f,S THE POINT HAHK'OW ESKIMO. 



Of land birds, tlir most familiar aiv th.-litrl.' simw hunting, amauligw 

 (lM.Ttro]ilicnax nivalis), tlic lirst bird to arrivr in the sjiring, the Lap- 

 land lontispni'. nr-ssaii'dli.n'i; (Calcarius lapiionicns), and two species of 

 -rouse, tlic willow .urousc (La.u'oims la.uopns) and tlie rock ptarmigan 

 (1;. rnjicstris). which arc both called akiVdigin. These two ])irds do not 

 migrate, but are to l)c seen all winter, as is also the well known snowy 

 owl,n'ki)ik (Nyctca nyctea). A gertalcon,ki'driguniin (Falco rnsticohis), 

 is also sometimes seen, and skins and feathers of the golden eagle, tl'n- 

 nnckpuk, "the great bird" (A(iuila chrysretos), are brought from the 

 east for charms and ornaments. The raven, tiiUn; (Cor\Tis corax sin- 

 uatus), was not seen at Point Barrow, but the natives are familiar with 

 it and have many of its skins for amulets. Several species of small 

 land birds also occur in small numlicrs, btrt the natives are not familiar 

 with them and call them all "sii'ksaxii;." • This name appears to mean 

 "wanderer" or '•tluttercr." and jivobably belongs, 1 believe, to the dif- 

 ferent species of redpolls (Acgiothus). 



Fishen. — A few species only of tisli arc found in the salt water. Of 

 these the most abundant arc the little polar cod (Boreogadus saida), 

 which is plentiful through the greater part of the year, and is often an 

 important source of food, and the capelin, anmfi'gruu (Mallotus villosus), 

 which is found in large schools close to the beach in the middle of sum- 

 mer. There arc also canulit som, ■times two s|iccics()f sctdpins, ku'naio 

 (Cottus (piadricornis and decasticnsis). and two siiecies of Lycodes, kii- 

 graunu (L. turucrii and coccineus). In the gill nets at Elson liay they 

 also catch two species of salmon (Onchorhjnichus gorbusclia and ncrka) 

 and a whitefish (Coregonus lanrcttie) in small numbers, and occasion- 

 ally a large trout (Salveliuus nialma). The last-named fish they find 

 sometimes in great numbers, near the mouth of the Colville. 



The greatest quantities of tish arc taken in the rivers. es])ecially 

 Kuaru and Kulugriia, by fishing through the ice in the winter. They 

 say there are no tish taken in Ikpikpui"!, and account for this by cxjilain- 

 ing that the former two rivers freeze down to the bottom on the shallow 

 bars inclosing deep pools in which the fish are held, while in the latter 

 the ice never touches the bottom, so that the fish are free to run down 

 to the sea. The species caught are the small Coregonus laurettae, two 

 large whitefish (V. kennicottii and nelsoni), and the burbot, tita'lin 

 (Lota maculosa). They si)cak of a fish, sulukpau'ga (which appears to 

 mean "wing-fin" and is applied in (Ireenlaiid to a species of Sebastes), 

 that is caught with the hook in Kulugrua apparently only in summer, 

 and seems from the description to be Back's grayling (Thymallus sig- 

 nifer). In the river Ku is caught a smelt, ithoa'nin (Osmerus dentex). 

 In the great lake, Ta'syukpun (see above, p. L'O). they tell of an enor- 

 mous fish "as big as a kaiak." They gave it no name, but describe it 

 as having a red belly and white flesh. One man said he had seen one 

 IS feet long, but another was more moderate, giving about 3 feet as the 



