116 H. P. STEENSBY. 
to Maupok hunting, but not until well within February could it be pursued 
with any great chance of success. During spring the newly born young of 
seals are also hunted, and during June Utok hunting is carried on. 
The Netchillik Eskimo spend the summer in the interior where they 
carry on salmon-fishing and reindeer and musk-ox hunting along the lakes 
and streams. When the autumn hunting has come to an end, and the 
reindeer herds have gone southwards, the Eskimo remain in the places where 
the depots have been laid down, and live on these. The tents are replaced 
by winter houses, which have stone walls, and are probably covered with 
ice, snow, and earth. When the darkest mid-winter days are past, or, 
properly speaking, when the supplies have been consumed, the Eskimo 
disperse in small groups over the level layer of the winter ice and move 
from place to place, living in snow houses, and pursuing seal hunting on 
the ice after the Maupok method. The fact peculiar to the Netchillik 
district in contradistinetion to the previously mentioned territories may be 
expressed by saying, that the Netchillik district is decidedly Arctic in 
character, and shut in from the influence of the ocean. The winter ice- 
covering remains unbroken for more than 9 months in the year, so that 
during the greater part of the year the district has more the character of 
a continent than of coast lands. There are no straits like those at Smith 
Sound and Eivillik, with strong currents keeping the water open during the 
whole, or greater part of, the year, and permitting the hunting from 
the ice-edge of walrus or seal. In the Netchillik Sea only the real seals 
occur, and the Ringed Seal alone is of importance as an animal to be hunted. 
Immediately south of Netchillik Sea near the lower narrows of the 
Back River lives a small tribe which, in 1879, in KLuTscHAk’s time, con- 
sisted of 16 families. By older authors this tribe is called Ukusiksillik, and 
it has sometimes been regarded as a group of the Ugjulik Eskimo, some- 
times as a group of the Netchillik Eskimo, which for some reason or other 
has penetrated southwards. But, as is shown by Boas, the group has un- 
doubtedly always lived at its present settlements. It must certainly be 
regarded as being adapted to a kind of inland life, even if it visits the 
estuary for the sake of hunting seals, and as regards kinship, it must 
evidently be reckoned together with the whole of the Netchillik group. 
What is also a proof of this connection is that SCHWATKA found it in 
possession of wood and articles from the FRANKLIN Expedition, and its 
members with some knowledge of the unfortunate expedition. 
We have very slight knowledge of the Ukusiksilik tribe. Back was the 
first to encounter it. He met it near some rapids or whirlpools in the 
neighbourhood of the mouth of the river named after him. At that period 
(July 28, 1833) the tribe lived in tents, and was occupied in fishing salmon 
in the rapids. At the settlement thousands of fish were laid out to dry. 
The tribe possessed five kayaks, and even at this period it possessed a 
few knife-blades and lance and arrow-heads of iron. On July 30th, 1855, 
JAMES ANDERSON met with the Ukusiksilliks near the same rapids. They 
