Arctic Survival
Uncle Nayukuk Had Talent for Hunting When Needed
By Howard Rock t
Times Editor
It was a joy to watch Aunt Mum- j
angeena in her performance as a j
model wife. It was not hard for her |
because, basically, she was sweet- J
natured and tender hearted. The
reason was that her husband. Nay
tikuk. during the past month, had ;
done some remarkable things when
his village needed him most.
She was tender as she served him j
his food. She lovingly repaired his |
clothing and she looked after his |
comfort. She was tender in every
way to her husband. Uncle Nay- j
ukuk took all this attention in his |
usual manner without comment or
acknowledgement. He either sat
quietly or went about his business
Without ever changing his expres
sion while his wife gave him her
loving attentions.
Homely Attention
It was hard to figure out why
Mumangeena never seemed to mind
when she failed to get any response
for her affections. Instead, she
seemed to savor giving every bit of
it. Perhaps she and Uncle Nayukuk
had little secrets of their own that
no one ever knew about. At any
rate, to watch Mumangeena giving
attention to her husband was amus
ing. poignant, homely, all at the
same time.
I used to get impatient with Uncle
Nayukuk when Aunt Mumangeena
was so attentive and mentally urged
him. "Why don't you hug Aunt
Mumangeena or something?" How
ever. it was an impossible wish and
Nayukuk kept right on being stolid,
silent, unattentive. expressionless |
to his wife’s attentions.
I.ean Period Begins
The story began during the month
of February. It was one of those
times when the Arctic refused to
yield or yielded grudgingly. The
weather in turn was bitterly cold,
high winds, blizzards. Hunters of
the village of Tigara were having
difficulty bringing in game needed
for food. They went out day after
day and came back empty-handed.
Food supplies became low and many
people began to feel hunger as days
went on.
Surprisingly Well-off
It was a little different in our
little sod igloo. Surprisingly, we
were better off than some of the
families because Uncle Nayukuk
was one of the few men who was
able to bring home seals occassion
ally.
Before the lean period began.
here was. as usual, frequent per
iods of nagging on the part of Aunt
Mumangeena due to Uncle Nayu
kuk's lackadaisical attitude towards
hunting. His philosophy seemed to
have been that as long as there was
food in the village, he would do as
little as possible. He got away with
it too. under protest, of course, to an
amazing degree or until his wife
would get so agravated that she
might burst a blood vessel.
Unwilling Beggar
During better times in the village,
much to her disgust, Aunt Muman- |
geena was forever bringing home j
pieces of meat from other families, j
Some women, like my mother and j
Mumangeena’s sister, Keshorna, j
came to mock her and berate her
for being nothing but a common j
beggar.
“What have you got for a hus
band, a walrus? All he seem to want j
to do is bask in the sun and doze. |
And when hunger forces him, he j
gets a few clams,” mother would
tell my aunt.
“Sister, you are cruel to say
things like that about my Nayukuk. j
He has a delicate health and he has 1
not been feeling well lately,” Mum
angeena alibied for her husband.
"Hm, he's the healthiest looking
sick man I have ever seen,” mother
retorted.
Sister was Caustie
Keshorna never turned Muman
geena down but would make her
squirm before she gave her a piece
of seal, oogruk, polar bear or cari
bou meat.
Although feeling that there would j
be little or no chance of returning 1
the favor, Mumangeena said with j
honest conviction, “Sister, you will
get every bit as much back when my
Naytikuk gets well."
“When, When we’re all dead?” |
“You should never talk like that
to your older sister. What is this
generation coming to? In our moth
er's and father's day. things were
never like this!” Aunt Mumangeena
reprimanded.
"We didn't have Nayukuks those
days either, "Keshorna quickly an- i
swered.
Aunt Mumangeena let out a piti- j
ful cry that sounded like a sob. [
She clutched the precious piece of
meat and walked out the door. The I
biting remarks her sister had made
rankled her on the way home. When |
she walked into the igloo, she ;
didn't notice that Uncle Nayukuk ;
was cleaning his 30-30 carbine. She |
slammed into her husband without
looking at him while getting ready
to cook the meat.
Surprised
“There you are! Are you sick?
You’re the healthiest looking sick
dog I have ever seen. You are—oh.
you're cleaning your supootin
(gun).”
Mumangeena changed the tone of
her voice in an instant.
"Let me cook this meat quickly
and we’ll have a nice meal. The
weather is cold now but it will be a
nice day tomorrow. Are you going
hunting tomorrow? she asked
quietly.
“I’ll see how I feel in the morn
ing,” Nayukuk said.
This was usually an excellent sign
that Uncle Nayukuk would be go
ing hunting the next morning.
Knowing this. Mumangeena chat
tered happily. Her vehemence was
gone completely and the atmosphere
in the little sod igloo became easy
and comforting.
Strangely Distinctive
Shortly after this episode, unfav
orable hunting conditions descended
upon the village. It brought with it
on amazing change in Uncle Nay
ukuk. He became a hunter and a
great one. There was something
strangely inspirational about the
man.
Nayukuk was a distinctive looking
man. He was handsome. His reti
cence seemed to fit him perfectly.
He had rather large, intelligent,
melancholy eyes that gave him an
air of asceticism. The rest of his
face was fine and he had a dense
black mustache. His figure was
straight, not fat. not skinny—a well
proportioned masculine build. He
was about 5 feet 7 inches tall.
There was another quality about
Uncle Nayukuk. He apparently did
not fear man or beast. He was large
ly left to his own designs. No one
joshed him to his face but he was
subject of much amusement behind
his back.
Nayukuk hunted. Every man in
the village hunted and some of them
were occasionally successful. So was
Nayukuk.
As days went by, all the men
ceased to take any game—except
Uncle Nayukuk. Every few days he
would come home with a seal, some
times two. When he came home, his
eyebrows, lashes and his mustache
would be covered with hoarfrost
from the bitter cold.
Determined Hunter
He went hunting every day—de
Corps of Engineers Has
Completed Civil Works
In 52 years the Corps of Engineers
has completed 32 harbors and other
civil works projects in Alaska cost
ing $15,878,865, about the price of
a medium sized deep sea harbor. j
The program started at the mouth
Of the Yukon River in 1911. The
latest project completed was a small
boat basin dredged at Ninilchik.
The river mouth job was for navi
gation safety during the gold rush !
days. The channel was used by the j
picturesque sternwheel river boats |
making the run to Dawson City and j
back, in a month or less, loaded
with golden glamour. The boat basin
at Ninilchik on Cook Inlet is a har
bor for fishing fleets.
In between are the completed ^
harbor projects at Cordova, Craig.
Dillingham, Douglas, Elfin Cove,
Juneau. Iliuliuk. Ketchikan, Kodiak,
Metlakatla, Nome, Pelican, Peters
burg, Port Alexander, Seward.
Skagway, Valdez and Wrangell, a
total of eighteen.
Also there have been eight com-1
pleted navigation projects at Dry
Pass, Egegik River, Gastineau, Nak
nek, Rocky Pass, Wrangell Nar
rows, Neva Straits and the Apoon
Mouth of the Yukon.
Flood control projects were com
pleted at Fairbanks, Juneau,
Seward and Hyder.
This year four projects were vir
tually completed at a cost of $2,
470.000. Harbor basins were
dredged at Homer, Juneau and Sel
dovia and an anchorage basin
neared completion at Wrangell Nar
rows.
The year 1964 will mark a new
departure for the Corps of En
gineers Civil Works with the start
pf a hydroelectric project at Snet
tisham near Juneau. It will be cost
ier than the cumulative total of all
preceding civil works in Alaska,
estimated at $35,000,000 without
transmission lines. The project will
be significant in the development of
the Juneau area where it will meet
i growing demand for electricity.
School Needs
Coupons Noiv
Please, will persons who have
collected, or plan to collect, Gold
Medal, Betty Crocker or any
General Mills coupons, please
send them to Father John B.
Baud, S.J., at the Copper Valley,
School, Glennallen, Alaska.
He needs 1,500,000 of them,
and the General Mills Co. will
trade him the coupons for a new
school bus for the Copper Valley
School.
The bus they now have is old,
wheezy, and has pretty well run
Its course.
In addition to being the
school’s transportation in the
Glennalen are, which lies be
tween Fairbanks, Anchorage and
Valdez, the bus has been used
for several years to transport
“bush” boarding students from
Anchorage and Fairbanks, where
they gather in the fall and
spring, enroute to and from
home.
The school is holding compe
tition to see who can collect the
most coupons. You can address
coupons to individuals if you
care, or to the different classes,
or to the staff.
termincd — silent. His consistent
taking of game became the talk of
the village. The unbelieving villag
ers no longer made amusing remarks
about Uncle Nayukuk. He began
to loom out as the highest ice
ridge. People asked, "What is Nay
ukuk, an ungatkuq? (medicine
man?) Or is he a great hunter?”
One evening he came home rather
late. Mumangeena and I were wait
ing anxiously for him when we saw
him coming from the northwest of
the village. He was dragging some
thing that was hard to make out
in the moonlit dusk. I ran to meet
him. He was dragging a polar bear
skin with some of its meat in it.
As soon as he got home, he went
to visit some men, which he rarely
did, and told them exactly where
the rest of the polar bear meat was.
i The men got two better conditioned
dogteams (most of the dogs were
half starved) and the two teams set
out that night to go after the meat.
The almost full moon was shining
and the visibility was good. The
men didn’t want to take a chance
of the meat being carried away by
ice break.
Unbelievable Performance
So that was the way it was—an
unbelievable performance when the
village needed him most, Uncle
Nayukuk delivered. Since he never
divulged anything, it was unknown
whether he knew more secrets of
the Arctic or whether he had an un
usual run of luck. It was he who
saved a bad situation the outcome
of which might have been much
worse.
During this time, Aunt Muman
geena was beside herself. She was
talking as never before. She was
obviously enjoying the reverse of
the situation. She was now giving
instead of receiving. She was liv
ing in the sweetness of reflected
glory.
Gave Happily
When her husband brought home
the seals, she happily cut them up
in pieces that would make a fair
meal and then she would direct me:
"Kee, ahkahng (Alright, mother),
bring this to the Samaroona family.
This one to Koorook family. I'll
bring this to my sister Keshorna
myself.”
This was an apparent attempt to
get even with her sister when the
situation was reversed. Although
she never did say it, this thought
must have entered her mind, “I told
you so.”
Unrelated ( natter
After entering her sister's house,
Mumangeena chattered endlessly.
She talked about unrelated matters
never once mentioning the cryptic
remarks Keshorna had directed at
her. She was practicing a subtle
psychology on her sister while say
ing:
“We are having an unusually cold
winter this year. I feel sorry for
our poor men who have to hunt in
it. The weather should break soon
and everything should be alright.
This bad situation will not last too
long.
“I noticed a hole on the right
mukluk of my mother today. I
must patch it right away. I have
to make him a new parka soon, too.
Children certainly wear their
clothes out fast. He has been so
helpful. I don't know what I’d do
without him.
“As you know, the teacher hired
him to make kindling and bring
coal into the school. After work
ing a whole week, the teacher paid
him a can of tomatoes. A week be
fore that, he brought home a can
of peaches.”
Unbelievable Man
“That man, that Nayukuk, will
never cease to amaze me," Said Ke
shorna more to herself than to her
sister.
“Isn’t he something? As much as
I nagged him when he wasn’t hunt
ing, there is something exciting
about Naytikuk. He may be quiet
and lazy at times, but he is my man.
He's good looking too, don't you
think, sister?” Mumangeena said
coyly.
Overtaken with sudden urgency,
she said, "I better get home and
feed my man. He must be pretty
hungry by now. What’s the matter
with me anway? I always talk too
much. !■ should have been home long
ago.
“You know, Sister, when I did
something wrong, like staying too
long. Nayukuk never even say any
thing to me. He's a good husband
but he sure is a hard one to figure
out.”
No Slighting Remarks
Keshorna was not making any
slighting remarks to her sister that
evening and Mumangeena was not
reminding her about it. She had
done a slick piece of psychology on
her younger sister. It would be a
long time before Keshorna would
make any attempt to mock her sis
ter again. At the moment,, Muman
geena had the definite upper hand
in the matter.
The Bitter rm
Keshorna’s husband. Weyahok,
my father, who was one of the
finest hunters in the village, as were
many of the men, was only mildly
successful during the lean period.
The family, and many other families
in Tigara, had to swallow the bit
ter pill when they were forced to
receive meat from the Nayukuk
family. Many of them had been
known to make slighting remarks
about Nayukuk and Mumangeena.
There was nothing they could do
about it. The food was needed and
Nayukuk brought it in. This re
sulted in no little admiration for
my Uncle. The village paid him.
silent tribute and with respect.
During this period. Uncle Nayu
kuk was his same old self. He nei
ther looked proud of his vital con
tribution nor did he say anything
about it. He acted as if he had been
through any ordinary times.
Back To Normal
Soon after Nayukuk caught his
polar bear, hunting conditions be
gan to improve. Hunters, once again,
brought in game in ample numbers
and the village rapidly came back
to normal.
Nayukuk kept on hunting for
quite some time after getting the
bear. Mumangeena was able to store
away meat in our under ground
cache. She was a very happy wo
man during this time and she
couldn’t do enough to please her
husband.
Back To Old Habit
However, Uncle Nayukuk, had the
habit of ending all good things. He
began to relax his hunting. It was
noticable on Aunt Humangeena. Al
lhough she chattered as usual, she
smiled less. Due to the recent me
morable effort of her husband, she
did not say anything to her husband
about hunting for a long time.
The food is our cache was get
ting low. Nayukuk replenished it by
hunting occasionally but, inevitably,
it was gone. Mumangeena must
have felt somewhat reassured be
cause whaling season was just
around the corner. This was one
hunt Uncle Nayukuk seemed to
relish. He would be going out as
my father’s helmsman. He wa3
amazingly well qualified for this
difficult job.
One evening, after being patheti
cally attentive to her husband. Aunt
Mumangeena said gently. “My good
husband, our cache is empty. We
need food now. Will you be going
hunting tomorrow?"
After a long silence, Nayukuk
said, “I don’t know what's wrong
with me but my whole body has
been aching lately. It should be
gone in two or three days.”
Mumangeena looked away with
out saying a word.