MURDOCH. ] PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS. 39 
of adoption. Dr. Simpson heard of a “‘rare case” where one woman had 
borne seven children.’ We heard of no twins at either village, though 
we obtained the Eskimo word for twins. It was impossible to learn 
with certainty the age at which the women first bear children, from the 
impossibility of learning the age of any individuals in the absence of 
any fixed method of reckoning time. Dr. Simpson states that they do 
not commonly bear children before the age of 20,” and we certainly saw 
no mothers who appeared younger than this. We knew of but five cases 
of pregnancy in the two villages during the 2 years of our stay. Of 
these, one suffered miscarriage, and of the other four, only two of the 
infants lived more than a shorttime. It is exceedingly difficult, for the 
reasons stated above, to form any estimate of the age to which these 
people live, though it is natural to suppose that the arduous and often 
precarious existence which they lead must prevent any great longevity. 
Men and women who appeared to be 60 or over were rare. Yitiksi‘iia, 
the so-called “chief” of Nuwtk, who was old enough to be a man of 
considerable influence at the time the Plover wintered at Point Barrow 
(185254), was in 1881 a feeble, bowed, tottering old man, very deaf 
and almost blind, but with his mental faculties apparently unimpaired. 
Gray hair appears uncommon. Even the oldest are, as a rule, but 
slightly gray. 
PATHOLOGY. 
Diseases of the respiratory and digestive organs are the most frequent 
and serious ailments from which they suffer. The former are most 
prevalent toward the end of summer and early in winter, and are due 
to the natives sleeping on the damp ground and to their extreme care- 
lessness in exposing themselves to drafts of wind when overheated. 
Nearly everyone suffers from coughs and colds in the latter part of 
August, and many deaths occur at this season and the beginning of 
winter from a disease which appears to be pneumonia. <A few cases, 
one fatal, of hemorrhage of the lungs were observed, which were proba- 
bly aggravated by the universal habit of inhaling tobacco smoke. The 
people suffer from diarrhea, indigestion, and especially from constipa- 
tion. 
Gonorrhea appears common in both sexes, but syphilis seems to be 
unknown in spite of the promiscuous intercourse of the women with the 
whalemen. One case of uterine hemorrhage was observed. Cutaneous 
diseases are rare. A severe ulcer on the leg, of long standing, was cured 
by our surgeon, to whose observations I am chiefly indebted for what I 
have to say about the diseases of these people; and one man had lost 
the cartilage of his nose and was marked all over the body with hideous 
scars from what appeared to be some form of scrofulous disease. A 
single case of tumor on the deltoid muscle was observed. Rheumatism 
is rather frequent. All are subject to snow blindness in the spring, and 
1Op. cit., p. 254. 2Op. cit. p. 254. 
P 
