dogs' meat, then the poor creatures must go and seek for themselves,
in which case they will swallow almost any thing, so that it is always
necessary to secure the harness over night, if the traveller wishes to
proceed in the morning. The teams vary from three to nine dogs, and
this last number have been known to drag a weight of more than sixteen
hundred pounds, a mile in nine minutes.
Like the Greenlanders the inhabitants of Labrador must draw their
subsistence and their wealth chiefly from the sea; but in this respect
their circumstances are less favourable than the former. Whales are
scarce, and the chief species they take is that denominated the white
fish, of little value in commerce. In pursuing them they have now
adopted the European boat in preference to their own, and those most
frequently employed are six oared, rowed by twelve men. The harpooner
stands in the bow with his harpoon, or iron spear, which is stuck on a
shaft one or two fathoms long, and is provided with a leathern thong
of considerable length, to which are attached from five to ten
bladders of seal skin. If the whale be struck he immediately dives to
the bottom of the sea, where he remains till he is quite exhausted,
when he again comes to the surface of the water to breathe; in the
meanwhile the boat's crew observe all its motions, and are in
readiness with their lances to complete the business, during which,
the person who first struck the fish, falls down on his face in the
fore part of the boat, and prays that Torngak would strengthen the
thongs that they may not break; another of the crew allows his feet to
be bound, as a symbol of what he desires, then attempting to walk,
falls down and exclaims, "Let him be lame!" and a third, if he
observes that the whale is dying, calls out, "Now Torngak is there,
and will help us to kill the fish, and we shall eat his flesh, and
fare sumptuously, and be happy!" But if the whale appears likely to
escape, the first continues lying on his face crying out with
vehemence, "Hear yet, and help us!" If the whale get off, some of
their conjurors inform them that Torngak was not there, or he did not
hear, or he was otherwise employed! Seals are more abundant, and are
the chief dependance of the natives, their flesh serving for food,
their skins for clothes and covering to their tents and boats, and
their blubber for oil or for exchange. Catching the seal was formerly
a tedious and laborious process, but now they are generally taken in
nets, which the natives have adopted from the Europeans.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account