ACKOSS THE SUB-ARCTICS OF CANADA 



rough water, by an expert. Indeed the Eskimos have an. 

 arrangement by which they can travel while almost submerged 

 in the water. They have a thin waterproof parchment coat 

 which they pull on over their heads in rough weather. This 

 they place on the outside of the rim of the opening of the 

 kyack, and tie securely, so that if the boat were to turn 

 upside down the water could not rush in. 



An Eskimo in his kyaek can travel much faster than twO' 

 men can paddle in an ordinary canoe. I have known them to- 

 make six miles an hour in dead water, whereas four miles 

 would be good going for a canoe. 



The " oomiack," or woman's boat, is a flat-bottomed affair 

 of large carrying capacity. Like the kyack, it is a skin- 

 covered frame, the many pieces of which are lashed together 

 with thongs of skin or whalebone; but instead of being 

 covered on top it is open, is of much broader model and 

 not so sharp at the ends. It is chiefly used by the women 

 for moving camp from place to place, but is never used in 

 the hunt. It is essentially a freighting craft, whereas the 

 kyack is used only for hunting or speedy travel. Oomiacks- 

 are often made large enough to carry thirty or forty people. 

 They are propelled by ordinary paddles, not by the long 

 double-bladed ones used with the kyacks. 



The komitick is a sled of rather peculiar design, consisting: 

 simply of two parallel runners, twelve or fourteen feet long,, 

 built of wood and placed about eighteen inches apart, upon 

 the top of which are lashed a number of crossbars or slats. 

 The runners are shod either with ivory or with mud, the 

 latter answering the purpose exceedingly well. The mud 

 covering is, of course, put on in a soft state, when it can be 

 easily worked and formed into proper shape. When the mud 

 is on, and the surface nicely smoothed off, it is allowed to- 

 freeze, and speedily becomes as hard as stone. In order to 

 complete the vehicle and put it in good running order, there 

 is one thing to be done; the shoeing, whether of mud or 



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