236 Canadian Arctic Expedition, 1913-18 



our cache of the 16th, and found it, as well as two others, perfectly safe, not- 

 withstanding that one, or perhaps all of them, had been seen by the Ilsquimaux.'" 

 Osborn remarked of the Minto inlet natives that "They seemed very simple 

 and honest; and when presented with anything, they appeared incapable of 

 supposing that anyone would give them an article without expecting an equiv- 

 alent." 2 Even as late as 1912 Douglas from the region of Great Bear lake 

 could say, "Everything was all right at the little shack; there were signs that 

 the Eskimos had made a large camp close to it since we had been there, but 

 nothing had been disturbed. Even an axe, an article of inestimable value to 

 them, was just where it had been left.' Mr. Stefansson never heard of any 

 thefts nor learned the native word for "stealing." * Thefts do sometimes occur 

 nevertheless. Milukkattak was careful to cache a fork that I had given her 

 when we went to look for the Prince Albert sound natives for fear that the latter 

 might steal it; and Higilak accused Mikinrok of stealing some of her sinew. 

 The absolute lack of privacy in their lives, however, makes concealment very 

 difficult, and partly for this reason, and partly because the average native is 

 naturally incUned to be honest and upright, theft is comparatively rare among 

 themselves. Their morality being based on purely social sanctions that hardly 

 operate outside the community, the same restraint is not always observed towards 

 strangers, as we found to our cost. Not only did they steal many articles from 

 our station, but they even robbed one of our caches along the coast, a far more 

 serious offense in the Arctic. 



Much kindness and unselfishness is displayed within each little community. 

 During my sojourn on Victoria island I had to diet myself for a time on a little 

 dog-pemmican, in order to recruit my strength after a rather serious illness. 

 According to native etiquette I should have shared my pemmican with the 

 Eskimos of the party, who were indeed very partial to it; but almost invariably 

 they declined it even when they were themselves short of food. One evening 

 not only did they refuse any pemmican, but they even pressed some of their own 

 food on me, although they knew there was nothing left for the morning. I 

 needed it all, they 'said, and as for them, they could get along very well without 

 it. Under ordinary conditions the aged and infirm are never abandoned, as 

 Hanbury says.^ Haviron, who died in the spring of 1915, received a regular dole 

 of food from all his kinsmen throughout the winter, though he was confined to 

 his hut during the whole period and could do nothing to help himself. Whenever 

 the Eskimos migrated to another sealing-ground he was carried on one of the 

 sleds, usually, but not always, his son's. In Victoria island we once left Tusayok's 

 old wife all alone for several days with her tent and clothing and a stock of 

 drying meat, because she was unable to maintain the constant travelUng. She 

 had an ample supply of food, and was perfectly happy and content, for she knew 

 •that her husband and son would rejoin her as soon as they were able. In times 

 of extreme hardship, when the whole community is faced with starvation, I 

 have no doubt that the Copper Eskimos would abandon the old and infirm 

 without much hesitation, but it has apparently never been a regular custom 

 with them, as it was among other Eskimos. 



Improvidence is a charge that has sometimes been levelled against the 

 Eskimos, but it is certainly not true of those who inhabit the regions around 

 Coronation gulf. With them it is the duty of every family to preserve carefully 

 for consumption in the early winter all extra supplies of food that are obtained 

 between the spring and the fall. The successful hunter who has the largest reserve 

 on hand in November and December meets with the highest esteem. During 

 my seven months with the Puivlik natives on Victoria island not a single article 



•Journ. Royal Geogr. Soc, Vol. 22, 1852, p. 80. 



20sborn, p. 190. 



'Douglas, p. 226. 



'Stefansson, Anthrop. Papers, A.M.N.H., Vol. XIV, pt. I, p. 131 et seg. 



'Hanbury, p. 156. 



