Northward over the great ice : a narrative of life and work along the shores and upon the interior ice-cap of northern Greenland in the years 1886 and 1891-1897, with a description of the little tribe of Smith Sound Eskimos, the most northerly human beings in the world, and an account of the discovery and bringing home of the Saviksue or great Cape York meteorites . ancient igloosall along the coast, from Bush-nan Island nearly to the Hum-boldt Glacier. There seemsto be also a definite traditionthat, in years past, the climatewas different from what it isnow, not, perhaps, any warmer,but with
Northward over the great ice : a narrative of life and work along the shores and upon the interior ice-cap of northern Greenland in the years 1886 and 1891-1897, with a description of the little tribe of Smith Sound Eskimos, the most northerly human beings in the world, and an account of the discovery and bringing home of the Saviksue or great Cape York meteorites . ancient igloosall along the coast, from Bush-nan Island nearly to the Hum-boldt Glacier. There seemsto be also a definite traditionthat, in years past, the climatewas different from what it isnow, not, perhaps, any warmer,but with much less wind andfoor alono^ the coast. That thetribe previous to my visit waseither increasing or decreasingin numbers I should be stronglyinclined to doubt, it being prob-able that natures balance be-smm tween the population and the ^^V food-producing capabilities of ^H the country had been estab- ^H lished for generations. ^Ml But since my first expedition ^J||PP||^^_^ in 1891 there has been a markedpreponderance of the birth-rate over the death-rate, untilthe epidemic of 1895-1896 deci-mated the tribe, carrying offIn the year since, the birth-rate isThis is due, I have no doubt, to the NUPSAH. Showing Male Physique. eleven per cent. again in excess. improved weapons and implements which I have given them, and which have increased the hunting effective-. 492 Northward over the Great Ice ness of the males at least one hundred per cent, andhave therefore kept the tribe better nourished and inbetter condition to withstand the severities which aretheir daily lot. That this increase will be very con-siderable or continued for any length of time is notlikely, as the balance will again be adjusted. In disposition and temperament these people are a race of children,simple, kindly,cheerful, and hos-pitable. In powersof endurance, incertain directions,they probably arenot surpassed byany other knownrace, and in theiringenuity and theintelligence dis-played in makinguse, to the fulles
Size: 1308px × 1910px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjecteskimos, bookyear1898
