32 CRUISE OF STEAJVIER COKWIN IN THE ARCTIC OCEAN. 



state of developmeut and habits of thought — one the hizy improvidence of the Eskimo, and the 

 other the "to-morrow" ot the Spaniard, who lias indulged that propensity- so far that his nation 

 has become one of yesterday. 



The change of the Eskimo language, brought about by its coming in contact with another, forms 

 an important element in its history, and has beeii mentioned by the older writers, also by Gilder, 

 who reports a change in the language of the Iwillik Eskimo to have taken place since the advent 

 among them of the white men. Among other peculiarities of their phraseology occurs the word 

 "tanuk" signifying whiskey, and it is said to have originated with an old Eskimo emj)loyed by 

 Moore as a guide an<l dog driver when he wintered in Plover l>ay. Every day about noon that 

 personage was in the haVnt of taking his appetizer and usually said to the Eskimo, " Come, Joe, 

 let's take our tonic." Like most of his countrymen, Joe was not slow to learn the meaning of the 

 word, and to this day the firm hold "tanuk" has on the language is only equak^l by the thirst 

 for the tiiiid which the name implies. Among tlie Asiatic Eskimo the word "um-muck" is com- 

 mon for "rum," while "em-mik" means water. Even words brought by whalers from the South 

 Sea Islands have obtained a footing, such as "kow-kow" for food, a word in general use, and 

 "pow" for "no," or "not any." They also call their babies "pick-a-uee-nee," which to many i)er- 

 .sous will suggest the Spanish word or. the southern negro idiom for "baby." The phrase "pick - 

 a-nee-nee kowkow" is the usual formula iu begging food for their children. An Eskimo, having 

 sold ns a reindeer, said it would be " maziukah kowkow" (good eating), and one windy day we 

 were hauling the seine, and an Eskimo seeing its empty condition when pulled on to^the beach, 

 said "'Pow' flsh ; bimeby 'pow' wind, plenty fish." 



The fluency with which some of these fellows speak a mixture of pigeon English and whale- 

 man's jargon is (juite astonishing, and suggests the query whether their fluency results from the 

 aggressiveness of the English or whether it is an e\ideuce of their aptitude! It seems wonderful 

 how a people we are accustomed to look upon as ignorant, benighted, and undeveloped, can learn 

 to talk English with a certain degree of fluency and intelligibility from the short intercourse held 

 once a year with a few passing ships. How many "hoodlums" in San Francisco, for instance, 

 learn anything of Norwegian or German from frequenting the wharves? How many "wharf rats" 

 or stevedores in New York learn anything of these languages from similar intercourse? Or, for 

 that matter, we may ask. How many New York pilots have acquired even the smallest modicum 

 of French from boarding the steamers of the Compagnie G^nerale Transatlantique? 



From a few examples it will be seen that the usage followed by the Eskimo in its grammatical 

 variations rests on the fixity of the radical sj'llable and upon the agglomeration of the different 

 particles intended to modify the primitive sense of this root, that is to say upon the principle of 

 agglutinative languages. One or two instances may suffice to show the agglutinate character of 

 the language. Cancels "o-me-uk;" ship, "o-me-uk-puk;" steamer, "ome-uk-puk-ignelik;" and 

 this composite mechanical structure reaches its climax in steam-launch, which they call " o-me-uk- 

 puk-ignelik-pick- a- nee-nee." 



For snow and ice in their various forms there are also many words, which show further the 

 polysynthetic structure of the language — a fact contrary to that primitive condition of speech 

 where there are no inflections to indicate the relations of the words to each other. It will not do 

 to omit "O-kee-chuck" from this enumeration — a word signifying trade, barter, or sale, and one 

 most commonlj' heard among these people. When they wish to say a thing is bad they use 

 " A-shn-ruk," and when disapproval is meant they say " pe-chuk." The latter word also ex])res.ses 

 general negation. For instance, on looking into several unoccupied houses a native informs us 

 " Innuit pechuk," meaning that the people are away or not at home; "Allopar" is cold, and 

 " allopar pechuk " is hot. Persons fond of tracing resemblances may find in " Ignik " (fire) a 

 similarity to the Latin ignis or the English "ignite," and from " Un-gi-doo-rulv" (big, huge) the 

 transition down to " hunky-dory" is easy. Those who see a sort of complemental relation to each 

 other of linguistic affinity and the confoi'mity in physical characters may infer from "Mikey-doo 

 rook" (a term of endearment equivalent to "Mavourueeu" and used in addressing little children) 

 that the inhabitants within the Polar Circle have something of the Emerald Isle about them. But 

 no, they are not Irish, for when they are about to leave tlie ship or any other place for their houses 

 they say "to-hum;" consequently they are Yankees. 



