These people are by no means the dwarfish race they were formerly
supposed to be. In stature they are not inferior to many other
races and are robust, muscular, and active, inclining rather to
spareness than corpulence. The tallest individual was found to be 5
feet 10½ inches, and the shortest 5 feet 1 inch. The heaviest man
weighed 195 pounds, and the lightest 125 pounds. The individuals
weighed and measured were taken indiscriminately as they visited
the ship, and were all supposed to have attained their full
stature. Their chief muscular strength is in the back, which is
best displayed in their games of wrestling. The shoulders are
square, or rather raised, making the neck appear shorter than it
really is, and the chest is deep; but in strength of arm they can
not compete with our sailors. The hand is small, short, broad,
and rather thick, and the thumb appears short, giving an air of
clumsiness in handling anything; and the power of grasping is not
great. The lower limbs are in good proportion to the body, and
the feet, like the hands, are short and broad with a high instep.
Considering their frequent occupations as hunters, they do not
excel in speed nor in jumping over a height or a level space,
but they display great agility in leaping to kick with both feet
together an object hanging as high as the chin, or even above the
head. In walking, their tread is firm and elastic, the step short
and quick; and the toes being turned outward and the knee at each
advance inclining in the same direction, give a certain peculiarity
to their gait difficult to describe.
The hair is sooty black, without gloss, and coarse, cut in an
even line across the forehead, but allowed to grow long at the
back of the head and about the ears, whilst the crown is cropped
close or shaven. The color of the skin is a light yellowish brown,
but variable in shade, and in a few instances was observed to be
very dark. In the young, the complexion is comparatively fair,
presenting a remarkably healthy sunburnt appearance, through which
the rosy hue of the cheeks is visible; before middle life, however,
this, from exposure, gives place to a weather-beaten appearance, so
that it is difficult to guess their ages.
The face is flat, broad, rounded, and commonly plump, the cheek
bones high, the forehead low, but broad across the eyebrows,
and narrowing upwards; the whole head becomes somewhat pointed
toward the crown. The nose is short and flat, giving an appearance
of considerable space between the eyes. The eyes are brown, of
different shades, usually dark, seldom if ever altogether black,
and generally have a soft expression; some have a peculiar glitter,
which we call gipsy-like. They slope slightly upwards from the
nose, and have a fold of skin stretching across the inner angle to
the upper eyelid, most perceptible in childhood, which gives to
some individuals a cast of countenance almost perfectly Chinese.
The eyelids seem tumid, opening to only a moderate extent, and the
slightly arched eyebrows scarcely project beyond them. The ears are
by no means large, but frequently stand out sideways. The mouth
is prominent and large, and the lips, especially the lower one,
rather thick and protruding. The jawbones are strong, supporting
remarkably firm and commonly regular teeth. In the youthful
these are in general white, but toward middle age they have lost
their enamel and become black or are worn down to the gums. The
incisors of the lower jaw do not pass behind those of the upper,
but meet edge to edge, so that by the time an individual arrives
at maturity, the opposing surfaces of the eye and front teeth are
perfectly flat, independently of the wear they are subjected to
in every possible way to assist the hands. The expression of the
countenance is one of habitual good humor in the great majority of
both sexes, but is a good deal marred in the men by wearing heavy
lip ornaments. * * *
While young the women are generally well formed and good looking,
having good eyes and teeth. To a few, who besides possessed
something of the Circassian cast of features, was attributed a
certain degree of brunette beauty. Their hands and feet are small,
and the former delicate in the young, but soon become rough and
coarse when the household cares devolve upon them. Their movements
are awkward and ungainly, and though capable of making long
journeys on foot, it is almost painful to see many of them walk.
Unlike the men, they shuffle along commonly a little sideways, with
the toes turned inwards, stooping slightly forward as if carrying
a burden, and their general appearance is not enhanced by the
coat being made large enough to accommodate a child on the back,
whilst the tight-fitting nether garment only serves to display the
deformity of their bow legs. * * *
The physical constitution of both sexes is strong, and they bear
exposure during the coldest weather for many hours together without
appearing inconvenienced, further than occasional frostbites on
the cheeks. They also show great endurance of fatigue during their
journeys in the summer, particularly that part in which they
require to drag the family boat, laden with their summer tent and
all their moveables, on a sledge over the ice.
Extreme longevity is probably not unknown among them; but as they
take no heed to number the years as they pass, they can form
no guess of their own ages, invariably stating "they have many
years." Judging altogether from appearance, a man whom we saw in
the neighborhood of Kotzebue Sound could not be less than 80 years
of age. He had long been confined to his bed and appeared quite
in his dotage. There was another at Point Barrow, whose wrinkled
face, silvery hair, toothless gums, and shrunk limbs indicated an
age nothing short of 75. This man died in the month of April, 1853,
and had paid a visit to the ship only a few days before, when his
intellect seemed unimpaired, and his vision wonderfully acute for
his time of life. There is another still alive, who is said to be a
few years older.