THE WORLD'S WONDERS. 721 



apparent creation ; if the stillness be broken by a halloo, no 

 echo comes back, and the spell remains yet undisturbed. So 

 perfectly quiet, lonesome, and weirdly stagnant does all the world 

 seem, that it weighs with a wonderful oppressiveness upon the 

 brain and soul alike, until a charnel house would appear more 

 endurable, for in the presence of death the soul finds interest in 

 reflection ; spirit would at least be company there for chaotic 

 thoughts. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 



INCIDENTS OF ARCTIC LIFE. 



LIFE among the Esquimaux is peculiar. I have given a brief 

 description of their customs in a previous chapter, but there are 

 incidents to be met with from time to time which gradually dis- 

 close their character in a specific way. It is rarely pleasant to 

 record unpleasant things, yet to the end that a faithful and 

 accurate description be made, it is sometimes necessary. 



Like all barbarous tribes, the Esquimaux have little or no 

 regard for their wives or old people. Hunting being the sole 

 occupation with them, they value each other for valor and suc- 

 cess in procuring game. Aged people, too infirm for active ser- 

 vice, are treated with great cruelty, and are frequently aban- 

 doned and left to perish by their own children, though there is 

 no nation in which filial affection, for the males, is more pro- 

 nounced than among the Esquimaux when the parents are of a 

 vigorous age. The Esquimau women are entitled to the pity of 

 all Christendom, for their condition is that of the most oppres- 

 sive form of slavery. They are sold into the marriage bondage 

 at the age of twelve and fifteen years, and though their lot was 

 hard enough under the parental roof, it is doubly severe in mat- 

 rimony. They perform all the drudgery of camp life, carry 

 immense burdens when traveling, and their food is generally the 

 leavings of their lord's feasts. When in child-birth, they are 

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