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| THE ESKIMO VILLAGE - In the fall of 1892, there
arrived at Chicago a colony of Esquimaux, taken from a point as far
south in Labrador as Esquimaux could be found, and labeled as
denizens of a land as far north as could be reached. But southerners
as they might be, in Labrador, it was feared they would do ill in
Chicago, where great heats prevail in July; hence a whole winter was
allowed to them for acclimatization. In order to give them a
supposed advantage, the colonists were admitted to Jackson Park
proper, where they were allowed to build a stockage and charge an
admission fee. No sooner did summer appear than dissensions arose;
the fur coats were thrown aside, whereas the public desired to see
the customary habiliments of the North, and at last ten of the twelve
tribes set up a kingdom elsewhere, claiming that they had been
deceived by the contractor who had taken them from home. Our picture
shows the nearly deserted settlement as it appeared after the revolt,
and the northmen at the game they constantly played with "black
snake" whips. One of the semi-spherical huts may be seen at the left
of the native on our left, and the meager attendance of visitors is
representative of the small patronage that rewarded their exhibition.
Had the Esquimaux settled on Midway Plaisance and held together,
their remarkable ethnological character would have received earnest
public attention. |
