The First Landing on Wrangel Island: With Some Remarks on the Northern InhabitantsRosse, Irving C. (Irving Collins)
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The First Landing on Wrangel Island: With Some Remarks on the Northern Inhabitants
Rosse, Irving C. (Irving Collins)
Eskimos; Saint Lawrence Island (Alaska); Wrangel Island (Russia)
Game is, as a rule, very tame, and during the moulting season, when the
geese are unable to fly, it is quite possible to kill them with a stick.
At one place, Cape Thompson, Eskimo were seen catching birds from a high
cliff with a kind of scoop-net, and I saw birds at Herald island refuse
to move when pelted with stones, so unaccustomed were they to the
presence of man. In addition to being very tame, game is plentiful, and
it is not uncommon, off the Siberian coast, to see flocks of eider ducks
darkening the air and occupying several hours in passing overhead. It
was novel sport to see the natives throw a projectile known as an
"apluketat" into one of these flocks with astonishing range and
accuracy, bringing down the game with the effectiveness of a shotgun.
Game keeps so well in the Arctic that an instance is known of its being
perfectly sweet and sound on an English ship after two years' keeping,
and whalemen kill a number of pigs, which they hang in the rigging and
keep for use during the cruise. It is also noticeable that leather
articles do not mildew as they generally do at sea, some shoes kept in a
locker on board the _Corwin_ having retained their polish during the
entire cruise.
The food of the Eskimo satisfies their instinctive craving for a
hydrocarbon, but they do not allow themselves to be much disturbed or
distracted in its preparation, as most of it is eaten raw. They
occasionally boil their food, however, and some of them have learned the
use of flour and molasses, of which they are very fond.
Their aversion to salt is a very marked peculiarity, and they will not
eat either corned beef or pork on this account. It may be that
physiological reasons exist for this dislike.
SOCIAL AND DOMESTIC RELATIONS.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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