196 National Geographic Magazine. 
earth were both changed. Light being upon the earth, men 
began to catch whales in the sea and to carry the flesh and 
bones to their mountain-homes. One family wandering over 
the country recently risen from the sea came down upon Point 
Hope: finding vegetation springing up and whales abundant, 
they built a hut and made it their home. From this originated 
the settlement at Point Hope. Their modern history goes on in 
this wise: Point Hope being favorably situated for whaling 
and hunting the seal and walrus and for obtaining the reindeer, 
it naturally became a center of power and population. In the. 
latter part of the eighteenth century, as well as can be deter- 
mined, the village upon Point Hope, known by the natives as 
Tigara, had a population of 2,000 souls, with six council-houses. 
At that time the Eskimos residing upon the Noatok, or Inland 
river, began to encroach upon the territory of the Tigaramutes 
until matters came to the pass that about the beginning of 
this century a great land- and boat-fight took place between 
the Tigaramutes and the Noatokmutes near Cape Seppings, in 
which the Tigaramutes were defeated and forced to yield a 
large portion of the territory formerly controlled by them. So 
crushed were the Tigaramutes that they lost one-half of their 
population, which led to the gradual abandonment of all the out- 
standing villages. Since this time the population has gradually 
decreased, the diminution being materially aided by the contact 
of whites, who are principally represented here by the crews of 
the whaling ships, rendezvousing during the early summer. 
As a rule the Arctic coast Eskimos are short in stature, the 
average height of ten men measured at Point Hope being 5 feet 
5.8 inches, and of ten women, 5 feet 2.4 inches. The legs are 
short in comparison to the length of the body and are always 
much bowed, this being due to the manner in which they are 
carried in infancy upon their mother’s back, the legs being 
brought tightly around under the mother’s arms. The feet and 
hands of the women are generally well shapen and small. 
All of the Eskimos have good teeth, but as they are subjected to 
severe usage they deteriorate in every way. They are used as 
substitutes for pincers, carpenter’s vices, and fluting machines. 
They are used in drawing bolts, untying knots, holding the 
mouth-piece of a drill, shaping boot-soles, and stretching skins. 
When they become uneven from constant use in this way, the 
unevenness is corrected by a levelling down by means of a file 
