Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1913-02-28
STEEANSSON TELLS
OF BLOND ESNMoS
Explorer Tells Dramatically Of
First Meeting With Strange
People.

People.
In his article i'm Harper's, v. Stefans-
son. the explorer, tells dramatically of
his meeting with the TRANCE people of
the north who gave him h first clue
4 the now famous blond Eskimos.
"A broad but three-months' untrav-
eled trail led north from this village
site ut Cape Bexley across the ice to-
ward Victoria island. My intentions
were to continue east along the main
LAND into Coronation guilt, but I de-
cided. nevertheless. to stop here long
enough TO make an attempt to find the
people at whose village we had camped.
We would leave most of our gear on
shore. with Pannigabluk to AXE care
of IL, while the two men and myself
took the trail across the ice. This
was according to Eskimo etiquet-on
approach to the country of strange or
distrusted people non-combatants are
left behind. ana only the able men of
the party advance to a cautious parley.
In this ease the Mackenzie river man,
T~annaumirk. was frightened enough to
let his pride go by the board and to
ask that he. too. might stay on shore
at the camp. l told him he might,
and Natkusiak and I prepared to start
alone with a light sled, but at the las
moment Tannaumirk decided he pre-
ferred to- go with us. as the Nagyuk-
togmiut were likely in our absence to
discover our camp. to surprise it by
night. and to kill him while he slept.
1t would be safer. he thought. to go
with us. Pannigabluk was much the
coolest Of the three Eskimos: IL she
she did not show it; she merely said
that she might get lonesome IL We were
gone more than three or four days. We
left her cheerfully engaged in the
mending of our worn footgear. and at
2:30 y. M. May IS. 1910, we took the
ward into the rough sea ice.
we made about six miles per hour.
and inside of two hours we arrived at
another deserted village, about a mont
more recent than the one found at Cape
Bexley. We were, therefore. on the
trail. not of a travelling party, cut OF
a migratory community.
IF you are following such a trail
and come to a village about o
months old, you will expect to find
40 miles off.
I'm the present case u ask was
simpliied by the fact that the group
we were following had not moved
straight ahead north. but had made
their fourth camp west of the econd
SId1Qlll8 OIL ln0 FOOLS OF Ilc houses
of the second camp. we could see three
seal hunters a few miles to the west,
Zach sitting On his block of snow by a
seal hole waiting for the animal to
rise.
1.-The seal hunters and their camp
were up the wind. and our dogs scented
them. AS we bore swiftly down upon
the nearest of the sealers the dogs
showed enthusiasm and anticipation as
keen as mine, keener by a great deal
thar did my Eskimos. AS the hunter
was separated from each of his fellow
huntsmen by a full half mile, I thought
he would probably be frightened il al
of US were to rush up to him at the top
speed Of our dogs. We therefore
stopped our sled several hundred yards
away. Tannaumirk had become Drawer
now for the lone stranger did not look
formidable, sitting stopped forward aa
he was on his block Of snow beside
the seal hole; he accordingly volun-
teered to act as u ambassador. saying
that the Mackenzie dialect (his OWN
tongue than Natkusiak's. This seemed
likely, I told him to go ahead.
After what may have been anything.
from five to 10 minutes Of talking and
e-xpostulation by Tannaumirk. the man
finally began to listen and then to an
s-wer. The dialects proved to differ
about as much as Norwegian does from
Swedish. or Spanish from Portuguese.
After 1~annaumirk had made him un-
derstand the assurance that we were
of good intent and character and had
showed by lifting his own coat
approached him cautiously and felt Of
him, partly Gas he told us later) to as
sure himself that he was not q spirit.
and partly to see IL there were not q.
knife hidden somewhere under his
clothes. After a careful examination
and some further parley he told Tan
naumirk to tell us that they two would
proceed home to the village, and Nat
kusiak and I might follow as far be-
hind as we were now; when they got
side 1t till the people could be In
formed that we were visitors with
friendly Intentions.
"When W. approached the village ev-
cry man, woman and child was out
doors waiting for us excitedly. for they
could tell from afar that we were no
ordinary visitors. The man whom we
had first approached-who that day
acquired a local prominence which still
distinguishes him above his fellows
explained to an eagerly silent crowd
that we were friends from a distance
Immediately h whole crowd (about
4O) came running toward us. AS each
came up he would: I am So-and-so.
I am well disposed. I have no knife.
VINO are you? After being told our
names in return. and being assured that
we we're friendly, and that our knives
were packed away in the sled and not
hiding in u clothing, each would ex-
press his satisfaction and stand aside
for the next to present himself. Some-
times a man would present his wife.
OF q woman her husband, according to
which came up first. The women were
In more hurry to be presented than
were n men. for they must. thew
said, 90 right back to their houses
to cook MS aomafhin~ n cat