Stebbins News
Rollickin’ Reindeer Roundup
BY Mary Angela Steve *
Times Staff Writer
Stebbins, Alaska, December 14,
1962. Here I am again sending news
from here at Stebbins. Since send
ing my last news I have news to
write. So here we go:
Last fall, just before freeze-up,
people here at Stebbins, had lots
of tom cod for their winter long
dog food. Also quite a few seals for
dog food too. Since then. I think,
they got enough dog food for their
dogs.
In month of November the men
rounded up their reindeer herd.
After rounding them up they set a
date to corral them in the first week
of December and then we waited
to corral them on December 1st. By
then, all the men that wanted to
work went to work at reindeer
camp, called Koyak.
There were little over 60 men
Working, including 4 girl cooks. I
was one of the cooks. Rest were i
Anna Henry. Josephine Pete, Eve
lyn Otten. We worked four days. (
Men were working handling rein- I
I---—
(leer. They were counting, castrat
1 ing. ear-marking, and sometimes
, butchering for their workers.
And one afternoon our bookkeep
I er. John Henry, brought us to the
corral to see how they work on the
| reindeer.
; Boy! I had lots of fun, same time
\ scared, when I chased reindeer
to fill small pockets in the corral.
There was a bunch of us chasing
reindeer.
I stayed in the corral couple
hours, I think, and our bookkeeper
brought us back again to our camp.
Rest of people came from Chane
I liak, Katlik and rest from St.
i Michael, and from here at Steb
! bins. After the reindeer were all
I counted, castrated .ear-marked, they
| all left to go home. Only herders
stayed in camp.
Today 3 sanitation men arrived
to meet with the village council. So
that is all for now until next time.
Since Christmas is getting close
everybody is busy.
‘Meat Balls and
Chow Mein-NeverF
Says Irate Chef
In a beautiful and sedate rest
aurant in Fairbanks recently, busi
ness was going on as usual. Sump
tuous food was being served by
exotic waitresses. Soft South Sea
Island music created proper atmo
sphere in the elaborate Polynesian
decor of the establishment.
Then the phone rang, rather, it
buzzed with a little light flickering
rapidly, indicating the phone was
ringing. A beautiful hostess an
swered in her usual pleasant man
ner, "Good evening, Tiki Cove."
The hostess' eyes widened as she
blurted out, “Meat balls! Just a
minute, I'll let you talk to the
Maitre D'."
The Maitre D' picked up the
phone, helloed and listened a mo
ment. His inscrutable face deep
ened and he said in an unbelieving
manner,
“But .sir, we do not serve meat
balls with chow mein! Sir, I do not
have time to argue with you!”
He slammed the phone down in
its cradle and stalked off into the
spacious kitchen.
Ancient Fish Eggs Make
Instant Nourishing Soup
By Anonymous Author
Before the time of the white man
the Interior Indians had two homes
—one at his hunting area where he
went in fall and another, his fish
camp home to which he moved in
spring.
In the summer at fish camps,
besides cutting and drying fish, In
dians would clean fish eggs thor
oughly and place them in the sun
to dry. After the eggs were tho
roughly dry, they were put into
baskets made of birch bark.
The baskets held approximately
two quarts. When filled with fish
eggs the baskets were covered by
birch bark which Indian women
sewed over them. The baskets were
then buried three or four feet in
the ground.
These baskets of dried eggs would
keep for many years. No one knew
exactly how long. The reason for
burying this food was for insurance.
If hunting was poor, at least there
would be something to fall back on.
laataat Snap
I once found two of these baskets
while cutting a walk from a bank
to the river. The eggs were so old
that they had turned to a powdery,
yellow flour substance. I put a tea
spoonful in a cup of hot water and
had an instant cup of nourishing
soup.
The people prepared a simple
place for dried fish eggs for use
within one year or so. To store the
eggs for this shorter time, they dug
a hole in the ground, lined it with
bircb bark, put in a basket, then
put on another layer of bark. It
was covered with dirt which made
a mound about two feet high.
Cranberries and other berries
berries could also be dried and pre
served indefinitely.
The Indians picked *he berries in
their prime and lay them on cari
bou skins to dry in the sun. The
berries shrivelled up to almost no
thing except tor the skin. But when
put into hot water they filled right
back into their original shape and
tasted just as good.
These berries were put into bas
kets and kept in dry places to be
used when needed.
ARCTIC SURVIVAL
TRAINING YOUNG HUNTERS-RIGOROUS AND EXACTING
By Howard Rock 4
Times Editor
Down through the ages in the
Arctic, great hunters held sway in
their communities. News of their
exploits traveled up and down the
coast. Hunters were praised almost
to the point of worship by the peo
ple around them, not the least of
which were growing boys who as
pired to be as great, or greater, than
their heros.
From ancient times to the present,
the severe conditions tinder which
man has existed in the Arctic has
demanded extra efforts on the part
of everyone in the community. The
people who excelled as great hunt
ers won great acclaim from the peo
ple.
Hunting conditions in the Arctic
are not always ideal. The portent
of this hung heavily over the exist
ence of the people. The best antidote
for this situation was to develop
competent hunters. If these hunters
were great, the reward the com
munity reaped was so much the
better.
Thus, the development of a hunter
was one of the foremost tasks the
Arctic communities performed. It
was pursued with religious fervor
because it was a great necessity
economically.
Great Acclaim
Exceptional hunters were ac
corded great acclaim by grateful
people. They were glorified in leg
ends. Therefore, their stature in the ,
society was a goal each hunter i
strived to achieve and in doing so -
the economy of the Arctic commun- I
ities was kept at more or less stable
level.
Development of hunters was a col
lective effort on the part of villages,
where each family undertook the
task to raise and train a boy off
spring to become competent hunter,
a great one if possible. Because
they aimed for the latter, the cali
ber of hunters was kept at high
level.
Prestige
To have a good hunter meant food
for the family, as well as the com
munity. The other motive, of course,
in having a great hunter in the fam
ily meant prestige and high stand
ing in the village, as well as other
villages along the coast.
Rituals
And so. in the Arctic, the goal of
developing a hunter was pursued
with great seriousness. Its import
ance was such that special rituals
were performed in hopes of pro
ducing exceptional hunters.
It was told in stories, passed down I
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through generations, that in ancient
times initiation ceremonies were
held about a month after the birth
of a male child and after it was
nursed into a strong and healthy
child.
The baby was taken to the nearest
open water, either a lagoon or a
lake, where the mother immersed
it in very cold water. This ritual
was to initiate the child to the great
rigors of the Arctic, the elements
with which the infant would have
to contend with during his hunting
career.
Toughness, the ancient Eskimos
surmised, was a prime requisite of
a hunter in order to take full ad
vantage and avoid the pitfalls of the
conditions, the severe climate and
the treachery of the Arctic country.
Rigorous Training
As soon as a boy was big enough,
and aware enough, of life around
: him, training was begun in earnest,
j It was rigorous in many aspects and
sternly enforced.
1 Within the memory of older na
tives living in the Arctic today,
1 growing boys were required, first
I thing upon waking in the morning,
i to relieve themselves out in the
1 weather, around the back of the
house, sans clothes, sans, mukluks.
rnis was a strict routine for a
certain length of time regardless of
the weather, blizaard, 30 below
zero, or mild.
The boy was required to take this
training like a man. To whimper
was to disgrace himself. To give
way to tears of complaint was met
with sternness and certain privil
eges were taken away. He had tc
learn to be a man and a man he
must be before he could become a
great hunter.
Rewarded
Each time a boy came througl
this series of tests with flying colors
he was rewarded with genuine af
fection from his parents. He wa:
served his meal with finesse deserv
ing of a future fine hunter.
He was rewarded in other way.
too, especially by his mother, wht
made for him fine parkas, mittens
and mukluks. All of this servec
to give the boy a sense of well
being.
By the time the lad reached the ag<
of about twelve, he was occasion
ally required to go on hunting trip,
with his father. He was made to ob
serve, without fail, the art of hunt,
ing.
Some of these were purposely
lengthy trips on foot to acquaint
and impress the boy with the im
portance of developing endurance
which he would need, in many in
stances, to cover large areas and
distances. Here again, the lad was
required to take weariness like a
man.
Must Know Weapons
During the lad’s growing years,
he was given thorough knowledge
of the weapons he must use as a
hunter. True replicas of bows and
arrows, spears, and harpoons to
play with, were furnished to him by
his father or grandfather.
In modern times boys are taught
the art of using the rifle. Good care
of this weapon is thoroughly taught
and the need for good marksman
ship is stressed. Where ammunition
is dear, it pays the user of the wea
pon to be a good marksman.
By the time the budding hunter
was around fourteen he was al
lowed. occasionally, to hunt by him
self. At that stage he had had thor
ough indoctrination on what to do
while hunting. He had been thor
oughly briefed on what kind of
weather was best to hunt in, how to
judge dangerous ice conditions, and
to notice sudden changes of wind
directions. In all he was trained to
be able to recognize danger he
would have to face throughout his
hunting career.
The young hunter hunted small
game at the start. Hair seal fell into
this category but it was the first
important animal the boy must take.
Getting a hair seal was symbolic of
the start of a hunting career.
Budding Hunter
There came a day when the fledg
ling got his first seal. This event
triggered a flurry of excitement in
the village, especially within his
immediate family. He was greeted
with great display of mirth by rela
tives, as well as other people in the
village.
As was the custom, the occasion
called for special commemoration.
A feast for the community was
called by the doting parents in
honor of their son’s first real dem
onstration as a hunter.
The Send-off
People gathered in the kalagee.
including the great and near-great
of the hunters, who came especially
to pay their respects to the young
hero.
Performances by medicine men
followed who, invariably, predicted
a fine hunting future for the lad.
The people rejoiced in anticipation
of the probable fine hunter who
would help to provide food for the
community.
An so, the young hunter was
launched on his hunting career with
an elaborate show of confidence
from the people of his village.
Whether he would blossom into a
great one remained to be seen. He
still must conquer the oogruk. wal
rus, polar bear, beluga, caribou,
and the great bowhead whale.
The pursuit of these animals
would be fraught with danger, and
in many cases, with unexpected sud
denness.
The boy had tasted glory and
found it good. He would be spurred
on by the honor his village had
bestowed upon him and would pur
sue his calling with dedication. He
would meet danger with presence
of mind, as he was trained to do.
His effectiveness as a hunter would
be tested to the limit and often with
danger to his very existence.
Shows Mettle
The budding hunter had been
subjected to rigorous training and
had come through in fine style. He
had learned the basic principles of
hunting geared to the severe con
ditions of the north country. He
had shown courage and mettle, both
fine requisites of a hunter.
Duties to perform had been laid
before him and he would pursue
them with vigor. The promise he
had shown might carry him to the
pinnacle of hunting glory and ac
claim by his people.
And so, down through the ages,
the development of the great hunter
was vitally instrumental in the. sur
vival of man in the Arctic.