Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1902-04-03

gions, says Robert Stein, of the United
States Geological Survey, [ carried
with me a violent aversion for all
lower races. particularly the Esqui-
maus. whom from report l had learned
TO regard as the embodiment OF filth
unutterable. ] am ready now to do
penance for any harsh word J may
have uttered against them.
My opportunities for studying the
Esquimaus were not the most favor
able. Though I spent two years in the
Arctic, yet the time during which
was in actual contact with them was
far less. We went north under express
agreement with Peary to have no
dealings with the natives, and hence
had not provided ourselves with a
stock of articles expressly for trade.
The occasions when l was able to OBJ
serve them were at the visits which
six parties Of them made at our sta
ton. Fort Magnesia, near Cape
Sabine during the winter of 1899-1900;
during my trip to Cape York from
April Is to May II; during my stay
at Cape York till August II, and from
that time on till August 80, 1901, most
iy at Fort Magnesia.
Outside of our own ATyan race and
it's immediate affiliations, there is per
haps not tribe of men on the globe
more interesting than this little com
munity of hyperboreans. Living be-
tween the 10th and 18th degrees of
north latitude, they are the most
northerly of the earth's inhabitants,
since the north point of Siberia, Cape
Chelyuskin, extends only to II degrees
and As minutes and is uninhabited.
From their kindred in Danish Green
land they are separated by an interval
of 255 miles, mostly occupied by the
icy wilderness of Melville bay. Across
Baffin bay their kindred in Baffin Land
are 225 miles away.
Anything more extraordinary than
the mode Of life of these people it
would be hard to imagine First of
all, they inhabit no ordinary country.
The most elaborate "shoestring dis
trict" produced by gerrymandering in
the United States cannot compare
with the land these people call their
home. A mere fringe along the sea.
shore, rarely more than a mile wide,
is free from ice. Even this fringe is
interrupted hundred times by the
rivers of ice that flow through many
valleys into the sea from the ice
sheet covering all the interior to an
unknown depth. Nor is the fringe a
flowery border In most places ii is
simply precipitous rock face, peep
ing from under the edge of the univer-
sal ice mantle. For the most part,
only islands and peninsulas show a
larger extent of ice-free land. Imagine
the Palisades of the Hudson extending
distance OF some three hundred
miles while a uniform ice sheet with
here and there a gentle swell, covers
all New Jersey within reach of the
eye. it's frayed edge extending in most
places to the very brow of the cliffs
sometimes, like white forehead band
running along their tops; with a
stream Of ice coming down through
every gorge, and in many cases reach
ing the sea--that is Esquimau land.
If, besides. you imagine that over
about half the distance the foot of the
rock face is hidden by the debris of
a huge quarry, with blocks of all sizes
tumbled together in every conceivable
way, sometimes to a depth of 100 feet,
perhaps 200 feet. you will have fairly
accurate picture of the features that
are apt to leave the strongest impress
sion on the mind Yet the picture will
not be complete without its milder
features. Here and there a stretch OF
low and comparatively level land in
tervenes between the foot of the cliffs
and the SeaShore. and in such cases
we may find veritable meadows, gay
with flowers and covered with grass a
foot high. In many places old talus
slopes, with profile as straight as ii
laid out by an engineer, testify to the
former activity of the frosty quarry
man in the cliffs above, but for some
reason this activity has ceased, the
cliffs are black and gray and orange
with lichen, and the talus slopes are
covered with a soft carpet of moss
and grass. In a few places even the
tops of the cliffs. 1900 feet above the
sea, present the aspect of vast
meadows, with an abundant, though
stunted, growth of grass.
How such a land can afford SuSten
ance to human beings seems at first
sight an enigma In point of fact
the Esquimau asks of the land not
sustenance but merely a footing-s
storage place. So long as he has {
rock which he knows will not move
away tomorrow or next year he is con
tent. for there he can deposit thu
treasures he wins from the sea Will
the certainty of finding them again
In picking out a building site he il
guided by several considerations. Hi
house Gglu) must not be more thai
100 to 200 feet from the shore, becaus
the transportation of his valuableS
easy by water or over ice, is fol-
midable task overland The driest
Ievellest, grassiest place, of course, i
preferred. 1t must not be too clos
to the cliffs, lest falling block shout
crush both house and inmates. Fina
~, it must be tolerabIy near to som
good hunting ground. All these cor
ditions are best fulfilled on the 10y
peninsulas that jut out seaward froI
the foot of the cliffs in many place;
However where there is sum.
grassgrown terrace Clgerna), with
breeding place of little auks near b.
an or oh RI