ETHNOLOGY. 43 



special kind of game, as, for instance, bears ; then they carry a bear 

 lance, which, however, does not materially differ from the whale lance^ 

 The omicikj or woman's skin boat, is now rare among them, as they are 

 able to procure whale-boats from ships, and one boat will accommo- 

 date several families. Some of these boats still exist in the vicinity of 

 Xugumeute and farther south. It required about fifteen skins of Phoca 

 barbata to construct one, and several years 7 accumulation of drift-wood. 



It seems very probable that before the advent of whalemen they prac- 

 ticed a great many rites and ceremonies, many of which are now obso- 

 lete, or exist only in tradition. Sometimes one of these old customs will 

 be repeated, but, as a general thing, not in the presence of a white man, 

 if they can help it. 



One of these customs, which possesses a good deal of interest, is then* 

 manner of greeting a stranger. When a stranger arrives at an encamp- 

 ment, and is personally unknown to all or the major portion of the 

 inhabitants of the village, he receives an introduction after the follow- 

 ing manner: The villagers (the men) form themselves into a single 

 rank, all of them, with the exception of the stranger and the head ancoot 

 of the village, having hare-skin mittens on; they then begin a monoto- 

 nous singing chant, keeping time with their arms, swinging them in 

 front, raising the hand as high as the shoulder, with arm slightly bent, 

 and then describing a half circle by lowering the hands as far as the 

 abdomen. Finally, the ancoot and the stranger step out from the ranks 

 and face one another. Both have mittens of seal-skin. The stranger 

 complacently folds his arms over his breast, and inclines his head to 

 one side, so as to fully expose his cheek, while the ancoot deals him a 

 terrible blow on it, sometimes felling him to the ground. The two actors 

 now change parts, and it becomes the stranger's turn to strike, which, 

 he does with a vengeance; the two then kiss each other, and the cere- 

 mony is over. The stranger is now duly initiated to share in any and 

 all their customs, and due hospitality is shown him by all. Among his 

 privileges he can also choose for himself a wife during his sojourn. 



Another custom, which was once very popular, is the following : An 

 ancoot dresses himself up in the most hideous manner, having several 

 pairs of pants on, among the rest, and a horrid-looking mask of skins. 

 The men and women now range themselves in separate and opposite 

 ranks, and the ancoot takes his place between them. He then picks 

 out a man and conducts him to a woman in the opposite ranks. This 

 couple then go to the woman's hut and have a grand spree for a day 



