268 CRUISE OF THE NEPTUNE 



the natives, and any whales caught during the ship's absence 

 are supposed to belong to the ship furnishing the boats. 



The natives and their families and dogs are taken on board 

 the schooner and conveyed to the harbour where it is proposed 

 to spend the winter. About seventy persons of this tribe were 

 at Fullerton during the winter of 1903-04, and twice a day 

 received a meal of biscuit and coffee on the ship. These people 

 were fed in the cabin after the officers, and two or three extra 

 tables were required to accommodate all, so that the meal con- 

 tinued for nearly two hours, and the atmosphere of the cabin 

 was anything but sweet. ~No regular wages are paid to the 

 natives either during the winter when hunting, or when in the 

 boats in the summer, but they are given such articles as the cap- 

 tain thinks they should have or deserve, everything being left 

 to his judgment or caprice. On the whole they are fairly well 

 treated, and although they only get a very small percentage of 

 their catch, still the presence of the whaler ensures them from 

 starvation, and provides them with boats, guns and ammunition, 

 all of which would otherwise be difficult or impossible to obtain. 



While with the ship the entire hunt of the natives is supposed 

 to belong to the ship, and no definite payment is made for 

 whales or fur taken during that period. 



During past years a goodly number of boats have been left to 

 the natives by the American whalers, and at the present time 

 the Eskimos scattered from Chesterfield inlet to Repulse bay 

 must have upwards of twenty serviceable boats. The Aivilliks 

 have for so long become possessed of boats in this manner, that 

 they have lost the art of building kyaks, and none of the 

 younger men know anything about handling these craft. 



Very little use is made of the ship in the catching of whales, 

 and it usually only serves as a convenient base of supply, or as 

 a means of transport from one locality to another. 



