Ethnology of the Ungava District, Hudson Bay Territory Part 18

A needle of bone, horn, or iron (Fig. 130) is used for netting the snowshoes. The shape of the implement is flat and rounded at each point, to enable the needle to be used either backward or forward. The eye which carries the line is in the middle. Various sizes of needles are used for the different kinds of netting, of which the meshes differ greatly in size.

The line is generally 10 to 20 feet in length, and when the netting is completed it somewhat resembles the seating of a cane-bottomed chair.

Each individual varies his work according to fancy, but as the netting between the bars is made of coa.r.s.er line, more compactly woven, there is less difference there than at the toe or heel.

The netting of the toe is of finer line and meshes than the middle or between the bars; while that between the heel bar and heel of the snowshoe is finest of all.

The netting between the bars holds the joints of the frames where they lap over each other.

The toe and heel s.p.a.ces of netting are held in place by the line pa.s.sing under the threads which are wrapped around the bars from the netting between them, and again are fastened or slipped through loops of thread or line which are let through the frame of the snowshoe.

Near the center of the toe-bar is a s.p.a.ce left in the netting between the bars to admit the toes of the wearer and allow them free action while walking. This s.p.a.ce is semicircular and is inclosed by several strands of line pa.s.sing over the toe-bar and forming loops, which have the diagonal lines of the netting pa.s.sed around them and drawn tight.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY ELEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XLI

NENENOT SNOWSHOE--"BEAVER-TAIL."]

The snowshoe is held to the foot by a wide buckskin thong attached at the semicircular s.p.a.ce back of the toe-bar. The ends must be far enough apart to admit the width of the foot as far as the toes, and must be then drawn down to prevent the foot from pus.h.i.+ng too far forward and striking against the toe-bar. The loop pa.s.sing over the toes must be slack enough to allow free movement of the foot. When the strap suits the foot it is pa.s.sed around the heel of the wearer and tied sufficiently tight to give ease and comfort. If too tight, the weight soon presses the tendon of the heel. If too loose, it drops down and the toe slips from under the toe band.

The single-bar snowshoes are not much used, because they are somewhat difficult to make. They are of two styles. One has the bar directly under the center of the foot. It is wide, and should be strong enough to sustain the weight of any wearer. The other style is where the single bar is at the front of the toes, which pattern differs from the "beaver-tail" style only in the absence of the heel bar. This pattern is considered the easiest of all to wear and walk in when once learned.

The foot straps are exactly like those of the common kinds.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 131.--Wooden snowshoe, Little Whale river.]

The single bar in the middle of the snowshoe renders it a matter of great discomfort until one is accustomed to it, as the straps are simply loops for the toe and heel. This pattern has been already figured. The largest snowshoes measure as much as 28 inches across and 3 feet in length.

Some of the Indians acquire great expertness in the use of these snowshoes, and are able to run quite rapidly with them. The width of the shoes causes one to straddle widely to allow one snowshoe to pa.s.s above and over the other. Care must be exercised that while bringing the rear foot forward the frame does not strike the ankle and produce a serious bruise. In ascending a hill the toe must elevate the snowshoe to avoid a stumble. In descending the body must be thrown well back or a pitch heels over head ensues, and sometimes the frames strike the back of the head.

To put them on the feet the foot must enter the loop from forward toward the rear, and when the loop is on the foot the latter must be turned within the loop and then pa.s.sed under the toe band.

Everybody wears snowshoes--men, women, and children. Without them travel in winter would be an impossibility, and as the capture of furs is made in winter and the ground to be hunted over must of necessity be of great area, the snowshoe becomes a necessity as much as the canoe in summer.

I collected two peculiar pairs of snowshoes, made of flat spruce boards (Fig. 131). They are shaped exactly like netted snowshoes of the "beaver tail" pattern, and the arrangement of the foot strap is the same as usual.

They came from the Little Whale river Indians, who informed me that they were worn on soft snow.

In the spring of the year, when the snow is rapidly melted by sun, the netted snowshoes become clogged with slush, rendering the weight very fatiguing. Wooden snowshoes are admirably adapted for that season of the year, and may be made in a few hours, while the netted ones require several days' a.s.siduous labor. The Indians of the Koksoak valley do not use the wooden snowshoes.

WEAPONS.

In former times these Indians used the bow and arrow exclusively, but they have now nearly discarded these weapons for the guns which they procure from the traders.

The bow and arrow is, however, still used to kill ptarmigan, hares, and rabbits. The bow (Fig. 132) consists of a piece of larch or spruce wood of 4 to 6 feet in length. It is only slightly narrower and thinner at the ends, and nearly an inch thick and an inch and a half wide at the central portions. But little ingenuity is displayed in the construction of these weapons. They have considerable elasticity, and if broken it is easy to obtain a piece of wood from the forest and fas.h.i.+on another. The string is a strand of deerskin, twisted or rolled. It is rare to find a bow that has a single string.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 132.--Bow, Nenenot.]

The arrows are usually 2 feet or 30 inches long, and feathered with three ptarmigan feathers. (Figs. 133-136.) The head is usually an egg-shaped k.n.o.b, terminating in a slender point which soon breaks off.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY ELEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. XLII

NENENOT SNOWSHOE--"ROUND-END."]

This weapon is used for small game, as the cost of ammunition is too great to spend it upon game as readily procured by this cheaper method.

The Indian is very expert in the use of the bow and arrow, and is able to knock over a ptarmigan or crouching hare every time at 25 yards. The force with which the arrow is projected is astonis.h.i.+ng. I have seen a ptarmigan rolled for many yards amid a perfect cloud of feathers when struck by the arrow. It often tears the entire side out of the bird.

In former years the arrow did great execution among the deer in the water or deep snow banks among which they floundered when driven into them by the Indian who, on snowshoes, was able to travel where the deer sank nearly out of sight.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 133.--Arrow, Nenenot.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 134.--Arrow, Nenenot.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 135.--Arrow, Nenenot.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 136.--Arrow, Nenenot.]

Among the Indian boys it is yet a favorite amus.e.m.e.nt to shoot small birds with the bow and arrow. Small crossbows also are used by children.

They have doubtless been made after those brought by some white man.

The children have great sport with these bows.

The spear, already referred to, for killing the swimming reindeer, is shown in Fig. 137. The wooden shaft is 6 feet long, and the steel point, which is made of a flat file beaten down to a quarter of an inch square, is 11 inches long. It is set into the end of the shaft and fastened by a whipping of sinew.

The weapon is held by the hand in a manner peculiar as well as uncomfortable. The closed hand over the b.u.t.t end of the weapon is so placed as to have the fingers upward and the outside of the hand toward the point, this rather awkward grasp enables the person to let go of the weapon in case of threatened disaster resulting from a misdirected thrust. The collection also contains three models of deer spears, Nos.

3205-3207. These are often also used as arrows to shoot at larger game when the Indian is out hunting ptarmigan, hares, and rabbits. A hungry wolverene or a famished wolf would prove troublesome to kill with the blunt arrows. These models differ from the larger spear only in size.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 137.--Deer lance, Nenenot.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 138.--White whale spear, Little Whale river.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 139.--Point of white whale spear enlarged.]

The Little Whale river Indians use a peculiar spear for killing white whales. (Figs. 138, 139). It is modeled after the Eskimo harpoon, but has no "loose shaft," or rather, the fore shaft and loose shaft are in one piece, and has a circular wooden disk fitted to the b.u.t.t of the shaft, which takes the place of the bladder float, and serves to impede the motions of the animal when struck. Reindeer antler is subst.i.tuted for the ivory of the Eskimo weapon. The blades are of copper or iron and riveted in. These spears are 8 or 10 feet long.

The snare (Fig. 140) forms one of the less important methods of procuring these animals. It is of parchment made from the skin of the reindeer cut into thin narrow thongs. Several of these strands, usually three, are plaited together to form a layer; and of these layers three are plaited together to form the snare line. It often is made, however, of three single strands cut somewhat wider and creased so that they will lie well when the three are plaited. The more strands the greater the flexibility of the line, but as there must be a certain amount of stiffness to hold it in position the many strands must be woven more tightly together. The length varies from 10 to 20 feet, and at the end is a loop formed by turning the strands back and splicing them. Through the loop the other end is pa.s.sed, and the noose is made.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 140.--Reindeer snare. Nenenot.]

When a herd of deer is discovered in a favorable locality the people of the vicinity are informed and hasty preparations are made.

The effort is to cause the deer to pa.s.s through a narrow defile containing bushes. The snares are then placed in position by tying the free end of the line to a suitable tree and suspending the noose where the heads or antlers will become entangled. Some are placed so that when the foot is lifted the noose is carried along and tightens on it.

The people surround the animals, and at a given signal shout and create the greatest din, to confuse the creatures, which plunge toward the place where the snares are set. One or two hunters concealed in that locality appear suddenly and further confuse the now panic-stricken animals, which rush in every direction before their foes. They become immeshed in the nooses and are held until their throats are cut or they are choked by the cord.

It frequently happens that two deer will be caught in a single snare.

The Indians a.s.sert that it is a most ludicrous sight to witness two st.u.r.dy bucks caught by the antlers in a single snare. They appear to accuse each other of the misfortune, and struggle terribly to free themselves. In the animals which are strangled by the noose the congested blood distends the veins and renders the flesh very dark.

Previous to the general use of guns the snaring method was of greater importance than at the present day. Even now the Indian does not lose any opportunity of employing the snare.

Some of the snares are made of tanned skin, which is softer and is often ornamented with strands of beads attached to the end of the line. Some of them are colored red, with a mixture of vermilion and hemat.i.te earths, thinned with water.