Asheville daily citizen., 1893-12-30
AMONG THE ESKlMOS.
Airs. Pcary Writes OF Her Arctic EXpe
ehCGs.

enccs.
Mrs. Josephine Peary, the wife Of the
explorer, has published journal of her
twelve months experience on the shore
of Mccormick bay, midway between
the Arctic circle and the north pole.
She is the only white woman who ever
penetrated SO far within the frozen
zone as did the members of Lieut.
Peary's last expedition. The most in
teresting chapters in the book are
those which Mrs. Pcary devotcs TO the
manners and mode Of life of the
Eskimos with whom she came in con-
tact.
These natives belong to little tribe
of about three hundred and fifty indi-
viduals, completely isolated from the
rest of the world and dwelling on the
northwest coast Of Greenland. They
are separated by hundreds of miles
from their neighbors with whom they
have no intercourse whatever. They
had never seen a white woman before,
and some of them had never bchcld
civilized being.
The steamer Kite, which left New
York on June G, 1891, landed Lieut.
Peary and his party near Whale Sound
pnd camp was built hero and named
Rcdclitfe. The sailors went in search
of an Eskimo settlement and brought
| back several OF the natives who were
induccd to live at Redcliifc for nearly u
year. Mrs. peary says they were the
quccrest, dirtiestloolling individuals
she had ever seen. Clad entirely in
furs, they reminded her more Of monk
eys than of human beings. Illwa, the
| first man who came, was covered with
q garment made with bird skins, the
feather work next the body, and out
side of thisa garment made of sealsliin.
| with the fur on the ou. side. The two
were patterned exactly alike, made to
tit to the figure cut short at the hips,
md coming to point back and front
| \ clOsc-titting hood was sCwed to the
peek of each garment, and invariably
pulled over hls head when Illwa was
out of doors, His legs were coyerou
with scalsliin trousers reaching just be-
low the knee, whore they were met by
tanned sealskin boots Mrs. Peary
Learned later that scalslin trousers
We're worn only by those men who
were not fortunate enough or able to
kill Il bear.
The woman's dress differed from the
mans in pattern only in the back,
where an extra width is scwcd in.
which forms pouch extending the en-
tire length of the back of the wcarer
and fitting tight around the hips In
this pouch or hood the baby is carried;
its little body, covered only by q shirt
reaching to the waist made of the skin
of the young blue fox, is placed against
the bare back of the mother, and the
head, covered by tight-htting skull
cap, made of sealsllin, is allowed to
rest against the mothers shoulder
Mrs. peary spent u thanksgiving day
at Redcliffe, and by that time there
We're several native women about the
place. She writes:
The native whom lIlva brought
back with him from kaati is named
Mahoatchia, and lllwa says that he and
the one-eycd bear hunter, "Wednesday
exchange wives with each other every
year.
"While l am writing two native
women, M'gipsu, wife of Annowkah
with her baby on her back, and Toolly
mingwah, the twelye-year-old girl, are
both sitting tailor-fashion on the floor
chewing deerskins. The native meth
od of treating the skins OF all animals
intended for clothing is first to riC
them of as much fat as can bc got of
by scraping with 4 knife; then the,
are stretched as tight as possible anC
allowed to become perfectly dry. Afte
this they are taken by the women ant
: chewed and sucked all over, in order t.
get as much of the grease out as posi-
= BILE Chewing the skins is very har,
t on the women. They can not chcg
! more than two dcerskins per day, an,
, are obliged to rest their jaws ever,
: other day"
: Writing in her journal Just befor
: Christmas Day, Mrs. Peary says:
= "M'gipsu is sitting on the floor in IN,
room sewing, and her husband, Annow
! kah, comes in as often as he can fin
!; excuse for doing so. lie frequentl.
: rubs his face against hers and the
= snitlie at each other this takes tn
i place of kissing l should think the
l could smell each other without doin
!, this, but they are probably SO accus
|. toned to thc--to ne terrible odOr tina
c they fail to notice it,
e Mrs. Peary spent thirteen months a
X Redclitfe, and she says she felt home
sick when she finally packed up he
G things TO return to civilization. Sh
d writes of her little cabin in the froze
II north:
|. Gould the walls talk they woul
@ tell of some very pleasant hours sper
+ there by the members of the Mort
|. Greenland expedition of 1s0l-92, and c
+ months of real, solid comfort and har
h piness en- joycd by the woman whC
II when she left home and friends, wa
II told that she must expect to endure Il
V kinds of hardships and to suffer agon
Y from scurvy, that dreaded Arcti
e enemy. N. Y. World.
&c what Goes to Make Paper.
, Paper can be made out Of almo