Evening star., 1924-09-27
LOCATION OF HEAVEN AND HE'LL
REVERSED BY ESKIMO RELIGION
Belief Traced to Fact That All Elemental
Disturbances Come From AbOUe, Mac
Milan Finds in Deep Study.

built about him, care being taken
that it does not touch the body.
They conceive the after life to be
much more pleasant than this one,
with much to be learned and much
achieved, but with more plentiful
food At the feet Of a woman, they
place her drying rack. needle and
soap stone utensils.
Ritual Elaborate.
The Angekok has quite an elabor-
ate ritual in breaking the spell or
Torng-Ak, the most formidable evil
spirit He is proficient in the use of
amulets, and the foot OF the sea
pigeon, which is believed to be espe-
cially efficacious. He makes use of
the drum, using it to accompany his
frightful yells and gesticulations. l
have brought one of the Angekok's
drums with me.
II believe there is no question of
the Eskmos being of Mongolian deri-
walton. Their long torsos, short legs,
slant eyes and other revealing physi-
cal characteristics seem to me to
prove it beyond doubt. Incidentally,
this fact, combined with similarities
of fora and fauna between the two
continents, seem to me to go long
way in substantiation of the land
bridge theory.
My head measurements of the Es-
kimos show that they are neither
They are mesaticaphalic, or half way
between the round-headed and long
headed types.
For some reason I found several
| cases of tuberculosis among them on
this trip, although they are unusu-
ally free from other diseases. l took
| a census of the Smith Sound tribe
| and found they had increased from
215 to 275 since my last trip. AS they
eat raw or frozen meat there Is no
scurvy among them. This diet was
our own protection and we learned
to like it. We shot walrus, seals,
musk oxen, elder ducks, narwhal and
various kinds of edible birds, includ-
ing puffins. The putin closely re-
sembleS a duck with the exception
of its gaudy parrot beak. This beak is
to me one of the most interesting in
stances of far northern adaptation.
Years ago | was puzzled in seeking the
| survival value of a parrot beak on
duck, but l found the answer when
1 discovered that puffins dig holes
and live in them. AS there is no ma
terial on the barren rocky islands
for nest building the putin developed
the formidable beak digging
tool. They are extremely gregarious
| where they sit in solemn conclave
much like penguins.
Coast Line Sinking.
THE coast line of North Greenland
% unquestionably sinking. We found
clam shells at a height Of LOO feet
above the present shore line. The
location of the Eskimo igloos gives
further proof Of this They are con-
stantly building farther and farther
back from the shore. Many of the
igloos are now under water. The gla-
cial moraines are sinking. The entire
country is glaciated, the Striae run
ming from northeast to southwest. i
was curious in noting that radio
waves seemed to travel only in this
same direction. l could learn nothing
to justify a conclusion as to any con-
nection between the two phenomena.
The rocks are igneous and meta
ieiorphic and show the contortions of
tremendous heat and pressure
Evetn the sandstone is metamor-
| phic and is extremely hard The
prevailing formations are gneiss
granite and red cyanite. There is an
| abundance of coal, but it is doubt
| ful to me whether it can ever be
| used. The F-skimos tried to use it.
| but having no stove one family was
asphyXiated by burning it uncovered
| In their tupik.
Complies Dictionary
Il have compiled a partial diction-
ary of the Eskimo language. 1t is
unique in that it is almost entirely
derived from utility. One might char
acterize it as a dynamic language
can find no words for abstract ideas
or qualities, save for the use denoted
by the particular word. For instance,
the word for dog is that which
pulls" So far my study of their
language has failed to yield any of
those clues as to origins and early
tribal history and racial relationships
which pathological inquiry usually re-
veals. However, it is a fruitful in
quiry, particularly in throwing light
on the Eskimos, apparent inability to
generalize-words denoting general
izations being entirely lacking. 1
shall continue this study on my later
expeditions.
Il took a sledge trip Of 1000 miles
to Ellsmere Land where among other
activities we made some studies of
the musk oxen. We got about &c, 900
feet of moving picture film, includ-
ing some particularly good pictures
Of the narwhal, the ancient sea uni
corn which carries a Sevenfoot ivory
harpoon on it's nose. i believe it uses
this spear. not only to fight. but to
spear halibut, the halibut being fed
into the creatures mouth as it swims
forward with the fish impaled, by
left-hapded screw which traverses
the spear from tip to root. These
ivory spears were found in Greenland
long before the narwhal was known
and the tabled unicorn was built up