648 THE WORLD'S WONDERS. 



for there is no such thing as punishment of a male child by its 

 parents. Females, however, fare badly, whether babes, maidens, 

 or wives, for it is considered quite proper to control the female 

 sex with an iron hand. In former times, at least among some of 

 the Esquimau tribes, it was customary for the parents to smother 

 all their girl babies except one. Girls are married before they 

 reach twenty, a thing not difficult to do, owing to their scarcity 

 and the polygamous practices of the men. As soon as a man 

 dies his widows are almost immediately appropriated by others, 

 so that there are neither old maids nor widows among the Esqui- 

 maux. Another convenient custom which they practice is to 

 exchange wives when, for any reason, the consorts of a man 

 who is about to set out on a journey cannot accompany him. 

 There are always other women who will take their places, and 

 thus a clever exchange is effected. So is the borrowing of wives 

 very common. 



An exchange of children is also sometimes made, while the 

 giving away of infants is an ordinary occurrence. Children are 

 rarely weaned before they reach seven or eight years of age, 

 though they begin eating meat at one year. Marriage among 

 these savages is purely and entirely a matter of convenience, as 

 love is a feeling unknown to them. Wives are usually purchased 

 for a trifle, and after being taken to their husband*' igloos 

 (huts), they are tattooed in the forehead with a character resem- 

 bling the letter V. Others tattoo themselves for ornamentation, 

 but without regard to definite figures, straight lines being mostly 

 made, and these confined principally to the chin. 



Their dress is admirably adapted to the seventy of their climate. 

 With their two pairs of breeches made of reindeer or seal-skin, 

 the outer one having the hair outside and the inner one next the 

 body, and their two jackets of which the upper one is provided 

 with a great hood with their water-tight seal-skin boots, lined 

 with the downy skins of birds, and their enormous gloves, 

 they bid defiance to the severest cold, and even in the hardest 

 weather pursue their occupations in the open air whenevei 

 the moon is in the sky, or during the doubtful meridian twi 



