THE LIVING RACES OF MANKIND 



the Chukchi fashion, or, as in Greenland, may be gathered up into a large projecting knot at the 

 back of the head. The latter fashion is well displayed in the bust of a female Eskimo from 

 Frederikshaab, Greenland, exhibited in the Natural History Museum at South Kensington; 

 the bust of a male placed alongside showing the distinctive features of that sex. In the 

 Greenland Eskimo the size of the back tuft of hair forms a subject of emulation among the 

 fair sex; but the constant strain, to which the hair is exposed by this method of dressing 

 causes it to fall off or become thin, especially on the sides of the head, at a comparatively early 

 age. As in all members of the Mongoloid stock, the development of hair on the face is 

 scant; the men usually displaying only a very slight moustache, no whiskers, and frequently 

 little or no traces of a beard. In the neighbourhood of Bering Strait Baron Nordenskiold 

 states, however, that some of the men grow a scanty beard, while a few had attempted the 

 American "goatee." 



As already mentioned, the Eskimo differ from Chukchis and Koryaks by the greater length 

 and narrowness of the head; this feature, and likewise the unusual height of the head, 

 attaining its greatest development in Greenland. Like all savage races who do not spoil 

 them by filing or other ill treatment, the Eskimo have excellent teeth, which, however, owing 

 to the nature of their food, are in old age worn down almost or completely to the edges 

 of the gums. 



In regard to the half-breeds met with on the east coast of Greenland, Dr. Rink writes 

 as follows: "On first arriving in Greenland, one is surprised at seeing kayak-men with light 

 hair and perfectly European physiognomy and stature, while as to their language and habits 

 they are as perfectly European Others again, and indeed the greater part of the half-breeds, 

 resemble South Europeans. Notwithstanding this intermixture, the Eskimo features are still 

 by far the most prevalent, exhibited chiefly in a low stature, remarkably small hands and feet, 



and a brown complexion." 



The Eskimo are by no means long-lived 

 folk. Dr. Packard states that at the time 

 he visited the colony at Hopedale the oldest 

 person was a woman of seventy; -and she 

 a picture of ugliness. Three only were of 

 the age of sixty; and, generally speaking, 

 a man becomes prematurely old by the 

 time he is five-aud-forty, being at that age 

 worn out by the hardships of the autumnal 

 seal-fishing. 



Civilisation, too, or what goes for such, 

 seems to induce an undue mortality, partly 

 owing to a more indoor life. At Ilopedale, 

 for instance, the population in the summer 

 of 1864 was about 200; but it was reported 

 that during the previous March no less than 

 twenty-four had succumbed to cold. Since 

 at Okkak twenty-one had died, and the same 

 number at Nain, over a tenth part of the 

 native population of these stations fell 

 victims to chest-diseases in the course of a 

 single month. 



As regards dress, the leading feature is 

 the great similarity existing between the 

 costumes of the two sexes; the women wear- 



r. w. T. vr e ,,f*u, of ti* Mission to Deep Sea Fish*,.. in g trousers, and a jacket very similar to 

 A PAIR OF ESKIMO BOYS. that of the men. It has been suggested 



