Ethnographic Description of the Eskimo Settlements 339 



Settlement of the second-last period. The outer coast of 

 Germania Land from Syttenkilometernæsset and further north has 

 only been occupied on the hunting excursions of spring and summer. 

 Renskæret, Maroussia, east shore of Stormbugt and Rypefjeldet have 

 been occupied the whole year round. 



Last or youngest period. A couple of families have lived 

 together on Snenæs and Rypefjeldet at practically the same spot 

 throughout the whole year and have at last succumbed in the 

 terrible struggle for the maintenance of life. The few left have 

 gone in search of more friendly regions, but have now also disap- 

 peared. 



The numbers of the natives during the different periods can 

 best be judged from the number of the winter-houses of the same 

 age in a district. In District V we have the following result: oldest 

 period 32, second-last period 20 and the last period 4 winter-houses. 

 Even though all the winter-houses have probably not been occupied 

 at the same time, these numbers give some notion of the relative 

 proportions in the different periods. 



In considering the nature of these regions, we can well under- 

 stand that the number of natives has never been large. 



Culture. We have only to think of the natural conditions pre- 

 vailing in these regions, to realise, that sledging must have attained 

 a very high degree of development among the natives. 



The well-made boat rests (figs. 21 and 29) show further that the 

 kayak and women's boat have both been known to the second-last 

 Eskimos. According to measurements the first especially were re- 

 markable for their great length. The fact that great care had been 

 used in the building of the boat-rests in this district, though there 

 is solid ice everywhere nine months of the year, shows that these 

 boats have been of value, and we may believe that the stage of de- 

 velopment of the boats corresponded closely to the excellence of the 

 boat-rests. 



Both the women's boat and the unusually long kayak have un- 

 doubtedly been due to some influence from the subarctic regions. 



From my personal knowledge of the district, both of the open 

 water and the ice, I can well understand that these natives must have 

 been both good steersmen of the women's boat and excellent drivers 

 of the sledge. The latter arise where the ice-covering remains for 

 a long time, as here; and with regard to the former I may mention, 

 that the w^aters of this region (south of lat. 77°) are either open, so 

 that a little swell makes a good deal of wash, or narrow and filled 



