Arctic Survival:
SHARING WITH OTHERS IN NEED IS ARCTIC'S UNWRITTEN LAW
Copyright 1961, Howard Rock
By Howard Rock
Times Editor
The Arctic in its grudging mo
ments can be most cruel. She can
be terribly indifferent to life and
death struggle that goes on upon
her lands and seas. Blinding bliz
zards can blow for days on end.
Gales rage on interminably. Water
leads on the sea ice refuse to open.
Land animals bypass their accus
tomed routes.
These conditions, which can last
for weeks or even months, fortun
ately are rare. But when they per
sist they can become disastrous or
near disastrous.
Lean Years
In the early 1929's such a condi
tion existed at the village of Point
Hope in Northwestern Alaska. The
economy of the natives there had
not been good for many, many years ;
previous to that date. This was due
to poor whaling “takes” in those •
years probably springing from the
drastic reduction of the bowhead
whale herd as a result of the mas
sive hunt for them by fleets of
whaling ships during the latter
part of the 1800’s
When weather improved, hunters
of Point Hope went out but came
back empty handed. Now and then
a seal would be caught. The meag
er catches were not enough to sus
tain the economy of the village.
Food supplies became lower and
lower day by day. Rationing of
food was the order of the day. Some
families began to go hungry.
vanger zone
Many hunters, including my fa
ther, would report that far out
miles and miles from the village
could be seen by telescope, multi
tudes of seals in open leads but
they were beyond the danger zone.
To go beyond this danger line was
almost suicidal for any hunter. If
they did chance it, it was almost
certain the ice would break be
tween them and the village and
they would be carried out to sea.
Many hunters had been lost in the
past who tried to go beyond it.
At our house our family began to
feel the shortage of food as did
other families of the village. Teams
of dogs became lean.
ine Hunt
One morning, after a meager
breakfast, father went hunting.
Lately, he had mentioned seeing
a great many seals with his tele
scope.
“There are so many of them they
are like a school cf tom cod,” he
told mother.
Mother, knowing that he was toy
ing with the idea of going out there
and knowing the risk was great,
said to him, “It would be foolhardy
for you to go out there. . Hunting
should improve very shortly.”
The time of the year was March.
The weather was cold; the tem
perature was around 30 or 35 be
low zero.
When father went hunting he,
almost always, came home just be
fore dark. At that time each day,
mother would ask me or my older
sister to go out to see if father was
approaching. When we saw that he
had caught a seal or a polar bear,
we would run to him and help him
pull the animal home.
The Vigil
That day as evening approached,
mother told my sister and I to
watch for father. I went out twice
and my sister once. Each time we
told mother that there still was no
sign of father. She took the news
casually and without comment.
It was growing dark outside.
Mother began to go out herself to
scan the north bank. When she
came in she told my sister to take
care of our little sister vyho was a
year and a half old at the time.
The baby bad begun to whimper
and cry. When she didn’t stop,
mother took her and comforted her.
She then put her on the low bunk,
nursed her, and tried to make her
sleep.
Hidden Anxiety
When the baby fell asleep, mo
ther again went out. Before she
left, she told me to tell my uncle
and his family that my father had
not yet come home. She also told
me to notify two other men who
were my father's close friends.
When I went out to notify the
men, I looked toward our house
and saw mother walking toward
the north bank, a lonely figure in
the dimness of the night.
When I returned home, mother
was just back from the bank. “Did
you see father?" I asked anxiously.
“Nahqa (No), but he will be com
ing soon,” she reassured.
Search Party
The men I had notified came in
one by one in succession. One of
them asked for a lantern. Two of
them went out on the ice to try
to spot father while the man with
the lantern went on top of a high
presure ridge and placed the lan
tern there so father would see it
if he was coming home. If father
came back the lantern man was to
swing the light from side to side
signalling father’s homecoming.
It was getting far too late now.
Tension was growing in our little
home. Mother was visibly calm but
one could sense the turmoil she was
going through. She was now going
out more frequently staying long
enough in the house to get warm.
One of those times she again walk
ed to the north bank and was gone
for a lengthy period.
Unexpected Direction
Presently, my sister and I heard
a muffled voice outside of the
house and we went out. I was the
first and when I emerged I could
see mother running toward the
south. Beyond her was someone
coming toward our house. When
they came together, they seemed
to embrace and then came on to
ward home in a hurry. I ran to
ward them. Father had come home!
At the entrance father disengag
ed the drag line around his should
ers on which was fastened a seal.
Mother hurried him into the house.
My father kept saying, “They’re al
right. My feet are alright.”
Feet Unharmed
When we entered the house, I
saw the reason for my mother’s
anxiety. Father’s mukluks were
frozen to the leggings over his
knees. They were impossible to
pull off. Mother took her sharp ulu
(women's knife) and began to slash
the mukluks down the sides and
took them off. When she pulled the
caribou socks off, she was satis
fied. Father’s feet were in good
shape. They were not frozen.
As my mother worked frantic
ally with father’s mukluks. I notic
ed that her eyes were a little swol
len and red. She had wept when
she heard father calling, "Keshorna
— Keshorna, I’m here. I’m heme!’’
The tension and the relief upon
father's return had been too great.
My sister and I brought the seal
into the house. It was quite frozen
but mother started cutting the skin
off at once. My anticipation of suf
ficient meals was pleasant but I
was to be somewhat frustrated
with the result of the cutting up of
the seal.
Decision
That morning when father left
to go hunting, he had made up his
mind if conditions seemed right
he would make a dash beyond the
danger zone to get seals. “I didn't
want to see all of you hungry," he
volunteered an excuse.
When he reaefied the edge of the
danger zone there was. as usual, no
open water. This had been, a great
disappointment for a long time now
for the hunters of the village.
Father walked to a lofty pressure
ridge not far away, climbed it and
trained his telescope seaward. As
he scanned southward he saw a
rather small open water with tiny
dots of moving objects in it. It was
teeming with seals!
He began to worry because the
seals’ location was about two and
a half to three miles out from the
cleavage or the danger zone. Never
theless, he made up his mind to
make a dash there. Conditions seem
ed right. There was hardly any
wind but it was cold.
The Dash
He set out toward open water as
fast as he could make it. When he
reached it at last he was amazed
to see dozens of seals swimming in
it. He sneaked close to them and
quickly shot two. The dead seals
floated. He got his heaving line
out of his pack sack and hooked
the seals in.
He attached them to his drag
line and started shoreward at once.
Alarming Sign
As he labored on with all the
speed he could make, he noticed a
tell-tale darkish gray steam rising
ahead of him. OPEN WATER!
Father felt a terrible sinking feel
ing within him.
“Perhaps it is a narrow lead and
I can easily get across it,” he
thought.
Clean Break
When he came upon the lead he
was appalled to see that it was
around 75 yards wide. He began to
look around frantically for an ice
raft. He found a large one that
was too big to handle. He was
further appalled that the ice had
broken clean without hardly any
broken pieces of ice.
He saw one that might do quite
a distance to the south. He dragged
his seals to it and found that it
was small. Would it float him'.'
He tested it. It just did float him
and the waterline was about a half
inch from the surface of the ice.
Hazardous Crossing
He got off carefully and then
eased the two seals into the water,
adjusted the loop of his drag line
around his Shoulders and carefully
boarded the tiny ice raft.
He noticed that the cold tempera
ture had started to freeze the sur- '
face of the water. Using his icepick
rod as paddle, he set out toward
the shore ice. He made good pro- i
gress for the first hundred feet and
then he noticed something that
made his heart sink. The thin ice on
the surface was collecting on his I
raft when it took on water. The ,
more of this slush collected, the I
lower his raft sank in the water.
It was impossible to keep the little
raft on an even keel as he paddled
it.
Progress Slowed
When he was about midway on
the lead, the slushy water was
ankle deep in his raft. He tried to
brush it off with his icepick rod.
It helped a little but as he went
slowly forward, more of it col
lected. As he sank lower, he no
ticed that his forward motion had
reduced alarmingly. Something had
to be done.
He reached behind carefully and
pulled the floating seals to his right
side, pulled his knife out and cut
off the line on the hindmost seal.
Precarious Balance
He resumed his paddling. Soon
the slush water was calf deep. When
he brushed some of it off he noticed
the front of his raft tended to float
up. Balancing on it was also getting
precarious. He made fair progress
after cutting off one of the seals.
When he was about 25 feet from
the shore ice he was almost knee
deep in the water. His lower legs
began to get very cold. The water
was now an inch and a half from
the top of his waterproof mukluks.
The draw strings at the top of
them were quite tight and would
help keep the water out if the
water reached that high.
Almost There
When he was about 12 feet from
the shore ice, he felt some trickles
of extremely cold water running
down his calves. They felt like hot
needles against his skin.
The shore ice was now 8 feet
away! He took his icepick rod by
the pick end and reached for the
shore ice. The hook caught just
enough so he could pull himself
forward. He eased himself very
slowly to the ice. It was now with
in reach!
Grim Hold
He looked carefully for a good
Minto, Stevens Village Tie in Dancing
At Nuchalawoya, Other Winners Listed
By Jay Harwood
Tanana, Alaska
Stevens Village and Minto tied in
the Native Dancing contests held
at the Nuchalawoyya Tanana-Yu
kon Festival, June 7-9.
Each village received $150 in prize
money.
Kilburn George, of Stevens Vil
lage, and Peter Jimmie, of Minto,
were judged the best male dancers.
Evelyn Alexander, of Minto, was
judged the best of the women dan
cers. Each received an award of
$10.
Allen Starr, of Tanana, won both
canoe races and had the best total
elapsed time for the $75 in prize
money, His best time was 18 min
utes, 3 seconds to canoe the course
across the Yukon and back. Allen
was also last year’s champion.
Second place in canoe racing
went to Harry Nicholia. of Tanana.
Arland Dick and Alfred “Dootzie"
Albert placed third on Saturday
and Sunday respectively.
Winner of Men’s Arm Wrestling
wasVBob Clay, of Fairbanks. Char
lotte Cleveland, of Tanana, bested
all competition in the women’s
event.
Eugent Edwin, of Tanana, won
the Kid’s Obstacle Race. The Men's
Obstacle Race was won by Russel
Simon, of Stevens Village.
Peter ‘ Fishcreek" Joseph, of Tan
ana, won the Two-Mile Cross Coun
try Race.
One of the highlights, the greased
pole climbing contest, remained un
conquered this year. It is believed
that the last known person to ac
complish this feat was at Cross
Jacket in 1917.
The celebration opened with a
potlatch on Friday evening and a
dancing contest was held each night.
While only three villages, Minto,
Stevens Village, and Tanana par
ticipated in the dancing, 25 villages
were represented at the festival.
A total of $600 in prize money
was awarded. **
For the second year, the Nucha
lawoyya was well attended and
| very successful.
hand hold, slowly leaned forward
and grabbed for the ice. He held
on grimly and pulled himself up
and cut of the water. He was safe
— so far!
In leaning and reaching forward
his knees had sunk almost to the
thighs. He felt more water getting
into his legs but not very much.
He took his hunting gear off and
began to run around rapidly stamp
ing his feet against the ice to work
up good circulation around his feet.
This he did for about five minutes.
His feet began to tingle — a good
sign.
“If I could warm the moisture
with the heat from my body I think
I can make it home without freez
ing my feet,” he thought.
Father was still four and a half
miles from the village. The day was
getting late and darkness was ap
proaching. He set out dragging the
seal g< ing as fast is he could. When
he felt his feet getting cold, he
stopped and ran around to work
up good circulation. He did this
several times on the way.
He was approaching the villaga
from the south side this time in
stead of the usual north side. “My
wife and children will be looking
for me there,” he thought. He notli>
ed the light on the north side of
the village and knew the people
were looking for him. He was com
forted and distressed that he had
caused all the anxiety.
Tension Released
He entered the village from a
quarter of a mile south a,a<J pg ope
SWiVied to have noticed him in the
dark. When he came close to our
house he noticed a lone figure com
ing from the north beach and knew
at once it was mother. He shouted
to her and she came running to him.
Mother’s emotion had given way
then. j
Years later father would say,
"Keshorna, did you care that much
for me?” “If it hadn't been for
your foolishness we wouldn't have
had to worry so much,” mother
would retort.
That evening as father looked at
his slashed mukluk brother had
taken off. “Look at those things.
I’ll never hunt in them again and
they were my favorites;" he laugh
ed.
Apportioning
wnen me sKin was on me seal,
mother began to cut it in small
pieces expertly weaving through
the bone joints.
"Take these to the Kunook and
Kingik families,” she said to my
sister. She directed me to take
others to several other families who
were in dire need for food.
By the time she was through
aportioning the seal there was
about a quarter of it left for our
own use. The seal was about the
average size of about 75 pounds.
About 20 pounds of that was blub
ber and skin.
I didn't need to nave leit dis
tressed. When hunting conditions
repaid with meat almost twofold
repaid with meat almost twofold
by the families to whom my parents
had given parts of the seal.
The Arctic Way
Father’s dangerous hunt is a de
monstration of how the people of
the Arctic have lived through co
operation with one another. Our
family not only benefited but many
other families as well.
Sharing is one of the keys of
survival of man in the Arctic. The
consideration of one’s fellow
under trying conditions is the
Arctic's unwritten law. It is prac
ticed the selflessness which has re
warded the benefactor more than
he has given. It has created a close
knit relationship among the people
of the northern communities.
Selfishness has had no place in
I the existence of man in the Arctic
I regions. _„