ke in the interment of their dead, especially in the winter season; it
is certain, however, that this arises from some superstitious notion,
and particularly from the belief that any heavy weight upon the corpse
would have an injurious effect upon the deceased in a future state of
existence; for even in the summer, when it would be an easy matter to
secure a body from the depredations of wild animals, the mode of burial
is not essentially different. The corpse of a child observed by
Lieutenant Palmer, he describes "as being laid in a regular but shallow
grave, with its head to the northeast. It was decently dressed in a good
deerskin jacket, and a sealskin prepared without the hair was carefully
placed as a cover to the whole figure, and tucked in on all sides. The
body was covered with flat pieces of limestone, which, however, were so
light that a fox might easily have removed them. Near the grave were
four little separate piles of stones, not more than a foot in height, in
one of which we noticed a piece of red cloth and a black silk
handkerchief, in a second a pair of child's boots and mittens, and in
each of the others a whalebone pot. The face of the child looked
unusually clean and fresh, and a few days could only have elapsed since
its decease."

These Esquimaux do not appear to have any idea of the existence of One
Supreme Being, nor indeed can they be said to entertain any notions on
this subject which may be dignified with the name of Religion. Their
superstitions, which are numerous, have all some reference to the
preternatural agency of a number of _to=orng~ow_ or spirits, with
whom, on certain occasions, the _Angetkooks_ pretend to hold mysterious
intercourse, and who, in various and distinct ways, are supposed to
preside over the destinies of the Esquimaux. On particular occasions of
sickness or want of food, the Angetkooks contrive, by means of a
darkened hut, a peculiar modulation of the voices and the uttering of a
variety of unintelligible sounds, to persuade their countrymen that they
are descending to the lower regions for this purpose, where they force
the spirits to communicate the desired information. The superstitious
reverence in which these wizards are held, and a considerable degree of
ingenuity in their mode of performing their mummery, prevent the
detection of the imposture, and secure implicit confidence in these
absurd oracles. Some account of their ideas repecting death, and of
their beli