Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1890-01-27
EsQUiMAU SOCIETY.
How Love Grows and Thrlves Among the
People of Greenland.

DIR. Nansen read an Interesting pane
on the Esquimaux in the Anthropologi
cal section Of the BfS' ish Association
lie lnodcstly disclaimed any knowl
edge OF anthropology, and confined hi
remarks to q few facts regarding thu
lie and customs of the Esquimaux
Limiting his observations to the in
habitants Of Greenland, some of whom
nc promised, came originally from
North America, he divided them int
two classes, civilized and uncivilized
exhibited 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 year!
to return. The people had no writer
laws, but they were orderly and law
abiding. The Eastern Esquimaux hac
warmer clothes than the Western
Esquimaux, where many of them hat
nothing ona portion of the leg. The
young girls wore their hair loose, anG
1t was tied up into high knot to show
that they were ready for marriage.
When an Esquimau man fell in love
with a woman he did not go and pour
passionate utterances into her ear-he
simply took her by the hair Ct 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
1t The women were not considered well
educated If they did not run back home
two or three times after being dragged
away. Ii they ran away too often the
men did not like it. There is the case
OF man going over and over again tc
drag the girl of his choice to his hut, but
she always ran back. He desisted foI
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
husbahd's 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
cat and look after their weapons. The
women were always working-either
sewing, spinning, making clothes OF
busy in household work. They looked
well after their children, of whom thew
were very fond. The men, as a rule.
married early-as soon as they could
catch seals enough to provide for a wife
md family. The reasons they gave for
marrying were to Lave 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
catchers on the East coast had two
wives. Cases Of moro than two wives
we're not known. The reason given for
more than one wife was that one
wife could not prepare the skins of
tho 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 Esqulmau speak
angrily to his children. In spite OF
this tho youngsters behaved very we'll.
n mother sucked her child two wears.
lie had seen ftrapping little fellow
eating bread, standing by his mothers
lap and taking fluid from the maternal
tount 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
arrangement, but rather cruel from their
point of view. This practice was in
dulged in in order to get as strong bows
and children as possible. Hospitality
in Greenland wasgrcatcr than anywhere
else. Edinburgh Scotsman.