AND ESKIMOS OF UNGAVA. 1Ô1 



routes and without their children, carries a kind of proof upon their shamed faces that is 

 not to be doubted. 



The method of burial depends upon the locality where the person dies. If convenient, 

 the corpse is covered with stones ; otherwise it is wrapped in skins, and exposed upon some 

 eminence, without protection, and, in either instance, soon decays. With each sex is 

 deposited the more necessary implements or utensils employed when living ; and in the 

 case of a child, its doll or cup. The spirit of the deceased is supposed to wander over the 

 face of the earth ; and, at times, to make known its wants by signs and manifestations 

 readily interpreted by the shaman. 



These people have no chief, and the authority acknowledged by the community is that 

 of the elders and wealthier individuals, aided, at all times, by the decrees of the shaman ; 

 the authority of the latter is, however, often set at naught. 



Their construction of kaiak, umiak, and sled, and their manner of harnessing teams 

 of dogs, do not differ from the other mainland lunuit. Their speech is rapid, but clearly 

 enunciated, and their intonation of voice is remarkably similar to that of the Malimyut 

 of Norton Sound, Alaska, to whom the Itivimyut shew a near approach, except in physique 

 and energy. 



The Tahagmyut. — The second principal subdivision of the Ungava Innuit is the 

 Tahagmyut. They dwell on the east side of Hudson Bay, beginning at the north side of 

 Musquito Bay, about latitude 61" north, and continue along the south side of Hudson 

 Strait, to about longitude 69' west — there meeting the eastern Innuit. A few of the 

 adjacent islands are occupied for a greater or less time, as may be suitable or convenient. 

 The character of the area here included is as various as is possible to conceive The 

 coast is high, broken, and in many places, precipitous ; deep ravines occur and form inlets 

 of variable length and width. Away from the coast, great hills rise without any apparent 

 system or trend. Many of them are clad with huge patches of suow that rarely decrease 

 in size. Farther to the south the eminences are less in height, but, if possible, more 

 broken until the low area between 62" and 59' north is reached. This is the area, scarcely 

 varied in character, reserved in locating the Itivimyut. 



The term, Tahagmyut, applied to this people, is derived from the word tahak, sigini- 

 fying a shadow ; hence a shade. By this expression it is meant that this people lives to 

 the west, or on the shady side, as opposed to the eastern Innuit, who dwell on the light 

 or sunny side. 



The stature of the Tahagmyut exceeds that of this other Innuit I have seen. Many of 

 the men rise above five feet, nine inches ; while those less than five and a half feet are few 

 indeed. The females are relatively tall, and of all that I saw, only two were below five 

 feet in height. Each sex is powerful, robust, and the embodiment of perfect health. They 

 are remarkable for their large head, round face, pleasant countenance, broad shoulders 

 and chest. The body is nearly straight, and the hips not so wide as the shoulders, the 

 extremities small and, in the younger individuals, well shaped. The skin is lighter than 

 that of the Itivimyut, some of them being quite fair. The hair is coarse, black, abundant, 

 and worn long by both sexes — the men cutting their hair when it reaches half down the 

 neck, while the women arrange their hair in tight braids and fold them on the sides of the 

 head, the rolls being held in place by strands of colored beads. 



