with which they are usually accredited. The Eskimo who accompanied
Lieutenant May, of the Nares Expedition, on his sledge journey, is
reported to have been a small eater, and the only case of scurvy, by the
way; several Eskimo who were employed on board the _Corwin_ as
dog-drivers and interpreters were as a rule smaller eaters than our own
men, and I have observed on numerous occasions among the Eskimo I have
visited, that instead of being great gluttons, they are, on the
contrary, moderate eaters. It is, perhaps, the revolting character of
their food--rancid oil, a tray of hot seal entrails, a bowl of
coagulated blood, for example--that causes overestimation of the
quantity eaten. Persons in whom nausea and disgust are awakened at
tripe, putrid game, or moldy and maggoty cheese affected by so-called
epicures, not to mention the bad oysters which George I. preferred to
fresh ones, would doubtless be prejudiced and incorrect observers as to
the quantity of food an Eskimo might consume. From some acquaintance
with the subject I therefore venture to say that the popular notion
regarding the great appetite of the Eskimo is one of the current
fallacies. The reported cases were probably exceptional ones, happening
in subjects who had been exercising and living on little else than
frozen air for perhaps a week. Any vigorous man in the prime of life who
has been shooting all day in the sharp, crisp air of the Arctic will be
surprised at his gastronomic capabilities; and personal knowledge of
some almost incredible instances amongst civilized men might be related,
were it not for fear of being accused of transcending the bounds of
veracity.


ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT.

There is so much about certain parts of Alaska to remind one of Scotland