ORDER II. BIMANA. 367 
are constructed of pieces of bone and fragments of wood, fastened together, 
and tipped with ivory. As their country produces no wood, they are com- 
pelled to resort to such means. In winter, they reside in huts made of 
snow, which are lighted and warmed by lamps. Their summer habitations 
are tents of skins, which are supported by the bones of marine animals and 
reindeers’ horns. When they travel in winter, they transport their effects 
on sledges made of bone, and drawn by dogs. Procuring food is the sole 
duty of the men; but all other labors devolve on the women. 
Both sexes are equally expert in the management of canoes, which are 
made of seal-skins stretched on a frame of wood or bones. One tribe of 
Esquimaux, discovered by Captain Ross in the south-eastern part of Baftin’s 
Bay, have no canoes, or any means of floating, excepting on pieces of ice. 
The Esquimaux have the rambling propensity which distinguishes the In- 
dians, with this difference — they prefer the most desolate and inhospitable 
regions. They have no settlements or fixed places of habitation ; but there are 
several mustering points, at which they assemble at certain stated times: 
Igloolik, the mouth of the Coppermine, and the mouth of the Mackenzie, 
are some of them. There is no marriage ceremony among the Esquimaux. 
Children are betrothed in infancy. Bigamy is common, but a man seldom 
has more than one wife at a time. Sometimes they select wives for them- 
selves. Divorces depend on the pleasure of the parties, and are very com- 
mon. Children are also adopted, and the connection binds the parties as 
firmly as the ties of blood. They are very fond of their children, whom 
they never chastise or correct. This kindness is not reciprocated by the 
children, who abandon their parents whenever they become burdensome. 
The Esquimaux are superstitious, and have priests who pretend to hold in- 
tercourse with the invisible world. The gods of their worship are many. 
Where they have had little or no intercourse with the whites, the Esquimaux 
are scrupulously honest. They never touch each other’s property without 
permission. Yet they are envious to a degree scarcely credible. The pos- 
session of any article draws on a man the ill will of all his neighbors. 
Gratitude is absolutely unknown to them. In sickness or danger, the hus- 
band cares not for the wife, nor the wife for the husband. Parents receive 
no attention in their old age, and deny their children the rights of sepulture. 
Selfishness is the ruling principle of the Esquimaux. Their hospitality, like 
that of other savages, is universal. Strangers are received in the kindest 
manner: every want is removed, every accommodation supplied. The good 
quality is balanced by a proneness to falsehood. Their lies are chiefly con- 
fined to calumnies against each other, and false accusations. This mostly 
prevails among the women. ‘They are not quarrelsome, nor ferocious, nor 
are they cowardly. In pain, cold, starvation, disappointment, or when ill 
