New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1907-11-06
High Type Of Red Men Discoy-
cred by Archaeological.
CRIME is UNKNOWN TO THEM


In Feathers Found by Dr.. George B.
Gordon of University Of Pennsylvania
Patriarcha! Priests Govern Them.
A new tribe of aborigines hitherto
unknown to science is reported by DR..
| George B. Gordon. curator of the de-
| partment of American archaeology of
the University Of Pennsylvania, who
recently returned to Philadelphia after
| dive into the Alaskan wilderness.
says the New York Evening Sun.
The tribe was discovered 800 miles
from the mouth of the Koskokwim riv-
er, and DR.. Gordon has named them
''Kuskwagamutes." Instead of wear
ing furs the people dress in the skins
Of birds. making clothing from the
breast feathers Of looms. The explorer
brought home a collection Of their
clothing and utensils.
When the collection arrives at Phil
adelphia he and other ethnologists will
try to determine whether the tribe
came from Asia or whether it mIgra ted
from Lower California DR.. Gordon be-
lieves the race has been gradually driv-
en- by Athabascan Indians and Eski-
mos to its present quarters, which is
natural fortress. They represent per-
haps the most ancient jewellers of Alas
ka, who made their way there from
Asia. They are monogamists, and no
such thing as vice is known among
them. They are permitted by their
priests to have more than one wife but
never do so. The men are tall and
strong physically and the women grace
ful and good looking. DR.. Gordon
says there are only 400 of them left.
The members OF the tribe show a
higher mentality and development than
any Of the known inhabitants of the
far north. They alone of all the tribes
north of Mexico and southern Califor-
MIA possess the art of pottery making
and are believed to be the last of the
undiscovered races on this continent to
be brought to light. DR.. Gordon heard
Of them when he was in Alaska in 1905
and determined to find them, although
1t necessitated his penetrating an un-
known Alaskan Wilderness
DR.. Gordon lived for several months
with these strange people of the Kos
kokw1m to study their language, reli-
gion and habits He found them re-
markedly free from crime and with
no set laws, being governed by priests
who are patriarchs. The exploring
expedition was fitted out by Mrs.
Charles C. Harrison of Philadelphia
and set out last spring.
AS companion for the journey he
engaged guide. They took steamer
as far as Fairbanks. the largest mining
camp in the Alaskan interior At
Fairbanks they built canoe and made
their way in it to the mouth of the
kantishua river, hitherto uncharted
and unnamed river emptying into the
Tanana fifty miles below Fairbanks.
Although this river is as large as
the Delaware at Philadelphia the
geography of the northwest is on so
tremendous scale, says DR.. Gordon.
that hitherto it has been ignored as
an insignificant creek. DR.. Gordon
resolved to go up 1t as far as possible
and trust fortune as to his finding
portage from it's head to the Koskok-
win.
He camped one night near the mouth
of this stream in an Indian village
One Of the young men declared that
he had crossed the divide between the
two streams and volunteered to make
map of the portage for the Doctors
guidance. Accordingly the youth drew
on birch bark a map Of route up the
kantishua to it's source, the hitherto
unknown lake. Mintuana, within fifty
miles Of Mount Mckinley, the tallest
| peak in North America, and across by
an easy portage Of ten miles to the
Koskokwim. whose course he outlined
for considerab BILE distance both ways.
The canoe was forced up the river,
which ran so swiftly that it was neces-
sary constantly to resort to the lump
I fine-a line attached to the forehead Of
one of the travellers, who walks in the
stream and pulls the canoe while the
other steers. After $50 miles Of this
heartbreaking work DR.. Gordon came
to Lake Mintuana, nesting at the foot
of Mount Mckinley, and found the
easy ten mile portage. 1t took him
| six days to traverse the ten miles. Once
across. for two solid months the party
/ padded down the Koskokwim. making
geographical and photographic re-
searches as they went.
/ On his return journey from the
mouth Of the Koskokwim river to
Nome, distance of over 100 miles,
DR.. Gordon nearly died Of starvation
and thirst. He was compelled to haz-
ard the stormy trip in a twenty foot
trading skiff. On the first day out a
storm arose, and the skiff was driven
across Boring sea to the Siberian coast
For twenty days the doctor and his
companions were buffeted by the sea
in the neighborhood Of Bering strait
On short rations from the first, after
the first five days there was nothing to
4 eat but bareback biscuit. Near the end
of the voyage water gave out. and only