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indeed, is astonishing when compared with what may be called
wealth among Eskimo people. It consisted of articles belonging
to clothing, tools, weapons, and utensils arranged in 34 bundles
containing 20, and 2 bundles with 5 pieces each, the whole
making 690 presents. The bundles were tied to a line and
lowered through a hole in the middle of the roof and then
distributed. On the next day the festivities were begun early
in the morning and when all the ceremonies concerning the
memory of the deceased were finished, the festival passed to
ordinary merrymaking, singing, dancing and feasting, the male
performers having the upper part of their body naked, in
dancing and beating the drum. It seems probable that this part
of the ceremonies has comprised performances like the
nith-songs of the Greenlanders.
Mr. Gilbert Sproat, the well known writer on the Indians
of western Vancouver Island, says in a note: «Was Darwin
long enough among the Fuegians to be enabled authoritatively
to affirm that perfect equality exists among the individuals
composing the Fuegian tribes?" The objection involved in these
words, as we see, is strikingly applicable to several authors
on the Arctic Regions also. Some of Sproat’s statements
concerning the AHT-INDIANS OF VANCOUVER ISLAND, so near to
Alaska are too interesting to be wholly omitted here. In
speaking of their mutual intercourse in daily life he says: if struck
in anger, it must be paid the next day with a present. The
respect entertained for the head of the family is generally
sufficient to preserve order within the family circle. Quarelling
is also rare among children. He has never witnessed a fight
between two sober natives. The great feasts take place in
winter, but feasting occasionally with distributions goes on at
all times. Animated speeches are delivered by various orators,
praising their forefathers’ achievements and skill in hunting, and
boasting of the number and the admirable qualities of their
powerful friends. No institution is more specifically defined
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