BOAS.I TRADE AND INTERCOURSE. 4^7 



Bay of Nugumiut was visited by the whalers removals of members 

 of this tribe became less fi-equent. 



After the Eskimo had become acijuainted with the advantages of 

 firearms the natives of Davis Strait also began to trade bearskins for 

 guns and ammunition, having learned how highly they Avere prized 

 in Cumberland Sound. Besides, tliry rcci-ivcd. in cxclian^e for seals 

 and wall-US blubber put up for tln' wlialcis. tdliacin. pijies. coffee, 

 lx)xes, &c. In a similar way the Saumingmiut l,);u-ter with the 

 whalers of Cumberland Sound, whom they visit during the winter, 

 carrying heavy loads of bearskins to the stations. 



A brief sketch of the way in which the whaling and the trade with 

 the E.skimo in Cumberland Sound are carried on may be of interest 

 at this jioint. Two of the whaling stations are still kept up. They 

 are situated on Qeqerten, the settlement of the Kingnaitmiut. When 

 the Eskimo who have spent the summer inland return at the begin- 

 ning of October they eagerly offer their services at the stations, for 

 they receive in payment for a half year's work a gun, a harmonium 

 or something of that nature, and a ration of provisions for their 

 families, with tobacco every week. Every Saturday the women 

 come into the house of the station, at the blowing of the horn, to re- 

 ceive their bread, coffee, sirup, and the precious tobacco. In return 

 the Eskimo is expected to deliver in the kitchen of the station a 

 piece of every seal he catches. 



The time for the fall fishing commences as soon as the ice begins 

 to form. If the weather, which is generally stormy, permits it, the 

 boats leave the harbor to look out for the whales which pass along 

 the east shore of the sound toward the north. During the last few 

 years the catch has been very unisrofitable, only a few whales ha\-- 

 ing been seen. As the ice forms quickly the boats must be brought 

 back about the end of October or the beginning of November. Since 

 the whale fishery has become unprofitable the stations have followed 

 the business of collecting seal blubber and skins, which they buy 

 from the Eskimo. (See Appendix, Note 1.) 



A lively traffic springs up as soon as the ice becomes strong enough 

 to allow sledges to pass from shore to shore. The sledges of the sta- 

 tions are sent from one settlement to another to exchange tobacco, 

 matches, coffee, bread, &c. for skins and the spare blubber which 

 the Eskimo have carefully saved up. On the other hand, those na- 

 tives who i-equire useful articles, such as cooking ^jots, lamps, &c., 

 collect quantities of hides and blubber and go to Qeqerten to supply 

 their wants. The winter passes qi;ickly amid the .stir of business, 

 till everything comes to a stop at the end of March, when the young 

 sealing season fairly opens. 



When the sun has reached such a height that the snow begins 

 to melt in favored spots, a new life begins at the stations. The skins 

 w-hich have been collected in the winter and become frozen are 



