Psychology and Morality 235 



are fond of mimicking their elders, even their own parents. Practical jokes, 

 while seldom indulged in, are usually taken with great good-humour. A native 

 who had been sampling some of our foods was given a little strong horse-radish. 

 The tears came into his eyes and he choked, but he swallowed it gamely 'never7 

 theless and grinned over it afterwards. On the other hand there is a good deal 

 of back-biting and scandal-mongering, especially among the women, who will 

 sit and talk scandal for hours. Mikinrok and Higilak were gossiping about 

 KuUak one day, and on the following day Higilak and Kullak were talking scan- 

 dal of Mikinrok. The men, who live a more active life out of doors, are naturally 

 less given to such practices. 



To the Copper Eskimo goodness means social goodness, that and no more. 

 Whatever directly affects the welfare of the community as a whole is morally 

 good or bad, while whatever relates to the individual alone, or affects the com- 

 munity so remotely that its influence is barely perceptible to their short-sighted 

 view, is neither good nor bad. The foremost virtues therefore are peacefulness 

 and good-nature, courage and energy, patience and endurance, honesty, hos- 

 pitality, charity towards both the old and the young, loyal co-operation with 

 one's kin and providence in all questions relating to the food-supply. Fair- 

 dealing (apart from the relations with one's kin) and truthfulness have only a 

 secondary place, while sexual purity is hardly considered as coming within the 

 scope of morals at all. 



Their peacefulness has been recorded by earlier observers. Thus Collinson 

 remarks, "They have left us with the impression that they are a kind-hearted 

 well-disposed people .... They at first with us carried their knives with the 

 blade up their sleeves and the haft in the hand, in readiness for immediate use; 

 but notwithstanding the dread of our firearms may have kept them quiet, I am 

 inclined to think they are an inoffensive race."^ The lack of any organization for 

 war and their avoidance of the Indians (so much in contrast to the Mackenzie 

 river Eskimos) would alone suffice to prove their peacefulness. A people that 

 lives by the chase and glories in hand-to-hand combats with such adversaries as 

 the polar and the brown bear can hardly be lacking in physical courage. But 

 the Copper Eskimo is the reverse of foolhardy; courage with him is nearly 

 always subordinated to prudence. Except in his hunting, when the tradition of 

 a long Une of ancestors makes boldness a merit, a native will never accept a 

 risk unless the odds are greatly in his favour. He will never fight an enemy on 

 equal terms, but will wait until he can overwhelm him with superior numbers 

 or strike him behind his back. 



A hunting life imder Arctic conditions necessarily calls for great energy, 

 patience and endurance. The Copper Eskimos think nothing of spending twenty- 

 four hours on a hunt, tramping continually over stony hills without a morsel of 

 food, and with only a few short halts to rest their limbs and look around them. 

 In spring I have seen them spend whole days fruitlessly digging one hole after 

 another through the thick ice of the lakes and jigging their lines without ever 

 getting a bite. In winter they sit for hours over their seal-holes even in howling 

 blizzards with the temperature 30° and more below zero Fahrenheit. The 

 patience instilled in them by hunting becomes engrained in their very natures 

 and permeates all their social life, so that tolerance and forbearance are two of 

 the most marked features in Eskimo society. Combined with the lack of a 

 proper sense of responsibility it leads only too often to a passive looking-on when 

 an active interference is more called for. Thus the natives will quietly stand by 

 and witness a robbery or a murder without ever raising a finger. It is no concern 

 of theirs, they will say, so why should they interfere? 



Earlier visitors to the country have extolled also their honesty. Rae notices 

 that they had a great respect for caches of any kind. "On the 30th we reached 



iCoUinson, p. 286. 



