Evening star., 1917-01-07
tCopyright. 1917. by Frank g. Carpenter.)
NOME Alaska

SToR the past month l have a. been
lg' saw them first frs, .. mt, the lower lowe,
on the Island of st. Michael.
and I find many of them here on
the Seward peninsula. The general idea is
that the most of our Eskimos live
along the coast of the Arctic ocean
This is not true. Four-1fths of them
are to be found south of the Arctic
circle and the most on the coastal
plains that slope down to Bering sea.
There are many Eskimos in the deltas
of the Kuskokwim and Yukon rivers.
and their settlements are to be found
also on the Alaskan peninsula. There
are said to be thirty-fve hundred of
them on the Seward peninsula. and this
number is perhaps one-third of all the
EskImos under the American flag.
SO much has been published about
the Eskimos one might think them an
important part of the human race. the
Truth Is they number. all told, not
more than 10000, and of these ten or
fifteen thousand arc to be found In
Alaska OF the remainder there are a
few thousand in Greenland, some OF
whom are civilized; few In Labrador.
also civilized. and a greater numper T
scattered through the northern part OF
the Canadian Dominion from Hudson
bay to the mouth of the Mackenzie
river. There are also a few in siberia,
but nowhere are they of any impor-
tance except as race curiosity. ana IN
o small way as trappers of furs for the
markets OF the world.
The EskImos about Nome make their
living by fishing and hunting and sell
ing ivory carvings. The stores here
are full of their workmanship. and
they bring ivory curios to the hotels
ara sell them TO the tourists. They
have a villag. cn the edge of the town.
II - made up of frame shacks and
cabins. constructed OF all sorts or ma
t-riaI from d-iftwood logs to galva-
nized iron. These are the abandoned
wash gold from the sands OF the sea
shore. There are also many serts or
white canvas. The tents rest rlght on
n. sand. with skins as carpets. none
Of these dwellings is large, and but
few OF them will cover more than
space eight or ten feet square. There
are no streets 10 speak OF, ana the
houses are jumb!ed together as though
they had been pitched out of the sky
ard let fall where they would. Going
through the village IN the morning. one
finds every house tshtly closed. The
Eskimos do not rise until late, ara
now in the summer. they SIT up or
move about half the night They have
their dances at night. and the village Is
often alive In the wee small hours OF
the morning. -.
ctviiized fashion. Many OF the wome n
have parkar of calico, trimmed with
fur. and hoods OF cloth with fringe
OF wolverine standing far out around
= NJ daf n
calico parka. cloth trousera and long
boots or mukluks OF hide are to be
reen. the leather reaching half way to
the knee Other Eakimo5 Will he clad
all In fur Some will wear fur suits
and cloth caps. AMI soins American n
clothes from head to foot
II ir easy to tell the Eskimos. no
matter what their dress naay be- Their
have seen many just like them In my
travels through Siberia and along the
Great Wall in north China, and the
same types are In the Himalayan
mountains on the edge OF Tibet They
have eyes which slant like those OF
the people of the desert Of Gobl, and
their faces are of the same bronze or
copper color. They are lighter In color
than the North American Indians. but
they have the same high cheekbones
and much the same features. Their
faces are rather square than long. and
nat. with little fat noses. The young
men ana women nave rosy cheehs, ana
their lips are bright red. Most OF the
elderly women have tattoed stripes
extending vertically from the lower
lip down the chin: and now and then
you a man with 4 cun button of
bone thrust through = hole In the skin
near the edge OF his mouth. The Nome
Eskinos have black eyes and Jet black
fair. The hair is parted in the center,
and the women wear IL In long braids
that hang down the back. The eyes OF
the people are friendly. and their look
~ open and honest. They are full OF
fun. and IL takes but little to bring out
a smile, They are good traders. and I
am told they are naturally Intelligent
and quick to adopt American ways.
Many Of the Eskimos now speak