Eskimo
2 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Eskimo. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
the name of the inhabitants of the N. coast of the American continent down to lat. 60° N. on the W., and 55° on the E., and of the Arctic Islands, Greenland, and about 400 miles of the nearest Asiatic coast. They prefer the vicinity of the seashore. Their number scarcely amounts to 40,000. Nevertheless they are scattered as the sole native occupants of regions stretching from E. to W. as far as 3,200 miles in a straight line. Race. They used to be classed among nations of the Mongolian stock; but now they are considered as akin to the American Indians. Their height nearly equals the average of the N. W. Indians. They appear comparatively taller sitting than standing. Their hands and feet are small, their faces oval, but rather broad in the lower part; their skin is only slightly brown; they have coarse black hair and very little beard. The skull is high. Habits. The Eskimos get their subsistence mostly from hunting by sea, using for this purpose skin boats where the sea is open, and dog sledges on the ice. From the skin, blubber, and flesh of the seal and the cetaceous animals, they procure clothes, fuel, light, and food. Their most interesting as well as inter important invention for hunting is the well-known small skin boat for one man, called a kayak. It is formed of a framework covered with skin, and, together with his waterproof jacket, it completely protects the man against the waves, so that he is able to rise unhurt by means of his paddle, even should he capsize. A Greenlander's kayak is almost 18 feet long and 2 feet broad, and can carry 200 pounds besides the man. The special weapon of the kayak is the large harpoon, connected by a line with an Inflated bladder. The hunter throws it when but 25 feet from the seal, and at once drops the bladder overboard, thus retarding the speed of the wounded animal, which runs off with it till finally killed by a lance-thrust. Their winter dwellings vary with regard to the materials of which they are built, as well as in their form. In the farthest W. they are constructed mostly of planks, covered only with a layer of turf or sod; in Greenland the walls consist of stones and sod; in the central regions the houses are formed merely out of snow. In Alaska the interior is a square room, surrounded by the sleeping places, with the entrance on one side, while a hearth with wood as fuel occupies the middle of the floor. In Greenland the room is heated only by lamps, and the sleeping places or family stalls are arranged in a row occupying one of its sides. The number of inhabitants at an Eskimo station is generally under 40. Dress. The dress of the Eskimos is almost the same for the women as for the men, consisting of trousers or breeches and a tunic or coat fitting close to the body, made of skins, and covering also the head by a prolongation that forms the hood. For women with children to carry, this hood is widened so as to make it an excellent cradle, the amaut. Language. The language is characterized by the power of expressing in one word a whole sentence in which are embodied a number of ideas which in other languages require separate words. The Greenland dictionary contains 1,370 . A radiradicals and about 200 affixes cal may be made the foundation of thousands of derivatives, and a word can be composed which expresses with perfect distinctness what in our civilized languages might require 20 words. In Greenland and Labrador the missionaries have adapted the Roman letters for reducing the native language to writing. Sociology. It is doubtful whether an organization like that of the Indian "families" has been discovered among the Eskimos. But a division into tribes, each with their separate territories, actually exists. The tribe again is divided into groups constituting the inhabitants of the different wintering places. Finally, in the same station, the inhabitclosely ants of the same house are united with regard to common housekeeping. In this, and perhaps similar ways, their general communism in living, characteristic of their stage of culture, is governed by rules for partnership in householding, for distribution of the daily game during the winter, and for the possessions of the individual, the family, the housemates, and the placefellows. One of the oldest and most respectable men, called in Greenland itok, in Labrador angajorkak, is obeyed as chief of a house or wintering place, though his authority, perhaps, may rest on tacit agreement only. Religion. The inhabitants of Danish West Greenland, numbering about 10,000, the greater part of the Labradorians, and the southern Alaska Eskimos are Christianized. As for the rest, the religion of the Eskimos is what is generally designated as Shamanism. The name Eskimo is said to be formed by corruption out of an Indian word signifying "eaters of raw meat." They call themselves Inuit, in Greenland partly Kaladlit. Their origin generally has been derived from Asia, but now they are believed by some to have come from the interior of America. The Eskimos may be divided into the following groups: (1) The Western Eskimos, inhabiting the Alaska territory and the Asiatic side of Bering Strait; (2) the Mackenzie Eskimos, or Tchiglits, from Barter Island to Cape Bathurst; (3) the inhabitants of the central regions, including the Arctic Archipelago; (4) the Labradorians; (5) the Greenlanders. A side branch inhabits the Aleutian Islands.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
es'ki-mo, a North American people. They range for 5,000 miles from Alaska, around the Arctic shores, to Greenland and Labrador. To this territory must be added 500 miles of coast in eastern Siberia. The Eskimos in some respects resemble the Mongolians of Siberia, but they are now classed as a division of the great American or Red Race. Although scattered in small parties throughout this immense territory, they are thought to number not over 40,000 in all. In their own language they call themselves Innuit, or the people, signifying that all others are to be regarded as outsiders or foreigners. The Eskimo is a sturdy, hardy fellow, with a long body and short legs, giving him a squatty appearance. His hands and feet are small. His skull is high. He has coarse, straight, black hair, black eyes, high cheek bones, and a broad nose. His complexion, once the smoke and grime are removed, is rather lighter than that of other Indians. In dress, the men and women are much alike. Both sexes wear fur trousers and coats. The skins of the seal, the fox, or any hairy animal are used for clothing. The collar of the coat is prolonged into a sort of hood, to be drawn over the head in winter. This hood, which hangs down the back, is used by the Eskimo woman as a convenient place in which to carry a young child. In their houses both sexes remove the fur coat, and go about clad in trousers only. Tattooing is a common practice. The men have a curious habit of wearing a pair of large bone buttons or studs, the shanks of which are inserted through slits made in the lower lip. Although waterfowl, fish, and various land and sea animals furnish a part of his support, the Eskimo is dependent chiefly on two animals,--the dog and the seal. In winter, though all other food fails, the seal is obliged to come up through holes in the ice to breathe, and is taken by the Eskimo, who lies in wait with his harpoon. This animal furnishes skins for tents and clothing. Its blubber furnishes oil and fuel and light. Blubber and flesh form the chief article of winter food. If a polar bear can be taken, so much the better; but the seal is the Eskimo's chief dependence. The Eskimo dog is a vicious, wolf-like animal of great endurance. It has been trained to draw sledges. With his dogs, the Eskimo hunter is able to make long trips, otherwise impossible, in search of seals. He carries with him a large fur sleeping bag in which he is able to sleep whenever fatigue overtakes him. We cannot say when night overtakes him, because in the Arctic region, the winter night is several months in length. The Eskimo is also an expert boatman. His kayak or canoe is made of skins stretched over a light frame constructed of bones or pieces of wood. A sort of skin deck is drawn up around the boatman's waist in such a way as to keep out water completely. He uses a paddle with great dexterity. With its help he is able to right himself without inconvenience, in case his boat should be overturned. With his kayak the hunter plunges through the surf fearlessly in pursuit of game. The Eskimos live in small villages of a few families. In the summer time the families wander, seldom, however, going far inland; in winter they return, usually to the same locality, always on the seashore. They have great skill in constructing temporary houses of blocks of snow; but their permanent homes are made usually of stones, chinked with sods and covered with earth. The entrance is a low, half underground passage. An Eskimo home is far from attractive. The house has a fishy, oily smell, and is surrounded usually by offal. As a people they show an inclination to keep away from the whites and to preserve their own language and primitive methods of worship. Some progress has been made by the Moravian Brethren in Greenland, however, where most of the villages have embraced a form of Christianity. See Reindeer ; Peary ; Greenland ; Alaska