Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 04.djvu/64

LEFT ESKILSTUNA 46 ESKIMO of several in Scotland, the chief being the Esk in Dumfriesshire; the North Esk and South Esk in Forfarshire; and the North Esk and South Esk in Edinburgh- shire. ESKILSTUNA, a city of Sweden, situated on the Eskilstuna river, about 60 miles W. of Stockholm. It is noted for its large steel manufacturing plants, in which are produced fine cutlery and small arms. A large gun factory is located on an island in the river. Pop. about 30,000. ESKIMO, the name of the inhabit- ants of the N. coast of the American continent down to lat, 60° N. on the W., and 55° on the E., and of the Arctic Islands, Greenland, and about 400 miles of the nearest Asiatic coast. They prefer the vicinity of the seashore. Their num- ber scarcely amounts to 40,000. Never- theless they are scattered as the sole native occupants of regions stretching from E. to W. as far as 3,200 miles in a straight line. Race. — They used to be classed among nations of the Mongolian stock; but now they are considered as akin to the Amer- ican Indians. Their height nearly equals the average of the N. W. Indians. They appear comparatively taller sitting than standing. Their hands and feet are small, their faces oval, but rather broad in the lower part; their skin is only slightly brown; they have coarse black hair and very little beard. The skull is high. Habits. — The Eskimos get their sub- sistence mostly from hunting by sea, using for this purpose skin boats where the sea is open, and dog sledges on the ice. From the skin, blubber, and flesh of the seal and the cetaceous animals, they procure clothes, fuel, light, and food. Their most interesting as well as important invention for hunting is the well-known small skin boat for one man, called a kayak. It is formed of a frame- work covered with skin, and, together with his waterproof jacket, it completely protects the man against the waves, so that he is able to rise unhurt by means of his paddle, even should he capsize. A Greenlander's kayak is almost 18 feet long and 2 feet broad, and can carry 200 pounds besides the man. The spe- cial weapon of the kayak is the large harpoon, connected by a line with an inflated bladder. The hunter throws it when but 25 feet from the seal, and at once drops the bladder overboard, thus retarding the speed of the wounded ani- mal, which runs off with it till finally killed by a lance-thrust. Their winter dwellings vary with regard to the mate- rials of which they are built, as well as in their form. In the farthest W. they are constructed mostly of planks, cov- ered only with a layer of tui-f or sod; in Greenland the walls consist of stones and sod; in the central regions the houses are formed merely out of snow. In Alaska the interior is a square room, surrounded by the sleeping places, with the entrance on one side, while a hearth with wood as fuel occupies the middle of the floor. In Greenland the room is heated only by lamps, and the sleeping places or family stalls are arranged in a row occupying one of its sides. The number of inhabitants at an Eskimo station is generally under 40. Dress. — The dress of the Eskimos is almost the same for the women as for the men, consisting of trousers or breeches and a tunic or coat fitting close to the body, made of skins, and covering also the head by a prolongation that forms the hood. For women with chil- dren to carry, this hood is widened so as to make it an excellent cradle, the amaut. Language. — The language is charac- terized by the power of expressing in one word a whole sentence in which are embodied a number of ideas which in other languages require separate words. The Greenland dictionary contains 1,370 radicals and about 200 affixes. A radi- cal may be made the foundation of thou- sands of derivatives, and a word can be composed which expresses with perfect distinctness what in our civilized lan- guages might require 20 words. In Greenland and Labrador the mission- aries have adapted the Roman letters for reducing the native language to writing. Sociology. — It is doubtful whether an organization like that of the Indian "families" has been discovered among the Eskimos. But a division into tribes, each with their separate territories, ac- tually exists. The tribe again is divided into groups constituting the inhabit- ants of the different wintering places. Finally, in the same station, the inhabit- ants of the same house are closely united with regard to common house- keeping. In this, and perhaps similar ways, their general communism in liv- ing, characteristic of their stage of cul- ture, is governed by rules for partner- ship in householding, for distribution of the daily game during the winter, and for the possessions of the individual, the family, the housemates, and the place- fellows. One of the oldest and most respectable men, called in Greenland itok, in Labrador angajorkak, is obeyed as chief of a house or wintering place, though his authority, perhaps, may rest on tacit agreement only.