MURDOCH. ] WHALING. 273 
family, as the crews do not enter on their duties till the whaling actually 
commences. The crews are regularly organized for the season, and are 
made up during the winter and early spring. They consist of eight or 
ten persons to each boat, including the captain, who is always the 
owner of the boat, and sits in the stern and steers, using a larger pad- 
dle than the rest, and the harpooner, who occupies the bow. When a 
bombgun is carried it is intrusted to a third man, who sits in the 
waist of the boat, and whose duty it is to shoot the whale whenever he 
sees a favorable opportunity, whether it has been harpooned or not. 
The rest are simply paddlers. 
When used for whaling, the umiak is propelled by paddles alone, 
sails and oars never being even taken on board. Men are preferred for 
the whaling crews when enough can be secured, otherwise the vacancies 
are filled by women, who make efficient paddlers. Some aunialiks hire 
their crews, paying them a stipulated price in tobacco and other arti- 
cles, and providing them with food during the season. Others ship 
men on shares. We did not learn the exact proportions of these shares 
in any case. They appear to concern the whalebone alone, as all seem 
to be entitled to as much of the flesh and blubber as they can cut off 
in the general scramble. At this season exploring parties are out every 
day examining the state of the ice to ascertain when the pack is likely 
to break away from the landfloe, and also to find the best path for the 
wniaks through the hummocks. 
In 1882 the condition of the ice was such that the boats could be 
taken out directly from Utkiaywin, by a somewhat winding path, to the 
edge of the Jand floe about five or six miles from the shore. This path 
was marked out by the seal-hunters during the winter, and some of the 
natives spent their leisure time widening and improving it, knocking 
off projecting points of ice with picks and whale spades, and filling up 
the worst of the inequalities. Much of the path, however, was exceed- 
ingly rough and difficult when it was considered finished. In 1883 
the land floe was so rough and wide abreast of the village that no 
practicable path could be made, so all the whalemen with their families 
moved up to Imé/kptn and encamped in tents as already described 
(see p. 84) for the season. From this point a tolerably straight and 
easy path was made out to the edge of the land floe. The natives in- 
formed me as early as April 1 that it weuld be necessary for them to 
move up to Imé/kpin, adding that the ice abreast of the village was 
very heavy and would move only when warm weather came. This pre- 
diction was correct, as the-season of 1883 was so late that no ships 
reached the station until August 1. 
About the middle of April the natives begin anxiously to expect an 
east or southeast wind (nigya) to drive off the pack and open the leads, 
and should it not speedily blow from that quarter recourse is had to 
supernatural means to bring it. A party of men go out and sit in a 
semicircle facing the sea on the village cliff, while one man in the mid- 
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