The San Francisco call., 1910-10-30
+" HUNTING WITH THE EsKIMOs >
BY Harry Whitney.

BY Harry Whitney. Published by the CO
To the literature of travel and adj
venture has been added one of the most
interesting books which has fallen into
the hands of the reviewer for many
long day. 1t is the narrative, almost
like a diary of an entire years ex-
periences spent among the highland
Eskimos, the most northerly inhabit-
ants of the earth. Harry Whitney is
friend Of Mr.. Peary and sailed with
him as his guest on the Roosevelt in
1908 from New Bedford to Sydney.
There he met his fellow sportsmen, G.
II. Norton and E. P. Larned. They took
passage on the Erik bound for northern
Greenland In search of some good
shooting in Etah, hoping for some tro-
ply of the muskox, the most ardently
desired animal TO add to all collections
of North American big game. The
author tells us he had no connection
whatever with the Polar expedition,
being simply a passenger on the little
steamer The Erik took on board SO
tons of whale meat for food for the
dogs of the polar party and he says
travelling with this meat is an expert
ence never 10 be forgotten; that when
fresh Ii has most unpleasant odor
and when decaying it is simply inde-
scribable. The Roosevelt and the Erik
were in Etah little over week, the
Roosevelt preparing for its polar dash
and the Erik storing provisions and
making ready to sail back to civiliza-
tion. 1t was then that Mr.. Whitney
felt that he had not had enough hunt
ing He had killed walrus, caribou,
whale, hare and birds, but the elusive
muskox had not even been sighted.
Then it was he decided to remain over
the winter and, though unprepared, he
managed, with the assistance OF Peary
and Captain Sam Bartlett of the Erik.
to equip himself fairly Well with cloth
ing and provisions He built shack
at Etah and remained with five Eski-
mos, the only white man in the coun-
try, with the exception of two of
Peary's men in charge of his stores at
Annootok.
The hardships which Mr.. whitney
was Obliged to endure are modestly
spoken of and one is obliged to read
between the lines to appreciate them.
In the space of a short review we
can not follow him throughout his trip,
but few quotations will be given to
show somewhat the authors style OF
telling his story and some Of the very
interesting observations ne has TO make
Of Eskimo life and character.
It is interesting TO note what he has
to say on the subject of badness
I noticed that my hair
was coming out in great punches. This
was doubtless due to wearing the
kuletar hood so continuously The
skin hood covering the head completely
precludes air circulation, and l pre-
sumo loss of hair was to have been
expected, though so far as | observed
the Eskimos are not affected in this
way"
The author grew d little homesick
when Christmas came and decided to
celebrate. He invited the Eskimo FAM
ilies to come to his igloo and explained
what Christmas meant and how 1t was
celebrated He gave them each some
canned goods, which are always lux
ury to them, and for himself had some
jam and some choice candy, present.
ed to him by Mrs. Carnegie and Mrs.
Peary when he left civilization. While
the Eskimos were celebrating with
him the dogs broke into the igloos of
Kudlar and Kulutinguah. two of his
best friends, and tore up everything
within reach. Here the author speaks
of a very interesting trait of the Es-
kimo:
/ said the Eskimos are
optimists They are not only optimists.
but philosophers. Life with them is
continuous struggle for existence, yet
they enjoy life and are happy. This
was serious loss to Kudlar and Ku-
lutinguah and their families. A white
man would have drawn long face and
borrowed much unnecessary trouble
from it. But not SO the Eskimos. 1t
was a thing that had happened and
could not be undone No amount of
worry could help or remedy 1t in the
least. Then why worry? Worry is
harmful, ii begets depressed spirits,
and the mind in that condition affects
the physical system. This is Eskimo
philosophy and the Eskimo. therefore
does not worry, no matter ho,s great