Arctic Survival
ESKIMOS OVERCAME FROSTBITE; WOMEN PLAYED MAJOR ROLE
By Howard Bock
Times Editor
One of the major problems in
man's existence down through time
in the Arctic has been extremely
cold temperatures. In meeting this
great threat to themselves and the
dire consequences that would result
if no precautions were taken, the
first unwritten law of Arctic peo
ple was to dress for cold weather.
In doing so, there were, amazingly,
few serious frostbite problems.
Minor frostbites were nuisances
with which the ancient people had
to contend. Most of them, appar
ently, solved the minor frostbite
prroblem satisfactorily and suf
fered little damage to tissues. Minor
frostbites will be covered little more
fully later in this article.
The ancient Arctic people, no
doubt after finding that serious
frostbites were a great threat to
their existence, devised their cloth
ing so that occurences of this threat
were kept at a minimum.
Major Role
Women of the Arctic communi- '
ties played a major role in preven
tion of major frostbites. They made
the clothing and it was they who
watched with thoroughness the con
dition of their husband's winter
wear. The men demanded that their
rnukluks, parkas, gloves, mittens
be kept in first-class condition, es
pecially clothing worn on their ex
tremities.
When the husbands came home
after hunting out on the sea ice all
day, the wives took careful inspec
tion of their husbands’ attire, es
pecially their footwear. They looked
for broken sinew threading around
the oogruk skin soles and when
they found, even a tiny hole, or rip.
they sewed it up at once.
Mended Quickly
When they found that the mukluk
soles had worn thin, they sewed on
round pieces of oogruk skin, either
on the heel or on the ball of the
loot. The patching was done care
lully so that the needle did not go
Ihrough the whole layer of the sole:
that is, the needle and sinew had
to be put through between the outer
and inner layer of the oogruk skin.
This was done to prevent leakage
into the mukluk.
Dried Thoroughly
When women found the mukluks
were damp on the inside, they
turned them inside out and put
them to dry, up near the ceiling
where there was much more heat.
The drying of the inner side of the
mukluks usually took about two
to three hours after which they
were turned right side out and al
lowed to dry thoroughly through
the night.
Early the next morning the
women took the mukluks, oiled"
them lightly with seal or whale oil
and kneaded them so they became
supple. When the soles dried stiff,
a stout stick with a rounded end
was applied and used to soften or
knead the stiffened sole.
Caribou Socks
The hunters wore caribou socks.
These were needed because the
men used waterproof footwear when
hunting on the sea ice. This type of
footwear was used even in the dead
of winter because on young ice salty
slush formed when sea water and
snow mixed. (Salt water seeped
through young ice and formed the
slush.1
Caribou socks were definitely
needed along with proper insoles.
The length of hair on caribou socks
was usually three-quarter or an
inch long. The hair was worn next
to the skin. The thickness of hair
on the sock was preferred at that
precise thickness because it pre
vented bunching which was uncom
fortable.
Insoles
A simple set of insoles played a
great role in the prevention of major
frostbites on feet among the Arctic
people. Care was taken in selection
of the insoles.
I Dried grass was used quite ex
tensively and it worked well, but
not to the full satisfaction of the
hunters or whoever wore them.
When the natives acquired hemp
rope, they unravelled the strands
and used that. This worked well
but it, also, was not too satisfactory.
Grass and hemp did not work too
well because they tended to travel
on the inner sole of the mukluk
either to one side or the other and
forward and back. This was due,
quite reasonably, to smooth surfaces
of those materials that made them
tend to slip.
Finest Insole
The finest insole material the old
time natives on the coast found was
root hairs they gathered on banks
next to the ocean shore.
When the breakers were heavy
the wash reached the banks and
washed off the soil leaving root
hairs exposed. When the breakers
subsided these root hairs were dried
by the wind and sun. Men, women,
and children gathered them to use
as insoles.
Root insoles were crinkly and had
many branchlets so that when
bunched they laid in all directions
and in that way tended to adher in
a stationary position. When stepped
on, or compressed, root insoles
sprung back so that constant air
space was retained, making the in
sole a good insulating material.
On the other hand, grass and
hemp tended to compress into a flat
mass thus becoming conductor of
cold temperature and transferring
onto the sock and then to the feet.
In very cold weather improper in
sulation of the insoles could be felt
to an alarming degree. Therefore,
proper insoles in mukluks were
most necessary and they contributed
greatly in preventing major frost
bites.
Hand Protection
Hand wear was of great import
ance also. The women made gloves
out of very young caribou fawn
skins. This material was soft and
thin enough so that it did not im
pair the free use of the hands.
On type of glove that was used
quite extensively was one with only
the thumb and index finger in free
use since these two digits were
most actively used and the other
three fingers were encased in a
common enclosure. The natives
found that common encasement of
fingers was most advisable, out
side of the thumb, so that the
warmth of the hands can be re
tained in one space.
For full protection of the hands,
the women made heavy mittens
usually out of winter caribou leg
skins into which the gloved hands
could be encased. This type of hand
protection against extreme cold was
usually enough. In fact it was ade
quate and sufficient when hands
were in active use or exercised dur
ing cold weather.
Having taken quite adequate pre
cautions against major frostbites the
next serious nuisance the northern
people had to contend with were
minor frostbites. These were frost
bites on the face, the cheeks, nose,
and the ears.
Detection
In extremely cold weather very
great precaution and alertness was,
and is, required. Upon exposure to
below zero temperatures the face
gets progressively colder during the
time one is exposed to it. Under
these conditions frostbite on the
face area will sneak up on one. He
should, as often as possible, feel
his face to detect any frozen areas.
A bare hand pulled out of mittens
should be used and with which the
affected area should be warmed
and thawed by alternating the
hands in order not to expose the
hands at too long a period at a time.
I This should be done by applying
the palm of the hand without rub
bing.
Another way to detect the af
fected area was to lightly grimace
the face and by crinkling the nose.
If one can feel tightness in these
areas something is wrong and one
had better take his hands and pro
ceed to thaw out frozen areaes.
Thawing out the frostbitten areas
in this manner, especially if the
area was bitten rather deeply, us
ually resulted in discoloration and
peeling of the skin a couple of days
later.
Ancient Treatment
The ancient Eskimos had a way
of avoiding the unsightly after-ef
fects of frostbites on the face. There
are some modern Eskimos who have
known of this manner of preventing
discoloration and peeling.
Upon detection of a frostbitten
area on the cheeks or nose tears
were relatively minor problems be
cause they were covered by the
hood), the victim takes saliva out of
his mouth which he spreads over
and around the frozen spots. Mu
cous was preferred. The thicker it
was the better.
If the reader tends to be squeam
ish about this method he should
perhaps, think of the mouth to
mouth respiration method now be
ing commonly used as an accepted
first aid procedure.
The ancient Eskimo contended
that the application of mucous, or
saliva, arrested the freezing action.
He contended that mucuous had
much lower freezing point and
whe opplied on and around the af
fected area, the unaffected area hav
ing circulation and. therefore warm
er, helped the mucuous to retain its
warmth.
Thawed Infernally
The next procedure was to keep
mucous application out of the direct
path of the wind and to add more
saliva every few minutes for more
warmth until the affected area was
thawed.
The theory of the ancient Eskimo
was. that the frozen area should be
thawed by internal heat of the body
and in that way the tissues would
not be injured and the affected area
would be free from discoloration
and peeling of the skin when
thawed in that manner.
Proper Clothing
And so. the ancient natives of the
Arctic took extensive precautions
against major frostbdes and were
uniquely successful in preventing
them, knowing that serious frost
bites would have been disastrous
during their survival down through
the ages.'
They needed their hunters free
of handicaps, as much as possible,
so they could pursue their calling
without too much hindrance from
the menace of frostbite and which
thev found could be effectively pre
vented through the use of proper
clothing.
The women played a great role in
the survival of man in the Arctic.
Their careful watchfulness and
maintenance of their husbands’ win
ter wear, their own wear and that
of their children, contributed im
measurably in the success of man’s
existence in the north country.
PT. BARROW NEWS
Barrow, Wainwright Mushers
Compete for Trophy Flag
By Guy Okakok
Contributing Editor
1 was eleven miles oft shore and
when I got to the high ridges I
turned around and looked toward
the village. There above the village
I saw a big smoke rising up through
the air. I said to myself, “Who
could they be?’”
After I had taken my smoke I
Went down and walked toward
north, thinking I’d see polar bear
tracks. While I was walking I kept
on thinking whose house was burn
ing.
Little Damage
' After 8 hours walking through
Ihe young ice, I turned right around
tnd start home coming empty
handed. When I came in I asked
my wife if there was a fire any
where here. She answered and told
me that there was one over at the
tillage. It was Miles Itta’s house.
The fire must have started from the
gas range.
No one got hurt and they all
tome out unharmed. There was
little damage inside but not too
Seriously.
The children’s father was not in
*he village when the fire started.
Dogteam Races I
The mushers will be leaving the
tillage tomorrow to Wainwright.
ITheir names as follows: Joseph Tuk- '
lee and Thomas Napageak. These
two men who won the dog races
this last Christmas season.
The trophy flag Wainwright
people were holding is still there.
The Barrow mushers said to the
Wainwright mushers that they
should start one at a time each driv
er by time, but their answer to Tuk
lee was no. They said the starting
line will be marked and all mushers
will start together by the signal.
They said the mushers will bring
the trophy flag to Barrow, but if
they lose they will have to come
home without it.
This is the first race this month
and will continue on both sides.
Let us all hope the Barrow people
gets it back.
Next month in March after these
mushers come back from races I
will, or can, talk more about them
how they do this last big racing.
t
Training Young Hunters
Good thing youngsters are still
at it. What I mean is following their
fathers when they go out sealing
and hunting.
No matter how cold the weather
still they hunt, facing the wind,
sometimes come home empty hand
ed several times. That doesn’t stop
them from hunting. Boys, when
they come to 12 years of age are
sure they could begin.
i
Letter to Editor
13 Luke Street
Potchefstroom
Transvaal,
Republic of South Africa
January 26, 1963
Dear Sir:
It was with great interest that I
read an article in our daily morn
ing newspaper, “Die Transvaler”
about your newspaper for the Eski
mos. I hope it will be a great suc
cess.
I am Very interested to corres
pond with a boy or girl in that
part of the world. I would appre
ciate it if they could write and
understand English, Dutch, or Bel
gian.
I am nineteen years old and I
have pen-friends in America and
Sweden. Thank you,
Johan Gardner
First two or three days their
fathers would test them. The boys
won’t like it the first day or two
and finally get used to it and then
they could hunt by themselves.
“Never get disappointed or dis
couraged,” I was told by my dad
and uncle.
Couple of days ago I met a man
and his son walking together on the
ice. I know both of them. The boy
was holding a shovel and I asked
his father why he carries the sho
vel. He said he has a net under the
ice and he thinks he will want to
shovel some snow around the place.
I said to him the boy. must be 12
years old and he was.
I said to the boy, “Young man,
keep up your good standing.”
Eskimo Word for 'Person' Varies
For each subsequent issue of Tundra Times, the Department of
Lingusistics and Foreign Languages at the University of Alaska will sub
mit contributions from its research section on Alaska's native languages.
y ut u qaneriaraanek litcung- ]
caatulit yuppiit picciatun Alaskami i
qanerisraitnek y u u m aperyaraa
alaakaat ayuqsuitLiinilriaq nunaani
ayugnerilengurni.
wani Kusquqvagmi Kuigpagmi
Lu aperlaraat “yuk.” negemtni tau
gken apernauraat “inuk.” Nunivar
m u i t awaatiitn-Lu aparoLuku
“chuh.” wani taugken Kodiakami
negerani-Lu apernauraat "shuk.”
eLmegnek apraqLuteng Yuppiit,
Inupiat, Suuget, tuaten-Lu.
Kitaaki eLpeci yuugni, inupiarni,
suugni, chuugni-Lu, igaruaaqaqii
kut igaatukuvci yugtun was-Lu qa
kassatstun. piurci tuai.
People studying the languages of
different Eskimo villages in Alaska
soon find out that the expressions
for “person” vary.
On the Kuskokwim and Yukon
the word for person is “yuk”
(yook). North of them, the word is
“inuk." In Nunivak Island and the
surrounding areas north of it, the
word becomes “shuk” or “suk.”
The people refer to themselves
as Yuppiit, Inupiat, (real, genuine
people), Suuget (the people), etc.
We encourage all Eskimos who
can or want to, to write to us, in
Eskimo or English.
Japanese Professor Likes Paper
Meiji University
Kanda, Chiyodaku,
Tokyo, Japan
February 8, 1963
Dear Editor:
1 thank you very much for your
kind reply of Jan. 8 and the prec
ious materials of Eskimo Confer
ence.
I felt keenly interested in the
Tundra Times, and hope it will grow
as a means for Eskimos and Indians
to express their opinions freely, and
thus to become instrumental in bet
tering their life.
I wish to be a regular subscriber
of the paper; I will make the pay
ment for it on receipt of your no
tice of the subscription rate for half
a year and one year. Would you
please make an arrangement for
me at once to get your paper regu
larly by air?
May I request you again to send
me the photographs of the first
“Iunpiat Pitot” which was carried
in Tundra Times.
Your very truly,
Masao Oka
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