eneora UMIAKS. 3039 
ished models were made forsale. The natives are so skillful in making 
them that it is possible that they are in the habit of making them for 
the children to play with. I do not, however, recollect ever seeing a 
child with one. 
Umiaks and fittings—The large skin-covered open boat, essentially 
the same in model as that employed by almost all Eskimo, as well as 
the Aleuts and some Siberian races, is the chief means of conveyance 
by water, for traveling, hunting, and fishing. Though the women do a 
great share of the work of navigating the boat when a single family or 
a small party is making a journey, it is by no means considered as a 
woman's boat, as appears to be the case among the Greenlanders and 
eastern Eskimo generally.!. On the contrary, women are not admitted 
into the regularly organized whaling crews, unless the umialik can not 
procure men enough, and in the “scratch” crews assembled for walrus 
hunting or sealing there are usually at least as many nen as women, 
and the men work as hard as the women. I do not, however, recollect 
that I ever saw a man pull an oar in the umiak. They appear always 
to use paddles alone. This is interesting in connection with the Green- 
land custom mentioned by Egede in the continuation of the passage 
just quoted: ‘And when they first set out for the whale fishing, the men 
sit in a very negligent posture, with their faces turned towards the 
prow, pulling with their little ordinary paddle; but the women sit in 
the ordinary way, with their faces towards the stern, rowing with long 
oars.” 
We were unable to bring home any specimen of these boats on ac- 
count of their size, but Fig. 342, from a photograph by Lieut. Ray, will 
give a good idea of the framework. These boats vary considerably in 
size, but are usually very nearly the dimensions of an ordinary whale- 
boat—that is, about 50 feet in length, with a beam of 5 or 6 feet and a 
depth of about 25 feet. The boat resembles very much in model the 
American fisherman’s dory, having a narrow flat bottom, sharp at both 
ends, with flaring sides, and considerable rake at stem and stern. Both 
floor and rail have a strong sheer, fore and aft, and the gunwales ex- 
tend beyond the stem so as to meet at the bow. Both stem and stern 
are sharp nearly to the rail, where they flare out and are cut off square. 
These boats are exceedingly light and buoyant, and capable of consid- 
erable speed when fully manned. They are very “quick” in their mo- 
tion and quite crank till they get down to their bearings, but beyond 
that appear to be very stiff. 
I never heard of one being capsized, though the natives move about 
aboard of them with perfect-treedom. The frame is neatly made of pieces 
of driftwood, which it usually takes a considerable time to accumulate.” 
1For example: ‘‘For they think it nnbecoming a man to row such a boat, unless great necessity 
requires it.’ Egede, Greenland, p. 111. ‘It would be a scandal for a man to meddle, except the 
greatest necessity compels him to lend a hand.’ Crantz, vol. 1, p. 149. 
? Part of the description of the umiak frame is taken from the model (No. 56563 [225]), as the writer 
not only had few opportunities for careful examination of these canoes, but unfortunately did not 
realize at the time the importance of detail. 
