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CHAPTER IIIHYPERBOREANS.

GENERAL DIVISIONS HYPERBOREAN NATIONS ASPECTS OF NATURE VEGETATION CLIMATE ANIMALS THE ESKIMOS THEIR COUNTRY PHYSICALCHARACTERISTICS DRESS DWELLINGS FOOD WEAPONS BOOTSSLEDGES SNOW-SHOES GOVERNMENT DOMESTIC AFFAIRS AMUSEMENTSDISEASES BURIAL THE KONIAGAS, THEIR PHYSICAL AND SOCIAL CON

DITION THE ALEUTS THE THLINKEETS THE TINNEH.I shall attempt to describe the physical and mental

characteristics of the Native Races of the Pacific Statesunder seven distinctive groups; namely, I. Hyperboreans, being those nations whose territory lies north ofthe fifty-fifth parallel; II. Columbians, who dwell between the fifty -fifth and forty -second parallels, andwhose lands to some extent are drained by the ColumbiaRiver and its tributaries; III. Californians, and the Inhabitants of the Great Basin; IY. New Mexicans,including the nations of the Colorado River and northernMexico; V. Wild Tribes of Mexico; VI. Wild Tribes ofCentral America; VII. Civilized Nations of Mexico andCentral America. It is my purpose, without any attemptat ethnological classification, or further comment concerning races and stocks, plainly to portray such customsand characteristics as were peculiar to each people at thetime of its first intercourse with European strangers;leaving scientists to make their own deductions, anddraw specific lines between linguistic and physiologicalfamilies, as they may deem proper. I shall endeavor topicture these nations in their aboriginal condition, as seen

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86 HYPEKBOKEANS.by the first invaders, as described^ by those who beheldthem in their savage grandeur, and before they werestartled from their lair by the treacherous voice of civilizedfriendship. Now they are gone. those dusky denizensof a thousand forests, melted like hoar-frost before therising sun of a superior intelligence ; and it is only fromthe earliest records, from the narratives of eye witnesses,many of them rude unlettered men, trappers, sailors,and soldiers, that we are able to know them as theywere. Some division of the work into parts, however arbitrary it may be, is indispensable. In dealing with Mythology, and in tracing the tortuous courseof Language, boundaries will be dropped and beliefsand tongues will be followed wherever they lead ; but indescribing Manners and Customs, to avoid confusion,territorial divisions are necessary.In the groupings which 1 have adopted, one cluster ofnations follows another in geographical succession; thedividing line not being more distinct, perhaps, than thatwhich distinguishes some national divisions, but sufficiently marked, in mental and physical peculiarities, toentitle each group to a separate consideration.The only distinction of race made by naturalists, uponthe continents of both North and South America, untila comparatively recent period, was by segregating thefirst of the above named groups from all other people ofboth continents, and calling one Mongolians and theother Americans. A more intimate acquaintance withthe nations of the North proves conclusively that oneof the boldest types of the American Indian proper, theTinneh, lies within the territory of this first group,conterminous with the Mongolian Eskimos, and crowdingthem down to a narrow line along the shore of the ArcticSea. The nations of the second group, although exhibiting multitudinous variations in minor traits, are essentially one people. Between the California Diggers ofthe third division and the New Mexican Towns -peopleof the fourth, there is more diversity ; and a still greater

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GKOUPINGS AND SUBDIVISIONS. 37difference between the savage and civilized nations ofthe Mexican table-land. Any classification or divisionof the subject which could be made would be open tocriticism. I therefore adopt the most simple practicalplan, one which will present the subject most clearly tothe general reader, and leave it in the best shape forpurposes of theorizing and generalization.In the first or HYPERBOREAN group, to which this chapter is devoted, are five subdivisions, as follows: The Eskimos, commonly called Western Eskimos, who skirt theshores ofthe Arctic Ocean from Mackenzie River to Kotze-bue Sound ; the Koniagas or Southern Eskimos, who, commencing at Kotzebue Sound, cross the Kaviak Peninsula,border on Bering Sea from Norton Sound southward,and stretch over the Alaskan 1 Peninsula and Koniagan

1 Of late, custom gives to the main hind of Russian America, the name Alaska; to the peninsula, Aliaska; and to a large island of the Aleutian Archipelago,Unalashka. The word of which the present name Alaska is a corruption, isfirst encountered in the narrative of Betsevin, who, in 1761, wintered on thepeninsula, supposing it to be an island. The author of Neue NachricMen vondenen nenentd^kte. i Jnsuln, writes, page 53, womit man nach der abgelegen-sten Insul Aldksu oder Alachsvhak fiber gieng. Again, at page 57, in givinga description of the animals on the supposed island he calls it auf der InsulAlaska. This, says Coxe, Russian Discoveries, p. 72, is probably the sameisland which is laid down in Krenitzin s chart under the name of Alaxa.Unalaschka is given by the author of Neae Nachrlchten, p. ?4, in his narrative of the voyage of Drusinin, who hunted on that island in 1703. At page115 he again mentions the grosse Insul AUiksu. On page 125, in Glottoff slog-book, 17(;4, is the entry: Den28sten May der Wind Ostsiidost; man kaman die Insul Alaska oder Alfiksu. Still following the author of Neue Xa.-boldt, Kosmos, vol. iv., p. 42.13 Thermometer rises as high as 61 Fahr. With a sun shining throughout the twenty-four hours the growth of plants is rapid in the extreme.Seernann s Voy. Herald, vol. ii., p. 15.11 During the period of incubation of the aquatic birds, every hole andprojecting crag on the sides of this rock is occupied by them. Its shoresresound with the chorus of thousands of the feathery tribe. Beechey s Voy.,vol. i., p. 349.

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PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS. 45noise of spouting whales and barking seals ; and this solately dismal, cheerless region, blooms with an exhuber-ance of life equaled only by the shortness of its duration. And in token of a just appreciation of theCreator s goodness, this animated medley man, andbeasts, and birds, and fishes rises up, divides, falls to,and ends in eating or in being eaten.The physical characteristics of the Eskimos are: afair complexion, the skin, when free from dirt and paint,being almost white;15 a medium stature, well proportioned, thick-set, muscular, robust, active, 16 with smalland beautifully shaped hands and feet;17 a pyramidal

15 Their complexion, if divested of its usual covering of dirt, can hardlybe called dark. Seemann s Voy. Herald, vol. ii., p. 51. In comparisonwith other Americans, of a white complexion. McCulloh s Aboriginal History of America, p. 20. White Complexion, not Copper coloured. DobbsHudson s lt(iy, p. 50. Almost as white as Europeans. Kalm s Travels,vol. ii., p. 263. Not darker than that of a Portuguese. Lyon s Journal,p. 224. Scarcely a shade darker than a deep brunette. Parry s 3rd Voy-age, p. 493. . Their complexion is light. Ball s Alaska, p. 381. Eye-witnesses agree in their superior lightness of complexion over the Chinooks.Pickering s Races of Man, U. S. Ex. Ex., vol. ix., p. 28. At CoppermineRiver they are of a dirty copper color; some of the women, however, are morefair and ruddy. Hearne s Travels, p. 166. Considerably fairer than the Indian tribes. Simpson s Nar., p. 110. At Cape Bathurst The complexion isswarthy, chiefly, I think, from exposure and the accumulation of dirt.Armstrong s Nar., p. 192. Shew little of the copper - colour of the RedIndians. Richardson s Pol. Reg., p. 303. From exposure to weather theybecome dark after manhood. Richardson s Nar., vol. i., p. 343.16 Both sexes are well proportioned, stout, muscular, and active. See-mann s Voy. Herald, vol. ii., p. 50. A stout, well-looking people. Simpson s Nar., pp. 110, 114. Below the mean of the Caucasian race. Dr.Hayes in Historic. Magazine, vol. i., p. 6. They are thick set, have a decided tendency to obesity, and are seldom more than five feet in height.Figuier s Human Race,p. 211. At Kotzebue Sound, tallest man was five feetnine inches; tallest woman, five feet four inches. BeecJiey s Voy., vol. i., p.360. Average height was five feet four and a half inches. At the mouthof the Mackenzie they are of middle stature, strong and muscular. Armstrong s Nar., pp. 149, 192. Low, broad-set, not well made, nor strong.Hearne s Trav., p. 166. The men were in general stout. Franklin s Nar.,vol. i., p. 29. Of a middle size, robust make, and healthy appearance.Kotzebue s Voy., vol. i., p. 209. Men vary in height from about five feet tofive feet ten inches. Richardson s Pol. Reg., p. 304. Women were generally short. Their figure inclines to squat. Hooper s Tuski, p. 224.

17 Tons lea individus qui appartiennent a la famille des Eskimaux, sedistinguent par la petitesse de leurs pieds et de leurs mains, et la grosseurenorme de leurs tetes. De Pauw. Recherches Phil., torn, i., p. 262. Thehands and feet are delicately small and well formed. Richardson s Pol.Reg., p. 304. Small and beautifully made. Seemann s Voy. Herald, vol.ii., p. 50. At Point Barrow, their hands, notwithstanding the great amountof manual labour to which they are subject, were beautifully small and well-

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46 HYPERBOREANS.head;18 a broad egg-shaped face; high

rounded cheekbones; flat nose; small oblique eyes; large mouth;teeth regular, but well worn ;19 coarse black hair, closelycut upon the crown, leaving a monk-like ring aroundthe edge,20 and a paucity of beard.21 The men fre-formed, a description equally applicable to their feet. Armstrong s Nar., p.101.

18 The head is of good size, rather flat superiorly, but very fully developed posteriorly, evidencing a preponderance of the animal passions; theforehead was, for the most part, low and receding; in a few it was somewhatvertical, but narrow. Armstrong s Nar., p. 193. Their cranial characteristics are the strongly developed coronary ridge, the obliquity of thezygoma, and its greater capacity compared with the Indian cranium. Theformer is essentially pyramidal, while the latter more nearly approaches acubic shape. Dall s Alaska, p. 376. Greatest breadth of the face is justbelow the eyes, the forehead tapers upwards, ending narrowly, but notacutely, and in like manner the chin is a blunt cone. Richardson s Pol.Reg., p. 302. Dr Gall, whose observations on the same skulls presentedhim for phrenological observation are published by M. Louis Choris, thuscomments upon the head of a female Eskimo from Kotzebue Sound: L or-gane de 1 instinct de la propagation se trouve extremenient developpe pourune tete de femme. He finds the musical and intellectual organs poorlydeveloped; while vanity and love of children are well displayed. En general, sagely concluded the doctor, cette tete femme presentait une organization aussi heureuse que celle de la plupart des fernmes d Europe. Voy.Pitt., pt. ii., p. 16.w Large fat round faces, high cheek bones, small hazel eyes, eyebrows slanting like the Chinese, and wide mouths. Beechey s Voy., vol. i.,p. 345. Broad, flat faces, high cheek bones. Dr Hayes in Hist. Mag., vol.i., p. 6. Their teeth are regular, but, from the nature of their food, andfrom their practice of preparing hides by chewing, are worn down almost tothe gums at an early age. Seemanris Voy. Herald, vol. ii., p. 51. AtHudson Strait, broad, flat, pleasing face; small and generally sore eyes;given to bleeding at the nose. Franklin s Nar., vol. i., p. 29. Small eyesand very high cheek bones. Kotzebue s Voy., vol. i., p. 209. La faceplatte, la bouche ronde, le nez petit sans etre ecrase, le blanc de 1 oeiljaunatre, 1 iris noir et peu brillant. De Pauw, Recherclies Phil., torn. i., p. 262.They have small, wild-looking eyes, large and very foul teeth, the hairgenerally black, but sometimes fair, and always in extreme disorder.BrowneU s 2nd. Races, p. 467. As contrasted with the other native American races, their eyes are remarkable, being narrow and more or less oblique. Richardson s Nar., vol. i., p. 343. Expression of face intelligentaad good-natured. Both sexes have mostly round, flat faces, with Mongolian cast. Hooper s Tuski, p. 223.

20 Allowed to hang down in a club to the shoulder. Richardson s Pol.

old, vol. ii., p. 51. A fierce expression characterized them on the MackenzieRiver, which was increased by the long disheveled hair flowing about theirshoulders. Armstrong s Nar., p. 149. At Kotzebue Sound their hair wasdone up in large plaits on each side of the head. Beechey s Voy., vol. i., p.360. At Camden Bay, lofty top-knots; at Point Barrow, none. At Coppermine River the hair is worn short, unshaven 011 the crown, and bound withstrips of deer-skin. Simpson s Nar., pp. 121, 157. Some of the men have

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IMPROVEMENTS UPON NATUEE. 47quently leave the hair in a natural state. The womenof Icy Reef introduce false hair among their own, wearing the whole in two immense bows at the back of thehead. At Point Barrow, they separate the hair into twoparts or braids, saturating it with train-oil, and bindingit into stiff bunches with strips of skin. Their lowerextremities are short, so that in a sitting posture theylook taller than when standing.Were these people satisfied with what nature hasdone for them, they would be passably good-looking.But with them as with all mankind, no matter how highthe degree of intelligence and refinement attained, artmust be applied to improve upon nature. The few fin

ishing touches neglected by the Creator, man is everready to supply.Arrived at the age of puberty, the great work of improvement begins. Up to this time the skin has beenkept saturated in grease and filth, until the natural coloris lost, and until the complexion is brought down to theEskimo standard. Now pigments of various dye are applied, both painted outwardly and pricked into the skin;holes are cut in the face, and plugs or labrets inserted.These operations, however, attended with no little solemnity, are supposed to possess some significance other thanthat of mere ornament. Upon the occasion of piercingthe lip, for instance, a religious feast is given.bare crowns, but the majority wear the hair flowing naturally. The womencut the hair short in front, level with the eyebrows. At Humphrey Point itis twisted with some false hair into two immense bows on the back of thehead. Hooper s Tuski, p. 225. Their hair hangs down long, but is cutquite short on the. crown of the head. Kotzebue s Voy., vol. i., p. 210.Hair cut like that of a Capuchin friar. Seemann s Voy. Herald, vol. ii., p. 51.21 Crantz says the Greenlanders root it out. The old men had a fewgray hairs on their chins, but the young ones, though grown up, were beardless. Beechey s Voy., vol. i., p. 332. The possession of a beard is veryrare, but a slight moustache is not infrequent. Seemann s Voy. Herald,vol. ii., p. 51. As the men grow old, they have more hair on the face thanRed Indians. Richardson s Nar., vol. i., p. 343. Generally an absence ofbeard and whiskers. Armstrong s Nar., p. 193. Beard is universally wanting. Kotzebue s Voy., vol. i., p. 252. The young men have little beard,but some of the old ones have a tolerable shew of long gray hairs on theupper lip and chin. Richardson s Pol. Reg., p. 303. All have beards.Bell s Geography, vol. v., p. 294. Kirby affirms that in Alaska many of themhave a profusion of whiskers and beard. Smithsonian Report, 1864, p. 416.

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48 . HYPERBOREANS.On the northern coast the women paint the eyebrowsand tattoo the chin; while the men only pierce the lower

lip under one or both corners of the mouth, and insertin each aperture a double-headed sleeve-button or dumbbell-shaped labret, of bone, ivory, shell, stone, glass, orwood. The incision when first made is about the sizeof a quill, but as the aspirant for improved beauty growsolder, the size of the orifice is enlarged until it reachesa width of half or three quarters of an inch. 22 In tattooing,-the color is applied by drawing a thread underthe skin, or pricking it in with a needle. Differenttribes, and different ranks of the same tribe, have eachtheir peculiar form of tattooing. The plebeian female ofcertain bands is permitted to adorn her chin with butone vertical line in the centre, and one parallel to it oneither side, while the more fortunate noblesse mark twovertical lines from each corner of the mouth.23 A feminine cast of features, as is common with other branches ofthe Mongolian race, prevails in both sexes. Some travelers discover in the faces of the men a characteristicexpression of ferociousness, and in those of the women,an extraordinary display of wantonness. A thick coating of filth and a strong odor of train-oil are inseparablefrom an Eskimo, and the fashion of labrets adds in nowise to his comeliness. 24

22 The lip is perforated for the labret as the boy approaches manhood,and is considered an important era in his life. Armstrong s Nar., p. 194.Some wore but one, others one on each side of the mouth. Hooper sTitslci, p. 224. Lip ornaments, with the males, appear to correspond withthe tattooing of the chins of the females. Beechey s Voy., vol. i., p. 384.

23 The women tattoo their faces in blue lines produced by makingstitches with a fine needle and thread, smeared with lampblack. Richardson sPol. Keg., p. 305. Between Kotzebue Sound and Icy Cape, all the womenwere tattooed upon the chin with three small lines. They blacken theedges of the eyelids with plumbago, rubbed up with a little saliva upon apiece of slate. Beechey s Voy., vol. i., p. 360. At Point Barrow, thewomen have on the chin a vertical line about half an inch broad in theuentre, extending from the lip, with a parallel but narrower one on eitherside of it, a little apart. Some had two vertical lines protruding fromeither angle of the mouth; which is a mark of their high position in thetribe. Armstrong s Nar., pp. 101, 149. On Bering Isle, men as well aswomen tattoo. Plusieurs homines avaient le visage tatoueV Choris. Voy.Pitt., pt. ii., p. 5.24 Give a particularly disgusting look when the bones are taken out, as

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ESKIMO DKESS. 49For covering to the body, the Eskimos employ the

skin of all the beasts and birds that come within theirreach. Skins are prepared in the fur, 25 and cut andsewed with neatness and skill. Even the intestines ofseals and whales are used in the manufacture of waterproof overdresses.26 The costume for both sexes consistsof long stockings or drawers, over which are breechesextending from the shoulders to below the knees; anda frock or jacket, somewhat shorter than the breecheswkh sleeves and hood. This garment is made whole,there being no openings except for the head and arms.The frock of the male is cut at the bottom nearlysquare, while that of the female reaches a little lower,and terminates before and behind in a point or scollop. The tail of some animal graces the hinder part ofthe male frock; the woman s has a large hood, in whichshe carries her infant, Otherwise both sexes dressalike; and as, when stripped of their facial decorations,their physiognomies are alike, they are not unfre-quently mistaken one for the other. 27 They have bootsthe saliva continually runs over the chin. Kotzebue s Voy., vol. i., p. 227.At Camden, labrets were made of large blue beads, glued to pieces of ivory.None worn at Coppermine River. Simpson s Nar., pp. 119, 347. Many ofthem also transfix the septum of the nose with a dentalium shell or ivoryneedle. Richardson s Nar., vol. i., p. 355.85 These natives almost universally use a very unpleasant liquid forcleansing purposes. They tan and soften the seal-skin used for boot-soleswith it. IVhyniper s Alaska, p. 161. Females occasionally wash their hairand faces with their own urine, the odour of which is agreeable to both sexes,and they are well acciistomed to it, as this liquor is kept in tubs in theporches of their huts for use in dressing the deer and seal skins. Richardson s Pol. lletj., p. 304. Show much skill in the preparation of whale, seal,and deer-skins. Richardson s Nar., vol. i., p. 357. They have a greatantipathy to water. Occasionally they wash their bodies with a certainanimal fluid, but even this process is seldom gone through. Seemann sVoy. Herald, vol. ii., p. 62.26 During the summer, when on whaling or sealing excursions, a coat ofthe gut of the whale, and boots of seal or walrus hide, are used as waterproof coverings. Seemann s Voy. Herald, vol. ii., p. 53. At Point Barrowthey wear Kamleikas or water-proof shirts, made of the entrails of seals.Simpson s Nar., p. 156* Women wear close-fitting breeches of seal-skin.Hooper s Tuski, p. 224. They are on the whole as good as the best oilskins in England. Beechey s Voy., vol. i., p. 340.2 The dress of the two sexes is much alike, the outer shirt or jackethaving a pointed skirt before and behind, those of the female being merelya little longer. Pretty much the same for both sexes. Figuier s HumanRace, p. 214. VOL. I. 4

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50 HYPERBOREANS.of walrus or seal skin, mittens or gloves of deer-skin,and intestine water-proofs covering the entire body.Several kinds of fur frequently enter into the composition of one garment. Thus the body of the frock,generally of reindeer-skin, may be of bird, bear, seal,mink, or squirrel skin; while the hood may be of fox-skin, the lining of hare-skin, the fringe of wolverine-skin, and the gloves of fawn-skin.28 Two suits areworn during the coldest weather; the inner one withthe fur next the skin, the outer suit with the fur outward.29 Thus, with their stomachs well filled with fat,and their backs covered with furs, they bid defiance tothe severest Arctic winter.30

In architecture, the Eskimo is fully equal to theemergency; building, upon a soil which yields him little