SIBERIA 



15a 



All dark. Water pau; all ice. 'Laud pau, all 

 snow. Eskimo igloo, plenty fire. Moss in 

 blubber oil all time blaze up. Cold pau. Plenty- 

 hot. Eskimo, he sweat. Clothes pau. Good 

 time. Hot time. Eat plenty. Sleep." 



This seemed to me a good, vivid description. 

 The picture was there, painted chiefly with 

 " nothing." 



Of course he had the English words " yes " 

 and " no " in his assortment, but his way of us- 

 ing them was pure Eskimo. For instance: 

 " You wear no clothes in winter? " I asked him. 

 " No," he replied. " No? " I echoed in surprise. 

 " Yes," he said. His " yes " merely affirmed his 

 "no." It sometimes required a devious mental 

 process to follow him. 



A pretty girl came up to me with a smile and 

 an ingratiating air. 



" Tobac," she said holding out her hand. 



I handed her my smoking plug. She took 

 half of it at one cavernous bite and gave the re- 

 mainder back to me, which I thought consider- 

 ate. She enjoyed the tobacco. She chewed 

 upon it hard, working her jaws as if she were 



