Smyrna times., 1855-11-14
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The Esquimaux Indians.

Tne ESqu1mauX Indians.
THEIR HABITS OF LIFE-CURIOUS
HOSPITALITY OF THE WOMEN
INTERESTING PARTICULARS. D. -.
The first time that the Kane party came in
connection with the Esquimaux was in March,
1904, about the time when the long winter
night comes to a Close and when there are two or
three hours of natural light in the twenty-four.
Tie ship was visited by nine of these Indians,
each driving it sledge drawn by eight or ten
ESquimaux dogs. These sledges are of
a peculiar construction. They are between
four and five feet long and fourteen in
ches wide. The body is made of pieces of the
walrus tusks and of the narvahl or unicorn, cut
INTO pieces OF an inch long, and lashed together
by slnews. The runners are faced with the
ivory of the narvahrs horn. The Esquimaux
are very ingenious, and msnage to bore holes
by means Of a drill worked in hole in the
front tooth. The sledges are thus, on account
Of the labor bestowed on them, very valuable.
and are bequeaIhed from father to son as a
most precious legacy. II is no. uncommon
circumstance, when the community want
to get rid Of a bad and lazy aember who has
good sledge and team OF dogs, to induce him to
go out on n hunting expedition, and when at
great distance from land to take away his
sledge and spear him -s.---- --...----...-.-.
These Indians who visited the Advance had
some walrus meat TO dispose OF, which they did
for jack-knives. They were, however, very
shy and tnlid /; but Dr.. Kane aud Mr. Peterson.
the interpreter, went out to meet them and at
leDgth overcame their timidity, and induced
them 10 come on board.
The Esqumaax settlements are some forty
miles apart, and generally consist of but two or
three huts, containing a population of some
eighteen or twenty. These huts are generally
built of massive stones, some of them several
tons weight, and it is a matter of surprise how
they could possibly have got them up. Like
The sledges, the huts are handed down as most
valuable property. Some of them have been
seen built OF whalebone-probably from fish
taken by them after being killed by whaers-I
In summer they form tents of skins, and, at a
pinch, of snow. They are hospitablc and fond
of visiting, and so these settlements keep up an
interchange OF communication and live very
happily. Their huts are heated by means of
stone lamps, cut by themselves out of soapstone,
fed with blubbcr and with wick of ground moss.
By this means they manage to keep up a tenn
Perature Of sixty degrees Fahrenheit, while
the temperature out of doors is as many degrees
below zero. They usually eat raw meats-the
A. nj hat ,bo,, a. 4
cook anything or make any soup--which they
make very gOOd--it is by means of these
lamps -.
Their sleeping places are platforms, built of
stone, raised some eighteen inches from the
aoor--so as to keep in the warm atmosphere
aud covered with grass taken from islands at
distance. Their clothing consists of fox-skiu
jumpers or coat, with an inner jumper of bird
skin, the feathers inward bear-skin trowsers,
bear-skin boots and bear.skin gloves. The
dress of the women is similar to that of the
men, except that the former wear boots ex-
tending half way up the thigh, while those of
the men do not extend 10 the knee !; and that
the ladies also wear a sack to their hoods, which
they call nessak, in which they carry their
children. The men are of medium size and
stoutly built, while the women are of smaller
statue and siIghter They do not practice the
Mormon habits Of polygamy, but are, on the
contrary, extremely particular about their ma
trimonial relations. This has been the univer-
sal testimony of travellers who have visited
them. AS with all savage nations, the onus of
the labor deyolves upon the women. The men
come in from the hunt, throw down the prey
they have secured, walrus or seal, and the wo-
men then 60 TO work, skin the animals, prepare
the flesh Tor food, extract the bones and pre-
pare the sinews for sewing purposes.
One of the ordinary acts of hospitality or
civiIi.y on the part of the ladies Is to take
| fowl, or piece of meat, chew it up very nicely,
and hand it to the visitor, who is expected to
be overcome with gratitude, and to finish the
operation of chewing. It would give them
dire offence if there should be any failure to do
due honor to this act OF hospitality. In all
j other respects they exercise to a remarkable
degree the same virtue. The Esquimaux of the
Northern regions profess to have a dread of
going to the Danish settlement, Jest they should
be eaten up by their Southern brethren, while
these last sntertain the same dread, and with
, more reason, of the Northern tribes. Those
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