Evening star., 1917-01-07
Carpenter Visits the E,slimos Along Berimg Sea

by the Eskimos. In this twenty or
thirty of the natives surrounded a
tanned walrus hide about ten feet
square, holding it low with their hands.
middle of the hide. He stood upon his
feet. and at a word they jerked the
hide taut, sending him up into the air
AS he fell they came closer together
and then again threw themselves back,
tossing him higher and higher, and
continuing to do SO long as he could
keep his feet. Later an Eskimo girl
took the boys place, and then one or
two of the strangers stepped on the
hide, and were tossed to the sky amid
the hilarity of their Eskimo friends.
We took up collection. and the amount
was distributed among the performers.
value of money. The day has long
gone by when they would give polar
bearskin or bale of foxskins for
ishhook. They now know the value
best markets. During my stay the
king of the Diomede Islands. which lie
in Bering strait midway between North
America and Asia, brought the annual
The furs consisted of the skins Of fox.
polar bear and other animals, and the
whole amounted In value to some thou
sands of dollars 1 watched the sale.
which was held in the billiard room OF
the hotel at Nome. The skins were
spread out over the tables, and the old
chief, clad all in furs. sat half doubled
UP in chair smoking an Eskimo oipe.
accepting or rejecting the bids. His
face was scanned with wrinkles. as
though with tattooing. and he reminded
me of the Maori chiefs | saw in New
Zealand. His skin was dark brown.
but his hair was as white as the fur
Of his polar foxskins: and IT stood out
like bristles over his head ] asked the
fur dealers as to his character. They
told me be was honest and much re-
IL 4. h
from an Eskimo standpoint, being
worth perhaps as much as $4,000, and
owning a schooner that cost him $4,000.
l am surprised at the exquisite work
in ivory that these Eskirnos bring to
the hotels to sell to the tourists They use
the tusks Of the walrus carving upon
them images OF men, hears, seals and
wolves. They make cribbAge boards OF
these tusks and paper knives. and han
dies for canes and umbrellas. very
large wairus tusk was recently carved
and sent to the President of the United
States 1t represented animals and
hunting scenes. and was mass or ar
tistic Workmanship.
Within the past few years the Eski-
mos have been making ivory billikens.
after the funny laughing fEure that
has been sold in one shape or another
ALL aver the world. Their billikens
make one think of the brownies OF
Palmer Cox. They are of all sizes.
some no bigger than a thimble. and
others as long as your thumb or hand.
Among the carvings sold are some OF
mammoth ivory These come from the
tusks of the prehistoric animals which
r5a,ued Siberia and Alaska thousands
of wears ago. / have seen many such
tusks since l came to this part OF the
world They have been unearthed
along the Klondike river. ana are to
be seen in Dawson and Fairbanks. either
preserved indoors, or standing against
the sides Of buildings out in the open.
1 found one at mining camp on the
north fork of the Klondike. II was on
the ground outside a cabin The thick
neee OF tive tusk was that of my leg.
The Eskimos of today are rapidly
changing. They live differently from
those described IN the BOOKS BOOKS. .,, OF afSne tsac
have houses Of wood and skin. and the
snow house Is comparatively unknown,
except In the heart of m'dwinter. Most
OF their winter houses are cellars dug
aIly four or fve feet deep and twenty
or Twenty-Five feet square. Poles of
driftwood are laid about 1t to heighten
the walls and tlmbers are placed across
the top. Then dirt and sod are piled
around the hole. until they have what
looks like a great mound OF earth. In
the center OF the top is an opening.
about as large as a page OF newspa-
per, ACROSS which Is stretched sheet
OF seal or walrus bladder. This is
transparent and it gives light to the
a tunnel. which is connected with a
shaft or we'll six or seven feet Deep In
the we'll Is rude ladder. UP which the
people climb after crawling through the
tunnei, when they wish to go out OF
doors. Around the walls of the living
room is a platform, which Is the Sleep
ing place of the family. Such houses
are 50 warm. that the Eskifnos often go
almost naked while indoors. The dwell
ings are dark and badly ventilated.
Thsy. are often infested with uhfhsn.
ti0hhbis vsfHsin.