ire 



THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



among the Xaskapi Indians had been 

 ver}^ pleasant. M}'^ second introduction 

 to dried meat — the contents of the bag 

 had proved to be dried narwhal — served 

 with oil was even more agreeable. The 

 definition of what constitutes good food 

 varies according to a man's appetite, 

 the magnitude of which depends upon 

 his physical condition. Extremely low 

 temperature in the north demands heat- 

 producing food. The internal fires must 

 be kept at full blast. However, no Es- 

 kimo of my acquaintance ever "greed- 

 ily consumed the contents of an oil 

 lamp," as narrated by travelers, or "de- 

 voured blubber in huge chunks." He is 

 not a blubber eater, as characterized. 

 We relish fat on our bread; the Eski- 

 mos relish fat with their meat. 



When the body is compelled to draw 

 all its nourishment from meat alone, 

 naturally very large quantities are con- 

 sumed, in the endeavor to seize upon all 

 the various ingredients needed for en- 

 ergy and for the renewing of wasted 

 tissue. An Eskimo family of four easily 

 consumes four thousand pounds of 

 meat in a year, about half of which is 

 eaten raw and frozen. A kill is always 

 followed by gorging, and a long sleep. 

 '*Eat all that you can possibly hold" is 

 the law of the Eskimo, who believes in 

 enjoying his food while he has it, for 

 days are coming when caches are empty 

 and the larder lean. 



It is interesting to note that among 

 these apparently perfectly healthy peo- 

 ple there are lacking what we as civilized 

 people consider essential for the main- 

 tenance of good health, namely, bread, 

 fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, salt, and 

 sweets. The medical profession for 

 years considered fresh vegetables or 

 lime juice necessary for the prevention 

 of scurvy, so prevalent among the crews 

 of whaling ships and Arctic expedi- 

 tions. The Eskimo of Smith Sound 

 knows no scurvy. 



Is it true that the World War is so 

 far-reaching that no nation or savage 

 tribe will not feel its effects? At first 



thought the Smith Sound tribe of Eski- 

 mos, three thousand miles to the north, 

 seems as remote and as independent of 

 civilization as any tribe in the world. 

 Yet within a year after war was de- 

 clared, the warning note reached the 

 Eskimos, "Save your cartridges; the 

 white men in the south are fighting and 

 need them all." 



Had the white man never gone into 

 the north, the savage would still be free 

 and independent of white man's goods ; 

 but after becoming used to them, if 

 deprived of them today, he would fare 

 ill. I am afraid, for years to come. 

 From 1891 to 1909 Eear Admiral 

 Peary kept the Smith Sound Eskimos 

 well supplied with what they now con- 

 sider essentials, namely, firearms, am- 

 munition, wood for kayaks, sledges, and 

 harpoon shafts, steel traps, knives, 

 matches, needles, thimbles, and tobacco. 

 During the last eight years there has 

 Ijeen a Danish trading station at North 

 Star Bay, which has supplied the Eski- 

 mos with these and various other com- 

 modities — at present utterly lacking be- 

 cause of the scarcity and high price of 

 supplies and the nonarrival of the trad- 

 ing shi]) in 191T. 



After these years of dependence on 

 white man's goods, it would demand of 

 the present generation of Smith Sound 

 Eskimos most severe discipline, extreme 

 suffering, and probably death, to be 

 obliged to return to the hunting meth- 

 ods of a century ago, to the bone bow 

 and stone-tipped arrow, to the unwieldy 

 ivory harpoon shafts, to flint and me- 

 teoric iron knives, and to the patient 

 stalking of caribou and seal by the imi- 

 tation method. This tribe, to which the 

 American people owe so much, cut off 

 from the world to the south, poorly 

 clothed and ill-fed, would dwindle in 

 numbers to a pitiful few. When an- 

 other summers sun temporarily frees 

 the waters of ice. they will be standing 

 on the cliffs watching for the smoke of 

 the on-coming steamer to tell them that 

 the world is at peace. 



