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16
THE ATLANTIAN
ESKIMO EXPERIMENTS
WITH MANY WIVES BE
FORE HE MAKES FINAL
CHOICE.
Communistic Ideas Are Practiced
by Inhabitants of Arctic Circle.
Married for First Time at 13 or
14, Couples Live Together On
ly Few Months.
(Prom Atlanta Constitution).
Many of the most fondly cherished
beliefs in regard to the Eskimos or
natives of the Arctic are shattered
into bits by the experience of A. Stef-
fannson, ethnologist of the Anglo-
American Polar expedition. Steffann-
son spent one year with the natives
about 100 miles from the mouth of
the McKenzie river. Arriving among
them in the last summer of 1906, with
out food and supplied only with light
clothing, through necessity and choice
he led the life of an Eskimo; he not
only wore their clothes and ate their
food, but lived with them.
Steffannson says:
“The Eskimo has long practiced the
communistic ideas that are aired by
the advanced socialists of today, who
are believers in all men being equal
and sharing alike in worldly goods.
In many respects the Eskimo life is
Utopian, since it has brought out a
perfect community of possession with
out any shade of immorality. In fact,
having no morals, as morals are con
sidered by the effete civilization of
today, it is practically impossible for
them to be immoral, according to our
standards.
“Marriages are entirely a matter of
congeniality, and it is seldom they
turn out happily until a third or fourth
attempt is made by both parties. The
first marriages are made at the age
of 13 or 14, and it is seldom these
persons live together more than three
or four months; it is a rarity when
the first marriage remains permanent.
On the other hand, I have never heard
of a divorce among middle-aged peo
ple, and have found those of that age
extremely affectionate in their mar
ried life.
“As the Eskimo carries the idea of
communism into his personal property
and married life, there is no danger
of unhappiness arising from the many
separations among the young married
people. All children belong to the
tribe, and are looked after as wards
of the tribe. There is no danger that
any child will be neglected, because
those among the middle-aged who have
no children of their own are anxious
to adopt little ones.
“Living in common rooms the Eski
mo has no ideas of propriety, such as
govern our daily lives, but profanity
and immodesty, such as can be heard
and seen in all our cities, is never a
part of their life.
“In hospitality, the Eskimo leads
the world; all that he has he will
share with you at any time, no matter
if he has only enough food for himself
and family for one day, you are en
titled to and will receive your share;
you are also welcome to a place in
his home. All that is necessary for
life among the natives is the disposi
tion to help with the routine work.
“Our principal food was whale meat
and fish—the whale meat, to say the
least, was ‘high.’ At first the diet
palled upon me, as I had no flour, salt,
tea or American food of any descrip
tion, but I soon became used to it,
and when I left the country had gain
ed about twenty pounds in weight.
Comfortable Houses.
“I lived with twenty-one other per
sons in a little house built of drift
wood and earth; the house was about
twenty feet in diameter and built in
the shape of a four-pointed star with
blunt ends. It was heated and light
ed with whale oil lamps; these lamps
also served as cook stoves. The
house was well heated and splendidly
ventilated, and never have I spent a
more comfortable winter. Contrary to
the usual belief, the Eskimos change
their clothing at night just as do the
‘citizens of Atlanta.'
“The Eskimo does not eat or need
any more fatty foods than the white
man under similar conditions. The
Eskimo is more cleanly than the white
man under similar circumstances.
“In the middle of the winter I paid
a visit to an Englishman (an ethnolo
gist) who was living at a village about
100 miles away, and spent three weeks
with him; he had flour, salt and tea.
I enjoyed my visit, but was glad to
get back to my own village.
“The missionaries are a detriment
to the natives of the Arctic.
“I learned more of native life than
I could have gathered in ten years’
traveling with an expedition.”
Enormous Liquor Traffic.
I have lived many years at my pres
ent location, north latitude 65 degrees,
longitude 151 degrees W. and am per
sonally acquainted with almost every
native man, woman and child within a
radius of fifty miles of my cabin, and
the only comment I can make on Mr.
Steffannson’s statements is to verify
them, except in regard to the "social
ist’s ideas.” I have repeatedly drawn
the attention of a leading socialist pa
per, which has an enormous circula
tion, to the frightful debauchery of the
natives caused by Alaska’s astounding
liquor traffic, and each time I have
been firmly and coldly turned down
had I wished to discuss "economic de
terminism, ethics, anthropology, etc.,”
I would have been offered the front
page; “darn” the socialists, anyhow;
but, recently Wilshlre’s Magazine in
formed me that it would comment ed
itorially on Alaska’s liquor traffic and
the wholesale debauchery of the na
tives whenever it could possibly spare
the space.
The life of the native child is ideal
beyond description; harsh words,
blows, work, hunger and want are un
known quantities to it; the children
are exceptionally bright.
The native man does not look upon
his wife as a piece of personal proper
ty, because he knows that she is as
much a bread-winner as he is, and he
also knows that she will not live with
a fault-finding man.
The natives will not dig gold or per
form any useless labor, nor do they
overproduce (the market is glutted and
thousands are starving), and, of
course, they always have plenty, and
never suffer from overwork.
In my opinion, the natives possess a
much higher intelligence than do we
white people.
Why do the natives use liquor? It
has taken scores and scores of years
to make them a liquor-using people;
in fact, to accomplish this, it was ne
cessary to first teach the children and
every scheme known to white men has
been used, but even today 100 average
white citizens of Alaska will buy and
consume a far greater amount of li
quor than will 100 average natives.
Since 1492 the sole aim of the white
man has been to rob the American na
tive, but today the shrewdest Wall
Streeter, without the use of liquor,
could not buncoe the Arctic native out
of one red cent.
Here in Alaska, out of four papers,
I found only one, a Nome paper, that
would touch my statistics on the whis
ky traffic with a flshpole; below the
Mason and Dixon’s line every paper
I applied to used my statistics; it is
as easy to find manhood in the South
as it is cotton.
How does the use of liquor affect the
Arctic natives? The drunken native
is not as disorderly as the drunken
white man; the poison hand-made “rot-
gut” sold to the native wrecks his
health, his brain and his home; makes
his wife and children cry, and makes
them wish they had never seen a white
man.
Robbed by Traders.
How do the trading companies rob
the natives? Read senate document
No. 376, sixtieth congress, first session,
“Reports Relating to Alaska Sea Fish
eries.” Of course, this document is
more or less Greek to any person un
acquainted with the fraudulent meth
ods of the trading companies and their
thug hirelings and the thug idiot Unit
ed States officials, but I am quite cer
tain if senate document No. 376 was
explained to the czar of Russia he
would wipe his tearstained face and
say: "Such an outrage would not be
tolerated in Russia, at least not as
long as I am czar. Oh! why did Rus
sia sell fair Alaska to that awful
brute, Uncle Sam?”
Think of it! Alaska has 25,000
miles of coast and probably 8,000 miles
of rivers, and over this 33,000 miles
of coast and river is thickly scattered
the whisky peddler debauching the
natives by the wholesale.
DAN S. WOLRAVEN,
Popular Passenger Conductor Birmingham Division Southern
Railway and Member of the Atlanta Shriners.