Here we have the secret of many of the barbarities of the Indian tribes. Inflamed and imbruted by the whiskey sold them, their ignorance imposed upon by the greed of traders and even government agents, having little or no chance for securing justice in their real or imagined injuries, there is certainly some extenuation if this wild son of the forest go forth with tomahawk and scalping knife, as the self-appointed avenger of his own and his people’s wrongs. This is not the place, if there were room, for a thorough discussion of the wrongs of the Red Men, but I cannot forego the duty, in treating of the manners, customs and character of tribes so interesting, so noble and superior, by many traits, to most savage races, of recording at the same time, this tribute and testimony. It will unquestionably be the verdict of the future, as coming generations shall study the memorials and character of the North American Indians.[1]
[1] These reflections, with much relating to the customs of the Indians, have been introduced into the work by the American editor.
CHAPTER CXL.
THE ESQUIMAUX.
APPEARANCE—DRESS—DWELLINGS.
APPEARANCE OF THE PEOPLE — THEIR COMPLEXION, AND DIFFICULTY OF SEEING IT — AN ESQUIMAUX CHILD WASHED AND COMBED — BODILY STRENGTH — DRESS OF THE MEN — THE TAILED COAT — “MILLING” BOOTS — DRESS OF THE WOMEN — THE LARGE HOOD AND BOOTS — THE TATTOO, AND MODE OF PERFORMING IT — HAIR-DRESSING — PREPARING SKINS — THE SNOW HOUSES, AND MODE OF BUILDING THEM — CAPTAIN LYON’S DESCRIPTION — INTERNAL ARRANGEMENTS OF THE HUT — ICE AND BONE HOUSES — THE TUPIC, OR SUMMER DWELLING — FOOD OF THE ESQUIMAUX — A WISE TRAVELLER.
We now come to those extraordinary people, called by Europeans the Esquimaux (their own name being Innuit), who, placed amid perpetual ice and snow, have bent those elements to their own purposes, and pass as happy lives in their inclement country as do the apparently more favored inhabitants of the tropics amid their perpetual verdure. Indeed, the Esquimaux has a perfect yearning for his beloved country, should he be away from it. Captain Hall relates the circumstances attendant upon the “death of Kudlago, a singularly intelligent man, who had visited the United States, and fully learned to appreciate the advantages of the high civilization which he saw there. But all his wishes were for home, and he was taken back. As the ship neared his native land, he fell ill and died, his last words being the eager inquiry, ‘Do you see ice? Do you see ice?’”
In appearance, the Esquimaux are a peculiar people. Their stature is short, when compared to that of an ordinary European, the average being about five feet three inches for the men, and two or three inches less for the women.
The complexion is in some cases rather dark, but, as a rule, is not much darker than that of the inhabitants of Southern Europe. It looks, however, many shades darker, in consequence of the habits of the Esquimaux, who never wash from their birth to their death. It is not that they neglect their ablutions, but the very idea of washing never enters the mind of an Esquimaux, who, unless he has met with white men, has not even heard of such an operation. When, however, an Esquimaux has been induced to allow his skin to be cleansed, he is found to lose many shades of his original darkness. There is an amusing passage in the journal of Captain Hall, given in his “Life with the Esquimaux,” a work to which frequent reference will be made in the next few pages.
“Kimnaloo has just been Americanized. Captain B——’s good wife had made and sent to her a pretty red dress, a necktie, mittens, belt, &c.
“Mr. Rogers and I, at a suggestion from me, thought it best to commence the change of nationality with soap and water. The process was slow, that of arriving at the beautiful little girl, whom we at length found, though deeply imbedded layer after layer in dirt. Then came the task of making her toilet. With a very coarse comb I commenced to disentangle her hair. She had but little, the back part from behind her ears having been cut short off on account of severe pains in her head. How patiently she submitted to the worse than curry-comb process I had to use! This was the first time in her life that a comb had been put to her head. Her hair was filled with moss, seal and reindeer hairs, and many other things, too numerous to call them all by name. Poor little thing! Yet she was fat and beautiful, the very picture of health. Her cheeks were as red as the blown rose; Nature’s vermilion was upon them.”
The skin is smooth, soft, and yet wonderfully tough, with a sort of unctuous surface, probably occasioned by the enormous amount of oil and fat which forms the principal part of their diet. The features are not very pleasing, the face being broad, and the cheek-bones so high that in many cases, if a flat ruler were laid from cheek to cheek, it would not touch the nose. As is the case with the Chinese section of this vast race, the eyes slope rather downward, and the face is often covered with wrinkles to a wonderful extent, extending from the eyes down each cheek.