Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1873-02-26

dista mt, the volcano of Makoushin, 5000 or
1000 feet high, was sending up vast clouds
of smoke and steam. To the eastward, Just
across the channel, twenty miles away. Tag
aldin's snowy sides were glittering in the
sun, while about its crater, at the height OF
1000 feet, appeared circular rim of bare
earth, from which the snow has been melted
by the almost extinct volcanic fires that still
shoulder within the mountain. Still farth er
away, sixty miles to the eastward, Shshal-
din, rising from the water nearly 10, 900 feet,
looked like pyramid of snow. One could
almost imagine that the school boys of some
giant race had been playing there in a spring
snow storm. and throwing up monument in
memory Of departed winter.
Now we have left timbered lands 600 miles
behind US, and have reached the country
where the people burrow like woodchucks.
The houses are built half under ground from
snch pieces of drift wood, as may be picked
up on the beach, covered with long grass,
moss and vines, and turfed over to the depth
of several feet. For fuel they burn mostly
oil and the vines which grow upon the hill
| side, but they are as improvident as some of
our nelghbors who go out before breakfast to
| chop wood enough to boil the tea kettle.
| They literally - take no thought for the
morrow and seldom have vines enough
stored up to last for a single snowy day.
| They rely for warmth IN the coldest weather
on the heat from their bodies, confined IN their
small unventiated, underground rooms.
Fortunately in the Aleutian Island chain the
| thermometer seldom goes much below zero.
| Their food consists chiefly of fish, which
may be obtained in the harbor at nearly all
| seasons. In summer salmon are so plenty
that only the choice portions oil the fish are
| eaten, the remainder being thrown away. In
| the month of June, 1869, while stopping at
Oulalaska, | caused a seine, some - faith
oms = $50 feet-lOng to be hauled in the har-
Dor near the village. This single cast
gave us over Is 900 lbs. of fine salmon =
5000 fish, weighing five to seven lbs. each.
50 loaded was the seine that the natives were
obliged to 60 into the water to Tighten it as
| it neared the beach That is a fish story, but
drawn very far below the actual facts IN the
case, in order that your credulity may not
be over taxed. At the time OF this extraordi-
nary haul, | saw boys taking the raw fish
| just as they came from the water and eating
them. Whale blubber is esteemed a luxury,
and, from personal experiment, | can pro-
nounce its flavor when fresh, not unpleasant,
though it leaves what may be described as
an oily taste IN the mouth. The chief occu-
patton of the natives in summer, is fishing
and hunting the sea-otter.
Leaving Ounalaska, we pass through the
Straits into Behring' Sea, and steer for the
seal islands, 200 miles north, where | have
spent the most Of my time for two years past.
| The natives found here differ little from those
| Just described. The boy whom | brought
with me, and who now thrives in Randolph, is
native Of St. Paul-One of these seal islands
and a son of the first chief The seals are
| far more interesting than the people. They
number, from the best estimates we are able
| to make, not less than three or four millions.
| The men who do our work can do nothing
else but handle seal skins. but in this they
are able to excel any lab)rers we can find
| In the summer OF 1868, some men were
| brought from Koiiak Island but being wholly
unused to the work, were sent back.
Ny descriptions are nearly ended. but
would like before closing to take you with
me still farther north, up to the 10ukon
| River, where we have a large force. engaged
in buying turs from the Indians. This You
kon ls one OF the largest rivers in the world.
Our most inland station is situated 400 miles
from its mouth Goods for this post are car
red up the river IN fiat boats towed by a
steamer. The expedition starts, generally,
aoout the first OF July, or as soon as the Tee
has broken up, and the boatmen must be
back again by the middle of September, or
they may be frozen IN.
The temperature along the river, unlike
that of the sea coast, is very variable. Oar
Agents report that the thermometer reaches
TO- or S0s below zero in winter, while for
| two or tn ea weeks in summer 1t is intensely
hot aud the sand-hies, and mosquitoes are
50 thick, that were TO attempt to tell you
| Irht bp
mistaken in thinking that again talk
ing about fish. For travelling through this
country in summer, the hands and face must
be thoroughly protected by gloves and mus
quito bars-the latter made on purpose to
| be drawn over the head, AMI bowed out over
the mouth and eyes 80 as 10 leave breath and
| sight unobstructeI.
We sent two reliable men up the river IN
| 1869 to establish this distant trading post.
One of them WAS accidentally shot and killed
on the voyage, and the other had to work
| hard passage at the oar. This man, Mr.
| Paul Zindt, OF St. Petersburgh, Russia, and
a very reliable, honest man, assured me that
after pulling tbs oars four hours, the flies and
mosquitoes brushed down from before his
face, and accommodating in his lap, would
amount to two or three quarts. Now | be
| lieve thai story because have seen moSqui-
! toes SO thick that, after crossing marsh and
| looking back, | could zee where [ had pass
ed along by the whirling ard commotlon made
among them.
The people among whom we are now trav-
elling are different from either the Indians
or the Aleuts They are classed under the
general name OF koniags. Their houses are
even further under ground than those of the
Aleuts. All that appears above the surface
| is small mound of earth, IN the center OF
| which is a SIN all opening for the smoke to
come out. At some little distlnce from this
mound may be found a small hole, some four
or five feet deep, just large enough to admit
the body of a man. Jumping down into this
hole. ,rouching down, and passing through
zig-zag tunnel, sometimes through two
or three doors, hardly wide enough f1r
passage, one at length, reaches the room IN
which the family lives. AS a precautionary
measure against the foul odor that meets one
on entering, it will be we'll to compress the
nostrils and breathe slowly Squatted around
small fire,in the middle o the circular room,
is the family, comprising, sometimes old and
young, twenty or thirty people, and about
an equal number of dogs. Over their heads,
hung on poles, are large quantities of fine,
large salmon, smoking, drying, and decay
ing-drippiug perhaps on the heads of the
heads of the family,i and emitting most
horrible smell. At the same time all the
smoke from the fire seems to circle halfa
dozen times around the room, before finding
the aperture above. The clothing of these
people is made from reindeer skins, and the
dress of the two sexes is so nearly alike, that
it would be impossible to distinguish them
were it not for some tattooing in vertical lines
on the chins of the women.
In winter they travel from one point to
another on the ice, drawn by Esquimaux dogs.
Seven, nine or eleven dogs make full team.
Each dog is estimated to draw load in the
sledge equal to his own weight. Sixty to
eighty miles is called fair days journey, at
the end of which the dogs are tied to the
sledge, and to each is given small piece of