The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-03-12

NEW YORK. March 12.-On a big island
in Hudsou's Bay a hitherto unknown tribe
OF Eskimo has been found.
WhaleTs discovered them. and the aU.
th0riies at the Museum of Natural His
tory. hearing the news, sent Capt c. Gro
Eier to Investigate them. How well his
work has been done is rvi iencel ~ the
glass cases now at the Indseum. flicd with
the stranRest exhibit that ever came even
from the strange northland.
Until the last few months these people
had never seen a white man. The island
which they inhabit is called Southampton
/ Island. and is almost as large as the State
/ OF Maine. 1t is at the northwestern end
/ OF Hudsou's Bay. For centuries this tribe
has not had the slightest communic2 ion
with ether Eskimo. When discovered they
were still living in the stone age. and
knew no metals until they were intr0duc-
ed within a year by visiting Wh4iers and
: today they live just as they did when they
first emiErated-from no one knows where.
Their residence probably antedates the
( discovery Of America by Columbus.
They speak dialect different from that
OF any OF or known tribe Their huts are
built Of the skulls and jaws Of whales Gov
cred over with skins Of animals snow
huis are The fashion among Other Eskimo
In the middle of their primitive dwelling
stands the stone lamp Craised a liTtle from
the groundj Which lights tho home. heats
TO- cooks the food. serves for melting snow.
drying clothes ana the parfecJiug or some
Of their weapons and Implements Among
he ~
lowed out OF sogpstoue but on Sou-hamD-
ton Island the lamp is made % HaJ piece
OF limestone. around the edge OF which
narrow pieces OF limestone are glued.
Their pots are made Of the same material
one slab serving as the b,ttom and four
others for the ends and sides OF the queer
est square pot ever made The glue is
made Of deer's blood, grease and fish roe.
One glance at the inside Of one OF IN Sc
pots lined with This piJChy mass is enough
TO take away a white mans appetite Tor
week.
Into the limestone lamp. which is IN
oval a foot or so wide and about two
inches deep. is put oil from whale blub-
Der The wick is a piece OF moss The
pot is placed over the lamp on a support.
on which hangs a piece OF bIubber which
melts from the heat and feeds the lamp
continually.
The dvess OF these people also differs in
design from that OF other Eskimo. The
women, clothing Is made OF the skin OF
the reindeer sewed ski,lfully and neatly
with needles Of bone and siuews Instead
OF thread The chief peculiarly lies in
-four bags Two on the shoulders and TWO
on the legs. No one can see any use in
these hays. for they are sewn shut. but Il
is tradition that formerly they were
much larger and were then used for carry
ing the children In. The style still per
siyts. however. though children are no lon
ger carried In this fashion. Another Pc
cIdiarity OF feminine fashion on Southamp-
ton Island is the head dress. Nothing like
il has been discovered the world over. The
women plat their hair in two plaits. part
iug the hair In the middle. The ends Of
these piaits are then brought over the
shoulders and introduced into two tubes
Of deerskin. about an inch in diameter and
Two feet long From the lower end OF
these tubes hang whisps OF hair suggest
ing that the plai;s-Vhich are actually
only long enough 10 leach the upper end Of
the tubes-are so long that they run
through ,hc tubes and hang out g little.
Even among Eskimo women there Is EIO-
~ in the hair and the fashion holds
though every enc M derstands the polite
fiction.
The members of this tribe live altogether
by fishing sud hunting the whale being
tNltI
pOOus they use ara tipped with Clipped
hiutS. as well as their arrows and spears
The ingenuity with which they utilize the
whalebone is most surprising. Cups and
buckets are made OF fl by bending &c round
and sewing on the bottoms Whale bone
serves them for weapons and implements
OF utility. They even press 10 into service
for making tobogganlike sleds. Some OF
their sledEes are made Of walrus tusks as
rFFHr lrFI nil rHru1
pieces. On so large al island as theirs
there is an abundance o. game such as the
seal. walrus and caribou. There are only
ffty-eight persons in the whole tribe so
10 is probable that IL has decreased largely
during the centuries
The island is thirty miles away from the
nearest point on the shore Of Hudson Bay
where there is q colony of Eskimos. and
il is only once in a very long time that this
strait freezes over. The tribe cherishes "A
tradition that about scventy-fve years ago
this happened, and two hunters from the
ma inland visited them though the visitors
were as much astonished as their hosts 10
know that there were other men on earth.
Each tribe believed that they were the only
people in Xistence. Strangers never visited
them again. nor did they make any attempt
10 return the call.
In the large amount OF valuable material
WHICH captain lTOlutT mas Drought DaCk
with him are many curious implements and
weapons. The huge hone earrings with long
pendants are primitive jCwclry indeed
There are bows and arrows with flint
points OF heads, and harpoOns Of bone sim
ilarly pointed with stone Combs carved
out OF ivory. walrus tusks. and many curl
Gus ivory ornaments and carvings are
there, pipes made of stone bone needles
sinew thread. raw hide dog whips. arrow
heads wrapped in intestine. and carried in
this fashion 10 replace those that might be
lost in the chase. They also carve in slate.
and stone. and some Of the quaint little
figures Of polar bears musk OK reindeer
and walrus as well as Of human beings
viii interest every beholder
The arrangement Of all the exhibit is not
yet completed, and it will probably be sew
eral weeks at least before this curious col
lection is placed before the wondering eyes
Of the New York public: but when il is. a
special visit to the museum for it's study
will repay everyone
ENPIes, your satisfaction Of Heurich> Maerzen,
senate. and Lager by calling for these beers by
their names instead Of dark and Eight"