The San Francisco call., 1907-02-03
BY John G. Berry
Lieutenant U. S. r. c. s.


.ITToK lives at Point Barrow. Alaska.
the most northern point of North
America In the early summer,
when the ice pack moves OF enough
20 allow the whales TO work north
ward, while still presenting an inpene-
trabIe front TO the whaling vessels.
Ittok goes cut on the ice with his
nedghbors ans pIunges harpoons into
the whales. And he fres bomb guns
~ them and misses three-cuarters Of
1.sm And the whales go on some
where and die with harpocns or bombs
a tha vtta1s
But Ittok doesn't caro-, so long SIS
he catches q whale once IN while.
When he does get one. bis party de
vides up the whalebone and the blub-
Der. Ittok takes hts share OF the blub-
Der and dries it for his winter food,
while the bone is sold later to whal-
nasg captain, missionary or other trader
Yfsr much less than it's value. The pro-
eseds are expended for -four, calico,
cartridges and other necessities. which
the sarne people let him have at ex-
erbftant prices.
OF course, this means that Ittok must
wander along the verge OF starvation
toward the end of the winter. But he
IL used TO that His fathers and moth
S=s for generations have starved each
year, for a season, before the Ice loos-
ems around the short line of Point Bar
row.
Tramping through the snow and over
the drifted ice foes is very wearing
On nukluks. Now, no self-respecting
Eskimo man VIII chew the skin of
URaruk, the big hair seal, to make the
soles OF HIS nukluka That is woman's
work In fact, most of the work of
an Eskimo village is woman's work
when the schooner Vine was .unloaded
at Cape Smyth last summer the women
3oined with the men in Juggling bags
Of -four. coal. salt everything in her
cargo, I'D TO the beach to storehouses
out OF reach Of the winter ice. And
the only difference between the labor
OF the women and of the men was
that the burdens Of the women wers
generally heavier.
Hence It IS desirable for an Eskimo
man to marry.
Ittok appreciated the advantages Of
married life IN the Arctic. He had
oome TO the conclusion that Tereedlok,
the adopted daughter OF old Antoine
and his wife Belle, could sew skins,
chew boot .soles and tote coal better
than any other young lady in his set
= So he sought the company of Te-
-reedlok.+. In the wrestling bouts Of the
village Ittok always did hfs very best
when Tereedlok was near. He affect
ed gayIy ornamented clothing. The
variety OF clothing at the village was
not great But bright red calico is
much more sIluring for an outer gar
roent than is blue d'ungaree or a gunny
sack
And Tereedlok smiled upon Ittok
Eut her smile was sad Her stern
ruardiaps, the Portuguese Antone and
The Eskimo Belle. had promised her
hand 10 another. to one who had come
nearly three years ago from st. Law
renee Island, away down to the south
ward, beyond Bering Straits. He came
from a land SO distant that the mid
night sun could be seen only from the
tops Of the higher mountains, and then
bpt for a few days in the year.
Dwhat right had this interloper from
the far south to come into Ittok's VII
iage and to thrust his unwelcome bulk
between him and his sweetheart
Ittok and Tereedlock did not know
that, from the beginning Of history,
stsrn parents have continually tried to
tOrcs their daughters TO marry ellgi-