The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-12-15
MEN AND MANNERS IN ALASKA.

aCquIeu territory OF Alaska, from which we
quote the following. OF the Indians seen at
Sitka he speaks as follows:-
"1hese people dwell in long line Of rude
houses outside the settlement Their dwellings
are shanties on a large SCALE with small en-.
trance, often circular in shape, and a hole in
the roof to let the smoke out The idea of these
constructions must have been derived from the
Russians; IN some cases the very unusual cir
Cumstance of the seeping-rOomJ being apart
from the main chamber was TO be observed
The Keloshes are by no means a prepossessng
people, and have a bad rep dtauOn. Their
dress is commonly q blanket, at least i'm summer
time; they frequently black their faces all over
and sometimes paint themselves IN red black
and blue stripes and patches. They wear a pin
of bone or metal stuck in their lower lip; this
is said to denote maturity; it is at least never
worn by the young. They appear to be more
than usually lazy natives, probably from the
fact that nature has been so kind TO them;
salmon Is abundant, deer and bear meat is to
be had for the hunting, aud the berries are
tnnumerable. Their canoes are much inferior
to those of the lower coast, whilst their skin
'baiparkes' (kyacks) are not equal to those of
Norton Sound and the northern coast. Their
grave-boXes, or tombs, are interesting; they
contain only the ashes OF the dead. These peO.
pie Invariably burn the deceased. On one of
the boxes ! saw number OF faces painted, long
trcsses OF human hair depending therefrom.
Each head represented a victim of the (bappily)
deceased ones ferocity. In his day he was,
doubtless. mo1e esteemed than if he had never
harmed fly. All their graves are much orna-
mented with carved and painted faces ana other
deviCes.n
The following description of wedding festivi-
ties is inteIestug:-
"The day of our arrival had been fixed for the
celebration of the two Russian weddings, and
general invitation was at once sent on board.
The ceremony commenced at P. NJ. in tue old
Greek church, and was rather long and
tatguing. The congregation stoJd: in fact there
were no seats i'll the church. 1t is the custom
for the bride and bridegroom TO be crowned. In
,fa hptst .1.,Al 80 l.,..l
dresses, and conslderate male frlend5-the best
men OF the occasion-held the crowns for three
quarters of an hour few inches above the
ladies' neads. / imagine they we're rejolCed
when the pairs were satisfactorily spliCed;
/ know that we were, for we were IN
tight uniforms, extremely gorgeous,
and equally uncomfortable. 1t is the
fashion apparently-when the persons, as in
this case, are in the lower walks of lie-to ask
some more wealthy individual TO be master of
the ceremonies, and 1t is understood that he
stands all the expenses! On this occasion the
victim was NJ. Phllipeus, merchant, who
brings his vessels annually from Hong Kong to
KamsChatka aud the neig hhoring coasts. He
accepted The burden willingly, and gave a very
liberal entertainment to the whole town, the
officers OF the Variag, ourselves and the captains
Of several small vessels lying there. SO many
were invited that no Que house was large
enough tor the purpose. The party was,
therefore divided, and the guests occupied
two buildings, one on either side OF the main
street. The band of the Variag played out
side, and messenger was kept constantly
running between the two houses 10 keep the
merry party IN either informed of the nature
of the toasts. Such rousng cheers and
tigers had never been heard before in that
usually sleepy half-dead town. After the feast,
we adjourned by invitation to the house of the
Captain of the Port where dancing was kept
up with great VigOr till the small hours next
morning. The brides had to dance with every
one present, and it was amusing to see them
change fICm one gentleman 10 another: during
the time occupied by one waltz they had ten or
a dozen partners Petropauovski had not
nearly ladies' enough for the invited males, and :,
in consequence, number OF very clean and
sedate Kan ch Gidale peasant women were asked
for the occasion. Our efforts at conversation
with the latter were udcrous and eXtre mely
unsatisfactory; but with our Russian friends of
the VaIiag we got along Capually, and found
them splendid fellows. The iOllowingday the
brides and their relations paid return compli-
mentary visits"
Another social gathering is thus described:-
"In the village at Unalachect, as in most
others of the coast, there are bull lngs set apart
for dances and gatherings OF the people; at
other times, indeed, they are used for occupa-
tions requiring space, as the manufacture of
sledges or snow shoes. These buildings may be
regarded ms the natives town hall; oratlons are
made. festivals and easts are held IN them, and
the passing stranger Is sometimes aCCOmmO'
dated in them, as in an Eastern cdrGUanSerdj.
witnessed several of their public dances; they
are constantly indeed. held during winter, and
it is surprising to see how long and how much
the older people are pleased by such very
monotonoUs performances. In some of them
the actors initiate and burlesque the
motions of birds and quadrupeds, and OF
course here there is some scope for fun,
while sor g OF their songs are said to have
some meaning, although on this point | cannot
speak positively; the only ones h card were the
same words repeated over and over again. To
one dance we were specially Invited. On
arriving at the doorway we found q narro "
subterranean passage, two and half feet high,
crawling through which we at last reached the
room. itself partly underground, and dimly
lighted by blubber lamps. The Indians who
were to fake part in the dance, chiefly young
men, were engaged in dressing, and bathing
themselves in the liquid rot before mentioned
All were nude to the waist, and wore seal, deer
skin, or cotton pantaloons, with the tails OF
wolves or dogs hanging behind and feathers
ard cheap handkerchiets round their heads
The elders sat on a bench or shell, running
round the entire building, and looked on ap
provirgly whilst they consumed their owl
smoke, as is the manner OF the Tcnuktchi5
by swallowing all they male. and getting
partially intoxicated thereby. Their pipe-bOwl
were ON the smallest scale, and they even
diluted their tobacco by mixing willow shaving
fine cut with H. Meantime the women were
brngiI in contributions OF berries and fish il
large 'Cobtogs' oT.Wooden bowls, varying il
shape fIom a deep dish 10 M oblong soup
tuTean. TIE performance commenced by tn
actors ranging themselves IN square an(
raising tuese dishes of provisions TO the fou
cardinal ponts successfully, and once to tn
skies with sudden noise like 'swshP or tn
flight OF q rocket Maybe IL meant an oferiue
to the seasons and TO the Great Spirit. The
came the feast; and that over monotouou
chorus. with an accompaniment OF gongs, wa
started. The gOngs were made of seal gu
stretched on a circular frame. and were struc
with fat stick. Tue words of the son
commenced, Yung | ya, ! ya,, ! va
aud coniinDed throughout 'Yung yap Then
how mt on tho HON1. h0 gDppdil