72 G. Holm. 



supply of provisions had run short. From one of these visits, to a 

 place called Kangarsik, he quite unexpectedly returned with a new 

 wife, Utukuluk. She was barely twenty years of age, but had been 

 married six times before, and had only just been separated from 

 her sixth husband, towards whom she occupied the position of 'se- 

 cond wife', on account of her having in her impatience and vio- 

 lence killed the child in her womb. She had also been accused of 

 being a witch, and of having collected human sinews to kill her 

 husband with. Sanimuinak had won her at the game of "Putting 

 out the lamps" at night, and carried her, apparently by force, over 

 the ice. 



When Puitek saw the new wife, she became angry — as under 

 the circumstances was only natural — and began to scold her 

 husband. He flew into a passion, seized hold of her hair, and thumped 

 her back and face with his clenched fist. Finally, he seized a knife 

 and stabbed her in the knee, so that the blood spirted out. As 

 usual in such cases, the other inmates of the house looked on with 

 perfect composure at this connubial quarrel. The new wife had in 

 the meanwhile retreated to one of the family stalls at the far end 

 of the house. Next day Sanimuinak in a fit of temper went off to 

 Norajik, to feed on narwhal flesh, and left his waves to make it up 

 amongst themselves. 



When I came to see Sanimuinak's mother and wife, the mother 

 w^as venting her indignation on Utukuluk, who kept at the other 

 end of the house, while Puitek signified her assent with smiles and 

 other tokens of approval. The mother related that Utukuluk, having 

 been repudiated by her former husband, had entreated Sanimuinak 

 to take her with him, a request with which he had readily com- 

 plied. She had slept with Sanimuinak that night, but, now that he 

 had gone away, she did not venture to approach that end of 

 the house. The mother wound up by saying 'there was no room 

 for that long creature here', (Sanimuinak's part of the platform was 

 not four feet wide), 'and, for the matter of that, she had no busi- 

 ness to be here, — it was her place to remain at home'. 



When Sanimuinak came back after the lapse of some days, 

 amicable relations were restored between him and the two wives, 

 and they all three managed to live quite at peace with one another 

 on his platform. — When he came on a visit to us, he refused to 

 acknowledge that he had taken Utukuluk as his second wife, and 

 declared he had brought her home with him only as bis foster- 

 daughter. 



Some time after this, he came to see us again, this time to- 

 gether with Puitek. He informed us that he had performed lornak 



