Hunting also ranked high in significance. Fresh meat and fish provided a valuable dierary supplem ent for Comer's crew, helping to ward off scurvy, which was always a threat and did claim several lives on Comer's voyages over the years. The Inuit men also actively joined in the whale hunt, manning several of the whaleboats alongside the Americans. They often possessed more whaling ski lls and experience than most of Co mer's crewmembers. While rhe Inuir contributed greatl y to the survival of the Americans, they also provided companionship and friendship. 1hey joined together for sports on rhe ice, dances, and holiday entertainment in the deck house. Intinure relations between the Americans and the Inuit women were commonplace. These re lationships were culturally acceptable among rhe Inuir of the rime and strengthened the bond between themselves and rhe Americans. Comer effectively and co nsisten tly mer his responsibiliries as a whaler and a trader, earning profits for the owners of his vessel. By rhis point in his career, however, his anthropology work was becoming increasingly significant. When he sailed north in 1897, he carried derailed collecting instructions from Boas. Twenty-seven months larer he returned, bringing a profitable cargo of oil, baleen, and furs for the Era's owners and a secondary cargo for Boas and rhe American Museum of Natural History. The significance of rhar other cargo is besr described by Boas himself in a lerrer he sent to Frederick W Putnam, C urato r of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History: About two weeks ago rhe captain informed me of his return , and on Ocr. 13 and 14 I went to Easr Haddam, Conn. to examine his collections. I found he has made a very full collection from rhe wesr coast of Hudson Bay, an excellent collection from Southampto n Island, and rhar he also had a few scarrered specimens from Fury and Hecla Strait and from some orher points. According to our previous arrangement, rhe price to be paid for rhis collection will be $500.00. I beg to say rhar this is probably the mosr imporranr Eskimo collection which has been obtained since SEA HISTORY 123, SUMMER 2008
dimensions and becoming more comprehensive. In 1903 Boas asked him to take along plaster of paris and taught him how to make life masks of rhe Inuit. This activity was related to a now-controversial aspect of anthropology known as anthropometry, a careful evaluatio n of skull form and size as an indicator of intelligence and behavioral tendencies among gro ups of people. Anthropometry eventually fell o ur of favor because it produced results that were often inconclusive or of minimal val ue. The practice is also regarded with disdain today as a sort of racial profiling, but in its time it was considered cutting-edge anthropology. Comer created several hundred Inuit life masks over a period of nine years. Despite their original purpose, today the masks provide a stunning three-dimensional look at the faces of people who lived 100 years An Inuit shaman. Comer obtained this coat ago. A number of the individuals representand delivered it to the American Museum of ed are identified and well documented in Natural History in New York. Comer's written records and photographs. In 1903, again under the direction of Hayes firsr visited Smith Sound [in Boas, Comer brought along a graphophone, 1860]. The Southampton Island Esan early sound recording and playback dekimo proved to be absolutely unconvice. Using the technology of rhe day that taminated. I think they are probably incorporated wax cylinders, Co mer caprhe very lasr tribe in North America tured dozens of Inuit songs and stories. which can be found in such condiThese recordings, now preserved at the Artion, and rhe collection obtained by chives ofTradirional Music ar Indiana Srare Capr. Comer is absolurely unique University, are rhe earliest sound recordings in character. The sledges, harpoons, ever made among the Inuir of Canada. bows and arrows, knives, etc., of this Comer utilized one additional form tribe are more primitive than any of documentation in 1903 and on other rhing I have ever seen . . . The Repulse voyages-a cam era. More rhan 300 of his Bay collection is also of very great photographs, raken between 1897 and interest. While not so primitive, iris 191 2, have survived. The photographs, much more extens ive, and I believe taken usi ng glass plare negatives, provide rhe specimens obtained by Capr. a remarkable visual record of a people in Comer are rhe very first of their kind transition. They depict a full range oflnuit ever brought to American or to Euroactivity, including extraordinary indoor pean museums. The collection must portraits and views of shamanistic rituals . be considered an exceptionally valuMany of rhe photos were raken outdoors; able acquisition. Boas was clearly impressed. 1he poorly ed- dozens of others were raken inside, in the ucated whaler had dazzled the great man of deck house Comer built on his ship every science, and one of the world's great muse- winrer. Indoors or out, the challenges of sucums had established a relationship with an extraordinary collector and anthropologi- cessfully taking and processing ph otographs in rhe Arctic environmenr are difficult to cal fieldworker. Comer continued his Hudson Bay comprehend. Temperatures could drop whaling voyages and also expanded his an- ro -5 0 degrees and winds could be fierce. thropological work. He returned to Hud- The lack of light in winter compounded son Bay in 1900 and again in 1903, each the difficulties. There were weeks when the voyage lasting twenty-seven months. His Arctic sun only made a brief appearance. studies of the Inuit were taking on new Despite these challenges, Comer created an
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