Connecticut western news., 1884-04-30
THE POLAR REGIONS.

HE PULAR REGlONS.
 THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF POINT BAR
 Row As DESCRIBED BY LIT. RAYS
 PARTY.
 A Primitive Lot of Indinns-Their Ways and
 Hnbits-HOnest-Babies.
 The Ooglaamiemeuns are the tribe of natives in the immediate vicinity of where Ut. Rays Signal Service station was at Ooglaamie. The tribe consists of 130 souls. A few miles distant IS another tribe, called the Noowookmeuns, num- bering 40 people, but the relations ex- isting between the two are not so har- monious as one would be led to believe was due to neighbors where acquaint- ances are so few. There have not been any open outbreaks between the tribes, and they often mingled together near the station, but each eyed the other sus- piciously, and the members of the two tribes were observed to breathe more freely when they were surrounded only by their own people. Neither tribe holds allegiance to any chief or ruler. No congresses or legislatures have as yet broken in upon the rude mode of living. They are anarchists in the full sense of the word Each man is his own chief and, strange as it may seem, Lieutenant Ray pronounces them the best governed and happlest people in the world. There appears to be no clash ing of interests among them, and no bully has ever yet come to the front and bulldozed the tribe by asserting that might made right. Fighting aud quar- relling are unknown. Ray says he never saw child punished in any form, and yet he reports the children as we'll be. haved, modest and honest. As high as twenty-five children have visited the station at one time, and their deport- ment would be such that he could not help but notice the striking contrast be- tween them and the children who had all the advantages of civilization. How ever small the child might be it never intruded itself into univited places. No matter how many tools, articles of cloth ing or provisions were scattered around, the Lieutenant never saw them touch thing, much less to try to appropriate or steal them. If anything was given child it showed it's appreciation thereat, sometimes in words but more often in smiles, and by informing its playfellows that he or she had been shown especial favors by the great white Captain. The only blow Ray ever saw struck in these tribes was by a husband, who boxed his wife's ears for supposed infdelity.
 HABITS AND CUSTOMS.
 Thieving is seldom known among the men or women of the tribes, and when it does occur there is no punishment for the crime. The thief makes no secret of his act, and will deliberately expose the article taken to the whole tribe in few minutes after appropriating it to his own use. The petty thief will take hatchet from it's owner, and in half an hour loan it to him to do some work, and the owner is in honor bound to return it to the scamp who stole 1t. A case in point is as follows One of the tribe stole tent from another one. He 'fpitched" the tent few min- utes later, and in half an hour had as his guest for dinner the original owner. The owner knew the tent, and yet came with in its folds and partook of the hospitality of the thief. Possession appears to be nine points of law with them. A police court would soon become bankrupt there. Neither tribe appears to have any marriage ceremony. If the man is willing and the woman also, there is nc legal impediment and the twain are as one. There is but little funeral cere. mony. When a male dies his body if sewed up in canvas or deer skin placed on a sledge and moved out on the tundra, where it remains. The deceased's effects are all broken mp over the body If woman dies the only change ill form of burial is in simply breaking a bow over the body. Having no implements to penetrate the hard frozen ground anc there being scarcity of lumber where with to build caches, the above manner of disposing of their dead seems to bt the only practicable way. Many persons have accused these tribes of having nc feeling for their dead, not stopping tc consider the difficulties surroundino them and the almost impossibility of giv ing them decent sepulture Ray says the memory of the deceased is ever cherished with the kindliest feelings, and whe1 they speak of the departed it Is with { reverence and charity not surpassed by the white race.
 NATIVE SUPERSTITION.
 The Ooglaalniemeuns and Noowook meuns are full of superstitious ideas, anC have god of fire, one of water and on of almost everything else, even god o the north wind, and so on for the eigh principal points of the compass. Thes gods they often supplicate for assistance and should the prayer be heard it is al right, hnt should the prayer be unan swered in their simplicity they merel. consider the god angry or too busy tt attend to their present wants. At on time one of these pow-wows Cor praye meetings) was in progress, the object be