THE ESKIMOS 



ivory, must be covered vpith a thin coating of ice, in order to 

 do which the Eskimo overturns the komitick, fills his spacious 

 mouth with water from some convenient source, and then 

 from his lips deposits a fine stream along the runner, where, 

 quickly freezing, it forms a smooth, glassy surface. 



During the winter season the komitick forms an important 

 factor in the Eskimo's life. It is drawn by a team, not of 

 horses, nor even reindeer, but of dogs. The number of 

 animals forming a team varies greatly, sometimes consisting 

 of not more than three good dogs, but at other times of fifteen 

 or more attached to a single sled. Each dog is fastened 

 to a single line, the length of which varies according to the 

 merits of its owner. Thus the best dog in the team acts as 

 leader, and has a line twenty or twenty-five feet in length. 



In order to control the team, the driver carries a whip of 

 somewhat extraordinary dimensions. This instrument of 

 torture has a short wooden handle, only about eighteen inches 

 long, but what is lacking in stock is more than made up in 

 lash, for this latter, made of the hide of the square flipper 

 seal, is nearly thirty feet in length. An Eskimo can handle 

 his whip with great dexterity, being able not only to reach 

 any particular dog in the pack, but to strike any part of its 

 body, and with as much force as the occasion may require. 



Another curious Eskimo practice, observed by the women, 

 is that of daily chewing the boots of the household. As 

 already intimated, these boots, or moccasins, are made of oil- 

 tanned seal or deerskins. The hair is always removed from 

 the skin, of which the foot of the moccasin is made, but not 

 always from that part forming the leg. However, the point 

 is, that these moccasins, after having been wet and dried 

 again, become very hard, and the most convenient or effective 

 — or possibly the most agreeable — way of softening them 

 seems to be by mastication. "Whatever njay be the reason for 

 adopting this method, the fact is that nearly every morning 

 the native women soften the shoes of the family most beauti- 



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