Kalli, the Esquimaux Christian | Page 4

their young. As soon as they are alarmed by
the sight of their enemies, they scuttle away, and make for the sea[4]. It
is on the great deep that the Esquimaux, driven by hunger, chiefly seeks
his precarious food. In his light canoe, which is made of seal-skins
stretched over a slight framework of wood, he hunts, in all weathers,
for his prey, especially for the much-prized Narwhal.
There, tumbling in their seal-skin boat, Fearless, the hungry fishers
float, And from the teeming seas supply The food their niggard plains
deny.
[Footnote 4: See ZOOLOGICAL SKETCHES, Common Seal.
Published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.]

The Narwhal
[Illustration: ESQUIMAUX STRIKING A NARWHAL]
The same intrepid boldness is shown in their chase of the reindeer, the
bear, and the fox. Over the boundless deserts of snow they are borne
rapidly along by their faithful dogs, which are harnessed to a sledge, six

or seven to the team, and which scamper away, often in seeming
confusion, but with a precision of aim and object which is perfectly
surprising. No country presents a finer specimen of that honest,
affectionate, much-enduring creature, the dog. Kindness to animals is
always praiseworthy, and to the honour of the Esquimaux women it
must be said, that they are remarked for their humane treatment of these
dogs. They take care of them when they are ill, and use them better
than the men do. Still under blows and hard usage the dogs are faithful,
and willing to labour.

Sir W. Edward Parry's Account
The Esquimaux sometimes use slabs of ice for the walls of their huts,
cementing them together with snow and water. Kennels for their dogs
are also made of the same material. The late Admiral Sir W. Edward
Parry, in the course of a voyage commenced in May, 1821, the chief
object of which was the discovery of the North-West passage, availed
himself of a winter's imprisonment in the ice, to observe and record the
ways and manners of the Esquimaux, whose guest he was. His account
is on the whole satisfactory. "I can safely affirm," said he, "that, whilst
thus lodged beneath their roof, I know no people whom I would more
confidently trust, as respects either my person or my property, than the
Esquimaux."
He also described their domestic character. The affection of the parents
towards their children showed itself in a thousand ways, and the
children on their part have so much gentleness and docility as to render
any kind of chastisement unnecessary. Even from their earliest infancy,
they are said to possess that quietness of disposition, gentleness of
demeanour, and uncommon evenness of temper, for which in more
mature age they are for the most part distinguished. Disobedience is
scarcely ever known; a word or even a look from a parent is enough.
These traits, added to industry and endurance of various kinds of
difficulty, form the fair side of the picture, such as that amiable and
distinguished officer was fond of presenting. The exhibition of these

features of character was probably called forth, in a great degree, by his
own kindness and good management, whilst living among them.

Need of Christian Instruction
But doubtless there are other and less favourable points of view in
which these people must be sometimes considered. At all events, it is
sad to learn, from the silence of some travellers, and the actual
statements of others, that the Esquimaux do not appear to have any idea
of the existence of a Supreme Being, or to hold any notion of religion.
Separated from the whole civilized world, and frequently finding it a
struggle to live, even with the help of their faithful dogs, they are
objects of pity and concern, rather than of sanguine hope and
expectation to the Christian mind. But were an opportunity to occur of
carrying the Gospel to their snow-clad land, there is little doubt that the
remark of Parry, applied to an individual of one of their tribes, might be
used of all: "On dispositions thus naturally charitable, what might not
Christian education, and Christian principles effect?"

Kallihirua's Tribe
Certainly, the instance now before the reader affords a good illustration
of this view of the Esquimaux character. It is Captain Ommanney's
opinion that Kallihirua's tribe may be regarded as a remnant of the pure
race which, no doubt, in ages past migrated from Asia along the coasts
of the Parry Group of Islands and Barrow's Straits. The features, and
formation of skull, bespeak Tartar extraction. "Their isolated position,"
he adds, "being far north of the Danish settlements in Greenland, and
far removed from the American continent, has kept them
uncontaminated with any of the various mixed breeds of which the
Esquimaux in those regions must be composed."

Kallihirua