142 ACROSS THE SUB-ARCTICS OF CANADA. 



cranky craft in the hands of a novice, it is used in perfect 

 safety, even in very rough water, by an expert. Indeed 

 the Eskimos have an arrangement by which they can 

 travel while almost submerged in the water. They have 

 a thin waterproof parchment coat which they pull on 

 over their heads in rough weather. This they place on 

 the outside of the rim at the opening of the kyack. and 

 tie securely, so that if the boat were to turn upside down 

 the water could not rush in. 



An Eskimo in his kyack can travel much faster 

 than two men can paddle an ordinary canoe. I have 

 known them to make six miles an hour in dead water, 



whereas four miles 

 would be good going 

 for a canoe. 



The " oomiack," or 

 woman's boat, is a 

 ESKIMO OOMIACK. flat-bottomed affair 



of large carrying 



capacity. Like the kyack it is a skin-covered frame, 

 the many pieces of which are lashed together with 

 thongs of skin or whalebone ; but instead of being 

 covered on top it is open, and is of a much broader 

 model, and not so sharp at the ends. It is chiefly 

 used by the women for moving camp from place to 

 place, but is never used in the hunt. It is essentially 

 a freighting craft, whereas the kyack is used only for 

 hunting or speedy travel. Oomiacks are often made 

 large enough to carry thirty or forty people. They are 

 propelled by ordinary paddles, not by the long double- 

 bladed ones used with the kyacks. 



The komitick is a sled of rather peculiar design, 

 consisting simply of two parallel runners, twelve or four- 



