The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1903-04-17

Gus OI famine; anu aS Iuc NuunCHSo w
neither, it follows that they are con-
stantly on the verge OF starvation.
The fish and game in this the coolest
region on earth is limited. Even the
wild reindeer, elk, bears, walrus, and
seals, animals Injured to cold and indi-
genous to high ATTITUDES, are exceed
ingly scarce, and not near 80 common
as they are farther south and west, so
that under these conditions the country
cannot support more than very linn
tied population Of hunters and fishers.
To continue in existence under these
conditions the Chukches have adopted
means peculiar and original. In their
own savage and cold blooded way they
have reasoned out that in order to
escape famine the population must be
kept within limits, and that the pres
ence in the community of men 100 old
to hunt deer, walrus, and bear, and
women whom advancing years have
robbed of the strength and faculty to
dress skins, prepare food, and build
lodges, is menace to the welfare of
those who can, and serious burden
on the community at large. There
fore, the moment men or women reach
the age when they are no longer useful,
they are killed by their nearest rela-
tives in order that the latter may he
sure of their usual food supply.
LOOKED UPON. AS INEVITABLE.
"Of course, this custom had its ori-
gin far back in the dim prehistoric
past, and is so old that it is today re-
garded as sacred and necessary prac-
tice, in much the same manner as civ
ilized people regard church going, vot-
ing, marriage, or any other of our
established practices. 1t is a thing
that every man and woman looks for
ward to as certain and unavoidable,
and when the time comes for them to
lay aside their rifles, bows, arrows, and
skin-dressing implements, they are
eager and anxious to be killed by their
nearest relatives. They are thorough
ly convinced that the dcath-dealing
blow with a spear, ak, or knife in the
hands of the nearest relative is pain
less, and the son looks upon numbering
his father as a duty as sacred and nee
essary as that Of obrying his directions
and needing his counsels. For Il son
to refuse to kill his father when the
latter becomes too old and infirm to
hunt, would be as great scandal
among the Chukches as the murder of
father by his son in this country.
Were such a thing to happen, the
father OF the unnatural youth would
drive him from the family lodge, the
other relatives would disown and ostra-
else him, and the tribe would Danish
him to the wilderness to die an outcast
whom none dare feed or shelter for fear
of sharing in his disgrace and punish
ment. TO kill his father, when the
latter becomes to old to hunt, is duty
that no Chukche dreams of Sinking.
II bad heard of this practice before
1 ever entered Chukcheland, and, like
most people of that time, was rather
skeptical and inclined to view the mat
ter as thing exaggerated, to say the
least of it, but was not with the tribe
many months before l realized that
other travellers and explorers who had
visited the outskirts of this region had
told only half the story. During my
five years. sojourn with these people l
had occasion to witness a number of
such family executions, several of which
made deep and lasting impression
upon my mind. One case l remember
was that of an aged Chukche, whom
advancing years had deprived of his
seeing faculties, so that he could no
longer hunt or fish. Like all whom /
saw executed in this manner, he was
eager to die, and a day and hour were
set for his eldest son to terminate the
career of his father.
MATTER OF FACT DEATH SCENE
IL was present on the occasion ard
witnessed the family murder. from first
to last. A running moose of walrus
sinew was placed about the old mans
neck, and when all was ready he lay
down upon a pile of skins, with his
head resting in his wife's lap. The
latter, who was several years younger
than he, and who had not reached the
period of uselessness, held his head in
her hands while the eldest son, grasp
ing the sinew cord, soon strangled the.
old man to death by few quick and
dextrlous twists and turns of the rope
So firmly convinced are these people
that the death blow as given by a son,