422 'l'"l'. POINT HARiiOW ESKIMO. 



Salutation.— Wc 1i;mI rid (ipijortiiiiity iif witiu'ssiiii; any meeting hc- 

 lui'cu these iieople ami slran.ne l^skiiiiii. so that it is impossible to tell 

 wJK'ther they jn-aetice aii,\ particuhir fonii of salutation on such oeea- 

 sioiis. We saw nothiii:; ol' the kind amouf;' themselves. White, men 

 ai-e saluleil uiih shouls ol •• N'akui'uk !" (good), aud some E.skimo 

 June learned to sliake hands. Tiiey no longer ])ractice tlie eommon 

 Kskiuio salutation otruM.iiig noses, l.nt say that ihey on.'c did. Sergt. 



:Middleton Sinitli. of onr parly, inloriiis I hat he once saw a couple 



or natives in ("apt. JJerendeenVs tradin- store -i\-.' an exliibition of the 

 way this sahilation was formerly practiced. 



TInscnsiom waspcriiaps falling into disuse as early as 1837, since 

 'J'liomas Simpson.' in des<'riliiiig his reception at i'oint Barrow, says: 

 •■We \M re iiii|,liowe\er. i-itlicr u](on tliis or anyothcr occasion, favored 

 witli the kooiiiks or nose rubbing salutations thai lia\-e so annoyed 

 other travelers." Mr. I^json. how ever. e\prcssly stales tliatthe peojile, 

 jirobably Ctkiax w nimimi. wiiom lie met al K'efn-e Inh-t eleven years 

 bi.fore. niblH'd noses and clieeks with him- and ]\Iaguire' narrates how 

 tiic head of the parly of visitors from Point Hope saluted him. He says: 

 "He fixed his forelieaci against mine and used it as a fulcrum to rub 



//,.„/,-,„/._As is the case with Ivskimo generally, these peoph' rely 

 fill' curing disease chielly uiion the efforts of certain i)ersons who have 

 the power of exorcising the sii|ieriiatnral beings by whom the disease 

 is caii.sed. .\ large number of men and. 1 lielieve, some women were 

 supjiosed to iiave tliis power and exercise it in cases of siekness, ia 

 .some instances, al least, ujioii ilic payment of a fee. These people 

 c.iiivspond closely to the aiigekui of the (iivenlanders and Eastern Es- 

 kimo, ami the socalle<l "shamans" <,f southern Ahiska. but, as far as 

 we <'oiil(l >(■<■, do not possess tlie power and intluelice n.suallv else- 



