SCIENCE. 



87 



order to insure the respectability of the mother or 

 child. Such children are generally traded or given 

 away to some elderly couple as soon as they are old 

 enough to leave the mother. The foster-parents take 

 quite as good care of such adopted children as if they 

 were their own. 



So far as we could learn, they do not generally 

 practice any rites or ceremonies of marriage. The 

 best hunter, or the owner of the largest number of 

 dogs and hunting-gear, will seldom have any difficulty 

 in procuring the woman of his choice for a wife, 

 even though she has a husband at the time. It is a 

 common practice to trade wives for short periods or 

 even permanently. They appear to have marriage rites 

 sometimes, but we could induce no one to tell us, except 

 one squaw, who agreed to, but only on condition that 

 we became one of the interested parties and she the 

 other. This was more than we had bargained for, 

 and, although generally willing to be a martyr for the 

 cause of science, we allowed this opportunity to pass 

 without improving it. 



Monogamy is at the present time the most preva- 

 lent. Polygamy is practiced only in the case of a 

 man being able to provide for two or more wives. 

 Three, and even four wives rarely belong to one man. 

 Neither two nor three wives in one hut make an 

 altogether harmonious household ; but all little diffi- 

 culties are generally settled by the husband, in a man- 

 ner better calculated to insure reverence to masculine 

 strength than respect for superior intelligence. 



The scarcity of women at present in proportion to 

 the men makes polygamy a luxury only to be indulged 

 in by the wealthy. Divorce, if it can be called by 

 that name, is very frequent among them. All that is 

 needed is that the husband tires of his wife, or knows 

 of a better one that he is able to procure. Neither 

 does it seem to trouble the woman much ; she is quite 

 sure to have another offer before long ; and a change 

 of this kind seems to benefit both parties. One 

 rather remarkable and very laudable practice among 

 these people is the adoption of young children whose 

 parents are dead, or, as often happens, whose mother 

 is the only recognized parent. Orphans, so to speak, 

 are thus twice as common as among civilized nations. 

 These children, whether bought or received as a gift, 

 are always taken as good care of as if they were their 

 own, especially if they are boys. 



Among the Eskimo employed by the Florence was 

 a family that had two children, who passed for brother 

 and sister. One, the boy, was a nephew of " Eskimo 

 Joe," of Polaris fame. He had been brought from 

 the Hudson's Straits Eskimo, some two hundred miles 

 to the south. He was a perfect little satan ; and, 

 though he gave us much annoyance, he was a never- 

 failing source of amusement to us all. The girl, again, 

 was a native of Exeter Sound, on the west coast of 

 Davis Straits ; still, both were considered as their own 

 children, and well cared for. 



Half-breeds are said to be of more irritable temper- 

 aments, and less able to bear exposure and fatigue, 

 than the full-blooded Eskimo. 



The food of the Cumberland Eskimo consists en- 

 tirely of flesh, and in most sections of the sound, 

 Pago my s foetid us. In fact, this animal is their prin- 

 cipal dependence for food, fuel, clothing, and light. 

 The Eskimo will eat a few of the berries of Vaccinium 



uliginosum and Empetrum nigrum, the roots of Pedi- 

 cularis, and occasionally a little Fucus vesiculosus in 

 winter, but this constitutes a very small and unim- 

 portant part of their food. 



As soon as the ice has fairly left the sound, the 

 Eskimo hunter leaves the wintei encampment, with 

 his family and such portions of his household goods 

 as will be needed, and takes a tour inland or up some 

 of the large fjords after reindeer. The larger part 01 

 his possessions, including sledge, dogs, harnesses, 

 winter clothing, etc., he secretes among the rocks in 

 some unfrequented spot. His dogs are put on some 

 little rocky islet, to shift for themselves. They eke 

 out a scanty subsistence by making good use of their 

 time at low tide, Cottus scorpius constituting the 

 greater part of their food at this season. 



There are at present so many whaleboats owned by 

 these Eskimo, that they experience little difficulty in 

 making quite extensive cruises, three or four families 

 constituting a boat's crew. They will load a whale- 

 boat to within an inch or two of the gunwale, and 

 then set out for a few weeks of enjoyment and abund- 

 ance. The squaws do the rowing and the " captain " 

 stands majestically in the stern with the steering oar, 

 while the rest of the men are either asleep or on the 

 lookout for game. The cargo consists of their tent- 

 poles, the skin-tents, pots, and lamps, with sundry 

 skin-bags containing the women's sewing and skinning 

 utensils. Their hunting-gear, of course, forms a quite 

 conspicuous portion of the contents of the boat. 

 Very few there are at present who have not become 

 the possessors of a half-barrel, and this vessel occupies 

 a conspicuous place in the boat, and is almost con- 

 stantly receiving additions of animal matter in some 

 shape ; a few young eiders or gulls will soon be cov- 

 ered up with the intestines of a seal and its flesh. 

 From this receptacle all obtain a piece of meat when- 

 ever they feel hungry. This vessel is never emptied 

 of its contents, except by accident or when scarcity of 

 material forbids its repletion; and, as the temperature 

 at this season is well up in the " sixties " during the 

 day, this garbage heap becomes so offensive as to be 

 unbearable to any one but an Eskimo. 



They proceed at a very leisurely rate, rowing for a 

 few minutes and then stopping for a time, chatting, 

 smoking, or eating. When they feel tired they haul 

 np on the rocks and have a sleep, and then resume 

 the journey in the same vagabond manner. If, while 

 thus cruising, any live creature that they think there 

 is any possibility they can capture comes in sight, all 

 hands become animated, the oars are plied with re- 

 doubled energy, guns and spears are in readiness, and 

 every one is eager for the sport. Hours are often 

 consumed in chasing a half-grown duck or a young loon 

 which when procured is but a bite ; but the fun of the 

 chase seems to be the principal object, and they enjoy 

 it hugely. Thus they journey till they reach some 

 suitable locality, when the boat is unloaded, the 

 toopiks raised, the lamps put in their places, and all 

 is ready for a grand hunt. The men divide and scat- 

 ter over the mountains, leaving the camp in charge 

 of the women and children ; these busy themselves by 

 hunting for and destroying every living creature that 

 they can find. 



On the return of the hunters, who perchance have 

 brought some skins and a hunk of venison, there are 



