174 HUNTING WITH THE ESKIMOS 



he can live on an exceedingly small amount of food 

 for a long period. His ability in this respect is as 

 remarkable as that of his dogs. 



My observation leads me to believe that the Eskimo 

 is undoubtedly of Mongolian origin. His facial 

 characteristics and general appearance bear out this 

 conclusion, I believe, very strongly. I have seen 

 many men and women amongst them who so strongly 

 resembled Chinese or Japanese that if they were 

 similarly attired it would be difficult, if not impos- 

 sible, to distinguish the one from the other. 



And there seems little doubt that all of our Eski- 

 mos sprang from the same source. Those who have 

 had opportunity to observe and compare declare that 

 the language of all known Eskimos is the same, with, 

 of course, varying dialects, due to long separation 

 and isolation of the tribes from one another. This 

 is true of them whether they inhabit the North Ameri- 

 can continent or the more or less remote islands of 

 the farther Arctic. The following words, for ex- 

 ample, are found among practically all Eskimos: 

 igloo, tupek, kuletar, komatik, and innumerable others. 

 Almost universally they call themselves Innuit, and 

 the foreigner who comes among them a Kablunak. 



Finally, when I declined to go farther without rest, 

 I was told that very near at hand was an igloo. At 

 length we reached it, only to find it broken down and 

 not habitable. This necessitated a return of nearly 

 a mile on our trail, to a cave, in which a cheerless 

 camp was at length made, after nearly thirty-four 



