Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-11-05
ARCTIC HIGHLANDERS.
Member of the Tribe Mistaken in This
City for u MongOlinn.

City for u NOnSOl1nn.
Lieut.. Peary in New York Sun.
OF all interesting aboriginal tribes Of
men there is no tribe mJre strikingly so
than that known as the Arctic Highland
ers. The smallness of this tribe. its COM
plete isolation and self-dependence. Its
extreme northerly location. the stress of
hostile conditions under which it maintains
its existence the human interest connected
with it as the result of the writings of
Kane, Hayes and other arctic explorers,
and the uncertainty as to its origin and
early history. combine to place it at the
head of the list.
The study of this tribe and the collection
of accurate informa ton in regard to it has
been one of the objects of my various ex-
petitions, and the opportunities for such
study owing to the snallHess of the tribe
and its solitary Imprisonment among the
great arctic glaciers, together with its par
ticLlarly kindly and tractable disposition,
have made it possible to obtain many val
liable data in regard to Its customs and
habits. and in particular to obtain an abso-
lutely complete census of the tribe, with
chronological descriptions and photographs.
In fact, the record. as at present obtained,
mas rot it's equal in chronological archives.
This record consists first. as above noted.
of a complete census of the entire tribe,
showing number. sex and approximate age;
secondly. a record of the tribe by families,
namely, husband, wife and children; thirdly,
the genealogical trees of the tribe, showing
the inter-rela tionship of every individual
lin some cases four generations are shown:
fourthly, anthroponetrical measurements
of about one-third of the tribe; filthy. pho
tographc records of nearly every individ-
ual.
A complete individual Photographic rec
ord consists. except in the case of quite
young children and babies, of five photo
graphs, namely. portrait. full length in
costume, and front, side and rear eleva-
tons in the nude. These photographs.
takea at a fixed focal distance from the
camera. show on placing the photographs
side by side the relative size. shape and
other peculiarities OF the individual.
Other photographs have been taken show
ing the muscular structure in various posi-
tons: also their various athletic contests
occupations and amusements Other photo
graphs show their houses and tents for
winter and summer occupation. their ca
noes, SledgeS weapons and implements, as
We'll as varieties of dress.
Theories of Their Origin.
The material thus obtained cannot fail to
establish something definite in regard to
the origin and early history of the tribe.
OF this origin there are several theories
perhaps the most prominent of which is the
one advanced by Mr.. Clements Markham,
the distinguished president of the Royal
Geographical Society. This theory is. in
of an ancient Siberian tribe. the Onkilon.
the last remains of which, driven from
their homes and out on to the Arctic ocean
by the fierce waves of Tartar invasion in
the middle ages passed to the new Siberian
Islands AID thence gradually over or along
Ii Ids as yet undiscovered. perhaps even
across the pole to the northern Greenland
archipelago and Grnnell Land, and thence
southM ard in differ ent streams, as shown
today by the Eskimo on the east coast of
Greenland, the Eskimo of the present Dan
ish colonies, the Arctic Highlanders and
the Eskimo of northern North America
and the American Arctic archipelago.
Among other facts upon which this theo-
ry is grounded is the strong resemblance
of the stone dwellings of the Attic Highland
ers to ruins of similar dwellings discovered
in Siberia. There are also apparent striking
physical resembanceS. 1t would seem as if
this theory was likely to be borne out by
the additional facts obtained. The facial
che rae teriStics of many individuals in the
tribe are strikingly Asiatic. The oblique
set eyes are common occurrence. The
natural aptneSs for imitation shown by
many is also strikingly suggestive of a
Chinese and Japanese trait.
Still another interesting point was
brought up by the visit of a young girl of
their people to the United States last year.
The first and only thing that elected ex-
pressons of vivid surprise and astonish-
ment from this girl was the sight of a
Chinaman upon the street. to whom she
Immediately ran and attempted to enter
into conversation. Later, while passing
along the streets of Washington, she was
seen by several members of the Chinese
legation, who Immediately surrounded her
and began talking TO her in the Chinese
language, evidently mist1king her for one
of their own countryWomen.