The sun., 1919-04-27
Explorer Relates
His Experiences
Among the People
of Prince Albert
Sound Who Pin
Their aith to
Miracles
BY vILHJALMUR sTEFANSsoN.

IN account or the numDer OF IN
dividuals gathered together in
the village on the ice Of Albert
tho Copper Eskimo). their social life
tended little more to completely than
was the case in any OF the other dis
tricts: but still 1t can hardly be said
that there was a sembiance of gov
eminent. Certain individuals ap-
peared, however, to have a proponder-
ating influence. based apparently on
individual prowess and to some extent
on their records as travellers. The
men who had been down in the vicin-
ity OF Chesterfield Inlet and who had
visited numerous tribes other than
those with which the tribe as O whole
comes In coptsct were apparently
looked up to for that reason.
Ono Of the more prominent men was
named Kitirkolak. He gave me varied
Information about distant sections Of
Victoria Island but told me that II
wanted to be really we'll informed I
must visit his father, Pamiungittok,
who lived in the next village to the
westward and who was tho only man
now living of those who had seen
Collinson in Walker Bay (1S52), Ktir-
kodak volunteered to guide US to his
fathers village, and on the evening Of
May IL he accompanied us west along
the trail by which the party had come
from Banks Island In sixteen or so
miles OF travel we came to q village Of
the twenty-seven deserted snowhouses
which had up to a week before accom-
Ynodated the party we had Just left.
At the outskirts Of the village were
three houses still occupied by Pamiun-
gittok. his son Alunak and his son-in-
law. Hitkoak, with their families.
Before leaving the large village we
had purchased a complete chronological
collection Of hunting implements.
clothing, cooking gear and household
utensils. with all OF which our sled was
now heavily loaded for Its Journey to
our base at Langton Bay. We there
fore added at this last village virtually
nothing to our material collection. as
we could carry no more. but we did
add considerably to our stock Of IN
formation, for Pamiungittok knew
many things and was ready to tell all
he knew.
Perhaps could make a clearer sum-
d mary by rewriting the information OBJ
tained from him. but 1t seems possible
that the reader may be interested to
see the way in which I made hasty
note Of the new facts given to me at
this village. will therefore set down
here a few pages from my diary with
out editing, but merely adding in
brackets. what appears necessary to
make the meaning ineligible. Matter
enclosed in ordinary parentheaes
marks it as II appears in the diary.
From Diary Comp piled on Ice.
There are two reasons for the brew
lty and fragmentary character of my
diary entries at this period-one that
time was always scarce and the other
that writing paper was even scarcer
than time. The one diary book In
which all my entries had to be made
was so nearly run to It's close that
everything had to be written in an al
most microscopic hand, in many cases
over 1900 words to a page of eight
inches by hine.
Tuesday, May 16-[Taking1 cephalfc
measurements, &c. Caribou are cross
ing here [going] north but not in such
numbers as farther east. This village
three tents [standing at one edge OF
n deserted snowhouse village1 which
once housed the whole tribe. This
village] seems about in the middle OF
the sound from north to south (but
farther west than middle probably?).
Two families of the tribe seem to have
hunted bears on the point south OF the
sound [Cape Baring1 but the rest
[were inl Banks Island last winter.
Those in Banks Island found no whale
tcarcasses1 "this year" (which implies
they usually find them], but those on
Cape Barring found one with the meat
mostly gone but the head bone tba-
loonl still there-the bears had eaten
all the meat When the wind blows
either east or west There isl open
water at Nelson Head and on south
west Victoria Island as we'll.
Pamiungittok tells: He was about 8
years old when lin 1881 he visited
Collinson's ship lin Walker Bay1 with
his father The white men were ex-
cellent people and paid well for water
boots &C. They threw away much
valuable stuff which the people picked
up. At that time there were numer-
Gus people beyond north of Mimic
Inlet. He has never heard more than
one name for these people-Ugyuglig
miut. He has heard that they at
tackled a ship (what ship) and killed
some white men.
The white men then shot them down
with guns and killed the last one. This
ne has heard: what he knows is that
there are no people now beyond Mimic
Inlet-they are all dead. for one rea-
son or another. OF the Mimic Inlet
people ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS or Naper-
aevigmiu) there are now only four
families. though they were once nu-
merous, and one of these four fami-
lies Is really Prince Albert Sound
family moved over Ito Mimic Inletl.
Extinction of Eskimo Tribe.
There were numerous people once
resident on Banks Island summers.
and on the Ice near II winters. These
are all dead-some OF hunger In Cor
near) Banks Island and the last party
on the ice at the mouth OF Prince AL
bert Sound. These last died because
they had no food for their stomachs
and because they had no oil flor fuel
to make water with" There are many
stone houses here and there. chiefly
between the Sound and Mimic Inlet.
These were not built by "the FORE
fathers OF our countrymen." but by