The Indians of the Ungava district are locally known as Naskopie, a term
of reproach applied to them by the mountaineers (the Montagnais of the
early Jesuit missionaries) during the earlier days when the former acted
falsely in one of their concerted struggles with the Eskimo of the
eastern coast.
The name given to themselves is Nenenot, a word meaning true, or ideal
red men. To the west of these people dwell a branch of the tribe along
the east shore of Hudson bay. To the southeast dwell the mountaineers.
The western people differ greatly in customs and many words of their
language from the Nenenots. The mountaineers differ but little in their
customs, and only in speech as much as would be expected from the
different locality in which they dwell.
These three tribes have distinct boundaries, beyond which they seldom
wander. Of late years, however, a gradual influx of the western people
has poured into the Ungava district, due to the decrease of the food
supply along that portion of the eastern coast of Hudson bay.
The Nenenots appear, from the best information I could obtain on the
subject, to have been driven to their present location during the wars
waged against them by the Iroquois in times long gone by and remembered
only in tradition.
They assert that their original home was in a country to the west, north
of an immense river, and toward the east lay an enormous body of salt
water. The former was supposed to be the St. Lawrence river and the
latter to be Hudson bay. When they came to their present place they say
that they found Eskimo alone, and these only along the coast. They are a
branch of the Cree stock, as their language clearly indicates.
Many years ago war was waged upon them by the people whose name is
remembered with terror even to this day. Most cruel atrocities were
perpetrated, and in despair they fled from the land of their fathers,
where they had lived as a numerous people, and were pursued by their
merciless foes until but a remnant reached what is now known as the
"Height of Land."
Being now driven to a strange land, where they found numerous Eskimo on
all sides, only a few years elapsed before they encroached too greatly
upon the land which the Eskimo had always held. Contention and struggles
arose, culminating in a disposition to fight, and in the course of time
desultory warfare, carried on by single combat or organized raids. This
lasted for many years, even after the advent of the white men as traders
along the coast. Some of the battles were attended with great slaughter
on both sides. The Eskimo seldom ventured far from the coast on their
raids, but fought bravely when attacked on their own ground. In most
instances they outwitted the Indians by decoying them into ambush, and
killing great numbers of them. Within the present century they have been
more peaceably disposed toward each other. Since the arrival of the
white men at various points along the coast these troubles have ceased,
and the Indians and Eskimo are now on intimate terms; not that either
party have any special regard for the new comers, but they have a mutual
fear of each other, and the white man now engages their entire
attention.
In the early struggles the Indian found the Eskimo to be a sturdy
opponent, possessed of greater endurance and perseverance than himself.
After the conclusion of the troubles they withdrew to their present
haunts, and now wander indiscriminately over the land, although the
Eskimo seldom ventures far into the interior unless it be along the
valley of some large stream. They even camp alongside of each other,
and aged Indian men and women, who have been left behind the parties of
young people who are in quest of fur-bearing animals during the winter
months, are only too glad to have a camp of jolly Eskimo near at hand.
With them they can live as parasites until their hosts are exhausted of
supplies, or until they move to another locality to relieve themselves
of the importunities of their unbidden guests.
The Indian is not the physical superior of the Eskimo. It is true they
are more expert on snowshoes, because the snowshoes belong to their mode
of life. They are used by the Eskimo only when they can be purchased by
barter from the Indian. The Eskimo snowshoe is merely a rude imitation
of the form used by the neighboring Indians. In the canoe the Indian is
at home; so also is the Eskimo in the kaiak, which braves the severest
weather and the roughest water, on which the Indian would only gaze in
dread and never venture.
Ability to endure fatigue is less in the Indian than the Eskimo, who
accomplishes by patient persistence what the Indian desires to do in a
hurry. I have not observed Indians carry such heavy loads as those borne
on the shoulders of Eskimo, who, with ease, ascended a hill of such
abrupt steepness that an unencumbered person climbed it with difficulty.
Several Eskimo men ascended this hill, each with a barrel of flour on
his shoulders.
The Indian is able to withstand the effect of cold as well as the
Eskimo. The clothing of the latter is certainly better adapted to
protect against cold. In times of scarcity of food the Eskimo is able to
go without food for a number of days and yet perform a considerable
amount of physical labor, while the Indian would require food on the
second or third day, and refuse to move until it had been furnished.
In comparison with a white man under the same conditions the natives of
either class would soon show signs of inferiority, and under prolonged
exertion but few, even of the Eskimo, would endure the strain. The
principal strength of these people is shown in their success in the
chase.
The children are obedient to their parents, who seldom ever chastise
them. Disrespect to parents is unknown, and in their intercourse with
each other there are no clashings during youth. Not until the jealousies
awakened under the stimulus of their sexual instincts arouse their
passions do they begin to show enmity and hatred toward each other.
The males evidently exhibit jealousy to a less degree than the opposite
sex. The men, after a protracted absence from each other, often embrace
and shed tears of joy at meeting. The women are less demonstrative.
The number of children born exceeds the number of deaths. Mortality
appeared to be low for the two years I was near these people. The
prevailing diseases are of the lungs and bowels. The lung diseases are
induced by constant exposure to extremes of wet and cold and the
inhalation of foul air laden with terebinthine odors, arising from the
resinous woods used for fuel. Changes of the wind blowing in at the door
cause the interior to become filled with smoke, which is endured rather
than admit the cold air from without.
Abstinence from fresh food for a long time, with dry meat only to
subsist upon, is often broken by the sudden capture of deer. This
affords an opportunity for gorging until the digestive organs are
weakened and serious complications arise. It is quite probable that
gluttony directly produces half of the illnesses that occur among these
people. The insufficiency of clothing does not apparently influence
health, as they seem utterly regardless of exposure, and long continued
dwelling in the tents probably induces nearly, if not quite, all the
other ills afflicting them. Indolent ulcers and scrofulous complications
are frequent, but only in few instances are of such character as to
prevent their following their usual occupations. During illness they are
stolid, and appear to suffer intense pain without the twitching of a
muscle. When death approaches it has but little terror, and is awaited
with indifference.
The remedies employed are only those afforded by the beating of the drum
and the mumblings of the shaman, who claims to have control of the
spirit which causes all disease and death. They are, however, firm
believers in the efficacy of potions compounded by the white trader, who
is fully as ignorant of the disease as the subject himself is. Often a
harmless mixture of red ink, red pepper, ginger, or other pungent
substance is given, with a multiplicity of confusing directions,
bewildering the messenger dispatched for relief, who, in repeating them,
often makes mistakes and advises that the whole quantity be swallowed.
The effect is sometimes magical, and the patient recovers. Powders are
rubbed over the seat of pain and liniments swallowed with avidity.
Strange as it may seem, they often report good effects, and rarely fail
to ask for more of the same kind. Both sexes attain a great age--in some
instances certainly living over seventy years. Some assert that they
were well advanced in years before the white men came in 1827.
The marriage ceremony is simply a consent to live together, obtained by
request if possible, and by force, if necessary. The man takes a wife as
soon as he considers himself able to support one. When the ceremony is
to be undertaken the consent of the girl's parents or nearest relatives
is sought, and by holding out tempting inducements in the form of
presents, the suitor wins them to his favor. The consent of the girl, if
she has not yet been married is, of course, granted, if she desires to
comply with the wishes of her relatives. If not, the prospective husband
is informed that they can do nothing to turn her heart. The matter is
understood, and in a short time she is taken forcibly to his or his
father's tent. The tie binding the couple is very loose, and on the
least provocation may be dissolved by either party. Continence on the
part of either wife or husband is unusual, and only notorious
incontinence is sufficient to cause the offender to be put away. Their
sexual relations are very loose among themselves, but their immorality
is confined to their own people. To take a second, a third, or even a
fourth wife, is not uncommon, but the additional wives are taken
principally for the purpose of performing labor imposed by the energy of
a successful hunter. It is only the wealthy men who can afford a
plurality of wives. The several wives often dwell in the same tent, but
as jealousies frequently arise they resort to fighting among themselves
to settle their differences. The husband looks on calmly until matters
go too far. When he interferes the women are sure of being soundly
thrashed. A woman, however, often assails her husband, and in some
instances gives him an unmerciful pounding, much to the amusement of the
bystanders, who encourage her to do her best. The man is a subject for
ridicule for weeks afterwards. Either sex can endure being beaten, but
not being laughed at. They rarely forgive a white man who laughs at
their discomfiture. An amusing incident occurred within a stone's throw
of Fort Chimo. An Indian had his clothing stripped from him by his
enraged wife. She then tore the tent from the poles, leaving him naked.
She took their property to the canoe, which she paddled several miles up
the stream. He followed along the bank until she relented, whereupon
their former relations were resumed, as though nothing had disturbed the
harmony of their life. The man was so severely plagued by his comrades
that for many days he scarcely showed his head out of the tent. Rivalry
for the favor of a woman or man is occasionally the source of serious
affrays. An instance was related to me where two men sought the hand of
a woman, and to settle which should have her, they determined to go in
their canoes to the lake near by and fight with their deer spears. One
of the men was killed and the other thereupon obtained the woman, who is
now living.
The sexes have their special labors. Women perform the drudgery and
bring home the food slain by their husbands, fetching wood and water,
tanning the skins, and making them into clothing. The labor of erecting
the tents and hauling the sleds when on their journey during the winter
falls upon them, and, in fact, they perform the greater part of the
manual labor. They are considered inferior to the men, and in their
social life they soon show the effects of the hardships they undergo.
The females arrive at puberty at the age of 14 or 15, and are taken as
wives at even an earlier age. So early are they taken in marriage that
before they are 30 years of age they often appear as though they were
50. Some of them are hideously ugly, and are so begrimed with smoke from
the resinous wood used for fuel and with filth that it is purely
guesswork to even approximate their age. The women appear to be exempted
from the curse of Eve, and deliver their children with as little concern
as is exhibited among the brutes. The child is not allowed to receive
nourishment until the third day, and no water must touch its body. The
infant is swaddled in wrappings of skins and cloths. Sphagnum moss is
used next the body and changed every other day. They begin to walk at an
early age, and this is, doubtless, the principal cause of the bowing of
the legs so often observed. The girls are neglected and the boys given
every advantage. The latter soon discover their importance and rarely
fail to show their domineering ways to the other sex.
It is quite rare that twins are born. It is not usual for a mother to
have more than four children, although as many as six or eight may be
born. As the paternal origin is often obscure, the person having that
woman as wife at the time of the child's birth is supposed to be its
father.
The mortuary customs of the Naskopie were but imperfectly learned, for
when a death occurred at the trading station the body was buried like a
white man's. A shallow grave was dug in a sandy soil, as this offered
less trouble in digging, and the body placed in a rudely constructed
coffin and covered with dirt. A small branch from a tree was placed at
the head of the grave, but with what signification I could not
satisfactorily determine. I received the reply that the white men put
something at the head of their graves, and so do the Indians.
Away from the post the Indians suspend their dead from the branches of
trees, if the ground be frozen too hard to excavate, and endeavor to
return in the following summer and inter the body. A person who has
distinguished himself among the people is often buried where the fire
has been long continued within the tent and thawed the ground to a
sufficient depth to cover the body. The tent is then removed to another
location. The Indians have not that dread of a corpse which is shown so
plainly among the Eskimo. The former have been known to strip the
clothing from recently deceased Eskimo, and it is not infrequent for
them to appropriate the gun or other implement placed by the side of a
dead Innuit.
In response to my inquiry how they disposed of their dead in former
ages, I obtained evidence that scaffold burial and suspension from trees
were formerly practiced and that subterranean burials were introduced by
the missionaries.
The dead are mourned for according to the position they occupied in
life, a favorite child often causing an alarming grief in the mother who
mourns for many days, constantly bemoaning her loss and reminding the
listeners of the traits in the child's nature so well remembered. The
body is taken to the place of final rest by the friends, the relations
seldom accompanying it.
The life of these people is a constant struggle to obtain food and
raiment. Nothing, however unimportant, is done without much delibation
and repeated consultation with friends.
They are also guided to a great extent by their dreams, for they imagine
that in the night they are in direct communication with the spirits
which watch over their daily occupations. Certain persons obtain much
renown in divining the dreams and these are consulted with the greatest
confidence. The drum is brought into use, and during its tumult the
person passes into a state of stupor or trance and in a few moments
arouses himself to reveal the meaning of the other's dream.
Superstition holds these people in its terrible sway and everything not
understood is attributed to the working of one of the numerous spirits.
Every object, however simple, appears to have its patron spirit, which,
in order that it may perform its services for the welfare of the people,
must be propitiated with offerings most pleasing and acceptable to it.
The rule seems to be that all spirits are by nature bad, and must be
propitiated to secure their favor. Each person has a patron spirit, and
these must always be placated lest misfortune come. These spirits assume
an infinite variety of forms, and to know just what form it assumed when
it inflicted its baneful effects, the shamans or medicine men must be
consulted. These are supposed to be in direct contact with such spirits.
The spirit will appear only in the darkness of the conjuring house,
and then permit itself to be appeased by some atonement made by the
afflicted, which can be made known only through the shaman. He alone
indicates the coarse to be pursued, and his directions, to be explicitly
followed, are often so confusing and impossible that the person fails to
perform them. All these minor spirits are under the control of a single
great spirit having its dwelling in the sky, a term as illimitable with
those people as with ourselves.
Each animal has its protective spirit, which is inferior to those of
man. The soul, if such expression may be used, of all animals is
indestructible, and is capable of reappearing again and again as often
as the material form is destroyed. There are spirits of beasts, birds,
fishes, insects, and plants. Each of these has a home to which it
returns after death, which is simply a cessation of that period of its
material form, and each may be recalled at the will of the shaman. If an
animal be killed it does not decrease the number of that species, for it
still exists, although in a different form.
The Canada jay is supposed to inform the various animals of the approach
of Indians, and these rarely fail to kill the jay wherever found.
A species of mouse is supposed to have such dread of man that it dies
the instant it wanders near the track of a person. They often find these
tiny creatures near the path, and believe them to be unable to cross it.
As the dusk of eve draws near, the silent flitting of the common
short-eared owl (_Asio accipitrinus_), and the hawk owl (_Surnia
funeria_), attracted by the sounds of the camp, creates direst
confusion. The announcement of its presence causes the entire assemblage
of people to be alert and hastily suspend some unworn garment, that the
bird may perceive it and thus know that the people are not so poor in
their worldly possessions as the spirit Wiq´-ti-qu may think; as it only
annoys people who are too poor to have extra garments. As this
short-eared owl frequents only the lower lands, the Indians assert that
they are compelled to select the higher points of land as their camping
sites in order to escape from him.
The shaman, as I have already said, is believed to be able to control
all these different spirits by his magic art, and to foretell the
future, but he must be concealed from view while carrying on his
mysterious performances. Hence a special structure must be erected in
which the shaman goes through various contortions of body until in a
state of exhaustion and while in that weakened condition he fancies
these things which have such wonderful hold on the minds of the people.
The tent (Fig. 85) is high and of small diameter. Every crack and
crevice in the tent is carefully closed to exclude even the least ray of
light.
When within it, the shaman begins his operations by groaning and
gradually increasing the pitch of voice until his screeching can be
heard a great distance. The din of the drum adds confusion to the
ceremony. This goes on until the shaman announces the appearance of the
spirit with whom he desires to commune. He implores the spirit to grant
the request, and in the course of time informs the people outside that
he has succeeded in securing the services of the spirit. All within
becomes quiet and only whisperings are heard.
[Illustration: FIG. 85.--Indian medicine lodge.]
The spirit promises to fulfill the obligation he has undertaken, and the
conjuror throws over the tent and states the result of the interview.
This result is always favorable, as his reputation depends upon its
happening. Any untoward circumstance, such as a person turning over a
stone or breaking a twig from a bush while traveling, is sufficient
cause to break the spell, and the blame can be laid on the shoulders of
such an offender. If the request be not granted within the stipulated
time as announced by the shaman at the end of the ceremony, some one is
certain to have been the cause of displeasing the spirit, who now
withholds the favor until reparation for the offense is made. The
conjurer is not slow to make some one do penance while he himself is
gaining time, as he takes good care not to attempt anything out of
season.
When an Indian kills one of the larger and fiercer wild beasts it is
customary to reserve a portion of the skin or other part of the body as
a memento of the deed.
These mementos are sacredly kept to show the prowess of the hunter and
at the same time they serve as a token of the wealth procured by
bartering the pelt of the animal to the trader. The wolf, bear, and
wolverine are considered worthy of remembrance, and of the first and
last mentioned animals a claw or a tip of an ear may serve as a
souvenir.
The under lip of the bear (Fig. 86) is the portion preserved. The skin
is cut off and spread flat to dry. The flesh side of the skin is painted
with powdered hematite mixed with water or oil.
The outer edges or lips are ornamented with a single row of many-colored
beads. At the apex or middle of the lip is attached a pendant in the
form of a fish. The fish is 3 or 4 inches long, made of cloth and has a
row of beads extending around the entire circumference of the length of
the body.
These mementos are procured with great difficulty from the hunter who
has risked his life in the struggles attending the capture of the
beasts, for the barren-ground bear of that region is not a timid
creature like the black bear; and unless the hunter is well prepared for
the animal he would do well to let it alone.
[Illustration: FIG. 86.--Indian amulet of bearskin.]
The occupations of the sexes are so numerous that a detailed account
alone would suffice, as the various seasons have their regular routine
labors besides those unexpectedly appearing. In the spring the Indians
of both sexes come to the post of Fort Chimo to trade their winter's
hunt of fur-bearing animals. About the middle of March word is brought
that the camp of old men and women with a number of children, left from
the parties scattered in all directions during the previous fall, are
slowly approaching the post. They come by easy stages, camping here and
there for a day or two, but striving to be near about the time that the
earlier parties come in to trade. These latter straggle along from the
middle of April to the last of May, those who had ascended the streams
to the headwaters often not arriving until after the breaking of the ice
in the river, which may be as late as the 15th of June. When they
collect at the post they have an opportunity to meet after a separation
of months and enjoy a period of rest. The trading of their furs and
other articles continues slowly until the parties have made their
selections of guns, ammunition, tobacco, and cloths, a quantity of
flour, biscuit, peas, beans, rice, and sugar. Molasses is purchased in
enormous quantities, a hogshead of 90 gallons sufficing for only three
or four days' trade. Other articles of varied character, from needles
and beads to calico and cloth, are bought by the women.
The parties receive the allowance given in advance for the prosecution
of the ensuing winter's hunt, after which they are relied on to raft
down the supply of wood cut by the white men for the next winter's
supply of fuel. This consumes the season until the middle of July.
Stragglers are out even later. The men, meantime, select the locality
where they will remain for the summer and fall. The winter is to be
occupied in getting furs. Each head of a party announces his intended
location and the parties gradually leave the post for their destination.
Some of the Indians in former years were employed to assist the salmon
fishing, but they proved to be unreliable, either through fear of the
turbulent waters of the Koksoak or inattention to their task. They were
easily allured from the nets by the appearance of any game, and as the
tides in that river do not wait even for an Indian, serious losses
resulted from carelessness. Hence their places in later years are filled
by Eskimo, who are better adapted to the work.
The various parties disperse in different directions in order that the
entire district may afford its products for their benefit. The Indians
know the habits of the animals in those regions so well that they are
sure, if they go to a particular locality, to find the game they are in
quest of.
The reindeer provides them with the greater part of their food and the
skins of these animals afford them clothing.
Although their food consists of reindeer, ptarmigan, fish, and other
game, the deer is their main reliance, and when without it, however
great the abundance of other food, they consider themselves starving.
The deer are procured in several ways, the principal of which is by the
use of the lance or spear. In the months of September and October they
collect from various directions. During the spring the females had
repaired to the treeless hills and mountains of the Cape Chidley region
to bring forth their young on those elevations in early June or late
May. After the young have become of good size the mothers lead them to
certain localities whither the males, having gone in an opposite
direction, also return. They meet somewhere along the banks of the
Koksoak river, usually near the confluence of that river with the North
or Larch. While thousands of these animals are congregated on each bank
small herds are continually swimming back and forth, impelled by the
sexual instinct. The hair of the young animals is now in excellent
condition for making skin garments. The females are thin, not yet having
recovered from the exhaustion of furnishing food for their young and
material for the new set of antlers, which appear immediately after the
birth of the fawns. The skin is, however, in tolerable condition,
especially in late October. The back of the male is now covered with a
large mass of fat known as "back fat." This deposit is about 1 to 1½
inches thick by 2 feet broad and 20 inches long. The males are full of
vigor and in the best possible condition at this season, as the antlers
have become dry and cease to draw upon the animal for material to supply
their immense growth.
The hunting parties, always on the alert for the herds of deer which are
hastening to the assembling place, follow them up, and in the course of
time conjecture at what point they will congregate. Here they establish
camps and intercept the deer when crossing the streams. The canoes are
held in readiness, while the hunters scan the opposite hillsides for
deer filing along the narrow paths through the forests and bushes
towards the river bank. Arrived there, the deer, after a moment's pause,
eagerly take to the water, boldly swimming as they quarter down stream
with the current. The animals swim high in the water, scarcely more than
a third of the body immersed. They move compactly, in a crowd, their
antlers appearing at a distance like the branches of a tree floating
with the current. The Indian crouches low and speeds for the canoe.
Silently it is pushed into the water, and two or three rowers take their
places within. Rapid but noiseless strokes given by sturdy arms soon
bring the boat below and to the rear of the body of deer, who are now
thrown into the greatest consternation as they perceive their most
dreaded foe suddenly by their side. The deer endeavor to retreat, but
the men are between them and the shore. The occupants of the canoe now
drive the deer quartering up stream and toward the shore where the camp
is situated. Should they, by some mistake on the part of the hunters,
start downstream, they are certain to be separated, and swim so rapidly
that unless there be two canoes they will, for the most part, escape.
If the herd is well kept together they may be driven at the will of the
pursuer. He strives to direct them to such spot that when the thrust
with the spear is given only sufficient vitality will be left to enable
the stricken animal to regain the shore. When the spear touches the
vital part, the animal plunges forward and the instrument is withdrawn.
A hurried thrust pierces another victim, until all the herd, if small,
may be slain. The wounded animal now feels the internal cavity filling
with blood, and seeks the nearest land whereon its ebbing strength
scarcely allows it to stand. A few wistful turns of the head to the
right or left, a sudden spreading of its limbs to support the swaying
body, a plunge forward--the convulsive struggles that mark the end. If
the band is large, some generally escape. Some may be so wounded that
they plunge into the bushes perhaps but a few yards and there lie and
die, furnishing food for the beasts and birds of prey.
The carcases of the deer are stripped of skins and fat and the viscera
are removed. The fat is laid one side, that from the intestines being
also reserved for future rendering.
The skins are taken to the camps and piled up. Those which are not to be
tanned immediately are hung over poles to dry, the flesh side turned
upwards.
The meat is stripped from the bones and taken to the tents, where it is
exposed to the smoke and hot air over the fire and quickly dried. Some
of the Indians are so expert in stripping the flesh from the skeleton
that the exact form or outlines of the animal are preserved in the
process of drying. The drying flesh acquires a very dark brown color
from the smoke and blood left within the tissues. Certain portions of
the dry meat, especially those from the flanks and abdominal walls,
are quite palatable; they are crisp, and have a rich nutty flavor. The
intercostal muscles are also choice portions, while some of the flesh
from the haunches is dry and nearly tasteless. The back fat is often
dried and smoked, but acquires a disagreeable rancid taste.
The long bones are cracked and the marrow extracted. This substance is
the most highly prized portion of the animal, and in seasons of plenty
the deer are often slaughtered for the marrow alone. The fat is placed
in pots or kettles and rendered over a fire. It is then poured into
another vessel to cool, and forms a valuable article of trade and a
necessity for food, and is also required in the process of tanning the
skins.
The bones containing the marrow are cracked and placed in a kettle, hung
over a slow fire, and the substance melted. The marrow brings a higher
price than the tallow, and is esteemed a choice article of food. The
heads are thrown to one side until the decomposing brain is wanted to be
mixed with the semi-putrid liver for the purpose of tanning the skins.
When the flesh has dried sufficiently it is taken down and put into
packages of about thirty pounds weight each. These bundles are enveloped
in the parchment like subcutaneous tissue, and stored away until they
are needed for food. A species of mold attacks the flesh if it is not
frequently inspected and dried, but as it is harmless, it does not
injure the meat. Indians for weeks at a time subsist entirely on this
dried meat. They also have a season of plenty when the female deer and
the bucks of less than two years are on their way to the Cape Chidley
region. Here the females bring forth their young unmolested by the old
bucks and also less annoyed by the myriads of mosquitoes which throng
the lower parts of the country.
The crossing place of the females and young bucks is at or near Fort
Chimo at least each alternate year. About the 5th to the 10th of May the
assembled Indians anxiously await the coming of the game. In the course
of a few days the welcome cry of "Deer!" is heard, and the camp
immediately becomes a scene of great excitement--men hurrying to get
their guns and ammunition, women shouting the direction of the game,
and children running to the higher eminences to watch the herds.
The men endeavor to occupy a narrow defile, where the herd will pass
between the hills to the level land beyond. Some station themselves at
the top of the ravine, while the swiftest runners hasten to the head of
the defile to lie in ambush until the deer, urged from behind, rush
past, to be met with a volley of balls from all sides. Panic seizes the
animals, and wherever they turn an Indian confronts them. Until the deer
recover from their paralysis, and once more obey their instinct to
escape, numbers of them stand quietly waiting to be slaughtered; others
walk unconcernedly about, seemingly deprived of the power of flight. The
Indians hurriedly close upon them, and in a few minutes the entire herd
is destroyed or dispersed in all directions.
The guns used on this occasion are the cheapest kind of muzzle-loading
single-barreled shotguns. The balls used are of such size that they will
drop to the bottom of the chamber. No patching is used, and a jar on the
ground is deemed sufficient to settle the ball upon the powder. The
employment of a ramrod would require too much time, as the Indian is
actuated by the desire to kill as many as possible in the shortest time.
They do not use the necessary care in loading their guns, and often the
ball becomes lodged in the chamber and the gun bursts when fired. When
shooting downhill the ball often rolls out. It is surprising that so few
fatal accidents occur. A quantity of powder is poured directly into the
gun from its receptacle, the ball dropped down, and a cap taken from
between the fingers, where it was placed for convenience. Hunters often
practice the motions of rapid loading and firing. They are remarkably
expert, surpassing the Eskimo in this, though the Eskimo is far the
better marksman.
A third method pursued is that of snaring the deer.
A plan adopted to capture deer in the winter is as follows: A herd of
deer is discovered, and men and women put on their snowshoes. The deer
are surrounded and driven into a snowbank many feet deep, in which the
affrighted animals plunge until they nearly bury themselves. The
hunters, armed with the lance, pursue them and kill them. This means of
procuring deer is only adopted when the herd is near a convenient
snowbank of proper depth. The snow falling in the winter collects in
gullies and ravines, and only in seasons where there has been an
abundance of snow will it attain sufficient depth to serve the purpose.
Smaller game, such as ducks, geese, ptarmigan, hares, rabbits,
porcupines, beavers, and an occasional lynx, afford variety of food.
Ptarmigan are slaughtered by thousands. Hundreds of pounds of their
feathers annually purchase small trinkets for the Indian women, and
during this season it is unusual to see a woman without some feathers of
these birds adhering to her clothing or hair.
The women and men annually destroy thousands of the eggs and young of
these birds. Rabbits and hares, too, fall beneath the arrow or shotgun.
Porcupines are more common toward the sources of the streams falling
into Hudson Strait. They are found in trees, from which they gnaw the
bark and terminal portions of the branches for food. The porcupine must
be carefully cleaned lest the flesh be unfit for food. The hair and
spines are removed by scorching or by pouring hot water over the body.
Of the carnivorous mammals the lynx only is eaten, and this when other
food is scarce. Bears are so rare that they form but an unimportant
portion of the Indian's diet. Wolverines, wolves, and foxes are never
eaten.
Fish of various kinds are plentiful. The lakes and streams abound with
salmon in summer, and trout, white fish, suckers, and a few less common
species are eagerly sought for food. Fish are caught with the hook or
net. Fishing through holes in the ice affords an ample supply of fine
trout, and the net set along the shore upon the disappearance of the ice
is sure to reap a rich haul of white fish, suckers, and trout.
In the preparation of the food little care is exercised to prevent its
coming in contact with objectionable substances. The deer meat is laid
upon the stones of the beach and particles of grit imbed themselves in
the substance. The flesh for cooking is often dropped into the vessels
in which the tallow or marrow is being rendered. Neither children nor
adults have any regular periods of eating, but appear to be always
hungry. It is thus not unusual to see a filthy child thrust its hand
into the cooling fat to obtain a choice portion of meat as it settles to
the bottom.
The dry meat is often pounded into a coarse powder by means of stone or
metal pestles. The meat is placed upon a smooth, hard stone for this
purpose. The ligaments are picked out, and when a sufficient quantity
has been prepared it is put into baskets or bags and stored away for
future use. The cracked bones from which the marrow was extracted are
calcined and reduced to powder and used as an absorbent of the fat from
the skins in the process of tanning.
The unborn young of the reindeer, taken from the mother in the spring,
are considered a prime delicacy by Indians, as well as Eskimo. The eggs
of various species of birds are eagerly sought for, and it matters
little whether they are fresh or far advanced in incubation. The embryo
bird, with the attached yolk of the egg, is swallowed with infinite
gusto. The Indian seldom eats raw flesh unless dried meat be excepted.
Enough has been written concerning the reindeer to show that without it
the very existence of the Indian would be imperiled. Both food and
clothing, the prime necessities of life, are obtained from the animal,
and its numbers do not seem to decrease with the merciless or
thoughtless slaughter. Hundreds of carcases are never utilized.
I counted 173 carcases on one side of the river in going a distance of
about 80 miles, and when I came to their camps I saw incredible piles of
meat and skins going to waste. The winter months are occupied by men in
hunting the various fur-bearing animals, the principal of which are
white, red, cross, and black or silver foxes, martens, minks,
wolverines, wolves, muskrats, and beavers: these are abundant. Few
lynxes and bear are obtained. A considerable number of others are found
in this region and afford fine skins.
Steel traps are generally set, various sizes of traps being used for the
different animals. A great number of otter and beaver are shot in the
water. Deadfalls consisting of a log of wood set upon figure-4 triggers
rarely fail to kill mink and marten. The lynx is usually taken by means
of a snare with the loop over a circle of low pegs surrounding the
tongue of the figure-4 set of triggers. The spring, usually a lithe
sapling, is strong enough to lift the forelegs of the animal from the
ground when the noose encircles its neck.
The Indian conceives the wolverine to be an animal embodying all the
cunning and mischief that can be contained in the skin of a beast. To
its cunning is added great bodily strength, enabling this medium-sized
animal to accomplish destruction apparently much beyond its strength.
Every other animal in the forests where it dwells prefers to give it the
path rather than engage in struggle with it. When seized in a trap a
wolverine offers a sturdy resistance. Even a famished wolf, to my
personal knowledge, will stand and look at it, but not attempt to cope
with it. In this particular instance, however, the wolf may have
considered the predicament of the wolverine another means of strategy
employed by that animal to entrap the wolf, and so deemed it wise to
remain at a respectful distance.
Every form of torture which the Indian mind is capable of conceiving is
inflicted upon this animal when it is captured. All manner of vile names
and reproaches are applied to it. The Indian enjoys relating how he
singed its fur off, broke its bones, and tormented it in many ways,
as it slowly expired under his hand.
[Illustration: FIG. 87.--Indian buckskin coat, man's (front).]