172 Innuit Customs. [May, ises. 



kept c'lyintj out iu Ler native vernacular for her competitors not to ^o too fast. 

 Though this old petulant creature's commands are usually obeyed, they were not 

 regarded this time, for the race proved a hot one, though the surroundings were 

 nothing but heavy ice, hard snow, and very cold air. As fast as the women came 

 up to the seal which the mother was dragging, they fell upon it and slashed away 

 right and left with their ood-loos, till the poor defunct was completely haggled into 

 as many pieces as there were hagglers.* Old Oolc-bar-loo, having arrived late, 

 only got a small portion of the seal — the liver, heart, and lights. Too-koo-li-too in 

 the contest succeeded iu gettuig a hind quarter, consisting of meat, blubber, skin, 

 and Hipper. Some women got more and others less, though they left what their 

 customs required — the head, neck, fore flippers, and some of theblubber and meat, — 

 for embellishing the ujloo where the youthful victor resides. What remained was 

 dragged to the igloo by the joyous mother, and thus ended the public celebration. 



Tlie first seal caught in open water and the first one taken by 

 watching over an ice-hole are occasions for like demonstrations of joy, 

 in which all usually share, except those who have been afflicted by 

 death in their families during the year. 



The tracks of the reindeer were now frequently seen. Ebierbing 

 failed in securing some bucks through his snow-blindness ; in a few 

 days, liowever, he was well, and, with his usual skill, caught two seals, 

 of which he gave pieces to the difi^erent families and piled up the rest 

 on the floor of Hall's kotn-mong, making it look like a slaughter-house. 



On the 12th, (.ne of Ar-moii's wives, who had given birth to a 

 child r»n tlie 5th, was now permitted by the Innuit customs to come 

 again from lier separate ifjloo into the family hut ; not, however, by 

 the common passage-way, but, at the decision of Old Mother Ook-har- 



' Hall does not give the dimensioDB of the seals captured. It may be of interest to note the 

 meaaurements given hy Captain Lyon in his narrative of a voyage to the same region. The num- 

 ber of seals daily seen by his officers was large, and their boldness made them an easy prey. Four 

 were killed one evening, two of which (the J'hoca Barbaia, or bearded seal,) weighed from eight to 

 nine hundn-dweiglit. The length of one irom nose to insertion of the tail was 8 feet ; the length 

 of Ihe fore llippc;r, 10 inclies; of liind ilipper, 1 foot ^ inches ; the circumference of the belly was 

 7 feet; the circumference of the head behind the ears, 2 feet T) inches; the circumference of the 

 nose, ) ffiot 1 inches. 



