The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-05-10

tive5 would dlsown and octrac!Le nim 10 the wilderness to dIe an outcast whom none dare feed or shelter for fear Of sharing in his disgrace and punishment To kill his father. when tke latter be- comes too old to hunt, is duty that no Chukche dreams of sAlrking.
 T had heard of this practice before ever entered Chukchelsnd. and. Ike most people of that tune. was rather skertical and inclined to view the mat ter as a thing exaggerated, to say the least of it, but l was not with the tribe many months before realized that other travellers and explores who had visited the outskirts of this region had told only half the story During my five years scjourn with these people l had occasion to witness a number of such family exc cutions, several of which made deep and lasting impression upon my mind, One case I remember was that of an aged Chukche whom advancing years had de- prived of his seeing faculties so that he could no Ionge- huNt ar Ash. Like all whom saw executed in ths manner, he was eager to die. and a day and hour was get for his eldest son to terminate the career of his father.
 Matter-of-Fact Death Scene.
 "I was present on the occasion and wit messed 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 pile of skins, with his head resting in his wifes lap. The latter, who was several years younger than he, and who had not reached the period of useless mss. held his head m her hands while the oldest son. grasping the slnew cord soon strangled the old man to death by a foy yt-f VnL- Am txuis md ttr.p of the rope. So firmly convinced are these people that the death blow as given by a son. daughter. cousin, or near rela- tive is painless that in this. as in al cases. the old man expired without a struggle The faces of the son. wife and othEr relatives in the 'odge betrayed no more sign or show of emotion than so many logs Of wood. Never in my life had l seen thing done in a more col1- bloded and matter-of-ftct way than this The expression on the face of every ore was intensely stolid. stupid. and solemn.
 "On another occasion which I have in mind, a venerable Chuckche reached point where ne could no longer hunt or fish and where the welfare of the community dema nded his execution. As usual. he was eager and anxious to die and making up fis nina that he would die by a spear thrust at the hands of his eldest son. matters were arranged and when the day arrived for the execu- tion. I vas present with others tn see how the murder would take place. When everything was ready the space inside the lodge was cleared, and kneeling at one end of the habitation. the old man barred his breast. and. after giving minute d. rections to his son as to how and where to strike in order to insure instant death, told the latter to strike. The words were barely out of his mouth when the son | launched his spear. the point of which penetrated the old mans left breast. and entering the heart. produced almost in- | stant death. As soon as this was done | to the satisfaction of relatives and all present. the usual funeral ceremonies, orgies and drinking bouts commenced. lasting several days. This is the reason why all the Thukches one meets are | mostly young men.
 A Very Strange People.
 1 ".0n the whole I found the Chukches and other dwellers of the North Siberian coast a very strange people. They are cheerful enough in a way. but at the same | time victims of strange and gloomy su- perstItions as old. almost as man him 1 self I doubt very much whether the civilized mind is caoable of understand | ing or fathoming the depths of the l SsFanEelY DdrDAtlc Cnuhcne Tnilu OH one occasion I remembered two young girls entered a Chukche village where | happened to be staying. from a point
 nearly 100 miles distant. They had beer on the road many days. making thC | journey on foot in the dead of winter. and arrived almost starved and frozen. Fam
 inc and disease were raging in somt
 parts of Chukche land that winter. and
 when they recovered ufieiently to tall