TJic Infant Rsqniniaux. 13 



to steal her is, that the}- want to find out whether he 

 is willing to risk his life for his own girl or not. 

 They think if he is not smart enough to steal a girl, 

 he would not be smart enough to take care of her — 

 kill a polar bear, so that she would have enough to 

 live on. 



There are not many old bachelors in my country, 

 for if a man has not spunk enough to steal a girl he 

 is looked down upon as a sort of soft, good-for-noth- 

 ing fellow. 



Many people are disappointed when they see me, 

 because I am not darker colored, with black hair. 

 More of my people have light hair than dark, and 

 we know that we are naturally a fair-skinned people, 

 because when a baby is born in my country it is just 

 as white as any American baby, and it has light hair 

 and blue eyes. But the mother does not wash it 

 with soft water and soap, as they do in this country, 

 but she goes to work and greases it all over, and the 

 child is never washed from the day he is born till he 

 dies, if he remains in that country. The mother 

 wraps her little one in the skin of a young seal, 

 which has been made very soft by pounding and 

 rubbing it on the ice. If baby cries, the mother will 

 not take it up and care for it, but she puts it in a 

 corner and leaves it there until it stops crying, and 

 then she takes it up and pets it. She can only nurse 

 it about a month. Then the mother will warm some 

 blubber for it; but in a little while it must live just 

 like the rest. She carries the baby in her hood, and 



