[Illustration: FIG. 66. Bow case. East Main Eskimo.]
The hair of the animal whose skin is intended for a float is sometimes scraped off before the skin is removed from the body, otherwise it may be left until the skin is partly dry and then be shaved off. The manner of loosening the hair is similar to that used by butchers of hogs, only that the boiling water is poured on and a small patch of hair pulled off at a time, instead of submerging the entire animal. The hair from the green skin must be carefully pulled out or else the black scurf adhering will be detached and thus render the skin less nearly waterproof.
The skins or bags used for holding oil and fat are prepared in a similar manner, excepting that the hair is left on the skin and the hairy side left within. The oil and fat are put in the skin at the posterior end and it is then tied up like a float. The largest sealskins are used for oilbags, and may contain as much as 300 pounds of fat or oil.
When a sack of oil is sold the bag is usually returned to the seller, who again fills it with oil or converts the skin into bootlegs or soles. The leather having become thoroughly impregnated with the oil makes the best for wear, often resisting moisture for three or four days of continuous wet.
Before leaving the subject of weapons and their accessories, I may mention No. 3069, a small pouch made of thick sealskin. The shape is somewhat like that of a leg of mutton. This is used for carrying gun caps. The neck is only large enough to permit one cap to fall out at a time.
[Illustration: FIG. 67.--Hand spear for killing seals from kaiak; Koksoak.]
I have already referred briefly to the various methods of taking seals, white whales, and other game, while describing the boats, spears, and other apparatus used in their pursuit.
The most important hunt of the year, however, comes in the autumn, when the reindeer are migrating in large herds and crossing the rivers. The deer are wanted now for their flesh for food and their skins for clothing. Everything necessary for the chase is taken in the umiak, or, perhaps, a whaleboat, to a locality convenient to where the animals cross over. Here the tent is pitched, and a camp is made. The hunters scour the neighboring land for herds of reindeer, which are seen running about under the impulse to seek the opposite sex. As they arrive from different directions, those of one sex must cross the river. Since the females furnish the lighter skins for clothing, and the males the greater amount of meat and a heavier skin for various purposes, deer of both sexes are equally useful.
