66 THENORTHPOLE 



extra garments are added to insure the comfort of the 

 spirit. Then a strong line is tied round the body, and 

 it is removed, always head first, from the tent or igloo, 

 and dragged head first over the snow or ground to the 

 nearest place where there are enough loose stones 

 to cover it. The Eskimos do not like to touch a dead 

 body, and it is therefore dragged as a sledge would be. 

 Arrived at the place selected for the grave, they cover 

 the corpse with loose stones, to protect it from the 

 dogs, foxes, and ravens, and the burial is complete. 



According to Eskimo ideas, the after-world is a 

 distinctly material place. If the deceased is a hunter, 

 his sledge and kayak, with his weapons and implements, 

 are placed close by, and his favorite dogs, harnessed 

 and attached to the sledge, are strangled so that they 

 may accompany him on his journey into the unseen. 

 If the deceased is a woman, her lamp and the little 

 wooden frame on which she has dried the family boots 

 and mittens are placed beside the grave. A little blub- 

 ber is placed there, too, and a few matches, if they are 

 available, so that the woman may light the lamp and 

 do some cooking in transit; a cup or bowl is also pro- 

 vided, in which she may melt snow for water. Her 

 needle, thimble, and other sewing things are placed 

 with her in the grave. 



In former years, if the woman had a small baby in 

 the hood it was strangled to keep her company; but I 

 have, of course, discouraged this practice, and during 

 the last two expeditions I have not heard of any 

 strangled babies. Among the members of my own 

 party I have simply forbidden the practice, and have 

 promised the relatives sufficient condensed milk and 



