A Diary and Journal from the Second Grinnell Expedition

[verso]

18

Lice collect numerously upon their persons. These are looked upon as destroyers of comfort, not as conveying associations of the unclean. They wage war against them as we do against mosquitoes, but after killing them they eat them.

I need go no further, the words [ebesk?] which is the only approach in their language to "dirt or filth", applies merely to mechanical obstructions as [?], the dirt crust on their face is [Ebesk?] "dirt", but the spit or urine which washed it off is not dirt. The evacuations of the child [under?] so copious as to interfere with the action of the hands are not "Ebesk", the secretions of the nose and the parasitical growths of the body are food for the palate and in no respect [?] as [?] unclean.

Spent some time at Etah in examining glacier and sketching household utensals. [Miss S cannot comment on [these?].] among other old friends I saw [Auhahtok?] now recovering from the severe [post?] bite which with a similar misfortune befel [?] in their fearful adventure among the drifting ice. I gave [?] (Bladder float) a piece of red flannel and pow wowed him. He resides with [Utuneat?] in the second hut which is much smaller than Mitek's, his wife is a sister of [Kalutenak?], and quite pretty. I could hardly believe that this [young?] couple would have killed their first born child and pretending ignorance of the matter. I [?] after its health. They turned their hands downward, as much as to say "its gone" but showed no sign of confusion. They did not even pay its memory the cheap compliment of tears, which among thes e people are always at hand.

[recto]

19

There is a singular custom [among them] which I have [?] here and which [?] to the [?], and has its analogues in more cultivated [centres?]. I allude to regulated formalities of mourning the dead with spells of copious weeping. In this all present are expected to join and [?] requires you to wipe the eyes of the Cheif mourner. Often they assemble by concert for this purpose, but very generally one will break out into [?] and the others [?] follow without at first, knowing for what particular bereavement they are weeping.

Any calamity may be thus mourned, the failure of a hunt, the fracture of a walrus line the death of a dog or a grand mother. Mrs. Eider duck né Small belly ([Egurk?]) once looked up from her [kolupdiet?] and burst into a gentle gush of woe; with remarkable presence of mind I took out my handkerchief made of [marten?] out of my [long] an unused [white] [?] and after wiping her eyes, politely wept a few tears myself. This little passage of woe was soon over Eider Duck returned to her [Kolupdiet?] and Naligak to his note book.

The six storm arrested strangers were off early in the morning on their hunt. I sent by them messages of compliment to [Kalutak?] a [kalutaket?] and [?] to advance my negociation for dogs. In the afternoon I started on a walrus hunt [myself]. [?] & myself being sledgemen. We had but Mitek's four dogs.

Walrus form the staple food of the Rensselaer Bay Esquimaux throughout the greater part of the year. To [?] S. about [?[ Channel the seal & [?] & white whale [?] at [?] appropriate seafood, but in