206 THE HUDSON HAY ESKIMO. 



length is thus marked and the skin folded over so as to have it doubled. 

 The knife used in cutting is shaped like the round knife used by the 

 harness-maker or shoemaker. 



There is in our collection a wooden model of this form of knife (No. 

 3022), which nowadays always has a blade of metal. Formerly slate, 

 tiiut, or ivory was used for these blades. 



The instrument is always pushed by the person using it. The eye 

 alone guides the knife, except on work for a white man, and then greater 

 care is exercised and marks employed indicating the required size. 

 This round knife is called ulo. 



Another imi^ortaut duty of the women is taking care of the family 

 boots. When a pair of boots has been worn for some time, during a 

 few hours in warm weather they absorb moisture and become nearly 

 half an inch thick on the soles. When taken off they must be turned 

 inside out and dried, then chewed and scraped by some old woman, 

 who is only too glad to have the work for the two or three biscuit she 

 may receive as pay. Any leak or hole is stitched, and when the sole 

 has holes worn through it, it is patched by sewing a piece on the under 

 side. The thread used in sewing the boots is selected from the best 

 strips of sinew from the reindeer or seal. 



Some women excel in boot-making, and at some seasons do nothing 

 but make boots, while the others in return prepare the other garments- 

 When the tune comes in spring for making sealskin clothes, the women 

 must not sew on any piece of deerskin which has not yet been sewed, 

 lest the seals take offense and desert the locality which has been selected 

 for the spring seal hunt, to which all the people look forward with long- 

 ing, that they may obtain a supply of food different from that which 

 they have had during the long winter months. As there can be no 

 harm in killing a deer at this season, the flesh may be used, but the 

 skin must be cast away. 



As before stated, the entire family accompany the expeditions ; and 

 as the females are often the more numerous portion of the population, 

 they row the umiak at their leisure, now and then stopping to have a 

 few hours' run on shore and again embarking. While thus journey- 

 ing they are at times a sleepy crowd, until something ahead attracts 

 attention ; then all become animated, piu'suing the object, if it be a half- 

 fledged bird, until it is captui-ed. Great amusement is thus afforded 

 for the time, after which they relapse until some excitement again 

 arouses them fi'om their apparent lethargy. At the camp the men go 

 in quest of larger game, leaving the women and children, who search 

 the shore for any living creatui-e they may find, destroying all that 

 comes in their way. Smoking, eating, and sleeping occupy them until 

 they arrive at a locality where food is abundant. There they earnestly 

 strive to slay all that comes within reach, and thus often obtain much 

 more than they require, and the remainder is left to putrefy on the 

 rocks. The women do the skinning of the seals and birds obtained on 



