ESKIMOS 163 



matters, deriving at the same time a large amount of informa- 

 tion from Captain George Comer, of the whaling schooner Era, 

 wintering alongside the Neptune. Captain Comer had already 

 made several voyages to Hudson bay and Cumberland gulf, on 

 all of which he had made ethnological collections and notes for 

 the American Museum of Natural History, New York. A con- 

 siderable amount of his information has been published by Dr. 

 Franz Boas. With the exception of the Rev. Mr. Peck, at 

 Cumberland, Captain Comer is probably the greatest authority 

 upon the manners and customs of the Eskimos. 



The different tribes of Eskimos have no hereditary or elected 

 chiefs. Each tribe is divided into a number of small bands, 

 usually close blood relations. The head man of each band is 

 nearly always advanced in years, and holds a sort of patriarchal 

 sway over his sons and younger relations, altogether due to their 

 willingness to be guided by his advice and experience and not 

 to any sense of duty. At other times, when the older men are 

 not forceful in character, a successful younger hunter largely 

 influences the actions of the band. The authority of the leader 

 is not great, and he never asserts it by direct orders issued to 

 the other men ; if he wants anything done he asks them if they 

 are willing to do it; any member is quite at liberty to refuse, 

 and to follow his own judgment or inclinations. 



The head man is usually an Angekok, conjuror or medicine 

 man, and in consequence derives some power over the band 

 through their superstitions. It is not quite clear if more 

 than one angekok belongs to each band, but they are quite 

 numerous, and it seems likely, therefore, that the number is not 

 limited to one. 



As regards the family relations among the uncivilized 

 Eskimos, the marriage tie is very loose, and can easily be broken 

 by either party. This is often done for the most trivial cause. 

 The Eskimos practise polygamy, and in some tribes, polyandry, 

 where there are fewer women than men. Many of the men 



