Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1899-07-27
ESKIMO PICTURE-WRITING.
Primitive Way of Recording Ideas
Among Far Northern Folks.

Eskimo picture writing furnishes a
topic for a very interesting bulletin
that is soon to be published by the Ma
tional Museum. The author is DR. w.
j. Hoffman, who was appointed the
other day to an important consular
place in Germany. His study of the
subject was made under the auspices
of the Bureau of Ethnology, which for
number of years has been conducting
an exhaustive investigation of the pic
tographs of North America. Experts
have personally visited nearly all of
the rock paintings and rock sculptures
known to exist within the limits of the
United States, while an immense
amount of valuable material was fur
nished by the extensive collections of
aboriginal picture writings in the ma
tional museum.
The fact seems to be that the F,ski-
mo as picture writer's are far ahead of
all other aboriginal peoples in the New
World. They engraVe, with the utmost
delcacy of execution, elaborate stories
on walrus tusks and reindeer horns
These stories in some cases mere
descriptions of Iheir daily avocations.
but more often they are records of events
or personal exploits.of hunting achieve
ments and fishing incidents, etc The
forms of various animals are most
faithfully reproduced. especially the
Walrus. the reindeer and the whale
DogsledSes, houses whaling
boats. and every conceivable object
having relation to human life in the
Arctic, are represented with surprising
Vivldness. Human beings appear only
as skeleton silhouettes such as children
draw. but the action is often wonder
fully clever.
OF course. the Eskimo are found
pretty much all around the arctic cir
Gle and the picture writing Of some
tribes differs from that of others. one
of the most remarkable examples thus
far obtained is a walrus hide on which
is drawn the complete history Of n
tribe in northeast Siberia for a whole
year Everything notable which has
happened during that period is put
down in Il sort Of illustrated journalism
form. Around the edge of the hide is
an irregular line which is supposed to
represent the coast-line of the region
where the tribe dwells There are
many huts to indicate human habita-
ton. and men are shown pursuing
reindeer and engaged in a variety Of
other employmentS. All the space in
side of the line. occupying the major
part of the surface of the walrus skin
Is supposed to be the sea. and whale
hunts, seal-hunts and fishing expedi-
tons are profusely depicted.
The Eskimo Of Alaska are as clever
plcture-Writcrs as any Of their race.
All Of these people, indeed seem to
possess the artistic faculty in a high
degree. one reason for the exceptional
interest felt in the subject is that the
Eskimo are suspected to he direct de
9cendants of the cave men who inhabi-
ed Europe hundreds of thousands of
years ago. Nobody knows how long
ago the cave folks lived, but some of
me pest authorities put the time back
as lar as $4,000 years. Whether that
$ an eXaggeration or not, it is certain
mat the customs. arts. implements and
weapons of the Eskimo are astonish-
ngly like those of the people who oc-
'upled the cavernS of southern France
At period when that part Of the world
VAS very cold and when reindeer ana
other Arctic mammals roamed in i'm
mense numbers all over that region.
The most notable bond of union be
tween the people of the caverns and
The modern Eskimo" says W. Rovd
DaWkins, is the art of reDresentinsr
ANIMALS Just as the cave men en-
5raved bisons, horses, mammoths and
other animals familiar to them. 50 do
the Eskimo represent the creatures on
which they depend for food All tn.
points of connection between the cave
men and the Eskimo can, in nv opin
ion, be explained only on the theory
that they belong to the same race. /
believe that the Eskimo are the repre-
sentatives of the cave men, protected
within the Arctic circle from those
causes by which they were expelled
from Europe and Asia. Unaccustomed
TO war, they were probably driven
lorthward by other tribes. They stand
at the present day wholly apart from
all other living races. being distin-
guished by language and shape of skull
from every other known people"
The material generally used by the
Alaskan Eskimo for their picture writ
lnSs Is walrus ivory. 1t is durable and
will retain the most delicate etchings
indefinitely. For such purposes the
tusks are usually split into four rods.
the process Of thus dividing them
longitudinally being very delicate.
These rods, or other articles intended
to be engraved. are taken along on pro-
tracted hunting expeditions, to be
worked at during tedious hours Of
watching for game. But most of the
carving is done during the long winter.
in the underground snow hut by the
light of the soapstone lamp filled with
whale oil. which serves also as a stove
Keeping the interior of the dwelling at
sitting temperature. while outside
the thermometer stands at 20 degrees
or so below the zero of Fahrenheit.
The great supply of ivory in Alaska
comes from Bristol Bay and the more
northern coast and islands. 1t is said
that the quantity of walrus tusks tax
en- annually in those waters will aver
age 100000 pounds. This estimate is
given by DR.. Dali of the Smithsonian
Institution. who is one of the greatest
authorities in all matters respecting
Uncle Sans Arctic province. In the
collection at the National museum are
a number of utensils Of fossil ivory OBJ
tanned in Alaska. This sort of ivory is