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

Of every one was intensely stolld,
stupid, and solemn.
"On one occasion which l have in
mind, venerable Chukche reached a
point where he could no longer hunt
or fish, and where the welfare of the
community demanded his execution.
AS usual, he was eager and anxious to
die, and making up his mind that he
would die by spear thrust at the
hands of his oldest son, matters were
arranged and when the day arrived
for the execution, l was present with
others to 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 direc-
tions to his son as to how and where
to strike in order to insure instant
death, told the latter to strike. The
words were hardly out of his mouth
when the son launched bis spear, the
point Of which penetrated the old mans
left chest, and, entering his heart, pro-
duced almost instant death. As soon
as this was done to tue satisfaction of
relatives and all present the usual fun
eral ceremonies, orgies, and drinking
bouts commenced, lasting several days.
This is the reason why all the Chuk-
ches one meets are mostly young men.
VERY STRANGE PEOPLE.
"On the whole I foun! the Chukches
and other dwel,ers of the North S.be-
rian coast very strange people. They
are cheerful enough in a way, but at
the same time victims of strange and
gloomy superstitions as old, almost, as
man himself. l doubt very much
whether the civilized mind is capable
of understanding or fathoming the
depths of the strangely barbaric Chuk-
che mind. On one occasion l remem-
Der two young girls entered Chukche
village where happened to be stay
ing, from a point nearly 100 miles dis
tant. They had been on the road for
many days, making the journey on
foot in the dead of winter, and arrived
almost starved and frozen. Famine
and disease were raging in some parts
of Chukcheland that winter, and when
they recovered su fficiently to talk and
explain themselves they told their
story.
"They belonged, they said, to GER
tain sub-tribe and village, 100 miles
distant TO the east, and to the wolf
totem. According to family tradition,
the founder of their family had been
left babe in the woods, during an on
slaught and massacre by hostile tribe,
whose members killed every one in the
town save this baby, whom they hap
pened to overlook. He also would
have perished had it not been for a
she-wolf (the Romulus and Remus
myth is common among the Chukches
as we'll as among many other savage
tribes), that sucked and otherwise
provided for the little orphan, who
grew to be great warrior, and to re-
venge himself on the tribe that killed
his parents and people. Continuing
their story, the girls said that the vii
lage IN which they lived had been over
taken by an epidemic Of measles (Which,
though far from serious among white
people, is almost as fatal as smallpox
among the Chnkches and Siberian Es-
kimo), aggravated by famine. Every
one in the village had either died vi
deserted, they said, leaving them tath-
erless and without food, the sole survi-
vors of the strange white mans sick
ness that had destroyed their friends
and relatives.
TALE OF ANCESTRAL WOLF.
"They had about given themselves
up for lost, when one night the ances-
trail wolf appeared to the eldest sister
in dream, and told her to take her
sister and travel so many days jour-
ney westward, until they came to the
village where they had just then ar
rived. They had never in their lives
heard Of this place, nor did they know
how to reach it, but the wolf appeared
to the oldest sister nj ght after night,
telling her the direction and route to
take the day following which she did
finally, with her younger sister reach
ing her destination. They subsisted
as best they could on what small game
the eldest sister was able to kill from
time to time during the journey.
"The arrival Of the two sisters, and
the strange story they told, created
great sensation in the village, where it
was firmly believed by every one bar