316 THE HUDSON BAY ESKIMO. 



The people surround the animals, and at a given signal shout and 

 create the greatest din, to conftxse the creatures, which plunge toward 

 the place where the snares are set. One or two hunters concealed in 

 that locality appear suddenly and further confuse the now panic- 

 stricken animals, which I'ush in every direction before their foes. They 

 become immeshed in the nooses and are held until their throats are cut 

 or they are choked by the cord. 



It frequently happens that two deer will be caught in a single snare. 

 The Indians assert that it is a most ludicrous sight to witness two 

 sturdy bucks caught by the antlers in a single snare. They appear to 

 accuse each other of the misfortune, and struggle terribly to free them- 

 selves. In the animals which are strangled by the noose the congested 

 blood distends the veins and renders the flesh very dark. 



Previous to the general use of guns the snaring method was of greater 

 importance than at the present day. Even now the Indian does not 

 lose any opportunity of employing the snare. 



Some of the snares are made of tanned skin, which is softer and is 

 often ornamented with strands of beads attached to the cud of the line. 

 Some of them are colored red, ^vith a mixture of vermilion and hematite 

 earths, thinned with water. 



I have already described the methods of hunting the reindeer and of 

 capturing small game. 



The beaver is not plentiful in the Ungava district, and not until the 

 headwaters of the Koksoak and the lakes near the source of George's 

 river are reached are they to be found at all, excepting occasional 

 stragglers. 



The Indians have few of the skins of this animal to sell at the trading- 

 post of Fort Chimo. 



The methods of capture differ in some respects from those elsewhere 

 employed. 



The habits of the beaver are so well known that a statement of their 

 manner of life is unnecessary. 



The food supply north of latitude 55° is so limited in quality and 

 quantity that the scarcity of the animals is due entirely to the absence 

 of the food necessary for their existence. 



When the dams and structures made by the beaver are discovered 

 the people devise means to capture it. 



If it is convenient to get at the holes leading to the structure, which 

 are always under water so deep that it will not freeze to the bottom, 

 they are closed with a stick of wood and an opening made in the top of 

 the hut. The animal is then caught by the hind legs or tail and lifted 

 out. It seldom attempts to defend itself at first. As soon as the hunter 

 can do so he jerks the animal out, and with a blow on its head kills it. 

 If he should pause for an instant from the time the hand is put on the 



