The New York Times, 1893-11-19, Nansen's Study of Eskimo Life

HANSEN'S STUDY OF ESKIMO LIFE.

ESKIMO I.I PR. By Fridtjof Nansen. Trans-
lated by William Archer. With Illustrations.
Svti. New- York: Longmans, Green & Co.

Dr. "Xzmsen r in his account of his mem-
orable journey across Greenland, published
several years ago, informed his readers
that he had made an extended visit among
the Eskimo people before his return. This
sojourn he made, we believe, not from
choice, but from some kind of necessity*
Doubtless, the fate which compelled the de-
lay seemed at the time a stern one, but he
must long since have realized that the
cloud had a silvern, if not a g-olden, lining-,
since the sojourn enabled him to write this
charming- account of Eskimo life.

Dr. Xansen possesses more than one
strong- quality as a traveler, and one at
least he possesses in an unusually strong"
degree. He has a magnificent faculty for
taking- things as he finds them. From him
we never hear vain complaints and una-
vailing regrets about anything- that goes
not to his satisfaction. Moreover, he often
has excuses for many thing's. He can see
situations as they are, their causes, he
can also understand, and then easily throws
himself into sympathy with the facts with
which he is confronted.

In this volume he writes of the Eskimos
much as might some Eskimo who had been
educated in a German university. Former
writers have been shocked by manners and
customs denoting gross immorality, but Dr.
Nansen, with his sympathizing mind and
his clearness of vision, becomes tolerant.
He can see, if not the causes of improper
acts, at least the absence of preventive in-
fluences. Thus, when he has seen men
and women passing- the long- Winter months
crowded into half -subterranean homes, where
They sleep on benches packed together like
lish on 3, market man's table, he can over-
look their indifference as to exposure of
their leg-s and torso. And, again, when he
understands that European notions respect-
ing legitimate children have sprung very
largely from European ideas respecting the
inheritance of property, he can understand
why the Eskimo, who, strictly speaking,
never has any property, has not acquired
ihose strict notions. With the Eskimo the
desire for children spring-s not from a wish
to have an heir, but from a wish to enlarge
the population and to increase the working
force of his own household, and hence he
is not as exacting as the Europeans in mat-
ters affecting- paternity.

Dr. Nansen believes great harm has been
done the Eskimo by the European, and
-writes warmly in his defense. Indeed, there
are chapters of this book in which he plays
the part of vigorous advocate. ** I am weak
enough," says he, " to feel compassion for
a declining race, which is, perhaps, beyond
all help, since it is already stung- with the
venom of our civilization/' The results
which he saw stirred him to indignation,
and he was filled with a burning desire to
send the truth " reverberating- over the
whole world." We cannot deny to Dr. Nan-
sen knowledge of the facts he here sets in
formidable array, for he had exceptional
opportunities to observe and weigh what he
saw. For a whole Winter he dwelt with
these people, living in their huts, taking-
part in their hunting; and aiming, so far
as he could, to live their life and learn
their language.

He was early moved to sympathy with
their lot, and to love their land. Green-
land he found " touched with all the dream-
like beauty of the fairy land of his childish
imagination. He found the scenery of his
own Norway repeated in still nobler,
purer forms.'* The Eskimo himself has come
to love deeply the land he lives in, for It is
to him the world, and he is the human
race. And yet, life for him begrins at the
point where other races the world over
have found that life was impossible. He
has bravely faced his grim destiny and
has learned to love it.

Dr. Nansen in time found the brown Es-
kimo faces " gleaming with health and
fat," even really pleasing, for they " re-
flected the free life of nature, and suggested
to my mind pictures of blue sea,with gra-
cious and glittering* sunshine." Distinct
notes of the Eskimo character are good
humor, peaceableness, and an even temper.
He desires to stand on a good footing with
other men, is careful not to offend his
neighbors, and when he believes himself
wronged, instead of fighting a duel, engages
in a song contest in public, where his high-
est hope is to make his enemy appear ri-
diculous in the eyes of others. He wants
no other revenge. Dr. Nansen bears testi-
mony to his possession of g*ood natural
gifts of mind. At the game of draughts
Dr. Nansen was often astonished at the
ability and foresight shown. The Eskimo

learns to read and write with comparative
ease, and if he stumbles over arithmetic,
it is due to causes as old as the race itself.

Of the work done by missionaries, Dr.
Nansen writes in severe criticism. In aim-
ing to overturn an entire social order they
have made great errors. To convert that
wild and free race of hunters into a civilized
Christian nation was impossible, except
as the work of a long period of time. Chris-
tianity aimed to lead them into a foreign
world and to make them think in a new
way. Even its system of faith and its con-
ception of heaven have fallen on under-
standing's that cannot grasp them. Our
notions of a paradise, with white-robed
angels, silver and gold, gorgeous raiment,
and shining mansions, have no charm for
them. Such things the Eskimo has never
dreamed of, and he cares not for them. To
him earthly riches Jiave no value. His ideal
heaven would rather be a warm mud hut,
with plenty of seal food, fair weather, and
good hunting grounds.

The Eskimo is living in the Stone Age,
and, while we have taken iron to him, he
does not catch more seals, but fewer, than
before. Even the rifle has done him harm.
He now slaughters reindeer for a small and
momentary gain, and the result Is that

the reindeer has been almost exterminated,
whereas before their numbers were never
seriously diminished by hunting. Moreover,
use of the rifle at sea has led to decline in
skill in the use of the harpoon, and the
harpoon is still of vital importance, be-
cause it alone can be used in rough weather.
In fact, it is a better weapon than the
rifle In the sense that the hunter is sure
of his game, whereas, with the rifle as many
seals escape w r ounded or die to no purpose
as are taken home.

The foods taken to the Eskimo from
Europe have done him harm, and especial
harm has come from coffee, tobacco, and
whisky, while European finery has made
him foolishly extravagant. He now may
often be seen clad in European rags in-
stead of warm fur garments. There has
been a continuous decline in his well-being-
until his condition is one of almost hope-
less poverty and weakness. In name, at
least, all the Greenlanders of the west
coast are Christians, but their state is one
of degeneration and decadence. This leads
Dr. Nansen to put the problem thus for-
cibly :

*' Can an Eskimo who is nominally a
Christian, but who cannot support his fam-
ily, is In ill-health, and is sinking into deep-
er and deeper misery, be held much more
enviable than a heathen who lives in spirit-
ual darkness, but can support his family,
is robust in body, and thoroughly contented
with life ? If he could see his true Inter-
est the Eskimo would assuredly put up this
fervent petition: God save me from my
friends; my enemies I can deal with my-
self." M ^ ^

Dr. Nansen is convinced that the only
hope lies in the gradual withdrawal of
Europeans from the country. Left to him-
self the Eskimo might recover his old
habits, and the race thus be saved. Other-
wise, he can see no destiny for a people
whom he loves except one of decline and
an utter passing away.

Sbt JfeUr JJork Eimcs

Published: November 19, 1893
Copyright © The New York Times