THE WHITE WORLD 



creature spends the summer in swallowing dovekies, old 

 and young. 



It is difficult to describe my astonishment on finding 

 that this little tribe of supposed " savages," often (though 

 quite erroneously) classed among the lowest of mankind, 

 living only 770 to 980 miles from the Pole (further north 

 than any other human beings), actually possess two lan- 

 guages, one for every-day use, the other, an archaic one, 

 for the " higher life " of poetry and music! It is altogether 

 probable that the use of this archaic language is much 

 more extensive than I was able to ascertain, extending, no 

 doubt, to their religious incantations, which sometimes last 

 an hour. Could these be carefully studied, what a mine of 

 information they might disclose in regard to the mental 

 life and perhaps also the history of this most interesting 

 tribe! Apparently the archaic language does not differ so 

 greatly from the current speech but that it might be readily 

 interpreted, with the aid, perhaps, of other Eskimo dialects. 

 For my part I could hardly wish for a pleasanter occupa- 

 tion. 



A famous poet declares his intention to sing the songs 

 of his native land 



"Till thy conquerors themselves, as they rivet thy chains, 

 Shall pause at the song of their captive and weep." 



Whether the Eskimo songs here recorded will have the 

 physiological effect of stimulating the activity of the 

 lachrymal glands it would be difficult to say; but no one 

 can help feeling more kindly toward these remote cousins 

 of ours on learning that in the most forbidding circum- 

 stances imaginable, amid their daily struggle to escape the 

 clutch of famine, the first moment of leisure finds them 

 bursting into melody. To any one desirous of lightening 

 their lot, it will be an added pleasure to know that any 

 increase of leisure which may be procured for them is 

 likely to result in an increased cultivation of the " higher 

 life." This sort of hobby would not be very expensive. 

 The annual cost of many a single household, nay of a 

 single span of horses, in the United States, is greater than 

 would suffice to place the entire tribe of 250 human beings 

 in comfort such as they have never known. 



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