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diff --git a/old/68177-0.txt b/old/68177-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 1bcfc74..0000000 --- a/old/68177-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6827 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Among unknown Eskimo, by Julian W. -Bilby - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Among unknown Eskimo - -Author: Julian W. Bilby - -Photographer: Archibald Lang Fleming - -Release Date: May 26, 2022 [eBook #68177] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed Proofreading - Team at https://www.pgdp.net/ for Project Gutenberg (This - file was produced from images generously made available by - The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AMONG UNKNOWN ESKIMO *** - - - - - - AMONG - UNKNOWN ESKIMO - - AN ACCOUNT OF TWELVE YEARS INTIMATE RELATIONS - WITH THE PRIMITIVE ESKIMO OF ICE-BOUND - BAFFIN LAND, WITH A DESCRIPTION OF - THEIR WAYS OF LIVING, HUNTING - CUSTOMS & BELIEFS - - - BY - JULIAN W. BILBY - - Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society - Member of the Folk Lore Society - - - - WITH THIRTY-THREE ILLUSTRATIONS & A MAP - - PHILADELPHIA - J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY - LONDON: SEELEY, SERVICE & CO., Ltd. - 1923 - - - - - - - - - -PREFACE - - -In offering the present book on the Eskimo tribes of the Arctics to the -reading British public, I must discharge the grateful and pleasing duty -of acknowledging my indebtedness for much courtesy and documentary -assistance to the Canadian Government, in the person of F. C. C. Lynch, -Esq., Superintendent of the “National Resources Branch of the -Department of the Interior.” He has been zealously instrumental in -enabling me to consult sources of classic recent information of which -otherwise I should not have had the confirmation and the benefit, and -also has placed at my publishers’ disposal the section of the official -map which represents the most up-to-date geographical information about -Baffin Land. - -There is a considerable literature about the Eskimo (as distinct from a -quite formidable list of works dealing with travel and voyages in the -Arctics) which should be consulted by students of ethnography. - -The classical authorities in this department are Dr Franz Boas and Dr -Rink, a study of whose researches should underlie all the more recent -first-hand contributions to what must remain for a long time to come a -new subject. - -For the photographs I am greatly indebted to the Rev. A. L. Fleming, -L.T.H., who spent several years among the Eskimo of South Baffin Land. -His photos were taken during many intrepid journeys in those wilds, and -he knew exactly the scenes it was desired to record by photography in -this work. I am also indebted to Miss A. B. Teetgen for her assistance -in the literary construction of the book. - -Finally, I wish to record my admiration and respect for the genial and -brave Eskimos of those barren lands, and for the way they face and -overcome the difficulties of the Arctic wilds. - - - - - - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - PAGE - CHAPTER I - The Voyage to the Arctics 17 - - CHAPTER II - Baffin Land 32 - - CHAPTER III - Arctic Flora & Fauna 47 - - CHAPTER IV - The Eskimo 56 - - CHAPTER V - The Building of the Village 72 - - CHAPTER VI - The Sealing Grounds 85 - - CHAPTER VII - Womanhood in the Arctics 97 - - CHAPTER VIII - Clothing—Boat Building 108 - - CHAPTER IX - Eskimo Dogs 119 - - CHAPTER X - Tribal Life 136 - - CHAPTER XI - Tribal Life—continued 154 - - CHAPTER XII - The Eskimo Language 171 - - CHAPTER XIII - Legends 184 - - CHAPTER XIV - The Conjurors 196 - - CHAPTER XV - The Sedna Ceremony 210 - - CHAPTER XVI - The Native Surgeon 224 - - CHAPTER XVII - Sport & Hunting 235 - - CHAPTER XVIII - The Creatures of the Wild 252 - - Appendix 265 - - Index 271 - - - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. - - - A Woman of the Fox Channel Tribe Frontispiece - PAGE - An Ancient Aboriginal Encampment 40 - Part of an Eskimo Tribe of Women and Children 56 - An Iglovegak or Eskimo Dwelling 64 - An Eskimo Tupik 73 - An Eskimo Snowhouse 76 - An Eskimo Home 80 - The Return of the Successful Seal Hunter in Springtime 88 - Young Seal Hunting in May 92 - Two Women in Summer Dress 96 - A Young Wife with her Baby in her Hood 104 - Eskimo Family Group 104 - Models of Kayak, Umiak, and Okushuk 112 - An Ancient Form of Sled 134 - The Two Wives of a Hunter 144 - An Eskimo Family outside their House 144 - Preparing for a Long Winter Journey 160 - A Native Chart 177 - Asseak and his Wife 200 - An Umiak or Family Boat 208 - The Summer Tent or Tapik 208 - A Conjuror’s Mask 211 - A Kagge or Singing House (Elevation) 218 - A Kagge or Singing House (Plan) 219 - An Eskimo Woman of the Fox Channel Tribe 224 - An Eskimo Summer Encampment 224 - Specimens of Native Stone Carving 232 - An Eskimo in his Kayak 240 - Beginning to Build a Snowhouse 240 - A Wolf Trap 255 - An Eskimo Trap for Bears, Foxes or Wolves 257 - A Seagull Trap 261 - - - - - - - - - -THE ESKIMO OF BAFFIN LAND - - -CHAPTER I - -THE VOYAGE TO THE ARCTICS - - -A voyage to the Arctics has always been a dangerous and exciting -adventure, whether entered upon by whalers and hunters, intrepid men -lured by the hardy business of the frozen North, or by the no less -intrepid pioneers of exploration and of science. For the moment, we are -not concerned with the latter, but rather with some aspects of life in -the barren lands and icy seas north of “the Circle,” and with the -adventures and experiences of the few ships’ crews who have been making -yearly voyages in those regions for trading purposes ever since the -efforts of the sixteenth century navigators to discover the famous -North West Passage began to chart out these hitherto unnavigated seas. - -The search, indeed, for this passage, a sea route of communication -between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (or, in other words, a short -way to the East Indies without doubling the Cape of Good Hope)—was -incidentally the means of opening up the whole of the north polar -regions to exploration and discovery. As early as the year 1527, the -idea of such a passage was suggested to Henry VIII by a merchant of -Bristol; but it was not until the beginning of the following century -that a first expedition was fitted out at the expense of some London -merchants and despatched to the arctic seas. - -Centuries before this, however, the Arctic Ocean was entered by a -Norwegian adventurer about the time of King Alfred; and the west coast -of Greenland was colonised from Iceland early in the eleventh century. -But no further progress was made in arctic discovery until the -sixteenth century, when various seas and points of land were mapped -out, mainly in the eastern hemisphere. The navigator Henry Hudson -discovered the Straits and Bay named after him in the great North -American archipelago, in 1610. Frobisher, Drake, and Hall, made voyages -to the west coasts of Greenland and to the opposite coasts; but the -entrance to the arctic regions west of that continent was discovered by -John Davis in 1585. In 1616, Baffin and Bylot passed through this -passage and sailed up Smith Sound, but nothing further was learned of -these parts for another two hundred years. - -The Eskimo preserve to this day the story of Frobisher. It was, indeed, -narrated to the writer with a wealth of authentic detail by a native, -to whom it had been handed down amid other oral traditions of his tribe -and locality. - -“Now it is said that Frobisher, coming to Nauyatlik for the first time, -not knowing the place or where there was a safe anchorage, crept along -the side (of the land) in his small ship, and was wrecked. For it was -shallow water there, and getting aground, he ordered the fuel (coal) to -be taken out and carried ashore to a place called Akkelasak. For the -ship was no longer habitable. The crew found refuge on a small, flat -island, and pitched tents there of the vessel’s sails, and began to -fashion a graving dock by digging out the soft ground. When it was -finished, they towed the wreck to the spot and docked her. All this -happened a long time ago, but traces of their work are still visible. -The shipwrecked sailors overhauled the hull. When at length their -repairs and rebuilding were complete, they towed out the ship and -moored her alongside a cliff, at the top of which they fixed their -tackle, unstepped and restepped the mast, their task being completed. -At last, and having buried those of their shipmates who had died during -this weary time, they abandoned the remainder of their fuel and set -sail for home. This is the narrative of one who had it from her mother, -who in turn had received it from her dead father, who had it from his -forbears; for thus they were accustomed to narrate it.” - -The above translation, of course, is very free. It would interest the -philologist to have it in the original, or even in a literal version; -but possibly the foregoing will convey to the general reader that -graphic grasp of the story which renders all Eskimo history so reliable -and enduring. - -The attempt to find a north west passage by sea, from the Atlantic -Ocean to Behring Strait, where farthest east meets farthest west, was -abandoned until Commander John Ross, in modern times (1818), was sent -out to prosecute further exploration in the Arctic. Throughout the -nineteenth century, many intrepid voyages were made, with which the -names of such men as Parry, Ross, Richardson, Rae and Franklin are -associated. Prior to this wonderful epoch of dauntless adventure, all -within the Arctic Circle upon the map was a blank. The entire geography -of the Canadian arctic archipelago has been worked out, defined, -charted, and named, since that time. Voyages of discovery were made in -rapid succession, after Sir John Ross’s expedition in 1818, many of the -leaders working in conjunction with the officials of the Hudson Bay Fur -Trading Company, who were anxious to determine the extent and limits of -the immense continent they controlled, now known as the North West -Territories. Every name upon the arctic map, whether of sea, sound, -inlet, strait, island, peninsula or cape, is a historical association -with the personnel or the patrons of these numerous expeditions. - -All the islands of the Arctic Archipelago lying to the northward of the -mainland of the continent, and the whole of Baffin Land, form part of -the British possessions in North America by right of discovery. They -were formally transferred to the Dominion of Canada by Order in Council -of the Imperial Government on September 1st, 1880. - -An immense amount of scientific information was derived from all this -hardship, endurance and enterprise. The story of Sir John Franklin -alone is a deathless epic in the annals of this seafaring nation. And -the whole field was opened up for the whalers, sealers, hunters and -fishers, whose business it soon became to demonstrate that arctic -exploration had a bearing on commerce and the hardier industries of -maritime mankind. - -The whaling trade originated as early as the discoveries of Barentz and -Hudson, but Sir John Ross opened up the northernmost waters of Baffin’s -Bay to it, in recent times. The search for the North West Passage, -indeed, proved abortive for many years, owing to the fact that the -season in which it was possible to navigate in very high latitudes only -lasted about seven weeks. The most experienced men, though, never gave -up the theory of the probability of its existence. Half a century went -by before the route was found at last. Captain McClure, in the search -for the long-lost Franklin, achieved the discovery of two routes to the -Behring Straits and the Pacific Ocean, in the autumn of the year 1850. -Useless and futile as the discovery proved to be, who can sufficiently -estimate and appraise all that has gone, of human worth and high -resolve, of suffering and of life itself, to the making of it? - -Of the whalers and traders who followed in the wake of the explorers, -the Scottish seamen have been the most persistent. Scotch vessels -continue, to-day, to visit the Arctic every year. They sail from home -in early summer, cross the North Atlantic, work their way up Davis’ -Strait, and, (unless they winter on the coast of Baffin Land or -Greenland), return to Scotland late in “the fall.” Sometimes the -practice was to make the passage, generally through open water, from -Dundee to St. John’s, spend some weeks upon the sealing grounds, then -return to refit at the Newfoundland port for a whaling cruise farther -north in Lancaster Sound. Having secured their cargo of seal skins and -oil, they return home. The vessels of the Dundee whaling fleet are -designed and built for navigation in northern seas. The hull is of -wood, on account of its resisting power where pressed by ice, and the -hardwood (“greenheart”) sheathing minimises the abrasions caused by -conflict with the jagged edges of the floes. The ship is immensely -braced by stout cross beams inside. The cutwater is protected by iron -bands or plates, to enable her to withstand the heavy strain of the -ice. She is barque rigged (i.e., a square rigged vessel, having yards -on the foremast and mainmast, but not on the mizzen mast), and fitted -with steam, to enable her to proceed during a calm, to shear her way -through ice, or to enter and leave harbour independently of wind or -tide. On all other occasions she depends upon her sails. A whaler -fitted after this fashion is called an “auxiliary steam vessel.” She -sails, however, much faster than she can steam. She carries about 500 -tons of coal. - -Many of these tried and tested Scottish whaling ships have been bought -up by the leaders of Arctic and Antarctic exploring expeditions, and -remodelled and refitted for the scientific uses to which they would be -put, and have done yeoman service in the assault on the Poles. - -Of late years the Hudson Bay Company (of historic and ubiquitous -enterprise in Canada), have established posts on the southern shores of -Baffin Land, (opposite to that northernmost region of the bleak -Labrador known as Ungava), so that their ships, which sail from -Montreal as annual supply ships for all the Company’s “Forts” and -“Factories” along the Canadian coasts, have points of call along Hudson -Strait en route for Hudson Bay itself and the fur ports of that vast -inland sea. - -The Scotch whaling industry has various agents posted in many a bleak, -un-heard of spot along the icebound littoral of the Eskimo countries, -whose duty it is to collect and store the pelts brought in by the -natives—employed by the agent—and ship them away annually or -bi-annually, as the case may be. - -A whaling voyage was filled, especially in the earlier days, with as -much danger as adventure. The ships were manned by sailors who had -taken to the life as lads, or, held by the fascination of the North, -returned thither year after year, seldom caring to make voyages -elsewhere. They lived amid the ice. True northman and fine seaman, many -a whaler’s master is proud of the fact that he began his career as a -cabin boy and worked his way aft. He is a fighter, every inch of him, -such as only “the wild” can breed. He has an iron code of honour, and a -strain of true Norse hardness in him for his enemy. But he has also the -manly virtues of his type—fidelity to his fellows, and generosity to -lesser men than himself. - -Previous to an Arctic voyage, months were spent in the commissioning of -these vessels. Every rope and block was overhauled. The ships’ boats -were rigorously tested and each carefully fitted out. Food and stores -of all kinds were taken aboard wholesale, against every contingency -experience and foresight could suggest, especially that of a forced -wintering in the north. An armoury of weapons was carried: harpoons and -harpoon guns for the boats, lances for killing whales, huge knives for -cutting up the carcases, bombs, hatchets, rifles and ammunition. No -less exhaustive was the inventory of the “trade”—articles for the -Eskimo trade and barter—such as needles, soaps (scented and otherwise), -pipes, matches, calico, beads, and, above all, tobacco! Every boy’s -book of adventure will suggest the scope of the slop chest, the -incredible handiness and nattiness of the galley, the reek of the -fo’c’sle, the snug dignity of the Captain’s cabin, and the compressed -completeness of an equipment designed to last a ships’ entire crew (let -us say her tonnage is about 129, and her company number twenty-nine) -over many months of toil, emergency, and utter isolation. She carried -no doctor. The first mate presided over the medicine chest, and had -resort to some small book of directions as to what to give and what to -do in case of illness or accident. In the early days adventurers to the -Arctic were sorely stricken with scurvy, for want of vegetable food and -a knowledge of how to provide against this deficiency. We have often -heard of desperate feats of amateur surgery carried out on board ship. -It has been that the mate of a whaling vessel often acted, not at all -unsuccessfully, as surgeon. - -Doctor William S. Bruce, indeed, tells us in his “Polar Exploration” -that, generally speaking, germ diseases are unknown in the Arctic, the -intense cold making everywhere—in the air, on the sea and on the -land—for a high degree of bacterial sterility. “Under ordinary -conditions it is not possible to ‘catch cold’ in the polar regions .... -infectious fevers are practically unknown, unless contracted in a dirty -ship or filthily kept house.” Hence the feasibility of a practical -asepsis in accident or operation. Bishop Bompass once amputated a man’s -leg above the knee, and the operation was completely successful. The -Bishop had no medical knowledge beyond having attended some lectures at -an opthalmic hospital, in order to learn how to treat his Indians for -snow-blindness. - -The whaling voyage itself might be uneventful enough until a high -latitude was reached; but after that, the greatest possible skill was -required to navigate the ship safely through the “pack” ice coming down -from the Pole through Davis Straits and Fox Channel, on its way to the -coast of Labrador and Newfoundland, to be finally melted and dispersed -in the Gulf Stream. - -Arctic navigators and oceanographers enumerate many varieties and -vagaries of the polar ice. Suffice it here to note that “pack ice” is -the jammed and frozen conglomeration of masses of ice from broken floes -and vast disintegrating “fields” of ice. In Straits, this pack is -always heaviest in the centre but less compact along the shores, so -that a vessel can sometimes be worked along the coast when navigation -in the middle would be impossible. This “middle pack” is rightly -dreaded by Arctic seamen. A change of wind might drift it in upon the -shore, when the ship’s destruction would be inevitable. The great -danger in meeting the ice pack out at sea consists in the fact that the -larger part of the floe is almost submerged and little of it is to be -seen. Again, it bristles with spurs and points which stick up and out -like spears and rams, any one of which might rip up a hull sailing at -any speed. - -The rapidity with which the ice pack moves is something wonderful. -Miles upon miles of sea will be free from ice, with the exception of -small masses from the floes, and the ship ploughs a steady course to -the north. Suddenly the wind changes. Ice swiftly makes its appearance -on every quarter, and—with incredible rapidity—the vessel is -surrounded. But warning has been given from the “crow’s nest” (the -look-out aloft, a barrel at masthead), and the Master works a cautious -way through the “leads” in the shifting ice. Should the pack be -exceptionally heavy, threatening to pen in the ship completely, -measures for her safety are immediately taken. Orders ring out sharply. -The crew, with ice saws or blasting powder, quickly make a space in the -ice, like a temporary dock, large enough to warp her into, where she -can lie snug while the savage floes grind and crash against each other -without. Woe to the ship caught between them ere such a refuge can be -made! No vessel that ever adventured in the polar seas could stand the -awful grip. There would be a rending of the stoutest timbers, groans of -a ship in agony, a lift and a quiver, and as the floes swung apart on -the black swell below, the brave creature, mangled, rent, and stove in, -would plunge to her bitter grave. As for her crew, their only chance -would be to lower the boats, and, either marooned on the ice, drift -south on the prevailing current until perchance sighted by a ship; or, -if afloat, work their perilous way to the Greenland coast, and take -refuge at one of the Danish settlements sparsely scattered on its -southern extremity. - -Icebergs—those rightly dreaded wanderers of the northern seas—afford a -glorious vision in bright, calm weather, as they wend their majestic -course to the south, tinted by the setting sun or by the indescribable -loveliness of the northern sunrise. Sometimes a large portion having -been melted, breaks from the berg, when the vast mass slowly careens -over, plunges with a thunderous crash, and reasserts itself upon a new -floating base, peerless and beautiful as ever. The ship is fortunate -who finds herself standing well away at such a moment. - -In spite, however, of their bad reputation, the bergs have their uses -for those hardy wayfarers of the sea who know them. The ancient Arctic -mariner will tell you that an iceberg can sail against the wind as well -as with it! Gripped for two-thirds of its bulk by a strong -under-current, it can crash its way and forge ahead against the wildest -adverse gale. An old whaler told of an experience he had when his ship -was beset by the loose floe, and like to be crushed to matchwood. The -men were striving all they knew to get her into safety, when a vast -berg drove slowly down beside her through the ice, shouldering it aside -as a giant liner drives through a heavy sea. With the inspiration of -sheer desperation, the Captain saw his chance! The vessel was -cautiously worked still nearer the berg and then kedged on to it. Towed -thus, with resistless might, she too forged safely through the chafing -floe to clear water and deliverance. - -Again, a ship—no matter of what class or tonnage—can only carry a -certain quantity of water. So, too, with a whaler; she is limited in -her supply. It sometimes happens that, cruising about week after week, -she runs short of water. On sighting an iceberg, she sends off her -boats loaded with casks, and the crews refill them either with water -from the pools at the foot of the berg, or with the ice itself, which -being fresh water ice, melts down, of course, into splendid drinking -water after the brine and salt coating from the sea has first been -scraped off. For, be it remembered, an iceberg is a portion—the seaward -end—of one of the polar glaciers. As the immense ice river reaches the -coast it is pushed out over the cliffs, and vast masses break off with -terrific detonation, plunge into the sea, and the newly born icebergs -go floating far and wide. A large number of these bergs are formed in -Eternity Fiord on the Greenland coast, and the crash and roar of them -can be heard for miles. - -As the season wears on and the whaler’s hold slowly fills with the -cargo of the Arctic hunt, from time to time she puts into the sparse -harbours of the northern coasts, to refit, or to meet the tribes of -Eskimo gathered there to do “trade” with her. The Hudson Bay Company -have lately introduced a form of coinage for this purpose, anything of -the sort being previously quite unknown among the natives. Pieces of -metal in various shapes represent the values of a currency and are used -as money. But the prehistoric marketing of barter still holds good -throughout the greater part of the Arctic regions. - -Sometimes a shipmate has to be left, perforce of accident or illness, -to sleep the long sleep that knows no earthly waking, in this drear and -far-off land. - -So much then for the voyage and the voyagers to the Arctic. Now for -that frozen world itself, and for those strange people whose lot, -compared with that of all the rest of the more genially situated sons -of men, would seem to have fallen in the bleakest, harshest and most -forbidding places, where human life might scarcely exist. - -When the first ship seen by an Eskimo tribe touched on the coast, what -did they think of it; what was the bewildering impression they got? An -old hunter, recounting the story of his tribe and its adventures, gave -the writer a graphic account of just such an event. An enormous boat, -he said, appeared, filled with Kabloonâtyet (strangers), speaking an -unknown tongue and having hairy faces! The tall masts were hung with -the clouds (sails), and there was a door in the roof (the companion -leading from the deck), instead of in the side of the house. At first -the tribesmen hovered round this amazing thing in their canoes, afraid -to approach too near. Presents were thrown out to them of which they -could make nothing. They just smelt at the tobacco, biscuit and sweets, -and cast them aside. There were knives, but they cut themselves with -these, not knowing how to handle steel ones. It was almost as if some -unimaginable craft from another sphere were to visit the Earth and make -incomprehensible overtures to us by means of objects which conveyed -nothing to our intelligence—something after the style of Mr. Wells’s -Martians. At last, however, looking glasses resolved the situation. -These the Eskimo received with huge delight and amazement. Eventually -they were induced to board the strange boat and open up some sort of -initial overtures with her alarming crew. His fore-fathers, said the -old hunter, had seen these things and carefully handed them down. - - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER II - -BAFFIN LAND - - -A landfall in the Arctics is forbidding enough. Little is to be seen -save bare rocks broken by ravines, filled with snow even so late as far -into July and August—bare rocks, rising into gaunt hills from 500 to -1,500 feet high. The coastline is broken by bays and fiords, running -deep inland. These inlets with their irregular outlines have a singular -if rather drear beauty of their own, especially in the summer-time, -when what little vegetation there may be—a spare, coarse grass and a -red and white variety of heather—adds a grateful note of relief to the -severe scene. There are miles and miles of rocky coast in places, where -not so much as a handful of soil to support the hardiest little living -thing could be found. - -Baffin Land, or Baffin Island—the country with which this book has to -do—is an immense portion of the Canadian Arctic archipelago lying -between latitude 62° and 72° N. By far the greater part of it extends -north of the Arctic Circle, while its southern-most cape touches the -latitude of the Faroe Islands, ’twixt the Shetlands and Iceland, in our -own more familiar waters. The whole country lies far beyond the -northernmost limit of trees, although it is not without an Arctic flora -of its own. Baffin Sea, or Baffin Bay (that stretch of the North -Atlantic Ocean which, beyond Davis Strait, divides the west coast of -Greenland from North America), was discovered by the navigator William -Baffin in 1615. Hence the name of the country. Discredit was thrown -throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries on Baffin’s work in -the north; and, after him, Arctic exploration ceased for about two -centuries. Then Sir John Ross verified Baffin’s observations in 1818, -and many of them became the bases of later expeditionary enterprise. - -A glance at the map shows how the country lies. To the north of it, -beyond the whaling grounds of Lancaster Sound, Devon Island is the next -stretch of the poleward tapering continent. The Gulf of Bothnia and Fox -Channel divide it on the west from the enormously broken coasts of the -North West Territories. “The territory now known as Baffin Land was, -until about 1875, supposed to consist of different islands, known as -Cockburn Island, Cumberland Island, Baffin’s Land, Sussex Island, Fox -Land, etc. It seems to be now established that these are all connected -and that there is but one great island, comprising them all, to which -the name of Baffin Land has been given. It forms the northern side of -Hudson Strait.... It has a length of about 1,005 English statute miles, -with an average breadth of 305 miles, its greatest width being 500 and -its least 150 miles. Its area approximates 300,000 square miles, and it -therefore comprises about one tenth of the whole Dominion. It is the -third largest island in the world, being exceeded only by Australia and -Greenland” (Annual Report of Geolog. Survey of Canada, 1898.) - -It is an entirely Arctic country, immediately north of which runs the -polar limit of human habitation. - -Up to the actual time of writing, Baffin Land has been held to be -incapable of inland commercial development, but a Royal Commission of -the Government of the Dominion have recently examined the possibility -of establishing there a reindeer and muskox ranching industry. Their -report has not yet been published, but already some steps are being -taken to realise such a project. If this should have results, a new -means of livelihood would be opened up to the Eskimo, at present -employed exclusively by the whaling agents on the coast. But the -natives are not herders, and in all probability Lapps would be brought -over from northern Europe to initiate the industry. From this would -ensue doubtless some racial modifications—probably quite inappreciable -to any but those observers, like the present writer, used to the pure -and unmixed Eskimo stock. In the present book, little account will be -taken of those tribes which have been in contact with other races, like -those of Alaska and Labrador, whence results hybridization or -degeneration. The writer proposes to confine his attention entirely to -the people of ancient, unmixed blood, and to depict their life and -customs as uninfluenced by the forces of trade and civilisation, which -are already threatening to usher in a new era and extinguish the last -representatives of the “reindeer age.” - -From another point of view, however, Baffin Land should not pass -without remark. It has certain undetermined mineral resources. At Cape -Durban, on the 67th parallel, coal is known to exist, and graphite -(plumbago) has been found abundant and pure in several islands. Again, -pyrites and mica are all to be found in its rocks. - -The geology of the Arctic regions is, of course, a study in itself -beyond the scope of this book. It may be of interest, however, to note -that the two great distinctive bodies of rock to be observed in a -country like Baffin Land are the granite and the finer grained, darker, -basic rock. The ironstone from there is very similar to that brought -from India to be smelted in England. The graphite might be mistaken for -coal, but for its formation under geological conditions which could not -have given rise to the latter. The two pyrites occur in the rocks of -all ages; the one is a brassy yellow, very hard mineral, and the other -a brilliant black stone (magnetic pyrites) looking much like a mass of -loosely formed crystals. Garnets are also formed in several kinds of -rock, but are chiefly to be found in the schist. As a rule, these -little gems are far too much broken and split by the intense frost to -be worth collecting. In the winter, the hardest rock is so split by the -cold that every peculiarity of its composition can be clearly seen. The -graphite can be chipped out with an axe and utilised very conveniently -for writing. - -The scenery everywhere is typical of the “Barrens,” the “Bad Lands of -the North.” In winter, a featureless waste of snow, where in that dark -season “come those wonderful nights of glittering stars and northern -lights playing far and wide upon the icy deserts; or where the moon, -here most melancholy, wanders on her silent way through scenes of -desolation and death. In these regions the heavens count for more than -elsewhere; they give colour and character, while the landscape, simple -and unvarying, has no power to draw the eye.” (Nansen.) In summer, when -the iron grip of ice is relaxed around the frozen coast, snow may -disappear from the interminable wastes of rounded granite hills which -are a feature of the interior. The effect of this endless succession of -low bare elevations is one of “appalling desolation.” The long, -high-pitched howl of the wolf, the ultimate note of the wilderness, -falls occasionally upon the ear of the twilight camper. This, and the -cry of the loon from the lakes, with the crowing bleat of the ptarmigan -in the low scrub, are the chance evening sounds (of spring and summer) -in the Barrens. - -The country generally is mountainous and of a hilly and barren aspect. -In some districts comparatively level Laurentian areas occur, where -immense herds of reindeer roam in the summer. At this season the ranges -have a dark or nearly black appearance, owing to the growth of lichens -upon them, but this sombre character is often relieved in valleys and -on hill-sides by strips and patches of green, due to grasses and sedges -in the lower bottoms, and a variety of flowering plants on sheltered -slopes exposed to the sun. - -The high interior of Baffin Land, lying just north of Cumberland Sound, -is apparently all covered with ice, like the interior of Greenland. -Around the margins of this ice cap the general elevation above the sea -is about 5,000 feet, and it rises to about 8,000 feet in the central -parts. Large portions of the northern interior are over 1,000 feet -above the sea, so that vast regions of the country may be said to be -truly mountainous. - -There are no trees or shrubs of any kind in Baffin Land. Of Arctic -flowers, a small yellow poppy seems to be the hardiest and most -widespread. Even in those parts where desolation seems to reign -supreme, this poppy (Papaver radicatum), and a tiny purple saxifrage -(Saxifraga appositifolia) can generally be discerned. There are coarse -grasses growing in scant patches, and immense tracts of reindeer moss, -upon which the cariboo entirely subsist. - -Unlike the sterile Antarctic, however, it is well known that the flora -of Arctic lands is a feature of such importance that it has been the -subject of an immense amount of expert investigation carried out by -very many eminent botanists from every country. Professor Bruce says it -is quite impossible to enter into detail regarding arctic botany, -largely on account of its sheer profusion. “No matter how far the -explorer goes, no matter how desolate a region he visits, he is sure to -come across one or more species of flowering plants.... Every arctic -traveller is thoroughly familiar with scurvy grass, the sulphur -coloured buttercup, the little bladder campion, several potentillas, -the blaeberry, many saxifrages, the rock rose, the cotton grass and the -arctic willow.” In Grinnell Land (far north of Baffin Land) the British -Arctic Expedition of 1875 met with “luxuriant vegetation.” The presence -or absence of the Arctic current along the shores of these countries -seems to have much to do with the problems of vegetation. Baffin Land, -bathed in its icy waters, is far more barren than Greenland, where it -does not touch. Possibly Grinnell Land is immune from its influence. It -is, nevertheless, quite possible for a dense plant life to -flourish—under certain conditions of climate, altitude and -situation—deep within the Arctic Circle, where even the tundra, a -wilderness of snow in the winter, becomes an impassable fever-haunted, -mosquito ridden, torrid, flower decked swamp in the summer. - -But there is more than this in the botany of Baffin Land! The natural -or geological history of the Arctic regions generally is that of the -earth’s crust itself, and from this point of view the study of these -northern blossoms is more wonderful than that of its rocks. - -The fossil plants of these ice-bound countries belong to the Miocene -period, an epoch warmer than the present, which preceded the glacial -age now triumphant there. The latitudes of Baffin Land were once -covered by extensive forests representing fifty or sixty different -species of arborescent trees, most of them with deciduous leaves, some -three or four inches in diameter, the elm, pine, oak, maple, plane, and -even some evergreens, showing an entirely different condition of -seasons to that which now holds sway in the far, far north. The modern -botany of the Arctics, comprising some 300 kinds of flowering plants, -besides mosses, algae, lichens, fungi, is characteristic of the -Scandinavian peninsula. Now, the Scandinavian flora is one of the -oldest on the globe. It represents unique problems in distribution, -from which the most tremendous scientific deductions have been drawn, -such as those concerning a former disposition of terrestrial continents -and oceans, and some concerning changes in the direction of the earth’s -axis itself! All this is very far beyond the scope of any such account -of Baffin Land as the present. Suffice it, nevertheless, to indicate -the deep vistas of interest that lie behind the “appalling desolation” -of its appearance to-day, and the limitations of its hyperborean native -folk. - -The reindeer moss is a very important asset of the country. It is a -delicate grey-green in colour and beautiful in form as well. It grows -luxuriantly to about the height of six inches. When dry, it is brittle, -and may be crumbled to powder in the hands; but when wet it is very -much of the consistency of jelly, and very slippery. The reindeer live -entirely upon it all the year round. In the winter, when it lies under -a deep blanket of snow, to get at it the deer have to scrape their way -down with their great splay hoofs. It sometimes happens that a season -comes when a thaw may be followed by a sharp frost. In this case the -surface of the snow is first melted and then quickly frozen, making a -coating of ice over all the surface of the ground. To scrape this would -cut the deers’ legs, so there is an exodus of the herd to other feeding -places, and hunger even to famine and starvation may reign in the -district they have deserted. Generally speaking, the herds keep to the -high grounds and hills in the winter, because there the moss is more -exposed and easier to come at. They move down to the coast at -intervals, to lick the salt which comes up through the “sigjak,” i.e., -ground ice, along the shore, when the tides rises and the water leaves -pools behind it. - -The deer feed in a peculiar manner. Once a pit has been sunk in the -snow and the moss at the bottom is browsed down, the creatures do not -attempt to enlarge the place, but scramble out again, only to dig a -fresh hole and sink shoulder high in it at a little distance, and begin -feeding afresh. The herd is always dogged by a pack of watchful wolves, -ever on the qui vive to attack; but the leaders’ vigilance never -slackens, and battle breaks out in the wild at the first movement of -aggression. - -There are one or two particularly interesting facts, astronomical and -otherwise, which account for the extraordinary physical phenomena and -conditions of life in the polar regions. To begin with the seasons. The -“Arctic” properly so called is geographically defined by that circle of -latitude where the sun on midwinter day does not rise, and where on -midsummer day it does not set. In Arctic countries the sun is never -more than 23½ degrees above the horizon, and their intense cold is due, -in summer, to the sharp obliquity of his rays, and in winter, to his -entire absence. In the latitude of Blacklead Island, on December 25th, -the whole orb of the sun is not visible, only the upper section shows -above the horizon (unless mist or snow overcast the heavens) for a -brief ten minutes at midday. On May 18th, conversely, the sun has been -noted as shining for eighteen hours, the remaining six out of the -twenty-four being a bright twilight, scarcely distinguishable from day. - -The whole year round there is little to be seen but rocks and snow. No -tilling, sowing, harvesting, mark the progress of the seasons or call -man to the pursuits which have brought all civilisation in their train -in milder climes. These seasons (which depend, of course, upon the -position of the earth in its orbit round the sun, and upon the -inclination of the polar axis to the plane of the ecliptic giving a six -month’s day and six month’s night at the poles), are markedly defined -in Baffin Land. But far more distinctly so on shore than at sea, where -unbroken ice may reign supreme throughout the greater part of the -twelve-month. Winter sets in on the southern coast about the end of -September; farther north a week or two earlier. By this date the hills -are getting their snow caps, which extend downwards every day, and a -thin sheet of ice appears upon the sea at night. A rim of ice along the -shore marks the rise and fall of the tide. Frequent snowstorms now set -in, and the ice at sea thickens and strengthens, until by November it -extends as far as the eye can rove. This ice, however, is not stout or -welded enough to bear sleds, except in the fiords and smaller bays, -until nearly Christmas time. The sea freezes when the temperature of -the air falls to about 15° F., and the whole surface of the water -becomes covered with a mass of ice spicules known to polar sailors as -Bay Ice, from its forming first in the bays of the coast. Presently -this solidifies and thickens, growing ever whiter and more translucent -in the process, and is broken, even in calm weather, by the action of -gentle swell or the currents beneath into thousands of discs, large and -small, like pans of ice. Sea ice is formed at a temperature of 3° F. -below the freezing point of fresh water. There are many remarkable and -interesting physical distinctions between ice formed on land and ice -formed at sea. The latter when melted is quite drinkable, being not -nearly so salt as salt water. The intense cold, though, of drinking -water so obtained tends to inflame the mucous membrane of the mouth and -throat, and its slight salinity still further augments thirst; so it is -never resorted to except of necessity. These pans eventually freeze -together into one great solid floor of “pancake ice,” and the Eskimo, -away hunting in the winter for seal, may camp and live for weeks, miles -out from land on the frozen sea. - -The days grow ever shorter and shorter until, in midwinter, there may -be only a few hours or even minutes of daylight left. The long Arctic -night lasts from September to March. - -By the end of March, however, the sun is once more high in the heavens; -the sudden spring has begun, and the sound is everywhere heard of water -trickling under the snow. Readers of Alaskan romance will recall many a -fine passage about the ice “going out” on the Yukon, and realise the -terrific transformation undergone by the whole still, silent, rigid, -frozen landscape when the iron bonds of winter at length give way. -Springtime in the Arctics is a wonderful time. The thaw comes from -below. The rocks take the heat, and the snow sinks down, baring more -and more of them every day. It grows quite warm; bird sounds (ptarmigan -and snow bunting) enliven all the day; ducks quack at the floe edge. -Sunrise beams upon the Arctic hills until they lie smiling in the full -beauty of sunshine on their mantles of untrodden snow. - -At the end of June, summer is come; the sun is really hot, and the -long-covered earth, bared at last to its benign influence, puts forth -heather and grass and flowers. For six months there is no more night. -Its place is taken by the pale light that offers so strange a -phenomenon to the dweller from the south. If the sky be unclouded, -shadows will be seen pointing to the south. If clouds cover the -heavens, the landscape stands out without shadow at all, clear and -sharp under this strange illumination. There is no one point from which -the light can come; it comes from everywhere. Owing to the length of -this Arctic “day,” the ground has no time to radiate away the welcome -warmth, hence the rapid growth of what vegetation the region may show. -Again, as Nansen says so poetically: “In these regions the heavens -count for more than elsewhere: they give colour and character ... to -the landscape ... it is flooded with that melancholy light which -soothes the soul so fondly and is so characteristic of the northern -night.” - -The stars are an open book to the Eskimo. They know all the principal -groups, and use them for the directing of their journeys. They can make -a very creditable chart of the northern heavens. They recognise the -Plough, and the Bear (which is indeed called “Nanook”—the Bear), and -they recognise the constellation of three stars in a straight line and -at equal distances from each other, which they call the “Runners,” and -describe as the spirits of three brothers in pursuit. The arctic -hunters are marvellous students of nature generally. They have the lore -of the wild at their finger tips, and all the wisdom of the seasons. It -is probable that this primitive people have preserved nearly all the -original instincts—as to the presence of danger, right direction, etc., -etc.—of primaeval man, which are all but extinct in the -over-civilisation of the modern European. - -In August autumn begins. Last year’s ice has been broken up and carried -far out to sea. There are frequent showers of rain, and the nights -begin again to encroach more and more on the day. It is about this time -that the trading ships generally arrive and put in at various points -along the coast to do business and refit. They pick up the annual -intelligence of the whaling stations, and leave for home as soon as the -new ice begins to form. - -Then winter comes down upon the land once more. The sky, like velvet, -is bespangled with stars of incomparable brilliance, burning like -opals. The Northern Lights, like lambent curtains of amazing -illumination, swing weirdly through the sky; the blanched hills and the -frozen fiords stand out in ghostly black and white under the startling -moonlight. There is no sound save the sharp cracking of rock or ice -under the strain of the intense frost, the uneasy growl of dogs, the -distant howl of a wolf. - -Suddenly, however, there may be a chorus of barking in the night, as a -strange team of dogs sweeps into view up the fiord, or the harbour, and -visitors descend upon the camp. Except for the noise, one could imagine -the newcomers to be the ghosts of ancient hunters haunting their old -grounds. But cheery cries, the crack of whips and the howls of the -dogs, dispel any such idea as the group comes up. They are stalwart and -sturdy individuals enough, clad from head to foot in deerskin, and -covered with rime and frost. They are seeking hospitality here, and at -once friendly doors are open to them, invitations are readily extended -and accepted, and soon everyone of the strangers is comfortably -bestowed (after Eskimo notions of comfort) in one or another of the -various dwellings, the dogs are unharnessed and fed, and peace resumes -her tranquil sway. - -The natives thus name the four seasons: Opingrak, spring; Auyak, -summer; Okeoksak, autumn (i.e., material for winter), and Okeok, -winter. The months are named by the sequence of events—the coming of -the ducks, the birth of the reindeer fawns, the coming of the fish (sea -trout), etc., as “the duck month,” “the fawn month,” “the fish month,” -etc. And the days are distinguished as “oblo,” to-day; “koukpât,” -to-morrow; “ikpuksâk,” yesterday; “ikpuksâne,” the day before -yesterday, and so forth. “Akkâgo” means next year, and “akkâne” is last -year. - - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER III - -ARCTIC FLORA AND FAUNA - - -Another striking feature of the Arctics is the effect upon the -appearance and character of those shores touched by the Gulf Stream, as -compared with those where its waters never pass. Thus the coast of -Greenland is comparatively luxuriant in vegetation and its seas teem -with fish, while Baffin Land, opposite, washed by arctic currents, is -desolate and barren, with no fishing off its shores. The same contrast -holds good with respect to the north and south coasts of Hudson Strait. -There are no cod off Baffin Land, but the Labrador fishermen ply their -trade right into Hudson Bay. - -Baffin “Island” is a trackless, mysterious continent where, high up on -the summits of some of the mountains, there are vast lakes fed from -hidden springs—or from streams from still higher ranges—wherein salmon -trout abound! At least, these fish are exactly like the sea trout which -come up the rivers every year to spawn, save that the hue of the belly -is bright red. The Eskimo point to this as proof that they never go -down to the sea, and call them the “dirty fish,” since they never quit -the lakes. How they ever got into them is a mystery the arctic -zoölogist must be left to solve, since neither hunter nor fisherman can -offer a suggestion. The trout could not have attained any such level -upstream. It would almost appear—if one might hazard a guess—that at -some remote geologic epoch this part of the N. American continent was -submerged, for the Eskimo of Baffin Land speak of an inland sea, now -dry, where fossil remains are to be found of large creatures such as -the whale and walrus. They come across fossil fish, indeed, in their -more extended wanderings, also shells, and bring them back to camp as -curiosities. - -The Eskimo are properly a seaboard people and seldom penetrate farther -inland than thirty miles from the coast, unless during the annual deer -hunt, when they may be away for a couple of months, according to the -distance the quest may take them. - -Possibly these unaccountable trout are the descendants of fish cut off -from access to the sea, when the gradual rise of the continental level -left lakes of originally salt water among the ranges. Where they are -not without marine life (excepting those wonderful seaweeds which are -found at the tropics as well as in the arctic), the waters round these -shores contain many species of fish commonly known elsewhere, only in a -much less developed state. Such creatures as sea anemones, shrimps, sea -snails, small squid, and salt water centipedes, are to be found on the -arctic beach. Naturalists enumerate a formidable list of the sort, -bristling with scientific nomenclature. Then there are the mosquitoes, -of which more anon, and small yellow, white and brown butterflies. It -is indeed due to the comparatively rich fauna and flora of the arctic -regions, both east and west, that arctic exploration has been carried -out so frequently. The utter absence of plant or animal or human life -in the dead antarctic has greatly militated against the success of -southbound expeditions. - -To deal with the mosquitoes! These insects abound in the summer-time, -and are a terrible pest. It is a puzzle how they survive the winter, -when everything is frozen solid, and the very spots which thaw under -the sudden warmth of an arctic spring and allow them to swarm out in -their malignant millions are iron-bound as the rocks themselves for the -greater part of the year. So formidable are these insects that man -himself has sometimes fallen a victim to their onslaught. On one -occasion, a polar bear was crossing a swamp on the prowl, when he was -attacked by mosquitoes. They stung his eyes, the inside of his ears, -penetrated his nostrils and stung them. As the nasal passages became -inflamed and swollen, the bear was forced to open his mouth to breathe, -when his enemies swarmed in, fastened on to tongue, palate and throat, -causing them also to swell, until the tormented brute succumbed to -suffocation. His howls attracted the attention of some Eskimo hunters, -who afterwards told the tale. - -Another time, some women in a summer camp noticed a kyak (skin canoe) -drifting about at sea in a curious way, and a man went off to -investigate. On arriving within hail he found a body in the canoe, -leaning back stone dead; done to death in precisely the same way by -mosquitoes. - -Arctic birds are numerous. Most of them are migratory, but an eagle, a -hawk, some owls and a raven, remain the year round. The most typical of -all Arctic birds, the Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis), is the -first to arrive and bring news of the spring. He comes about the same -time as the Ptarmigan. Lastly comes the bird that always seems to greet -the explorer on landing, the Purple Sandpiper (Tringa striata). He -comes soon after the ducks—the Eider, the King Eider, the Pintail and -the Harlequin. Between the two, there is a rapid vernal succession of -birds, including sea pigeons and geese. - -Eskimo hunters speak of the wild swan, on the south coast and in the -vicinity of Frobisher Bay. The raven is the only arctic bird which does -not change its plumage to match the surroundings. He is always -aggressively, blatantly black. Possibly, being so able a match for any -ordinary foe, this bird has no need to adopt the “protective -resemblance” of white. The writer has watched a raven alight to secure -some tit-bit of offal, and keep even the wolfish Eskimo dog at a -respectful distance, with its huge beak. The bird is cunning to a -degree. It will follow a trapper, note the position of his traps, and -return to visit and despoil them of their bait as soon as the coast is -clear. Then it takes up its stand on some convenient rock just out of -gunshot range, and watches the trapper on his return, just for all the -world as if it relished his comments! - -So much for the land birds. At sea there are petrels, gulls, and skuas. -The natives do not recognise pictures of puffins or penguins, as these -birds are not known on their coasts. - -Again, the animals of the frozen north form quite a formidable list. -There are three large lakes in Baffin Land (shown on the map at the -end), linked together by rivers and making connection with the sea by -river. - -The southern lake is called “Angmakjuak” (“the great one”). The length -of this sea may indeed exceed 120 miles by 40 in breadth in its central -part. The central lake, “Tesseyuakjuak,” is possibly 140 miles long by -60 broad, and the northern lake “Netselik” (the place of seals) is at -least 15 miles across. The difference in level between these great -sheets of water is so inconsiderable that the natives can paddle with -ease either up or down the waterways connecting them; perhaps none of -them lie much higher than 300 feet above the sea. They teem with seal -coming up from the coasts, and on the shores of Netselik old hunters -will tell you they have seen the Red Fox, as well as white and smoky. -This may well be so, as the fox is a denizen of Labrador, and might -easily cross Hudson Strait on the ice during a hard winter. The seal of -these lakes and of the coast (much hunted for food and for their skins -by the natives), are the grey haired seals of wide-spread commerce, but -not the fine, fur-bearing animals whose pelts are of the first beauty -and value. This latter is a different species and is protected by -Government, only a certain number being allowed to be killed each year. - -Bears, of course, abound. The female is the only arctic land creature -which hibernates. Then there is the wolf, the white and blue fox, [1] -the ermine, the arctic hare, a tailless snow mouse, or lemming, the -musk ox, and—the most widely distributed of all—the cariboo or reindeer -(Rangifer tarandus). It would be impossible to over-estimate the value -of the last named beautiful creature, alive or dead, to all the peoples -of the arctic countries, east or west. It would be superfluous here to -remark much about it, except to note one interesting peculiarity. The -reindeer differs from all other deer in that both sexes bear antlers. - -The wolves, of course, are the inveterate enemies of the deer. In the -winter, when the latter herds leave the lowlands and go up to pasture -among the hills, where the snow lies less deep and can be more easily -scratched away, they are dogged by the wolves. These hungry and -voracious creatures know well enough that the deer are sentinelled -while feeding by their fighting males, and make no movement of -aggression until one of them chances to stray from the herd. When this -happens, the luckless animal is immediately headed off towards the -shore and hunted down. The wolfish pack concentrates behind it and -draws in on either side, so as to leave but one avenue of apparent -escape. The quarry dashes down and away, out on towards the ice; but -its weight is so great and its hoofs so sharp that the frozen crust of -snow gives way beneath it and sorely cuts it about the legs. The deer -loses blood and slackens in speed, so that the wolves, skimming easily -over the treacherous surface, close in and soon drag it down. - -It is a fact well known to the Eskimo hunter that the actual chase is -put up by the female wolf, the male only coming in at the last, for the -kill. The former do the hustling and placing of the victim, as it were, -and the latter do the fighting and killing at the end. - -The Lemming (Cuniculus torquatus) is a queer typical little arctic -animal. It has a chubby build, a rudimentary tail, and no external -ears. The first toe of the forepaw is almost nil, but the third and -fourth have very strong claws, which grow longer and still more -powerful in winter. It is grey in summer and white for the rest of the -year. It lives upon the grubs to be found amid the moss under the snow, -and burrows its way along as it searches for food. It is quite a -familiar sound to hear the scratch, scratch, scratch of a lemming’s -claws beneath, as one lies on the snow sleeping bench of an Eskimo’s -igloo. The creature’s skin when dried is used by the natives for -sticking over cuts or boils. It is hunted in the spring by the women -and children, who are guided by the sound of its burrowings. They arm -themselves with a stick having a long barbed wire attached, and spear -the animal with this through the snow. - -Around the coasts there are various species of whales. The Grampus -(Orca gladiator) or killer, as it is called by the whalers, is a fierce -member of the dolphin group, sometimes attaining a length of thirty -feet, with large powerful teeth, from ten to thirteen in number, on -each side of the jaw. It has a high, upstanding fin on the back, like a -shark. It is very swift in the water and can easily overtake and kill -one of these latter creature. It is shunned and feared by all the -denizens of the arctic seas except the Walrus and the great Sperm -Whale. The Grampus is incredibly voracious, and has been known to -devour thirteen porpoises and fourteen seals at one meal. - -All the smaller animals take refuge in shallow water inshore at the -approach of a Killer, only to fall a prey there to the native. The -Killers hunt the whalebone whale, which, fast though it is, cannot make -good its escape. The pursuers will leap right out of the water and -crash down upon the head of their victim; or rush upon it and ram it, -until terrified, stunned and exhausted, the whale drops its jaw, when -the Killers tear out huge pieces of the tongue. (The tongue of a whale -is a vast mass of fat, weighing in a full sized animal as much as a -ton.) Finally, the unwieldly carcase is also despatched, and the -Grampuses take themselves off, replete. The male Walrus is too active -and fierce to be beset in this manner, but a female encumbered with a -calf will often be pursued by the Killer. She takes the young one under -her flipper and tries to escape; but the aggressor rushes in and butts -at her. Sometimes he succeeds in claiming this tender mouthful; -sometimes he is killed by the infuriated mother. - -The Sea Unicorn or Narwhal (Monodon monoceros), is a purely arctic -animal. The curious “horn” is really the left tooth grown to the length -of six or seven feet. It is only hollow for a certain distance. -Exteriorly this horn is spirally grooved, to allow presumably for quick -thrust and withdrawal. The Narwhal often engage in a mock combat among -themselves with these horns, but use them with fierce and deadly -precision when engaged in actual warfare. - -It were too long to linger here with the creatures of the North, since -we shall meet them all, and many more, in dealing with the human -inhabitants of the country. Arctic animals have a fascination all their -own, and of late years a wonderfully sympathetic and intuitive -literature has grown up having them almost exclusively for its -protagonists. Jack London has endeared the powerful, savage, husky dog -to us for all time, in his “White Fang.” - - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -THE ESKIMO - - -The inhabitants of the Arctic are the Eskimo, also written Esquimaux, -Usquemows, called by themselves Innuit (Innuk s. Innooeet p.) or the -“people.” The word Usquemow is Indian, meaning raw flesh eaters. The -English and Scotch anglicised it to Eskimo. The name “Husky” as applied -to the native is merely slang, a corruption of Eskimo perpetrated by -men whose ears and tongues were untrained to the language—whalers who -sometimes employed the tribesmen in their hunting, and dubbed them with -the first jargon name that came handy. It is still used in this sense -in localities where Europeans are numerous, such as Alaska, and Hudson -Bay. - -Pure blood Indians do not penetrate so far north as the Eskimo -territories, being denizens of the forest but not of the barrens. The -Eskimo are a kindly, intelligent people, hardy to a degree. They follow -the manner of life and the pursuits of primitive man; but when brought -into contact with the whites and with civilisation, show themselves by -no means incapable of assimilating a good deal of instruction. They -have qualities of amiability, hospitality, ingenuity and endurance, -which all travellers have agreed in extolling; although here and there -in the records of the voyages of exploration in the nineteenth century -we also find unfavourable comments passed upon them. They exist in -small, scattered tribes along the sea coasts, whence they derive the -bulk of their subsistence. Owing to the establishment of whaling and -other stations, the geographical areas of the tribes are now more -circumscribed and confined than they used to be, as each station is a -centre of trade where most of the necessaries of life can be obtained. - -The origin of the Eskimo is a matter of ethnographical conjecture. They -themselves had no written language until comparatively few years ago, -and depended upon oral tradition for their history. And even to-day it -is only the few who have been taught to read and write, so that legend -still holds sway throughout the greater part of Baffin Land, Cockburn -Land, and the rest. Their past is lost in obscurity. In the obscurity -perhaps of that neolithic or “reindeer age” of which their life, even -now, has so often been cited as a close replica. - -That immense span of time in the history of the human race known as the -Stone Age, falls into five divisions. There is the Palaeolithic period -(Early, Middle and Late), and the Neolithic period (Transitional and -Typical). During the last throes of the glacial epoch in Europe, the -type of human being was that represented by the relic which has come -down to us known as the Neanderthal skull. But the later Pleistocene -period saw a greater diversity in the matter of types, and one race in -particular is represented by a fair number of specimens. They denote a -good-looking, purely human being. Another race of the same period is -represented by a single specimen only. It is known as the Chancelade -Race, and “the skeleton, of comparatively low stature, is deemed to -show close affinities to the type of the modern Eskimo.” (Dr. Marett.) -This is exceedingly interesting as giving us some idea of the antiquity -of the stock, and as showing how glacial conditions in prehistoric -times in Europe produced a type which lingers on amid the races of the -modern world in the still existing glacial epoch of the Arctic. - -The “Reindeer men” of prehistoric times lived lives no harder in the -bleak climate and unprogressive conditions of glaciated Europe than -those of the Eskimo in glaciated America to-day. “The races of Reindeer -men were in undisturbed possession of western Europe for a period of at -least ten times as long as the interval between ourselves and the -beginning of the Christian era.” (H. G. Wells.) If we add these periods -of time together we may form some estimate of the age of a civilisation -such as the climatic conditions have produced and proscribed in the -modern Arctics. - -Perhaps it may be said that in one sense the Eskimo have no history. -They are living the same life, under the same rigorous conditions, in -the same way now, as their forefathers lived it before them, and as far -back as human life could be traced in the Arctic earth. It is wonderful -how faithfully this oral tradition of theirs has been handed down -through the generations, for the same adventures and incidents and -stories will be told with little or no alteration by various people of -widely different tribes, and events that took place centuries ago will -still be invariably related with circumstantial precision. - -The writer well remembers an account given to him one winter’s night by -an aged hunter, of some stores left by a party of the early explorers. -It was during a journey along the south coast of Baffin Land, and -shelter had been sought in the snow house of an ancient Eskimo couple. -The old man was grandfather of the tribe, and had been a noted hunter -in his day, and had fought many a battle with the savage elements and -more savage beasts of the wild. It was after the evening meal. The old -fellow and his equally old wife had been warmed with some steaming -coffee liberally sweetened with molasses, and regaled with ship’s -biscuit. The pipes of both had been filled, and were drawing well. -Their bronzed, lined faces, lined like the shell of a walnut, shone -with contentment, they huddled on their sleeping bench and smoked and -dreamed of the strenuous past. A question or two soon elicited a flood -of guttural reminiscences. The old hunter pictured himself as a youth -again, and went over the exploits of his prime, prompted now and again -by the crone at his side, in a shrewd expectation of further acceptable -items. Among other things, he told of the various “dumps” or “caches” -of stores made by the white men who came long ago, remembering exactly -the localities and the contents of every one. Some had been broken into -long since by wandering Eskimo; some had been destroyed by bears; some -remained intact. His memory was as exact and reliable as if he had seen -the things but a week—instead of a lifetime—before. Perhaps it was an -echo, all that time afterwards, of the Franklin tragedy. - -These primitive Eskimo inhabit the great archipelago which stretches -polewards from the northern shores of the Canadian continent, from -Greenland on the east to Alaska and the Aleutian islands on the extreme -west. There is, too, a settlement of Eskimo beyond Behring Strait. Some -ethnographers hold them to be of purely American origin with no -affinities in Asia, however Mongolian they may be in appearance. Dr. -Rink believes in an Alaskan origin for the Eskimo, as opposed to an -Asian, but another authority, Dr. Boas, thinks the solution of this -racial problem might be obtained by means of an archæological research -on the coast of the Behring Sea. - -The original Eskimo stock is now probably extinct. In language and -physique, many of the present day tribes exhibit traits of racial -admixture with the Red Indians. This has occurred in such junction -areas as Labrador and Alaska, and has given rise to the probably quite -fallacious idea of an Indian origin for the Arctic race. This error -could not be made in Eskimo lands proper. Those who have lived for long -years with both Indian and Eskimo, and are intimately acquainted with -the language, legends, and characteristics of both peoples, hold -strongly to the opinion that they are entirely distinct. Personally, -the writer would incline to the belief that the Innooeet are of -Mongolian stock. He has heard on good authority of a pure Eskimo sailor -being addressed by a Chinaman in Chinese, under the impression that he -was speaking to a fellow-countryman. It is conjectured that in the -remote past some Mongols may have reached the sea coast in the extreme -east, and have crossed by boat from island to island, and so to the -Arctics of North America. Increasing there in numbers, they presently -dispossessed the aboriginals—the “Tooneet”—and drove them to the “back -of the Arctic beyond.” But of this more when we come to Eskimo legends. - -Undoubtedly the Eskimo are linked, if not by blood certainly by custom, -to the Arctic peoples of Siberia, to the Lapps and Finns of northern -Europe. In historic times they mixed with the Danes and Norsemen. They -are not numerically very strong. Forty thousand may possibly total the -nation, and of those 12,000 are in Greenland, and rather more in -Alaska, leaving some 13,000 souls scattered along the shores of Baffin -Land, Melville Peninsula, Boothia, Victoria Island, Banks Island and -the rest of the bleak, fragmented continent. It is in Baffin Land, in -Boothia, and Victoria that the pure Eskimo race is found. Elsewhere the -type is extremely mixed. It is to be deplored, too, that where the -people have been in contact with vicious and unscrupulous whites, -traders, sailors, and the rest, the introduction not only of alien -blood but of the diseases of “civilisation” have here and there -threatened extinction to whole tribes. - -The “Central” tribes of Eskimo (i.e., those tribes exclusive of the -Greenlanders, the Alaskans, and all the Labradorians save those on the -northern shore of Hudson’s Strait) number about thirty-two. They have -been carefully classified, enumerated, and geographically located, by -the ethnologist, Dr. Boas. Three communities are found along the -northern shore of Hudson’s Strait (the southern shore of Baffin Land), -the Sikkoswelangmeoot at King Cape, the Akuliangmeoot at North Bluff, -and the Quamanangmeoot in the Middle Savage Islands. All along the -coast of Davis’ Strait are scattered another nine tribes, the chief of -which are the Nuvungmeoot, in the neighbourhood of Frobisher Bay, and -the Oqomiut (divided into four territorial groups) all about Cumberland -Sound. The Lake Netselings Eskimo are a branch of these, called the -Talikpingmeoot. In the extreme north of Baffin Land the Tunungmeoot are -found at Eclipse Sound, and the Tununirusirmeoot about Admiralty Inlet. - -There is constant intercourse and intermarriage among these scattered -groups (none of which is numerically large), wherever the tracts of -land in between them are not wholly impassable. Other groups are more -or less isolated by long stretches of territory, unnegotiable by any -means of Eskimo travel. These folk are not only migratory in their -habits, but great travellers for the sake of travelling, as well. They -often engage on journeys which occupy months or even years, although -there is a strong tendency among the old people to return to their -native spot before the end, and so territorial distinctions are -maintained. - -Even before the advent of Europeans and the trade they brought with -them, there was a certain amount of barter going on among the Arctic -folk themselves, occasioning not a little movement. More driftwood -being found in some localities than in others (chiefly at a place -called Tudjadjuak), the tribes came from everywhere to barter for it -with those on the spot. Again, the soapstone or “potstone,” of which -their lamps and cooking utensils were made, is found in a few places -only, such as at Kautag, Kikkerton and Quarmaqdjuin; so that the -natives came long distances to dig or trade for that, too. Pyrites for -striking fire was also a valuable if local production, and flint for -arrow head making. On the whole the relationships of the various tribes -were very friendly, and open hospitality was everywhere observed -throughout all the regions where communication was fairly open and -established. Some feuds or tribal reserves obtained where the peoples -were strange to each other, and hence arose some extraordinary customs -as to greetings, which looked very much like challenges to single -combat by the chosen representatives of either group. - -There seems to be some evidence that the present day Eskimo were not -the original inhabitants of these regions at all. There are definite -traces still remaining of an earlier folk called the Tooneet. Eskimo -tradition speaks repeatedly of these Tooneet as having been conquered -by the ancestors of the present race and pushed farther and farther -north, until they were lost sight of altogether. Some of their words -have been preserved by the Medicine Men (Angakooeet, the conjurors), -and the remains of their dwellings and graves were to be seen up to a -few years ago, the latter still containing skeletons and weapons. - -The Tooneet were short, between four and five feet in stature, and very -broadly built. (On this subject the reader should consult Dr. Rink, -“Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo.”) The skull was oval, unlike the -present race, who are round-headed. Their weapons were fashioned of -stone, but of a different shape to those of to-day. Their skin canoes -were short and broad instead of the long, narrow kyak in use now. Of -these aboriginals little further trace or memory remains. The writer -met a very ancient Eskimo on the south coast of Baffin Land, who -related that his grandfather had seen two Tooneet on the shores of an -inland lake. They were getting into their canoes, and would not allow -the other to come near. They appeared to understand nothing of the -shouted greeting, but hastily paddled off. The Tooneets were also found -on the coast of Labrador. The present tribes of the region were -originally enslaved to them. At Nakrak, their remains are to be seen. - -The unmixed Eskimo type of to-day closely resembles the Chinese, with -an average stature of five feet, lank black hair and small peaked eyes. -Nansen gives us a very life-like picture of them: “Their faces are as a -rule round, with broad, outstanding jaws, and are, in the case of the -women particularly, very fat, the cheeks being especially full. The -eyes are dark and often set a little obliquely, while the nose is flat, -narrow above and broad below. The whole face often looks as if it had -been compressed from the front and forced to make its growth from the -sides. Among the women, and more especially the children, the face is -so flat that one could almost lay a ruler across from cheek to cheek -without touching the nose; indeed, now and again one will see a child -whose nose really forms a depression in the face rather than the -reverse. It will be understood from this that many of the people show -no signs of approaching the European standard of good looks, but it is -not exactly in this direction that the Eskimo attractions usually lie. -At the same time there is something kindly, genial and complacent in -his stubby, dumpy ... features which is quite irresistible. Their hands -and feet alike are generally small and well shaped.” Elsewhere he adds: -“One cannot help being comfortable in these people’s society. Their -innocent, careless ways, their humble contentment with life as it is, -and their kindness, are very catching, and must clear one’s mind of all -dissatisfaction and restlessness.” The length of the excerpt will be -forgiven, since it gives more than a delightful pen picture—an -inimitable bit of human psychology, that touch of insight which makes -the whole world kin. - -The Eskimo on the southern coasts of Baffin Land are taller than their -fellows, sometimes attaining a stature of six feet and breadth in -proportion. The majority of the men are beardless. Their hair, black -and coarse, is worn either long or short, but is cut square across the -forehead. It covers the ears, to prevent frostbite, and a band is tied -round the head to prevent it blowing about too freely in the wind. We -shall deal with the ladies’ coiffure at greater length in another -connection. - -Each band of Eskimo inhabits some particular spot or tract of the -coast, and takes its name after the country, or some peculiarity it -exhibits. For instance, the land at the point of Fox Channel and Hudson -Strait is called Sikkoswelak, a term which describes the fact that the -ice just there is seldom stable, owing to the swift local tides. Thus -the tribe is known to the rest as the Sikkoswelangmeoot or -“The-People-of-the-Place-which-never-Freezes.” Again, there are the -Puisortak or the “People-who-live-where-Something-Shoots-up” (a -blow-hole in a glacier). The tribe is not a very big unit. It consists -of about ten to twenty families (generally less, and, be it noted, the -people are polygamists), but the birth-rate is a low one. The deaths -fairly balance the births, so that their numbers remain more or less -stable. Were not this the case, the regions they inhabit could never -support them, for the Eskimo are voracious eaters (naturally, -considering the climate!) and so far as land animals are concerned, the -hunting is very scanty for many months of the year. - -Apropos of this peace-loving, non-belligerent quality in the Eskimo -character, some word should be offered in explanation of the fact that -these people have occasionally shown themselves dangerous to the white -men, and have murdered a few whalers and traders. - -As far as any historical records of them exist at all, it would seem -that on one occasion only did the Eskimo ever go to war, or make an -active and successful stand against their enemies. This was many -centuries ago. The handful of Norsemen from Iceland who originally -colonised some spots along the coast of southern Greenland, lived -peaceably enough with the natives they discovered there. At last, -however, a quarrel broke out, blood was spilt, and the Eskimo, plucking -up a courage and spirit never since repeated, fought and killed off the -foreigners. But in America, whenever the Innuit came into contact with -the Red Indians they simply fled before them ever farther and farther -into the icy fastnesses of the north. The red men seem to have been -always particularly savage and inimical to the others. And when in the -course of time they became possessed of firearms, they pressed this -overwhelming advantage against the spear and bow-and-arrow people more -ruthlessly than ever. - -The Eskimo believed that it was the white fur trader who had armed the -Adlât with these “fire-tubes” against him, hence the original hostility -of these people towards all other white folk. As a matter of fact, the -servants of the Hudson Bay Company did all they could, in those early -days, to protect the Eskimo against the Indian, and to bring about an -understanding between the native races of the great territory they -exploited. It was, however, this original fear and prejudice which must -be held accountable for any barbarity white men have met with since at -the hands of the Eskimo (unless indeed the instance has been one of -recently and immediately provoked reprisals). For the most part, it -certainly holds good that the inhabitants of the Arctic north have been -the least dangerous “savages” explorers have ever met. There are some -conflicting accounts on this subject in the annals of arctic voyagers; -but as a very general rule the Eskimo have been found to be a kindly -and harmless folk. Seldom as they wage war against others, seldom as -they can be provoked or even terrified into self-defence (except by -flight), they never fight, in a collective sense, among themselves. -This is not due to effeminacy or cowardice, for no one could connect -any such suspicion with the hardy intrepid natives of the most pitiless -regions of the earth. It is simply that the Eskimo are not made in the -mould too common to all the other races of mankind—they are not -fighters. Most people, it has been said, regard war as a reversion to -primitive instincts. But some historians hold that war—organised war, -as we understand the term to-day—was not primaeval in its origin. It -was unknown to early man, and it is unknown to early man’s last -representatives, such as the Black Fellows of Australia and the Eskimo -of the Arctics, at the present time. The Eskimo can be doughty enough -in single combat when necessity or custom require it of him; but -generally speaking he is the most pacific being on earth. - -Where these people come within the sphere of practical British -influence, they are treated somewhat on the same lines as the North -American Indians, but without being gathered into Reservations. There -is a Government Agent in charge of the tribe, and its material needs -are provided for by the annual supply ship sent along the coast. It is -generally the Agent, trading or Departmental, who extends the first -handclasp of welcome to medical man or evangelist who betakes himself -to the peoples of the Arctic. - -There have been, however, few travellers in Baffin Land, excepting, of -course, the seamen who use its coast. Much of the country is -unexplored. Probably the only whites who have penetrated it at all have -been missionaries and explorers. - -Thus the very modern and limited story of Baffin Land trade, etc., is -the only civilised history it has. As for its native history, we might -refer almost without qualification to any archæological account of the -fur-clad men of the stone age. The similarity of the Eskimo’s -implements, their ways of life, their primitive pursuits, their -domestic and tribal management, to those of the neolithic age, has -often been pointed out. The only other notices of the Baffin Islanders -to be found are those which occur in the journals of explorers’ -voyages, such as Captain Parry’s second expedition of 1821, in which we -get a lively account of the junketings on the ice between the “savages” -and the crews of the “Fury” and the “Hecla.” - -It was during this voyage that the leader fell in with an Eskimo girl -whose name should be rescued from oblivion. Igloolik added to many -native graces and accomplishments a bright intelligence and so good an -idea of hydrography and of the seacoasts in the neighbourhood of the -“Fury’s” moorings, that the Captain utilised the charts and drawings -she made for him in the further prosecution of his expedition, finding -them always reliable and mainly correct. He afterwards called an island -by her name. - -Ten years later, Captain John Ross received the same sort of assistance -during his second Arctic voyage, from another Eskimo woman named -Teriksin. She revised and corrected for him the sketches of the -surrounding coasts furnished by some of the men of the tribe. - -The chart which illustrates Chapter XII is just such another as -Igloolik and Teriksin might have drawn. It was furnished from memory by -a man called Pitsoolak, and is very fairly correct. The hunters and -fishers of the Arctic are taught as children to memorise the contours -of the coast, all landmarks, and every “blaze” of any sort a trail -might afford. They have no unit of measurement, except the “sleep,” -i.e., the length of a day’s march and its interval of rest. - - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER V - -THE BUILDING OF THE VILLAGE - - -The Eskimo are a wandering folk, thus their dwellings must of necessity -be capable of quick erection, demolition and easy transport. The tribe -lives in tents in the summer, moving from one camp to another as the -hunters decide; but winter quarters are more permanent, and the snow -built house—the igloo—takes the place of the sealskin tupik on a more -lasting foundation. The Eskimo tent is a wholly different affair from -the Indian wigwam or lodge. It consists of a penthouse shaped framework -of poles, semi-circular at the back, with overlapping strips or -curtains of dressed skin for the entrance in front. The whole thing -carries a covering of skins, firmly and beautifully stitched together. -The back part of the tent, used as the family sleeping place, is -covered with skins of the large ground seal—ogjuk—or of the ordinary -grey seal, with the hair left on in order to ensure some darkness -during the long, unbroken day of the arctic summer. The heavy hair also -serves to throw off the rain in wet weather. But the front portion of -the dwelling has a roofing of the inner membranes of the sealskins, -pared from the entire pelt when fresh and moist. These membranes are -first stretched upon frames and dried, prior to being sewn together, -when they become almost transparent, so that there is plenty of light -in the rest of the tent. They are so beautifully and so neatly stitched -as to be practically waterproof, like the fine fishing jackets made of -dried and split seal gut for the kyakers. The finish of Eskimo -clothing, fur “blankets” and tent coverings, is always neat and -workmanlike and gives no ragged, tatterdemalion impression of nomad -savagery such as might be derived from some Indian’s belongings. - -Towards the back of the tent, inside, a board is fixed from side to -side, and the whole space between this and the walls is filled with a -deep bed of heather, spread on top with deerskins. This is the sleeping -place of the family, in the dark half of the dwelling. Additional -deerskins serve as blankets, and lie about the bed, rolled up, during -the day. The rest of the furnishing is very simple. - -Inside the entrance hang the bags of seal oil used for lighting or -cooking purposes. Then there are the cooking pots (“kettles,” as they -are called), deep, oblong boxes of soapstone without a lid. And the -lamps, also of soapstone, and in shape not unlike a crumb tray, with a -raised lip and a little shelf at the back for refuse bits of wick. -These “lamps” are fed with seal oil. The wick consists of dried moss -and gossypium. This is moulded into pellets; a row of wick balls is set -on the rim of the lamp and then kneaded down into a line upon it and -kept carefully trimmed, so that the edge of flame remains clear and -bright. All the cooking is done over a “lamp” of this description, -unless over a fire of heather and driftwood out in the open. The Eskimo -housewife uses a blubber hammer (a stone, or mallet of ivory tusk set -in a wooden handle), to beat down the seal or whale fat into oil for -her lamps. Her furs, and her cooking pots, together with her needles, -and knives and implements for dressing skins, constitute the Eskimo -woman’s domestic outfit; a training in the clever use of them is the -Eskimo girl’s education, and the dowry of the Eskimo bride. The tent -and these impedimenta are portable enough for the wanderings of the -arctic summer, and it is remarkable what an amazing host and medley of -belongings can be stowed in the family travelling boat, and unloaded -from it—a veritable Pandora’s box—at the next bit of summer beach. - -The winter locale and the winter dwelling is altogether another story. -The tribe having chosen the site of a village in some sheltered bay, -near a frozen lake or stream (or, at any rate, where ice or water can -be obtained), will return to it year after year, and remain there -throughout the long dark season, until the time comes round again for -the summer-exodus. An occasional excursion is undertaken by both men -and women in search of supplies, but the old folk are left on guard. - -The building of this village is quite a work of art, and is begun as -soon as the snow lies deep enough. Before this happens, the tents have -been getting very cold to live in, despite the stitching on of several -layers of dried heather to break the force of the wind and keep all -snug inside. At last a day comes when by common consent the hunters all -remain in camp, and join forces with the old men and the boys to build -the winter dwellings. - -Each man plans and builds his own house according to the size of his -family; but only in his turn, and assisted by the rest of the -community, to whom he has already given, or is prepared to give, his -services. The first houses to be erected are those of the Angakooeet, -the Medicine Men; the chief hunters are the next to be considered, and -everyone else comes in the order of his estimation in the tribe. - -The main considerations the Eskimo has to bear in mind in building his -snow house are that it will have to be kept in repair, and that it must -be adequately lighted and warmed. This means labour and oil, so for his -own sake the dwelling is planned on as small a scale as possible. It -varies in nothing but in this point of size from all the rest of the -village. - -The hunter having chosen his site, next takes a sealing spear, a long -twelve-inch knife and a saw, and begins piercing the snow in every -direction, his object being to find a spot where it is deep, and so -closely packed and hardened by the wind that it can be cut out into -great blocks for building. Otherwise his “bricks” would be too brittle -or too friable for the purpose. Should no such patch lie near at hand, -the builder calls all hands, and together they start trampling and -packing down the snow with their feet, while the old men, the women and -boys constantly bring up fresh supplies and throw it in to be stamped -firm. Having thus prepared what he considers sufficient material for -his purpose, the good man commences to saw out huge rectangular blocks -of this solidified snow mass, each one of which taxes his utmost -strength to lift. He begins his house by building a ring of them, a -larger or smaller ring as the case may be, fitted and jointed together -with the utmost nicety by means of his knife. A second tier is added to -this ring, the builder working from the inside and the blocks being -brought up by his assistants. As soon as this is “well and truly laid,” -he trims the upper surface to a slope, and continues building, but in a -spiral now and slightly sloping inwards, until he has reached the top -of what has grown to be a dome roof. A key block is deftly fitted in to -complete and close it, and the shell of the dwelling is complete. - -A semicircular opening in the side is next cut out for the doorway, and -then the builder turns his attention to the sleeping bench—the -principal feature of the Eskimo igloo. He builds a line of blocks from -side to side, facing the opening, up to the height of a man’s legs. The -space between this and the walls is filled with broken snow like -rubble, which is trampled down until brought to the necessary level, so -as to form a solid bench of snow right across the building. - -Then side pieces are built out, to form solid shelves for the lamps and -family utensils and to serve generally as a larder and storage place -for oil and blubber; so that, by the time all is done there is little -of the original floor space left. - -The next step is the porch or sukso, another little domed erection much -like the main igloo, built in front of the entrance and intended, first -to break the force of the wind and to keep the larger place warm, and -secondly as a store house for surplus meat and blubber, for the dogs’ -harness, whips, sealing lines, and anything the latter and the wolves -might find eatable. (Eskimo dogs, be it remarked, find nothing -uneatable save sticks and stones). As an entrance or exit for the -sukso, a further passage is built, like a little tunnel; again as -protection from the arctic wind. - -The finishing touch is the window. Light is a necessity, but the Eskimo -is scarcely particular about ventilation. The less he gets of that the -more successful his architecture seems to be. A square opening is cut -high up in the dome of the igloo, facing the sleeping bench. It is then -glazed after the fashion of the Arctics. The builder sets off for the -nearest sheet of fresh water ice, and with the butt end of his sealing -spear shivers out a good thick pane of it. This he places over the hole -in the roof, packing its edges round with half melted snow, and pouring -water over the packing. In two minutes, everything is frozen airtight -and solid, and a window of flawless ice lets the illumination of the -northern night into the pure and icy chamber of the newly made house. -Failing a window of ice, one is made of strips of dried seal intestine -(a thin, translucent material, not unlike oiled silk), stitched -together with fine deer sinew. The seams are parallel, and as neatly -executed as if by machine working on the smallest stitch. The fabric is -stretched over the opening and pegged down at the corners, and -congealed into its place by half melted snow. A small hole is cut in -the dome for ventilation, and a snow block provided to stop it up again -when necessary. - -Finally, the interior has to be glazed. While the householder himself -has been busy more or less within the building, on the outside the old -men and the children and the women have been set the task of packing -every joint and crevice in the snow masonry with loose snow, so as to -make it absolutely wind tight. Now comes the moment when the doorways, -too, are closed and every entrance blocked. Two lamps, well trimmed and -well supplied with oil, have been carefully lit and left burning -inside, much as we in this country leave a sulphur candle in a room to -be fumigated after infectious illness, and seal up the door. As the -lamps burn slowly away, the temperature rises and all the surface of -the snow is slightly melted. As the lamps die out the temperature falls -again, and the surface freezes to glass-like smoothness. Every asperity -of the sawn blocks of snow is annealed, and the dwelling is as proof -against draught as the inside of a bottle. Water, too, is thrown on the -floor, to make it smooth as marble and as durable as cement. - -The writer has dwelt thus at length upon the building of the Eskimo’s -winter quarters, since there is something almost like a fairy tale in -this fantastic yet ingenious and practical use of snow and ice. If -masters of taste have always insisted upon the principles in -architecture that design should be in keeping with site and -surroundings, and material should be indigenous to the locality, surely -the houses that these hardy children of the frozen North build for -themselves are by no means wanting in true artistry. - -These snow houses do not take very long to construct. An Eskimo can -build an igloo large enough to house about six people in a few hours, -given some assistance. It would be imagined that no great degree of -comfort could be expected within a dwelling where a thaw of the roof -and walls begins as soon as the temperature rises above freezing point. -But warmth is a matter of degree in the Arctic, and shelter from the -bitterness of the wind alone is almost warmth. The stillness of the air -inside, the greatly lessened intensity of cold, and the local if foul -warmth over the lamps and cooking pots, all make for comfort as the -native understands it. - -In some parts of the country the natives line the dome and walls of -their houses with cleverly stretched skins, and between them and the -snow walls the intervening space acts as a regulator against the -interior warmth, so that excessive thaw is checked, or its effects are -prevented from damping the family circle below. - -Lest the foregoing account of the white and frozen village should -convey too dazzling an idea of such a settlement, it should be -remembered that the snow all round and about is trampled up, and -incredibly defiled by all the refuse of a community who have no ideas -at all about sanitation and seemly surroundings. Hence there is an -appearance of dirt and squalor wherever the Eskimo encamp, and these -little congeries of human beings contrive quite effectually to blot and -mar the pure immensity of the snow-white northern landscape. - -The Igloovegak once finished, it remains to do the furnishing. This is -essentially the women’s work. Heather is lavishly spread over the -sleeping bench, and covered again with the heavy winter skins of deer. -The rolled-up fur rugs (or “blankets”) of the family are ranged round -the walls. Two of the soapstone lamps are placed on stands at each end -of the sleeping bench, and a rough framework of wood and deer thongs -arranged above them by way of a rack for drying clothes. Stone cooking -pots may be suspended over the lamps when required, and a store of -blubber and meat is kept handy on the snow benches behind the lamps. - -The rest of the family belongings are stowed away in the porch, and the -house is ready for occupation. - -There is another description of snow dwelling used by the Eskimo called -a Sinniktâkvik, an acquired sleeping place. This is merely a temporary -affair, a hastily built igloo sufficient to house a travelling party -for the space of a “sleep,” having no porch or window, and only -intended to be abandoned next day. - -It is interesting to note that the remains of the dwellings of the -Tooneet can be distinguished by the fact of their circular floors -having been laid down with rough stones, unlike the modern igloo, which -leaves little or nothing to mark its site by the time it has all melted -away in summer. The sleeping bench in the Tooneet house was narrower -than the present day Eskimo’s, showing that the earlier people were of -shorter stature. - -The family continue to inhabit the winter igloo until the spring thaw -comes, and the roof falls in. Then, for a week or two, skins are -stretched over the hole to keep the storms from beating in; but this is -only a temporary measure. By the time the milder weather really sets -in, and the trickle of water can be heard everywhere, and the -tunnelling, too, of the lemming under the sleeping bench, the tupik has -to be in readiness. It has been stored away under a heap of stones -during the winter, but with the advent of the ducks it is brought forth -and erected once more. - -These Eskimo settlements are not built according to plan. Each man -chooses a site for his own igloo, generally in the shelter of some -rock, or where there is a good supply of hard packed snow. The -dwellings are not very scattered, however, but grouped fairly closely -together, for the double purpose of sociability and common defence -against attack by dogs, wolves, or bears. The true Eskimo village -boasts of no common room or general meeting house such as may be in use -among some of the tribes in Alaska and elsewhere, where few native -customs survive unchanged. Nor is the log or sod hut ever seen in the -regions where Eskimo life is still lived as it used to be before -Europeans set foot in the polar wilds. - -It is noteworthy that, when an Eskimo tribe moves to another locality, -the old igloos are never destroyed. In the barrens, the law of -hospitality is universally observed, and such of these buildings as may -survive the springtime thaw, might serve for shelter at any time to -travellers on journey. Those that are fairly intact when the tribe -moves away are merely blocked up; but those which have become unsafe -have the roof knocked in. The writer has frequently come across these -deserted villages in the course of his journeys, and had occasion to -avail himself of the shelter thus offered. It is a weird and desolate -sight—a collection of derelict igloos—some gaping open, others closed; -but no smoke or steam escaping from their little domes. And, over all, -the pall of the frozen silence of the Arctic. - - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -THE SEALING GROUNDS - - -The day’s work in an Eskimo village (i.e., permanent winter quarters), -is full and varied, and quite regular. It is a busy life they lead, -both men and women, marked by all sorts of skilled activities; by -intervals of neighbourly recreation and gossip; by the excitement and -stir of the hunters’ return from sealing or bear hunting; and by -wonderfully cheery, cosy, hospitable orgies of eating in the evening, -when everyone is getting dry and warm and replete for the night. - -The hunters start out early in the morning, after a hasty meal of raw -flesh and a drink of water, accompanied by their sons and the dogs, -four or five in number, harnessed to a light sled loaded with lines and -harpoons, or whatever implements may be needed for the proposed chase. -The team starts out in a fine tear, urged by shouting and the cracking -of whips, and off they all race, men and dogs together, to the sealing -grounds out on the frozen sea, or inland for deer. The stars serve as a -compass, or in thick weather the wind will be sufficient guide. - -No food is borne on the sled, for the hunter depends upon himself for -his dinner. The duty of the boys is to watch the sled, to mind the -dogs, and see they do not fight or stampede, to study the conditions of -the ice, the signs of the weather, the habits of animals, to note their -calls and movements and how to imitate them, to take careful notice of -the topography of the country and make mental drawings of it to serve -as charts and maps, to read the stars, and, generally to endeavour to -become skilled and successful hunters themselves. - -They arrive at the sealing ground as the winter day breaks, and -immediately start the search for a seal hole; for upon the finding of -this depends the comfort and sustenance of the whole family for days to -come, and the succour of the families of anybody else who may not be in -luck, but who may return home, cheery as ever, but empty handed. - -All around as far as the eye can see is a vast, white expanse, utterly -featureless and monotonous save for an occasional iceberg or a ridge of -hummocky ice. Behind is the white line of the broken coast; ahead is a -dark mist, marking the floe edge and the open sea; and above all, the -twilight sky, darker than the drear white world, of the Arctic winter. -To a European, the effect of such a scene is crushing in its -melancholic immensity, its frozen immobility and silence. Not so to the -native. He remains irrepressibly cheerful, his whole soul preoccupied -with the necessities of his larder, buoyed up with the hope and the -tireless patience of the sealer. He goes searching for his blow hole. -The slight indication for which his practised eye is scanning every -foot of the ice is a faintly rounded bump with a small opening in it no -bigger than a shilling. As soon as he catches sight of one of these he -is reassured, and prepares to wait—quite indefinitely, and perfectly -still—for what must presently happen. - -The seal is a warm-blooded creature, whose need of air to breathe is -urgent and frequent. As soon as the sea begins to freeze, the animal -takes precautions against being imprisoned and drowned under the ice. -It makes a series of breathing holes over the whole area of its feeding -ground below. If one or another of these freezes over again, there are -the rest; or if an enemy is encountered at one hole, it can have -recourse to another. The seal comes methodically after feeding to each -blow hole in turn, and keeps it open by scratching away any newly -formed ice threatening to close it up. It puts its nose to the opening -and breathes long, deeply, and luxuriously, before diving once more. - -The hunter knows every move in the game. - -Having discovered a seal hole, he provides himself with a block of snow -to sit upon, and prepares for a lengthy wait. He takes up his patient -station facing the wind (for the seal has the keenest scent, and the -Eskimo is, to say the least of it, somewhat smelly), thrusts his feet -and legs into a deerskin bag, tucks his hands into the sleeves of his -jacket, lays his spear across his knees, and watches—it may be for -hours—motionless as a rock, for sound travels under the ice and the -prey must not be warned. A sealer will wait all day and all night, if -need be, at the blow hole. If he should fall asleep, he runs the risk -of being maimed for life with frostbite. - -Presently he hears the expected scratching, and the scraping of the -paws of a seal coming up to breathe. Silently he prepares for action. -Now is the critical time. First, there comes the expulsion of the foul -air long pent in the animal’s lungs; but not yet dare the watcher make -the slightest sign. The seal withdraws its head and listens intently -for a possible foe. Reassured after a few moments, it again approaches -the hole with the little dome of snow and, putting its head well up, -takes a long, reviving breath. This is the hunter’s moment. His hand -slips to his spear (his fur garments making no sound), grips it, and -poises it with unerring aim. With one swift downward thrust, the weapon -is through the blow hole and its barb buried deep in the neck of the -seal. When the eye is true and quick the stroke is seldom missed. The -animal immediately dives, taking out the barb and line. The Eskimo seal -spear has a movable head or barb, which is attached to the shaft in -such a way that it becomes detached from it the moment an animal is -struck, and remains firmly embedded in the flesh with the long line of -white whale hide attached, while the spear itself floats on the water -or falls on the ice as the case may be. The hunter instantly recovers -this shaft, and now the butt comes into play. The hole is quickly -enlarged and the prey hauled up and killed, there on the ice, with one -quick stroke. - -It is but the work of a few minutes for the dog team (which had been -driven away back from the hole as soon as it was discovered), to come -racing up. A shout summons every other hunter within sight, and quicker -than it takes to tell, there is a concourse of fur-clad figures, the -seal is cut open, and a rib, dripping with the fresh, hot blood, is -presented to each by way of an invigorating snack. The carcase is soon -skewered together again by means of the long ivory pins carried by the -hunter, and loaded on to the sled, when the successful “outfit,” -bidding a cheery adieu to the others, strikes off then and there for -home, rejoicing in the thought of fresh supplies of meat and blubber, -and another skin added to the family stores. - -When the sealing season fully sets in, sealing camps are formed far out -on the ice at sea, over the sealing grounds, and thither the younger -half of the entire Eskimo community resorts for a month or more. A new, -roughly fashioned, temporary village quickly springs up, and all the -usual household goods are installed in readiness for the season’s work -on the spot. The camp igloos are much smaller and less ambitious -dwellings than those on shore, their sole object being to provide a few -weeks’ shelter. There is none of the home life of the permanent -village. The men and boys are away all day long, and the women spend -all their time preparing and drying the skins and keeping the cooking -pot going. Water is obtained either from the snow lying deep on the -surface of the ice, or from ice from the nearest berg. From early -morning till late at night the camp resounds with the crack of whips, -the shouts of the dog-team drivers, the gruff voices of men and the -shrill voices of boys, as they drive hither and thither, quartering the -expanse of the sealing grounds in search of the blow holes. Every foot -of the way is closely scanned. Suddenly a deep “Ugh!” from the hunter -announces the saucer-like depression in the snow which tells him that a -seal cavern is beneath. - -Here and there a solitary sportsman with but one dog on a long line -sets out on his own, over the sealing ground. He trudges observantly -along, urging the dog to ferret about and pick up the scent of the -quarry beneath the snow. “White Fang,” nothing loth, sets all his -sharp, trained wits to work, and presently starts snuffling and -scratching, like any terrier at a rat hole, and the hunter knows he has -come upon his prey. - -To understand the activities of the sealing camp it is necessary to -know something of the habits of the seal in the breeding season. For -some time before the baby creature is born, for instance, the mother -has been preparing a house for it. She does not give birth in the water -nor on the surface of the snow, for the obvious reasons of the cold and -of the possible presence of enemies. She makes a hole in the sea ice -big enough for her to get through, and proceeds to scrabble out an airy -cavern in the deep layer of snow above, leaving a sort of shelf or -flooring of clear ice upon which she can lie in safety and bring her -young to birth. This place is—comparatively—warm, dry, and even cosy. -It is within immediate reach of the hole through which she can dive -back into the water at a moment’s alarm, and it is almost completely -hidden from above. The baby is left in this cavern while the mother -seeks food, and it lives there until, after a series of short -educational excursions in the water, it has learnt to hunt for itself, -and its lungs have accustomed themselves to the conditions of the adult -seal’s existence. - -Frequently indeed the baby gets drowned! The mother may have heard some -noise above which has alarmed her. Fearing danger, she has thrust her -head up through the diving hole, caught hold of the young one, and -hastily retreated with it to a depth unsuitable for its tender lungs, -with a sad and fatal result. - -The Eskimo sealer knows all this natural history as he knows that of -every other denizen of the Arctic, and founds upon it his methods in -hunting. - -Directly he has detected the locality of a seal’s nursing cavern under -his feet, either by the presence of a slight depression in the snow, or -by the pointing of the dog, he arms himself with a nixie, or hook on -the end of a long shaft, and gathering himself together makes a -tremendous jump into the air, coming down with all his weight and force -upon the spot. He jumps again and again, until at last the snow caves -in and blocks the hole below, cutting off the baby seal’s retreat into -the sea beneath. Then he prods and probes among the débris of the -cavern for the imprisoned creature, locates it, hooks it out, and kills -it with one blow on the head. After that, there is the mother to be -caught. She is probably lurking under the ice nearby. So, before he -kills the little one, the hunter ties his sealing line to one of its -flippers and pushes it through the diving hole into the water. The -mother at once tries to come to its rescue, only to encounter her own -devoted death. She, too, is hooked, dragged out, and despatched. - -The seal has other enemies to contend with besides man. The bear has a -keen scent, a heavy paw, a huge appetite, and a peculiar relish for her -young. He, too, wanders out on the sealing grounds at the proper -season, and having found a cavern, sets his two huge forepaws on the -snow and, with one mighty push, breaks it all in. He easily hooks the -helpless little creature beneath, and devours it with ursine relish. - -Or it may be that an arctic fox decides to spend a day seal hunting. He -glides over the snow, an almost invisible shape, like nothing so much -as a white wraith of the desolation around. His scent having guided him -to a likely spot, and being unable, like the bear, to do his -housebreaking by mere brute force, he adopts a peculiarly wicked plan -of his own. Planting all four feet together pivot-fashion, he spins -himself round and round, his claws boring a way through the snow, until -he corkscrews his unwelcome presence into the seal’s retreat. The baby, -again, falls a helpless victim. - -This seal hunting of the tribesmen, far out at sea in the camp on the -ice, is not without its dangers, as the following tale will show. - -For several weeks all had gone prosperously with the sealers. The -weather had been good, and the young seals plentiful. Loaded sleds had -been continually going to and fro between the winter village on shore -and the village on the ice, bearing meat and skins to the old folk at -home. Contentment and jollity reigned, for had not the Conjurors -guaranteed prosperity and good luck, and were their prophecies not -amply fulfilled? - -But, one day, the sky became overcast. Hour after hour it grew more -heavily banked with forbidding cloud, whilst from seaward came a low -roar, the presage of an arctic storm. The sealers hastily retreated to -their dwellings, and blocked up their doors, and prepared to wait. -Evening drew nigh, and the tempest rose. An occasional quiver of the -icy floor told of the pounding of heavy breakers at the floe edge, and -a portentous shiver now and again spoke of masses of it being broken -away. - -With the indifference which comes of familiarity with danger, these -hardy northern folk stayed out there in camp, on the very edge as it -were of death; and as the night drew on, merely rolled themselves in -their fur blankets and went to sleep, confident that the morning would -see an abatement in the storm. Nevertheless, it went on increasing and -grew more and more violent. The shivering dogs scratched holes for -themselves in the snow on the lee side of the igloos, and buried -themselves as deeply as they could. At length the Eskimo instinct of -peril was aroused, and an intuitive sense of the full extent of the -catastrophe at hand (a sense not developed to any marked degree among -civilised peoples), roused the entire camp. - -It began when a woman and her husband waked suddenly, feeling that all -was not well. They looked round the igloo, yet could detect nothing -amiss. Its other occupants slept soundly. There was the thud and the -roar of the wild hurricane without, but all seemed snug within. - -And yet—what was that? Even as the goodwife watched and waited, there -came another of those strange quiverings in the ice, and the cooking -pot suspended over the lamp began to swing. The awful thing told its -own tale! The ice on which the camp was built was breaking up beneath -it, and every soul was faced with imminent and deadly peril. The sea -was fathoms deep below; the land a long distance away! Darkness and the -savage uproar without made chaos of the arctic night. - -Then indeed the ice gave way, and in a moment became nothing but a -pounding, grinding mass of detatched fragments, on which the wrecked -camp tossed. The sealers, roughly awakened, smashed down their doors, -or with knife and spear cut a way out of their igloos as best they -might, and got clear of them, followed by the women and children. With -the strange but unerring instinct of primitive man, they headed, even -in that tumult and pitchy darkness, for the unseen land; and then began -a perilous race with death and the spirits of the storm. - -They had to spring from floe to floe, following each other, encouraging -and helping the women, finding a way where from moment to moment there -might be none, risking everything at every leap. - -Among those in the crowd was Kownak, a young hunter, and his new made -wife. The girl was only then recovering from a recent sickness, and her -strength completely failed her. The two started, indeed, on their -ghastly journey like the rest; but before half the distance to safety -was accomplished the young wife—wet, terrified, and weak—sank down -exhausted and beaten on the bitter ice with a cry of despair. Kownak -lifted her up and bore her on in his arms. But the rocking of the ice -flung them both into the sea time and again, despite his utmost -endeavour. Once he managed to grip the edge of the floe, whilst the -girl scrambled back on to it again over his shoulders. He stripped off -his coat to wrap it round her in the frantic effort to keep her from -freezing, and tried again to lift and carry her. But it was an -impossible feat on the tossing, glassy ice. She struggled to rise and -stagger on, but could endure no more and sank down again, unconscious, -to be frozen to death within another minute. - -Kownak could not tear himself from the body until it had become nothing -but an indistinguishable mass, one with the ice. Only then did he -remember his own desperate plight, and make a final effort to save -himself. After incredible exertions and hairbreadth escapes, at last he -reached the shore, black with frostbite, and joined the surviving -remnant of the sealing camp. The merest handful of the people had -outlived that terrible night. - - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -WOMANHOOD IN THE ARCTICS. - - -In the meantime, the women, left in the village on shore, have been far -from idle. As soon as the husband has gone off for the day the wife -sets about her domestic affairs. First, she rolls up the bedding and -tidies the sleeping bench. The next job is to sweep the hoar-frost from -the window and the cupola, to prevent the dripping of any moisture, and -then to sweep up the floor—littered, likely enough, with the remains of -a good feed overnight. These duties are performed with a brush made of -the outspread wings of a duck or raven; it might almost be called a -double-bladed brush. The backs are sewn together and the upper bones -form the handle. Such a contrivance is a very handy affair altogether, -and will last quite a long time. - -The next task is to prepare a quantity of blubber for oil. This is -pulped with a bone hammer or koutak, and the fuel so obtained is -suspended over the shallow lamps in such a way as to dip into them and -keep them supplied. New wick is fashioned from dried moss and cotton -plant trimmed upon the lamps. Next comes the stew for supper. The -Eskimos have only one way of cooking meat, and that is stewing it in -the stone “kettles” already described. These are partly filled with sea -water for the sake of the salt, a quantity of seal’s blood is added, -and then comes the meat. The whole thing hangs simmering over the lamps -all day, and by the time the men come back at night a reeking hot meal -is ready, rich, nourishing, and as tender as a sharp-set hunter could -desire. - -Water is the next consideration. The Eskimo housewife hauls it in skin -buckets from the nearest stream, bailing it up through a hole in the -ice; or, failing that, she brings in the ice itself, or snow, and sets -it to melt over a spare lamp. These people are thirsty souls, and water -is hard to come by in the winter. Every drop that can be obtained is -used for drinking or cooking, so that washing (except the hands and -face), is dispensed with perforce of arctic circumstance. Fresh water -ice melts more quickly than beaten snow, and it is an interesting fact -that an iron or tin pot used for melting the former will last much -longer than for melting snow. The latter process causes it to become -quickly pitted with spots of rust and perforated. Aluminium vessels -last the longest. In the old days—i.e., prior to the establishments of -trading posts—the Eskimos had no utensils of any sort except those of -native manufacture from bone, or stone, or ivory. Nowadays they have -steel-tipped spears, iron nails, and tinware for cooking purposes. - -Perhaps the next most important employment of the feminine portion of -the community is the preparation of skins, the softening of leather, -and the finer animal tissues, the washing, drying, and stretching of -gut, and the manufacture of the marvellously fine sinew used for sewing -and stitchery. All this includes the making of tents and clothing. The -old women help the housewives as far as they are able, and the girls -watch and learn, with a view to rendering themselves eligible in the -eyes of the young men as accomplished brides-to-be. The women are -perpetually employed chewing the edges of skins and leathers to make -them pliable and soft for sewing. This process tends to wear down the -teeth to very unsightly stumps. - -The heavy work is done by the hale and hearty, who leave only the -lighter tasks, such as the tending of the lamps and the minding of the -house, to the older folk. Womanlike all the world over, the crones love -to get together and indulge in unlimited gossip. All the women, indeed, -pay a constant round of visits, and gathering, now here, now there, sit -about smiling and gossiping, as is their wont from the tropics to the -pole. - -The Eskimo are a genial, jovial, peaceable people, among whom -quarrelling is a crime, and he or she who disturbs the general peace is -a villain of the deepest dye. So, whatever else comes of all the -gossip, it is not—in an Eskimo village—malevolence, backbiting and -spite. They talk—these fur-clad, hard-working women—of their last -year’s journeyings, who and what they saw and heard, of their trials -and vexations, of their children and relations and husbands—each one’s -contribution to the conversation being punctuated by a chorus of “Ah, -Ah’s,” “Elarle! Elarle!” (Indeed! Yes!) from the rest. - -Suddenly, however, just when their enjoyment may be at its height, the -children’s cry of “Kumokse! Kumokse! Netsérkpok!”—(A sled, a sled! He’s -got a seal!) breaks up the gathering in excited confusion. There is a -rush, each wife to her own home. Cries of joy and anticipation fill the -air, and the whole village is stirred with cheerful and prosperous -bustle. The hunters are returning, and fresh supplies are at hand. Very -soon the cracking of the dog whips is heard, shouts of command, barks -and howls; and the teams appear, scrambling over the sigjak (the broken -ice along the shore), with their welcome loads. Quickly the harness is -thrown off and safely bestowed, the lines and everything eatable being -carried into the sukso; the dogs are fed and quieted, and curl round -and go to sleep in the snow. - -Then comes the evening meal. The stewpot is taken from the slings and -set in front of the mistress of the igloo. The sturdy men and children -crowd round her and each one is served with a generous piece of -sealmeat. They hold it in their hands to eat. Each bronzed or -wind-blackened face glows with enjoyment and contentment in the homely -lamplight, and an atmosphere of unfeigned goodwill and cheer dominates -the little group. The hungry folk whose husbands and fathers have not -been successful all day simply distribute themselves through the -village, and share the food of the lucky. The captor of to-day may -return empty handed to-morrow, when he may look for hospitality to his -guests of to-night. - -As soon as the meal in the pot is finished, the soup is poured out into -a drinking bowl and handed round, each one taking a good pull in turn. -The air soon reeks—the tight-packed assemblage of unwashed humanity, -the stench of seal oil and blubber, the strong odours from the pot and -the exhalations of garments spread out on the racks to dry, all -contribute to the malodorous atmosphere. But what of that to those -accustomed to nothing else, to whom the whole means warmth and plenty -and the nearness of his own, in the frozen immensity of the awful -arctic world without? - -As soon as the meal is done the day’s catch of seals is cut up. Each -animal is placed on its back on the floor, opened and dismembered, and -pieces of the meat and blubber are given to the needy. Open hospitality -is the law of the land in the Arctics. Travellers, whether native or -European, are always sure of welcome and shelter on reaching an Eskimo -village. On these occasions the stranger is always the first to be -served from the generous family stew. - -This sanguinary and odoriferous business being despatched, and the -neighbours having taken themselves off, the door is fixed for the -night—the door being a slab of snow cut to fit the main entrance to the -igloo, and set on one side during the day. The lamps are trimmed to a -low flame, wet clothes are spread on the drying frames above them, and -each member of the family rolls up in a fur blanket on the sleeping -bench and so goes to bed. Occasionally the mother wakes up, to trim the -lamps and turn the clothes during the night. She will be the first to -wake and rise in the morning, since it is part of the woman’s work -“which is never done,” to rub and soften the leathern clothing of her -good man and the boys, which had hardened in drying while they slept. - -Before the advent of the white man and his methods, the Eskimo used to -start a fire by means of “firesticks.” The writer has seen this done -repeatedly at the present day. An oblong piece of wood with a -depression made in it to hold the tinder (a mixture of dried moss and -cotton plant), receives the spindle. Another small piece of wood, -placed on top of the latter, is held in position by the teeth and -pressed down firmly upon it. The spindle is made to rotate rapidly by -means of a rough bow until a spark, caused by the friction, starts up -in the tinder. This is gently blown to a flame, and the fire is -kindled. Nowadays, steel, or pieces of iron, are used in place of the -driftwood board and spindle, especially on hunting expeditions; for -although matches have found their way into the Eskimo igloo, they are -costly, and apt to get damp. - -There seems to be a happy sort of sex equality among these people, or -perhaps it should rather be said that a mutually agreeable division of -equally essential labours cause the men and women to live more on a -common footing than they seem to do among many other uncivilised folk. -Old women, widows, and orphan girls, never want for protection and -sustenance, so long as the rest can shelter and support them. The -Eskimo are a very improvident people, never taking thought for the -hungry morrow when they can feast to-day; but so long as the good -things last, so long as they are to be had, the old and helpless of -both sexes are never neglected. If a time should come when there arises -a question of superfluous mouths to fill, the old people go into a sort -of voluntary retreat in their own houses, and willingly die the death -of starvation. More will be said on this subject elsewhere. - -On one dreadful occasion an Eskimo woman was betrayed by force of -circumstances into an act of cannibalism. This woman was a tall, -commanding figure from the south coast, with a grave, intelligent face. -She was an excellent huntress, equally at home with gun or spear. She -could wield her needle, too, and together with her husband, was a -first-rate worker and much respected by all the tribe. - -A party of women, including herself and her baby, were travelling to a -trading station. Their sled was well provisioned and their dogs in good -condition, and the route lay over mountains and valleys, and across all -the intervening fiords and bays. Soon after they started things began -to go wrong. The weather changed and a wind got up, bearing snow. Storm -after storm swept the country, through which the travellers could -scarcely force their way. The dogs sank to their shoulders in the deep -drift, and at last could make no further progress at all. The little -expedition called a halt. They built a sleeping place and prepared to -wait till the violence of the weather abated. But, as day after day -went howling by, each as impossible as the last, the stock of rations -became exhausted, and the whole party reached the verge of starvation. - -The Eskimo woman from the south fell ill, in consequence of the -hardships and privations, and lost consciousness. While she happened to -be in this state, a council was held by the others of the party, who -decided to keep life going by killing and eating the child. This was -accordingly done, and as soon as she could be partially roused, a -portion was given to the famished mother. Not knowing what it was she -did, she ate the meat—and survived. Some time afterwards the forlorn -band was rescued by some hunters and taken to their camp, and only then -the woman learnt the truth about her supposedly dead baby. Years after -the horrible thing occurred the writer met her and had the story from -her own lips. - -Women and their adventures figure largely in Eskimo folk tales. One of -them might almost point to a feminist movement in the Arctics! Two -brides, it is narrated, ran away from their homes before their very -first children ever saw the light. After awhile the fathers went in -search of their lost daughters. When the girls found they were -discovered they wept bitterly, and declared themselves most unwilling -to return to their husbands. The fathers, however, were quite relieved -to find them comfortably off where they were, and having stayed a -couple of “sleeps” in their daughters’ house, returned home without the -brides. When they got back to the tribe they had this amazing thing to -tell—that two women without the company of any men, lived happily all -by themselves, and were never in want! - -There is a charming little story of a lonely woman who owned a bear -cub, and loved it and brought it up like a child and called it her son. -The bear repaid her devotion, and supported her by his prowess in -hunting so well that the rest of the villagers grew jealous and planned -to kill him. So, conscious of their evil designs, he departed, almost -as much to the grief of the children of the village as to that of his -“mother.” He never ceased, however, to repay her love, and continued -out on the ice floes to catch seals for her support. - -The gruesome story of the murderess Toodlânak has never hitherto—so far -as the writer can ascertain—been included in any ethnologist’s -collection of the Eskimo legends. - -It is narrated by the Ancient Ones that there lived this Toodlânak, who -was an evil spirit in female disguise. She had a large house -(igloovegak) built by the side of the route used by hunters going -inland after deer. It was far up country, many days’ journey either -from the sea or from the pastures of the interior. The house was large -and comfortable, and Toodlânak had a reputation for hospitality. She -loved to entertain any who passed that way and to give them food and -shelter for the night. She allotted to them the best rugs and the most -comfortable part of the sleeping bench. Presently, however, it began to -be noticed that few if any of these hunters returned. At last the -brother of one of these inexplicably missing men determined to look -into things. He started out with a companion, and in due course both -reached the half-way house. Out came Toodlânak, as usual, all smiles -and amiability, inviting them to enter and refresh and rest themselves -there for the night. They did so, but the suspicious young man kept his -wits about him, and never relaxed a sharp look-out on his hostess. He -had a notion that she knifed her guests in their slumber. - -Unknown to Toodlânak, he secreted a flat stone within the bosom of his -tunic (the netseak), and, rolling himself in his blanket, lay flat on -his back apparently in deep sleep. His hostess had also retired to -rest, and seemed also quite dead to the world. But, about midnight, he -saw her rise by the dim light of the lamp, and creep over to his -companion where he also lay asleep on the bench. The movement betrayed -the fact that the awful creature had a knife-like tail with which she -struck her victim through the chest and killed him. She then crept -stealthily towards the watcher, and would have served him the same way -but that he was ready for her. The vicious tail struck, indeed, at his -chest, but shivered on the hidden stone, broke off, and left Toodlânak -defenceless. The hunter sprang up and killed her on the spot. He -searched all over the place, and found the remains of innumerable -victims, and their property hoarded away. He broke down the house, -buried his luckless companion, and returned home with the news that at -last the country was ridded of its pest and might be safely travelled. - - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -CLOTHING—BOAT BUILDING - - -In the preceding chapters little but an outline has been given of the -activities of the day in an Eskimo encampment. Boat building is one of -the occupations in which men and women jointly engage; but before this -is described at the length it requires, there is much to be said about -the dressing and fashioning of the various skins which form the most -important item of Eskimo economy. - -The Eskimo woman values none of her possessions more than the ooloo, a -short-handled knife shaped like a small half-moon turf cutter, chiefly -used for paring off the inner membrane of the stout sealskin for the -lighter hangings of the summer tent, but of universal utility. With it -she cuts out her garments or dismembers a seal. In addition to this she -has steel or ivory needles and a thimble. - -The Eskimo have no woven fabrics or European clothes until they come in -contact with the whites, and—perhaps unfortunately—acquire the -beginnings of a civilisation alien to the natural evolution and -necessities of their lives. - -Their own native dress consists entirely of deerskins for winter use -and sealskins for the summer. Both sets are warmly lined with fur. The -deerskins employed as clothing are the summer and autumn hides; those -flayed in the winter are reserved for the kaksak or sleeping blankets. -The men’s and women’s tunics are lined either with fawn skins or the -summer skins with the hair on. No underclothing is required, fur always -being worn next to the skin. The man’s jacket is looser in shape than -the woman’s, and the hood (nessak) fits closely round the face. The -woman’s garment is quite different. It has shorter, baggy sleeves, is -large and roomy at the back, fitting, however, tightly to the waist; it -has a hood (amout) big enough for two heads, a short stomacher-like -apron about twelve inches long in front, and a lengthy tail reaching to -the heels behind. The Eskimo women carry their babies on their backs in -this queer jacket. The child has no clothing on it, but it keeps -admirably warm next the fur-clad mother. Its feet rest on her waist -line and its head peers from out of the capacious hood over her -shoulder. - -Both sexes wear short, wide trousers. For footgear they have long -deerskin stockings like Lifeguardsmen’s boots, with the hair turned -next the skin, reaching well up over the knees under the pants. Over -these is worn a sock like a Turkish slipper, made from the skin of the -Large Glaucus Gull, the feathers being inside; and over this again goes -a short sock of deerskin, with the hair turned outwards and upwards so -as to enable the long boot, or kummik, to pull on easily. This boot is -tied on below the knee and round the ankle. The sole is made of the -leather of the large ground seal, with the hair shaved off, and the leg -is the skin of deer’s legs stoutly stitched together. - -The women take immense pride in the cut, fit, workmanship and -ornamentation of their dresses, showing no little taste and -discrimination in the management of design and ornament. The various -furs are introduced in lines, panels and patterns, with an eye to -colour and texture a skilled furrier might envy. - -Prior to the advent of Europeans to the Arctics, fringes of deerskin -were the most popular form of ornament for clothing; but to-day the -Eskimo women are passionately fond of elaborate beadwork. The beads are -of European manufacture, but the design in which they are applied is -native. The favourite beads are small and brightly coloured. The native -sempstress will also sew two or three coins down the front of the -inside jacket and down the tail of the dress, or even the bowls of a -few spoons. These clink as they walk, and greatly delight their -wearers. - -The Eskimo tailor has a wonderfully correct eye, and can so scrutinise -a figure as to be able to turn out a well-fitting suit of skins without -taking a single measurement, or “trying on.” - -The men’s clothes are plain, without ornamentation, and the fashion of -them does not vary with the season. In summer they are lined with the -white skins of the baby seal, which are as soft and fleecy as lambs’ -wool; in winter, with the skins of the fawn, which are very soft and -warm. - -The Eskimo housewife prides herself greatly upon her store of skins. -These, and the soapstone cooking utensils, and the carefully housed -poles for the summer tupik, dogs, sled, and kyak, constitute the wealth -of a native family. Fine sewing thread is made from the sinew of deer’s -legs, scraped and dried. For stouter purposes, seal sinew is used. -Eskimo stitching requires to be seen to be appreciated. It is amusing -to note that the age of a child can be told at a glance by the length -of the tail of its little jacket. - -Apropos generally of domestic tastes, a word must be added on the -women’s hairdressing. The hair is generally parted down the centre and -plaited on either side of the face, the two plaits being looped under -the ears (reminiscent of the early Victorian style!) and tied in a knot -at the back. In some tribes the women gather their hair up and bind it -all into a stiff vertical cone on the top of the head. They weave into -this stubborn erection every hair which comes out, so that in time a -woman’s age may be guessed by the size of her topknot. It used to be -the fashion in bygone days to tattoo the face with linear designs, but -this has now practically died out. - -It is a common error of writers upon the Eskimo folk to assert that -they oil themselves to keep out the cold, that they drink oil as a -food, and revel in grease generally. Nothing of this is correct. The -dirtier and the greasier a man is, the colder he is; so every effort is -made—not after cleanliness exactly, as that is an impracticable -standard—to keep grease from the clothes and the person. When engaged -in preparing or cleaning anything very oily, the women remove part of -their dress to save it, and afterwards rub away as much of the grease -as possible from their hands and arms. Seal oil and melted blubber act -as strong purgatives, hence it would be impossible to use them as -drink, besides they are required for the lamps. - -Perhaps the next most important business of the Eskimo women, after -cooking and making the clothes, is the preparation of skins for the two -types of boat in use on the coast. This entails considerable labour and -skill. The men are responsible for the framework. - -The kyak—a creation as truly national to these intrepid coasters as the -snowshoe may be to the Indian, the ski to the Norwegian, and the -alpenstock to the Swiss mountaineer—is a covered canoe, graceful as a -fish, for use at sea. It can be handled in the roughest weather. It -consists of a light framework, formerly of whalebone, but now generally -of driftwood, fastened together with thongs of sealskin. It is from -eighteen to twenty feet in length, strong and elastic to a degree, and -entirely covered with skins, almost resembling a torpedo in shape, with -long, tapering extremities. There is a small circular opening -amid-ships, where the kyaker sits, fitting closely round his body. In -rough weather he wears a waterproof jacket (of seal gut), the hood -fitting tightly round his face and the sleeves to his wrists. The lower -edge of this comes over the opening in the canoe and is laced round it, -so that man and craft are fairly one. - -The Rev. A. L. Fleming, formerly a naval architect, informed the writer -that the lines of the kyak are perfect, and from the point of view of -sea-going architecture could not be improved. The Baffin Land kyak is -broader than the Greenland type. The latter is much narrower, and -requires great skill to handle. Readers of Arctic literature will -recall Nansen’s account of the extraordinary feats performed by the -Eskimo on the west coast of Greenland in manœuvring these canoes. The -Baffin Islanders are also very skilful. They can right themselves, if -completely overturned, by a peculiar quick jerk of the paddle. The kyak -cannot fill, should the waves wash right over it. It probably comes -nearer the ideal of an unsinkable boat than many a more ambitious -construction. It would be hard to say, as between hunting and fishing -(the staple business of their lives), which is the characteristic -national “sport” of the Eskimo; but certainly no one not born and bred -to the handling of the kyak could acquire the native degree of ease and -daring. - -The sealskins for these canoes are bleached. Either they are scalded, -or tied in bundles and hung up in a warm atmosphere to ferment. This -process is allowed to go on for a week or two, until the stench becomes -unbearable. When taken down and shaved with the ooloo, the black -epidermis comes away with the hair, leaving the skins beautifully -white. The inner membranes are left intact. The next step is to stitch -the skins together. Bleached hides may be made to alternate with -unbleaced ones, by way of ornament; or the entire covering may be -merely black or brown. - -The thread is sinew from seal flesh, since it must be derived from the -same source as the skins, to ensure the same degree of shrinking and -stretching. The seams are double stitched, first through the skin only, -leaving the membrane untouched, and then oversewing the latter, so as -to make them perfectly watertight. The moistened skins are then loosely -applied to the framework; as they shrink and dry they fit to it -exactly, and form a light, drum-tight covering over the whole. It is -part of the man’s job to fit the wooden rim to the opening on top, and -to make the loops which serve to secure his weapons. - -He carries a three-pronged bird spear on the left hand side in front of -him; on the right is his sealing spear, and between the two is a small -round tray for the coiled seal line fixed to the detachable spearhead. -Behind him on the left is his nixie or hook, on the right a heavy -harpoon for striking walrus or the larger creatures he may encounter, -between the two and immediately behind him an inflated sealskin with -the end of his sealing line attached. Thus equipped, the canoe is -complete, a thing of pride to its owner, which will last all his life -and be handed down to his sons and their sons after him. - -The sealing spear has an ivory (or nowadays a steel) butt for breaking -ice, and acts as an ice chisel. Its shaft consists of a piece of -driftwood, its long keen point is made from part of the jawbone or rib -of the whale, and its detachable barbed head is of steel or ivory. The -long line attached to this is a stout strip of white whale hide. The -harpoon, too, is of wood and ivory, as also is the long hunting knife -and the small kit of lesser tools without which the hunter seldom -moves. All these things are made during the endless winter evenings, -while sitting round the seal oil lamps in the igloo, or on stormy days -when the Arctic blizzard obliterates the world without. (There is an -interesting collection of Eskimo dresses and implements and utensils to -be seen in the Ethnological Gallery at the British Museum; but perhaps -even more representative a one is that in the Natural History Museum in -New York.) - -The paddle of the kyak is made from a long piece of driftwood. Its -proper length is the span of the owner (the full extent of the two -extended arms), and half a span again. The blades are narrow, since -they are for use at sea, and engage the most skilful attention of the -craftsman. Both are tipped with ivory. This pouteek, as it is called, -can be used as an outrigger. On top of the kyak, in front of the man, -there are four strongly made loops of hide, the exact width of the -blade of the paddle. If the rower wishes to stand up or give play to -free movement, to cut up and store away a seal either upon the craft or -inside it, he cannot do so without an outrigger or he would simply -capsize. To prevent this, he pushes one end of the paddle into the -loops, which hold it fast. The other end, outboard, acts as a -counter-weight and exactly balances the canoe. It is then perfectly -stable and almost impossible to upset. The dexterity of the kyaker has -already been alluded to. He can do anything with this boat. His -confidence is so complete that not infrequently, when a heavy wave is -atop of him, he will deliberately turn turtle, receive the weight of -the water on the bottom, and right himself when the moment is passed. - -The Umiak is a very different craft, and serves the Eskimo family as a -sort of general pantechnicon and removing van. It consists of a large, -clumsy framework of wood, covered with the skins of the big ground -seal, which are dressed into a thick tough leather. It is really an -open sailing boat, capable of carrying perhaps six families and a huge -and miscellaneous cargo. It has a square stem and stern and a stumpy -mast set well forward in the bows. The large square sail used to be -made in earlier days of skin stitched together, or of the intestines of -seals blown out and dried, then split open, the long, broad strips -alternating with narrow strips of the same material, to ensure equal -stretching and shrinking. Nowadays, the natives provide themselves with -sail-cloth from the trading posts. The Umiak is an unhandy thing to -manage, but a good enough boat in a heavy sea way. When on a long -voyage up or down the coast or across the bays, in former times, the -Umiak had a double skin; the outer covering becomes so waterlogged and -the movement so sluggish that the whole thing is cast off, and the -journey proceeds in the inner, lighter and drier shell. The gut sail -requires constant wetting to prevent it splitting into ribbons. This -primitive concern is paddled by women when the paddles become -necessary, but a man has the steering in his charge. - -The oars for the Umiak are clumsy things compared to the kyak paddle. -The blades are rough oblongs of wood, almost like spades, fitted to -poles of wood by no means necessarily straight, and bound on by thongs -of hide. Sometimes the oar is quite a crooked branch, and a collection -of these in the hide hung boat looks about as prehistoric an outfit as -Mr. E. T. Reed’s most comic imagination might depict among his -inimitable parodies of life in the neolithic period. - -The Kyak and the Umiak are the two purely native types of boat used on -the Arctic coast. The people, however, are familiar and handy enough -nowadays with rowing and sailing boats of European model, wherever they -have had the opportunity of using and knowing them. They have other -ingenious means of getting about on the water when boats of any -description are not to be had at all. The hunter at the edge of the -floe can stand and paddle himself away out to sea on a raft or slab of -ice detached from the mass; and the deerstalker inland, anxious to -cross a sheet of water or a river, will utilise a skin stuffed with -dried heather, stoutly bound about with thongs of hide. He sits on this -and skims off as happily as a water-beetle. - -The possession of a couple of boats like the foregoing, of a good store -of hunting weapons, plenty of skins, a team of well-trained dogs, and -two sleds—one, a short, light, travelling affair for hunting, and the -other a heavy, long-distance thing for the migrations of the -family—constitute the Eskimo house-holder’s wealth, and determine his -social precedence and standing in the tribe. - - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -ESKIMO DOGS - - -The value to the Eskimo of a good team of about five dogs is equivalent -to that of a kyak or a sled, or a reliable gun. To assess it in terms -of money would have no significance in a land where utility and -necessity alone determine the scale. - -The breed is part, or half, wolf. In build, the true Eskimo dog is well -formed, almost slim about the hindquarters compared with the rest of -his body, the broad and sturdy chest, the strong neck and heavy jaws. -His hair is very thick, grey or tawny in colour, and his tail immensely -bushy, always carried erectly, curving over the back. He is a different -creature to the Samoyede and the Kentucky wolf hound; but probably -there is very little to distinguish him from the famous Alaskan “husky” -dog of so much literary fame, and the dog of the Labrador. - -The dogs in Baffin Land are fed solely on seal flesh, unlike those of -the trappers and mail carriers in Alaska and elsewhere, who subsist on -a spare and spartan ration of frozen fish. Sacks of chopped seal are -always carried on the sleds for the dogs on a winter journey, skin and -hair included. They are wonderful travellers, although the speed with -which a trip may be accomplished depends on a good many other factors -than dog power alone. In the winter a team may average thirty miles a -day; or when conditions of ice and wind are particularly favourable -this figure may be doubled. - -The Eskimo dogs begin their lives in quite pleasant domestic comfort. -They breed in the spring and autumn, and the puppies when born are kept -on the sleeping place in the tent or igloo, and played with by the -women and children in order to accustom them to being handled, and to -the scent of human beings. Otherwise they would grow up wild and -savage, and a trouble to their owners; and, moreover, might too easily -fall a fat and toothsome morsel to any particularly hungry parent or -stray wolf about the camp. They are pretty, playful puppies, full of -puppy imbecility and fun. When about six weeks old this halcyon period -of irresponsibility and shelter comes to an abrupt end. Out go the lot -into the hard world, to eat and sleep with the grown-up dogs of the -village. And immediately the puppy’s training begins. He has a -miniature harness made for him and a little sled. The small boys take -him in hand. They harness him and drive him about, to his unfathomable -disgust and their own diversion, until he becomes used to the process -and the various words of command. - -As time goes on and he gets a little older his serious education -engages the attention of the men. Puppy is harnessed to the real sled -with the older dogs and has to help to drag it to the hunting grounds. -He objects strongly to leaving the village and what it has of -possibilities in the way of tit-bits; but the accustomed orders break -over his head in a fearful roar he has never heard before, and he -scares up a new obedience. Soon, however, he tries the effect of -rebellion, and bolts back on the trail, only to be brought up with a -jerk as he reaches the end of his line. He is unceremoniously dragged -along on his back, bumping over the rough ice, hating everything and -everybody, thinking life not a bit worth living and that the bottom of -his world has fallen out. He is rudely brought to! The leader of the -team knows what to do. Like a parent spanking a naughty child, the -leader sails in, and with many a forceful shake and many a shrewd nip -at every tender point, he forces Puppy to take his rightful station in -the team and do his best to pull. As he goes back to his own position -at the head the Leader just passes word along to the rest to follow his -example. They make quite a point of it. As often as the recruit shows a -tendency to slack off again, or so much as rolls an eye towards the -back trail, they give him a shake up or a nip on the leg to encourage -him to proceed, rather, in the right direction. He receives further -assistance towards this desirable fixity of purpose by an occasional -and painfully adroit flick of the hunter’s long driving lash. - -A few days of this sort of thing, and the youngster registers the -lesson that discretion is the better part of valour. He learns to keep -his objections to himself. - -The next thing to dawn upon his expanding mind is that dragging heavy -weights over the snow makes one’s feet uncommonly sore. The older dogs -knew that long ago, and lay down before starting in the morning, quite -willing to have their boots put on. The dog “boot” is merely an oblong -strip of seal leather with two holes for the nails to go through and a -couple of thongs to secure the ends round the leg. Everywhere in the -Arctics the freight dogs are obliged to have protection for their feet. -But Youngster, whose turn for practical investigation has ere this -convinced him that nothing is inedible except sticks and stones, -retires promptly to the back of the sled or behind the nearest cover, -and eats his boots there and then, with early morning relish. The team, -to a dog, say nothing, but start off as usual. Youngster licks his -lips, curls his tail, and feels good. But after a few miles something -of the curl goes out of his tail, his feet become tender and he droops -a little. The others plod on; he lags. Instantly comes the sting of the -whip or a nip of teeth like a vice. Youngster sprints ahead, only to -flag more and more, to limp and crawl at last with the pain in his -unprotected, wayworn feet. At the end of the day he simply staggers -home, a very sad and sobered Puppy. Leader strolls over, when he thinks -he will, looks at him en passant, and grins. The culprit adds another -mental note to his list of things not good for the digestion. No more -boots! - -Comes another milestone on the hard path of learning and -virtue—pilfering. - -Young dogs have to learn that everything on the sled is rigorously -taboo—for them. Not to be touched, or so much as sniffed at, on any -account whatever. This lesson can only be enforced by many a whipping. -For Youngster does so love to stroll past the sled with a preoccupied -air, hands in pocket as it were. If he were a human being he would hum -a hymn tune. Then, just in that flick of time when no one seems to be -looking, he steals a mouthful of seal-meat or blubber. Instantly -retribution envelops him. He is severely thrashed. If an experience of -this sort repeated once or twice does not cure him his master becomes -harsh indeed. The hunter must at all costs gain and keep the ascendancy -over his dogs. The thief has his head forced hard back with the mouth -wide open, and the man smashes out the two long upper fangs with the -back of his hunting knife. That bit of violence completes this part of -Youngster’s spartan education. - -He graduates by learning how to smell for seal holes in the ice, how to -tackle a bear, how to defend himself, how to guard the tent or igloo, -how to brave every extreme of bitter weather. When an Eskimo dog knows -all this he becomes a valuable asset to his master. - -The Eskimo drives his sled team spread out fanwise. In this formation -they are less likely to break through the snow crust than if driven -Indian fashion, one ahead of the other. The tandem style is suitable -for wooded country, where there is no room to expand and where it is -imperative to keep to a narrow, perhaps ill-defined trail; but in the -Arctics one of the greatest dangers of travelling is to fall into deep -snow. Men and dogs alike can be smothered if the crust gives way, for -their struggles only cause them to sink the deeper. The dogs are driven -by word of command only (i.e., orders to get up, start, straight ahead, -right or left, lie down), and by the whip, a tremendously long thong of -white whale hide attached to a short stock. Half the art of dog driving -consists in the right management of this difficult whip. It has to sail -out to touch just the right dog in just the right place, and should -crack sharply at the tip. The Leader is the most important, reliable -and experienced dog in the team. He is attached to the sled by a longer -trace than the others, so that he runs ahead of them, and his position -is in the centre. It goes without saying that he is very conscious of -his eminence, and gives himself insufferable airs. - -In camp the team always sleep curled round in the snow, if not in the -porch at least near their master’s dwelling, ready for any scraps that -may be flung out; and woe betide any other dog who dares to come near, -or even essays to pass by! There is a rush and the outsider is severely -mauled. Another time, he makes a wide détour. The people never leave -the tents without a guard if they can possibly help it. If the man and -woman are both away a child is left. The dogs can tell the place is -inhabited and refrain from a raid, which would only bring a storm about -their ears if once the alarm were raised. But should the dwelling be -empty even for a short time, the dogs at once get to know it—and they -know about the stores of meat and oil and blubber inside! Now, the -Leader of the team belonging to the establishment is there also as a -“guard,” but his argument seems to be that this obligation applies only -to outsiders. Having driven off any strange visitants who may venture -around, he has no further scruples about helping himself. Moreover, he -has a remarkable business head. He believes, in letting the others -down—for his own advantage and prestige. - -As soon, then, as he decides the tupik is really empty, he gives one -short, deep note, well understood by the others dogs, signifying that -the coast is clear. Then he bounces at the tent wall, bursts through -it, and snatching the first big mouthful of meat he can get, beats a -discreet retreat, leaving the others like thoughtless children to do -the work and get themselves into the required mess. They rush in, of -course, make hay of the tent, and kick up a tremendous uproar, giving -themselves away to the whole village. It does not take long for the -natives to cope with the situation. Armed with sticks, they hurry to -the spot, and while some penetrate the tent to lay about and drive the -dogs outside, others stand ready for the culprits when they come out, -to give them such hard blows as will last them well—until next time! -Out comes number one, a lump of provender in his teeth. He gets his -blows right enough, but sticks to the meat ... only to be met, further -on by the Leader, a surprised and indignant look on his face, as who -should say “What! You at it again! Stealing, when you ought to be on -guard! And having the effrontery to try to pass Me with your plunder! -Put that meat down instantly and I’ll take charge of it! If you want -any more, go back and get it.” - -There is no getting past this. The delinquent is bowled out, rolled -over, bullied until he loses his head and his booty into the bargain. -He is glad to escape alive. He breaks away at last, frantically licking -his wounds. Whereupon Leader absent-mindedly eats the meat and sits -down to await another scrap from the next offender. He calls this -keeping his end up with the mob. - -On one lurid occasion of this sort, all the canine raiders had escaped -from the tent but one, a small fat puppy. He happened to be in the -place at the time and quite enjoyed entering into the spirit of the -thing—meant to do his best like the others. So he climbed into the -lamp, freshly replenished with oil, and fitted it so exactly, -lubricating himself from head to foot, that he stuck in situ to be -caught, but looking quite proud of his position and feeling altogether -grown up. He was soaked in oil and grime; oil dripped from his mouth, -and the laugh on his face plainly said, “My! This is good! Why didn’t I -think of it before?” He was summarily pulled both out of the lamp and -out of his complacency. Infantile yells outside told of early -correction being administered and a lesson in honesty enforced. After -that his mother took him in hand and licked him clean. - -It is sometimes asserted that the Eskimo dog does not bark. This is a -mistake, as he certainly has a snappy bark of his own, however little -it may resemble the recognised barks of all other sorts of dogs. For -the most part he howls. - -The dogs, one and all, are up to every sort of trick. Moreover, their -stomachs are for ever empty and always keen for any sort of food. They -are fed at night whilst on the trail, in order that the meal should -have time to digest and strengthen them. Incidentally, they sleep -soundly buried in the snow, and neither attempt to stray nor to break -into the hunter’s sleeping place. In the morning they are nowhere to be -seen. The white expanse remains unbroken. They are all under the snow, -and in no way inclined to rouse up and be harnessed. Nobody wastes time -looking for them. Someone takes a lamp outside the shelter and empties -the oil on the ground. Immediately black noses emerge from here and -there, tempted by the smell, and the rest is easy. - -Once upon a time Nannook (the bear) the Bad Hat of the team, had a -brilliant idea. He had often considered the weighty problem of the -driving lash it seemed so impossible for his master ever to forget. The -point was, how to get rid of it. So long as that whip cracked forever -about them there was no chance of making the other dogs do his share of -the work, no opportunity to slack off or snatch a rest. The only scheme -seemed to be to eat it. Nothing loth, Nannook waited for the usual -midday halt. The hunter chopped off some frozen pieces of meat, sat -down in the lee of the sled and ate and smoked. The whip lay unheeded -on the snow behind his shoulder. - -Nannook sneaked up, caught hold of the end of the lash, and steadily -began to chew. He chewed yard after yard, his stomach feeling better -with every foot of the way. He chewed up to the very stock, undetected; -and having packed away at least eighteen feet of seasoned whalehide, -crept back to the team. Presently the hunter bestirred himself for a -start. Picking up his whip—he just gazed round. It was a dog, without a -doubt; but which one? Who on earth could tell! All were innocently -dozing, every one in his place, the picture of virtuous decorum. No one -could tell. No one, therefore, could be punished. The rest of the -journey was accomplished perforce of shouting only. For once in a way -the dogs had the best of the joke. - -It sometimes happens on a long trail with a heavy sled that a blizzard, -or some other untoward circumstance, may delay a traveller for a longer -or shorter time; sometimes for days. His food supply gives out and the -dogs come to an end of their rations. The team gets ever more weary and -more weak. The hunter goes on ahead, breaking the trail for them on -snowshoes; the dogs stagger along after him, often lying down and -refusing to get up. But the trouble has not been unforeseen. The master -has prepared for this sort of emergency by carefully bringing along -some particularly bad bits of refuse seal meat. The stench of them -would imbue a skunk with self-respect, in comparison. Taking one of -these, he forges ahead, calling the dogs and leaving behind him a lure -like poison gas. He drops the meat, and the Leader, picking up the -scent, with a new cock in his dispirited ears, bustles round, spurring -up the team with the information. “Come on!” he says. “Can’t you see -he’s dropped that bit? My, can’t you smell it? Hurry up, and let’s get -it!” They do get up, poor dupes; but the Leader, in virtue of his -longer trace gets there first, and doesn’t wait to argue. Over and over -again this manœuvre is repeated, both on the hunter’s part and on the -Leader’s. The rest of the team make all the effort they can to get -equal with such duplicity, and sometimes even succeed in snatching -first at the bait. Anyway, it is a fine way of getting the sled along -and taking their minds off their troubles. A trail of loathsome scraps, -each one encouraging a spurt on the part of the dogs, helps over the -distance. Often an exhausted team has been enabled to cover the last -few miles by this method, when otherwise they must have dropped. - -In spite of the rigour of his life and the necessary hardness of his -owner, the Eskimo dog is not without that glorious power of faithful -canine devotion which is one of the most beautiful forms of love on -earth. The writer knows of at least two instances where a dog has -wasted away and died of grief in his master’s absence or after his -death. But such a true canine trait is very rare. For the most part, -these animals readily transfer their affections to the hand that feeds -them. - -They are savage to all strangers. The team guards its master’s tent or -igloo because he is the one who provides for it. The dogs sleep in the -porch as a rule; and before entering a dwelling the visitor is well -advised to call to one of the inmates to quiet them, otherwise he will -be severely bitten. In winter, when hungry, the dogs are more dangerous -than ever. It happened, once, that two Eskimo had died, and been sewn -up in their blankets and buried beneath a cairn of huge stones in a -neighbouring valley. One of the bodies was even enclosed in a light -barrel. During the night the dogs raided the place, tore down the -stones, and ate the dead. In the summer time they forage for themselves -on the seashore, picking up small fish left by the tide, and anything -edible they can find. - -The Eskimo dog has a great deal that is wolfish and dangerous in him. -The strain, indeed, is very little differentiated from the wolf. -Sometimes a dog will leave camp, go back to the wild, and join a pack -of wolves as one of themselves. Those who do this seldom return; but -when they do, puppies of the direct resulting strain are greatly -valued. It has been remarked that, whereas wolves in the Arctic seldom -attack a human being, dogs will not uncommonly do so. The extraordinary -thing about this is that hydrophobia is practically unknown. It would -be difficult to say exactly what may be the natural span of life of the -Eskimo dogs, but they seem to be at least as long lived as the larger -breeds of European dogs. - -The Eskimo names his dog ‘The Lively One,’ the ‘Bear,’ the ‘North -Star,’ and in similar fashion. The animals possess much humour of their -own; one belonging to the writer, of whom he was extremely fond, -certainly enjoyed fun, and could very nearly speak! - -Lest, while on the subject of these creatures too much space should be -devoted to them, this chapter cannot be concluded without a brief -description of the sleds to which their toilsome lives are vowed. - -The small, light-going sled used for hunting is only about six feet in -length. The cross bars are fastened to the runners by sealskin thongs, -to ensure a certain degree of pliability in travelling over rough ice. -A pair of reindeer horns with part of the skull attached are fastened -by thongs to the back of the sled, forming a sort of erect triangle. -This serves as a rack upon which to hang coils of sealing line and -various implements, and also as a rest to lean against for anyone -sitting on the sled. The runners are shod with strips of bone sawn from -the ribs or jaw of the whale, and fastened on either by wooden pegs or -by thongs sunk into grooves to prevent them wearing through. These -runners are the object of very special care and constant daily -attention on the part of the owner. They are covered with a thick -coating of seal’s blood, for the sake of a fine surface. The craftsman -takes a mouthful of this material and squirts it upon the runners, -moulding it at the same time with his fingers. It freezes even as he -smooths it down, and with a final squirting of water takes a high, hard -glaze which ensures smooth and swift running for the sled. If seal’s -blood happens to be scarce the maker uses a mixture of moss roots and -water, which gives an almost equally good surface when applied in the -same way, and looks like nothing so much as a first-class cork lino. - -The Kummotik, or long travelling sled, is double the length of the -foregoing and heavier in proportion. Otherwise its construction is the -same. It requires a team of from twelve to eighteen dogs, whereas five -are sufficient for the hunting sled. The loading of a Kummotik is a -work of art. There is a place for everything, and everything has to go, -just so, into its place. The spears and weapons are stowed in the -bottom of the sled in front, by the driver. At the far end, a piece of -skin is laid down and upon this slab upon slab of blubber for the lamp -is piled up, and the lamp set atop of the lot, bottom up, because of -the grease and dirt. Then the meat for the journey is put aboard—frozen -deer hams, and frozen seals entire, enough for the whole party until -they fetch up at the next tribe’s camping ground. The meat is, of -course, uncooked, since a minimum of raw meat gives a maximum of heat -and strength. (Hence the Eskimo prefer their rations raw when there is -work to be done. The cooked stew of an evening is a mere luxury meal.) -A skin is thrown over the heap of provisions to prevent the travellers’ -clothing being soiled by it. Over it all are piled the rolled-up -sleeping blankets and the karsâte or deerskin rugs for mattresses. -Knives, axes and lines hang upon the horns behind. The driver’s seat in -front is a box containing small tools, flint and steel. The whole load -is securely lashed down to the cross bars of the sled. The man’s spear -is slipped into the lashings on one side, so as to be handy for use at -a moment’s notice. The women and children perch on top of the load, or -make their way alongside on foot, as they prefer. The dogs’ lines are -all gathered to a point (like the sticks of a fan) just in front of the -runners, when they are tied and then divided into the two short traces -which, fastened to right and left on the runners, draw the sled. - -A still more ancient form of sled was in use among the Eskimo before -the advent of the whites, but the elders of the villages remember it -well and describe it to-day. In those times wood was very scarce, tools -very rude, and whales more abundant than at present. So strips of -whalebone taken from the mouth (before this valuable material came into -the markets of the world at all) were stitched together by whale or -hide thongs, until a sled could be fashioned out of them, something -like a huge, long, black shovel, very hard, durable and strong. Dogs -harnessed to this contrivance made good speed with it, even with the -driver squatting upon it. In one respect it was more serviceable than -the modern form with runners, since unlike these it did not sink in -snow or easily break through a rotten crust. It should be noted that a -full-grown whale has about a ton of this black whalebone fringe hanging -from his jaw, the longest part of it attaining six or seven feet when -the mouth is open; so that a fair sized sled could easily be made out -of such a great supply. - -The struggle for existence in the Arctic has taught the Eskimo to -utilise in the most ingenious ways resources at their disposal so -limited that the marvel is so self-sufficing, so healthy, hearty and -happy a civilisation, of its kind, could ever have been evolved. - -Where these tribes have come so much in contact with other peoples, and -even with well-meaning white enterprise on their behalf, that they have -attempted to substitute for their old ways a method and mode of living -indigenous neither to the climate nor to their own physique, they have -invariably degenerated. The Eskimo of Labrador and Alaska have largely -abandoned the snow house for the log shack or sod hut, and have in -consequence been decimated by tuberculosis. Everywhere, contact with -“civilisation” has tended so to divorce these children of the North -from their natural environment as to initiate their wholesale decline. -It is only now, in “the last North of all”—in Baffin Land, Boothia -Island, Victoria Land, and the rest—that the Eskimo retain their old -ways and their old vigour. Their life and their type everywhere else -has become mongrel and nondescript. While there can never, of course, -be any question in believing and thinking man’s mind about the -inestimable boon of Christianity and educating these people along the -lines suggested by a sympathetic study of them on the spot, it seems to -be very inadvisable to interfere with them, to “civilise” them too much -after the unsuitable European model, to revolutionise the natural and -suitable scheme of life they have so bravely and so ingeniously worked -out for themselves during the uncivilised centuries of their existence -in the bleakest and most inhospitable regions of the earth. - - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER X - -TRIBAL LIFE - - -In their family and tribal life the Eskimo carry out a very smooth -running sort of communism, the chief tenets of which are rigidly -enforced peaceableness, open hospitality to the stranger, and a sharing -of food and the necessaries of precarious existence among each other. -Tribal government is wholly patriarchal in character. The Angakooeet, -or chief conjurors—a class of men apart—hold the first place in public -esteem and common council. After them the village is ruled by the -successful hunters, who foregather with the former and with the aged -and experienced, when it is a question of deciding where to go and what -to do about the hunting, or change of encampment, or treatment of a -delinquent. - -The Eskimo have no idea of authority, except that which one man may -exercise over another in virtue of his superior wisdom, experience, -skill or strength. There has recently been some question of -inaugurating a reindeer and musk ox industry on the vast moss pastures -of the hinterland of Baffin Land, and the purport of much evidence -given on this subject before a Royal Commission abundantly confirms the -experience of the present writer, and emphasises the remarks that have -been made as to the inadvisability of rushing matters with regard to -“civilising” the Eskimo, and radically changing his mode of life from -that to which the conditions of his environment have hitherto formed -him. Savage as these conditions are, the Eskimo has wrought out his own -well-being, and in his native state is as happy and contented an -individual as could be desired. He has his hard seasons of -semi-starvation, when the hunting is poor; but even these are borne -with cheerfulness and equanimity. - -“They seem to have the communal idea very strongly implanted,” said D. -Jewess, Esq., one of the witnesses. “Theirs is a community in which one -man is equal to any other man. The idea of one man being a servant to -another would not seem to be native to the Eskimo; it is a foreign -idea. It would seem that they must learn the whole idea of one man -serving another before they could be counted upon as reliable -employees. - -“An Eskimo will serve you faithfully on certain conditions, and will -expect his payment afterwards. He will serve you for a limited time and -perform almost any work, and will then expect his payment. The moment -that payment is made he is an absolutely free man; but for the period -of work, if he understands his contract clearly, he will serve you -faithfully. They seem to work partly through the binding force of a -promise; but a great factor in keeping them at work seems to be that of -having them understand that they will be well rewarded at the end. As -is the case with all human beings, they vary; but on the whole they may -be considered as faithful as white people found in civilised -communities. Experience seems to show that they will keep to an -agreement unless they get angry. In this event, they seem to forget -their promise. If they, in a casual manner, more or less promise to do -a thing, they are as likely as not to fail. Like most primitive people, -if they trust you they will do what they can to justify your confidence -in them. - -“At the present time the Eskimo is not responsible. He would make an -excellent servant, and in time an excellent trapper, guide and hunter. -This is speaking of the Coronation Gulf Eskimo, who have known white -men only during the past four or five years. It would seem that the -Eskimo of Hudson Bay and of the east generally have other -characteristics which have been moulded through this influence. It is -not thought that this contact with white men is necessarily an -advantage, if one is trying to convert the Eskimo into a reliable, -responsible servant or working man. A great deal naturally depends upon -the kind of white men with whom the natives have had to associate.” - -It must be remembered that life in an Eskimo tribe is almost a family -one. Each family is interdependent upon the others, and all have close -ties and relationships. Thus anything which interferes with the general -harmony is dangerous and, in the unwritten law, a crime. - -Matte, a good hunter and a man of standing in the tribe of X——, in the -locality of Z——, had for long disturbed the peace of the rest. He had -quarrelled, had spread ill reports about the doings of the hunters, had -divulged their secrets, and been generally independent and unsociable. -For a long time Matte was a thorn in the side of his tribe. He -disregarded their customs and traditions, and became, according to -Eskimo law, altogether a first-class misdemeanant. At last he became -unbearable. His big voice and burly frame were no longer tolerable in -the settlement. A day came when, in his absence, the Angakooeet and -chief men met in council to decide what should be done. His case was -reviewed and discussed at length, and arguments were brought forward -both for and against the accused. At length the verdict was given by -the Angakut, the Chief of the Conjurors, and ratified by the Council. -Matte was to be put to death. - -Five men were chosen by the Angakut, and instructed in their duties. -Two were to hold the prisoner’s arms, two his legs, and the fifth was -to strike and kill. - -As the time for the man’s return approached the executioners went out -and waited for him in the path outside the village. No sooner had he -appeared than they seized upon him. Matte read his doom in their eyes. -He had but time for one ejaculation of despair when the knife struck -through his breast and justice was done. The body was thrown aside and -left for the dogs and wolves to rend and devour. - -The five men returned to their homes. One of them (the one who -afterwards related the story to the writer), married Matte’s widow at -her express wish, and “lived happy ever after.” The woman indeed was -quite agreeable to the removal of her first husband, as it was -miserable to be the wife of so unpopular a member of the community. - -Continued quarrelling, like that of this man Matte, is punishable by -death. So also is murder. A thief is banished from the village, but -petty pilferers are merely sent to Coventry. - -Old people are held in great respect among the Eskimo, and their -counsel is always considered. They help as far as they are able in the -household work, the old men repairing weapons, harness, etc., and the -old women in sewing or tending the lamps. In times of scarcity, as in -winter, meat and oil are always shared round. Directly a deer or seal -is brought in it is cut up and pieces sent to each needy family. In -times of plenty each family is supposed to provide for itself; but old -people, widows and orphans have always the first claim upon those who -have the means. - -Among these people, mutual kindliness is a general obligation. A widow -or orphan child is never left alone, but taken into the house and -family circle of the nearest relative. The widow gives her services in -return for food and lodging and clothing, and the child is cared for -exactly as the man’s own offspring. - -Children have always the right of entry to any house and to partake -there of whatever food may be going. Women are seldom refused a like -privilege. In times of famine children are fed first, the women next -and the men last. The writer has known a hunter to go out four days in -succession and meet with no success. He had shared a portion of seal -with another man who had caught one and cut it up as usual, but this -had been given to his wife and family, whilst he himself, taking no -more than a drink of warm water, went off with unimpaired cheerfulness -to try his luck again. - -Strangers and travellers, too, are always entertained and provided for -so far as the means of the moment may permit. A native arriving from -another tribe and having no relations in the village just puts up at -any igloo he may chose—as a rule he will select the family best able to -entertain him—and there his dogs are fed, his equipment is repaired or -the necessary material offered, and food and a sleeping place provided -for himself. Should he be on the trail alone, a temporary wife is -furnished him from the widows or spinsters of the community, and it -becomes her business to see that his clothes are dried and mended, and -that when he departs again he has sufficient food to carry him over the -next stage of his journey. - -The Eskimo are aware that in some respects European customs differ from -their own, and when entertaining a white man his peculiarities are -rigidly respected. The Eskimo standard of morals is not that of the -European. It may be that in this matter of the temporary wife, as in -the annual exchange of wives during the Sedna festivities, nature is -making her own instinctive provision for the continuation of a race; -otherwise so heavily handicapped are they by arctic conditions of life -generally that without it wedlock would scarcely suffice for the -purpose. The Eskimo despite customs which look like promiscuity -according to the standards of civilisation, are not afflicted with the -diseases associated with European vice—until they come in contact with -unscrupulous whites. Either the germs of these scourges have not made -their appearance in the Eskimo communities, or the people are -particularly resistive to them. That this latter supposition is not -borne out is evidenced by the havoc that has been wrought among the -tribes in the past. The Eskimo, when left to themselves, are a moral -people according to their own ideas, and the rude health they keep -despite these strange customs, seems to vindicate them from an -unthinking criticism. - -If he can, the wayfarer makes suitable offerings in return, but they -are not necessarily expected. He drops in on the family overnight, just -perhaps when the hunter has returned with a good fat seal, and the -jolly distribution of it all round is going on. There is a broad smile -on the face of the housewife as she picks out the best bits for her -friends and leaves the scraggy remnants for those of whom she cannot -profess to be so fond. The children rush hither and thither, willing -servitors of those who cannot come themselves. - -The blood is carefully scooped into an ice bowl for future stew or for -the glazing of sled runners. At the hospitable shout, “Kileritse! -Kileritse!”—“Come ye! Come ye!”—everyone, friend and stranger alike, -crowds into the house and squats on the bench or the floor, or in the -porch, and is duly served out with his share. Nothing is heard for -awhile but the crunch of strong ivory teeth; the red blood stains hands -and faces; black eyes glisten with enjoyment. Then, after a time, the -hum and clatter of talk rises to the smoky roof. Everything is -devoured, even the entrails (squeezed through the fingers to flatten -and empty them). Reindeer moss, taken from the stomach of a deer may be -served up as well by way of that greatest possible luxury—a salad! - -Finally, everyone goes to bed. The doorway is blocked up, blankets are -unrolled, and men and women and children, stripped to the skin, wrap -themselves up in these and lie down with their heads towards the lamps -and their feet towards the back of the snow house, and sleep the sleep -of health and good humour and repletion until the break of another -arctic winter “day.” - -The children of an Eskimo community have quite a good time. Whenever -infanticide has been practised among these people, it was never through -cruelty or wanton waste of infant life, but simply because of a dearth -of provisions. As a matter of fact, the Eskimo prides himself on having -as large a family as possible. He is entitled to have as many wives as -he can support. It is not uncommon for a well-found man to have three -wives—possibly sisters—all living amicably together. The children are -named after some place or object, and many names descend from father to -son. Thus we have “Moneapik,” the little egg; “Oonapik,” the little -hunting spear; “Pitsoolak,” the sea pigeon; “Shokak,” roof of the -mouth; and other names too crude for translation. - -The pastimes of the children are just like those of children all the -world over. On fine days they romp with the puppies, as described -elsewhere, or they borrow a sealskin from their mothers and, finding a -snow incline, drag it to the top and toboggan down on it in fine style -and with resounding glee. They build snow houses; play with little -improvised sledges; kick a seal bladder about by way of a ball; -discover cat’s cradles for themselves with any odd bits of thong; and -get up to all the usual mischief with bows and arrows. The girls make -dolls. The boys have an ivory top corresponding to cup and ball, and -another game called “spearing the seal,” which is played by two, with a -piece of skin for the ice, and a bit of bone that moves about -underneath it for the seal. There is a blow hole, of course, and a -miniature spear. - -The education of the Eskimo boy all turns on hunting. All sorts of -curious observances wait on his first adventures in that line. When he -secures his first weasel, for instance, he gives it to the dogs, simply -to be torn in pieces; and that night has to sit up by the igloo door, -one hand on hip and in the other a lamp stick. Possibly the root idea -is to defend himself from the spirit of the little beast. When he gets -his first bird, Young Hopeful sits in the middle of the sleeping bench, -his mother on one side and his grandmother on the other. The boy is -told to take off his jacket, and the two women wrench the bird apart -between them in a sort of tug of war, to the accompaniment of cries of -congratulation. The mangled spoil is then eaten to bring good luck to -the boy. - -The following tale of the voluntary suicide of the old people who feel -that they have outgrown their usefulness to the community, and have -rather become a burden to it, shows how strongly the communal feeling -dominates the Eskimo, how essential to existence each one of them finds -the social life of the tribe and village to be. - -For many weeks summer has reigned in the arctics. Snow has disappeared. -The ice has broken up and drifted away to the south; only a few bergs -remain, like the remnants of a majestic fleet, wending their wandering -way after the rest. For weeks on end it has been one long, glorious -day, when the sun has scarcely set an hour. The weather is hot and the -sky is blue. Arctic flowers and arctic heather gem the short turf; -streams and cascades fill the valleys with the unwonted music of -running water. The dogs lie about, basking in the sunshine, or betake -themselves to the seashore to hunt for fish and such toothsome morsels -as may be left in the rock pools by the falling tide. The village of -sealskin tents is pitched in a sheltered spot near some handy stream, -overlooking the inlet. Contentment, ease and plenty are the order of -the day. The kyakers skim the waters of the bay, hunting as usual, and -in the evening the boys have a turn in the same light craft, to -practice with harpoon or birdspear. They vie with each other in skill -and speed, and take lessons from their elders. - -The old men and women potter about, visiting each other. The crones -occupy themselves teaching the younger women how things were best done -in their day, and the granfers fight their own battles over again and -exploit their own adventures, as they listen to the talk of the younger -men—the tales of more recent feats accomplished, perils survived, and -clever captures achieved. As the bright day wanes to that short -twilight which is the arctic summer night, the men fetch their blankets -from the tents, roll themselves up in them under the shelter of some -boulder, and sleep in the open air. - -The month of the eider ducks has come and gone. The women have manned -their boats and made their annual raid on the island where the birds -breed, returning with hundreds of eggs, plenty of ducks, and a goodly -store of eiderdown from the nests. The days have been one long, joyous -picnic, all the hardships, privations and dangers of the winter -forgotten. The babies, brown and mother-naked, have sprawled about in -the sun and waxed fat and jolly, with the freedom and the play and the -plenty of summer. - -But now the time has come to get ready for a very big annual enterprise -indeed—the great deer hunt, upon which the fortunes of the tribe will -turn for months. If the Eskimo lay up little store of food, they -accumulate all the hides they can for winter clothing. For several -weeks before the start is made, stores of meat are prepared, slices of -seal cut and spread on the rocks, or hung on lines in the sun to dry. -Piles of moss and cotton plant are collected and dried for the winter’s -supply of lamp wick. Sealskins are cleaned and stretched and dried for -clothing, boot soles, boat coverings, and water buckets; intestines are -inflated and dried for sail cloth and material for making windows. The -dogs are outfitted with sealskin panniers for transport purposes. The -trek ahead of the tribe is a long and laborious one. They will journey -for many days by water up the rivers, and climb long ranges of hills -and cross many valleys, before they reach the interior and the pastures -of the deer. Each man, woman and child must shoulder his own pack, for -none can carry a double load. And so, it often chances, comes the -tragedy of old and enfeebled age. - -Seorapik was an octogenarian. Her hair was grey and her back was bent. -She had managed, somehow, the previous year to carry her belongings on -the long, long trail, and to stumble along after the tribe. But at last -the bitter fact forced itself upon her that she could follow the -hunters no more. She must stay behind—alone. She could no longer carry -her load nor keep pace with the folk on the way, and none might carry -her. She had no alternative but to remain in the deserted village and -await the tribe’s return. - -Now Seorapik, like every other Eskimo, was an intensely sociable being. -She loved nothing so much as to hear laughter and jokes about her, and -to be in the thick of all the village talk and doings. As she faced the -prospect of the long lonely weeks ahead, in the lifeless silence of the -empty camp, with the days growing ever shorter and colder, without a -soul—except perhaps a child—to bear her company, her heart quailed and -grew very heavy. There was the danger, too, of attack by wolf or bear, -and of sickness coming on—and death. Death, all alone! True, they would -leave her a plentiful store of food—the good village folk—and lots of -skins; but what comfort could these afford her in their absence? - -But the law of the North is stern and immutable. - -They knew it—those sons and daughters of hers, and all their sons and -daughters. They grieved for Seorapik, and remembered her many acts of -kindness to each and every one of them, and her life of cheery toil -spent wholly in their service. They had a custom to be sure—but it was -hard to endure it when it came face to face. A familiar custom, -designed to meet such as case as this; but a heartbreaking one, all the -same. Seorapik remembered it, too, and was the first to summon the -courage to announce it. - -She proposed to bid the tribe goodbye rather than let it take leave of -her. Her time to go on the long, lone journey from which none ever -returned could not be far off in any case. She decided to anticipate -it. She could not face seeing her folk load up the packs, start out on -the trail, without her, and disappear over the hills. She could not -contemplate the intense loneliness that it would all mean, and miss the -laughter of the children, and even the rough and tumble among the dogs. -So the dread subject was broached to her son. - -He gave his assent. Itteapik announced the decision to the villagers, -and they came to help with the preparations for Seorapik’s death. - -A rough, round igloo was built, and the old woman withdrew into it, -taking her few belongings, escorted by all her kindred and friends. -They encouraged her to the last with every kindly and sympathetic thing -they could think of to say. She braved it out, and, with her cheery but -quavering goodbye still in their ears, her loved ones blocked up the -entrance to the little death chamber in such a way that no dog or wolf -might break in. - -And there she sat down slowly and willingly to starve to death, quite -happy so long as her children continued to come from time to time and -call to her from outside, and tell her all that was going on, every -single little thing that happened.... She never asked for food or -drink; they never gave it.... She never wanted to come out; they never -moved a stone.... She simply had to go. Their part was to make her last -days, her last hours, as happy as they could, simply by being -there—quite close—outside. - -Then the time came when the feeble voice just ceased to make one more -response. She had gone on her own long journey first, to the land where -parting would be no more, nor the fear and sadness of it. Her last -hours had been happy ones, cheered by the sounds of the village life, -the cries and gurgles of the babies, the shouts and cat-calls of the -boys and girls, the murmur of men and women talking over their -accustomed tasks. She had no loneliness to bear, after all, no -desolation, no silence. The old Eskimo died with a smile of love and -contentment on her face, with a long record behind her of woman’s good -and motherly work, of a humble, “primitive” life indeed, but lived -according to what light she had—and so into the better life beyond. - -There was Nandla (the spear), too, the blind hunter, who also went to -death under the lash of arctic circumstance. - -The incident took place near Davis’ Strait, and was related to the -writer by one who had witnessed it. Again, the inexorable law of the -wild left one handicapped as Nandla was no choice. The man was -comparatively young, but by reason of his blindness useless to himself -and a burden upon others. In a hungry land, where every extra mouth to -be filled represents a problem, there is no room for one who cannot -provide for himself. The severity of the code of the North is very -great. It cannot be judged by the ordinary standards of humanity. - -Spring was at hand—the joyous spring of the arctics. The days were -lengthening and the seals increasing in numbers. They were coming up -from the south for the breeding season. In the village all was life and -bustle. The hunters were full of preparations, and the dogs scarcely -less so. The boys were loading the sleds and harnessing the teams. One -by one, each hunting outfit glided off over the frozen ground, out -towards the bay. - -Outside his snow house sat Nandla, the blind hunter, listening to every -sound and seeing every detail in his mind’s eye. His heart was heavy as -lead. In his younger days he, too, had gone forth just like these -others, to spear the season’s catch, and come home rejoicing with a -heavy sled. But repeated attacks of snow blindness (despite his wooden -snow goggles) had destroyed his sight; and here he was, in early middle -age, a useless, hopeless, helpless man, tied to the house, dependent -upon his folk for food and clothing, and a drag upon them all. - -Each night, as the hunters came home, the whole tribe gathered as usual -round the cooking pots, when the excitements and doings of the day -would be discussed with no less gusto than the food. Nandla always had -his place in the family circle, and eagerly drank in every word the -hunters had to say. He longed to hunt again, himself; to bring back the -kill, to see the children come pushing into his house for their share, -and to bid his wife give generously to the aged and the destitute! In -his mind he pictured it all: the village nestling in the bay, huge, -snow-clad cliffs rearing up at the back of it, and overhead the pure -blue of the bright sky, where the glaucus gulls wheeled and cried. He -pictured the scavenger ravens perched about everywhere, on the look-out -for bits; the vast expanse of the frozen bay, glaring white in the cold -sunlight; and beyond, a heavy black mist smoking up in the wind, -marking the water line. Out there were the hunters—mere dots—moving -about in the still immensity. - -And here was he—Nandla—idle and useless, unable to occupy himself even -with such tasks as fell to the ancients of the tribe—the repairing of -lines, harness, and weapons. He could not patch up a snow house any -more, or trim a lamp! Often, during the months of severe weather and of -scarcity his relations had been hard pushed to find the wherewithal to -feed him or clothe him. Nandla was very wretched. - -At length, one evening, after just such a bad spell of weather and of -luck, Nandla begged to be taken out on to the hunting grounds. Now, his -relatives had been thinking things over rather grimly, and had seen -nothing ahead for him but long years of misery and possibly of want. -The problem suggested but one solution. It was simple enough. This -request of the blind man’s to be equipped once more for the hunt and -taken along with the rest, gave them their opportunity. They fell in -with his desire and made their plan. They knew of a certain rout where -danger lay. Nandla should be taken that way. - -It was neither treachery nor murder they planned, but an end for the -afflicted man of his anxieties and griefs. Nandla set out that morning -full of delight. His heart was full of unwonted excitement. He yelled -to the dogs and bumped and glided over the ice on the sled with a long -missed sense of exhilaration. - -They soon reached the grounds. Nandla’s guide seized his hand and led -him towards a gaping seal hole. - -“Follow me!” he said, dropping the other’s hand and lightly stepping to -one side. - -“I follow!” replied the sightless man, and straightway fell into the -hole. - -He went right under, then and there—under the ice—and was immediately -drowned and frozen. A handy piece of ice served to seal the death trap, -and all was over. Nandla had died on the hunt, and had entered the -Eskimo heaven like the other valiant men of his tribe, and taken his -place with the doughtiest of them, where there would be joy and plenty -for evermore. - - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -TRIBAL LIFE—Continued - - -Childhood in the arctics does not last long. There are among the Eskimo -a number of strange customs and superstitions attending not only the -transition time between girlhood and maturity, but the whole physical -life of woman, which may have their interest for the ethnologist -(especially from the point of view of the interpretation of the -mentality of primitive peoples), but in which the general reader would -scarcely find much interest. Suffice it to say that the root -reason—probably instinctive—underlying many of these observances and -rites, these taboos and indications, is very possibly a hygienic one, -since in nearly every instance some purpose of the sort seems to be -unconsciously served. It may be that herein lies one of the true -distinctions between uncivilised and civilised existence. In the -latter, most of the functional aspects of life are subordinated to the -intellectual and the spiritual, while in the former they bulk -self-consciously and far more obtrusively even than among the lower -animals. - -The Eskimo community in sanitation or in sex matters has few -reticences. This may be another way of saying it has no pruderies. The -native attaches no more importance to the functions of sex than to -those of eating, drinking or sleeping. It would, of course, be easier -to attribute complete insouciance in these respects to the native mind -if, instead of trapping some of them out with rather elaborate -ceremonial, it kept them all much on a level. In most instances of -insistence, however, a hygienic motive, conscious or unconscious, lies -behind them. Although the people live under very crude conditions, -crowded together in the igloo, without privacy or special quarters for -women, they are not without a sense of the fitness of things or some -idea of personal modesty. It is the height of ill-breeding to stare, -for instance, at anyone whilst dressing or undressing. - -Like the Indians, and like most other uncivilised people, the Eskimo -marry early, sometimes indeed at the age of twelve years. Unions are -arranged by the mothers and grandmothers. A woman with a marriageable -daughter is fully alive to the advantage of seeing a good hunter attach -himself to the domestic circle. She looks round in good time, and -noting some promising youth, makes overtures to his mother on the score -of the cleverness, the docility and the industry of her girl. The whole -thing at once becomes a fertile topic of discussion. Some amicable -understanding having been reached, presents are interchanged and the -young couple are informed that they are to be married. There is no -ceremony. The girl is sent to her mother-in-law’s house, and for a -month or more works there under a pair of sufficiently vigilant eyes. -This gives the boy also an opportunity of making up his mind about her. -And the prospective bride has a chance to do the same about him. As a -rule, the whole thing works out quite satisfactorily, and even happily; -but if the girl turns out lazy or careless or bad-tempered, a divorce -is declared and she returns to her parents’ igloo, to be married -elsewhere, with better luck next time. - -This sending of the bride to the hunter’s mother’s house scarcely -amounts to an interval of probation. The girl certainly expects to -stay. In all probability the young folk have known each other from -childhood up, and there is no reason to suppose their marriage will be -anything but a success. It is the Eskimo way of asserting the -world-wide fact that you never know a person until you have to live -with him—or her. - -Should, however, real faults of temper or character be presently -discovered on either side, it is quite open to the bride or bridegroom -to ask to have a divorce declared. The matter is arranged between the -families concerned, not necessarily by the Angakok. Should a girl be -returned on her people’s hands enceinte, after an experiment of this -sort (not a likely contingency at an early age), the child forms no -obstacle to her contracting another union later on. It is adopted into -the mother’s family and cared for as usual, without a trace of stigma -attaching to either. In the Arctics, where families are small, children -are an asset, and represent little burden to a community every member -of which is willing to help feed and support them. If a child is a boy, -he will grow up to be a hunter, and catch seals for the tribesfolk; if -a girl, she will become the wife of a hunter and the mother of more -hunters. - -The difference between married life and free or promiscuous unions, -even with this primitive folk, is quite clearly marked. A married -woman, i.e., a woman belonging definitely and recognisedly to such and -such a man, is faithful to him and he to her, so long as harmony reigns -between them and no “divorce” takes place. The occasional interchange -of wives, such as during the Sedna ceremony, is a recognised -institution of Eskimo life, and interrupts the even tenor of the -connubial way in no permanent sense. There is a good deal of -“immorality” (according to standards entirely inapplicable to this -people in the native state), and promiscuous intercourse with widows -and discarded wives. It is from this class that strangers staying in -camp are accommodated with their temporary partners. - -Fidelity is observed between married people while they agree to remain -married. Sometimes, however, two husbands will come to an agreement -with each other, with the knowledge and consent of their respective -wives, to effect a temporary exchange. Again, fidelity is now observed -as long as the exchange endures, but reverts to the original partner -when presently dissolved. Should any children come of this interlude, -they generally remain with the mother, the permanent husband being -quite willing to adopt them. - -The new-made bridegroom does not leave his parents’ home and set up his -own establishment until he is able to maintain it by hunting. If the -husband and wife belong to different tribes, the woman is adopted into -that of the man. The men sometimes maltreat their wives, if aggravated -by shrewish tempers or bad household management, but children very -seldom experience any but the kindest and most indulgent treatment. The -writer knew a boy who stabbed his mother in the arm during a fit of -temper, but was merely scolded for it. That he knew no better was the -excuse alleged in his defence, and it was his elder’s business to teach -him self-control and good behaviour. Children are devotedly loved by -the Eskimo, and maternity (never prolific in the arctics) is held in -the highest esteem. If the men occasionally beat the women it has never -been known that children are ever abused or neglected. All travellers -and observers agree in this respect. - -A girl will be attended in childbirth with her first baby, but not -after that. The expectant Eskimo mother has to be alone (except on the -first occasion), in a little house set apart for her, and without -assistance. After it is born, the baby is never washed but rubbed down -with a soft fur or bird skin and put straight away, stark naked, into -the capacious hood of its mother’s tunic. The woman must, however, -never eat alone during this time, lest a Tougak with three fingers -steal her food and bring evil upon the child. She must pay no visits -until she has quite recovered in the space of a full month, and only -then if she has a new suit of clothes. - -As an illustration of what has been said about some real reason -underlying such injunctions as the foregoing, it may be remarked that, -why the mother may not eat alone is probably to ensure that she does -not starve. She is in solitary confinement, and cannot procure and -prepare food for herself. To ensure her being fed she must have the -food brought to her and the messenger stays to share the meal. Again, -an expectant mother must always run out of her igloo or tupik during -the day when the dogs howl. They do not howl incessantly, as might be -imagined, since they are away with the hunters in the day, and asleep, -buried in the snow, at night. The woman has to sit up on her haunches -when she hears the dogs in the night-time, and not lie down again until -they cease. After all, there is good sense in this. The women sit about -in their houses for the most part, and get comparatively little -exercise. The two rules involved in this dog howling enactment ensure -the expectant mother a modicum of exercise and fresh air, which she -might not otherwise exert herself to obtain. - -Childbirth is always attended by the women conjurors, never by the men. -The event in itself is thought little of, and not looked forward to -with any dread. The writer has known of a case of husband and wife -being on the trail together with their sled, in midwinter, when the -woman was taken in labour. The man merely stopped the team and hastily -put up a snow shelter. The wife retired to it for a little while, then -placed the new-born child in her hood, clambered back upon the sled, -and continued the journey. A long day’s journey later, they reached the -village for which they were making, and in a very short while the -mother was walking about in it, as well and strong as ever. - -The would-be mother who has reason to fear her hopes of a child are -groundless, has recourse to the conjuror, the Angakok. Here again, the -interrogations, the incantations, the conjuration to which this worthy -commits himself (the while his spirit is supposed to ascend to the moon -to procure “material for a child”), the conjuror claims and is allowed -the right of cohabitation and so follow the accompaniment of a natural -sequence of events, which probably result in the woman realising her -desire. In many instances the superstitions with which Eskimo laws and -injunctions are wrapped up, serve to enforce them. Otherwise they would -either not be followed at all, or would have no weight in public -estimation. It is only possible to make head or tail of primitive -ritual by the aid of some tentative interpretation of the sort, which -must be deduced from long familiarity with the people amid their own -surroundings. - - - -All was quiet in the village. The sealers had gone off early in the -morning, taking the boys with them, and the women had settled down to -their own tasks for the day. The old folks were for the most part -asleep on the sleeping benches in the dwellings. It was a cloudy day, -visibility very low, sun-dogs in the misty heavens foretold bad weather -to come. - -Suddenly a tumult of sound broke upon the village, and the few old dogs -left there on guard gave vigorous tongue in turn, as somewhere from out -the murk came a chorus of yowls and yelps mingled with the shouts of -men and the sharp crack of whips. - -An immediate exodus took place. Everyone sprang up and ran off to meet -the newcomers. The children scrambled up the cliff at the back of the -little settlement, sheltering it, and the elders tottered along to the -head of the pathway cut through the sijak or shore ice, to catch a -glimpse of the strangers and their sleds. Presently two large -travelling outfits with full team of dogs, and crowded with Eskimo, -swept into view. Cries of “Chimo! Chimo!” (Welcome) resounded from -every side, and there were hearty hand-shakings as the strangers -tumbled out and declared their gladness to have arrived. - -It seemed they had come from Fox Channel, many “sleeps” away, and had -travelled over hills and across frozen bays and through deep snow, for -days and days, in order to visit this tribe. In a twinkling the dogs -were unharnessed and fed, the sleds unloaded, and the guests carried -off into the hospitable igloo under the cliff. - -Then matters began to clear, and the object of the journey declared -itself. A head man and his wife, it seemed, had come this long distance -on behalf of their son, a lad of about fifteen, a promising young -hunter of marriageable age, who desired to find a wife. No girl in his -own tribe had taken his fancy, but the family had heard of a likely -bride in the Middle Coast tribe, and had come to see her and her -people. She had the reputation of being clever at all household duties, -docile and pleasing in manner, with eyes like sloes and hair as glossy -black as the raven’s wing. Moreover, they had heard that she had no -relatives and dependents except a widowed mother. The whole idea had -pleased them so much—mother, father and son—that here they were, to -look into the thing for themselves, to give and receive news, and to do -a bit of incidental trading. They settled down in camp for a few days, -and both hosts and visitors thoroughly enjoyed themselves. - -Negotiations proceeded apace, without hitch or difficulty, and at last -were brought to a pleasant conclusion. The prize secured, a day was -fixed for the departure of the bride and bridegroom and his people. Her -treasures and possessions were packed on the sleds, and with many tears -she said goodbye to the good folk of her own village. - -All seemed to augur well for the wedding journey. The sky was clear and -the sun shone. The ice was perfect and the snow well packed and good -for sled travelling. The dogs, rested and well fed, flew over the -ground in high spirits. The sleeping houses built en route by the -wooer’s party, proved to have remained intact; the frozen meat and -blubber, buried beneath the floor in each of them, had not been -disturbed. - -The first night was spent in singing. The young man gave a vocal -account of the exploits of his tribe and of his own prowess in hunting, -to an audience consisting of his admiring parents and the bride. All -went merrily, too, the second day out; but after that, disaster -overtook the party. - -They came to a stretch of newly formed ice, over which they must pass -or make a long détour. They decided to risk the shorter way. The ice -was very thin, so they got off the sleds and attempted the crossing on -foot, each one at a stated distance from the other. Treading as lightly -as possible, they started the venture, but, half-way across, a scream -rang out, the ice broke, and the two women were engulfed in the icy -current beneath. Lines were flung to them and a rescue effected, -although they remained in imminent danger of being frozen. Prompt -measures had to be taken. There was no shelter at hand, and no -immediate means of making a fire. There was only the powdery snow! In -this the half-drowned women were rolled and rubbed. The snow acted -almost like blotting paper, and they were soon comparatively dry, -although still perishingly cold. A shelter was quickly built for them -and a lamp hastily lit. Their blankets were unrolled and they were -snugly wrapped up in their capacious folds and put to sleep, to recover -from the shock. - -The very next day, late in the afternoon, as they drew near their next -sleeping place and were looking forward to a feast on the rations -stored there, another disaster befell this ill-fated arctic wedding -party. They actually sighted the wayside house and were driving right -up to it, when a deep growl came from inside and, before they had time -to descend or prepare for attack, a full sized polar bear rushed out -and hurled himself upon them. - -The women fled and the men scattered, whilst the animal took possession -of the sleds. All the spears and guns were lashed in place, so the -refugees were unarmed and powerless. The bear, muttering and growling, -tore the bales of provisions apart and feasted on the meat and blubber. -While he was so engaged, one of the hunters, bolder than the rest, -stalked his way up to one of the sleds and managed to secure a spear. -Then he opened an attack on the highwayman, after the approved manner -of bear-fighting. - -Crouching with poised weapon low on his haunches, he suddenly sprang up -and began to sing and dance about, on this side and on that, but -drawing nearer all the time to his astonished adversary. The bear -became more and more bemused by the noise and the agility of the -oncomer, until at last the latter was able to rush close in and strike -him one fatal blow with the practised spear. Although the creature had -rifled the travellers’ house and devoured their cache, it was now their -turn to skin and eat him; and so accounts were squared. - -After this, the luck of the bride and bridegroom seemed to turn again, -and the rest of the journey was accomplished in comfort and safety. The -young woman settled down happily with the Fox Channel tribe into which -she had married, and became a model wife under the vigilant eye of her -husband’s mother. - - - -Having sketched something of the education the native children receive, -and of the adult life and occupations of the tribe generally, the next -thing to deal with is death, and the elaborate ritual of an Eskimo -funeral. - -These people fear death, and the dying. Just before a man dies he is -dragged outside the house or tent, so that his spirit may not haunt it. -No dwelling where a death has taken place is ever re-occupied. Should -anyone chance to die inside, all the possessions are held to be -polluted and must be cast away. - -A corpse is sewn up in the deceased’s accustomed sleeping blanket, -placed upon a hand sled, and hauled away to the chosen place of burial, -followed by the members of the family and the relatives. It is laid -upon the bare rock (the ground being frozen hard as iron, grave-digging -is out of the question), and huge stones are piled around and upon it, -like a cairn. In the case of a man, his weapons, drinking cup and -knife, or these things in miniature, are placed beside him, his sled or -a small model of it nearby, and he is buried with a little sort of doll -representing a woman. In the case of a female, her needles, knife, cup, -and a man doll, are laid beside her. Food is deposited on a flat rock -near the pile, and the mourners sit down to eat a farewell meal with -the spirit of the dead. Then they march in single file seven times -round the cairn, following the direction of the sun, i.e., from east to -west, chanting directions to the departed:— - - - Innoserra arkiksimalarook: My life, pray let it be put right. - Illooprakoole kissearne: Through that which is pleasant alone. - Nakrook mallilugo: Through space following. - Kaumâttevoot malliglo: Following that which gives light. - - -The idea is that the spirit must follow the course of the sun, to guide -it to the realms of bliss and light whence comes that glory, and -whither it goes. - -The objects placed with the corpse under the stones are to assist and -accompany the spirit on this journey. - -The word illooprakoole is a “spirit word,” used only in addressing -spirits. It means a route through pleasant ways not beset by dangers. -The same significance, in an ordinary mortal connection, is expressed -by a different word altogether. Nakrook is another “spirit word,” -meaning the Great-Air-Space-beyond-the-Earth. The ordinary word in -everyday usage is Sillarlo. This spirit language used by the conjurors -has its parallel in every case in ordinary parlance. The following are -a few instances:— - - - Ordinary Word Meaning. Spirit word used - in everyday use. in conjurations. - - Netsuk A seal Angmeatseak - Angakok A conjuror Takreoo - Agakka The hand Issarkrateeka - Sennayo One who works Issarrayo - Aput Snow Nungooark - Kyak Canoe Agfarkjuk - Angoot A man Peyaktoiyo - etc., etc. - - -In the case of the burial of an unpopular or badly conducted man, the -people walk round the cairn in the reverse direction, i.e., from west -to east, with a different refrain. The idea being to direct the spirit -away from the light and into outer darkness, their refrain begins with -the words to the effect:— - - - “Evil will always have evil.” - - -All this is called the custom of the Kingarngtooktok. - -The mourners at length return to their village, and apparently forget -all about the funeral, unless in the case of the deceased being of ill -repute. Should the conjuror assert that his spirit has gone to the -realms of Sedna (the Eskimo hell), gifts and offerings have to be -collected in order that the necessary conjurations may effect his -translation to some other abode (the Eskimo purgatory). - -The people much dislike to have their dead bodies devoured by dogs, -lest their souls have to wander over the ice and land on vain hunting -trips; but they do not object to wolves on the same score, since the -wolves also devour the souls, and the departed, thus disposed of, will -always hunt deer successfully and live on the meat. Neither do they -object to the carrion-loving raven, as the soul in this case is also -absorbed by the bird and provided for in perpetuity. It would indeed -take a trained psychologist to determine wherein comes the distinction -as between dogs and the other scavengers! - -On the anniversary of a death, the spirit of the deceased, good or bad, -is supposed to return to the grave of its body, and is there met by its -friends still in the flesh, who bring it offerings of food. - -On the return from a funeral the mourners march round the dead man’s -dwelling from east to west, then entering, take a draught of water, for -luck in sealing. The chief mourners neither leave the house nor work on -any skins for three days in succession. Afterwards they throw away -their clothes and abandon the dwelling. After a death the community -should not wash or do their hair nor cut their nails for three days. -Those who transgress this injunction are called Nuggatyauyoot, the -disobedient. Nor are men allowed to have their stockings taken out of -their boots and dried, for the Tarnuk (spirit) will kill them in that -case. - -Unfathomable to the white man’s intelligence as many of these odd -observances may be, the root idea will explain the general scope of -them. The spirit of the deceased is earth-bound for three days, and if -of an evil disposition when alive, is liable to do much mischief to his -late family and friends. Earth-bound spirits are the Toopelât (pl.), -the evil spirits of the dead. Hence the custom of haling the dying well -outside the house. During the three following days, a knife edge, -placed outwards, is set at the entrance of the igloo to prevent the -spirit from returning, especially at night, and doing some -injury—causing some pain, sickness or death—to the sleepers within. - -When an Eskimo community hears of a death in its midst, the husband on -his return from sealing waits for the first quiet moment in his house, -and then offers his wife the third finger of the right hand, to crook, -and they say together, “Tokkoneangelagoot” (we shall not die). This is -the custom of “Killaryo.” The children then come to the mother, and in -turn she takes the third finger of each one’s left hand between her -teeth and singes a little piece of the hair on the left temple of the -child. The child is bidden to bite the mother’s jacket on the shoulder, -and say “Sittatoot,” the mother answering with another formula of -preservation. The writer has made every effort to get at the meaning of -these doings, but they seem to have lost their original significance by -now, and even the oldest natives fail to interpret them any more. They -were probably some form of supplication against the entry into the body -of the Spirit of Death. - -From much of the foregoing it will be seen that the Eskimo have a -decided belief in the soul, the innua—the spiritual, immortal essence -of man. Also that they have formed for themselves definite ideas about -the after life, either in bliss, as a reward for good living, or in -misery, as a punishment for evil—Good and Evil, of course, being -tinctured by the cast and scope of the Eskimo mind and its standards of -social life. There is little of ethical content in it all. The heaven -and hell of Eskimo conception are gross and material. Heaven is a land -of warmth and sunshine, with good hunting, absence of storms and hard -seasons, and plenty of fat seals in its ice-free sea. Hell is the dark -and bitter abode of the submarine Sedna, the enemy of man, who -engineers bad weather and times of scarcity. Descriptive legends of her -awful “house” abound among the tribes, showing a fancifulness and -imagination fantastic as nightmare. - -To deal with the subject of the Eskimo religion, however, requires a -chapter to itself. Its chief priests are the Conjurors, and its chief -festival the Sedna ceremony. - - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -THE ESKIMO LANGUAGE - - -The Eskimo tongue requires a chapter to itself, for although it can -boast of no literature—being until recently an unwritten language—it -should have exceptional interest for the student of comparative -philology. It is the speech of a primitive, untutored folk, yet its -vocabulary is very large, its grammar complete, methodical and perfect, -and its construction capable of expressing subtleties and combinations -by inflection, unlike those of any tongue, springing from the -well-known stocks of human speech. It is euphonic, agglutinative, and -complex. - -Europeans find Eskimo difficult to acquire. The writer, like others, -had largely to construct his own grammar when studying it. He spent -many long hours, first with the young folk to get the purity of the -sounds, then with the middle-aged men to arrive at correct idiom and -fluency, then with the ancients to get at the folk lore of the tribe. -Oftentimes their speech was merely a series of long and complicated -gutturals, two hours of it being enough to make a man’s head spin for -the rest of the day. But labour and pertinacity were at length -rewarded; the language was mastered, and the minds of the arctic people -revealed. - -The romance of this grammar consists in the fact that it has all been -marshalled and classified, and reduced to a system which will bear -comparison with even the classic tongues. Unless the first missionaries -to the arctic had taken up this virgin and inchoate subject and handled -it by the aid of the centuries of culture to which they were heir, -Eskimo speech must have still remained a sealed book to the -philologist, and—what is of far more importance—presented a Hill of -Difficulty for years to all those who should come after them in the -same ministry. With the aid of the grammars and dictionaries so -patiently and thoughtfully compiled in the dark, unknown and bitter -North, the would-be evangelist to-day may prepare himself for work -among the Eskimo in the merest fraction of the time it took the first -Danish envoys from civilisation. - -The original attempt was made by the well-known Danish pastor, Hans -Egede, who went to Greenland with his wife in 1721, and lived there -among the natives for many years. Eskimo was the mother-tongue of their -son, born in the country as one of its own people. In time, this lad -was sent to Denmark to study at the University of Copenhagen. On his -return to Greenland, young Egede applied himself to the scientific -study of the language he knew so intimately, and to the compilation of -a grammar and a dictionary. His example was followed by the teachers -who came after him, some of them being German linguists imbued with the -meticulous love of learning and of intellectual conquest the task -seemed preeminently to require. These tracked down and classified the -many meanings of Eskimo inflection and expression, and perfected their -system of interpretation. Hence, of course, the thoroughly Teutonic -mould into which the syntax of the Eskimo tongue has been thrown. - -All this work has formed the basis of study for everybody who has had -occasion to learn the language since, although such an undertaking has -always entailed a new and personal effort to work out the grammar and -compile a local vocabulary. For all students of Eskimo, including the -present writer, find a variety of dialects, although generally it may -be said that the language varies so inconsiderably from one region to -another, that hunters from widely different parts of the arctics can -soon—by mutual questionings—understand each other. Those in Greenland -speak practically the same tongue as those in Alaska. - -Apropos of the purely etymological aspect of this little known -language, it is interesting to recall an observation made by Dean -Farrar in a lecture before the Royal Institution, delivered in 1869. “I -hardly hesitate to prophesy,” he said, “the extreme probability that -the final answer to many high scientific problems regarding the nature -and the origin of man may come from enquiries into the languages of -nations such as these (the Chinese, Eskimo and Cherokee) rather than -from any other branch of ... palaeontological research.” - -Eskimo has indeed received some measure of study and analysis, and it -is for grammarians to tell us whether or no this prophesy has been to -any extent fulfilled. A French writer, M. Hovelaque, hesitates to -answer any question as to what group of human language the -“hyperborean” tongues should be assigned. His observations should be -recorded here perhaps, by way of a commentary on the exhaustiveness -with which the Germans seem to have gone into the subject: “Au surplus -le nom d’hyperboréennes ou arctiques, sous lequel on réunit ces -differentes langues, ne doit pas donner le change sur le plus ou moins -d’affinité soit entre elles, soit avec autres idiomes. Bien des -hypothèses sont encore permises à ce sujet, mais il est vraisemblable -qu’un certain nombre de ces idiomes résisteront à toutes les tentatives -que l’on pourra faire en vue de les laisser parmi tel ou tel groupe -suffisament connu. Il serait dangereux, en tout cas, d’accorder aux -relations des missionaires sur telle ou telles de ces langues, -notamment sur celles des Esquimaux, plus de crédit qu’il ne convient. -On n’y trouve, le plus souvent, que des rapprochements de mots, des -etymologies; en somme rien de scientifique. Ajutons, d’autre part, que -certains idiomes hyperboréens ont été étudiés avec soin et par des -auteurs compétents, ainsi qu’on peut le voir dans les publications de -l’Academie de Petersbourg.” (La Linguistique. Bibliothèque des Sciences -contemporains.) - -Up to within recent times the Eskimo had no system of writing. But -another patient evangelist, inspired by the necessity of delivering the -message of Christianity in a more permanent form than by oral teaching -only, invented what is known as the Syllabic Character for the benefit -of the Indians, at a post called Norway House. This was the Rev. James -Evans, a minister of the Canadian Methodist Church. The Syllabic -Character, which is a sound (and not a letter, or alphabetical) -writing, similar to shorthand, was designed for the Cree, but proved to -be easily adaptable to represent the Eskimo speech. Without such a -method, it is difficult to imagine how restless and roving tribes, at -this post to-day and gone to-morrow, could ever have been taught to -read. By this means, however, an ordinarily intelligent individual can -learn in eight or nine weeks. - -The principle of Mr Evans’ characters is phonetic. There are no silent -letters. Each character represents a syllable; hence no spelling is -required. As soon as the series of signs—about sixty in number—are -mastered, and a few additional secondary signs (some of which represent -consonants and some aspirates, and some partially change the sound of -the main character), the native scholar of eighty or of six years of -age can begin to read, and in a few days attain surprising accuracy. - -Such results as these, such gifts of pure intellectual effort, are -surely among the greatest blessings civilisation has to confer on the -few primitive peoples still left in the world. - -Of late years the British and Foreign Bible Society have taken charge -of the work, and now the Gospel in Cree, Syllabic and Eskimo is widely -spread. - -The Syllabic Character is known far and wide to-day in the arctics. It -has not been spread solely by white men, for the people teach each -other as they travel from tribe to tribe. The Eskimo freely write -letters to their friends and hand them over for delivery to anyone -taking a journey in the desired direction. The letters always reach -their destination, because the postman at his first sleeping place -invariably reads them all through from first to last; so that if, as -often happens, one or two should get lost, the addressee receives the -missive by word of mouth; and incidentally the postman knows -everybody’s business and is altogether the most glorious gossip who -could ever drop in and enliven the circle round the igloo lamp of a -winter’s night. - -Pen, ink and paper, it may be noted, are innovations of the new -civilisation. Prior to the advent of the white man the only idea and -the only means of calligraphy the Eskimo had was the etching on ivory -or bone. Many vigorous and spirited drawings exist of hunting or other -scenes, scratched on blade or handle, and sharply bitten in, black and -clear, by rubbing with soot from the lamps. It is not remarkable that a -knowledge of writing and reading should have spread among the people in -this way, for the Eskimo are avid of instruction, and eagerly avail -themselves of any opportunity of being taught. Where Christianity -itself has gained a footing it has been largely through the -instrumentality of some among them who have come in contact with -missionaries, and passed on to others all they had seen and heard. - -One of the most puzzling aspects of Eskimo is its “agglutinative” -character. The words all run together. All the parts of speech may be -joined to the verbal root and then conjugated in its various moods and -tenses, so that the word finally produced by this process may be sixty -or more syllables long. Students find the principal difficulty, not so -much in building up and saying these peculiar words, but in correctly -understanding what the natives say. - -The following lengthy remark will illustrate three things: first, a -characteristic mood and tense of the verb “to flee”; secondly, the -phonetic characters used; and, thirdly, the composite nature of the -word. - - - 1. Kemâyomaneangelara = I shall not wish to flee from him. - 2. ᑭᒪᔪᒪᓂᐊᖏᓚᕋ - 3. Ke-mâ-yo-ma-ne-â-ng-ge-lâ-ra. - - -The Eskimo tongue has a full complement of the parts of speech. There -is no definite article, but the numeral adjective one, attousik, takes -its place; e.g., attousik angoot, a man, i.e., one man. - -There is no form to express gender. Sex is distinguished by the word -“man” or “woman” (really male or female) added to another noun; as -kingmuk, a dog; arngnak, a woman; angoot, a man. Kingmuk arngnak, a -female dog; kingmuk angoot, a male dog. - -In many cases where English admits of only one word for an animal, -Eskimo has several. A deer is a deer in English all the year round; in -Eskimo it has a different name for its growth or habits at certain -seasons, as in the fawning period, etc. - -The noun plays an important part in the sentence on account of the -various affixes which may be attached. It is inflected for number, and -for no less than nine cases (rendered by prepositions in translation); -it draws possessive pronouns and some adjectives to itself as a magnet -draws iron filings; it has moreover a transitive and an emphatic form. -At the risk of writing a chapter which might be taken from an Eskimo -Primer, we venture to give examples of some of these intricacies of the -snow folks’ strange speech, since whatever else it may be, this can -scarcely be called a hackneyed subject! So the transitive form of the -noun is used when it is the subject of a transitive verb:— - -Ernipta nagligevâtegoot = our son, (he) loves us. - -The emphatic form:— - -Angootib erninne nagligeva = the man loves his own son. - -There are three numbers—singular, dual and plural:—Noonak, a land; -noonâk, two lands; noonât, lands; and each of these is declined with -different endings to express eight cases translated by the nominative -and vocative, and then “of,” “to,” “in,” “through,” “from,” and “like” -a land. We feel we are getting on to firm ground somewhere when it is -possible to note down such a rule as this: “Nouns in the singular end -either in a vowel or in the consonants k and t. The dual always ends in -k, and the plural in t.” - -We must not part with the noun unceremoniously. Its possibilities are -not easily exhausted. It must have cost a good deal of thinking, -originally, to get it into grammatical harness. For nouns of different -kinds have different terminations, which add all sorts of ideas to -their isolated meaning. For instance, kut, a family; innuk, an Eskimo; -innukut, the family of an Eskimo. Vik, time or place, and kooveasook, -rejoicing; hence kooveasookvik, a place of rejoicing. Again, katte, a -companion, and nerre, to eat; hence nerrekattega, my table companion, -ga being the possessive pronoun. - -The possessive pronouns, indicated by inflection, include “our two,” -“your two,” and “their two.” There is also a possessive emphatic form -of the noun, his “own” son. - -The Eskimo have names for the numerals up to six, after which figure -they use a system of addition and multiplication to express number. -Seven, for instance, is six and one; nineteen is ten and eight and one. -The figure ten is arrived at as being the count of a man’s fingers on -two hands; twenty includes his toes. Eighty is translated by “Men four, -their extremities finished.” It must indeed have been a matter of some -mild philological exhilaration to the first translators when they -arrived at such a conclusion as this! - -Then there are the verbs. This part of speech may be almost called the -whole of the Eskimo tongue. It annexes both subject and object, and can -express through various particles a sentence which would require in -English half a dozen or even ten words. There are two kinds of verbs, -transitive and intransitive; three Voices, active, passive, and middle; -the usual Moods, of which one—the subjunctive—lends itself to an -interesting inferential sort of meaning. When the person addressed can -form some idea of what the speaker wants or means, without the use of -the principal verb, this moods comes into play: “Because there are no -partridges,” is the sentence; “I didn’t get any,” is the inference. -“Because I am very hungry” leaves it to be inferred “therefore I want -some food.” When this is confined to the obvious, well and good; it -would scarcely be so clear, “Because the house is very warm” therefore -“you must make it cooler,” unless the conversation took place in a snow -house where conviviality was having a disastrous effect on the roof and -the walls. - -The verb has participles and tenses, which have many modifications of -meaning with no equivalent except an entire sentence in English. In -narration, there is an extraordinarily graphic past, not adequately -rendered by “When So-and-So lived;” but “in So-and-So’s own time of -being in the world.” There are impersonal verbs, and irregular verbs, -and all sorts of particles; potential (I can do a thing), optative (I -wish to do it), negative (I do not do it), the proper “sorting out” of -which is half the battle of learning Eskimo. Time is expressed by time -particles placed between the verb and the verbal termination; there are -also verbal and adverbial particles which have fixed rules as to -position, always preceding the time particle. Thus, a word may be -elaborated, such as Tikkenarsuakpok, “He-endeavours-to-arrive,” or -Tikkenarsuatsinakpok, “He-endeavours-always-to-arrive;” and -“I-indeed-hear-you,” or “I-indeed-hear-only-you.” - -It would be perhaps superfluous to offer further notes on the Eskimo -tongue, since the foregoing will suffice to give some idea of its scope -and complexity. The syntax falls under two headings, the formation of -compound words and the arrangement of these into sentences. The -position of words in a sentence, particularly a short one, may be -changed without altering the sense. It is no part of the present -writer’s purpose to do more, here, than to sketch the briefest outline -of one whole section of his subject. To do justice to this language -would require very considerable space. Again, there is no particular -object in adding a chart of the syllabic characters, which are purely -arbitrary, have no history beyond that already given, and belong in no -sense to the genius of the Eskimo themselves. The only recommendation -they might have—if the general reader could pronounce them—is that they -far more nearly give the sounds of what is really a flowing and not -unmusical tongue than the barbaric conglomeration of outlandish -consonants and double vowels which, as a poor expedient, represent to -the eye only, Eskimo words in our inadequate letters. It is for this -reason that we have so often given, in the foregoing pages, only the -translation and not the Eskimo words themselves. In Roman characters -they convey a hideous idea to the eye, and a still worse idea to the -ear. - -It is for the future to reveal whether or no the newly found gift of -writing will lead these people on to extensive literature. The -Moravians have published some well known books, such as “Christie’s Old -Organ,” etc. If so, by the analogy of every literature in the world, it -will begin with verse, by the enshrining of the folk tales immemorially -dear to every nation, and by the composition of some sort of Eskimo -saga. The Greenland Eskimos composed long songs in honour of Fridtjof -Nansen before he took leave of them, after the first crossing of their -icy continent. It may be that these Eskimo poems, printed in his book, -together with Dr. Rink’s collection of “Tales and Traditions of the -Eskimo,” and Dr. Boas’ similar collection of the fables of this people -(“The Central Eskimo”) and the present writer’s contribution to the -same subject, constitute so far the bulk of the offering made by these -children of the arctic to the literature of mankind. - - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -LEGENDS - - -There exists among the Baffin Islanders, as among all the other tribes, -one long consecutive legend in particular, which should rank, if not -with the great Scandinavian and Icelandic Sagas beloved of William -Morris and of Wagner, at least with some of the most picturesque of -Grimm’s immortal fairy tales, and certainly with any of the strange and -monstrous legends of Kalevala, the Finnish cycle of national song. - -Students of national story-telling will probably find analogies and -relationships between the Eskimo story of “Sedna” and the -characteristic folk tales of the other arctic or sub-arctic peoples -east and west. “Sedna” is beguiled into marriage by a gallant hunter -who is really not a man at all, but a sea bird. This sort of tragedy, -or disillusionment, is common in Eskimo fable. In one Alaskan-Eskimo -tale, the heroine marries the human semblance of a bear. - -The Sedna legend—a religious legend around which turns a large volume -of Eskimo superstition—has its repulsive as well as its poetic aspects. -But to one who has lived intimately with these people, it would seem -that so strange and awesome a story of the wild north as the tragedy -and death of Sedna should be set, in song, to the metre of Kalevala and -Hiawatha. It is the metre of a child-like version of adventures -happening to a child-like folk. - -Belief in this legend, in the existence and the power of Sedna, a -maleficent sea-goddess of the underworld, forms a large part of the -Eskimo religion, and the annual autumnal festival arising out of it is -the principal celebration in their calendar. In connection with this -phantasy, it is noteworthy that the Eskimo conception of the spirit of -evil—or at least of hostility to man—is unlike that of any other -nation. The Eskimo devil is a woman. - -The Eskimos are great story-tellers, and the bulk of their fables, -handed down by oral tradition from generation to generation, has -assumed a stereotyped form. Their narration demands the exercise of an -art in which the arctic folk excel—the art of vivid narration. Many of -these tales begin as recitatives; some are almost wholly related in -verse or musical form; others are told in prose, with every sort of -appropriate gesture, modulation of the voice, and facial expression. A -number of them are onomatopoeic in character, imitating the calls and -cries of the birds and creatures of the wild. Story-telling is one of -the principal features of the social life of these people of the north, -and bulks largely in the programme of all festivities. - -Many of the Eskimo legends would require a certain amount of -bowdlerising before they could be presented to the world as a book of -Eskimo tales, a contribution to the folk lore of the nations; but some -of them (notably the well dramatised story of the migration of the -Saglingmiut, with its very essence of primitive arctic life) could be -retold intact. Ethnologists have made a fairly representative -collection of these stories in the course of the past fifty years, and -most of them are to be found in the bibliography of arctic travel. -Those incidental to these pages, with the exception, of course, of the -Sedna tradition, are fresh contributions to the subject, not included, -to the best of the writer’s belief, in any other work. - -An amusing tale, related to the writer, is that of the amorous youth -who made a particularly disappointing mistake. - -In a certain village there lived a lovely maiden with her father. She -possessed little but a happy disposition and a ready smile. The old man -himself was so poor that his one dream of the future turned on the hope -of his daughter securing a first-class hunter for a husband, who would -provide for the two of them ever after. No young man, attracted by the -girl’s bright eyes, was made welcome over the lamp in that igloo unless -her father satisfied himself as to his credentials. But, as luck will -have it apparently all the world over, the daughter’s love was won by -the most ineligible suitor of them all—a youth poor in everything but -in courage and hope and promise. The old man rejected all his overtures -and rudely denied him his daughter. So the two were driven to form -plans of their own. - -They decided to run away together, and that she should merely feign -resistance when her lover arrived to carry her off. The night came for -the attempt. The old man and the girl retired to rest as usual, rolled -up in their blankets on the sleeping bench, and the lamp burnt low. -Now, the approach to their abode was across a neck of ice spanning a -deep ravine. The youth came along, and cautiously crept over the narrow -bridge. Quickly entering the igloo, and perceiving the two sleeping -forms, he snatched up one of them, furs and all, and rushed back whence -he had come. To evade all possibility of pursuit, he smashed down the -ice bridge behind him. Then, burning to look upon the face of his -bride, he drew the blankets from about her head—only to discover with -the utmost consternation that he had carried off the father instead of -the girl! Dropping his burden none too gently, he made off at top speed -and fled into the night. The story-teller failed to draw upon his -imagination as to what happened in the domestic circle thus -disastrously broken up, after that. - -To return, however, to the chief of the legends—the legend of Sedna: - -There was, once upon a time, a beautiful Eskimo girl, called Sedna. She -was her widowed father’s only daughter, and they abode together by the -sea shore. As she grew up she was wooed by many a youth of her own -tribe, and of others who came from afar. But to no single one of her -lovers did her heart incline in the least. She refused altogether to -marry. She had a proud spirit and delighted in disdain. At last, -however, a day came when a very handsome young hunter appeared upon the -scene, from a far-off strange country. Neither Sedna nor Anguta, her -father, had ever heard of him before. He had beautiful skins cunningly -wrought with a stripe in the coat, and a spear of ivory. His kyak drove -inshore over the shining sea; but instead of landing on the beach, he -poised it on the edge of the surf and called to the maiden in her tent -above the strand to come off to him. He wooed her with an enticing -song: “Come to me; come into the land of the birds, where there is -never hunger, where my tent is made of the most beautiful skins. You -shall rest on soft bearskins.... Your lamp shall always be filled with -oil, your pot with meat.” - -Sedna, framed in the entrance of the leathern hangings, refused. She -would not come down. Wholly won at first sight, maidenlike she must -refuse! So he began to plead and woo. He drew for her a picture of the -home where he would take her, the rich furs that he would give, and the -necklaces of ivory. Even though she vowed she wanted no husband, let -her come down with her bag, her sealskin sack of treasures, and fly -with him! Sedna made the coy boast, “Am I not the only one who does not -want a husband?” but even as she said it, her hand fell from the tent -flap and she stepped down towards the sea. “Let my bag be brought....” - -He placed her aboard his kyak and paddled off on his return journey. So -Sedna went away with her lover and her father saw her no more on the -cliff by the seashore that was her home. - -Came swift awakening and a bride’s tears! Sedna’s lover was no man at -all, but a phantom man whose real self was a Bird! One of those -peerless creatures of the arctic sky who, with “wide wing ... -broad-spread to glide upon the free blue road” above the crashing -floes, wheels over the bitter waters of the North. Some have it a -Fulmar, and some a Loon. It was a Spirit bird, having power to -transform itself into the semblance of a human thing. Falling in love -with the maiden, it had taken the form of the hunter and decoyed her to -its own. - -Sedna was inconsolable. She had the horror of a very human girl at her -strange mate, and could by no means make his land her home and his -people hers. The legend has it that the Loon provided for her as an -ordinary hunter would have done; but she was wild and homesick, and -passed her days bewailing, as lone and desolate an exiled maiden as -ever cried, “Woe, woe!” - -(Sedna’s disillusionment is a note in the story wholly coarse to -European ideas. The Eskimos are a people without prudery. A perfectly -natural incident on the journey revealed that the lover was a bird.) - -But the father wearied for his daughter—the Eskimo word has the loving -possessive “his own daughter”—and at length fitted out his boat and -sailed away to that distant coast whither she had been borne. The -husband Bird was from home when he came to this land, and it was a sad -and sorry tale that greeted his ears from the wind-lashed, spray-beaten -maiden that had been his smiling, contented child. Without more ado, he -lifted her into his boat, made one swift turn, and fell to retracing -his course. The craft—a tiny mark—was soon lost to sight in the welter -of the waves. - -Then the Loon, returning, enquired and said, “But where is my wife?” -The cry echoed round the naked cliffs. And answering cries, wind-borne -on the darkening air, told him that his wife had fled. Her father had -come and snatched her back, in grief and anger, to his bosom. - -At once, the Bird, assuming the Phantom form again, followed in his -kyak; but when the Father saw him coming he covered up his daughter -with the furs and things he had loaded in the boat. Swiftly the kyaker -bore down upon them, and rushing alongside demanded to see his wife. - -“Let me see my wife!” he cried. “Let me only see her; pray let me see -her!” - -The angry father refused, and held determinedly on his way. - -“Then let me see her hands only. I only ask to see her hands!” the -Kokksaut cried, to be passionately rejected again. - -Then, bowing his head over the opening of his kyak in grief and -desolation, the kyaker fell behind. He had failed! His manhood had -failed; Sedna had hated and left as true a lover as ever a man could -have been to her, and he would no more of it! With one wild sweep of -his wings, he was a bird again, the kyak a mote upon the waters -beneath, and a stroke or two of his great vans brought him above the -boat of the fugitives. He hung there awhile, uttering the strange cry -of the Loon; but at last dropped away into the darkness. - -Then there arose a storm—a black arctic storm—out at sea. - -And Sedna’s father was stricken with fear. Terror of the bird-man -gripped his heart. Terror of the offended powers of sky and sea nerved -him to a bitter sacrifice. The raging waves demanded Sedna, and he must -give her up, and repulse her struggling, and see her drown. He bent -forward, and with one fearful thrust, cast his daughter out of the -boat—so to propitiate the offended sea! - -The wild, white face rose to the surface, and despairing hands caught -at the gunwale. But the Terror was not to be defrauded, and the father, -frenzied with grief and the desperate determination of his deed, -snatched up an axe—a heavy thing of ivory and wood—and brought it down -upon those pathetic, clinging fingers. The maiden fell back into the -sea (and the first joints of her maimed and bleeding hands turned into -seals). But, coming up again, with agony in her eyes she made another -struggle to catch at the boat. Three times the drowning creature came -back; but she was the doomed victim of the sea, and the father must -consummate the sacrifice. Three times he smote and chopped at her -mangled hands. (The second joints became the ojuk, the ground seals; -the third joints made the walrus; and whales sprang of the rest.) - -Apropos of this reeking legend, it must be borne in mind that the -Eskimo believe implicitly in Spirits and in their power to demand -sacrifice. The father, believing the storm to be an expression of the -anger of the Sea god (on behalf apparently of the sea-bird) and a -demand for the daughter he had reclaimed, did not hesitate to give her -up and to steel himself against her drowning agony. - -At last Sedna sank, to rise no more. - -And the storm sank, too. The boat presently came to land. The father -entered his tent and lay down beneath it and slept a sleep of -exhaustion and overspent grief. In the tent was fastened Sedna’s dog. -But that night there was a high tide which washed up the beach, -demolished the tupik, and drowned the two living creatures within. So -that man and dog rejoined the maiden in the depths of the sea. There -they have dwelt ever since, in some “house” or cave of Eskimo -imagination. There they preside over one whole region—called -Adlivun—where souls are imprisoned for punishment for a while or all -time, after death. - -The sea creatures who owe their origin to Sedna belong to her and she -controls them. She protects them, and causes the storms which bring -wreckage and famine to the kyakers and sealers. Hence she is in Eskimo -mythology inimical to mankind, the source of the worst evils they know, -a spirit who has to be propitiated or quelled by ceremony, as the case -may be. - -She is considered to be of enormous stature, with two plaits of hair, -each thick as an arm, and she has only one eye. The other was pierced -and put out in her drowning struggle. - -The writer has seen an example of this sort of sacrifice in actual -life, and it redeems the story of Sedna’s father from the senseless -selfishness of which it seems to be compounded by some narrators. Two -boats containing a party of hunters were returning from sealing, when a -squall struck them. Before sail could be taken in, one boat overturned -and the men were thrown into the water. They all climbed back except -one, who was numbed with cold and dazed with shock. He did not sink -immediately, being held up by his deerskins. He even drifted close by -the boat, and easily within reach. One man, indeed, did reach out and -touch him with an oar, but when he failed to grasp it the general -decision was to let him drown. He was “material for the Tongak” -spirits, claimed by the Spirit of the sea—as was Sedna in the legend. -He simply drowned in the sight of the others, and of the women on -shore, who covered their faces with their hoods and gave the death -wails, i.e., began to shriek and howl in the frenzied manner proper to -the circumstances. - -It is possible that no better story than that of Sedna (with all its -elements of phantasy, human emotion, poetry and savagery) could be -found in illustration of a good deal Dr. Marrett has to tell us in his -“Psychology and Folk Lore,” by way of reducing primitive folk-lore and -primitive procedure (religious or medical, or both, arising out of it) -to a science of primitive psychology. His masterly analysis of the -outlook of the wholly untutored mind on the phenomena of cause and -effect demonstrates quite clearly the sincerity and the obviousness of -the “savage” rites and customs which seem to us so barbaric, irrelevant -and monstrous. - -The Sedna myth gives rise to the taboo, and the practices of the Sedna -ceremony. The aboriginal theory of things (the origin of the sea -creatures, the cause of storms, etc.), leads to aboriginal methods of -dealing with them “On (close) acquaintance, such as perhaps is to be -obtained only on the field,” says Dr. Marrett, “the savage turns out to -be anything but a fool, more especially in anything that relates at all -directly to the daily struggle for existence ... common sense is no -monopoly of civilisation,” although the educated application of it to -the material and spiritual needs of life may easily be so. The interest -of the primitive theurgist is a practical one, and the elements in his -problem are only two, namely, a supernormal power to be moved and a -traditional rite that promises to move it. The special function of the -conjuror or the medicine man among aboriginal peoples is to grapple -with the abnormal, and “this ever tends to constitute for the savage a -distinct dispensation, a world of its own.” There is in such a story as -the Sedna legend some groundwork of common sense and verifiable -experience; and in the practices which arise out of it, this has to be -taken into account, together with some very real occult content -(whether of suggestion or hypnotism, the most modern of sciences alone -could say), and some conscious fraud no doubt on the part of the -conjurors. - -Prior, however, to an account of this ceremony, it will be as well -perhaps to devote some space to the conjurors themselves. For, among -the Eskimo, as among other primitive peoples, the typical “medicine -man” is a specialist, trained for his vocation and initiated into an -exclusive guild. He is by no means necessarily a fraud and a charlatan. -Normally, the primitive faith healer has as much faith in himself and -his methods as his patients have, and between the two of them—when it -is a question of a mental reaction to be obtained—there is no reason -why absolute success should not crown his efforts. In the sphere of -material results these amazing methods seem to be wholly empirical, and -yet it cannot be denied that the Eskimo conjurors sometimes produce -effects comparable only to some of the well-known demonstrations of the -“magic” of the East. - - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -THE CONJURORS - - -The greatly esteemed profession of Conjuror is open among the Eskimo to -both men and women. Anyone is eligible to become a student in the rites -and lore of the caste, but only those who pass its tests (i.e., only -those who attain, not only a really high degree of the power of mental -concentration, of intuition and character reading; but some true occult -gift), are allowed to practise. The art has its own hierarchy of -professors according to their degree of aptitude and initiation. Only -those with some particular qualification, natural or acquired, such as -the power of throwing themselves into true trance, attain the highest -degree of dignity. Aspirants to the position of conjuror who fall short -of this, but have yet studied and schooled themselves to some purpose -in the art, are not denied its practice altogether, but hold lesser -rank and officiate on minor occasions. - -The would-be conjuror is put through a fairly long and fairly severe -course of training, the whole of which, wrapped up in an immense amount -of magical circumlocution and sheer imposture, simply tends to enhance -his intellectual qualities, such as they may be, at the expense of the -grosser appetites of the Eskimo lay individual. - -The candidates to the caste—youth or young woman—begins by choosing a -conjuror—male or female—under whom to study. And immediately the -neophyte enters upon his apprenticeship. The length of time this may -last rests upon his capacity to learn the rites and acquire the -psychological stock-in-trade of a conjuror. It is to the teacher’s -advantage to spin out this period of tuition as long as possible, since -for the whole term of his training the disciple is the body servant of -the master, and performs for him even the most menial offices. The -novice is a sort of articled pupil into the bargain. He pays for his -initiation. - -First of all, he has to acknowledge all his breaches of the communal -law and custom, and confess to the conjuror whatever of wrongdoing -there may have been in his life. The Eskimo believe in this sort of -confession, and it is frequently enjoined. He receives forgiveness, and -thereupon embarks upon a wholly new course of life. - -Fasting and abstinence and the mastery of the appetites of eating and -drinking are the first trials, and the first victories he has to win. -The Eskimo are vast eaters, and so much of their diet being flesh meat -and in the raw state, their physique tends to grossness. This grossness -has to be remedied if the conjuror is to be capable of dominating other -minds by the greater force and clarity of his own. The neophyte eschews -all luxuries whilst learning, again, of course, with the idea of -self-command and of that detachment from the unnecessary things of life -which—under civilised conditions also—hang so many trammels round a -finer aspiration. In the terms of Eskimo experience, this involves -allowing the hair to grow long and hang down; to eat with the hands -covered; and to go to rest without discarding the clothes. The strict -diet, the austerities, the real course of mental training, improve the -candidate’s natural powers of mind, enhance his memory, and concentrate -his will and consolidate so solid a belief in the system and powers he -is attaining that the graduate has really, at last, something -professional and exclusive to offer the community. - -To begin with, the aspirant has to become absolutely familiar with all -the ancient customs of the people, and their significance. Then he has -to study the spirit language, the tongue of the conjurors—that is to -say, the language in which spirits are to be addressed and in which -they express themselves through the initiate. He proceeds to study the -cause of sickness (this however in a superstitious and not a natural -sense), and what penalties to inflict for the wrongdoing which sickness -is supposed to indicate. He has to learn all the various incantations -for various occasions, and exactly how to set about them. - -All this is merely the first stage of his apprenticeship. He begins to -show of what stuff he is made, so far as the career of conjuror is -concerned, when it comes to dealing with matters of guilt and secrecy. -The accomplished conjuror must be able to detect and affix guilt. Here -he is concerned entirely with the minds of his fellow men, and trying -to fathom and read them. The Eskimo mind is as tortuous as the Eastern. -The conjuror pursues his own method, which may have a good deal to -recommend it in the eyes of those who have made a study of the occult, -but which is not the method of direct evidence and deduction. He throws -himself into a perfectly genuine trance, and stakes everything on the -intuitions of that state and the awesome effect of it upon the -interested beholders. - -To do this the conjuror sits down with his face to the wall, and -drawing his hood well over his features, rocks himself backwards and -forwards, calling the while on his familiar spirit (his Tongak) to come -to him. He continues this howling and rocking until such concentration -of mind is effected that he becomes unconscious; he foams at the mouth. -Whilst in this condition of self-induced hypnotism—or however the -spiritists may explain it—his spirit, it is believed, goes below to -Sedna, or above to the regions of beatitude, to find out what has been -the cause of the guilt in question, and discover the requisite -punishment. - -The interesting thing about this performance is that it is by no means -the tissue of imposture one might suppose. The Eskimo conjuror may be -no more and no less a fraud than the medium of a spiritistic séance. -The writer has been creditably assured by these practitioners that the -trance ensues in the vision of a great white light (like the light -thrown on a sheet by the magic lantern), and then in that illumination -they see the whole scene of the supposed crime re-enacted, all the -people implicated in it, and its every detail. They are told, or -inspired, what penalty to inflict. On returning to consciousness, the -vision is not forgotten, but sharply remembered. The conjuror is able -to accuse the offender, to question him, and extort a confession from -him. The penalty generally takes the form of some obnoxious task to be -performed or some fine to be paid in kind. - -This power to see the white light and to project in it the thoughts, -probably, of the assistants at the conjuration—for the performance, -when genuine, amounts to nothing less—is really a remarkable psychic -feat. Probably the conjurors understand it as little as the laity; they -have only trained themselves to achieve it, and they explain it -according to the fantastic body of superstition which constitutes the -Eskimo religion. It is only after long practice and the sustained -effort after great mental concentration that the manifestation is -attained, that the light can be seen, and incidents recorded in it. -This is the final test for the honours of full conjurorship. The -candidates sit night after night with the teacher, faces to the wall, -and the lamps burning low, shutting out all extraneous objects and -distractions, in the endeavour to see the light, to pass into trance. -Those who remain for ever unable to arrive at this, fail to pass the -test, and are rejected from the class of the full-fledged. They must -content themselves with minor dignities in the order of conjurors. One -of these inferior grades is that of the Kunneyo, the one who incants -for the seal hunters. Another is the Makkosâktok, the one who goes -round with the whip during the Sedna ceremonies; and a third is the -Noonageeksaktok, another official at the great annual celebration. - -On the completion of his training and on his passing the final test for -the witch-doctorate, the candidate is publicly acknowledged as a -Conjuror. He makes a visitation of all the dwellings in the settlement, -performs incantations in each, and receives in payment a number of -charms, such as small pieces of carved ivory or bits of deerskin -fringes. These things are valueless in themselves, but signify that the -tribesfolk have accepted the new conjuror. - -It is easy to see how the conjurors acquire the power they undoubtedly -have over the people, and easy to imagine how much of fraud, -imposition, hypocrisy and sheer self-seeking could be practised under -the thick cloak of their rites, incantations, superstitions, and—last, -but not least—their clever trickery and legerdemain. What may be -perhaps not quite so easy is to convey to the reader an idea of the -real good faith and of some demonstrable if inexplicable occult command -underlying much of the conjuror’s art. The whole subject is too big, -either from the point of view of primitive superstitions and procedure, -or from that of occultism, to be dealt with at much length here and -now; but by way of illustrating the point that the Eskimo conjuror can -perform miracles (collective hypnotism?) as striking as the well-known -Eastern trick of the mango-tree, one of the incidents of the Sedna -ceremony may be instanced. - -At a certain stage of the Sedna proceedings, the conjuror, who has the -spirit of a walrus or bear for Tongak (familiar spirit), spears himself -through the jacket, or is speared by others, deep in the breast. When -this whole performance is not merely a spectacular trick, it seems to -be quite genuinely done. A line is attached to the deeply embedded, -barbed spearhead, and the people catch hold of this and pull on it and -haul the impaled man about, to prove that he is fairly caught, as the -victim of a hunt might be. The conjuror is bathed in blood. At length, -however, he is let go, and he makes his wounded way alone to the -seashore. Here the Tongak releases him from the spear, and after a -short space of time he returns to the festival whole and well as ever, -with no sign about him except his torn clothing to indicate the rough -handling he has undergone. - -The whole stock-in-trade indeed of the Eskimo conjuror is a certain -very demonstrable, acquired, occult power. Besides this, he has a good -memory, an immense amount of shrewdness and cunning, an intimate -knowledge of animals and their habits, of weather conditions and -seasons, and, above all, of course, a capacity to judge of his fellow -men. - -It is after the period of training is over that the conjuror becomes -the bestial, sensual creature, full of cupidity and trickery, he is so -often represented to be. After graduating in the guild, no further -prohibitions and denials are observed. He marries, indeed; but no woman -of the community is safe from him. Under one professional pretext or -another, he may have his way with each and every one of them, with or -without her own particular man’s consent. This, however, is seldom -withheld. On the whole, monogamy is the rule among the Eskimo, although -there are plenty of exceptions. The writer has known a conjuror with -three wives, two of whom were sisters. - -When a wife is childless it is a great grief both to her and her -husband. The conjuror is called in for professional advice and to find -out why she is not favoured by the spirits. He resorts to his -incantations, but takes an obvious advantage of the situation (quite as -much for his own ends as for the satisfaction of the would-be parents), -and all is satisfactorily arranged. Again, when a man is very ill and -has been performed over by the conjuror, one of the things demanded by -the latter is that the patient’s coat shall be brought to his house in -the evening by the man’s wife, and not taken home again until next day. - -Eskimo life is full of this sort of thing, and the crudities of -relationships entering into any of their typical folk-stories make -these a little hard to reproduce in a manner acceptable to better -taste. But there is certainly some distinction to be drawn between the -primitive doings of a people struggling numerically against the -cruellest conditions of life nature can impose, (who moreover have no -conception of the ethical idea of morality), and mere promiscuity and -vice as practised for their own sakes by the “civilised” peoples of far -more favoured lands. - -One of the commonest occasions of calling in the aid of the conjuror is -during bad weather. The days have been dark and stormy, with bitter -gales and snowstorms, so that the hunters have been unable to go -afield. The witch doctor arms himself with a whip—either an ordinary -dog whip or one made from sea-weed—and a knife, and rushes out to join -the howling elements. He slashes the wind and shouts down the gale. -“Taba! Taba! Namuktok!” (Stop! Stop! It is enough!). - -And presently the wind drops, and the accustomed death-like stillness -of the frozen world supervenes upon the uproar. - -The conjuror of course could read the signs of the weather even more -astutely than the practised hunters, and awaited the moment when the -gale had spent itself for the exhibition of his influence. - -After the death of anyone looked upon as more or less of a criminal, -the conjuror is called upon to drive the evil-intentioned spirit of the -departed away from his old home. He does this by shading his eyes -carefully in the effort to perceive the spirit. Then, with a knife or -spear he rushes about, yelling and shouting, and stabbing as if at his -invisible foe, calling upon it to depart and go to its own place below. -At length he vanquishes the spirit, and announces that it is to be -dreaded no more; by their belief in him he removes their fears and -restores tranquility of mind and body; whereupon he receives his dues -and the perturbed and anxious relatives recover their poise and -cheerfulness. - -In order to grasp how seriously the Eskimo believe their lives, and -every adventure of their lives, to be beset by unseen influences, it -must be remarked that the main idea of their uncouth religion is that, -not only man, but all things, animate or inanimate, have souls. Rocks, -wood, earth, water, sun, moon, stars, fire, fog, icebergs, plants, all -animals, all creeping things, and even hunting implements, have spirits -which never die. The Tarnuk, or soul of a man, has the shape of a man, -but is about one inch in height, and is to be discovered in the hand of -a conjuror or in that of a new-born babe. The soul of a bear is like a -bear; that of a walrus like a walrus; but the soul of a deer resembles -a spider, and that of a salmon, a man! The souls of rocks are like -sturdy, thickset men; the soul of the earth looks like a piece of -liver. Animals’ souls are black and hairless, but those of some -inanimate objects are clothed in deerskin. It would indeed take a great -deal of study to determine how and why the people should have arrived -at these fantastic notions and distinctions. Perhaps it would never be -given to the mind of the modern white man to fathom the workings of -such primitive intelligence, building up for itself a monstrous, -nightmare scheme of things, on foundations of the blackest ignorance. - -For sheer phantasy, the writer is aware of course that the beliefs of -the Eskimos are paralleled by those of many other uncivilised peoples. -It may be that along lines of comparative savage mythology some -generalisations might emerge which would throw light upon the whole -subject. Here, however, would lie the study of a lifetime. - -Briefly put, the Eskimo religion consists in the belief in a -multiplicity of spirits, good and bad, and in one Supreme Spirit, of -whom no fear is felt because he has no evil intention towards man. The -conjuration and propitiation of the evil spirits is the constant -business of the conjuring class, although everyone has some degree of -power to deal with them. Man was made, indeed, by the Great Supreme -Spirit, and his name was given, Âkkolukju; and woman, Omaneetok, was -fashioned from his left-hand floating rib. - -The Eskimo very highly esteem their own race, but hold Europeans in -considerable contempt. They have an unpleasant legend of a woman and a -dog being cast away together in a boat or on a floe, by way of -accounting for the origin of the whites. - -Man’s spirit, like the spirit of everything else, is immortal, and -destined to a future life in bliss, in the region where the Great -Spirit presides over a happy community of very prosperous Eskimo, such -as has already been described. Those who die on the hunt go to this -heaven, also women in childbirth, and those who die a violent death by -any sort of accident. The road to this Eskimo heaven is beset by many -obstacles and pitfalls. It is haunted by savage animals, who lie in -wait to attack, maim, and kill the wayfarers upon it. Legend has it -that at the end of this road, at the rim of this world which is the -gate to the next, two huge rocks are set, confronting each other across -the narrow path. They sway ominously and often crash together, so that -the soul seeking heaven has to run the risk of being caught and crushed -between them as he endeavours to get through. - -All illness other than that derived from these causes is looked upon as -a consequence of sin, i.e., the failure to be a good member of the -community, the having been of a quarrelsome turn, bad-tempered, mean or -ungenerous, and the having failed to own up to these things when -exhorted by the conjuror. When a sick person, having confessed yet -dies, it is believed that he had some mental reservation and was not -quite honest about his confession. These bad folk go to the Eskimo -hell, to the awful realms of Sedna. But a third idea of a sort of -purgatory comes in, a place to which the damned can escape before they -are finally admitted to bliss. The spirit of the conjuror is able to go -below and fight the evil one, and liberate the soul in question. The -whole transaction is generally a somewhat expensive one for the -relatives. - -All animals have their guardian spirits (Tongak) who have power over -their souls (Innua). The bear, walrus, killer, ground seal, etc., have -the best and strongest familiars. It is the custom for each conjuror to -adopt one of these spirits as his own, in order to avail himself of its -attributes and powers. The bear is a special favourite, since his -Tongak is possessed of cunning and intelligence above the ordinary. -Sedna, the goddess or protectress of the sea creatures in her briny -underworld, controls and safeguards their bodies only; each one’s -particular Tongak controls its soul. The conjuror, in turn, controls -the Tongak; so this important personage can counteract Sedna’s -machinations against successful hunting. The hunter invokes the aid of -the conjuror, who thereupon causes the Tongak of the seals to enter -into the man and lead him to success. This familiar companionship is -forfeited if the hunter commit some breach of the law and does not -confess as much to the witch doctor, or if he fail to pay for the -services rendered. - -Eskimo mythology is almost an inexhaustible subject. In addition to the -active, informing spirit called the Tongak, which everyone possesses -and which can be invoked for guidance or assistance by every man at his -need, all other beings, animate and inanimate, possess an indwelling -spirit peculiar to themselves alone. This individual, permanent, -presiding spirit is the Innua, something distinct from the patron -spirit, the Tongak. - -The writer has collected an immense mass of notes on the Eskimo -deities, as they were described to him by the most creditable of the -conjurors. He believes that his list is unique, and offers the student -of such matters entirely original material. In it are enumerated no -less than fifty of these tutelary spirits, with their personal -descriptions (generally uncouth and imaginative to a degree), their -supposed habitat—earth, air, or water—and their characteristic -activities or patronages. - -There is Keekut, for instance, a being who lives on the land, in -appearance is like a dog without hair, and who works in a more or less -maleficent manner. There is Segook, a spirit with a head like a crow, a -body like that of a human being, and who is black. It has wings. It is -a benefactor to the tribesfolk, and brings them meat in its beak. It is -fabled to exist upon the eyes of deer and seals. The list is -monotonously fabulous, and could only be wearisome to the general -reader. - -Ataksok lives in the sky. He is like a ball, and has the means of -bringing joy to his beholders as often as he may be invoked by the -conjurors. Akseloak is the spirit of rocking stones. When called upon, -he arrives rolling, and falls flat upon his face at the witch doctor’s -feet. Ooyarraksakju is a female spirit, and lives in the rocks and -boulders; is beneficent in her activities. - -So the list goes on. It would doubtless have a value all its own for -the student of primitive imagery or fable, and form an addition to -ethnographical researches on the Eskimo; but to give it here in extenso -would perhaps serve little or no purpose. - - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -THE SEDNA CEREMONY - - -At the end of the arctic summer, before the young ice begins to form -again along the shores, there comes a spell of tempestuous weather, -with frequent storms and high, rough tides. Food grows more and more -scarce as sealing increases in risk and difficulty. Those intrepid -hunters who do venture out, return empty-handed day after day, and it -grows high time for something to be done. The goddess Sedna is supposed -to be causing these storms and all this dirty weather at sea, to -prevent her animals being killed. And so a conjuration has to be -performed to liberate the seals. - -This is the occasion of the most elaborate festival in the Eskimo -calendar. - -It begins by the conjurors, in full dress, calling the people -altogether to dispense them for a short space from their marriage ties. -Each witch doctor is masked, and clad in women’s clothing. The idea of -his amazing get-up, apart from the usual intention to awe the people by -grotesqueness or hideousness, is to disguise the face and body, to -efface as it were the well-known individual, to make the people lose -sight of the conjuror in the representation of a great power at work -among them. His dress is partly that of a man and partly that of a -woman, and he carries the usual implements used by both sexes. This is -to bring the needs of either before the great power, and to intercede -for their respective needs. - -To begin with, the Angakok wears several pairs of nether garments and -boots, until he looks very big and out of his usual proportions. He has -a woman’s pointed tunic, whose sleeves are elaborately trimmed with -fringes and charms. The hood is pulled down over his head, and he wears -a mask of black skin tattooed all over. On his shoulders he carries an -inflated sealskin float, and over his arm a coil of walrus hide. In his -left hand he bears a woman’s skin scraper, and in his right a spear. -Thus caparisoned, he emerges from his tent and begins by pairing off -the couples. - -The tribesfolk are ranged in two long lines, the men and women facing -each other, and a lane between. Then the “Kailuktetak” (a minor order -among the initiate) open the ceremonies. Each conjuror is furnished -with a deer-horn scraper like a long curved knife (used in the ordinary -course of things for scraping the newly formed ice from the kyaks as -they are drawn out of the water), to which is attached a small piece of -bearskin. He starts off down the living lane, dancing and shouting in -glee, touching first a man and then a woman with the wand as he goes. -The two thus indicated pair off, and are man and wife for the next -twenty-four hours, or perhaps a little longer. The fun is fast and -furious. Much of the whole thing has been prearranged, and the element -of surprise is rather subordinate to that of anticipation. The -conjurors choose among the women for themselves first, and next for -those hunters who have had sufficient eye for beauty and sufficient of -this world’s goods to mention the fact privately and persuasively -beforehand. - -There has been quite a stream of visitors to the conjuror’s house of -late, and quite a number of presents made, which forgetfulness on the -part of that worthy has failed to return. So that the pairing off on -this auspicious day is largely a prearranged affair. However, it -occasions plenty of Eskimo laughter and delight. The enceinte (and the -old folks) are not included in this adventure. They play the part of -spectators only, but applaud or deride as heartily as the rest over -each mating. These women are Kooveayootiksatyonerktoot, i.e., -“no-longer-the-material-for-a-rejoicing,” having apparently given -hostages to fortune already, or having sufficiently fulfilled the hopes -of the community. Children are paired off first—boys and girls of no -more than twelve years—and then the adults. - -Each couple, as they are selected, join hands and walk away towards the -man’s dwelling, attended for a little distance by the Kiluktetak who -has picked them out, dancing all round them and about them like a mad -thing. If they chance to touch him, they too begin to dance, and to -voice their excitement in no uncertain manner. On entering the -dwelling, each drinks a little water and mentions the place of his or -her birth. - -The conjuror has an âvetak slung upon his breast, that is, the entire -skin of a seal which, inflated, is generally used as a float on the -kyak. On this day, however, it serves another purpose. As the couple -presently return to the Kilukletak, they pour water into this, and each -individual, drinking from it again and again, mentions the place of his -or her birth a second time. The rite is official, and sets the -conjuror’s seal upon the proceedings and its consequences. - -The root idea of this pairing off is to strengthen a race that might -easily be weakened by too much inter-marriage, and to increase the -birth-rate. The writer has elsewhere commented on the defensibility of -such a custom—from the Eskimo point of view—but it remains to be added -here that, as regards parentage, the father of a child is always known -and acknowledged, be he the woman’s husband or her temporary Sedna -mate. The Sedna offspring is cared for by the regular husband, or by -the community. - -Next comes the extraordinary performance already described, when the -conjuror is speared through the chest. - -After this, the principal Angakok prepares to give battle to Sedna. The -goddess can be killed; but as she subsequently comes to life again, -this killing has to take place every year. The whole performance is a -representation of seal-spearing on the ice. The conjuror coils a rope -on the floor of a large hut, and leaves a little opening at the top to -represent the blow hole. Two assistants stand on either side, armed -respectively with harpoon and spear. A third chants incantations at the -back of the dwelling. Sedna is supposed to be lured from the -underworld, and when she comes to the hole, is transfixed at once. She -sinks away again, dragging the harpoon with her, wounded and incensed. -The conjurors haul on the line for all they are worth, and recover the -weapon. - -Then the chief Angakut squats upon the floor, with his arms and legs -bound by a length of light hide line. The lamps are pressed down to -burn so dimly that it is all but dark. The rest of the folk also sit -about the floor with their heads bowed, so that none may stare at the -conjuror’s face. He begins his incantations, rocking to and fro and -uttering sounds that seem incredible for a human throat to compass. He -works himself into a state of insensibility (but not before his -familiar spirit has undone the knots and released him from his bonds.) -It is this trance which makes such an impression on the tribesfolk. -They believe that the witch doctor’s spirit has left his body and their -midst, and has really gone to meet and despatch the powerful figment of -their myth, to kill her and liberate the seals. - -The hardening of the weather soon after this ceremony, when the -prospects of the sealers naturally improve, seems to the Eskimo mind a -clear demonstration of cause and effect. Probably the conjuror quite -believes it, too, and although he has done nothing but hypnotise -himself and strike awe thereby into the onlookers, this assumption of -all that he accomplishes in the meantime is as real to him as to the -others. - -After the Kiluktetak—the chief of the whole conjuring band—has -concluded this séance, he proceeds to make good hunters. Those who are -ambitious to make a name for themselves in this respect, and greatly -desire the skins and trappings that come of abundant catches, pay the -conjuror a walrus hide line; whereupon he resorts again to his -incantations, and his Tougak causes the soul of a seal to enter the -body or mind of the young man in question. The whole business may -perhaps have some result, perforce of suggestion, and the sealer who -had hitherto doubted his own judgment or prowess, who had felt -discouraged by ill success, or who had failed perhaps in skill or -patience, picks up a fortuitous confidence in himself and really has -better luck afterwards. - -It is impossible to believe that these beliefs and ceremonies would be -so widespread among the people and carry so much weight, were no sort -of explanation to be sought for them. These folk are trained and -accomplished hunters; they attribute their success to junketings of -this description, and by no means wholly to the obvious care they take -to ensure it. If the ceremonies had no value and proved by experience -to have no bearing on all these vital matters, even the primitive mind -would scarcely perpetuate them for their own sakes pure and simple. - -In the meantime, while the Kiluktetak has his hands full in the -underworld, all sorts of other things are taking place, all sorts of -games going on, in the village above. - -There is a tug of war with a rope of walrus hide or white whale hide, a -contest provocative of uproarious fun, watched by a keen, delighted -crowd. One end of the rope is manned by the “Ptarmigans” (those born in -the winter time) and the other by the “Ducks” (those born in summer.) -If the former yield to the latter, it is taken as an augury of good -weather for the ensuing season. - -After this a curious game is played. One of the lesser conjurors is -fantastically got up in a number of garments, and in a pair of trousers -with very narrow legs. The trousers seem to tickle the Eskimo sense of -the ludicrous in exactly the same way as Charlie Chaplin’s baggy ones -and his “caterpillar” boots tickle ours. He takes a piece of wood in -one hand, a skin scraper in the other, and starts capering off, calling -on all and sundry to follow him and assemble in the “Kagge,” or singing -house. - -The ceremony in the Kagge was performed in the past but now only the -Sedna ceremony is performed, minus the Kagge. - -The Eskimo build larger houses than those they usually occupy, for -feasting, singing and dancing on particular occasions. The singing -house is dedicated to a particular spirit which has the shape of a -bow-legged, hairless man. It is generally built upon the usual round -plan of the igloo, sometimes three being grouped together, apse and -transept fashion, with a common entrance (nave). The company disposes -itself in concentric rings round the house, married women by the wall, -spinsters in front of them, and a ring of men to the front. Children -are grouped on either side of the door, and the singer or dancer, -stripped to the waist, takes his stand amid them and remains on the one -spot all the time. A pillar of snow in the middle of the house supports -as many lamps as it requires to illuminate the proceedings and to warm -the air. Singing festivals and competitions in the Kagge especially -mark the great occasion of the tribal deer hunting in the spring, so -that it will be described at somewhat greater length in that -connection. - -As soon as everyone has crowded in, all the new made (temporary) -couples are bidden to join hands and guide each other out. Everyone is -laughing, but the pair in question have to preserve the gravity of -owls. If they yield to the infectious merriment and badinage going on, -and fail to keep absolutely solemn faces, some grievous sickness will -befall them. The conjuror touches their feet as they cross the -threshold, and when he himself follows out the last pair, blows off -hard, like a seal. - -At the risk of wearying the reader with the apparent uncouthness of all -this (an alien humour is always hard to perceive), one more incident of -the festival must be given. - -The Mukkosaktok possesses himself of a whip with a particularly short -handle, and starts on a tour of the village on his own account. He -enters the first house he comes to, and starts to lay about him in -play. He fillips one of the inmates with the end of his lash, and -orders him to sing a song—an extempore song of his own composition. If -the victim fails, another one has to take his place, and so in turn -until the circle is exhausted. This goes on in every household, all -sorts of weird howls and chants and guttural distiches being elicited -by force majeure, until at last the Mukkosaktok is playfully hustled to -the door and pushed outside. - -The underlying idea of much of all this is doubtless that of promoting -sociability and good feeling all round. The Eskimo are an intensely -sociable people, and, to the very limited extent of their powers and -opportunities, delight in entertainment. These festival songs, for -instance, have required a certain amount of preparation. They are -composed about some event that has taken place and caught the singer’s -attention. They have been rehearsed and, if successful, will be -repeated all through the long winter nights, when the folk spend so -much weather-bound time in visiting each other and exchanging tales and -gossip round the igloo lamps. No tribesman likes to be laughed at, so -he really does his best over his song. - -There is a real groundwork of sense about the ceremony of visiting each -house in turn, and the scramble for presents. In the first place, it is -a symbol of goodwill and plenty. Each householder is expected to keep -up appearances by doing this sort of thing, and he uses every effort to -gain the wherewithal to meet the obligation. This militates against -laziness and any tendency to hoard—great crimes in the Eskimo -estimation of things. The hunter strains every nerve to provide the -things his neighbours scramble for, and the women of the village do -their utmost, so far as attractiveness and domesticity go, to attach -such men as husbands. Again, by a general scramble, the poorer and less -lucky folk get a good many windfalls otherwise unobtainable. - -The roysterers flock off in a body, to make the round of the -encampment, stopping at every man’s house in turn. The owner goes -inside, makes a selection of all sorts of unconsidered -trifles—generally bits of sealskin used for the legs of boots, with -different kinds of sewing sinew attached—and, returning to the -vociferous crowd waiting outside, scatters these things broadcast. -There is a grand commotion and no end of noise, as the oddments are -battled for. As this performance is repeated at every house in the -village it necessarily takes some time. - -Little information is obtainable as to the significance of these games -or ceremonies, or whatever the Eskimo themselves may consider them. The -annual pairing off doubtless serves to keep up the numbers of the -tribe. Women are always in excess of men, owing to hunting fatalities -among the latter, and other causes; and some of these, although -married, may be childless. The Sedna proceedings tend to remedy this -state of things to a satisfactory extent. The writer’s own idea is -that, in addition to the main responsibilities of the festival, which -rest on the shoulders of the Kiluktetok, the doings of the lesser -lights of the order of conjurors are designed more or less to keep -things going merrily and to establish themselves firmly in the -good-will of the community. - -The main idea of the frequent acknowledgment of breaches of village law -is undoubtedly to keep the social life intact, to ensure that no -secrecies and plottings shall break it up, and no hoarding of supplies -lead to quarrels and injustices. Another feature of the Sedna day is a -general “confessing” of all these “sins.” Another lesser luminary, -called a Noonageeksaktoot, dresses himself up in a medley of garments -and dons a close-fitting cap made from the skull of a ground seal. This -cap has a peak, to represent a bird’s bill. He binds upon his feet some -of the sticks used for beating snow from clothes, so that they resemble -a raven’s, and hops about in imitation of that bird. As often as the -people come up and accuse themselves of wrongdoing, he betakes himself -to the beach, to tell Sedna, and returns with forgiveness. - -It will be readily understood that it is of great value in the hard -fight for existence in the arctic that a spirit of hope and -cheerfulness should be maintained. No one knows this better than the -commander of an arctic or antarctic expedition, or than the head of a -trading station! It is quite essential that the Eskimo village should -make itself a centre of jollity and comfort to the returning hunters, -and to travellers on the trail. There are sound economic principles -underneath the queer trappings of some of all this barbaric custom, and -even sound hygienic laws governing some of the regulations and taboos -of daily life. That one, for instance, which forbids a woman in -childbirth to eat any food not provided by her husband, probably acts -quite beneficially. Eskimo food is very rich and often consumed in the -raw state, so that a glut of it, as would result from a shower of -benefactions, would upset the new-made mother. - -The Sedna ceremony has been carefully studied by the best ethnologists, -like Dr. Boas, who have travelled for the sake of science among the -arctic tribes; but it may be hazarded that the raison d’être of much of -it could only dawn on an observer who had actually lived for a very -considerable time in close personal and linguistic touch with the -people. - -The writer offers his interpretations with all diffidence, but believes -they constitute something original to the descriptions of other -writers. Those who easily dismiss the whole subject as fantastic -savagery, much of which is unfit for publication, seem singularly to -have failed in any real grasp of the character of these benighted, but -in many ways cheery and genuine, children of the sternest wild in the -world. - - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -THE NATIVE SURGEON - - -One of the principal offices of the native conjuror is to find out the -reason of sickness and death, or of any misfortune or disaster -happening to the tribesfolk. But in this matter of primitive medicine, -the Eskimo are probably far behind the untutored folk of other -uncivilised peoples, for the simple reason that, unlike the dwellers in -temperate or tropical and therefore vegetated regions of the world, -they have nothing with which to experiment, in sickness, by way of -herbs and simples. An absolutely barren land, covered for the most part -of the year with snow, provides no material for the empirical -pharmacist. Eskimo medical practice consists entirely in incantation, -in dealings with the spirit world, and in the exercise of an amazing -and complicated system of fetish and taboo, i.e., the doing or -refraining from doing all sorts of unreasonable things to attain or -produce some desired end. In surgery, the conjuror is no less intrepid, -if considerably more lucky (thanks to an air so pure as to be almost -sterile) than the ghastly practitioners of West Africa, whose appalling -anatomical ventures are described in Mary Kingsley’s unrivalled book of -travel in the Cameroons. - -The arctic folk seem to have no glimmering of an idea as to natural -cause and effect in sickness. Bodily ills and death, to them, admit of -only one explanation. The sufferer has in some way or other in some -particular transgressed the communal law. The disorders of women are -considered as a punishment for the infringement of some of the -meticulous regulations laid down for their observance at certain times. -Hence the first business of the conjuror on being summoned to a sick -bed, is to scare or worry the invalid into the remembrance and -acknowledgment of whatever he or she may have done contrary to the -general well-being of the village. He does this after his usual -fashion, by crawling into the igloo in some particularly horrid guise, -and sitting down in the darkened place with his face to the wall and -his features well concealed by his hood, giving vent to the most -horrific howls, mutterings, ventriloquisms and unhuman-sounding noises, -at his ingenious command. Then he proceeds to interrogate the sick -person, and of course wrings some acknowledgment from him or her. -Treatment—of sorts—may ensue; but as a rule the issue of commands as to -atonement or compensation is the wind-up of what the Americans would -aptly describe as the whole “stunt.” Occasionally a piece of flaming -moss wick from one of the lamps is laid upon the painful part of the -sufferer’s body and fanned with the conjuror’s breath, or merely blown -up into the air. All real attempt at cure is left to nature, and it -must be added that the recuperative powers of a hearty-eating, hardy, -healthy-blooded people like the tribes of Eskimo, are quite remarkable. - -Eskimo flesh has wonderful healing power. The writer has seen the most -fearful gashes quickly close and heal up without any precautions or -dressing whatever. One case he certainly thought would have a fatal -termination. A hunter was repairing his implements, a small box of -tools lying on the ground beside him. A large file without a handle -happened to be sticking straight up out of the box. The man’s foot -slipped on the ice and he fell, in a sitting posture, straight upon the -file. He sustained a deep punctured wound. It was merely bandaged with -some very dirty strips of soiled skin underclothing, and inflammation -and intense suppuration presently set in. At no time did the wound -receive any further attention, but in due course the hunter was about -again, as though nothing had happened. - -Something, however, must be said for the conjuror as an anatomist. By -virtue of his calling and of his continual dealing with animals of all -kinds, he knows the positions of joints, muscles, ligaments, veins and -arteries, and can find any one of them. Some men have more aptitude in -this respect than others, and these occasionally act as surgeons. A -young woman, who may be called Omanetok, the daughter of one of the -minor conjurors, developed a large mysterious swelling in the groin. -There was acute inflammation, pointing to deep-seated pus in -accumulation. A native surgeon was called in, and after examination he -pronounced for an immediate operation. He decided to lance the -swelling. A time was arranged, and by special request the writer was -allowed to be present. - -The surgeon arrived, accompanied by two hefty fellows as assistants -(his “dressers,” probably, in an enhanced state of things!) His lancet -consisted of a rough piece of all-round, useful steel, inserted into a -piece of ivory by way of a handle. The blade was about two inches long -and had a rounded end instead of anything so convenient as a sharp -point. This blade had, however, been filed, in an attempt at an edge. -In addition, there was a small oilstone. Both stone and instrument were -very dirty. The operator began by spitting on the oilstone and -sharpening the lancet upon it, afterwards wiping the latter with a -soiled piece of birdskin previously used for scouring out the cooking -pots. - -The patient was then “prepared” by her mother. She was laid flat upon -the bed bench, and the part to be operated upon was exposed. The -surgeon, wetting his fingers in his mouth, proceeded to moisten and -slightly cleanse (!) the skin. Then the two assistants grasped Omanetok -by the legs, her mother held her head, and two more helpers held her -well down by the shoulders. The conjuror inserted the lancet simply by -pressing on it and sawing it in, backwards and forwards, until it had -gone deep enough to reach the pus. Omanetok squirmed considerably, but -her nurses had her well in hand. The contents of the swelling were -expelled by repeated pressure, and wiped away from time to time with a -little bit of dirty mouse or lemming skin. When this was finished, the -wound was covered by a piece of lemming skin, licked by the operator’s -tongue and stuck on over the place. - -Two days afterwards the patient was walking about, well and jolly as -ever she had been in her life. - -Apropos of the extraordinary command the conjurors universally exercise -over the people, and of the paramount psychic influence they establish -in the community, it is not too much to say that they hold every man’s -life in their hands. We know how the fatalistic-minded Asiatic can die -by auto-suggestion. The Eskimo, too, dies by suggestion, even when -strongly against his will. - -A fully qualified practitioner, well known for a sensual and -self-indulgent man, was particularly tenacious of his purposes and able -to bide him time. He had long desired the good-looking half-breed wife -of a certain hunter, and had frequently approached the man on the -question. Contrary to the general rule, in this instance he was -consistently refused. Now, Moneapik, the hunter, was a skilful fellow, -well able to provide himself and his wife with food and clothing. He -was careful, too, and rather exclusive, not liking to squander his -gains upon the lazy folk of the village, after the generally accepted -fashion. For this reason he was unpopular. He had his own circle of -friends, however, and was content not to enlarge it. The conjuror had -nothing to work upon so far as Moneapik was concerned, except the -latter’s superstition. The man was neither poor, nor feckless, nor -friendless. - -At length a long spell of bad weather set it, bringing in its train a -season of sickness and semi-starvation. The conjuror was expected to -set matters right by his arts and incantations; but on this occasion he -had only a signal failure to register. He loudly excused himself for it -on the ground that the spirits were profoundly offended by the -unsociable practices of Moneapik. He had committed the heinous offence -of keeping largely to himself; he had not given freely to the -tribesfolk. Only by his death could the powers be propitiated and the -famine ended. The majority of the villagers were prone enough to agree -with this, for over and over again the hunter had set their greed at -nought. Whereupon the conjuror boldly faced the man, stated the -incontrovertible facts, pronounced his death sentence, and departed -saying: “I command you to die!” - -Moneapik was a strong, healthy man, in the prime of life and the pink -of condition. Normally, he should have lived to a ripe old age. But so -ingrained was his belief in the conjuror, in his power to get into -communication with the spirit world, that this command was virtually -fatal. He said: “I am commanded to die!” He gave up his active -occupations, withdrew into his tent, ate and drank very sparingly, and -within four days was dead. They sewed up the body in skin blankets and -left it on the rocks of a neighbouring island, to be devoured by foxes. -The writer visited the spot a few days later—but only bones remained. - -Friends had indeed visited Moneapik in his tent before the end, and -argued with him, laughed at him, tried by every possible means to -disabuse the man’s mind of its obsession. But all in vain. The victim’s -sole response was, “I am commanded to die!” And die he did, although it -was by no means a death from starvation. It was death by suggestion. - -The conjuror, of course, obtained his own ends. - -An account has already been given of the conjuror spearing himself in -the breast during the Sedna ceremony, and appearing no whit the worse -for it shortly afterwards. Although this extraordinary action may often -perhaps be simulated by a trick, (the performer concealing a bladder of -blood under his tunic and merely stabbing that), there seems to be -sufficient evidence that such feats are within the compass of the -genuine practitioner. No less authority than Dr. Boas gives an instance -of an Angatok, on the island of Utussivik, who thrust a harpoon through -his body and was led through the village by twenty-five men. Another -conjuror, at a place called Umanaqtuaq, on finishing his incantations, -“jumped up and rushed out of the hut, to where a mounted harpoon was -standing. He threw himself upon the harpoon, which penetrated his -breast and came out at the back. Three men followed him, and holding -the harpoon line led the Angatok, bleeding profusely, to all the huts -in the village. When they arrived again at the first hut, he pulled out -the harpoon, lay down on the bed, and was put to sleep by the song of -another Angatok. When he awoke after a while he showed the people he -was not hurt, although his clothes were torn and they had seen him -bleeding.” (Monograph on the Central Eskimo, by Dr. Boas.) - -The underlying idea in the treatment of all sickness (as distinguished -from accident) being that some spirit is offended and is punishing the -delinquent, it becomes necessary to discover what custom has not been -complied with or what observance has been omitted, or what prohibition -has been neglected. The science of divining what spirit, too, is -antagonised, comprises perhaps the whole volume of Eskimo fetish and -superstition. The conjuror knows beforehand, of course, the character -and the failings of any individual he may be called upon to attend. He -makes a shrewd guess from hearsay what the man may have been doing, and -by skilful questions and half accusations, manages pretty generally to -get at the core of the matter and extort more or less genuine (if -wholly irrelevant) confession. - -There are some crimes for which there is no forgiveness, such as having -communion with the dead, especially the Toopelat, i.e., the earth-bound -spirits of indifferent folk. If the sick man confesses to this, there -is no hope of cure for him. Adown the long interrogatory we come upon a -few questions which illumine the apparent nonsense of all the rest with -gleams of good human sense and logic: Have you stolen from the sick? -Have you greatly lied about your neighbours or your race? Have you been -abusive to the old folk? And—for a woman—have you concealed a -miscarriage? - -Otherwise the questions turn upon whether the patient (if a woman) has -worked upon forbidden sorts of skins, i.e., heavy and arduous work -likely to upset her (if she is enceinte), at certain seasons; whether -the meat of land and sea creatures has been eaten at the same meal; -whether shell fish were gathered when seal should have been hunted; -whether lamps were cleaned during a time of taboo, etc., etc. The -underlying idea of half these prohibitions is lost in the obscurity of -time immemorial, and the Eskimo to-day can account for them no better -than by saying, “As our fathers did, so do we.” - -The invalid thoroughly believes in the authority and omniscience of the -conjuror. He racks his brains for the remembrance of some breach of the -unwritten social law, and generally succeeds in the effort, and so -complies with what is required of him. Should he be so grievously ill, -however, that the conjuror can elicit no sort of response, should the -sickness be obviously leading to death, the failure of all these -proceedings is taken as proof positive that a crime has been committed -beyond the power of the witch doctor’s machinations to palliate, -because beyond the power of the spirits to forgive. - -In any less serious case the practitioner has a peculiar method whereby -to determine the probable duration of the sickness, and also its -gravity. He has among his assistants minor conjurors called the head or -leg lifter, as the case may be; and an incantor whose business it now -becomes to squat upon the floor with covered head and improvise a chant -for the occasion. He is called the Kunneyo. - -As soon as this wail begins the others assistants bind a piece of wood -upon the sick man’s head with a length of thong, and lift it -tentatively as if in the act of weighing it, asking the spirit -meanwhile wherein the patient has offended. If the head is inert and -heavy feeling, he is judged to be guilty; if it feels light, he is -innocent. Sometimes the wood is bound upon the leg, and this is lifted -instead of the head. When this examination is over and the patient has -promised to comply with any orders given him, the conjuror commands, -“Let the bindings be cast off.” This is done, and he pursues, “Let the -cause of guilt be cast away, and let him recover.” - -The penalty imposed often takes the form of some abstinence to be -observed for a time. When the illness has been brought about by -gluttony or exposure, this injunction, joined to a period of rest and -quietness, may prove quite enough to restore the patient to his -accustomed health. Nature does her own work. Should there have been -some real fear or disquiet of mind, the whole thing simply resolves -itself into a faith cure. Incidentally, the Angatok maintains his -inflated authority, and earns a fat livelihood. He exacts payment, of -course—a dog, a sled, a skin, a length of line, and the favours of the -patient’s wife; and prescribes the use of various charms. These charms -may be a fringe of deer or bearskin, a spider or beetle sewn up in a -piece of skin, worn on boot or breast or back, as directed. Most potent -of all is a scrap of the garment worn during the first year of life, -and this is always affixed to the cap or hood. Then, of course, a -present has to be given to the spirit. Some small article is placed -among the rocks and dedicated. - - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -SPORT AND HUNTING - - -A whole book could be written on Eskimo sport and on the Eskimo methods -of hunting generally. These methods are based, of course, on an -intimate knowledge and experience of the habits and characters of the -arctic birds and animals. Something has already been said in this -connection about seals and seal hunting. But a little space must now be -devoted to some account of a few more of these methods and adventures. - -With the coming of March, the sealing season has set in. The days begin -to draw out, the sun climbs higher in the heavens, and even sheds a -faint warmth now on the lee side of shelter, if there be no movement in -the air. The seals are arriving in droves, and their young are being -born in their caves under the snow, all over the wide expanse of the -ice off shore. - -A spirit of restlessness seizes upon the tribesfolk. The hunting -weapons are gladly brought out for examination and getting in -readiness; the small hunting sleds are put in order; the heavy winter -deerskin clothing is laid aside and the lighter garments of summer -sealskin put in thorough repair, to don as soon as the tribe shall be -ready to move off en masse to the sealing grounds. Mysterious meetings -take place between the Angakooeet and the chiefs, when the spring -campings are fully discussed and arranged among them. - -At last the great day arrives when, with much shouting and bustle, the -sleds are loaded and the dogs harnessed. Each hunter and his wife -assemble and pack their belongings—the lamp, the cooking pot, the box -of small tools, the large knife for building (i.e., for cutting out -blocks of snow), spears, lines, spare skins for clothing, etc., etc., -etc. The baby is popped into the mother’s hood; the boy takes up his -station by the team, to learn to drive and manage it, and with many a -shout, much touching of noses in farewell, cracking of whips, laughter -and joking, each outfit pulls out and drives away, off into the frozen -bay. - -The old folk are left behind in the village, to await the end of the -season, to dress the skins brought in to them every now and again by -boys returning from the camps. Sealmeat abounds; everyone gorges to -Eskimo repletion and lives in luxury. The ground is covered with skins, -pegged out to dry in the sun, prior to being scraped, washed, and -prepared for making up. - -The newly flensed hide is first freed from its inner layer of fat and -blubber, and this is rendered down for oil for the lamps. The fur is -then washed with warm water to remove the grease. Then small holes are -pierced all round the edge of the skin, and the whole is pegged out to -its full extent on a frame, or merely on the ground, to dry and sweeten -and bleach in the genial brightness of the arctic spring day. After -this process, the inner membrane is first pared off, and the skin is -ready to be tailored. Everyone left behind in the village on shore is -kept busy at this sort of work. - -As the spring sealing season wears on towards the arctic summer, an -entire change comes over the activities of the tribesfolk. They have, -now, to prepare for the long trail inland to the feeding ground of the -deer. Stacks of provisions are accumulated, and the boats and kyaks got -ready for the trip to the head of the fiord, whence the expedition will -make its start. The framework of the umiaks is carefully examined, and -new pieces put in where required. All thongs and lashings are -strengthened or renewed; secondary skins in former times were prepared -as boat coverings, to be discarded when they became so waterlogged as -to check the pace. As a rule, one of these large travelling boats is -owned and shared by several families, and will contain the whole of -their effects. - -At length these preparations are complete. The day comes when a general -packing up absorbs all the energies of the tribe. Tents are struck and -folded away at the bottom of the boat, together with big consignments -of sealskin buckets and hunting weapons. The women ship the ponderous -and unhandy oars, children and dogs pile in on top of everything, and -the men take up their travelling stations fore and aft, in readiness to -defend the transport from any sort of attack, or to launch a harpoon at -any likely prey. - -They pull away joyously and hilariously on the great summer trip. As -often as the wind will allow they hoist the great square sail made of -seal intestine, and one member of the crew takes up a station beside it -with a water bucket, to keep it constantly wet. Otherwise it would dry, -and split into ribbons before the breeze. At the present day canvas -sails are used. - -Every now and again, as they coast along among the islands, they put in -here or there for fresh supplies of drinking water. At night they fetch -some well-known point for an encampment. The umiaks are moored, heather -and driftwood collected, fires lit, kettles slung, and the evening stew -set to simmer, while the men forage afield for the next day’s -provender. Then, rolling themselves up in their blankets, the -travellers drop off to sleep right there on the ground, under the -shelter of whatever cover it may afford, to be up and under way again -before sunrise next morning. - -The days pass very pleasantly. The scenery is grand, the weather clear -and sunny; the water, gemmed with islands dark brown and green, is -still as a mill-pond. The fleet of primitive, uncouth-looking skin -boats, filled with barbaric northern folk with tattooed faces and -guttural speech, reproduces a picture of pre-historic times. Many of -these scenes of Eskimo life and enterprise are deserving of record by -the best of artists, if only to bring before us in these effete days of -over-civilisation a vivid, still existent, picture of the very earliest -adventures of the human race. - -At length the head of the inlet is reached. The boats proceed up river -at high tide to the appointed place of debarkation. Here the umiaks are -hauled well inshore, unloaded, dismantled, and turned over, to be -covered with a pile of stones against the time of the hunter’s return. -The personal treasures of the women are also hidden away in some safe -cavity among the rocks, and left there. Then the loads are carefully -apportioned all round, and made up in bundles according to the strength -of their carriers. The men bear the weapons and ammunition only and -travel light, in order to go on ahead and secure game on the trail. -Children are lightly loaded, and the old people carry nothing but their -own belongings; so that the bulk of the heavy transport falls on the -able-bodied women of the tribe. Each one toils along under tent poles -and coverings, piles of skins and meat, and the baby of the family into -the bargain. The whole staggering load is hoisted on to the woman’s -back and secured by lashings round the waist and a broad leather band -round the forehead. She is almost wholly eclipsed by the enormous -burden. - -So they file off, one by one, from the point of landing, and make their -way to the uplands and the appointed general meeting place of all the -tribes engaged upon the annual hunt. Thither many such parties -converge: the people from Fox Channel, the tribe from the neighbourhood -of Kikkuktâkjuak, or Big Island, the Saddlebacks, the Noovingmeoot from -Frobisher Bay, and as many more from north, south, east and west. They -time themselves all to arrive as punctually as possible. The spot is a -high plateau among the hills, at the head of the inlet described above. - -When at last all the tribes have assembled, the elders hold a general -meeting and decide upon the direction and the details of the -prospective hunt. As soon as this important business is settled the -people give themselves up en masse to a few days’ holiday-making. - -It is the height of arctic summer; food abounds; and friends meet each -other once again after a year of separation. The people are care-free -and happy. No danger threatens from any direction. So that Eskimo good -spirits attain their highest pitch, and for a short time the people -abandon themselves to their every hospitable and sociable instinct, to -their love of jollity and fun, to sports all day, to singing, -entertainments, feasting and story-telling of an evening and well into -the night. - -The sports are inter-tribal. There are running and wrestling matches, -too, races and competitions of all sorts. The youth are keenly aware of -being watched by the bright, sloe-eyed, laughing girls, and of being -criticised or applauded by the elders. As true a sporting spirit of -emulation, good temper and fair play obtains in this far-away arctic -festival as on the famous “playing fields of Eton,” and as many a -romance comes of it as well. For this is an immensely important social -and fashionable function among these primitive folk, and men and -maidens meet and strike many a match of their own. - -There are contests with the bow and arrow. Poles are fixed in the -ground with skins suspended from them to represent deer and seals. The -vital spot, of course, is the Eskimo idea of the bull’s eye. The -spear-throwing competition calls for a high degree of skill. From the -top of a fixed, inclined pole, a line is carried to the earth, having -an ivory ring tied in it half way down. This ring is carefully -concealed by fringes of hide, and the spear throwers, stationed at a -recognised distance away, have to cast their weapons deftly through it. -The attempt demands the greatest accuracy of vision and training of the -hand. The contests are very keen, and great éclat awaits those who -distinguish themselves. Their names become household words round the -igloo lamps all during the succeeding winter, much as those of crack -footballers become familiar to the sporting manhood of this country. - -In the evening come the singing contests—quite one of the most -important features of the annual festival. Ethnologists generally are -agreed that the Eskimo excel in poetry and music. Improvisation with -them is a recognised art. Every man is something of a composer, and is -called upon whenever festivities are in progress to contribute a number -of his own to the improvised concert. The form of these songs is quite -strict, and the melodies, even to unaccustomed European ears, may be -reduced to accepted notation. Travellers who have but a superficial -acquaintance with the arctic folk, distinguish little in the extempore -contests of the Kagge or of the Sedna ceremony but sheer barbaric -cacophony—yowlings, yells, and monotonous and seemingly endless -repetition. But there are some to whom Gregorian chant itself conveys -but little more! - -These Eskimo songs deal with any and every subject which may occur to -the singer, those of a satirical or personal or topical character -proving the most popular. The contests give rise to untold amusement -and delight. Nothing is more appreciated in the whole round of the -programme. As a rule, the competitors are only men. The “ptarmigans” -(i.e., those born at the end of winter or beginning of spring) -challenge the “ducks” (or those born in the summer). Each side extols -its own prowess in hunting, its natal advantages, etc., etc., to the -detriment of the other. All sorts of ridicule is poured upon the -opposite party, causing the wildest merriment among the auditors, who -shriek with laughter at each successful or witty sally, clap their -hands, and vociferate over the comedian who wins the contest. The -Eskimo have a very lively sense of fun, and appreciate each home thrust -and happy skit every bit as keenly as a Cockney music-hall audience. - -The Kagge, or singing house, of the summer deer-hunt is, like that of -the Sedna ceremony, a big round house, similarly tenanted by the people -in circles around the walls. The summer Kagge is built of sod and -stones. The women wear skin gloves—the backs black and the palms -white—and take their station behind everybody else, with the children. -The men come next, and the Angakooeet, as judges, sit in the front -circle. The centre of the house is left vacant for the performers. - -The first part of the entertainment consists of songs describing the -exploits of the dead and gone heroes and hunters of the tribe, each -song having a refrain which is taken up by the women, who sway their -bodies from side to side as they sing, so raising and lowering their -arms as to show first a circle of waving white and then a circle of -waving black hands. Many of these songs are old-established favourites, -extemporised at first by some individual as his own contribution to -some occasion, which “caught on” and became part of the tribe’s -collective musical tradition. - -After these come the extempore efforts of the current evening. Each man -contributes a song of his own, turning upon some event in his career, -or some more or less poetic fancy which has occurred to him. The songs -have probably been composed and polished, and possibly practised, in -private for some time, but the contest is the occasion of their -publication to the musical world. They are most attentively received, -and judged by the Angakooeet. - -The outstanding event of the evening, to which all look forward on the -tip-toe of expectation, is the tournament of satires between the -ptarmigans and the ducks. A ball of thoroughly good-tempered musical -ridicule is tossed backwards and forwards between each pair of singers, -accompanied by roars of laughter from the auditors, who hold their -sides and roll in ecstasies of enjoyment. Tears of merriment stream -down the women’s faces. - -This sort of thing goes on night after night for as long as a whole -week; and only at the end of that time does the gathering begin to -break up, and set about the prodigious business of getting on with the -summer’s work. - -As soon as this interlude of festivity and recreation is concluded, the -tribes separate, each bound for its own appointed sphere of hunting -operations, independently of the others. The new camp is soon pitched -in some sheltered valley where there is a running stream, but not too -close to the selected district, for fear of alarming the shy quarry. -The men then go daily to search the hills and stalk the deer. - -As soon as a herd is located, word is passed down to the camp, and the -women rally to the men’s assistance. As each arrives she receives her -instructions from the hunters. A valley is selected having but one -exit, where there seem to be plenty of boulders. The women station -themselves in a rough sort of ring all round it, hidden behind the -rocks, each one with her skin jacket off and slung over her arm. -Meanwhile, the men creep up, and, keeping also under cover, surround -the herd, and begin, by the well aimed throwing of first one stone, -then another, to drive it off in the direction of the selected ravine, -where other hunters are gathered in force with bows and arrows ready. - -The deer, still suspecting nothing, move slowly to their fate. -Presently one woman, to the rear, and then another, gets up in the open -and beats her jacket on the rock behind which she had been hiding. This -scares the creatures forward in the right direction, and drives them -within the reach of the men. Directly they come within bowshot their -doom is sealed. So skilful are the hunters that no man expends more -than an arrow apiece on the deer. The whole herd is killed with the -greatest celerity. - -The carcases are retrieved and skinned, and immense feasting follows. -These manœuvres are repeated day after day throughout the whole season, -until the snow begins to appear again on the higher ranges, and the -arctic summer is on the wane. Gradually the tribesfolk move off again -towards the lower grounds, the south, and the sea, transporting with -them huge bundles of invaluable skins and a great quantity of deer -hams, until one by one they reach the various points of water where -they left and stored their boats on the up-country trip. - -There is no general point of assembly on the return journey. Each tribe -takes its own course and works its way back towards its own territory -unaccompanied by the others. The women and children get a brief spell -of rest when they reach the coast, while the men put in a few days seal -hunting, to provision the homeward voyage. Finally, the umiaks are -launched again and reloaded to the very gunwales; the sails are -hoisted, and the fleet draws away through the archipelagoes of the -coast to its port of registration! - -Not infrequently on one of these big summer hunting expeditions, traces -are discovered of a winter deer hunting party which had been overtaken -by disaster. The evidences of some tragedy lie there for all to read: -the sled torn to pieces, weapons scattered about, small boxes lying -here and there, and bones—human, canine or vulpine—all over the place. -Hunger, perhaps, overtook the party; sickness followed. Wolves -attacked, or the hungry team of dogs got out of hand and tore down the -hunters, who were unable successfully to defend themselves. The writer -could instance many a savage incident of this description. - -In a very similar district to the one described in the preceding -account of the summer hunting, there was a fiord leading up to a -landlocked bay, a favourite resort of the white whales. Regularly each -year the hunters of the tribes in the vicinity used to go to hunt these -creatures with gun and spear, taking splendid hauls of meat back to the -camp, and bales of stout hide to be made into thongs, harness, etc. So -much flesh and offal was left about on the scene of action that wolves -came to infest the entire region. In early spring the fiord afforded a -particularly good sealing ground, being so sheltered from the crashing -seas outside. - -An Eskimo and his son ventured thither one day, intending to form a -camp there for awhile and put in some good hunting. Mile after mile was -covered, headland after headland passed, until they were nearing the -sealing grounds, when the dogs began to show signs of panic. They could -scarcely be got to proceed, no matter how sharply urged by voice and -whalehide whip. Nothing moving, however, caught the keen sight of the -men; no sound came to their ears. Suddenly, just as they passed another -point, a fierce howl rang out on the bitter air, followed by a chorus -of more howls, and a large pack of wolves swept out from behind it and -came into full view. They had been lying in wait until the sled came -up. Their bleached coats had rendered them invisible until they moved. - -The hunters at once realised their deadly peril, and turning instantly -about, headed at top speed for home. A long fierce chase ensued. There -was no need to drive the dogs. They strained every terrified nerve in -their bodies and flew over the ice. The wolves rushed on behind. They -spread out fanwise, trying to encircle the dogs and cripple them one by -one as opportunity offered, by making brilliant forward dashes and -slashing with savage fangs at their legs. - -The man thrust a sealing spear into the boy’s hands and shouted to him -to thrust it at any wolf attempting to attack at close quarters at side -or rear, while he himself, armed with the terrible dog whip, lashed out -continuously with the courage of despair, and the effectiveness of -years of practice. He roared, and swung the murderous thong over the -backs of the team, so as to protect it from the attacking wolves, -crippling any one of them who ventured within its sweep. As often as -one of the bloodthirsty brutes rushed in, it was met with a terrific -cut, and fell back howling and disabled. - -Hour after hour the awful race went on; until at last, when it seemed -even to the hardy and seasoned hunter that neither he nor the wretched -dogs could sustain the strain a moment longer, they came in sight of -the last headland which hid the settlement from view. A final heroic -effort might yet bring them to safety! - -With a yell of encouragement to the exhausted son, and renewed vigour -in his wielding of the whip, the hunter pressed on. The wolves, -realising that their prey was actually escaping, redoubled their -efforts to close in upon the sled. It dashed round the point only in -the nick of time. The dogs in camp beyond, scenting what was afoot, -instantly rushed out to give battle to the wolves. The pack, perceiving -that the odds were now heavily against them, snarled viciously, turned -coward tails, and vanished.... - -The refugees arrived in camp in a state of utter collapse. The man’s -whip arm was swollen beyond further usage, like his tongue, and his -voice had gone. He staggered to his house, and both he and the boy lay -there for days before either sufficiently recovered to rise and go -about their ordinary work again. - -Many a party have been waylaid by wolves like this, and have not had -the good fortune to survive. Should there be a shortage of food, -resulting in subsequent sickness and weakness among the travellers or -hunters, they fall victims very easily to the rapacity of the savage -animal denizens of the wild. The male dogs of the teams get killed, and -the females join the marauding horde and revert to their wolfish state. - - - THE SONG OF THE PINTAILED DUCK. - - As sung in Competition in the Kagge. - - Samane samiyeyiya, iya, neakoa koololotingoâle - Sigoole kokiglotingoale aglokugle pooarkretingoagle - Okagle allotingoarkinna ikkoâto kettemalotikogikgoa - Ookeonne pissorayakattalale ipâ adyelikjolikpanma - Iya annungmenik ipa sosooktelaneyonele annamane - Adyegegaloâgoone kattargit nippotenekpategikkoa - Issungatoot annenarsuarâyakto. - - -Free Translation of the Song of the Pintailed Duck in Competition with -the Ptarmigan. - - - “His head is like a swollen thumb joint, - His beak is like the thumb nail. - His lower beak is like a shovel, and his tongue is like a spoon. - They come together (the Ptarmigans) in the winter; - They walk together, and make a soft sleeping place - By covering the hard rocks with dung. - But their breasts freeze hard down to this, - They flap their wings, - And try to fly away ...” - - -The singer goes through all the appropriate (if somewhat broad) actions -of this bit of burlesque, flapping his arms to ridicule the birds -caught fast on the rocks in their own frozen droppings. The Ptarmigan -is not slow to respond. - - - THE SONG OF THE HUNTER. - - Panneyukpayiyeyâ â sakkokalemukkoa - Panneyuktarrekâ okeoksaktalimingmat - Samaniyiyeyeya â sakkokalemukkoa - Panneyuktarreka oonarramanna panneyaktarrega - Okeaksaktalemingmat sammiyiyeyiya â - Ipparramanna toosneksaktangmeta innarlo - Sângane samiyiyeyeya â oonaralelidlugolemanaeyâ - Iyuksaktareka innâlo sângane samiyiyeyiyâ â - Kinnalena imnarlo sângane. - - -Free Translation of the Song of the Hunter: - - - “He is preparing his hunting weapons and his ammunition. - Mine also are being prepared, - Because it is again autumn. - My spear is prepared, and my seal warp. - Because they catch the sound of my preparing, - Of my placing my spear, - In the front of the high cliffs - The seals have gone away. - Although the face of the high cliffs - Smells of the seals” - (Understood, yet they have gone away.) - - - - - - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -THE CREATURES OF THE WILD - - -Bear hunting, again, is pursued by the Eskimo with no less zest than -that of the seal or deer. It forms quite a subject by itself, and calls -for some description of its own customs, methods, and superstitions. - -The bear is much respected by the Eskimo for his intelligence and -cunning, and his strength. Indeed, they consider him second only, among -the creatures of the wild, to man himself. It is for this reason that -they so often choose for their “tongak,” or guardian familiar, the -spirit of a bear. - -One very curious belief about the animal is that the bear himself has a -tongak (quite distinct from his Tarngnil or soul), and that when this -spirit requires any new commodity, such as a new seal warp or line, -which is represented by the black skin round the mouth of its protégé, -this tongak causes the bear to fall in the hunter’s way and be killed. -The hunter spares the black skin, and refrains from cutting it when -flaying the carcase, as an offering to the spirit. A further offering -of the sort is made by transfixing various portions of the beast’s body -and entrails on a stake or spear, together with a man’s implement—such -as a knife, if the bear were a male, or a woman’s implement, such as a -needle or skin scraper, if it were a female—and exposing the gift for -three days. At the end of that time it is thrown into the sea. - -In bear hunting, the rule is for the skin to go to the first hunter who -sights the prey (not necessarily the first to kill it.) The best part -of the body goes to him who deals the fatal blow. - -The arctic bear is not an hibernating animal, for it is only the female -who sleeps through the winter. The pair hunt together until the -approach of winter, when the female, fat, and in the pink of condition -after the summer months of good feeding, searches for a suitable place -in which to retire and bear her cubs. She generally chooses a sheltered -spot on land, where the snow lies deeply drifted. The two partners -scratch out a comfortable cave in this, and the female then enters and -rolls herself up to sleep. The male bear blocks up the entrance, and -the next fall or drift of snow effectively completes his task, and -obliterates all traces of the animal’s activities. He takes himself -off, to roam about at his own sweet will, and attend to nobody’s -appetite but his own for the next few months, returning to the female -only in the spring, when she emerges from her hiding place, gaunt and -hungry, and accompanied by the cubs. The male is always the safer -creature to hunt at such a season, since the female is then thoroughly -out of condition and very savage. - -Bears are particularly fond of and feed upon the blubber of seal and -walrus, and resort to many tricks in order to procure it. The older -generation of hunters studied the habits of the arctic creatures more -carefully than do the Eskimo of to-day, and affirm many interesting -things as to the bear’s tactics when on the prowl for food. They—the -bears—know just as much about seal hunting as the tribesmen know, i.e., -that these creatures lie about on the ice in the frozen bays, but are -so wary of danger that they plunge out of sight in an instant through -their “agloes” or seal holes at the slightest alarm. The bear goes -nowhere near the sealing ground at first, but makes his way up any -slight hill or eminence in the neighbourhood from which he can view the -seals, and their adjacent holes. He impresses some sort of a map of it -all, and of the safest route towards it, on his mind, and then makes -the best haste he can towards the broken ice along-shore. He slides -down the snow on his haunches like a tobogganist, carefully avoiding -any rocks and obstacles projecting themselves in his path. After that, -he creeps along with extraordinary caution towards the first sleeping -seal he has marked down. He is all but invisible against the white -background, and he is absolutely silent. He just glides towards his -victim, and then at the last, when sufficiently close, he rushes -forward and kills it with a single blow of his paw. - -In the latter part of the spring, when the seal holes have become so -enlarged that several of the animals may be making use of the same one, -the bear takes careful note of this fact and adopts a bolder plan of -action. He creeps up to any neighbouring hole, examines it, dives down -through it, and swims along under the ice towards the place where the -seals are congregated. He suddenly pops up through their own particular -hole, thus cutting off their retreat, kills them at his leisure, and -gorges on their fat. - -When hunting walrus the bear adopts different tactics. He knows that -these creatures are at a great disadvantage on land, but that they love -to drag themselves up on to the rocks or shore ice, and lie there -asleep or basking in the sun beneath some cliff, and safely screened -from their principal enemy—man. When the bear sights a walrus in such a -position, he risks no direct attack, but takes careful note of the -situation, loads a massive piece of ice or rock upon his shaggy -shoulder, and making a cunning détour, works his way to some spot -directly behind and above his intended victim. Then he launches his -missile down upon its head. The skull of the walrus is so thick it is -almost impossible to smash it; but at least the animal is stunned, and -the bear has only to scramble down and complete his work with a blow or -two of his paw. - -(This method of hunting, incredible though it seems, has been -emphatically affirmed by several ancient hunters.) - -No wonder the human hunter has conceived the highest respect for the -bear, and is anxious to secure his Tongak for a familiar spirit! - -In the water the walrus is a swift and formidable creature, to capture -whom taxes the kyaker’s utmost skill and courage. The man has nothing -but his spear and drag, i.e., an inflated sealskin attached to his -spearhead, by means of which the animal, when transfixed, is prevented -from diving too deeply or travelling too fast. As he approaches the -walrus, man and beast manœuvre for an opening. The kyaker, keenly on -the alert, with a touch of the paddle just keeps his frail craft moving -until the other, with a sudden grunt and roar, rushes at him through -the water, rearing right up at striking distance, a terrible vision -indeed, with huge slavering tusks, eyes bloodshot and glistening with -rage ... The coolest courage is required to face it! - -The hunter pauses there for just that fraction of a second until the -creature is upon him, then slips aside, and the harpoon drives deep as -the animal surges past. It instantly dives, intending to come up and -tear the kyak from beneath. But the drag of the float upon the line -checks it and causes it to misjudge the distance, so that when it rises -the kyak is not there. Meanwhile, the hunter has easily kept track of -the beast’s rush under water, by the air bubbles (or by his highly -trained instinct), and when its savage head reappears he races up, and -strikes it in the face before it has recovered from its bewilderment. -The startled, baffled foe immediately dives again, and remains below -the surface as long as possible, only to be driven down once more the -instant it emerges for a breath of air. - -At last, utterly exhausted and nearly drowned, it comes up the last -time and meets its fate at the hands of the plucky and relentless -pursuer. Should the hunter miss his stroke at the first awful attack -and fail to get clear, the kyak is instantly overturned and the man -savagely mauled in the water, the walrus driving its tusks right -through his body time and time again. Or it sometimes seizes the hunter -between its flippers and, in full view of the other kyakers, holds him -under water, coughing hoarse defiance at them all as they rush up to -the rescue; and then slowly submerges, taking its enemy with it. Such -are the casualties of arctic life. - -One of the very few creatures who seems to have it all his own way in -the frozen regions of the north is the raven. He supplies an element of -sheer impishness and insouciance in Eskimo life, without which the -native might want for a good deal of fun and aggravation. - -The bird abounds everywhere. Even in the most bitter and desolate spots -the raven turns up in a sufficiently glossy and well nourished -condition. His huge beak is a formidable weapon and always stands him -in good stead. He is like a spirit of mischief, able to calculate to a -hair how near to spear or gun he may with safety venture. He is the -despair of men and dogs alike. He is an expert thief, and cannot be -excelled in pilfering. - -During the day, whilst the hunters are away and there is nothing much -doing, the raven sits on a crag or other convenient spot overlooking -the village, and with a melancholic and malignant eye broods in -disgust. You can almost hear him hoarsely remark: - -“What a rotten show! What a poverty-stricken hole! This really is the -limit! Not a scrap to filch since daybreak!” - -Should you pass by, he brightens up and cocks an eye at you in an -expectant way, as though it were the plainest duty of all bipeds to -shed scraps and bits for him to enable him to pick up an honest living. -Although, as a matter of fact, he much prefers a dishonest one. - -Towards evening, there is an air of expectancy about the raven group. -They have trimmed themselves up and sharpened their beaks on any stone -or pole handy for the purpose. As the hunters begin to put in an -appearance the birds move off and entrench themselves behind such cover -as the neighbourhood may afford. They know from experience that man is -uncertain with his gun, and it may go off unexpectedly with detrimental -effects to themselves. Anyhow, they prefer to have a boulder in -between. - -Presently one bird, sharper-set than the rest, peers from his -concealment to see how things are progressing. A croak of disgust at -the leaden-footedness of events announces his observations to the rest. -But presently a hunter emerges from his house with a bowl of dainties -for the dogs (the dainties are more or less putrid), and empties it -into a tumultuous crowd of them, when each one vies with his neighbour -in catching and bolting as much as possible in the least space of time. -At this, there is an ebon rush from the surrounding crags, and a fierce -rear attack upon the dogs from the voracious birds. - -A beak like cold steel driven deep into a dog’s flank just as he is -engulfing a particularly delicious morsel, tends to make him choke. He -does so in fact, and his feathered aggressor, striking hard now at his -nose, snatches the lump of meat from him in the very act of flapping -and floating off to safety in mid air. The dog, disgusted and -disappointed beyond expression, sits down and howls maledictions on -thieves in general and ravens in particular, to the remotest of their -generations. - -No one loves the raven. The hunter uses every art to catch him, but -generally in vain. He will set out early of a winter’s morning with a -supply of the most cunning traps he can contrive, and of the most -tempting bait. Nothing is in sight as he leaves the camp. When he -reaches the trapping grounds he sets a line of fox traps in all the -most likely places, and carefully conceals his work with snow. But his -every movement his been ’cutely watched, and as soon as his back is -turned there comes an amused and contemptuous croak, as who should say: -“What an ass! Do you suppose I’m not equal to that?” - -The croaker spreads bold wings and sails over to the trap. Inserting -his bill beneath it like a lever, he simply wrests it over and so -springs it. In a trice he tweaks out the bait and bolts it. He makes a -point of being there on the hunter’s return in the evening, just to -hear his remarks. The bird has the audacity indeed to sit there, close -by, his head upon one side and a bored expression in his eye, as though -he were reflecting on the pitiable amateurishness of the whole affair. - -“What!” he seems to say. “You call that a snare? And you think you’re -eloquent about it now! Why, if it comes to that, I could make your hair -stand on end with the force and aptness of my remarks!” - -With a hoarse, derisive note, he rises then and wheels off into the -arctic empyrean. - -The gulls, on the other hand, come well within the category of those -creatures whom the Eskimo hunter can outwit. These birds are always -much in demand, both as food and for the sake of their skins, which -latter, turned inside out, make capital socks. The old men spend a good -deal of their time in winter, catching gulls. - -The hunter builds himself a small igloo among the rough ice by the -seashore, and creeps inside. He proceeds to cut a hole in the top just -big enough for the passage of a bird’s body, and round this opening, on -the outside, he spreads attractive bits of seal meat and blubber. Then -he prepares to wait. Presently a gull, sweeping by on the endless -search for food, spies these dainties, and descrying no sign of foe or -danger, swoops ever nearer and nearer, until at last it alights on top -of the igloo for a brief second, seizes a morsel and wheels off again. -Nothing untoward having occurred, the bird grows bolder, returns, and -finally settles down to the feast outspread in that tempting spot. - -Suddenly a hand comes up and grips it by the legs, and drags it -downwards through the hole. Another hand slides up its body to its -neck, so that it cannot fight or bite, and in a moment or two the life -is choked out of it. Bird after bird is caught in this way, until at -the end of the day the hunter returns to the village under a load of -white and grey feathers. He laughs delightedly to think how he has -tricked the greedy gulls, and how his cunning bird-calls have deceived -one after another. - -He recounts the story of it all over the cooking pot into which the -birds are thrown as soon as skinned, and keeps his women-folk well -entertained as they sit chewing the skins to pliability in their strong -white teeth, for the rest of the arctic evening. - -Such is a glimpse into the lives of these brave and hardy warriors of -the North, a country which they love. Fierce and relentless though it -be, it brings out all the best that is in them. All honour and praise -to them. - - - - - - - - - -APPENDIX - -ESKIMO DEITIES - - -Sedna. Goddess of sea animals, but not of the sea itself. - -Ooluksâk. God of the lakes. He lives by the side of the lakes, and it -is by his instrumentality that the conjurors get their light when -performing their rites. - -Tekkitserktok. God of the land. He owns all deer. This god is greater -in power than all the other gods. Offerings are made to this god by -hunters before going inland for the annual deer hunt. - -Kingoatseak. This god lives in the sea and is like a dog in appearance; -legs very thin like a dog’s. Is not able to come to the surface. - -Sinnilktok. Lives on the land. One side of this god is like a woman, -one side like a dog. It is a benevolent spirit, gives seals to the -conjurors and cures the sick, but is very much afraid of Eskimos and -dogs. - -Keekut. Lives on land and is like a dog without hair. Is an evil -spirit, and does evil of various kinds. - -Segook. This spirit has a head like a crow and a body like a human -being, and is black, and has wings. It does good and brings meat to the -Eskimos in its beak. It eats the eyes of deer and seals. - -Tekkonatelik. A spirit living on land, with a body like a fox, fiery -eyes, red hair. Benevolent in disposition. - -Eeyeekadluk. Lives on land. In appearance like a short man with fairly -large eyes, black face, very short legs, eyes frightful to look upon. -Lives in a stone igloo. Good spirit, tries to cure the sick. - -Mummerreak. Lives on land. Like an Eskimo, masc. gender, but has his -hair dressed like a woman, and his skin clothes have no hair upon them. -Good spirit; is helpful by heaving rocks at the deer and killing them. -The deer are then found by the Eskimos. - -Angootelooktook. Lives on land. Like a man in appearance. His thighs -are crippled and he wobbles whilst walking. Benevolent spirit; keeps -close to the conjurors and pays heed to his incantations. - -Nooesarnak. Lives on land. In appearance like a woman with thin legs. -Is clothed like a woman, in deerskins. Has a deerskin mask. Benevolent -spirit; always wishes to give deerskins to the people. - -Toodlanak. Lives on land. Like a woman in appearance. Is a great -walker, and walks about with bedding and tupik (tent) on her back, as -the people do when on journey inland. She has no husband. Has a nice, -pleasant face, and wears long boots. She is a good spirit and gives -deer to the Eskimo, i.e., drives them within their reach. - -Aipalookvik. This spirit is malevolent and lives on the sea bottom. Has -a large head and face, human in appearance, but ugly like a cod’s. Is a -destroyer by desire, and tries to bite and eat the kyakers (canoemen). - -Akktonakjuvoonga, or Akktonakjuak. Live under the sea. Are very thin in -appearance and like Eskimo. They congregate and cry to each other, -“Shevarktonakjoovoonga” the others replying, “Shevarktonakjoovtit” (I -am a rope. Reply: Thou art a rope). - -Ogjunak. Lives on land. Like an Eskimo in appearance, one side black, -one side white. Has European clothes. Face covered with hair, thin -legs, arms and body. Good spirit; tries to cure sick. - -Koopvilloarkju. Lives on land. Like a small Eskimo man. Has orange -coloured hair and orange coloured clothes. Good spirit; said to give -food and heal the sick. - -Ooleooyenuk. Lives by the side of the sea. Like a man in appearance, -his clothes made with lapels and scallops. Eats seaweed. Good spirit. - -Aulanerk. Lives in the sea. Like a stout man. Is naked, writhes about -and makes waves. Is a source of joy to the Eskimo. - -Naput. Lives on land. Like an Eskimo; is very thin, cannot walk, but -jumps and stands upright. He is never angry, and classed as a good -spirit. - -Angemenooat. Lives on land. Is like a woman, very thin, almost like a -skeleton, and has a string round her waist like a woman who is carrying -a child. Has very large clothes and a benevolent mind. - -Ookomark. On land. Like a short, thin man; very large, round face, a -stout body. Is very strong, and is dangerous if seen by mortals. Lives -in a stone house and kills animals with stones. (Not benevolent; temper -uncertain; needs careful handling.) - -Oovineroolik. Those who were flesh. (These are the spirits of departed -Europeans.) Lives on land; clothed in a shirt; like a European in -appearance. Has a boat and hunts seals. Is captain of three boats, two -of which are manned by other departed Europeans. When boats are full, -meat given to the Eskimo. Very good spirits. - -Isserootaitok. (Also spirit of departed European.) Lives on land; like -a European in appearance. Wears a jacket with no buttons. Always -arrives from a distance; has no boat, but tries to do good. - -Nessallogainalik. Lives on land. Has no clothes, but wears a hat. Is -like a European; generally sleeps on a ship; is supposed to be the -spirit of a departed sailor. - -Oyakkert. This spirit is an Innooa and not a Tongak. It lives in small -stones; in appearance like an Eskimo. Has a very red face, black body -and legs; is very thick and heavy. Only seen by conjurors. Has no -attributes. - -Koodjânuk. First-class spirit. When the world was made he was a very -large bird with black head and hooked beak, white body. Lived on the -boundary of the earth. Is a benevolent spirit; a trifle blasé through -age. Has the ability to give, and does so when asked by the conjurors; -also heals sick. - -Poolaiyittok. Lives on land, by the side of the lakes. Like a woman in -appearance. Is accompanied by a dog like a white fox. Is a good spirit -and does good when asked. - -Bokoomeerlekuluk. Lives on the sea bottom. Like a fox in appearance, -with fur, black in colour; but head and face like an Eskimo, with two -tusks, which are used for cleaning purposes and for killing seals, -which are given to the Eskimo. - -Kalluktok. Lives on land and on ice. Like an Eskimo, dwarf in size. He -has dogs and a sled, and is a good hunter. Gives meat to the people. Is -very swift with his sled. - -Kulaktok. Lives on land in a tupik (skin tent). Like an old woman, and -is the mother of Kalluktok. She is always cooking, because her son is a -good hunter. She constantly gives food to her Tongak friends. - -Kallooetok. Lives on land. Is father to Kalluktok and husband of -Kullaktok. Is a bad hunter because his eyes are bad. He is very old and -does not go hunting, but has good intentions to the Eskimo. - -Tooktooak. Lives on land. In appearance like a very tall and thin -Eskimo; hair white and clothing black, with no hair upon it. He is a -good spirit in intention. - -Koodjaunuk. Lives at the bottom of the sea. Like an Eskimo. Wears no -clothes and is very thin. He is not one to be feared, as his intentions -are good, and comes to the surface when called by the conjuror. - -Toonekotario. This one lives on land. It is the spirit of one of the -departed Tooneet. Carries a bone harpoon and comes as often as invoked. - -Aumanil. Lives on land. Has a black face with fiery eyes. His mouth, -eyes and nostrils are very much distended when invoked by the conjuror. -He guides whales. - -Nootaitok. The spirit of the Icebergs. He lives in the sea. Like an -Eskimo. Wears black skin clothes; has bright eyes. Is a good spirit and -gives seals when invoked. - -Adjarkpaluk. Lives on land. Is like a European, and wears European -clothing. When invoked, will come from afar. He has a good mind and -does no harm. - -Tooloreak. Lives on land. Is like an Eskimo. Has large canine teeth -like a bear; wears bearskin trousers, and the rest of his clothing of -skin without hair. Black in colour. Does not wear boots, but has feet -covered with hair. He is a good spirit and comes when called and gives -as desired. - -Agloolik. He lives beneath the ice like an ogjuk (large seal). He is -the guardian spirit of the seal holes. He gives seals to the hunters -and is considered a good spirit. - -Akselloak. This is the spirit of the rocking stones. When called he -arrives rolling, and when near the conjuror he falls flat upon his -face. He is considered a good spirit. - -Tootegâ. Like a small woman. Lives on an island in a stone house. She -is able to walk upon the sea. - -Ataksâk. Lives in the sky. He is like a ball in appearance. He has the -means of joy within himself, thus he is the joy-giver. He comes to the -Eskimo as often as he is invoked by the conjuror. He has many strings -of charms on his clothing. These charms are very bright, and as he -moves about his body is also bright. He arrives to the people as a ball -of light and causes the people to be joyful, through the conjuror. He -is considered good. - -Kingmingoarkulluk. He lives on land and is like a very small Eskimo. -When seen he is always singing with joy: “Kingmingoarkulloona, aiya, -samaiya.” (He is always singing that he is Kingmingoarkulluk.) The name -is derived from a plant called Kingmingoark. He is of a good -disposition and does good generally. - -Ooyarraksakju. She lives in the big stones, hence her name: the -beautiful material for stone. She is like a large woman in appearance, -lives on various things; gives various good things to the Eskimo. - -Ooyarrauyamitok. Has no definite abode. Is sometimes on earth, -sometimes in Heaven. In appearance is like a middle-aged Eskimo. Is -frequently invoked by the conjurors when incanting. This god, if -invoked and respected, gives meat to the Eskimo, i.e., enables them to -get it. - -Koodloorktaklik. He lives far inland and is like a man, and does not -wish to be seen by the Eskimo. He is bright and clean in appearance. He -does good to the sick, and in various other ways. He generally has the -ends of deer hoofs attached to his clothing, hence his name. - -Kakkakotauyak. Lives on land. Is like a dog in appearance; whitish in -colour. His eyes and nose are black. He is not dangerous, even if seen. -Has amiable characteristics, and sends seals and deer to the Eskimo. - -Sillaseak. Lives inland, and is like a man. He never goes on the ice. -He lives in a house under the earth. He gives deer to the Eskimo when -deer-hunting. - -Kattakju. Lives on land and is like an old woman in appearance and is -very tall. She presides by the sick when the conjuror tests them by -head or leg lifting, and reveals their state and chances of recovery to -the conjuror. - -Niksiglo. This god lives under the earth, and is like one with a hook -with a line attached. In appearance he is like a walrus tusk. Is a -Tongâk and a bad character. He steals the hunters’ deer and seals by -hooking them. He is seen only by conjurors, if seen at all. There are -many of these tongâk, and if seen stealing by a conjuror, the aid of -another conjuror is called in. The spirits of these two search for the -thief; the one watching from above, the spirit of the other goes below, -and from a small house beneath the dwelling of the tongâk he is able to -see the thief and kill him. - -Angalootarlo. Is another tongâk and a bad character. He is a great -thief, and has two personalities; is like a large bearded seal when in -the sea, and like an Eskimo when on the ice. He is frightful in -appearance and works in the following manner: When an Eskimo is alone -at sea in his kyak, this tongâk, keeping the appearance of a seal, -swims away from land and is followed by the kyaker. When a long -distance from land, the tongâk gets upon a piece of ice and the kyaker, -having no gun, follows to kill him, still thinking it is a seal. Then, -when the hunter draws near, the tongâk changes his shape into that of -an Eskimo, and kills the hunter, he having no gun and being very near. - -Pukkeenegak. Lives on land, and is like a small woman, with face -tattooed. She has her hair done up into a knot on the top of her head, -like the Greenlanders. She has very large boots (kummeek) made from the -deer legs, and has very nice clothes. Is quite aristocratic. She is -considered to be good, as she gives food, material for clothes, and -babies, to the Eskimo women. - -Toodlayoeetok, also Pissukyongnangetok. Has his abode in Heaven. Is -like an Eskimo, but cannot walk, hence his name: he who is unable to -walk. He sits on a small sled and propels himself along by two sticks. -He is considered a good deity. He catches animals by lassooing them, -and then gives them to the Eskimo. - -Orkshualik. Lives on land ice. - - - - - - - - - -FOOTNOTE - - -[1] Occasionally the black fox is taken, and the fortunate hunter may -receive as much as the equivalent of $100 to $500 for a pair of fine -skins, from the Agent. - - - - - - - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AMONG UNKNOWN ESKIMO *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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