are, first, a wooden doll (Fig. 24) (ĭnug´-wak, a little man) hung to the belt so that he faces outward and is always on the alert; then, two bits of wood (agówak) (Fig. 25) to which hang strands of beads and lead drops; next, a string of three bullets (Fig. 26) to symbolize the readiness of the hunter when game approaches; and, last, a semicircular piece of wood ornamented with strings of beads (Fig. 27).

Fig. 23. Belt of magic doll.

This last is called the tu-a´-vi-tok, or hastener. The hunter holds it in his hand when he sights the game, and the tighter he grasps it the faster he is supposed to get over the ground. It is supposed that by the use of this one may be able to travel faster than the wind and not even touch the earth over which he passes with such incredible speed that he overtakes the deer in a moment. The entire affair, as it hung on the pole, was called tung wa´gn e´nog ang´, or a materialization of a Tung ak.

This object hung there for several days until I thought it had served its purpose and could now afford to change ownership. The local conjurer was thus compelled to invoke the assistance of another. I am happy to add that the deer did come, and in thousands, actually running among the houses of the station.

The shaman of the community possesses great influence over its members. He very frequently decides the course to be pursued by man and wife in their relations with each other, and, conspiring with some evil old woman who loves to show preference for a young man, he often decrees that husband or wife shall be cast off.

Fig. 24. Talisman attached to magic doll.

Fig. 25. Talisman.

Fig. 26. Talisman.

If the person become ill the wife is often accused of working some charm on her husband in order that she may enjoy the favors of another. A woman whose husband had recently died was espoused by another who soon after became violently ill. She nursed him with the greatest assiduity until he convalesced. At this period his mother, with the advice of some old hags, decreed that she had been the sole cause of her husband’s illness and must leave the tent. Her things were pitched out and she was compelled to journey in quest of her relatives.

Another illustration came under my notice.

A widow was taken to wife by a Koksoak Eskimo. He was soon taken violently ill and she was accused by the shaman of being the cause of it, as the spirit of her deceased husband was jealous. Unless she were cast off the Koksoak man would never recover. It was then also found that unless the wife of another man should desert him and become the wife of a man who already had two of this woman’s sisters as wives the sick man would die. The woman and her husband escaped divorce by fleeing from the camp.

Fig. 27. Talisman.

The shaman may do about as he pleases with the marriage ties, which oftener consist of sealskin thongs than respect and love. Many old hags have acquired great reputations for being able to interpret dreams. An instance of dream interpretation, which also illustrates how a person may acquire a new name, came under my observation. A woman, sitting alone, heard a noise like the rapping of someone at the door desiring admittance. She said, “Come in.” No one appeared, and she inquired of the girl who acted as nurse for her child if anyone had knocked at the door. A negative answer was given. Further questioning of a white man, who was asleep near by, revealed that he had made no such sound. The woman knew that no man had died within the place and so his spirit could not be seeking admittance. She went to an old woman and related the affair, and was informed that it was the rapping of her brother, who had died suddenly some two years before. She must go home and prepare a cup of tea, with a slice of bread, and give it to the nurse, as her brother, Nakvak (the one who died) was hungry and wanted food. She especially enjoined upon the woman that the girl must now be known as Nakvak (meaning “found”) and that through her the dead would procure the food which, although it subserves a good purpose in nourishing the living, tends, by its accompanying spirit, to allay the pangs of hunger in the dead.

As I have already said, everything in the world is believed to have its attendant spirit. The spirits of the lower animals are like those of men, but of an inferior order. As these spirits, of course, can not be destroyed by killing the animals, the Eskimo believe that no amount of slaughter can really decrease the numbers of the game.

A great spirit controls the reindeer. He dwells in a huge cavern near the end of Cape Chidley. He obtains and controls the spirit of every deer which is slain or dies, and it depends on his good will whether the people shall obtain future supplies. The form of the spirit is that of a huge white bear. The shaman has the power to prevail upon the spirit to send the deer to the people who are represented as suffering for want of food. The spirit is informed that the people have in no way offended him, as the shaman, as a mediator between the spirit and the people, has taken great care that the past food was all eaten and that last spring, when the female deer were returning to him to be delivered of their young, none of the young (or fœtal) deer were devoured by the dogs. After much incantation the shaman announces that the spirit condescends to supply the people with spirits of the deer in a material form and that soon an abundance will be in the land. He enjoins upon the people to slay and thus obtain the approval of the spirit, which loves to see good people enjoy an abundance, knowing that so long as the people refrain from feeding their dogs with the unborn young, the spirits of the deer will in time return again to his guardianship.

Certain parts of the first deer killed must be eaten raw, others discarded, and others must be eaten cooked. The dogs must not be allowed to taste of the flesh, and not until an abundance has been obtained must they be allowed to gnaw at the leg bones, lest the guardian spirit of the deer be offended and refuse to send further supplies. If by some misfortune the dogs get at the meat, a piece of the offending dog’s tail is cut off or his ear is cropped to allow a flow of blood.

Ceremonies of some kind attend the capture of the first slain animal of all the more important kinds. I unfortunately had no opportunity of witnessing many of these ceremonies.

As a natural consequence of the superstitious beliefs that I have described, the use of amulets is universal. Some charms are worn to ward off the attacks of evil-disposed spirits. Other charms are worn as remembrances of deceased relatives. These have the form of a headless doll depending from some portion of the garment worn on the upper part of the body.

Fig. 28. Eskimo woman’s amulet.

As many of their personal names are derived from natural objects, it is usual for the person to wear a little image of the object for which he is named or a portion of it; for example, a wing of the bird, or a bit of the animal’s skin. This is supposed to gratify the spirit of the object. Strange or curious objects never before seen are sometimes considered to bring success to the finder.

Two articles selected from my collection will illustrate different forms of amulets. The first, No. 3018, is a little wooden model of a kaiak. The other (3090, Fig. 28) was worn on the back of a woman’s coat. It is a small block of wood carved into four human heads. These heads represent four famous conjurers noted for their skill in driving away diseases. The woman, who came from the eastern shore of Hudson’s bay, was troubled with rheumatism and wore this charm from time to time as she felt the twinges of pain. She assured me that the pain always disappeared in a few hours when she wore it. It was with the greatest difficulty that I persuaded her to part with it. She was, however, about to return home, and could get another there.

[ OUTDOOR LIFE.]

The Eskimo acquire an extended knowledge of the country by early accompanying their parents on hunting trips, and as they have to rely upon memory alone, they must be observant and carefully mark the surroundings from all the views afforded. The faculty of memory is thus cultivated to an astonishing degree, and seldom fails, even in the most severe weather, to insure safety for the individual. I knew a native stick his ramrod in the ground among scattered stalks of grass which attained the height of the rod, yet after several hours he found the spot again without the least hesitation. Every rise of land, every curve of a stream, every cove in the seashore, has a name descriptive of something connected with it, and these names are known to all who have occasion to visit the place. Though the aspect of the land is entirely changed by the mantle of snow which covers all the smaller objects, a hunter will go straight to the place where the carcass of a single deer was cached many months before on the open beach. The Eskimo are faithful guides, and when confidence is shown to be reposed in them they take a pride in leading the party by the best route. In traveling by night they use the north star for the guide. Experience teaches them to foretell the weather, and some reliance may be placed on their predictions.

Their knowledge of the seasons is also wonderful. The year begins when the sun has reached its lowest point, that is, at the winter solstice, and summer begins with the summer solstice. They recognize the arrival of the solstices by the bearing of the sun with reference to certain fixed landmarks.

The seasons have distinctive names, and these are again subdivided into a great number, of which there are more during the warmer weather than during the winter. The reason for this is obvious: so many changes are going on during the summer and so few during the winter. The principal events are the return of the sun, always a signal of joy to the people; the lengthening of the day; the warm weather in March when the sun has attained sufficient height to make his rays less slanting and thus be more fervent; the melting of the snow; the breaking up of the ice; the open water; the time of birth of various seals; the advent of exotic birds; the nesting of gulls, eiders, and other native birds; the arrival of white whales and the whaling season; salmon fishing; the ripening of salmonberries and other species of edibles; the time of reindeer crossing the river; the trapping of fur-bearing animals and hunting on land and water for food. Each of these periods has a special name applied to it, although several may overlap each other. The appearance of mosquitoes, sand-flies, and horseflies are marked by dates anticipated with considerable apprehension of annoyance.

In order to sketch the annual routine of life, I will begin with the breaking up of the ice in spring. The Koksoak river breaks its ice about the last of May. This period, however, may vary as much as ten days earlier and twenty days later than the date specified. The ice in Ungava bay, into which that river flows, must be free from the greater portion of the shore ice before the river ice can push its way out to sea. The winds alone influence the bay ice, and the character of the weather toward the head waters of the river determines its time of breaking.

The Eskimo has naturally a keen perception of the signs in the sky and is often able to predict with certainty the effects of the preceding weather. When the season has sufficiently advanced all the belongings of each family are put together and transported down the river on sleds to where the ice has not yet gone from the mouth of the river. It is very seldom that the river ice extends down so far. To the edge of the ice the tent and dogs, with the umiak, kaiak, and other personal property, are taken and then stored on shore until the outside ice is free.

The men wander along the beach or inland hunting for reindeer, ptarmigan, hares, and other land game. The edge of the water is searched for waterfowl of various kinds which appear earliest. Some venturesome seals appear. In the course of a few days the ice in the river breaks up and the shore ice of the bay is free; and if there is a favorable wind it soon permits the umiak to be put into the water, where, by easy stages, depending on the weather, the quantity of floating ice, and the food supply, the hunters creep alongshore to the objective point, be it either east or west of the Koksoak. Sometimes the party divide, some going in one direction and others in another.

The men seek for seals, hunting in the kaiak, the women and children searching the islets and coves for anything edible. As soon as the season arrives for the various gulls, eiders, and other sea birds to nest the women and children are in high glee. Every spot is carefully examined, and every accessible nest of a bird is robbed of its contents. By the 25th of June the people have exhausted the supply of eggs from the last situations visited and now think of returning, as the birds have again deposited eggs and the seals are becoming scarcer.

The Eskimo arrange to assist the company to drive white whales when the season arrives. This is as soon as they appear in the river at a sufficient distance up to warrant that the measures pursued will not drive them out of the fresh water, for if they left they would not soon return. The date usually fixed upon is about the 12th of July. The natives are summoned, and a large sailboat or the small steam launch is sent along the coast to the place where the people were expected to arrive the 5th of the month. The natives are brought to the whaling station, where they encamp, to await the setting of the nets forming the sides of the inclosure into which the whales are to be driven.

The natives spear the whales in the pound, drag them ashore, skin them, and help take the oil and skins to the post, some eight miles farther up the river.

The same natives who engaged in the whaling are employed to attend the nets for salmon, which arrive at variable dates from the 25th of July to the 1st of September. Two or more adult male Eskimo, with their relatives, occupy a certain locality, generally known by the name of the person in charge of that season’s work. The place is occupied until the runs of the fish are over, when it is time for the natives to be up the river to spear reindeer which cross the river.

This hunting lasts until the deer have begun to rut and the males have lost the fat from the small of the back. The season is now so far advanced that the ice is already forming along the shore, and unless the hunter intends to remain in that locality he would better begin to descend the river to a place nearer the sea. The river may freeze in a single night and the umiak be unable to withstand the constant strain of the sharp-edged cakes of floating ice.

The head of the family decides where the winter is to be passed and moves thither with his party at once. Here he has a few weeks of rest from the season’s labors, or spends the time constructing a sled for the winter journeys he may have in view. The snow has now fallen so that a snow house may be constructed and winter quarters taken up. A number of steel traps are procured to be set for foxes and other fur-bearing animals. The ptarmigans arrive in large flocks and are eagerly hunted for their flesh and feathers. The birds are either consumed for food or sold to the company, which pays 6¼ cents for four, and purchases the body feathers of the birds at the rate of 4 pounds of the feathers for 25 cents.

The Eskimo soon consume the amount of deer meat they brought with them on their return and subsist on the flesh of the ptarmigan until the ice is firm enough to allow the sleds to be used to transport to the present camp meat of animals slain in the fall.

The traps are visited and the furs are sold to the company in exchange for flour, tea, sugar, molasses, biscuit, clothing, and ammunition. Hunting excursions are made to various localities for stray bands of deer that have become separated from the larger herds.

The white men employés of the company have been engaged in cutting wood for the next year’s fuel, and the Eskimo with their dog teams are hired to haul it to the bank, where it may be floated down in rafts when the river opens.

Thus passes the year in the life of the Eskimo of the immediate vicinity of Fort Chimo. Some of the Koksoagmyut do not engage in these occupations. Some go to another locality to live by themselves; others do not work or hunt, because it is not their nature to do so.

In all undertakings for themselves they deliberate long, with much hesitation and apparent reluctance, before they decide upon the line of action. They consult each other and weigh the advantages of this over that locality for game, and speculate on whether they will be afflicted with illness of themselves or family. When the resolution is finally made to journey to a certain place, only the most serious obstacles can thwart their purpose.

At all seasons of the year the women have their allotted duties, which they perform without hesitation. They bring the wood and the water, and the food from the field, if it is not too distant, in which case the men go after it with the dog teams. The women also fashion the skins into clothing and other articles, and do the cooking. After a hunt of several days’ duration the husband’s appearance is anxiously awaited, as is indicated by the family scanning the direction whence he is expected. The load is taken from the sled or boat and the incidents of the chase recited to the ever ready listeners.

In the early spring the women are busily engaged in making boots for summer wear. The skins of the seals have been prepared the fall before and stored away until wanted. The method of tanning the skins is the same for each species, differing only in its size and weight.

Certain large vessels made of wood or metal, chiefly the latter, as they are easily procured from the traders, are used to hold a liquid, which is from time to time added to. When a sufficient amount is collected it is allowed to ferment. During the interval the skin of the seal is cleansed from fat and flesh. The hair has been removed by shaving it off or by pulling it out. The skin is then dressed with an instrument designed for that purpose, made of ivory, deerhorn, stone, or even a piece of tin set in the end of a stout stick several inches long. The skin is held in the hand and the chisel-shaped implement is repeatedly pushed from the person and against a portion of the skin until that part becomes pliable and soft enough to work. It is further softened by rubbing between the hands with a motion similar to that of the washerwoman rubbing clothing of the wash. Any portion of the skin which will not readily yield to this manipulation is chewed with the front teeth until it is reduced to the required pliability. After this operation has been completed the skin is soaked in the liquid, which has now ripened to a sufficient degree to be effective. In this it is laid for a period lasting from several hours to two or three days. The skin is now taken out and dried. The subsequent operation of softening is similar to that just described, and is final. It is now ready to be cut into the required shape for the various articles for which it is intended. If it is designed for boots for a man, the measure of the height of the leg is taken. The length and width of the sole is measured by the hand, stretching so far and then bending down the long or middle finger until the length is measured. The width of one, two, or more fingers is sometimes used in addition to the span. The length is thus marked and the skin folded over so as to have it doubled. The knife used in cutting is shaped like the round knife used by the harness-maker or shoemaker.

There is in our collection a wooden model of this form of knife (No. 3022), which nowadays always has a blade of metal. Formerly slate, flint, or ivory was used for these blades.

The instrument is always pushed by the person using it. The eye alone guides the knife, except on work for a white man, and then greater care is exercised and marks employed indicating the required size. This round knife is called úlo.

Another important duty of the women is taking care of the family boots. When a pair of boots has been worn for some time, during a few hours in warm weather they absorb moisture and become nearly half an inch thick on the soles. When taken off they must be turned inside out and dried, then chewed and scraped by some old woman, who is only too glad to have the work for the two or three biscuit she may receive as pay. Any leak or hole is stitched, and when the sole has holes worn through it, it is patched by sewing a piece on the under side. The thread used in sewing the boots is selected from the best strips of sinew from the reindeer or seal.

Some women excel in boot-making, and at some seasons do nothing but make boots, while the others in return prepare the other garments. When the time comes in spring for making sealskin clothes, the women must not sew on any piece of deerskin which has not yet been sewed, lest the seals take offense and desert the locality which has been selected for the spring seal hunt, to which all the people look forward with longing, that they may obtain a supply of food different from that which they have had during the long winter months. As there can be no harm in killing a deer at this season, the flesh may be used, but the skin must be cast away.

As before stated, the entire family accompany the expeditions; and as the females are often the more numerous portion of the population, they row the umiak at their leisure, now and then stopping to have a few hours’ run on shore and again embarking. While thus journeying they are at times a sleepy crowd, until something ahead attracts attention; then all become animated, pursuing the object, if it be a half-fledged bird, until it is captured. Great amusement is thus afforded for the time, after which they relapse until some excitement again arouses them from their apparent lethargy. At the camp the men go in quest of larger game, leaving the women and children, who search the shore for any living creature they may find, destroying all that comes in their way. Smoking, eating, and sleeping occupy them until they arrive at a locality where food is abundant. There they earnestly strive to slay all that comes within reach, and thus often obtain much more than they require, and the remainder is left to putrefy on the rocks. The women do the skinning of the seals and birds obtained on this trip. The skins of birds are removed in a peculiar manner. The wings are cut off at the body, and through the incision all the flesh and bones are taken out. The skin is then turned inside out. The grease is removed by scraping and chewing. The skin is dried and preserved for wear on the feet or for the purpose of cleansing the hands, which have become soiled with blood or other offal in skinning large game.

When the season arrives for hunting the reindeer for their skins, with which to make clothing for winter, the women help to prepare the flesh and bring the wood and water for the camp, while the men are ever on the alert for the herds of deer on the land or crossing the water. The women hang the skins over poles until the greater portion of the animal matter is dry, when they roll them up and store them away until the party is ready to return to the permanent camp for the winter. Here the skins collected are carefully examined and suitable ones selected for winter garments.

The skins are moistened with water and the adherent fleshy particles are removed with a knife. They are then roughly scraped and again wetted, this time with urine, which is supposed to render them more pliable. The operation is practically the same as that of tanning sealskins. The hair is, of course, left on the skin. When the skins are finally dry and worked to the required pliability, they are cut into shape for the various articles of apparel. The thread used in sewing is simply a strip of sinew of the proper size. The fibers are separated by splitting off a sufficient amount, and with the finger nail the strip is freed from all knots or smaller strands which would prevent drawing through the needle holes. The thread for this purpose is never twisted or plaited. The needle is one procured from the trader. Small bone needles, imitations of these, are sometimes used. In former years the bone needle was the only means of carrying the thread, but this has now, except in the rarest instances, been entirely superseded by one of metal.

The thimble is simply a piece of stiff sealskin sewed into a ring half an inch wide to slip on the first finger, and has the same name as that member. In sewing of all kinds the needle is pointed toward the operator. The knife used in cutting skins is the same as that previously described. Scissors are not adapted to cutting a skin which retains the fur. So far as my observations goes, scissors are used only for cutting textile fabrics procured from the store.

In the use of a knife women acquire a wondrous dexterity, guiding it to the desired curve with much skill, or using the heel of the blade to remove strips which may need trimming off.

[ TATTOOING.]

In former years the women were fancifully tattooed with curved lines and rows of dots on the face, neck, and arms, and on the legs up to mid-thigh. This custom, however, fell into disuse because some shaman declared that a prevailing misfortune was the result of the tattooing. At present the tattooing is confined to a few single dots on the body and face. When a girl arrives at puberty she is taken to a secluded locality by some old woman versed in the art and stripped of her clothing. A small quantity of half-charred lamp wick of moss is mixed with oil from the lamp. A needle is used to prick the skin, and the pasty substance is smeared over the wound. The blood mixes with it, and in a day or two a dark-bluish spot alone is left. The operation continues four days. When the girl returns to the tent it is known that she has begun to menstruate. A menstruating woman must not wear the lower garments she does at other times. The hind flap of her coat must be turned up and stitched to the back of the garment. Her right hand must be half-gloved, or, in other words, the first two joints of each finger of that hand must be uncovered. The left hand also remains uncovered. She must not touch certain skins and food which at that particular season are in use.

[ CLOTHING.]

Like most Eskimo, the Koksoagmyut are clothed almost entirely in the skins of animals, though the men now wear breeches of moleskin, duck, jeans, or denim procured from the trading store. Reindeerskin is the favorite material for clothing, though skins of the different seals are also used. The usual garments are a hooded frock, of different shapes for the sexes, with breeches and boots. The latter are of various shapes for different weather, and there are many patterns of mittens. Rain frocks of seal entrail are also worn over the furs in stormy weather. Some of the people are very tidy and keep their clothing in a respectable condition. Others are careless and often present a most filthy sight. The aged and orphans, unless the latter be adopted by some well-to-do person, must often be content with the cast-off apparel of their more fortunate fellow-beings.

The hair of the skins wears off in those places most liable to be in contact with other objects. The elbows, wrists, and knees often are without a vestige of hair on the clothing. The skin wears through and then is patched with any kind of a piece, which often presents a ludicrous appearance.

The young boys and girls are dressed alike, and the females do not wear the garments of the adults until they arrive at puberty. It is a ludicrous sight to witness some of the little ones scarcely able to walk dressed in heavy deerskin clothing, which makes them appear as thick as they are tall. They exhibit about the same amount of pride of their new suits as the civilized boy does. They are now able to go out into the severest weather, and seem to delight in rolling around in the snow.

Infants at the breast, so small as to be carried in the mother’s hood, are often dressed in skins of the reindeer fawns. The garment for these is a kind of “combination,” the trousers and body sewed together and cut down the back to enable the infant to get them on. A cap of calico or other cloth and a pair of skin stockings completes the suit.