MURDOCH. ] HUNTING—REINDEER. 267 
stopping for the night with tolerable regularity at certain stations where 
the first party that travels over the trail build snow huts, which are 
used by those who follow them. At the rivers they are scattered in 
small camps of four or five families, about a day’s journey apart. As 
well as we could learn these camps are in regularly established places, 
where the same people return every year, if they hunt at all. It even 
seemed as if these localities were considered the property of certain 
influential families, who could allow any others they pleased to join 
their parties.’ It is certain, at all events, that the people of Utkiavwin 
did not hunt on the Ikpikpain with the men of Nuwik. At this season 
they live entirely in snow huts, often excavated in the deep drifts under 
the river bluffs, and the men hunt deer while the women, as before, 
catch fish in Kuara and Kulugrua. None are taken in Ikpikptin. (See 
above, p. 58.) 
Deer are generally very plentiful at this season, though sometimes, as 
happened in February, 1883, there comes a warm southerly wind which 
makes them all retreat farther inland for a few days. They are gener- 
ally hunted by chasing them on snowshoes, in the manner already de- 
scribed, but with much better chances of success, since when a 1umber 
of hunters are out in the same region the deer are kept moving, so that 
a herd started by one hunter is very apt to run within gunshot of an- 
other. The natives have generally very good success in this spring 
hunt. Two men who were hunting on shares for the station killed wp- 
ward of ninety reindeer in the season of 1883. <A great deal of the meat 
is, of course, consumed on the spot, but a good many deer are brought 
home frozen. They are skinned and brought home whole, only the 
heads and legs being cut off. The latter are disjointed at the knee and 
elbow. These frozen carcasses are usually cut up with a saw for cooking. 
At this season the does are pregnant, and many good-sized fetuses are 
brought home frozen. We were told that these were excellent food, 
though we never saw themeaten. For the first two or three days after 
the return of the deer hunters to the village all the little boys are play- 
ing with these fetuses, which they set up as targets for their blunt 
arrows. 
Before starting for the deer hunt the hunters generally take the moy- 
able property which they do not mean to carry with them out of the 
house and bury it in the snow for safe keeping, apparently thinking that 
while a dishonest person might help himself to small articles left around 
the house, he could hardly go to work and dig up a cache without at- 
tracting the attention of the neighbors. If both families from a house 
go deer hunting, they either close it up entirely or else get some family 
who have no house of their own to take care of it during their absence. 
During the season, small parties, traveling light, with very little bag- 
gage, make flying trips to the village, usually to get a fresh supply of 
‘Dr. Richardson believes that the hunting grounds of families are kept sacred among the Eskimo. 
Searching Expedition, vol. 1, pp. 244,351. See, also, the same author's paper, New’Philosophical Jour- 
nal, vol. 52, p. 323. 
