146 Canadian Arctic Expedition, 1913-18 



different archers, generally between seventy-five and ninety yards, and is prob- 

 ably not over one hundred. At thirty or fifty yards members of our party have 

 repeatedly seen an arrow pass through the thorax or abdomen of an adult caribou 

 and fly several yards beyond."^ In another passage he says, "Two bows were 

 brought out at our request. The range seems to be about one hundred yards, 

 and at twenty-five yards they hit within a foot of the target bull's eye about 

 four out of five times. Doubtless these two were the best bowmen. Evidently 

 the bow is a more satisfactory weapon for deer than I had supposed, yet it 

 surprised me that they should have given up the method of spearing, which 

 has everywhere, so far as I know, been the mainstay of deer-hunting."^ 



My own observations led me to a less favourable conclusion. Ikpakhuak 

 was reputed to be one of the best bowmen in Dolphin and Union strait, and the 

 maximum distance he could send an arrow was about 125 yards. Even at a 

 fixed target his marksmanship was indifferent. During the summer of 1915 

 the natives set up a clod of earth about a foot square for a target. They went 

 back forty paces and tried their skill, but only about one shot in twenty hit 

 the mark. The men seemed to be no more accurate than the children, though, 

 their bows being stronger, their arrows flew with more velocity. Two of the 

 women joined in the sport, using their husbands' or their children's bows; they 

 acquitted themselves hardly less creditably than the others. I frequently 

 watched the men shooting at ptarmigan and water-fowl, and without exception 

 their marksmanship was poor. It was no better even with larger game. They 

 could hardly fail to hit a caribou at fifteen or twenty yards when the animal 

 was stationary, but I have seen them miss a running deer at this range. Thej^ 

 themselves admit that the bow is of little use at distances greater than about 

 thirty yards. It is worth noticing that one of the best archers in the whole 

 country used a single-piece bow; probably it was more reliable than the usual 

 three-piece weapon. 



What he lacks in weapons, however, the Eskimo makes up for in craft. 

 All the precautions and tricks of the European hunter are known to him. The 

 moment a deer is sighted he examines the country to discover the best means 

 of approaching unseen. He tests the direction of the wind by pulling a few 

 hairs from his mitten and letting them float in the air. Stealthily, with soft 

 footsteps if the snow is hard and crystalline, he approaches his quarry, and if 

 he cannot draw near enough under cover he patiently lies down and waits for 

 hours till the deer comes close of its own accord. When there is no cover at 

 all he imitates the deer itself, drawing his peaked hood up over his head and 

 stooping as he walks. In one hand he holds up his walking-stick, in the other 

 his bow, so that from a distance they resemble the horns of a caribou. Two 

 men will walk side by side in this fashion, when the deer is on a flank, or 

 one behind the other when the deer is straight ahead. Sometimes it takes no 

 notice, conceiving the hunter to be only another animal of its own kind; the man 

 then wanders to and fro as though grazing, but always drawing a little nearer, 

 until suddenly he drops on one knee and launches his shaft. More often the 

 deer grows curious and runs towards him, then stops, stares hard for a minute 

 and pretends to go on feeding. Let the man forget his part for an instant, or 

 make a single mistake, and the deer will dash away at full speed; but let him 

 pretend to graze also and keep his distance, and the deer will probably come 

 nearer still. It seldom comes close enough for the man himself to shoot, but 

 nearly always there is another hunter concealed close by for whom the first 

 acts only as a blind. 



Indians often stalk as close as possible to their game, then race forward at full 

 speed, trusting to get near enough to flre a shot before the animal has recovered 

 from its amazement and turned to flee. The Copper Eskimos occasionally 



'StefanssoD, Anthrop. Papers, A.M.N.H., Vol. XIV, pt. I, p. i 

 2Ibid., p. 242. 



