THE LIFE OF MAN IN THE POLAR ZONES

General: A Minimum of Life—Culture—Subdivisions of the Arctic Zone—Characteristics of the Tundra—The Reindeer—Population and Occupations—Dwellings—Food and Clothing—Iceland—The Polar Ice-cap: The Eskimo—Dwellings—Food and Clothing—Travel and Transportation—Occupations and Arts—Customs—Deserts of Sand and Deserts of Snow.

_General: A Minimum of Life._ The conditions of life are necessarily very specialised under the peculiar climatic features which are met with in the polar zones. A “monotony of cold” replaces the “monotony of heat” of the tropics, and instead of the spur of the temperate zone seasons there is the depressing, long, polar night. There is a minimum of life, but life is more abundant in the north polar than the south polar zone, and our knowledge is confined chiefly to the former area. Plants are few and lowly. In the farther north, only a few mosses and lichens are found. Land animals which depend upon plant food must therefore likewise be few in number. Farming and cattle-raising cease. The reindeer, which manages to find sufficient food in the lowly Arctic vegetation, is the mainstay of many of the Arctic natives. But the reindeer must wander far and wide in search of their moss. And many reindeer are needed to provide sustenance for one man. Population is small and scattered. There are no permanent settlements at all within the Antarctic circle. And the few scattering islands in the immediately surrounding, vast ocean area of the south temperate zone are likewise uninhabited, except temporarily by shipwrecked seamen or, lately, by members of scientific parties. In the Arctic area human settlements are fairly well scattered over a considerable range near the margins of the zone, but with increasing latitude man is more and more rarely seen, and finally he disappears entirely. There will never be permanent human settlements at the poles. Life is hard; a constant struggle for existence. Man seeks his food by the chase on land, but chiefly in the sea. Hardly a tenth of Greenland’s population could live there without food from the sea. It has been well said that with every degree of higher latitude man is more forced to obtain his food supply from the sea. He lives along, or near, the sea coast. The interior lands, away from the sea, are deserted. Gales, and snow, and cold, cause many deaths on land, and also at sea, especially during fishing expeditions. It has been estimated that about one twenty-fifth of the population of Iceland perishes through being lost in snowstorms, by freezing, or by drowning. In the Faroe Islands about 8%, and in Greenland 7% of the deaths have been reported as due to drowning accidents of one sort or another. Rink has reported of Greenland that most of the deaths occur at seasons of most profitable sealing operations. Such difficult conditions of securing food make famine a likely occurrence. If a successful hunting or sealing expedition follows a time of famine, the natives are wont to indulge in the most revolting gorges. The polar limit of permanent human settlements is believed by Bessels to be fixed, not by the decreasing temperature, but by the increase in the length of the night, which shortens the time during which man can lay up food by hunting and fishing, to last him through the polar night. The chase after land animals has helped to drive the latter farther and farther north.

_Culture._ Under such adverse conditions it is not hard to see that progress towards a higher culture is not a reasonable expectation. There is no time in which man may seek to develop and satisfy his higher needs. Much truth is contained in Guyot’s somewhat picturesque statement: “The man of the polar regions is the beggar overwhelmed with suffering, who, too happy if he but gain his daily bread, has no leisure to think of anything more exalted.” Thus the inhabitants of the north polar zone have not played an important rôle in the history of human progress. A sparse population, not far advanced in culture or in social relations, is inevitable under polar conditions of climate. Yet the courage of the Eskimo in braving a raging sea in his _kayak_, or in facing a polar bear; the docility, industry, good nature, and other attractive qualities of these people, which have been described by more than one Arctic explorer; the intelligence and the patience with which they have overcome the disadvantages of their environment; the contributions made by Iceland to the world’s literature—these and other similar considerations make us pause before passing too hasty a judgment. Polar cold has not produced a distinct type of polar man, but the general effect of the polar climate in eliminating cattle-raising and agriculture—except to a very limited extent, and in a few favoured localities—from the list of human occupations; in turning man to the sea for his food; in magnifying the importance of animal products, especially bones, in the production of domestic utensils and weapons, is more or less familiar among all Arctic tribes. There is no steady, profitable occupation in which large numbers of men may be regularly employed at good wages. Broad, general analogies have been traced between the northern Eskimos and the Fuegians of far southern South America.

_Subdivisions of the Arctic Zone._ For the purpose of this consideration the north polar zone may conveniently be subdivided into (1) the lowlands of the tundra, where the summer sun melts off the snow and thaws out the upper few inches, or possibly few feet, of the frozen ground, and (2) the permanently ice- and snow-covered higher land, where the heat of the summer does not remove the icy cover, and where man, so far as he inhabits those districts at all, must live along the margins of the ice-cap, near the sea. In whichever portion of the Arctic man is found, his general mode of life, his occupations, his dwellings, food, clothing, arts, and so on, are rigidly controlled by climate.

_Characteristics of the Tundra._ The low-lying frozen desert along the shores of the Arctic Ocean is known as the tundra. “Barren Lands” is the name by which it goes in Canada. Through belts of lowly, scattering trees, these lowlands gradually merge on the south into the northernmost forests of the temperate zone. To the north are eternal snow and ice. Over the treeless tundra the soil is permanently frozen to a great depth, but the upper part of the surface thaws out sufficiently during the summer to produce a great plain, more or less swampy, which may become dry in places in midsummer. Scattered clumps of trees, chiefly along the water-courses, relieve the monotony of the dead-level here and there, and during the summer the tundra is covered for a few weeks with lowly lichens, mosses, and ferns, or even with the green leaves of stunted berry-bushes, whose roots are all near the surface. At this season, also, brilliant flowers, insects, and birds give life and charm to the scene. With their polar characteristic of an extraordinarily rapid growth, under the summer sun, the plants of the tundra awaken as if by magic. The summer is in striking contrast with the winter, when these great plains are frozen solid, rivers and all, under a broad sheet of snow.

Journeys by dog or reindeer sledge, or on skis, can be made in any direction, regardless of the presence of water or land beneath the snows, the routes to be followed being accurately indicated by means of landmarks. Thus in the Yukon country of Alaska, as long as the rivers remain frozen, dog-sledges are used in the interior to carry the mails and other freight. This is much more expensive than the summer transportation by boat. When the snow is in good condition, the natives can travel at the rate of fourteen or fifteen miles an hour on skis. In spring and early summer, when the upper portions of northward flowing rivers melt, while the lower portions are still frozen, floods are frequent over the lowlands. In the transition season, when the rivers are not frozen and the ground is not snow-covered, travel is usually difficult or impossible. In the month of October, in northern Russia, for example, the government mail service is discontinued, labour contracts are off, and the keepers of stages are freed from their usual obligations. The fact that her northern ports are ice-bound in winter is a serious handicap to Russia. This was one of the principal reasons for her desire to secure an ice-free port on the Pacific, Vladivostock, the original terminus of the trans-Siberian Railroad, being also ice-bound in winter. This led to the acquisition of Port Arthur, and eventually to the war with Japan. An open port would be an immense gain for Russia, which has been much handicapped in training her sailors by the freezing of the Baltic harbours in winter.

_The Reindeer._ The reindeer in Eurasia and the caribou in North America are the most important animals of the tundra. They feed on lichens and mosses, or stunted shrubs. The reindeer is wonderfully adapted to the natural conditions under which it lives. With wide hoofs, well-fitted for travel over the snow, it moves very swiftly. Able to endure great cold, it scrapes through the snow in winter to find the reindeer moss on which it feeds. It migrates northward in summer and southward to the forests in winter, in search of food. The reindeer has been partly trained as a domestic animal by the natives of the tundra. To them, the reindeer is of the utmost importance: a man’s wealth is rated according to the number of these animals in his possession, and their loss, by reason of famine or disease, usually means that the owners are reduced to poverty. The reindeer supplies milk and flesh for food; it is an excellent draught animal; its skin, and sinews, and bones furnish material for clothing, tents, and utensils and weapons of all sorts.

_Population and Occupation._ The scattered nomadic tribes of the tundra, a semi-pastoral and semi-hunting population, wander about with their reindeer over the vast stretches of the tundra, stopping wherever the animals find food; having no settled abode; making little progress in the cultivation of the higher arts. Population is inevitably sparse, and will so remain. The Lapps; the Eskimos, along the borders of the Arctic Ocean; the Samoyads, Yakuts, Ostyaks, Tunguses—all have a common mode of life. Hunters and fishermen by force of circumstances, they can never become farmers. In winter, they hunt for small fur-bearing animals or for larger game along the borders of the southern forests. In summer, they fish in the rivers or along the shores, storing away food for the winter. They are always on the move. Some of the tribes live along the forest borders in the winter, for the sake of the shelter there provided. The men procure food and make the needed implements and weapons. The women prepare the food and clothing; watch the reindeer; collect berries in summer; dry the fish; and even take charge, among the Samoyads and Ostyaks, for example, of setting up and taking down the tents, in order that the men may have more time for the chase. The ill, the weak, and the aged receive little attention.

_Dwellings._ The inhabitants of the tundra protect themselves against the inclemencies of the weather in summer by means of portable tents made of skins or bark, supported by poles. In winter, the structure is often more substantial, having more coverings or being made of turf, or, in the case of some of the Lapps, even of snow. Where timber is scarce, far from forests, the Samoyads and Ostyaks consider their tent-poles very valuable property, and carry them along with the greatest care. The tribes who live nearer the forests do not take the trouble to transport the tent-poles when they move. In the far north, away from the forests, drift wood is an important source of lumber supply. The furnishings are very simple and easily moved when tents are struck. Furs and skins are the principal articles of trade among the inhabitants of the tundra.

_Food and Clothing._ The natural food is obtained chiefly from the reindeer and other land animals and wild fowl, whose flesh is often eaten raw. Reindeer milk, fish, berries, and a little other vegetable food, are occasionally added to the monotonous and unattractive diet list, as is fresh or dried blood. Trade with the neighbouring, more highly civilised people on the south gives tea and coffee, tobacco, and other articles of food. In northern Alaska caribou, bear, salmon, rabbits, grouse, and ptarmigan make up the principal food of the natives.

The clothing of the tundra tribes shows climatic control in the character and in the simplicity of the materials used. Furs and skins are universally employed. The Samoyads, Tunguses, and others often ornament their furs with bands of brightly coloured stuffs, when these can be secured. Mittens, caps, and boots of fur are essential for protection against the winter cold. Implements of the chase and domestic utensils are ingeniously made of wood, when available, or of the skin, sinews, and bones of the reindeer. Needles and spoons are commonly made of bone; for thread, gut is used. It is worth noting that the fossil elephants found frozen in the gravelly river banks of the Siberian tundras have, ages later, furnished ivory for the Chinese to fashion into their delicate and beautiful carvings.

_Iceland._ Although outside of the Arctic circle, Iceland is within the polar zone according to Supan’s classification. Its climatic conditions are, however, peculiar on account of its being an island, exposed to the tempering influence of the warm Atlantic waters. Favoured as it is, the climate is unsuitable for grain, breadstuffs and other articles of food being imported. Sheep, cattle, and horses are raised, and fish, feathers, skins, horses, wool, tallow, and other local products are exported. The summer is the natural time for travel, by land or water, and for this reason, the judicial assemblies have in the past been held in that season. The natives of Iceland, although much handicapped, have played their part in the world’s progress, as enterprising sailors and discoverers, and have developed a literature.

_The Polar Ice-Cap: The Eskimo._ The polar people _par excellence_, the Eskimos, live characteristically on the margins of the Arctic ice-cap, beyond the tundra, along the shores of the Arctic seas. The Eskimo, in common with other Arctic natives, must secure his food almost wholly from the sea. When he needs to travel to any distance for food, he moves his dwelling. He is necessarily nomadic in his habits. His existence is in many ways not unlike that of the hunting tribes of the equatorial forests.

_Dwellings._ The rude but substantial dome-shaped ice or snow hut (_igloo_) of the Eskimo furnishes one of the most striking illustrations of the climatic control over human dwellings. Built low, and entered by a low passageway, the doorway may be closed with a block of ice or snow, and thus cold and drifting snow and prowling animals are kept out. The _igloos_ are furnished with the simplest utensils—a “stove” or lamp to give heat and light, with blubber for fuel and oil, and dried moss for a wick; a dish for melting ice for drinking purposes, and for heating the seal or other meat. A clear sheet of ice, made air-tight by having water poured over it, not infrequently does duty as a window as effectively as a pane of glass, and is even preferred to glass. These snow huts are carefully built, as pointed out by Woeikof, not of freshly-fallen snow, but of snow well-compacted by successive storms and winds. The snow becomes dense by this means, and not by being successively melted and frozen, as in a névé. In the drier parts of Greenland, simple earth or stone houses are also used, and in the larger towns wooden houses, built of imported lumber, are the ordinary residences of the inhabitants. The snow _igloo_ is the common type of the more permanent winter dwelling. In summer, when these huts may be damp with melting snow, the nomadic Eskimo travels with tents made of skins, sewed with animal sinews or strips of leather, and set up with tusks or bones. Settlements, established during wanderings in search of good hunting and fishing grounds, may frequently be occupied and abandoned several times, and the ruins of abandoned settlements north of the present limits of human habitations may probably often be thus explained. Even in winter, if the food supply gives out, changes of residence are not uncommon.

_Food and Clothing._ The clothing of the Eskimo is made of skins of the reindeer, seal, or bear, or of birds, worn almost in their natural state. As a protection against the cold, the face is often smeared with fat. Food consists chiefly, or wholly, of heat-producing materials, such as bear or seal meat, and blubber from seal, walrus, or whale, eaten raw or barely heated through. Any surplus food is usually well preserved by the cold.

_Travel and Transportation._ The need of quick travel, over great distances on land, in search of food, makes the dog-sledge an indispensable possession of the Eskimo. The dog, living on animal food, can travel farther north than the reindeer, and is the typical polar draught animal beyond the reindeer country. The dog-sledge has spread the Eskimo far and wide over the Arctic zone. Conditions are not always equally favourable for sledging. Sometimes the runners are covered with ice to make them smoother and to prevent their sinking into the snow. In Labrador, the winter storms which sweep off the loose snow and leave the surface hard and smooth are welcomed as giving the best conditions for sledging.

_Occupations and Arts._ Hunting and fishing, training the dogs, and making _kayaks_, sledges, weapons, and utensils are the chief occupations of the men, while the women make the clothing and chew the skins to soften them. The Eskimo displays the greatest mechanical skill and ingenuity in fashioning all his tools and utensils. As trees do not grow in his country, wood is so scarce that every bit of it is used, small pieces even being bound together with leathern thongs to make the handles of knives and harpoons, and the like. Every piece of driftwood is a precious possession, more valuable often than iron. Driftwood plays an important part in the history and laws of Iceland, and Nansen says that the driftwood “carried down by the polar current along the east coast of Greenland and up the west coast is ... essential to the existence of the Greenland Eskimo.” Wood and iron are used instead of bone and skins. The utensils of Arctic natives show at once whether or not they have had access to supplies of driftwood. It has been well said that where driftwood is found undisturbed this is good evidence that there are no Eskimos in the vicinity. The distribution of man thus depends largely on the course taken by the driftwood. The skill of the Eskimo is well shown in his construction of the _kayak_, made of skins sewn together and stretched over a framework, a marvel of lightness, indestructibility, and portability, easily righted if overturned, which fits the boatman as if he and his boat were one. Needles and thimbles are made of bone; animal fibres are used for thread; narwhal tusks serve as tent-pegs. The Eskimo can make or mend anything that he uses. Nothing is wasted. The Eskimos are naturally expert sailors, because of their life on the sea. In towing their catches to land, they make use of inflated bladders or skins.

_Customs._ The lack of water, and the cold, combine to make personal cleanliness difficult, and the people are characteristically very dirty. The winter, when the Eskimos are living in their more permanent huts, is the time for social visiting, and then they travel for miles in the family sledges to visit their friends. Marriages take place at an early age, especially among the women, and the return of the sun after the long winter has a stimulating effect on the animal passions which leads to sexual excesses of all kinds.[31]

[31] “Some Physiological Effects of Arctic Cold, Darkness and Light,” _Med. Rec._, June 12, 1897, pp. 833-836.

_Deserts of Sand and Deserts of Snow._ The hot deserts of sand near the equator and the frozen deserts of snow near the pole are singularly alike in many ways in relation to man. Both alike repel him. Both are largely or wholly destitute of vegetation, of wood, and of water. The grey or yellow desolate waste of the sand desert is matched by the monotonous white surface of the snow desert. There are no opportunities for accumulating wealth in either. Travel is difficult in both. In one, the camel is the typical beast of burden; in the other, the reindeer and the dog are man’s most useful possessions. The monotonous heat and glare and silence of the sand desert find their counterpart in the cold and glare and silence of the snow desert. The air is generally clear in both, except for the dust over the sand desert and the ice-needles in the air of the snow desert. In both deserts man in very limited in his food supply; in the Sahara, the date, and in Greenland, the seal, are typical staple articles of diet. The aridity in one, the cold in the other, are man’s great enemies. The inhabitants of both deserts are nomadic. Settlements of some permanency are found in oases or along the edges of the sand desert where there is water; similarly, the natives of the far north live along the edges of the ice desert, where they can best find their food. The sand deserts are deserts because they are arid. The snow deserts are deserts because they are cold. Denudation of exposed rocks in both types of desert is largely due to the action of wind, for running water is seldom found. The dust of disintegration is carried away by the winds, and sand-blasting has been reported of the antarctic desert as well as of the Sahara. The polar deserts are perhaps on the whole better suited to life than the sand deserts, for the former do supply water from melted snow and ice, and over the tundra portion of the frozen desert there is an abundance of water in the rivers in summer, with moss, berries, and other vegetation, as well as animal food. Man has, however, a harder struggle to protect himself against the cold than against the heat, for he needs more clothing, and better shelter, and fire. In both deserts life is isolated and primitive. The sand desert is crossed by caravans and trade routes between the more populous lands on either side, and the people of these deserts have more contact with civilisation than do most of the natives of the far north.