Part 13
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.
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.
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.
CLOTHING.
The apparel worn by the Ungava Indians is quite distinct for the different sexes. The method of preparing the skins for the manufacture of garments is the same, but the forms of the garments for the sexes are so different as to require special consideration.
The garments worn by the men differ somewhat according to the season of the year, for the extremes of climate are very great. The clothing of the men consists of a coat, breeches, leggings, moccasins, gloves or mittens, and cap or headdress.
The coat consists of the skins of the reindeer tanned into a thoroughly pliable condition by the process to be described presently.
The shape of the garment worn in summer (Figs. 87 and 88) is somewhat similar to that of a frock coat, but without the tails. The back is cut from a single skin and the skirt cut up from below. Into this is inserted a piece of sufficient width to allow movement of the lower limbs. The sides are from the second skin, split down the middle of the back and sewed to the skin, forming the back of the garment. The back skin forms the covering for the top of the shoulders and extends to the collar seam. The side skins form the front and neck of the garment. The sleeves are made of a third skin, and frequently have a roll or cuff to increase the length, if necessary. The collar is merely a strip of skin sewed to the neck. It is usually turned down. The front is usually open, and if made to be closed it is held in position by a belt or gaudily colored scarf of woolen or cotton purchased from the trader.
The seams of the clothing are always sewed with sinew like that used by the Eskimo. There are but two seams which run the entire length of the coat, and these are the side seams. The seam at the skirt, the armhole, sleeve, and collar are the shorter ones. The coat is always more or less ornamented with extravagant painted designs. The colors and other materials used for painting these designs will be described in another connection, as well as the manner of applying them.
The patterns of these designs will be best understood by reference to the figures, which show some of them in detail (Figs. 89, 90).
The colors used often present startling combinations of red, blue, yellow, and brown. The portions of the garments upon which these colors are placed are the front edges of the opening of the coat, the wrists, and rings around the arms or sleeves, the skirt and pyramid-shaped designs over the hips. The piece intended to widen the skirt behind is always entirely covered with a design of some kind. Over the outside of the seams a line of paint is always applied, nearly always of a red or brown color.