Ethnology of the Ungava District, Hudson Bay Territory Part 13

They are also guided to a great extent by their dreams, for they imagine that in the night they are in direct communication with the spirits which watch over their daily occupations. Certain persons obtain much renown in divining the dreams and these are consulted with the greatest confidence. The drum is brought into use, and during its tumult the person pa.s.ses into a state of stupor or trance and in a few moments arouses himself to reveal the meaning of the other's dream.

Superst.i.tion holds these people in its terrible sway and everything not understood is attributed to the working of one of the numerous spirits.

Every object, however simple, appears to have its patron spirit, which, in order that it may perform its services for the welfare of the people, must be propitiated with offerings most pleasing and acceptable to it.

The rule seems to be that all spirits are by nature bad, and must be propitiated to secure their favor. Each person has a patron spirit, and these must always be placated lest misfortune come. These spirits a.s.sume an infinite variety of forms, and to know just what form it a.s.sumed when it inflicted its baneful effects, the shamans or medicine men must be consulted. These are supposed to be in direct contact with such spirits.

The spirit will appear only in the darkness of the conjuring house, and then permit itself to be appeased by some atonement made by the afflicted, which can be made known only through the shaman. He alone indicates the coa.r.s.e to be pursued, and his directions, to be explicitly followed, are often so confusing and impossible that the person fails to perform them. All these minor spirits are under the control of a single great spirit having its dwelling in the sky, a term as illimitable with those people as with ourselves.

Each animal has its protective spirit, which is inferior to those of man. The soul, if such expression may be used, of all animals is indestructible, and is capable of reappearing again and again as often as the material form is destroyed. There are spirits of beasts, birds, fishes, insects, and plants. Each of these has a home to which it returns after death, which is simply a cessation of that period of its material form, and each may be recalled at the will of the shaman. If an animal be killed it does not decrease the number of that species, for it still exists, although in a different form.

The Canada jay is supposed to inform the various animals of the approach of Indians, and these rarely fail to kill the jay wherever found.

A species of mouse is supposed to have such dread of man that it dies the instant it wanders near the track of a person. They often find these tiny creatures near the path, and believe them to be unable to cross it.

As the dusk of eve draws near, the silent flitting of the common short-eared owl (_Asio accipitrinus_), and the hawk owl (_Surnia funeria_), attracted by the sounds of the camp, creates direst confusion. The announcement of its presence causes the entire a.s.semblage of people to be alert and hastily suspend some unworn garment, that the bird may perceive it and thus know that the people are not so poor in their worldly possessions as the spirit Wiq'-ti-qu may think; as it only annoys people who are too poor to have extra garments. As this short-eared owl frequents only the lower lands, the Indians a.s.sert that they are compelled to select the higher points of land as their camping sites in order to escape from him.

The shaman, as I have already said, is believed to be able to control all these different spirits by his magic art, and to foretell the future, but he must be concealed from view while carrying on his mysterious performances. Hence a special structure must be erected in which the shaman goes through various contortions of body until in a state of exhaustion and while in that weakened condition he fancies these things which have such wonderful hold on the minds of the people.

The tent (Fig. 85) is high and of small diameter. Every crack and crevice in the tent is carefully closed to exclude even the least ray of light.

When within it, the shaman begins his operations by groaning and gradually increasing the pitch of voice until his screeching can be heard a great distance. The din of the drum adds confusion to the ceremony. This goes on until the shaman announces the appearance of the spirit with whom he desires to commune. He implores the spirit to grant the request, and in the course of time informs the people outside that he has succeeded in securing the services of the spirit. All within becomes quiet and only whisperings are heard.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 85.--Indian medicine lodge.]

The spirit promises to fulfill the obligation he has undertaken, and the conjuror throws over the tent and states the result of the interview.

This result is always favorable, as his reputation depends upon its happening. Any untoward circ.u.mstance, such as a person turning over a stone or breaking a twig from a bush while traveling, is sufficient cause to break the spell, and the blame can be laid on the shoulders of such an offender. If the request be not granted within the stipulated time as announced by the shaman at the end of the ceremony, some one is certain to have been the cause of displeasing the spirit, who now withholds the favor until reparation for the offense is made. The conjurer is not slow to make some one do penance while he himself is gaining time, as he takes good care not to attempt anything out of season.

When an Indian kills one of the larger and fiercer wild beasts it is customary to reserve a portion of the skin or other part of the body as a memento of the deed.

These mementos are sacredly kept to show the prowess of the hunter and at the same time they serve as a token of the wealth procured by bartering the pelt of the animal to the trader. The wolf, bear, and wolverine are considered worthy of remembrance, and of the first and last mentioned animals a claw or a tip of an ear may serve as a souvenir.

The under lip of the bear (Fig. 86) is the portion preserved. The skin is cut off and spread flat to dry. The flesh side of the skin is painted with powdered hemat.i.te mixed with water or oil.

The outer edges or lips are ornamented with a single row of many-colored beads. At the apex or middle of the lip is attached a pendant in the form of a fish. The fish is 3 or 4 inches long, made of cloth and has a row of beads extending around the entire circ.u.mference of the length of the body.

These mementos are procured with great difficulty from the hunter who has risked his life in the struggles attending the capture of the beasts, for the barren-ground bear of that region is not a timid creature like the black bear; and unless the hunter is well prepared for the animal he would do well to let it alone.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 86.--Indian amulet of bearskin.]

The occupations of the s.e.xes are so numerous that a detailed account alone would suffice, as the various seasons have their regular routine labors besides those unexpectedly appearing. In the spring the Indians of both s.e.xes come to the post of Fort Chimo to trade their winter's hunt of fur-bearing animals. About the middle of March word is brought that the camp of old men and women with a number of children, left from the parties scattered in all directions during the previous fall, are slowly approaching the post. They come by easy stages, camping here and there for a day or two, but striving to be near about the time that the earlier parties come in to trade. These latter straggle along from the middle of April to the last of May, those who had ascended the streams to the headwaters often not arriving until after the breaking of the ice in the river, which may be as late as the 15th of June. When they collect at the post they have an opportunity to meet after a separation of months and enjoy a period of rest. The trading of their furs and other articles continues slowly until the parties have made their selections of guns, ammunition, tobacco, and cloths, a quant.i.ty of flour, biscuit, peas, beans, rice, and sugar. Mola.s.ses is purchased in enormous quant.i.ties, a hogshead of 90 gallons sufficing for only three or four days' trade. Other articles of varied character, from needles and beads to calico and cloth, are bought by the women.

The parties receive the allowance given in advance for the prosecution of the ensuing winter's hunt, after which they are relied on to raft down the supply of wood cut by the white men for the next winter's supply of fuel. This consumes the season until the middle of July.

Stragglers are out even later. The men, meantime, select the locality where they will remain for the summer and fall. The winter is to be occupied in getting furs. Each head of a party announces his intended location and the parties gradually leave the post for their destination.

Some of the Indians in former years were employed to a.s.sist the salmon fishing, but they proved to be unreliable, either through fear of the turbulent waters of the Koksoak or inattention to their task. They were easily allured from the nets by the appearance of any game, and as the tides in that river do not wait even for an Indian, serious losses resulted from carelessness. Hence their places in later years are filled by Eskimo, who are better adapted to the work.

The various parties disperse in different directions in order that the entire district may afford its products for their benefit. The Indians know the habits of the animals in those regions so well that they are sure, if they go to a particular locality, to find the game they are in quest of.

The reindeer provides them with the greater part of their food and the skins of these animals afford them clothing.

Although their food consists of reindeer, ptarmigan, fish, and other game, the deer is their main reliance, and when without it, however great the abundance of other food, they consider themselves starving.

The deer are procured in several ways, the princ.i.p.al of which is by the use of the lance or spear. In the months of September and October they collect from various directions. During the spring the females had repaired to the treeless hills and mountains of the Cape Chidley region to bring forth their young on those elevations in early June or late May. After the young have become of good size the mothers lead them to certain localities whither the males, having gone in an opposite direction, also return. They meet somewhere along the banks of the Koksoak river, usually near the confluence of that river with the North or Larch. While thousands of these animals are congregated on each bank small herds are continually swimming back and forth, impelled by the s.e.xual instinct. The hair of the young animals is now in excellent condition for making skin garments. The females are thin, not yet having recovered from the exhaustion of furnishing food for their young and material for the new set of antlers, which appear immediately after the birth of the fawns. The skin is, however, in tolerable condition, especially in late October. The back of the male is now covered with a large ma.s.s of fat known as "back fat." This deposit is about 1 to 1 inches thick by 2 feet broad and 20 inches long. The males are full of vigor and in the best possible condition at this season, as the antlers have become dry and cease to draw upon the animal for material to supply their immense growth.

The hunting parties, always on the alert for the herds of deer which are hastening to the a.s.sembling place, follow them up, and in the course of time conjecture at what point they will congregate. Here they establish camps and intercept the deer when crossing the streams. The canoes are held in readiness, while the hunters scan the opposite hillsides for deer filing along the narrow paths through the forests and bushes towards the river bank. Arrived there, the deer, after a moment's pause, eagerly take to the water, boldly swimming as they quarter down stream with the current. The animals swim high in the water, scarcely more than a third of the body immersed. They move compactly, in a crowd, their antlers appearing at a distance like the branches of a tree floating with the current. The Indian crouches low and speeds for the canoe.

Silently it is pushed into the water, and two or three rowers take their places within. Rapid but noiseless strokes given by st.u.r.dy arms soon bring the boat below and to the rear of the body of deer, who are now thrown into the greatest consternation as they perceive their most dreaded foe suddenly by their side. The deer endeavor to retreat, but the men are between them and the sh.o.r.e. The occupants of the canoe now drive the deer quartering up stream and toward the sh.o.r.e where the camp is situated. Should they, by some mistake on the part of the hunters, start downstream, they are certain to be separated, and swim so rapidly that unless there be two canoes they will, for the most part, escape.

If the herd is well kept together they may be driven at the will of the pursuer. He strives to direct them to such spot that when the thrust with the spear is given only sufficient vitality will be left to enable the stricken animal to regain the sh.o.r.e. When the spear touches the vital part, the animal plunges forward and the instrument is withdrawn.

A hurried thrust pierces another victim, until all the herd, if small, may be slain. The wounded animal now feels the internal cavity filling with blood, and seeks the nearest land whereon its ebbing strength scarcely allows it to stand. A few wistful turns of the head to the right or left, a sudden spreading of its limbs to support the swaying body, a plunge forward--the convulsive struggles that mark the end. If the band is large, some generally escape. Some may be so wounded that they plunge into the bushes perhaps but a few yards and there lie and die, furnishing food for the beasts and birds of prey.

The carcases of the deer are stripped of skins and fat and the viscera are removed. The fat is laid one side, that from the intestines being also reserved for future rendering.

The skins are taken to the camps and piled up. Those which are not to be tanned immediately are hung over poles to dry, the flesh side turned upwards.

The meat is stripped from the bones and taken to the tents, where it is exposed to the smoke and hot air over the fire and quickly dried. Some of the Indians are so expert in stripping the flesh from the skeleton that the exact form or outlines of the animal are preserved in the process of drying. The drying flesh acquires a very dark brown color from the smoke and blood left within the tissues. Certain portions of the dry meat, especially those from the flanks and abdominal walls, are quite palatable; they are crisp, and have a rich nutty flavor. The intercostal muscles are also choice portions, while some of the flesh from the haunches is dry and nearly tasteless. The back fat is often dried and smoked, but acquires a disagreeable rancid taste.

The long bones are cracked and the marrow extracted. This substance is the most highly prized portion of the animal, and in seasons of plenty the deer are often slaughtered for the marrow alone. The fat is placed in pots or kettles and rendered over a fire. It is then poured into another vessel to cool, and forms a valuable article of trade and a necessity for food, and is also required in the process of tanning the skins.

The bones containing the marrow are cracked and placed in a kettle, hung over a slow fire, and the substance melted. The marrow brings a higher price than the tallow, and is esteemed a choice article of food. The heads are thrown to one side until the decomposing brain is wanted to be mixed with the semi-putrid liver for the purpose of tanning the skins.

When the flesh has dried sufficiently it is taken down and put into packages of about thirty pounds weight each. These bundles are enveloped in the parchment like subcutaneous tissue, and stored away until they are needed for food. A species of mold attacks the flesh if it is not frequently inspected and dried, but as it is harmless, it does not injure the meat. Indians for weeks at a time subsist entirely on this dried meat. They also have a season of plenty when the female deer and the bucks of less than two years are on their way to the Cape Chidley region. Here the females bring forth their young unmolested by the old bucks and also less annoyed by the myriads of mosquitoes which throng the lower parts of the country.

The crossing place of the females and young bucks is at or near Fort Chimo at least each alternate year. About the 5th to the 10th of May the a.s.sembled Indians anxiously await the coming of the game. In the course of a few days the welcome cry of "Deer!" is heard, and the camp immediately becomes a scene of great excitement--men hurrying to get their guns and ammunition, women shouting the direction of the game, and children running to the higher eminences to watch the herds.

The men endeavor to occupy a narrow defile, where the herd will pa.s.s between the hills to the level land beyond. Some station themselves at the top of the ravine, while the swiftest runners hasten to the head of the defile to lie in ambush until the deer, urged from behind, rush past, to be met with a volley of b.a.l.l.s from all sides. Panic seizes the animals, and wherever they turn an Indian confronts them. Until the deer recover from their paralysis, and once more obey their instinct to escape, numbers of them stand quietly waiting to be slaughtered; others walk unconcernedly about, seemingly deprived of the power of flight. The Indians hurriedly close upon them, and in a few minutes the entire herd is destroyed or dispersed in all directions.

The guns used on this occasion are the cheapest kind of muzzle-loading single-barreled shotguns. The b.a.l.l.s used are of such size that they will drop to the bottom of the chamber. No patching is used, and a jar on the ground is deemed sufficient to settle the ball upon the powder. The employment of a ramrod would require too much time, as the Indian is actuated by the desire to kill as many as possible in the shortest time.

They do not use the necessary care in loading their guns, and often the ball becomes lodged in the chamber and the gun bursts when fired. When shooting downhill the ball often rolls out. It is surprising that so few fatal accidents occur. A quant.i.ty of powder is poured directly into the gun from its receptacle, the ball dropped down, and a cap taken from between the fingers, where it was placed for convenience. Hunters often practice the motions of rapid loading and firing. They are remarkably expert, surpa.s.sing the Eskimo in this, though the Eskimo is far the better marksman.

A third method pursued is that of snaring the deer.

A plan adopted to capture deer in the winter is as follows: A herd of deer is discovered, and men and women put on their snowshoes. The deer are surrounded and driven into a s...o...b..nk many feet deep, in which the affrighted animals plunge until they nearly bury themselves. The hunters, armed with the lance, pursue them and kill them. This means of procuring deer is only adopted when the herd is near a convenient s...o...b..nk of proper depth. The snow falling in the winter collects in gullies and ravines, and only in seasons where there has been an abundance of snow will it attain sufficient depth to serve the purpose.

Smaller game, such as ducks, geese, ptarmigan, hares, rabbits, porcupines, beavers, and an occasional lynx, afford variety of food.

Ptarmigan are slaughtered by thousands. Hundreds of pounds of their feathers annually purchase small trinkets for the Indian women, and during this season it is unusual to see a woman without some feathers of these birds adhering to her clothing or hair.

The women and men annually destroy thousands of the eggs and young of these birds. Rabbits and hares, too, fall beneath the arrow or shotgun.

Porcupines are more common toward the sources of the streams falling into Hudson Strait. They are found in trees, from which they gnaw the bark and terminal portions of the branches for food. The porcupine must be carefully cleaned lest the flesh be unfit for food. The hair and spines are removed by scorching or by pouring hot water over the body.

Of the carnivorous mammals the lynx only is eaten, and this when other food is scarce. Bears are so rare that they form but an unimportant portion of the Indian's diet. Wolverines, wolves, and foxes are never eaten.

Fish of various kinds are plentiful. The lakes and streams abound with salmon in summer, and trout, white fish, suckers, and a few less common species are eagerly sought for food. Fish are caught with the hook or net. Fishing through holes in the ice affords an ample supply of fine trout, and the net set along the sh.o.r.e upon the disappearance of the ice is sure to reap a rich haul of white fish, suckers, and trout.

In the preparation of the food little care is exercised to prevent its coming in contact with objectionable substances. The deer meat is laid upon the stones of the beach and particles of grit imbed themselves in the substance. The flesh for cooking is often dropped into the vessels in which the tallow or marrow is being rendered. Neither children nor adults have any regular periods of eating, but appear to be always hungry. It is thus not unusual to see a filthy child thrust its hand into the cooling fat to obtain a choice portion of meat as it settles to the bottom.

The dry meat is often pounded into a coa.r.s.e powder by means of stone or metal pestles. The meat is placed upon a smooth, hard stone for this purpose. The ligaments are picked out, and when a sufficient quant.i.ty has been prepared it is put into baskets or bags and stored away for future use. The cracked bones from which the marrow was extracted are calcined and reduced to powder and used as an absorbent of the fat from the skins in the process of tanning.

The unborn young of the reindeer, taken from the mother in the spring, are considered a prime delicacy by Indians, as well as Eskimo. The eggs of various species of birds are eagerly sought for, and it matters little whether they are fresh or far advanced in incubation. The embryo bird, with the attached yolk of the egg, is swallowed with infinite gusto. The Indian seldom eats raw flesh unless dried meat be excepted.

Enough has been written concerning the reindeer to show that without it the very existence of the Indian would be imperiled. Both food and clothing, the prime necessities of life, are obtained from the animal, and its numbers do not seem to decrease with the merciless or thoughtless slaughter. Hundreds of carcases are never utilized.

I counted 173 carcases on one side of the river in going a distance of about 80 miles, and when I came to their camps I saw incredible piles of meat and skins going to waste. The winter months are occupied by men in hunting the various fur-bearing animals, the princ.i.p.al of which are white, red, cross, and black or silver foxes, martens, minks, wolverines, wolves, muskrats, and beavers: these are abundant. Few lynxes and bear are obtained. A considerable number of others are found in this region and afford fine skins.