FOR ARCTIC EXPLORERS. 283 



vengeance? What are the laws or customs as to marriage, inherit- 

 ance, and clanship? 



9. What recognition of chiefship and what form of civil govern- 

 ment can be traced ? Are the old men rulers, and do the strong 

 men displace tbem ? "What is the treatment of women and children, 

 and of the sick and aged '. J 



3. — Questions relating to the Mammalia, the Vegetation, and the 

 Eemains of Ancient Races. By W. Boyd Dawkins, m.a., f.r.s. 



Where do the Eskimos obtain the ivory which they use for handles 

 to their scrapers and for other purposes? Besides the walrus ivory 

 they use the tusks of the mammoth : how do they know where 

 to seek for these, and have they any legends in connection with 

 them ? The conditions under which these tusks occur in tbe regions 

 bordering on the great Arctic Sea are of the highest importance as 

 throwing light on similar remains in Northern and Central Europe. 

 The bones and teeth of the smaller animals, which most probably 

 occur in the same strata as the mammoth ivory, should be preserved, 

 for there is reason to believe that at a time comparatively recent, 

 zoologically speaking, the climate of the extreme north was far less 

 severe than now. 



The sources from which the Eskimos obtained their wood should 

 be carefully ascertained. Is it drift-wood brought down by great 

 rivers, like the Obi or the Mackenzie, from more southern latitudes ? 

 or is it derived from ancient forests which once flourished where at 

 the present time no trees will grow? 



Have the Eskimos any legends relating to other lands than 

 those in which they now live ; in other words, what was their golden 

 age ? 



Have the Eskimos any legends relating to the musk-sheep, 

 ethos mo8chatu8? 



4. — Enquietes into Customs Relating to War. By Col. Lane Fox. 



1. Tactics — Have the tribes any disposition or order of battle? are 

 the young or the weak placed in front? are they courageous? have 

 they any war cries, war songs, or war dances, and if so give a detailed 

 account of them? Do they employ uoise as a means of encourage- 

 ment, or do they preserve silence in conflict? Do they stand and 

 abuse each other before 6ghting, or boast of their warlike achieve- 

 ments ? Do they rely on the use of mi Bile-weapons or hand-weapons? 

 have they any special disposition for the ein battle? have they any 

 knowledge of the advantages of ground or position in battle, as sug- 



