CHAPTER VII
UTILIZATION OF ESKIMOS AND DOGS
Next after the special ship, the most important tool in my campaign of polar work has been the Eskimo, as dog drivers. A fundamental principle of all my work has been the utilization of the Eskimos and dogs. I have used the Eskimos to a greater extent than any other explorer. They have formed the rank and file of my sledging- and hunting-parties, and have built my sledges, dog harnesses, and other equipment; the women have skilfully fashioned the fur clothing, essential for comfort in these regions.
From the very beginning of my polar work I believed that these most northerly human beings in the world could afford me invaluable assistance in my plans for exploration. Later I had a fatalistic feeling that the Almighty had put the little tribe in this particular place for the express purpose of assisting to win the pole.
Using their country as a base for my work, I have lived among and worked with them from 1891 to 1909, a period of eighteen years, during which time I made a thorough study of their language, their mode of living, the food they ate, the houses they built, and the clothing they wore. I made these people my friends, training them in my methods, and directing the modification and concentration of their own methods in order to make them more useful and valuable in my work. In 1909 there was not a man, woman, or child in the whole tribe between Cape York and Etah that I did not know, as well as their capacity for endurance and work. In my last expedition it was in my power to utilize the entire energy and concentrate the entire resources of the tribe on my work and objects.
In powers of endurance, in ingenuity and intelligence in adapting themselves to their surroundings and in using to advantage every one of the all too few possibilities of their land, they are, in my opinion, unequaled by any other known aboriginal race. With their wonderful knowledge of ice technic and their ability to handle sledges and dogs, the Eskimos were really more necessary as members of individual parties than white men; for although they were not qualified to lead, they could follow another’s lead and drive dogs much better than any white man.
YOUNG ESKIMO MOTHER AND BABY
ESKIMO FAMILY AND “TUPIK,” OR SUMMER TENT
Eskimos in the party make it easier for the leader in various ways. A party of Eskimos, sent out to hunt, to scout, or to establish a depot, need only to be told what they are going out for. It is not necessary to go into every detail of how to do it, or to caution them in regard to all the minutiæ of field-work and its dangers, as in the case of a party of white men. All these things they know, and when they have started, the leader may dismiss them from his mind and not worry a minute about them. They will return in good condition. In this way they count very pronouncedly for conservation of the leader’s nerve force. If I turned back a party of three or four Eskimos from Cape Hecla or Columbia, or two or three marches out on the ice, to make their way back to Conger or Payer Harbor or Etah, I dismissed them from my mind as soon as they were out of sight, knowing that they would make the trip all right. In the same circumstances, I should have a party of white men on my mind until I saw them again weeks or months later.