The geographic boundaries of this family were set forth by Gallatin
in 1836 with considerable precision, and require comparatively little
revision and correction.
In the linear extent of country occupied, the Eskimauan is the most
remarkable of the North American linguistic families. It extends
coastwise from eastern Greenland to western Alaska and to the extremity
of the Aleutian Islands, a distance of considerably more than 5,000
miles. The winter or permanent villages are usually situated on the
coast and are frequently at considerable distances from one another,
the intervening areas being usually visited in summer for hunting and
fishing purposes. The interior is also visited by the Eskimo for the
purpose of hunting reindeer and other animals, though they rarely
penetrate farther than 50 miles. A narrow strip along the coast,
perhaps 30 miles wide, will probably, on the average, represent
Eskimo occupancy.
Except upon the Aleutian Islands, the dialects spoken over this vast
area are very similar, the unity of dialect thus observable being in
marked contrast to the tendency to change exhibited in other linguistic
families of North America.
How far north the east coast of Greenland is inhabited by Eskimo is
not at present known. In 1823 Capt. Clavering met with two families of
Eskimo north of 74° 30'. Recent explorations (1884-’85) by Capt. Holm,
of the Danish Navy, along the southeast coast reveal the presence of
Eskimo between 65° and 66° north latitude. These Eskimo profess entire
ignorance of any inhabitants north of themselves, which may be taken as
proof that if there are fiords farther up the coast which are inhabited
there has been no intercommunication in recent times at least between
these tribes and those to the south. It seems probable that more or less
isolated colonies of Eskimo do actually exist along the east coast of
Greenland far to the north.
Along the west coast of Greenland, Eskimo occupancy extends to
about 74°. This division is separated by a considerable interval of
uninhabited coast from the Etah Eskimo who occupy the coast from Smith
Sound to Cape York, their most northerly village being in 78° 18'. For
our knowledge of these interesting people we are chiefly indebted to
Ross and Bessels.
In Grinnell Land, Gen. Greely found indications of permanent Eskimo
habitations near Fort Conger, lat. 81° 44'.
On the coast of Labrador the Eskimo reach as far south as Hamilton
Inlet, about 55° 30'. Not long since they extended to the Straits of
Belle Isle, 50° 30'.
On the east coast of Hudson Bay the Eskimo reach at present nearly to
James Bay. According to Dobbs[36] in 1744 they extended as far south as
east Maine River, or about 52°. The name Notaway (Eskimo) River at the
southern end of the bay indicates a former Eskimo extension to that
point.
[Footnote 36: Dobbs (Arthur). An account of the Countries adjoining
to Hudson’s Bay. London, 1744.]
According to Boas and Bessels the most northern Eskimo of the middle
group north of Hudson Bay reside on the southern extremity of Ellesmere
Land around Jones Sound. Evidences of former occupation of Prince
Patrick, Melville, and other of the northern Arctic islands are not
lacking, but for some unknown cause, probably a failure of food supply,
the Eskimo have migrated thence and the islands are no longer inhabited.
In the western part of the central region the coast appears to be
uninhabited from the Coppermine River to Cape Bathurst. To the west of
the Mackenzie, Herschel Island marks the limit of permanent occupancy by
the Mackenzie Eskimo, there being no permanent villages between that
island and the settlements at Point Barrow.
The intervening strip of coast is, however, undoubtedly hunted over more
or less in summer. The Point Barrow Eskimo do not penetrate far into the
interior, but farther to the south the Eskimo reach to the headwaters of
the Nunatog and Koyuk Rivers. Only visiting the coast for trading
purposes, they occupy an anomalous position among Eskimo.
Eskimo occupancy of the rest of the Alaska coast is practically
continuous throughout its whole extent as far to the south and east as
the Atna or Copper River, where begin the domains of the Koluschan
family. Only in two places do the Indians of the Athapascan family
intrude upon Eskimo territory, about Cook’s Inlet, and at the mouth of
Copper River.
Owing to the labors of Dall, Petroff, Nelson, Turner, Murdoch, and
others we are now pretty well informed as to the distribution of the
Eskimo in Alaska.
Nothing is said by Gallatin of the Aleutian Islanders and they were
probably not considered by him to be Eskimauan. They are now known to
belong to this family, though the Aleutian dialects are unintelligible
to the Eskimo proper. Their distribution has been entirely changed since
the advent of the Russians and the introduction of the fur trade, and at
present they occupy only a very small portion of the islands. Formerly
they were much more numerous than at present and extended throughout the
chain.
The Eskimauan family is represented in northeast Asia by the Yuit of the
Chukchi peninsula, who are to be distinguished from the sedentary
Chukchi or the Tuski of authors, the latter being of Asiatic origin.
According to Dall the former are comparatively recent arrivals from the
American continent, and, like their brethren of America, are confined
exclusively to the coast.