The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1867-12-14

ing description of family of one husband,
three wives, seven children, and numberless
dogs, which he found living upon an island
in the ford he had been exploring. The
island was scarcely one hundred feet above
the water, not quarter of a mile in circum-
ference, and spotted here and there with
miniature trees, plants, and flowers. Upon
this island lived this family, the head of
which was as proud as any lord or emperor.
They lived in little seven by nine hut,
reached only by long underground pass
age Here, amid the everlasting cannonade
Of the icebsrgs, this savage lord lived, feed.
ing upon the numerous seals, walrusses, and
countless waterfowl, which resort there in
summer to secrete their young. C4F
he had conversation with this native of
the soil, which would give some impression
OF the habits and philosophy of the genuine,
uneonverted Esquimaux. When asked if he
did not know il was wrong TO have more
than one wife, the savage, whose name was
Metak, replied that all great hunters like
him must of course have several wives He
needed them to cut up the seals and walrus
that he caught. One wife could not do it
He would not go to Upernavik on account
of the missionaries. When told ne was a
lazy man, he replied with great pride, "Of
course ! am lazy all great hunters are
lazy Did the stranger expect that he was
going to work. He kept his wives for that
purpose. His ideas of the future state cen.
tired in what he called "The Happy Island
where the grass grew all over, where it was
ever warm aud where numberless pots of
seal meat, placed by the Great Spirit, waited
only their wish, TO taset. When told of the
hell which christians prepared for their sim
ners, and of the heat which was so great, he
| replied, ''That is the place where | want to
GO" His heaven did not admit the presence
of women, who would not be needed there,
as there was no seal meat for them TO cut
| up, it being already done by the Great Spir
| it. s.. -g.sE asa
| The people of whom this hunter was q
| type could only be described by negatives
| They had almost no vices, and as a neces
| sary result, almost no virtues. They had nc
laws, nor indeed much need for them. -
| There were few collisions among them, but
sach as did happen were usually settled by
| Violence. The aggrieved party would lay il
! we. behind a ledge or pack of ice for hi.
| e'.em,, and, when he saw him, would har
| peon him IN the back as he would SEAL
| They never stole from each other, but the
| best man among them was he who could
| steal the most from a white man. Yet, IL
the absence of laws, there was sort of pub
lie sentiment among them which had more
| or less influence for good.
| The Esqumaux are cold -blooded people
| though not a cruel or inhospitable people.
STRANGER is allowed TO remain with them anc
eat as long as he chooses. He will never b,
asked to go away, nor will he be invited t.
come again. They were originally an Asati'
tribe, who had found their way across Beh
ring straits to Greenland, where they find ;
region fitted to their wants. g 3.
! The Greenland winter of four months il
not rendered so dreary from want of light a:
might be imagined, owing to the moon, which
| in some degree atones for the sun. The Ia
! lives can easily pursue their hunting by il,
| light. and TO it is added the illumination o
the Aurora. During this season, the speak
or made trip OF 30 miles into the interior
over the Me- de Glace He did not find tn,
| lack of light and heat the worst feature. I
| was the terrible sense of desolaton. OF utter
~sss-sss r ,-,-.z--.
| one to an unbearable extent The abscnc,
| of life, the absence of motion, the absence
of anything tangible upon which the mind
may rest-all, at last, lead TO an oppression
of the heart which. it seems impossible Il
bear. A universal death seems to surround
| one. There is no expression on the face O
nature so full of oppression as this silenct
anc solitude of the Arctic night.
| The speaker closed with brief reference
to the open polar ocean, the edge of which
| he had reached, in latitude SO, and the ex
isence of which might be considered as de
monstrated. It now only remained for sci
| ence to explore its wastes, and he hoped i
would not be long ere the most northern por
| ton of the earth would be reached.