El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-01-06

nj past month I have been travel
= ing among the Eskimos. 1 saw
them first on the lower Yukon I met
them again on the Island of st.
Michael. and I find many Of them here
en- the Seward peninsula The gen
eraI idea is that the most Of our Eski-
mos live along the coast of the arctic
ocean This is not true. Four-fifths
Of them are to be found south of the
arctic circle and the most on the
coastal plains that slope down 10 Ber-
irg sea. There are many Eskimos IN
the deltas of the Kuskokwim and
Yukon rivers. and their settlements are
20 be found also on the Alaskan PENN
sula. There are said 10 he $500 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 Eslximos one might think them an
important part Of the human race. The
truth is they number. all told not
more than $4,000, and Of these. ten o.
fifteen thousand are TO be found in
Alaska. OF the remainder there are
few thousand in Greenland, some OF
whom are civilized; few in Labrador,
also civilized, and a greater number
scattered through the northern part OF
the Canadian Dominion from Hudson
bay TO the mouth Of the Mackenzie
river There are also 4 few in Siberia,
but nowhere are they Of any 1mpor-
tsnce except as race curiosity. and
IN a small way as trapperS of 1urs for
the markets Of the world.
Have ViIIage Near Nome.
The EskimOs about Nome make their
nj n . l.
ing ivory carvings. The stores here
are full of their workmanship. and
they bring ivory curios TO the hotels
and sell them TO the tourists They
have a village on the edge of the town
II is made M of frame siacks and
cabins, constructed OF all sorts OF ma
IeTial from driftwood logs 10 galva-
nized iron These are the abandoned
homes Of tie miners who came here TO
wash gold from the sands of the sea
shore There are also many tents OF
white canvas The tents rest right on
the sand, with skins as carpets The
Eskimos do not rise until late. and
now, in the summer. they sit up or ,
move about half the night They have
their dances a. night. and the village
Is often alive in the wee small hours
Of the morning
These Eskirnos are dressed in half civil
lied fashion Many Of the women have "a A.
kss Of calico. trimmed with fur and hoods
Of cloth with frinze OF wolverine standing
far out around their copper skinned faces
long boots or mukluks Of hide are TO be /
SEEN the leather reaching half way to the !
knee- Olner 5-sAinlos VIII be clad al IN !
fur- some viii wear fur suits and cloth ]
caps and some American clothes from head 4
10 foot
Easy to Tell an Eskimo.
II is easy 10 tell the Eskiulos. no matter |
what their dress may be Their faces are /
Monaghan in character. I have seen many !
just like them in my travels through ST. |
IBERIA and along the Great Wall in north !
China and the same types are in the Hibs- 1
iaysn mountains the edge Of Tibet They
have eyes which slant like those OF the Peo-
pie OF the desert OF Cobb. and their faces
are Of the same bronze OF copper color. They ]
are Fighter IN color than tho North American
Indians. but they have the same high cheek |
bones and mucr the same features Their
faces are rather square than long, and flat.
with little Tat ncse5-
The young rlrn and women have rosy
checks. ana their lips are bright red. Most OF
the elderly women have tattoed stripes cx-
tending vertically from the lower lip down
The chin. and ana then YOU see a
man with cuff button OF bone thrust
through hole in the skin near the edge
81 his mouth
Children Are Quick to Learn.
Many Of the Eskirnos now speak English [
and fhei- children 20 TO thu government
schools Twenty one schools are maintained 8
on the peninsula and about 500 Eskimo chill /
dren attend them The teachers tell me that !
the children have more than ordinary intel /
igence- Some Of them have good minds !
and many reach high proficiency in read l
ing and writing. !
One of the little girls recently went from /
here TO Plattsburg- y + where she entered 1
the fifth grade. In class below her in the I
same Eskimo school here in Alaska were j
two boys. ore a full blooded Eskimo and 4
the ether the son o. white man The white :
boy had been to school in the states. and !
he thought he could easily beat the Is 4
kimo- At the end OF the first week the /
Eskimo was at the head Of the class, and l
he held that place throughout the year. 1
That boy studied arithmetic. including per |
centage. interest. commission. freight and 4
profit and loss. He could calculate the cost ]
Of whslsbone from the time il came from 1
the whale until il was turned into goods and 1
brought back 70 Alaska
Babies Are Jolly.
wish I could show you the Eskimo ba-
bies- They are the brightest sweetest ana :
I might say also the dirtiest little pieces Of {
human clay that have yet met with in my i
travels over the world. They are full OF fun 4
and they romp about. mI1ntcking their faith I
ers and mothers and everything else under /
the sun The most Of them are dressed in 4
1Urs. and some look Ike large fuzzy balls. I
Their parents have a superstition that II 1
the children be photographed their souls 4
will be under the control OF the photoEra-
pher. even though he be far away. and they (
run from the camera.
These Eskinos seem 10 be the soul Of