374 'rill'- POINT HARliOW ESKIMO. 



]{av. He iiiul Capt. I Icreudeeii weut over to TTtkiavwIii by special invi- 

 tation on Dweniber 3, ISSl, and wdtnessed one scene of the " wood," or 

 " tree dance." Many \isitors were present frojn Nuwnk on the occasion 

 ofthis dance, which Listed for two days and nights. On arriving at 

 the village they found a crowd of ujiwards of 200 people assembled 

 round the entrance of tiie kn'dyigi. In front of the entrance were 

 drawn up in line five men and two women dancing to the music of a 

 drum and two singers. 



They were all diessed in new deerskin clotlies, with the snow-white 

 Ih'sh side turned out, and wore .(Hiical d;ni.-e caps like that already 

 described. Tliey kept tiTiie to the iiiiisic with their feet, moving their 

 hollies to ri.uht and left with spasnn.dic Jerks. To (piote from Lieut. 

 Itay's MS. notes: 



I'.aili (laiiiir in liiiii N|irMii;; t(i thi- frniit :iii<l ill extravagant gestures went through 

 Mil- nu'tioiis cil' killiiii; s.'al, wiilnis. ;inil ilrcr, and the pursuit of the whale. Each, 

 as hi- liiiislicil. luul. Ills placi- ill the liiH', was cheered hy the crowd, then a<l(le(l his 



Alter all had finished as many as could get in entered the "dance 

 house." At one end of tliis a small space was partitioned off with a 

 pie<e of an old sail, and from the roof in the middle hung an object in- 

 tended to represent a tice. This was made of two oblong boxes about 

 (i inches in diameter, open at both ends, the lower about 2J feet long 

 and the upi)er about li, hinged together with seal thong. At one side 

 hung a woirs skull, and on the other a dried raven. Two performers 

 sat in the middle of the tloor with their legs extended (me between the 

 other's legs, with his nose touching the tree. A row of old men beat 

 dinms and sang, while the performers chanted a mimotcmous song, in 

 which could 1)(! heaid the words "rum, tobacco, seal, deer, and 



Presently the bottom of the curtain was lifted and (mt crawled five 

 men on all fours, wearing on their heads the stuffed skins of the heads 

 of ditVerent animals— the wolf, liear, fox, lynx, and dog. They swung 

 their heads from side to side in unison, keeping time to the music, 

 uttering :i low growl at each swing and shaking their rattle mittens. 

 This the\- kept u|) for fifteen or twenty minutes, while the chant still 

 wt'ut on, and the chief performer, with excited gestures, embraced the 

 tiee and rubbed his nose against it from time to time. At last all 

 "si)rang to their feet with a howl, and ended the dance with wild ges- 

 tures." Similar scenes, with new performers, which our party did 

 not stay to witness, succeeded this, with feasting in the different 

 houses. 



(;apt. Ilerendeen also witnessed a, small dance, lasting only one even- 

 ing, whicli bore a ciuious resemblance to some of the so-called "favor 

 figures" performed in the "German cotillon" of civilized dancers. This 

 kind of dance was performed purely for pleasure, and had nothing re- 



