194 THE GEEMAN AECTTO EXPEDITION. 



subsistence. At the same time, any man who is not too 

 old and too feeble, thinks it beneath his dignity to sit in 

 a Umiak. These boats are used by the women, and are 

 called women's boats. 



A Umiak is about thirty feet long and very narrow. 

 Like the Kajak it is built of light ribs of deal, covered 

 over with seal's leather. The Umiak is flat-bottomed, 

 constructed the same both fore and aft ; the rim on both 

 sides, with the inward-turned fork, extends somewhat over 

 the body of the boat. The cavity thus formed by the 

 fork serves for the attachment of tow-ropes, as well as 

 to make fast the boats when they are pulled out of the 

 water. For this purpose they use besides heavy stones, 

 as, in spite of their size, these skin-boats are so light that 

 a storm will carry them through the air. From six 

 to eight women, who sit on small seats in the after- 

 part, set them in motion with a shovel-shaped oar, by 

 springing from their seats, and after three strokes stop- 

 ping for a time. The large well-to-do families have each 

 their Umiak, but smaller and poor ones have one in 

 common. In every Mission, too, some are to be met 

 with ; for however fragile these vessels seem to be, and 

 at first, from the water oozing through the seal-skin, very 

 uncomfortable, they are generally, even by Europeans, 

 admitted to be the most desirable means of conveyance. 

 The missionaries use them on their coast voyages, 

 which extend more than 120 miles. Certainly they 

 can stand neither rough sea nor ice, and in unfavourable 

 weather have to lie on shore for days together; on 

 the other hand, they are light to carry, and in spite of 

 their fragile appearance are wonderfully firm and capa- 

 cious. Such a skin-boat can carry a weight of thirty 



