Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-09-30

MA SN-- " ~ diolS tue COAST. lfCIT
SSSIs~S W Hopadale northward
along the south shore Of the latter to the
koksoak river. which is several hundred
miles long and takes its rise in a pictur-
esque festoonery of lakes looped through
the highlands half way down to Quebec
But beyond Ungava bay into which the
hoKsoak river flows. to the north and west
o"ehs distinct tribe of them, in a country
"hoAy treeIess, owing to The extreme cold
save Ior a lew stunted willows and alders
ne region is extremely rugged huge noun
.aiI spurs ana short ranges ramifying in
every direction. These Eskimo have seen
httie OF white men. The distance TO the
nearest trading post of the Hudson Raw
company, Fort Chino, is SO great that they
senu only lour or five sledges thither an
nuaily 10 trade for the guns, ammunition.
KNIVES and other hardware. The furs they
oHer IN barter are the finest skins of silver
foxes, wolverines and wolves.
People of Fine Physique,
These people are tall and of fine phy-
sique. Inc men are larger nan the ave, age
whites. Being shut away in such an inhos-
pi.aole corner of the world. it is not sur
prising that their ways should be exceed
ngly wild. For instance the old and in
frm among them, who become denendent
on others for food, are summarilv disnosa5
OF py stransulation or are left to perish
Wheh the camp is moved. When an old
woman becomes burden to the commun-
ity' IL Is customary to neglect her until she
is SO weak from hunger as to he unable 10
walk. Then her friends are suddenly seized
Win ueSire 10 remove to a distant local
NY, ana she Is deserted. Sometimes three
Or lour OF the males retrace their stems on
the pretence of hunting for a lost whin or
ammunition bag. Ii their track is followed
the corpse of the abandoned person will be
Iouhd bound with thongs and with stones
piled around it
In a country where sufficient food for the
able bodied is hard to get, such actions are
commonly dictated by the instinct OF self
preservation. However, unlucky or dislik ad
women are often expelled from the camn
ana must take care of themselves until
they ind relief or perish. In times of graat
scarcity families have actually been driven
10 cannibalism, after eating their dogs and
clothing of skins. In one case an old WON
an mad only one eye. and this was con-
tinually sore and very ANNOYING to the moo
pie with whom she lived. They proposed
to strangle her. Next morning the eve wa .
much better and the cure was postponed
suicides are not rare. Strangulat ton or
jumping from a cliff are the usual meth
Gus. Inc causes of self-destruction are re-
morse and disappointed love.
The dead are treated with no ceremony
Nhen person dies the body is prepared by
pnding 1t with cords, the knees being dra yyn
up ana the heels placed against the body
Inc arms are tied down and a covering of
deer skin or seal skin is wrapped around
the corpse and sewn. On approach Of dis
solution the invalid is removed by the rela-
yves TO the outside of the house If he
should pass away indoors he must not be
carried out through the door, but through n
hole cut in the wall, which is then carefully
closed to prevent the spirit of the defunct
from returning. The body lis exposei in
the open air by the side of a large rock or
taken to the shore or hin top. where
stones are piled around it to prevent birds
ana otner predatory animals from getting
@ n.lrn ,f.1 a-,
dog be seen eating the flesh of corpse.
Ideas of IA Future state.
These Eskimo have very distinct ideas of
a future state and believe that death is
merely a separation of the spirit from the
body. The soul goes either up to the sky or
down into the earth, and spirits of these
two classes can hold communi lea ton with
each other. The place to which the so,l
goes depends on the conduct of the person
WINE on earth and especially on the man.
ner of his DEATH Those who have died nv
violence or starvation and women who per-
ism In childbirth are supposed to go to the
region above, where, though not absolutely
IN want. they lack many of the iuxuries
enjoyed by those who go below Every one
is anxious to go to the lower region and TO
enjoy the pleasures of communicating with
the living, which privilege is denied to those
who go above.
All the affairs of life are supposed to be
under the control of spirits, each of which
rules over certain element, all of them be-
ing under the direction of a greater sDjrit
Each person is supposed to be attended nv
special guardian who is malignant in char
acter. ever ready to seize on the least oc-
casion to work harm upon the individual
whom II accompanies As this is an OWL
spirit, its good offices and assistance can he
obtained by precipitation only. The person
strives to retain its good will by offerings
or food water and clothing. Often the
demon Is carried about in the shane of n
doli-in the ammunition bag if success in
the chase is desired
The sky is supposed to be an immense
dome OF hard material reared over the earth
long from east to west and shorter from
north to south. Presumably this difference
Is due TO the fact that the people have not
been accustomed to travel so far north ard
south as east and west For a reason ex-
actly similar the words LONGITUDE" and
latitude were originally applied by the
/ ancients, who ina gined that the world was
Nat and much longer from east to west
than from north to south. These Eskimo
believe that the land and the sea are bound
ed by high, precipitous sides, sloping inward
to prevent anything living from going to the
region beyond The vault of the heavens is
very cold and at times is covered with
crystals of frost, which fall as snow The
clouds are controlled by two old women who
| run with them across the sky, and son,a-
| times they leak at the seams Thunder Is
their voice and lightning is their torch At
each corner of the earth there dwelIs n spirit
with an enormous head. When these Penii
breathe the winds blow.
Women Held in Little Rc.Dect
Women are held in little respect though
the men are very jealous of their wives
and unfaithfulness on their part is sure to
be severely punished. A girl is married as
soon after maturity as male comes along
who has the requisite physical strength to
force her to become his bride. The maria ge
ceremony Is very simple. Commonly the
sanction of the parents is bought by gifts of
SKINS, furs and other valuables In most
cases the consent of the girl is not asked
Her lover seiZes the first opportunity to alb
Duct her forcibly and keeps her away until
she is thoroughly subjected to his will In
one instance not long ago. youns, woman
was tied in a snowhouse for two weeks and
was not allowed to go out She reyenged
herself by pulling nearly all of the hair
from her husbands head. In fact she was
unusually obstreperous, and another man
who subsequently, took her to wife. was
obliged to fasten her to a sledge in order 70
make her accompany him when he desired
to travel
A young Eskimo starts ont in life with a
gun and ammunition. If he is a good hum
ter he makes for himself :, little boat called
"kyak," with the aid Of which he pursues
and kills the marine mammals those skins
are required for the construction of a hir
boat suitable for carrying Il number of reo-
pie on long journeys. II very energetic and
successful he afterward procures skins for
constructing a tent. By the time that he,
has got together these possessions he is
able to employ others 20 assist in trans