DOMESTICATED REINDEER INTO ALASKA. Ill 



passing from one ear to the other under the chin. The younger women 

 wear beads wound around their hair, which is first braided on both 

 sides, and occasionally bracelets and necklaces of beads are worn. 



Tbe men seldom tattoo their arms or hands, and their only peculiarity 

 of dress is wearing the labret as above and shaving the crowns of their 

 heads. 



The Eskimo woman's ambition for jewelry extends no further than a 

 ring or two, and a brass or copper one is valued as highly by them 

 as a gold one would be. They do not take kindly to jewelry for the 

 ears or neck, and if one is seen with a bracelet of any kind it is either 

 brass or copper. 



The snowshoe of the Eskimo is similar to that used in all cold coun- 

 tries, but with these people real thongs are used instead of strings 

 made from deerskins. They are always carried on the sled when 

 traveling, and are much needed when the snow is thawing in the spring. 

 They are especially useful when hunting seal on the ice; for the wear- 

 ers are thus enabled to cross over broken cakes, when without them it 

 would be dangerous traveling. 



Many natives when traveling carry with them a stick having a cir 

 cular-formed piece of whalebone at the bottom about 6 inches in diam- 

 eter, and pieces of the same material stretched across it in a little net- 

 work. On the end of the stick is a pointed piece of ivory, and it is used 

 as one would use a cane, the point piercing the snow or ice and the cir- 

 cular piece preventing it from settling into the snow. It is a very use- 

 ful thing, especially if it is slippery or the snow is soft, and a native 

 carrying one of these is enabled to walk or run over the smooth crust, 

 while without it he would find progress very slow with his smooth-soled 

 boots. 



The Eskimos are decidedly domestic in their habits and tastes. A 

 family is always together, whether in the village or traveling about. 

 The men are usually kind and considerate toward their wives, and the 

 affection of the parents for their children is very marked, and they 

 often indulge them to a fault. The children are seldom punished, 

 and, if so, very lightly, and they are made to come under obedience by 

 force of moral suasion. Yet they are very obedient to a parent and 

 usually respond quickly to a command. If one is sick, he receives all 

 the care and attention that the parent can bestow, and this is true 

 among the older ones. An invalid is an object of deep solicitation by 

 friends and relatives alike, and will often receive contributions in the 

 way of food when it comes from one whose supply will not justify 

 giving anything away. 



The observation of strict marital relations appears to be the rule 

 among the Eskimos, and it is seldom that a woman is untrue to her hus- 

 band or a husband consorts with another woman. The indiscriminate 

 discussion of lewd topics is often indulged in, and one, to observe the 

 manner in which they live, would expect to find them loose in their 



