BULL. 30] 



NASCAPEE 



31 



country in early times Its^ the Iroquois. 

 They assert that originally they lived in 

 a region to the w., n. of a great river (sup- 

 posed to be the HtLllwrence) and toward 

 the E. lay an enormous body of water 

 (beheved to be Hudson bay). When 

 they reached the Ungava region their 

 only neighbors were Eskimo, who occu- 

 pied the coast strip and with whom they 

 became involved in war, which continued 

 until after the arrival of the whites. The 

 two peoples are now on terms of intin>acy. 

 The r^ascapee do not have the endurance 

 of their Eskimo neighbors against fatigue 

 and hunger, although equally able to 

 withstand the rigors of their harsh cli- 

 mate. The children are obedient; disre- 

 spect toward their elders is unknown, and 

 in their dealings one with another there 

 is no quarreling. The Nascapee are gen- 

 erally healthy; their prevailing diseases 

 are of the lungs and bowels^the former 

 resulting from exposure to the extremes 

 of wet and cold and their insanitary 

 houses; the latter due to their gluttony 

 after long fasting from scarcity of food. 

 Those who go to the coast to reside, as 

 many have in recent years, appear to be 

 more subject to diseases than those in the 

 interior. INIedical treatment consists of 

 shamanistic incantations and the use of 

 powders and liniments, both native and 

 those procured from traders. Mar- 

 riage is effected without ceremony and 

 is conditioned on the consent of the 

 parents of the }'oung woman and the 

 abilitj^ of the prospective husband to 

 support a wife; after marriage the bond 

 may be severed by either party on slight 

 provocation. Polygamy is common, the 

 number of wives a man may have being 

 limited only by his means of support- 

 ing them. The sexual relations of the 

 Nascapee are very loose; but their im- 

 morality is confined to their own people. 

 The division of labor is similar to that 

 among most tribes: the women perform 

 all domestic work, including the trans- 

 portation of game, fetching the fuel, 

 erecting the tipis, hauling the sleds when 

 traveling, etc. ; the men are the providers. 

 Girls reach puljcrtj^ at 14 or 15 years, and 

 are taken as wives at even an earlier age. 

 Mothers usuallj^ do not bear more than 4 

 children; twins are rare. 



The Nascapee suspend the bodies of 

 their dead from branches of trees if the 

 ground be much frozen, and endeavor to 

 return when the weather is warm to bury 

 them. Interment, however, has been 

 practised only since the advent of mis- 

 sionaries. A man of distinction is often 

 buried at once, after a fire has been built 

 in a tipi to thaw the earth. They have 

 no horror for the dead, having been 

 known, it is said, to rob Eskimo corpses 

 of their clothing and accompanying im- 

 plements. 



Like other Indians the Nascapee be- 

 lieve that every object, animate or inani- 

 mate, is possessed of a form of spirit 

 which, in order that it may perform its 

 services for the welfare of the people, 

 <nust be propitiated Mith acceptable offer- 

 ings. The medicine-men are supposed to 

 be in direct contact with all forms of 

 spirits, and are consulted when it is de- 

 sired to overcome their l)aneful influence 

 by means of the shaman's art. 



The subsistence of the Nascapee is 

 gained by the chase, which is engaged in 

 chiefly during the winter. In the spring 

 men, women, and children repair to the 

 trading posts, chiefly Ft Chimo, where 

 they trade furs, ptarmigan feathers, etc., 

 for the articles and products of civiliza- 

 tion. The reindeer forms the chief source 

 of their food and clothing, although fish, 

 ptarmigan, ducks, geese, hares, rabbits, 

 porcupines, beaver, and, in stress of hun- 

 ger, an ocx-asional lynx, are also eaten ; the 

 eggsof wild fowl are consumed in enormous 

 quantities and in all stages of incubation. 

 Reindeer are speared from canoes while 

 crossing a stream, or snared or shot from 

 ambush while passing through a narrow 

 defile, or, in winter, are driven into a 

 snowbank and speared. In these slaugh- 

 terings an incredible number of carcasses 

 and skins are left to decay. Wolverenes, 

 wolves, and foxes are never eaten. The 

 flesh of game animals is dried, j)Ounded, 

 made into pemmican, and stored in bas- 

 kets and bags for future use. 



The apparel of the Nascapee is quite 

 distinct for the two sexes; the clothing 

 varies also with the season, as the ex- 

 tremes of climate a re very great. That of 

 the men consists of tanned reindeer coat, 

 breeches, leggings, moccasins, gloves or 

 mittens, and cap or headdress. Seams 

 are sewed with sinew, and all the gar- 

 ments except the leggings, which are 

 mostly hidden by the long coat, are orna- 

 mented with extravagant painted designs. 

 Moccasins are rarely ornamented, except 

 with beads or with strips of colored cloth. 

 Beaded head-bands are used for bearing 

 burdens, especially for carrying canoes 

 when making portages. In winter the 

 men wear the coat with the fur side in- 

 ward and with a hood attached. In sum- 

 mer the women wear calico dresses, thin 

 shawls obtained through trade, and moc- 

 casins; in winter their ajiparel consists 

 of a reindeer skin robe, a sleeveless gown 

 reaching a little below the knees, often 

 highly ornamented with painted designs, 

 beadwork, and fringe; and blanket 

 shawl, shoulder cape, leggings, mocca- 

 sins, and cap. 



The dwellings, for both winter and 

 summer, are tents or tipis of reindeer 

 skins sewed together, and measuring 10 

 to 18 ft at the base and 10 to 14 ft high. 

 The floor is carpeted with young spruce 



