Evening star., 1923-05-06

rolled high. fishing the days provi-
sions from a cask of oil
X Y X X
TN that section. of the earth nearly
i everything that man owns is
tailor made" SO to speak 1t is
made to fit it's owner and all the
measurements are taken from his
own body. The method OF measure
ment is, in all lands, a matter of
interest. Just as we measure the
height of horse in hands, use the
foot as unit for many measure
ments and indicate water depth by
the fathom, which equals the breadth
reached by the outstretched arms;
and just as our ancestors used the
cubit Iiterally a bend) or its old
English equivalent ell, meaning the
distance from the elbow or ell bend
to the tip of the middle finger; so do
the Eskimos measure everything by
various parts Of their own bodies.
A mans harpoon must be of just
sufficient length SO that he can place
the head on it, if it is perpendicular
to the ground. The sloping butt Of
the whale-harpoon head is the length
of his index finger. and the hole for
the line must just admit the tips of
his index and middle fingers. His
arrows are the length of his own arm,
the bow of such length that he can
just hold its eXtremities between the
index fingers and thumbs with arms
fully extended. His ungiak or big
canoe is just three fathoms in length
and one in breadth at the top in the
middle. At the bottom, in the middle.
it's width is equivalen to the distance
from elbow to elbow with arms hori-
Zontal and f1exed. The depth Is
equal to the distance from his armpit
To the tip of his middle finger. The
ribs of his boat. or legs as he calls
them, are the width of his hand. The
captains place is two spans. equaliug
the distance from thumb tip to middle
finger tip with thumb at right angle
10 the hand. plus the distance from
thumb tip to middle finger tip with
thumb feXed at distal joint These
few measurements will give the
reader an idea of how the Eskimos
measure everything they make.
Like primitive folk of all races. ex-
Ccpt the native African. who uses
scaritication instead. the Eskimo likes
10 decorate himself with tattooing
This may be done for the sole purpose
of ornamentation or it may be to
commemorate some important event
in his life. The women tattoo the
chin. and an elaborate design is
worked out each cheek. Good
luck symbols may be found upon the
faces and arms OF many
\ small image of a man was tai
tooei upon one man at the base of
his neck behind. This was, he informed
the writer. to commemorate the saving
Of his life by a friend when he was
hunting on the ice and it broke away
and started to float to sea.
When man acts as pallbearer,
kills a bear. or strikes a whale for
the first time. he is tattooed with
pairs of little dots near each of the
larger joints.
THE mortuary customs of these
i people are most interesting. When
a man dies. he is bathed from foot to
head, usually by a relative; his best
clothing is put on wrong side out.
in reindeer skins. and a pole is bound
along the front of the body. A raw
hide rope passes about the body and
is fastened by seven half-hitches.
If the deceased has been strangled
by his friends or relatives, a thing
which frequently takes place at his
request: if he is senile. incurab1e. or
strong man" who considers it dis
grace to die natural death. the
komilschye. or strangling pole is used
to steady the body.
There are eight pieces of rawhide
rope attached to the wrappings for
hand holds. Three strands of grass
are tied near the neck. the loose ends
passing up over the face. These are
cut off at the village bounds by
relative, to signify severing Of all
/ connection with the dead.
The corpse is carried out of the
house feet first and to the edge of
the village. where it is placed upon
the ground. A few of the personal
effects of the deceased are destroyed
and the body is then dragged upon
. the ground to the grave, where 1t is