Native Americans: 22 Books on History, Mythology, Culture & Linguistic Studies. James Mooney

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СКАЧАТЬ that a continuous watch be kept on the dogs. When the shot is fired and they perceive that the seal is killed, no amount of whipping will restrain them; they rush forward until they have reached the victim, which is then lashed on the sledge.

      The hunters go on in search of a second seal, at the sight of which the dogs are again stopped. When the Eskimo intend to remain out only a few hours they leave the dead animals at their holes and load them on the sledge on the return journey. A single hunter cannot leave the settlement for a long distance, but is limited to sealing near the village and killing no more animals than he can drag to it himself. Sometimes it happens that the seals are fast asleep. Then the hunter can go up to them without any precaution and kill them immediately, and even a dog team running at full speed can take them by surprise. In winter a similar method of hunting is followed whenever the edge of the floe is close to the land. In such places all kinds of seals lie on the ice, even in the midst of winter, and are pursued in the way which has been already described.

      A strange method of hunting is reported by Ross (II, p. 451) as practiced by the Netchillirmiut. Eight men slowly approached the basking seal until it raised its head, when those in front stopped and shouted as loud as they could; on which three others ran up with incredible swiftness and the leader struck it with the spear.

      Still later in the season, when the snow is all gone, a very successful method of hunting is practiced. All the inhabitants of the settlements set out at once, men, women, and children, and occupy every seal hole over a large area. The men keep their harpoons ready to strike the animal when it comes up to blow, while the women and children are provided with sticks only, with which they frighten away the seals whenever they rise where they are standing. The animals are compelled to rise somewhere, as otherwise they would be drowned, and thus an ample supply is secured in a short time.

After the breaking up of the ice the natives take to their kayaks and the summer hunt is started. As at this season the methods of catching all kinds of seal and walrus are almost identical, I shall describe them together; and, first, the most important part of the hunting gear, the kayak and its belongings.

      The kayak (qajaq) is almost exclusively used for hunting by all Eskimo tribes from Greenland to Alaska. According to Bessels the Ita natives do not know its use, though they have retained the word. As a connection exists between this tribe and those of Baffin Land, I have no doubt that they are acquainted with the use of the boat, though it may be of little avail in that ice encumbered region. When I first visited the tribes of Davis Strait no kayak was to be found between Cape Mercy and Cape Raper, nor had there been any for several years. In the summer of 1884, however, two boats were built by these natives.

      The general principles of their construction are well known. The kayak of the Nugumiut, Oqomiut, and Akudnirmiut is bulky as compared with that of Greenland and Hudson Bay. It is from twenty-five to twenty-seven feet long and weighs from eighty to one hundred pounds, while the Iglulik boats, according to Lyon (p. 322), range from fifty to sixty pounds in weight. It may be that the Repulse Bay boats are even lighter still. According to Hall they are not heavier than twenty-five pounds (II, p. 216).

      Fig. 413. Frame of a kayak or hunting boat. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.)

The frame of the kayak (Fig. 413) consists, first, of two flat pieces of wood which form the gunwale (apumang). From ten to twenty beams (ajang) keep this frame on a stretch above. The greatest width between them is a little behind the cock pit (p. 487). A strong piece of wood runs from the cross piece before the hole (masing) to the stem, and another from the cross piece abaft the hole (itirbing) to the stern (tuniqdjung). The proportion of the bow end to the stern end, measured from the center of the hole, is 4 to 3. The former has a projection measuring one-fourth of its whole length. Setting aside the projection, the hole lies in the very center of the body of the kayak. A large number of ribs (tikping), from thirty to sixty, are fastened to the gunwales and kept steady by a keel (kujang), which runs from stem to stern, and by two lateral strips of wood (siadnit), which are fastened between gunwale and keel. The stem projection (usujang), which rises gradually, begins at a strong beam (niutang) and its rib (qaning). The extreme end of the stern (aqojang) is bent upward. The bottom of the boat is partly formed by the keel, partly by the side supports. The stern projection has a keel, but in the body of the boat the side supports are bent down to the depth of the keel, thus forming a flat bottom. Rising again gradually they terminate close to the stern. Between the masing and the itirbing is the hole (pa) of the kayak, the rim of which is formed by a flat piece of wood or whalebone bent into a hoop. It is flattened abaft and sharply bent at the fore part. The masing sometimes rests upon a stud.

      Fig. 414. Kayak with covering of skin. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.)

      The whole frame is covered with skins (aming) tightly sewed together and almost waterproof (Fig. 414). Usually the cover consists of three or four skins of Pagomys fœtidus. When put upon the frame it is thoroughly wetted and stretched as much as possible so as to fit tightly. It is tied by thongs to the rim of the hole. A small piece of ivory is attached to each side of the niutang and serves to fasten a thong which holds the kayak implements. Two more thongs are sewed to the skin just before the hole, another one behind it, and two smaller ones near the stern.

      The differences between this boat and that of the Iglulirmiut may be seen from Lyon’s description (page 320). Their kayak has a long peak at the stern, which turns somewhat upward. The rim round the hole is higher in front than at the back, whereas that of the former has the rim of an equal height all around. At Savage Islands Lyon saw the rims very neatly edged with ivory. The bow and the stern of the Iglulik kayaks were equally sharp and they had from sixty to seventy ribs. While the kayaks of the Oqomiut have only in exceptional cases two lateral supports between keel and gunwale, Lyon found in the boats of these natives seven siadnit, but no keel at all. These boats are well represented in Parry’s engravings (II, pp. 271 and 508). Instead of the thongs, ivory or wooden holders are fastened abaft to prevent the weapons from slipping down.

      If the drawing in Lyon’s book (p. 14) be correct, the kayak of the Qaumauangmiut (Savage Islands) has a very long prow ending in a sharp peak, the proportion to the stern being 2 to 1. Its stern is much shorter and steeper than that of the northern boats and carries the same holders as that of the Iglulirmiut.

      Fig. 415. Model of a Repulse Bay kayak. (National Museum, Washington. 68126.)

      Fig. 416. Sirmijaung or scraper for kayak. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.) ½

      Fig. 417. Large kayak harpoon for seal and walrus. Actual length, 6½ feet. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.)

The model of a Repulse Bay kayak is represented in Fig. 415. The rim of the hole is in the same position as in the Iglulik kayak, the fore part resting on a rib bent like a hoop, whereas in the others it rests on a beam. The stern resembles closely that of the Cumberland Sound boats, while the head is less peaked, the keel having a sharper bend at the beginning of the projection, which does not turn upward. Early in the spring and in the autumn, when ice is still forming, a scraper (sirmijaung) (Fig. 416) is always carried in the kayak for removing the sleet which forms on the skin. When the boat has been pulled on shore, it is turned upside down and the whole bottom is cleaned with this implement. A double bladed paddle (pauting) is used with the boat. It has a narrow handle (akudnang), which fits the hand of the boatman and widens to about four inches at the thin blades (maling), СКАЧАТЬ