Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-01-04
NORTHERN CURIOS.
A Splendid Collection Just Re.
ceived in Washington.
New knowledge Of the Life and
Thought Of the Eskimo.
The Work Of Dr.. Robert Stein oil the U. 5.
Geographical Survey.

ArCtlc, LIZ. HoDeTt cleln VI lHc cHi@Su
States Geological Survey has returned
to this country and has brought with
him a valuable collection of facts and
of specimens from the Far North. In
some respects the stay of DR.. Stein In
the Arctic was as daring and remark
able as any expedition in the history OF
northern exploration. Together with
his friends, Professor Leopold Kann of
Vienna and Samuel Warmbath of Bos-
toll. DIR. Stein sailed from Halifax in
1899 on the steamer Diana, which was
taking supplies up to Perry. The three
intrepid explorers went entirely on
their own responsibility and at their
own expense With the limited re-
sources at their command it was
thought to be doubtful if DR.. Stein and
his companions ever would come back
alive from the Arctic; but they have
done so and in speaking of his adven-
lures the doctor says: MY fingers
were frost-bitten only once; we had
an abundance of food all during our
stay and | fell through the ice only
once
1t was DR.. STEMS intention to explore
and map Grnnell Land and Ellsmere
Land, but when he got TO those regions
he found that Sverdrup and Perry al
ready had explored and mapped Ellis
mere Land. Therefore the doctor and
his companions settled down to make
the acquaintance of the Cape York
natives and to learn their habits and
peculiar methods of thought and action.
DR.. Stein said in an interview: Il
have been asked if it would be possible
for the Eskimo to live through the long
night of the Arctic winter without his
lamp l think he could. His stone
lamp is, of course. a great blessing to
him, for it furnishes to him light and
heat for cooking. But / have known
numerous cases where Eskimo have
lived for weeks at a time on raw
meat and in temporary huts with
nothing to keep them warm eX-
cept the clothing they had on.
You have heard a lot about the
meagre fare of the Eskimo and
their disgusting astronomical habits,
but l found them to be, on the con-
trary, fastidious about their food when
there was plenty of game to be had.
1t is only when there is great scarcity
of game that the Eskimo resorts to wal
DluDDeT anu SuCl loou. LII OiN
times the blubber is thought to be fit
only for the dogs" The explorer be-
came enthusiastic in describing some
of the dishes which the Eskimo served
Young aux was what he praised
most Said he: "On Northumberland
Island we found the Eskimo surrounded
| by an abundance of game of all kinds,
and their skill in preparing animal
| food in all manner of dainty styles was
surprising. One of these dishes was
simply delicious. They take young auks,
sea bird very common in the Arctic
regions, remove only the larger tail,
wing, back and breast feathers and
place them in a row on fiat stone that
lies crosswise on one of their large soap
stone blubber lamps. Over these young
auks they place layer of Hchen
covered sod, and on the top of this an
other row of young auks, topping the
whole with a layer of the sod that
have mentioned. The burning walrus
and seal oil in the lamp soon bakes the
entire mass. When the auks are re-
moved the skin, with the feathers.
peeIs off and the birds are eaten. l
tell you, the hot birds you get at
Delmonicos are not to be compared
with young aux, cooked in this manner.
They also have a way of frying
Young auks that renders them excellent
eating. In short, they have a dozen or
more tricks of cooking whereby their
animal food is rendered palatable and
gives variety. They appreciate to the
full the fact that the young of all
animals and birds are when cooked,
generally tender, and are always on
| the lookout for tidbits of this sort
Female seals, with young. are sought
| fer eagerly for the milk contained in
| the body, which the Eskimo greedily
drink.
Tho tongues Of musk oxen and
caribou and the brains of seals, bears,
| etc, also are cooked and eaten They
have ways of curing and preserving
fish and flesh, so that on the whole an
Eskimo lives well indeed where animals
and birds are plentiful"
In his collection DR.. Stein has the
| largest Eskimo lamp ever seen in
| Washington. 1t measures three feet
in length and holds a large quantity of
oil. The doctor says that in the Arctic
the latitude can be told by the lamps
| one Il1OS dulOuS lHC hdeiNSS' -
further you go north the longer is the
winter season and the more intense the
darkness. The Eskimo living in South
Greenland. in the Cape Nome district
OF Alaska. or in Labrador have COM
paratively small lamps. AS you travel
north, however, the size of the lamps
| increases, so an expert can judge
pretty well of his latitude by simply
looking at the native lamps. These
lamps, which play SO important part
| in the life of the Eskimo, are made OF
an easily worked soapstone and are
filed with walrus oil, in which floats
a wick made of hair OF moss. In the
| Cape York region said DR.. Stein. Il
found only one quarry of soapstone;
but the Eskimo come from long dis
tances to get the material, just as the
Indians of the West used to travel far
from their usual abodes in order to
get stone for making their. pipes. An
Eskimo will travel over a hundred
miles in order to get to q soapstone
/ quarry. On several occasions in the
! Cape York region I saw them getting
out the stone. In working the stone
| they use a peculiar tool which, how
] ever. does excellently we'll for their
/ purposes. One man whom I saw at
work in the quarry had secured from