The Central Eskimo Part 10

Two men walk directly from the deer they wish to kill, when the animal almost always follows them. As soon as they arrive at a large stone, one of the men hides behind it with his bow, while the other continuing to walk on soon leads the deer within range of his companion's arrows.

Hall says that one hunter hides himself behind a stone while the other utters grunting sounds to attract it.

In winter deer are sometimes caught in traps made by digging holes in the snow and covering them with slabs of the same material. Sometimes urine is poured upon and around the trap or salt water ice is placed upon it, in order to allure the deer (Klutschak, p. 131). Having been attracted to the trap they fall through the roof and are speared in the hole.

Wherever the musk ox is found it is eagerly pursued by the Eskimo.

Though dogs are of no use in the chase of the nimble deer, they are of great help in hunting this animal. When a track is found the dogs are let loose and soon overtake the herd. The latter form a circle of defense in which they are kept at bay until the hunter approaches. While the dogs continue attacking and dodging, the musk oxen try to hit them with their horns and do not heed the Eskimo, who a.s.sails them at close quarters with a lance to which a thong is frequently attached. When an ox is wounded it makes an impetuous attack on the hunter, who dodges to one side. The dogs being at hand again immediately keep it at bay, thus enabling the hunter to let fly another arrow or throw his lance again.

Thus the struggle continues until the greater part of the herd is killed. In rare instances an ox dashes out of the circle and escapes from the pack.

Polar bears are hunted in about the same manner as the musk ox. The Eskimo pursue them in light sledges, and when they are near the pursued animal the traces of the most reliable dogs in the team are cut, when they dash forward and bring the bear to bay. As the hunter gets sufficiently near, the last dogs are let loose and the bear is killed with a spear or with bow and arrow. The best season for bear hunting is in March and April, when the bears come up the fjords and bays in pursuit of the young seals. At this season the she bear is accompanied by the cub which was born in February or March. Its skin and flesh are highly prized by the Eskimo. At some places, for instance at Cape Raper and at Cape Kater on Davis Strait, the she bears dig holes in the snow banks, in which they sleep during the winter. The natives seek these holes and kill the bear before it awakes.

The chase of the musk ox and that of the bear have become much easier since the introduction of firearms in Arctic America, and the Eskimo can kill their game without encountering the same dangers as formerly.

HUNTING OF SMALL GAME.

Lastly, I mention the methods used in catching smaller animals, such as wolves, foxes, and hares. Wolves are only pursued when they become too troublesome. Frequently they linger about the villages in winter, and when everybody is asleep they attack the store rooms or the dogs, which have the greatest fear of this voracious animal; for, although dogs will brave the bear, they do not venture to resist a single wolf. If a pack of these beasts linger about the village for weeks preying upon the native stores, traps are finally built or the Eskimo lie in ambush near a bait to kill them. The wolf trap is similar to the one used to catch deer. The hole dug in the snow is about eight or nine feet deep and is covered with a slab of snow, on the center of which a bait is laid.

A wall is built around it which compels the wolf to leap across it before he can reach the bait. By so doing he breaks through the roof and, as the bottom of the pit is too narrow to afford him jumping room, he is caught and killed there (Rae I, p. 135).

A remarkable method of killing wolves has been described by Klutschak (p. 192) and confirmed by the Eskimo of c.u.mberland Sound. A sharp knife is smeared with deer's blood and sunk into the snow, the edge only protruding. The wolves lick the knife and cut their tongues so severely as to bleed to death. Another method is to roll a strip of whalebone, about two feet long, in a coil, which is tied up with sinews. At each end a small metal edge is attached to the whalebone. This strip, wrapped in a piece of blubber or meat, is gulped down by the hungry wolf. As it is digested the sinews are dissolved and the elastic strap is opened and tears the stomach of the animal. A very ingenious trap is described by Parry (II, p. 514):

It consists of a small house built of ice, at one end of which a door, made of the same plentiful material, is fitted to slide up and down in a groove; to the upper part of this a line is attached and, pa.s.sing over the roof, is led down into the trap at the inner end, and there held by slipping an eye in the end of it over a peg of ice left for the purpose. Over the peg, however, is previously placed a loose grummet, to which the bait is fastened, and a false roof placed over all to hide the line. The moment the animal drags at the bait the grummet slips off the peg, bringing with it the line that held up the door, and this falling down closes the trap and secures him.

Foxes are usually caught in traps. An ice house about six feet high is built of hummocks, which are cut down with the point of the spear. It is covered with ice slabs, only a hole in the center being left. Blocks of snow and slabs of ice are piled up around the building so as to permit easy access to the roof. Some blood is sprinkled round the hole to attract the fox and a larger bait is placed upon the floor of the house.

The fox jumps down and, as the only exit is in the center of the roof, cannot escape. Another trap has a slab of ice erected in such a manner as to fall and kill the fox when he touches the bait.

A third trap, similar to the one above mentioned, has been described by Lyon, p. 339:

It is like a small lime kiln in form, having a hole near the top, within which the bait is placed, and the foxes (for these animals alone are thus taken) are obliged to advance to it over a piece of whalebone, which, bending beneath their weight, lets them into prison, and then resumes its former position: thus a great number of them are sometimes caught in a night. In the summer they are but rarely taken, and it is then by means of a trap of stones, formed like the ice trap, with a falling door.

Hares are either killed with small shot or with arrows or caught in whalebone snares, as are ermines and lemmings.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 452. Whalebone nooses for catching waterfowl.

(In the possession of Captain Spicer, of Groton, Conn.)]

Waterfowl of all descriptions are caught in abundance in whalebone nooses (Fig. 452) fastened to a long whalebone line or to a thong. The line is set along the edge of a lake, particularly near nesting places.

In shallow lakes these lines are placed across the water to catch the diving and swimming birds, which are drawn to the sh.o.r.e with the line.

On the low egg islands, which are inhabited by innumerable ducks, snares are set on the nests, and great numbers are caught in a short time.

Swans and geese are procured in the same way. Other birds, and particularly partridges, are killed with arrows and with small shot.

Large flocks of ducks and other kinds of birds fly through certain valleys in the fall and in spring when migrating. Great numbers are caught here without any difficulty, as they can be killed with sticks.

A favorite method of catching gulls is by building a flat snow house.

One block of the roof is translucent and so thin as to permit the hunter, who is hidden in the house, to push his hand through it. A bait is placed on this block, and as soon as a bird alights to feed it is pulled through the roof into the hut.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 453. Kakivang or salmon spear. (National Museum, Washington, _a_, 34087; _b_, 34086.) ]

By far the greater number of birds are caught during the molting season.

Partridges can be caught with the hand and waterfowl are pursued with the kayak. The waterfowl dive as soon as the boat comes near them and being frightened down again as soon as they rise they are eventually drowned. One species of goose (kango) which frequents the lakes of the country is caught in a remarkable way. A circular wall of stones is raised, with a single entrance. The Eskimo drive a flock of these birds towards the building, one man, whom the stupid creatures follow, leading the way. As soon as they have entered the wall the entrance is shut up and they are slaughtered. If they happen to be met with on the water they are encircled by kayaks and driven towards the sh.o.r.e, one boat leading. Then they are driven within the stone wall as already described.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 454. Ivory fish used as bait in spearing salmon.

_a_ From Repulse Bay. _a_, _c_, _d_ (National Museum, Washington.

_a_, 10400; _c_, 34109; _d_, 34134.) 1/1 _b_ (Museum fur Volkerkunde, Berlin. IV A 6830.) 1/1]

FISHING.

The most important fish is the salmon, which is caught in abundance during the summer. When the lakes begin to break up the salmon descend to the sea, following the narrow lead between the land floe and the water. In some places they are so plentiful as to fill the water completely. Here they are speared with the kakivang (Fig. 453). This instrument consists of a handle which widens towards the end; in the center it has a p.r.o.ng of bone or iron, and two larger ones at the sides, made of deer antlers or musk ox horn. These latter diverge and are furnished with a bone or iron nail on the inner side. The elasticity of these side p.r.o.ngs is increased by thongs or strings holding them tightly together. If the salmon are very plentiful no bait is needed and the natives cannot spear them as quickly as they swim along. When the ice is gone they are caught in the shallow rivers falling from the lakes into the sea. The natives stand on the bank or step into the water. A small ivory fish (Fig. 454) (e?alujang), tied by two or three holes in the back to a plaited string of deer sinews, is used as a bait. Frequently bear's teeth are used for bait. They are attached to a separate line which the hunter continually moves up and down to attract the attention of the fish. When the salmon comes near the bait it is speared with the kakivang. In the left hand the fisherman holds an instrument for stringing the fish (quqartaun), some ill.u.s.trations of which are given in Fig. 455. It is made of ivory. A thong fastened to the hole of the instrument has a thick knot at the opposite end. As soon as a salmon is caught it is taken out of the nippers (kakivang) and the point of the quqartaun is pushed into the gills and brought out again at the mouth; thus the fish remains sticking until it is dead. Sometimes it is killed by pushing the ivory point of the instrument into its neck. When dead it is pushed on the thong.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 455. Quqartaun for stringing fish. _c_ (Museum fur Volkerkunde, Berlin. IV A 6831.)]

At some places wears are built, above which the fish are caught. These consist of dikes of stones about one and a half or two feet high, which are piled across a creek some distance below high water mark. The salmon cross the wall at high water, but are cut off from the sea at half tide and are speared while there. In other places the forks of rivers are shut off by dikes, above which the salmon gather.

In autumn salmon are caught when ascending the rivers. Sometimes they linger too long in small ponds and, as the rivers quickly dry up at this season, are prevented from getting out of the pools. Here they are caught until late in the season. Some of these ponds freeze to the bottom in winter, and the natives, when visiting them in the spring, cut holes in the ice and take out the frozen fish.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 456. Salmon hook. (National Museum, Washington.

10142.) 1/1]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 457. Salmon hook. (Museum fur Volkerkunde, Berlin. 6847.) 1/1]

In the early part of the spring salmon are caught with hooks (kakliokia, Iglulik; niksiartaung, Oqo), holes being cut through the ice of the lake. Formerly the hooks were made of deer antlers. Another device consists of a nail, crooked and pointed at one end, the other being let into a piece of ivory or bone (Fig. 456). A third one is represented in Fig. 457.

The fishing line is made of plaited deer sinews and is either held in the hand or tied to a short rod. Along with these hooks baits are used similar to those mentioned in the foregoing description. If the carving represented in Fig. 458 is used, the hook is tied to it by means of two holes on the lower side of the fish, while the line pa.s.ses through its back. The fish, in coming near the bait, is generally caught by the hook in the back or side. In this manner salmon, trout, and all kinds of sea fish are caught.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 458. Bait used in fishing with hooks. (National Museum, Washington. 34108.) 1/1]

I myself have never seen any nets for fishing, but Klutschak found them in use among the Utkusiksalik tribe, and Pet.i.tot (Les grands Esquimaux, p. 278), among the natives of Anderson River. The Labrador Eskimo also use nets.

MANUFACTURES.

MAKING LEATHER AND PREPARING SKINS.

Most of the implements of the Eskimo are made of some part of the animals which they pursue. The skins are used for clothing, for building purposes, and for covering the frames of boats. Many implements are made of bone, others of walrus tusks or narwhal horn. As wood is extremely scarce, bone or other parts of animals must make up the deficiency.

I shall here describe the methods of preparing these materials.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 459. Butcher's knife with bone handle. (National Museum, Washington. 34080.) ]

The skin of the seal (_Pagomys ftidus_) is dressed in different ways, according to the purpose for which it is intended. In skinning the animal a longitudinal cut is made across the belly with a common butcher's knife (saving). Most natives have procured this useful instrument and even in olden times a considerable number had found their way from Hudson Bay territory to their countries. The large knives of their own manufacture (pilaut) are of similar form, a metal edge being inserted into an ivory blade. Figure 459 is a more modern knife, an iron blade being fastened to a bone handle.

The skin, with the blubber, is cut from the flesh with the same knife, or still more easily with the pana, the old device of which is represented in Fig. 460 _a_ (Parry II, p. 550). This knife is about one foot and a half long (Parry II, p. 503). The use of the small p.r.o.ngs near the blade was not explained by Parry. In Fig. 460 _b_ is presented a pana from the eastern coast of Hudson Bay, collected by Dr. R. Bell; the handle is made of bone, the blade of iron. The flippers are cut off at the joints, and thus the whole skin is drawn off in a single piece.

In dressing the animal the natives open the belly and first scoop out the blood, then the entrails are taken out, the ribs are separated from the breast bone and from the vertebrae, the fore flippers (with the shoulders and the hind flippers) are taken out, the only part remaining being the head, the spinal column, and the rump bone. Generally these are not eaten, but are used for dogs' food.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 460. Pana or knife for dissecting game, _a_ (From Parry II, p. 548.) _b_ (American Museum of Natural History.)]

The knife (ulo) used by the women serves to clean and prepare the skins.