Ethnological Sketch of the Angmagsalik Eskimo. 139 



sent ourselves, they always left the tent as soon as we went out; 

 but the moment we reentered it, we had it once more full of people. 

 They asked us w4iom each thing belonged to, and often gave vent 

 to expressions of admiration; then they asked us whether we had 

 made it ourselves. 



It cannot be said, however, that all of them were importunate; 

 there were not a few honourable exceptions. Especially among the 

 older folks there were many who possessed a rare tact and great 

 modesty. In this respect the inhabitants of the Sermilik fjord are 

 far superior to those on the Angmagsalik fjord. 



Begging was not uncommon, especially when they had 

 told us anything about Timerseks, the dwellers in Akilinek , or 

 other mythical beings. Possibly, however, this may have been 

 out of fear for these beings, just as a man after having told us 

 about his mother's death and burial, demanded payment for it, in 

 order as he said, 'that his dead mother might not be angered thereat'. 



They were especially importunate wdien they had something to 

 sell; for when we had made a bargain with one, the others ima- 

 gined that we were thereby obliged to deal with them also and give 

 them the same thing we had given the first. Thus, for instance, a 

 man asked for and received a dart-head of iron in exchange for a 

 piece of driftwood tweenty feet long, which at the butt end was about 

 one foot in diameter. Immediately after another man came with 

 a piece of an old board, in exchange for which he also demanded a 

 dart-head af iron. When I told him that it w^as too much to give 

 for the board, he asked whether it could not be used in our house. 

 As I was unable to deny this, he began to hold forth in a verj" 

 loud voice that up there people always gave people whatever they 

 asked for, in exchange for their wares, and insisted that I needed 

 timber, but had enough of dart-heads of iron, whereas he needed 

 such a dart-head. When I informed him that I could easily do 

 without the board he offered me, he answered that he would not 

 take it back wdth him again and that I was to have it, just as he 

 was to have a dart-head. I had to give in and tried to come to 

 terms, and in fact succeeded in effecting a compromise: I enquired 

 what other things he had which I could use, and obtained a pro- 

 mise of a large Greenland seal skin to go along with the board. 



Bartering with European wares. — The people of Ang- 

 magsalik displayed no small cunning in their traffic. When they 

 had several things they wanted to sell us, they produced the worst 

 first, and \vhen the bargain for it had been concluded, the better 

 things came to light; but invariably only one at a time. In this 



