the sufficiency of these dots, he forthwith began to run a free bold line from one to the other, and as he did so the form of an animal—­horse, buffalo, elephant, or some kind of antelope—­gradually developed itself.  This was invariably done with a free hand, and with such unerring accuracy of touch, that no correction of a line was at any time attempted.  I understood from the lad that this was the plan which was invariably pursued by his kindred in making their clever pictures.”

It is impossible, I think, for a drawing to be made on this method unless the artist had a clear image in his mind’s eye of what he was about to draw, and was able, in some degree, to project it on the paper or slate.

Other living races have the gift of drawing, but none more so than the Eskimo.  I will therefore speak of these and not of the Australian and Tasmanian pictures, nor of the still ruder performances of the old inhabitants of Guiana, nor of those of some North American tribes, as the Iroquois.  The Eskimos are geographers by instinct, and appear to see vast tracts of country mapped out in their heads.  From the multitude of illustrations of their map-drawing powers, I may mention one of those included in the journals of Captain Hall, at p. 224, which were published in 1879 by the United States Government, under the editorship of Professor J. E. Nourse.  It is the facsimile of a chart drawn by an Eskimo who was a thorough barbarian in the accepted sense of the word; that is to say, he spoke no language besides his own uncouth tongue, he was wholly uneducated according to our modern ideas, and he lived in what we should call a savage fashion.  This man drew from memory a chart of the region over which he had at one time or another gone in his canoe.  It extended from Pond’s Bay, in lat. 73 deg., to Fort Churchill, in lat. 58 deg.44’, over a distance in a straight line of more than 960 nautical, or 1100 English miles, the coast being so indented by arms of the sea that its length is six times as great.  On comparing this rough Eskimo outline with the Admiralty chart of 1870, their accordance is remarkable.  I have seen many MS. route maps made by travellers a few years since, when the scientific exploration of the world was much less advanced than it is now, and I can confidently say that I have never known of any traveller, white or brown, civilised or uncivilised, in Africa, Asia, or Australia, who, being unprovided with surveying instruments, and trusting to his memory alone, has produced a chart comparable in extent and accuracy to that of this barbarous Eskimo.  The aptitude of the Eskimos to draw, is abundantly shown by the numerous illustrations in Rink’s work, all of which were made by self-taught men, and are thoroughly realistic.