# Eskimo Life

Reviewed in The New York Times on November 19, 1893: Nansen's Study of Eskimo Life
A HUNTER, HIS WIFE, AND A YOUNG GIRL (WEST COAST OF GREENLAND)

# ESKIMO LIFE

BY FRIDTJOF NANSEN AUTHOR OF 'THE FIRST CROSSING OF GREENLAND'
TRANSLATED BY WILLIAM ARCHER
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
LONDON LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. AND NEW YORK: 15 EAST 16th STREET 1893
All rights reserved

## CONTENTS.

| CHAP. | | PAGE |
| | TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE | V |
| | AUTHOR'S PREFACE | VII |
| I. | GREENLAND AND THE ESKIMO | 1 |
| II. | APPEARANCE AND DRESS | 18 |
| III. | THE 'KAIAK' AND ITS APPURTENANCES | 30 |
| IV. | THE ESKIMO AT SEA | 56 |
| V. | WINTER-HOUSES, TENTS, WOMAN-BOATS, AND EXCURSIONS | 78 |
| VI. | COOKERY AND DAINTIES | 89 |
| VII. | CHARACTER AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS | 100 |
| VIII. | THE POSITION AND WORK OF WOMEN | 121 |
| IX. | LOVE AND MARRIAGE | 138 |
| X. | MORALS | 157 |
| XI. | JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS—DRUM-DANCES AND ENTERTAINMENTS | 186 |
| XII. | MENTAL GIFTS—ART—MUSIC—POETRY—ESKIMO NARRATIVES | 193 |
| XIII. | RELIGIOUS IDEAS | 209 |
| XIV. | THE INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY | 301 |
| XV. | EUROPEANS AND NATIVES | 313 |
| XVI. | WHAT HAVE WE ACHIEVED? | 327 |
| XVII. | CONCLUSION | 341 |
PRINTED BY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE LONDON
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
THE FIRST CROSSING OF GREENLAND
With numerous Illustrations and a Map Cheap Edition. Crown 8vo. 7s. 6d.
London: LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. and NEW YORK: 15 EAST 16th STREET
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PLATES. :
| A Hunter, his Wife, and a Young Girl (West Coast of Greenland) | Frontispiece | Frontispiece | Frontispiece |
| 'The Boundless Snow-Fields stretching Calm and White from Sea to Sea' | to face | page | 2 |
| Covering a Kaiak | „ | „ | 32 |
| 'The Head turned Half Backwards to watch the Seas' | „ | „ | 58 |
| Seaward in Search of Seals | „ | „ | 60 |
| Seal-hunting | „ | „ | 62 |
| Before the Wind | „ | „ | 66 |
| A Kaiak-Man rescuing a Comrade | „ | „ | 68 |
| A Kaiak-Man attacked by a Walrus | „ | „ | 74 |
| Halibut-Fishing | „ | „ | 76 |
| An Eskimo Camp | „ | „ | 84 |
| A Summer Journey | „ | „ | 86 |
| Fishing | „ | „ | 114 |
| A Greenland Dance | „ | „ | 190 |
| A Fiord Landscape on the East Coast (at Tingmiarmiut) | „ | „ | 328 |
| Northern Lights—'The Dead at Play' | „ | „ | 348 ​ |
| WOODCUTS IN THE TEXT. ||||
| | | | page |
| Greenland Indoor Dress (East Coast)—(1) Male Costume; (2) Female Costume | Greenland Indoor Dress (East Coast)—(1) Male Costume; (2) Female Costume | Greenland Indoor Dress (East Coast)—(1) Male Costume; (2) Female Costume | 26 |
| Bladder-dart | Bladder-dart | Bladder-dart | 34 |
| Harpoon | Harpoon | Harpoon | 36 |
| The Head of the Harpoon | The Head of the Harpoon | The Head of the Harpoon | 37 |
| Lance | Lance | Lance | 39 |
| Throwing-stick with Bird-dart | Throwing-stick with Bird-dart | Throwing-stick with Bird-dart | 40 |
| The Bird-dart Thrown | The Bird-dart Thrown | The Bird-dart Thrown | 42 |
| Throwing-stick with Harpoon | Throwing-stick with Harpoon | Throwing-stick with Harpoon | 43 |
| Kaiak, seen from above | Kaiak, seen from above | Kaiak, seen from above | 44 |
| Kaiak-frame | Kaiak-frame | Kaiak-frame | 44 |
| Section of the Kaiak | Section of the Kaiak | Section of the Kaiak | 47 |
| Paddle | Paddle | Paddle | 49 |
| Half-Jacket | Half-Jacket | Half-Jacket | 50 |
| Whole-Jacket | Whole-Jacket | Whole-Jacket | 50 |
| Eskimo Venus and Apollo | Eskimo Venus and Apollo | Eskimo Venus and Apollo | 199 |
CONTENTS = Indhold LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS = Illustrationer