Carrying Mail
By Dog Sled
Almost Extinct
Chester Noonwook, 22 of Savo
onga, an Eskimo village about 50
miles Southeast of Gambell (St.
Lawrence Island’s main commu
nity about 200 miles Southwest of
Nome) is the sole remaining dog
sled mail carrier in Alaska, ac
cording to the Post Office Depart
ment.
Noonwook and his 10 Huskies—
Spotty, Brownie, Lassy, Boy, Mil
ko-buk, Frisky, Whitey, Donkey,
northern tip of the Island. (Hie
Blackie and, Camel-cover tlie 100
mile mail route between Savoonga
and Gambell about twice a week.
The dogs are used usually from
November through May. In June
•through October, Noonwook uses
a skin boat to carry the mails.
The dog route follows the North
ern coastline of St. Lawrence
Island between the two points,
rather than moving directly over
the frozen Bering Sea where the
“sea ice” is extremely rough and
dangerous.
The skin boat route goes directly
over open sea from Savoonga to
Gambell, located on the extreme
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Island itself is located out in the
Bering Sea, 120 miles distant, at
the closest point, from the Alaska (
mainland.) ]
Noonwook, who is a contract
carrier for the Post Office Depart
ment, is paid $40 a round trip.
Starting out on his trip from
Savoonga—a typical Eskimo settle
ment consisting of frame houses
where the Eskimos live, a church,
a Bureau of Indian Affairs School
and a native store—the ytoung
carrier usually requires a day to
reach Gambell, unless he runs into
one of the frequent howling storms
or has trouble on a “soft” trail.
These, incidentally, appear to be
the principal dangers of the 100
mile round trip run, because Post
master John Waghiyi of Savoonga
reports, “No wolves on Island.”
After taking the mail from
Savoonga into Gambell, Noonwook
usually picks up a full load of ,300
pounds or more of mail for
Savoonga. The return trip usually
requires about two days, because
the load is heavier going b&k.
In addition to letters, newspa
pers and the like, Noonwook
usually has a heavy mail consign
ment of parcel post, which affords
a real service bargain at low cost
rates in transporting goods in
Alaska. Almost anything that can
qualify as parcel post going be
tween Gambell and Savoonga is,
in fact, carried by Noonwook and
his dogs.
Shortly after he began carrying
the route in 1956 when he was 20,
he had one of his heaviest mail
jobs.
A new missionary at Savoonga
had more than 5,000 pounds of
parcel post sent in from the “out
side,” and it had to be hauled in—
in December weather—by Noon
wook and his dogs.
He took it all in safety, although
it required many extra trips. /
“Star Route Carrier” Noonwook
“has never had an accident,” Post
master Waghiyi reported, “al
though he has had troubles at
times. Some times he has to stop
overnight on the way between here
and Gambell in cabins due to the
snow storm and soft trail.”
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