Part 13

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.