KXPKIMTION TO POINT KAItllOW. ALASKA. }.; 



they drive him down through the hole in tin- Moor and chase liini out into tin- open air witli l.mil 



stouts and fautto gestures. While this waa going oa the old woman ;it theentiaiice,v.h<>va-, ai-im-d 



with :i Ions knife used I'm- cutting sno\\ . made passes >vcr tin- air \viili it to keep him from return- 

 ing. Much party drove the spirit towards the lire and invoked him to go into it: all -his 

 time drawn up in a half circle around the lire, when several of the leading men made specitic ehai 

 a-ainst the. spirit; and each, after his speech, brushed his clothing violently. . pun th<. 

 spirit to leave him and go into the lire; two men now stepped forward with rilles loaded with blank 

 chaises while a third came with a vessel of urine, which was thrown niton the lire; at the .-ame tim 

 (ine lireil a shot into it : and, as the cloud of steam rose, it received the shot, which was supp , 

 to have limited him lor the time being. While they were ever threatening or supplicating T 

 we never knew them to offer thanks or !e grateful for any benelits he was supposed to bc.,tow : 

 everything they received was taken as a matter of course, and as the result of some particular i:i- 

 eantatioii. 



! saw a very ingenious contrivance an old man had rigged up to keep Tuna from entering hi.-, 

 igln. fie. had his seal drag, which was fitted with a carved ivory handle, suspended over the. en- 

 trance inside his lint ; the thong was fastened by his hunting knife being driven through it into the 

 roof; he explained to me that Tuna incoming in would catch hold of the handle of the seal 

 drag to help himself through the hole and would pull the knife down upon his head and be fright- 

 ened away. He contemplated, his contrivance with a great deal of satisfaction, and assured me, 

 that Tuna was very much afraid of his igln. 



Their dead are carried out and laid on the tundra without any ceremony other than the near 

 relatives following the body to its last resting place; it is usually wrapped in deer skins, and if a 

 man, his sled and hunting gear are broken and laid over the body; if a woman, her sewing kit 

 and some few household utensils arc placed at her head, but everything so left is broken and ren- 

 dered useless. With but few exceptions I never knew them to pay any attention to their dead after 

 they were carried out, and all showed great reluctance about speaking of them. The bodies are 

 usually eaten by the dogs, especially in the winter, and it is no uncommon sight to see them gnaw 

 ing the bones on the roofs of the iglus. The sled used to carry the body out on the tundra is not 

 brought back to the village at once, but left out on the tundra not less than two moons, and while 

 they all claim that it is bad to use anything that belonged to the dead, I noticed that no matter 

 how good an outfit he had while living his was the most worthless sled and gun that eouM 

 found, and I knew of a number of cases where there was a general division of a dead man's effect s 

 on a basis of first come first served. As a rule the dead (Xu'nami-siuik.on the ground as!, 

 soon forgotten, and the names of the noted whalemen or hunters only live in legend. 



There is no marriage ceremony among them, but children are often betrothed by their parent.-; 

 at an early age, and this promise is very faithfully kept, and they enter upon their marriage rel.i 

 tions at the age of twelve to fifteen years : where there has been no childhood engagement tin- 

 mother makes a selection of the wife for her son, and the girl selected is invited to the house, where 

 she takes the place of a servant for a short time, doing the housework and cooking, generally 

 returning to her father's iglu to sleep. They usually avail themselves of the summer trip along the 

 coast or into the interior, and take upon themselves the full obligations of marriage. They often 

 have family disagreements, the husband resorting to blows when the wife is sulky and di>ohedicnt, 

 sometimes with the result of her running away: and we knew of one instance where, owing to :i 

 .slight mistake the. husband had made in his estimate of his wife's character, lie obtained results 

 not anticipated, for while out on a deer hunt he attempted to chastise her for s-tm;- fancied neglect 

 of duty when she retaliated, and. being the stronger ot the two. she gave him a severe thrashing, 

 and then taking with her an adopted child she lied to a village seventy-live miles away. She sub- 

 sequently gave up the child, but would not return to him, and soon after became the wife of an- 

 other man. At the time we lauded at Gglaamie this same woman carried on her bark a box of lead 

 weighing two hundred and eighty pounds a distance of over two hundred yards. 



The women as a rule .-eciu to have an ei|iial voice in the direction of affairs, when once ad- 

 mitted to the position of wife, and in each village there are a number of old women who are treated 

 with the greatest consideration by all. they being credited with wonderful powers of divination. 

 aud ure consulted in all important affairs. And the wives are treated with more consideration by 



