Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1912-09-19
EXPLORER FINDS
RACE LOST FOR
300 YEARS
Professor StefansSon Travels
in Arctic Regions Among
Red-Haired People.

III Importance from an ethnOlOg!ca!
standpoint to the discovery of the lost
tribes of Israel is the discovery made
by Professor Vilhjalmar Stefansson Of
the American Museum Of Natural His
tory, of the lost tribe of 900 white
people. They are believed to be direct
descendants from the followers Of Lief
Erickson, who came 10 Greenland from
Iceland about the year 1000 and few
years later discovered the north coast
of America. These people are living
on Victoria Island, 80 degrees east of
the mouth Of the Mackenzie river and
more than 1000 miles by the coast line
and are still in the Stone Age. While
the civilization of nearly 900 years
has passed they have stood still. Pro
fessor Stefansson, who left New York
city in 1908 on his trip, has just arrived
in Seattle.
One Of the remarkable Incidents Of
the five years exploration which Stef-
ansson carried on is the fact that he
left his winter headquarters in Banks
Land four years ago with sufficient
hour and other cereals to sustain MIN
self and his Eskimo associates for two
weeks, and enough salt and tea to last
four weeks. With this scant supply Of
food, he lived for four years on the
bleak inhospitable shores of the Polar
sea. Caribou. seal and bear furnished
him food and clothes.
Discovers Thirteen New Tribes.
During his travels about the region
at the top of,the world Stefansson dis
covered thirteen new tribes of people.
Ten of these tribes had never seen or
heard of white men. The progenitors
of two other tribes had seen the mem
bers of the Franklin exploring expedi-
ton, and one tribe had once been Wis
tied by whaling vessel.
The tribe Of white people which
Stefansson declares are purely Of Nor
wegian origin, never had seen other
persons Of their own color. Their num-
Der OF about 1000. and more than
half of them have rusty red hair, blue
eyes. fair skins and tow colored eye
brows and boards. They live on both
shores of Coronation gulf. on the main
land of North America and Victoria
island, which formerly was known as
Prince Edward island.
1t was for these people that Raold
Amundsen discoverer of the south pole.
searched While making his celebrated
trip through the northwest passage.
Amundsen, it will be remembered.
stated that natives had told him of a
race Of white people living to the north
ward, but he was unable to find them.
Ethnologically, they are entirely Diff
ferent from the Eskimo not only In the
shape of the skull, but in general fea-
lures. color Of eyes and texture of
hair. There is not single trace of
the Monaghan type in them. While they
retain but few of the customs of the
Norsemen who were lost from Iceland
in the twelfth century their method of
life Is entirely different
They Use Copper Knives.
The conditions under which they live
are the most primitive, No vegetation
except moss and a few stunted willows
grow in their habitation. They are meat
and fish eaters, pure and simple. The
islands abound with caribou and the
sea with seal. They use bows made of
willow sticks, bound together with sin
ew, and their arrows are tipped with
flint and native copper, which is pried
out of Lodges or found in stream beds
on the mainland Their knives also are
made of copper, with horn handles, and
made in much the same manner as
these implements were made by the
early Norsemen who inhabited Green
land Like nearly every savage tribe
thy have legend of a flood which a
long time ago devastated the world.
They still use the same kind OF bona
needles that We're invented bv their
forefathers, and many of their methods
of life are somewhat similar to those Of
their progenitors.
Ihey are a migratory people. never
remaining longer than a few weeks in
the same place. When they moved
Steffansson and his associates moved
with them. They never live on the
coast and it was for this reason that
Amundsen failed to discover them
when he sailed by their island. In the
winter time they settle on the ice in
the center of a bay. where they hunt
seal. In the summer time they go to
the center of the island. where they
hunt the caribou
Wear Swallow Tail Goats
Their houses are made of spo,y for
the walls and a roof is stretched over
the top by means of small pieces Of
driftwood, which on rare occasions are
found on the coast. These stray frap-
ments OF wood are highly priced Furs
furnish their clothing. Their shoes are
cut to come we'll up the thighs. where
they are met by kind OF underskirt
which reaches to the waist. The coat
IS fashioned in precisely the same man
ner as the swallow-tailed or fun dress
coat. The whole outfit is held together
by means Of the thongs and buttons
made from rawhide and bone. There
are no walrus in that region.
None Of the natives had ever seen g
match or rifle.
During five years Stefansson's rife
brought down nearly so tons Of meat
lie mapped a large portion Of the coun
Try The maps OF the top Of the world
nc SAYS. are grossly Inaccurate.
llf f..s