73 



and appears none the worse for it. The Labrador Eskimo 

 handle their long, heavy kayaks easily, but do not attain the 

 expertness recorded of the Greenlanders, although their kayaks 

 are of the same type as in southwest Greenland. Neither do 

 they attempt the long coastal voyages which the Greenlanders 

 take in summer in their kayaks. For long trips the umiak, and 

 more recently the whaleboat, are used. 



Two thongs are sewn into the kayak in front to hold the 

 harpoon rack and harpoon on one side, and the bird spear on the 

 other; and behind the hole, two small loops are sewn to hold the 

 seal hook and killing lance. The position of these weapons on 

 the kayak is regulated by their use, the chief weapon to be used 

 being at the right hand front of the hunter. Ordinarily, the 

 harpoon occupies this position, and the bird-spear and throwing- 

 stick are placed on the left front, the seal-hook on the right back, 

 and the lance on the left back. The line of the harpoon lies in 

 the rack in front of the hunter; the harpoon is held in the right 

 hand and the coil in the left when the harpoon is thrown from the 

 kayak. If the harpoon line has a float attached, it rests on the 

 boat just back of the hunter and is thrown into the water after 

 the harpoon is launched. In northern Labrador, a circular 

 hoop-like float, called the nawla-taq (Labrador) or nati'la'tay 

 (Baffin island), is attached to the float, and being dragged at right 

 angles through the water, soon lessens the pace of the fleeing 

 game. This attachment is found in Baffin island, from whence 

 it is perhaps derived.^ 



On the left hand side of the hole {pa'k) of the kayak is a seal 

 thong loop, to which game is attached and towed home, after it 

 has been brought alongside with the seal hook. 



HUNTING AND FISHING. 



HUNTING WEAPONS, 



The Equipment of the Kayaker. 



Nearly all the hunting on water now is done by the Labrador 

 Eskimo in the kayak, which is fully equipped with the various 



1 See Boas, The Central Eskimo, p. 500. 



