In 1863 some twenty clans of the vanquished highlanders left the Caucasus _en masse_ to settle in the mountains of the Turkish province of Adrianople. They will share the fate of their protectors, and may soon be obliged to follow their flight across the Hellespont.
But the final expulsion of the West Mongols will, after all, mean only that the Caucasians have recovered lost ground, and freed at least Europe from an intrusive tribe of their most persistent and most formidable rivals.
RELIGIOUS BELIEFS OF THE CENTRAL ESKIMO.[B]
[B] A description of the religious beliefs of the Central Eskimo, based upon observations made by the writer, was published in the Sixth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology. The following account embodies observations which Capt. James S. Mutch, of Peterhead, Scotland, following a suggestion of the writer, had the kindness to make. The material for this study was collected by Capt. Mutch during a long-continued stay in Cumberland Sound.
The Eskimo who inhabit the coasts of Arctic America subsist mainly by the chase of sea-mammals, such as seals of various kinds, walruses and whales. Whenever this source of supply is curtailed, want and famine set in. The huts are cold and dark--for heat and light are obtained by burning the blubber of seals and whales--and soon the people succumb to hunger and to the terrors of the rigorous climate. For this reason the native does everything in his power to gain the good-will of the sea-mammals and to insure success in hunting. All his thoughts are bent upon treating them in such a manner that they may allow themselves to be caught. On this account they form one of the main subjects of his religious beliefs and customs. They play a most important part in his mythology, and a well-nigh endless series of observances regulates their treatment.
The mythological explanation of all the prevailing customs in regard to sea-mammals is contained in a tale which describes their origin:
“A girl named Avilayuk refused all her suitors, and for this reason she was also called ‘She who does not want to marry.’ There was a stone near the village where she lived. It was speckled white and red. The stone transformed itself into a dog and took the girl to wife.