Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1891-12-26
NO.
EATERS or WHALE sLuesrR.
Two Queer Little Men--ouaint Hfarria0s
aud Religious Customs.


aud Religious Customs.
81 have one wife. my brother has two
and my father has four" said quaint
looking little man with almond eyes and
an y in India ink on each cheek to a re-
porter. The speaker was Dom Koch, and
with him was Tommy or Naghsook, both
Esquimaux, who arrived here on tho
whaler Reindeer Their home Is among
the siberian stcppes, within the Arctic
circle In 90 i-2 degs. north latitude and
110 degs, west longitude. Here, born and
bred in a SNOW house, in a land where the
sun 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 I
get back, said the funny little man who
first spoke, and who talked English re-
mnrkably well. t.Some other man will
probably have her, but then I'll get me
another one. Up there If mans goes fish
ing, come back and find wifes gone, he
don't worry. He goes and gets some
/ moren
| Tommy listened to this speech rather
demurely. Tommy Is homesick," said
| Dom Koch. "Ile wants TO get back again.
/ He has two pretty wives and three ugly
ones. like California very well It's
nice and warm down here, and when go
back next year I'm going to bring my
three sisters and come down here to live"
These queer people, said j. {. Greene,
who was with them, and who was wrecked
oil 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 Esquimaux
within radius II 5000 miles Of where
was wrecked and where Dom and Tommy
are from. aud these speak twenty-five or
thirty different dialects. You may be able
70 understand one dialect and be COM
pletely knocked out by another. The peo-
pie live In ice houses, 300 or 400 In q vii
lagc, back little way from the water.
They are very superstitious people, too.
When the W. +. Marsh went 90 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. IL
WINS the latter part of August and we
were beset with snch fearful storms that
we could make very little progress. Our
guides thought an evil spirit was among
rs, and went 20 work 10 get rid OF II. One
, OF them lay down on his right side, while
the other fastened a rawhide string round
his neck, with stick attached TO IL so II
could I've 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 off, and
the Esquimau who had been down, arose
! and became chief howler. He prayed tc
| the gods for less wind, and the two then
indulged In the most hair raising groans
aud chattering and grinding OF teeth
, Finally one Of them piled big stone on
, his shoulder. and whirling with IL, uttered
the most dolcful sounds. Then the other
! Indian was thrust uD there, the whirling
and moaning aud hallooing going on as
: before. How either the stone or the Indi
I an staid there don't know, for neither
was held, but just seemed 10 lay there. Il
? was some sort of legerdemain. At length
completely worn out and exhausted, they
quit, and the wind going down about thai
time, they thought they had madsell goot
job of il, and we thanked them ana movet
! on. San Francisco Examiner.