PALAEOLITHIC RACES 31 



which is dried and set aside as provision for the winter. The 

 mode of curing, at least among the Indians, is as follows : The 

 flesh is first cut in thin slices and dried in the sun, or over 

 the smoke of a slow fire. It is then pounded between stones, 

 and finally a quantity of melted fat — about one-third of its 

 bulk — is poured over it. The result is the well-known pem- 

 mican. If carefully protected from damp it will keep good 

 for several years. The horns of the animal are used to make 

 fishing-spears and fish-hooks, ice-chisels, and other implements. 

 The skin is carefully dressed, cut into shape, and made up into 

 winter clothing. A shin-bone, split longitudinally, is used as 

 a scraper to remove superfluous hair and fat. The undressed 

 hide furnishes a substitute for rope. It is cut into long strips 

 of various thicknesses, and twisted into thongs for deer-snares, 

 bow-strings, net-lines, fishing-nets, and snow shoes. The tendon 

 of the dorsal muscle is split up into fine threads for sewing. 

 During the absence of the reindeer — i.e. for about eight or nine 

 months of the year — the Indians of the tundra live chiefly on 

 white fish, which is caught by hook or net : in winter, when 

 all the lakes and waterways are thickly frozen over, the nets or 

 hooks are introduced through holes broken in the ice. 



The Eskimo hunter, while possessing much in common with 

 the Indian, is distinguished by greater aptitude and by special 

 methods of his own. He represents the triumph of human 

 adaptation to the changing conditions of a rigorous climate ; 

 by the variety and ingenuity of his implements, weapons, and 

 devices he has brought the art of hunting to its very highest 

 state of differentiation, and in the exercise of this art he stands 

 supreme among all the hunting races of the world. 



In summer (July to September), when the sea is open, he 

 lives along the coast, dwelling in tents made of reindeer skin 

 or seal's skin, and hunts the seal with harpoon and bladder 

 from his kayak, using a spear-thrower to hurl the harpoon. 

 In some localities, as at Point Barrow, he also goes a-whaling 

 at this season. The whales migrate towards the north at the 

 beginning of summer, and return about the end of August, 

 moving southwards to the Mackenzie : on the return journey 

 they are attacked from umiaks (large skin-covered boats), con- 

 taining as many as twelve men, all armed with harpoons. When 

 a whale appears, as many harpoons as possible are cast into it, 

 and endeavours are made to drive it towards the shallow water 



