Sam Troutman of St. Lawrence
Island Finds White Man’s Bur
den Is Not Heavy In His Work
SEATTLE, July 31—The stor
ies of those who bear the “white
man’s burden” are spun, almost
invariably, about the hot coun
tries where adventurers in pith
helmets, following in the roman
tic footsteps of Clive and Magel
lan and V/alker, have hewed plan
tations and railroads and mines
out of green jungles. They sel
dom concern persons as prosaic
as school teachers.
Now, Sam Troutman is a school
teacher. Or, at least, that is his
title on the government payroll.
He has lived for the past twelve
years in the little native village
of Savoonga, on lonely St. Lawr
ence Isand in fog-cloaked Bering
Sea.
He’ll tell you there is nothing
romantic about his life, and he
would be a little embarrased if
compared to the heroes of the
tropical stories.
But if a poet named Rudyard
Kipling were still alive he would
want to listen to Sam Troutman
taking about his life on the iso
lated northern island. It was
Kipling who wrote:
“Take up the white man’s bur
den,
Send forth the best ye breed—
Go bind your sons to exile
To serve your captive’s need.”
Sam Troutman, a stocky, quiet
black-haired man, and his wife
went to St. Lawrence Island to
teach native children at the lit
tle government school there. But
he became, also storekeeper,wire
less operator, dog driver and
breeder, and a kind of counsel
for the few hundred Eskimos
who depend on him to see that
they have the necessities of life
—firearms, ammunition, flour, tea
and tobacco.
For the past eight years he had
not left the island, which lies ofl
:he coast of Siberia, opposite the
NORTH POLE
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Popularly Known For Service And Good Food.
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city of Nome. He and his fam
ily came to Seattle recently for a
summer vacation.
No Shirtsleeve Sitting
‘‘We were one of the two white
families on the island when we
went to Savoonga 12 years ago,”
he said, sitting on the porch of
the home of Mrs. Jack Parker at
Renton. No matter what the sea
| son, one doesn’t sit outside in
shirtsleeves on St. Lawrence Is
land, and he was enjoying it.
His daughter Miriam, 10 years
old, who was born on the island,
and his son, Marvin, 13, were in
the yard, wearing their first bath
ing suits and getting their filrst
coat of sunburn.
“The other family lived at Gam
ble.the other village on the Island
which is about 50 or 60 miles
away as you go by dog team, Mr.
Troutman continued.
“The natives were curious.The
first night we were in our house
; they all walked in and sat on the
floor. They just sat. They knew
nothing of the custom of knock
i ing before entering, and they
didn't know about leaving when
it got late.
“Some of them stayed for two
5 days. Finally I got them out and
told them to knock the next
time.”
“I found I had many things to
do besides teach school. I had to
take care of the store, and order
supplies every spring. I didn’t
know the people.”
Chew Sealskins for Boots
He knows them now. He talk
ed of them proudly, yesterday.
St. Lawrence Island is isolated.
Its people seldom leave, and
whites seldom c »me. They have
not bean hurt by liquor. They
still make their own clothing
chewing the sealskins to make
boots, and still earn a livelihood
trapping fox and fishing and
hunting walrus. .
They still follow thP;r old cus
toms of marriage. If a mar
wants to marry a young woman
—and a wife is almost a necess
ity in a land where wives make
all the clothes—his relatives ask
her relatives to arrange the wed
ding. Then for two years the
I man runs errands for his fiancee's
parents. Then he may take her
for his wife if the parents agree.
Sam Troutman seemed to en
joy talking about his island.
“Going back?” Sam Troutman
smiled. “Sure. It‘s lonely, but I
like it there. The children may
stay behind to go to school here.
They’re getting so they talk more
Eskimo than English. But Mrs.
Troutman and I will be sailing
around September.—Exchange.
—
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ALASKA
STEAMSHIPCOMPANY
BERING SEA ROUTE SAILING SCHEDULE
Leave Seattle
S. S. VICTORIA . Oct. 7
(NOTE: All sailings subject to change without notice.)
Sailing Schedule for Southeastern & Southwestern Alaska Ports
Northbound Southbound
Leave Arrive Arrive Leave Leave Leave
P Seattle Juneau Seward Seward Juneau Cordova
S S Yukon Sept. 5 Sept. 8 Sept. 11 Sept. 11 Sept. 14
S S Alaska Sept. 12 Sept. 15 Sept. 18 Sept. 18 Sept. 21
S S Yukon Sept. 19 Sept. 22 Sept. 25 Sept. 25 Sept. 28
S S Alaska Sept. 26 Sept. 29 Oct. 2 Oct. 2 Oct. 5
•(Via Cordova, Direct to Seattle)
General Agents for the Pacific Steamship Lines
Joe Harnish, Agent
- __J
Germany Looks
Make Self Block
ade Proof Now
(Continued From Page Two)
putting forth every effort to sell
German goods abroad in order to
gain foreign exchange for pur
chases.
Reflecting the increased demand
for metals in modern war mach
inery, Germany’s consumption of
aluminum jumped so fast since
she began rebuilding her army
j that she now is the greatest al
| uminurrj producer and user in
.the world.She outstrips the Unit
| ed States in both.
The hunt for "ersatz", or sub
stitutes, has proven costly. Many
J plants have been erected to manu
facture fibres to replace cotton
and wool, while artificial rubber
i and various sorts of synthetic
gasoline are on the market.
Substitutes' Prices Soar
All cost more than the natural
products. Gasoline, for example
U'osts four times more.
One of the latest “ersatz" is
soap made from coal. A factory
has been started in Essen to man
ufacture this.
The German dye trust has also
f mnd a synthetic soap which it
calls “Igepon.” Germany is es
pecially har l up for good soap,
for she lacks fats and oils from
which to make it.
On the food front, an “Erzeu
gungsschlacht", (production bat
tle has been one of the princi
ple objects of the blockade proof
struggle. Under its farmers eith
er are encouraged or told to plant
more of this and that and less of
something else in order to fill the
nation’s needs with an eye to a
blockade. Big propaganda cam
paigns are carried on to show
how much more fodder and cer
eals had been grown within the
past season or how many more
hogs raised.
No Returns
No further returns in the re
cent General Election were re
ceived today, and totals still
remain the same.
Advertising in the Nome Nug
get can be a paying investment.
Why not try it
The Rendezvous
DAY AND
NIGHT LUNCH
Special Dinners
AT ALL HOURS
WE THREW AWAY
THE KEY
NOME
HOTEL
(Nome Motor Co. Building)
Single and Double Steam
heated Rooms with Bath
Reasonable Rates by Day,
Weeks or Month
Phone MAin 108
MRS. LUNDQUIST
BEAUTY SHOP
Will be closed during October.
Ladies wishing Zoto Permanent
please make appointments now.
Second Door West SeifTert Flats
Telephone Main 19
FOR SALE—Dodge s4-ton
truck and extras for sale. $90
cash. Inquire R. O. Fritch resi
dence or at Nugget Office.
FOR SALE—Two-story house
next door to Nugget office. In
quire Mrs. C. L. Calkins.
NOTICE
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st me please present same im
mediately to T. Lehmann.
Signed: Carl Steinus.
You can save $2.00 by
paying for your subscrip
tion for six months in ad
vance for the Nome Daily
Nugget. Do it now !
Calkins’ Shoppe
NEW SHIPMENT
OF LINGERIE
JUST RECEIVED
Calkins’ Shoppe
ROBERT E LYLE
U. S. Mineral Surveyor
All Kinds of Surveying
NOME, ALASKA.
ii’JFCRIUM BAZAAR t
Just received a big stock on S. S. Mount McKinley.
For Children—\i earing Apparel for School.
Our Big Jispilay Is Now On. Our Prices Can Not Be Beat.
I MRS. SPAGHETTI, Saleslady.
NEVADA BEER
PARLOR—GRILL &
BARBER SHOP IN CONNECTION
The Place lo Meet Your Friends
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CAPPY McDOUGALL.
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Fred Havercamp
_Corner B Street and 2nd Avenue_
FOR SALE
Complete Drag Line Equipment.
Ersted Double Drum Winch.
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Pontiac Sedan.
—AT—
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