224 ANTHROPOLOGICAL SURVEY IN ALASKA [ETH. ANN. 46 



A noticeable thing about the women is the remarkable flexibility of the 

 body and limbs and the great length of time they can stand in a stooping 

 posture. * * * Both men and women have a very fair share of muscular 

 strength. Some of the women especially showed a power of carrying heavy 

 loads superior to most white men. We were able to make no other comparisons 

 of their strength with ours. Their power of endurance is very great, and 

 both sexes are capable of making long distances on foot. Two men some- 

 times spend 24 hours tramping through the rough ice in search of seals, and 

 we knew of instances where small parties made journeys of 50 or 75 miles on 

 foot without stopping to sleep. 



The women are not prolific. Although all the adults are or have been 

 married, many of them are childless, and few have more than two children. 

 One woman was known to have at least four, but investigations of this sort 

 were rendered extremely difficult by the universal custom of adoption. Doctor 

 Simpson heard of a " rare case " where one woman had borne seven children. 

 We heard of no twins at either village, though we obtained the Eskimo word 

 for twins. 



1890, Murdoch : 67 



The people who live on the extreme northwest corner of our continent are 

 far from being an ugly or an ill-made race. Though they are not tall — a man 

 of 5 feet 10 inches is a tall man among them — they are well proportioned, 

 broad shouldered, and deep chested. The men, as a rule, are particularly well 

 " set up," like well-drilled soldiers and walk and stand with a great deal of 

 grace and dignity. 



The women do not have such good figures, but are inclined to slouchiness. 

 They are seldom inclined to be fleshy, though their plump, round faces, along 

 with their thick fur clothing, often give them the appearance of being fat. 

 They generally have round, full faces, with rather high cheek bones, small, 

 rounded noses, full lips, and small chins. Still, you now and then see a person 

 with an oval face and aquiline nose. Many of the men are very good looking, 

 and some of the young women are exceedingly pretty. Their complexion is a 

 dark brunet, often with a good deal of bright color on the cheeks anil especially 

 on the lips. They sunburn very much, especially in the spring, when the glare 

 of the sun is reflected from the snow. They have black or dark-brown eyes and 

 abundant black hair. The women's hair is often long and silky. When they 

 are young they have white and regular teeth, but these are worn down to 

 stumps before middle life is reached. Cheerful and merry faces are the rule. 



1890, Kelly: 68 



Personal appearance. — There are three types observable among the Arctic 

 Eskimos of Alaska. The tall, cadaverous natives of Kangoot, Seelawik, Koovuk, 

 and Kikiktowruk, on Kotzebue Sound, who live on fish, ptarmigans, and mar- 

 mots. They always have a hungry look and habitually wear a grin of fiendish 

 glee at having circumvented an adverse fate. There is a tendency among these 

 people to migrate north. 



Then there is the tall, strongly knit type of the Nooatoks, a gigantic race, of 

 a splendid physique that would be remarkable in any part of the world. 



67 Murdoch, J., Dress and physique of the Point Barrow Eskimos. Popul. Sei. Month., 

 Deo., 1890, 222-223. 



""Kelly, J. W., Arctic Eskimos in Alaska and Siberia. Revised and edited by Sheldon 

 Jackson. Bull. No. 3, Soc. Alaskan Nat. Hist, and Ethnol., Sitka, 1890, p. 15. 



