The only narcotic in use among these people is tobacco, which they
obtain directly or indirectly from the whites, and which has been in
use among them from the earliest time when we have any knowledge of
them. When Mr. Elson, in the _Blossom’s_ barge, visited Point Barrow,
in 1826, he found tobacco in general use and the most marketable
article.[N108] This undoubtedly came from the Russians by way of
Siberia and Bering Strait, as Kotzebue found the natives of the sound
which bears his name, who were in communication with the Asiatic coast
by way of the Diomedes, already addicted to the use of tobacco in
1816. It is not probable that tobacco was introduced on the Arctic
coast by way of the Russian settlements in Alaska. There were no
Russian posts north of Bristol Bay until 1833, when St. Michael’s
Redoubt was built. When Capt. Cook visited Bristol Bay, in 1778, he
found that tobacco was not used there,[N109] while in Norton Sound,
the same year, the natives “had no dislike to tobacco.”[N110] Neither
was it introduced from the English posts in the east, as Franklin
found the “Kûñmû´dlĭñ” not in the habit of using it--“The western
Esquimaux use tobacco, and some of our visitors had smoked it, but
thought the flavor very disagreeable,”[N111]--nor had they adopted the
habit in 1837.[N112]
[Footnote N108: Beechey, Voyage, p. 308.]
[Footnote N109: Third Voyage, vol. 2, p. 437.]
[Footnote N110: Ibid, 2, p. 479.]
[Footnote N111: Second Exp., p. 130.]
[Footnote N112: See T. Simpson, Narrative, p. 156.]
When the _Plover_ wintered at Point Barrow, according to Dr. Simpson’s
account,[N113] all the tobacco, except a little obtained from the
English discovery ships, came from Asia and was brought by the
Nunatañmiun. At present the latter bring very little if any tobacco,
and the supply is obtained directly from the ships, though a little
occasionally finds its way up the coast from the southwest.
[Footnote N113: Op. cit., pp. 235, 236, 266.]
They use all kinds of tobacco, but readily distinguish and desire the
sorts considered better by the whites. For instance, they were eager
to get the excellent quality of “Navy” tobacco furnished by the
Commissary Department, while one of our party who had a large quantity
of exceedingly bad fine-cut tobacco could hardly give it away.
A little of the strong yellow “Circassian” tobacco used by the
Russians for trading is occasionally brought up from the southwest,
and perhaps also by the Nunatañmiun, and is very highly prized,
probably because it was in this form that they first saw tobacco.
Snuff seems to be unknown; tobacco is used only for chewing and
smoking. The habit of chewing tobacco is almost universal. Men, women,
and even children, though the latter be but 2 or 3 years old and
unweaned,[N114] when tobacco is to be obtained, keep a “chew,” often
of enormous size, constantly in the mouth. The juice is not spit out,
but swallowed with the saliva, without producing any signs of nausea.
The tobacco is chewed by itself and not sweetened with sugar, as was
observed by Hooper and Nordenskiöld among the “Chukches.”[N115] I knew
but two adult Eskimo in Utkiavwĭñ who did not chew tobacco, and one of
these adopted the habit to a certain extent while we were there.
[Footnote N114: Compare J. Simpson, op. cit., p. 250, and
Nordenskiöld, Vega, vol. 2, p. 116.]
[Footnote N115: Tents, etc., p. 83; Vega, vol. 2, p. 116.]
Tobacco is smoked in pipes of a peculiar pattern called kui´nyɐ, of
which the collection contains a series of ten specimens.
Of these, No. 89288 [705],[N116] figured in Ray’s Point Barrow Report,
Ethnology, Pl. I, Fig. 1, will serve as a type. The bowl is of brass,
neatly inlaid on the upper surface with a narrow ring of copper close
to the edge, from which run four converging lines, 90° apart, nearly
to the center. Round the under surface are also three concentric rings
of copper. The wooden stem appears to be willow or birch, and is in
two longitudinal sections, held together by the lashing of sealskin
thong which serves to attach the bowl to the stem. This lashing was
evidently put on wet and allowed to shrink on, and the ends are
secured by tucking under the turns. The whipping at the mouthpiece is
of fine sinew thread. A picker of steel for cleaning out the bowl is
attached to the stem by a piece of seal thong, the end of which is
wedged under the turns of the lashing. The remaining pipes are all of
the same general pattern, but vary in the material of the bowl and in
details of execution. The stems are always of the same material and
put together in the same way, but are sometimes lozenge-shaped instead
of elliptical in section. The lashing is sometimes of three-ply sinew
braid. The bowl shows the greatest variation, both in form and
material.
[Footnote N116: The numbers first given are those of the National
Museum; the numbers in brackets are those of the collector.]
Fig. 6_a_ (No. 56737 [10], from Utkiavwĭñ) has an iron bowl,
noticeable for the ornamentation of the shank. The metal work has all
been done with the file except the fitting of the saucer to the shank.
This has evidently been heated and shrunk on. Three pipes have bowls
of smoothly ground stone. No. 89289 [1582] (Fig. 6_b_ from Utkiavwĭñ)
is of rather soft greenish gray slate. No. 89290 [864] is of the same
shape, but of hard greenish stone, while the third stone pipe
(No. 89291 [834], from Utkiavwĭñ), of gray slate, is of quite a
different pattern. Three of the series have bowls of reindeer antler,
lined with thin sheet brass, and one a bowl of walrus ivory, lined
with thin copper. (See Fig. 6_c_, Nos. 89285 [954], 89286 [915], and
89287 [1129].)
[Illustration: FIG. 6.--Pipes: _a_, pipe with metal bowl; _b_, pipe
with stone bowl; _c_, pipe bowl of antler or ivory. 1/3]
Antler and stone pipes of this pattern and rather small are usually
carried by the men out of doors, while the more elaborate metal pipes,
which are often very large and handsome (I have seen some with a
saucer at least 3 inches in diameter) are more frequently used in the
house and by the women. The stem is usually 1 foot or 13 inches long,
though pipes at least 18 inches long were seen.
To most pipes are attached pickers, as in the type specimen. The
picker is in all cases of metal, usually iron or steel, but sometimes
of copper (see the pickers attached to pipes above). When not in use
the point is tucked under the lashing on the stem. The pipes are
readily taken apart for cleaning.
No. 89292 [1752] (Fig. 7) is an extemporized pipe made in a hurry by a
man who wished to smoke, but had no pipe.
[Illustration: FIG. 7.--Pipe made of willow stick. 1/3]
It is simply a rough willow stick, slightly whittled into shape, split
and hollowed out like a pipestem. It is held together by a whipping of
sinew thread and a lashing of deerskin thong, fastened by a slip-knot
at one end, the other being tucked in as usual. A small funnel-shaped
hole at one end serves for a bowl, and shows by its charred surface
that it has been actually used. This pipe was bought from one of the
“Nunatañmiun,” who were in camp at Pernyû in 1883, and shows its
inland origin in the use of the deerskin thong. A coast native would
have used seal thong.
The pipe is carried at the girdle, either with the stem thrust inside
the breeches or in a bag attached to the belt. No. 56744 [55]
(Utkiavwĭñ) is the only specimen of pipe bag in the collection. It is
a long, narrow, cylindric bag, made of four white ermine skins, with
two hind legs and two tails forming a fringe round the bottom, which
is of dressed deerskin, in one piece, flesh side out. The band round
the mouth is of gray deerskin, running only two-thirds of the way
round. The piece which fills the remaining third runs out into the
strap for fastening the bag to the belt. The ornamental strips on two
of the longitudinal seams and round the bottom are of deerskin. The
seams are all sewed “over and over” on the “wrong” side with sinew
thread. This is an unusually handsome bag.
Tobacco is carried in a small pouch of fur attached to the girdle, and
tucked inside of the breeches, or sometimes worn under the jacket,
slung round the neck by a string or the necklace. The collection
contains three of these, of which No. 89803 [889] (Fig. 8_a_) will
serve as a typical specimen.
It is made by sewing together two pieces of wolverine fur, hair out,
of the same shape and size, and round the mouth of this a band of
short-haired light-colored deerskin, also hair out, with the ends
meeting at one side in a seam corresponding to one of the seams of the
wolverine fur. The mouth is ornamented with a narrow band of wolverine
fur, the flesh side, which is colored red, turned out. It is closed by
a piece of seal thong about 5 inches long, one end of which is sewed
to the middle of the seam in the deerskin band and the other passed
through a large blue glass bead and knotted. This string is wound two
or three times round the neck of the bag, and the bight of it tucked
under the turns. The seams are all sewed “over and over” on the
“wrong” side with sinew thread.
[Illustration: FIG. 8.--Tobacco pouches. 1/4]
These tobacco pouches are usually of a similar pattern, often slightly
narrowed at the neck, and generally fringed round the mouth with a
narrow strip of wolverine fur as above. They are often ornamented with
tags of wolverine fur on the seams (as in No. 89804 [1341, Fig.
8_b_]), and borders of different colored skin. No. 89805 [1350] is
very elaborately ornamented. It is made of brown deerskin, trimmed
with white deerskin clipped close and bordered with narrow braids of
blue and red worsted, and little tags of the latter. According to Dr.
Simpson,[N117] these bags are called “del-la-mai´-yu.” We neglected to
obtain the proper names for them, as we always made use of the lingua
franca “tiba´ púksak,” bag for tiba´ (tobacco). No. 89903 [889]
contains a specimen of tobacco as prepared for smoking by the Eskimo.
This consists of common black Cavendish or “Navy” tobacco, cut up very
fine, and mixed with finely chopped wood in the proportion of about
two parts of tobacco to one of wood. We were informed that willow
twigs were used for this purpose. Perhaps this may have some slight
aromatic flavor, as well as serving to make the tobacco go further,
though I did not recognize any such flavor in some tobacco from an
Eskimo’s pouch that I once smoked and found exceedingly bad. The smell
of an Eskimo’s pipe is different from any other tobacco smoke and is
very disagreeable. It has some resemblance to the smell of some of the
cheaper brands of North Carolina tobacco which are known to be
adulterated with other vegetable substances. The method of smoking is
as follows: After clearing out the bowl with the picker, a little wad
of deer hair, plucked from the clothes in some inconspicuous place,
generally the front skirt of the inner jacket, is rammed down to the
bottom of the bowl. This is to prevent the fine tobacco from getting
into the stem and clogging it up. The bowl is then filled with
tobacco, of which it only holds a very small quantity. The mouthpiece
is placed between the lips, the tobacco ignited, and all smoked out in
two or three strong inhalations. The smoke is very deeply inhaled and
allowed to pass out slowly from the mouth and nostrils, bringing tears
to the eyes, often producing giddiness, and almost always a violent
fit of coughing. I have seen a man almost prostrated from the effects
of a single pipeful. This method of smoking has been in vogue since
the time of our first acquaintance with these people.[N118]
[Footnote N117: Op. cit., p. 243.]
[Footnote N118: See T. Simpson: “Not content with chewing and
smoking it, they swallowed the fumes till they became sick, and
seemed to revel in a momentary intoxication.” Point Barrow (1837),
Narrative, p. 156. Also Kotzebue: “They chew, snuff, smoke, and
even swallow the smoke.” Kotzebue Sound (1816) Voyage, vol. 1,
p. 237. Beechey also describes the people of Hotham Inlet in 1826
as smoking in the manner above described, obtaining the hair from
a strip of dogskin tied to the pipe. Their tobacco was mixed with
wood. Voyage, p. 300. Petitot (Monographie, etc., p. xxix)
describes a precisely similar method of smoking among the
Mackenzie Eskimos. Their tobacco was “melangé à de la ráclure de
saule” and the pipe was called “kwiñeρk.” (Vocabulaire, p. 54).]
Though they smoke little at a time, they smoke frequently when tobacco
is plentiful. Of late years, since tobacco has become plentiful, some
have adopted white men’s pipes, which they smoke without inhaling, and
they are glad to get cigars, and, since our visit, cigarettes. In
conversation with us they usually called all means for smoking
“pai´pa,” the children sometimes specifying “pai´pa-sigya´” (cigar) or
“mûkparapai´pa,” paper-pipe (cigarette). The use of the kui´nyɐ, which
name appears to be applied only to the native pipes, seems to be
confined to the adults. We knew of no children owning them, though
their parents made no objection to their chewing tobacco or owning or
using clay or wooden pipes which they obtained from us. They carry
their fondness for tobacco so far that they will even eat the foul
oily refuse from the bottom of the bowl, the smallest portion of which
would produce nausea in a white man. This habit has been observed at
Plover Bay, Siberia.[N119] Tobacco ashes are also eaten, probably for
the sake of the potash they contain, as one of the men at Utkiavwīñ
was fond of carbonate of soda, which he told the doctor was just like
what he got from his pipe. Pipes of this type, differing in details,
but all agreeing in having very small bowls, frequently of metal, and
some contrivance for opening the stem, are used by the Eskimo from at
least as far south as the Yukon delta (as shown by the collections in
the National Museum) to the Anderson River and Cape Bathurst,[N120]
and have even been adopted by the Indians of the Yukon, who learned
the use of tobacco from the Eskimo. They are undoubtedly of Siberian
origin, as will be seen by comparing the figure of a “Chukch” pipe in
Nordenskiöld’s Vega, vol. 2, p. 117, Fig. 7, and the figure of a
Tunguse pipe in Seebohm’s “Siberia in Asia” (p. 149), with the pipes
figured from our collection. Moreover, the method of smoking is
precisely that practiced in Siberia, even to the proportion of wood
mixed with the tobacco.[N121]
[Footnote N119: See Hooper, Tents, etc., p. 177, and Dall, Alaska,
p. 81.]
[Footnote N120: This is an interesting fact, as it shows that the
Eskimo from Demarcation Point east learned to smoke from the
people of Point Barrow, and not from the English or the northern
Indians, who use pipes “modeled after the clay pipes of the Hudson
Bay Company.” (Dall, Alaska, p. 81, Fig. _A_.) They acquired the
habit some time between 1837, when T. Simpson found them ignorant
of the use of tobacco (see reference above, p. 65), and 1849, when
they were glad to receive it from Pullen and Hooper. (Tents, etc.,
p. 258.) Petitot (Monographie, etc., p. xxvi) states that the
Eskimo of the Mackenzie informed him that the use of tobacco and
the form of the pipe, with blue beads, labrets, and other things,
came through the neighbors from a distant land called
“Nate´ρovik,” which he supposes to mean St. Michaels, but which,
from the evidence of other travelers, is much more likely to mean
Siberia.
The Eskimo geography, on which Fr. Petitot relies so strongly, is
extremely vague west of Barter Island, and savors of the fabulous
almost as much as the Point Barrow stories about the eastern
natives. The evidence which leads Fr. Petitot to believe
“Nate´ρovik” to be St. Michaels is rather peculiar. The Mackenzie
natives call the people who are nearest to Nate´ρovik on the north
“the Sedentary.” Now, the people who live nearest to St. Michaels
on the north are the “Sedentary American Tchukatchīs”(!);
therefore Nate´ρovik is probably St. Michaels. (“Le nom
_Natéρovik_ semble convenir à l’ancien fort russe Michaëlowski, en
ce que la tribu iunok la plus voisine de ce poste, vers le nord,
est désignée par nos Tchiglit sous le nom d’ _Apkwam-méut_ ou de
Sédentaires; or telle est la position géographique qui convient
aux sédentaires Tchukatches américains, dont la limite la plus
septentrionale, selon le capitaine Beechey, est la pointe
Barrow.”) A slight acquaintance with the work of Dall and other
modern explorers in this region would have saved Fr. Petitot from
this and some other errors.]
[Footnote N121: See Wrangell, Narrative of an Expedition, etc.,
p. 58. “The Russians here [at Kolymsk, 1820] smoke in the manner
common to all the people of northern Asia; they draw in the
tobacco smoke, swallow it, and allow it to escape again by the
nose and ears(!).” The tobacco is said to be mixed with “finely
powdered larch wood, to make it go further” (ibid.). See also
Hooper, Tents, etc.: “Generally, I believe, about one-third part
of wood is used” (pp. 176 and 177; and Nordenskiöld, Vega, vol. 2,
p. 116.)]
The consideration of the question whence the Siberians acquired this
peculiar method of smoking would lead me beyond the bounds of the
present work, but I can not leave the subject of pipes without calling
attention to the fact that Nordenskiöld[N122] has alluded to the
resemblance of these to the Japanese pipes. A gentleman who has spent
many years in China also informs me that the Chinese pipes are of a
very similar type and smoked in much the same way.[N123] The
Greenlanders and eastern Eskimo generally, who have learned the use of
tobacco directly from the Europeans, use large-bowled pipes, which
they smoke in the ordinary manner. In talking with us the people of
Point Barrow call tobacco “tiba´” or “tibakĭ,” but among themselves it
is still known as ta´wak, which is the word found in use among them by
the earliest explorers.[N124] “Tiba” was evidently learned from the
American whalers, as it was not in use in Dr. Simpson’s time. It is
merely an attempt to pronounce the word tobacco, but has been adopted
into the Eskimo language sufficiently to be used as the radical in
compound words such as “tiba´xutikă´ktûñɐ,” “I have a supply of
tobacco.” There is no evidence that anything else was smoked before
the introduction of tobacco, and no pipes seen or collected appear
older than the time when we know them to have had tobacco.[N125]
[Footnote N122: Vega, vol. 2, p. 116.]
[Footnote N123: See also Petitot, Monographie, etc., p. xxix.]
[Footnote N124: See Beechey, Voyage, p. 323; T. Simpson,
Narrative, p. 156--“tobacco, which * * * they call tawāc, or
tawākh, a name acquired of course from Russian traders;” Hooper,
Tents, etc., p. 239; also Maguire and J. Simpson, loc. cit.
passim. Petitot calls ta´wak “mot français corrompu”!]
[Footnote N125: Since the above was written, the word for pipe,
“kuinyɐ,” has been found to be of Siberian origin. See the
writer’s article “On the Siberian origin of some customs of the
Western Eskimos” (American Anthropologist, vol. 1, pp. 325-336).]