The St. Johns herald., 1893-02-09
CUSTOMS OF THE EsQUlMAUx.
How They Marry, Their Religion and
 Love for Theatricals.

 How They Marry, Their Religion and
 Love for Theatricals.
 There is no special ceremony connect ed with marriage among them, says the Boston Transcript. In some tribes the husband joins the wife's relatives and is expected to hunt and fish for them. If he is lazy or refuses to give the furs he gets to his father in-law he is likely to be bounced, and some one more &C., tive and obedient installed in his place as husband. Sometimes 1t happens that 8 girl has ten or twelve husbands in succession before she finally settles down to a permanent conjugal state. Virtue is not remarkably developed among the women, nor is sentiment in regard to chastity particularly keen. Men sometimes exchange wives for a time, and they have been known to rent their spouses to white miners for sea- son. Polygamy prevails to a limited extent.
 Children are very commonly sold, the price for 2 little girl being sealslzin bag Of oil CT an old suit of clothes. The religion Of t'a natives is ncrelya belief in witchcraft and evil spirits. Mystery men attend to driving away bad spirits and to the curing of illnesses caused by these diabol;cal agencies. When the sick are near death, they are usually carried to an outhouse to die, though often they are killed by the mystery man in attendance, with Q stab in the temple CT breast. Frequently the aged and helpless are slain at their own re- quest. The dead are wrapped in skins and placed on elevated scaffolds, to keep them from wild animals. though some tribes throw out their corpses to be devourcd by the dogs.
 Both sexes among the Esquimaux are tattooed Labrets are tavOrite orna- ments. In early youth cut is made in the lower lip and @ small wooden plug introduced to keep it from closing. Gradually it is enlarged, and the adult is decorated with l2bret of jade, ivory, bone or glass, shaped like Q miniature, the rim being inside the mouth to hold it. Girls have their ears and sometimes their noses pierced for chains or other such ornaments. Along the Arctic coast men cut off the hair on top of their heads so that they look like monks, the object being to avoid soaring the caribou by the futter of their locks. The Esquimaux are fond Of eggs not yet hatchcd bat about to be. They are much addicted to both liquor and to- bacco, and it is q common thing to see a nursing infant with quid of tobacco in its moutk.
 The natives are very fond of theatri- calls. They mimic all sorts Of animals wonderfully, and the man who can do this best is considered a great actor. This sort of mimicry is woven into the shape of dramatic entertainments. One performer will be bear, for example, clad in appropriate skins, while the others hunt him. Commonly the hunt winds up with the death of the bear or seal; which is stabbed with a knife or spear, the blood gushing out of con- eealed bladder so as to produce a real istic effect. Then the dead animal gets up and bows to the audience, which ap- plauds wildly. The Esquimaux are merry people. They are fond of snow balling and football, playing the latter game with a ball made of skin stuffed with hair. They make grotesque masks to frighten each other with, and the lit tie girls are devoted to dolls.