CKUISE OF STEAMER COR WIN IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN. 101 



cannibalism bad been practiced among tbein, and do not believe such to have been the case. On 

 the contrary, I saw no indication of any struggle of existence. In many places I saw things 

 untouched which have been eaten by white men and which have sustained life, such as the skin of 

 seals, deer, and other animals. But one circumstance pointed to the possibility of cannibalism, 

 the almost entire absence of the corpses of young children. This was regarded by some as sug- 

 gestive of their having gone to this last extreme. If so the bones must have been very carefully 

 concealed, as the most thorough search in and around the villages failed to reveal anything 

 resembling a human bone. In all cases the corpses, although shrunken and changed by a year's 

 exposure to the weather, were free from mutilation. It is likely that, had time permitted us to 

 make a thorough examination of the surroundings, the absence of the children could have been 

 explained in a less horrible manner. 



It is difficult to understand why a people who have lived and nourished for so many generations 

 should be so suddenly and almost entirely swept away in one winter. I can only account for it by 

 supposing that no such severe winter as that of 1878-79 has occurred for many years, and that 

 during those years the habits of the people have changed ; they have become less provident than 

 before. They have acquired a taste for liquor, for which they will barter anything they possess, 

 and when obtained, remain drunk until the last drop is gone. Hunting, of course, is entirely 

 neglected at such times, and hunger and starvation are the results. Unless something is done 

 for these people their total extinction is a question of a few years. 



About three thousand Iuuuits inhabit the northwest coast of America, from theColville River, 

 on the east, to Bering Strait, including the islands therein, on the west. Many of these came under 

 my observation while cruising in the Arctic Ocean in command of the Corwin. 



In appearance they are tall and muscular, many being 6 feet in height, and some were seen that 

 would exceed that even. Their peculiar dress gives them a squat appearance, and their stature 

 seems less than it is in reality. The women are much shorter than the men, but both sexes are 

 strong and active, though not equal in these respects to the Tchuktchis and other reindeer tribes 

 of Siberia. 



The face of the Innuit is broad below the eyes, the forehead is narrow and receding, the chin 

 and lower jaw broad and heavy. The nose is usually broad and flattened, but not always ; occa- 

 sionally one is seen whose features are well formed and handsome. In the young children this is 

 the almost invariable rule ; many of them are really beautiful. The eyes are small and black, and 

 appear to be slightly oblique, and for this reason, perhaps more than any other, they have been 

 classed with the Mougolidai. They have large mouths, thick, loosely-hanging lips, and fine, strong 

 teeth. These, however, from eating raw food, are usually very much worn. The labrets worn in 

 the lips are hideous-looking things, made of bone, glass, stone, ivory, or in fact anything within 

 the reach of the native which can be worked into the requisite shape. 



They have rather light skin, very different from the Indians of the plains-; and in this also they 

 differ from the Tchuktchis, being much lighter, and when cleansed from the dirt which usually 

 covers them, and freed from the sunburn and tan due to long exposure, they become quite fair. 

 They have small, well-formed hands and feet, much smaller in proportion than white men. This 

 was particularly noticeable when buying boots and mittens from them for our use ; only the largest 

 sizes made by them could be used at all. They are generally without beard, but as the men grow 

 old, they sometimes have a thin, straggling mustache and beard, but it is never full and regular. 

 The hair is coarse and black ; the front is clipped, and the top of the head shaved, while the rest 

 hangs loosely just clear of the shoulders. The women wear the hair in two braids. Strings of 

 bright-colored glass beads are sometimes worn iu the braids, and considerable taste is displayed in 

 their arrangement. The Innuits are cheerful in appearance, and exceedingly good-natured. They 

 are inclined to laugh at what they do not understand, aud when visiting the vessel their faces 

 wore an expression of mingled curiosity and amusement. 



The dress of the male consists of deer-skin shirt, or al-le-ghe. In winter he wears trousers and 

 boots of the same material, and in summer these articles are made of seal skin. The seal skin 

 boots are water-tight, and with a little moss or grass in the bottoms are very comfortable. The 

 winter boots are made of the skin of the reindeer's legs. The hair is very fine and close, and 



