420 THE CENTRAL ESKIMO. 



of food is further increased by the arrival of the walrus and the 

 ground and harp seals, which leave the country during the winter. 

 Birds are also found in abundance, and no cares afflict the natives. 



Before the sea begins to freeze over again the Eskimo return from 

 deer hunting and gather at places where there are the best chances 

 for obt.-iiniui;- fucid in the autumn. A few weeks are spent in mak- 

 ing slmrt rxnii-siiins near the scttlciiii'nts. as longer journeys would 

 be too (langiTdUs during this tciupcstuous season. The colder it 

 grows the more the natives are confined to their huts and the more 

 they become dependent on the seal. While in summer shrubs of 

 various kinds are available for conlcing jmrpnscs. in winter blubber 

 affords the only fuel for cooking ami Un- hcatiiit;- their huts. 



At last the smaller bays are suHicient 1 y tVi izeu ti > jjermit a new way 

 of pursuing the game. The hunters visit the edge of the newly formed 

 floe in order to shoot the seals, which are secured by the harpoon. 



The process of freezing goes on quickly and the floating pieces (jf 

 ice begin to consolidate. Only a few holes are now found, in places 

 where icebergs, moved by the tides or the strong currents, prevent 

 the sea from freezing. During a short time these oi:)enings form the 

 favorite hunting ground of the natives. Though the walrus and the 

 ground seal migrate to the edge of the floe as soon as the ice begins 

 to form, the common seal {Pagomys fmtidus) remains, and this is 

 always the principal food of the natives. In the autumn the fjords 

 and the narrow channels between the islands are its favorite haunt; 

 later in the season it resorts to the sea, frequently appearing at the 

 surface through breathing holes, which it scratches in the ice. As 

 winter comes on it is hunted by the Eskimo at these holes. 



The foregoing observations will serve as a preliminary to the de- 

 scription of the distribution of the tribes of Northeastern America. 

 The object of this section is to treat of the immediate relations be- 

 tween the country and its inhabitants, and a detailed account of their 

 habits will be found in subsequent ; 



According to Dr. H. Rink, the Inuit race may be divided into 

 five groups : the Greenlanders ; the central tribes of Smith Sound, 

 Baffin Land, the west shore of Hixdson Bay, the Back River region, 

 and Bn,,tliia: the Laln'adoriaiis. (ni the slmVes ..f that peninsula; the 

 Mackenzie ti'ihesof tlie ciMitral parts (if the iKH'th shui-e of America; 

 and tile trilies uf Alaska. [ am somewhat in doubt whether the cen- 

 tral tribes and those of Labrador differ enough to justify a separate 

 classification, as the natives of both shores of Hudson Strait seem 

 to be closely related. A decisive answer on the division of these 

 tribes may be postponed iintil the publication of Lucien M. Turner's 

 excellent observations and collections, which were made at Fort 

 Chimo. 



