MURDOCH.] INSECTS PLANTS. 59 



Insects and other invertebrates. — ( )f insects, tlicy rrfo^-iiizc tlic li-ciiihlr 

 some ino.squito, kiktorii: (Oulcx spii.). Hies, liiimhlclirrs. ami naililics 

 (CEestrus tarau(li), both of wliicli tln-\ scmi mucli aiVaiil uT, and rail i .vu- 

 tyai, ami the imivcr.sal louse, ku'iunk. All Ilir laii^e winded inseits, 

 including the rare buttcrtlies and niotlis and eiane Hies, are ealled IiV 

 kilia'kica, ortCikilukidja'ksnn, winch is also Ihe name olthe \(ll(i\\ \>»\>\)y 

 (Papaver nudicaule). We were told thai ■■\t\ and liy" the |io|i|iies 

 would turn into "little birds" and lly nway. which led us to sii]i|iose 

 that there was some yellow butteitiy which we shonid lind almndaiit 

 in the later summer, but we saw none eithei- season. A small spider is 

 sometimes fouud in the Eskimo houses, and is called [lidrairu'i i;. "the 

 little braider." They pay but little attention to other invertebrates. 

 but are familiar with worms, kupidro, a spei'iesof cral>. kinan'n;, (llyas 

 latifrons), and the little branchipus, iritu'ini (txreeulandie issiiorak, 

 "the little one with big eyes"), of the fi-esh water-pools. Cockles (I'.uc- 

 cinum, etc.) are called siu'tigo {Gr. siuterok, from siiit, ear), and (lams 

 have a name which we failed to obtain. Jellytish are called iiiiaru'n:. 

 "like bags." They say the " Kfiiimudlin " eat them I 



Few plants that are of any service to man grow in this region. The 

 willows, fi'kpik, of various species, which iumi the coast arc nothing 

 but creeping vines, aiv sometimes used as tiu'l. espei'ially along the 

 rivers, where they grow into .shrubs .5 or (i feet high. Their catkins are 

 used for tinder and the moss, mu'nik, furnishes wicks for the lamps. 

 We could find no Unit that could be eaten. A cranberry (N'accinium 

 Vitis-idjEa) occurs, but produced no fruit either season. No use is made 

 of the different species of grass, which are especially luxuriant around the 

 houses at ITtkiavwiii, where the ground is richly manured with various 

 sorts of refuse,' tlnrngli the spei-ies of mosses and lichens furnish the rein- 

 deer with food easily reache.l in the winter through the light covering 



of snow. Little attention is paid to the numerous, and s 'times 



showy, flowering plants. We learned but two names ot tlowers. the 

 one mentioned above, tukilu'kica, tukilukid.ja'ksiui, which seemed to be 

 api)lied to all striking yellow or white flowers, such as Papaver, Itanun 

 cuius, and Draba, and mai'suu, the bright pink Pedicularis. All the 

 wood used in this region, except the ready-made wooden ware and the 

 willow i.oles obtained from the Nunatailmiuu, comes from the drift on 

 the beach. Most of this on the beach west of Point Barrow a|ipears 

 to come from the southwest, as the prevailing <-uncnt along this shore 

 is to the northeast, and may be deriveil from the large rivers llowiiig 

 into Kotzebue Sound, since it shows signs of having been long in the 

 water. The .Iriftwood, which is reported to be abundant east of Point 

 Barrow, probably comes from the great rivers emptyiugMnto the Arctic 



' ■• Tlw (iil h.lii -icted a.< a manure on the soil, and proiim.ed a luxuriant crop of sraas tr..m 1 to -J IV-t-t 

 high •• (Village at'point Atkinson, east of the Mackenzie). Riehanbon Searching Exp..vol. I, p. 204. 



