The Eskimos live in Greenland. I am sure you would wonder why it is
called “Greenland,” for it is almost never “green.” Nearly all the year
round the ground is covered with ice and snow, so that it seems as if
“Whiteland” would be a better name.
[Illustration]
It is so cold in Greenland that the Eskimos have to wear very warm
clothing. The boys and girls and men and women dress very much alike.
They wear trousers made of bearskin and coats made of sealskin. Their
stockings are like leggings and are made of birdskin, with soft
feathers inside to keep their feet warm. Over these they wear sealskin
boots, which are long enough to cover their knees.
It is so cold in Greenland that trees cannot grow. If you think of all
the ways in which we use the wood from our forest trees you will wonder
what the Eskimos can do without them.
We build houses of wood, but the Eskimos make theirs of blocks of ice
and snow.
We burn wood in our stoves. The Eskimos burn oil and fat which they get
from the walrus and the seal. They burn this oil in a lamp which gives
them all the light and heat they have.
Our beds, chairs and tables are made of wood. The Eskimos have no beds.
They sleep on bearskin rugs.
They have no tables and no chairs. A big bowl made of bone is set on
the floor, and the family sit around the bowl on bearskins, and eat out
of it.
There are no stores in Greenland, no churches, and no schools.
Everything that a family needs has to be provided by the father or
the mother. The father goes hunting and fishing, to get food to eat,
and oil to burn, and skins to wear. He catches fish, and kills bears,
seals, walrus, and reindeer. Sometimes in the summer he kills a few
birds.
The mother helps cut up the meat, and sometimes she cooks it, but much
of the meat and fat is eaten raw. From the skins and furs she makes all
the clothing for her family.
As there are no schools the Eskimo children never learn to read or
write, but they like to hear their mother and father tell stories, and
they learn these stories so that they can tell them to their children.
Every one in Greenland has a sled. The runners are made of bone, and
the top is made of sealskin. Dogs draw these sleds over the snow, and
they can run very fast and very far.
The boys and girls have very few toys, but they like to play games, and
they have many good times.
The girls have dolls made of bone, and the boys play a game with a ball
and stick made of bone.
But the boys like to hunt and fish. They have small boats made of bone
and sealskin, and paddles made of bone. Of course they can use these
boats only in the short summer time, as the water is frozen the rest of
the year. When they go hunting they carry spears, and a bow and arrows.
* * * * *
Do you think you would like to live in Greenland?
Name ten things that you have that the Eskimo children have never seen.
Tell five things that you can do that the little Eskimos cannot do.
What do we have to eat that the Eskimos cannot have?
Why do the Eskimos build their houses of snow? How is the house heated?
Of what is their clothing made?
How do they cook and eat their food?
What do the Eskimo children do for fun?