W hite Man Stayed With Us That Fall;
Then Got Lost Again, But W as Saved
(Editor's Note: Following is the
second and concluding part of a
two-part serial by Edwin Simon
of liuslia, telling about life along
the Koyukuk River of Interior
Alaska, shortly after the turn of
the century.
Simon told the story to mis
sionary Jim Garret, a lay worker
of the Episcopal Church, who
taped the story and transcribed
it.)
By Edwin Simon
Huslia, Alaska
He stayed with us and he sat
with us for about three or four j
days, this white man. before my old
man and uncle and all the boys
came home, and we don't know
where he came from.
And when they all came home
from hunting bear, they started to
talk, but they couldn't talk very
good English, my old man and
uncle. Well, they say. “He's lost, and
he kill his two horses this summer.”
That's as far as they understand
him. Then my half-sister and broth
er-in-law came down from their
camp, and my brother-in-law, Nat,
he started talk with this fellow’.
“Well,” Nat say, “This man left
Fold Gibbon (that's what they used
to call Tanana) on around first of
June, going to Betties with tw’O
horses. He went Outside, bought
these tw’O horses, and his partner
is up at Betties, and he been lost
all summer.
“He kill one horse way back this
summer and eat that, live on that.
Then he just kill the other one
not long ago. and he just finish that.
He's going to walk down the river.”
I suppose that it's over a hundred
miles by the river from where we
live down to Koyukuk.
So he start to stay with us that
fall. And he had false teeth and he
wouldn't show it to people, that he
got false teeth: nobody ever knew.
Every night and every morning, he
alw’ays put some yellow stuff in his
mouth.
I was watching him; try to catch
him, but never catch him; every
body try. But he do it so quick that
we never catch him.
My old man say. ‘'You know what
he's got? He dry lots of horses’ guts
(that's the stomach) this summer,
and he keep that in his sack, and
he’s eating it every morning.”
Well, he stayed with us. and he
help with the fish traps, and he cut
wood for the people, and he eat
what we eat. and he was happy. He
stayed with us for three weeks. My
mother made him pair of moose-skin
moccasins, and my auntie made
him pair of mittens, moose-skin
mitts, and give it to him.
Of course, nobody ask for money.
They give him a little grub, enough
for three or four night, and they
told him which direction to Alla
kaket. About 40 or 45 miles from
there to Allakaket overland.
Them days the never have much
of a trail, and there was no big team
them days, so people used to pull
sleigh. So he left, going to Allaka
ket: it was about 6-ineh snow al
ready.
My old man worry about him:
so the second day my old man left
to follow him. He follow him quite
a long ways, and when he got on
top of the first ridge going to Alla
kaket (they call that hill. “Birch
Hill”), he found that white man
follow the ridge going right back
up different direction, going back
up the head of Old Man. So old
man came back late that night. And
my old man say, “Well, I follow
that man, and he's going the wrong
direction now.”
And he say to my brother and
brother-in-law, "You men have to
follow him tomorrow, and take him
down to Allakaket."
He say. ‘.‘It’s not right for us to
let him go, because he stayed with
us about three weeks; he stayed
with us all fall, and he eat the same
grub we tat, and when we get back
to people, what we going say? We
see white man, and we tell him to
that direction, he he's gone?
Wouldn’t that be bad?
"So you men have to follow him
and take him down to Allakaket
tomorrow." That's what he told my
brother-in-law and my older broth
er.
So early next morning, they left.
They follow him all that day, and
,hat evening they caught up with
him. He had already started eating
berries again. They camped with
him. and the next day, they walk
all day and cross all them lakes and
they cross the Selatina River and
camped about 20 miles from Alla
kaket.
The next day they start, and he
got played out on them about 8
miles from Allakaket. So the peo
ple came out and brought him to
the village.
That's the way it was. That was
1908. So he was alright.
I see him in April, going back out.
leaving the country with his part
ner. His name was Mike so far as
I know.
Well, then he told the people
that he wouldn’t show his false
teeth on account of people might
get scared of him. So he was al
right; he was a good man; he was
lost all summer, and he was nice
and healthy, good shape and every
I thing. And happy.
When we got back to Arctic City,
the people ask me. “What your
mother and auntie say when the
white man came to you? We'll give
you piece of biscuit if you tell us
the story,” my uncles and the men
used to tell me.
Well, then I say. “My mother say
he say. ‘Haul killing two horses:
so my mother told auntie, ‘Your
husband kill two bear,’ because
horses sounds like the word for
bears in our language, and my un
cle's name was Paul: so that's why
my mother thought he say that.
My mother get mad when she
hear that I tell all them stories to
'hem people of what she say. So in
March o' 1909. my mother say, “You
better go to school.”
So she sent me up to Allakaket.
and when I start school, I could
n't even say “yes” or “no.” The
next year my mother say, “I want
all my kids to go to school because
when white man come to us, we
don't know what he said, and that’s
too bad.”
We have to have half-breed In
dian interpreter them days at Alla
kaket. And half the school kids was
Eskimo and half was Indians; so
they must have had a great time
with us.
That's the story I always got in
my mind, and I want this to go in
Tundra Times so people will hear
the story.
Ham Radio Net
Asked for Alaska
Alaskan villagers interested in
gaining a conditional class amateur
radio operators license, via a broad
cast and correspondence course, are
urged to write to the Tundra Times,
Box 1287, Fairbanks.
If enough villagers show interest,
then members of the Arctic Ama
teur Radio Club are willing to con
duct a school, that could lead to the
setting up of a statewide HAM radio
net that would be available to vil
lagers 24 hours a day for emergency
use.
Lack of such a radio net has been
noted in many cases of emergency
nature, where word has been hard
to get to proper authorities.
Much credit has gone to opera
tors of airline and Bureau of In
dian Affairs radios in time of emer
gency, but these sources are not
available in all areas, or on a con
tinuous basis.
Course Offered
The AARC members who would
conduct the course, have said they
will supply simplified radio theory
books, and a “key'’ for students to
practice sending and receiving
Morse code. Knowledge of both
theory and code is necessary to re
ceive a license from the Federal
Communications Commission.
It is hoped that the lessons can
be sent to the villages at certain
hours from one of the commercial
radio stations in Fairbanks. If the
course proves popular enough, it is
1 hoped that commercial stations in
other parts of Alaska can also han
dle the lessons.
This way. it is said, nearly all the
remote villages in Alaska can be
reached with the lessons.
Write In
The course calls for the students
to practice the lessons sent over
the commercial radio stations, and
then write in the answers to the
AARC in Fairbanks. Papers would
then be graded. At the end of the
course the AARC would contact the
FCC to supply an examiner, to test
the villagers who are ready to re
ceive a license.
Further developments in the
course depend on how many Alas
kan villagers express interest in
gaining such a license. Any number
of people from any village can take
the course.
If enough villages take part, and
qualify operators, then plans will
be made to buy a number of HAM
transmitter-receiver sets that could
be purchased by individual villag
ers, or village councils, for the
Alaska HAM net.
The HAM radios are not neces
sary to take the course. All that is
necessary are interest, time, and a
regular commercial band radio that
is within range of whichever station
' broadcasts the lessons.
KFRB
- 900 ON YOUR DIAL -
Your 'HooteD'anny' Station
Every Saturday, 5-6 p.m.
It's a Woman's World
Monday through Friday 1*1-12 a.m.
18 Hours a Day
am It* 'Right Side' of your dial
....■an.. i i . ■ —— ■" ...
'I Mode Up My Mind Fast'
Says New Colorado Musher
“I made up my mind pretty fast,”
said Richard Nicholas when asked
how long it took him to make up
his mind to get the job in Aspen,
Colorado, as a dog handler. Last
Wednesday, Richard was at the
Fairbanks International Airport on
his way to his new job.
Back in the October 21 issue of
the Tundra Times, Stuart Mace,
owner of Toklat, a Rocky Mountain
resort, bought an ad. He wanted a
dog handler for his large kennel of
husky dogs he uses to take tourists
for dogteam rides. Month before,
his driver, Andrew Tooyak. had
gone back home with his family to
Point Hope.
Mace wrote a letter to the Times
requesting the ad be put in. Couple
of days after it appeared, Father
Jules Convert, Catholic Priest at
Kaltag, showed it to Richard Nicho
las and he was interested at once.
A letter to Mace followed and the
job was arranged.
Richard said he was quite anx
ious, and a little nervous, but he
was interested to see what it would
be like in Aspen, Colorado. He ex
pects to stay at his job about a year
RICHARD NICHOLAS
and indicated he wanted to come
back to Kaltag. His mother, he said,
was reluctant to let him go.
Richard is an experienced dog
musher and has a 7-dog team of his
own and will have no trouble in
fitting into his new job.
Richard Nicholas was born at
Kaltag and is 22 years of age. He
is the oldest of seven brothers. He
is a handsome young man with a
distinctive shock of black hair. He
is rather quiet but flashes a quick
smile that won’t do his customers
in Colorado any harm.
Rehabilitation Will Retrain
Natives in Anchorage School
The Vocational Rehabilitation Ad
ministration will begin a project
of treatment and job training for
the physically and mentally handi
capped native people of Alaska,
starting Jan 1, 1964, according to
a report from Sen. E. L. Bartlett.
The project will be supported by
a grant of $145,000 to the Alaska
Native Hospital at Anchorage,
where the program will be con
ducted.
The project is expected to run
for two and a half years. It will be
directed by Holman R. Wheritt,
M.D., deputy Alaska ative Health
Service director.
Mary E. Switzer, commissioner of
the VRA made the announcement
to Bartlett.
Bartlett said of the project, “This
is an excellent and long needed
program. We have been making
great progress in eradicating and
curbing tuberculosis and other long
term illnesses, but we have not
paid sufficient attention to the so
cial and economic needs of the pa
tients after the physical cure has
been accomplished. I anticipate that
this program will provide the
means of returning patients to their
homes not only cured of their ill
ness but equipped to maintain
themselves and their families as
full and active members of their
communities.”
Subscribe to
JESSEN'S WEEKLY
Alaska’s Largest
The All Alaska Weekly
$9.00 by Mail
Box 970, Fairbanks
Poneer Job Printers
Correspondents
Wanted
The Tundra Times would like to hear
from villagers interested .in being cor- ,
respondents and subscription salesmen for •
the All-Alaska Native newspaper.
Some payment, a chance to gain ex
perience, and the opportunity to serve your
village.
Write to
HOWARD ROCK, Editor
TUNDRA TIMES
BOX 1287, FAIRBANKS
—-- -- ■ -