12 
Peary Auxiliary Expedition. 
opened up and permitted us to proceed to Cape York, where we 
arrived at midday on July 23d. This promontory marks the 
southern boundary of the habitat of the Northern Eskimos, who 
were named “Arctic Highlanders” by the first white men who 
visited them in 1818. From time immemorial Melville Bay, 
with its inhospitable shore line, has been the impassable barrier 
between the primitive Eskimos of the north and the more civil- 
ized natives of the Danish settlements. 
The “Falcon” was anchored for some hours to the shore floe 
near Cape York, and the natives were soon swarming about the 
ship. A number of us visited their camp, somewhat east of the 
cape proper, and found it comprised seven “tupics” or sealskin 
tents. Here we obtained our first news of the safety of Lieu- 
tenant Peary’s party, and here also I had the pleasure of renew- 
ing my acquaintance with a number of these hardy hunters 
whom I had first met while in this region in the summer of 1892. 
The natives seemed prosperous and happy and received us with 
their proverbial friendliness. Four typical young matrons of the 
tribe submitted to the ordeal of the camera with varying degrees 
of acquiescence, as may be seen f rom the accompanying repro- 
duction of the photograph. 
Although enjoying none of the so-called advantages of civili- 
zation, these natives contrasted most favorably with the south- 
ern Eskimos, who have been under the Danish influence for 
more than a hundred years. The latter have so large an admix-, 
ture of white blood among them that it is well nigh impossible 
to find a genuine Eskimo type in the more important settle- 
ments, while in spite of the well-meant solicitude of the home 
government many of them, weakened by the excessive use of 
coffee, tobacco and European clothing, are losing their skill as 
hunters and falling victims to pulmonary and other diseases. On 
the other hand, we found no signs of deterioration among the 
small tribe of “Arctic Highlanders,” who number all told only 
about 250 members. These interesting people possess all the 
virtues of isolated, primitive savages and seem to be holding 
their own from year to year in that bleak region, where, to a 
