Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1885-08-26


Some Traits Of the People in
the Arctic Regions.
A Savage Race who Can Draw Maps and
Have Tremendous Appetites'
Writing about the Esquimaux in
the New York Times Lieut.. Schwatka
says: "rhey are rude Typographical
engineers as well as sculptors, and are
extremely good map makers for such
unkempt savages, Nearly every white
man, explorer or otherwise, who has
visited their country and associated
with them speaks of this trait being
very conspicuous in them. 1t seems
especially well developed in the wom-
en-, although many of the men, from
their greater amount of journeyings
over and around country, are often
in position to make more accurate
drawings in the details or particular
places. | have had several occasions
to use them as map makers, and find
their rude charts quite accurate, good
enough at least to enable me to recog-
nize the places l was trying to make
out, These propenslties for drawing
and carving have often been utilized
by ethnologsts to show the origin of
this great family or race which caps
the North American Continent. Moth
ing 50 pleased the little ones of the
Innuits as a pencil and clean piece
of paper on which they could draw,
and quite often we would find a group
of these spending hours in producing
fearful hieroglyphics, until the sheet
looked like pattern sheet from Ia
dies fashion magazine, The nautical
almanacs and books of tables for the
party were profusely ornamented with
these rude drawings, and the more i'm
portant records only escaped similar
fate by being kept under lock and key
when not used by us.
The ornamental displays in the sew
ing of the women are those which are
confined to the limited varieties of
colOrs to be found on the seal and
reindeer. The fur of the latter in its
prime is in the darkest colOred ami
mails quite glossy black on the back,
the llanks and belly being white, and
between these extremes every shade
of gray can be found. The skin of
the former is tanned in two ways, one
of which makes it black, the other
dirty white, and their best sewers
combine these furs and skins in de-
signs often quite intricate, and not
without pleasing effect. None of the
men or boys knowmuch about sewing,
although l doubt if like other savages
they consider it degrading, in so many
things do they assist their women
with their work. AS war party is
wholly unknown among them, and
these are the only kinds of parties
among most savages unaccompanied
by women, it is seldom that the In
NUTS have not their footgear in the
very best condition, and somebody al.
ways with them to keep it SO should
it get otherwise.
One of the duties of the EsQuimau
women is to chew the hides of the
ooEJooh (great seal) that are intended
for the soles and footcovering of the
sealskin boots, this process rendering
them more nearly waterproof, and
they may be seen thus engaged in
almost every tent or snOwhouse by
the time they are old crones and too
weak from age to chew on the sole
leather any longer, their teeth are
worn down almost to their gums with
the constant attrit.on. They will
often do this labor as pastime while
employed at some other work which
only requires about half the attention
and the use of one hand, as cooking,
leaving the other hand free to roll the
great bolus of seal leather around in
the mouth, that keeps opening and
shutting all day with the regularity of
windmill pump, and with just such
spasmodic variations, according to the
intensity of the mental wind.
1t would hardly do for one to imag-
ine that an Esquimau could tire his
jaws with wagging them, so constant
ly do some of them keep them going
in eating their almost continual lunch
es of raw frozen meat and hot tjdbits
from the stone kettle hanging over the
stone lamp. AS m example of their
enormous appetite, an Esquimau boy,
supplied by Capt. Perry, of the royal
navy, while wintering among them,
devoured in one day over 10 pounds
of solid food and drank of tea, coffee,
and water over gallon and half
A man of the same tribe, Zone of
those not far from North Hudson Bay,
where wintered,) ate 10 pounds of
solid material, which included a couple
of candles, and drank of various liq-
uids gallon and half, and these
people were only about A to a. feet in
height. | might give some instances
in my own party, but being practi-
cal convert to the theory Of the neces-
sity of considerable food in that eli
mate | shall desist.