NELSON] KASHIM CUSTOMS SWEAT BATHS 287 



feeling between us, extending the privilege of tbe kashim, and as a 

 testimony of the good will of the inhabitants. 



South of the Yukon the fur traders make a practice of complying 

 with this custom of giving j)resents whenever they visit a village for 

 the first time, and at St Michael we did the same whenever we were 

 invited to attend the first autumnal festival; but the Eskimo do not 

 expect the white men to dance and sing, as would be obligatory with 

 their own people. 



The presents are always handed to the headmen of the village, who 

 divide and distribute them among their fellow townsmen. All guests 

 whom it is desired to honor are given seats on the side of the kashim 

 where the old men of the village sit. If that side of the kashim 

 chances to be fully occupied, some of the men make room for their 

 guests. At a village near the head of Norton sound I was given 

 the usual place of honor in the kashim, and when the women brought 

 in food a dish of boiled seal intestines was i)resented to me as a spe- 

 cial delicacy. 



The observance of giving presents and of i)lacing the old men and the 

 guests at the head of the kashim is customary also among the Tiune of 

 the Yukon, who have adopted these customs from the Eskimo. 



The men usually wear no clothing while in the kashim, but this being 

 the custom it does not excite the slightest notice. The women fre- 

 quently sit upon the floor by their relatives until the latter have fin- 

 ished their repast, or sometimes leave after delivering the food and 

 return later to remove the empty dishes. During festivals, dances, and 

 other ceremonies the women gather in the kashim as spectators and 

 sometimes take part in the performances. 



SWEAT BATHS 



In these buildings sweat baths are taken by men and boys at inter- 

 vals of a week or ten days during the winter. Every man has a small 

 urine tub near his place, where this liquid is saved for use in bathing. 

 A portion of the floor in the center of the room is made of planks so 

 arranged that it can be taken up, exposing a pit beneath, in which a fire 

 of drift logs is built. When the smoke has passed off" and the wood is 

 reduced to a bed of coals, a cover is put over the smoke hole in the 

 roof and the men sit naked about the room until they are in profuse 

 perspiration ; they then bathe in the urine, which combines with the oil 

 on their bodies, and thus takes the place of soap, after which they go 

 outside and pour water over their bodies until they become cool. While 

 bathing they remain in the kashim with the temperature so high that 

 their skin becomes shining red and appears to be almost at the point 

 of blistering; then going outside they squat about in the snow perfectly 

 nude, and seem to enjoy the contrasting temperature. On several 

 occasions I saw them go from the sweat bath to holes in the ice on 

 neighboring streams and, squatting there, pour ice water over their 



