TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION H. 829 



two wives are not imcommou. The offence of adultery is rare, and fornication is 

 not approved. The temperament of the Samoyad is amiable ; lie is hospitable, 

 cheery, and even-tempered. Sentiment is hardly known to him, and he has no- 

 good reason, or hope of future reward for the honest or benevolent act.s he performs. 

 Idleness is often necessitated by circumstances, but the naturally active man is dis- 

 cernible even then. The Samoyad is capable of politeness and of sobriety, though 

 the Russian traders do their best to destroy the latter virtue. The Samoyad is- 

 neighbourly ; the youug are obedient and respectful ; and the old are tenderly cared 

 for. Inexpressibly filthy in their customs, the Samoyads exhibit as a race social 

 virtues of a high order. 



Physical Appearance. — The average stature of the men is 5 ft. 1 J in., and of 

 the women 4 ft. 9f ins. The head is wide and low ; the face broad and short ; the 

 forehead usually receding ; the eyebrows pencilled and arched ; the nose is flat^ 

 but straight; the prominence of the mouth is not marked, but the lips are thick. 

 The eyes are wide apart and oblique ; their colour is black and their size small ; 

 the lids are full. The colour of the skin is yellowish-brown, while the cheeks of 

 youug people are frequently ruddy. The hair, which is cylindrical and coarse, i» 

 jet black. The moustache is always slight, and there usnally depends from the chinr 

 a weak thin beard. 



The highest English authority on the Samoyads is Mr. F, G. Jackson, and in 

 his work on the subject {The Great Frozen Land) he tells us that the physique of 

 the Samoyad is sturdy : the shoulders being broad, the legs stout, though short, and 

 the arms highly developed. The head is out of proportion to tbe body in its large^ 

 ness, and the neck is short and thick. The sense of hearing is extremely acute, and 

 the sight remarkably keen ; the power of grasp is considerable. The Samoyads run 

 well, and are capable of enduring great fatigue, and sustaining arduous exercise for 

 a long period. 



Occupations. — These are chiefly hunting and fishing. To enable them to do the 

 former, they break and train the reindeer until these animals have reached a high 

 stage of excellence as draught beasts. The sledge, too, is perfectly adapted to the 

 physical difficulties presented by the Tundra. The reindeer is the ' staff of life on 

 the Tundra. Its skin makes the tent or ' choom ' which fends the wild weather 

 from his master ; it also forms the chief fabric of his clothing. Its body constitutes 

 the main food of the' Samoyad, and its hide and sinews his harness, cordage, and 

 thread. It is the only animal which is fitted to draw burdens across the Tundra, a 

 quaking bog in summer, a howling frozen plain in winter. In the latter season, 

 the Samoyad hunts, attacks, and snares the white bear, brown bear, sable, fox, 

 lynx, and other fur-bearing animals ; in summer, he catches enormous numbers of 

 birds — geese, swans, duck, &c. He brings his furs to the market before the melt- 

 ing of the snow makes it impossible for him to take heavy loads across the Tundra; 

 but a contingent is usually left behind to complete the season's harvest. These the 

 Samoyad rejoins before the rivers burst free from the ice, and the whole country 

 becomes an impassable swamp. 



Notes on Marriage Customs, Social Usages, Funerals, Folk-lore, Weapons and 

 Instruments, and Costume, were also included in the pajser. 



3. On Cayinihalism. By Captain S. L. Hinde. 



Captain Hinde, who has been travelling and fighting for some years in the Congo 

 basin, and has therefore had many almost unprecedented opportunities of observ- 

 ing the natives, gave the following information witb regard to cannibalism : — 



Almost all the races in the Congo basin practise cannibalism, and though in 

 some parts it is prevented by the presence of white civilisation, in others it seems 

 to be on the increase. An extensive traffic in human flesh prevails in many dis- 

 tricts, slaves being kept and sold as an article of food. 



The different tribes have various and horrible methods of preparing the flesh 

 for eating ; in some instances, before the death of the victim, certain tribes of the 

 Bangala race themselves acknowledge that they break the arms and legs of the 



