VIII. THE ESKIMOS1854
One morning in the spring, the deck watch ran into Dr. Kane’s cabin, crying, “People hallooing ashore!” Dr. Kane hurried to the deck, and through the gloom saw strange figures all around the harbor. Though it was April, the sun had not yet risen high in the sky, and in the twilight these odd figures seemed to be waving weapons.
Kane soon found that these people were the native Eskimos, and that they were tossing their arms wildly about, as if in great excitement. It is no wonder that they were excited, for they had never seen a white man before; yet they showed no fear, and one of them came close to Kane.
This Eskimo was named Metek. He stood a head taller than Dr. Kane, and was well built and strong, with a dark skin and black, piercing eyes.
Metek wore booted trousers of white bearskin. At the toe the boot ended with the claw of the animal. His coat, or jumper, was of white and blue fox fur, and a hood of the same fur was on his head. Around his neck was tied a dirty, greasy strip of deerskin. At first the white men thought this an ornament, Metek was so careful of it. Later, Dr. Kane found that it was tied closely around his neck to keep out the air.
When an Eskimo is fully dressed in his furs, and hisdeerskin is tied closely around the neck so that no air can enter, he is, as it were, in a bag of fur. The heat from his body keeps him warm. As long as he is incased in air-tight clothing, he is safe from the most severe weather.
All of the Eskimo party were invited to come aboard theAdvance. They were large, strong men, and many of them could hunt the white bear and the walrus single-handed.
The Eskimos had with them fifty-six fine dogs, tied by deerskin traces to their sledges, which were made of bone and lashed together by leather strips. The runners were of polished ivory, from the tusks of the walrus, and glistened like steel. The Eskimos’ weapons were knives, which theycarried in their boots, and lances, which were lashed on their sledges. They had no wood for the handles of these weapons, because no trees grow in this cold country. All of the handles were made of bone. You would have thought these natives very rude indeed, could you have seen how they behaved on Dr. Kane’s ship. They opened all the doors and rummaged around in the dark corners. They opened boxes, handling everything they saw, and putting all they could inside their jumpers and boots. In fact, they stole so much that Dr. Kane and his companions had to follow them continually and take the things out of their hands.
Eskimos and their Dogs.
Eskimos and their Dogs.
Eskimos and their Dogs.
At last the Eskimos became tired, and when the white men spread a buffalo skin on the floor near the fire, they threw themselves upon it. For supper each man had a large piece of raw walrus meat, from which he ate until he was tired. Then he went to sleep with the raw meat lying beside him. When he awoke he would seize his meat, eat more of it, then drop off to sleep again. Many slept in a sitting position, with their heads falling forward low on their breasts.
Dr. Kane made a treaty with these people. He bought all the walrus meat they had, giving them needles, beads, and old cask staves for it. They promised to bring Kane more food very soon, and also to lend him their dogs for his journey to the north. Then Metek said they must go, and it did not take them long to get ready. They harnessed the dogs to the sledges quickly, jumped on, cracked their long sealskin whips, and off they went, dashing over the ice at a speed of twenty miles an hour.
Some time later Metek again visited Rensselaer Harbor. This time Dr. Kane decided to go with him to his hut, and bring back a load of walrus meat. Kane and Metektraveled eight miles by sledge, with Metek’s excellent team of twelve wild Eskimo dogs. They rode very swiftly over the ice and snow, until at last Kane saw what looked like two dark spots on the pure white surface. These spots were the entrances to two Eskimo huts.
The Eskimo huts are built of large stones and are heavily sodded with turf or moss. They are shaped like half of an egg, and the entrance is a tunnel, through which the dwellers creep on their hands and knees. The door is a slab of slate or ice. At this time the huts were buried under the snow.
The natives rushed out to meet the travelers. They seemed delighted to see Kane, but the cold soon drove them inside again. Kane and Metek followed, crawlingthrough a tunnel twelve feet in length, which led them into the hut of one room about six by fifteen feet. It was crowded with persons and served for all purposes. The women were cooking large pieces of walrus meat over small lamps, and men and children were lying about half-clothed, calling to one another with uncouth sounds. Others lay stretched upon the floor sleeping.
Interior of an Eskimo Hut.From a drawing by Dr. Kane.
Interior of an Eskimo Hut.From a drawing by Dr. Kane.
Interior of an Eskimo Hut.
From a drawing by Dr. Kane.
The thermometer outside registered 30° below zero. Inside the hut the temperature stood at 90°, nor was there any place for fresh air to enter. Poor Dr. Kane was obliged to take off all his fur clothes like the rest. Being very tired, he soon fell asleep, with an Eskimo boy for a pillow, and a little Eskimo baby under his arm.
Dr. Kane slept well. When he awoke he was offered some breakfast of boiled blubber. But, unluckily, he had seen the women cooking this, and they were so careless and dirty that he could not touch it. Instead he ate some pieces of frozen liver which he had brought with him. After breakfast he started on a walrus hunt.