PT. BARROW NEWS
Muktuk Missing
At Recent Feast
By Guy Okakok
Whaling Equipment
“Whalers need better equipment,”
Mr. Thomas Brower said.
If the town had one or two good
sized boats with the power weapons
on the boats with attached lines to
the harpoon, then they probably
could get the whales that way.
At the meeting in fire hall, I told
them that last spring. Dr. Henry
Forbes took me down to Massa
chusetts and met a man who plan
ned to make the weapon for the
whales. It's like a bazooka.
I told this man that we have
lost several wounded ones lots of
times and need to have better
equipment, which can be used here
for whales. Not only here, I told
him, but all along the coast.
Last Inupiat meeting in Kotzebue,
October 18-20, Dr. Forbes told me
that all they needed is a rope at
tached to the harpoon rod.
He said this person is using this
experimental equipment and prob
ably will have them this coming
season, we hope.
* * ik
Muktnk Missing
Attendance at the Thanksgiving
feast was over 600 people in Pres
byterian Church. We don’t know
how many were over at the Assem
bly of God Church.
Important food the Eskimos like
most to eat was missing from the
table. Of course there is little left
here, but not enough.
What I mean is mukluk.
* • •
Rezoning
Two meetings were held this
week, one in the school and the
ether in the fire hall, discussing
about the need of relocating the
houses.
This should be done first of all
before anything else, because they
said, that it will take lot of time
for setting the houses in a way
they should stand.
Streets also should be laid out.
After this, power comes next.
Houses «ould be heated by electri
city i/:4hey wish, which would be
much safer for the kids and for
all.
• • •
Keep Culture
Let’s all not forget what our
great grandfathers told us, how we
should live, hunt, and Eskimo dance
_.that we don’t want erased at all.
People, we mustn’t forget all these
things. Let’s keep them.
SLED MAKER UPSET
Explorer Buys Dog Sled,
Then Burns it to Boil Tea
Stories From Remote Eskimos
By Simon Paneak
Anaktuvuk Pass
The Anaktuvuk Eskimos are still
semi-nomadic. The great grand
children of the Numamiut Eskimos,
meaning, the inhabitants of inland
country.
We have new members from
Wiseman, Alaska. Their names are
Arctic John Ettaluk, his wife Es
ther, and adopted daughter, Louisa.
John and Esther are both inland
Eskimos. They lived in Wiseman
area for 19 years, trapping and hunt
ing.
Arctic John
Arctic John is a well known trap
per and hunter. He is a great marks
man, which is the reason why he
has killed many wolves in his life
time. He is also a good salt water
animal hunter.
We have had agood winter with
very little sickness. But wolf trap
ping has been poor with only 5
wolves taken so far.
First White Man
And now to tell about the first
white man who came to the Brooks
Range. He came to Chandler Lake
in the winter of 1885 and stayed
till 1886. His name was Leutenant
George M. Stoney.
Stoney traveled up the Kobuk
River and established a camp at
Fort Cosmos. He conducted frequent
exploration trips out of this camp.
During this time he explored the
upper Noatak region and came in
contact with us Eskimos there. He
wanted to cross the Brooks Range
and go down the Colville River to
the coast but was unable to do so.
He was upset by frequent de
mands from native villages for "tri
bute" as he termed it.
Foul Play
Stoney had few anxious moments
when a whole village beat drums
and sang. He occasionally suspected
foul play, for instance, he saw army
blankets, overcoats, buttons, from
the International Polar Expedition
at Barrow in the years of 1881-83.
Bought Sled
Stoney went up to the head of
the Kobuk River and over to the
Alatna River. He reached Chandler
Lake but had difficulty obtaining
fuel there.
He purchased a sled from one of
the many Nunamiut camps on the
Chandler Lake and burned it for
fuel to cook meat and boil tea. The
f
The last days of the
year are the best.
And they’ve finally
come. Our Christinas wish
Pey be fiMed with
treme happiness •
for you and
your family.
Alaska Sunshine Products, Inc.
Eskimo who made the sled was up
set. Stoney maintained it was no
body else’s business but his own
because the sled was his.
While at Chandler Lake he heard
there were no natives beyond the
head of the lake. He tried to get
the Eskimos to take him down to
the Arctic coast but failed.
In the spring of 1886 Stoney re
turned to his Kobuk camp.
During his exploration Mr. Stoney
found that most of the natives he
came in contact with had never
seen a white man.
Message In Jar
Before returning to his Kobuk
camp, stoney wrote a message in a
jar and put it in a cairn for safe
keeping. It was a message for white
people who might come to that re
gion in the future.
He told the Eskimos that the mes
sage was not to be touched and if
they did their hands would rot. The
natives believed this for about three
or four years.
Strong Medicine
One day some medicine men took
the message from the jar and no- ;
thing happened to their hands. They
told the people it was their strong
medicine that prevented their hands
from rotting.
* * *
When I was a youngster my par
ents told me stories like the one 1 |
just told. I hope you will be able
to use it in the newspaper.
Merry Christmas to everybody
and God bles you.
Too Much, Too Hot
When civilization first started to
trickle into the Arctic, along with
coffee, tea. and other items, pepper
took the fancy of many natives.
During whaling season in one
coastal village, Keshorna. a newly
married young woman was cooking
for the whalers. On her departure
for the whaling camp she was given
a small can. She was told it was
wonderful to put some in meat that
was cooking. It was pepper.
For a dinner meal she boiled seal
meat in which she put some pepper.
When it was donet she served it to
i the whaling crew.
She noticed that the men were un
usually silent and hesitant in eat
ing the cooked meat. All of a sud- i
den one of the men. a comic of the
bunch, jumped up hollering, •'Whoo.
whoo!”
He started to run around as fast
as he could with his mouth wide
open, whoowhooing all the while.
Keshorna had innocently put too
much pepper in the pot. It was the
first time she ever used it.
Small Item Causes
A r "ii men I Between
C7
Captain, Native
Many years ago, when the famous
old windjammer, C, S. Holmes,
sailed into the Arctic, she anchored
off Point Hope. Brisk trading be
tween the natives and the captain
of the ship, Captain Backland, went
on.
Soon, it was Kokoruk’s turn. He
was a little man five feet tall. Cap
tain Backland was a huge man over
Six feet tall with an ample midriff.
He had an unexpectedly high
pitched voice.
Trading began between the two
men. Soon it ran into a snag, which
lasted a long time. It was quite a
spectacle to watch the two men ar
gue. The language barrier was a
pronounced handicap.
| When the argument was finally
1 settled, it was found that the bone
of contention was an ordinary little
comb.
With sincere thanks for your
friendship and loyalty, we wish
you the very happiest of holidaysl
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We take this happy time of year to wish you
all the joys of the Holiday Season, and to join all men of
good will in a prayer for worldwide peace and understanding.
May your Holidays be merry and bright!
Paul B. Haggland, M.D., F.A.C.S. Arthur J. Schaible, M.D., F.A.C.S.
■Joseph AA. Ribar, M.D. Charles T. Marrow, M.D.
Raymond D. Evans, M.D. Edward D. Meyer, M.D.
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