The Siege and Conquest of the North PoleBryce, George
History
The Siege and Conquest of the North Pole
Bryce, George
Arctic regions; North Pole; Scientific expeditions
“The personal appearance of this interesting couple was not peculiarly
attractive. Their faces were broad, jaws heavy, cheek-bones projecting
like other carnivorous animals, foreheads narrow, eyes small and very
black, noses flat, lips long and thin, and when opened, there were
disclosed two narrow, white, well-preserved rows of polished
ivory,—well worn, however, with long use and hard service, for the
teeth of the Esquimaux serve a great variety of purposes, such as
softening skins, pulling and tightening cords, besides masticating food,
which I may here mention is wholly animal. Their hair was jet black,
though not abundant, and the man had the largest growth of beard which I
have seen upon an Esquimaux face, but it was confined to the upper lip
and the tip of the chin. The face of the Esquimaux is indeed quite
Mongolian in its type, and is usually beardless. In stature they are
short, though well built, and bear, in every movement, evidence of
strength and endurance.
“The dress of the male and female differed but little one from the
other. It consisted of nine pieces—a pair of boots, stockings, mittens,
pantaloons, an under-dress, and a coat. The man wore boots of bear-skin,
reaching to the top of the calf, where they met the pantaloons, which
were composed of the same materials. The boots of the woman reached
nearly to the middle of the thigh, and were made of tanned seal-skins.
Her pantaloons, like her husband’s, were of bear-skin. The stockings
were of dog-skin, and the mittens of seal-skin. The under-dress was made
of bird-skins, feathers turned inwards; and the coat, which did not open
in front, but was drawn on over the head like a shirt, was of blue
fox-skins. This coat terminates in a hood which envelops the head as
completely as an Albanian capote or a monk’s cowl. This hood gives the
chief distinction to the dresses of the sexes. In the costume of the man
it is round, closely fitting the scalp, while in the woman it is pointed
at the top to receive the hair which is gathered up on the crown of the
head, and tied into a hard, horn-like tuft with a piece of raw
seal-hide,—a style of coiffure which, whatever may be its other
advantages, cannot be regarded as peculiarly picturesque.
“Their ages could not be determined; for, since the Esquimaux cannot
enumerate beyond their ten fingers, it is quite impossible for them to
refer to a past event by any process of notation. Having no written
language whatever, not even the picture-writing and hieroglyphics of the
rudest Indian tribes of North America, the race possesses no records,
and such traditions as may come down from generation to generation are
not fixed by any means which will furnish even an approximate estimate
of their periods of growth, prosperity, and decay, or even of their own
ages.”
Towards the end of February three other Esquimaux appeared from the
south, and from them Hayes obtained some dogs.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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