GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 55 



Such marks are not found among any other branch of the 

 Eskimo. He concludes that 



&quot;this fact, taken in connection with the form and occurrence of such 

 marks among the northeastern tribes of Asia, suggests that this custom 

 like so many peculiarities of Alaskan Eskimo life, may be due to contact 

 with Asiatic tribes.&quot; (10: 613.) 



Anyone picking up driftwood is entitled to its possession. To 

 make sure his right, all he has to do is to carry it above the 

 high water line, and mark it in some way, such as putting a stone 

 on it or cutting a notch in it. (53:28; 42:428; 16. 1:167; 

 43:110.) 



&quot;For this form of property the Eskimo has the greatest respect,&quot; says 

 Nansen, &quot;and one who has left a piece of driftwood on the shore may 

 be sure of finding it again even several years after, unless Europeans 

 have come along in the meantime. Anyone taking it would be regarded 

 as a scoundrel.&quot; Nansen emphasizes this custom &quot;as a proof of the 

 Eskimo s scrupulous respect for the moral law which he recognizes.&quot; (43: 

 162.) 



Somlo has shown that among peoples of the most primitive 

 types of culture (e.g., Tasmanians, Botocudos, Negritos, Seri 

 Indians, etc.), trade (&quot;Giiterverkehr&quot;) is carried on both intra- 

 and inter-tribally. (57:155.) So, too, &quot; notwithstanding their 

 very limited feeling as to the accumulation of property, the 

 Eskimo have carried on a kind of trade among themselves. &quot; 

 (53: 11.) It has been discovered that articles have travelled all 

 the way from Asia to Davis Strait or Hudson Bay. But as a 

 practical necessity, each community has to depend upon itself 

 for the staples of life. The articles of commerce are compara 

 tively few. They are especially desirous of procuring things 

 made of metal, for use in their weapons and tools. Well might 

 the Greenlanders laugh when they were offered gold and silver 

 coins, but they were eager for objects of steel. (40a: 192.) The 

 Eskimo were the first American aborigines to become acquainted 

 with smelted iron, from the Norse discoverers and settlers. 

 (40a:201.) 



&quot; Their trading negotiations,&quot; says Crantz, &quot;are simply and 

 concisely conducted. They make mutual exchanges with each 

 other for what they need.&quot; (16. 1:160.) Amundsen credits 

 them with sharp business instinct. From his liberal presents 

 to them in return for their gifts, they &quot;soon discovered that it 

 was more remunerative to bring their goods as gifts.&quot; He was 



