Evening star., 1924-09-27

Great Britain by the North American News
paper Alliance. All rights reserved
WlSCASSEL, Maine, September q.
When the little schooner Bowdoin
| landed here yesterday, after being
! locked in the ice 335 days north OF
| Greenland, it brought home not only
| thrilling story of arctic adventure,
but an invaluable contribution to the
| scientific knowledge of the far north
DR.. Donald B. Macmillan of Free
| port, Me-. seasoned explorer, who was
with Peary on the discovery of the
North Pole, covered anthopology
botany, geology, ethnology and or
| anthology in researches which cover
| ed more than year. exclusive OF the
| time taken to go and return to Ref
uge Harbor. North Greenland. He
! made intensive studies and brought
| back vast accumulation of notes
and pictures. Observations and re-
search in terristial magnetism and at
moSpheric electricity were made by
Richard Goddard of the Carnegie In
/ stitution. A knock-down frame
! house was taken north and reas-
| sembled on the ice, to house God
| dard's instruments. He made eiSh,
months continuous records, with the
most complete apparatus even taken
| into the north. Ii is hoped that these
records when checked with other oD-
servations, and formulated by sclen-
| lists at Washington, Will throw nSh'
! on puzzling phenomena of compass
| declination, internal and external
| terrestrial magnetism, the erect OF
stmospheric electricity on radio and
other subjects. Careful and minute
meteorological studies also were MADE
| ..The more | see of the ESkimos the
more I become convinced. that thelr
ancient culture merits the closest SCI
| entific study we car give II salo
| DR. Macmillan. a have observed
them closely, with view TO detect.
ing factors of receSSive heredltS, and
| | am convinced that they are on the
up grade. Their chief contact WIN
the outside world is through the
Danes who are showing hlgh intel
ligence in allowing them to maintain
| their OWL technique of living and
protecting them against debasing IN
huences They have such astonish'
ing skill in wrestling their living
from the wilderness that if they gel
supplies of wood and ammunition they
are sure to win. These supplies the
Danes are giving them. to the best
OF their ability, ard / noted general
prosperity and happiness among
| them.
The Danes are pursuing what
believe to be a wise policy in inter
fering to the least possible degree
with the old Eskimo culture. Their
tribal customs, domestic regime, re-
ligion and general ethnic culture re-
| main as they must have thousands OF
years ago.
Organization Loose.
The Eskimo tribe is a loose or.
ganization based not upon force, but
| q
Whit. they have no authoritative
head, the angekok. or priest. as
sumes a position of great prestige
Just as the clergymen in our evan
gelistic churches, he attains leader
| ship through answering what we are
accustomed to term the call
! In response to a vision, or a voice
| he gradually assumes the position Of
| spokesman for the benign spirits anC
! becomes proficient in breaking evi
spells and driving away malignan,
| spirits. Eskimo priestcraft is con-
| cerned almost entirely with propitiat-
| ing, or .circumventina- evil spirits
| When | have questioned the Eskimo:
regarding prayer to their good spirit:
| they have been astonished. They
| have asked me, naively, why it shoulc
| be necessary TO ask good spirit tc
/ render any special favor. 1t was tc
| be assumed that the good spirits
| were doing all in their power any
way They conceived evil as a real.
| ity, to be combated, and. in facing
| the dilemma, compelling a choice be
tween a beneficent or malignant
ruling agency, they had chosen the
| former. but had been compelled tc
! assume that he was not omnipotent
1t was to me an interesting parallel
| of some of our own more Sophisti-
Gated, but perhaps not more conclu-
| sive, theological speculation.
From the time of the discovery
of Labrador, probably early in the
sixteenth century, missionaries from
various countries made determin ed
assaults on the ancient Eskimo do
mestic customs and supersttions, but
without success. The Eskimos kept
placidly on their way with their old
arrangements. 1t is today Girls
of II to IA years are married to men
of 25, or even so. They may have
one, two or three wives, occasionally
trading wives. They get along
pleasantly in this way. The number
of wives is usually determined by the
mans skill as hunter. To have
three wives is a mark of superiority
A youth asks the consent of the par
ents of his prospective bride, usually
accompanying 1t with a gilt. consent
of the girl is the only marriage cere-
mony. There is little or no secret
promiscuity among them. The young
folks generally start housekeeping
with the brides parents. The wifes
sister is often taken in as a servant
or as a second wife. Children are
tenderly loved and cared for. Some
times, when there is competition for
girl, it is settled by a wrestling
match. The best man wins.
Believes in Immortality.
The Eskimos have a very clear
definite and unquestioning belief in
an immortal soul. They reverse our
ideas of the prospective dwelling
places of the righteous and the wick
ed. Their hell is in heaven-it seems
quite natural when you see an Arctic
blizzard bearing down upon you-and
their heaven is in the warm, shelter
ing earth. An Eskimo must always
die in the open-never in the tupik
or igloo- 1t is regarded as disaster
when this happens. At the point of
death. he is taken out and left in a
| snowhouse, with the roof open for
soul to pass through. After death,
he is warmly dressed and placed in
the open, according to the slant and
direction of the hillside, with food