The San Francisco call., 1899-04-09
JulidnShddb.

throughout the long winter Certain rules
of the tribes make it incumbent upon
them to help their needy neighbors, and
for that reason the individual members
neglect to lay by stores for the morrow.
Kor-ko-ya became an exception. He was
a skilIful hunter and a shrewd trader, and
before he was 20 his main igloo became
the center of the village, in regard to Mt
tings and attractiveness. The tribe to
which he had attached himself was one
of the largest and most influential of that
rart of the country, and by his twenty
fifth year Kor-ko-yah was recognized as
the head of it. 1t is said that men came
200 miles TO consult him in affairs of the
chase and trade.
Lawyer and Weather Prophet.
His method of giving advice was char
acteristic of him. He charged for his
services, and graded his schedule of fees
very like that of a lawyer in civilized
community In that he was wise, several
hundred years beyond his generation. His
neighbors and men of other tribes worked
for nothing and then stole as recon-
pense.
Kor-ko-ya asked two foxskins for fore
telling the weather during the long sleep.
He demanded pay in advance, and if he
NA'4N' N~-NN
not he would meet the questioners with
this simple truth:
"Kor-ko-ya told what was in his knowl-
edge, but he could not tell the doings of
Kokoia. the great sea-woman, who pass
eth all understanding. She held the ice
after it was ready to break"
If persistence was shown he would si-
lenty offer to return the foxskins. They
were never taken, because to incur the
displeasure of Kor-ko-ya meant trouble,
and trouble a-plenty in that region.
which goes to show that the willy Eskimo
was only following the practices of men
below the ice belt. Whalers have been
known to refer to Kor-ko-ya as that Es-
kimo boss"
Be that as 1t may, the fact remains
that Kor-ko-ya waxed rich as the years
passed To comfortably house his wives,
his dogs and his possessions during the
great cold each winter requires an igloo
of greater pretense than the usual run Of
Eskimo ice .huts.
Like the wealthy men Of other climes
who have seen their fortunes grow, he
was content at first with sleeping room
in an ordinary igloo. AS young man he
lived amid the squalor and stencil of a
hut sheltering a dozen people Of both
sexes. He kept his solitary dog with the
OtneGS, occupying the tuIHel IeduilS 4AOlll
the outside into the igloo, and he was
fain to have his clothing softened by the
ancient teeth of an old woman who did
it for gain.
Life During the Great Famine.
In those days he fished and hunted and
speared from morning until night, and
brought in such trophies of his skill that
people began to talk of him. During the
time of the great famine, when the Es-
kimo were compelled to travel so far
south to secure food that the sun burned
them, Kor-ko-ya killed in single COM
bat a lean white bear whose hunger had
given it the strength Of ten, and then
calmly gave part of his share Of the
eagerly coveted meat to neighbor whose
leg had been broken by sled.
For this act of charity men said Kor-
ko-ya was under a spell and that the
white glare had entered his brain.
A few months later, when plenty began
to come and the ice broke and the seal
dotted the edge of the spreading waters,
one of the tribe living in that village
slipped into a crevice hunting and was
lost He left a widow and a small babe
at the breast, and, according to the GUS