Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1888-04-12
AMONG the Esou,MAux.

sHe ESQOlMAOx
eseaal Casssas ef Quasat, Harnlsp
ana Lsvabas People.
Their social customs are full of in
terest and Individuality. Their way
OF eating. for instance. is decidedly pc
culiar. Cutting long strip of CORY.
greasy meat from the mass before him,
the Esquimau gourmand takes one
end of it in his mouth. and then pull
ing on the other end until it is strained
tight. with q quick slash Of the knife
past his mouth and nose sewers q
mouthful and swallows it without mast
ication. repeating the operation rapidly
until the limit of his storage capacity
is reached. A civilized spectator
watching an Esquimau family at dim
ner can not fail to be struck with the
wisdom Of providence in giving these
people such short noses. as. were the
features any longer, they would in.
fallibly suffer early abbreviation-
In the matter of amusement the
Esquimaux are not badly of They
have form of cup-and-ball. the ball
being block of ivory pierced with
holes at different angles. into one OF
which the players strive to insert an
ivory peg as the block falls, the posi-
ton of the hole determining the value
of the stroke. Another game closely
resembles dominoes. and contains
pieces running as high as "double
thirties." but sequences are not regu'
larly carried out, the breaks in them
seeming to be without system. They
have game exactly like solitaire. with
the exception that ivory pegs take the
place of the glass balls. The special
amusement of the women is species
of seats CRADLE" which has been
brought to such perfection that they
develop from twenty to thirty different
figures in it. Indeed, they are ex-
tremely clever in performing tricks
with string. winding and twisting a
piece in and out among the fingers. and
then disentangling it by o single pull
on one end.
Such are some of the manners and
customs of the quaint, harmless. and
despite their dirt-lovable people.
whose home is among the drcary re-
glons to the north and south of Hud-
sons Straits. They have many adj
mirable traits of character. They are
wonderfully patient and enduring in
times of trial and suffering; honest
and intelligent to an unlooked-for de-
gree; perfectly fearless in the chase.
yet SO peace-loying in their DISPOSE
ton that quarrels are almost un-
known; hospitable, docile. keenly APP
preciative Of kindness, and ready to
share their last bite with their white
visitors; willing to work when oppor-
tunity offers. and content with small
remuneration. So many good points
have they. indeed, that the sad cer-
tainty of their gradual determination
is rendered all the sadder thereby.
The most careful estimate of their
numbers in the HudsOn's Straits re-
gion at present is one thousand five
hundred, but this. of course, is only
an approximation. as their own sys-
tenn of counting, which generally
runs "one-twO-three-a great many"
renders any thing like an accurate
census impossible. Each year finds
their food supply diminishing. thanks
mainly to the enterprise of the whal-
ers and sealers. AS the number of the
seals decrease, the number of the
Esquimaux must decrease also. and the
end, though it may be long delayed.
seems inevitable.| Macdonald Or
len. in american Magazine.