The Kinnepatoos, who
inhabit the shore of Hudson's Bay in the vicinity of Chesterfield Inlet
and its tributaries, are the only tribe I know of who live almost
exclusively upon the reindeer. Indeed, they only kill a sufficient
number of walrus and seal to provide them with shoes and gloves for
summer wear. The Netchillik and Ookjoolik tribes live mostly by
sealing, and as they are not provided with fire-arms, find it almost
impossible to kill reindeer when the snow is on the ground. The
Ooquesiksillik people, who live on Back's Great Fish River and its
tributary, Hayes River, live almost exclusively on fish. The Iwillik
tribe, that inhabits the coast of Hudson's Bay from near the mouth of
Chesterfield Inlet to Repulse Bay, the Igloolik, Amitigoke, Sekoselar,
Akkolear, and, indeed, all the various tribes along the northern shore
of Hudson's Strait, Fox Channel, and Southampton Island, rely chiefly
upon walrus meat for their food. The walrus is one of the largest
animals that inhabits these waters, and when one is killed it supplies
a quantity of food. An average-sized walrus weighs about a thousand or
twelve hundred pounds, and when it is remembered that every particle is
eaten except the hardest bones, the reader will see that it is a
valuable prize for the captors. The blood, blubber, intestines, even
the hide, the undigested contents of the stomach, and the softer bones,
as well as the oesophagus and windpipe, are all eaten, raw or cooked.
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