PORTABLE HOSPITAL TO HELP ALASKA
ESKIMOS IN REMOTE ARCTIC REGION
Archdeacon Goodman, Missionary at Point Hope in the
Arctic, Tells of °dd Notions and Customs of the
Natives In His Wild and Lonely Parish.
When the Rev. Frederick W. Goodman, once of Chattanooga and now
Archdeacon of Arctic Alaska, reaches his far-away field after his recent
visit in the United States, he will have with him a portable hospital to add
to the Episcopal mission plant at Point Hope, says an article in the New
York Times of June 28. There is now no hospital within 400 miles of the
mission. The need of a relief station of the sort among the Eskimo inhabi
tants of that frozen land is great.
An Eskimo who is ill must lie in the igloo, with fourteen or fifteen other
persons about, and suffer untold discomfort while the usual domestic work
goes on. In that space animals are skinned, fur hides are cured, oil is boil
ed. Nursing methods are crude, curatives scarce, and an invalid is an ad
ditional burden in a household ini
which there are few leisure hours.
When the new hospital is up there
will be a bright room with fresh air,
clean bedding, and, above all, privacy,
the strangest luxury in the life of an
Eskimo.
Native women, who have an apti
tude for nursing will be trained in
modern methods. The medicine chest
will hold a supply of remedies and
appliances to meet most needs of
sickness and accident and to ward
against epidemics. Father Goodman,
as the missionary, is affectionate
ly called by his charges, is looked up
on by them as an angel of mercy.
Like a Cut-Out Puzzle.
This frontier hospital for Eskimo
land has been made in Seattle, the
most substantial type of up-to-date
portable building, all ready to be put
together, like a child’s puzzle—only
the answer goes with it. The mate
rials are all of a kind adapted to a
-climate of extreme cold and wild
winds. There are blocks of concrete
for the foundation and for the chim
ney, matched lumber for the exterior
and interior, padding between doors
and windows, everything to the last
bolt, ready to be assembled.
The planning and the buying neces
sary to make the hospital an accom
plished fact have occupied the Arch
deacon for many months. It is his
own idea, and to carry it out he him
self has found the ways and the
means. To stock the mission’s lard
er is in itself a task, and Father
Goodman spent a busy last fortnight
marketing, buying canned goods,
foods of every kind for different sea
sons, everything from soup to des
sert to last a year, perhaps much
longer.
Point Hope Mission, established 35
years ago, is now an educational,
spiritual, medical and social center,
its influence radiating to the remotest
parts of the region, even to the out
posts of the polar seas. No represen
tative of any other creed has entered
the Alaskan Arctic, and Father Good
man who had twice been sent there
on special service for the Episcopal
Board, found a clear field on his ar
rival two years ago.
With his knowledge of the country
and its inhabitants, the Archdeacon
is able to correct some erroneous im
pressions about the Eskimos. They
are quiet, peace-loving, musical, ima
ginative, and with wrhite men, shy and
taciturn.
Women’s Rights In Alaska.
Under the kindly influence of the
mission the people of the Point Hope
region have made big advances in
•community life. Women now sit in
council with the men, and, though
they are but three or four, the gent
ler members speak their mind freely
and get consideration. In the marriage
relation a great change has been in
stituted. Divorce is now rare, the
pledge “for better or for worse” be
ing kept.
Before the new code was adopted
marriage was a matter of whim and
divorce was easy and cruel as well.
When a man tired of his wife he
would cut her leather belt to ribbons
with his knife and leave the frag
ments for her to discover. It was a
command to her to clear out. With
exclamations of grief and dismay, she
at once bade her children farewell
and left the igloo. She took nothing
with her. No provision was made
for her, no shelter offered. She was
never permitted to return. If she
was fortunate, relatives or friends
took her in. If she found favor in the
eyes of another man she might form
another alliance with the same uncer
tain conclusion in prospect.
Native Notions of Death.
The old Eskimo theory of death re
sulted in many a tragedy in the re
gion before the mission brot new ideas.
I—
It was believed that a man had two
souls, one good, one evil. When he
died the good soul expected to spend
eternity in bliss and comfort in a
warm place underground. His bad
soul was supposed to remain on the
spot where the body died, a lasting
harmful influence over those who
were luckless enough to encounter it.
When a person fell ill the medicine
man was sent for. Almost always he
pronounced the case hopeless. The
invalid was then taken out of the ig
loo and placed on the snow to perish.
It was a logical proceeding, for if he
died indoors the igloo would have to
be abandoned and sealed up forever,
since no one would dare occupy it.
An igloo has accommodation for
several persons. It was thot better
one man should die than that many
should be made homeless. The build
ing of a new igloo is a serious under
taking, for it usually requires five
years of patient labor to gather enough
, driftwood for one hut. Today all that
has been changed. The sick or injur
ed are not tortured with fear of
abandonment or death, and are bouy
ed by the knowledge of sanctuary
I and a helpful agency close at hand.
No Liquor, No Prohibition.
Father Goodman laughed when ask
ed about prohibition in Arctic Alaska,
there isn’t any such thing in those
parts, for there is no liquor. The
Eskimos, he said, drink no intoxicant
and disapprove of it altogether. One
of their leaders was once tempted by
a white trader and fell from grace.
The liquor was bad, the man became
wild and behaved after the manner of
many in civilized communities. It is
said he thought nothing of killing a
wife before breakfast. So the council
was called, and, there being no police
in that region, the intemperate one
was taken out and shot for the good
of the community.
The natives gather often at the mis
sion for tea and other luxuries from
its commissary department. Eskimo
palates are learning the delights of
canned vegetables and fruits.
Calico, the latest fashion bulletin
from the Arctic says, is in vogue, and
it silhouette is the straight line. The
Eskimo’s one garment for the coldest
weather is necessarily of fur, and
heretofore it was sewn together with
sinew. When the journey was long
and the snowfall steady, the fur was
sodden and heavy and a serious bur
den. Now a shirt of Yankee calico
is worn over all, from which the
snow and sleet are easily shaken.
The Archdeacon believes his Es
kimos are sincere in accepting the
new religion he offers them. If any
one wished to raid an Eskimo vil
lage, the best chance would be at
church time, for every one attends
services, and no igloo is locked.
The problem of teaching the church
service was solved by Father Good
man two years ago, when he trans
lated from the English into the Es
kimo tongue the offices, prayers and
hymns. In this he had the assist
ance of a full-blooded Eskimo named
Joule, who had learned English in
school at Seattle. The mission does
not yet possess an organ, but the
voices are rich and the singing is
done with spirit.
Willow as Christmas Tree
The Eskimos live on the harvest
of the sea, which provides for them
food and clothing and shelter. The
ordinary diet is walrus or seal meat
and dried fish. Once a year the pro
vision boat comes up the coast with
such delicacies as tomato soup,
green vegetables, tinned meats and
baked beans. But the real feast
is at Christmas, when every trapper
and hunter comes home if possible.
The occasion is made as nearly like
ours as resources permit. For days
beforehand the mission hums with
preparations. Every one wants to
help.
There is a Christmas tree, not a
beautiful fir, but a willow bare of
leaves that is brought a distance of
800 miles. By the time it is trim
med with green crepe paper, bright
baubles and candles, it presents a
wonderful sight to the youth of Es
kimo land. Early the mission bell
rings out across the snow, and the
church is full for the service. After
that, everybody goes home for the
big meal of the day. At four in the
afternoon the entire population re
turns to the mission hall, where the
tree is disclosed. Presents and candy
are distributed, and refreshments,
which consist usually of tea and
doughnuts, are served.
The party always lasts twelve
hours, with singing and dancing and
games. The native instruments are
drums made of hoops over which
skin is stretched, and these drums
comprise the orchestra for the dance.
Men and women dance singly. To
the measured beating of the drums
the dancers step and sway to imitate
the motions of birds and fish, im
provising as they move.
The Point Hope Mission has very }
few visitors from the outside world,
but those few may be people of dis
tinction. One caller not many months
ago was Roald Amundsen.
Gateway want-ads bring results.
Take
THE FUR FARMER
MAGAZINE
and know the fur business. It
deals with every phase of fur
farming. Learn how others made
a success of farming fur bearing
animals.
Address
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STEAMSHIP STARR
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G. C. HENDERSON, Agent
PHONE MADISON IS*. SEWARD, ALA8KA
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June 30
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July 7
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July 14, 9 p.m.
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Calling at all regular Southeastern and South
western Alaska ports including Seldovia and
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WAYNE BLUE, Agent
Telephone Main 81 Res.. Madison 40
jPaci/ic Coastwise Service,
AL LINE
!H.F.ALEXANDER. PRESIDENT
I ALASKA STEAMSHIP!
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Southwestern Alaska Route Schedule
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Ar. Seward ““
July 18.
July 25.
Aug. 1.
Aug. 8.
Aug. 15
August 22
Lv. Seattle
July 11.
July 18.
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Aug. 1.
Aug. 8
August 15
from Seward
July 19.
July 26.
Aug. 2.
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Steamers in the above schedule will make all regular ports of call 2
m Southeastern and Southwestern Alaska.
Steamers in above schedule will not leave Seward earlier than FOUR S
O CLOCK Sunday afternoon, sailing date. 2
2 Steamer Redondo, carrying freight and passengers, connects with —
= above steamers at Seward, weekly, for Cook Inlet and Kodiak Is- E
-• land points, subject to change without notice. E
J. H. FLICKINGER, Agent
PHONE MAIN 125 SEWARD, ALASKA
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