and Qarussuit; the Qinguamiut, in Imigen and Anarnitung; the Kingnaitmiut, in Qeqerten; the Saumingmiut, in Ukiadliving. Accordingly the population of the settlements numbered as follows:
| Name of the settlement. | Married. | Unmarried. | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men. | Women. | Widowers | Widows | Men. | Women. | Boys. | Girls. | ||
| Naujateling | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 20 | ||
| Idjorituaqtuin | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 11 | ||
| Nuvujen | 8 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 26 | |
| Qarussuit | 10 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 29 | |||
| Imigen | 6 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 17 | ||||
| Anarnitung | 12 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 8 | 43 | |
| Qeqerten | 26 | 26 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 82 | ||
| Ukiadliving | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 17 | ||
| Padli | 11 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 43 | |
| Akudnirn | 8 | 12 | 2 | (18) | 40 | ||||
| Total | 96 | 102 | 5 | 15 | 10 | 2 | (98) | 328 | |
I have included in the foregoing table the inhabitants of Davis Strait and may add that the Nugumiut number about 80, the Eskimo of Pond Bay about 50 (?), those of Admiralty Inlet 200, and of Iglulik about 150. The total number of inhabitants of Baffin Land thus ranges between 1,000 and 1,100.
The reason for the rapid diminution in the population of this country is undoubtedly to be found in the diseases which have been taken thither by the whalers. Of all these, syphilis has made the greatest ravages among the natives. Of other diseases I am unable to give a full account and can only refer to those which came under my observation during the year that I passed in this region. In Qeqerten a man died of cancer of the rectum, two women of pneumonia, and five children of diphtheria, this disease being first brought into the country in 1883. In Anarnitung I knew of the death of two women and one child. On the west shore a number of children died of diphtheria, while the health of the adults was good. In the year 1883-’84 I heard of two births, one occurring in Qeqerten, the other in Padli. At Qarussuit and Anarnitung there were two abortions.
The opinion that the Eskimo are dying out on account of an insufficient supply of food is erroneous, for, even though the natives slaughter the seals without discrimination or forethought, they do not kill enough to cause any considerable diminution in numbers. The whalers do not hunt the seal to any extent, and when one realizes how small the population of the country is and how vast the territory in which the seal lives it is easy to understand that famine or want cannot arise, as a rule, from the cutting off of the natural food supply. In fact, in the spring enormous numbers of seals may be seen together basking in the sun or swimming in the water.
The causes of the famines which occur somewhat frequently among the Eskimo must be sought in another direction. Pressing need often prevails if in the latter part of the autumn the formation of the floe is retarded; for in that case hunters are not able either to go hunting in boats or to procure the necessary food at the edge of the floe, as new ice is attached to its more solid parts and the seals do not yet open their breathing holes. Such was the case at Niaqonaujang, on Davis Strait, in the fall of 1883. Gales of wind following in quick succession broke the floe. The new ice which had formed immediately prevented the natives from sealing, and in November and December a famine visited the settlement. Very soon the supply of blubber was exhausted, and being unable to feed the dogs the inhabitants were obliged to kill them one after another and to live upon their frozen carcasses. Only two dogs survived these months of need and starvation. Consequently the hunting season was a very poor one, since the natives missed the services of their dogs, which scent the breathing holes, and could not leave their settlement for any great distance.
In winter a long spell of bad weather occasions privation, since the hunters are then prevented from leaving the huts. If by chance some one should happen to die during this time, famine is inevitable, for a strict law forbids the performance of any kind of work during the days of mourning. When this time is over, however, or at the beginning of good weather, an ample supply is quickly secured. I do not know of any cases of famine arising from the absolute want of game, but only from the impossibility of reaching it.
Sometimes traveling parties that are not acquainted with the nature of the country which they visit are in want of food. For instance, a large company, consisting of three boat crews, were starved on the eastern shore of Fox Basin, their boats being crushed by the heavy ice and the game they expected to find in abundance having left the region altogether. On one of the numerous islands of Nettilling a number of women and children perished, as the men, who had been deer hunting, were unable to find their way back to the place in which they had erected their huts.
Another case of starvation is frequently mentioned by the Eskimo. Some families who were traveling from Akuliaq to Nugumiut passed the isthmus between Hudson Strait and Frobisher Bay. When, after