CRUISE OF STEAMER CORWIN IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN. 27 



their origin. The existence of the dartrous, scrofulous, rheumatic, and even syijhilitic diseases, 

 along with personal uncleauliness, nmst necessarily result in such lesions of the skin as eczema, 

 psoriasis, ichthyosis, pityriasis, and tinea favosa, all of which I saw among the Eskimo. Although 

 affections of the scalp were quite common, especially in children, I noticed but one case of baldness, 

 which leads me to doubt the statement of several medical men to the effect that wearing fur caps 

 is one of the causes of loss of the hair. If this were true every Eskimo 'pat« ou^lit to be as bald 

 as the palm of the hand. 



It is also doubtless true that the numerous catarrhs and bronchial and pulmonary troubles are 

 only internal manifestations of the diatheses previously mentioned. When the Corwin was along 

 the Siberian coast in June and July not a man on boai-d had a cold, yet nearly all the natives we 

 met with were suffering from coughs and colds. The same thing was observed by our sledge party 

 who went up the coast, and Lieutenant Schwatka informs me that rheumatic and pulmonary 

 complaints were the principal ones noticed by him. Notwithstanding j\Ir. Kennan's mention of a 

 reindeer picket in au atmosphere of — 00°, it is indeed questionable whetlior Eskimo can endure 

 cold as well as well-fed white men. Though clad in furs, I have often seen them shivering from 

 cold, when our crew, with only the ordinary winter clothes of sailors, experienced no discomfort. 



Among their more common ailments are boils and epistaxis, the latter having been noticed by 

 former travelers, and Mr. Nelson informs me that it is quite common among the fur traders of the 

 Upper Yukon, who attribute it to a [)lethoric condition brought about by an almost exclusive dit^t 

 of animal food. 



Our hyiierborean nosology would be incomplete without some mention of nervous diseases, 

 which late authorities assume to be one of the sequela} of civilization. They would, perhaps, 

 come nearer the truth to ascribe them, as Dr. Draper has done, to the introduction and extension 

 of that senseless and filthy habit, the use of tobacco. Mr. Petrofif informs me that hysteria, 

 epilepsy, and paralysis are common diseases among the interior tribes, who also believe in and 

 practice Shamanism. Instances of excessive nervousness have come under my notice, one of a man 

 so shaky that his infirmity was a source of merriment to his companions. I treated one patient for 

 insomnia and another for epilepsy. I saw also two cases of chorea, one each of paraplegia and 

 of cerebral hemorrhage with hemiplegic symptoms (both at Point Barrow), one of suicidal mania, 

 and I know of at least three deaths from cerebrospinal meningitis. 



To what cause a late authority would assign the existence of these diseases I am unable to say, 

 but enough has been seen to convince that nervous diseases are not confined to civilized communi- 

 ties, as many persons believe; and, indeed, a distinguished medical author, who sees in spiritual- 

 ism a form of nervous derangement, might, after observing Shamanism au(Kits results, be in 

 possession of enough neurological material for a new chapter in his work on that subject. 



GENERAIi REMARKS ON THE NORTHERN INHABITANTS. 



But it is from an anthropological point of view that the Eskimo coming under observation 

 proved most interesting. The term Eskimo may be held to include all the Innuit population living 

 on the Aleutian Islands, the islands of Bering Sea, and the shores both of Asia and America 

 north of about latitude 64°. In this latitude on the American coast the ethnical points that differ- 

 ence the North American Indian from the Eskimo are distinctly marked. It cannot, however, 

 be said that the marks of distinction are so plain between the American Eskimo and the 

 so-called Tsuchtschi of the Asiatic coast. I have been unable to see anything more in the way 

 of distinction than exists between Englishmen and Danes, for instance, or between Norwegians and 

 Swedes. Indeed, it may be said that much of the confusion and absurdity of classification found 

 in ethnographic literature raaj' be traced to a tendency to see diversities where few or none exist. 

 To the observant man of travel who has given the matter any attention, it seems that the most 

 sensible classification is that of the ancient writers who divide humanity into tliree races, namely, 

 wliite, yellow, and black. Cuvier adopted this di\ision, and the best contemporary British 

 authority. Dr. Latham, also makes three groups, although he varies somewhat in details from 

 Cuvier. In accordance with the nomenclature of Lojtham, the Eskimo may be spoken of as 

 Hyperborean MongolidiB of essentially carnivorous and ichthyophagous habits, who have not yet 

 emerged &om the hunting and fishing stage. 



