The aegis & intelligencer., 1898-12-30
>,lNLn GHu5I' STORY.
A CEzEpY C%7-Ri-MCE IN TIE ARC
Tic REGIONS.

-:o,y the Jncnnry influence oE Dead
Stems Epnc& Made Itself Manifest
on R0Urd of Lieutenant PeHry's
Ship, the Kite.
y member Of the Poary expedition
writes: While reading The Graphic review
af Lieutenant Pcary's book it occurred TO
NE that . curious experience resulting
from sundTy raids made on Greenland
burying grounds in tho scientific pursuit
Of Eskimo skulls and skeletons may be OF
present iIScrcst. I confess that my story
has Z distinctly Rougemont flavor, but its
accuracy is Nouchcd for by tho scientists
OF ,he PARTY. We know treally happened.
We leave the explanation to the Psychical
Research society.
The Greenland section of the Peary ex-
pcdi6ien was partly subsidized by several
scientific societies on the understanding
shat skulls ard skeletons and botanical
and geological specimens should be sccur-
ed for their various museums. Six Eski-
mo skeletons were promised to the Chicago
Norld's fair authorities in return for a
grant towuri the Pcary expedition. Es-
Eimo skeletons are rare, especially OF those
types known as the ''arctic highlandcrS,
aNd it was . question of honor that the
scientific branch of the expedition should
| not return without some OF these coveted
s}eCiEens Now, the EskinoS are a su-
pcTstitious people and hold tradition
that if body belonging to one of their
race he taken to a country where 10 wal
ruses seals or bears exist and where grass
is plentiful the bones of such a transported
Eskimo are chewed up by snakes, and the
spirit rcrlShes beyond redemption.
'ar-S obtain
skulls and skeletons by legitimate pur-
| chase failed utterly, thougsl l must say in
defense of our skeleton snatching action
J that we offered largo prices and tempting
| prizes for their bartor
When the Kite landed at Ittiblu, the
| scientists went ashore on skeleton hunt
! ing quest and finding 10 bone market
| open to brihes or sales, determined to
! make a raid on the two century old bury
| ing ground, which contained several hun
| cred graves The Eskimos built "a dome
! like erection above their graves, the stones
/ being so arranged as to cover the corpse
without coming in contact with it. snow
! falling between the Crevi1cs OF the stones
! causes y firm kind of cement, so that the
! opening of such IA grave is no easy task.
/ We settled on the likcliest looking grave
/ and after some hard work at night pro-
| cured an admirable type OF mummitcd
! Eskimo-a chief buried some two years
| previously, whom we found clad in q COM
| plctc scaskin suit
! Wrapping the body in an ulster, VIC car
! ricd it down TO the whalcboat, conveyed it
/ IN board the Kite and put it in a canvas
| gun bag, which we promptly sealed.
! We had arranged that the affair Was to
! bc concealed from the crew, since had they
! known of the circumstance one and all
| would have refused to sail with SO gh0stly
L burden aboard Our plans fell out so
| well that even the captain of lhe Kite was
for some tine unaware of tho.prescnce on
| beard of what one ethnol0gist called "a
| grand specimen. At Herbert island we
| collected two skulls, each find" being
| duly sealed IN "a canvas bag, and ut several
| laudiug Joints We added to the skeletons
In oar bags, winding up at Godhayn,
! whcre l3 fine skulls and several bones were
| secured BY this time one OF our hunks
| was converted into u regular graveyard,
| hut each specimen Was separately hacgcd,
| securely sealed and tho cabin carefully
| locked.
After the skipping of 13 skulls we on
| countcrCd terrible weather. The crow
| E!Canwhile he'd their suspicious rs TO ''un-
! canny'' Influences aboard, and formed u
| tEtutatlCn 10 the captain 10 assure MN
that there woull Eo 10 luck about the ship
till something was thrown overheard.
| The men at the wheel declared in turn
that while in the uct Of steering some
stronger hand than theirs WIS constantly
! turning the ship shoreward. One veteran
Ecl!nsman rsn Us into Il sand bank. He
said he couldn't help somebody
seized tho wheel and ran the ship
| u.-rCund. " The supcrstiticus sailors weTe
firmly persuaded that ghastly "Iluskfes'
As tLcv call the Eski,uUs-vcrc pilot
irr the shin IariGyyard to induce us t. give
! uD their chiefs body for decent burial
One morning at breakfast an officer told
u strange warm. He said he was OH watch
duripcr fEr NIGHT. when he noticed a KAYAK
r;;Gdled hv an Eskimo alongside the yes
sci 1t was bad weather and he knew it
must be a cbo.tlv KAYAK. for no such craft
rould have bcrn ont 80 miles from tie
land on such , rirht. Added to which he
stated that the Kiy.,kcr had no difficulty in
l,crr.in,, I'M with The shin. The Eskimo
| lYiird tho ,vntrh and kent waving and
rorloninc, y,ffb mvsferious GESTURES and
- tLrnotSnin,. tonc in his rvcIamatfons
suddenly he vanished. tn rcupucar along
eidr . few, minutes I,rcr baiIing the shin
u.itb n ,,o,r,f,II vail The sky WAS lit
nm Inv tl,o vivid northern lights. so the