wcRDOCH.) SOCIAL srix'KorMlINGS OTIIKK KSKlMo, 4'.l 



tions with the eiistciii in'oph' are now pcrtcctly tVicudly. We hi^anl 

 uothing of the preeautionary measures descril)e(l by Di-. Siiii|>soii.' ami 

 the womeu talked freiiueiitly of tlieir tiadiiiu witli Ilie KrifiiuiVdhri and 

 even with the Kupftuminii.- We did imt learn detinitely wliellier ihey 

 met the latter at Barter Point or whetiier tliey went still lartlier east. 



Some of the Point Barrow i)artiesdo not noeast of the (dUille. The 

 articles of trade have changed somewhat in tiie last .!(> years, from the 

 fact that the western natives can now buy directly from the whalers iron 

 articles, arms, and ammunition, beads, tobaeid. etc. 'flie Nnnatafnninn 

 now .sell chiefly furs, deerskins, an<l clothing ready made tVom them, 

 woodenware (buckets and tubs), willow poles for setting nets, and some 

 times fos.sil ivory. The double-edged Siberian knives are no longei- in 

 the market and appear to be going out of fashion, though a few of them 

 are still in use. Eeady-made stone articles, like tiie whetstones men- 

 tioned by Dr. Siniitson,-^ are rarely, if ever, in the market. We did not 

 hear of the purchase of stone lamps from the eastern natives, 'f ins is 

 probably due to a cessation of the demand for them at Point Harrow, 

 owing to the tailing off in the population. 



The Kufiniu'dlTri no longer furnish guns and amnurnition. as the west- 

 eirn natives in-efer the l)reech-loading arms they obtain from the whalers 

 to the flintlock guns sold by the Hudson Pay ( 'omjiany. The trade with 

 these people seems to l)e almost entirely for furs and skins, notably 

 black and red fox skins and wolverine skins. Wkins of the narw hal or 

 beluga are no longer mentioned as important articles of tra<le. 



In return for the.se things the western natives give sealskins, etc., 

 especially oil, as formerly, though 1 believe that ver\- littl.-. if an\ , whale- 

 bone is now <-arried east, since the natives prefer to save it for trading 

 with tlie ships in the hoi)e of getting h(iuor, or arms and amiinuiition, 

 and various articles of American manufacture, beads, kettles, etc. I was 

 told by an intelligent native .,f I'tkiavwin that brass kettles were highly 

 prized by the Kupunminn. and that a large one would bring three wolver- 

 ine skins,-" three black fo\skin>. or live reil ones. ( )ne woman was an.Kious 

 to get all th.> empty tin cans si,e conld, saying that she could sell them to 

 the Kuunui'dlin for a foxskin apic.-c. We were told that the eastern na- 

 tives were glad to buy gun tlints and bright-colored handkerchiefs, and 

 that the Nuuatannnun wanted blankets and i)laying-cards. 



[,uU>ui.s.—They informed us that east of the Colville they sometimes 

 met ••Itku'.mr.,"i.eoph. with wh.nn they could not converse, but who 

 were frien.llv and tra.led with them, buying oil tor fox skn.s. They 

 were .said to live bacdc of the coast between the Colville and the .Mack.-n- 

 zie, ami were described as wearing no labrets, but rings in then- ears ami 

 noses. Thev wear their hair long, do not tonsure the crown, and -.m- 

 dressed in jiickets of skin with the hair removed, witho ut h.)ods, and 



'Op. lit., p. 265. 



'In the Plovers time they were left :i ila.v'»,ii)iirueT in the reiir. 



»0p. cit., p. 266. „„„,„ri, 11 itivoq 



'T. Simps,.., S.-.W iron kettle., .-.t Can„l.-„ P..,y which ha.l bee,, p,.reh„se,l Irom the we.teru I,.it,^09 



