_The Netchillirmiut._--Following the shore westward we find the
interesting tribes that inhabit Boothia Felix, King William Land, and
the mouth of Back River. Among them the Netchillirmiut are the most
important. Their favorite hunting grounds seem to have undergone a
remarkable change since they were first visited by Ross in 1829. At that
period their district occupied the southern part of Boothia Felix,
particularly the narrow isthmus and the adjoining parts of both coasts.
They were acquainted with Bellot Strait (Ikerasaq), which they described
as the way the Victory had to take in order to effect a passage to the
western sea. A part of the tribe was in the habit of wintering on Owutta
Island; they also probably visited the eastern part of King William
Land. The southwestern termination of their district cannot be exactly
defined, but from their description of the land south of Lake
Willerstedt it appears that they visited Shepherd Bay; besides, I find
that in June, 1831, a number of families lived south of Netchillik,
i.e., probably in Rae Strait or on Shepherd Bay (Ross II, p. 537).
So far as can be gathered from Ross’s account the tribe had three winter
settlements, one on the eastern shore of the Isthmus of Boothia, another
at Lake Netchillik, and the third on Owutta Island.[3] As to the first
meeting of the natives with the Victory two contradictory accounts are
found. At first it is related (p. 252) that they came from Akugdlit,
having been on the road ten days. Later, and this is more probable, it
is said that two natives had descried the ship in September, 1829, when
passing near Victoria Harbor (p. 309). Being in great fear, they had
immediately traveled to Netchillik to communicate with their countrymen.
There they met with a woman who had been on board of Parry’s ships, and
she had induced all the natives, by her stories, to be on the lookout
for the Europeans. At the first meeting, on the 9th of January, 1830, 31
men approached the ship. This would answer to a population of about one
hundred and twenty persons, and it is quite unprecedented that such a
party should travel for any distance and even beyond the limitations of
their own territory and of their customary migrations. Probably a
traveling party had joined the Netchillirmiut, who had lived somewhere
in Lord Mayor’s Bay, and they all went to meet the ship.
[Footnote 3: From a rather ambiguous statement (p. 355) it would
seem that Owutta belongs to the territory of the Ugjulirmiut; but
in later passages ample proof is found that it is inhabited by the
Netchillirmiut (pp. 423, 427). I myself was formerly misled by the
above passage (Zeitschr. Gesell. Erdk., p. 171, Berlin, 1883).]
From Ross we also learn that during January and February these natives
lived on seals, which were killed with harpoons (pp. 250, 255, 259),
but, in addition, they had deposits of venison, seal blubber, and fish
(pp. 251, 262). Sometimes they went hunting the musk ox on the mainland
farther north, and a small party may have staid there throughout the
winter (p. 265). In the first days of March they began to scatter all
over the ice (p. 290), in order to have a better chance of sealing and
of catching young seals in the white coat (pp. 293, 295). The young
sealing commenced about the 10th of March. It is worth remarking that
this is the only tribe on the continent of America which pursues the
young seal; they are enabled to do this by the extent of the land floe
in the large bays. In the last days of March some of the natives started
for Sarvaq and Netchillik to fetch their kayaks (p. 315), which they had
left there the preceding season. As they intended to hunt deer at the
lakes farther north, they were obliged to have their boats at hand at
the breaking up of the ice. The further the season advanced the more the
settlements were broken up (p. 338), and towards the end of April the
first families left for Netchillik to join the other part of the tribe
(p. 323). At this season the musk ox and the returning reindeer were
frequently hunted (pp. 252, 335, 349). In the first days of May some of
the natives went to Netchillik (p. 337), and another party followed a
month later (p. 383). They stopped on Middle Lake for a short time to
fish for trout (p. 384). A number of families remained near the ship,
sealing, catching salmon, and hunting the musk ox (pp. 436, 441, 450,
453) until the beginning of July, when the fishing season ended and they
went to the inland lakes to hunt deer and fish for trout in the rapids
between the lakes (p. 450). In the summer their principal fishing
stations were Lindsay River and Sarvaq.
The other part of the tribe which had lived at Lake Netchillik were even
more numerous than that of the coast, as 21 snow houses were found which
had been inhabited by them during the winter (p. 389). The number of
inhabitants of this village was about one hundred and seventy, and,
since there were a few who lived on Owutta Island and yet others who may
have been scattered in different parts of the country, it is probable
that the whole tribe numbered 350 persons.
As they were seen only a few times by the expedition the reports are
rather incomplete. In the winter they lived on a plain, which was called
Okavit, on the eastern shore of Lake Netchillik (p. 315). The exact
position cannot be learned from Ross’s journal. As some mention is made
of blubber deposits at Netchillik (p. 388), it is probable that they
lived on stores deposited in summer. Toward the end of May and in the
beginning of June they were met with at Spence Bay and Josephine Bay.
One of their stations was on the island Inugsulik, near Padliaq, the
head of Spence Bay. Here their principal food was codfish, which they
caught in holes cut through the ice, while the sealing was there a less
important interest (pp. 391, 426). The kayaks which were found deposited
on the west shore of Boothia as far as Josephine Bay proved that they
resorted to this region in the deer hunting season (pp. 406, 407). The
families who had been at Owutta during the winter of 1829-’30 were found
in June, 1831, in Padliaq, whence they crossed the isthmus and visited
Tarionitjoq (p. 431).
In 1830 no natives were seen after the usual time of their departure for
the interior of the country, and it was not until April, 1831, that they
were found again. They had wintered at Lake Avatutiaq, on the eastern
shore of Boothia (p. 511), where they had lived on a large stock of
salmon caught in the fall (p. 531) and on musk oxen which were hunted
during the entire year in the hilly country near the lakes. Others had
wintered farther south, on Lake Owen (p. 524). A portion of these Eskimo
set out for Netchillik in April (p. 522), while the others remained in
Tom’s Bay and subsisted upon codfish, salmon, and seals (p. 546).
In June another party left for Netchillik, whence some of the natives,
who had not seen the ship before, arrived at Victoria Harbor in July,
probably having heard of her new station at this place through the
returning families (p. 577). In August the last of them left, going west
(p. 592).
Though these reports are rather imperfect, they enable us to get a fair
idea of the mode of life of this tribe.
In the large bays on the eastern side of the isthmus the natives live
just as do the southern tribes of Baffin Land, pursuing the seal at its
breathing hole during the winter. Here, as everywhere else, the
settlements were broken up early in the spring. The fishing is commenced
remarkably early, while in the east scarcely any salmon are caught
before the breaking up of the lakes. West of Melville Peninsula the
fishing is commenced in March or even earlier. On Boothia the most
important means of subsistence for the natives is the codfish, on which
they live during the spring and probably during a part of the winter.
It is also an important article of food for the other tribes of this
region, while farther east it is of no importance. The salmon fisheries
of Boothia are very productive, of which Netchillik and Padliaq in
Josephine Bay, Stanley and Lord Lindsay Rivers, Qogulortung,
Angmalortuq, and Sarvaq may be considered the most important. Deer are
hunted while swimming across the numerous lakes of Boothia, and the musk
ox in the granite hills of its northern part. Here is also another
winter resort of the tribe, from which the island Tukia, north of Lake
Avatutiaq, is visited in summer, to collect pyrite or native iron
(p. 362), which is used for kindling fire. The life of the western part
of the tribe, as far as we are acquainted with it, was described in the
foregoing paragraph.
Neither Dease and Simpson, who visited Castor and Pollux River in 1839,
nor Rae, on his second voyage to Boothia, met the natives themselves;
the latter, however, saw their marks on the islands of Acland Bay
(II, p. 840).
The next traveler who fell in with the tribe was M’Clintock, who visited
King William Land in search of the Franklin records. In February, 1859,
he met several families near Cape Adelaide (p. 230). They traveled
during the spring all along the shore and had been near Tasmania Islands
in March and April. They were seen by him on their return journey to
Netchillik, near Cape Nicholas. They traveled slowly south, hunting
seals. They knew the coast as far as Bellot Strait and were able to name
every cape of this district. A few families who had wintered in company
with this party at Cape Victoria had returned to Netchillik when the
other parties started north (p. 253). On the 4th of May, twenty deserted
snow huts were found on the southwest point of Matty Island (p. 257).
From the direction of the sledge tracks, M’Clintock concluded that the
natives who had formerly lived here had gone to Netchillik. On the 7th
of May a settlement of 30 or 40 individuals was found on the eastern
coast of King William Land (p. 260). This party had not communicated
with the villages on the mainland of Boothia since the preceding fall
(p. 260).
An interesting change in the territory which is inhabited by this tribe
has occurred since Ross’s visit to this country. In order to describe it
more fully, I must refer to the relations of the Netchillirmiut to the
Ugjulirmiut. At this early period the intercourse between the tribes of
Ugjulik and Netchillik was of little consequence. No European had ever
been in their districts, which included Adelaide Peninsula and the
southern shore of King William Land (Ross II, p. 317), but quite a
number of persons were known to the Netchillirmiut (p. 357), who had met
them in their trading excursions. In addition to this, a young single
man of Ugjulik had been adopted by a Netchillirmio who lived on the
eastern coast of King William Land and on Owutta Island (p. 355). When
the Franklin expedition perished on King William Land, in 1848, the
Netchillirmiut had not yet visited that part of the country. From
Schwatka’s inquiries we learn that the tribe that found Crozier and his
fellow sufferers did not extend its migrations beyond Adelaide Peninsula
and the southern shore of King William Land. In the summer of 1848 they
attempted in vain to cross Simpson Strait, and were compelled to stay on
the island. They traveled all over the country as far as Peel Inlet,
opposite to Matty Island (Gilder, p. 91). Hence it is obvious that the
Netchillirmiut, up to the time of the Franklin catastrophe, lived in
their old territory, as the inhabitants of Boothia in 1859 had only
indirect news of the shipwreck.
When the Ugjulirmiut obtained an enormous stock of metals and wood by
the destruction of Franklin’s ships, the Netchillirmiut commenced to
visit King William Land, in order to partake also of these riches. Thus
they began, by degrees, to move westward, and became intermingled with
the Ugjulirmiut. Hall mentions quite a number of Boothians who had met
Ross on the eastern shore of the isthmus, though they were living on
King William Land at that time (Hall II, p. 405). Besides, according to
all accounts, the number of women is much smaller among the
Netchillirmiut than that of men, and these are obliged to look for wives
among the neighboring tribes, particularly among the Ugjulirmiut. As
these do not differ in the fashion of their clothing and tattooing from
the Netchillirmiut, it is scarcely possible at the present time to
separate the tribes. It is worth remarking, however, that Gilder and
Klutschak use both terms, and therefore I conclude that the natives
themselves are conscious of belonging to different tribes.
Schwatka describes the limits of their territory as he learned them from
his observations in the summer of 1879 (Science, December 19, 1884,
p. 543). He found them on the mainland opposite King William Land and
along the islands in the vicinity of Simpson Strait. They were most
numerous along the northern shores of Adelaide Peninsula, their villages
being scattered every few miles along the coast from Montreal Island to
Smith Point. On the chart accompanying this account the eastern shore of
the Back River estuary is included in the district inhabited by the
Netchillirmiut.
It is important to compare this description with the observations which
were made by Hall in 1869. He found the first traces of natives at the
very head of Shepherd Bay, where a sledge track was observed (p. 395).
Near Point Acland several snow huts and a number of natives were met
with on the 30th of April (p. 396). Farther west he found a village on
Point Booth (p. 397), but the most interesting fact is that in May,
1869, the party had fresh salmon from Netchillik (p. 400). This
statement is decisive of the question whether the Netchillirmiut still
continued their visits to the isthmus from which they take their name.
From Klutschak’s journal a few more details may be gathered. From it we
learn that in summer the Netchillirmiut scatter, and, while some go
sealing near Montreal Island (p. 75), many others go inland to hunt deer
in the lakes of the peninsula and farther south (p. 119). A third party
resort to King William Land, the southern shore of which they frequent
until September, while the more northern parts are seldom visited
(p. 79). At this season they leave the island and all return to Adelaide
Peninsula (p. 126). I suppose, however, that this report does not refer
to the whole tribe, but that another party visited Shepherd Bay in
winter. It seems to me very improbable that in the interval between 1869
and 1879 a total change should have occurred. In the spring they catch
salmon, which are dried and stored to be used in winter. Their stock of
blubber and deer meat is sufficient to last them during the greater part
of the winter. At this season they fish only in holes made through the
ice. Important winter settlements are at Point Richardson and at the
outlet of Qimuqsuq (Sherman Inlet), where all the deer needed are caught
in the fall while they are crossing the bay.
Although these statements do not altogether harmonize, it appears,
notwithstanding, that King William Land and Adelaide Peninsula, which
were not visited by the tribe in the early part of our century, became
its favorite hunting ground after the loss of the Franklin expedition.
Since that period the more northern parts of Boothia may have been
abandoned by the natives, though no certain proof of this can be
offered. Netchillik itself and the more southern parts were visited up
to 1869, and probably they are yet inhabited by the Eskimo. This cannot
be said with positiveness, however, for this part of the country has not
been visited since the times of Ross and M’Clintock. The migration of
the natives was caused, without doubt and as we have already remarked,
by the profusion of metals and wood obtained from the wrecks and the
starved traveling parties.
_The Ugjulirmiut._--Several important facts regarding the Ugjulirmiut
are mentioned above. Dease and Simpson found their first traces on the
western shore of Adelaide Peninsula. From Ross’s account (I, p. 427) it
appears that their territory was the same at that period as it is now,
and M’Clintock’s meeting with them on the shore of King William Land may
be adduced as a proof of this. Their old country is now inhabited by
both Ugjulirmiut and Netchillirmiut. Therefore their mode of life is
identical and requires no comment. Visits to the northern parts of King
William Land have been very rare, but it was on one of these that
Franklin’s ships were discovered (Klutschak). They rarely went hunting
beyond Cape Herschel, but looked for driftwood on the northern shore of
the island.
_The Ukusiksalirmiut._--The last tribe of the Central Eskimo, the
Ukusiksalirmiut, inhabit the estuary of Back River. They were met by
Back and by Anderson and Stewart. Recently Schwatka and his party
communicated with them on their visit to King William Land. Klutschak
affirms that they are the remains of a strong tribe which formerly
inhabited Adelaide Peninsula but was supplanted by the Netchillirmiut
and the Ugjulirmiut. Klutschak calls them Ukusiksalik; Gilder, sometimes
Ukusiksalik, sometimes Ugjulik. The latter author relates that a single
family living on Hayes River (Kugnuaq) had formerly had its station on
Adelaide Peninsula, but had retired to this country when the warlike
Netchillirmiut began to visit King William Land and Adelaide Peninsula.
Schwatka could identify the same man with one of those whom Back had
seen in the estuary of the river in 1833 (Gilder, p. 78). Therefore they
must have lived in this district a long time before the Netchillirmiut
began to move westward. According to Back the party with which he fell
in did not know the land beyond the estuary of Back River, which
indicates that they were neither from Ugjulik nor Netchillik. As the
Ugjulirmiut lived on Adelaide Peninsula when Ross wintered in Boothia,
I do not consider it probable that the Ukusiksalirmiut ever lived in
that part of the country, and I cannot agree with Klutschak. I may add
Parry’s remark, that beyond Ukusiksalik (Wager River) another
Ukusiksalik (Back River) was known to the natives of Winter Island.
The reports on their mode of life are very deficient. They were met by
Schwatka a little above the great bend of Hayes River in May, 1879;
he also met another party in December at the Dangerous Rapids of Back
River. Schwatka counted seven families at the former and nine at the
latter place. Their principal food consisted of fish, which are caught
in abundance in Back River (Klutschak, p. 164). It is said that they
have no fuel during the winter. Undoubtedly they use some kind of fuel,
and I rather doubt the implication that they do not hunt seals at all.
The musk ox and fish, however, are their main food, according to both
Klutschak and Gilder. It is very remarkable that all the natives west of
Boothia depend much more on fish than do any other tribes of the Central
Eskimo.
A word in regard to the roads used in the intercourse between the
tribes. From Akugdlit a road leads over the lakes of Simpson Peninsula
to Pelly Bay. Rae and Hall traveled over it on their journeys to the
northwest and it was used by the Sinimiut when they visited Repulse Bay
in 1866. From Pelly Bay two roads lead to Netchillik and the estuary of
Back River, the one following the east shore of the Boothia, the other
running to Lake Simpson, whence the valley of Murchison River
facilitates the access to Inglis Bay. The Isthmus of Boothia is crossed
by the two chains of lakes discovered by Ross. In visiting the
northeastern part of the peninsula the natives ascend Stanley River and
cross the lakes farther north. Between Netchillik and Ugjulik the Eskimo
pass by Owutta Island to Peel Inlet, whence they travel overland to the
south shore of King William Land and cross Simpson Strait. Another road
leads from Cape Colville to Matheson Point, following the south shore of
King William Land. In traveling from Ugjulik to Back River they use
Sherman Inlet and the adjoining isthmus. It is probable that Back River
is visited by natives belonging to Wager River. The existence of a
communication between Back River and Chesterfield Inlet is proved by
Anderson and Stewart, who found Eskimo at Lake Garry, and by a remark of
Klutschak (p. 170), who learned from a native of Back River that
Chesterfield Inlet could be reached from the upper part of that river.
It is quite probable that thus an immediate though limited intercourse
is kept up between the Kinipetu and the Ukusiksalirmiut.