Tombstone epitaph., 1890-02-15
ESQUIMAU SOCIETY.
How Love Grows and Thrives Among the
 People of Greenland.

Dr. Nansen read an interesting paper on the Esquimaux in the AnthropOlogi- cal section of the Brs1 ish Association.
 He 1nodestly disclaimed any knowl- edge of anthropology, and confined his remarks to a few facts regarding the life and customs of the Esquimaux.
 Limiting his observations to the in
 habitants of Greenland, some of whom,
 he promised, came originally from North America, he divided them into two classes, civilized and uncivilized, exhibited a specimen of their pictur- esque costumes and described their GUS toms and mode of life. He mentioned
 that the people in one part of the coun- try took two years to journey to the nearest merchants shop and two years to 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 of them had nothing on portion of the leg. The young girls wore their hair loose, and it 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 utterances into her ear-he simply took her 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 it. The women were not considered well educated if they did not run back home two or three times after being dragged away. If they ran away too often the men did not like it. There is the case 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 He went away without her, and the next day she was missing-she had gone to comfort her broken-hearted lover. The the game was caught the women looked after it. The men in the house were, as a rule, very lazy-they did nothing but eat and look after their weapons. The women were always working either sewing, spinning, making clothes or busy in household work. They looked we'll after their children, of whom they were very fond. The men, as rule, married early-as soon as they could catch seals enough to provide for wife and family. The reasons they gave for marrying were to have the skins of the seals attended to and to keep their clothes in order-of course, there were other reasons.
 It very often happened that good cate hers 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 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. Parents never punished their children, and he never heard an Esquimau speak angrily to his children. In spite of this the youngsters behaved very we'll. A mother suckled her child two years. He had seen strapping little fellow eating bread, standing by his mothers lap and taking fluid from the maternal fount Young girls very often got small knives and learned how to pre- pare skins. This was very important to the young women, as they had to man. age the cutting of the skins. The young boys were also taught to catch seals. There were, of course, weak children, deformed ones, and those who lost their mothers. These were usually thrown outside of the house or into the sea. This was, of course, very good but rather cruel from their point of view. This practice was in- dulged in in order to get as strong boys and children as possible. Hospitality in Greenland was greater than anywhere else.-Edinburgh Scotsman.