272 THK POINT BAKKOW ESKIMO. 



etc., is never very abundant, and occurs chiefly in the season of open 

 water, when it is captured from the umiak with harpoon and rifle, but 

 they are sometimes found in the winter, as two were killed at breathing 

 holes in the rough ice January 8, 1883. 



The walrus. The walrus occurs only during the season of open water, 

 and is almost always captured from the umiak with the large harpoon 

 and rifle. The whaling boats usually find a few, especially late in the 

 season, and after the trading parties have gone in the summer the 

 natives who remain are generally out in the boats a good deal of the 

 time looking for walrus and seals. As a general thing walrus are espe 

 cially plenty in September, when much loose ice is moving backwards 

 and forwards with the current, frequently sleeping in large herds upon 

 cakes of ice. The boats, which are out nearly every day at this season 

 with volunteer crews, not regularly organized as for whaling, paddle 

 as near as they can to these sleeping herds and try to shoot them in 

 the head, aiming also to &quot; fasten &quot; to as many as they can with the har 

 poon and float as they hurry into the water. A harpooned walrus is 

 followed up with the boat and shot with the rifle when a chance is 

 offered. Swimming walruses are chased with the boat and &quot; fastened 

 to&quot; by darting the harpoon. When a walrus is killed it is towed up to 

 the nearest cake of ice and cut up on the spot. We never knew of the 

 kaiak being used in walrus-hunting, as is the custom among the eastern 

 Eskimo. 



The whale. The pursuit of the&quot;bowhead&quot; whale (Balajna mysticetus), 

 so valuable not only for the food furnished by its flesh and &quot; blackskin &quot; 

 and the oil from its blubber, but for the, whalebone, which serves so 

 many useful purposes in the arts of the Eskimo and is besides the 

 chief article of trade with the ships, is carried on with great regularity 

 and formality. In the first place all the uinialiks (boat-owners) or those 

 who are to be the captains of whaling umiaks, before the deer hunters 

 start out in January, bring all the gear to be used in the whale fishery 

 to the ku dylgl, where it, is consecrated by a ceremony consisting of 

 drumming and singing, perhaps partaking of the nature of an incan 

 tation. 



( apt. Hereudeeu was the only one of our party who witnessed this 

 ceremony, which took place at Utkiavwril on January 9, 1883, and he 

 did not bring back a detailed account of the proceedings. Durig 

 part of the ceremony all the uinialiks were seated in a row upon the 

 floor, and a woman passed down the line marking each across the face 

 with an oblique streak of blacklead. As soon as the deer hunters ^re 

 turn in the spring they begin getting ready for the whales, covering 

 the boats, fitting lines to harpoons, and putting gear of all sorts in per 

 fect order, livery article to be used in whaling harpoons, lances, pad 

 dles, and even the timbers of the boats must be scraped perfectly 

 clean. 1 This work is generally done by the umiallk himself and his 



1 Compare Egede, Greenland, p. 102. The whale -an t bear gloven and dirty habits.&quot; 



