Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-01-02

How LOve Grows and 1Azfves Ano1E g.
People II Greenland.
DR.. Nansen read an Interesting paper
on the Esquimaux in the Anthropolo9i-
cal section of the British Association
He modestly disclaimed any knowl-
edge of anthropology, and confined his
remarks to a few facts regarding the
LIE and customs of the Esquimaux-
Limiting his observations to the in
hab1taats of Greenland, some of whom
he promised, came originally from
North America, he divided them into
two classes, civilized and uncivilized,
exhibited specimen of their picsur-
esaue costumes and described their Gus
toms and mode of life He mentioned
that the people in one part of the conn
try took two years to journey to the
nearest merchants shop and two wears
to return. The people had no written
laws, but they were orderly and Law
abiding. The Eastern Esquimaux baa
warmer clothes than the Western
Esquimaux, where many of them had
nothing on q 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
Will q WOnau ne 0lu uOG go anu D01T
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 a 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
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 He
went away without her, and the next
day she was mlsSing-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 it. The men in the house WERE as
rule, very lazy-they did nothing but
eat and look after their weapons The
women were always neutrality-suspicious.
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 a rule,
married early-as soon as they could
catch seals enough to provide for q wife
and family. The reasons they gave for
were to have the skins of the
seals attended to and to keep their
clothes in order-of course, there were
other reasons.
1t very often happened that good
cato 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 %
this the youngsters behaved very well.
A mother sucked her child two yeare
He had seen a strapping little fellow
eating bread, standing by his mothere
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 marD
age the cutting of the skins. The
young boys were also taught to catcD
seals. There were, of course, 0eak
children, deformed ones, and those who
lost their mothers. These were usuallD
thrown outside of the house or into tho
sea. This was, of course, a very goo9
but rather cruel from thon
point of view. This practice YVES o.
1ulged in in order to get as strong boyo
and children as possible. Hospitality
in Greenland was greater than anywhelA
Scotsman.