ESKIMO OF Hudson's strait. 213 



ESKIMO OF HUDSON'S STRAIT. 



BY F. F. PAYNE. 



Much has been written of the Eskimo by navigators and travellers 

 in Arctic and sub- Arctic Regions, and yet we find in almost every 

 writing at least something new to interest us. In a short paper such 

 as this it would be useless attempting to describe all the customs and 

 habits common to the whole race that have so often been described 

 before, I shall, therefore, endeavour to confine myself as much as 

 possible to a description of the more interesting parts of the modes of 

 life of those met with on the shores of Hudson's Strait, and more 

 especially those at Cape Prince of Wales, many of whom had not met 

 white men before, and with whom I lived during a period of thirteen 

 months. 



During the winter months the Eskimo, or Inuite as they call them- 

 selves, are found occupying the ground at prominent points along the 

 the coast. Here the ever changing tides flowing and returning break 

 up the ice and here the seals, on which they mainly subsist, are found. 

 The prevailing winds during these months being from the north-west, 

 snow is drifted to a great depth on the south-eastern sides of the hills. 

 This they take advantage of and soon after building their igloos many 

 of them are completely buried and are thereby well protected from 

 the wind. On visiting a village after a snowstorm I was struck with 

 its resemblance to a lot of mole hills. Nothing could be seen but a 

 little snow thrown up on each side of a hole by which a passage led to 

 the igloo ; on a near approach, however, windows were seen a little 

 below the surface from which the snow had been removed. Upon 

 entering some of those igloos, passage ways were found cut through 

 the drifted snow thereby connecting several of them, making it ap- 

 pear much like an underground village. 



In these villages they live as long as possible, and will not leave 

 until they are compelled to do so through scarcity of food ; but at this 

 time, when a report comes in from another part of the coast that seals 

 are plentiful, they will sometimes leave in a body, and where an hour 



