MY ESKIMOS 385 



A case of piblocto lasts from five minutes to half- 

 an-hour or more. When it occurs under cover of a 

 hut, no apparent concern is felt by other inmates, nor 

 is any attention paid to the antics of the mad one. It 

 is only when an attempt is made to run abroad, that 

 the cords of restraint are felt. 



Of alcohol, and other artificial drinks, there is none. 

 No excess of any kind — unless we can call "excess" 

 the hearty eating which is necessary to the Eskimos' 

 existence. On the other hand, hunger is no particular 

 hardship to these people. Their bodies are well- 

 rounded, seemingly to answer the purpose of the camel's 

 hump. 



Generosity and hospitality are characteristic. There 

 is no such thing up North as individual poverty and 

 riches. It is an unwritten law that when one man has 

 been particularly fortunate in a hunting expedition, 

 his tribe will share the net results. It is this feeling 

 of good fellowship which preserves the race. In other 

 matters, each family is practically independent. Each 

 man for himself, a Jack-of-all-trades. 



As a rule no Eskimo family lives in one place more 

 than two consecutive years. The reasons are several; 

 perhaps the most important being a natural feeling of 

 unrest. The Eskimo feels more keenly than any other 

 people that it is not possession, but acquisition which 

 gives men pleasure and sense of power. Then, too, 

 there is the desire for change of food. A prolonged 

 diet of bear flesh has quite as much irksome sameness 

 for him, as hard tack has for the sailor. Scarcity of 

 game is another vital consideration. After a siege of 

 several months' duration, the food supply is likely to 



