Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-08-26
beads finger rings, bracelets and tobacco.

DeaQS, nnger rings, bracelets ana CoDdCCO-
are stYewn about the body.
The Chuckche deermen of northeastern
Siberia place the corpse and all its be-
longtngs on the sled, and after slaughter
ing the dead mans best deer the horns are
added to the outfit and hauled several
miles from the village. Here the horns
are placed at one end OF an oblong for
nation of rocks surrounding the body,
which lies on the top of the ground Sew
eral of these oblongs are also seen near
the base of the granite cliffs about mile
from the present village on St. Lawrence
Island.
On sledge Island. which is a short dis
lance from the mainland of Alaska, is
found the nearest approach to coffin.
The bodies hidden in boxes made of
poles and logs of driftwood, and slightly
elevated Several masks of the medicine
men can be found around the graves
Along the beach of the coast of the Ber-
ing sea and the Arctic ocean one sees poles
and logs of driftwood set up end in
conical piles. Each of these piles sur
rounds Eskimo body. These monuments
are sacred, and will not be disturbed or
used for fuel unless the native, from assoc
citation with white people, has lost his fear
of the consequences.
The most interesting graveyard in Alaska
Is at Point Hope. 1t is situated about a
mile from the village, on slightly elevated
ridges of sand and gravel covering the I'M
dulations of an extinct glacier. Most OF
the bodies are raised four to six feet from
the ground and supported with structures
Iildue preferably OI the Jaws anu IiUS vi
the whale, while others are constructed
of drftwood. Should death occur in win
ter. when the snow lies on the ground hard
and deep. the bodies are laid out on the
surface until the summer when the snow
disacoears and enables the relatives to
find material to build one of their scat
folds, on which the body is then placed.
The most reasonable explanation for this
method of disDosing of the dead and that
of leaving them the surface Is that the
ground Is always frozen hard even in sum-
mer and the thaw never extends deeper
than twelve to eighteen inches. These ele
waited graves are in all stages of ruin and
decay, and scattered about beneath them,
almost entirely hidden by the beautiful for
get-me- nots. are the bones and skulls of the
dead of many past generations.
Hospitality of the People.
OF the latter stages Of his journey to
Point Barrow Lieut. Jarvis speaks interest
ingly.
I'VE had bid goodbye to native houses
he says, land camped in our tent from here
on to Point Barrow. 1 much preferred the
tent for cleanliness and health, although
when, after a long, hard days travel, we
drew up at village cold hungry and tired.
it required considerable determination and
more powerful consideration than cleani
ness to resist the temptation to get in out
of the cold possible. Pitching
the tent and making proper camp seem
ed, at such times, an endless job. and one
was apt to crawl into the nearest hut drag
off his bundling clothes and settle down in
some corner in perfect peace, while the men
of the house went outside and attended to
the wants of the teams and secured the
sleds for the night. The hospitality of
these people L have never seen equaled else
where. 1t is never grudSing; it is thrust
upon you. The best they have and the best
place in the house are at your disposal. 1t
is so uniN eEsal that it comes a matter of
course, and as a result does not seem to be
properly recognized or appreciated. Often
it is embarrassing. for the natives are
insstent and generous that it is hard to re-
fuse to accept their offers and go about
your business in your own way. Never in
all our journey did we pass a house where
the people did not extend a cordial well
come and urge us to go in; and hardly
hut that we did go into but the best place
was cleared out for us and cur belongings.
What this means to tired, cold and hun
CRY traveller cannot be fully appreciated
save by those who have experienced it,
and my former good impressions of the
Alaskan Eskimo were but intensified by
this winters journey. All that we ever
gave in return for such hospitality, and all
that was expected. was cup of tea and a
cracker to the inmates of the house after
we had finished our meal.
From Cape Prince of Wales on we had
been treated to bright auroral displays al
most every night. They generally came out
OF dark bank that would form in the
northern horizon just after dark, and
stretch in long shooting streamers that
gradually worked over the heavens to the
opposite horizon, waving back and forth. so
close to the earth as to be seemingly with
in reach, and then as gradually receded and
subsidized. Usually they came in extremely
cold weather and seemed to presage cold
weather for the following day. l was par
tfcularly on the watch to see the brilliant
colors so often described. but was disap-
pointed; and, while they lit up the heavens
and the snow-covered earth | could note
only a faint orange and violet color in the
displays, and people who have lived in the
country many Years told me they never
showed mere color than we saw. so l con-
Guided that, on this coast at least they
We're seldom more than streaks of orange
unged light During the coolest DAYS there
were numerous sun dogs, and. sailor-like
when two and often three of these showed
In the sky, | anticipated bad and stormy
weather, but it never came, and it seemed
that good weather instead of bad followed
In these regions"
Funny Experience With Natives.
Describing his experiences at a native
hut one night Lieutenant Jarvis says:
THAT night l had an interesting expert
ence, which showed how easily natives
actions may be misunderstood and mis-
represented There was an old couple liv-
ing in the house, and hearing something
unusual in their corner l looked over and
saw the old man tie string around his
wife's neck and put a long stick in the
loop. The old woman was sick l have
long heard of how the old and sick are
sometimes killed to put them out of their
mlserles and relieve their relatives of the
burden of keeping them. and the thought
came that the old man was going to stran-
gle his wife by twisting on the stick. l
Immediately made strong objections to
What seemed to me would soon be murder
whereupon the natives, who showed aston
ishment at my interference, called in
Perninyuk, and he explained how 1 was
mistaken. There was no intention of harm
ing the old woman, but she was sick in
Of
in the shape of dog, and night and morn
Ing had to be tied up in this way like a
dog and lamentations said over her to drive
out the devil Ny mistake was amusing
and very natural, and showed how easily
one may be mistaken in a people whose
ways and customs one does not under
stand Without Perninyuk's explanation 1
might have taken to myself the credit of
stopping a deliberate murder, whereas I
was only interfering with the administer
ing Of the doctors prescription
las l have said, the Eskimcs have no
chiefs among themselves; consequently
there is no one among them to whom they