376 THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT [eth.ann. 18 



amount of seal, wliale, and fish oil, some back fat of reindeer, several 

 boxes of pilot bread, and other food, which was piled up about the room, 

 each of the owners sitting by his jnle. After they had all told how easily 

 they had procured this food, two of them had a mock quarrel similar to 

 the performance on previous days. This depreciation of the articles is 

 to show their humility and lack of pride in their gifts. If this is not 

 done they believe that the shades will become augry and bring sick- 

 ness or other evil upon the village, and at the same time it serves to 

 assure the people that the givers do not feel proud of their posses- 

 sions. 



When the food was ready for distribution, each person made a small 

 offering, by his or her lamj), of every kind of food and from each bag 

 of oil, dish, or tub, after which the remainder was distributed. 



Among the food was a lot of small, bulbous roots, taken by the women 

 from the winter stores of mice on the tundra. After the boxes of pilot 

 bread were emi)tied of all but the fragments, the small boys, numbering 

 about thirty, were permitted to scramble for them, which they did with 

 great glee and good nature; when the boys had secured all the frag- 

 ments, they each cast down a few crumbs at the foot of the lamps, as an 

 offering to the shades, and went away. While standing about the room 

 the male feast givers then sang a short, lively song, at the end of which 

 the people carried home the food that had been distributed. 



When this had all been taken out of the kashim, a shout was heard at 

 the smoke hole in the roof, and a man cried out: " Your bag is only half 

 full — that is the reason you have been sick," and lowered a large grass 

 bag filled to its utmost cgj^acity. Another man shouted down, " Big 

 sleeper! You slept all the last two years, and are still asleep; that is 

 the reason you have an empty bag." Another cried: "You stole very 

 little last year when the people were away from home; that is the reason 

 your bag is emi^ty." 



Accompanied by some such cry, a large bag of things, belonging to 

 each feast maker, male and female, was lowered to the floor. The owners 

 then came forward, opened their bags, and held up the articles contained 

 therein, crying out, often six or eight of them at once, giving an imag- 

 inary history of the manner in which they had been obtained, and 

 belittling the efforts required to obtain them. The trader who was with 

 me was named Charlie Peterson, and article after article was held up 

 and its owner would cry out, "I stole this from Charlie;" or, "I took 

 this from Charlie;" or, "I took this from Charlie's man," which seemed 

 to afford considerable amusement. One man held up a rabbit-skin coat, 

 in mock admiration, and said: ''This is counted as fine fur upon this 

 side." Each bag contained several suits of fur clothing, intended for 

 the namesakes of the dead. The shouting of the fictitious histories of 

 the articles contained in the bags continued for about two hours. Many 

 of the accounts were extremely ludicrous, causing much merriment. 



As each feast giver finished taking the things out of the bag he or she 



