A STRANGE PEOPLE Dr. Franz Boas -- The Evening Telegraph 26 March 1885 Page 3
The following is an account of anthropologist Franz Boas on his first encounter with the natives of the far north Canada. His account was printed in the Popular Science Monthly (April 1885) and in newspapers, although it is uncertain if the latter gave the full article. As reported in The Evening Telegraph, Buffalo, New York, Boas was hardly impressed with the port natives, especially the women:
A STRANGE PEOPLE
The Peculiar Customs and Dress of the Eskimos.
When our ship, the German schooner Germania, was about to enter the port of Kikkerton in the summer of 1883, there came a boat-load of Eskimos to offer us their help. I had not formed a good opinion of the appearance of these people, but I was really astonished at the figures I saw. The little bandy-legged follows who ran laughing and chewing over the deck of the vessel, with their long black hair, flat faces, and dripping eyes, made an extremely repulsive impression; and when we were visited by a boat-load of women, among whom were a few antiquated matrons, my aversion toward my future fellow-residents reached its highest point. It really seemed as if the ugliest of the ugly had been selected to receive us, for I was afterward surprised by many a cheerful and pleasant face, or a strong, well-built figure. These first Eskimos appeared at least relatively neat, for they had probably held a grand feast of purification before the arrival of the ship. I had an opportunity to observe what a good influence intercourse with the whites had had upon the natives, when I came into a settlement on Davis strait, which had never been visited by a European. I would not undertake to describe the appearance it presented, so odious was it.
When I related to the Eskimos of Cumberland Sound the unhappy experiences I had suffered in the oily and filthy huts of this tribe, they answered: "We are like the cleanly gulls, which have, indeed to look to the oil and fat of sea gulls and walruses for their food, but still keep their feathers tidy; but they are like the Mollimoke, which wallow in blood and fat and do not mind any kind of dirt."
The fur dresses of our Eskimos appear to be well made, and adorned with trimmings of different kinds of skins. Particular attention seems to have been given to the reinder-skin jackets of the women, with their long tails reaching to the ground, and to the wide hoods in which the children are carried. The short breeches reaching to the knee, of white seal-pups' skin, were very handsome. Afterward, when I became better acquainted with my new friends, I perceived what a disadvantage an indolent woman could be, even in this country, when she can not or will not keep up with her household duties. The clothes of the family too often bear witness to her neglect, and I have sometimes pitied the poor men who have to go to their seal-hunting in cold winter weather, without enough clothing. Among the first women who visited us were some unusually adorned with a cotton garment, which was occasionally exposed under their fur jackets.
The men also appeared to be well clothed in seal-skin jackets, small hoods, and breeches ornamented with variously colored furs. Their long hair, loosely fluttering about their heads, gave them a wild appearance; but their quiet eyes, and the childish pleasure they exhibited on every opportunity, contradicted this. They all greatly enjoyed the much-desired tobacco, for the provision at the station had given out some time before, and they had been obliged, willing or unwilling, to practice abstinence, and not to smoke. When they had got entirely cut, they had broken up their clay pipes and chewed the pieces for the sake of the taste of the little tobacco that had been absorbed in them. —
Dr. Franz Boas, in Popular Science Monthly.
Note the patriarchal overtones of Boas as he describes "an indolent woman could be, even in this country, when she can not or will not keep up with her household duties." So much for his cultural relativism, imposing German values, "even in this country" on the hapless, but happy, Eskimos of the far north.
The more official, "prescriptive" account of the expedition on the Germania was published in 1884 in Journal of the American Geographical Society of New York.
"Though I was very anxious to secure skins for our clothing, I had no chance to obtain any from the natives who had been hunting in Kignait." (page 252)
Boas didn't expand on why and it may have given him a first impression attitude against his initial encounter that prevailed when he became the toast of the town, giving lectures and calling the Eskimos the "ugliest of the ugly." He began "in earnest to make my ethnographical studies" on page 253, a full 17 pages into the journal article. Boas spent nights with natives, listening to "old songs after the old monotonous tunes," and playing "old games" (page 253) to pass the winter nights; quite a non-ethnographic statement again exhibiting little concern for the customs of the tribes.
A closer scrutiny of Boas' journal article will need to wait until another blog post. That may bring into perspective his rather ethnocentric viewpoint of the tribes which may have changed back in civilization, if not the right thing to do, certainly the most convenient.
Boas, Franz. “A Journey in Cumberland Sound and on the West Shore of Davis Strait in 1883 and 1884.” Journal of the American Geographical Society of New York, vol. 16, 1884, pp. 242–72. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/196367. Accessed 4 Mar. 2023.
In May 1885 The Popular Science Monthly published another article by Boas title "Arctic Exploration and its Object" (Topeka Mail, 24 April 1885, page 8.)
Eyeless on Campus James C. L'Angelle
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