The pioneer press. (Miller, Hand County, S.D.) 1893-190?, 1899-06-01
BIG AMONG ESKIMOS.
KOR-KO-YA is pLUTOCRAT C
GREENLAND.
lie Ownes Ten Wives Who Keep His
Clothes In Good Repair Recently Put
New Window In His House Caused
Great Excitement. q

When the Arctic whaling fleet re-
turned from the north last season 1t
brought word that Kor-ko-ya had
placed a new window in his house. AS
a matter Of news in ordinary building
circles this would pass unnoticed, but
to those who have travelled where the
sun shines at midnight the intelligence
is extremely interesting. For de-
cade Of years the growing opulence of
kor-ko-ya, otherwise known as the
Eskimo millionaire" has been
watched with great curiosity by the
whalers and the occasional explorer
lie has long been known as thrifty
man, as thrift goes in the Arctic re-
gions, but it is only Of late that his
fortune has assumed really wonderful
proportions. 1t is said that he now
owns no fewer than seven kayaks and
a full two-score OF bone-tipped, double
bladed paddles. His stock Of blubber
over sixty parcels" weighing 100
pounds each. In addition to this he
sold to traders half as many, receiving
in part payment the new window al
ready mentioned. His thirty dogs are
all crossed with the Newfoundland
breed, which makes them especially
valuable for hauling purposes, and a
better flavor as an article OF diet in
time of famine. OF sealskins, foXskins,
bearskins, raw eiderdown feathers,
whalebone, narwhal ivory and reindeer
hides he has enough to keep him in
plenty for some years. But it is in
wives that he is considered richest. In
his home igloo up on the western
shore OF Baffin bay he has ten, all par
ticularly strong of jaw, and able to
keep kor-ko-ya's stock of clothing
ever soft and pliable. The Importance
of this will be understood when the
Eskimo custom of chewing skins is un-
derstood. Kor-ko-ya was born in
1S41, at small native settlement a
short distance north of what is now
the Danish town of Julianehaab, in
Greenland. He left his home at an
early age and crossed Baffin bay, max
ing his igloO with another tribe famous
as hunters of seal. He was known to
some of the early explorers and acted
as head guide and chief teamsman to
them. He attracted notice even in his
teens as thrifty youth, and from that
time became prominent among the Els.
kimo. Saving is an unknown art to the
Indians of the Arctic regions, and it is
seldom they accumulate enough to last
them throughout the long winter.
Kor-ko-ya became an exception. He
was skillful hunter and a shrewd
trader, and before he was 20, his main
igloo became the center of the village
in regard to fittings and attractive
ness. The tribe to which he had at
tached himself was one of the largest
and most influential of that part of the
country, and by his twenty-fifth year
Kor-ko-ya was recognized as the head
1t is said that men came eco miles to
consult him in affairs of the chase and
trade. He became we'll known to the
hardy whalers, and today his doings
form a subject Of comment and inter.
est in more than one country And
that is why the news that he had
placed another window in his house
was carried over 1000 miles of ice and
water to be discussed over pipes and
ale in dozen civilized seaports.