ESKIMOS 159 



thrown many yards, and entangles itself about the necks or in 

 the wings of the ducks. 



As the middle of August approaches, the natives who have 

 been living on the coast, and who have generally secured several 

 sealskins full of porpoise or seal oil for the next winter's use, 

 start inland for the annual deer hunt, only leaving behind the 

 old people who cannot tramp long distances. These pick up a 

 living during the absence of the younger people by fishing and 

 hunting birds. The barren-ground caribou collect in great 

 bands in September for the mating season and for their annual 

 migration southward. At this time their skins are in the best 

 condition for clothing, and the Eskimos kill them at certain 



localities where they are known, to pass on their way* south. 



f 



These places are often far away from the summer hunting 



grounds on the coast. Going to the hunting grounds the course 

 of some river is generally followed, the men travelling in their 

 kyaks, while the women, children and dogs all carry heavy loads 

 overland. The early autumn is spent on the deer grounds, and 

 a return to the coast is not made until sufficient snow has fallen 

 to allow of the use of the dog sleds. The men first travel light 

 to the coast to fetch the sled left there the previous spring. On 

 their return the heavy, slow work of hauling out the meat and 

 skins commences, and as several loads are often necessary, with 

 the days very short and the snow soft, it often happens that 

 Christmas arrives before the coast is again reached, and the trip 

 for the trading post again undertaken. 



This is a short description of the life of an Eskimo living in 

 the northwestern part of the Labrador peninsula, and is typical 

 of the life of the free native in the north. Of course, the rou- 

 tine varies in different localities. On the west side of Hudson 

 bay the Kenipitus live inland, and depend entirely upon the 

 caribou for food, clothing and fuel. A large number of these 

 natives only leave their hunting grounds for short visits to the 



