ETHNOLOGY. 17 



or three wives in one hut make an altogether harmonious household; 

 but all little difficulties are generally settled by the husband, in a man- 

 ner better calculated to insure reverence to masculine strength than 

 respect for superior intelligence. 



The scarcity of women at present in proportion to the men makes 

 polygamy a luxury only to be indulged in by the wealthy. Divorce, if 

 it can be called by that name, is very frequent among them. All that 

 is needed is that the husband tires of his wife, or knows of a better one 

 that he is able to procure. Neither does it seem, to trouble the woman 

 much : she is quite sure to have another offer before long; and a change 

 of this kind seems to benefit both parties. One rather remarkable and 

 very laudable practice among these people is the adoption of young 

 children whose parents are dead, or, as often happens, whose mother is 

 the only recognized parent. Orphans, so to speak, are thus twice as 

 common as among civilized nations. These children, whether bought 

 or received as a gift, are always taken as good care of as if they were 

 their own, especially if they are boys. 



Among the Eskimo employed by the Florence was a family that had 

 two children, who passed for brother and sister. One, the boy, was a 

 nephew of " Eskimo Joe," of Polaris fame. He had been bought from 

 the Hudson's Straits Eskimo, some two hundred miles to the south. He 

 was a perfect little satan ; and, though he gave us much annoyance, he 

 was a never-failing source of amusement to us all. The girl, again, was 

 a native of Exeter Sound, on the west coast of Davis Staits ; still, both 

 were considered as their own children, and well cared for. 



Half-breeds are said to be of more irritable temperaments, and less 

 able to bear exposure and fatigue, than the full-blooded Eskimo. 



The food of the Cumberland Eskimo consists entirely of flesh, and in 

 most sections of the sound of Pagomys fcetidus. In fact, this animal is 

 their principal dependence for food, fuel, clothing, and light. The 

 Eskimo will eat a few of the berries of Vaccinium iiliginosum&ud Empetrum 

 nigrum* the roots of Pedicular is, and occasionally a little Fucus vesiculo- 

 sus in winter, but this constitutes a very small and unimportant part of 

 their food. 



As soon as the ice has fairly left the sound, the Eskimo hunter leaves 

 the winter encampment, with his family and such portions of his house- 

 hold goods as will be needed, and takes a tour inland or up some of the 

 large fjords after reindeer. The larger part of his possessions, iiiclu ding- 

 sledge, dogs, harnesses, winter clothing, c., he secretes among the rocks 

 in some unfrequented spot. His dogs are put 011 some little rocky islet, 

 Bull. Nat. Mus. No. 15 2 



