422 THE CENTRAL ESKIMO. 



can whaling station which was established in Akuliaq a few years ago 

 may have had some influence upon the distribution and the life of 

 these tribes. The greater importance of Akuliaq, however, cannot be 

 ascribed to the presence of the whalers alone, as a few harbors near 

 Sikosuilaq are also frequently visited by them. The whalers report 

 that there are about fifty inhabitants in Sikosuilaq, about two hun- 

 dred in Akuliaq, and farther east fifty more. Thus the population of 

 the north shore of Hudson Strait probably amounts to three hundred 

 in all. 



The Qaumauangmiut ai'e probably closely related to the Nugumiut 

 of Frobisher Bay. 



The Nugumiut. — lean give a somewhat more detailed description 

 of this tribe, among the families of which Hall passed the winters 

 of 18C0-'G1 and 1861-'62 (Hall I). Unfortunately, he does not give 

 any coherent account of their life, only meager information being 

 furnished in the record of his journeys. Besides, generalizations 

 cannot be made from his two years' experience. My owni observa- 

 tions in Cumberland Sound may serve as a complement to those of 

 Hall. As he gives only a few native names of places, it is sometimes 

 difficult to ascertain the exact jiosition of the localities to which he 

 alludes. 



According to Hall and my own inquiries four places are inhaliited 

 by this tribe almost every winter: Tornait (Jones Cape of Hall), alxnit 

 thirty-five miles above Bear Sound, in Frobisher Bay; Operdniving 

 and Tuarpukdjuaq, in Countess of Warwick Sound; Nugumiut, in 

 (Cyrus W.) Field Bay; and Ukadliq, in (Cornell) Grinnell Bay. As 

 these bays open into Davis Strait the formation of the ice is retarded 

 and its extent diminished, and consequently some peculiarities in the 

 arrangement of the life of the Eskimo are observed here. The only 

 occupation of the Nugumiut and the inhabitants of Ukadliq is sealing 

 with the harpoon on the floe of the inner parts of the bay. Near Ukad- 

 liq the tide holes east and west of Allen Island abound with seals. In 

 winter, when the seals take to the open ice, the village of this group 

 of families is established near Roger's Island, where the floe of the 

 bay forms the hunting ground of the natives. 



During the autumn the Nugumiut stay in Field Bay. The women 

 are then busy preparing the deerskins; for, on account of the re- 

 quirements of their religion, the walrus hunt cannot be begun imtil 

 the deerskins which were taken in summer have been worked up for 

 use. As soon as this is done they travel across Bayard Taylor Pass 

 (so called by Hall) to Frobisher Bay, and in the latter half of De- 

 cember or in the beginning of January settle on Operdniving or on 

 Tuarpukdjuaq in company with the natives who stay here during 

 the fall. In Cumberland Sound I learned that this changing of the 

 habitations takes place almost regularly and that sometimes the set- 

 tlement is moved to Aqbirsiarbing (Cape True) if the bay is frozen 



