144 G. Holm. 



he was caught in the act of stealing, while the shrewd and cun- 

 ning Avgo took the matter from the humorous point of view, when 

 he was caught pilfering some beads. 



Generally speaking, however, they became exceedingly embar- 

 rassed when we spoke of the thefts, and their blushes almost al- 

 ways betrayed them. The natives never demand back stolen objects, 

 even when they are aware who has taken them, or have actually 

 seen them in the hands of the thief, but we have known instances 

 of their having applied to us, when something that they had re- 

 ceived from us had been taken from them, in order that we might 

 get the thief to hand it back, or give them compensation. 



Thefts of our bread must have taken place especially during 

 the dark nights. Our bread sacks, which were placed under the 

 umiak, which rested on high props, were cut in two, in order that 

 they might get at the bread. The leader in these thefts was the 

 angakok Narsingertek, the man who had terrified our crew by tel- 

 ling them about the spectre which stood at night on the hill out- 

 side our house. 



I presume that his motive for frightening them in this way 

 was that if anyone chanced to see people hanging about our provis- 

 ions at night, the idea of the spectre would occur to them and 

 terrify them. The first time that bread was stolen, they attached the 

 blame to the inhabitants on the opposite side of the fjord, but after- 

 wards we found out that it must be our neighbours, as they began 

 to inform about one another for fear of being suspected themselves. 



Alusagak and his wife, who lived in a tent close by us, came 

 one day and informed on his wife's own mother, who had just 

 been staying with him, as having stolen blubber from us. Angi- 

 tinguak came to us and informed on his own son and son-in-law 

 as being the thieves, in order thereby to avert the suspicion from 

 himself. As, however, we happened to know that not only his son 

 and son-in-law but he himself had been at our house during our 

 absence, we dismissed him with scorn, whereas he thought he de- 

 served a reward for having informed on the thieves. 



As soon as a man was accused of theft, his first question in- 

 variably was, who had informed on him. Not only the man himself, 

 but his whole family, were always very eager to know who Ihe 

 accuser was. Sometimes, when a man was accused of theft he said 

 that people were so ready to slander him because he had no rela- 

 tions, but lived by himself. It was universally characteristic of the 

 natives that, as soon as they heard that something had been stolen 

 from us, they came to us and said that 'such or such a one' must 

 have done it. They said themselves that they dared not steal, for 



