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CANADA DEPARTMENT OF MINES Hon. P E. Blondin, Minister; R. G. McConnei.l, Deputy Minisiek.

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

MEMOIR 91 No.

14,

Anthropologicai. Series

The Labrador Eskimo

W. Hawkes

OTTAWA Government Printing Bureau 1916

No. 1637

CANADA

DEPARTMENT OF MINES Hon. p. E. Blondin, Minister; R. G. McConnell, Deputy Minister.

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

MEMOIR 911 No.

14, Anthropological

Series

The Labrador Eskimo BY

W. Hawkes

OTTAWA Government Printing Bureau 1916 A

No. 1637

of D,

JUN

1917

CONTENTS. PAGE Preface

Historical sketch of the Labrador Eskimo

The Skraelings

Early relations with the French and English Cartwright and the southern Eskimo

The work of the Moravian missions

Labrador: physical characteristics and distribution of population Character of the country Ancient distribution of Eskimo

14 14 16

Statistics of Eskimo population

Tribal divisions and place-names

Racial boundaries

Hunting territories

Climate

Ice

Snow The Eskimo year Names of stars

Food Varieties of Labrador seal and other sea mammals

Land mammals Minor foods Berries

Medicinal plants Clothing

28 29 29 30 32 33 34 36

Shoes Waterproof stitching Mittens Waterproof mittens

38 38 39 40 41 41 41 42 42 42 43 43 46 47 48 48 50

Cap

Dickys Ornamentation Trousers Socks Boots Shoes Dressing and making up of skins Dressing deerskin

Smoking deerskin Dressing and making of sealskin clothing Boots

Vamps

PAGE Trousers Cartridge bag Men's tobacco-bag Woman's tobacco-bag

Dicky Hoyses Snow-houses Stone iglus

54 54 55 56 58 58 60

Whalebone houses Camping houses

The summer tent

Transportation

The dog-sled and dog driving The umiak The kayak Hunting and fishing Hunting weapons The equipment of the kayaker Sealing harpoon

Lance Seal-hook Bird-spear

The bow and arrow The bow-case Hunting large game Hunting small game Traps Snares Fishing

Household tools and utensils Lamps and kettles Dishes and other receptacles Scrapers

Knives

The drill Pipes Needle-cases

Art

Work in ivory Work in wood Work in cloth and fur Work in basketry Tattooing Social organization and social customs

64 64 68 71

73 73

74 76 76 76 79 81 82 85 85 86 87 88 88 92 93 94 97 98 99 100 100 101 101

102 105 108

Punishment and murder

108

Headmen

110

Ill

PAGE Birth

Ill

Childhood Marriage Morality

113

Death

118

Burial

119

114 115

Games Games of chance

120 120

Cat's cradle

121

Dolls

122

Music

122

Religion

124 124

Torngarsoak and Superguksoak The Inua and Tornait The angekut

127 128

Divining

132

Head-lifting

133

Taboos

133

Fetishes and amulets

135

The life after death

136

139

Ceremonies Whaling festival

The "sculping" (skinning) dance Mythology

The migration legend The Tunnit

139 140 141 142

•

Tunnit houses Tunnit boots Interpretation of the evidence

143

146 146 146

The last of the Tunnit

148

Alasuq and the giant

150

An Adlit tale

151

The girl who lived among the Adlit

151

Origin of man and the animals

152

Origin of the winds and rain

153

The heavenly regions The regions below The place where the caribou live How the trout was made The quarrel of the crow and the gull The girl who married a whale The story of the sun and moon The story of the fox-wife The son who killed his mother The orphan boy and the moon man The story of the lame hunter

153 153

154 155 155 155 156 156 157 158 159

PAGE

The thinking image

159

Origin of the walrus and caribou

160 160

The owl and the raven The origin of the sea-pigeons

161

How the caribou lost their large eyes

161

Eskimo incantation for game

162

163

Phonetic system Bibliography

164

ILLUSTRATIONS. Map 156 A,

No. 1560.

Eskimo tribes of the Labrador peninsula,

northern Quebec Plate

in pocket.

A. B.

Eskimo girl in duf?le dicky and moleskin trousers. Killinek Eskimo woman in cotton dicky and seal-

Killinek Eskimo woman, front view

A. B.

Caribou skin dicky from Cape Chidley Man's sealskin dicky from Cape Wolstenholme. (a) Combination legging and boot from east coast of Hudson bay; (b) skin boot from Hamilton inlet; (c) skin boot from Davis inlet Sealskin trousers from Cape Wolstenholme Child's sealskin bonnet; (b) baby's fur cap; (c)

skin trousers, back view

II.

III.

B. IV.

(a)

167

hareskin cap;

(d) birdskin cap;

fur "beads";

(a)

VI.

(a)

VII.

(a)

VIII.

(a)

Tobacco bag with pipe cleaner;

(a)

Sealskin waterproof mitten;

(b)

179

caribou moccasin (c) cloth shot

deerskin mitten

;

(b)

caribou

bag; (d) loonskin bag.

181

man's tanned (c and d) pair of embroidered (b)

181

cloth mittens

Bag made from leg of deer;

(b) sealskin bag

and d) Sealskin mittens Completed snow-house with boy sitting on key-

(a, b, c,

175 177

;

skin bag;

171

(c)

pair of ear ornaments; (d) beaded band Gut raincoat; (b) gut trousers Slipper worn inside boot (b) corrugated sole; (c) fur slipper; (d) child's shoe; (e) woman's shoe; (f)

XI.

171

173

Beaded breast ornament;

(a)

169 169

(e) squirrel-

skin cap

IX.

167

block

Caribou skin tents of Eskimo fishermen, Cape Chidley Eskimos of Great Whale river, Labrador A. Dog-team viewed from behind B. Process of building a komatik

183 185 187

XII. XIII.

187

189 191 191

V PAGE Plate

XIV.

A. B.

Model of kayak, from Norton sound, Alaska; (b) model of kayak from Ungava bay (a) Model of komatik with seal load, from Cape Chidley; (b) wooden model of sleigh or koma(a)

from Labrador (b) model of deerskin baidarka; (c) model of umiak or sealskin boat (a-e) Arrows from northern coast of Labrador; (f) bow from Labrador; (g) bow from east coast of tik,

XV. XVI.

(a)

woman's knife; A.

(c)

tooth knife for carving;

J97

199

201

203

205

207

209 209

(d and (f)

211

(a and b) Bow-drill (mouthpiece, drill,

and bow); (c) caribou horn-handled awl or knife; (d and e) knives with horn handles, from Eskimo point

XXV.

195

(b) beaver

crooked knives from Cape Chidley; whetstone from Cape Wolstenholme

XXIV.

stone knife

(a) Small whetstone from Cape Chidley;

I93

Model of kayak;

Labrador; (h) bow from northern coast of Labrador XVTI. (a) Quiver; (b) ptarmigan snare; (c) sling XVIII. A. (a) Stone lamp from Cape Chidley; (b) large stone lamp with ridge, from Okkak, Labrador. B. (a) Small stone lamp from Okkak, Labrador; (b) stone lamp from Cape Chidley; (c) model of soapstone lamp from Okkak; (d) soapstone lamp from Chesterfield inlet XIX. (a) Stone kettle from Cape Chidley; (b) large stone kettle from Okkak, Labrador XX. (a and b) Model of sealskin dish and bailer; (c) small kettle from Cape Chidley; (d) model of stone kettle from Baffin island XXI. (a) Large wooden spoon from Hamilton inlet; (b) wooden spoon from Hamilton inlet; (c) wooden dish from Hamilton inlet XXII. A. (a) Scraper made from leg bone of reindeer from Eskimo point; (b) ditto from Mistake bay; (c and d) "firestones" of pyrites; (e) bone scraper from Hudson bay B. (a) Ivory snow-knife with bone handle; (b) ulu or

XXIII.

193

211

Ivory needle cases; (g) ivory comb; (h) ivory pendant; (i) stone pipe (a) Ivory carving of man in kayak with hunting outfit; (a-f)

(b)

ivory carving of Eskimo

woman;

213

(c)

ivory carving of Eskimo man; (d and e) ivory sled and dog-team

215

PAGE Plate

XXVI.

and b) Ivory carvings of knives; (c) ivory carving of powder horn; (d) ivory model of gun; (e) ivory model of boots; (f) ivory model of bag.

XXVII.

Ivory carving of whale; (b) ivory carving of walrus; (c) ivory model of seal; (d) stone carving of fish; (e) ivory carving of narwhal; (f) ivory carving of white whale (a) Ivory carving of fox; (b) ivory carving of polar bear; (c) ivory carving of reindeer; (d) ivory

carving of bear;

(e)

XXIX.

XXX. XXXI. XXXII.

XXXIII.

east coast of Labrador;

223 225 227

229

231

XXXIV.

(a)

(b and Feet of horned owl, used as amulet soapstone figures used as fetishes

XXXV.

Eskimo walled grave, Baffin island Eskimo women at Moravian mission in northern Labrador cutting up white whales

Figure

219 221 223

(d) doll representing

woman from Baffin island

219

ivory carving of musk-ox;

and g) ivory carvings of wolves on the trail A and B. Eskimo girls in winter costume A. (a) Tobacco pouch; (b) child's moccasin (a) Man's fur mitten with fur applique work; (b B. and c) sealskin tobacco pouches; (d) sealskin tobacco bag Coiled basketry from Hamilton inlet A and B. Coiled basketry from Hamilton inlet (a) Ivory "cup and ball" game; (b) six ivory dominoes; (c) two sets of ivory ducks belonging to game; (d) miniature human figures used in game. Doll representing woman, from Chesterfield inlet; (a) (b) doll representing woman from east coast of Labrador; (c) doll representing man from (f

XXVIII.

217

(a)

;

233 235 235

Pattern of deerskin mitten

45 47 48 49

Pattern of waterproof mitten

Pattern of cap

Pattern of trousers

Pattern of cartridge bag

Pattern of old style woman's tobacco pouch

10.

Pattern of atige

11.

Camp circles in Labrador

12.

Detail of masonry of ungaluk in Suglasuk bay

13.

Double bridle and dog toggles from Labrador Dog-whip from east coast of Hudson bay

Pattern of waterproof skin boot

Pattern of sealskin slipper for boot Pattern of sealskin mitten

14.

vu PAGE Harpoon with line and shaft, from Ungava Manner of attaching the two principal parts of the harpoon Killing lance, from Cape Wolstenholme, Labrador Seal-hook, from Cape Wolstenholme, Labrador

30.

from Cape Wolstenholme, Labrador (b) Bird-dart with two sets of bone points, from Great Whale river, Labrador Throwing-stick from Cape Wolstenholme, Labrador Spear thrower, from Great Whale river, Labrador Arrow, showing method of attaching point and shank, from Great Whale river, Labrador Arrow, showing method of attaching point and shank, from northern coast of Labrador Arrow, from Great Whale river, Labrador Ivory harpoon head with iron point, from Joksut, Labrador Bone lance head with iron point, from Eskimo point, west coast of Hudson bay Trout spear, from Cape Wolstenholme, Labrador End of limestone kettle, from Coats island Bow scraper made from jaw-bone of a narwhal, from Cape Chidley Tattooing on leg and forearm of w^oman, from southern

31.

Women's tattoo designs

106

32.

Men's and women's tattoo designs

107

Figure 15. 16. 17. 18. 19.

20. 21. 22.

23.

24.

25. 26.

27. 28. 29.

(a) Bird-spear,

Baffin island

75 77 77

78 78

80 80 80 82 84 88 90 93 102

PREFACE. The following account of the life of the Labrador Eskimo is

the result of a trip undertaken in the season of 1914 to the

coasts of Labrador, for the Geological Survey of Canada.

the author had already an intimate knowledge of the general culture of the Eskimo from a three years' residence among them in Alaska,

an attempt was made to cover as much territory as

possible, so as to get a comprehensive view of the culture of the

Eskimo of the entire coast of the Labrador peninsula, and to note variations from other sections. With this end in view, the early part of the summer was spent in Sandwich bay and Hamilits

ton

inlet,

an endeavour to ascertain the southern

the Labrador Eskimo, and the remainder of the

limit of

summer and

autumn in company with the Carnegie Magnetic Expedition^ which continued up the coast as far as Cape Chidley, and then visited both sides of Hudson strait, and the east coast of Hudson bay as far south as Cape Dufferin. This completed the circuit The west coast of Hudson bay, of the Labrador peninsula. between Port Churchill and Chesterfield inlet, was also visited, as well as several islands in the bay.

A considerable ethnological

and archaeological collection was obtained from these districts. This paper does not attempt to offer a complete ethnology of the Labrador Eskimo, but to bring out the main facts of their

which mark them off Eskimo world. After all, the ethnological divisions of the Eskimo are geographical rather than cultural. The author has drawn on his own experience for comparisons with the western Eskimo and on standard life,

and particularly those

differences

as a separate division of the

authors for other sections.

The

ethnological

literature

on the Labrador Eskimo

scanty and devoted to sections of Labrador rather than to the

Eskimo of the Labrador peninsula as a whole.

Turner's inter-

esting account is limited to Ungava; the Moravian writers have

given us some descriptions of Eskimo

life

on the east coast,

^Thanks are due to Captain Peters, leader of the expedition, for many courtesies.

from their own standpoint; there is httle information on the west coast Eskimo except scattered references and a portion in C. H. and A. T. Leith's "A Summer and Winter on Hudson Bay." It is hoped that the present work will bring out the salient features of the Labrador Eskimo culture and serve for comparative study.

The Labrador Eskimo. HISTORICAL SKETCH. THE SKRAELINGS.

A correct understanding of the present habitat and conLabrador Eskimo is hardly obtainable without a knowledge of their past history and the remarkable vicissitudes The wiping out of fortune through which they have passed. by the combined whites and Indians, of the entire southern branch south of Hamilton inlet, which remained hostile and pagan to the last, and the careful nourishing of the northern branch by Christian missionaries, form one of the many paradoxes with which the history of native races in their relation to the dition of the

whites abounds.

The first mention of Eskimo, supposed to inhabit the present Labrador, occurs

in the

Saga of Eric the Red, where the en-

counter of the Northmen with the Skraelings (which should

remind us that the Eskimo were probably the first people met by the whites in America) is thus described

"They saw a great number of skin canoes, and staves were brandished from their boats with a noise like flails, and they were revolved in the same direction in which the sun moves."^ This is evidently an attempt of the Norse singer to describe something so unusual to their economy as the appearance of Eskimo in kayaks (skin boats). The sound of the doublebladed paddles striking the water might be likened to the action of flails; while the motion in the air, dipping on one side and then the other, would give them the appearance of revolving to an '

It is Interesting to note in passing that the movement "as the sun goes" is characteristic

of the turning of the dancers in certain Eskimo ceremonial dances, and that the actual words,

'Turn as the light of day (the sun) goes," occur in one of their ceremonies. about Bering strait, 18th Annual Report B.A.E., p. 372.

See Nelson, Eskimo

observer

whom

the

sight

was unusual.

Farther on

the

Saga reads:

multitude of Skraeling boats were discovered the south, and all their staves waved in a difrom approaching the sun." The apparent contradiction is to contrary rection In the first case the kayaks were seen approachexplained. easily ing from the north and in the second case from the south, when the apparent motion of the kayak paddles would be reversed. Certain writers have attempted to associate this description of the Skraelings with the Beothuks or the Micmac Indians but the description of "skin canoes" and revolving paddles would not apply in this region to any other people than the Eskimo. The difficulty of finding the Eskimo as far south as Vinland is not great, when we remember that in the sixteenth century they inhabited the north shore of the St. Lawrence and might have extended their wanderings farther south at an earlier period. Weapons closely resembling those used by the Eskimo have been dug up in Ontario^ and New York State.^ The specimens in the Beothuk collection in the museum at St. Johns, said to be from the Newfoundland coast, show a strong Eskimo In each case this influence may be due to cultural influence. borrowing by neighbouring tribes, but when we remember the summer visits of the Labrador Eskimo to the north of Newfoundland, it is not unlikely that a party may have been seen by the Norsemen, particularly as the location of this description has never been definitely ascertained to be farther south. great

EARLY RELATIONS WITH THE FRENCH AND ENGLISH.

The next historical trace of the Labrador Eskimo is to be found in the account of the voyage of John Cabot. He saw some of the inhabitants of the new land he discovered (presumably Labrador), and brought back "snares for game and needles for making nets." Harisse, the foremost authority on the early exploration

Labrador,

considers

that

these

are

Eskimo

' Wintemberg, Bone and harpoon heads of the Ontario Indians, Archaeological Report of the Provincial Museum, Toronto, 1905.

Verbal information from Alanson Skinner, Mus. of the Am. Indian.

utensils.

Gosling, on the other hand, in his able and exhaustive

Eskimo had no knowledge of catching salmon by means of nets, and had to be instructed in the art by the Moravian missionaries in 1772.^ It is possible that in this case the usually careful author confuses He is certainly mistaken civilized with native implements. that "among the implements of the when he goes on to say times carefully described, been many Eskimo, which have The use of nets for seal mentioned."^ are not snares and nets in Alaska,^ but for birds is common of snares and salmon and Davis Eskimo. Still, mentions eastern among the rare John the use of nets in Greenland in 1586,^ and Thalbitzer in his recent publication on the East Greenland Eskimo^ is of the opinion that nets were used in Greenland in early days. Ancient implements for making nets have been found there according Thalbitzer® thinks there is a close to Glahn and Fabricius. relation between the Labrador Eskimo and the tribes of south and central Greenland, due to former contact, which shows in phonetic similarities. If this is true, there may have been a cultural borrowing, particularly of so useful an instrument as the net. Boas^ mentions the use of the net by the Labrador Eskimo, which the Baffin-islanders, who belong culturally with the north Greenland group, do not employ. Turner ascribes the use of the net in Ungava to European influence.^ It seems probable, then, that the Labrador Eskimo may have made nets in older times, but given up their manufacture when history of Labrador, contends that the Labrador

much more easily summer raids to the south. The Moravians mention that when they went among them, they found the Labrador

they could procure the civilized article so in their

Eskimo well supplied with

fishing gear

and

nets,

the results

of their plundering trips to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, It is generally if

Cabot landed

conceded by historical students that, even in Newfoundland, he continued up the

first

Gosling, Labrador, its discovery, exploration

Ibid. p. 30.

and d velopment,

p. 29.

Nelson, The Eskimo about Bering strait, 18th Annual Report B.A.E., pp. 185 sqq. "They make nets to take their fish of the finne of the whale." Hakluyt's Voyages, p. 782. ' Thalbitzer, The Ammassalik Eskimo, Copenhagen, 1914, p. 402.

Thalbitzer, ibid., p. 685.

Boas, The Central Eskimo, 6th Annual Report B.A.E., p. 516. Murdoch, quoting Turner, p. 252.

Labrador coast as far as Hamilton inlet, where he could have procured "snares for game and needles for net-making" from the

Eskimo of that vicinity. Sebastian Cabot, son of John Cabot, in his memorable voyage brought back with him "three savage men," who "were clothed in the beastes skinnes and ate raw flesh, and spake such speech that no man could understand them"; these are undeniably Eskimo. Curiously enough, Jacques Cartier does not mention meeting any Eskimo in the Strait of Belle Isle. Gosling^ takes this as

evidence that the Eskimo did not begin to frequent the Gulf of

Lawrence until drawn thither by the desire to obtain iron and fishing gear from the Basque, French, and English It might have fishermen; but the inference is not conclusive. been an off year for Eskimo migration, due to disease or some religious taboo, as often happens, or Cartier might have simply missed the wandering bands. One thing is certain; when the French began settling on the coast in 1702 they found the Eskimo in considerable numbers on the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, as far west as Mingan. The first attempt to found a permanent settlement on the Labrador coast was by Courtemanche, about 1704, who established a fishing and trading post at Bay Philypeaux, now Bodore. His concession extended from Kegashet (now the Kegashka Here, with a party river) to Kessessasskiou (Hamilton inlet). of forty French-Canadian servants and thirty or forty Montagnais hunters, he lived the life of a grand seigneur, carrying on an He was greatly extensive fishery, and trading with the natives. annoyed by the Eskimo in the establishment of his fishing stations. During the winter, they tore down his stages, destroyed his nets, and stole his boats. He tried to make peace with them, but was unsuccessful. The number of Eskimo in southern Labrador at this time must have been considerable. A contemporary anonymous author estimated them at 30,000.^ St.

tools

' Gosling, Op. cit., pp. 165-166. 'This number is evidently an exaggeration. 3,000 would probably be nearer the actual number. Courtemanche writes that a band who visited him in 1716 numbered about 800. Palliser made peace at Chateau in 1765 with 400 Eskimo, which may be considered the sur-

vivors, at that date, of the southern bands.

The Eskimo had compelled

the Basques to give up their whale and kept up a continual and savage warfare with the French and Montagnais. The unknown writer mentioned above, who has left a quaint and charming description of the life of the French settlement, gives it as his opinion that "they (the Eskimo) fly from Europeans because they have been maltreated, fired on, and killed, and if they attack and kill Europeans it is only in way of reprisal." Courtemanche was succeeded in 1717 by his son-in-law Brouage. His reports are an account of continual strife with the Eskimo. Brouage learned the Eskimo language from a woman taken captive in Courtemanche's time, and relates some marvellous tales which he obtained from her. He speaks of one tribe who were dwarfs, 2 or 3 feet high, but remarkably fierce and active. Have we to do here with the Agdlit, or dog-people, of Eskimo mythology ? Another tribe had white ( ?) hair from the time of their birth (possibly the Bear-people) another tribe had one leg, one arm, and one eye (the Illokoq, "longitudinally split person" of Eskimo myths ?). On Brouage's death, the post was abandoned. About the same time Labrador, together with the rest of Canada, fell into the hands of the English. During the English occupation of Labrador, the Eskimo fishery

the

strait,

;

continued

their

depredations

the

Strait

Belle

Isle.

Bands of them came down each summer, ostensibly to trade, but in reality to carry off everything they could lay hands on. Their system of attack was to creep up on the unsuspecting fishermen in a dense fog, and so terrify them with their unearthly yells that they would abandon their property and flee. At other

times, when a party presented a bold front, the Eskimo would advance and engage in trade, but when they had thrown their adversaries off their guard for a moment, they would attack them and kill the whole crew. They told the Moravians that they used to carry knives and arrows for such purposes^ concealed in their clothing and kayaks. The fishermen were not behind in retaliation, and shot and plundered small parties of Eskimo at sight. There was probably * Courtemanche, writing in 1716, mentions seeing firearms, probably plunder, in possession of the Eskimo; but it is doubtful if they knew how to use them.

as much wrong on one side as on the other.

Whether the Eskimo

or the whites began the trouble originally cannot be ascertained

The Eskimo of early Labrador appear to have been an exceedingly truculent race, as witness their attacks on early explorers and missionaries, and a knowledge of the terror they inspired would not make them less savage. But the reprisals made on them could not remedy the situation. Sir Hugh Palliser, the Governor of Newfoundland, who assumed charge of Labrador on its transfer to that colony, had the wisdom to see this, and in a proclamation issued in 1765, strictly forbade further plundering and killing of the Eskimo, laying the hostile attitude of the natives to the "imprudent, treacherous, or cruel conduct of some people who have resorted to the coast." at this late day.

Palliser

went further and visited the Eskimo himself, and con-

cluded a peace with some four or five hundred of them at Pitts harbour,^ which, thanks to his wise and firm attitude, lasting.

became

In the achievement of this happy purpose, Sir

Hugh

was greatly assisted by the influence of Sir George Cartwright, among the southern Eskimo, and that of the Moravian Brethren among those north of Hamilton inlet.

CARTWRIGHT AND THE SOUTHERN ESKIMO. Sir George Cartwright was a particular friend and associate Governor Palliser. After seeing some naval service on the Newfoundland coast, he conceived the idea of settling in Labrador. He entered into partnership with Lieut. Lucas, who had acquired a knowledge of Eskimo, with the intention of carrying on a peaceable trade with the Eskimo and engaging in cod and salmon fishing. He set up an establishment at Cape Charles in 1770. On his arrival in Labrador, he began his journal of "Transactions and Events During the Residence of Nearly Sixteen Years on the Labrador," which was issued in 1792 in of

three large quarto volumes.

In his journal he sets down with the

utmost frankness and candour the daily transactions of the post and his opinion of the people with whom he came in contact.

This work deserves to be classed with the narratives of

those explorers of new lands, like Franklin and Richardson, who

were not only explorers, but scientific observers as well, of the >

Chateau bay.

manners and customs of the people with whom they came in To Cartwright must be given the additional praise contact. of sa^^ing that he seemed to be one of those few white men who understood how to approach natives and win their confidence. Immediately on the arrival of the partners, Lucas went north and returned with a family of Eskimo, who nearly ate the Fortunately they were post out of supplies during the winter. not over-dainty in their choice of provisions, any more than the modern Eskimo. Cartwright speaks of giving them, when the supplies were low, "a skin bag filled with seal's phrippers (flippers), pieces of flesh, and rands of seal fat; it was a complete mixture of oil and corruption with an intolerable stench, and no people on earth, I think, except themselves, would have eaten the contents."

The following July, a considerable number of Eskimo appeared in the harbour. Cartwright, in order to inspire confidence in them, went boldly over to the island where they were encamped, sent his people away, and began trading with them alone. The Eskimo responded nobly to such treatment, and he never had any serious trouble with them, although his immediate predecessor (Darby) had been forced to abandon the post on account of their aggressiveness. Cartwright himself attributed

with the Eskimo to his always treating them fairly and firmly. He never allowed them to cheat or rob him, and on the other hand was careful to see that they were his success in dealing

always

satisfied.

A finishing touch was his habit of entering

games with as much zest as they showed Here his strong physique stood him in good

into their sports and

themselves. stead.

In a quaint rhyming letter to his brother Charles, Cart-

wright describes his relations with the Eskimo:

"The Eskimo from ice and snow now free, In shallops and whale boats go to sea;

In peace they rove along the pleasant shore. In plenty live nor do they wish for more. Thrice happy race; strong drink nor gold they know;

What in their hearts they think, their faces show. Of manners gentle, in their dealing just,

Their plighted promise safely you may trust.

Mind you deceive them not, for well they know The friend sincere from the designing foe. They once were deemed a people fierce and rude, Their savage hands in human blood imbued; But by my care (for I must claim the merit)

The world now owes that virtue they inherit. Not a more honest or more generous race Can bless a sovereign or a nation grace. With these I frequent pass the social day,

No broils, no feuds, but all is sport and play.

My will's their law, and justice is my will. Thus friends we always were and friends are still." With an idea of impressing the Eskimo with the importance

whom they held in contempt with all other "kablunait," Cartwright took a few of his oldest Eskimo friends

of the English,

to London. They were greatly astonished at the sights they saw, but soon grew homesick. One said, "Oh, I am tired! Here are too many houses, too much smoke, too many people. Labrador /is very good; seals are plentiful there. I wish I was back again." The inevitable happened. They all contracted smallpox, and only one woman, Caubvick, lived to see her old home. On Cartwright's return to Labrador, they were met by a large crowd of Eskimo w^ho had gathered to greet their friends. When only Caubvick appeared, their grief was unrestrained. "Many of them snatched up stones and beat themselves on the face and head until they became shocking spectacles." "In

short," says Cartwright, "the violent frantic expressions of grief

were such that I could not help participating with them so far as to shed tears myself most plentifully." But it is quite characteristic of the Eskimo that "they no sooner observed my emotion than, mistaking it for apprehensions which I was under for fear of their resentment, they instantly seemed to forget their own feelings to relieve those of mine. They pressed around me, and said and did all in their power to convince me that they did not entertain any suspicions of my conduct toward their departed friends."

Caubvick, on her recovery, had refused to have her hair cut,

—a common Eskimo superstition—which had become matted with the disease. Naturally, she flew into a passion whenever Cartwright proposed it. The following summer he records that one of his men came on an Eskimo camp in Ivuktoke bay (Hamilton inlet) where a whole family had died of smallpox, and, from a medal found on the spot, he recognized the family as Caubvick's.

Undeterred by this sad lesson, Cartwright took a small Eskimo boy of twelve years with him on his next trip to England, intending to educate him that he might be useful in communicating with his people. To ward off the danger of smallpox, he had him inoculated. But the poor lad succumbed to the treatment in three days, which may have been as fatal to him as the Cartwright was greatly grieved by disease itself to a European. his failures, and probably brought these inflictions on his native neighbours through a mistaken generosity and ignorance of the fatal effects of new climates and diseases on the Eskimo rather than through any intentional selfishness or unkindness on his part.

In 1775, Cartwright moved farther north to Sandwich bay, where he continued to prosper amid an abundance of fish and game. One curious fact of natural history that he mentions is

The site that he chose now occupied by a Hudson Bay post which bears his name, and a monument to him and his brother John stands in the little seeing polar bear diving after salmon. is

cemetery near by. Here Cartwright carried on a fishery and trade with the Eskimo, until business troubles took him to England, where he died. A few of the old Eskimo of this district (see footnote,

page 15) still survive; the rest of the

native population mixed with the "planters" or early servants

many of whose present descend ants show an admixture of Eskimo blood. They retain many of the

of the trading companies,

old hunting superstitions^ of the former Eskimo, and, with fishing in

summer and trapping in winter, lead practically the same

1 One of these survivals is the custom of cutting off the tip of the heart and liver of a seal when it is killed, and throwing it back into the water. The only explanation given is that it

is "for luck," which probably

means that it is the old Eskimo idea of a return oi a portion of the

vital part of the seal to the sea, which will ensure its rebirth in its kind and consequent return

to the hunter.

—

10 Certain articles of Eskimo clothing, such as the "dicky,"^

life.

or hooded frock, the waterproof skin boot,

and the cartridge

bag, are still in use among them.

For the only record of the ancient names of the old divisions Eskimo as gathered by Lieut. Curtis, see page 18,

of southern

"Distribution of Population."

THE WORK OF THE MORAVIAN MISSIONS.

No account of the history of the Labrador Eskimo would be complete without due mention of the remarkable work of the Moravian missionaries among them. To these devoted followers of the lowly Nazarene the Eskimo of the northern Labrador coast owe not only their salvation but their present existence. So closely have the Moravians been identified with them for the past hundred and fifty years, that in speaking of the Labrador Eskimo we are accustomed to apply this name to the mission Eskimo. The Moravian Missions have been severely criticized for the trading establishments which they run side by side with their missions.

But for this they can plead extenuating circumstances,

as will be shown, and the administration of spiritual and secular

matters is kept entirely separate. The principal thing in their work which appeals to an ethnologist is the fact that, as a missionary body, they have encouraged the Eskimo to continue to live as natives that is, to eat native food and wear native clothing which wise position has been instrumental in keeping the Eskimo

—

alive in this district, while they

south.

The

have utterly perished

the

general attitude that the Moravians have taken

towards the Eskimo, of a not-too-familiar kindness, and of founding their authority on it instead of on force, is also interesting to a worker among native tribes, particularly as regards the

success with which it has been attended.

Their successful work among the Greenland Eskimo encouraged the Moravians to turn their attention to the Labrador Eskimo. As early as 1750, Erhardt, one of their missionaries, '

A corruption of the Eskimo o" lige.

wrote to the Bishop: "My dear Johannes: thou knowest that I am an old Greenland traveller. I have also an amazing for these countries, Indians, and other barbarians, and it would be a source of the greatest joy if the Saviour would discover to me that He had chosen me and would make me fit for this service." A vessel was fitted out in 1752, and Erhardt chosen as interpreter and supercargo. Four other missionaries accompanied him. On July 31 they arrived on the Labrador coast, in what is now known as Fords bight, latitude 55° 10'. Here they landed and began the erection of a station. The Eskimo appeared friendly, being particularly pleased to meet a white man who could speak their own language, and a brisk barter trade was carried on. On September 5, the vessel, which was named the Hope, went north for further trade. Ten days later it returned with the sad news that Erhardt and a party which included the captain and five of the crew as well, had been mur-

affection

dered on the 13th on going ashore to trade with a strange tribe of Eskimo. Consequently the other missionaries decided to

abandon the station.

The seed of the gospel had been sown in blood.

remained

for a Labrador apostle to be raised

up similar to the great missionary of Greenland, Egede. He was forthcoming in the person of Jens Haven. Jens Haven was a poor German carpenter, who knew nothing of Eskimo and little English. Yet, when he had once decided to take up this work, he set himself to accomplish it with a determination which overcame all difficulties. In 1758 he went to Greenland and learned the Eskimo language. In 1762, he declared his intention to the Moravian church, and, after much discussion, they permitted him to make the attempt, but could offer no aid. Haven made his way to London, where he met Palliser, the newly-elected Governor of Newfoundland, who gave him not only his hearty sympathy, but the necessary assistance.

Haven was assisted in getting to the Labrador shore on his by the famous Captain Cook. He was greatly disappointed in not seeing the Eskimo at Chateau bay, as they had left the district. But at Carpunt, a few days later, one returned, first trip

and Haven

his

Journal^ thus described

momentous

their

meeting:

him in Greenlandish that he should come had words to say to him, and that I was his good He was astonished at my speech, and answered in friend. broken French; but I begged him to speak his own language, which I understood, and to bring his countrymen, as I wished to speak to them also; on which he went to them, and cried with "I called out to

to me, that I

a loud voice, 'Our friend has come.' "I had hardly put on my Greenland clothes,

own boats.

went

when

five

meet them,

them arrived and said, 'I have long desired to see you!' They replied, 'Here I answered, 'I am your countryman and friend!' is an innuit.' in

their

They rejoined, 'Thou art indeed our countryman.'

This successful beginning resulted in Governor Palliser sending Haven to England with a recommendation to the Board Aid was readily granted, and the next of Trade for assistance. other Moravian missionaries, including with three year Haven, were returned to continue the work. Drachardt, Christian further evidence of their and gave again met Eskimo were The who were their friends, and could men meeting white pleasure at the This work made possible peace their language. speak which Palliser was enabled to make with the Eskimo at Chateau the following year.

Seven years delay ensued before the work of settlement principally due to the Moravians' demand for 100,000 acres of land for each settlement, which appeared excessive to Palliser. The reason given by the Moravians for this request was not the value of the land, which was practically worthless, but the establishment of a reservation which would keep the Eskimo away from the contaminating influences

was taken up,

of dissolute whites.

In 1770, Haven, Drachardt, and Jensen were placed in charge of an expedition, which made a settlement at Nain. The grant and purpose of the station were explained to the Eskimo, who appeared well pleased that the Brethren had come to dwell permanently among them. An old acquaintance, Segulliak,

and a noted Eskimo woman who had been taken to

'Given to Sir Hugh Palliser and preserved at the Record Office, St. John, Nfld.

England, Mikak, helped to pave the way. A document was drawn up which the head men of the Eskimo signed,^ and a gift was made to each family. The party then returned to England. The next year a house and stores were brought out and the Moravians settled down to their work with earnestness.

The task of converting heathen, hostile Eskimo into peacefulminded Christians presented manifest difficulties. The habits and mental attitude of the Eskimo were so entirely different from what was desired that nothing short of a revolution in Some of their their customs and thought had to be effected. naive answers to the questions of the missionaries emphasize One man, when asked if he believed in the Saviour, this. declared that he believed very much, but what he wanted at present was a knife. He later took unto himself some additional wives, and on being remonstrated with about it, said that "he needed them to man his boat," which was a good enough Eskimo custom. The idea of blood-revenge cropped out when the missionaries spoke of the death of Christ, for the Eskimo thought they were "upbraiding them for former murders."

But native ideas and superstitions proved to be more easily overcome than the attraction of the southern white traders, who held out the luring bait of tobacco, gew-gaws, and rum. Many, even the famous Mikak, succumbed to such evils. It was a desire to keep the Eskimo at home, away from the degenerating influences of this contact, which finally led the Moravians to establish their trade stores in connexion with their missions.

The regulations governing native trade are strict, and the price paid for native products is low.

On the other hand, the Eskimo The

receive good, honest trade goods at a reasonable price.

turned back into the Mission work. £23 a year, which "supplies all their needs" and shows plainly enough that they are not seeking to lay up treasures on earth.

profits of the stores are

The

missionaries receive the princely salary of

This must have been the first document signed by the Eskimo in history.

LABRADOR: PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION. CHARACTER OF THE COUNTRY.

The Labrador peninsula is divided, roughly speaking, into (1) the Atlantic coast, commonly known as the Labrador coast; (2) the Ungava district, comprising Ungava bay and the land drained by the rivers emptying into it; and (3) the east coast of Hudson bay with its several large three main districts:

tributary streams, which forms the west coast of the peninsula.

long-standing

fishermen,

custom,

initiated

the

Newfoundland come to be

the use of the term "Labrador" has

restricted to the Atlantic coast, so

shall continue to use it in

that sense in this paper, referring to the second section as Ungava,

and the third as the east coast of Hudson bay.

In dealing

with the Labrador Eskimo, we are concerned only with the coast (they are seldom found farther than 30 miles from the shore-line, except during summer hunting trips into the interior), so it appears better to adopt current divisions, even though they may be a little confusing, than to substitute new terms

which would be meaningless until generally adopted. The Atlantic coast of the Labrador peninsula extends from the Strait of Belle Isle at the mouth of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, to Cape Chidley, at the western entrance of Hudson strait, a distance of some 700 miles. The entire shore is rough and rocky, rising from a height of 1,000 feet in southern Labrador to lofty clilfs and ranges from 3,000 to 5,000 feet high in the northern section^ Deep inlets and narrow fiords, fringed by groups of little islands, extend almost continuously up the coast,

offering ideal hunting and fishing grounds to the Eskimo.

them gathered mainly about the trading pC3ts and mission stations situated at the head of the larger inlets and bays. The Eskimo formerly inhabited the entire Atlantic seaboard of Labrador, but at present are found only north of Hamilton find

1 Near Cape Chidley, in the extreme northern portion of the peninsula, are the Tornga'it, or "Spirit Mountains," a wild and impressive group, believed by the Eskimo to'be the abode

of To'rngak, or Tomga'rsoak, "the great To'rngak," the chief spirit consulted by their shamans (see map).

Moravian stations of Makkovik, Hopedale, Nain, Okkak, Hebron, and Killinek (see map). Until quite recently (1904, when Killinek was established), a small but hardy band of "heathen" Eskimo lived in the neighbourhood of the Hudson's Bay Company post at Nachvak.^ The Moravians had intended to establish a station here, but had been forestalled by the Later they built missions on each Hudson's Bay Company. side of Nachvak, at Ramah and Killinek, and the Nachvak post was practically squeezed out of existence.^ The main body of Nachvak Eskimo emigrated to Cape Chidley, although a few persisted in their heathen independence and are said to be still Generally speaking, the Labrador living near Eclipse harbour. Eskimo of the northern Atlantic coast are settled at the Moravian stations and directly under their control. This has been fortunate for them, as, under the w^atchful care of the good Brethren, they have escaped the total destruction which has inlet^ at the

overtaken their kindred of southern Labrador.

The coast of Ungava bay is quite similar to that of the Atlantic, being bold and fringed with islands, but differs in having

few inlets or good harbours.

On the east side of the bay, Eskimo

are found at the Hudson's Bay Company posts at the mouths of

the Whale and George rivers.

There is a considerable settlement

at Fort Chimo, at the foot of the bay, near the

mouth of the

Koksoak, where both the Hudson's Bay Company and Revillon Freres have large stations. On the west side of Ungava bay the French company has a post at Wakeham bay, one of the few good harbours in this region. Here and at Hopes Advance long established

are

Eskimo

villages.

Scattered

families

are

The author discovered two survivors of the old southern bands of Labrador ISskimo, Sandwich bay. They were both women and married to white men, but still spoke good Eskimo and remembered native stories and customs. One had considerable reputation as a conjurer. The former husband of this woman, a famous hunter and doctor named Toma'suk, was the last male descendant of those large marauding parties which the French and English explorers met in the Strait of Belle Isle and estimated at the astonishing figure of '

liring in

30,000. ' There were also a few Eskimo at the Hudson's Bay Company sub-post at Aillik. On the abandonment of the post they formed the nucleus of the Moravian settlement at Makkovik. • The early good-will manifest between the Hudson's Bay Company and the Moravians was later changed into an intense trade rivalry. However, the relations between the oflScials is said to have always been most pleasant.

found from Hopes Advance to the Hudson's Bay Company^ post at Cape Wolstenholme.

The west coast of the Labrador peninsula or the east coast Hudson bay presents a complete contrast to the Ungava and Atlantic seaboard. The bold precipitous coasts give way Deep inlets, abounding in to low-lying shores of limestone. waterfowl, are replaced by shoal and barren waters, where

numerous groups of infinitesimal islands, nicknamed the "SleepGood harbours are few and ers," render navigation difficult. The only inlets on this coast are Richmond far between. Here a few Eskimo are found scattered gulf and Mosquito bay. along the desolate shore. The main body of the population In summer is between Cape Smith and Cape Wolstenholme. the Eskimo fish in the rivers, or visit the large islands off the coast, where game, being only hunted at irregular periods, abounds.^

and hunting camps, found on and Southampton islands, form Mansel, Nottingham, Coats,

Remains

old

villages

convincing evidence of a former population of considerable size; but the Eskimo are extinct now, and the islands rarely visited, except for

hunting purposes.

The Belcher islands, at

the foot of the bay, are still inhabited by a wild tribe who visit the Hudson's Bay Company post at Great Whale river annually. They are said to retain the bird-skin clothing and stone imple-

ments of the early Labrador Eskimo.^

ANCIENT DISTRIBUTION OF ESKIMO.

When first discovered by the French, the Eskimo inhabited the north shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence as far west as Mingan. They were driven from this locality at the beginning of the

seventeenth century by the Montagnais Indians, who had been > In the summer of 1914, when the author landed on Coats island, near an old Eskimo camp, the game was so tame that it refused to move until shot at. Two polar bears were sleeping on opposite hills within a quarter of a mile of the village, and a herd of caribou was

feeding peacefully nearby.

The Hudson's Bay Company put a party of Eskimo on Nottingham island last autumn and a whaling captain placed another party on Southampton island to take advantage of this unusual game supply. »€. H. and A. T. Leith, A summer and winter in Hudson bay, Madison, 1912.

supplied with firearms

by the French.

They retreated north-

where they maintained on an island near the fortified camp 1760 in a themselves until about attacked and completely Here they were again western end. and numbers of French Indians. overpowering routed by Tradition places this last battle at Battle harbour, and gives the number of Eskimo slain as a thousand souls, which is probably an exaggeration. The Eskimo were at a distinct disadvantage in the fighting on land, as the Indians were in larger numbers and possessed superior weapons. But it is said that once the Eskimo could draw them away from the coast, the condition was reversed. The story still lingers in the vicinity that it was the practice of the Eskimo to lure bands of the Indians to the islands adjacent to the coast, by a single kayaker acting as a decoy, where the main body would descend on them when the Indians were off their guard, take possession of their canoes, and massacre the whole outfit. A certain island on the Labrador coast is said to take its name of Massacre island from such an occasion. After their defeat on the south coast, the Eskimo retreated northward and established themselves at Hamilton inlet, then called Ivuktoke or Eskimo bay. A few stragglers remained in Sandwich bay, the next inlet south of Hamilton inlet. Some authorities are of the opinion that the Labrador Eskimo never settled permanently farther south than Hamilton inlet, and that the large bands encountered by early French and English explorers were summer voyagers from the north. It is true that after this date the Eskimo descended into the strait from their strongholds in the north, but it would appear that the presence of fortified settlements, camps, and burying grounds south of Hamilton inlet, as well as archaeological material extending as far south as the state of New York, were evidence of at least a eastward to the Strait of Belle

Isle,

population. The Eskimo rarely inhabit a border country in heavy numbers, but prefer a screen of hunting ter-

scattered

ritory between

themselves and their inveterate enemies, the This is

Indians, over which small bands wander with caution.

true of northern Alaska, the Mackenzie and Coppermine districts,

Hudson bay, and Labrador as well.

So we may judge from the

former numerous appearances of Eskimo in this district, and a few still surviving representatives, as well as the very apparent mixture of Eskimo blood in many of the resident whites of southern Labrador, that the Eskimo in small roving bands, formerly inhabited the coast south of Hamilton inlet and part way down the Gulf of St. Lawrence. There is also a tradition in this region that the Eskimo were accustomed to visit the northern coast of Newfoundland yearly,^ where they used to trade with the Beothuks. It is improbable that they would make the trip to Newfoundland from the country north of Hamilton inlet in their skin boats under the ice and weather conditions which prevail on the Atlantic coast of Labrador; but in favourable weather it would have been quite easy to have crossed the Strait of Belle Isle from the southern camps. Lieutenant Curtis, who made a careful census of the Eskimo on the Atlantic coast of Labrador in 1773, fortunately gave the old tribal names, one of which was recognized by one of my informants as that applied to Belle isle.

These tribal names are

as follows: "from the Straits of Belle Isle going north the first tribes were known as:

The Ogbuctike [Belle isle] «

" " " " " "

Nanyoki [Nain ?] Kunedloke [Okkak ?] Nepawktoot [between Okkak and Hebron]. Cannuklookthuok [Hebron] Chuckbuck [Saglek bay ?] Chuckleluit [Lamson bay] Noolaktucktoke [Ramah]

" Nuchvak [Nachvak] From Nuchvak north into Ungava bay

270 persons 100 360 .

70 345 140

40 30 60 210 1,625 persons

This list is the only one which gives us any idea of the old After the establishment of the IVIoravian missions, the Eskimo were gathered around these stations and the old tribal divisions broken up. tribal divisions on the Labrador coast.

One of the early edicts of Gov. Palliser forbade the E:skimo crossing to the Newfoundland which they were accustomed to visit for a certain wood for

side of the Strait of Belle Isle, their harpoon shafts.

STATISTICS OF POPULATION. After the first tragic attempt of the Moravians at converting the Eskimo, which ended in the massacre of their missionaries,

a successful station was estabhshed at Nain in 1771. In 1776 another mission was started at Okkak, 130 miles north of Nain, and in 1782, the mission at Hopedale, about the same distance south of Nain, and near the site of the old tragedy. At the end of the eighteenth century, the Eskimo living at the Moravian Mission settlements were as follows (probably only a small part of the entire population of the coast, as the Moravians estimated the total population of the coast at 3,000' when they began operations in 1763). Nain Hopedale

63 persons

30 professing Christianity

Okkak

Fifty years after the settlement, the number had increased to:

Nain Hopedale

149

Okkak

394

168 persons

The gradual increase and ingathering of the Eskimo in the vicinity of the Moravian stations was doubtless in a large measure

due to the wisdom of the Brethren in selecting good hunting sites for their establishments.

In 1830 a settlement was begun at Hebron, north of Okkak, which in six years had attracted a population of 148. In 1840 the resident population of all stations was as follows: Nain Hopedale

298 persons " 205 « 352 " 179

Okkak Hebron

1,034

The Eskimo at this time were reported

have mostly

deserted the coast north of Hebron and gone to Ungava, so this '

The statistics which follow are taken from the Mission reports.

20 represents the approximate

Eskimo population of the northern

Labrador coast in 1830. In 1842 a maHgnant influenza resulted in the death of many Eskimo at the mission stations. Added to this infliction, seals were scarce, and there was danger of starvation. But the hardy converts survived, and by 1850 had increased to 1,297, follows

Nain Hopedale

Okkak Hebron

314 persons « 229 408 « 346

Famine and disease again visited the settlements in 1855; the seal hunt failed and at Hebron 59 people died. usual,

But, as

dearth was followed by an abundant season in which

former troubles were forgotten. In 1857, at the invitation of Mr. Smith (the late Lord Strathcona), one of the Brethren journeyed to North West river, at the head of Hamilton inlet, to discuss the advisability of estab-

When it lishing a station among the Eskimo of that district. was found that there were only ten Eskimo families still surviving in that section, the Mission decided that it would not pay to (Descendants of these families are take up work among them. found '"at the present day at a little native settlement near Rigolet called Karawalla, and number about 35 souls.) In 1857 the dogs at the Mission stations were attacked by a mysterious disease of the Arctic peculiar to canines, and many of them perished. Wild game was also infected, and caribou, Consefoxes, wolves, and other animals died in large numbers. quently, due to the diminishing of food, the next census (1860) of the Eskimo shows a slight decrease:

Okkak

277 persons 241 314

Hebron

206

Nain Hopedale

In 1865 a station was established at Zoar, about halfway between Nain and Hopedale, and in 1871 another northern ^'

station at Ramah, north of Hebron.

In 1876 the Eskimo were visited by another scourge, whooping-cough.

Over 100 died out of a total population of

1,200.

In 1880 the population of the stations, old and new, stood as follows:

Nain Hopedale

282 persons "

Hebron

315 329 202

Ramah

Zoar

130

Okkak

« "

The lack of material increase at the old stations, shown in this table, was doubtless due to the withdrawal of certain Eskimo

to the new intermediate stations, as well as the usual shifting of

the Eskimo population.

The figures for the next decade (1890)

are about the same, with a decrease at

Nain and Zoar, and a

slight increase at the other stations:

Nain Hopedale

263 persons 331

Okkak

350 59 89

Ramah Zoar

« « "

Ramah were abandoned, and the old field. New stations were started at the extreme south and north of the Eskimo district at MakIn 1890 Zoar and

stations covered the original

kovik (1896) and Killinek, Cape Chidley (1904), which took in any stragglers on the border of Moravian territory, and gave the Brethern the complete control of the Eskimo on the Atlantic coast of Labrador.^

The Moravians early adopted the policy of retaining in their service the brightest of their converts as missionary helpers, and

as teachers in the schools which they maintain for the benefit of the

Eskimo children.

(September,

1913)

According to the last available report

there are forty-six such native assistants,

* Previous to the establishment of the Moravian station at Cape Chidley, missionary work had been done there by the Reverend Stewart of the Church of England. Moravian missionaries had also penetrated into Ungava bay. An agreement was reached whereby the right of the Moravians to the Atlantic seaboard was acknowledged and that of the Church

of England to Ungava.

twenty-one male and twenty-five female, at the various stations.

The baptized membership of the entire district, which includes practically all the Eskimo, was as follows, at the close of 1912:

Total membership 1,216; including those under discipline 1,250.

For the Ungava district and the east coast of Hudson bay,

we have no such definite figures.

The best obtainable are those

published in the Geological Survey Annual Report, 1895, vol. VIII, page 42L, which were supplied by Mr. Gray, for ten years

a clerk at Fort Chimo.

He reckons the Eskimo by families, as

follows

From Cape Chidley to Hopes Advance

51 families

About Hopes Advance From Stupart bay to Cape Wolstenholme From Cape Wolstenholme to Great Whale river

30 80 80

" "

241 families

Taking five persons

to a family (a high average for the

Eskimo), the total population from Cape Chidley to Great Whale river would be 1,205 persons, and the total: Cape Chidley to Great Whale river Mission Eskimo Karawalla (Hamilton inlet) Eskimo Scattered survivors south of Hamilton inlet

1,205 persons 1 ,250

2,495 or, in round numbers, a total of 2,500 Eskimo for the entire Labrador peninsula. These figures look rather small after reading of the "hundreds" of Eskimo met by early explorers and the 30,000 estimated at the beginning of the eighteenth century, but are probably a good criterion of past as well as present conditions, and the early estimate of the Moravians of 3,000 for the Eskimo of the Labrador coast can not be far wrong.

TRIBAL DIVISIONS AND PLACE-NAMES. It is extremely unlikely that the Eskimo ever had tribal names in the strict sense in which they are used by the Indians, but they have certain place-names by which they designate the

23 territory

or locality

from which a stranger comes.

This

shown in the use of suffixes appended to the same, as -miut, the people of such and such a place. The Alaskan Eskimo, according to Nelson, have designations for regular tribal divisions, but the only reference which the Labrador Eskimo make in speaking of their neighbours appears to be that they stand in a certain

This distinction, used by the Fort Chimo Eskimo of Ungava bay, has been applied by Turner

direction in relation to them.

to the entire peninsula, and I have adopted his general divisions,

as they appear to hold good throughout the northern area, with

the reservation mentioned above.

They are as follows: The Su-hi'nimiut "those who dwell i.e.,

the sun,"

the dwellers to the east, the Eskimo on the Atlantic coast

and on the Ungava side as far south as Leaf river.

The Ta-ha-'ymiut "those who dwell in the shade," i.e., the dwellers to the west, the Eskimo from Leaf river to Cape Wolsten-

holme.

This division includes the "Northerners" of Turner,

the Eskimo from Hopes Advance.

The Iti'vimiut, "the dwellers on the other side," i.e., the Eskimo on the other side of the coast, the east coast of Hudson bay.

To this category might be added another division. The

Ki'Yikta"Ymiut,

"island

the Eskimo Hudson bay, now

people,"

inhabiting the islands off the east coast of extinct, except on the Belcher islands.

The following lesser divisions or place-names for the Eskimo from Cape Chidley west were obtained from one informant: Killi'nur)miut, "land's end people," Cape Chidley. Kar)ilualukcu"'amiut, "long, narrow bay people," George river.

Kokso-'akmiut,

"big

river

people,"

Koksoak

(Fort

Chimo). "farthest northerners," Hopes Advance. Nuvu'gmiut, "people at the point," Cape Wolstenholme.

Ur)a-'va-miut,

Iti'vimiut,

of Hudson bay.

"people across the point of land," east coast

From another informant the place-names of the Eskimo from Cape Chidley south were obtained, completing the list: Killi'nurimiut, "land's end people," Cape Chidley. Kor)itucu'amiut, Okkak. Nu'ne"r)u*miut,

Nain.

A*'vitu"miut,

Hopedale.

Aivitu*'miut, "whaling-place people," Rigolet.

Netce"tu'miut, "sealing-place people,"

Cartwright (Sand-

wich bay). Pu-tla"va*miut,

Battle harbour.

RACIAL BOUNDARIES.

The coastal habitation of the Labrador Eskimo is broken only at Davis inlet, on the Atlantic coast, where the Eastern Naskapi

come out yearly to the Hudson's Bay Company post to trade. The factor here informed me that the trade was almost entirely Parallel cases might be cited in Alaska, where the Indian. Copper River Indians (Atnah Dene) have broken through the Eskimo boundary at Cooks inlet, and the break between the Eskimo on the east and west sides of Hudson bay, where the Cree occupy the territory at the bottom of the bay.

The vast wilderness forming the "interior country" of the Labrador peninsula is inhabited by the Naskapi and Montagnais Indians. The Naskapi are found north and the Montagnais south of the height of land. Low, in his admirable report of the Labrador interior in the Geological Survey Annual Report, 1895, pages 44-45L, gives the following definite boundaries for the Indians and Eskimo: "The Montagnais inhabit the country extending south of line drawn westward from Hamilton inlet, to the headwaters a The Nauscaupees inhabit the interior of the St. Maurice river. country north of this line, or from the bottom of James bay eastward to Hamilton inlet. The northern limit of their territory [the Naskapi's] is marked by the Koksoak river, from its mouth to the Stillwater branch, and by this stream westward to its head in the neighbourhood of Clearwater lake, and thence westward to Richmond gulf on Hudson bay (see This line divides the Indian territory from that map).

and the boundary is well observed, the latter keeping far to the north of it, when hunting deer inland, and the Indian rarely crossing it from the southward." of the Eskimo,

HUNTING TERRITORIES.

The Eskimo do not have any strict divisions of hunting territory,

such as characterize their near Indian neighbours, Most of the hunting is done on

the Micmacs and Montagnais.

The same condition applies

the sea, which is free to every one.

to the vast interior, where the Eskimo hunt for deer in the autumn

and spring.

The idea of restricting the pursuit of game is repugnant to who hold that food belongs to everyone. This

the Eskimo,

does not preclude them from having intricate laws for the division of game, when hunting in parties. Under ordinary conditions, a family may occupy a fishing station in summer year after year undisputed, but it does not give them any special right to it.

Anyone else is free to come

and enjoy its benefits, and, according to Eskimo ethics, they would move away before they would start a dispute about it. Quite often a deserving but poor young hunter is invited by a more fortunate family to share their camping ground, and is thus enabled to get a start in life.

A factor of a Hudson's Bay Company post in Eskimo country told

me about a Micmac Indian who moved into his

and attempted to establish the hunting divisions to which he was accustomed. The idea was so repugnant to the Eskimo that they drove him out. district,

CLIMATE.

The

climate of Labrador

rigorous,

particularly in the

northern section, owing to the immense fields of ice brought down

from the north by the cold Labrador current. Not only do the inhabitants have their own bay and river ice to contend with, but the ice coming out of Ungava bay and Hudson strait; and particularly the Arctic pack sweeping down yearly from the northern archipelago through Fox channel. The latter appears.

26 early in the season, sometimes in September, and stays until July, or, in extreme seasons, until August.

The result of this

superabundance of cold is to blight any appearance of life on the barren coast-line, and its stretch of grey rocks covered with moss and lichens is impressive but extremely depressing. In the sheltered inlets, as at Davis inlet, Hamilton inlet, and Sandwich bay, there is a growth of small timber; game and berries abound, and life is more endurable. The "liveyers," or permanent white settlers on the Labrador coast, who fish on the coast in summer, make their winter homes here. Potatoes and garden truck are raised in sheltered spots with some difficulty.

The bays in the northern portion, Saglek, Nachvak, etc., freeze over in

the middle or end of December.

Navigation

November, and the extensive transient population of Newfoundland fishermen, estimated at 15,000, is ofif the northern coast by this time. In this section flurries of snow are not unusual at any time of the year. In the vicinity of Hudson strait and Ungava bay, the higher hills retain snow until the last of August, and are covered again by the middle This condition is probably due to the immense of September. amount of moisture in the atmosphere and the presence of icecloses here the first of

bergs at all times of the year, causing variations in temperature. Ice forms in the various bays to a depth of from 20 to 40

The

temperature is 55 degrees below is probably greater. The temperature rarely rises above 80 degrees, even during the brief three months summer. In the northern section, this season is shortened to two months, counting by the disappearance of the snow and ice, and winter is hardly over before it begins again. feet.

lowest recorded

zero, although the actual range

ICE.

The dependence of hunting on ice conditions is well known Eskimo world. The ice brings

in the north, particularly in the

the winter store of seal and bear, and the break-up in the spring is followed

The absence of ice on their remaining without a break, to the Eskimo. Consequently they

by the walrus and whale.

coastal settlements,

or fixed

would mean starvation

ice

27 locate their villages where there is "free"

ice, i.e., where the ice ocean moving by currents during the winter, and there kept is are open spots and blow-holes for seal and walrus. There is only a month or so in mid-winter when the ice is stationary. In the spring, when it breaks up and is carried north, there appears

to be an acceleration of the current, and in the autumn its coming is usually preceded by a high tide. Cases are recorded in the extreme north where the ice has remained fixed for two seasons, but these are rare.

The generic word for ice is ci'kif (Baffin island. North Alaska sikw Yukon tci'kuy. When the ice begins to form in the inlets and bays, it is known as "young ice," ci'kwaq. When it is strong enough to travel on, it is called ci'kwu-liaq. The winter "pack" ice, broken and shifting, is termed tu"vaq. The heavier glacial ice, which comes down from the Arctic, is known as The "shore" ice, or ice which adheres to the land, and kir'vat. is often seen in spring after the ocean is clear of pack ice, is called The "sea edge," where the ice meets the open water, qai'naq. which is a favourite hunting ground at certain seasons, is named ;

se'n-n-a', literally "edge."

The provenience of the ice which sweeps down the Labrador by its appearance. The ice which comes out of Ungava bay is found in long flat "pans"; the Arctic ice which comes down through Fox channel and Hudson strait is heavy and glacial. It appears that here, as in coast can usually be determined

Alaska, while ice forms in the bays, the coast is blocked, rather

than frozen over, by the northern ice-drift. Even in summer there is a constant procession of stately icebergs {pixaliryaq)

down the coast. SNOW.

ice,

Snow enters nearly as much into the Eskimo economy as and also has many names according to its condition and

place.

The general word for snow, lying on the ground, is a-' pat Falling snow is known as qo-'n'nik (as in qonikpaq, it falls or is snowing). Snow blocks for building snow{a"pu'n in Alaska).

Dr. Boas informs me that the Eskimo 5 is never pure, which may account for the apparent variation in dialect.

made from "living" snow {ca^u'ila'ktaq), i.e., snow which will adhere when the blocks are placed together, such as is houses are

a newly-made drift which has just begun to harden. blocks themselves are termed carilu'ktaq, from caruya

found

The

The key

"cutting out."

piece which

fits

the roof

the

qwdlik.

THE ESKIMO YEAR.

The Labrador Eskimo, like their congeners in other sections, divide the year into seasons corresponding to the appearance of

game or other natural conditions.

These divisions do not cor-

respond exactly with our monthly divisions, but are near enough There is no attempt to equalize for purposes of comparison. the lunar with the sidereal year, and the divisions, as their names indicate, are governed by the conditions of climate and the appearance of game.

On the east (Atlantic) Labrador coast, the following months are named:

"ice-forming month," December.

sv'ka'lu't,

nehkai'tu-k, "coldest month for frost," January. ko-'blu-t,

"ground cracked by frost," February.

netcd'lu-t,

"the month of the young Jar seal (ne'tceq),'' March.

teye'l-u-lwt, "the month of the young Bearded seal (teyel-ut),"

April.

no'yahrt, "month of fawning" (noyoq, "fawn"). May. kuciyi'alu't,

"the month of the young Ranger seal {kuciyiuk-

ciuk), June.

According to my informant, the summer months were bunched into one season. He said there were many kinds of game then, and no necessity for distinguishing the season of any particular one.

From Ungava the following divisions, which distinguish the summer months, were obtained. The months were said to be the same as given above until the month of June. (The young of the Ranger or Freshwater seal, kuciyiu'ciuk, from which the month of June takes its name on the east coast, is not found in Ungava.) with June, we have.

Beginning, then,

"egg-month" (from mn'n-ik "egg"), June. kittiyi'alirt, "mosquito-month" (horn kituyi'oq "mosquito"),

mu'fi'ilu-t,

July. pu'7ja"lu't,

"berry-month"

(from

pwnaq

"berry,"

piiya

Lab.), August. qono"lrlu-t,

"fading-month"

(from

qonoli't

"fade"),

i.e.,

the month when the leaves and mosses fade in colour, September. sikua"lu-t, "the

month when ice forms around

the shore"

(from sikua'q "thin ice, young ice"). nu-nali'alu't, "inland month," i.e., the month that they go into the interior for deer (from nunali'aq "the interior country").

NAMES OF STARS. The Labrador Eskimo do not note the appearance of the stars for any yearly calculations of time, but use them as a guide

and recognize several of the larger constellations by name. The North Star is known as nv'krtewituk, "the star that moves not"; the Big Dipper (Ursa Major) appears to them as a reindeer, and is called the Reindeer Star, /w•yfe/M•)'z^'^; the Little Dipper (Ursa Minor) is named from its shape, the Short Ribs, sage't-cet; the Morning Star is qaucut, from qaw, forehead,

in travelling,

i.e.,

the front or forerunner of day; the Evening Star is wna-cwt,

from wnif'ak, night,

i.e.,

the forerunner of night.

Orion

known as ka'tnuti'qdjuaq, the sledge (?).

FOOD. Under the hard conditions of his environment provision for food becomes one of the most important questions affecting the Eskimo. But nature, which has been so niggardly in assigning

him to a cheerless climate, appears to have partly made up for it in supplying a fairly abundant supply of game, both on sea and land, and, as a relish, a quantity of wild herbs and berries. The abundant floral life which springs out of the earth in Arctic regions as soon as the snow is gone is really amazing, and lends, for

a brief period, a cheerful aspect to the otherwise dreary

landscape.

The chief food of the Eskimo in Labrador, as elsewhere, is the

common seal (ne'iceq), Pagomys foetidus.

It is

found near

30 the shore at all seasons of the year; in winter at the blow holes in the smooth ice and in summer in the bays and fiords.

or Bearded seal

{iv'djiik),

The Big,

Pagomys harhalus, and the Ranger or

Freshwater seal {kas-iyiak )are found farther out on the ice-edge (se'n-a) where the shore or bay ice meets the ever-shifting winter pack. As they are much larger than the common seal, and one constitutes a big feed for one family, the Eskimo usually divide them with their fellow-villagers.

VARIETIES OF LABRADOR SEAL AND OTHER SEA MAMMALS.

The Eskimo of Labrador distinguish the following varieties of seal

Kas-i'yiak {Callecephalus vitulunus, Linn.), commonly called

the Ranger or Freshwater seal.

This variety

much sought

by the Eskimo on account of its beautiful, spotted skin. The hide is dressed with the hair on, and used chiefly for ornamental purposes, as in fancy bags and gloves, or trimmings to boot-leg tops, and in the garments of the women. The Ranger is after

the only seal known to inhabit fresh water.

It is

found at the

mouths of rivers, along the coasts, in the inlets and bays, and is also said to inhabit the interior lakes of Labrador and Baffin island.

month of June, kuci'gi'alut, which takes its name from the young Ranger, kiici'giukciuk. Ne'tceq {Pagomys foetidus Fab.), commonly called the Jar This is the most common seal on the coast. Its meat is a seal.

The young

are born in

staple article of food,

the

and its hide forms the ordinary material

The skin is also used for bags (po'ksrut) and the for clothing. The dressed skin with the hair removed is used tent {tw'pik). for boot legs, and when the larger and heavier skins of the Harp or Bearded seal cannot be obtained,

used for the kayak

cover.

the month of March, ne'tcelivt, name. The mother gives birth to them in an excavation which she has scraped out of a snow bank conveniently near an air hole in the ice. The Eskimo, at this season of the year, keep a sharp lookout for these little snow hummocks, in which they are assisted by the keen scent

The young

are born in

to which they give

its

When the hiding place is found, the top is broken and the seal and her young despatched. When the young Jar seal are born, they are covered with a soft, beautiful, white fur,^ which remains unchanged until they are three months old. JJ-'djuk (Phoca barbata), commonly known as the Bearded or

of their dogs. in,

Big seal. This very useful variety of seal is common all along the Labrador coast, especially at Cape Chidley. It ranks in Its tough hide is much prized for bootsize next to the walrus. soles, heavy traces, boat lines, and dog harnesses; and is also used for umiak coverings when walrus skins are scarce. The flesh is coarser than that of the smaller varieties, but less fishy. The young are brought forth in April, teye'l-u'rlit, the month of the young Bearded seal, teyel-wt. Hiyolik {Phoca groenlandica) commonly called the Harp or Saddleback seal. This is a deep water seal, not common In early spring it is found in summer along the Labrador coast. in immense numbers on the ice packs off the coast, where it is taken in large lots by the Newfoundland sealers. The skins are manufactured into boots and a variety of leather goods. The natives use the hides occasionally for boot soles (when Big seal hides are unobtainable), and also for tenting and kayak ,

covers.

The young are born in May on the floating pack. Netcr'vuk' (Cysterphera cristata), commonly known as the Hood or Bladder-nose seal. This is the next largest variety to the Bearded seal. It is not found on the west coast of Labrador, and is a native of the Greenland coast. The seals arrive on the ice off the east Labrador coast in the vicinity of Nain about the second week in May and are poor from their journey. They then follow the coast north to Cape Chidley and strike back to Greenland. Very few are found in Hudson strait, and none in

Hudson bay. They produce their young about two weeks later than the Harp seal (last of May), and are usually found farther out on the ice than the Harp. 1

Neither of these two varieties stays

In this condition they are known to the Newfoundland sealers as "whitecoats."

^Literally,

a big, overgrown Jar seal, ne'tceq.

32 in the Labrador waters the year round, like the Jar and Bearded

and Ranger. The name Bladder-nose is derived from a protuberance on the nose of the male, which becomes inflated when it is angry or excited. seal

The walrus (Phoca rosmorus, Linn), {ai'4>ik) is seldom seen along the Atlantic coast^ although

it formerly ranged as far south as the St. Lawrence. Off the northeast coast of Labrador and southern Baffin island, and the western end of Hudson strait,

the walrus is still plentiful.

The white whale {killilu-'yuk) forms an important part of the food supply in Ungava bay and on the east coast of Hudson bay. It is taken at the Hudson's Bay Company posts at Fort Chimo and Great Whale river, and the hides and oil exported Nets are placed across the entrance of as a regular industry. the large rivers at high tide, and the animals trapped when the tide goes out.

Both Eskimo and Indians are employed in this

work.

LAND MAMMALS. As a complement

to the seal, the "reindeer" or barren-

ground caribou forms the other great food staple of the Eskimo. The caribou are taken on the Atlantic coast of Labrador and at the mouth of the Koksoak river in Ungava bay, when they come

out

the spring migration to escape the pest of mosquitoes

in the interior.

Large numbers of the migrating herds are still

Fort Chimo, Ungava, and at Nachvak, Saglek, and Davis inlets, Nain, and a few at the head of Hamilton inlet

killed at

and Sandwich bay on the Labrador coast. The interior Is said to contain three immense herds,'^ two of which are hunted mainly by the Eskimo. One spends the summer between Nachvak and Nain; and the other crosses the Koksoak near Fort Chimo to the west side of Ungava bay.^ The author encountered a large herd of walrus in heavy ice off Davis inlet during this As the season was a particularly late one and the ice unusually abundant, they may have drifted south with the pack. There used to be a large herd which was hunted at Nachvak 1

trip.

yearly. 5

See Report on Labrador, A. P. Low, Geological Survey, Annual Report, 1895, vol. VIII,

p. 319. '

For a very interesting account of the annual hunt at Fort Chimo, see Turner's account Bureau of Am. Ethnology.

In Ethnology oj the Ungava district, 11th Rep.

33 In northern Labrador, the Eskimo used to construct caches

meat as was not immediately consumed. These were found wherever an overhanging cHff or large boulder could be The sides were built up of large utilized for a back and roof. for such

stones, with a space left within sufficient for a

man to move

Entrance was through the top. The meat was dried in the spring, and frozen in the autumn, and is said to have" kept well,^ preserving its proper flavour. The Eskimo ate the frozen meat raw, but soaked and boiled the dried meat.

around

in.

Turner states that he has seen the Eskimo "strip and devour the back, fat, and flesh from the body of the deer while I have seen them swarm over the fibres were yet quivering." a freshly killed whale with their knives in their hands, for a But I do not think precious chunk of black-skin and blubber. that the Eskimo habitually eat meat raw, unless it is some delicate portion, which is then usually eaten in a frozen state.

Under ordinary conditions the meat is boiled before it is eaten. The blood {aiiq) of the seal or deer makes a strong and nourishing soup, of which

all

the Eskimo, especially the children, are

very fond.^

MINOR FOODS. y

In spring, countless eggs (mwn-ik) are gathered from the waterfowls breeding along the rocky islands and inlets of the The surplus is laid aside until they have a very "gamey" coast. flavour, when they figure in the winter feasts as a special delicacy.

Small birds, particularly the little sea-pigeon {pitchulu'x) and "Tinker" duck are secured in summer with the bird dart or net and added to the winter store. The Moravians early discovered a way of pickling the deer meat, and keeping it indefiThose who have sampled it say it is excellent. ' Dr. Kane, in his Arctic explorations, p. 15, strongly recommendi raw meat, as it is eaten

nitely.

by the Eskimo.

He says that as a powerful and condensed heat-making fo6d It has no equal.

The Greenland Eskimo that he met used to feed up on raw meat for several days before undertaking a long journey. He got so that he liked it himself, and his system demanded it. Dr. Kane also lays stress on the anti-scorbutic value of raw meat. No one ever heard of an Eskimo having the scurvy, although they have little or no vegetable food. The Eskimo taste for fat and blubber also has a direct relation to their bodily needs, and is

often acquired

by Arctic travellers.

The late Professor Frank Russel in his Explorations

in the far north declares that while in the Mackenzie country he would not have exchanged a litUe square of fat for the finest plum pudding that was ever made.

Green herbs and saxifrage are gathered by the women when they first appear^ and used as greens with the bowl of meat. In times of starvation even moss is utiUzcd.

Only certain kinds

are used, such as the varieties of caribou moss (nexayasuk)

which contain enough nourishment to sustain life.

The women also hunt for fleshy roots and tubers which they There is a little tuber, commonly

dig up with pointed sticks.

"Eskimo potato," which I believe is a variety of the the Alaskan Eskimo women. These are strung on sinew lines and hung up in the sun to dry. They are about as large as walnuts and have about the same called the

red

lily,

much sought after by

taste as new potatoes.

Fish are very abundant along the Labrador coast, and are

taken by the Eskimo in large quantities. Since the advent of the Moravians, improved methods of curing have been introduced, which have resulted in the "Mission"

fish

bringing a

higher price in the market than that of the white fishermen .^

Cod, salmon, whitefish, capelin, and sea trout are plentiful on the Atlantic coast. In Ungava bay some salmon are taken. BERRIES.

The abundance

various kinds of berries compensates

for the absence of large fruit.

Nearly twenty varieties of edible

berries are distinguished and named by the natives. ' In Alaska, when the disappearing snow has laid bare the first green grasses and herbs on the hillslopes, the Eskimo women go out and each gathers a handful of the new shoots, which are brought in and ceremonially burnt over a small fire outside the iglu. They say that this ensures the growth for the summer.

2 The native method of curing fish differs slightly from that of the whites. The backbone and ribs are completely removed by two cuts of the ulu instead of the method employed by the fishermen, consisting of one cut, which removes half the bone. The Eskimo then hang the fish up on notched sticks to dry. The back is dried first to give stiffness and retain the shape

in the spread-out sides, which the presence of the rib bone gives in the civilized method.

advantage of the native method is that it gives a boneless fish. the front is dried. Fish cured this way will keep indefinitely.

The

After the back is well stiffened

The present method, introduced by the Moravians, is similar to those used in the old country, in Scandinavia and Germany. More attention is paid to the cure and to cleanliness, which perhaps also accounts for the higher price. ' The Ungava salmon are classed scientifically as the Arctic salmon; by the fishermen they are believed to be simply a part of the Labrador school. They arrive two months after the main Labrador school and are said to be larger and finer fish.

Of the bush berries there are Blueberry (kiyu-taiji'tjmik), Vaccinium Pennsylvanium Indian pear {aqphryuk), Amelanchier Canadensis.

Dewberry (po'ynuk), Rubus articus. Dogberry {kimrnawyuk), Ribes Cynosbati. Squashberry {co-naxa"tik), Viburnum pauciflorum. Wild cherry, Prunus pennsylvanica.

The creeper and plant varieties are legion: Shrub blueberry (Duckberry), Vaccinium uliginostim. Ground blueberry {siyatuk), Vaccinium caespitosum. Cracker berry or froth-berry {qa'qtalik). Baked-apple {a'kpik), Rubus Chaemomous. Marsh-berry (tutjuytrpaluk) Maidenhair-berry (mama'qtu-lik). Wild strawberry {a-riti'tjatuk) Fragaria virginiana. Cranberry {kimimino'k), Vaccinium vitis-Idaea. Crowberry, Empetrum nigrum. Foxberry (poynoyuk). Partridgeberry {kiminwk). Blackberry {paugnatwi'nuk)

A favourite dish of the Labrador Eskimo is the ewvalik, a combination of salmon spawn and blueberries and seal fat. The cranberry and blueberry are staple foods of the natives. The crowberry, which is not so well flavoured, is eaten when blueberries

are

scarce.

The

natives also distinguish

several

varieties of blueberries and blackberries as to colour and shape,

and name a white blueberry and blackberry besides those given These distinctions may be due only to seasonal changes, but go to show what sharp observers of natural phenomena the Eskimo are. The salmon-

above, also a pear-shaped blueberry.

berry, common in Alaska, appears to be identified here with the

partridge-berry.

Chief among the berries called

the

cloudberry.

Its

seen covering the hillsides and

snow is gone,

the baked-apple (a'kpik), also

four-pe tailed

white blossoms are

swamps almost as soon as the

By the last of August the berry is formed.

often eaten earlier, while green,

by the native

as white children love to devour green apples. is

found principally about Hamilton

river,

It is

children, just

The cranberry

but grows as far

36 north as the Koksoak. It is an important article of food as it has good preservative quaHties. It also might be called medicinal in that its acid juices counteract to a large extent the exclusive

meat diet of the Eskimo.

It is gathered just before the ground

covered with snow, as it is improved by frost, and again in the spring, just after the disappearance of the snow, when it is is

said to be most perfect.

The

varieties

blueberry

are

widespread.

The shrub

variety is found in northern Labrador on the rivers and barrens and is a firmer fruit and more acid to the taste than its southern

found throughout southern Labrador intermediate variety, the ground Nain. An north as as blueberry, is found along the Koksoak. The dewberry (Rubus relative, the bush variety, far

articus) is

found in large quantities on the islands off the east

coast of Hudson bay, also in northern Labrador along the rivers.

A smaller species, the eyeberry, Rubus triflorus, is found on Hamilton river.

The wild-strawberry

{Fragaria virginiana),

which has a

reddish blossom distinguishing it from the white blossom of the baked-apple, is abundant in Hamilton inlet and on the east

The Indian pear is found in two varieties on Hamilton inlet and Sandwich bay. The crowberry {Empetrum nigrum) is common throughout the rocky coast and inlets. Altogether, Labrador is perhaps better supplied with berries than any other section of sub-arctic country

coast of Hudson bay. in the interior and

which the Eskimo inhabit.

MEDICINAL PLANTS. During my voyage around the Labrador peninsula I took pains to make a collection of plants, and particularly to inquire I was agreeof the natives if any were put to a medicinal use.

ably surprised to find that quite a few were used for this purpose,

and among them I recognized some varieties also employed by the natives of Alaska. Whether the use of such plants was from the Indians or whites, I cannot say, but it is true that the Eskimo recognize the use of several common plants for poultices and teas, the efficacy of which I can originally derived

testify

from personal experience.

The following are the plants so used House leek (t'dlwinuk). The tea from its steeped leaves is The bruised said to be a perfect cure for scurvy. leaves are good for sore hands.

Crystal is

tea

An infusion of the leaves

(Ledum latifolium).

excellent

for

reducing the temperature and cool-

ing the blood in fevers.

Also used

for

spring

dis-

orders and scrofula.

Indian tea (Ledum palustre).

Makes a good poultice for

chills.

Tansy.

Makes an effective tea for colds.

Kelp (qi'xuaq). Two varieties, one said to be injurious, and the other an antidote for skin diseases. Dandelion (wrsw'ktuk, "yellow flower").

Greens used to

counteract meat diet.

Foxberry {porjno'yuk, Lab.; pognaxo'tik, Ungava), Cobblerblossom. Down used on wounds and sores (?). Leaves furnish a dye for mats.

There are to identify.

also several edible plants

The sea-weed, iqlwyuk,

which I was unable sometimes used as a

food or medicine, and the species of reindeer-moss nunaxu'tuk.

known as

The Mission Eskimo, according to Dr. Hutton,^ have several They stew which produces a the twigs of rosemary, and make a sort of tea, native medicines besides those already mentioned. perspiration that

thought to be a panacea for any trouble.

The brain of the codfish, cut up in little red cubes, is eaten as a general cure-all. The liver (tiyo) of the seal, eaten raw, is "very good for sick people."

This is a general Eskimo remedy.^

Hutton, Among the Eskimos of Labrador, Philadelphia, 1912.

A Siberian Eskimo once brought me the liver and kidneys of a polar bear. He explained

that they were "good medicine" and very valuable for disorders of the stomach and liver.

CLOTHING. DICKYS.^

The accompanying illustrations (Plates I and XXVIII) show the winter costume of a woman from northern Labrador, which is quite similar to that of the Baffin Island Eskimo across Hudson strait. The deerskin dicky is known as the a"xolik; double in the winter costume, consisting of the qo'lituk, or outside dicky, with the hair turned out, and the a-'tige or It is made with the inside dicky with the hair turned in. it is

conventional long tail behind and short flap in front, which charIt is trimmed on acterizes the dress of the Baffin-islanders. of reindeer, and barred strips white the edge of the flaps with

on the arms with the same material in triple strips with a cross The back of the immense hood is trimmed in the same bar. fashion. The hood is not so pointed as that of the central Eskimo. The deerskin dicky is also found with a rounded bottom edge trimmed with strips of skin. I was informed that this was worn by the unmarried women. The men wear a plain dicky with a straight bottom, and a smaller hood. The type appears to be the same on the east coast of Labrador and in Ungava In Baffin island and on the east coast of Hudson (Plate II A). bay the front of the men's dicky is slit for about 5 inches. It appears inthe illustration of a sealskin costume from Cape Wols-

tenholme (Plate II B).

The trousers in this section are also fuller

and banded horizontally with alternate light and dark bars of sealHere the costumes begin to approach the skin (Plate HI B). characteristics of those of

Hudson bay.

the Eskimo on the west coast of

We find also on the east coast of Hudson bay

the long skin combination legging and boot (Plate III A a), which is not found in Ungava and eastern Labrador. The cut and trimming of the children's dicky for boys, where the pattern of the dicky reaches its simplest form, are practically the

same

' As explained in the introduction to this paper the word dicky, in common use among the white trappers and settlers of Labrador, is a corruption of the Eskimo word a'tige. The use is parallelled in Baffin island by the corruption of the Eskimo designation of the outer In Alaska we find the whites using the Russianized Kamtschatkan word, frock, qo'htiiv. parka, for the Eskimo a"lige.

on both sides of Hudson strait, and are similar to the men's costume, but without the sHt in (Plate II A) the front of the dicky.

The modern dicky for both men and women is made in this utilitarian form.

Duffle is the ordinary material (for illustration

modern duffle costume see Plate I A).

Over the fur or duffle

dicky a cotton slip {ci'lapaq) is drawn.

The slips used by the

women have handsomely embroidered hoods (Plate I, Band C) and are trimmed with fur about the face. Sealskin dickys are not very often worn by the women. They are used by the men when stalking seals in the spring,

together with sealskin trousers.

said

that the sealskin

slips over the ice and snow easier than deerskin,

the seal think that one of his

own

kin

and also makes

approaching.

connexion with this spring hunting costume, a hareskin cap is worn (Plate IV c). In modern times a white cotton slip (ct'/-apaq), turned inside out to hide the braid trimmings, is worn over the sealskin dicky. In Ungava a pad of polar bearskin, with a hole through which the thumb is thrust, is used to protect the elbow when crawling up on the seal.

Ornamentation.

On the inside of the flap of the woman's duffle dicky of the Hudson bay and Ungava there is a little line of pewter ornaments which jingle as she walks. These are made of old spoons obtained from the Hudson's Bay Company, and termed pi'xo-tit. The spoons are melted and the fluid metal poured into a mould made of two slabs of steatite. There are several moulds in a row, so that several ornaments may be made at one operation. The old-time dickys of the men had a fringe of ivory ornaments around the bottom; these were made from walrus teeth. They were rounded in form, with little handles by means of which they were attached to the coat. The shaman had an additional string of ivory ornaments around his face.

east coast of

A beaded or embroidered band is worn on the woman's V d). Fringes of beads (Plate V a) are also

duffle dicky (Plate

worn across the

breast.

Beaded ear ornaments of a similar

40 pattern are worn as a complement of the fringes (Plate V c). This form of bead ornamentation is pushed to an extreme in the elaborately decorated frocks of the Eskimo of the west coast of

Hudson bay,

A composite button with a reindeer skin centre and a fringe of beads was formerly used on the dickys of the southern Labra-

dor Eskimo in the vicinity of Hamilton inlet and Sandwich bay (Plate Vb).

TROUSERS.

The trousers of the Labrador Eskimo are made of sealskin, dogskin, or moleskin, according to locality and use.

On the east

coast of Labrador cloth trousers have largely superseded the old

For the women short trousers made coming to the top of the boots and prettily

sealskin type (cila'qaqox). of moleskin, just

embroidered at the bottom, are still in use (Plate I A). With them are worn the white-topped boots and embroidered ci'Vapaq, This makes a very attractive as shown in the illustration. costume, but is mostly confined to dress occasions, sealskin The sealtrousers being used for ordinary wear (Plate I B). skin trousers for the men come in two lengths, a knee and an Illustrations of patterns of each are found in ankle length. the ensuing pages. The use of the long sealskin legging with conbination boot or shoe, on the east coast of Hudson bay, has been mentioned. The Labrador Eskimo do not use leggings like the Alaskan Eskimo. In

Ungava bay, from Fort Chimo to Cape Wolstenholme,

dogskin, which wears longer than sealskin or reindeer, is highly prized

by the men

as material for trousers.

Like the polar

bearskin trousers of other Eskimo tribes, the long dog-hair does not so soon become greasy from the blubber eaten. Dogskin is also used in this section for dickys for small boys.

A kayaker's suit, consisting of a gutskin coat and trousers, was obtained from Cape Wolstenholme. The coat is made like the usual type, of seal gut sewn together in longitudinal strips,

but is peculiar in having a dressed sealskin flap in front,

through which the drawskin runs (Plate VI a). The gutskin trousers (Plate VI b) are not used by the western Eskimo. SOCKS.

Reindeer socks, with the hair turned in, are worn in winter inside the boots.

They are ankle-high and similar to those used

by the Alaskan Eskimo. BOOTS.

Except that the woman's boot has a slight fullness at the top and more ornamentation, there does not appear to be any particular difference between the boots of men and women in Labrador, such as obtains in other sections (Plate III A).

One

pair of women's boots secured from the east coast of Labrador,

was tanned entirely white.

In ancient days these were reserved

for dress occasions at feasts and festivals, and nowadays are worn

to communion services.

Both men's and women's boots are the knee length. The hip-boot and the ankle-boot, used in Alaska, Dressed sealskin of various kinds, are not found in Labrador. for summer boots, and with the hair on for winter boots, is the common material. A complete description is given in the division on the making of clothing. Reindeer boots are found in northern Labrador, similar in type to those of the Central Eskimo. The Labrador boots are quite plain, and nowhere did I see either the ornate fur-applique tops found in Alaska or the attractive leather-applique work seen on Greenland specimens. SHOES.

The Labrador Eskimo make an ankle-high dressed sealskin slit down the front. It is the same size but different

shoe,

otherwise from the Alaskan ku'muk.

have hesitated to

clude it in an account of Eskimo culture, because of

its

in-

obvious

pattern after the white man's shoe, but find it illustrated in Turner's account of the Ungava Eskimo. It appears to be an adaptation of native material to a white man's cut (Plate VII e).

Another example of border influence is the moccasins which the Labrador Eskimo half-breeds make. They are a clumsy imitation of the Indian moccasin, with a higher back and cloth top (Plate VII f).

;

DRESSING AND MAKING UP OF SKINS. Dressing Deerskins.

The Labrador Eskimo also dress and smoke caribou skins method. The following description, obtained from a half-breed woman, illustrates the method in use in after the Indian

Labrador and Ungava. For a scraper they use the lower leg-bone of the deer, culling the bone like a spoke-shave blade (a typical Indian implement) sometimes only the end is used (referring to the vertical scraper).

The skin is laid on a round stick which is stood against a tree or anything solid. The outside of the deerskin is scraped first (with the grain in deerskin, against the grain in sealskin), because in deerskin the "film" (inner

membrane) is left on. After the hung in the air long

hair is cleaned off, the skin is washed and

Then a paste is made of a portion of the brains of the deer, marrow from the bones, and dry fiour, and smeared enough to dry.

all over the skin on

a little stiffened.

the outside.

This is allowed to dry until it is

Then the skin is pulled from hand to hand, by

two or three persons, until it is quite dry. If not soft enough, another paste is applied, and it is pulled again. Sometimes five If a white skin is desired, or six pastes are used for heavy skins. it is

hung up during extremely cold weather outside and "frost-

dried."

A coloured skin is smoked. Smoking Deerskin.

In smoking caribou skin, the skin is sewn overedge length-

ways, and a small opening left at the neck. (Nowadays a drill or canvas neck is attached to the skin to keep it from being Wherever there is a slack place injured by the heat of the fire.) in the skin, a string is attached and it is hung from overhead. Sticks are placed crossways of the skin-bag formed by the sewnup skin, in order to keep it open and allow the smoke to circulate. A thin skin can be smoked in three hours; a good "smoke" takes about five hours. Rotten wood placed in a pot or other receptacle makes the best fire for smoking.

The skin should be rolled up tight after smoking and put away for two hours. It is then unrolled and hung up to dry by the

fire.

Great care must be taken that no parts of the skin

touch during smoking, else a whitish spot is left which spoils its general appearance.

Where the present Eskimo are able to obtain Indian dressed deerskins from the Hudson's Bay Company posts, they do little

such work themselves where they are not so located, we find them ;

imitating Indian methods, as described above.

DRESSING AND MAKING OF SEALSKIN CLOTHING. Boots (ka'mik). In making sealskin boots, the Labrador Eskimo use six

instruments: (1), the mwhcd^ik, a stick flat on one side and round

on the other, on which the skin is laid; (2), the w/w, or woman's knife, which is used to scrape off the fat and membrane; (3), the acdmaii'tuk, a flat board, on which the oval forms of the boot are cut out; (4) the ti'cdkiit, or scraper, used on the leg portions to make them white by scraping off the dark outer skin; (5) the kdlutuk, or boot creaser, of ivory or iron, which is used to smooth down the gathers in the toe of the boot; and (6), the a'xkati'dlut, or boot stretcher, a form on which the newly made boot is placed. The last instrument is also used in reshaping wet boots or old boots which have run over on the edge. After selecting a sealskin, it is laid on the mu'hcd^ik and cleaned of fat and "film" (inside skin) with the u"lu*. The skin is then turned over, and the hair scraped off on the other side, always pushing the knife against the grain. It is then hung up to dry, or, if white boots are desired, is rolled up damp and left for a few days, and then lashed in a frame and left out in cold weather to "frost-dry." The extreme cold turns the usually yellowish skin a beautiful white.

When the skin is sufficiently dried, it is taken down, laid on the acdmau'tik, and the oval forms of the soles are cut out (see

Figure 1, No. 4).

The bottoms are soaked and the outside edge

pared off. The leg portions and the tongue or instep are next cut out. Sometimes the leg and instep are cut in one piece. is

44 This method is more common in Ungava than on the Labrador If white boot tops are desired, the leg portions are coast. further scraped with the ti"cdkut until the dark outer membrane The tongue or instep is cut out and treated the is removed. same as the legs. It is stitched on to the notch cut in the boot

The combined leg and instep skin is 1, No. 3). now folded and the straight seam sewed, a single stitch for winter

leg (see Figure

boots, but a double seam for waterproof boots (see Figure 1, No. It now remains to sew the uppers to the soles of the boot. 2).

The leg and instep piece is soaked on the under part to make it The sole piece is cut large to allow pliable and easier to sew. for the gathering at the heel

and

toe.

An allowance of some

4 inches is made in the length and 5 to 6 inches in the "round." In gathering the sole to the upper, the seam is started at the

The side where the sole and tongue of the boot come together. of one, sole is gathered in by taking three stitches in the place one stitch in the bottom part, then one in the tongue, and then one in the bottom again; about an inch of "whip" stitching. Proceeding with the "gathers," take two stitches in the bottom, one up through and the second down through, and a third in the tongue. This stitch, the a-'l'ox stitch, holds until the round of the boot is made to within an inch of the tongue again; then the "whip" stitch is used for about 3 inches around the heel, then the triple stitch again, allowing a longer stitch than at the front of the boot (see pattern of tongue and sole. Figure 1, Nos. 3 and

—

4).

The top portion (see Figure 1, No. 1) is a straight strip about 1 inch wide folded. The two ends are sewn together, then turned down over the boot, raw edge up, and sewn with an "overedge" stitch. is

In the space thus formed the drawstring

placed.

The Labrador boot lacks the ankle straps of the Alaskan, but is reinforced at the back in the heel by several lines of stitchThis answers the same purpose of bracing up the sides and ing. of keeping the form of the boot. After the sewing is completed, the boot is shaped with the a-xkau'dluL This is a straight stick about 3 feet long with a It is put up the leg little rounded top levelled at each edge.

45 of the boot, and the foot is stretched and shaped.

The boot is

then hung up to dry.

Figure 1.

Top.

Pattern of waterproof skin boot. 2.

Leg.

Instep.

4. Sole.

Single whip stitch. b. Gather "a-'l-ox" stitch.*^ ?'^ c. Sidgle sole seam. e. Straight leg seam. d. Outside instep seam (opposite inside seam).

Double leg seam.

Top overedge seam.

Top end overedge seam.

To smooth down the "gathers" in the sole seam, the kd'lutuk or boot creaser is used. The arm is placed in the boot leg and the hand brought against the gathers inside, which are smoothed

down by outward pressure of the kd'lutuk.

When making boots in a hurry on the trail, a double stitch, like overedging, is

used instead of the

triple stitch, or

a false

bottom is put on w^ith a "whip" stitch. In making the long hip boots, the seam is behind in the leg of the boot instead of in front, to keep out the wet at the knee. Winter boots are made by the same process, except that the Harp seal skins are used for the sole. The Ranger seal is a common material in southern Labrador, and is much prized on account of its beautiful appearance, but it is said to be less warm than the common seal. For the soles of the boots, the hides of the Bearded seal {wdjuk) are preferred, on account of their Harp seal skins are used when thickness and wearing qualities. cannot obtained. seal be Bearded the The sinew used in sewing is from the back tendon of the It forms a regular article of trade with the Hudson's Bay deer. Company. The Eskimo of southern Labrador call it i'vilii. In default of sinew, they use the "wisen"^ of the seal. This is It is not so strong as the sinew. called i'giak.

Vamps.

An inside slipper, made of sealskin, reindeer, or dufifle, is used inside the boot. The slipper is cut out in one piece (see Figure 2, No. 1); the sides and fronts are folded together and

sewed (a), then the back strip and two portions left of the sides are brought together and stitched, forming the heel (c and b). Lastly, the bottom of the heel is sewed to the upper heel formed

by the last operation.

The "herringbone"

stitch

used throughout.

The edge

of the top is left plain or overedged with worsted or fur.

Occa-

• According to Dr. Hutton, a former Moravian missionary at Okkak, this substitute for sinew thread is cut from the tissue of the neck of the seal. After the tissue has been cut out, it is laid on the floor and split into thin strips, which are chewed and stretched into thread. This thread is said to be even stronger than catgut, or cobbler's thread, which it somewhat resembles in appearance.

47 sionally we find slippers of fawnskin with the short curly hair lining the inside, as in Alaska.

Figure 2. 1. Pattern of sealskin slipper for boot. b. Herringbone heel seam. Herringbone side seam. c. Herringbone bottom of heel seam. 2. Men's tobacco bag. a. Continuous edge seam with beaded sinew.

Shoes.

An ankle-high shoe of tanned sealskin is sometimes worn by the women and children

summer (Plate VII e).

They

from the ankle-boot or kumuk of the Alaskan Eskimo in having a slit in front and in being evidently modelled after the shoe of the white man. The shoe is composed of two pieces, a The It has no tongue. sole and an upper which opens in front.

differ

upper is held together by a drawstring or lacing. The sole is gathered to the upper all around with the a-'l'ox stitch. A winter shoe, with narrow bands of sealskin across the sole, The tribes (Plate VII b). is used by some of the northern transverse pieces are to prevent slipping on the ice. A specimen

48 in

the

Museum from the Central Eskimo exhibits the same

device, but in this case the bands are of sinew.

Waterproof Stitching.

There are two ways of making a waterproof seam. In one, seam is an overedge stitch and the second seam is brought the over and stitched down. In the other, which is much the better for keeping out the water, the first seam is made underneath; then In every case the stitch the overhead second seam is made. must be doubled in the second seam to prevent leaking; in the second method mentioned the stitch is doubled in both seams. Mittens.

Figure 1.

Single

thumb seam. d.

Pattern of sealskin mitten.

2. Body and thumb. c. Plain side seam, Double thumb seam.

Palm and thumb. b.

Overhand gather seam.

Inside double seam.

49 In making mittens, the palm and inside of the thumb are cut out first in one piece, and the back of the mitten and the outside of the thumb in another piece (see Figure 3). The sewing is done on the inside, so that the seams may not show

when the mitten is finished and turned. In sewing, the thumb of the palm and the back piece are brought together and sewn with a single stitch from the inside (a and b). The outside ed-ge is then drawn over in a double seam.

The sides are sewn together from the wrist around to the thumb with a plain stitch. Lastly, the outer edge of the back is brought over and drawn in slightly with an overhand stitch. In another pattern, used in deerskin mittens, the thumb is cut out separately and stitched into the aperture left in the mitten with a "herringbone" stitch. In this pattern (see

Figure 4.

Pattern of deerskin mitten.

2. and 3. Thumb pieces. Body. b. Herringbone thumb seam. Herringbone top and side seam. c. Herringbone bottom of thumb seam. 1.

Figure 4) the back and palm are one piece. This style of mitten not as well liked for general use, as it does not conform so well

to the shape of the hand as the two-piece pattern with separate

palm.

;

The wrists of the small mittens are edged with fur.

In the

large mittens (see Plate X) an extra wrist piece forming a gauntlet is added.

For ordinary wear, the common seal is used (Plate

The Ranger seal is used for fancy long winter mittens, but they are said to be cold (Plate Xb). The cuffs of the long

Xa).

mittens are tastefully trimmed with mink, muskrat, Arctic hare,

may please the fancy of the maker. There appeared to be no indications that in Labrador certain materials were reserved for the men. The seams are sometimes or any other fur which

piped with red flannel.

The mittens used for dogdriving have a waterproof palm made of dressed sealskin (Plate

X d).

This is to ensure a firmer grip on Mittens of deerskin,

the whip as well as to keep the hand dry.

handsomely decorated with floral designs in silk, are made by the Eskimo half-breeds on the one-piece pattern mentioned above. They represent an adoption of Indian material and design. Caribou skin tanned is sometimes used for facing mittens instead of water-proof dressed sealskin, but is a poor substitute. Moleskin mittens, with floral designs in coloured yarn, are found in the southern district (see Plate VIII B, c, and d). The handsome reindeer gloves common in Alaska are not seen in Labrador.

Waterproof Mittens (a"qa-q).

The waterproof mitten (Plate VIII B a) is used at sea to keep the spray ofT the hands of the kayaker, also in the spring during

damp sloppy weather.

made on the same plan as the fur

It is

mitten, but the seams which are single and inside in the fur mitten, in the waterproof mitten arc all double and on the outside as in the waterproof boot.

The second seam, however, is only

drawn over slightly. The pattern is in three pieces (see Figure 5), the front and half of the thumb, the palm and the opposite half of the thumb, and the back of the mitten. The sewing is started at the edge of the palm as in the ordinary mitten (Figure 5 a)

;

then double-seamed (Figure 5 b)

then, starting from the wrist, sewn to

mark (Figure 5 c)

;

then

the outside seam (Figure 5 d) as in the leg of the boot.

seam

gathered in and triple-stitched.

The top

The mitten

is then turned and the inside of the top seam sewn to straighten the

Figure 5. Pattern of waterproof mitten. Palm. 2. Thumb and front. 3. Back. Single overedge thumb seam. b. Double ovcredge thumb seam. c. Single overedge side seam. d. Double overedge side seam. e. Gather "a'l'ox" top seam. 1.

gathers (Figure 5 e). If a cuflf is desired, a folded strip is sewn on in the same way as the top strip of a boot, i.e., the ends of the strip are sewn together, and the strip overedged to the wrist.

Cap {ne'suk).

The cap is composed of five pieces similar to the one in the pattern (see Figure 6), also two earpieces, and a small peak. The crown is made by sewing the five pieces together,

and then double-seaming (Figure 6 a and b). The lining is then sewn within the hem, leaving enough space at the bottom of the crown to stitch on the earflaps. The earflaps are stitched on

and turned down so that they are fur side out when lying against the crown and lining side out when in use (Figure 6, No. 2). In other words, they are sewn on inside out so that they will

Figure 6. 1.

Crown pieces. a.

Cap pattern. 2.

Flaps.

Peak.

Seams for 5 pieces forming crown,

Opposite seams for 5 pieces forming crown, d. Peak seam. Earflap seam (inside).

present the same furry appearance as the rest of the cap when not in use, and offer the protection of fur next to the skin when drawn

They are edged with fur. The peak is crown (Figure 6 d) in modern caps. It appears to have outgrown its use, and is now purely ornamental. In the old-time caps, an old woman informed me, there was an inner peak, which offered a shade to the eyes. The cap is sewn from the inside, and then turned. Various

down over the ears.

stitched back to the

materials are used.

Foxlegs, martin, mink, muskrat, sealskin.

53 loonskin, and even a mixture of several skins occur in different

specimens (Plate IV). Trousers (ne'dlukox).

Eskimo trousers are of two types, the short, somewhat baggy knee-trouser, and the long, tight-fitting trouser, which reaches to

the ankle.

The construction is practically the same allowing for The accompanying illustration of a pattern

the different shape.

(see Figure 7) is for the knee-length trouser.

Figure a.

Back seam.

b. d.

It is

very simple,

Trousers pattern.

Front seam.

Leg seam.

Hole for drawstring.

consisting of a leg seam (Figure 7 c) and a back and front

seam

The latter is continuous when the two sewn leg portions are brought together. The Eskimo trousers have no (Figure 7 a and b).

flap or other opening in front.

A drawskin passing through a hole

in the waistband holds them in place.

Sometimes a piece of cloth

The bottom of the leg, however, is often ornamented with a strip of is

stitched around the top, but it is usually left plain.

white skin, which shows at the knee above the boot (Plate III B).

54 Cartridge Bag (apo'ktuk).

The sewing of the cartridge bag (see Figure 8) begins at the bottom of the side insert (Figure 8 a) and continues up one side; then the same operation is repeated for the other side. This squares the sides and the bottom. The loops are then sewn to the top corners of the bag (Figure 8 b), a sealskin thong is passed through

Figure 1.

Eyelet. a.

Pattern of cartridge bag. 2.

Side insert.

Side seam.

Body.

b. Eyelet seam.

the loops, and the bag slung over the shoulder. Sealskin and caribou were formerly used for shot-bags, but duflfle is mostly used now. Some of the modern bags are highly embroidered, reflecting designs borrowed from the neighbouring Indian tribes (Plate VIII A). For older types of bags see Plate IX.

Men's Tobacco-bag.

The men's tobacco-bag is cut out in one piece (see Figure 2, No. 2) and sewn around the edge with beads which are sewn on

with the same stitch. The bags are decorated in floral designs with ordinary trade beads. Ancient bags, of which I was able to obtain a few specimens (Plate V b), were decorated with a native bead, and made with a sealskin centre and bead border (a'ylau'tit).

Woman's Tobacco-bag, Old-style. This style, illustrated in the pattern (Figure 9) was formerly used by the Eskimo women.

Figure 9. a.

The bags were made of sealskin.

Pattern of old style woman's tobacco pouch,

Continuous seam.

Opening^for hand.

and worn inside the clothing, being tied around the waist. The opening in front is to admit the hand. One continuous stitch sewed up the bag all around (Figure 9 a).

Dicky

{a"tige).

commonly called

In making the Labrador hooded frock, the dicky, different materials

The pattern

— deerskin, sealskin, or

—are

dufifle

men's dicky, which is cut off square around the bottom, and does not present the swallow-tailed appearance of the women's Women are also found wearing a square-cut garment. I was told by an dicky, both in Labrador and Baffin island. Eskimo woman that the square dickys were worn by the unmarried women, and the long-tails by the married women. Still we find young girls wearing the same long-tailed dickys This reference may be to adults. as their mothers.

used.

illustrated

Figure

In cutting the material for the dicky,

for the

folded once,

and the pattern is laid on the material with the middle lengthways.

This enables the front portion of the dicky to be cut.

Then the material is folded again and the back portion and hood cut in one piece. Then the two sleeves are cut out. This completes the cutting. In sewing, the side seams are formed by placing the back and front portions together (Figure 10 a) and the seam is sewn as far as the arm-pit, then double seamed (Figure 10 b); the shoulder seam is then sewn (Figure 10 c) and double-seamed (Figure 10 d). The top seam to the other half (Figure 10 e) completes the body portion. The sleeve-seam is next sewn and double-seamed (Figure 10 f and g), then the sleeve is turned and sewn in the sleeve hole in the body of the garment (Figure 10 h), and also double-seamed (Figure 10 i).

Some dickys have a pocket sewn on the side (Figure 10 j). The sewing of the flap of the pocket from the back (Figure 10 k) and the hemming of the bottom of the dicky (Figure 101) complete the operation.

The dicky is sewn from the inside and then turned; this The Labrador and Ungava dufifle

avoids the seams showing.

dicky is trimmed on the bottom with two parallel lines of red or blue binding, which perhaps represent the fur lines of trimming in the original skin garment. The face of the hood is trimmed with fur. There is no such extensive application of a fur

Figure 10. 1.

Sleeve.

Straight side seam. Double shoulder seam, h. g. Double sleeve seam.

Pocket seam.

A-'tige pattern.

4. Pocket. 3. Back and hood. Body. c. Straight shoulder seam. b. Double side seam. e.

Top seam.

Straight sleeve seam,

i. Upper arm seam. Under arm seam. Hem. 1. k. Flap seam (inside).

appliqu6 border of square and diamond-shaped designs as obtains among the Alaskan Eskimo.

HOUSES. SNOW-HOUSES (igluvrgwq).

The art of building snow-houses is still practised by the Labrador Eskimo north of Hopedale. In southern Labrador, the custom has so nearly died out that the missionaries hold snow-building contests to keep alive the ancient art. The Eskimo of the east Labrador coast, particularly those around the Moravian stations, live for the most part in wooden These little cabins form their permanent homes, but huts. when out on hunting trips they have recourse to the indispensable snow-house shelter. White men, travelling in this section on long trips, take along native guides for building snow-houses. When they camp at night a small snow-house is quickly built, which is a most efhcient shelter from the storms that otherwise might overwhelm them. The spot having been selected for a camp, the Eskimo tests an adjacent snowbank with his boots to see if it has the requisite firmness,

he thrusts his

long

snow-knife

(pun'a-')

(Plate

XXII B a) into it.

For building purposes, the Eskimo prefer the "living" snow {ca^urla'ktaq) i.e., snow which will adhere when the blocks are placed together. Such snow is found in a newly-made drift which has begun to harden. Across the surface of the snow-drift, the Eskimo cuts an oblong trench, the length of which equals the diameter of the ,

house.

It will

average 5 feet in length, 2 or 3 feet in width,

and 20 inches in depth. From the face of the trench, he cuts blocks (carilu'gtaq) about 6 inches thick, 30 inches long, and 20 inches deep.

The blocks are cut in semi-circular shape, with the when set up they lean

inner edge slightly concave, so that

inward.

The first line of blocks form the first tier of the snow-house, and material for the rest of the house is found within the ever lessening circle, so that the builder works within his ascending house, cutting out his material as he builds.

One man only is

59 required for the operation in Labrador, but where two Eskimos is engaged in stamping the snow around the tiers, and in filling in the cracks between the blocks wnth soft snow. Sometimes one man cuts the blocks and the other builds, as in Baffin island, but one man is able to construct a house alone. When the first round of blocks has been laid, a cut is made diagonally in the tier, and the next round started in a spiral which winds in a decreasing curve to the top. The weight of the ascending blocks wedges those behind tightly together, so that the house really becomes more solid as each block is placed. The Eskimo always build "as the sun goes," i.e., from east to west, smacking each block tightly into place with a vigorous

work, one

thrust of the arm. When the top is reached, the irregular opening left is closed with the keystone block {(qwdlik), which is cut out to fit it exactly. The qii'dlik is lifted through and let in from the top, and, the outer edges being wider than the inner, it fits snugly in its place and its weight wedges it farther in (Plate XI A).

any length of time is spent in the snow-house, an outer wall is built about a foot from the house wall and snow packed If

in between.

A smaller "lean-to," adjoining the house at the

The present Labrador Eskimo snowhouse is usually built without the entrance tunnel. Although the snow-houses appear only as an adjunct to hunting on the east coast of Labrador, in Ungava and on the east coast of Hudson bay the snow-house in winter and the deerskin tent {{tu-'pik) The Cape Chidley in summer are the regulation dwellings. Eskimo formerly built snow-houses as the regular winter shelter. They were larger and more carefully made than the hasty little The average height would shelters constructed on the trail. accommodate a man standing, and the width would be from 12 to 14 feet. Old missionary accounts speak of snow-houses 16 feet high and 70 feet across, which the heathen Eskimo built to celebrate their winter festivals in. These ceremonial houses probably corresponded to the qaggi or singing-house of the Baffin-islanders (see Boas, The Central Eskimo, page 600). The northern Labrador snow-houses had the characteristic interior arrangement, with side platforms, on which the lamp was door, is built for the dogs.

60 placed and the mitten drier and kettle swung, and beds made of A slab of clear freshreindeer skins laid over willow twigs.

water ice was used as a window. The door was closed at night with a slab of frozen snow. The tunnel through which the house was entered ran uphill to the door. This ensured a constant It is said by Rasmussen that the Polar did not understand this ingenious Eskimo (or Smith Sound)

supply of fresh

air.

variation, but used to build their tunnels on a level, until they

learned better from immigrants from Cape York.^

Some Eskimo, who wished to live in a grander style, would One house join two or three snow-houses together by tunnels. then served as a living room; another, which was spread with polar bear skins, as the bedroom; and a third, as a storehouse. When the snow-house is first built, it is dazzlingly clean and But it does not long remain so, owing to the accumubeautiful. It soon berotten meat, and greasy clothing. of soot, lation

comes so filthy that even the Eskimos are forced to move out. Towards spring the roofs melt and fall in. The Eskimos then patch them with skins or else take to their tents, although it may be a month before the ice breaks up and the winter is over. The Cape Chidley Eskimo are a very hardy people. The missionaries told me that they kept no fires in their homes, and com-

plained of the heat when they visited their brethren to the south, who had stoves in their houses. Dr. Hutton,^ in his vivid account of five years

work among the Labrador Eskimo, mentions a

characteristic incident of an old woman from Cape Chidley who went to Okkak to live. She complained bitterly of the heat in the houses.

"It is breaking my life," she would say, "it

breaking my life." The natural covering of fat, obtained from his oily diet of meat and blubber, kept the old time Eskimo sufficiently warm.

STONE IGLUS. There still remain at Hebron, Okkak, and Killinek old stone with turf, some of which are inhabited. These are

iglus roofed

gloomy little huts, built partly underground, with a long entrance Knud Rasmussen, The people of the polar north, p. 321. *Hutton, Among the Eskimos oj Labrador, Philadelphia. 1912.

tunnel which furnishes ventilation, and an outside porch which is

used for a storehouse.

The iglus are 10 to 12 feet across, and the The roof slopes to a peak or bowl-

stone walls 3 or 4 feet high.

shape, and is upheld by rough branches and stumps of driftwood

The floor is a mass of trampled mud. A window lets in the light. The houses are narrow

obtained from the sea. sealskin-gut

and low and indescribably dirty. These iglus reminded me strongly of the old stone houses of the Alaskan Eskimo in the Bering Strait district. The Central Eskimo make use of old stone houses of similar construction.^

From Steensby's description of the old stone huts of the Polar Eskimo, I should judge that they were made on the same general plan. It is well known that the Greenlanders make huts of stone and turf, and the Mackenzie River iglu is not materially different from the Alaskan. There appears to be one general plan of construction in all these old stone iglus. There is a partly underground room with stone walls. The roof is supported by stones or whale-ribs, or wooden timbers, according to which material is available, and covered with sod or dirt. Entrance is

through a long tunnel of wood or stone, with or without a

storehouse at the end or side.

The inner arrangement, with

stone or wooden platforms and window of seal gut, is not different

from that of the snow-house, except in material. I am inclined to think from its prevalence in all parts of the Eskimo territory, that the old stone iglu is the typical Eskimo house rather than the snow-house, and that the latter is only a seasonal type which has developed into the typical house of those tribes, like the Copper and Central Eskimo, who build in winter on the seaice.

WHALEBONE HOUSES. The old Eskimo tribes on the northeastern coast of Labrador formerly constructed houses of the bones of the whale, according

The sides were built of stones, and to one of my informants. whale ribs, meeting in the middle overhead and overlaid with the shoulder-blades of the whale, formed the roof. Two large whale jaw-bones marked the entrance way, which was a long tunnel >

See Boas, op. cit., pp. 548, 549.

connecting with

the

house.

these

described,

houses are

alike in every detail with the "jaw-bone" houses of Bering Strait district (as described

by Nelson and Bogoras). Whalerib houses The Eskimo say that they are

are also found in Baffin island.

similar to the Tunnit houses (see page 149) but

may be distin-

guished from them by the comparatively narrow ground space

occupied by the Tunnit house.

CAMPING HOUSES (uyalu-'k)

These are small circular rock walls (see Figure 11), about 8 by 4 feet, which are found set up at prominent lookouts and passes

39 •^ '^9 «<»« 4

<»

'^^'..-' Figure 11. 1.

Fireplace of rocks.

Camp circles in Labrador.

Recent camp circle.

Stones for holding down tent, b.

Mats of moss for sleeping.

Oldstyle camp for the ancient double deer-skin tent. Fire-place with protecting wall to shield from the wind.

where game was formerly abundant, and served both as a blind and temporary home for the hunter. They are said to have been covered with sealskins. Only the rock walls now remain, and

Figure

12.

Detail of masonry of ungaluk in Suglasuk bay.

have been taken by some authors for Norse ruins and lookouts. Eskimo, as the following is characteristically sketch (Figure 12) shows; the detail of which was taken from an

The masonry

63 old stone shelter on ruins look very

Ka'givia'k island, Sugla*'su*k bay.

These

much like the stone blinds employed by the

Eskimo of Bering strait, behind which they crouch with their long-handled bird-nets and sweep in the sea pigeons flying over. The same practice is found among the Polar Eskimo.

THE SUMMER TENT {tu-'plk). In

summer the Labrador Eskimo leave their snow-houses

or huts, according to their location, and go camping to favourite

hunting or fishing grounds.

The tu-'plk, or skin tent, is the universal shelter for summer. In early days, when deer were plentiful, the tent cover was made Plate XI B shows an old summer camp with a group

of deerskin.

of deerskin tents at

Cape Chidley.

Later,

when deer became

were used, as shown in the much-bepatched tents in Low's photograph of Wakeham bay.^ The structure of the old deerskin tent in Labrador was as

scarce, sealskins

follows

Two poles were erected to support the rear portion of the tent cover, and a single pole fitted into a pocket in the cover at

the front.

The front pole was brought back tight with a seal-

skin cord, which was tied to the rear poles and formed the ridge

The

pole.

front

flap

was

weather and closed at night.

left

open

the daytime in

fine

Stones were placed all around the

edges of the cover to hold it down and keep out the wind.

more modern way of pitching a tent was with a tripod (qa-'nuk) Stones were piled around the edges to keep the cover Both types of tents are to be seen in the Cape Chidley

of sticks. taut.

illustration.

Another form of the old deerskin tent, which is still used in

Hudson strait and the east coast of Hudson bay, is illustrated in Plate XII.

In this case the frame consists of three or four poles

at one end and five at the other, upholding a wooden ridgepole.

These tents are said to be very stable, and are sometimes even occupied in the winter.

The modern canvas tent frame is formed of two uprights with Very few of the old skin tents are now to be

a cross bar.

seen on the Labrador east coast. '

A. P. Low, Cruise of the Neptune, p. 158.

TRANSPORTATION. THE DOG-SLED (ko'matik) AND DOG DRIVING.

The Labrador dog-sled looks very clumsy and heavy to one accustomed to the light framework of the Alaskan sled, but the Labrador Eskimo say that this heavy construction is necessary to withstand the rugged country along the coast over which the trail leads. The sides are solid pieces and very strong. Old settlers told me of sleds that would bear a ton weight, or twentyfour dressed caribou. A thousand pounds is a good load. The Labrador sled has no handles behind, like the Baffin Island and Greenland sled, and is guided by the foot. It also lacks a break, and is held back by a thong attached to one of the rear cross-pieces. It is the simplest form found among the Eskimo, and really consists of only three parts; the two sides, the cross-pieces, and the shoes. The long, heavy, true native sled is not met with until one gets north of Nain. South of that point we get a civilized pattern, somewhat shorter and less wide. On the east coast of Hudson bay, 18 inches is the regulation width. It is an advantage to have a generally adopted width in following

trail

already broken.

The Hudson's Bay Company sled in

use at the Labrador posts is modelled after the native pattern,

and is very substantial for travelling. The usual price of a komatik is a dollar a foot. The two sides {we"uynik, dual) are from 2 to 3 inches thick, 4 to 8 inches deep, and 10 to 24 feet long, according to locality. The cross-pieces {ni'pu') are about 1 inch thick and from 3 to 6 inches wide. The length varies according to the width of the sled, but is usually about 24 inches. The cross-pieces are placed on the komatik sides at a distance apart of from 4 to 6 inches, and extend two-thirds the length of the sled. They are notched at the ends, which project over the runners at the sides, so that the load may be lashed on.

The cross-pieces are attached to the runners by rawhide lashings (nu-pulut) which run through holes bored in the sides

(Plate

XIII B).

The shoes (pe'yox) are now of iron, but the Eskimo prefer shoes of whalebone or ivory, which shp over the snow with less In the old type of sled, small lengths of whalebone, deer antler, or walrus ivory were used (Plate XIV B b). This material came in lengths about 5 inches long. It was fitted to resistance.

the sled with bone or wooden pegs. Some specimens of this old komatik shoeing were found among old graves and village sites.

During midwinter, from December to April, when the weather the runners receive an extra coating of muck. This is made from reindeer moss mixed in a paste, and plastered over the ordinary runner. It is applied warm to about the thickness of an inch and moulded into a bevel shape like an iron rail. It is then smoothed down, and covered with a thin coat of ice. It slips over the frost-filled snow with little friction. The ice coating has to be renewed daily. The bridle (peta'q), by which the dogs are fastened to the sled, is a long heavy trace tied to the bow of the runners, passing through a hole in the front of the runners and over a notch made is coldest,

The traces of the dogs are fastened to the bridle to receive it. by an ivory button. The other end of the trace fastens in the harness (anwk).

The bridle is found in two forms in Labrador, i.e., the double The double bridle is used on the east Labrador coast and down the Ungava coast to Fort Chimo; the single bridle is used by the "northerners," the Eskimo of Hopes Advance and other sections north of Fort Chimo. The advantage bridle and single bridle.

of the double bridle is that the traces of the dogs may be untangled

without the driver stopping his team or getting off his sled. The line of the double bridle is looped through the hole under the first crossbar and tied in the middle, exactly equidistant from either side, so as to ensure an even haul (see Figure 13). The two ends, one long and one short, run out from the loop. To the short end is fastened an ivory button the long end is run through the loops at the end of the traces and brought back and fastened to the button on the short end. This gives free play to the traces, and allows them to be hauled in and untangled while still fastened to the line with the team travelling. ;

66 In the single bridle, the bridle line runs out a short distance from the sled and the traces are

fastened directly to it. The dogs crossing over cause the lines to become entangled. As the traces are fastened at a distance of 10 or 12 feet

from the sled and there is only one line, they can not be hauled in without stopping the team, which occurs frequently, much to the disgust of a driver accustomed to the double bridle.

^ S 3

O 3 03

J O

The trace by which the dogs are fastened is made of Bearded seal {irdjuk)

to the bridle

from 15 to 30 feet long, according In northern Labrador and Baffin island, traces may be 6 fathoms long. Each dog has a separate trace, and when travelling, the

hide.

to locality.

traces are regulated so

that the team spreads

out fanwise, with the leader slightly ahead and the rest of the team following one another (Plate XIII A). When a dog appears to be shirking,

the driver shortens

his

trace.

The

harness (anu'k) is formed of a double loop of sealskin, passing

under the forelegs and over the

shoulders and being joined in the middle of the

back, where the trace is attached.

The whip

{ipiyawtuk, from ipiyuk "flip"something to flip with") is made, in northern Labrador, of eight strands of Bearded seal {w'djuk) hide, which narrows down to four strands, then two, and the lash at the end. The whip is from 20 to 30 feet long, and considerable it requires constant practice and used seldom ability to handle it. It is very for punishment by a good driver, but once used is never forgotten. Dogs that have been fighting wildly will slink away whimpering at the

ping,"

i.e.,

hissing cut of the whip.

Some drivers attain

such dexterity that they can snap off the heads of ptarmigan along the trail (see Figure 14).

K-1

Q IS bo

The average dog team is composed of from six to eight dogs. The leader is usually a female. A mother with her grown pups makes an unrivalled team.

The words of command used in northern Labrador are: huit,

go ahead,

a-a-,

auq, to the right,

The whites and

stop,

r-r-r^ (trilled r), to

the left.

half-breeds use a corruption of the

Eskimo

words.

The Labrador "husky" dog is not different in appearance from the Alaskan "malemute." The regulation marking of the latter, black with a white tipped tail, is not

common in Labrador.

The pure white strain, seen in Labrador and Ungava, on the other hand, is rather rare in Alaska. The greyish "wolf" colour is present everywhere.

Outside of colour, the Labrador dogs do

not appear to represent any variation from their congeners spread over the 5,000 m.iles of the Eskimo coast-line. They are a little hungrier and fiercer than the Alaskan dogs, probably

from not being so regularly fed. In summer they are placed on an island, where, except for chance visits, they have to obtain The islands abound in mice, and capelin and their own food. other fish are thrown up by the tide.

THE UMIAK.

The use of the umiak (Plate XV c) or "woman's boat," has been entirely abandoned on the east coast of Labrador. It was in use among the heathen tribe at Nachvak, until the Hudson's Bay Company post at that point was abandoned, and they were It is still in use in Wakeconsolidated with the Mission Eskimo. ham bay, an isolated post on the west coast of Ungava bay. A picture of Low's^ gives a good idea of the comparative size of the umiak and the kayak. The immense load of people and supplies that these large, roomy, flat-bottomed boats will carry They will hardly tip over, owing to is almost unbelievable. In sailing they do their flat bottom, and are very seaworthy. not compare favourably with a whale boat, owing to their rather clumsy shape, but the Eskimo make voyages of 100 to

200 miles in them quite easily. '

See Low, The Cruise of the Neptune, p. 64.

The appellation "woman's boat" is not so appropriate in either Labrador or Alaska as it is in Greenland.

In the former

we find the boat nearly always in charge of the men, who steer and handle the big oars; the women are only passengers. The boat is also used by the men in hunting large game, as whale sections,

and walrus. The stem and stern of the Labrador umiak are wider than the Alaskan, and the sides straighter in proportion to its length, giving it an unwieldy appearance. It lacks the "lines" of the Alaskan type. The kayak, on the other hand, is less broad than the Alaskan type and tapers gracefully. The Labrador umiak is usually about 25 feet long, although it is found in smaller models down to 10 f-eet. The stem and stern are nearly straight and the gunwales project, giving it an appearance of being really longer than it is. The keel is a straight piece of wood, about 4 inches wide, hewn from a single stick. The stem and stern posts are made from a curved stick which, when worked down with the adze, gives the desired crook.

They are firmly lashed to the keel with sealskin thongs.

A series of cross-pieces make up the flat bottom and give the These cross-pieces are notched at the middle on to the keel and at the ends to hold the bottom rail. The ribs of the sides rise alternately between the cross-pieces from the bottom rail to the gunwale, and are reinforced by the two side rails. The top rail or gunwale fits into notches in the tops of the ribs. A broad board at the stem and stern fits over the posts and under the gunwales, constituting the brace for the width of the boat, and forming a seat for the steersman. In the Labrador boats it is hard to tell which is stem and which stern, and the ends look as though they might be used indifferently. Three or four thwarts fit into the top rail, and reinforce the endpieces. They may serve as seats, but the men usually stand up to handle the long oars. The rudder is hung over the stern, and handled as in a whaleboat. In Alaska, where the umiak is generally propelled with paddles, the steersman uses an extra long and heavy paddle. We find oars employed in this section too, but not of the long and heavy Labrador type. The oars used in Labrador are very much like the long sweeps found on the Hudson desired "spread." to

fit

Bay cargo boats, and may have been suggested by them. They equal two-thirds of the length of the umiak. They are placed on opposite sides of the boat in pairs, or one three-fourths of the

way to the stem, and the other three-fourths of the way to the The stern on the opposite side to keep the proper proportion. rowlocks are formed of two thongs of sealskin, into which the oar fits, giving a leverage in each direction. The thongs can be tightened by wooden pegs, which are thrust between the rail and the skin cover when not in use. The Chesterfield Inlet boats, like the Alaskan, are equipped with a mast set into the keel and a square sail, which is drawn up by a pulley in the top This may be an adaptation of white methods, of the mast. although records show that it is met with quite early. The Labrador Eskimo boats do not use the sail, under ordinary When it is used, the helmsman keeps his direction conditions. with the sail, as well as the rudder, by means of two lines attached to the ends of the bottom of the sail, which he holds in his hands. The sail can be used only in a fair wind, as the umiak with its flat bottom cannot beat to windward. The covering of the umiak is made of big seal {wdjuk) skins. The skins are put on green, and stretched to their utmost In sewing the skins tocapacity by the consequent drying. gether, the women employ the double waterproof seam used in the boot. Holes are slashed in the margin of the covering and it is lashed down to the gunwales by a heavy line which is run under the second rail and pulled taut with all the possible strength of the operator. This tightening is continued whenever the boat cover becomes moistened through and stretches. Great care must be exerted in launching the umiak from the rocky shores, as the skin cover is easily cut.

A dozen men

up at the rails and half-carry, half-drag it down to I was the water. The umiak is not heavy considering its size. unable to find out whether the peculiar custom of landing the umiak broadside with a stem and stern line, which obtains in Bering strait, is followed in Labrador. In winter the umiaks are put up on standards and the skin covering stored away from In spring the cover is oiled to the dogs and other animals. keep it from cracking when it is put on the frame again.

will pick it

THE KAYAK.

The shape of the kayak stem and stern, particularly the stem, varies much more than that of the umiak, from one section The Labrador and southern of the Eskimo world to another. Baffin Island kayak is very long and heavy, with a broad level

stern

and long peaked stem (Plate XIV A b).

older models have the stern slightly turned up.

Some of the The Mackenzie

River Eskimo kayak turns up in a half-moon shape at stem and This feature is said to have been also a). (Plate characteristic of the old type of East Greenland kayak. ^ The

stern

Alaskan kayak turns up at the stem, but slopes down a little at the stern (Plate XIV A a). The top rail projects at the stem and stern, forming a grip by which the hunter is hauled ashore when he lands. In certain sections, this is merely a hole sewn in the skin cover where the upper and lower rails meet in the stem. A model, in the Museum, of a three-hole Aleutian bidarka exThe Alaskan kayak is wider and hibits the same variation. shorter than the Labrador type, and exhibits considerable variation in different sections of the coast.

The entrance hole

round, and not raised in front as among the eastern types. The accompanying photographs (Plates XIV and XV), is

of models in the

Museum, illustrate the most important vari-

ations.

The frame of the kayak is made of driftwood, and the cover of Big seal {w'djiik) hide, or when this is not available, of the skins

of the

Harp

struction

are

seal

{hiyolik).^

the adze

The instruments used

(u'-limot),

the

drill,

con-

and the crooked

knife.

The two long sticks forming the upper rims or rail iapu-ma'-k) They are chipped and smoothed

of the kayak are the first made.

out with the adze and knife, and holes are bored in them with the drill where the ribs fit in and lashings are necessary.

the other side-pieces

(qiya-'teutiik)

and the

ribs

Then

{tulimauyiik,

from tulima-'q, rib) are shaped and fitted in, the ribs being let into the side-pieces about 1| inches and secured with wooden pins. •

Thalbitzer, The Ammassalik Eskimo, Copenhagen, 1914.

'Hudson bay, Ki'rolik.

Northern Labrador, Ni'rolik.

The ribs are placed quite close together, from 2 to 6 inches apart. The two rim pieces (rails) are then placed under heavystones to retain their shape. The so-called keel or centre(kmigak) is fitted in along with the side-pieces.

piece

Strictly

speaking, the kayak has no keel, and any one of the six or seven Cross-pieces (a'yd't) is as important as the other. hold the rails apart on top, and an extra lengthwise strip runs from the entrance hole (pa-k) to the stern {itirhi'n) and another

side-pieces

to the stem {ma'si'n).

the bottom.

the upper

The upper section is usually built before

It is placed upside down with heavy stones holding

rails in place,

which gives the shape to the kayak. Space is left at the top

The ribs and side-pieces are then added.

centre of the frame for the entrance hole.

The skin covering {ame'qsiik) is then sewn and placed on the kayak wet, and it draws tight on drying and shrinking. The sewing has to be completed at one sitting before the skins dry, Double water-proof stitching, similar so several women help. to that used in the umiak cover, makes the boat watertight. In Labrador, the kayaker has an entire suit (coat and trousers) A drawstring {o'yvgut) is used to draw of gutskin (Plate VI). the waterproof coat around the rim of the hole {pa-k), as in other and the upward slant of the frame of the kayak in front

parts,

of the hole tends to divert the water.

Why gutskin trousers

are needed as well as a frock is not evident.

may be that on

account of the protection of the upturned front of the hole, the drawstring is not much used, and a complete waterproof suit is

worn instead.

The Labrador paddle {pau'tik), is double-bladed, like the Greenland type. It is quite long 10 to 12 feet. It is made of hardwood, when it is obtainable, otherwise of spruce, and tipped with ivory or bone, which is fastened to the wood with pegs of the same material. The paddle is used alternately on either side of the kayak, thus having a distinct advantage over the singlebladed Alaskan paddle, as far as economy of motion is concerned.

—

Great speed

maintained by the Eskimo

their

frail

kayaks. It is said that a single Eskimo in a kayak will propel The Eskimo ventures it as fast as two white men will a canoe. not dare attempt in his canoe, out in a sea that an Indian would

and appears none the worse for it. The Labrador Eskimo handle their long, heavy kayaks easily, but do not attain the expertness recorded of the Greenlanders, although their kayaks Neither do are of the same type as in southwest Greenland. they attempt the long coastal voyages which the Greenlanders take in summer in their kayaks. For long trips the umiak, and more recently the whaleboat, are used. Two thongs are sewn into the kayak in front to hold the harpoon rack and harpoon on one side, and the bird spear on the other; and behind the hole, two small loops are sewn to hold the The position of these weapons on seal hook and killing lance. the kayak is regulated by their use, the chief weapon to be used being at the right hand front of the hunter. Ordinarily, the harpoon occupies this position, and the bird-spear and throwingstick are placed on the left front, the seal-hook on the right back, and the lance on the left back. The line of the harpoon lies in the rack in front of the hunter; the harpoon is held in the right hand and the coil in the left when the harpoon is thrown from the kayak. If the harpoon line has a float attached, it rests on the boat just back of the hunter and is thrown into the water after In northern Labrador, a circular the harpoon is launched. hoop-like float, called the nawla-taq (Labrador)

or nati'la'tay

(Baffin island), is attached to the float, and being dragged at right

angles through the water, soon lessens the pace of the fleeing game. This attachment is found in Baffin island, from whence it is perhaps derived.^

On the left hand side of the hole {pa'k) of the kayak is a seal thong loop, to which game is attached and towed home, after it has been brought alongside with the seal hook.

HUNTING AND FISHING. HUNTING WEAPONS, The Equipment of the Kayaker. Nearly all the hunting on water now is done by the Labrador Eskimo in the kayak, which is fully equipped with the various 1

See Boas, The Central Eskimo, p. 500.

weapons employed in taking sea game. The umiak was formerlyused in whaling, but has passed out of existence except in isolated spots in Ungava and on the east coast of Hudson bay. Sealing Harpoon (see Figure 15). First and foremost in the kayaker's equipment is the sealing harpoon (nau'leq) which rests, ready for use, on the right hand front of the hunter, with its complement, the coil of line {a"tlaunag), lying in the rack directly in

front of the hunter,

and the float (a"vataq) directly behind.

The sealing harpoon

has a heavy wooden shaft (igimwk, Labrador) 6 to 8 feet long,

which terminates in an ivory head {qa'ti'rn) about 2 inches long, into which the foreshaft, made of a walrus tusk, fits. The foreshaft is kept in its place in the socket of the ivory head by two parallel lines of sealhide on either side, which prevent it from inclining to one side. The ingenious fastening of the thongs is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, taken from Boas' work on the Central Eskimo (see Figure 16). In the side of the wooden shaft, just where the harpoon properly balances for throwing, is inserted an ivory or wooden plug to prevent the hand from slipping. The harpoon head (tirka'q) fits on to the pointed end of the foreshaft by means of a thimble-shaped hole gouged out at the end, and is kept taut on the foreshaft by a line running through two holes back of its iron point (qau'leq) and fastened by an ivory eye {teliiy^ik) or a simple loop in the line to an ivory pin on the foreshaft, situated on the front side of the shaft next to the handhold.

should be noted that the fastening of the

line is on the opposite side

from the curve of the tusk, forming

the foreshaft, which gives an added tension to the line and keeps it

from going slack.

''There is a reason for everything," as an

old Eskimo said who was explaining the harpoon to me, and his

remark seems

justified

when we consider the ingenious adapt-

ation of each fixture of the harpoon.

When the game is struck, the head breaks off from the foreshaft,

The

and the stricken animal

foreshaft

unjoints

-float safely away,

played directly from it. shaft and both

the head of the

to be picked

up later by the hunter.

(In a

P <U in

„

o 2

S .2

Figure 16.

Manner of attaching the two principal parts of the harpoon.

From Boas, The Central Eskimo, Fig. 420, p. 489.

country where material is so scarce, some such contrivance In the meantime, line is payed out as needed, is a necessity.) and the kayaker attempts to get near enough to the wounded animal to dispatch it with the killing lance. If it dives deeply when struck or puts up a formidable struggle, which may upset the kayak, the float and drag are thrown overboard, and the

animal

allowed to wear

itself

out before receiving the

final

blow.

Lance (see Figure 17).

The lance {anyo'^iyuk, "the killer") is about the same size and construction as the kayak harpoon, with the exception that The head is usually of iron or ivory with a it has a fixed head. heavy iron point. In old weapons slate and flint were used. Having no line, the button at the side for fastening the same on the harpoon, is absent. Another variety has a longer, more slender shaft, and a long point set into the shaft and firmly This variety looks like a more modern contrivance. lashed. The point is over a foot long, and is said to be used for deer, which are killed when crossing the river mouths and inlets. Seal Hook (see Figure 18).

When the game has been dispatched with the lance, it is drawn along and secured with the sealing hook {ne'tceq). The sealing hook is a long wooden shaft (12 to 15 feet) with an iron hook in the end. The handle is notched to secure a firmer hold in handling the quarry.

The sealing hook, it will be remembered,

rests on the back of the kayak, together with the lance.

Bird-spear (see Figure 19a).

There still remains the bird-spear, at the left hand of the hunter in front. The modern bird-dart consists merely of a light wooden shaft and the triple-pronged point of iron or ivory, The old-style bird-dart (nu'ik) had three 6 to 10 inches long. notched or barbed. Figure 19b shows which were prongs ivory the extra trident at the middle of the spear (at the point of gravity) seen also in specimens from Baffin island and Alaska.

-^^

+->

'"'

bJO

C O

c u

u o

.>:

— E

'1'

The bird-spear is launched with the throw-stick (miqouq) (see Figures 20

and 21) a wooden implement about 12 to 14

20. Throwing-stick from Cape Wolstenholme, Labrador. Figure Length 18 inches. Collected by E. W. Hawkes. Division of Anthropology, Museum No. IV B. 492.

Figure

Length

Spear

thrower,

from

Great

Whale

river,

Labrador.

inches.

Collected by A. P. Low.

Division of Anthropology,

Museum No. IV B. 69.

inches long, with a groove on one side into which the end of the

spear shaft fits.

In some old specimens there is an ivory button

at the end of the shaft which fits into a socket in the groove.

modern spears this is represented by a short bit of iron or a nail. This gives a secure hold to the spear shaft and perhaps an additional impetus to the throw. The spear shaft is supported by three fingers of the hand,

which fit into grooves at the side of the throw-stick, while the The thumb fits first finger slips through a hole behind them. into a groove on the opposite side and turns down on the spear. In delivering the bird-spear, the forearm is drawn back until nearly perpendicular, with the thumb supporting the spear shaft, and the three fingers giving it the necessary direction. After delivery, the throw-stick is thrust under the sealskin thong by the hole, and the paddle, which is held in the left hand, put in motion. The aim of the kayakers with the bird-spear is very good, and they throw a hundred feet with remarkable accuracy.

The bird-spear is used mostly in the spring when the young still unable to fly, are fluttering and swimming around

ducks,

the rookeries of the rocky coast in great numbers.

During this

season the hunters make large catches in a short time.

The Bow and A rrow.

The bow and arrow have been entirely superseded in Labrador by the rifle as a hunting weapon. The specimens obtained for the Museum were used by a party of Eskimo who were cast away on Mansel island for a number of years and forced to the manufacture and use of primitive weapons.

The bow (Plate XVI f) is what Murdoch calls the "Arctic type," i.e., with a straight shaft and ends curved inward.

It is

made of fir, reinforced with a single twisted sinew strand at the back. A bow collected by A. P. Low in Labrador (Plate XVI g) has a sinew backing of ten twisted strands, which are looped over the "nosk" at the ends, and gathered in at the middle and the

ends by transverse strands.

In both bows the bowstring, which is several times heavier than the backing, is attached to a sealskin thong at the ends. The bows are from 32 to 36 inches in length, being fully a foot shorter

slightly

They are

than similar types among

and rounded at the handle, and flattened and considerably

the Alaskan Eskimo.

1^ inches wide, thicker

thinned at the ends.

There are no data at hand to show whether the Labrador Eskimo ever used the antler bow of three pieces bound with sinew found in

Bafifin island,

or the long "Tartar" type, found

among the Copper and Alaskan Eskimo.

might be noted

that the sinew reinforcement of the Labrador bow is lengthways

The Labrador Eskimo probably never experienced much difficulty in securing wood for their bows, so were not obliged to adopt splicing of antler and

and not lateral as in some western types.

bone.

The arrows are sound pieces of wood, flattened and notched The wood at the end is not split to admit the

at the end.

Alaskan arrow, but they are attached with sinew to each flattened side (see Figure 22). The other end feathers, as in the

81 IS cut off obliquely and the bone or ivory foreshaft fastened to it with sinew. The iron arrowpoint is set into the bone foreshaft and riveted in some specimens (see Figures 23 and 24). In others the foreshaft and point are hammered out of one piece of iron.

Another variety has a blunt ivory or iron point, probably used for stunning birds and small game.

The Labrador bow and arrow is not so formidable a weapon and probably was used more for hunting than as an offensive weapon. The bow and arrows with which they fought the Montagnais and other tribes may have been of a larger and stronger type. The shape of the as types in other sections,

present wooden bow is similar to the three-piece antler bow of Baffin island (see Boas, Figure 440) and the Labrador

Eskimo may have used this material, as well as wood, although, is no definite information at hand I did collect from old village sites some foron this point. midable bone and stone points which would seem to require greater motive power than given by the present bow. One of these much resembles the deer arrow mentioned by Murdoch as in use among the Point Barrow Eskimo, which is not fastened to the shaft but comes loose from its socket and remains as mentioned above, there

wound after the shaft

shaken out. It eventually It appears to be a carrying over of the harpoon idea into smaller weapons. Plate XVI h shows a Labrador bow with the ends bent outward. This is a. much more powerful bow than the type described above, and similar to the large bows used by the Western Eskimo for hunting large game and for fighting. in

the

results in the death of the animal.

The Bow-case (Plate XVII a).

The bow and arrows are carried in a case consisting of two parts which are joined together in the middle; one part for the

bow and one for the arrows.

The two parts are made of one piece sewn at the edges with an overhand stitch. The bow projects slightly from the end of its cover to admit of quick handling. The case is tied together with a thong at the end, and slung over the back. The bow cases are roughly made of of deerskin

82 dressed deerskin and do not exhibit the care the

Eskimo are

accustomed to exert on their outfits. Perhaps this is because the case is not always used, the bow and arrows often being carried in the hand.

HUNTING LARGE GAME.

The Eskimo of the east Labrador coast used to hunt whales from the larger bays and inlets, such as Nachvak and Hopedale. The Eskimo name for Hopedale {Ai'vil-ik "whaling place,")

Figure 25. Ivory harpoon head with iron point, from Joksut, Labrador. Length 6? inches. Collected by E. W. Hawkes. Division of Anthropology, Museum No. IX A. 47.

suggests

its

former use.

years at Nachvak.

Whaling was carried on until recent

The humpback was the principal quarry.

For striking the whale, a harpoon of a heavier type than the kayak harpoon was used. The shaft was longer and heavier and the point much larger. Figure 25 represents an old whaling harpoon point from Cape Chidley. To the harpoon line several large floats were attached at intervals in bunches of three or more, to impede and mark the flight of the whale. When the whale had become exhausted and the umiak was able to get near enough to it, it was killed with a long-handled lance {anyo'^iyuky with broad blade of bone or flint. The divings and struggles of the wounded whale sometimes upset the boat and resulted in a catastrophe to the crew, as noted in the tale concern-

ing some Tunnit (see page 149).

At the present time, the larger species of whale have almost from the coast, and the Eskimo turn their

entirely disappeared

attention to the never-failing supply of beluga, or white whales, Literally, "the killer."

which is a regular industry in Ungava, as described in the section on food. The white whales are shot, speared, or taken in nets They form a regular Arctic article of export for the at low tide. Hudson's Bay Company posts in northern Labrador. They yield a large amount of fat and meat, and their hides are valuable. The flesh is whitish in colour and is a welcome change after a prolonged diet of seal meat. Plate XXXV B shows a party of Eskimo women at one of the northern Moravian stations, cutting

up white whales.

The polar bear is hunted with dogs.

When a bear is sighted

the dogs are loosed and form a ring around him, bringing him to bay.

They snarl and snap at him from all directions, taking

care to keep just out of the reach of the sweep of his great paws.

While he is engaged with the dogs, the hunter comes up and shoots him.

Unless he is hit in a vital spot, it takes several shots

to dispatch a polar bear.

The peculiar shape of the head and

shallow brainpan makes a shot in the head not always

fatal.

One polar bear shot during this trip received two bullets in the ear without succumbing, and did not give up the battle until a heavy bullet shattered the entire top of his head.

Others got

away with enough lead in their body, it would seem, to sink them. The polar bear, when attacked on land, always makes for the nearest water, consequently when natives run across them in summer, they try to get between them and the water.

was

told by an old hunter that the old males hibernate in summer in

the caves in the rocky country of northern Labrador. One hunter would drive them out by stamping and shouting on top of the cave from the rear, while the other stood on guard with his rifle at the entrance. Female bears with their young were taken in the same way in the snow-houses which they scoop out for themselves and their young in the spring. In old times the harpoon, of course, took the place of the rifle. It was thrust into the ribs of the bear, while he was making a sweep at one of the dogs surrounding him. Heavy arrows were also used. Old Eskimo say that some of their hunters could use the sinewbacked bow with such force that it would drive an arrow through a bear.

Deer were taken when they came out to the inlets or mouths They were usually pursued while in the water, and killed with a deer spear, a long slender shafted lance with an iron blade and foreshaft. Turner says that the weapon used by the Labrador Eskimo and the Naskapi is the same (see Figure 137 in Ethnology of the Ungava district). of rivers on their annual migration.

Bone lance head with iron point, from Eskimo point, west Length 7 inches. Collected by E. W. Hawkes. Division of Anthropology, Museum No. IX C. 7. Figure 26.

coast of Hudson bay.

Figure 26 represents a kayak spear of the older type, an iron blade riveted to a bone foreshaft, which an informant told me

was used formerly for deer. Walrus hunting was carried on much the same as whaling. When the ice first broke up, and began running, great herds of walrus appeared, sleeping on the floating pans and playing in the Nachvak bay, Charles island, and Cape Driggs were great water. Several places in northern Labrador and resorts for walrus. Hudson strait take their names from the presence formerly of great herds of walrus in those localities, as Walrus point. Walrus The walrus seem to prefer a point or bay with a island, etc. shelving beach on which they can drag themselves up without much difficulty. They were hunted by crews in the umiak, or, according to the older style, a party of men would encircle them A full grown in kayaks and drive the herd towards the shore. walrus is almost too much for a single man to handle in the kayak. Formerly they were harpooned and lanced with weapons somewhat larger and heavier than those used for seal. When rifles were introduced, the old weapons were discarded, although the harpoon was often necessary to save the game.

The Alaskan Eskimo have a taboo that walrus must always be hauled up on the ice to be cut up, and this must never be done

85 in the boat.

As the whale (bowhead) is too heavy to be thus

disposed of, it is cut up in the water, but its eye (the one appearing

out of the water) is sHt, so that it may not see the operation. Probably there is the idea involved here that it is distasteful to the inua (genius) of the animal to have its body disposed of out of

its

native element or amid strange surroundings.

There is

a trace of the same idea in Labrador, where they slit the eyes of the seal.

There appears to be a specialization

Labrador of the

general food taboo in that walrus and seal meat must not be mixed

any more than deer meat and seal meat. Whale meat is also kept strictly separate from deer meat, and the instruments used must be bound with seal thongs rather than sinew. Torngarsoak, the chief deity of the Labrador Eskimo, is offended if any instrument suggesting the deer is employed on the whale.

in cutting up the whale

HUNTING SMALL GAME.

The taking of small game, as wolves, foxes, hares, ptarmigan, and waterfowl, is done with the aid of a variety of ingenious traps and nooses. The old natives say that wolves were formerly quite numerous in the Labrador interior. They followed the great bands of migrating reindeer, on which they fed. In winter they approach-

ed the coast and rifled traps and tore down meat caches, and even attacked the dogs in the villages. Dogs were useless as a defence against the marauders, for, although a team of Eskimo dogs will hold a huge polar bear at bay, they will not attack

a wolf. Traps.

When the wolves become too bold and annoying, the Labrador Eskimo employ a little device, also used by the Point Barrow Eskimo, which effectually thins their numbers. A sharp, slender strip of whalebone is tied up in folds with a small sinew and placed inside a chunk of blubber. It is thrown out at night, when the wolves prowl around the villages, and quickly

The wolf comes along, scents this tempting morsel, and bolts it without stopping to ask any questions. As soon as the natural heat and acids of the stomach dissolve the blubber and string, the whalebone string is released and springs out, cutting the walls of the wolf's stomach severely. Speedy death results; the wolf will be found only a short distance away. Foxes were taken in stone traps, built up in the form of a Bait was four-sided enclosure, with a little hole in the roof. placed inside, and the fox, having jumped in, could not get out. In another kind there was a trap door which fell and made him Another trap was built on the principle of the deadprisoner. fall, and when the fox touched the bait, a heavy slab of stone was Ruins of these old stone traps are released and crushed the fox. to be seen all over the northern Labrador coast. For the taking of those other scavengers, the gulls, the Cape Wolstenholme Eskimo used to make a hook of two pieces This was attached to a long line. One piece of deer antler. was tied back to the other with a light strip of sinew, so that, when released, it would spring out at right angles again. The hook was baited with blubber, and, being covered with the fat, eagerly swallowed by the voracious gulls. On the hook entering their stomach, the fat melted and the barb was released, holding them fast. They were then easily hauled in by the hunter.

freezes.

Snares.

For the taking of waterfowl, the Labrador Eskimo,

those of other sections, use the whalebone snare. As indicated in Plate XVII b, this consists of a series of nooses suspended

from a strip of whalebone. They are set with wooden pegs along the shore of lakes and inlets where waterfowl abound, as in the picture, or placed on rocks near the rookeries and held down by a stone at each end. The swarming birds step through the The fluttering of one prisoner attracts loops, which draw fast. more, and in an evening a native will get fifty to a hundred of the smaller birds.

The favourite time for setting these traps is

in the early evening, when the birds that have remained in their clefts in the rocks during the day come out to feed on the myriad

small flies and gnats which they find on the surface of the water.

A larger snare or noose is used for ptarmigan and hares. Single looped

traps are set in

the

holes

squirrels.

The

with which the tundra teems, with miniature snares, or shoot them and the small Birds are pursued in the birds with toy bows and arrows. kayak during the moulting season. When they dive, their catch

children

the

small

rodents,

direction can be traced by the bubbles left on the surface of the

water.

An Eskimo, by tiring them out, can catch them with his

hand; this is considered a sport rather than serious hunting. Another feat is to run down a young fawn in the spring when the

snow is heavy and to capture it alive.

The sling (Plate XVII c) furnishes a great deal of amusement for the half-grown boys who will follow waterfowl along the for hours, but although they attain considerable seems to yield more pleasure than profit. I have no information that the bird bola is found among the Labrador Eskimo.

shore with dexterity,

FISHING.

The most important fish of the many kinds that visit the Labrador coast, from a native standpoint, are the salmon and Great quantities trout, and on these two they mainly depend. of cod are now taken, thanks to missionary teaching, but did not constitute so important a place as salmon in the original native economy. When the ice first breaks up, the salmon spawn. While the "run" is on, they are taken in large numbers with the The fish spear has a long, slender shaft from fish spear (kuqivuq). 12 to 15 feet long, which widens towards the end to accommodate a triple prong. This is formed of a straight point in the middle and two side barbs (Figure 27). The side pieces slope outward, and their elasticity is further increased by binding to the shaft with sinew. In the older specimens they are of bone or ivory with antler or iron barbs; in modern specimens, of wood with iron barbs turning downward to meet the point which projects from the middle of the shaft. The turning in of the barbs admits of the fish being pierced by the centre point, when the barbs spring out and securely hold it. When salmon are not plentiful,

a small ivory or stone miniature fish is used as a lure.

The northern

Labrador

natives

also

under-

stood the making of dams across streams emptying into the sea, in which the salmon are shut It is not definitely known off at low tide. whether before their contact with the whites the Labrador Eskimo used fish nets or not. A

discussion of this point occurs in the historical introduction.

For

trout

(e'rkaluk,

northern

Labrador;

Eskimo fish into a piece of wood and

exa'lupik, southern Labrador)

the

with an iron hook set bound fast with sinew.

In old specimens the

material for the hook

of ivory or fish-bones.

The line is of twisted sinew or whalebone fibre, and is wound up on a short notched pole, when Tomcod are the fish is caught and hauled in. caught through the ice in winter. Trout are split and dried in the same manner as salmon. The native method of curing was dealt with in the section on food (page 34).

HOUSEHOLD TOOLS AND UTENSILS. LAMPS AND KETTLES. b E

3 U

One of the items of Eskimo material culture is the use of the stone lamp (qii'dlik), a feature which marks them off sharply from the Indian tribes of North America. The wlw or 'woman's knife," has been copied by the Cree, Monta'

and other northern Indian tribes, and knife" perhaps borrowed from the Athabaskan has copied the in turn; them Eskimo fur a-'tige in his clothing; the stone kettle, as Wissler suggests, may possibly be a copy of the square bark kettles of the Indian, although this does not seem very probable; the Eskimo waterproof skin boot and deerskin sock

gnais,

the "crooked

89 are articles of trade with neighbouring tribes; but in no case

another contiguous tribe appear to have adopted the lamp, which remains intrinsically Eskimo. The Eskimo lamp, in various parts of the Eskimo world,

does

is made of different materials according to which are accessible. Thus, in the east, soapstone is the main material, pottery has been used in Alaska, and sandstone in Siberia. Labrador specimens are made of steatite, a variety of soapstone. The old lamps are of a simple saucer shape (Plate XVIII A a and B a). More modern specimens (Plate XVIII B b) have the sides regularly and sharply accentuated, forming a definite rim around the bowl. This lamp, from northern Labrador, approaches the Central Eskimo lamp, an almost perfect specimen of which proportionally (Plate XVIII B d), is one from Chesterfield inlet. The Labrador lamps will hold from a pint to two or three quarts of oil. One old specimen from a grave in northern Labrador (Plate XVIII A b) has the ridge characteristic of the Alaskan lamp. This regulates the feed of oil to the wick on the straight edge, and is perhaps a later development of Eskimo invention. This lamp is considerably larger and deeper than the other Labrador specimens, measuring 12 by 18 inches, with the ridge 1 inch thick. On Coats island, Hudson bay, a lamp was obtained from an old grave (woman's) which was simply a stone hollowed out by the water, that had evidently been picked up on the beach. This was found in company with one of the old kettles made of limestone slabs tied together with sinew (also found

on Southampton island) and two firestones of pyrites. The use of naturally hollowed stones suggest that it may have led to the making of artificial shapes which resulted in the present Eskimo lamp. The lamp, as we find it among the Eskimo, appears to be their own invention. The case of the stone kettle is not so unique, although it

would suggest itself as the natural complement of the lamp. It is suspended over the lamp, and used for boiling meat. At the present time, the old stone kettle has been entirely superseded

by modern articles offered by the Hudson's Bay Company, and specimens are very rare and hard to obtain. Three speci-

mens were obtained from northern Labrador and Ungava; one kettle is seen in Plate XIX a, one very small specimen (Plate c), and one very large kettle (Plate XIX b), the measurements of which are given below. The small specimen, which came from an old grave, has two holes bored in the bottom. All lamps and kettles placed on graves were treated in like manner, to liberate the inua of the utensil and allow its use by the shade of the owner in the other world. All the kettles have

ordinary-sized

End of limestone kettle, length at top, 135 mm.; at bottom, 123 mm.; height, 108 mm.; thickness, 5 mm. From Coats island. Collected by E. W. Hawkes. Division of Anthropology, Museum No. IX B. 33

Figure 28.

holes bored at the four top corners, in which the thongs were

placed by which they were suspended. Old hunters have told me that caribou meat boiled in a soapstone kettle was much tenderer than that boiled in an ordinary kettle, the heat being more evenly sustained. They also said that it took nearly an

hour to get the kettle boiling over the lamp, but that, once hot, Turner says that the it kept its temperature for a long time. Ungava method was to put heated stones in the kettle.^ In that case the custom must have been derived from the Indians. The Labrador Eskimo make miniature models of their d), which they preserve lamps and kettles (Plates XVIII Be;

•Turner, Ethnology oj the Ungava district, Ethnology, p. 231.

11th Annual Report^of Bureau of American

91 carefully.

They say that as long as the models do not break or

crack the originals will not.

From Coats island I collected a limestone kettle, similar to on Southampton island. It has been Holes had been bored in the thin The bottom slab was let into a groove slabs from both sides. in the end slabs and cemented with a mixture of hair and blood. Figure 28 shows an end piece, the measurements of which those

formerly

used

fastened together with sinew.

were as follows: Limestone Kettle.

top of the medium-sized pot and a half-moon shaped indentation The kettles will hold from a in the sides to admit of handHng. half-pint to three or four gallons.

Measurement of Labrador Eskimo Lamps.

mens

(Plate

XXI c), to civilized patterns. They are used for

The older shape is a shallow oval. Wooden now in use (Plate XXI a and b), of the same material as the dishes, represent the ancient bailer. The Labrador Eskimo possess an unusual ability for carving in wood (see section on art), and reproduce in that material many of the household

holding food and oil.

spoons

{eli'psit)

objects of musk-ox, horn, and whalebone found in Baffin island.

Buckets and cups are made of strips of larch wood bent circular and bottomed, and held tight with wooden or ivory pegs. Some They also older specimens from the graves are of whalebone. make buckets and cups of tanned sealskin sewn with sinew. These are common throughout the Hudson Bay country. The specimens illustrated (Plate XX a and b) are from Chesterfield The inlet, but do not differ from those found in Labrador. cup or bailer in Labrador usually has a thong handle.

SCRAPERS.

The skin scraper, used on sealskins and deerskins, is found in Type I, a form developed in three definite types.

Labrador

-^r

Figure 29.

Bone scraper made from the jaw-bone of a narwhal, from Cape Chidley.

Length

inches.

Collected by E. W. Hawkes.Di vision of Anthropology, Museum No. IV B. 477.

from the scapula of the reindeer (Plate XXII A e), which is itself often used in the summer camp,

represented by the modern

94 instrument with a wooden handle and tin or iron blade. This seems to be a typical Eskimo instrument. An interesting variant is seen in a specimen from Cape Childey (see Figure 29), made from the jaw of a narwhal, where the broader surface presented must have suggested itself to the Eskimo^ as a more effective

instrument.

Type II is found in the leg bone of the deer, where the knob produced by the

forms a convenient handle This type is reproduced in stone in two specimens (Museum Nos. IV C 777 a and b) from Chesterfield It is seen in the stone-bladed scraper with a knob or inlet. projection at one side of the wooden handle,- and in the modern type ((Museum No. 398 a) with a metal blade. This also appears to be a characteristic Eskimo type developed from the bone original. It is perhaps not quite correct to consider the (Plate XXII

ball of the joint

A b).

evolution of material in point of time,

—bone, stone, and wood and

three

we often

tin scraper

—

find

all

in use at the

same time, and the Eskimo have a way of adapting whatever material is at hand to their purpose; but the shape of the bones probably suggested their use and furnished a design which was reproduced in different materials.

Type III is also made of the legbone of the deer, but without The top part is cut off as in the Indian scraper (Plate XXII A a). The two In some of the old sides are cut down, and the blade rounded. specimens the symmetry attained is almost perfect, as may be noted in the specimen illustrated. The modern specimens the bony handle formed by the projecting joint.

are rough and ready affairs, evidently hacked out in camp, without much thought except for utility. As a general rule the specimens collected from the old graves and villages were much finer in form and workmanship than the present material.

KNIVES.

For scraping the fat, etc., off large skins, as the bear, and for splitting the thick hide of the walrus, the w'lu-, or '

Cf. Boas,

Eskimo of Baffin land and Hudson

Museum of Natural History, vol. XV, p. 33. 2

Ibid.,

Figures 41

and

"woman's

bay. Fig. 40 a. Bulletin of the American

95 knife" is used.

This convenient utensil is put to a variety of uses;

for cutting out skin clothing, for cutting and chopping up meat,

and for scraping the hair off skins and also the dark coloured outer skin

"white" boots are desired.

The

described are specialized utensils, but the ulu

skin scrapers

an all-round

handy tool in the hands of an Eskimo woman. It appears in our modern civilization in the saddler's knife. The shape of the blade is semi-lunar, and may appear with or without a handle.

It finds its

prototype in a roughly trian-

gular piece of slate or a thin slab of chipped stone with one side

sharpened

(Plate

XXII Be).

the

older

specimens,

particularly of the Central and Western Eskimo, the handle is set

An evidently later type has an intervening piece, forming a T-shaped handle, which is riveted to the blade. The modern knife follows this shape (Plate XXII B b). Mason has given us a very careful study of the ulu.^ His divisions, however, appear to me to be more theoretical than practical. It is very hard to distinguish between the adoption of white material to native ends and strictly native work among the Eskimo. One should hesitate in modern collections to say that a stone-bladed knife was older than an iron-bladed one, or that a bone-hafted implement was more truly native than a woodenhafted one, unless one took into account the location from which the implement came and the supply of material. The stone scrapers figured from Chesterfield inlet are quite recent. The wonderful conservatism of the Eskimo in material culture appears to apply to form rather than to material, as witness his use of copper, iron, stone, or tin for knife blades in various localities, and bone, ivory, wood, or deer horn for handles. As in the house of snow, stone, whalerib, or driftwood in different sections of the Eskimo world, adaption of the material at hand to a persistent pattern appears the underlying motive. The ulu is also found among the Indian tribes bordering on the Eskimo, as the Cree and Montagnais. While no one has disputed the Eskimo origin of the ulu, or woman's knife, considerable discussion has arisen as to whether directly on to the blade.

1890.

O. T. Mason, The ulu or woman's knife of the Eskimo, Rep. U. S. National Museum,

96 the "crooked knife" or man's knife of North America

Eskimo or Indian invention, or whether it was not introduced It is found in use among the at an early date by the whites. Eskimo and the contiguous Indian tribes of Alaska and Canada, on the northwest coast.

also

It finds its

prototype perhaps in

the beaver-tooth knife of the Indians and survives in civilized culture in the farrier's knife.

It is employed in the same way in

body and drawn toward the user. The Northwest Coast Indians have a knife with a shorter blade and heavier handle, which is held in both hands. An able and detailed description is given in Mason's paper on the man's knife.^

all

sections,

i.e.,

held at right angles to the

Among the Eskimo the man's knife is known as sa'tjyik, which Murdoch says in Alaska is synonymous with "iron." In Bering strait tca-'wik means a "foreign knife", likewise, "iron." Thus the introduction of the man's knife coincides in the west with the introduction of iron among the Eskimo, and is directly connected with contact with the whites.

The man's knife is found among the Eskimo in two, possibly three, forms: (1), a crooked iron blade; (2), a slightly curved iron

blade; and angle.

(3),

a short curved or straight blade set at a slight

The knife in its first two forms (and the second may be

only a variation of the

first)

the instrument for whittling

driftwood, or smoothing down sections already rough hewn with the adze; the third form is the graver's tool, and the slight angle at which it is set facilitates following with the eye the line as it is

The face of the handle, incised, and admits of greater pressure. which may be of wood, deerhorn, or ivory, is cut away to admit the ball of the thumb against it, and in some western specimens grooves appear at the side of the handle for the encircling fingers. Examples of the graver's tool appear in Plate XXIII B c,d, and e and the form of the 5a"'<^ife is illustrated in Plate XXIII A d and e. The latter specimens illustrate the curved rather than the crooked blade type. Some old specimens in the Museum from the Alaskan Eskimo have blades of slate (Plate XXIII A c). There is also a beaver-tooth knife in the same collection (Plate XXIII Ab). '

O. T. Mason, The man's knije among the North American Indians, Rep. U.S. National

Museum, 1897.

The form of the slate blades appears to be an imitation of the shape of the iron blade, but may antedate it. The beavertooth knife may have come from the Yukon country and have Beaver-tooth been acquired in trade from the Athabaskans. knives and an antler handle evidently adapted to a blade of this type were found in the archaeological material from the Iroquian

Roebuck site in Ontario. In sharpening knives, harpoon points, and arrow heads,

whetstones (si'dlit) are used. No particular choice of material is made; any smooth, close-grained stone picked up on the beach answering the purpose (Plate XXIII A f). Some of the small whetstones, however, are carefully shaped (Plate

XXIII A a).

It is worth noting here that old specimens of Eskimo knives and

lance heads often appear with ground edge, indicating that the

grinding process of sharpening is ancient with them as well as the use of chipping.

THE DRILL.

The Eskimo bow drill (Plate XXIII B a and b) consists of three parts: (1), the bow {niuqtaq)

;

(2), the shaft with its pointed

and (3), the mouthpiece {qi'ymiax). The bowstring is placed around the shaft, pressure exerted on the mouthThis handy piece, and the drill revolved by moving the bow. little instrument is used for boring holes for the umiak and kayak frames, making holes in ivory and bone toggles and shoeIn Labrador fires tones of iron ing, and for starting a fire. The modern pyrites were more often used (Plate XXI I A c and d) drill has a wooden shaft and mouthpiece, but the old-style drill had both these parts of bone. For the sharp point of the drill, a prong of deerhorn or a flake of quartz was used.

drill

(qai'vun);

The drill, together with the whetstone and flaker, were the making the old ivory, stone, and bone implements and weapons of the Eskimo. Flint implements were chipped off until thedesired form was obtained,^ but inslate andivory material holes were bored with the drill and the piece fractured along the line thus made. This method gave a rough shape, which was tools used in

In this operation a bone tool was used and small pieces squeezed off.

smoothed down with the whetstone. The file and sandpaper have replaced the whetstone in the modern process. Large implements and harpoon and lance points were sometimes chipped out of ivory tusks and whalebone with the adze or a heavy knife. The Eskimo seem to prefer even at the present time the old boring and splitting process to the use of modern saws, introduced by traders. This may be due to the materials that they work in, which are of such a nature as to lend themselves favourably to the old process.

No specimens were found in Labrador of the larger stone tools (hammers, adzes, etc.) common to Eskimo culture elsewhere, but no doubt the ancient Labrador Eskimo used them. The present culture has been modified perhaps more than any other Eskimo division by a long intercourse with the whites. When we consider the conditions at present, the southern branch almost entirely dissipated or absorbed by the white traders and settlers, and the northern branch surviving only under

the careful nurture of the Moravians, it is not remarkable that we find only fragmentary evidences of the ancient culture. Our

thanks are due to the Moravians for encouraging the Eskimo to continue using native food and clothing, but the complete reversal of a people's religious and social ideas cannot but have a The Eskimo's disintegrating effect on their material culture.

penchant for imitation is a powerful cause here, as in Alaska, for the introduction of white methods of dress, housing, and furnishConsequently we find a hybrid culture on the east coast of ing. Labrador an Eskimo culture adapted to white ideas. We do not strike a typical Eskimo group until we get into Hudson Even here the influence of the trader and misstrait and bay. sionary is more or less felt, and is reflected in modern material for clothing and in civilized food.

—

PIPES.

Among the Labrador Eskimo, as in Hudson bay, we find the Indian type (Plate XXIV i) of pipe in use, together with modern specimens furnished by the traders. Tobacco appears to be as indispensable here as among the Western Eskimo, but its

99 introduction and use is evidently more recent.

It was probably

obtained from the Hudson Bay and independent traders to the south and west, but may have come through Baffin island first

from Greenland. It was an article of trade with the early explorers and whalers. The Labrador Eskimo, together with the Eskimo of Hudson bay, use the Indian pipe and European tobacco, in distinction from the western group, composed of the Alaskan, Mackenzie, and Copper Eskimo, who use the eastern Asiatic pipe and Circassian leaf introduced through native Siberian traders at an early date.

Tobacco is used mostly for smoking in eastern Labrador. Snuff is used by the old women.

A man is rarely seen chewing.

The pouch-shaped tobacco bag, described under "Clothing," is used for snuff. With the old-style pouch went a small horn or ivory spoon which was held to the nostril and the snuff inhaled

while the other nostril was closed with the thumb.

The form of

the men's tobacco bag is given in the same section.

With the

men's pouch is a small ivory pin for cleaning out the pipe. Modern bags are decorated with beads in various designs.

NEEDLE-CASES.

The needle-cases used by the Labrador Eskimo conform to the square-ended shape characteristic of the Eastern Eskimo.

Some interesting variations are to be seen in the Museum in some old specimens from Labrador. In the oldest specimens one end is closed by an ivory decoration which forms a handle by which it can be tied to the belt (Plate XXIV a, c, and e). The interior is hollow, and filled with moss. Bone needles were placed in this soft bed and the other end closed with an ivory plug.

In more modern specimens the needles are thrust in a

sealskin thong running through the interior, which is pulled out,

when needed, by an ivory button at the end of the thong.^

one of the specimens illustrated, this is carved into the form of a seal (Plate XXIV b). One needle case is rounded, approaching the cylindrical Alaskan shape (Plate XXIV d). 1

The form of the catch on the other end of the thong is seen in Plate XXIV b, d, f.

100

The decorative motive,

the whale's

tail,

seen on (Plate

XXIV b, f) two specimens, is also found in Alaska, but in tattooing rather than in ivory carving.

ART.

A discussion of Eskimo art is usually confined to a description of their etchings on ivory or an illustration of the little figures carved

than this.

from ivory.

But Eskimo art is something larger

It concerns itself not only with designs on ivory, but

characteristic motives in the decoration of clothing, in tattooing, in fur and leather-applique work, and in basketry.

The Eskimo

also reveal in the manufacture of tools and weapons

an apprecia-

tion of form and outline which will compare favourably with that of any of their Indian neighbours.

WORK IN IVORY. The Labrador Eskimo do not etch their ivory with crude realistic figures like the

Alaskan Eskimo, nor do they use the circle,

the alternate spur,

to Alaska,

but confine them-

geometrical designs (the concentric etc.)

common from Greenland

selves to a straight line or two accentuating the outline of the little

These parallel lines are Dots are also used, but to imitate some feature of the model, not as a design. But in the form and finish of their ivory carving, the Labrador Eskimo excel the other eastern tribes and more nearly approach the am.bitious work of the Alaskan Eskimo. Perhaps this is due, as in Alaska, ivory figures they delight in carving.

coloured in black or red.

the introduction of better material for tools,

a result

of early contact with the whites.

A favourite design of the Labrador Eskimo is the komatik and dog-team, which is carried out with great fidelity of detail, even to the seals and snow-knife forming the komatik load (Plate XXV d and e). Another favourite is the hunter, seated in his kayak (Plate XXV a), or surrounded by his equipment (Plate XXVI), his gun (d), knife (a), cartridge-bag (f), and an

101

These are

more or less modern older. Of these, the seal (Plate XXVII A c), the whale (Plate XXVII A a), and the bear (Plate XXVII Bd) are most common. The white whale (Plate XXVII A f) and walrus (Plate XXVII A b) are more rare. The fox (Plate XXVII Ba) and the reindeer (Plate XXVII Be) extra pair of boots types.

are quite unusual. is

(e).

all

The carving of animal forms is

The stone fish, illustrated in Plate XXVII A d,

of steatite (also used for lamps and kettles)

well as ivory for carving, on the east coast.

which is used as XXV b is a

Plate

modern ivory miniature of an Eskimo woman in the long-tailed ci'l-apaq.

Some carvings from the Central Eskimo illustrate how the Eskimo have caught in ivory the sense of action, as plainly as greater sculptors in marble. Plate XXVII B f and g are wolves on the trail.

Plate XXVII B b is a polar bear, with upPlate XXVII B e XXVII Ae a narwhal

raised foot on his prey, warning off intruders.

represents a musk-ox at bay; and Plate

swimming.

WORK IN WOOD. The Labrador Eskimo parallel nearly all their ivory work in wood carving. As the missionaries will tell you, walrus ivory is becoming scarce and the more plentiful material is used instead. Woodwork of this sort includes komatiks and dogteams with their loads (Plate XIV B a), and even snow-houses, with the blocks and interior fittings carefully imitated.

WORK IN CLOTH AND FUR. The reindeer frocks of the Labrador Eskimo women have handsome inserts of alternate light and dark fur on the edges of the flaps and in the sleeves (Plate XXVIII). The square and diamond-shaped fur appliqu6 work of the Alaskan Eskimo I found in only two specimens, a pair of mittens (Plate XXIX B a) and a tobacco bag (Plate XXIX B d). Beads are much used on fur for ornaments in floral designs, as in Plate XXIX B c. Another favourite bead design is the conventionalized figure in Plate XXIX B b. Modern embroidery on moccasins and

102 mittens

done

in silk,

and on

duffle in

coloured yarns, the

designs being nearly always floral with brilliant colours, and similar to modern work among the Montagnais and other Indian tribes

the Labrador interior.

The

leather-appliqu4 work,

so highly developed among the Greenland Eskimo, finds a faint

Figure 30.

Tattooing on leg and forearm of woman, from southern Baffin island.

reflection here in a few specimens.

Plate

XXIX A a shows the

wavy line, used to decorate the flap of a tobacco pouch.

Another specimen shows the diamond-shaped design, which is also seen in tattooing (see Figure 30, tattooing on forearm, Baffin island) and suggests a possible connexion between the two. Some women's duffle frocks from Cape Chidley had the simple cross design in leather as a decoration of the border. This design is said to indicate "flying birds," among East Greenlanders.

WORK IN BASKETRY. Eskimo basketry is of the sewn coiled type, and is quite It consists of a "bunch of grass sewed in a continuous coil by a whip stitch over the bunch and under simple in construction.

103

a few stems in the coil just beneath, the stitch looping under the stitch of the lower coil" (O. T. Mason). We find the Eskimo

making baskets wherever there is a good supply of basket grass (i'vik), Ammophila arenaria, as at the mouth of the Yukon river, on the shores of Hudson bay, and on the east coast of Labrador. Most of the specimens are perfectly plain, and of the common "uncovered bandbox or ginger jar" shape (Mason), but certain specimens collected from Labrador offer simple designs, which have led me to consider them under art.

The shape of

the basketry in Labrador has been

much

by contact with the whites, but the material and workmanship are Eskimo, and we find, besides the conventional influenced

XXX

"jar" shape, baskets patterned after kettles (Plate d), bowls (Plate c), cups (Plate b),and dishes with covers and with handles (Plate XXXI B a and b). These are simply attempts to reproduce civilized forms in native ware. Other forms have a few characteristic Eskimo designs, which appear also in leather appliqu6 and ivory work. I refer to the border decoration, which consists of openwork, arranged in an angular or curved design. This type of design is featured in Mason's account of aboriginal American basketry in a specimen from the "Central Eskimo" (this should be Labrador Eskimo, because the specimen is from Davis inlet) in Plate 126. The openwork is produced "by wrapping the foundation with straw for one-half an inch and then sewing, as in ordinary coiled work, the angles to the coil below" {ibid., page 378). For a similar specimen from Hamilton inlet, Labrador, see Plate XXXI A b. The Labrador Eskimo use this method both in baskets, on the borders and bottoms, and in plaques. It offsets the plainness of the surface. A more complicated arrangement of the angular design is shown in basket (Plate XXXI A a) and plaque (Plate XXXI Ac). A very uncommon border is the margin of wavy lines, converging and diverging (Plate XXXI A d). The same design appears in the leather applique of the East Greenlanders.^

XXX

It is worthy of note that we find an abundance of basketry work among the easternmost representatives of the Eskimo as

See Thalbitzer, The Ammassalik Eskimo, p. 635.

Copenhagen, 1914.

104 well as in Alaska, with a few scattering specimens

Central Eskimo to form a connecting link between.

among the The broken

appearance of the industry appears to be governed by local conditions and the presence of material. We find Alaskan baskets also with the angular openwork design, but I have seen none with a double curved line. Outside this variation in design, one could not tell, as far as appearance goes, the basketry of one section from the other. Of course, there is a large difference in individual workmanship, but some specimens obtained from Cape Chidley were as closely sewn and finely made as anything I

have seen in Alaska.

make

this

incline to the opinion that the ability

simple coiled basketry

inherent

among

the

Eskimo, and only needs contact with the proper material to It may be an intrusive art, but more probably bring it out. is characteristic of Eskimo culture at an earlier period when they dwelt farther inland. If it is a borrowed art, it has been so long adopted that its origin is forgotten. Its source would be hard to trace, as Eskimo basketry differs from that of any of the neighbouring Indian types. One would have to go as far south as Its resemblance to the the California area for comparisons. Hopi ware of the southwest is very marked. It has been suggested by Mason that the eastern basketry is an acculturation, derived from the whites, possibly the Norseman, as this style But, as we of coiled sewing is found in northern Europe. have seen, the eastern basketry is exactly the same as that in If the Alaska, which would point to a common racial origin. Norsemen made baskets in Greenland it is not reflected in the The Moravian missions have present Eskimo culture there. encouraged the making of basketry by the Eskimo as a native art, and furnished a market for it, as has Dr. Grenfell in his There is no other connexion missionary work on the coast.^ 1 Under date of October 28, 1915, Miss Jessie Luther, who has been connected for many years with the Industrial Department of the International Grenfell Association, writes me: I have been connected with the mis"I think undoubtedly they are purely a native industry. sion ten years, nearly half the time Dr. Grenfell has been on the coast, and from the first have I was told they came from farther north and during seen specimens of that kind of basket.

the past seven years I have gone down the Labrador coast as far as possible every summer and have found them at various places. The best have come from the neighbourhood of HopeI have also found some good ones around Hamilton inlet. dale, Nain, and perhaps Okkak. I

have not

Sapir.]

tried to

regulate

this

branch of native work,

it is

so good

itself."

[E.

105

between it and any white influence in Labrador, except the secondary influence in form already described.

TATTOOING. Thalbitzer, in his excellent notes on the Amdrup ethnological collection

from East Greenland (page 424), has made the sug-

Eskimo are in the main the same as those carved on ivory and sewn on skin. I had independently arrived at a similar conclusion from a study of Eskimo gestion that tattoo patterns on the

designs in general, i.e., that there is a fundamental unity between

the conventional Eskimo designs on ivory, fur, and leatherapplique work, and on the person, which vary slightly according

and the shape of the surface. The dotted on the chins of Eskimo women (see Figure 31) and running from the mouth to the ear among old Alaskan men, The Y-shaped design, are perhaps the simplest design on ivory. common among the Central and Alaskan Eskimo in tattooing^ and on ivory, is seen in Figure 31 b on a woman from the east to the material used

lines seen

coast of Hudson bay.

Perhaps a variation of this design is the whale's tail tattooed at the corner of the mouth of the men among the Alaskan and

Asiatic Eskimo (see Figure 32 c), also seen on an old

Ungava. articles

(Plate

man from

found as a conventional ornament on small in ivory among the Labrador and Greenland Eskimo It is also

XXIV b).

Figure 31 e approaches the crossed lines used as a filler of space in ivory work (see Plate XXVI a). The other designs are The concentric circle is found in tattooing on the self-evident.

arms of women in Bering strait.^ The diamond-shaped design, tattooed on the arm of a southern Baffin Island woman (see Figure 30) is similar to a design in leather-applique work among the Central and Alaskan Eskimo. »

See Boas, The Eskimo ot Baffin Land and Hudson's Bay, Fig. 158, p. 108.

See G. B. Gordon, Notes on the western Eskimo, Plate X, Trans, of the Univ. of Penn.> Arch. Dept., vol. 2. »

106

Women's tattoo designs, a. and b. East coast of Hudson bay. Baffin island. e. Chesterfield inlet. d. Repulse bay. Vicinity of Bering strait, Alaska (from G. B. Gordon's Notes on the Western Eskimo, Plate IX, fig. 1).

Figure 31. c.

107

Figure 32.

Men's and woman's tattoo designs.

b. Man's design from Ungava. Man's design from Baffin island. C. Man's design from vicinity of Bering strait, Alaska (from G. B. Gordon's a.

Notes on the Western Eskimo, Plate IX, figure 3). d. Woman's design from Nachvak.

We have, then, several characteristic designs common to work on ivory or skin: the dotted line, the Yshaped design, the whale's tail, and the concentric circle. To this might be added the crossed lines, the diamond, also parallel lines either continuous or dotted (see Figures 31 and 32). tattooing and

108

The tri furcated line, "the raven's foot" of Nelson, seen in Figure 32 d, was found on an old woman from Nachvak, staying at Cape Chidley. This design is also found in Bering strait

among the Alaskan and Asiatic Eskimo.^

It is tattooed on the Nelson interprets it as a totem mark and Bogoras as a protective design from the "kelet" (spirits). A story which the old woman mentioned above told me in connexion with this mark throws some light on its She said that whenever an Eskimo approached possible origin. the abode of Torngarsoak, "the great Torngak," who lives in a cave in the high mountains near Cape Chidley, one hung upon This may have led one's breast a raven's claw for protection. to the adoption of the "raven's foot" mark as a constant pro-

cheeks, forehead, or breast.

tection against the Tornait.

SOCIAL ORGANIZATION

AND SOCIAL CUSTOMS.

The social organization of the Eskimo may be said to be The only ties are family life and certain taboos

practically nil.

which have a religious sanction. Yet the force of public opinion is strongly felt and perhaps exerts a greater power than in more highly organized communities.

PUNISHMENT AND MURDER.

We might define an Eskimo village as a sort of communistic Every one is free to do as he pleases, so long as he does not infringe on the general welfare of the people. When any one oversteps traditional bounds or makes himself obnoxious to the people, he is admonished by some of the old men or women. settlement.

"Somebody speaks," they say.

This usually so humiliates the If he conoffender, that no further punishment is necessary. tinues "bad-hearted," he is practically ostracized; he is not allowed to take any part in village afifairs; he is forbidden to enter the iglus; no one will speak to him or have anything to do with him. This social death is the worst thing that can happen » Cf. Nelson, Eskimo About Bering strait, 18th Annual Report B.A.E., p. 325, and Bogoras, The Chukchee, vol. VII, Jesup, North Pacific Expedition, p. 256.

109 to an Eskimo.

he becomes morose and commits a murder,

the men of the village get together and wait an opportunity to kill

him.

No concealment is made of the act, and it is not open

to the usual blood revenge, being considered justifiable.

In case of an ordinary murder, it is the duty of the next of kin to avenge it.

Sometimes this act is delayed for many years,

as in the case of a man leaving a small boy, who waits until he is old enough to avenge his parent. gotten.

But the duty is never for-

In the meantime the murderer may be treated by the

relatives of the deceased as if nothing had happened

a situation

which is unthinkable to us, but which does not conflict at all with Eskimo ideas. In the meantime the murderer is constantly on the watch for

He never knows when a knife will be thrust into him or when he may be shot or speared from behind. His eyes acquire a shifty look, which the Eskimo say is the mark of a murderer. Sometimes the avengers come to his own house, as in one case which came to my attention, and are treated as usual guests, until the day of reckoning comes. the avenger.

Generally speaking, murder is looked upon with horror by the Eskimo, and the spot where such a deed has been committed is

But they do not scruple at taking life, when they feel Aged people who have outlived their usefulness and whose life is a burden both to themselves and their relatives are put to death by stabbing or shunned.

justified by hard conditions or customs.

strangulation.

This is customarily done at the request of the

individual concerned, but not always so.

a hindrance on the

trail

are abandoned.

Aged people who are Deformed children

who exhibit some monstrosity which arouses the supernatural fears of the Eskimo are strangled at birth. Those who die a violent death are compensated by being translated to the highest

heaven, which is located in Aurora Borealis.

Here they spend

their time with other shades of like fate, playing foot-ball with

a walrus head.

Under ordinary conditions the Eskimo live together in the In times of plenty they feast together, and in times of want the lucky hunters share their game with the less greatest amity.

no Murder is committed only when jealousies, caused by some love affair, awaken a man's passions, or brooding over fortunate.

a perhaps unintended slight produces a sort of melancholia. But after a man has once committed a murder, he becomes bloodthirsty, and is apt to look for another victim, unless he is put out of the way by the community. Most of these killings have a During the dark days of midwinter psychological background. when the polar winds are blowing, the Eskimo are unable to hunt. They sit inside and gorge themselves with meat, and take little The congested body reacts on the nervous system and exercise. the usually amiable, good-natured native becomes sullen and His gloomy surroundings add to his mental depression.

moody.

He recalls old slights and grudges, and, in this abnormal condition, these often assume exaggerated proportions.

It is under

such conditions that most of the murders among them occur.

The good nature and docility of the Eskimo have been emphasized, and justly; but this does not preclude their committing as barbarous acts as any other savages, particularly when they are subjected to conditions which are favourable to the same.

Many of their murders are extremely cold-blooded

and unprovoked.

The victim is never given a fair chance, but

slain when off his guard.

HEADMEN.

The Norsemen spoke of the "kings" of the Skraelings, and early writers (Hall and De Poincey) mentioned the peculiar dress They probably refer to the costume of the of their "chiefs."

shaman with its special ornamentation.

The Eskimo have never had any "chiefs" in the Indian They have had leaders, great hunters or enterprising shamans, who have been accorded their position by sense of the word.

But the office has never any particular authority with it.

general appreciation of their worth. carried

In nearly every Eskimo village there

a headman,

who

entertains strangers and transacts the village business with them,

but he has no authority outside his own family.

The Alaskan

Ill

Eskimo are

said

by Nelson

have chosen leaders for their

When a shaman is also headman of a village, he is quite a powerful personage, but may be deposed or killed if he tribal fights.

The office is not hereditary, unless the son of the headman shows equal merit. The office often passes from one plays the tyrant.

family to another and entails the rather burdensome duty of feasting the villagers occasionally to keep them in good humor.

BIRTH.

When an Eskimo mother's time draws near, an old woman who handles the birth cases in the village will be seen leaving her home and taking her way to the sick one's iglu. She has in her hand a small sealskin thong, knotted and looped at the end.

When she arrives at the prospective mother's home, the latter is made to kneel down on the floor of the iglu. The old woman ties the cord tightly around her waist. She then takes her position back of the kneeling woman, locks her two hands in front of the latter, and exerts a powerful downward pressure.

During the operation a shaman may be assisting by singing drumming and to strengthen the mother, either at his home or in the house where the birth takes place. Some shamans even attempt to act as midwives, but their

efforts usually

end

Hence cases are usually left to the old women, who seem to have a good understanding of their work and are unidisaster.

formly successful.

As soon as the babe is born, the old woman picks it up, blows in its mouth, and shakes it gently to make it cry, and as soon as a wail breaks forth, begins a song intended to make it a strong and powerful hunter, if a boy, or an industrious, fruitful

The umbilical cord is cut, and the ends tied with sinew and carefully dusted with powdered charcoal, an operation which is repeated every day until it heals. The babe is then placed to the breast of the mother. If it refuses the breast a piece of seal fat is thrust into its mouth, with a stick across to prevent its choking the child. This furnishes nourishment and

woman, if a girl.

also acts as a necessary purgative.

112

The placenta is carefully wrapped up and buried on the The Eskimo are very careful that no dogs get hold of it. Probably their care is due to the same idea that impels them to

beach.

preserve their hair and nail parings, a feeling that it is a part of themselves, which may be used for purposes of witchcraft.

Eskimo mothers recover very quickly from the efTects of It is not unusual to see them out the same day, with

childbirth.

the babe in their hood. Ordinarily the babe spends the first few days of its life sleeping in a warm reindeer sack. When, it gets older, it is placed naked in the mother's hood, or, in very severe weather, partly clothed. When the babe can just begin to toddle around, a suit is made for him, which has the ends of the sleeves sewn up to keep his hands warm. The suit has a flap beneath and a bunch of moss for a diaper, which is renewed The babe spends its days happily tumbling on the as needed. floor of the iglu among the other children and the dogs, or is carried around outside in the hood of his older sister who is always very proud of her baby brother. The babe is the pet of the entire family and receives the attention of all visitors, old and young, with a gravity befitting the occasion. He early attains a knowledge of his power, and acquires a habit of speaking with authority which cannot be misunderstood. He is treated with great respect by his parents, and his smallest washes gratified. The custom among the Eskimo of treating a child with all the deference due an adult, and asking his will or opinion with mature respect, is perhaps due to their idea of the namesake {at'itsi'ak) by which the child receives the name of the last person who has died in the village.^ It does not matter if the child is of different sex, as names are not limited to sex among the Eskimo, although certain names are more apt to be given Often, when the child is born it to one sex than the other. receives several names from those recently deceased, and the Among the East correct name is left to a future decision. Greenland Eskimo the right name is discovered by divination, the diviner repeating the names of dead relatives until a proAmong the modern pitious sign occurs at a certain one.^ 1

In Labrador a widower names his first child after his deceased wife.

Cf. Holm,

The Angmagsaiik Eskimo, p. 81.

113

was told that this is left to the decision name. Among the The Alaskan Eskimo the choice is left to the community. grows up child when it community settle on a name, or give the invariably which some characteristic, a nickname according to I have known Eskimo sticks better than the other name. Labrador Eskimo,

of a living relative, who gives the child his

nicknames such as "Broken," "Walrus," "Big Toe," etc., which were passed on to white men, who took up their quarters in When houses which had been occupied by these characters. name changes his he sick becomes old, often falls or Eskimo an prolong his life. spirits and deceive the to

CHILDHOOD.

As the child grows up, it plays at the work of its elders. The girl helps her mother around the house, or plays with her and minature house and utensils. Small children are provided by admiring relatives with small ivory carvings of animals and birds, with which they play by the hour, arranging them for various plays and hunts.

dolls^

The boys early receive small harpoons and bows and arrows, and try their skill on small birds and floating pieces of wood. The sling is a favourite amusement in summer, when myriads of waterfowl visit the shores. When the "young ice" forms on the shore-line, the boys delight in making a minature boat out of one of the cakes and paddle around with a little oar, or leap from cake to cake, following the leader, or perform an impromptu song and dance on a shifting "pan." Although Eskimo children do not learn to swim, I have never heard of one of them being drowned. Their hardiness is something wonderful, perhaps due I to letting them run around the iglu naked when young. have seen them in the early spring, only a few weeks after the ice has broken up, running up and down the beach, and splashing and wading in the icy water, perfectly naked, and evidently having the times of their lives. Eskimo girls play their dolls are babies as white children do. They undress them and put them to bed at night, and dress them up again in the morning. During the day they crary them around in their hoods.

114 Football is a favourite amusement with Eskimo of all ages.

The football is a small round ball made of sealskin and stuffed with reindeer hair. In Labrador, as in Greenland, it is whipped over the ice with a thong loop attached to a wooden handle. It can be caught in the air and returned with terrific force with It is said that the Eskimo did not like to play this instrument. football with

the Tunnit, because

they were so strong that

was dangerous. Rink gives us several stories from Labrador and Greenland of the myth hero overcoming his opponents in it

football.

The girls and women play handball with a larger and softer A game which both sexes play is a sort of basket ball, in which the ball is thrown by the players on one side to each other, while the others endeavour to snatch the ball in the air. The ball.

women also play a sort of football "solitaire," in which they see how long they can keep the football in the air between their toes and hands, without moving from the spot.

The children play tag, and exercise in running and the They engage in imitation of Eskimo "hop, skip, and jump." the pursuits of their elders, driving each other as dogs, stalking

and shooting the one who is "it" as the deer or bear or seal, as the case may be, and generally enjoying themselves as children do in In one thing the Eskimo child has the all parts of the world. advantage over white children. He is never punished. On the other hand, I have never seen an Eskimo child disobey. The feeling between children and parents appears to be one of mutual respect and goodwill. The underlying psychology seems to be sound as far as a primitive race is concerned. It probably would not work as well with white children, who are accustomed to coercion and restraint. MARRIAGE. There is usually a great disparity in ages of the man and the girl of the first marriage, which may account for the low birthWhen an Eskimo girl arrives at the rate among the Eskimo. age of twelve or fourteen, she begins to receive the attention of the unmarried hunters. About this time she ceases doing her

115 hair up in two braids which hang down in front on her shoulders, and loops her hair in side plaits under her ears and fastens it at the back of her head. She leaves off the sexless square-cut bottom qo'lituk and appears in the gorgeous long- tailed, bighooded affair affected by married women. Her chin is tattooed, and she appears shy and bashful, where she has been a noisy, romping child before. The Mission Eskimo women of Labrador, like those of Greenland, wear coloured ribbons as a distinguishing mark. The young girl has a pink ribbon, the married woman In Greenland an unmarried uses blue, and the widow, white. girl who has children wears a green ribbon, but no particular

disgrace attaches to it.

The new couple usually take up their abode with the girl's home for themselves.

parents until they are able to set up a

Sometimes an extra good hunter will supply food to both sides of the house, but usually he assists his wife's family. is

frequent

Separation

among young couples, due to trifling disputes or

incompatibility, and other partners are sought until a harmonious arrangement is effected, which usually lasts for life. Divorce is a simple matter; the husband tells the wife to "go outside," or she "runs away," taking her pots and household utensils and children, and going back to her father. Among the Labrador Eskimo, if the wife has any large property, as a tent or boat left

her by her father or brothers, it is held in trust for her by

one of her male relatives during her marriage. When she returns home, she has the use of it again. Separated couples often are reconciled and marry again. I knew one Eskimo's wife, who used to "run away" every spring, but was always taken back. An exchange of wives is not binding, although sometimes the new arrangement suits better and is allowed to stand. Some Eskimo beat their wives when they refuse to obey, but any cruelty on their part receives the disapproval of the community, and sometimes the woman turns the tables on the man and beats him soundly.

MORALITY.

A good deal has been said and written about Eskimo immorality, but it seems hardl)^ fair to call them immoral.

They

116 are not immoral or moral, they are simply natural and governed

by the conditions of their surroundings. The most necessary fact of married life with them is that they should have children. Future hunters are most desired, but girls who will prepare food and skins are not unwelcome, and the Eskimo are not very particular how they get them. A child, legitimate or illegitimate, is sure of a welcome, and of a home if he has none. This principle is not conventional, but it is honest, particularly to the child, and preferable to our ambiguous double standard. I

have never seen any immodest behaviour on the part of

the young

women.

the contrary,

they

are

usually

bashful that they will not speak above a whisper in the presence of a stranger.

The older women, who have passed

of child-bearing, give themselves

the age

more licence and bandy jokes

back and forth with the greatest freedom, as they may safely There is the utmost openness in discussing matters of sex, do. even before the children. This does not mean that the Eskimo are vicious, but that they view these matters as a necessary part of the natural scheme of life, without any hypocrisy.

The custom of exchanging wives is due to religious ideas,^ and the peculiar domestic economy of the Eskimo. For instance, an Eskimo may want to go on a reindeer hunt into the interior for the summer while his neighbour wishes to put up salmon. His own wife is an expert salmon curer, while his neighbour's wife is more skilful in preparing deerskins. An exchange is

made for the season.* In Greenland and Labrador, where the husband has two wives, that number is necessary to care for the meat and skins

which a good hunter provides. One of the knottiest problems which the Moravians had to solve was this question of polygamy. I

understand that they wisely let it alone in the older generation,

and sought to convert the new to more civilized ideas. The Eskimo wife, if she has children, holds a position of respect and authority in the home, She has few cares, and is inured to hard labour. She would not understand our civilized » Cf. » Cf.

Boas, The Central Eskimo, p. 605, 6th Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology. Murdoch, The Point Barrov Eskimo, p. 413, 9th Report of the Bureau of American

Ethnology. -

117

Her husband consults her before undertaking any important journey or trade, is an affectionate father, and a good provider. Husband and wife respect the position filled by each in the community, and there develops on this foundation pity for her.

a real affection, which is touching in an old couple.

Eskimo

conditions of

The hard

do not tend to produce romances, but many a promising young couple are seen who are very fond of each other. The Eskimo are not so open in their display of life

conjugal affection as white people, but after one becomes better acquainted with them, one would not deny them this virtue.

On the other hand, the Eskimo are very quick and ready sympathy. They will sit down and cry for

in expressions of

the misfortune of another as readily as for their own. in

mourning are fed by the whole village.

Families

Those in misfortune

never fail to receive a portion of the catch.

poor orphan in actual

life,

The story of the the favourite theme of their stories, although, the orphan and the widow have rather a hard

time of it. But there is always someone to give them a little food or an old garment, so they manage to get along. The lot

of the childless

woman is the hardest.

She cannot retain her

husband's love, and if she is not divorced, has to bear the sight

woman filling her place both in the family and the community. The aged are treated with great respect, and the word of the old men and women is final. The Eskimo say that they have lived a long time and understand things in general of another

better.

They also feel that in the aged is embodied the wisdom

of their ancestors.

This does not prevent them, however, from putting the old folks out of the way, when life has become a

burden to them, but the act is usually done in accordance with the wishes of the persons concerned and is thought to be a proof of devotion. Pain and hardship are endured without complaint, and any good fortune is considered an excuse for feasting the

An Eskimo never deserts his house-mates or and his integrity can always be relied on. It is true

entire village. friends,

that he tells little fibs in order to please, and enjoys deceiving as a joke, but when an Eskimo's word is seriously given, no hardship nor difficulty will hinder him from carrying

out his part

the agreement.

The Eskimo are slow to make up

their

118

minds, weighing each possibility carefully, but, their minds once

made up, they pursue their object with great determination. They are not ungrateful for kindnesses, but their habit of conand clothing as the right of everyone has led some explorers to call them ungrateful. Their ethical standard is largely a result of the conditions under which they live, in which each man must be able to rely on the word of his neighbour and give aid when needed, because he never knows when he may sidering food

be in a like plight himself. The Eskimo is more open in his manner and moods than the Indian and reflects the passing thought in his attitude. As Cartwright wrote: "What in their minds they think, their They are very good-natured as a rule, but when faces show." angry, let their passions rage like children. They have this advantage over the Indian, however, that they do not harbour a grudge overnight, unless it is a serious one affecting their good name, of which they are very sensitive, or a case of bloodrevenge. They have an innate sense of humour, which turns the most trifling circumstance into a joke, and a person with a cheerful disposition will get along much better with them than one who is inclined to be sober. They say that they dislike a "sour-face."

They

are impatient of small delays,

preferring

the present good to future welfare, as is seen in their custom of is plenty and starving when there is none. However, they show great fortitude in bearing unusual hardships, and it is remarkable how cheerful their outlook is on a life which at best is a cold and hard one.

feasting while there

DEATH.

The Eskimo have little fear of death itself, which the hunter braves many times a day on the shifting ice, nor do they express any particular emotion in putting an animal to death, or killing

But they do have a superstitious owing to the malignant influence which it is supposed to exert, and are very much afraid of ghosts. They Their will never pass by one of their burying places at night. a man, for that matter.

fear of a corpse,

terror of the

unknown is a very fruitful soil for the shaman

119 to

work upon, and partly explains the power which he exerts

over them.

When a shaman gives up his patient, everything is prepared for his burial.

His grave clothes, consisting of the finest rein-

and made by the women, and the corpse is the body. hastily dressed, sometimes before the breath has left an unsets up household As soon as death is certain, the their beating and hair earthly wailing, the women tearing their

deer, are cut out

and otherwise giving vent to excessive grief. The virtues of the deceased are magnified and his faults forgotten. The villagers crowd in and add their lamentations to the general woe. In the evening a "head-lifting" is held, whereby the cause When the head becomes heavy of the sickness is discovered. At night a watch is kept answer. it signifies an affirmative together for company, up sitting over the corpse, two men The body is taken ghost. the by as one might be overcome

breasts,

out the next day through the window or a hole in the side of It is never taken out by the doorway, the house and buried. way back. It is a great misfortune its as the ghost might find in the house, as it contaminates unexpectedly to have anyone die everything in

it.

When an inmate is near his end, you will

see his housemates

removing all the household furniture and

weapons. BURIAL.

Eskimo graves in Labrador are found either on a hillside near the village, if the death occurred in winter, or near a campIsoing site on the seashore, if the death occurred in summer. This place of lated graves are found on the tops of high hills. The headmen. distinguished for reserved be burial is said to "old chief" at Cape Chidley was buried on top of a neighbouring

mountain.

Most

old

graves present the appearance of a cluttered

heap of stones, but in a newly-made grave, the method of building an enclosing wall can be distinguished (Plate

XXXV A).

Having fixed upon a place of burial, stones are piled up in an oval or oblong wall 2 or 3 feet high, leaving just space enough for the body.

The bottom of the space is lined with moss,

120

and the body, wrapped in heavy winter deerskins, is placed on Large flat stones and, at a later date, pieces of this soft bed. wood, form a covering over the enclosure. The grave box is then covered with rocks to keep the body from wild beasts

and birds.

On top of the grave are laid the effects of the deceased, such as the lamp, kettle, and dishes of the woman, and the kayak, and weapons of the man. Some of the smaller utensils, as firestones (iron pyrites), toys, knives, needles, etc., are placed inside the graves.

All the effects of the deceased are broken to liberate the spirit residing there, so that it

the owner.

may be useful to the shade of

The clothes are torn;

the dishes split;

and holes

bored in the soapstone lamps and kettles. In winter, when the stones are deep under snow, the bodies are simply laid, out on the snow. The persons present at a burial must stop up the left nostril with reindeer moss to avert the contamination of the presence of the corpse.

GAMES. GAMES OF CHANCE.

The game of cup and ball (ayayau'k) is played in Labrador among the Central Eskimo. A rabbit's skull or a cone-

shaped piece of ivory is bored full of holes, and a peg of ivory, about 4 inches long, is attached to it by a thong. The game is to pierce the holes with the peg when the skull or ivory piece In an old specimen in the is swung on the end of the thong. Museum, the ivory piece is in the shape of a bear (PlateXXXII a). There is a definite order to the distribution of the holes in the ivory and the way in which they must be pierced. There is a triple line of holes on the abdomen and sides of the bear, but only a single line on the back and throat, and a single hole at During the first ten throws, the player the head and tail. may pierce any hole in the abdomen or sides. Beginning at the hole in front (in the head) he next must pierce the line from If he misses more than once, he has to give the head to the tail.

121 place to another player. order, he

After successfully taking the holes in

may continue piercing any hole until he misses one.

A game {tingmia-'yax) (Plate XXXII c) similar to dice is There are fifteen to eighteen

played with ivory images of birds.

Small images of men and women are also used. The players sit around a dressed sealskin. The images are taken in the hand, shaken, and thrown up. In falling, those that stand upright belong to the player. The one who sucfigures used in

the game.

ceeds in getting the greatest number is declared the winner.

The Labrador Eskimo also play a game with small ivory pieces covered with dots in varying patterns (Plate XXXII b),

which appears

be an adaptation of dominoes

{amaziia-'lat)

The following description of the game is taken from Turner:^

"Two or more persons, according to the number of pieces in the set, sit down and pile the pieces before them.

One of the

players mixes the pieces together in plain view of the others.

When this is done he calls to them to take the pieces.

Each

person endeavours to obtain a half or third of the number if

The one who mixed up the

there are two or three players.

pieces lays down a piece and calls his opponent to match it with

cannot be done by any and the game continues until one of the persons has exhausted the pieces taken by him. The pieces are designed in pairs, having names such as Kamiu'tik (sled), Kaiak (canoe), Kale'sak (navel), A'mazut (many),Atau'sik (one), Ma'kok (two), Pingasut (three), Sita'mdt (four), and Ta'limut (five). Each of the names above must be matched with a piece of similar kind, although the other end of the piece may be of a different design. A Kamutik may be matched with an Amazut if the latter has not a line or bar cut across it; if it has the bar it must be matched with an Amazut." a piece having a similar design.

If this

of the players, the first has to match

cat's cradle (ayaya-'poq). I found on inquiry that the game of cat's cradle was known among the Labrador Eskimo, and played by the adults during

the dark days of winter for amusement. 1

Ethnology of the Ungava district, pp. 257, 258.

was unable to get

122

any specimens in summer, but informants told me that the Labrador Eskimo made the characteristic forms the deer, the dog, the sledge, etc., which are found among the western and central Eskimo. The game is a favourite with the women and used to amuse the children.

—

DOLLS.

Specimens of

dolls,

the chief playthings of the

Eskimo

from Labrador, Baffin island, and ChesterThey have an extra ethnological field inlet (Plate XXXIII). value in reflecting in miniature the dress of the district from which they come. Little Eskimo girls "keep house" with them girls, were obtained

in little

snow iglus in winter or in old tent circles in summer,

much as their civilized sisters would do. I saw in an old summer camp in Hudson bay such a playhouse with its little fire-place and lamp of brightly coloured pebbles and bed of moss, mute witness to the active little minds and hands of bygone Eskimo children.

MUSIC.

A characteristic specimen of an Eskimo "fiddle" was oba rude box, with a square with bridge and tail-piece, strings sinew hole in the top, three It must be for hair. strip whalebone and a short bow with a as the whaling ships, on seen "fiddles" of a rude imitation tained on this trip.

It consists of

drum is the only indigenous musical instrument of the Eskimo. Most Eskimo fiddles have only one string. When I asked an Eskimo musician once about this he said, "One string is plenty Anyone who understands the range of for an Eskimo song." the Eskimo scale will appreciate the answer. The Eskimo have a keen appreciation of music and not unpleasant voices, which have been turned to account by the

Moravian missionaries. One is considerably surprised in stepping into a mission service to hear the Eskimo congregation singing their native hymns to Bach's grand old chorals, in perfect harmony and with deep feeling and evident emotion. The men have deep,

rich bass voices,

but some of the women's voices

123 are rather

shrill.

Nathaniel,

composed an anthem

the choir leader at Nain,

has

four parts, showing that the

are not incapable of constructive work in music.

Eskimo The Moravian

Mission Eskimo also show an aptitude for civilized musical is a well balanced band at both Nain

instruments, and there

and Okkak. headquarters,

The organist, Jeremias, at Nain, the Moravian is a musician of no mean ability. He can play

classical selections on the pipe organ

and any band instrument.

The Eskimo have a good ear for music, and will catch an air after it has been sung once or twice to them, and repeat it with

great gusto and evident feeling for the rhythnj.

Rhythm is

the foundation of their native drum and dance songs, and it is not so remarkable that they excel in it, as it is that they are

able to catch the entirely foreign time of the complicated music of civilization.

The Eskimo music differs from civilized harmony in having a pentatonic

scale,

and

the constant reiteration of a note

A drop of an octave or a shift into another key is not uncommon in the same song. The time is 2-4, formed on the double drum beat, which the voice accentuates in the music. The body, with odd jerking of the arms and stamping of the feet, answers the roll of the drums in the dance. The women stand with feet together and sway the body from the hips, and wave their hands. (In or phrase, particularly in their a-ya-aya-ya chorus.

some sections, as in north Greenland, the men also stand with fixed feet while dancing and singing.) The song is delivered at the top of the voice, the idea seeming to be that the more

The men's songs are interspersed The women have soft cradle-songs which they sing

noise the better is the music.

with shouts.

to the babies in the hood while they are swaying them to sleep. These are more melodious than the drum-songs. Among the Alaskan Eskimo the young girls have a curious type of song which they perform among themselves as a sort of game or amusement. It is called "throat-singing" and consists of a series of guttural ejaculations, which they attribute to the Raven. Incantations are chanted the text at the end of this volume is an illustration. In story-telling, a man often stops to sing a ;

short phrase or song, as delivered by a character in the legend.

124

As Mena'dlook an Alaskan Eskimo once told me, "The Eskimo have many songs. They have songs to make the wind blow, songs to make the seals come, songs to dance by, songs for play, songs to keep off the spirits songs to make their hearts strong." Songs are property among them, and the originators or old men who have learned appropriate songs sell them on ceremonial occasions.

Until they have been educated to

and understand the

intricacies of modern music, Eskimos as a rule do not like civilized

music.

They say that there are

too

many notes, too much

noise, that the time is confusing, and that they prefer the simple

rhythm

of their native songs.

Of the "white man's songs,"

they like best the old-style hymns.

RELIGION. TORNGARSOAK AND SUPERGUKSOAK.

The religious ideas of the Labrador Eskimo appear to be between those of the Greenland and Central Eskimo, as might be expected from their geographical situation. Influences have flowed in from both sides which have given rise to conflicting ideas concerning the attributes and location of their deities, but the main features are clear. The Labrador Eskimo have two main deities: a female deity Supergu'ksoak who presides over the land animals, especially the reindeer, and a male deity Tornga'rsoak, who presides over the sea animals. The male deity is the husband of the A similar arrangement was found by Captain female deity. Comer on the west coast of Hudson bay^ and also occurs in Bering strait among the Island and Asiatic Eskimo.^ The legend concerning these two deities, as given by an intermediate

Eskimo named At'U'nga to the early Moravian Brethren, is as follows

"In the inland lives an old woman, who presides over the She will always assist

land animals, especially the reindeer. >

See Boas, Eskimo of Baffin land and Hudson bay, Bui. A.M.N.H., vol. XV, p. 145.

•See Bogoraa. The Chukchee, Jesup North Pacific Expedition, vol. VII, pp. 317. 318.

125 the Innuit in their pursuit of game,

when she is appealed to.

Through their connexion with draw the reindeer."^

the angekut are

her,

able

The old woman does not live alone, but there are many

more with her, who spend their time in hunting.

(The Eskimo

told

the early missionaries that when they died, their souls would go "into the country and hunt reindeer"; it is supposed, then, that the old woman is surrounded by the souls of departed Eskimo, who spend their time in hunting.) The old woman's name is Supergu'ksoak.

Her

husband is Tornga'rsoak. He lives in the water, creatures that live in the water are subject to him.

all

to whom the Labrador Eskimo appeal when

and

It is he

in search of whales

or seals.

Through

their relation to Supergu'ksoak, the angekut (shamans) are able to draw the reindeer. A very interesting description of this ceremony, performed through the medium of a doll fetish ,2 is given by Turner {Ethnology of the Ungava District, page 197). The control of the reindeer, however, is

by the Ungava Eskimo, according to Turner, to

assigned

Tornga'rsoak.

He says "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 on his good will whether the people shall obtain

depends

future supplies.

The form of the spirit is that of a huge white bear." The Eskimo of the east coast recognize the same deity in Tornga'rsoak or Tunga'rsuq.^

He lives in a cave in the great black mountains at the northern extremity of the peninsula, which they call the Tornga'it, or Spirit mountains. The scenery here is wild and impressive. Tornga'rsoak takes the form of a '

Both of my informants approved the legend, and

added the additional information

that when the old woman wished to call the reindeer, she would chant -kai'U. kai'te. ka',uqtuva " » * y Come, come, I am hungry." .

In Alaslca this act of conjuring has been expanded Into a ceremony, called the DoU Festival or Deer Festival (see Nelson, The Eskimo about Erring Strait, p. 494). In this festival the location of the deer is divined by the presence of a reindeer hair on the doll at the conclusion of the ceremony. •

•

South Labrador dialect.

126

huge white bear when he appears to angekok novices. He devours them limb for limb, and then spews them out again, when they become endowed with superhuman power. It will be noticed that Turner says that Tornga'rsoak controls the spirits of every deer which is "slain or dies," implying that he is master of the spirit world rather than the living deer, which does not conflict with the idea that Supergu'ksoak controls the latter. Tornga'rsoak also controls the future supply. Consequently none of the foetal deer are allowed to be eaten by dogs (Turner, The same idea occurs at Point Barrow, Alaska.^ ibid., page 201). In Alaska the idea of the connexion of the shade of the animal with the future supply religious ceremonies.^

the

Bafiin-islanders,

marked and

finds expression in the

The belief in Sedna, prominent among northern Labrador. is not unknown in

At Cape Chidley, an Eskimo informant spoke of an old woman whose home was at the bottom of the sea. Sometimes she came up to breathe across the strait, near the shores of Resolution island

(Tutjarluk).

She controls everything that swims

the fish, the seals, and especially the polar bear. She must be appeased, else she would drive the polar bears norththe sea;

ward to Tutjarluk (Resolution island) where there are no hunters, or she might send a shark to eat their seals and cut up their nets, or make the codfish refuse to bite. The Cape Chidley Eskimo

used to throw their broken knives, worn-out harpoon-heads,

and pieces of meat and bone into the sea as an offering

the

old woman.

The Cape Chidley (Killinek) people were evidently much more afraid of Tornga'rsoak than the Old-woman-who-lived-inthe-sea, and, whenever anything went wrong, the angekut and sometimes a chosen body of men would visit the cave where Tornga'rsoak was thought to reside and make due offerings of reindeer fat and tobacco. It

appears to

me that the belief of the original stock of

Eskimo must have included both a male and female deity, The Sedna holding sway over the land and sea-animals. See Murdoch, The Point Barrow Eskimo, 9th Annual Rep. B.A.E., Washington, p. 267 See Hawkes, The Inviting- In Feast of the Alaskan Eskimo, Memoir 45, Anthropological Series No. 3, Geological Survey, Canada, p. 3. , '

127

found in practically every Eskimo tribe, while the Tornga'rsoak as the chief or most dreaded spirit is found in Greenland and Labrador, and in different forms on the west coast of Hudson bay and in Bering strait. The belief of the male deity appears to have been intensified in the eastern legend

belief

regions,

and of the female deity in the central.

In the west,

the old religion has broken down and new ideas have been adopted by the Alaskan Eskimo from the Indians of the northwest

by the Asiatic Eskimo from the Chukchee. Yet Eskimo conservatism is such that the Eskimo of Indian point coast and

sacrifice to the

(Siberia)

still

and the

island

Old Woman (Nulirah) of the Sea, to Kdcak, the male

Eskimo of Bering strait

deity corresponding to Tornga'rsoak.

THE INUA AND TORNAIT.

The Eskimo believe that not only all animals but also any prominent physiographical feature, such as a rock, point, cove, or mountain, is inhabited by a spiritual counterpart, the inua, the genius or thinking spirit of the object or spot. This is the third person possessive form of inuk,

man, and means literally

which perhaps expresses the idea as well as it can be explained. This belief is illustrated in the dance masks of the Alaska Eskimo, which are often made double, with the outer portion showing the animal form and the inner mask the inua. The illusion is completed by having the outer mask hinged, The idea is also promso that the inua can be revealed at will. change from their animals where inent in Alaskan mythology, of pushing expedient simple the men by own shape to that of muzzles. up their beaks or There is another class of spirits, sometimes disembodied, sometimes associated with strange and terrifying forms, more or less under the control of the shamans. These are called the Tornait^ singular, Torngak (northern Labrador and Baffin island), Tungak (Ungava and southern Labrador), Tungak (Alaska), which perhaps originally meant nothing more than The "spirit," but in missionary accounts becomes "devil." Tornait are malignant spirits who are to be propitiated. "its man,"

Tungat, South Labrador.

128

From them the shaman in Alaska derives his name, the tuyra'lik

"possessor

spirit."

Usually

he possesses

several spirit familiars.

The supreme control of all the Tornait is assigned to Tornarsuq in Baffin island; Tornga'rsoak in northern Labrador, "the great To'rngak." I cannot agree with Turner's suggestion that "this Tungak 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."^ The legend which he relates of Tornga'rsoak's origin, i.e., that he was once a fond father who was changed by the death of his children to a vicious spirit preying on all mankind, is also found in Alaska, where the additional information is given that the shamans, through their magic art, got him into their power and bound him, so that he could do no further harm (cf. Nelson, The Eskimo about Bering strait, page 481). For this reason the dead are bound. In this case the Tornait represent the malignant influence of the dead during the three days while they still linger on earth before they take their departure to the spirit world, but this is only one of the phases of their appearance. During this period no work may be done with a sharp-edged instrument for fear of wounding a wandering spirit and inviting its anger. THE ANGEKUT.

The angekut

are

the accredited

mediators between the

Eskimo and the spirit world which surrounds them.

Without

their assistance in dealing with such powerful influences,

Eskimo

the

would be undone. Consequently the angekut exercise a great power over their people. The angekok combines in one the three offices of priest, prophet, and physician. He attains his power and knowledge of the spirit world only after a long and arduous apprenticeship. When an Eskimo feels that he has been called to be an angekok, through some mysterious event which has happened to him, or a chance meeting with some supernatural being, he >

believe

they

Ethnology of the Ungava district, 11th Annual Report B.A.E., p. 194.

129 retires to a lonely place, where for a space of time he lives the life

of a hermit, praying and fasting until his familiar spirit appears. Torngar'soak appears in the form of a great white bear and devours the aspirant limb for limb. Other Tornait appear in An angekok novice, Angu'different but no less terrible forms.

kvaluk, thus described the terror of the acolyte to Jens Haven, the famous Moravian missionary.^

"My parents told me that their familiar spirit, or Torngak, If I wished to consult him, I must call upon him as the spirit of my parents to come forth out of the water, and must remember this token, that I should observe a vapour ascending; soon after this spirit would appear and grant what I

lived in the water.

asked.

"Some years ago, when my little brother was ill, I tried this method for the first time, and called upon the Torngak, when I really

thought

perceived a thin vapour rising, and shortly

after, the appearance of a man in a watery habit stood before me.

"I was filled with horror; my whole body shook with fear, and I covered my face with my hands." Having passed through this ordeal, the apprentice receives a portion of power and the promise of future assistance from his familiar spirit. He returns to the village and relates his adventures. His power is soon put to the test. A stance is held the first favourable evening. Singing and shouting and beating his drum, he quickly works himself up into a frenzy. The appearance of his familiar spirit and its possession of him is heralded by frightful cries and the redoubled beating of the drum. At this point the demeanour and speech of the labouring angekok entirely changes. The method of a famous early Labrador Eskimo conjurer, Seguilak,' is described in Jens Haven's Diary: "Falling into an ecstasy, he first sang to his wives, then muttering some unintelligible jargon, made strange gestures, blew and foamed at the mouth, twisted his limbs and body

together, as

convulsed, throwing himself into every possible

1 During their long stay on the Labrador coast, the Morarlan Missionaries have kept a constant diary. The following quotations are from that of Jens Haven, the first and most famous of the early Labrador missionaries.

was a brother-in-law of the famous Mikak, the Eskimo woman who befriended Moravian missionaries.

• Seguilak

the

first

130

At intervals he would emit the most frightful shrieks,

posture.

then placing his hand on the missionary's face he would groan " out, 'Now is my Torngak come!'

"At such times," the missionary adds, "the Eskimo present would lie flat upon their faces, as if they were dead men." While the angekok is possessed by the spirit, advantage is taken of his trance-like condition to ask him questions. response of a female angekok, Millak,

The

further described

Jens Haven: "... .She began, with deep sighs and groans, to invoke the

made the house

Torngak,

till

tremble.

After a brief silence she shouted aloud to me and then

at length her loud, shrill voice

another what the Torngak had told her in reply to their questions. If the replies were unfavourable, the Torngak was again invoked, until the results

were satisfactory."

Needless to say, at such times the angekok takes advantage of his connexion with the torngak to confound his enemies in his

responses.

But, on the whole, the angekok does not use his

power for harm.

The concluding ceremony of driving the torngak out of the is a common practice among the Asiatic Eskimo,

house, which

was also the finale of the Labrador shaman's performance.

"Then suddenly a terrific noise was heard, like the report gun apparently caused by striking a sealskin stretched tightly on a hoop and hung up for the purpose.^ She then chased the Torngak through the house with a stick, striking furiously right and left, stamping with her feet, and uttering of a

—

frightful sounds."

The work of the angekok is not limited

to such public

exhibitions, but also includes doctoring the sick, officiating at

ceremonials, determining the presence of game, foretelling or changing the weather, making amulets, instructing novices in his art,2 etc. 1 The Ivabrador Eskimo of the east coast have not used the drum for several generations, although they still understand the construction of it. It is one of many old customs which have passed away. 2 Young shamans usually attach themselves to an older angekok for several years, until they become proScient.

131

In sickness, the sufferer is thought to be possessed by an evil spirit, and it is the business of the angekok to drive it out of him

with the assistance of his powerful familiar spirits. The method is much the same as observed in the seances, but usually accompanied by a thumping of the individual over the diseased part, or blistering it by sucking out the trouble through a hollow tube. Quite often the faith of the patient makes him whole. The doctor always takes his payment in advance, but is obliged to relinquish it in case of failure. The angekok is always ready with

some trifling excuse for a miscarriage of his art, which never fails to convince the Eskimo.

The performances of the shaman include not only the seances some very clever ventriloquistic work and not unskilful juggling. This art is acquired by the novice after a

described, but

long training as an assistant to the angekok.

On the other hand,

the assistant is sometimes very useful to the angekok in helping him out of difficulties. During my stay in an Alaskan village, an angekok had himself hanged to gain greater power. His relatives despaired of his recovery, but his assistant revived him. Inasmuch as foreign spirits are commonly supposed to possess greater virtues, the spirits of the angekok often talk in a foreign (I am not referring to the angekok language, which is tongue. made up of descriptive and obsolete Eskimo words.) I heard an Alaskan shaman once whose tungak was supposed to be talking a dialect of Asiatic Eskimo, but an Eskimo friend in the audience who came from that district afterwards told me that the spirit "talked it very badly." Among the Western Eskimo, a shaman has a set of masks representing his spirit familiars, and he puts them on as they appear, changing his voice and attitude for each. This does not seem to be the case among the Labrador Eskimo angekut, who do not seem to aspire to more than one to'rngak. Among the Alaskan Eskimo the soul of the sick who die under his ministrations is thought to be acquired by the shaman and compelled to serve him with his other familiar spirits. I heard of no such belief among the Labrador Eskimo. Some of the most common sleight of hand tricks of the angekok are: allowing themselves to be bound and getting free, stabbing themselves with knives (when a concealed bladder

132 filled with blood comes in handy)

;

grinding up a bead and making

it appear whole again; squeezing blood

out of a handful of snow;

and other tricks which appear crude to a white man but wonderful to an Eskimo. DIVINING.

Modern representatives of the old angekok have degenerated One of the last of these was Toma'suk, a southern Labrador Eskimo, who lived in the vicinity of Sandwich bay. Toma'suk used to oblige his friends by calling up the

into mere conjurers.

spirits of the

dead whenever they wished to inquire regarding

the welfare of the departed or the whereabouts of absent relatives at sea.

He would blindfold the questioner, and rap three times on On the third rap, a spirit would come

the ground with a stick.

up, of whom he would make the inquiry desired. After the answer had been obtained, the spirit would be sent back by rapping three times on the ground again. This species of

conjuring was known as kilu'xin, "conjuring with a stick." I have seen a somewhat similar method used by an Alaskan

He put on a raincoat, as the Alaskan and Asiatic shamans invariably do, as it is supposed to be the dress worn by Ka'cak, the Bering Strait male deity, and called up the spirit The Western Eskimo believe of the deceased's grandfather. that the spirit arises from the world beneath the earth and comes up through the body of the shaman. By a little clever ventriloquistic work the shaman carried on quite a conversation with the shade. After the information desired had been elicited, it was sent back to its abode beneath by a stamp of the foot. The Moravians report that some harmless old fellows among the Mission Eskimo have a reputation for "rubbing" the pain away from an affected part. The Eskimo believe that when a part is affected, it is "broken," and the "doctors" mend it by I could not get any inforcertain mysterious manipulations. mation as to what they were like. An ancient and different form of divining is described by

angekok.

Jens Haven

133

"An Eskimo stretched himself on his back on the floor; one of his bows was laid across his legs and tied fast to his left leg; a

woman sat on his right side and laid his right leg over his left, by which the bow and string were moved. The moving of the string was regarded as an afifirmative answer." HEAD-LIFTING.

When in northern Labrador a man kills a white whale, he must sleep the night following with his head off the platform. For this purpose a band is passed around his head, and fastened by a sealskin thong to the roof above the sleeping platform. Is this a relic of the ancient

ceremony of head-lifting ?

The in-

formation came from the "heathen" tribe of Nachvak.

TABOOS.

Most of the taboos among the Eskimo have reference to the absolute separation of sea and land foods or to the avoidance by the hunter of catamenial contamination, which would render him

The former have mainly to do with the deer and the seal, the meat of which must not be eaten together, but has

visible to game.

been further specialized in Labrador so as to separate the walrus from the seal. The whale is included in the taboo against mixing the food of sea and land animals, which is extended to include any parts of the two animals, or even a weapon wrapped with sinew. The infringement of the food taboos are punished with severity. An informant told me about a young Eskimo girl

who lived at George river (Ungava), who persisted in eating

deer meat and seal meat together. village in the in

dead of winter.

She was banished from her She was found in the interior,

a famishing condition, by another tribe.

They allowed her

to live with them, but she never visited her native

home, nor

would she have been allowed to do so.

The food taboos are as follows: Reindeer meat and seal meat must never be cooked or eaten together.

This taboo also applies to seal meat and walrus meat (east coast of Labrador).

134

Any weapon bound with sinew must not be used on a whale. Whaling lances and blubber hooks must be bound with sealskin thongs.

Weapons with a rotten shaft must not be used on the whale.

No rotten wood must be brought in contact with a whale. In killing seals, if the eyeball is cut, it will blind the other seals,

and ensure their easy capture.

When the seal is cut up, if the tip of the heart and liver are thrown back into the water, more seals will come in future to the hunter.

During the whale hunt, the women and children must remain indoors silent and motionless while the men are out. Once at Nachvak, while the men were out whaling and the women and children were gathered inside the iglu, a mouse ran Consequently across the iglu, and a child saw it and ran after it. a whale, which the men had struck, was lost. Of the second class of taboos, contamination, I secured the following:

During her catamenial period, a woman must never step over a kayak, but always go around. The evil influence believed to emanate from her condition would cause the game to avoid the kayak. She must wear the hind flap of her qo'lituk stitched to the back of the garment (to indicate her condition to the

Her left hand must remain ungloved, and the first two joints of her right hand finger (representing the cut-off joints of Sedna's hand) must also be bared. She must not touch certain foods and skins. hunters).

The left nostril must be stopped with

reindeer

moss by

those burying a corpse to avoid the contaminating influence of the dead.

Other customs and ideas of a more miscellaneous character are:

The knife with which bear meat is eaten must be bitten before the owner starts to eat.

After anyone dies, no work must be done for three days. During this period no sharp-edged instrument may be used which might injure the wandering ghost.

135

The twitching of the eyelids

{ci'akuk)

said to indicate

that a stranger is coming.

On long trips, if one wears a pair of tiny boots on the back of the a"'tige, the owner's boots will not wear out.

In making a soapstone lamp or kettle, if a small model

made, the large lamp or kettle will last as long as the little model does not crack nor break. Walrus must be cut up at the ice edge {se'n-a').

A young hunter must share his first seal with everyone in the village.

The Eskimo have certain ideas, incipient proverbs, as it were which crystallize on occasion into speech. One of these is that a person who encounters considerable hardship in life will live a long life, perhaps through the training itself, perhaps as a recompense. I have heard it expressed as follows in contrary weather, "He who encounters head winds will live a long life." Another idea is that those who are "wished" a long life will live to be very old. A child who does not obey his parents willingly, will make a "bad-hearted" man, i.e., a murderer. A man who catches a strangely marked animal in his traps will

soon die.

A man who boasts will soon be made ashamed. A bully will

always meet his match.

FETISHES AND AMULETS.

There appears to be among the Labrador Eskimo the idea that not only the shaman, but every person, has his individual familiar spirit,^ whose assistance is sought in hunting and other ventures. This is embodied in the material form of a doll or doll's head, which is carried somewhere about the person, often around the neck. When an Eskimo has a long streak of bad luck, he attributes it to his fetish and tries to get rid of it by passing it along to someone else. This must be done without the knowledge of the recipient, else it will be of no avail. I procured two 1 I have used this term instead of "guardian spirit" because the idea appears to be different from that commonly given the latter.

136 of these specimens, which were found by a trader concealed in a

bundle of skins which he had bought from an Eskimo (Plate

XXXIV b and c). At one time a whale fetish with a hole in the middle, so that could be worn around the neck, was given me surreptitiously by an Alaskan Eskimo. This particular fetish is worn by the

harpooner of a whaling crew.

He had just lost a whale, and

wanted to get rid of his bad luck. It should be noted here that the assistance of the individual spirit is given grudgingly,

and often the owner has to chastise it

by stripping the fetish of its garments, subjecting it to blows, and by other forceful means until it grants good fortune again. If it proves obstinate, it is given away, as noted above.

It is said

to lose its power when taken off the person, and to regain it when put on, which may be due to the idea that it derives a certain vitality from the body of its owner. Various charms are worn to ward off sickness. A thong of Wooden sealskin around the wrist is an almost universal custom. shaman in constant some famous are prepared amulets by fur and They are worn attached to the clothing, or over the part use. Strange or peculiarly shaped objects are particularly aflfected. The feet of birds are a common amulet (Plate efficacious.

XXXIV a). THE LIFE AFTER DEATH. Death is not considered by the Eskimo as the end of existFor this reason articles which will be useful are placed on the graves of the deceased. No Eskimo would touch these under any consideration.^ When

ence, but merely as a break in one's life.

they rot away, it is said that the shade has taken them.

The Eskimo distinguish between a man's body and

his

another soul which corresponds to the vitality of the body, as exemplified in the breath and warmth This soul leaves a man at death, but the spirit of the same. lingers around the village for three days before taking his final spirit.

There

also

> A Moravian missionary told me about a modern Labrador Eskimo who wished to possess a fine knife, which he had seen on an old grave. He did not dare to steal it from the dead, so procured a spy-glass which he left in its place for the use of the deceased.

137

departure to the other world. The Eskimo are very careful not to offend the ghost at this time, and taboo the use of sharp instruments, loud talking, games, or routine labour, until it is gone.

The ghost is thought to be irritable at this period and

ready to vent its spleen on the community, and is viewed in an entirely different light from the affection displayed toward it later.

The place to which the spirit finally takes its departure depends more on the mode of death of the deceased than the manner Those who have been murdered or have committed of his life. voluntary suicide and women who die in childbirth are recompensed with the highest heaven, located in the Aurora Borealis, where they enjoy themselves playing football with a walrus head. Those who die an ordinary death descend to the world below, where they carry on a monotonous existence, which is free, howThe ever, from the cold and hardships of their earthly home. Labrador Eskimo visit the graves of their dead regularly and place offerings of food and tobacco on them for the sustenance of the spirits. Clothing is also given. The Alaskan Eskimo have regular feasts for the same purpose, in which the namesakes of the dead figure as the recipient of such favours, which are enjoyed through them by the dead. The spirits below communicate with their relatives on earth through the angekok. They ascend from below through his body, and answer questions concerning their welfare through his person. Sometimes they give advice or tell the reasons for sickness or disasters.

When people wish to communicate with the spirits, they must put on a gutskin raincoat. This is the dress of the spirits. The angekok always wears one when he is performing ceremonies or communicating with the spirits. Now people call up the spirits beneath the earth with a stick. conjuring. Indians.

It is called kililxin,

It is not the old way, but is perhaps derived from the It is

not performed by a regular angekok, but by old

men and old women. The dead require very different treatment from the living, and one must be very careful not to offend them. As soon as a relative expires one must weep hard, else the ghost will think

138

he is not sorry. Grave clothes are prepared when the end is thought to be near (and the Eskimo have an almost unerring sense in detecting the approach of death), and the body stript and clothed anew. The material is always of the heaviest winter reindeer skins. If the patient unexpectedly recovers, I knew a village loafer who got the clothes must be given away. a beautiful pair of white reindeer skin trousers from the old

headman on such an occasion. The body is usually buried the day after the death.

night a watch is set over the corpse, at which someone acts as

company to the nearest relative,

lest the corpse might overpower him. There seems to be an idea prevalent among the Eskimo that until it is properly buried the corpse is liable to work harm on anyone. All except the relatives are forbidden to touch a dead body, and all who assist in the burial must stop up the left nostril with reindeer moss to avert the evil influence.

At night the cause of his sickness is inquired of the deceased by divining or head-lifting. This ceremony is performed by the nearest relative, and consists in passing a band around the head and lifting it. The corpse is questioned as the head is raised.

If it is light,

the answer is in the negative;

it is an afifirmative response.

heavy,

suspect that sometimes the head

becomes heavy when an affirmative is desired. After burial, the shaman

who officiates calls the spirit of

the dead, and inquires of his welfare for the benefit of the rest Spirits who have recently passed away are supposed to be in closer relation to the living, and hence better prophets of good huntings, etc. At such times it is occasionally revealed that some one had bewitched the dead and thus caused

of the people.

his sickness and death.

The offender is killed by his relatives.

Quite often a serious illness is attributed to the machinations There is nothing to do in such of a neighbouring angekok. Such a case came cases except to fight him with local magic.

An Eskimo girl who was sick to my attention in Bering strait. could keep nothing on her stomach. The cause was attributed to a spirit(tungak)sent by another shaman to inhabit her stomach. As fast as she swallowed her food it was pushed up by this "devil." Five local shamans could not overcome the spell of the stranger.

139

Of the power of the angekut marvellous tales are related.

The Eskimo believe in them implicitly and balk at no marvel which is attributed to them. They say that they have no knowledge of the spirit world and must believe those who possess

it.

For the same reason the Labrador Eskimo told

the early missionaries that if they knew more of the spirit world than their angekut, they would listen to them.

Of the dark side of shamanism among the Eskimo, little There are persistent tales in Labrador, started by old travellers,^ and also mentioned by the Moravians, of a custom of the angekut of sacrificing young children on the graves has been said.

of their mothers (that their spirits may be joined in the other

world

This I

?).

attribute

am very loath to believe, and would rather

to physical necessity,

which sometimes drives the

Eskimo to strangle a child when the mother has died and the father is unable to rear it.

CEREMONIES. WHALING FESTIVAL.

The early Moravian writers mention a festival which the Labrador Eskimo used to hold when a dead whale was discovered A period in prime condition (according to Eskimo tastes). of festivity followed, "as an expression of gratitude to Torngak ."

(Torngarsoak) A large snow-house as

much as 16 feet high and 70 feet

in circumference, was built, and the interior arranged for dancing

and sports. The latter consisted of contests with the lance and boxing (probably the Eskimo custom of taking blow for blow). There were singing and dancing by the people, and shamanistic performances. I

No details are given.

"The Moravian Missionaries have laboured hard to implant the Christian faith upon

the shores of Labrador, and they have succeeded as well as could be expected, but the Indians (Eskimo) are so attached to their ancient superstitions, that they hesitate not to sacrifice a favourite child on the grave of its deceased parent, under the belief that their earthly dissolution is immediately succeeded by a blissful reunion above; and this they do, notwithstanding

enormity attending so horrid an action." Newfoundland and the Southern Coast of Labrador, London, 1818.

their consciousness of the

Chappell, Voyage to

The same author does not hesitate to say that the Eskimo are "honest in their principles, mild in their dispositions, and hospitable to unprotected strangers"; ibid., p. 99.

140

The missionaries say that these feasts were accompanied by a great deal of "rowdyism," in which the women were involved, which may refer to an exchange of wives or favours at the close of the festival, as is recorded in other sections (see

Boas and Nelson).

The whaling festival is undoubtedly an old custom of the Eskimo and formerly widespread. We find it among the Central, Alaskan, and Asiatic Eskimo as well. It may have been introduced in the west through Siberian tribes, as the Chukchee and Koryak have a similar festival, but in the east it has all the earmarks of an original Eskimo custom. THE SCULPING (sKINNINg) DANCE.^ Information and pictures of this peculiar dance were obtained from Mr, Holloway of St. Johns, Newfoundland,

who

witnessed its performance on the "Home" some ten years ago

by a Hopedale Eskimo named Simon. Simon was one of the Eskimo who took part in the World's Fair exhibition. Additional information was obtained from the Hopedale Eskimo and a former trader of the Hudson's Bay Company, who were acquainted with the dance. The dance is chiefly interesting as it raises the question whether the Eskimo did not have dances, like their stories,

which contained an indirect ethical teaching.

The Eskimo themselves said that it was intended to teach the people not to be too greedy.

Simon's assistant, a small boy, lay down on the deck with feet, simulating a dead animal. A shawl representing a skin was thrown over him. Then Simon started dancing around him, and began expressing his great joy at having killed so valuable an animal. He sang that he was a very ambitious young man who had fallen To gain her favour he had travin love with a very pretty girl. elled north for valuable furs, far beyond the limits that any of his tribe had ever known, and now he had slain this strange animal with its rare fur, and he would return home rich and marry the girl he had undergone such hardship to win.

outstretched hands and

To "sculp" a seal is to skin it with the fat adhering to the hide.

by the Newfoundland sealers.

This is a term employed

141

He took out his knife and said an incantation over it. Then he began skinning the animal, roHing back the hide. During all this time his assistant remained perfectly motionless, Simon continued his flensing, crooning to himself his great joy at his good fortune in catching so valuable a skin, and began to speculate

on the sensation which his return would cause in

his village.

He kept rolling back the skin with each cut of the

The spectators watched him remarks until he was done. knife.

closely,

but ventured no

As Simon made the last cut and rolled the skin oflF the it suddenly came to life, jumped up, and ran oflF, leaving Simon with the skin in his hand, much chagrined. Simon on further examination of the skin, found that it was worthless. He cast it from him in disgust, stood for some time scratching "animal,"

much to the enjoyment of the audience, and finally walked away, apparently deeply disappointed. his head in perplexity,

MYTHOLOGY. The mythology of the Labrador Eskimo exhibits those interesting complications of motives which might be expected of a

We find the old stories of the original Eskimo stock in fragmentary or abbreviated form,

people bordering on other tribes.

"The Girl who Married a Whale," the "Story Moon," the "Story of the Narwhal," and "The Orphan Boy and the Moon Man." as in the tales of

of the Sun and

Little anecdotes of

influence, are told to

animal

life,

amuse the

which

may reflect Indian

Such stories are quite plentiful in Labrador, as the "Origin of the Sea-Pigeons," children.

"Origin of the Walrus and Caribou," the "Story of the Owl and the Raven," and

"How the Caribou Lost their Large Eyes."

The story of the "Quarrel of the Gull and the Raven," on which the future of the white and Eskimo race depended, is modern,

but well known, both in Labrador and Baffin island. Stories which show the strong belief of the Labrador Eskimo

"Story of the Lame Hunter," "The Place where the Caribou Live," "How the Trout were made," and "How the Caribou Lost their Large Eyes." in their Tornait, or spirit helpers are the

142

(Under present conditions, it is sometimes difficult to tell whether an Eskimo means by "Torngak" an individual helper, or "the great Torngak," Torngarsoak, who was a deity among them, as the missionaries and Eskimo at the stations used the term interchangeably.)

Two stories were collected of the Adlit "strangers" (allat, I am not sure whether these stories refer

South Labrador).

to the Indians or the Tunnit.^

The story of "The Girl who lost

her Arms" is referred by the Labrador Eskimo to the Tunnit.

Local stories are illustrated in "The Thinking Image and Adlasuq and the Giant." "The Story of the Orphan Boy and the Moon Man" has been localized in Labrador, as elsewhere. Considerable information regarding the Tunnit was gathered on this trip. It is placed in the mythological section for convenience in comparing with the traditions gathered by other The author is of the opinion that the Tunnit are entitled writers. to an historical position in northern Labrador.

THE MIGRATION LEGEND.

The Baffin Island Eskimo have a legend that the present on the northern and southern shores formerly near Ussualung in Cumberland sound.^ For some reason they quarrelled and separated, the Iglumiut (Labrador Eskimo) going to the south. The Sikosuilarmiut (Eskimo of southwest Baffin island) have intercourse with the Igolumiut of Cape Wolstenholme, crossing Hudson strait by Tudjaraaqdjung (Mill island), Akugdlirn (Salisbury island), and Tudjaquaralung (Nottingham island).^ The crossing is dangerous and not often attempted. At Cape Chidley, the Labrador Eskimo have a legend that their ancestors once crossed the strait by way of the Button islands and Resolution island to Baffin island, and found a strange people there whose words they could not understand. They call the Button islands, which stretch north from Killinek, tribes

living

lived

together

»The term adlit "strangers." is applied by the present Labrador Eskimo to the Indians of the interior, but generically may refer to any other people than themselves. ' >

See Boas. The Central Eskimo. 6th Annual Report B.A.E., p. 618. See Boas, ibid., pp. 462, 463.

143 the Tutjat, the "stepping stones." There are plenty of seal and walrus there and an occasional polar bear, but the tides are so strong that it is dangerous for the kayaks, so they seldom visit them.

From the outermost Tutjak they can see Tutjarluk,

"The Big Stepping Stone," Resolution

island (Tudjaqdjuaq This route, at the eastern end of the strait, is about the same distance as the western route described, but more difficult on account of the heavy tides caused by the meeting of the waters of Hudson strait and the Atlantic. in the Baffin Island dialect).

The similarity of the names of the first islands off the Baffin Island coast in

the eastern and

western

link,

Tudjaqdjuaq

(Resolution island) and Tudjaraaqdjung (Mill island) suggests

that they were considered by the Baffin-islanders as well as the Labrador Eskimo, as the "Big Stepping Stones" across the strait.

THE TUNNIT. Tunnit (Tornit, Baffin island), according to tradition, were a gigantic race formerly inhabiting the northeastern coast Ruins of Labrador, Hudson strait, and southern Baffin island. of old stone houses and graves, which are ascribed to them by the present Eskimo, are found throughout this entire section, penetrating only slightly, however, into Ungava bay. Briefly we

may say that there is evidence, archaeological as well as traditional, that the Tunnit formerly inhabited both sides of Hudson strait. The oldest Eskimo of northern Labrador still point out these ruins,

and relate traditions of their having lived together until the Tunnit were finally exterminated or driven out by the present Eskimo. According to the account given by an old Nachvak Eskimo, the Tunnit in ancient times had two villages in Nachvak bay.

Their houses were built on an exposed shore (the present Eskimo always seek a sheltered beach for their villages, where they can land in their kayaks), showing that they had little knowledge of the use of boats. When they wanted boats, they stole them from the Eskimo. From this thieving of kayaks the original quarrel is said to have begun.

For all their bigness and strength, the Tunnit were a stupid fell an

slow-going race (according to the Eskimo version), and

144

easy prey to the Eskimo, who used to stalk them and hunt them down like game. They did not dare to attack them openly, so cut them off, one by one, by following them, and attacking and killing them when asleep. Their favourite method was to bore holes in the foreheads of the Tunnit with an awl (a drill Two brothers especially in the Greenland story in Rink). distinguished themselves in this warfare, and did not desist

The Tunnit heavy rocks, which no Eskimo could lift. They used the rocks for walls, and whale ribs and shoulder blades for the roof. At the entrance of the house two whale jaw-bones were placed. Ruins of these houses can still be seen, overgrown with grass, with the roof fallen in. They may be distinguished from old Eskimo iglus by the small, square space until

the last of the Tunnit was exterminated.

built their houses of

they occupy.

The Tunnit did not use the bow and arrow, but flint-headed They were so strong that one of them could hold a walrus as easily as an

lances and harpoons with bone or ivory heads.

Eskimo a seal.

They did not undestand the dressing of sealskins, but left them in the sea, where the little sea-worms ( ?) cleaned off the

The Tunnit dressed in winter in untanned They were accustomed to carry pieces of meat

fat in a short time.

deerskins.

around with them, between

their clothing

and body,

until it

was putrid, when they ate it.

The Tunnit were very skilful with the lance, which they threw, sitting down and aiming at the object shaft on the boot.

by resting the

For throwing at a distance they used the

throw-stick.

They did not hunt deer like the Eskimo, but erected long lines of stone "men" in a valley through which the deer passed.

The deer would pass between the lines of stones, and the hunters hidden behind them would lance them. Remains of these lines of rocks may still be seen. Their weapons were much larger, but not so well made as those of the Eskimo, as can be seen from the remains on their The men used flint for the harpoon heads, and crystal graves. for their drills. The women used a rounded piece of slate

145

without a handle for a knife. They used a very small lamp For for heating purposes, which they carried about them. cooking they had a much larger lamp than the Eskimo. Until trouble arose between them, the Tunnit and the Eskimo used to intermarry, but after it was found that an alien wife would betray her husband to her people, no more were taken, A Tuneq woman, who betrayed the Eskimo of the village she lived After that no women in to the Tunnit, had her arms cut off. side. (The on either story of this incident is given were taken following in

"An Adlit Tale.")

The Tunnit were gradually exterminated by the Eskimo, until only a scattered one remained here and there in their villages.

How these were overcome by strategems is handed down

Hebron, said to be the last of the Tunnit, and Adlasuq and the Giant. The giant allows himself to be bound in a snow-house, and is slain by the Eskimo hunters. in the tales of the giant at

This story has attained a mythological character in Baffin island,^ but is ascribed by the Labrador Eskimo directly to the Tunnit. A story about the Tunnit, giving considerable circumstantial detail, was obtained from a Nachvak woman:

"At Nachvak the Tunnit were chasing a big whale (this was They were in two skin They had boats, about twenty men and women in each boat. the whale harpooned, and were being towed round and round the bay by him. Somehow the line got tangled in one of the boats and capsized. The other boat with the line still made fast to the whale, went to pick up the people in the water, and was capsized too. Another boat came off from the shore, and picked up some of the people in the water. Most of them were drowned. before the time of the present Eskimo).

"They were buried under a hill on a big bank near Nachvak. There are some thirty graves on this bank, with pots, harpoons, and knives buried by the graves. Even the remains of the boats are there. The knives and pots are of stone. The harpoon blades are of

flint.

present boats." >

The umiaks were much

larger than the

My informant added that there were also

See Boas. p. 292. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. XV.

146

remains of bows and arrows. "The bows were of whalebone and the arrows of flint." Further information was obtained from another informant. Tunnil Houses.

The houses had long stone passages. The two posts at the entrance were of whale jaw-bones and shoulder blades on top. The walls were of stone and turf. The roof was formed of whale ribs on props, and covered with turf. The roofs of the houses have now fallen in, but the walls are still intact. Tunnit Boots.

The Tunnit did not know how to manufacture waterproof They took a long strip of sealskin with the hair on, and

boots.

wrapped it around the feet, starting at the toes. For a sole they would take a flat, square piece of skin, cut holes around the edge, "reave" it up with a drawstring, and tie it around the ankles. Interpretation of the Evidence.

The old tradition of the Tunnit in Labrador, gathered from the resident Moravian missionaries, appears in Rink^ as follows: "Our ancestors and the tunneks or tunnit (in Greenlandish days of yore lived together; but the tunneks fled from fear of our people, who used to drill holes in tornit, plural of tunek), in

their foreheads while yet alive. With this view they moved from here to the north, crossing over to Killinek (Cape Chidley). "While dwelling among us they had sealskins with the blubber attached for bed robes. Their clothes were made in the same way. Their weapons were formed of slate and hornstone, and their drills of crystal. They were strong and formidable, especially one of them by the name of Jauranat, from which is formed javianarpok (Greenlandish uavianarpok). Huge blocks of stone are still to be seen which they were able to move. Some ruins of their houses are also found here and there in our country, chiefly upon the islands, having been built of stones '

Rink, Tales and traditions of the Eskimo, p. 469.

147

and differing from the abodes of our people. One of our ancestors when kayaking had a tunnek for his companion, who had a bird spear, the points of which were made of walrus tooth." The Eskimo woman taken by Courtemanche, mentioned previously (page 5), also spoke of a hostile, foreign people in

northern Labrador. She said they "were badly armed, as they had only knives and axes of stone and not of iron, but were feared by the Eskimo." She added the perplexing information that they "used snowshoes (raquettes) which also were not in use among her countrymen."^ The Eskimo tribes of Hudson bay and farther west, however, use snowshoes. Thalbitzer,^ in a careful survey of the evidence concerning Tunnit, offers three possible explanations of their presence the in northern Labrador: (1), they may have been an Indian tribe which had made its way out to the sea; (2), or possibly Norsemen from Greenland; (3), or an older Eskimo tribe from the west who brought with them their more primitive culture. It seems

me that

the

first

explanation

made

impossible by the

description of the life and material culture of the Tunnit.

The

very improbable. A careful survey of the ruins of the east coast revealed nothing which could not be assigned to the Eskimo. In Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo, gathered by Rink from Labrador and Greenland, a distinction is made between the Kablunit (Norsemen) and the Tornit (Tunnit), which would probably not have occurred if they had been regarded as one and the same people. While the Tunnit appear to have an historical connexion in Labrador, they have assumed a mythological character in the tales which have spread as far west as Hudson bay and as far east as Greenland. It was to be expected that the story would assume this form among the tribes who had heard of them but with whom they had not come in actual contact. (The Tunnit or Tornit (singular tuneq) must not be confounded, however, with theTornait (singular Tornaq) "spirits.") The third explanation, that the Tunnit were simply a more primitive race of Eskimo with whom the Labrador second

'Charlevoix (1744). p. 17. Thalbitzer, Notes on elhnographical collections from East Greenland, pp. 687-90. Ammassilik Eskimo, Copenhagen, 1914. '

The

148

Eskimo came in contact, appears to me to be the correct and Judging from the scanty descriptions of their were not very different from old tribes in Hudson bay and Alaska. Old stone houses with whalebone ribs for roofs are described by Boas (pages 548, 549) as still existing, in a more or less ruinous state, among the Central Eskimo, by Nelson, among the Alaskan Eskimo (pages 259, 260), and by Bogoras among the Asiatic Eskimo (pages 181, 182). Their stone weapons could be paralleled in archaeological collections from different Eskimo tribes. The fact that they had forgotten or did not understand the construction of the kayak should not count against them as an Eskimo tribe, because a like fact is recorded by Rasmussen (page 32) of the Polar Eskimo, who had also forgotten the use of the bow and arrow, as is recorded of the Tunnit, until its use was reintroduced by immigrant Eskimo from the south. 'That the Tunnit did not understand the dressing of skins is the main difficulty, but this should not be taken too literally, as in all their stories about them, the Eskimo like to exaggerate the stupidity of the Tunnit and their own cleverness in overcoming them. obvious one.

culture, they

THE LAST OF THE TUNNIT.

A big, overgrown giant, the last of the Tunnit left on the Labrador coast, lived a long time ago near Hebron. He would not hunt nor do any work. Whenever he wanted food he took it away from the hunters. He would watch when they brought in their seals at the end of the day's hunt, and go up to them and take his choice. They were all afraid of him on account of his size and strength and did not dare resist him. Finally a hard winter came when the hunters could get no seal. Then he had to starve with the rest of them. When they were nearly dead with hunger, the people decided to send out six of their best

hunters to see if they could not get some food.

They were all surprised when the giant asked to go along too. Then they saw a chance to get rid of him. So they asked him to promise to obey all the customs of the hunters, which he did

readily enough, suspecting nothing.

149

The first night out, after they had erected a snow-house, they him that it was the custom for every young hunter to be bound the first evening on the hunt. So he allowed himself to They be bound, having promised to obey all their customs. tied his hands and feet with heavy lashing, nu'pu-lwt, from their told

komatiks.

They did not dare trust ordinary line (cv'tlaunaq).

When he was sound asleep, in the middle of the night, they set on him and killed him with their lances; but bound as he was,

he managed to break the heavy line, and kill one of them before he was finally killed. When the hunters returned home without him, his wife asked where he was, but the hunters would not tell her. Finally She went out and got his body and buried it. The grave can still be seen on the north side of Saglek bay.

she understood.

Another version, which gives the additional detail that the hunters cut through the side of the snow-house to get at the giant,

as follows:

Once on a time there lived a giant near Hebron, who was He was the tyrant so heavy that he could not walk on new ice.^ Whatever he wanted he took, and no one dared of the village. dispute him.

One year he expressed a wish that he would like to see how were killed and how the men went hunting. (He never hunted himself but stole from others). The hunters thought it a fine chance to get him in their power. They wanted to get rid of him because they were afraid of him and he was always bullying them. So they told him that if he wanted to go seal seals

hunting with them, he would have to do exactly as they told him. He promised that he would, and they let him go with them. So the first night they were out on the ice, they built a snowhouse, and told him that it was their custom to be lashed with skin line and left alone in the snow-house all night. So he let

them tie him up, and lay down to sleep. Now the other Eskimo outside waited until they thought he was sound asleep. Then they cut a big hole in the side of the »

Cf. Boas,

vol. XV.

Eskimo of Baffin land and Hudson bay, p. 292, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist.,

150 house and three men went in, while eight stood outside waiting. The three men inside jumped on the giant, and the eight men came in and joined in the fight. The giant broke the lines he was fastened with, and killed three men before the others over-

powered him and

him with their knives. So that was His grave is to be seen to this day. It is a

killed

the last of the giant.

very large and long stone grave in Saglek bay.

Another story, concerning a giant character of the same locality, is told, in which he is overcome by a dwarf:

ALASUQ AND THE GIANT.

A long time ago there lived in Saglek bay a giant who played He would do no work, but from the hunters. They did not dare to show their resentment because he was so big and strong. Finally they killed him by getting him to allow himself to be bound. the tyrant over the people there. stole seals

In the same village there lived a dwarf named Alasuq.

His father had died when he was young, and he had supported his mother ever since, like a man. Although he was so small, he was very strong. He was a jolly

lived alone with his mother.

little fellow and well liked by all the people.

One day the giant, who was always boasting what he could do and frightening the hunters, challenged them to a kayak race around an island in the bay. None of them dared to accept, but Everyone laughed at him, little Alasuq said he would try him. but it did not turn him from his purpose.

He laid aside his usual paddle, and made himself an enormously large one, larger even than the giant's. It had holes in the middle for hand grips.

When he came out to race, all the people remarked about it, who made fun of the little man and his

particularly the giant,

big paddle.

But when they started, no one laughed any more. The little fellow handled his paddle so strongly that he would have broken an ordinary paddle. He quickly outdistanced the giant. When he was rounding the island, long before he came in sight,

151 the people could hear his kayak, shish, cleaving the water. The giant was badly beaten, but took it goodnaturedly, as, of course,

he had to, having challenged the hunters. The little dwarf lived for a long time afterwards, and was always much respected by the people.

The Baffin Island Eskimo of Cumberland sound have a tale He defeats of a dwarf who was very strong and a great kayaker. his small of account taunted him on two young men who had size.^

AN ADLIT TALE.^ Once an Eskimo found an Adlit girl by the side of a river when he was out hunting. She was starving. All her relatives were dead. So he took her home and adopted her as his daughter. Her name was Ivaranax. One day she asked her foster-father for some reindeer fat. She said she was tired of seal meat, and wanted something nice to That made her foster-father angry. So he told her to go to eat. the Adlit and get some reindeer fat.

She went out.

He could

not find her that evening. The next morning she returned, dressed in a reindeer-skin

The same day all the men went hunting. Then the Adlit, who had followed her, attacked the They killed all the women and children but three, who village. coat and eating reindeer fat.

When the men returned, they found So they made many arrows their women and children killed. and followed the trail of the Adlit. When they came up to hid under a pile of skins.

The Adlit were eating and laughing. The girl was among them. Then they killed them all but the girl. Her they kept for punishment. They led her out and cut their tents, they looked in.

ofT

She ran off with the blood streaming from She had not gone far before she fell dead.

both her arms.

her arms.

THE GIRL WHO LIVED AMONG THE ADLIT. Once an Eskimo scolded his wife for not taking proper care She went out along the shore and cried.

of his boot-soles. '

See Boas, Eskimo of Baffin land and Hudson bay, p. 270. AUat, southern Labrador.

'Adlit, northern Labrador

;

152

While she was there, two Adlit came up and asked her what was the matter. She told them, and they offered to take her to their home. She went with them, and married one of the Adlit. Later this Adlit met her former husband when out hunting. He told him who he was but would not take him to his former wife.

Once the people were travelling and came across a camp of They could not understand each other, until someone Then a woman came out and cried, "Call the Eskimo woman." acted as interpreter. It was the girl who had run away. She would not go back to her husband, so they left her. She lived Adlit.

with the Adlit until she died.

ORIGIN OF MAN AND THE ANIMALS. In the north liv'es Torngarsoak, the great Torngak; he made

The man travelled a long way, and found a woman. They married, and from them sprang all the Eskimo. One day Torngarsoak set some puppies adrift in a pair of old The puppies drifted off in different directions. Finally boots. one returned bringing with it the Indians; very much later the other puppy returned as a man, bringing people with white The man skins in a big umiak. They were the white people.

man from nothing.

then turned back into a dog.

There was a woman who married the dog. Her father was ashamed of her and took her in his umiak to a lonely island. When out to sea he threw her overboard. She seized hold of the

The thumb became the walrus, the first finger the seal, and the middle

side of the boat, but he cut off her fingers with his knife.

finger the white bear.

The woman sank, and now lives at the bottom of the sea. Another version One day an Eskimo was chopping down a tree. He noticed that the chips that fell into the water became water animals and the chips that fell on the land became land animals. That is how the animals were created. Before this time the earth had been covered with water. Finally the water went away, and the dry land appeared. The seaweed and kelp became the grass and trees.

153

ORIGIN OF THE WINDS

AND RAIN.

There is a giant spirit wlio lives in the north. When he blows his breath, violent snowstorms occur. Other spirits live They breathe soft winds and summer in the east and west. weather. Female spirits dwell to the south. They send the They live up in the sky and keep flowers and summer rain. the rain in big bags. When they run across the sky the water The thunder is the noise of their running across the escapes. sky.

THE HEAVENLY REGIONS.

The ends of the land and sea are bounded by an immense abyss, over which a narrow and dangerous

pathway leads to

The sky is a great dome of hard material

the heavenly regions.

There is a hole in it through which the Only the spirits of those who have died a voluntary or violent death, and the raven, have been over this pathway. The spirits who live there light torches This is the light of the aurora. to guide the feet of new arrivals. They can be seen there feasting and playing football with a arched over the earth.

spirits pass to the true heavens.

walrus skull.

The whistling crackling noise which sometimes accompanies the aurora is the voices of these spirits trying to communicate

with the people of the earth. They should always be answered in a whispering voice. Youths and small boys dance to the aurora. The heavenly spirits are called selamiut, "sky-dwellers," those who live in the sky.

THE REGIONS BELOW. For three days after an Eskimo dies, the spirit lingers around Then people must be very

the scenes of its earthly existence. careful not to offend

it.

After taking a last look at its native

out for the land of the nu'namiut, "the earth people," or "those who dwell in (beneath) the earth." The way to the world beneath lies through a long dark

village,

sets

tunnel guarded by a big dog ( ?). for

unwary spirits.

He is always on the lookout

154

Having arrived at the land of the nu'namiut, the spirit them dwelUng in villages much as on the earth. He seeks out the location of his relatives and lives with them. They lead a monotonous existence depending on the offerings made at their graves for food and drink. If their relatives neglect them, they go hungry and naked. There is no cold nor sleet in the world beneath, but it is dark and gloomy. finds

THE PLACE WHERE THE CARIBOU LIVE. There was once a great angekok who felt it his duty to find out for the people the place where the caribou went to when they passed in great numbers into the interior. So he asked his torngak to show him where they went. His torngak told him the way to go. until he

He told him to walk on and on, and not to stop So the angekok started off. He walked

told him.

day after day. For two moons he walked. His boots did not wear out because his torngak was with him. At last, one day, his torngak said, "Stop! Make no noise, and wait till the sun sets. Then you will see the resting place of the caribou. You must not wish to kill what you see, or I will turn you into a mouse." So the angekok did as he had been told. When the sun went down, he saw a very large house made of turf and rock. StandIt was the king of the ing across the door was a very big deer. caribou. big the other caribou could walk in He was so that under him without touching him. The caribou came up in big bands, and all passed under the king into the house. When the last one had passed in, he lay down and kept guard over the others. The angekok went home and told the people what he had seen. But he did not dare tell them where to find the wonderful might desire to kill so many caribou and his torngak would turn him into a mouse. So the Eskimo know that there is a place where the reindeer live and stay place, for fear that they

with their king, but although they are always looking for they can never find it. But they hope to do so some time.

it,

155

HOW THE TROUT WAS MADE. Once upon a time a man who was a great angekok went out walking along the shore. He looked at the beautiful calm water and wished that he could make something to live in it out So he looked around and of something that grew on the land. far from him. He went over and saw some willows growing not his torngak to make it stick. Then he told broke off a little dry threw the stick into the and as he spoke he something alive, into water.

It sank.

After a short time a fish came up and said to him, "I am

very wet and cold. I would rather grow on the land again." So the man took the fish out of the water, and folded a piece of seaweed around it. Then he threw it back into the water and bade it go and be useful to all the Eskimo. He named it exa"lupik, the trout.

The stripe that runs along the side of the trout is the seam where the folds of seaweed meet.

THE QUARREL OF THE CROW AND THE GULL.

The Crow and the Gull had a quarrel.

The Crow was for Whichever won

the Eskimo, and the Gull for the white man.

was to be the strongest. So they fought. That is why the white men are more numerous

the fight, his side

The Gull won.

and stronger than the Eskimo.

THE GIRL WHO MARRIED A WHALE. Once a girl was walking along the shore. She wished she had a husband. She saw a whale's skull lying on the sand. So she said, "I will take the whale bone for a husband." It came to life and married her. She went to live with the whale in the sea. The whale was very jealous of her, and tied a line to her for fear she would escape.

One day the girl saw her father and brothers going by in an umiak. She called to them to take her aboard. Soon the whale discovered her escape. He came swimming furiously after the boat.

When he was quite near, the girl took off her

156 mittens and threw them into the water.

While he was tearing them up, they gained a Httle. Then he came on again, making the water foam in his anger. Then she took off her boots and threw them into the water. While he was thrashing them with But he caught them again, his tail, they made for the shore. when they were close to the shore. Then the girl took off her While he was tearing this qo'lituk^ and threw it into the water. But he was so angry that he did not notice up, they landed. He stranded in the shallow the land, and came on again. water, and was easily killed by her father and brothers. Then he changed back into a bone.

THE STORY OF THE SUN AND MOON. At one time when all the rest of the people were in the singing-house (qa'g'i) a young girl was visited nightly by a man

whose identity she could not discover. So she smeared some soot and oil on her breast to discover him. The next day, when she went to the qaggi to take her brother's meal, she was horrified to see that he had a black streak on his face. She immediately took a knife and cut off her breasts, and placed them on the dish, saying, "Since you desire me, eat them."

Her brother was so angry that he chased her out of the kagi, and around and around the house. Finally, she ran up into the sky and he ran after her. They were changed into the sun and moon. The sun is constantly following the moon, but sometimes they meet (when there is an eclipse).

THE STORY OF THE FOX-WIFE. Once there was a man who had lost his wife and who lived all alone. But every day, when he returned from hunting, he found everything was in order as his wife would have done. There that were no signs of anyone in the house, nor tracks outside. He could not understand it, and determined to find out who was taking care of the house. > This is the term used in northern Labrador for the deerskin frock. the Baffin Island qo'Utut).

It is a cognate of

157 So, one day, instead of going to hunt, he hid himself a little

way from the entrance, where he could observe if anyone went in. He thought that the fox was after Finally he saw a fox enter. What was his surprise his meat, so followed it into the house. On to find, on entering, a beautiful woman dressed in skins. the rack above the lamp hung the skin of a fox.

He asked her

to marry him, and she became his wife.

They lived together for a long time happily, until one day the husband detected a strong odour in the house.

He asked

came from. She replied that it was the odour of the fox, and if he was going to scold her, she would run away. She slipped on the fox-skin and was gone in a moment. The man never saw her again. her where the smell

THE SON WHO KILLED HIS MOTHER (STORY OF THE NARWHAL). There was once a young man who lived with his mother and sister. He was snow-blind, and for some reason his mother wished to get rid of him. She tried to starve him. But his He could not sister on the sly, used to bring him bits of meat. hunt because he was snow-blind.

But one day a bear came to the snow-house, and his mother guided his bow so that he could shoot the bear through the window. He shot the bear, and killed him. But his mother did not want him to know that he had killed the bear, so she told him that he had missed it, and that his arrow had stuck into the hard ice on the side of the snow-house.

So she was

living on the meat of the bear, she and her daughter, while her

son was starving.

But his sister managed to feed him something on the sly. At first she would not tell him where the meat came from, but he kept questioning her, and at last she told him that he had Then he knew that his mother was trying to killed the bear. starve him, and he planned to be revenged on her. So in the spring, after the ice had broken up, when he had got his sight back, he used to hunt for white whales along the shore.

One day he and his mother and sister were all standing on the beach, and he was waiting with his harpoon to strike a whale.

158

He struck one with his whale harpoon, which had a long line He tied the end around his mother's waist; as the attached. whale swam out to sea, it dragged her down the beach and into As she went, she kept crying, ifjnialuma, "My When the whale went down, she would go down too, and when it came up, she would come up too, crying, iynialuma, "My son did it," over and over again. Finally the water.

son did

it."

she disappeared.

She

still

lives

with the white whales, and in the spring,

when they are going along the shore, the people can hear her crying, luma, luma, iynialuma,

and say that she is still alive

among them.^ THE ORPHAN BOY AND THE MOON MAN. Near Okkak there is a rock, curiously marked with what the Eskimo say are the blood and brains of the people in the following story.

A long time ago there lived in a village near Okkak a poor orphan boy.

He had no relatives and the people he lived with

treated him very badly.

They made him sleep in the entrance They

tunnel with the dogs and flung him only bones to pick.

would not give him a knife, but the little daughter of the house gave him one secretly, and carried him bits of food when she could do so. Her kindness pleased him very much, and made him long to escape and improve his hard condition in life. One night he was lying on the ground, outside the passageway, trying to think of a plan for escape, and gazing at the moon. The more he gazed at it, the more he thought he discerned the outlines of the face of a man in it. Finally he was sure it was a man, and cried out to him to come down and help him escape from his hard life. The man in the moon heard him, and came down. He took the little orphan boy down to the beach and beat him with a big whip. Every time he struck him he grew bigger and stronger. When he had finished, the little orphan boy was >

Dr. Boas informs me that In the my uhi, my ulu; the consequent remorse of the

This story is also told in Baffin island in more detail.

Baffin Island version, the mother cries uluga,

son does not figure in the Labrador version.

159 so strong, he could throw about big boulders like so many pebbles.

Then the moon man went back up into the sky. tised lifting and throwing big rocks all night;

The boy prac-

then he went home.

When the people with whom he lived saw how big and strong he had grown, and remembered how they had abused him, they were very much afraid. But the minute he saw them, he went mad with anger. He seized them by the legs and dashed their brains out on the rocks. The boy killed everyone but the little He took her for his wife. He girl who had been kind to him. took all the possessions of his former housemates, and became the head man of the village.

THE STORY OF THE LAME HUNTER. There was once a hunter who was lame, and, although he was a good hunter, he found it very hard to keep up with the other men, when they went hunting for seals and bears. One day he went up on a hill to spy for seal on the ice. He saw a bear far ofif on the ice. Now he could not get near the bear, because he could not walk fast enough, and the bear was making for the drift ice. So he wished his torngak would come to his aid, and he moaned and groaned as if in great pain. He closed his eyes and said, "If I could get to that bear, nobody would be able to say that I was a poor hunter any more. I would be the best hunter, for none of the others are killing anything, and the people are going hungry."

When he opened his eyes, he saw that the bear was walking about and stumbling as if it could not see. Then he knew that his torngak had indeed helped him and made the bear blind. He limped out on to the rough ice, and got near enough to kill the bear with his bow and arrows. He gained the good favour of all the other hunters by his deed, and of all the Eskimo living in snow-houses at the hunting ground. THE THINKING IMAGE (Jx'asd'ktaq). About half a mile from the old Hudson's Bay Company post at Nachvak (now abandoned)

a curiously formed stone.

160

on a point, and in going by in a boat, it appears on her hand, thinking. The Eskimo of that vicinity relate the following story in connexion with this rock. It is situated

like a woman seated with her chin

Once there was a woman who was an outcast from the village. She had no people nor relatives, and was a slave for everybody. One day she was going along in a boat by this point. She had been rowing in the umiak all day, and was very tired. She went ashore, and sat down on a rock and started thinking. First she wished that she

were dead and her labour over.

Then she wished that she could be changed into a stone, like the one she was sitting on. While she was thinking this, a crow He made three circles over her, and as he cawed flew over her. three times, she was gradually turned into a stone.

She is still seen in the same position with her hand to her The Eskimo make ofi'erings to her of needles, tobacco, and matches, whenever they pass. Some of the women have put a necklace of beads around her neck.

chin, thinking.

ORIGIN OF THE WALRUS AND CARIBOU.

Superguksoak made the walrus from her boots and the The spots on the deer correspond When first made, the walrus had to the marks on her breeches. But the walrus antlers on its head and the caribou had tusks. upset the kayaks with its antlers and the caribou killed the hunters with its tusks, so Superguksoak changed them. She When she wants told the caribou to go inland and stay there. the caribou she calls kaite, kaite, "Come, come." caribou from her breeches.

THE OWL AND THE RAVEN. Once the owl and the raven had a quarrel. The owl became angry and tipped a lamp over the raven. He was completely covered with soot. He was very much ashamed, and flew off, crying, "kaq, kaq." That is why he is black.

161

THE ORIGIN OF THE SEA-PIGEONS. Once upon a time there were some children playing on the top of a high cliff overlooking the sea. Below them the sea was covered with ice, but while they were playing, the ice opened, and the crack between the ice and the shore was filled with seals.

Then the men of the village ran to get their kayaks to kill the seals.

The children paid no attention to the seals, but kept on playing, shouting at the top of

their voices.

When the men

arrived at the crack in the ice, the seals were gone.

They had

been frightened away by the children's voices. The men were very angry at the children, and one of them said, "I wish the He had no cliff would fall over and bury those noisy children." sooner spoken than the cliff" toppled over and buried the children But they were changed into seain the boulders at its foot. pigeons, with red feet.

They dwell at the foot of the cliffs to

this day.

HOW THE CARIBOU LOST THEIR LARGE EYES. When the caribou were first found by the Eskimo, they had They could see a long distance and were very So the Eskimo found it exceedingly difficult to get near enough to shoot them with their bows and arrows. Consequently they often went hungry. very large eyes. savage.

They asked their Torngak (Torngarsoak) to help them,. and to make the caribou tamer.

Presently one of the caribou grew very thoughtful. He said in caribou language to the others, "I wish our eyes were not so large, then we should be better looking." So the other caribou said, "Sew our eyes up then." So the thoughtful caribou took a little bone out of its foreleg and a piece The caribou of sinew and sewed up the corners of their eyes. became tamer and could not see so quickly, and the Eskimo were able to take them more easily.

The Eskimo say that it is because the Torngak of their forefathers helped them that the caribou are not so savage and

cannot see so far, and they are able to kill them and eat their meat and wear their skins for clothing. They always show the

162 in the foreleg that was used by the caribou that their Torngak made thoughtful, when they tell the story. It is a bone in the ankle that seems to be loose under the skin.

bone

ESKIMO INCANTATION FOR GAME. Kaiya'kat

ulu*'me

po'i-'yisioxauvu'ija

To-day

seals-for-I-am-hunting kayak-in.

mau'qa Kai'liye'tse Over here, come all of you. qi'oyavu'ria

a-'ijiyo'mik

Cold am I

very much. toyo'mia"nik takoyouma'qipo^yut

toyomi'gila'se

Unwelcome you are not strangers to see we are glad. na^mu't

ai-ve'se

Where

going are you ?

me"r)atuma'Yepo"'i)a

qa'nirjito'mit

pi-suYa"ma"

Tired I am very

far from

walked have I.

sunau'na

su"'hu*

tu-'ktu*

qa'nirjito'me

What is

deer

far away?

udu"me To-day

ei*'s'et

si'lilu'kpok

again

rains it.

Free translation:

To-day I am hunting for seals in the kayak.

Come over here, all of you. (I am very cold.) You are not unwelcome, we are glad to see strangers. Where are you going ? (I

am very tired

;

have walked from far.)

What is that like deer far away ? To-day it rains again.

163

This incantation is half-sung, half-chanted in a rhythmical Scanned sing-song.

J^^

— o

«^'

PHONETIC SYSTEM. a*, as in father.

a, as in man, modified by dentals.

e\ as in they. e,

as in French SU.

»•,

as in pique.

as in French fini.

0',

as in note.

as British o in got.

«•, ss 00 in moon. a,

as « in but.

Consonants: p, as in French pas. m, as in English, but often long, b,

as in English (rare).

<f),

unrounded bilabial spirant, Kleinschmidt's /.

P, unrounded bilabial spirant, Kleinschmidt's v.

-/-

164 t,

as in French, without aspiration.

t',

aspirated before e and i.

n, as in English.

palatal sonant nasal, as ng in sing.

J7,

k, palatal stop;

like /, frequently aspirated before e and i.

velar stop; in southern Labrador dialect often replaced by x.

replaced in southern Labrador dialect by c, as sh in should.

voiceless s;

as in English.

lateral surd spirant (rare): cf.

y, as j in

Alaskan thl (Barnum).

German ja.

Y and y, palatal and uvular voiced spirants. X and X, palatal and uvular voiceless spirants. h, initial breathing; replaces k in southern Labrador dialect. Affricatives: tc,

as ch in church.

ts,

as in nuts.

dj, as dg in trudge.

Accents: ',

lengthened consonant or vowel.

main stress.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

— "The Central Eskimo." 6th Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, Washington, D.C. — "The Eskimo of Baffin land and Hudson bay." Boas, F.

Boas, F.

Bulletin

the American

Museum

Natural History,

vol. XV, parts I and H.

Bogoras, Waldemar. Expedition.

— "The Chukchee." Jesup North Pacific

Memoirs of the American Museum of Natural

History, vol. VH.

— "A journal

of transactions and events during the residence of nearly sixteen years on the coast of Labrador." London, 1792. Chappell, Edward. "Voyage of His Majesty's Ship Rosamond

Cartwright, George.

—

to Newfoundland and the southern coast of Labrador." London, 1818. Gordon, G. B. "Notes on the Western Eskimo." Transactions of the University of Pennsylvania, Department of

—

Archaeology, vol.

165

—

G. "Labrador: its discovery, exploration, and development." London, 1910. "Labrador; the country and the people." Grenfell, Wilfred T. New York, 1912. Hawkes, E, W. "The Inviting-In Feast of the Alaskan Eskimo." Memoir 45, Anthropological Series No. 3, Geolo-

Gosling,

—

gical Survey, Canada. Hutton, S. K. "Among the Eskimo of Labrador." New York, 1912. Leith, C. H. and A. T. "A summer and winter in Hudson bay." Madison, 1912. Low, A. P. "Report on the explorations in the Labrador peninsula." Annual Report of the Geological Survey of Canada, 1895. Mason, Otis T. "The ulu or woman's knife of the Eskimo." Report of the United States National Museum, 1890. McLean, John. "Notes of a twenty-five years' service in the Hudson's Bay territories." London, 1849. Murdoch, John. "The Point Barrow Eskimo." 9th Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, Washington, D.C. Nelson, E. W. "The Eskimo about Bering strait." 18th Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, Washington, D.C. Rasmussen, Knud. "The people of the polar north." London,

—

— — — —

—

1908.

— "Tales and traditions of the Eskimo." London, 1875. — Russel, Frank. "Explorations Unithe north." versity of Iowa, 1898. — "The Ammassalik Eskimo." Copenhagen, Thalbitzer, William. 1914. — Turner, Lucien M. "Ethnology of the Ungava Rink, H.

far

district."

11th Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology,

Washington, D.C. Wintemberg, W. J. "Bone and harpoon heads of the Ontario Indians." Archaeological Report of the Provincial Museum,

—

Toronto, 1905.

167

O TD

CQ .2i

o S 03 U = o

.yen n,

E £

E O & S c

o o E £

'J2

'i2

""'

-5

-^ Z;^

.-'*'* *

'«

= = 5 V '? ^

< s: o CQ

169

^ -W '^ :s

^^ '^

a ^ I

U - 2

^^M O

2 5-

3 S

«,^

o ^

il ^

m^^-

171

4-.

^ E U «5

O X

2 2 >:

tea «

D u

- ^

1.*^.

173

Plate IV.

Child's sealskin bonnet from Hamilton inlet.

Baby's fur cap from Cape Chidlej'. Hareskin cap from Cape Wolstenholme.

Birdskin cap from Mansel island.

Sqiiirrelskin cap from Hamilton inlet.

Division of Anthropology, Museum Xos. IV B 23/ 235.

Collected by E. W. Hawkes.

Depth

299, 293;

inches.

IV C 752; IV

175

177

Plate VI.

V^ Gut raincoat from Cape Wolstcnholme. Length 31 inches. Gut trousers from Cape Wolstenholme. Division of Anthropology, Museum Nos. IV B 294, 295.

Collected by E. W. Hawkes.

179

Plate VII.

Slipper worn inside boot, from east coast of Labrador.

Length 10 inches.

Corrugated sole from Ungava. c. Fur slipper from east coast of Labrador. d. Child's shoe from Hamilton inlet. e. Woman's shoe from Hamilton inlet. f. Caribou moccasin from Hamilton inlet. Division of Anthropology, Museum Nos. IV B 222, 287, 223, 243, 241, 274. b.

Collected by E. W. Hawkes.

181

183

Platk IX.

Bag made from leg of deer, from Cape Chidkn-. Sealskin bag from east coast of Labrador.

Division of Anthropwlogy,

Depth 14 inches.

Museum Nos. I\' B 452, .^.Sl.

Collected by E. W. Hawkes.

185

Plate X.

**'**Wi^.,**'^'*'

Sealskin mitten from east coast of Labrador. Length 17 inches. b and c. Sealskin mitten from Hamilton inlet. d. Sealskin mitten from cast coast of Labrador. Division of Anthropology, Museum Nos. IV B 220, 256, 255, 221. Collected by E. \V. Ilawkes. a.

187

Plate XI.

A. A.

Completed snow-house with boy sitting on key-block. of S. H. Parsons, St. Johns, Newfoundland.

By permission

Caribou skin tents of Eskimo fishermen, Cape Childey.

By permission

of the Moravian Mission.

189

y-.

191

Plate XIII.

Dog-team viewed from behind, showing method of hitcliing and position of team.

permission of R. P. Holioway, St. Johns,

New-

foundland.

Process of building a komatik.

Johns, Newfoundkuid.

By permission of S. H.

Parsons, St.

193

rLATI.

XIV

Model of kayak, from Norton sound, Alaska. Length 30 inches. b. Model of kayak from Ungava bay. Division of Anthropology, Museum Nos. IV E 135; IV B 59. Collected by F. Mercier (a) and A. P. Low (b).

B. B.

Model of koniatik with

seal

load,

from Cape Chidley.

inches, b.

Wooden model of sled or komatik, from Labrador.

Division of Anthropology, Museum Nos. IV B 327, 72. Collected by E. W. Hawkes (a) and A. P. Low (b).

Length 18

195

Plate XV.

Model of kayak from the Arctic Red river. Length 21 5 inches. Model of deerskin baidarka, probably Aleut. c. Model of umiak or sealskin boat from Norton sound, Alaska. Division of Anthropology, Museum Nos. IV D 16; IV X 50; IV E 134. Collected by H. A. Conroy (a), S. H. Harris (b), and P". Mercier (c).

197

•_-

»T3

t?!

o o

S S P ^ o I O

c«

2 0)

c n c <

2 ^ ^

m -g :^

199

Plate XVII.

Quiver from Labrador. Length 40 inches. Ptarmigan snare from Labrador. c. Sling from Cape Wolstenholme. Division of Anthropology, Museum Xos. 1\" H 109, 111, 49:). Collected by A. P. Low (a and 1)) and K. \\. llawkes (c). a.

201 Plate X\III. ....P^^

A. A.

Stone lamp from Cape Chidley. Large stone lamp with ridge, from Okkak, Labrador.

Length IS

inches.

Division of Anthropology, Museum Nos. IV B 476, 499. Collected by E. W. Hawkes.

Small stone lamp from Okkak, Labrador. Length 10 inches. b. Stone lamp from Cape Chidley. c. Model of soapstone lamp from Okkak. d. Soapstone lamp from Chesterfield inlet. Division of Anthropology, Museum Nos. IV B 501, 502, 329; I\" C 776.

Collected by I^. \\\ Hawkes.

203

Plate XIX.

Stone kettle from Cape Chidley. Length 12 j inches. Large stone kettle from Okkak, Labrador. Division of Anthropolog>% Museum Nos. IV B 503, 500.

Collected by E. W. Hawkes.

205

u > CQ

.-H

207

Plate XXI.

Large wooden spoon from Hamilton inlet.

Wooden spoon from Hamilton inlet. Wooden dish from Hamilton inlet.

Length 15 inches.

Division of Anthropology, Museum Xos. I\' B 310 b, 308 h, 307. Collected by E. W. Hawkes.

209

x —

c c

a. 33 ?-.

OS ~*

^ o c 5 ^ "O i o K -'"

3 O -:f> v.- O -o *-> o U 77.

^ •" 5 r^

P hJ

^ U

^ O o 5 -5 -,. a!

c T3

^ ^-:. I o

O S u, ffi

_•

« c .

211

U ^

S o

f o

O '" (/)

C c -" c

^ ?Q a;

.-=

213 Plate XXIV.

b. c.

d. e.

Ivory needle case from east coast of Hudson bay. Length 4 inches. Ivory needle case from Labrador coast, probably Ramah.

Ivory needle case from east coast of Hudson bay. Ivory needle case from Labrador coast, probably Ramah. Ivor>^ needle case from east coast of Hudson bay.

Ivory needle case from Labrador coast, probably Ramah. Ivory comb from east coast of Labrador. Ivory pendant from east coast of Labrador.

Stone pipe from Chesterfield inlet.

Museum Nos. IV B 36, IV C 781. Collected by A. P. Low (a-h) and E. W. Ilawkes (i).

Division of Anthropology', 137, 17, 6;

L35, 41,

136, 43,

215

C On

:: cQ

a z:

5 I

Is M

-2

217

-C j= _><

..J

219 Plate XXVII.

Ivory carving of whale from Southampton.

Ivory carving of walrus from east coast of Labrador.

Ivory model of seal from coast of Labrador, probably Ramah. Stone carving of fish from east coast of Labrador. Ivory carving of narwhal from Southampton. Ivory carving of white whale from east coast of Labrador.

d. e. f.

Length 2 inches.

Division of Anthropology, Museum Nos. IV C 55; IV B 535 (b and f), 131 d, 534;

IV C 52.

Collected by Capt. G. Comer (a and e), E. W. Hawkes (b, d, and fj, and K. P.

Low (c).

c B

—

^^ t

Ivory carving of fox from east coast of Labrador. Ivory carving of polar bear, from Southampton.

d Length 1\ inches.

Ivory carving of reindeer, from east coast of Labrador. Ivory carving of bear from Hudson bay. Ivory carving of musk-o.x from Southampton, f and g. Ivory carvings of wolves on the trail, from Southampton.

Museum Nos. IV B 535 (a and cj; IV C 53 (b), IV B 315 (e); IV C 57, 59 (b, g). Collected by E. \V. Hawkes (a and c) and Capt. G. Comer (b, d, e, f, and g). Division of Anthropology, 51 (d):

221

223

„

^>*

..,,^--

-tcv'

^-^ '-;5s^^c*«:^;

225

Plate XXX.

Length of a, 7 inches. Coiled basketry from Hamilton inlet. Division of Anthropology, Museum Nos. IV B 180, 181, 184, 183. Collected by E. W. Hawkes.

227

-5

o X

^ < >, T3 -^ -^

C <u O •— o -w u

^*^

5 O <5

229 Plate XXXII.

231

> -o

233

Plate XXXIV.

Feet of horned owl, used as amulet, from east coast of Labrador.

Length

6 inches.

b and c. Soapstone figures, used as fetishes, from Aillik, near Hopedale, Labrador. Division of Anthropology-, Museum Nos. IV B 533, 319, 320. Collected by E. W. Hawkes.

235 Plate XXXV.

A. A.

Eskimo walled grave, Baffin island.

Taken by E. W. Hawkes.

B. B.

Eskimo women at Moravian Mission in northern Labrador cutting up

(lift

of the

white whales,

Moravian Mission

PUBLICATIONS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. The Geological Survey was established in 1842 and "Reports of Progress" were issued, generally in annual volumes, from that

date to 1885, the first report being that for the year 1843 pubBeginning with the year 1885, "Annual Reports" lished in 1845. (new series) were published in volumes until 1905, the last being Vol. XVI, 1904.

Many of the individual reports and maps pub-

were issued separately and from 1905 to the have been published as separates and no annual volume has been issued. Since 1910, the reports have been issued as Memoirs and Museum Bulletins, each subdivided into series, lished before 1905

present, all

thus

Memoir 41, Geological Series 38. Memoir 54, Biological Series 2.

Museum Bulletin 5, Geological Series 21. Museum Bulletin 6, Anthropological Series 3. In addition to the publications specified above, a Summary

Report

issued annually;

and miscellaneous publications of

various kinds including Reports of Explorations, Guide Books, etc.,

have been issued from time to time.

—

Publications Issued Since 1909.

MEMOIRS. Memoir

Geology of the Nipigon basin, Ontario,

Geological Series J.

1910— by Alfred W. G. Wilson.

Memoir

Geological Series 2. Geology and ore deposits of Hedley mining district, British Columbia, 1910— by Charles Camsell. Geological Series 3. Palaeoniscid fishes from the Albert shales of New Brunswick, 1910 by Lawrence M. Lambe. Geological Series 7. Geological reconnaissance along the line of the National Transcontinental railway in western Quebec,

—

1911— by W. J. Wilson.

Memoir 10.

Preliminary memoir on the Lewes and Nordenskiold Rivers coal district, Yukon Territory, 1910 by D. D. Cairnes. Geological Series 5. Geology of the Haliburton and Bancroft areas, Province of Ontario, 1910— by Frank D. Adams and Alfred E. Barlow. Geological Series 6. Geology of St. Bruno mountain. Province of Quebec, 1910 by John A. Dresser. Geological Series 8. The Edmonton coal field, Alberta, 1911 by D. B. Dowling. Geological Series 9. Bighorn coal basin. Alberta, 1911 by G. S. Malloch. Geological Series 10. An instrumental survey of the shorelines of the extinct lakes Algonquin and Nipissing in southwestern Ontario, 1911 by J. W. Goldthwait. Topographical Series 1. Triangulation and spirit levelling of Vancouver island, B.C., 1909, issued 1910— by R. H. Geological Series 4.

—

Memoir 11.

Chapman.

Memoir 12.

Geological Series 11. Insects from the Tertiary lake deposits of the southern interior of British Columbia, collected by Mr. Lawrence M. Lambe, in 1906, issued 1911 by Anton

—

Handlirsch.

Memoir 13.

Geological

Series

Southern Vancouver island, 1912

14.

—by

Charles H. Clapp.

Memoir 14. Memoir 15. Memoir 16. Memoir 17. Memoir 18.

1. New species of shells collected by Mr. John Macoun at Barkley sound, Vancouver island, British Columbia, 1911— by William H. Dall and Paul Bartsch. Geological Series 12. On a Trenton Echinoderm fauna at Kirkfield, Ontario, 1911 by Frank Springer. Geological Series 13. The clay and shale deposits of Nova Scotia and portions of New Brunswick, 1911 by Heinrich Ries assisted by Joseph Keele. Geological Series 28. Geology and economic resources of the Larder Lake district, Ont., and adjoining portions of Pontiac county. Que., 1913 by Morley E. Wilson.

Biological Series

—

Geological Series 19.

Bathurst district. New Brunswick, 1913—

by G. A. Young.

Memoir 19.

Geology of Mother Lode and Sunset Boundary district, B.C., 1914 by O. E. LeRoy. Geological Series 41. Gold fields of Nova Scotia, 1914 by W. Geological Series 26.

mines,

Memoir 20.

Malcolm.

—

ii!

Memoir 21. Memoir 22. Memoir 23.

The geology and ore deposits of Phoenix Boundary district, British Columbia, 1912 by O. E. LeRoy. Geological Series 27. Preliminary report on the serpentines and associated rocks in southern Quebec, 1914 by J. A. Dresser. Geological Series 23. Geology of the coast and islands between the Strait of Georgia and Queen Charlotte sound, B.C., 1914 by J. Austen Bancroft. Geological Series 16. Preliminary report on the clay and shale deposits of the western provinces, 1912 by Heinrich Ries and Joseph Keele. Geological Series 21. Report on the clay and shale deposits of the western provinces. Part II, 1914 by Heinrich Ries and Joseph Keele. Geological Series 34. Geology and mineral deposits of the Tulameen district, B.C., 1913 by C. Camsell. Geological Series 17. Report of the Commission appointed Geological Series 15.

— —

—

Memoir 24. Memoir 25. Memoir 26.

Memoir 27.

—

Memoir 30.

to investigate Turtle mountain, Frank, Alberta, 1911, issued 1912. Geological Series 18. The Geology of Steeprock lake, Ontario by Andrew C. Lawson. Notes on fossils from limestone of Steeprock lake, Ontario, 1912 by Charles D. Walcott. Geological Series 32. Oil and gas prospects of the northwest provinces of Canada, 1913 by W. Malcolm. Geological Series 40. The basins of Nelson and Churchill

Memoir 31.

Geological

Memoir 32.

Geological Series 25. Mining divisions,

Memoir 28.

—

Memoir 29.

—

rivers,

1914

—by William Mclnnes.

20. Wheaton 1913— by D. D. Cairnes.

Series

district,

Yukon

Territory,

Portions of Portland Canal and Skeena district, B.C., 1914 by R. G.

—

Skeena

McConnell.

Memoir 33. Memoir 34. Memoir 35. Memoir 36. Memoir 37.

Memoir 38.

Geological Series 30. The geology of Gowganda Mining Division, 1913— by W. H. Collins. The Devonian of southwestern Ontario, Geological Series 63. 1915— by C. R. Stauffer. Reconnaissance along the National Geological Series 29. Transcontinental railway in southern Quebec, 1913 by John A. Dresser. Geological Series 33. Geology of the Victoria and Saanich map-areas, Vancouver island, B.C., 1914 by C. H. Clapp. Geological Series 22. Portions of Atlin district, B.C., 1913 by D. D. Cairnes. Geological Series 31. Geology of the North American Cordillera at the forty-ninth parallel. Parts I and II, 1913 by

—

Reginald Aldworth Daly.

Memoir 39.

Memoir 40. Memoir 41.

Series 35. Kewagama Lake map-area, Quebec, 1914— by M. E. Wilson. The Archaean geology of Rainy lake, Geological Series 24. 1914 by Andrew C. Lawson. The "Fern Ledges" Carboniferous flora Geological Series 38.

Geological

—

Memoir 42.

of St. John, New Brunswick, 1914 by Marie C. Stopes. Anthropological Series 1. The double-curve motive in northeastern Algonkian art, 1914 by Frank G. Speck.

Memoir 43.

Geological

Memoir 44. Memoir 45.

— mountains, Quebec, 1914— by Series

36.

St.

Hilaire J. J.

(Beloeil) O'Neill.

and Rougemont

Clay and shale deposits of New Brunswick, 1914— by J. Keele. Anthropological Series 3. The inviting-in feast of the Alaska Eskimo, 1914 by E. W. Hawkes. Geological Series 37.

—

Memoir 46, Memoir 47.

Memoir 48. Memoir 49.

Anthropological Series 7. Classification of Iroquoian radicals and subjective pronominal prefixes, 1915 by C. M. Barbeau. Geological Series 39. Clay and shale deposits of the western provinces, Part III, 1914 by Heinrich Ries. Anthropological Series 2. Some myths and tales of the Ojibwa of southeastern Ontario, 1914 by Paul Radin. Anthropological Series 4. Malecite tales, 1914 by W. H.

—

Mechling.

Memoir 50.

Geological

Series

Upper White River

51.

district,

Yukon,

1915— by D. D. Cairnes.

Memoir 51.

Geological Series 43.

Geology of the Nanaimo map-area, 1914

by C. H. Clapp.

Memoir 52.

Geological notes to accompany map and oil field. Alberta, 1914 by D. B.

Geological Series 42. of Sheep River gas

—

Dowling.

Memoir 53.

Coal fields of Manitoba, Saskatchewan,

Geological Series 44.

Alberta,

and eastern

British

Columbia

(revised

edition),

1914— by D. B. Dowling.

Memoir 54.

Biological Series 2. Annotated list of flowering plants and ferns of Point Pelee, Ont., and neighbouring districts, 1914

Memoir 55.

Geological Series 46. Geology of Field map-area. Alberta and British Columbia, 1914 by John A. Allan. Geological Series 56. Geology of Franklin mining camp, B.C.,

by C. K. Dodge.

Memoir 56.

—

1915— by Chas. W. Drysdale.

Memoir 57. Memoir 58.

Geological Series 50. Corundum, its occurrence, distribution, exploitation, and uses, 1915 by A. E. Barlow. Geological Series 48. Texada island, 1915 by R. G. McCon-

—

nell.

Memoir 59.

Geological Series 55.

Coal fields and coal resources of Canada,

1915— by D. B. Dowling.

Memoir 60.

Geological

Series

Arisaig-Antigonish

47.

district,

M. Y. Williams.

Memoir 61. Memoir 62. Memoir 63. Memoir 64. Memoir 65. Memoir 66. Memoir 67. Memoir 68.

Memoir 69.

Memoir 70. Memoir 71.

1915

—by

Series 45. Moose Mountain district, southern Alberta (second edition), 1914 by D. D. Cairnes. Anthropological Series 5. Abnormal types of speech in Nootka,

Geological

—

1915— by jE. Sapir.

Noun reduplication in Comox, a 6. Salish language of Vancouver island, 1915 by E. Sapir. Geological Series 52. Preliminary report on the clay and shale 1915 deposits of the province of Quebec, by J. Keele. Geological Series 53. Clay and shale deposits of the western provinces, Part IV, 1915 by H. Ries. Geological Series 54. Clay and shale deposits of the western provinces. Part V, 1915 by J. Keele. Geological Series 49. The Yukon-Alaska Boundary between Porcupine and Yukon rivers, 1915 by D. D. Cairnes. Geological Series 59. geological reconnaissance between Golden and Kamloops, B.C., along the line of the Canadian Pacific railway, 1915 by R. A. Daly. Geological Series 57. Coal fields of British Columbia, 1915 D. B. Dowling. Anthropological Series 8. Family hunting territories and social life of the various Algonkian bands of the Ottawa valley, 1915— by F. G. Speck. Anthropological Series 9. Myths and folk-lore of the Timiskaming Algonquin and Timagami Ojibwa, 1915 by F. G. Anthropological Series

—

— —

—

Speck.

Memoir 72.

Geological Series 60. by C. L. Gumming.

Memoir 73.

Geological Series 58. The Pleistocene and Recent deposits of the island of Montreal, 1915— by J. Stansfield.

Memoir 74.

Geological Series 61.

The artesian wells of Montreal, 1915

A list of Canadian mineral occurrences.

1915— by R. A. A. Johnston.

Memoir 75.

Anthropological Series 10. Decorative art of Indian tribes of Connecticut, 1915 by Frank G. Speck.

Memoir 76.

Geological

—

Series

Geology of the Cranbrook raaD-area.

62.

1915— by S. J. Schofield.

Memoir 77.

Geological Series 64. Geolog\' and ore deposits of Rossland. B.C., 1915— by C. W. Drysdale.

Memoir 78.

Geological Series 66.

Wabana iron ore of Newfoundland, 1915

by A. O. Hayes.

Memoir 79.

Geological Series 65. B.C., 1915— by L.

Ore deposits of the Beaverdell map-area.

Memoir 80.

Reinecke. Anthropological Series 11. Huron and 1915— by C. M. Barbeau.

Memoir 81.

Geological Series 67.

Wyandot mythology.

Oil and gas fields of Ontario and Quebec.

1915— by VVyatt Malcolm.

Memoir 82.

Geological Series 68.

Surficial

Memoir 83.

Geological Series 70.

Upper Ordovician formations in Ontario

Rainy River district, Ontario. geology and soils, 1915— by W. A. Johnston.

and Quebec, 1916

Memoir 84.

—by A. F. Foerste.

An exploration of the Tazin and Taltson North West Territories, 1916—by Charles Camsell.

Geological Series 69. rivers.

Memoir 85.

Geological Series 71. L. Reinecke.

Memoir 86.

Anthropological Series 12. Iroquois foods and food preparation, 1916— by F. W. Waugh.

Memoir 87.

Geological Series 73. Geology of the Flathead British Columbia, 1916 by J. D. MacKenzie.

Memoir 88.

Geological

Road material surveys in 1914, 1916—by

—

coal

basin,

Memoir 89,

Geology of Graham island, British D. MacKenzie. Geological Series 75. Wood Mountain- Willowbunch Coal area, Saskatchewan, 1916 by Bruce Rose.

Memoir 90.

Anthropological

Memoir 91.

Anthropological Series 14.

Series

72.

—by

Columbia, 1916

—

Series 13. Time perspective in aboriginal American culture, a study in method, 1916 by E. Sapir.

—

Hawkes.

The Labrador Eskimo— by E. W.

MUSEUM BULLETINS. The Museum Bulletins, published by the Geological Survey, are numbered consecutively and are given a series number in addition, thus: Geological Series No. 1, 2, 3. etc.; Biological Series No. 1, 2, 3, etc.; Anthropological Series No. 1, 2, 3, etc. In the case of Bulletins 1 and 2, which contain articles on various subjects, each article has been assigned a separate series number. The

first

Bulletin

was

entitled

Victoria

Memorial Museum Bulletin

subsequent issues have been called Museum Bulletins.

—

Mus. Bull. 1. (Issued 1913).

The Trenton crinoid, Ottawacrinus, Series 1. W. R. Billings— by F. A. Bather.

Geological

Geological Series 2.

Note on Merocrinus, Walcott

—by F. A.

Bather.

The occurrence of Helodont teeth at Roche Miette and vicinity, Alberta by L. M. Lambe. Notes on Cyclocystoides by P. E. Geological Series 4.

Geological Series 3.

—

Raymond. Notes on some new and old Trilobites in Geological Series 5. the Victoria Memorial Museum by P. E. Raymond. Description of some new Asaphidae by Geological Series 6. P. E. Raymond. Two new species of Tetradium by P. E. Geological Series 7.

—

Raymond. Revision of the species which have been Geological Series 8. referred to the genus Bathyurus (preliminary report) by P. E. Raymond. A new Brachiopod from the base of the Geological Series 9. Utica

— by A. E. Wilson.

A new genus of dicotyledonous plant from the Tertiary of Kettle river, British Columbia by W. J. Wilson. A new species of Lepidostrobus by Geological Series 11.

Geological Series 10.

—

W. J. Wilson. Prehnite from Adams sound, Admiralty Geological Series 12. inlet, Baffin island, Franklin by R. A. A. Johnston. The marine algae of Vancouver island Biological Series 1. by F. S. Collins. New species of mollusks from the Atlantic Biological Series 2. and Pacific coasts of Canada by W. H, Dall and P.

—

Bartsch. Biological Series 3.

—

Hydroids from Vancouver island and

Nova Scotia by C. McLean Eraser. Anthropological Series 1. The archaeology of Blandford township, Oxford county, Ontario by W. J. Wintemberg. The origin of granite (micropegmatite) Geological Series 13. in the Purcell sills by S. J. Schofield. Columnar structure in limestone by Geological Series 14. E. M. Kindle. Supposed evidences of subsidence of the Geological Series 15. coast of New Brunswick within modern time by J. W.

—

Mus. Bull. 2. \lssued 1914).

—

Goldthwait.

The Pre-Cambrian (Beltian) rocks of Geological Series 16. southeastern British Columbia and their correlation by S. J. Schofield. Early Cambrian stratigraphy in the Geological Series 17. North American Cordillera, with discussion of Albertella and related faunas by L. D. Burling. preliminary study of the variations Geological Series 18. of the plications of Parastrophia hemiplicata, Hall by A. E. Wilson. Anthropological Series 2. Some aspects of puberty fasting

—

Mus. Bull. 3. Mus. BtJLL. 4.

among the Ojibwa by Paul Radin. The Anticosti Island faunas, 1914 by W. H. Twenhofel. The Crowsnest volcanics, 1914 by J. D. Geological Series 20.

—

Geological Series 19.

—

MacKenzie.

A Beatricea-like organism from the

Mus. Bull. 5.

Geological Series

Mus. Bull. 6.

by P. E. Raymond. Prehistoric and present commerce Anthropological Series 3. among the Arctic Coast Eskimo, 1915 by V. Stefansson.

Mus. Bull. 7.

Biological Series 4.

21.

—

middle Ordovician, 1914

—

A new species of Dendragapus (Dendra-

gapus Obscurus Flemingi) from southern Yukon Terri-

—

tory, 1914 by P. A. Taverner. The Huronian formations of TimiskamGeological Series 22. ing region, Canada, 1914 by W. H. Collins. Mus. Bull. 9. Anthropological Series 4. The Glenoid Fossa in the skull of the Eskimo, 1915 by F. H. S. Knowles. Mus. Bull. 10. Anthropological Series 5. The social organization of the Winnebago Indians, an interpretation, 1915 by P

Mus. Bull. 8.

—

Radin.

Physiography of the Beaverdell mapGeological Series 23. area and the southern part of the Interior plateaus of British Columbia, 1915 by L. Reinecke. Mus. Bull. 12. Geological Series 24. On Eoceratops Canadensis, gen. nov., with remarks on other genera of Cretaceous horned dinosaurs, 1915 by L. M. Lambe. Mus. Bull. 13. Biological Series 5. The double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax Auritus) and its relation to the salmon industries on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, 1915 by P. A. Taverner. Mus. Bull. 14. Geological Series 25. The occurrence of glacial drift on the Magdalen islands, 1915 by J. W. Goldthwait. Mus. BtJLL. 15. Geological Series 26. Gay Gulch and Skookum meteorites, 1915— by R. A. A. Johnston. Mus. Bull. 16. Anthropological Series 6. Literary aspects of North American mythology, 1915 by P. Radin. The Ordovician rocks of lake TimisMus. Bull. 17. Geological Series 27. kaming, 1915— by M. Y. Williams. Mus. BiTLL. 18. Geological Series 28. Structural relations of the Pre-Cambrian and Palaeozoic rocks north of the Ottawa and St. Lawrence valleys, 1915 by E. M. Kindle and L. D. Burling. Mus. Bull. 19. Anthropological Series 7. A sketch of the social organization of the Nass River Indians, 1915 by E. Sapir. Mus. Bull. 20. Geological Series 29. An Eurypterid horizon in the Niagara formation of Ontario, 1915 by M. Y. Williams. Mus. Bull. 21. Geological Series 30. Notes on the geology and palaeontology of the lower Saskatchewan River valley, 1915 by E. M. Kindle. Mus. Bull. 22. Geological Series 31. The age of the Killamey granite, 1916

Mus. Bull. 11.

—

—by W. H. Collins. The Trent Valley outlet of lake Series 32. Algonquin and the deformation of the Algonquin waterplane in Lake Simcoe district, Ontario, 1916— by W. A.

Mus. BLT.L. 23.

Geological

Mus. BtJLL. 24.

Geological Series 33.

Johnston.

Late Pleistocene oscillations of seaby W. A. Johnston,

—

level in the Ottawa valley, 1916

UNCLASSIFIED. Report on a geological reconnaissance of the region traversed by the National Transcontinental railway between lake Nipigon and Clay lake,

1910— by W. H. Collins. Report on the geological position and characteristics of the oil-shale deposits of Canada, 1910— by R. W. Ells. A reconnaissance across the Mackenzie mountains on the Pelly, Ross, and Gravel rivers, Yukon and North West Territories, 1910 by Joseph Keele.

Ont.,

—

Summary Report for the calendar year 1909, issued 1910. Report on a traverse through the southern part of the North West Terrifrom l.ac Seul to Cat lake, in 1902, issued 1911— by Alfred W. G.

tories,

Wilson.

Report on a part of the North West Territories drained by the Winisk and Upper Attawapiskat rivers, 1911 by W. Mclnnes. Report on the geology of an area adjoining the east side of lake Timiskaming, 1911 by Morley E. Wilson. Summary Report for the calendar year 1910, issued 1911. Summary Report for the calendar year 1911, issued 1912. Guide Book No. 1. Excursions in eastern Quebec and the Maritime Provinces, parts 1 and 2, 1913. Guide Book No. 2. Excursions in the Eastern Townships of Quebec and

—

the eastern part of Ontario, 1913. Guide Book No. 3. Excursions in the neighbourhood of Montreal and Ottawa, 1913. Guide Book No. 4. Excursions in southwestern Ontario, 1913. Guide Book No. 5. Excursions in the western peninsula of Ontario and Manitoulin island, 1913. Guide Book No. 8. Toronto to Victoria and return via Canadian Pacific and Canadian Northern railways; parts 1, 2, and 3, 1913. Guide Book No. 9. Toronto to Victoria and return via Canadian Pacific, Grand Trunk Pacific, and National Transcontinental railways, 1913. Guide Book No. 10. Excursions in northern British Columbia and Yukon Territory and along the north Pacific coast, 1913. Summary Report for the calendar year 1912, issued 1914. Notes on radium-bearing minerals, Prospector's Handbook No. 1.

1914— by Wyatt Malcolm. The archaeological collection from the southern interior of British Colum-

—by Harlan

bia, 1914

Smith.

Summary Report for the calendar year 1913, issued 1915. Summary Report for the calendar year 1914, issued 1915. Summary Report for the calendar year 1915, issued 1916.

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