white population, numbering about 150, lives in the 30 or more 

 trading posts and missions throughout the area. There are prob- 

 ably 5,000 to 6,000 Eskimos scattered throughout the region north 

 of the treeline, which forms the boundary between the Indians and 

 the Eskimo. Owing to the relative remoteness and inaccessibility 

 of the areas in which these Eskimos live, they have been little influ- 

 enced by the white man. Usually their only contact is when the 

 Eskimos assemble at the Hudson Bay Company trading posts and 

 at the missions, for the arrival of the annual supply ship in sum- 

 mer. During the rest of the year they migrate. In the winter 

 they divide their time between fishing through the ice, hunting 

 seals along the coast, and tending trap-lines. Their winter homes 

 are snow-houses. The summer is usually spent near the coast or 

 on islands where fish, seals, and walrus provide food, clothing, and 

 fuel. Tents of skins are used in the summer camps. 



The seasons not only determine the activities of the Eskimo and 

 white population, but they also prescribe the mode of surface trans- 

 portation. Summer overland travel is almost impossible in many 

 places because of the water-logged condition of the ground and the 

 numerous lakes. Most transportation in this season is by water, 

 although the navigation of ships is sometimes made difficult by the 

 prevalent fog. In the winter, the dog-team and sled are the princi- 

 pal means of transportation. Coastal travel is along the "high- 

 ways" of coastal or littoral ice which builds out from the shore. 

 Overland travel by sledge usually begins about December when 

 sufficient snow has accumulated to allow the runners to glide easily. 



Spring and fall offer problems to surface transportation. The 

 snow disappears quickly in spring and the surface of the ground 

 begins to thaw making land travel extremely difficult. At the 

 same time the river and sea ice begin to rot and are unsafe for 

 sled travel. But still too thick for the small schooners and boats 

 to penetrate. The reverse of this is true in fall before the land is 

 sjiow covered and while the ice is thin and newly formed. In these 

 seasons surface transportation is virtually stopped. Air travel 

 would seem to offer the only all-season transportation, but even 

 this is not without spring and fall problems. Fog, overcast, and 

 bad weather are most common in these seasons. Although floats 

 can be used in summer and skis in winter, the difficulties of having 

 planes properly equipped to land during the break-up and the 

 freeze-up are serious problems in air transportation. All north- 

 ern navigations are especially acute in the eastern arctic because 

 of the proximity of the north magnetic pole area. 



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