ESKIMOS ADOPT
CHILDR OF
FLU VICTIMS
t
The cry of distress travels fast in
the land of the igloo and the aurora—
in the land from Cape Prince of Wales
on the north to Nome, St. Michael
and Point Dali, on the south, where
between two hundred and two hun
dred and fifty Eskimo children have
been left orphans by the recent in
fluenza epidemic.
But it does not seem that they will
be long without homes. So willing
are the Northern Eskimos of the Ko
buk river district to adopt these child
ren that many have volunteered to
come at once for them through biting
winds and across some 200 or 250
miles of snow, rather than wait the
opening of navigation, when each
little Eskimo can be delivered right
at the door by government agents.
Wnt nnlv that hut tho nlrl FlslHmn
mothers, and fathers, too, for that
matter, have been planning for weeks
on the number of orphans they can
take care of, and a long list has been
forwarded from Noorvik, on the Ko
buk river, to W. T. Lopp, chief of the
Alaskan bureau of education, with of
fices in the L. C. Smith building, Se
attle. Noorvik asks for 121 orphans
seventy boys and fifty-one girls.
“The Eskimos are very fond ol
children and the adopting or orphans
has been a practice among them foi
twenty years,” said Mr. Lopp. "As a
rule they do not have large families.
They believe that it is not well for a
couple to be without children in their
old age.
"Adopted children are as well cared
for, as a rule, as their own children
and they grow up with the same
family ties as the others.
"The Eskimos probably are the
kindest to children of any race. Cor
poral punishment is seldom used and
in the better types of families the
children are respectful and obedient
“The family work is well organized,
The children do their part, not as
drudgery or a task, but willingly. The
women are not the drudges that many
of the Indian women are. They have
their portion of outdoor work which
gets them out of the confinement of
the house. The Eskimo wife is the
real partner of the husband and holds
the same position in the family as a
white woman.
“In the more northern tribes the
women skin the seals. The men
come in exhausted after a hard day’s
work on the ice and the seals are
turned over to the women.”
The plan to establish orphanages at
Nome and various points has been
suggested by white residents of Nome,
but does not meet with general ap
proval.
“What we want is to make better
Eskimos and not children who, when
they are grown, will not be fitted by
training for the ccjnmunity in which
they will have to live,” continued Mr,
Lopp. “The adoption of children by
the Eskimos will assure them of home
life to which they are accustomed,
while in the orphanages they would re
ceive training under semi-military
conditions. The change of teachers
would make it impossible for the same
affection to exist in orphanages as in
the homes.”
Channe in Mode of Livina
To the children of Nome, life on the
Kobuk river will be a wonderful
change. It will be a transition from
wind-swept, barren beaches to a
wooded section, filled with berries in
the summer, bountiful with salmon,
reindeer and other foods with which
the Eskimos are familiar. It will be
a change from the canned foods of the
white man to dishes prepared in true
Eskimo style.
The mode of living in the north will
be different. The Eskimos of Nome
live in modified igloos, poorly venti
lated and in every way about as poor
an1 excuse for a house as could be in
vented.
The Eskimos on the Kobuk river
live in the ordinary log cabin of the
trapper or pioneer in the early days
of the West.
As an example of the adopted Es
kimo, Dr. Lopp cites Split-the-Wind,
winner of the marathon at Nome and
member of the Stefansson expedi
tion, who was born on Kotzebue sound
and was adopted by an Eskimo family
at Cape Prince of Wales. On being
paid off at Nome on the return of the
Stefansson expedition Splltthe-Wlnd
' received $5,000 tn wages, which he in
vested in Canadian government bonds.
, He died in the recent influenza epi
demic at Nome.
i.Noorvik, the first point at which
» distribution of orphans will be
!e, is on the Kobuk river, north of
Arctic Circle. It has a population
J'
of 350 people. The houses are located
in the shelter of trees.
The superintendent’s report to the
bureau of education for 1916-17, con
cerning Noorvik says:
"The establishment of the Noorvik
center, involving as it did the removal
of Eskimos from the coast to a tim
bered section, has been an epoch
making event in out management of
the Eskimo problem. The Noorvik
station is the biggest project our peo
ple have to handle in this district. It
called for leadership of the highest
order and an unusual display of me
chanical ability. Charles Replogle
and his son handle the largest school
In this district. They also manage
and operate a saw mill and an electric
lighting plant; they have installed and
are bringing to perfection a wireless
station that is communicating direct
with Nome regularly; and they have
organized various native industries,
among others a fish trap, managed by
a native company—a native store
started without any outside help. They
have likewise established a sawmill
,operating company, which takes
charge of the management of the. mill,
paying the labor and engineer and
sawing on shares. After the succesB
of the electric lighting system the
natives wished electricity in their
homes, so an arranement was made
for the natives to purchase the lights,
wire, etc., and to pay for a native en
gineer to keep the plant running. All
of this work has been inaugurated
and carried on by our people at Noor
vik, and it has all been done in addi
tion to the regular school, village, and
reindeer work that all other teachers
have to manage.”
While the final order for the plac
ing the Eskimo orphans In homes of
the northern Eskimos has not yet
been given, and probably will not be
until the opening of navigation makes
possible the transfer, it is believed
that there is little likelihood of per
manent orphanages being established.
In the meantime the good people of
Noorvik, who have volunteered to
come at once by dog sled for the or
phaned children will have to wait un
til spring, when the transfer to the
Kobuk district can be made by water
to Kotzebue Sound and from there to
Noorvik.
Decimated by Influenza.
The influenza epidemic, beginning
last November, cast a pall over the
coast district from Cape Prince of
Wales, not far from the 65th degree
of latitude, north, to Point Dali, some
distance below the 62nd degree of
latitude, north
Important settlements included in
the district are Cape Prince of Wales,
Nome, St. Michael, while many of the
smaller coast villages were affected.
Two hundred and fifty deaths oc
curred between St. Michael and Point
Dali, and 750 occurred between Nome
and Cape Prince of Wales.
Of the 250 or 300 orphans ninety are
at Nome. These will be among the
first transferred, although it is prob
able thaf the first allottment from
Nome will not exceed fifty, as com
pared with the 121 asked for by the
citizens of Noorvik.
It is expected that the transfer of
the orphans will be made with very
little expense, although some assist
ance may be acceptable in the pur
chase of clothing.
It was not many years ago that the
Eskimos were considered strange
and unreal people, who counted their
wealth in fish hooks and whose main
delight was to eat tallow candles,
soap and blubber.
Today they are known as an intel
ligent race, sympathetic, kindly anil
docile.—Seattle Times.
_.
SOUTHERN RANGES NOW
STOCKED WITH STEERS
EL PASO, Texas, April 9.—-Steers
are replacing breeding cows on the
Southwestern range, and this Is an
evil tendency In the cattle business,
according to the report of the breed
ing committee of the Panhandle South
Western Stockmen's Association at
the recent convention held here. Cat
tlemen are disposing of their breed
ing cows and heifers, handling steers
exclusively. The reason for this, as
given in the report, is that banks pre
fer to loan on steers, which are
quickly marketed, rather than breed
ing stock, which requires longer-time
money before their produce is mar
ketable.
-4
Captain A. W. Thomas in a speech
before the Rotary club at Seattle re
cently asked that organization to sup
port a movement to get a bill passed
through congress to put a duty on
Scotch herring so that Alaska could
compete with the imported article.
Captain Thomas is a well-known
Alaskan fisherman.
-♦--—
Tour eyes fitted. Compound and
stlgmatlc lenses replaced. See Os
borne.
HIGH COST OF
FISH GEAR BE
INVESTIGATED
The Sutherland memorial asking a
federal investigation of cotton and
linen material prices has passed the
senate by a unanimous vote. Senator
Sutherland explained to the senate
that the Alaska fishermen were being
robbed by either the manufacturer or
the wholesaler in purchasing fishing
gear.
The memorial, addressed to the Na
tional Council of Defense, reads as
follows:
"Whereas, The season for fishing
on the Alaska coast is approaching,
and male residents, including return
ing soldiers, are desirous of partici
pating in this independent vocation;
and
“Whereas, All cotton and linen ma
terials used in the lines and nets
wherewith the fishery is prosecuted
have advanced from 100 to 200 per
cent over pre-war prices, and there
is no present indication of a decline
in these prices; and
"Whereas, The price of deep sea fish
has already declined and is still de
clining, and indications point to near
pre-war prices for the product of this
branch of the Alaska fishery; and
“Whereas, An April 1st, 1916, cot
ton line cost at wholesale in Seattle
20 cents were pound, and was sold
by Alaska dealers to the fishermen at
23 cents per pound, and today the Se
attle wholesale price is 58 cents per
pounds and the price of Alaska deal
ers to fishermen is 60 cents per pound,
and on April 1st, 1916, linen salmon
twine sold at wholesale in Seattle for
$1.05 per pound and was sold by
Alaska dealers to fishermen at $1.17%
per pound, today is wholesale, $1.90
per pound, and is sold by Alaska deal
ers at from $2 to $2.10 per pound; and
“Whereas, The price of materials
used by the Alaska fishermen is al
most prohibitive and entirely out of
proportion to the price of their prod
uct, and thereby prevents independent
men from entering into this business;
now, therefore,
“Be it resolved by the legislature of
the territory of Alaska, That the Na
tional Council of Defense be urged to
ascertain the cause of the exorbitant
prices of cotton and linen materials
used in the Alaska fisheries, and to,
if Dossihle. take Hfinio nntl'nn Innltnor .
towards a rectification. of the condi
tion's that now exist; and be it fur
ther
“Resolved, That a copy of this me
morial be sent to the secretary of
commerce and the secretary of labor.
“And your memorialists will ever
pray.”
-4
Special dinner served from 11:30
o’clock every day at the City Bakery.
2-6t
-4
Fresh Fleishman yeast, in any quan
tity, at American Bakery. 25-3t
SEEKING A BARGAIN ‘
IN MATRIMONIAL FEE
YUMA, Ariz., April 9.—Judge Smith
received notice recently from a ne
gress that if he charged the regula:
tion price for performing the marriage
ceremony he would get none of her
business. She told him, said the judge,
that she was about to marry, and that
unless he reduced the fee she would
seek a matrimonial bargain elsewhere.
KENNY HOLDEN’S
Pool and Billiard Parlors
CIGARS, SOFT DRINKS AND TOBACCO.
FIRST-CLASS BARBER SHOP
IN CONNECTION
MUSIC EVERY NIGHT PHONE 15
I (HAS GOLDSTEIN & COMPANY
of Juneau, Alaska
Offer to the trappers and dealers of the North
the followinig prices for No. 1 Prime Furs:
Lynx, Extra Large No. 1..$30.00 to $32.50
Lynx, Large No. 1... .. 25.00 to 30.00
Lynx, Small. 15.00 to 20.00
Mink, dark coast skins. 5.00 to 7.00
Mink, dark coast skins, small... 3.00 to 5.00
Mink, fresh water. [5.00 to 10.00
Land Otter..'. 12.00 to 18.00
Red Fox, No. 1 large..!.... 30.00 to 35.00
Cross Fox, according to beauty. 50.00 to 100.00
Muskrats ....75 to 1.50
Silver and Black Foxes, as to cplor
Wolverine ... 7.00 to 15.00
Wolves.:...... 5.00 to 20.00
Ship us your Furs! As soon ss received we will grade same and
wire our best offer. If our prices are not satisfactory we Bin return
the furs and pay transportation charges on same both ways.
References: Any bank In Alaska, Dexter Horton National Bank, Be
attie; National Bank of Taooma, Taooma, Wash.
SATISFACTION GUARANTEED
We operate the largest Fur Ma ur factory north of San Franclsoo.
iP^Tl
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II "I' ' ' II
Most all of us have plans for the future. We are | j:
j j i looking forward to better conditions, greater com- p
• j forts, and more enjoyments. j If
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5 j To have our plans mature we must provide for the j |j
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• I fying pleasures out of life. ! If
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HOW? i
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BY SAVING YOUR DOLLARS i !
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ALASKAN GRILL 1
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“THE HOME OF QUALITY AND ATTENTION”
ONE VISIT TO THE ALASKA GRILL WILL MAKE YOU A
REGULAR PATRON
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SOLICITING THE PATRONAGE OB
THE EPICUREAN
and discriminating public, 1 desire to call attention to a few of the
reasons which I am confident make this Grill a popular one and en
titled to their kind support.
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