They believed, however, as all heathen idolaters and pagans do, that
there were superior divinities. They seemed to fear evil spirits, if
they had no reverence for good ones. They had an idea that somewhere,
in some remote mountain in the interior, their god lived, and that the
dead would in some way or other go thither; though they never gave
us their views particularly upon this subject. They had no idols nor
household gods. They paid profound homage to the crow, and regarded it
in some sort as sacred. They wore crows' heads as amulets upon their
persons. With the exception of the kindness they manifested towards us,
and natural affection towards their children and to one another, in
their social habits, intellectual ignorance, and moral darkness, they
must be classed among the most degraded of the human race.
Their habits of industry correspond with the general features of
their character. Thus fishing, hunting, making sleds, training dogs
in their teams, running races, occasional traffic with tribes in the
interior, &c., constitute the principal routine of their employments
and amusements. Their manner of life presented no inducement for them
to labor beyond their present necessities. By the way, the females had
a large part of the necessary work to perform.
PROPERTY.
Their property consisted chiefly in dogs and huts. He who owned
the best dog teams, and had possession in huts, was considered the
most wealthy man. The head man of the settlement was supposed not
only to possess the greatest amount of property, but he excelled
in bodily strength. With these qualifications, he commanded the
greatest influence, and was acknowledged as the head and leader of the
settlement.
We found some among the natives who were considered rich,--rich in dogs
and dog teams, &c.,--and others that were poor.
LANGUAGE.
It is quite probable that all, or nearly all, the tribes or settlements
on the shores of the Arctic, both on the Asiatic and American sides,
have a common language, though differing, as we found, in some words,
and also in pronunciation. The language is that of the Esquimaux race.
Those with whom we lived, and other settlements or tribes on the
Asiatic coast with whom we have had any acquaintance, from East
Cape to the north as far as our wreck, have no written language. We
could not learn from them that any one had ever attempted to instruct
them, or reduce their language to some system, or that any teacher in
religion had ever visited them. Without a written language, or books,
or teachers, or oral instruction in some form, the certain results
must invariably be, that from age to age, they will continue in the
same condition of mental ignorance, moral blindness, and physical
degradation.
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