Ethnological Sketch of the AngmagsaliU Eslumo. 145 



they were afraid to die. An elderly man declared that his mother 

 had told him that he might not steal. They usually ended by re- 

 questing us not to say who had told us. Sometimes they followed 

 this up by a request for a present of some kind. 



They stole not only from us, but also from each olher. The 

 fine old man Kutuluk, the head of the house of our neighbours, 

 came one day and told us that he would soon be short of provis- 

 ions; for his fellow-housemates had had practically no provisions, 

 and so he had had to go shares with them, and now they had 

 actually stolen a bag with coagulated blood which had lain under 

 his umiak. As usual in such cases, he did not dare to make a 

 complaint or demand back the stolen goods, but put up with it 

 quite composedly without saying a word to the thieves. 



Our boatman, Hanserak, had been so much in the company of 

 Europeans that he could no longer submit to the thievings of the 

 natives. When, in connection with the already mentioned thefts of 

 bread from us, he gave our neighbours a piece of his mind, and 

 Avhen he afterwards visited another dwelling-place, he received a 

 warning against going out alone at night, as our neighbours were 

 sure to be meditating vengeance. When we bear in mind that 

 not less than three murders have occured in Angmagsalik in recent 

 years, it will be understood that he might have good reason for 

 entertaining fear. 



Murder. — I have alread}^ mentioned that Maratuk's mother, Ang- 

 malilik, was married to a younger man from Kumarmiut. As she was 

 too unfaithful to her husband and besides performed her household 

 duties badly, he often beat her. One day, when he was out in 

 the kaiak, his stepson, Maratuk, came up behind him and thrust his 

 harpoon in his loins. The step-father shrieked and tried to escape, 

 but Maratuk's cousin, Sanimuinak, killed him by sticking his har- 

 poon in his back between his shoulders. According to Sanimuinak's 

 account, the reason why he put him to death was because Maratuk 

 had threatened to kill him, if he did not do so. Afterwards they 

 cut a hole in the dead man's kaiak, so that it sank. Although 

 this was only three years ago, the murderer wanders alone about 

 the fjord, and even comes on visits both by sledge and boat to 

 the near relations of the murdered man. He is spoken of with 

 dread , but not on account of the murder , but 'because as 

 angakok he has robbed so many souls from people who after- 

 wards died'. 



When in the autumn of 1884 we were about to travel to Ser- 

 mijigak where Avgo and Maratuk lived, we were warned against 

 XXXIX. . 10 



