Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1867-08-14
The Arctic REGIONS.


DR.. Kane invested the Arctic regions with
romantic interest and his volumes had fas-
cination possessed by few of the most capti
waiting novels. The truth expressed in his
vivid descriptions of an Arctic winter was
stranger than fiction, and the realities of
zone buried in the long, dark night of the
frozen pole, lighted only by the moon, the
consultations of the Northern sky, and the
flashing Aurora Borealis, and with the mer-
curry continually far below the congealing
point, were more incredible than the creations
of the widest Imagination. The search after
Sir John Franklin, and for the open polar
sea. Sas popularized by this graphic narra-
tive, and no longer confined to the sympa-
thizing friends of Lady Franklin, or scientific
societies, was a subject of interest to the
wide audience who in DIR. kane's pages had
learned the story of the hardships and adj
ventures of his party in their journey into
the world of perpetual snow and ice. Since
then the literary world have eagerly welcomed
every publication giving more information of
these high ATTITUDES.
Some years after DR.. Kane's volumes APP
peared, DR.. IsaacI. Hayes, who was a member
of the Kane expedition, and who, with about
half of Kane's party, in the winter of lS545,
attempted TO reach the nearest outpost of civ
ilization in North Greenland, by means of
sledges and boats, rather than remain with
the expedition in the Advance frozen fast in
the Northern ocean in about seventy-eight
degrees of north latitude wrote and published
an account of the perils and suffcrings of his
party. which after incredible hardships,
nearly one-half of the journey being accom-
plished, were obliged, in the terrible cold of
the midwinter, to return to the brig. The
volume has just been republished by Ticknor
and Fields, DR.. Hayes more recent work
:. The Open Polar Sea- having drawn pub
lie attention so conspicuously to the subject
of Arctic exploration to render republi-
cation of his first volume desirable The
author says, in letter to the publishers
printed in the preface, that he has not yet
abandoned the hope of launching his boat
upon the Open Polar Sea, upon whose shores
he has already planted the American Flag
upon land nearer the North Pole than had
ever been reached by any previous explorer.
| We extract from this volume the following
description of
| AN EsQUIMAU.
We were surprised about noon by the ap-
pearance of an Esquimau. He came up to
| the beach. and was as much astonished ae
ourselves. We recognized him as one OF
those who were at the ship last winter. His
name was Amalatok. After exchanging salu-
tations, he seated himself upon rock with a
| cool dignity quite characteristic of his people
and began to talk in a rapid and animated
manner. He dressed in coat made OF
bird-skins, feathers turned inward bear
skin pantaloons, hair outward tanned seal
skin boots, and dog-skin stockings. He tolC
us that he lived on the eastern side OF the
island that he had a wife, but no children
that his brother, who had wife and children
lived with him and that they had beer
visited by white men (kabfunet) not long since
They were evidently the same people whom
Dr. Kane had met on his southern journey il
! August. Judging from our visitors descri p
ton, his house was distant from our CAM
about three miles. 1t could be reached, h'
said, only by climbing over the mountain
which was difficult undertaking; by
walking along the beach at low tide. HI
carried in his hand two little auks, bladde
filled with oil, coil of thong, and two o.
three pieces of halfputrid walrus flesh. HI
was on an excursion round the island to SCI
fox-traps and the flesh was intended fo
bait. While talking with us. he took VI
one of his auks, twisted off the head, and
inserting the index finger of his right hant
under the integuments of the neck, drew i
down the back, and in an instant the birt
was skinned. He then ran his long thumb
nail along the breastbone, and as quick.
produced two fat Jumps of flesh, which h
generously offered to anybody who woult
take them. He evidently intended grca
courtesy but the raw meat coming from
such hands and treated in this manner wa
not to our liking. Petersen explained to hin
that we had just breakfasted, and begged
most politely, that he would not rob him
self 1t did not please him that we declined
his hospitality; which was evidently kindly