The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-01-16
EATERS OF WHALE BauBBER.
Two Queer Little Men-Quaint Marriage and
Religious Customs

San Francisco Examiner.
II have one wife. my brother has two and my
father has four" said quaint-looking little m an
with almond eyes and an Y in India ink on each
cheek yesterday to an Examiner man. The
speaker was Dom Koch, and with him Was
Tommy, Naghsook, both Esquimeaux,
who arrived here a fortnight ago on the
whaler Reindeer. Their home is among
the Siberian steppes, within the arctic circle in
$500 north latitude and l7Qo west longitude.
Here, born and bred in a snow house, III land
where the sun never sets in summer. they had
remained, had their ancestors for thousands
of years, and never dreamed of another country
until, when their little skin boat was blown far
out to sea, they were taken aboard the Reindeer.
II expect my wife will be when get
back" said the funny ltsle man who first spoke,
and who talked English remarkably well.
Some other man will probably have her. but
then I'll get me another one. VI there II mans
go fishing, come back and find wife's gone he
don't worry. He goes and gets some more"
Tommy listened to this speech rather de-
murely. Tommy is homesick." said Dom
Koch. HE wants to get back again He has
two pretty wives and three ugly ones. l like
California very well. It's nice and warm down
here, and when go back next year I'm going to
bring down my three sisters and come down
here to live"
.'These queer people," said j. C. Greene, of
224 Montgomery street. who was with them, and
who was wrecked off Behring straits. Siberia,
in 1881, do not hold the ties OF marriage very
sacred. Another thing, they do not pun
ish for murder. Murder, however is rare
There are probably 10000 or $4,000 Esqui-
where I was wrecked, and where Dom and
Tommy from, and these speak twenty
five thirty different dialects. You may be
able to understand one dialect and be complete
ly knocked out by another The people live in
ice houses, three or four hundred in a village,
back little way from the water
'They very superstitious people, too.
When the w. F. Marsh went pieces and
were cast away we fell in with the simple Es-
quimaux. and got couple to guide us to
distant St. Michaels. 1t was the latter part
of August, and besst, with
such awful storms that we could make
very little progress. Our guides thought an
evil spirit among us, and went to work to
get rid of it. One of them lay down on his right
side, while the other fastened rawhide string
around his neck, with stick attached to it, SO it
could be twisted tight. Pulling at this
he would raise and lower his head,
while both -howled out their wierd
chants to the gods. After awhile they
changed of, and the Esquimaux who had been
down arose and became chief bowler. He prayed
to the gods for less wind, and the two of them
INDUCED in the most hair-raisng groans, and
chattering. and grinding of teeth Finally one
of them piled big stone his shoulder, and
whirling with it. uttered the most dolefu1
sounds Then the other Indian thrust
up there, the whirling and moaning and halloo-
ing going before. How either the stone
or the Indian stayed there / don't know, for
neither was held but just seemed to lie there.
1t was some sort of legerdemain. At length,
completely worn out and exhausted, they quit.
and the wind going down about that time, they
thought they had made good job of it. and we
thanked them and moved on"