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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.