306 APPENDIX TO CASE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 



remains as a distinctive sign of tbeir race. They are Esqnimaux, and 

 I describe them in order to give an idea of this people. 



The men are tall, with copper skins, small black eyes, flat faces, and 

 teeth of dazzling whiteness. Once the women ])ierced the nostrils, the 

 lower lip, and the ears for ornaments; bnt now only the nostrils are 

 pierced. The aboriginal costnme is still preserved, especially oat of 



doors. Their food is mostly from the sea, without the roots or 

 C7 berries which the island sup])lies. The flesh and oil of the whale 



are a special luxury. The oil is drunk pure or to season other 

 food. Accustomed to prolonged abstinence, they exhibit at times an 

 appetite amounting toprodigy. In ouenight six men wereable todevour 

 the whole of a large bear. A strong drink made from the strawberry 

 and myrtle, producing the effect of opium, has yielded to brandy. 

 Sugar and tea are highly esteemed; but snutf is a delight. Lisiansky 

 records that they would go out of their way 20 miles merely for a pinch 

 of snuff. They have tools of their own, which they use with skill. 

 Their baidars, or canoes, are distinguished for completeness of finish 

 and beauty of form. Unlike those of the Koloschians, lower down on 

 the coast, which are hollowed from the trunks of trees, they are of seal- 

 skins stretched on frames, with a single aperture in the covering to 

 receive the person of the master. The same skill appears in the carv- 

 ing of wood, whalebone, and walrus ivory. Their general mode of life 

 is said to be like that of other tribes on the coast. To all else they add 

 a knowledge of the healing art and a passion for gaming. 



Opposite to Kodiak, on the mainland to the east, are the Tshugatchi, 

 a kindred tribe, speaking the same language, but a different dialect. 

 To the north is a succession of kindred tribes, differing in si)eech, and 

 each with local i^eculiarities, but all are represented as kind, courteous, 

 hospitable, and merry. It is a good sign that merriment should pre- 

 vail. Their tribal names are derived from a neighbouring river or some 

 climatic circumstance. Thus, for instance, those on the mighty Kwich- 

 pak have the name of Kwichpakmutes, or " iiduxbitants of the great 

 river." Those on Bristol Bay are called by their cousins of Norton Sound 

 Akhkoughmutes, or "inhabitants of the warm country;" and the same 

 designation is applied to the Kodiaks. Warmth, like other things in 

 this world, is comparative, and to an Esquimaux at 64° north latitude 

 another five degrees further south is in a "warm country." Thesi? 

 northern tribes have been visited lately by our Telegrai)hic Exploring 

 Expedition, wiio report especially their geographical knowledge and 

 good disposition. As the remains of Major Kennicott descended the 

 Kwichpak they were not without sympathy from the natives. Curi- 

 osity also had its part. At a village where the boat rested for the night 

 the Chief announced that it was the first time white men had ever been 

 seen there. 



(2) The Aleutians, sometimes called Western Esquimaux, number 

 about 3,000. By a plain exaggeration. Knight, in his " Cyclopaedia of 

 Geography," puts them at 20,000. Their home is the archipelago of 

 volcanic islands whose name they bear, and also a ])ortion of the con- 

 tiguous Peninsula of Alaska. The well defined type has already dis- 

 appeared, but the national dress continues still. This is a long shirt 

 with tight sleeves, made Irom the skins of birds, either the sea-parrot 

 or the diver. This dress, which is called the "parka," is indispensable 

 as clothing, blanket, and even as habitation during a voyage, being a 

 complete shelter against wind and cold. They, too, are fishermen and 

 huntsmen, but they seem to excel as artificers. Their instruments and 

 utensils have been noted for beauty, and their baidars were pronounced 



