THE ESKIMO CHILD — ^HRDLI^KA 559 



talk in the same order and at much the same time as do our children, 

 but on these points precise observations are still needed. Wlien ail- 

 ing, they are very responsive to cod liver oil and other remedies, as 

 are also their mothers. 



There is a general tendency to nurse the baby longer than is the 

 practice among the white people. Formerly, as soon as the baby had 

 some teeth it was given also tidbits of meat and other food, including 

 bought sweets, which often did more harm than good. Feeding prac- 

 tices are now being regulated by instruction in the school, with the 

 advice of the nurse and the physician; and the mothers are very 

 responsive, so that infant mortality is decreasing. There is, however, 

 still much to be done in this direction. 



The Eskimo mother usually carries her baby in the hood of her 

 parka, and the tot seems perfectly contented there — it will even sleep 

 there a part of the time. Occasionally, the child is carried on the 

 mother's shoulders, the feet straddling her neck. There are no 

 cradleboards among the Eskimo, and no head deformation, either 

 intentional or accidental. Older girls, as elsewhere, help wdth the 

 young children. 



An "education" or training of the Eskimo child begins early. For 

 a girl it is usually attended to by her mother and grandmother, for a 

 boy, by the father and uncle. The girl is taught the womanly duties 

 and arts, the boy, boating, hunting, and trapping. Strangely, though 

 living by and largely on the water, none of them ever learn to swim — 

 the waters are too cold. Until recently, when customs began to change, 

 the boys grew exceedingly expert with the kayak (a small skin canoe 

 for one person), and later also with the umiak and umiak-pak, the 

 larger skin boats of the people. They learned how to throw a dart, 

 spear, and harpoon — bows and arrows were used much less and only 

 on land ; and they learned all the arts, wiles, and lore of the hunter 

 and trapper. There were, of course, differences in the aptness of the 

 pupils or in talents in special directions, and those with outstanding 

 abilities were much honored. 



There is but little punishment of the children among the Eskimo. 

 I have witnessed some spankings by the mother — never b}' the father. 

 The Eskimo children in general give less cause for punishment than 

 ours — they are more orderly, less mischievous. The boys have but 

 little restraint, yet do not seem to abuse their freedom much — for one 

 thing there is not so much chance, and for another there is a group 

 discipline, once adolescence is reached, to which they must conform. 

 In all my contacts with the people I never heard a complaint about 

 the children. One sees them everywhere, and from the age of 3 or 4 

 they begin to be helpful, doing something useful in connection with 



