Ethnology of the Ungava District, Hudson Bay Territory Part 8

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 53. Soapstone kettle.]

The wick in general use is prepared from a kind of moss, which grows in large patches close to the ground, the stalks rising perpendicularly, and the whole so matted together that it may be cut into any desired form. From these patches pieces are cut an inch or two wide, a third of an inch thick and two or three inches in length, and laid away to dry.

When one of these is to be used the woman squeezes the fibers together with her teeth, trims it, and sets it in the oil, and lights it. The light from one of these wicks is nearly equal to that of an inch wick fed with a good quality of kerosene. The heat is very great. For cooking, a larger wick is used, or two of the smaller ones set side by side. Over the lamp is placed a frame for drying wet boots, mittens, and such things. Fig. 52 represents one of these (No. 3048), which is a semicircle or bow of wood with the ends fastened to a straight piece of wood. Across these strands of sinew or sealskin forms a sort of netting having large meshes. On this rests the article to be dried. Under this is a support formed of two sharp-pointed pegs which are stuck into the snow forming the side of the hut. On the outer end of these is fastened, or laid across them, a piece of wood. The shape of the support is that of a long staple with square corners. In some instances the pegs form only a wide V-shape, and the frame for supporting the articles laid directly on this. A block of wood hollowed out to receive the convex bottom of the lamp is sometimes used to support the latter.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 54. Soapstone kettle.]

In former times cooking over these lamps was universally performed in kettles of soapstone, in which cooking was also done by putting heated stones into the water. These soapstone kettles are, however, quite superseded by utensils of civilized manufacture. I, however, succeeded in collecting two full-sized stone kettles, and one little one, made for a child's toy. The figures (Figs. 53, 54) show the shape of these vessels sufficiently well. The handles are made of strips of whalebone.

The larger kettle (No. 3179) is nearly 13 inches long, and will hold nearly a gallon. They were made of different capacities in former times, varying from about a pint to a full gallon.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 55. Wooden dish.]

Oblong shallow dishes (pu-ghu'-tak) for holding oil or food are carved from larch knots. The figure (Fig. 55) represents a model of one of these. Buckets and cups of various sizes for holding water and other fluids are made of tanned seal skin sewed with sinew. The sides of the bucket are a strip of seal skin bent into a ring, with a round piece of seal skin sewed on for a bottom. Sometimes a seal-skin bail is added, or a wooden handle sewed to the lips of the cup, making it into a dipper (Figs. 56, 57.) Wooden baskets are made in a similar fas.h.i.+on. A strip of spruce wood is bent nearly circular. The ends of the strip are fastened with fine iron wire. The bottom is a separate piece and has a rim or edge for the upper part to set on, and is held in place by means of small wooden pegs driven through and into the bottom.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 56. Sealskin bucket.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 57. Sealskin cup.]

The capacity of these vessels is seldom more than a couple of quarts, and generally less. They are princ.i.p.ally used to ladle water into the cooking kettles. All these vessels of native manufacture are being rapidly displaced by tin cups and small kettles.

FOOD AND ITS PREPARATION.

Under certain conditions a great portion of their food is eaten raw, but it is invariably cooked when it conveniently can be. Frozen food is consumed in great quant.i.ties. I have seen them strip and devour the back, fat, and flesh from the body of a deer while the fibers were yet quivering. The entrails of many species of birds are taken from the body and, while yet warm, swallowed much after the manner of swallowing an oyster. The eggs which have been incubated to an advanced degree are as eagerly devoured as those quite fresh.

The deer meat, killed the previous fall and frozen for three or four months, is cut into huge chunks and gnawed with as much satisfaction as though it was the finest pastry. On such occasions I have seen the person appointed to chop up the frozen meat scatter the pieces among the expectant crowd with as little ceremony as that of throwing ears of corn to the hogs in a pen. For a change the frozen pieces of meat are sometimes warmed or thawed before the fire.

The blood of the deer is often mixed with the half-digested ma.s.s of food in the stomach of the animal, and the stomach, with its contents, with the addition of the blood, eaten raw or boiled. Sometimes it is laid aside to ferment and then frozen and eaten in this condition.

Strips of fat from a seal and the blood of the animal are put into a kettle and heated. The oily liquid is eaten with the greatest relish.

Seal oil is used for food in about the same manner as we use syrups.

Years of almost daily intercourse with these people have failed to show the ability of any person to drink seal or whale oil without illness resulting. They never drink pure oil under any circ.u.mstances, except as a laxative. The statement often made that these people drink oil as food is simply preposterous. Such statements doubtless arose from seeing other preparations of food having an abundance of oil upon them. Lean flesh is often dipped into oil and then eaten. If partaken of without oil in as great quant.i.ties as these people require, a torpid condition of the liver and alimentary ca.n.a.l results, and they thus employ the pure oil to relieve themselves.

Vegetable food is little used except in the vicinity of the trading stations. Those accustomed to the use of flour, bread, peas, beans, and rice are very fond of them, and often express regret that they will be deprived of them when on their hunting expeditions.

Native plants afford little help as food. During the season when the various berries are ripe all the people gorge themselves. They have a special fondness for the akpik (_Rubus chmomorus_). The sun scarcely reddens the side of these berries, locally known as "bake apple," before the children scour the tracts where they grow, and eat of the half-ripened fruit with as much relish as the civilized boy does the fruit purloined from a neighbor's orchard. Other berries contribute their share as food.

When on trips the women often gather a few green herbs and put them in a kettle of water and make an infusion in lieu of tea. They are fond of tea, coffee, and sugar. Mola.s.ses is eaten alone or with something dipped in it.

The Eskimo drink often and astonis.h.i.+ng quant.i.ties of water at a time.

If the weather be very cold they often drink the water which has been heated on a fire, a.s.serting that the hot water does not weaken them as much as cold water would do.

When a seal has been killed and is being brought to camp, the hunter signifies his success from a distance, and those in camp raise a joyous shout. The animal is drawn ash.o.r.e and skinned. The flesh is devoured raw as the process goes on, or may be divided, certain portions being given the different persons. The blood is collected, and when the meat is boiled it is mixed with the hot liquid and forms a nutritious dish, eagerly devoured by both adults and young. The children revel in this dish to a sacrifice of cleanliness.

The feast is continued until the flesh has been devoured and the people gorged to their utmost capacity. Stories are told and general good humor prevails. The different species of fish which frequent the shallow waters of the bays are used as food.

TOBACCO AND SNUFF.

All the adults are addicted to the use of tobacco, both for smoking and chewing and in the form of snuff, although it is not everyone that uses tobacco in all three ways.

The plug tobacco, used for smoking and chewing, is carried in a small pouch of seal skin attached to the belt, which keeps it from being dampened by perspiration or rain. Watches are also carried in the same receptacle. Fig. 58 (No. 74485) is such a bag, made of hairy seal skin.

The edges alone are trimmed with lighter colored strips of seal skin.

A string holds the mouth of the bag together after it is rolled up.

A loop at one corner enables the bearer to affix it to his belt when traveling to avoid the necessity of opening the bag in which he usually carries such small things.

Leaf tobacco is preferred for the preparation of snuff, but as this is not always to be had plug is often used. This is shredded up and dried, and when dry enough is reduced to a powder by inclosing a quant.i.ty in a fold of seal skin and pounding it with a stone or stick.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 58. Tobacco pouch.]

Snuff is kept in a purse-shaped bag, closed at the mouth with a thong.

To it is attached a little spoon made of ivory. Various forms of this implement are made. The general appearance is that of a common spoon, of which the ends and sides of the bowl are cut off. At the end of the handle is a slight depression for containing the snuff, which is held firmly against the orifice of the nostril and inhaled by a sudden indrawing of the breath while the thumb of the other hand closes the opposite nostril.

The old women appear more addicted to the use of snuff than any of the men. The effect of inhaling the strong snuff is quickly shown in the face. It seems to affect people more than the use of tobacco in any other way.

MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION.

BY WATER.

The princ.i.p.al means of conveyance by water with the Eskimo of Hudson strait, is the umiak, referred to by most writers as the woman's boat.

This appellation is not more applicable than would be the term family boat. The women use the boat alone only on rare occasions, and then in quiet water and for short distances. Men are nearly always in it, and under the guidance of one of these, the boat is used for long journeys.

The form of the umiak, in the region under consideration, differs greatly from that of the Eskimo of Bering sea. (See Fig. 59, from a model.)

The size of the boat is variable according to the means of the builder and the size of the family to be conveyed in it. The length of the keel is from 10 to 25 feet. Over all the length is 1 or 2 feet greater than on the keel. It will be thus seen that the ends are nearly perpendicular. It is difficult to determine at the first glance which is the bow and which the stern, so nearly alike are they. They only differ in the former being somewhat wider at the upper edge or rail.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 59. Eskimo umiak.]

The keel is a straight piece of wood hewed from a single stick, nearly 4 inches square. The stem and stern posts are nearly alike, the latter having but little slope, and are cut from curved or crooked stems of trees. A tree may be found, which, when hewed, will form the sternpost and keel in one length. Otherwise the fore and aft posts have places cut out for the insertion of the respective ends of the keel, and are fastened firmly by stout thongs of sealskin thrust through holes bored in the wood and ingeniously lashed. As the bottom of the umiak is flat the sides of the bottom are formed of square rails of sufficient length and given the desired spread. They are held at the ends by being joined to the keel. Crosspieces notched at the ends separate the bottom rails and are steadied in position by being notched so as to sit on the square keel. On the ends of the crosspieces is laid a second rail which prevents them from rising and serves to strengthen the ends of the ribs, which are set alternately with the crosspieces of the keel. The ribs are attached to the lower or bottom rail by means of sealskin las.h.i.+ng. Along the upper ends of the ribs is placed a longer rail of smaller diameter and usually shaved round. This rail is usually set half its diameter into rounded notches of the upper ends of the ribs and fastened by thongs. Within and below the top rail is a shorter rail, generally smaller than the upper, tied by thongs to the ribs and posts fore and aft. A wide board projecting several inches on each side of the stern serves as a seat for the steersman. The ends of the top rails are laid over this board and attached to it. A similar board is placed at the forward end or bow, but is, of course, longer as that end is the wider of the two.

Three to five thwarts, serving as seats for the occupants, are placed at proper intervals, having their ends resting on the inside top rail. One of these thwarts also serves to steady the mast, which is stepped into the keel and lashed to the thwart.

On the side of the boat and resting on the top rail are pieces of wood firmly lashed. A notch, or rowlock, is cut into them to serve as rests for the heavy oars. The oars are held into the notch by means of loops of stout thong, the ends of the loops pa.s.sing each other, one from forward and the other from aft, and through both of the loop ends the inner end of the oar is thrust. The loops serve to hold the oar when not in use, otherwise it would float away; yet the position of them allows the oars to lie alongside in the water. The oars are heavy and as much as 10 feet long for a large umiak. The women generally run the boat and are a.s.sisted by the younger men of the party who may not be walking along the sh.o.r.e. Two or more females sit side by side and if they be insufficient a third person faces them and a.s.sists in the labor. It is a favorite place for a young man with his sweetheart. The steersman sits on the after board and attends to the helm and sail when the latter is in use. The sail is a nearly square sheet of cloth spread by a yard across the top. The lower corners have each a rope which the helmsman holds. A fair wind only can be used to advantage as the oomiak, from its flat bottom, is unable to go to windward. With a breeze nearly aft they can be made to sail at a good speed.

The covering of the umiak is made of skins of the largest seals. The skins are freed from hair and all adhering flesh and fat, and stretched to their utmost tension.

They are then cut into the proper shape and sewed together. The edge of one skin overlaps that of the other and the lap is then tacked over the shorter edge and attached to the other skin so as to form two seams at each junction.

Those portions which are to cover the bottom are sewed with special care, as the seams are liable to be strained in shoving the boat over the oars when it is taken from the water at each camp. When skins are sewed side to side in sufficient number to fit the length of the frame they are lifted around it and temporarily placed in position. The superfluous portions are cut out or additional pieces put in until it fits properly on the frame. Holes, 3 or 4 inches apart, are cut in the edges of the skin and stout thongs are pa.s.sed through these and over the top rail to the inner rail. All the strength of the individual is now applied to draw the skin over the top rail. Being wet it readily stretches, and when the entire covering is drawn sufficiently tight the las.h.i.+ng around the rail is permanently fastened. The boat is then turned keel up to dry. If the skin has been properly cut and stretched it sounds like a drum when struck.

When in use the greatest care must be exercised to prevent contact with rocks, but in shallow water it frequently happens that a hole is cut in the skin of the boat, when the rent must be patched with a piece of skin. During the winter months the umiak is placed on staging of posts to protect it from the ravages of mice and other animals.

Journeys of considerable length are undertaken in these boats. A large family, or two or more families, may remove to a distance to try their fortunes. They always stop at night and during bad weather, and the journey is accomplished by easy stages. All the portable possessions of the family are taken in these boats, which are often loaded to such a degree that the older people have to walk along the sh.o.r.es and only go into the umiak to relieve some one who desires to walk. Where the beach is good a tracking line is attached to the bow and those on sh.o.r.e drag the boat along. The dogs which accompany the party are sometimes harnessed and made to pull. The tracking line is called into requisition whenever a trip is made up a river to the hunting grounds for reindeer.

The kaiak or skin canoe used by the Eskimo of Hudson strait belongs to the Greenland type. It is quite different from that used by the natives of Alaska. These boats vary from 18 to 26 feet in length; the greatest width, one-third of the distance aft the hole where the rower sits, being one-seventh to one-ninth of the entire length of the kaiak. The ends are sharp, the prow much more acute than the stern. The bottom is quite flat and the frame for the keel and sides at the bottom is arranged similarly to that of the umiak. The prow is simply an extension of the keel and slopes above the water to a height nearly double that of the stern. The slope of the stern is gradual and short. The side timbers at the bottom have the upper surface gouged so as to allow the lower ends of the nearly perpendicular ribs to rest in the groove. The ribs extend across the bottom, resting on the side timber and keel. Their upper ends are inserted in the upper rail, which extends the entire length of the kaiak. The upper rails are held apart by crosspieces of different lengths, according to position. On the top of these upper crosspieces is laid a piece which extends to the nose of the kaiak.

A similar, but shorter one, is laid from the hole where the rower sits to the stern of the kaiak. The hole for his body is placed between a pair of crossbars where the equilibrium will be best maintained. The hoop of wood which outlines the hole is variable in shape, but resembles half of a short ellipse, the posterior of which is slightly curved to fit the back of the rower. Just forward of the seat the upper surface of the canoe is somewhat elevated by the curvature of the crossbars, and it thus enables the rower to have greater freedom for his limbs than he otherwise would. This particular part, the elevation just forward of him, alone resembles any portion of the kaiaks used by the Alaskan Eskimo, and of these, only the sub-tribes in the vicinity of Bering strait [and thence to Point Barrow.--J. M.] have that part of the kaiak so fas.h.i.+oned. With that exception the top of the Hudson strait kaiak is flat on the top. Just forward of the hatch, two or three stout thongs are sewed to the outer edge of each side of the boat and extend across the top. A similar thong is placed behind. Under these thongs are placed the paddle, also the spears, and other hunting gear. Small game is sometimes tied to these.

The outfit, consisting of spears and their appurtenances, properly belongs with the kaiak. Of these implements, there are different kinds, depending on the game and the season of the year. As the kaiak is used only during the seasons of open water it is laid aside during the winter.