Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-01-28
IN THE ARCTIC CIRCLE
Games That Are Played
Around the North Pole.
Apr MOTT mAHrN CAnTv
ARE NOT TAKEN SADLY
AT BEST THE PEOPLE LEAD
PRETTY HARD LIVES.
But They Enter With Spirit Into Many
Forms of Sport-Children Have
Plenty of Toys.


Probably no people on earth have a
harder life than the jewellers in the bar
rem, inhospitable regions of the Arctic
circle-the Eskimo of North America and
the Koryaks, kamchadales, Tunguses
and other tribes of northern Asia. For a
great part of the year they usually have
a hard fight for bare existence, and the
weakest is invariably killed off in the
bitter struggle for life. Yet, by a curious
paradox, these people who have SO little
cause for mirth are jovial souls. They
have their pleasures, their games and
their sports, and they do not take them
sadly.
In the American Museum Of Natural
History in New York city there is an in
teresting collection of toys used by the
Smith sound Eskimo in playing games in
their "igloos" (snow huts) during the
long winter night of the Arctic. The ar
t1cles were presented by Lieut.. Peary,
who is looked upon by these Eskimo in
the light of a father.
one OF these toys, called "a jagag," is a
leg bone with hole bored through each
socket. A thin stick ("ajautang") is tied
by short string to the bone. The latter
is tossed into the air and caught in either
hole by the stick. The game is much like
the English cup and ball.
The 'hieQtaq,. or bull roarer," is a fiat
bone in the shape of hourglass or
figure eight with Topped string passing
through it's middle. The Eskimo children
twirl the bone on the string but the eX-
act nature of the game does not seem to
have been discovered by any explorer
who has dwelt among them.
Another toy is the familiar eats era
dle-a string which is drawn by the
fingers into fantastic shapes which are
supposed to resemble animals and vari-
Gus other objects.
The Children's Play Room.
When Lieut.. Peary dwelt among these
Eskimo he found that the village had one
large empty "igioo' which was used by the
youngsters as a play room. All the children
Of the tribe would collect there until the
crush was so great that there was hardly
room for any of them to play their games.
When hunter happened to have a larger
supply or meat than the other men, he
would give a feast in this "igloo' and issue
general invitation. After the feast there
would be an entertainment consisting of
songs and dances. The dancers were usual
ly two in number, and they used alternately
one drum, which was made of seals intes-
tines stretched upon an elliptical bone
frame. The drumstick was a walrus rib.
Ball playing is favorte amusement of
the smith Sound Eskimo. The ball is made
OF sealskin, stuffed with scraps of skin to
make it hard. They are fond also of wres-
tHng and of arm pulling" The latter
sport Is simple enough 1t consists of two
men pulling one another's arms nearly out
OF their sockets, and seeing who will suueaI
first.
- 1t is not uncommon for these people
10 Wrestle for a wife. In one case two
rivals Wrestled for widow, and the loser
was quite good-humored about his defeat
although he could hardly have heard of the
elder Weller's advice on the subject The
winner was promptly challenged by another
lidn, VINO already owned couple of wives
ana lost his widow to him.
Few and Simple.
F. F. Payne, Canadian explorer. who
lived for thirteen months among the Eskimo
of Hudson's Strait, found that the amuse-
ments of those people are few in number
and simple in character.
Throwing the harpoon had the great
est attraction for the men, and often they
might be seen taking their turns at a mark
in the snow, he said. "Wrestling and RIM
ming are occasionally INDUCED in. hnt the
weaker side soon loses interest and gives
up.
Another Canadian Informed me that
while he was stationed among these E,slxin,o
of Hudson's Strait they built a snow Meas.
ure mousse, supported in it's center by a
pIlIar OF snow. The only game he noticed
tnem playing in this house was a kind of
fitting, an ivory ring being suspended FROM,
the ceiling, through which the men fried
10 put their spears as they walked ouick1v
round the pillar eotoA''
During my stay among them foot hal,
was introduced, and in this thew annear 70
take more interest than in anv 0tbar oar,o ~
Inc bladder of walrus was well blown
ana then covered with leather making an
eAcelleht root ball 1t was a novel sight
10 see them playing. Men women and
chlidren all took part in it, and no Quarter
was allowed. a woman carrying her child
on her back might be seen running at full
speed a1ter the ball, and the next moment
she would be sprawiing at fu1 iength
with her child foundering in the snow a
Few feet beyond her A minute later the
child would be again in its place on bnr
back. and, nearly choking with Iaupbter
she would elbow her way through the
crowd after the ball again. o
Children's Amusements.
Catching trout in the summer by driv-
ing them into trap made of nets and
stones affords great amusement to the
children. Wild with excitement. thew mr.
sue the unfortunate fish into shallow
stream. The boys also spend a great deal
OF time in making small spears and other
implements of the chase, and practice with
one another in throwing at mark.
Girls have their dolls, and, like girls of
clV1llzed parents, they delight in playing
house They do not tire of this game un-
I'll they are married, for often groups of
girls of all ages may be seen sitting in
some sheltered spot in summer, each hav-
ing house formed only of a ring Of
stones few inches in diameter, in which
some short pieces of stick were placed fat
While other pieces were propped upright
These pieces of stick represented people,
and the girls made them visit one anoth-
er's houses. keeping up a continuous chat
ter on their behalf all the time
The Eskimo of Greenland play a game Of
fox and geese" on the snow 1t is almost
identical with ''parchesi'' and other vari-
ants of the game known to all American
children Fox and geese" indeed. is the
Oldest game in the world and is found in
some form or other, among nearly all peo-
pies. 1t is played all around the arctic cir
Gle.
Fond of Gambling.
Various dice games are also popular in
Greenland. The Eskimo, like most barba-
rians of the arctic, are extremely fond of
gambling. They do not use cubical dice,
but number of bones of different shapes
and Sizes They have also a skewer game,
which tests the steadiness of hand and
eye. The skewer has to be thrust through
several holes pierced in walrus skin.
Inc children have curious ceremonial
dance In the snow at night when the
northern lights first appear and the wo-
men play a kind Of basket ball, tossing the
ball through hoop, and then all making
combined rush to see who can catch it in
the air.
one of the principal amusements of these
Greenland Eskimo is peculiar form of
hal 1la,,