Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-07-25

the same life as their animals-except
that they frequently suffer for want OF
1000. While it is their business to see
that the deer do not. Sometimes 1or
weeks they live on the milk of the cows
ana bits of the new antlers OF ola
heaVy headed deer, which they chip OH
anu chew and suck 1t is timex
srlstie full of blood and covered Win
nalr' which must be singed off. MOI
very appetizing, or, one would think,
very nourishing diet, but the Chuk-
chees seem to thrive on it, and the race
suicide crusade would be quite I'M
necessary up there. They have large
families of healthy children, who are
remarkably hardy, and can endure al
most any degree of cold. By the time
tney are 10 years old they are pressed
INTO the service of the herd, and re-
main out Of doors all day playing
around happily with the thermometer
from ~ to SO degrees below zero.
| by FAR the most progressive and civil
| lzed OF the tribes visited were the
/ 1akuts. who live TO the number OF
nearly 100000 along the valley of the
Lena river. They are fur trading,
| SA~NNAiS PCoplC, idloliiS A'OA0>O
and COWS. as well as reindeer. and till
ing the soil in a primitive fashion. In
winter they dwell in substantial log
houses. in place of the skin tents of the
other tribes. though in summer they
abandon these for conical tents of
birch bark stretched over poles.
| They are skillful silversmiths and
some of the costumes brought home by
the expedition show wonderful and
lavish work in this line. There are
costly fur costumes, silver Ornamented,
| which no other semi-civiliZed race in
the world could duplicate. Patterns
are worked out very cleverly by sew
ing together tiny bits of different COL
ored skins. One coat in the collection,
which contains several hundred cos
| tunes. Is made up of thousands of frag-
ments of skin combined in wonder
fully decorative fashion. There is also
in the exhibition much "slat armor'
and some helmets very suggestive of
old Japan.
Some of the most interesting eXhib-
Its are those illustrative of such re-
llglonS as exist among those far North
ern tribes. There are curious painted
prayer planks found among the Chuk-
chees. And there is q long array of
divining skulls, images and ceremonial
coats used by the Shamans, or medi-
cine men. Such religion as exists
among some of the tribes is probably
as pure and unadulterated a form of
Shamanism as the world can show to-
day. And according to the returned
explorers the Shamans or medicine men
of thaSa trih
ters of their craft. They are wonder
fully clever ventriloquists and jugglers
of no mean ability. 1t is no wonder the
natives believe in Witchcraft and sore
cry, and maintain steadfastly that
diseases are to be cured by magic
rather than by medicine.
To the Siberian all disease is due to
the presence of evil spirits, and this
malign presence is only to be exercised
by drum beating, charms and such
weird ceremonies as the Shaman,
whom these spirits must obey, shall di-
rect. The Shaman's costume is eX-
tremely fantastic, trimmed with long
strips of fringe and strung over with
bones, amulets and charms. A drum
is a salient feature of his equipment,
inside of which are a number of bells,
small metal bars ETC., which he shakes
to add to the weird effect of his incan-
tations. One remarkable phase of the
Shamanstic fanaticism is that which
forces a young man, in obedience to
certain tormenting spirits, to don
woman's clothes. acquire a woman's
voice and learn to perform her domes-
tic work, forgetting in the meantime,
all his masculine knowledge. After
this transformation he Cor she) looks
| about for a lover and after while the
| transformed is married to a man nd
| lives during the rest of her life in his
| house, performing domestic duties.
The expedition also brought back
| with it the only genuine Siberian skin
boat that has ever been put on exhibit
ton. 1t is thirty-five feet long and
| seven wide, has a mast and two sails
and it took seven men to manage it.
1t was used in all the explorations
along the coast, and was readily carried
by five natives, when it was necessary
| to carry it. These boats are very light
and go like the wind. 1t took but the
skin of one and half walruses to
cover it. and there is but one seam in
the skin.
ed there are specimens of basketry, of
rugs, of iron work. of dolls, all so
closely similar to those of the American
Indians as to leave no reasonable
doubt of the kinship of the races. Two
thousand of the exhibits are from the
Yakut tribes, and include great leath-
ern vessels for making koumiss (the
ceremonial drink. some wonderful sill
Yer wrought saddles with rich chas-
ings and embroideries of horse hair in
colors, carvings and goblets. silver and
brass necklaces, and ornaments of the
finest relief work.
All these things the explorers We're
able to buy without difficulty, having
early established among the natives a
reputation for fairness and a willing
ness to pay a just price and to deal
squarely with the inha bitants.
MORMONS IN EUROPE.