428 THE CENTRAL ESKIMO. 



their families near Qairoliktiiug and descended with their kayaks to 

 Nugumiiit in order to borrow some boats in which they co\ild bring 

 their families to the settlements. On the way they were detained 

 by stormy weather, and meanwhile the families were starved and re- 

 sorted to cannibalism. One woman especially, by the name of Me- 

 gaujang, who ate all her children, was always mentioned with horror. 



Generally food is plentiful between the months of April and Octo- 

 ber and an ample supply may be secured without extraordinary ex- 

 ertion. During the winter sealing is more diflScult, but sufficiently 

 successful to prevent any want, except in the case of continuous bad 

 weather. 



I shall now proceed to a description of the single settlements of 

 Cumberland Sound. Separated from the Nugumiut by a long and 

 uninhabited stretch of land we find the settlement of Naujateling, 

 the most southern one of the Talirpingmiut. In the fall the natives 

 erect their huts on the mainland or on an island near it, as the seal, 

 at this season, resort to the narrow channels and to the fjords. Be- 

 sides, the shelter which is afforded by the islands against the frequent 

 gales is an important consideration, and in these protected waters the 

 natives can manage their frail boats, which would not live for a 

 moment in the tempestuous open sea. Later in the season the ice 

 consolidates in the shelter of the islands, while beyond the bays and 

 channels drifting floes fill the sea. 



After the consolidation of the pack ice the natives move their huts 

 to the sea. They leave Naujateling about December and move to 

 Umanaqtuaq. I do not know exactly where they live if the water 

 reaches that island. Should this happen, the fioe between Qa^o- 

 dluin, Umanaqtuaq, and Idjorituaqtuin would offer a productive 

 hunting ground. 



About the middle of March the season for hunting the young seal 

 opens. The hunt is prosecuted with much energy over the entire 

 extent of Cumberland Sound, because the white coat of the young 

 animal is of prime importance for the inner garments. The preg- 

 nant females take to the rough ice, where deep snowbanks have been 

 formed by the winter gales, and dig large excavations, in which par- 

 turition takes place. Another favorite place is the ground ice on 

 gradually declining shores, where large caves are found between the 

 broken pieces of ice. Therefore the fjords and islands which offer a 

 long coast line furnish a good hunting ground, and in the latter part 

 of March and in April the Eskimo either \'isit these regions or the 

 floes of rough ice. At such times they sometimes live for a long 

 period on the ice of the open sea in order to be nearer to their hunting 

 ground. As the success of the hunt depends on the extent of ice 

 visited, the Eskimo scatter over a large area, almost every one trav- 

 eling over a separate tract. 



At this time the winter settlements are almost totally broken up. 



