When the rays of the sun begin to be warmer and the roofs of the snow
houses tumble down the natives live in a very uncomfortable way until a
sufficient number of sealskins are procured to build a tent. Sometimes a
family live under a roof too small to cover them all, though they sit as
close as possible, and too low to permit them to sit upright; but, as
seals are basking everywhere on the ice, this state of affairs does not
last long. The women split a number of large skins and dry them on the
snow, and by the middle of May they can build a pretty large tent; but
it is not until they settle permanently at the place of the summer
village that the large tent is sewed and put up.
At this season salmon and venison form the staple food of the Eskimo.
The old men, women, and children, who stay at the lakes or at the salmon
rivers, depend almost entirely upon this food. They fish and eat the
salmon in a raw as well as in a cooked state. Birds are caught and eaten
raw. The surplus salmon are split and dried on poles erected for the
purpose. Deer shoulders, legs, and backs are also cut into thin pieces
and dried. Sometimes the dried fish and venison are deposited in stone
caches for later use, but most of it is eaten in summer, especially when
the Eskimo go traveling. When the men go deer hunting they take a supply
of dried salmon with them, and thus can stay out for a week or even
longer. When a deer is killed it is skinned at once, the legs being slit
and the belly opened. The paunch is carefully tied up, as the contents
are a favorite dish of the Eskimo. The head, the legs, and the ribs are
cut off and after being piled up the whole is covered with heavy stones,
only the horns protruding from the top of the depot. The hams and the
skin are generally carried to the hut at once, and, if the distance is
not too great or the carcass can be reached with sledges or boats, the
whole animal is brought home. Large depots are only made in the fall,
when there is no danger of the meat spoiling.
At this season the natives visit deer passes and lakes, near which they
establish their huts. The tents and all the household goods are packed
up in heavy bundles, some of which are carried by the dogs, the load
hanging on both sides of the back; others, by men and women, being
secured by one strap which passes over the forehead and by another which
passes over the breast. Their strength and their perseverance in
carrying heavy loads over long distances are remarkable.
The social life in the summer settlements is rather different from that
in winter. At this season the families do not cook their own meals, but
a single one provides for the whole settlement. The day before it is her
turn to cook, the woman goes to the hills to fetch shrubs for the fire.
Three stones are put up near the hut as a fireplace, the opening facing
the wind. The kettle is placed on the top of it and the fire is fed with
shrubs and blubber. When the meal is ready the master of the house
stands beside it, crying Ujo! Ujo! (boiled meat) and everybody comes out
of the hut provided with a knife. The dish is carried to a level place
and the men sit down around it in one circle, while the women form
another. Then large lumps of meat are passed around, everybody cutting
off a piece and taking a swallow of the soup, which is passed around in
a large leather cup. These dinners, which are held in the evening after
the return from the hunt, are almost always enlivened by a mimic
performance. A man or an old woman sits down in the center of the circle
and amuses the assembly by singing and dancing or by making faces.
A favorite performance is one in which a man, with blackened face and
with a thong tied around his head, writhes and makes odd grimaces.
After dinner the men sit chatting or gambling before the huts, while the
women and children amuse themselves by running about, playing at ball,
or dancing.
A strict religious custom forbids the Eskimo to work on the deerskins
which are obtained in summer before the ice has formed; they are only
dried and tied up in large bundles. In the fall, when on their way to
the winter settlements, the Eskimo travel rather quickly. The boats are
piled up with the spoils of the summer hunt and the place of destination
is generally reached before the stormy weather sets in.
When it gets colder short excursions are made by boat in order to
collect shrubs for covering the tents. Several families join in building
a common hut, and on a fine day the old tents are torn down and the tent
poles are converted into a strong frame, which is covered with a double
roof. The bed and the platforms for the lamps are raised and henceforth
all the cooking is done inside.
As soon as the first seals are caught with the harpoon the deer skins
are prepared. If they were deposited under stones in summer, sledges set
out to bring them to the settlements, and then they are distributed for
winter clothing. According to Hall the western tribes are in the habit
of spreading all the skins on one place and distributing them among the
inhabitants of the settlement. I did not observe the same custom among
the eastern tribes. Then they devote themselves to dressing the skins.
On Davis Strait this work falls to the share of the women, while among
the Hudson Bay tribes it is done by the men. At this season the great
religious feasts of the natives are celebrated, which announce, as it
were, the commencement of winter.