Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1905-04-13
FEAST OF THE WHALE
AN ESKIMO BANQUET THAT MAY
LAST A WHOLE DAY.

Incident of the social Life Among
! the Natives of Arctic Alaska After
the Hunting Season Is Over - The
Return of the Fleet to Shore.
Writing of the industrial and social
methods and customs of the Eskimos
of arctic Alaska, Edward A. McIlhen-
ny, in the Century, says:
The principal occupation of these
! EskimOs (of arctic Alaska) during the
spring is the hunting Of the bow head
whale In the leads, or open water, and
among the foe ice of the Arctic ocean.
| The taking OF whale is always
time Of great rejoicing with these peo-
pie, for it means not only an abun-
dance Of food and fuel, but a large
amount of valuable trading material.
After the whaling season is over the
! boats which have been used in the
| chase are gathered on the leads be-
| tween the pack and shore ice, which
is often some miles from shore, at the
foot Of some road that has been cut
| through the rough ice from the land
| TO the water. The most successful
| boats crew, with their umiak Ia whal-
| ing boat covered with skins, takes the
| lead. followed by the other boats in the
order of their success. The harpoons,
floats, paddles and everything pertain
! ing to the chase of the whale are
| placed in their respective positions.
| The umiak is then placed on fiat
| ivory runnered sled and lashed firmly
! in place The owner, who Is called
omellc (headmam, stands on the ice
at the right hand side of the bow; the
boat steerer stands at the stern and
! the Daddlers stand at their respective
places along the sides of the boat.
| When all Is ready the ON lic gives the
word to go forward, and Zach OF the
crew slips over his shoulde. broad
| breast strap of sealskin, which is at
! tached to a short line made fast to
the thwaFts of the boat. When all is
ready the boat IS pulled forward few
| lengths and the next boat in order goes
through the same form, moving on IN
| its turn, until all the umiaks are strung
out In a long line on the grounded ice
ready for their return to land.
! At a signal from the head boat all
move forward chanting weird songs
! of the goodness and power of the
whale, for one Of the superstitions Of
these people is that whenever working
on any object to be used in whaling or
doing anything connected with whaling
they must constantly eXtol the merits
of this great animal.
Long before the boats reach shore
the entire population left in the vii
lage-men, women, children and dogs
congregate on the beach to welcome
the home comers. When the first boat
nears land IT is brought to halt few
feet from the shore line, and its tails
man. which is always carried in little
pouch In the bow and may be a VOLTS
head, the head Of raven, iron pyrltes
or any odd thing Is lifted out by the
omelic and held in his right hand to-
ward the shore where stands the chief
medicine man of the tribe, who pours
over it a little fresh water to refresh 1t
and thank it for the benefits given, II
the boat has secured a whale. or, If the
!
slight that may have been put upon
the talisman. in the hope that 1t will
give them better luck in the future.
After reaching shore day or posi-
bly, two may be given for preparation.
and then the great feast begins. Each
successful boat owner beginning with
the one whose boat secured the most
| Fn tfh ba in
| yites all the members cf the tribe and
any other people who may be in the
village. First a wind break of uni
AXIS. sails or skins is built to act as
shelter against the chilly blasts Of the
polar winds 1t is placed in the form
of a large circle If enough material can
be secured. il the center of which 4
walrus hide IS placed on the ground,
| and to its four corners are tied long
ropes, which are passed over tripods
placed about twenty-five feet from the
skin The ends of the ropes are then
drawn tight and made fast with stout
stakes driven into the ground, thus
raising the skin about four feet. The
skin thus becomes a platform some
eight or ten feet square, which serves
as sort of movable stage on which
the young women dance.
The feast usually begins at the time
when the sun reaches due western
point about o'clock in the afternoon,
for during the eighty days of summer
at Otkeavic the sun never sets, ana,
being without timepieces, the Eskimos
mark their time by the position of the
sun while ii is visible and by the moon
and stars when the sun has gone for
the long arctic night. These feasts
sometimes last twenty four hours.
The First Meerschaum.
A shoemaker, Kavol KowateS, who
in 1928 lived at Pesth. the capital OF
| Hungary, smoked the first meerschaum
pipe Besides being a shoemaker, how
ever. he was one of natures handi-
craftsmen. being gifted with an intui-
tive genius for carving in wood and
other material This brought him into
contact with Count Andrassy, with
whom he became a great favorite. The
count on his return from n mission to
Turkey brought with him piece OF
whitish clay, which had been present
ed to him as a curiosity on account of
its extraordinary light specific gravity.
1t struck the shoemaker that, being
porous, it must be well adapted for
pipes, as it would absorb the nicotine.
The experiment was tried, and Kavol
cut a pipe for the count and one for
himself This first meerschaum pipe
made and smoked by Kavol Kowates
has been preserved in the museum at
PeSth
Had His own Doubts.
Say, ma" asked little Willie after
he had been in conjunction with the
paternal slipper, did anybody besides
pa ever ask you to be his wife,"
| @nh rnS. I hnd lots of nrnnnSalS be