Farthest North: The Life and Explorations of Lieutenant James Booth Lockwood, of the Greely Arctic ExpeditionLanman, Charles
History
Farthest North: The Life and Explorations of Lieutenant James Booth Lockwood, of the Greely Arctic Expedition
Lanman, Charles
Arctic regions; Lady Franklin Bay Expedition (1881-1884); Lockwood, James Booth, 1852-1884
Greely, Kislingbury, and Lockwood immediately went ashore to visit the
inspector, whose house stood near the water and presented a neat
appearance. Within they found quite an air of comfort and refinement. A
piano, a small billiard-table, a well-filled book-case, carpets,
pictures, and many other evidences of civilization and even elegance
were there. They found the wife of the inspector very pleasant and
speaking English fluently, while her daughter and a governess, though
speaking English with difficulty, were well dressed and ladylike. After
taking wine with these hospitable ladies, the lieutenants left their
commander to continue the conversation and wandered forth to view the
town. Passing without mishap several cross-looking Esquimaux dogs, they
found themselves in what seemed a carpenter’s shop, on the large, bare
floor of which a dance was in progress. After playing spectators for
some time they indulged in a waltz with the prettiest girls in the room,
and were surprised and pleased to find how well they got along together.
Their round dances were found to be like many figures of the “German” as
danced in the United States. Kislingbury gave the natives an exhibition
of the Indian dance, and thus became a favorite with them.
The dress of the men consisted of a pair of sealskin pantaloons and a
woolen or checked shirt. That of the women was very peculiar—indeed,
unique. One of the girls, whose dress may be taken to illustrate all,
wore a pair of seal-skin pantalets bound at the hips by a red scarf and
terminating just above the knees, where they met the white canvas tops
of a pair of boots, or rather leggings. These reached to the calf, and
there met the tops of red seal-skin bootlets, into which they were
inserted. These leggings were starched and prettily fringed at the top,
and their color indicated the state as to matrimony of the wearer, white
being reserved for maidens, and colors for those that were married. This
distinction was afterward found to be general. The pantalets were plain,
except some red leather pieces sewed on in front by way of ornament. The
upper garment consisted of a pretty, fancy-colored cassock, or jacket,
extending barely to the hips, replaced in cold weather by the same of
seal-skin with a hood. The upper part of the jacket was concealed by a
necklace, or rather by several necklaces, sewed together flat, which
formed a collar covering the bosom and shoulders. The head was covered
by a kind of chaplet formed of fancy-colored cloth, and the hair was
done up in a queue, which extended upward and backward from the top of
the head, and was tied with colored ribbon. The wrists and neck were
encircled with boas of dark-colored furs, which contrasted well with the
bright-colored skin. The arms were bare to the short sleeves of the
jacket, and on the fingers were a number of rings. So much for the Disco
belles!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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