

CUSTOMS OF THE ESKIMOS. 165 



Of course, I am here speaking in a general way, for I 

 have already spoken of the occasional fights which take 

 place. 



The Eskimo marriage is an exceedingly simple insti- 

 tution, and is not performed in any ceremonious way. 

 It is purely a love union, requiring only the sanction of 

 the parents of the bride. When a young man and young 

 woman come to the conclusion that they were made for 

 each other, and desire to become one, having the consent 

 of the girl's parents they simply take each other and 

 start up an igloe of their own. Eskimo brides are 

 usually very young, and often very bonnie creatures. 

 They lose much of their beauty, however, in early life, 

 and at about forty mature into ugly old dames. 



An Eskimo family rarely consists of more than three 

 children, and these, in turn, for about two years are 

 carried in the hood upon their mother's back. During 

 this time they have no clothing apart from their mother's. 

 New-born infants are licked by their mother's tongue, 

 and are sometimes kept in a rabbit-skin or bag of 

 feathers for a time before being carried upon the 

 mother's back. 



It is usual for a man to have only one wife, though 

 it is not uncommon for him to have two, or even three, 

 if he can provide for them. The first Eskimo encoun- 

 tered on our recent visit to the north, as I have 

 related, had two wives, each having three children. As 

 a rule the men are faithful to their wives, although 

 sometimes they trade with each other for a few weeks 

 or months, and afterwards receive again their first loves. 



If any member of the family is seriously ill, a peculiar 

 kind of prayer is repeated over the afflicted one by the 



