KYAKS OF THE ESQUIMO. 



LIEUT. HOWARD R. H1CKOCK, U. S. A. 



In the frozen regions of the far North 

 where trees can not grow, the genius of 

 the aborigine has developed other ma- 

 terials for building his boats. His home, 

 that is, the Esquimo's, is on the seaside 

 whence come all his sustenance and ma- 

 terial for his boats. He finds driftwood 

 to burn and of which to make his huts or 

 barrabkies. Sea-fowl and seals, as well as 

 land animals, furnish him with skins for 

 clothes which he wears indifferently in 

 summer and winter, except that in sum- 

 mer the hood of his parki (a long seam- 

 less fur coat) is usually thrown back over 

 his shoulders. 



removed. The skin is kept well oiled to 

 keep it waterproof. It can be kept in the 

 water continuously about 24 hours with- 

 out leaking; but it must then be hauled 

 on the beach to dry and be oiled. 



The native sits flat on the bottom of the 

 kyak, with his feet to the front, and uses 

 an ordinary canoe paddle to propel him- 

 self. His lessons in this craft he takes 

 when very young, almost as soon as he 

 can walk. At 10 years of age he can handle 

 the kyak with a skill that makes us won- 

 der. By the time he has reached man- 

 hood, his ability to manage this frail 

 structure is marvellous. 



YOUNG KYAKERS. 



His kyak, however, is a curiosity that 

 at once attracts the eye of the traveler. 

 It is built usually to hold one man, and 

 then contains only one hole, though some 

 are built with 2 or 3 holes, for as many 

 men. The ribs of this canoe were for- 

 merly made of whale bone, but, on ac- 

 count of the growing scarcity of that mam- 

 mal, wood is now used instead. 



The ribs, having been securely put to- 

 gether, are spread with well tanned seal or 

 sea lion skin, from which the hair has been 



In a gale he is at home. His boat, with 

 him in it, rides the wave like a cork. 



It is in this that the Esquimo hunts 

 the seal, and the morse, or walrus. He 

 also fishes and does most of his traveling 

 in the kyak. 



The children shown in the accompany- 

 ing photograph are 6 and 8 years old, re- 

 spectively. They handled their kyaks and 

 paddles in a manner that bespoke a thor- 

 ough acquaintance with the water, and 

 which was really remarkable. 



"Well," said the old man, "Bill's done 

 graduated in Latin, Greek, an' French." 



"You don't say?" 



"True as gospel!" 



"An' what's he a-doin' now?" 



"Oh, he's a-writin' of dialect stories fer 

 the magazines !" — Atlanta Constitution. 

 253 



