Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-30

The Smith Sound Eskimo is unacduainted
with alcohol in any form, and probably it is
all for the best. In the Winter of 1916 Comdr.
Fitzhugh Green became lost in Melville Bay
with three Eskimos. The thermometer stood
AZ degrees below zero. The continuous dark
ness of the polar night enveloped them.
For three years." he said, IT had carried q
pint flask of Navy whisky for emergencies. It
looked as though the emergency had at last
arrived, as the ESkimos, Arkho, Koolootingwah
and Nucartingwah. were on the point of de-.
Serting We were perishing with cold. Tho
food was gone To cheer them up divided
the pint into four portions; and after I had
tossed mine on to satisfy them there wasn't
devil in the bottle, they drank theirs.
HE results were unexpected. For 80 seconds
they stood and looked at each other in a
daSed way. Then Kooootingwah threw himself
on the ice and uttered yell they must have
heard at Upernivik. For moment the other
two looked at him in amazement. Suddenly
Arklio grabbed up an 18-foot dog whip and
started cracking it in all directions screaming
IKE demon. Next Nucartingwah flung his
arms into the air and in a series of terrific
monkey jumps hid behind some bergs"
Refiexes like these do not make for con-
VITALITY
Nothing could be simpler than the Eskimos'
OH OF rare 1t consists of seal, walruS white
whale narwhal, bear fox Arctic hare birds
and eggs from the robberieS, and in the old
days, reindeer and occasional musk OK.
Nature Is considerable to them in one respect
Their sole occupation consisting in the ac-
emulation of food and clothing. very often
they are able to lay in a supply of both stimuli.
taneouSly. When man spears a polar bear
ne not only brings home his dinner but q
pair OF trousers as WELL Every time he goes
out to shoot the baby new sealskn shirt he
brings home beef stew, in a manner of speak
ing. SO there concentrations
AS we were anchored in Cape York Bay.
we considered some hunting on our own ac-
count Some black spots in the distance were
pointed out to us as seals
Not a bad chance for fellow tn sneak nm
and shoot himself a vest or pair of trousers
we suggested.
Boy" said the skipper not unkindly I've
got thousand dollars in the bank, and that's
all I've got, but I'm willing to bet the lot you
can't get within a quarter of a mile of a seal
by stalking it over the ice. Those seals are
balanced on the edge of their blow holes 81
accurately they can dive under the ice quicker
than the eye can follow them Their entire
lives are spent escaping enemies They sleep
with their ears open. They're set like hair
Crlgger-ready to go of at moments notice
They can hear your heart beat at 200 wards
ana without waiting for an answer he dis
appeared into the after-cabin for a few hours
well earned rest
BY now we were fairly interested. and we
DIV O.. ANAnIO AAoASu 4SAN1Iulleer 10 steer
us. With no enthusiasm whatever we followed
nun out over the ice. The ice was exceedingly
rotten and half submerged under puddles and
miniature lakes, while at artistic intervals it
was bisected by open leads over which it was
impossible to jump. In such cases one went
round or found spot narrow enough to be
overcome by an acrobatic leap. It only took
hundred yards of this travelling to convince
uS that if it's hard to initiate q gaelic on dry
land. on rotten ice it's next to impossible.
The Eskimo carried a harpoOn, the detach.
able tip of which fastened to the end Of
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