The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1889-11-15
ssoUIMAu SOCIETY.
Vow Love Grows, Thrives and Crows
, Cold In the Arctic Region.
From the EdInburg scotsman.

lFrom the Edlnburg Seotsman.l
DIR. Nansen read an interesting paper on
the Esquimaux in the Anthropological sec
tion Of the British Association. He modest
ly disclaimed any knowledge Of anthropolo-
gy, and confined his remarks to a few facts
regarding the life and customs OF the Esqui-
maux. Limiting his observations to the In
habitants Of Greenland, some of whom, he
promised, came originally from North Amer
lea. he divided them into two classes, civil
lied and uncivilized, exhibited specimen Of
their picturesque costumes, and described
their customs and mode of life. He men,
TONED that the people in one part of the
country took two. years to journey to the
nearest merchants shop and two wears 10
return. The people had no written laws. but
they were orderly and law abiding The
Eastern Esquimaux had warmer clothes
than the Western Esquimaux. where many
Oh Oh them mad nothing on portion Of the leg
Inc young girls wore their hair loose, and X
was tied up into high knot to show that
they were ready for marriage,
When an Esquimau man fell In love with
woman he did not go and pour passionate
utterauceS into her ear-he simply took har
by the hair OF the head and dragged or
pulled her to his hut. OF course woman
In Greenland must. as In all other places.
pretend not to like 1t. The women were
not considered well educated If they did not
run back home two or three times after being
dragged away. III they ran away too often
the men did not like IL. There is the case Of
man going over and over again TO drag the
girl OF his choice to his hut, but she always
ran back. He desisted for some time, and
again tried. The girls friends saw him In
the distance. and they protected her at her
request. lie went away without her, and
| the next day she was missing-she had gone
to comfort her broken-hearted lover: The
husbands labor was on the sea, and after
the game was caught the women looked after
| 1t. The men In the house were, as rule,
very lazy they did nothing but eat and look
| after their weapons. The woman were al
ways working-either sewing, spinning,
making clothes or busy in household work.
They looked well after their children, OF
| whom they were very fond. The men, as a
/ rule, married early-as soon as they could
catch seals enough TO provide for wife and
family, The reasons they give for marrying
/ wera TO have the skins OF their seals attended
to and to keep their clothes In order-of
| course, there were other reasons.
Very often Esquimau husband and wife
| separated, and this they did without any
ceremony. Cases were known In which men
| as well as women bad been married six or
| eight times. They seemed to consider their
| wives more as property than as wives-that
was one OF the very few cases in which the
Esquimaux had property, When the men
married again, II man liked his new wife
be kept her, but II not he passed her on.
/ When children were born, q more solid rela-
tionship was established between wife and
husband. Quarreling between husbands and
wives was not uncommon. Sometimes the
women got their husbands knives into their
arms or legs, but afterward the relationship
seemed To be just as good as before. Cousins
never married, and second cousins tried to
avoid 1t. They tried, II possible, to get
/ wives from other parts Of the country. In
this respect the Esquimaux were more for
| tunate than the NorwegianS were. The
| peasants there thought IL very proper to
marry their cousins, especially when they
| had money, because they said the money
ought not to go out of the family.
II very often happened that good catchers
| ON the east coast had two wives. Cases OF
| more than two wives were not known. The
| reason given for more than one wife was
| that one wife could not prepare the skins Of
the seals caught, and also that two women
i had to be used to pull the boat Sometimes
one wife, when she could not manage the
/ work and the house, asked her husband TO
/ take another wife. Husband and wife did
| not kiss, but saluted by pressing noses. Pa
rents never punished their children, and he
never heard an Esquimaux speak angrily TO
his children. In spite OF this the youngsters
behaved very we'll. 4 mother sucked her
child two years. He had seen a strappiug
little fellow eating bread, standing BY MS
mothers lap and taking fluid from the ma
| ternal fOunt. Young girls very often got
| small knives and learned how to prepare
skins. This was very important to the young
women. as they had to manage the cutting
~ the skins. The young boys were also
sos sSnset to catch seals. There were, of course
MIA wSaH Iei, eein,Adren, deformed ones. and those
,hro,n Mno ios. ntstS mothers. These were usually
This was uSe Sf ce't VI the house or into the sea.
nient' put rather evurl from HnT poiSt ~
SSg sT To- rl rnls practice was iSdased Ia in or
noss;bs os n se' aS strong boys ami children as
possiole hospitality in Greenland was
greater than anywhere else. anu was