286 ETHNOLOGICAL HINTS 



Do feuds last long between tribes ? How do they treat their pri- 

 soners? have they any special customs with regard to the first 

 prisoner that falls into their hands ? Do conquered tribes amalga- 

 mate? How are the women of the conquered tribes dealt with? 

 How do they divide the spoil ? Are their attacks always succeeded 

 by retreat or do they follow up a victory ? Is it likely that a know- 

 ledge of the arts, culture, &c, of other tribes has been spread by 

 means of war ? To what extent has the increase of the population 

 been checked by wars ? Has migration been promoted to any great 

 extent by warlike expeditions? 



Enquiries Eelating to Certain Arrow-Marks and other Signs in 

 use amongst the Eskimos. By Col. A. Lane Fox. 



1. Capt. Hall speaks of mysterious signs consisting of " parti- 

 coloured patches sewn on to seal-skins, and hung up near the dwelling 

 of the Angekok for the information of strange Innuit travellers, and 

 to direct them what to do." Are these signs for strange Innuit 

 travellers generally understood by the Eskimo race ? what is their 

 object and significance ? are they generally understood by the people 

 or only by the Angekos ? Drawings and explanations of these signs 

 would be desirable. 



2. Sir Edward Belcher, in the ' Transactions of the Ethnological 

 Society,' vol. i. p. 135, new series, gives his opinion that the Eski- 

 mos "are not without the means of recording events," and that 

 " the use of notched sticks and working of the fingers has a deeper 

 signification than mere numerals." What is the exact meaning of 

 these marks ? are they confined to particular tribes or common to 

 the whole race? Drawings and collections of these notches would 

 be desirable. 



3. In our Ethnographical Museums identical marks upon horn- 

 pointed arrows appear to be derived from different localities and at 

 different times, so as to preclude the possibility of their having 

 belonged to the same owner. Some of these marks appear to be 

 pictographic, although consisting of straight lines representing a 

 man or an animal ; others are evidently not pictographic, and con- 

 sist of a longitudinal line with other short lines branching from it, 

 or an edge of the hom-point serves the purpose of the longitudinal 

 lines, and the short lines are marked upon it. Their resemblance 

 to Bunes has been noticed. What is the exact meaning of each of 

 these marks ? are they the marks of the owner or do they record the 

 performances of the weapon, or have they any other significance? 

 are there similar marks upon other weapons and utensils or upon 

 rocks ? are they understood beyond the tribe ? is there any proba- 

 bility of their having been derived from the Scandinavian settlers 



