42 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY 



Amundsen expresses &quot;great pleasure to see how happy they 

 were with their gifts&quot; (1. 2: 78), and that they thought of other 

 than what they could get is shown by their actions when the 

 Norwegian expedition was ready to sail. Their Eskimo friends 

 presented them with &quot;no less than seventy fine salmon, weighing 

 from six to eleven pounds each, one in fact weighed over seven 

 teen pounds.&quot; (1. 2:94.) This represented toil and self- 

 sacrifice, and was certainly not for the sake of future reward. 

 (See also 1. 2:107; cf. 4:402.) 



The importance attached to gratitude, as well as benevolence, 

 by folk-lore is well illustrated in the tale of Kumagdlat. 

 (53: 115.) A story from real life which shows how deep-seated 

 in human nature is the response of gratitude, is that of the 

 orphan boy, narrated by Easmussen. (50:51.) &quot;A gift 

 always opens the door of an Eskimo heart,&quot; remarks this author, 

 Thou gavest ; see, I give too, is the key thought. 



14. PARENT AND CHILD 



The desire for offspring is one of the most dominant traits of 

 the Eskimo and one having far-reaching consequence. As is 

 noted in another section, it is a potent cause of divorce, polyg 

 amy, and wife-exchanging. &quot;The chief end of marriage,&quot; says 

 Nansen, &quot;is undoubtedly the procreation of children.&quot; 

 (43 : 150 ; cf. 56 : 176.) Childlessness exposes the husband to the 

 derision of his fellows. &quot;Having no children, he has no sense,&quot; 

 says a nith-song. (63:295.) But even more unfortunate is 

 the barren wife. Kasmussen declares, * There is only one woman 

 whom I pity among the Polar Eskimo the woman who has 

 no children. &quot; ( 50 : 65. ) He relates a pathetic story, which is 

 only one of many of like nature from life and folk-lore (53 : 181, 

 441), describing the shame and suffering of the childless woman. 

 The following by Nansen is worth noting in this connection: 



&quot;If a Greenlander s wife does not bear children, his marriage fails 

 of its chief purpose. Their treatment of barren women seems to us 

 wanton and immoral; but when we remember that the production of off 

 spring is the great end and aim of their conduct, and reflect what an 

 all-important matter it is to them, we may perhaps pass a somewhat 

 milder judgment.&quot; (43: 171-172; cf. 30: 96.) 



In this connection it might be noted that the Eskimo do not 

 appear to be a fertile race. The number of children born to 



