DOMESTICATED REINDEER INTO ALASKA. 99 



her. Most women are expert sewers, and their stitches are often as 

 even and regular as could be made by a machine. 



It is probably from the fact that the Eskimo are obliged to put an 

 endless amount of labor into nearly everything they make, that is to be 

 found the secret of their everlasting patience. They will scrape at a 

 skin a long time before hardly an impression is made upon it, and rub 

 and pull at one when it is hard and stiff. Their delicately formed 

 hands seem poorly adapted to such kind of work; but in the end the 

 skin becomes soft and pliable, and is a thing of beauty. 



Their hands are, without exception, small and prettily shaped. Even 

 among those women who are tall and slimly built their hands are unusu- 

 ally small and shapely. The same is true of their feet ; and this feature, 

 so prominent among the female sex, is also universal among the men. 

 And so well are they aware of this fact that a white man, weighing 

 perhaps 160 pounds, who would in civilization be considered as possess- 

 ing a good-shaped foot if he could wear a number seven shoe, is an 

 object of ridicule to the Eskimo on account of his big feet. 



The complexion of the Eskimo is also of a character that one would 

 scarcely expect to find among people who are brought so much in con- 

 tact with the elements. Although the color of their skin borders 

 strongly on the olive order, it seems soft and clear. 



In eating, the Eskimo all sit around in a circle, and the food is 

 placed on the floor in the center of the group. No meal, whether it be 

 of dried or frozen fish, seal or whale meat, is ready to be eaten until a 

 vessel containing seal oil is at hand. This is placed in a position easily 

 reached by those eating, and, before taking a bite of anything, it is first 

 dipped into the oil, or two or three fingers are thrust into it, and then 

 placed into the mouth and sucked. Such a thing as a spoon is rarely 

 ever used by them, and it is doubtful if many of them would under- 

 stand its use if they had one. 



It is when a household of Eskimo are gathered about the floor par- 

 taking of their food that their natural disposition to mirth is given 

 full sway, and every meal, whether in their huts or in the tent on the 

 beach, partakes more of the nature of a family reunion than an every- 

 day occurrence. They are naturally given to jest and laughter, and a 

 continual hubbub reigns until the last morsel is eaten. 



This predisposition toward good nature is always present. A surly 

 Eskimo is rarely to be seen, and whether it raius or shines, or the wind 

 blows a blizzard from the north pole, they are the same happy and 

 apparently contented people. 



It is the custom among the Eskimo for the women to gather the wood, 

 make the fire, and do the cooking. They are also expected to do the 

 fishing while the men are hunting, and to dress the game when brought 

 in. 



The men are also industrious, and when at home are constantly work- 

 ing at something. It is in the winter season that they make their nets, 



