AND ESKIMOS OF UNGAVA. Ill 



tied round the bone, and when the tool which is adze and chisel combined is grasped, 

 the hand is prevented from slipping along the bone by the loop passing under the wrist 

 and supporting the hand. The adherent muscle is quickly separated from the skin, and 

 forms a sort of vellum which may be dried and serve as wrappers for bundles of furs or 

 dry meat. The fleshy side of the skin is rubbed with a mixture of decomposed brain 

 and liver, and laid away for several hours. The process of rubbing is next resorted to, 

 resembling the act of rubbing linen in the laundry between the hands. "When the 

 desired pliability is gained, the superabundant fat and moisture are remoA^ed by calcareous 

 earths, bone dust, or flour, to act as absorbents. The skins are now ready for any purpose. 

 The flesh is cut into thin strips and dried as described above. The leaner portions are 

 reduced to a coarse powder by means of a pestle, put into bags, and when ready to be 

 eaten, are mixed with melted tallow or marrow, converting them into pemican. This 

 article is highly prized as an article of food. It resembles a mass of home-made soup, 

 into which a quantity of black sawdust and sand have been stirred. The taste is similar 

 to that of a rancid candle, over which a quantity of its snuffings has been smeared. It is 

 certainly a taste never to be forgotten and to be appreciated only by personal experience. 

 The Naskopie is superstitious about this food, and will not permit it to be taken from the 

 tent in which it was placed to be eaten. 



The tallow from the reindeer is melted and poured into pots and allowed to cool. The 

 marrow is highly valued. The bones are cracked and thrown into a pot containing some 

 water and there boiled. The fat rising is skimmed ofi' and allowed to cool. The marrow 

 pot is a continued feast to the children. The marrow bones are very nice when roasted 

 over a fire, and the marrow is extracted by means of a long spoon prepared from the antler 

 of the reindeer. The skins ctf the various fur-bearing creatures are usually dressed by the 

 captors. 



In their social intercoirrse, the allotment of tasks falls most heavily upon the females. 

 They are the drudges of the men. They fetch water, and fuel, prepare the tent, bring the 

 slain deer to camp, assist in hauling the sleds and paddling the canoes, together with the 

 additional labors of sewing and the care of the children. 



Their dwelling is the conventional type of wigwam, in this instance covered with 

 the inferior qualities of the skins of the reindeer. The latter skins are those infested with 

 grubs and so scarred as to be fitted for no other purpose. The size depends upon the 

 number in the family ; usually, however, it is ten to fifteen feet in diameter, and ten to 

 twelve feet high at the apex. The floor of the interior is covered with spruce boughs 

 laid in an imbricate manner so as to form a soft carpet. In the centre is left a bare spot 

 for the fireplace. The occupants arrange themselves, with their feet to the centre, around 

 the inner circumference of the structure. The place of honor is opposite the doorway, and 

 is reserved for the owner of the tent or for a guest to whom regard is shown. On the 

 poles arc suspended the more necessary articles of immediate use ; while about the lower 

 edge of the tent within, are the bundles of skins, clothing and dried meats. Where the 

 camp is to remain for several days a scaflbld of poles is erected, and on it are laid the articles 

 not damaged by exposure to the weather. 



The master of the house may have two or more wives ; and, as they are simply servants, 

 the better hunters rarely experience difficulty in procuring as many such assistants as 

 they may desire or choose to shelter. A mother and her daughter are not infrequently the 



