S e c t io n IVV—Physical and moral Characters and Language
o f the JEJsquimaux.
The shape of the skull of the Esquimaux has been described
in thè" first ¥öïuinW of this wotk, "in which many * of their
physical pèculïaritiëbhètve heen hoticéd. I shall only add , in
this place the observations of some of the Oldest authors who
have'described thé Esquimaux.
Crantz informs us that the Greenlanders are for the most
part under five feet in stature. He adds! that ^ they have Well-
shaped apd proportioned: limbs. Their face is commonly
broad and flat, with high’ cheëk bones, but* round- and‘phlmp
cheeks. Theirlïeyèï^:Jaïë little and" blacky b u t‘ devoid-'of
spafklingfiie.' ’ Their noëè' is riBt fldt, biit small,! and project-
ihg but little. Their mouth is little ahd round, and ihe under-
m somewhat thicker than the other. Theiri body*\'is 'Of a
d a rk '^téy colour all OVerybut thê faée brown or'blue^ and
yet in many the réd shidéb through.1 This'brown cblour
seems not aïtógétlief from1 nature, 'bécatise their children are
bom as white as others, but may proceed in part from their
dirtiness, for they are Continually handling grékse or train,
sit in thé Sinother of their lamps, and seldom- wash', themselves.
The sudden alternation of cOldand raw';air- and
burning beat in shmmer makes the "Europeans Somewhat
browner, and may contribute to darken the complexion» óf
the Greenlandersi Some have a moderately white skin and
red cheeks, and might pass unnoticed among Europeans,
especially among some of the Swiss mountaineers.
"They have universally coal-black, straight, strong, and long
hair on their heads, but no beard because they root it out.
Their hands and feet are little and soft, but their head and
the rest Of their limbs arè large. They have high breasts
and broad shoulders. Their whole body is fat.”
Though the Esquimaux are, like the native American races
in general, a black-haired tribe, it seems that this is not an
universal character., M. Charlevoix assures us repeatedly
that many of them are of the xanthous complexion, or what
the French-call “ blonds .” As this writerbas given a very brief
and well-drawn- picture of the physical characters of the
Eskimaux| in. IS"ew ,Fyancp, I ^pafl e^fract th.e whp}e passage
in which h ^p e ak s of thepi^,,,
♦ “ L’origine de lew? nom n’ést pas certain. Toutefois il y a
bien de. l’apparence qu’il viept dq mpt^l^h^qu^ eÿq^manhsic,
qui veut dire “ mangeur de v i a n d e E s q u i m a u x (^ont
en effet les-sçuls.sauvages, qpe^ops ,cqnnqjssiqn^.,qui mangent
la, chair crue,- ,quQiqp’ils. , ayept aussj^ l^.g^gp;f^e , f^ire cuirç
.qu s é c h e r , - a u I l esfchncpre,,^çrfidn,p P p i^ fa g ^ s fes
. p e j n p l e g f F
mieux que celui-ci, la p r ê t a i i c t ^ que
des sauvages. II - est,pi;esqu§ 1 a ; s<j!p|e ^ . hom,Wes, ayqçt
déiMvbajibe,. et ils Kopt a të&,?te
à découvrir :qqelqqeSj traits, â e leur y^i^agp. î£ d’a_illpu|’s
jte'pe, sçai .quoi d’affreqx dans A’uir^d^jPçtits.^ux effarés,
dtS .^entf" larg€^„et fp£t ^algs,,. d^gheveux o^fl^rerneht
^q^prdre, ^ t^pt
fort ksstNm kernel ^PS8 1
rouches,. defi.an.ts, du mal aqx
étrangers;
£jjP;*Leurs cheveux blonds,, leurs bar,pe||t la blançheur desl.eur
,pfiau,' le peu, de ; ressemblance et ^ .^ qm m e ^ quhls,^nt>;a^e|'ï
leursiplusfproeb^s-vpisins, ne,;bi.js£ie$| ^ Ç j^ ali<|p|qde .§P^er
qu’ils n’ayent.. ;un^/prigpe*. flq
Amêriquains.” ,
< I have laid before my rëadqrs.in ,tfie fir^t.gql^jg^J thfe'
work* an account of what appgare^|Ao t mqJito ujj^t
interesting traits;. in H B y B |
I have taken this account principally.,fr^ of
the missionaries of the, United Brethren, ful^L qf <^eep thppg^t
and reflection, apd bearing, an .i^p ^Sjo ft trqth s^dj ^ngqrj^y
which cannot be mistaken. The rq a ^ j^ illj j^ c ^ v jj^ e d ^ y
these statements that,, however unlike ^ ^ e s s t ofmpnkiqd
the Esquimaux may seem ,to bç in tjigirpinclemenl .pbqdes,
and modified by the perpetual inflaen^pfpihftj^ei^p.ii crises
* Book ii. chap. ii. sect. 4, p. 186 et seqq.