These people are by no means the dwarfish race they were formerly supposed to be. In stature they are not inferior to many other races and are robust, muscular, and active, inclining rather to spareness than corpulence. The tallest individual was found to be 5 feet 10½ inches, and the shortest 5 feet 1 inch. The heaviest man weighed 195 pounds, and the lightest 125 pounds. The individuals weighed and measured were taken indiscriminately as they visited the ship, and were all supposed to have attained their full stature. Their chief muscular strength is in the back, which is best displayed in their games of wrestling. The shoulders are square, or rather raised, making the neck appear shorter than it really is, and the chest is deep; but in strength of arm they can not compete with our sailors. The hand is small, short, broad, and rather thick, and the thumb appears short, giving an air of clumsiness in handling anything; and the power of grasping is not great. The lower limbs are in good proportion to the body, and the feet, like the hands, are short and broad with a high instep. Considering their frequent occupations as hunters, they do not excel in speed nor in jumping over a height or a level space, but they display great agility in leaping to kick with both feet together an object hanging as high as the chin, or even above the head. In walking, their tread is firm and elastic, the step short and quick; and the toes being turned outward and the knee at each advance inclining in the same direction, give a certain peculiarity to their gait difficult to describe.
The hair is sooty black, without gloss, and coarse, cut in an even line across the forehead, but allowed to grow long at the back of the head and about the ears, whilst the crown is cropped close or shaven. The color of the skin is a light yellowish brown, but variable in shade, and in a few instances was observed to be very dark. In the young, the complexion is comparatively fair, presenting a remarkably healthy sunburnt appearance, through which the rosy hue of the cheeks is visible; before middle life, however, this, from exposure, gives place to a weather-beaten appearance, so that it is difficult to guess their ages.
The face is flat, broad, rounded, and commonly plump, the cheek bones high, the forehead low, but broad across the eyebrows, and narrowing upwards; the whole head becomes somewhat pointed toward the crown. The nose is short and flat, giving an appearance of considerable space between the eyes. The eyes are brown, of different shades, usually dark, seldom if ever altogether black, and generally have a soft expression; some have a peculiar glitter, which we call gipsy-like. They slope slightly upwards from the nose, and have a fold of skin stretching across the inner angle to the upper eyelid, most perceptible in childhood, which gives to some individuals a cast of countenance almost perfectly Chinese. The eyelids seem tumid, opening to only a moderate extent, and the slightly arched eyebrows scarcely project beyond them. The ears are by no means large, but frequently stand out sideways. The mouth is prominent and large, and the lips, especially the lower one, rather thick and protruding. The jawbones are strong, supporting remarkably firm and commonly regular teeth. In the youthful these are in general white, but toward middle age they have lost their enamel and become black or are worn down to the gums. The incisors of the lower jaw do not pass behind those of the upper, but meet edge to edge, so that by the time an individual arrives at maturity, the opposing surfaces of the eye and front teeth are perfectly flat, independently of the wear they are subjected to in every possible way to assist the hands. The expression of the countenance is one of habitual good humor in the great majority of both sexes, but is a good deal marred in the men by wearing heavy lip ornaments. * * *
While young the women are generally well formed and good looking, having good eyes and teeth. To a few, who besides possessed something of the Circassian cast of features, was attributed a certain degree of brunette beauty. Their hands and feet are small, and the former delicate in the young, but soon become rough and coarse when the household cares devolve upon them. Their movements are awkward and ungainly, and though capable of making long journeys on foot, it is almost painful to see many of them walk. Unlike the men, they shuffle along commonly a little sideways, with the toes turned inwards, stooping slightly forward as if carrying a burden, and their general appearance is not enhanced by the coat being made large enough to accommodate a child on the back, whilst the tight-fitting nether garment only serves to display the deformity of their bow legs. * * *
The physical constitution of both sexes is strong, and they bear exposure during the coldest weather for many hours together without appearing inconvenienced, further than occasional frostbites on the cheeks. They also show great endurance of fatigue during their journeys in the summer, particularly that part in which they require to drag the family boat, laden with their summer tent and all their moveables, on a sledge over the ice.
Extreme longevity is probably not unknown among them; but as they take no heed to number the years as they pass, they can form no guess of their own ages, invariably stating "they have many years." Judging altogether from appearance, a man whom we saw in the neighborhood of Kotzebue Sound could not be less than 80 years of age. He had long been confined to his bed and appeared quite in his dotage. There was another at Point Barrow, whose wrinkled face, silvery hair, toothless gums, and shrunk limbs indicated an age nothing short of 75. This man died in the month of April, 1853, and had paid a visit to the ship only a few days before, when his intellect seemed unimpaired, and his vision wonderfully acute for his time of life. There is another still alive, who is said to be a few years older.
1877, Dall:[85]
Page 9: The Orarians are distinguished * * * by a light fresh yellow complexion, fine color, broad build, scaphocephalic head, great cranial capacity, and obliquity of the arch of the zygoma.
Page 17: The Ekogmut inhabit the Yukon delta from about Kipniuk to Pastolik * * *. Their most noticeable personal peculiarity consists in their hairy bodies and strong beards.
1884, Hooper:[86]