James Mooney - Native Americans - 22 Books on History, Mythology, Culture & Linguistic Studies

The mode of life of this tribe, as observed by Hall during his stay among them in 1864, differs in some material points from Klutschak’s account. It is particularly important that Hall found them at Wager River.

About forty Eskimo are said to have lived in Nuvung during that year, while others were at Depot Island. Large depots of deer meat were scattered over the country around the settlement (Hall II, p. 76) and were brought in by the natives one by one. In the middle of November, after having finished the work of currying their deerskins, they commenced the walrus hunt, but meantime they frequently fed on deer meat from their depots (Hall II, pp. 102, 128, 132, 133). Towards the end of February they commenced to disperse, at first moving southward in order to be nearer the floe edge (p. 144). In the beginning of March an advance party of natives moved to Wager River, where they intended to catch salmon through the ice and to visit depots in that part of the country (p. 149). In April all the former inhabitants of Nuvung had settled on the ice of Wager River, where salmon in moderate numbers were caught (p. 164), but the main subsistence was the seals, which were at first watched for at the breathing holes, while later on they were killed when basking on the ice.

As a summary of the foregoing statements, we may say that the five principal settlements of the Aivillirmiut are Pikiulaq (Depot Island), Nuvung and Ukusiksalik (Wager River), Aivillik (Repulse Bay), Akugdlit (Committee Bay), and Maluksilaq (Lyon Inlet). They may be divided into two groups, the former comprising the southern settlements, the latter the northern ones. Every one of these settlements has certain well known sites, which are frequented at the proper seasons.

It yet remains to describe the roads which are used in the intercourse between these settlements. From Pikiulaq to Nuvung the natives travel by means of sledges. In the winter of 1864-’65 two journeys were made, the first in December, the latter in January. Besides, boats are used in traveling along the shore in summer. Sledge journeys from Nuvung to Ukusiksalik cannot be accomplished on the ice, as in the entrance of the bay large water holes are formed. The sledges follow a chain of long, narrow lakes beginning near Nuvung and running almost parallel with the coast through a deep gorge. The bay is but a short distance beyond this gorge. I am not acquainted with the sledge road from Nuvung to Aivillik. Rae was visited at Fort Hope by a number of Eskimo, who came by sledges from Nuvung in June (I, p. 169). Hall traveled with the natives in boats, passing the narrows and following the edge of the land ice, while the rest of the families sledged on the shore or on the land ice (II, p. 177). The principal road across Rae Isthmus leads over North Pole Lake and is described by Rae and Hall. The latter accompanied the natives on two sledge roads, the one leading from Sagdlua, in Haviland Bay, to Qariaq, in Lyon Inlet, the other crossing the land farther south. I am not sure whether a road leading from Nebarvik to Committee Bay connects Maluksilaq with Akugdlit. It is doubtful whether the coast between Aivillik and Gore Bay is visited by the natives.

It is remarkable that the Aivillirmiut very rarely go to Southampton Island, though they are sometimes carried across Frozen Strait or Rowe’s Welcome by drifting ice. Scarcely ever of their own accord do they visit the island, which they call Sagdlirn. They know that it is inhabited, but have very little intercourse with its people.

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The reports upon the Kinipetu or Agutit of Chesterfield Inlet are very scanty as compared with those of the beforementioned tribe. All authors agree that they differ materially in their habits from the Aivillirmiut, and it has often been affirmed that they scarcely ever descend to the sea. As there is, however, no other tribe mentioned south of the Aivillirmiut besides this one and as in every voyage to these shores, even far south of Chesterfield Inlet, Eskimo are met with who frequently visit Fort Churchill, the most northern station of the Hudson Bay Company, there can be no doubt that they also visit the shore and the islands and hunt seals. Probably the greater part of the tribe live inland from July to March, hunting deer and the musk ox, and in winter only descend to the sea in order to procure blubber and sealskins during the season in which these are most easily obtained. It may be that another part stay near the head of Chesterfield Inlet all the year round or remain in the hilly country between the deep gulf and Back River hunting the musk ox. According to all reports, they are rather independent of the hunt of sea animals, and they do not even use their skins for garments (Klutschak, Deutsche Rundschau für Geographie und Statistik, III, p. 419). For this reason they would afford interesting material for investigation, and it is unfortunate that no trustworthy accounts of the tribe exist. Back, on his journey to the shores of the Arctic Ocean, found traces of the Eskimo on the lakes of Back River, ample proof that they were in the habit of visiting this region every summer. He found the first traces near 107° west longitude, and farther down, at the mouth of Baillie River. He did not see the natives whom Anderson and Stewart met in the summer of 1855 near McKinley River and later between Pelly and Garry Lakes. Their clothing and even the covers of their kayaks were made of deer and musk ox skins. They observed among these natives such articles of European make as the Hudson Bay Company used for barter and which were traded to the most southern Eskimo tribes of Hudson Bay. Therefore it is likely that these natives belonged to Chesterfield Inlet. This opinion is supported by Klutschak’s remark that a native of the mouth of Back River knew an overland route leading from the lakes at its upper course to Chesterfield Inlet.

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Before leaving the subject of the Hudson Bay Eskimo I may mention the inhabitants of Southampton Island, a tribe which is almost unknown and the only record of which was obtained by Captain Lyon during the few hours which he passed among them in 1824 (Attempt to reach Repulse Bay, p. 54). In August he found a few families on the island south of Cape Pembroke, who were living upon salmon which had been deposited in stone caches and who had tents made of sealskins. A winter house was found at the same point. About 1865 an American whaling vessel found some natives on Manico Point living in five tents. Even then they had scarcely any iron, but used the old stone implements; this proves the want of all communication with the natives of the mainland. Parry found traces of Eskimo in York Bay and they have been seen on many other parts of the island. The Hudson Bay tribes call this tribe the Sagdlirmiut, i.e., the inhabitants of Sagdlirn, and their knowledge about them is very scanty, as they meet very rarely and by chance only.

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Northwest of Hudson Bay we find a tribe in Pelly Bay. The reports upon it are very scanty and it is difficult to find out the extent of the district which is occupied by it. Ross did not fall in with the tribe, and in the accounts of the Netchillirmiut on their journey to Repulse Bay no mention is made of an intervening tribe (II, p. 263). In April, 1847, Rae found signs of the tribe near Helen Island, in Pelly Bay (I, p. 113). There was an abundance of seals on the ice all around the islands (p. 111), but besides these they had large stocks of dried musk ox and salmon (p. 124). On his second journey he found their winter habitation on Barrow and Cameroon Lakes (II, p. 938), and on the 20th of April he met with seventeen natives on the mainland west of Augustus Island, among whom were five women. In traveling farther west he fell in with a native who had been hunting the musk ox. On the 17th of May he found twelve natives settled in the same place and living on seal (II, p. 842).