300 THE HUDSON BAY ESKIMO. 



are no regular hours for partaking of their meals, as each person eats 

 when convenient. The food is taken directly from the pot or kettle, 

 and each one helps himself. Forks are not used, and the food is divided 

 with a knife or torn with the lingers. 



SWEAT HOUSES. 



The Nenenot are in the habit of taking steam baths, for which pur- 

 po.se they use a sudatory or sweat house, constructed as follows: A 

 number of flexible poles of small size, usually willow or alder, which 

 grow to sufficient size along the banks of the streams, are bent to form 

 a hemispherical or dome-shaped structure, which is covered with tent 

 skins. A sandy locality is selected or one free from snow in winter, 

 and a fierce fire is built. When it is well under way a number of stones 

 are thrown into the fire to heat. When the heat is sufficient the fire is 

 removed and the structure is quickly erected over the hot stones and 

 some one from the outside fastens down the edges of the tenting with 

 stones to prevent the loss of heat. A kettle of water previously placed 

 within the bath house is irsed to pour over the stones, when heat 

 rises to a sirffocating degree and produces the desired perspiration. 

 Water is not used to bathe in, though sometimes a slight quantity is 

 poured upon the head only. The bather remains within the hut until 

 the heat has nearly exhausted him. 



These baths are frequently taken, and often when he has just started 

 on a, journey the head of the family will be seized with a desire to have 

 a bath. Everything must await this operation before the journey is 

 resiuned. 



An amusing incident occurred at Fort Chimo in the spring of 1882. 

 That season the reindeer were extremely numerous at that place, as they 

 were crossing to go to the northeast to drop the fawns. Often when 

 the herds or bands were panic stricken they rushed among the Indian 

 tents, the houses of the station, and, in fact, everywhere, with yelping 

 dogs and screaming women and children at their heels. An old man 

 and wife were in the sweat house at a time when a very large drove of 

 the deer, in their frantic endeavors to escape their pursuers, headed 

 directly for the bath. Some one screamed to the occupants to look out 

 for the deer. The man and wife made their exit just as a score or more 

 of the animals reached the spot. The man tore up the tenting of the 

 bath house and whirled it in the air, while the old wonnin cut the most 

 astonishing antics. The whole population witnessed the occurrence 

 and did not fail to help increase the tumult. Signs of former sudatories 

 are quite common along the jjaths where the Indians have traveled fop 

 many years. 



HOUSEHOLD UTENSILS, ETC. 



Each household is supplied with sundry wooden vessels of various 

 sizes (Fig. 115) which serve for buckets for holding water and for drink- 



