The Cecil Whig., 1886-01-16
Romance 1"''''''. fiction.
MEETING THE ESKIMO.
EXPERIENCE OF a TRAVELLER IN
THE ARCTIC REGIONS.
BY LIEUT.. FREDERICK sCHwATKA

BY LIEUT.. FREDERICK sCHwATKA.
mads. Their Boats and Skin Garments
and Manner of Trading-Copyrighte by
S. $. Mcclure.
In all my Arctic experience l en-
countered some four or five different
Eskimo tribes at widely separated points
and to those who have ever met a
strange race and remember for the first
time how very interesting the meeting
was | think they will also be interested
in hearing of my first encounters among
one of the strangest people on earth.
My earliest experience was in North
Hudson's Straits, after we had been
delayed long time by a drifting ice
pack, and were living becalmed off the
Upper Savage Islands, named by Batfin
nearly two hundred years before, and
SO called on account of the large num-
Der of Eskimo he met here. A dismal
fog hung over us like pail, and in a
manner which plainly showed that we
were just on the edge of the motionless
fog bank, for every few minutes it
would pull northward a few yards and
reveal perfectly clear atmosphere to
the south with hundred icebergs in
view, the dull booming of which, as
they were disintegrating, and the low
swash of the long CLASSY waves under
the ships counter were the only noises
we heard in this unearthly silence
brooding over the lazy waters. The
fog bank had withdrawn possibly a
hundred yards to the north, or we had
drifted that distance the other way,
when from out its ghostly sides, dis
torted to the dimensions of our own
vessel, came an Eskimo oom1en, or
skin boat about the size of an ordinary
llfeboat, and holding, probably, dozen
denizens of that country beyond, which
we could not see for the fog: "hl1moI
hIm0" (Welcome welcome y they
shouted at the time of their appearance
from the damp fog, to which our mate,
knowing the meaning of the words, re-
piled in the same strain, and before the
many asleep below were on deck they
had pulled up alongside and were
crawling over the bulwarks on to the
deck. | was never able to trace lust
where this hlW0 (welcome) came from,
but in the absence of all other testi-
mony must suppose that 1t is a pure
Eskimo word, until proven otherwise,
though l never heard it again among
the many other Eskimo tribes visited.
One of the theories as to the origin of
the word Eskimo IS that the French of
Labrador first called them Les h1mo,
as a result of this word of welcome
when meeting, and from Les h7mo the
translation to LEsquimau is easy and
natural. The very first thing a person
will notice, and the very last thing they
will observe, on meeting a party OF
these northern nomads, is their odor.
There are no words nor combination OF
words in the English language which
can be placed alongside of this polar
perfume with the sign of equality be-
tween them so l will drop the descrip-
ton as simply impossible, about as
gladly as | would the originators of it.
This ooh:ien, or sealskin skow, is
made Of light frame of wood, over
which the skins have been drawn when
green, and they are sewed by native
system, in which the seams are per-
fectly water tight. The skins pant
in and out between the wooden ribs
like breathing animal, with the motion
of the oomien in the water, and this,
with the fact that a navi gator in one
can see right through the translucent
skins the dancing water pressing against
them, coupled with the idea that it does
not require riot or panic among the
crew to Capsize one, SO delicately are
they balanced, makes he nervous novice
prefer a voyage in eN N United States
man of-war to one in this craft. These
Eskimo of Hudson's Straits are not OF
very full stature, have almond eyes like
Chinese, and their noses are SO flat tina
they are nearly on the intagho plan o
nasal art instead of the ordinary cameo
relief. Like all savages, they have very
small hands and feet, but even thi:
fashionable physical quality is SO OBJ
scured with plebian real estate that i
loses its charms as such. In the sum
mer time much of their clothing is made
of the hair seal, which they must wea
several seasons to be able to get il
such a wonderfully dirty condition will
the small amount of soil | saw on tn,