OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE. 



379 



time. The marriage ceremony appears to be very simple, consisting only in N 18 ^ 

 the husband coming, when desired, to the hut or tent of the bride's father, ^-rv 

 and taking her to his own by force. As the time of the marriage seems to 

 depend wholly on the caprice or interest of the parents, the reluctance ex- 

 pressed by the female, and which the women humourously enough described 

 to us as forming an indispensable part of their conduct on this occasion, is 

 probably not always a matter of mere form or pretended coyness. This 

 event constitutes a most important era in the life of the young couple, who 

 immediately set up a separate establishment, similar to that of the oldest 

 married people, and the husband is thenceforth bound to labour for the support 

 of his wife. There can be no doubt of the advantage of these early mar- 

 riages to both parties ; nor is there any time of life at which an Esquimaux 

 of either sex may be considered as better furnished both with food and 

 clothing, than during the first five or six years after this event has taken 

 place. 



Toolooak had scarcely arrived a couple of hours, when some of our gen- 

 tlemen going out to the village found him seated beside his wife with all the 

 gravity and sedateness of an old married man ; and on the following day they 

 both came to the ships. Toolooak having grown considerably, had a much 

 more manly appearance than before ; but neither he nor his wife had much 

 to say for themselves at this their first visit. " The bride" was dressed out, 

 while she remained on board, in all the finery we could muster, and both 

 received numerous useful presents to assist in setting them up in the world. 

 Toolooak's travelling companion Ootooguak particularly attracted our notice 

 on account of his height, which was five feet nine inches and three quarters, 

 or within a quarter of an inch of the tallest we had yet seen in the tribe. It 

 is no less remarkable also that his father Nannow, and his brother Ooyarra- 

 seoo, who arrived shortly after, were both uncommonly fine and tall men for 

 Esquimaux, the first, notwithstanding a slight degree of decrepitude, standing 

 five feet eight and a half and the latter five feet nine inches in height. 



I must here notice an occurrence which had lately taken place, and which 

 created no inconsiderable sensation among the Esquimaux. Though the 

 authority of the husbands is in most respects strictly maintained among these 

 people, yet their conduct towards their wives is far from being unkind, and 

 they seldom if ever proceed to the extremities too common with some savages. 

 A few days ago, however, an elderly man named Sherddeoo, in consequence 



3 c 2 



