The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-01-14
EATERS OF WHALE eLU66eR.
Two Queer Little Men-Quaint Marriage
and Religious CUSTOMS.

az have one wife, my brother has two
and NV father has four" said a quaint
looking little nan with almond eyes and
mn Y In India ink on each cheek to q re-
norter. The speaker wt.s Dom Koch, anu
with him was Tommy or N~aghsook, o
Tsouimaux. who arrived here on the
vhaler Reindeer. Their home is among
the Siberian steppes, within the Arctic
circle in CG 10 degs. north latitude and
10 decs. west longitude. Here, born and
bred in a snow house, in a land where the
SIM never sets in summer they had re-
manned, rs had their ancestors for thou.
sands 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 gone when /
get back" said the funny little man who
first spoke, and who talked English re-
markedly well. 'Some other man will
probably have her, but then III get me
another one. Up there if mans goes fish
ing. come back and find wiies gone, he
don't worry. He goes and gets some
more"
Tommy listened to this speech rather
demurely. 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 20
back next year I'm going to bring my
three sisters and come down here TO live.
'These queer people" said j. C.. Greene,
who was with them, and who was wrecked
of Behring's straits, Siberia, in 1881, do
not hold the ties OF marriage very sacred.
Another thing, they no not punish for
murder. Murder, however, is rare. There
are probably 10000 or 1900 EsquimauN
within n radius Of 5000 miles OF where
was wrecked and where Dom and Tommy
are from. and these speak twenty-five or
thirty different dialects. You may be able
to understand one dialect and be com
pletely knocked out by another. The peO-
pie live in ice houses, 800 or 400 in a vii
lage, back q little way from the water.
They are very superstitious people, too.
When the W. L. Marsh went to pieces
and we were cast away, We fell IN with
the simple EsquimauX and got a couple
to guide us to distant st. Michael's. Ii
was the latter part Of August, and we
were beset with such fearful storms that
we could make very little progress. Our
guides thought an evil spirit was among
us, and went to work TO get rid Of l.. One
Of them lag down on his right side, while
the other fastened q rawhide string round
his neck with O stick attached TO it so it
could he twisted tight. Pulling At this
he would raise and lower his head, while
both howled out their weird chants to the
gods. After awhile they changed OF, and
the Esquimau who had been down, arose
and became chief bowler. He prayed TO
tile gods for less wind. and the two then
INDUCED in the most hair raising grOans
aud chattering and grinding Of teeth.
Finally one Of them piled q biz stone on
his shoulder, and whirling with IL, uttered
the most doleful sounds. Then the other
Indian was thrust up there, the whirling
and moaning and hallooing going on as
before. How either the stone or the lndi-
an staid there IdOn't know, for neither
was held, but just seemed to lay there. 1t
was s0me sort Of legerdemain. At length.
completely worn out and exhausted, they
quit, aud the wind going down about that
time, they thought they had made q good
Job OF it, and we thanked them and moved
or. San Francisco Examiner.