22 U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 217 



Eastward, the Nunamiut used to descend the Colville River iii 

 spring to obtain seal oil and sealskin for boots in exchange for caribou 

 skin, wood, and flint products. Although the present Nunamiut are 

 mountain people, they well understand sea travel and hunting for 

 seals along the summer arctic coast. In fact, the eastward travels of 

 some of the present group have extended to the Coppermine River, 

 and they regularly correspond with friends and relatives all along 

 that section of the Alaskan and Canadian arctic coast. 



In keeping with these habits, they laiow accurately the birds of the 

 arctic coast east of the Colville, but their stories show no familiarity 

 with the conspicuous and distinctive avifauna of the Bering Sea coast 

 and the western Arctic (L. Irving, 1953) . In physical characteristics 

 they appear to be distinguishable from Eskhnos of the northern arctic 

 coast, and their own view of their distinction from the present dwellers 

 of the coast regions should be seriously considered. 



Progress of the Investigation 



On October 17, 1947, Per Scholander, Clay Kaigelak of Barrow, 

 and I flew with Sig Wien from Point Barrow into the camp of the 

 inland Eskimo people. The camp, consisting of 4 families and about 

 25 people, was situated on the west side of Chandler Lake Valley near 

 the north end of the lake (lat. 68° 19' N., long. 152° 35' W.). We 

 were courteously received by the people and were soon comfortably 

 settled. After studying the country by day, we discussed during the 

 long evenings in their domed tents of caribou skin the natural history 

 of the mountain valleys. Simon Paneak best presented the descrip- 

 tions in his accurate and expressive English, and his observations were 

 supplemented by well considered comments from Jesse Ahgook and 

 Elijah Kakena in Eskimo and by Frank RuUand in both languages. 

 Their wives and older children were often consulted for confirmation 

 and sometimes served as referees in the discussions. While the aurora 

 flashed in the winter nights outside, the people described many birds 

 with the intimate detail in which I had known them as a boy in the 

 northeastern states. They pictured the springtime arrival of migrants 

 as a wave, passing through or stopping to nest in the valleys. My 

 curiosity about the birds of their country aroused their interest, and 

 we soon came to discussing places and dates which would be suitable 

 for making decisive observations. It was apparent at this first meeting 

 that accurate reports and intelligent appreciation of birds could be 

 obtained from the keen observations of these Eskimo residents of the 

 mountains. 



When we left them, the people of the village were preparing to 

 travel south to winter within the spruce timber on the upper John 

 River near Hunt Fork, for the low willows about Chandler Lake 



