About 3,000 Innuits inhabit the northwest coast of America, from
the Colville River, on the east, to Bering Strait, including
the islands therein, on the west. Many of these came under my
observation while cruising in the Arctic Ocean in command of the
_Corwin_.
In appearance they are tall and muscular, many being 6 feet in
height, and some were seen that would exceed that even. Their
peculiar dress gives them a squat appearance, and their stature
seems less than it is in reality. The women are much shorter than
the men, but both sexes are strong and active, though not equal
in these respects to the Tchuktchis and other reindeer tribes of
Siberia.
The face of the Innuit is broad below the eyes, the forehead is
narrow and receding, the chin and lower jaw broad and heavy. The
nose is usually broad and flattened, but not always; occasionally
one is seen whose features are well formed and handsome. In the
young children this is the almost invariable rule; many of them
are really beautiful. The eyes are small and black, and appear to
be slightly oblique, and for this reason, perhaps more than any
other, they have been classed with the Mongolidae. They have large
mouths, thick, loosely hanging lips, and fine, strong teeth. These,
however, from eating raw food, are usually very much worn. The
labrets worn in the lips are hideous-looking things, made of bone,
glass, stone, ivory, or in fact anything within the reach of the
native which can be worked into the requisite shape.
They have rather light skin, very different from the Indians of the
plains; and in this also they differ from the Tchuktchis, being
much lighter, and when cleansed from the dirt which usually covers
them, and freed from the sunburn and tan due to long exposure, they
become quite fair. They have small, well-formed hands and feet,
much smaller in proportion than white men. This was particularly
noticeable when buying boots and mittens from them for our use;
only the largest sizes made by them could be used at all. They are
generally without beard, but as the men grow old, they sometimes
have a thin, straggling mustache and beard, but it is never full
and regular. The hair is coarse and black.