THE NORTHERN ATHABASCANS j^j 



snow-shoes and perhaps assist the women in cutting and carry- 

 ing the lodge-poles. It is the women's duty to carry bundles 

 of spruce boughs with which to cover the floor of the lodge. 

 The brush is laid carefully, branch by branch, so that the stems 

 are under the tops and point away from the center. This floor 

 is renewed every Saturday afternoon. The fireplace is sur- 

 rounded by a pole of green wood, three or four inches in 

 diameter, cut so as to be bent in the form of a polygon. Above 

 the doorway a pole eight feet long is lashed to the lodge-poles 

 in a horizontal position, six feet from the ground; this, and a 

 similar one on the opposite side, supports from six to ten 

 poles, crossing above the fire, making a stage on which to thaw 

 and dry meat. Each hunter's powder-horn and shot-pouch is 

 suspended from a lodge-pole at his back, his gun stands in its 

 cover against a pole or lies on a stage outside. Near the door- 

 flap are several hungry and watchful dogs, which, by constantly 

 running in and out, make an opening for the cold wind to 

 enter. The dogs are tied at night to prevent their pilfering; 

 one end of a stick, three feet long, is tied to a lodge-pole, the 

 other end is provided with a thong long enough to pass around 

 the dog's neck; this manner of fastening prevents them from 

 gnawing the line and setting themselves free. The side of the 

 fire next the entrance is allotted to the children and visiting 

 women. On either side sit the wives, for there are usually two 

 families in one lodge. Behind them are muskimoots and an 

 inextricable confusion of rags, blankets, bones, meat, etc. If a 

 crooked knife, a tea bag, or anything that is in the heap is 

 needed, everything is tumbled about until it is found; nothing 

 seems ever to be lost. The sled wrapper is extended behind 

 the lodge-poles and serves as a catch-all for stores of meat, 

 bones to be pounded and boiled to extract the grease, and odds 

 and ends not in constant use. The next space is occupied by 

 the men of the house, that farthest from the door is reserved 

 for the young men and the men guests. At night each adult 

 rolls up in a single three-point blanket, or a caribouskin robe, 

 and sleeps on an undressed caribouskin. A piece of an old 

 blanket generally covers the small children in a bunch. 



Migration. The natives dependent upon the Barren Ground 

 caribou for subsistence, not only follow them in their annual 

 migrations, but are changing their hunting ground in conse- 



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