MY ESKIMOS 381 



snow-bank to enable him to climb to the top; Gemini 

 are the two door stones of an igloo; Arcturus and 

 Aldebaran are personifications; and the moon and the 

 sun are a maiden and her pursuing lover. Less ob- 

 servant than were the Arab shepherds, they have not 

 noticed that one star is the centre about which all the 

 others move, nor have they set apart the planets, 

 which to them are simply large stars. Probably this 

 is due to the fact that the movements of the stars can 

 be observed during only three months of the year. 



Amongst themselves, punctuality is a thing of 

 small value. Yet, I have never known the time when 

 I could not thoroughly trust my "old guard," among 

 these people, for carrying out my orders. When told 

 to get ready for a certain time — say, daybreak, next 

 morning — sledges would be found packed, and every- 

 thing arranged with the utmost precision. 



Their sense of humour is very pronounced. It 

 is seen in their nicknames for each other, and 

 particularly for the white men, and again in their 

 drawings. These latter, crude as they are, leave 

 no doubt as to the victim. Bow-legs, hooked nose, 

 protuberant stomach, such deformities as these are 

 gleefully pounced upon by the local artists, and 

 emphasised in their portraiture. 



Much skill is shown in their carvings. To look at 

 the minute walrus teeth, one-half inch in length, which 

 have been wrought upon, one is reminded over and over 

 again of the dexterity of the Chinese and the Japanese. 

 Notwithstanding all this ingenuity in ornamentation, 

 Eskimos find little pleasure in trinkets or personal 

 frills of any kind. Remembering the stories of 



