The sun., 1919-03-23
Hosptabe Village Strange Race Whose
Origin Closed Book in the Light of All That
Legends of Far North Have o Offer

times to people whom they ala not
consider to be typical Eskimo.
Sir John Franklin. the first OF the
explorers to approach the region In
which the European-like Eskimo now
| live. came in contact In 1924 with Just
| one Eskimo. a decrepit old man,
abandoned by his companions. who
had fed at the approach OF the ex-
ploring party. OF him Franklin says:
THE countenance (of this man) was
oval, with sufficiently prominent
nose. and had nothing very different
from a European face, except in the
smallness Of his eyes and, perhaps, in
the narrowness OF his forehead. His
complexion was very fresh and red.
and he had a longer beard than I
Rave hitherto seen on any of the
aborigines of America"
Their Possible Origin.
There is no reason for insisting now
or ever that the Blond Eskimos'' OF
| Victoria Island are descended from the
Scandinavian colonists of Greenland
but looking at II historically or geo.
graphically there is no reason why
they might not be.
We know that the Eskimos are in
clined to mix with any race with
which they come In contact. Green
land Is not far from Victoria island
If there were any reason for doing SO
could go by sled In less than twenty.
four months from the southwest cor.
ner OF Victoria Island. where the
Blond Eskimos" now live. by way 4
Smith Sound. to the districts in Green,
land In a boat in summer, could so
in one year thence by sled west to Vic
toria Island.
AS matter OF fact. the Eskimos who
now winter on the ice west of Victoria
Island start thence in March, and by
August meet for trading purposes tho
Eskimos OF the Hudson Bay, just above
Chesterfield Inlet. There is, then, no
more reason geographically than there
Is historically to suppose any barrier
that could have kept the Scandina-
VANS from moving west TO Victoria
Island had they wanted to.
1t is over hundred years since the
Eskimos of western Alaska came In
contact with the early Russians. For
half a century they have been In cor
tact with the American whaling feet,
numbering at times q thousand men.
A good many whalers have married
Eskimo women and have settled IN
the country. and their grandchildren
are already growing into mans estate:
yet all this mixing of races has pro-
duced no such blond type as we md
in Victoria Island.
There are In northern Alaska and
the Mackenzie district perhaps a hum
bred individuals OF mixed European
and Eskimo descent. II this hundred
were gathered in one place II would
be found that many OF them could
not be distinguished offhand from full
FLOODED Eskimos, and the group as n
whole would by no means present so
north European an appearance as
!, would any of the three tribes in south
west Victoria Island.
!, II recent admixture OF European
| blood were the cause Of the b.ondness
of the Victoria Island Eskmos you
would expect 10 find more blondnoEs
the further east you go. because the
European contact would have TO be
supposed 20 have como from the dirrc-
ton OF Hudson Bay. The met is Now
ever, that tho blond type IL most pro-
rcunced further west, and gradually
: fades the further east you so towaT1.
Hudson Bay.
have not myself seen the Eskimos
OF Hudson Bay who have for more
than a century been in contact with
the Scotch and American whalcrs, but
Capt. George Conner OF East Haddam,
Connecticut, who has had dealings
. with them continuously for moro than
n quarter of century. has told me
that such European like appearance
Of the people as I have described for
Victoria Island and g. my photo
graphs show is quite beyond anything
he has seen even in those tribes which
= have been most intimately connected
with the whalers.
= Apart from the historical explana-
ton, there are. of course purely bio
' logical ones. II Is possible that for
. some so-called accidental" reason
= blond individuals may have been born
. from time to time In the past from
parents Of pure Eskimo blood. and
= that these may have perpetuated
themselves. A. to suppos'ng that 4.
: is the climate that has made the Vic
. toria Island Eskimo blond. the theory
= would be hardly tenabie, for they live
=. on the same food and under the same
climatic conditions as do the Eskinos
=, east OF them and west Of them. none
;, Of whom show the same European
o like traits.
= Copyright, 1919. by vilhjalmur stetans-
81 son.