ESKIMOS 175 



with the open hand backwards and forwards, the object being 

 to prevent it from touching the ground. Wrestling is indulged 

 in by the young men; in this no tripping is allowed, and a 

 throw must be made from a shoulder hold. Boxing as we under- 

 stand it is not practised, but they have hitting contests, where 

 one man stands unguarded and allows another to hit him as 

 powerful a blow as he is capable of, on the understanding that 

 the blow may be returned under similar conditions. When 

 such a contest takes place between strangers it often leads to 

 the vanquished one, if at home, revenging himself upon the 

 stranger with his knife, and altogether this is a rather danger- 

 ous pastime for grown men, although good for boys. The 

 children play out-of-doors during the daylight, having usually 

 miniature sleds to which they attach themselves, or the pups. 



Among the indoor amusements are a number of games of 

 skill. A very popular game is played by 'suspending a small 

 ring of ivory by a string to the roof ; another string, steadied by 

 a weight, hangs below the ring, often in a vessel of water to 

 prevent it swinging too violently. The string is twisted so that 

 the ring revolves rapidly, and all stand round and attempt to 

 pierce it with small wooded lances. A prize is given to the first 

 successful one, who in turn donates a prize to the second, and 

 so on. Another game is a variety of the cup-and-ball game. A 

 piece of ivory, roughly carved to represent a bear or some other 

 animal, is pierced full of holes and is attached by a short string 

 to a small ivory pencil. The play consists in tossing the large 

 piece into the air and piercing it with the stylus, different 

 values being assigned to the different holes. Cat's-cradle is the 

 constant amusement of the women and children, and they have 

 a great number of figures unknown to the ordinary player in 

 civilization. The Eskimos do not appear to have the gambling 

 spirit strongly developed, and have few games of chance. One 

 of these consists in guessing the number of articles held in the 

 closed hand; another is played with small slabs of ivory, re- 



