PDF Bulletin - United States National Museum - Smithsonian Institution

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U. S.

NATIONAL MUSEUM.

15

BULLETIN

OF THE

UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM.

TSTo. 1 5.

PUBLISHED UNDERTHE DIRECTIONOF THE SMITHSONIANINSTITUTION

WASHIlSrGTOI^:

G-OVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.

1879.

ADVERTISEMENT.

This

work

isthe fifteeenthofa seriesof papers intendedto illustrate tlie collections of Natural History

and

Ethnology belonging to the United States,

and

constituting the National

Museum,

of which the SmithsonianInstitution

was

jjlacedincharge

by

the act of Congress of

August

10,1846.

Ithasbeen prepared atthe request of theInstitution,

and

printed

by

authority of thehonorable Secretary of theInterior.

SPENCER

P.

BAIRD,

Secretaryof^theSmithsonianInstitution.

Smithsoniai^ Institution, Washington, April15, 1879.

CONTRIBUTIONS

TO THK

JNTATUEAL HISTOET

OF

ARCTIC AMERICA,

MADE IN CONNECTION WITH

THE HOWGATE POLAR EXPEDITION, 1877-78,

BT

LXJDWia KUMLIEJSr,

NATURALIST OF THEEXPEDITION.

washi:n^gto]n^:

GOVERNMENT FEINTING OFFICE.

IS7 .

ETHNOLOGY.

PRAGMENTARY NOTESON THE ESKIMOOF CUMBERLANDSOUND.

By

Ludwig Kumliex.

The Cumberland

Straits, Sound, Gulf, or Inlet, extends from about

lat. 65° X. tolat. 07°

+

^{:N". It is tbe}

^Cumberland

^{Straitsof BafBn, its}

original discoverer at the end of the sixteenth century; the

Hogarth Sound

of CaptainPenny,

who

rediscovered it in 1839;

and

the]S"orth-

umberland

Inletof Captain

Wareham

in1841.

During

the lastquarter centuryit has often beenvisited

by

Scotch

and American

whalemen,ships frequentlywintering on the southwest- ernshores.

Itis at*present

unknown

if it bea sound orgulf; itisgenerally con- sidered as a gulf,but

some Eskimo

say that the

Kingwah

Fjord,one of the arms extending to the NE., opens into a large expanseof water, to

them unknown.

Icebergs arealsosometimes foundinthis fjord that, fromtheir positions,

seem

to have

come

from thenorthward,

and

not fromthe south.

The

easternshore of this sound forms the western boundary of that portionof

Cumberland

Islandwhichliesbetweenitswaters

and

Davis

Straits,

and known

as the

Penny

Peninsula.

In aboutlat. 06° N. theKingnite Fjord extendsfromthe soundin an

ENE.

direction,

and

nearly joins Exeter

Sound

from Davis Straits;

theyareseparated only

by

aportage of a fewmiles.

The Cumberland Eskimo make

frequent exciu-sions tothe eastern shore via thesefjords,

but

seem

tohave extendedtheirmigrations but ashort distance north- ward, finding

Cumberland Sound more

to theirtastes.

The

width of

Cumberland Sound

opposite Niantilic is about ^thirty miles, iiossiblyits widestpart. Itis indented

by numerous and

large :Qords,few,ifany, of

them

ha^^ng beenexplored;

many

islandsarescat- tered alongbothshores,

and

in

some

instancesform quiteconsiderable groups.

The

present

Eskimo

are few in numbers.

We

would estimate the entirepopulation,men,

women, and

children,on bothsidesofthe sound,

11

12

NATURAL HISTORY OF ARCTIC AMERICA.

from

Cape Mercy on

the eastto

Xugumeute

on tlie west,not to exceed fourliundrcflindividuals. Itiscertaintlintwithin thelastthirtyyerrs the mortality has been very great

among

them; even the

whalemen

remark an astonishingdiminution in their

numbers

atthe present day, as comx)aredwith twentyyears ago.

Numerous

traditions exist

among them

of thetime

when

theywarred with othertribes,

and

oldmen,

now

living,

have

pointed outtonsislands thatwere once the scene ofbattles, wlierethebesieged party

was

starved into submission b^> their enemies. According to the usual story, the hurling of stones

was

oneof the

most

effective

and common modes

of warfare; this

was

especiallythe case

when

one partycould get

upon

a ledgeabovethe other.

At

the present

day

they arepeaceful

and

quiet, have

no

recognizedleader,

and no

desire to fight,even iftheir

numbers would

permitof it.

As

the storygoes, the present populationw^ere the victors in those fights,

and

tookpossession of thecountry they

now

^inhabit.

Some

say they

came

from the northwest,

and

found another tribe, w^ich they overcame

and

drove away. Their stories on this subject vary,

and

sometimes with this iTUusually interesting tradition, as well as

many

others, they get events of averyrecentdate hopelessly

mixed up

with therest;

and

itIs

no

unusualinstance to find that

some

whaler witha good imagination has supplied

and

restored lost portions of the nar- rative, to their entire satisfaction; but these restorations are chiefly

remarkablefor their utterdisregard of truthorpossibility.

The

following traditionis atranslationfrom oneof the

most

reliable natives

we became

acquaintedwith

:

"A

long time ago{tichemaniacllo)* other Innuits (Eskimo) were found here; theywerecalled "Tunak";t they were verystrong,very large,

and had

shortlegs

and

largearms; they

had

verywidechests. Theirclothes were

made

of bearskins,

and

their knivesfrom Avalrus tusks.

Did

not use

bows and

arrows, butonly the harpoon-lance; they harpooned the reindeerinthe water,from theirkyacks; used verylarge kyacks.

The

*Herearisesa greatdifficulty: tichemani siguifies a long time,i.e.,itmaybeany- wherefrom aweekto a year; ticliemaniadlo is averymuch longer period,generally concededtoantedate the adventofthe whites; at least,this was the only example wecould bringup whichtheycould understand,excejit theirownages,whichwecould ascertainwithlesscertainty.

When

avo-ylong period(asin this case)isrepresented as havingintervened,theyrepeat ticliemaniadlo severaltimes, but how much time^is addedbyeachrepetitionweareunableto say.

tVariouslypronounced, "Tunarc," "Tunnuk," or"Tunuak."

ETHNOLOGY. 13

Tunuks

made

houses outof stone.*

They

were iibletolift largestones.

"We wereafraid of

them

^;'

we

foughtwith

them and

killedthem.

They

(the Tumilis)

came

in thefirstj)lacefrom Greenland.]

The women made

clothesfrom their

own

hair.

They had

no dogsat that time, but they

made

sledges

and

harnesses,

and

finally {witcJiou

= by and

bj') put th(;

harnesses onthree rocks, one white,one red,

and

one black; theytheii called,

and when

they looked they found the stones

had

been trans- formed into dogs. ^•After a timethey got plenty dogs; thenthey

went

aboutmore.

The

i)resent

Eskimo

could not understandtheirlanguage.

They

^{lived to}agreatage {E. tukeivouk

nami =

didnotdie!).

Far

to the west

some Eskimo

lately

saw some

Tunuks; they

had

bear-skin cloth- ing. In the lunulcs land (where?) the

musk

ox {oming muk),bear,

and

sealsareabundant.

They

build walls of stones on theland,

and

drive the reindeerintoponds,

and

catch

them

inkyacks.

They

have alarge, long callytong (coat, or

jumper

jacket) that they fasten

down

around

them on

theicewhile theyarewatching a seal'shole; underneaththis

*Videsketch of foundation, No.1. Stonefoundations ofa somewhat peculiar pat- tern arefoundinmanyofthe largerfjords. Thesubject ofthesketchwasaboutfour- teenfeetin its greatestdiameter(the larger enclosure)inside; the smallerone about tenfeet. ThearrangementismuchthesameastheEskimouseatthe present day,Ji

raisedplatformintheendoppositetheentrancefora sleeping and general lounging place,andtwosmallerjilatformsoneither side,wherethelampsare kept,andwher^

thegarbageaccumulates.

Thesefoundations arenowmereruins. Someofthe stonesinthewaUaaresolarge that^itmust haverequiredtheunitedeffortsof severalmentoplacetheminposition.

Thestonesgraduallydiminish insizefromthefoundationupward. Standingwalls are fromtwotothreefeethigh,and might have been a foot higher,tojudge from the loosestoneslying about. Therewasprobably a frame-workofwhaleribs,overwhich theseal-skincoveringwasspread.

On

thenorthsideofthisfoundationwere sevenkyacks,builtof smallstones; they

lieparalleltoeachother,andarefromtento fifteen feet in length; theyarebuiltof asinglerowofstones, andonlyonetierhigh. Thesearesaidtoindicatethenumber ofinmates that havedied. Theyappear to us more liketheworkofchildren. In the lamp-placeswe foundthe remainsofPagomysfcetidus(abundant), Phocaharhata, Cistophoracristata, TrichecMs rosmarus, Ursus maritinms (the threelast-namedspecies occurnowonlyasstragglers inthevicinity), Bangifertarandus,Belugacatodon,Larus

?,andSomateria ?{mollissima,probably). Other bonesare found,but not recognizable from decay. No implements were found except a stone skin-scraper.

ThepresentEskimosay these stone foimdationsweremade bythe^Timnlcs. Theyare foundinvarious out-of-the-wayplaces, especiallyin the greaterKingwahFjord.

tAbouttwentyyears ago,a

man

andwomen(Greenlandors)laudednearCapeMercy, havinggotadriftona piece oficeontheGreenlandcoast. From this occiu-rencewe

conjecturethat thestoryhasreceived amodernaddition.

14 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARCTIC AMERICA.

g^{-^rmeut,} ou theice, they placealamp; overthis

lamp

theycookmeat.

•

Ttieireyes are sore all the time.

We

are afraid of tliem; do notlike ttiem; glad they

have

gone away."

This traditiondiffers

somewhat

in the i)articulars

when

told

by

differ-

«'Mt individuals, but the main points are essentially the same.

Many

willnot tell it all; some, only parts of it.

The

ridiculous story aboui the dogsis firmlybelieved

by

the present

Eskimo

as theorigin of these animals.

That

the TumiJcs

have

been seen of late years in thewest is not im- probable,

—

^thatis, natives, differentin dress

and

stature; but theywere

most

likely thetribe

known

as the Pelly

Bay Eskimo

from the north shores of Hudson's Straits

and

from

Fox

Channel, they being larger

and more

robustthanthe

Cumberland Eskimo

ofthe present day. Itis certainthat since the whalers

have begun coming among

the

Cumber-

land Eskimo,

and

introduced venereal diseases, they

have

deteriorated verymuch.

They now

almost

depend upon

shipscoming,

and

asa con- sequence are

becoming

less exj)ert hunters,

and more

careless in the construction oftheirhabitations,

which

aremerelyrudetemporary shel- ters

made

^ata fewminutes'notice. Great suffering often ensues from living in these miserablehuts.

The

seal skin that should

have

goneto repairthe tentis bartered tothe

whalemen

for a^littletobacco,or

some

valuelesstrinket,

which

is soon

thrown

aside.

The men

are

employed

to catch whales,

when

they should be huntinginordertosupplythewants oftheirfamiUes;

and

the

women,

halfclad, but sporting a

gaudy

calico gown, instead of their comfortable skin clothes,

and

dying of a quick consumption in consequence,

when

they should be repairing garments or preparing skins, are loafing around the ships, doing nothing for themselves^or

any

oneelse.

The Cumberland Eskimo

of to-day, with his breech-loading rifle, steel knives, cotton jacket,

and

all the various trinketshe succeedsin l^rocuring fromtheships, isworseclad, livespoorer,

and

getslessto eat than didhis forefathers,

who had

never seen orheard ofawhiteman.

Thereisa practice

among

tliemthatis probablyoflong standing,

and

is regularly carried out every season, of going into theinterioror

up some

of the large fjords after reindeer.

They

generally go duringthe

months

ofJuly

and

August,returning in September,^tobe on

hand when

thefall whalingbegins.

The

purpose ofthisreindeerhuntisto procure skinsfortheirwinterclothing. ]S"earlyallreturntothesoundto winter.

They have

regular settlements, which are hardly everentirely deserted

ETHNOLOGY. 15

at

any

season.

The

principalones are

known

as

Nugumeute,

Niautilic,

Kewboyant,

Kemesuit, Annanactook, Oosooadlnin, Ejnjuajuin, Kikker- ton,

and

Middliejuacktuack Islands,

and

Shaumeer, situateat different pointsonbotli sidesof

Cumberland

Sound.

During

the wintertheycon- gregateatthese pointsiulittlevillages of snow-huts.

The

presentprincipalheadquarters areattheKikkertonIslands,or at Niantilic, accordingto which pointthewhalers winter.

The

oldharbor of Kemasuit, oncethe winter harbor of whalers

and

afavoriteresortof the Eskimo,is

now

deserted,except

by

a few superannuated couples,

who manage

to catch

enough

sealto live on.

As

arule,thepresent raceis of short stature, the

men

from fivefeet threeinchesto five feet six. There are

some

exceptions,but they are in favor of aless rather than agreater height.

The women

are alittle shorter.

The

lower extremities are rather short in proportiontothe body,

and

bow-legsare almost therule. This probablyarises fromthe

manner

ⁱⁿwhich the children arecarried inthe mother's hood, as well as the earlyage at which they attempt to walk.

The

habit of sitting cross-legged

may

also

have

atendencytoproducethisdeformity. Their hands

and

feetaresmall

and

wellformed. Their

hands

arealmost covered withthescarsofcuts

and

bruises. Itseemsthatinhealing theinjured part rises,

and

isalwaysafterwards disgustingly prominent. Thereisagreat variation inthe colorof their skin,

and

adescriptionthat

would

answer forone mightnot apply at

aU

to another.

Even among

those that are of pure breedthere are

some whose

skins are

no

darker than a white man's would be if subjected to the rigors of

wind and

cold,

and

the never-removed accumulationof soot

and

grease. Othersagain

seem

to

have

been ^"born so."

The

children,

when

young, are quite fair.

The

eyes are small, oblique,

and

black or very dark brown.

The

hair is black, straight, coarse,

and

very abundant. Itisrarely

wavy

or curly

among

thefull-blooded Innuits.

There are, ofcourse, exceptions to theabove incases of half-breeds.

Their faces are broad

and

flat, with ratherlarge lips

and

prominent cheek-bones.

Infanticide is not practiced

among

the

Cumberland Eskimo

at the present day. I

have

learnedfrom

some

ofthe

most

intelligentthatthis barbarouscustom

was

in

vogue

informertimes,however.

Among

the natives ofEepulse

Bay and

thoselivingon thenorth shores ofHudson's

Straits,it ispracticedto aconsiderableextent, especiallywith thetribe

known

as the Pelly

Bay

natives.

The

practice is confined almost en-

16 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARCTIC AMERICA.

tirely to female children, the reason being, they tell'us, that they are unable to hunt,

and

consequentlyof little account. It seems to have been referable tothe

same

cause

among

the

Cumberland

Eskimo. Their mtercourse withthe whites seems to

have

modified

some

of the

most

barbarous of theirprimitivehabits.

Twins

are not

common, and

tripletsvery rare.

The

males

outnumber

the females. Infanticide may,to

some

^extent, bethecause; but lung diseases, whichare alarminglyjprevalent,

seem more

fataltothe

women

than tothemen.

Children are often

mated by

the parents whilethey are^stillmere in- fants. Thereissuch

an

extreme^laxityofmorals thatthe

young women

almostinvarialy

become

wives onlyashort time beforetheyaremothers.

It isimpossibleto sayat

what

agethe

women

cease tobearchildren, asthey

have no

idea of their

own

age,

and

few are ableto count above

ten. Pubertytakes place atan early age, possiblyatfourteen with the female.

They

are not aprohfic race,

and

itisseldoma

woman

has

more

than

two

or threechildren,

and

often onlyone, of her

own;

still

many,

oralmostall, havechildren; butinquirywillgenerally divulge thefact that

some

ofthe children

have

beenbought.

Almost

every

young woman

has orhas

had

a child,buttheidentity of the fatheris innowiseneces- sary in orderto insure therespectabilityof the mother orchild. Such

cliildren are generally traded ^or given

away

to

some

elderlycoujdeas soonas they are old

enough

to leave the mother.

The

foster-parents take quite as

good

careof such adoptedchildren asif they were their own.

So faras

we

could learn, they do not generallypractice

any

rites or ceremonies of marriage.

The

best hunter, orthe

owner

of the largest

number

of dogs

and

hunting-gear, will seldom have

any

difficulty in procuring the

woman

of his choice for awife, even though she has a

husband

at thetime. It is a

common

practice to trade wivesfor short periods orfor good.

They

appearto

have

marriageritessometimes,but

we

could induce no one totell us, except one squaw,

who

agreed to, but onlyon condition that

we became

oneof the interested parties and she theother. This

was more

than

we had

bargainedfor, and,although generallywilling to be a martyr^for thecause ofscience,

we

allowedthis opportunity topass without improving it.

Monogamy

is at the present time the

most

prevalent.

Polygamy

is

practiced onlyin the case of a

man

beingabletoprovidefortwo or

more

wives. Three,

and

even four, are

known

^of, but rave. Neitherdo two

.ETHNOLOGY. 17

or threewires in one ^lint

make an

altogether harmonions household

;

butall little difficultiesare generallysettled

hy

the husband, in a

man-

ner better calculated to insure reverence to masculine strength than respectfor superiorintelligence.

The

^scarcityof

women

^at present in proportion to the

men makes polygamy

a luxuryonly tobe indulged in

by

the wealthy. Divorce,if itcanbe called

by

that name,is veryfrequent

among

them. All that

isneededis that the

husband

tiresof his wife, or

knows

ofabetter one thatheis ableto procure. Neither does it

seem

totroublethe

woman much

: sheisquite sureto

have

anotherofferbeforelong;

and

achange of thiskindseems to benefitbothparties.

One

ratherremarkable

and

very laudable practice

among

these peoj^le is the adoption of

young

children

whose

parents are dead, or, as oftenhappens,

whose

motheris

the only recognized parent. Orphans, so to speak, are thus twice as

common

as

among

civilized nations. These children, whether bought orreceived as agift, are always takenas goodcare of as if thej^were theirown, especiallyiftheyareboys.

Among

the

Eskimo

employed

by

the Florence

was

afamily that

had two

children,

who

passedfor brother

and

sister. One,the boy,

was

a

nephew

of "

Eskimo

Joe,"of Polaris fame.

He had

been

bought

from theHudson's Straits Eskimo,

some two hundred

milestothesouth.

He

was

aperfect little satan; and, though he gaveus

much

annoyance,

he was

anever-failing source of

amusement

tousall.

The

girl,again,

was

a native of Exeter Sound, on the westcoast ofDavis Staits; still, both wereconsidered astheir

own

^children,

and

wellcared for.

Half-breeds are said to be of

more

irritable temperaments,

and

less abletobearexposure

and

fatigue,than thefidl-bloodedEskimo.

The

food of the

Cumberland Eskimo

consists entirely offlesh,

and

in mostsections of the

sound

of

Pagomys

foetidiis. Infiict,this animal is their principal dependence for food, fuel, clothing,

and

light.

The Eskimo

willeatafewoftheberriesofVacciniumuliginosumand

Empetrum

nigrum, theroots ofPedicularis,

and

occasionallyalittleFucus vesiculo- SHS inwinter, butthisconstitutes a very small

and

unimportant part of theirfood.

As

soon as theicehasfairly leftthe sound, the

Eskimo

hunter leaves the winterencampment, withhisfamily

and

such portionsof his house- hold goods as will beneeded,

and

takesa tour inland or

up some

of the large fjords after reindeer.

The

largerpart ofhis possessions,including sledge,dogs, harnesses, winterclothing, &c.,he secretes

among

the rocks in

some

unfrequented spot. His dogsare puton

some

littlerockyislet,

Bull. Nat. Mus. No. 15 2

18 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARCTIC AMERICA.

toshut tor themselves.

They

eke out a scanty subsistence

by making

gooduse oftheirtimeatlowtide, Cottusscorpmsconstitutingthe greater part of their foodat thisseason.

There arc at present so

many

whaleboats

owned by

theseEskimo, thatthey experience littledifficulty in

making

quite extensive cruises, three or fourfamiliesconstituting aboat's crcAV.

They

willloada whale- boat towithin

an

inch or

two

ofthegunwale,

and

then set outforafew

weeks

ofenjoyment

and

abundance.

The squaws

dotherowing

and

the

"captain" stands majestically in the stern with the steeringoar, while therestof the

men

are either asleep oron the lookout for game.

The

cargo consists of their tent-poles,the skin-tents,pots,

and

lamps, witli

sundryskin-bags containing the

women's

sewing

and

skinningutensils.

Their hunting-gear, of course, formsa quite conspicuous i)ortion of the contents of the boat.

Very

few tliere areat present

who have

notbe-

come

the possessors of a half-barrel,

and

thisvessel occupies aconspic- uous placeinthe boat,

and

isalmost constantly receiving addition? of animal matterin

some

shape; afew

young

eiders or gullswill soon be covered

up

with theintestines of a seal

and

its flesh.

From

thisrecej)- tacle all obtain a piece of

meat whenever

they ^feel hungry. This ves- selisneveremptied of its contents, except

by

accident or

when

scarcity of materialforbids its repletion_; and, as thetemperature at this season

iswell

up

in the "sixties"duringthe day, this garbage heap becomes so offensiveas to be unbearableto

any

one but

an

Eskimo.

They

proceed ata veryleisurelyrate, rowing for a few minutes

and

thenstoppingfor atime, chattiug, smoking, oreating.

When

^theyfeel tiredtheyhaul

up

on the rocks

and

haver sleep,

and

then resume the journeyin the

same vagabond

manner. ^If,while thuscruising,

any

li^e creature thattheythink there is anypossibilitythey can capturecomes in sight, all

hands become

animated, the oars are pliedwith redoubled energy,

guns and

spears arein readiness,

and

every oneis eagerforthe sport.

Hours

are often

consumed

in chasing half-grown

duck

or

young

loon,which

when

procuredisbutabite;butthe fun of the chaseseemsto

be

theprincipal object,

and

theyenjoyithugely.

Thus

theyjourney^till theyreach

some

suitablelocality,

when

theboatis unloaded, the toopiks raised, the lauq^sputintheir places, alidall is readyfora grand hunt.

The men

divide

and

scatterover the mountains, leaving the

camp

in charge of the

women and

children; these

busy

themselves

by

hunting for

and

destroyingevery livingcreature thatthey can ^find.

On

thereturn of the hunters,

who

perchance

have

brought

some

skins antla

hunk

of venison, there arejoyous timesin cam^ij the

meat

isdis-

ETHNOLOGY. 19

posedof first,

and

then the younger people engage ⁱⁿvariousgames, while the older ones gather around

some

aged crone,

who

excitedly recounts tlie hunts of her girlhood days, plentifully intermixingstray portions of theoldsagas

and

legendswith whichher

memory

isreplete.

Thus

theylivefrom

day

today, the

men

hunting

and

the

women

^stretch-

ing theskins,tillthe season comes around

when

they

must

returnto thecoast.

Happy,

contented,

vagabond

race^! no thoughts of themor-

row

disturb thetranquillity of their minds.

When

a deer is killed

any

distance from camp, the

meat

iscached, with the intention of returuiug after it in winter; but with

what

the wolves

and

foxes devour

and what

the

Eskimo

never can find again, verylittle isbroughtback.

Many

have

now

firearmsof

some

pattern or other;

and

though they willhunt for aballthat has missedits

mark

forhalf a day,they do^not hesitate to fireat

any

useless creature thatcomesin theirway. Those that

have no

guns use

bows and

arrows

made

from reindeerantlers.

'Sometimesthe deer are drivenintoponds,

and

even intothe saltwater,

and

capturedin kyacks withharx)Oons.

They

have aninterestingcustom or superstition,namely, thekilling of the evil spirit of the deer;

some

timeduringthe winter or early in spring, at

any

rate before they can go deer-hunting, they ^congregate together

and

dispose of this imaginaryevil.

The

chief ancoot, cmgeJcol;

or medicine-man, ^isthe

main

performer.

He

goesthrough a

number

of gyrations

and

contortions,constantly hallooingandcalUng,tillsuddenly the imaginarydeer is

among

them. I^^owbegins alively time.

Every

oneis screaming, running,jumi:)ing,spearing,

and

stabbingatthe imag- inarydeer,tillone

would

thinkawhole mad-house

was

^{let loose.} Often thisdeerx)rovesveryagile,

and must

be hardto kill,for I have

known them

tokeep this performance

up

fordays; infact, tillthey were com- pletelyexhausted.

During

oneoftlieseperformances anold

man

speared thedeer,another

knocked

out an eye,athird stabbedhim,

and

so on fill he

was

dead.

Those

who

areable or fortunate

enough

to inflict

some

injury on this

bad

deer, especially he

who

inflicts the death-blow, is considered ex- tremely lucky, as he will

have no

difQculty inprocuring as

many

^deer

ashewants, for thereis no longer an evil spirit to turn his buUets or arrowsfromtheir course.

They

seldom kiU a deer afterthe regularhunting seasonis over,till

thisperformance has been gone through ^with, even though avery good opportunity presentsitself.

20 NATUEAL HISTORY OF ARCTIC AMERICA.

Salmo salar,

and

one otiier species of SalmothatI could not procure

enough

ofto identify,arecaughtto

some

extentin

June and

Sei>tember in

some

of the largerIjords; they are mostly caught with a spear, but sometimes with ahook. (Fordescription videunderhunting-gear, &c.)

"When

thesefish are caught, they areput into aseal-skinbag,

and

it

remainstied

up

^tillthewhole becomes a

mass

ofputrid

and

fermenting

fish, about as repulsive to taste, sight,

and

smell as can beimagined.

Cottus scorinus^whichcontributes so largelytowardstheGreenlander's larder, is notutilized

by

the

Cumberland

Eskimo,exceptin cases of a scarcity of other food supj)lies; the fish is

abundant

in their waters, however,

and

fully asgoodeating as they areonthe Greenlandcoast.

Birds

and

theireggsalso contribute towards their sustenance in sea- son; they are extremely fond of eggs,

and

devour

them

in astonishing quantities.

The

"black skin" of the whale, called

by them

muMulc^is esteemed the greatest delicacy.

When

they first iDrocure a sui)plyof thisfood, theyalmost invariably eatthemselvessick,especiallythechildren.

We

foundthisblack skin notunpleasanttasting

when

boiled

and

thenpickled instrongvinegar

and

eatencold; but thefirstattempts atmasticatingit willremind one of chewing India rubber.

When

eaten toexcess, espe- cially

when

raw, it acts asa powerful laxative. It is generallyeaten with abouthalf

an

inch of blubberadhering.

The

greater portion of their food is eatenraw, especiallyin winter.

When

theycookat all,theyonly

"simmer"

itovertheir lamias in aj)ot

of soapstone. These pots are from eight to twenty inches in length, usuallyaboutsixteeninches,

and

thoughof variablepatterns, the length

is generally three times the width or depth.

Among

such

Eskimo

as are able to i^rocure old cast-away meat-cansfi-om aroundtheshijis, tin has supersededthe soapstonebothforlamps

and

boihng-pots.

In summer, especially

when

on hunting excursions,they very often

"fry"

meat by making

alittlefireplaceof stones,

and

lading a^flatpiece ofstone

on

the top.

The

openingtoreceive thefuel supplyisto wind- ward.

For

fuel at such times they use Cassiope tetmgona

and Ledum

palustre; these shrubs

make

a quick

and

very hot ^fire. It

would

be comparativelyaneasy taskforthesepeople to gather

enough

Casslope tetragonaduringthe

summer

to burn during the coldest weather,

and

notrely

whoUy upon

blubber.

W^hen

the

Eskimo have

been simmeringmeat,especially seal,in their boiling-pots, theypour offthe hquar

and mix

^itwith about an equal

ETHNOLOGY. 21

quantityofblood; this

makes

a thick

and

rather greasysoupthat

must

bequitenourishing; the chiklrenarevery fond ofit. Itseemspossible thatfrom thisdishhas originated the popular error that these people drinkoil, anotion thatissimply preposterous.

Ifound

among some

ofthese peoplealittle spoon, or rather a minia- ture scoop,

made

of ivory, which they used to drink the soup with; it

appearstobe

an

oldutensil,

now

fast goingout of use, fortheycan

now

procure tin mugs.

A

reindeer's rib,pointedat one end,is usedto fish

up

the

meat

with,

and

sometimes to convey it to the mouth. These instruments arefound inthe graves, but

seem

to be but little used at the present day.

When

asealisbroughtto the

encampment,

especiallyifthey havenot been plentyfor

some

days, allthevillagersare invited tothehutofthe lucky hunter,

and

thesealissoon dispatched.

A

couple of theyounger

men

skin theanimal

and

distributethe pieces totheassembled

company

asfast asneeded.

The

^testicles,being considered asthechoicesttitbit,

areusually

handed

overtothe hostess^; thespinalcordis also rated as oneofthechoicestportions of the animal.

During

these feasts they gorgethemselvesto their utmostcapacity,

and

are in good

humor and

hilarious.

Though

there

may

be ever sopoori)rospects toprocure

more

foodfor themorrow, thisdoes not deter

them

fromgluttonously devour- ing thelastmorsel,

and

thengo onallowance till they can get a fi^esh

supply. I

have

seen

them

thusgorge themselves,

and

thenlie

down

to sleep withapiece ofseal

meat by

theirside, which theyattackedevery time they awoke.

The

intestines of birds, notablyLagopus

and

Somateria, are looked

upon

aschoice parts,

and

birds broughtto the

encampment

aregene- rally "

drawn" by

the hunters.

The

fatty excrescenceatthebase of the upper mandible of the

male

8om.spectaMlis is too great a temptation for them. It

was

with great difficulty that

we

could induce

them

to bring these birds to camj) withouthaving

them

thusmutilated.

Smce

whalers

began

to cruise in the

Cumberland

waters, they have found that it is decidedly to their advantage to hire boats'crews of natives toassistinthe capture of whales.

They make

good whalemen.

When

such crewsaresecured,they wiselycountinalloftheirfamilyinthe bargain, sothatto secure theservices of acrew of seven

men

one

must

feedthirtyor more.

While

working for whalers, these

Eskimo depend

almostwholly onthe ship for theu'food supply^; as a consequence,they are fast becoming poor hunters,

and

^{prefer to lounge around avessel}

22 NATUKAL HISTORY OF ARCTIC AMERICA.

and

pick

up

suchscraps asofferthemselYesratlierthanto strikeoutfor themselves

and

liveindependently

and

in comparativeplenty.

As

tomeals,orregular meal-times,theyeat

when

hungry,iftheyhave anything.

They

always eat in the

morning

before going out to hunt;

but theiirincipal

meal

isintheCA^ening,ontheirreturn.

When

su])pUed withrations

by

theships, theyoften

have

their regular mealsaboard

;

but thisdoes in

no

wisehinder

them

from taking their usual evening allowance of

raw meat when

theyreturn to theirhuts.

That

the

Eskimo

possess considerable powers of abstinencecannot be disputed; butitisnot soremarkableafter all,fortheycertainlyhave

had ample

experiencein this direction.

That

theyare abletobear tem- poraryor sustained exertion betterthanthe whites is doubtful.

They

are acclimated

and have

clothing suitedtotheclimate,

and

readilyadapt themselvestothe rudeshelterof a snow-bank, ifnecessary; butgive a healthy white

man

as

good

clothes,

and

he willstand as

much

fatigue,

and

perhapsmore.

AYhilehunting withtheEskimo,

we

often

had

our nose

and

face frozen,

when

itdid not

seem

toaliectthe

Eskimo

intheleast; but

when

it

came

to a trami)through the

snow

all

day

long, fewof

them would

stand it

any

betterthan

we

could.

Some have judged

their powers of endurance from the

manner

in which they willfollowtheir

game

; butit seemstousit is rathertheir wonderfulpatience, for

we have known them

tofollow animaltracksfor awholeday,

when we

confess

we

could notdiscover thefaintest trace ofatrack,exceptatlong distancesapart.

They

willdiscover

any

traces ofanimalson the

snow

thata white

man would

^-pass,

by and

notnotice.

When

traveling either on the ice orwater, they

make

the journey

by

short, easy stages, stoppingas soon as theyfeeltheleasttired,

and

re- cruiting; iftheywererequiredto

walk

a givendistance,ason aregular march, they

would

give out.

The Cumberland Eskimo

are

known

to

make

better

and more

beau- tifid clothing than the tribes of aSTorthern Hudson's

Bay and

Straits.

During

the

summer,

and,infact, atallseasons,except

when

theweather

isverysevere, the outer

garment

of the

men

is

made

from theskins of adult

—

^or,

^more

properly speaking, yearlings,as they are the best

—

Pagomys

fcetiduti. Inverycold weather,they betake^{themselvesto deer-}

slvin clothing^; but as these clothes are less strong thanthe seal-skin,

they

make

thechangeassoonas theweatherpermits.

The women

wear the deer-skin clothesuuichlater inthe seasonthanthe

men;

^theirdress

ETHNOLOGY. 23

isalso

made

ofthe

same

kindof seal, unless tlieyare fortunate

enough

toprocure Calloceplialus vitulimis, whichskins aresohighly prized that they use

them

even thoughthereisonlysufficientforapart of thefronts of their jackets.

Both

the

men and women wear

agarmenttheexact duplicateinshape undertheouter one; this garmentis

made

eitherfrom the

young

seal inthewhitecoat or ofreindeer.

The

coat of the

men

does not openin front,butis

drawn

onover the headlikea shirt,

and

has a

hood

thatfits the

head

snugly, while the

woman's

hoodislarge

and

loose,

and

thejacketis quiteloose-fitting, so asto receivethechild,whichisalwayscarriedinthehood.

The woman's

jacket further differsfrom themen's inbeing shorterinfront,

and

end- ingin arounded point, whilebehind ^itreaches quite to the ground in theform of alance-shapecttrain. This appendageis caught

up

in the

same manner

as the fashionable trainof the present

day among

civil- ized nations,

when

the condition of the groundis unfavorablefor its trailing. After all, is not this fashion borrowed from the

Eskimo?

Thereis oftenanapproach towards thisi)rolongation inthemen's jack- ets, especially

when made

of deer skin, but never so long as on the woman's. Neitherdolittlegirlshavea long train tothe jacket; butas soonastheyarrive atthe age

when

they are

no

longerlooked

upon

as children,theylearnto imitate theirmothers. Therearenever

any

pock- ets inthe jackets ofeither sex, thehood servingforthis purpose.

The

pants of the

men

are

made

from the

same

material as the coat, with theexception that the

young

seal inthewhitecoatisoften usedfor the outer as well as the inner garment.

The

pants reach onlyto the upper part of thepelvis,

and

arekept

up by means

of a ^string around the body.

They

reach a littlebelow the knee,

where

theyare

met by

the boots.

When made

of deer skin, the}'areusuallyornamented

by

fringesof cut skin around the lower edges.

The

women's pantsdiffer from the men'sin being

composed

of

two

separatepieces,thelower reachingfrom a little belowthe kneeto the middle of thethigh,

and

arekept in place

by

a string which runs to the upx)eredgeofthe otherportion.

The

lower portion of these panta- loons is

removed

while theyare at

work

in their igloos,

and

the bare thigh used, as aboard

would

be,tolaytheseal skin onwhile cleaning the blubberfrom it.

The women

havethe habitofthrustingtheirhands between theupper

and

lower pantaloons the

same

as

we

doina pocket;

infact, theyusethisspace as asortofpocket. •

Little girlsweartheir breecbes likethe

men

tillthey gettobeten or

24 NATUEAL HISTOEY OF AECTIC AMEEICA.

twelve years of age.

Yery

small children are dressed in a fawn-skin jacketwithout attached hood; but their heads are,nevertheless, well bundled

up

ina doublefawn-skin

hood

that fitsthescalpclosely. This

hood

isnever removed, exceptperchance

by

accident,tillthechild out- grows it.

The

lower extremitiesareusually not clad atall.

The

children arecarriedonthe mother'sback insideherjacket.

The

cut of the jacketissuchthatthe child goes

down

asfaras the mother's waist,

when

thecloseness of the jacket prevents it going

any

farther.

The hood

allowsthechild freedom for its

arms and

head,but thelegs are

cramped

underneath itsbody,

and

this is probably one cause of bow-leggedness

and

x)ossiblythe shortness of the lower extremities. I

have

seen the

Eskimo

mother,withachildfiistasleej)inher hood,build- ing atoopik. This

work

often necessitatedher stooping over so

much

asto seemingly endangerthe

dumping

of tfie infantover her head on the ground; still, itdidnot

seem

toinconvenience thechild in theleast, asit slept soundlythroughthe wholeproceeding.

The Mmik,

^{or, as} generallypronounced, humming^ or boots, areprin- cipally

made

fromthe skins of adult Fagoonysfceiidus, withthe hairoff,

thesoles being

made

from the skin of Phoca harhata.

For

winter

wear

a verybeautiful

and

serviceablebootis

made

from the skin of reindeer legs

sewed

together lengthwise; theyareused onlyin dry snow, being quite useless

when

the

snow

is wet.

Another

style of bootis tohave thelegof netsick skin, butAviththe hairon. Theseboots reach nearly tothe knee,

and

are keptin place

by means

of a stringaroundthetop,

and

also secured

by

aseal-skincord passingover the instep

and

aroand theheel.

They

are generally

sewed

with sinewsfrom reindeer; butfor boots the sinews from the dorsal vertebrteof Belugacqtodon are pre- ferred

when

they can beprocured.

The

stocking

worn

next tothe footis of

heavy

reindeer skin, the hair side next the foot; they reach above the knee.

Over

the stockingis

worn

a sortof slipper

made

from theeider-duck.

The

birdis skinned

by making

an incisionon the

back

nearone

wing

; throughthisopen- ingthe

body

is removed.

The

skinis cleaned of thefat

by

theEskimo's teeth,

and

the skin farther prepared

by

chewing it.

The

tail-feathers areremoved,

and

thisend

becomes

the toe of the slipper, the feather side being

worn

inside. Itsupper edges are

bound

with

some

kindof skin togiveit additional strength,

and

if theentire slipper is covered withclothwill last alongtime.

They

arevery

warm and

comfortable.

Zarnsglaucusisoftenusedforthispurpose.

For

childrentheyuse JJria

^grylle

and

Bissatridactylus skins.

Over

all thisis

worn

^{anotherslipper}

ETHNOLOGY. ₂₅ made

from the netsick skiu, -^itlitLe Lair on,

and

the hair side-vrorn

outward and thehairpointingfromthetoebackwards. Thisvery

much

facihtatesthe drawingon of the hoot.

'

For summer

wear the

young

ofthe netsickin thewoolly coatis substi- tutedforreindeerforthestockings.

Dog

skinisalsosometimes usedfor stockings,butnotso

commonly among

the

Cumberland Eskimo

as

among

those of Hudson's Straits,

who

use

dog

skinsforpants aswell asstock- ings.

All the clothingis

sewed

withsinews, reindeer orwhite whale.

The

reindeersinews are driedin bulkasthey

come

from the animal,

and

are split off as needed.

The

fibresare separated as fine as necessary,

and

thendra^Miquicklybetweenthe teethtosecurea

more

uniformsize.

The women

all

sew

towards themselves,using the thimbleontliefirstfinger;

theyseldom use but one kindof

seam

; the edges of the skin are care- fully

matched

together,

and

joined

by

sewingover

and

over the overcast seam. Their thimbles (called tikil', also signifiesfirst finger) are

made

from the skin of

Phoca

barhata; in shape theyare merelyan oblong piece sufficientlylarge to cover the point of thefinger.

A

^{rim is cut}

aroundthe outsideedgefor about onehalfitslength; this forms asort of loop under which the fingeris passed, and in this

manner

it iskept in place.

We

found this style of thimble

much more

convenient than themetaloneof the usual form.

Very

few ofthe

Cumberland Eskimo

atthepresent

day

use anything butsteelneedles,orboneones

made

afterthe

same

pattern.

We ^have

seen

an

instrumentsaid tohave beenused.as a needle thatis consider- ablydifferentfi^om anything

we

ever

saw

before.

An Eskimo

brought

ittous, and

wanted

ahatchetin exchange. AVe thought it certainhe

would

return

and

offerto trade at our terms, but he did not,

and

Ave

never

saw

liim again. Thistool

was

almost exactlylikean awlinshape, but

had

an eyenear thei^oint.

They must have had

to thread this iii-

strumentforeach stitch.

The

needle part

was

apparently of deerhorn

and

thehandleofwalrus ivory.

The

favorite

and

principaltoolofthe

women

is a knifeshaped likean ordinary mincing-knife. Nearlyallthe

Cumberland

Eskiiru) have

now

procurediron

enough

from

some

source orother so that they can have aniron knife of this pattern. Before they could procure

enough

iron, they

made

theknife ofivory,

and

merely sank flakes or pieces of iron intothe edge,inthe

same manner

as the natives ofNorth Greenland do at thepresent time. This

same

practice of sinkingiron Hakes ijito the

26 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARCTIC AMERICA.

edge

was

alsoused ontlieirlargeskiuniug-knives,Avliicliwere

made

from a walrustusk,

aud

mucli afterthe patternof

an

ordinarysteel butcher- knife.

Some

of these ivoryknives

have

no iron in

them

; but at the liresenttimetheyareused principally, ifnot entirely, for cutting

snow and

removing icefromtheirkyacks.

The women

seldom use

any

otherkindofknifethan such as just de scribed.

With them

they

remove

theblubberfromtheskins,splitskins, cut

up

meat,

and when

sewingthisinstrumentisusedinstead ofscissors.

They

begina

garment by

sewingtogether

two

piecesof skin

and

shaj)- ing

them

asthey go along

by means

of theknife, cutting foran inch or

two and

then sewing.

They

always j^;?^s7t the knife

from them when

workingit.

Tattooingdoesnot

seem

tobe as i)revalent

now

asformerly, for it is

mostlyon theaged

women

that one findsitat present.

The

markings resembleIndia inkin api)earance,

and

are done with

gunpowder

at pres- ent. Still,

some

usethe old method,

by

taking thejuiceofFucusresicu- losus L. (ora closely allied species),

and some

small algae that apjiar- ently contain a

good

deal ofiodine,

and

mixing withlampblack.

Instances

came

underour observation of people of apparently great age,

—

^sayseventyyears

and

over, tojudge fromapi)earances5 they

had

gray hair (a rare thing

among

the Eskimo),

aud

were nearly blind;

the

women had

the teeth

worn

close to the

gums by

^{chewing skins.}

Itisimpossible to arrive at

any

definite conclusion regarding,their age, asthey keep norecord of time

and

cannot refer to any past event

by any means

ofnotation.

.We

couldnotlearnoftherudestattemptat picture-writing orhieroglyi)hics; and, as theypossess

no

recordswhat- ever, their traditions are

handed down

from generation to generation without being fixed

by any means

which alloweven an approximate estimate oftheir growth

and

prosperity.

Most

of

them

areunableto count

beyond

theirtenfingers,

and many

areunable to go oversix; some,again, are said to

have names

for

num-

bers to twenty, but they are few.

The

numerals are differently^pro- nounced,

and we

founddiflicultyin getting one sufiicientlyconversant with

them

togiveusthenumeralsto ten.

One=

Atdusa, oratausat.

Two=iir«c/io.

T}irQc=Pingasult, orpingasat.

¥0111=Sesemin^, orsesemat.

'Fiyc:=TddUmene^ ortodlimdt.

ETHNOLOGY, 27

^iK^Aulcbinigan.

Beyeii=Pingashving (?).

'Eigh.t=AiiJ£hinigan-machoni (G

aud

2).

l^hie=SchiscMmani (? ?).

Ten=:Kowolin.

Above

teutbey are said tocounttlieirtoes

and

take ten

and

one,ten

and

two, &c.; but

we

were unableto find one

who knew

their names.

They

willtellyou theyhave caught seals orbirds

up

to six,butif

more

theygenerallyputit amashuadly (agood many), which

may

be anynimi- berfrom sevenupwards.

In thetreatment of the sick they are verysuperstitious,

and

in fact theyresortalmostentirely to their ancoot, angel'oJcs, ormedicine-men.

The

followingis a Greenlander's legend thatproposestogive a reason

why

peopledie:

"The

cause ofj)eople's dyingislaid to a

woman,

said to havediscoursed thus: 'Letthepeopledie gradually, otherwise they

willnothave

room

intheworld.'"

Others relateitin this

manner: "Two

of the first people quarreled.

One

said: 'Letitbe

day and

letitbenight,

and

letthe peopledie.'

The

other said: 'Letitonlybe night

and

not day,

and

let thepeople live.

After alongwrangleit

came

topass as the iirst

had

said."

Itis interestingthatthis

same

curiouslegendexists

among

the

Eskimo

of

Cumberland

Sound; they say though that "those

who

quarreled finally arrangedmatters

and had

bothentireday

and

entirenight atthe different seasons, sothatbothparties might besuited."

The

lungs ofLepusglaciaUsare considered as a sure cure for boils

and

all

manner

ofsores; theydraw, theysay,

and

their

manner

of applying

them

is the

same

as

we would

apoultice.

They must

be applied as soonafterthe animal's death as possible,

and

whiletheyare yet

warm.

Incases of scurvy theynever use Cochliaria,but the stomach of a freshly killed reindeer, with the vegetable contents, instead. If the sciu-vypatientbe very bad, the limbs are

bound

withpiecesofthedeer's stomach, whaleorseal's blubber,orany kind offreshmeat. Ifawhale canbe caughtatsuch atime,the patientissometimesbodilyshovedinto thecarcass, orthelowerextremities only are sunkeninto theflesh.

The most

prevalent disease

among them

seems to be lungdisease; it isalarmingly

common, and

consumj^tion i)robably^kills

more

than all other diseases combined.

The whalemen have

introduced venereal diseases

among

them,which

have

spread ataterriblerate,

and

devastate the natives almost

hke

a pest.

28 NATURAL HISTORY OF ARCTIC AMERICA.

I could notlearn tliatthey

have any knowledge

of tliemedical prop- erties of

any

plant or shrub.

Some

of the coarser kinds of algce are procured atlowtide fromthe cracks intheice,

and

eaten raw. but only because they are fit to eat, thej^ say; the roots of Fedicularis are also sometimes eaten.

When

the

women

are aboutto be confinedtheyare placediii a small snow-hut, if it be winter,

and

in alittleskintent, if simimer,

by

them- selves. Their only attendantisalittlegirl,

who

isappointed

by

the

head

ancoot of the

encampment. A

little

raw meat —

^deer, ifthey

have

it

—

^is

putintothehut withher,

and

sheis lefttogive birthtothechild asbest shecan.

The

reason sheis

removed

fromher tent is,thatshould

mother

orchild die inthe tentnothingpertainingto theequipmentof theestab- lishment could ever be used again, not even the tent-covering or the husband's hunting-gear. In

some

instances they are obliged to modifythis custom somewhat.

We

have

known them

to cut thetent- cover about

two

feetfromthegroundallaround

and

usetheupperpor- tion.

A

man'swife accidentally shotherself inherigloo,butthe

gun was

too great a sacrifice; he used it, but the rest of his household eflects

were leftto waste

away where

theylay.

We knew

of another instance

where

thetent-poleswere broughtinto use again inthecourse ofayear aftera death

had

occurredbeneath them.

As

soonasthemother with her new-born babe is ableto get

up and

go out,usuallybuta fewhours, theyare taken in charge

by

an aged femaleancoot,

who

seems tohave

some

particularmissiontoperform in such cases.

She

conducts

them

to

some

levelspot ontheice, ifnear the sea,

and

begins a sort of

march

ⁱⁿcircleson theice,the mother follow- ingwith the childon herback; this manoeuvre is kept

up some

time, theold

woman

goingthrough a

number

of i^erformances the nature of which

we

could notlearn,

and

continuallymuttering somethingequally unintelligible to us.

The

next actisto

wade

through snow-drifts,the agedancoot leading theway.

We ^have

been informed that it is customaryforthe mother to

wade

thus bare-legged, but (whether from

modesty

or thetempera- ture of

—

50° F.

we

cannot say) on

some

occasions this part of the X)erformanceis dispensed with.

When

a sickperson gets sofar gonethatthey

deem

recovery improb- able,heis

removed

fromthehut,

and

either draggedout

upon

the rocks to die, or a little

snow

shelter

may

be constructed for him.

and some

scraps of

raw meat thrown

intohim. Usually suchi^roceedings areapt