The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1909-10-27
THE ESK|MOS
MAKE WH|SKEY
And Drink to Excess, Like
The White Man.
THEY MAKE GOOD MOONSH|NE
The Stills Are of the CrudeSt
Sort, And the Product Is
Fierce Stuff.

Among the rev InlngS the ESKIMO
has gained from contact with civili-
cation is strong appetite for liquor
and, what is really wonderful, gen.
eral knowledge of a process for MAX
ing "moonshine" whiskey.
White men taught the natives to
drink liquor in order that they might
cheaply get their furs, ivory and other
valuable products. Then, because Ii
quor was hard to transport to the
frozen land, some inventive Yankee
showed the natives how to construct
from the few available articles what
is undoubtedly the most ingenious
and primitive form of still ever uti-
lized
In the winter of 1S97-9S, as part of
my duty during the overland expedi-
ton to the relief of the ice-bound
whalers, was assigned by the Gov
eminent to investigate moonshining
among the natives. In pursuance Of
this l visited and searched many viii
lagos and isolated huts, destroying
the crude stills wherever found and
resorting to many plans to discourage
the practice.
The prevalence Of moonshining was
astonishing. From Point Hope, all
along the coast to Cape Prince Of
Wales, and even as far as Unalaklik,
the natives brewed and drank this
"whiskey'' whenever they could pro-
cure the necessary ingredients. Con-
sidering the short time moonshining
had been known to the Eskimo, its
spread had been startling. Starva-
ton, disease and death had followed
in the wake of the vice, and on every
side villages had been depopulated by
indulgence in the liquor, the natives
having been rendered incapable of
hunting and fishing for the food sup
plies to carry them over the winters.
It was about 1888 when some white
whalers trading at Point Hope, on be-
ing importuned for liquor by natives
who had acquired the vice, and hav-
ing none to sell, taught the old chief,
Ah-tung-owra, a PROCESS for obtaining
ALCOHOL from flour, water and sugar
or molasses. AS a mark of favor and
in return for services, Ah-tung-owra
taught the process to his henchmen,
and they in turn gave it to the peo-
pie of the villages they happened to
visit.
In the making of whiskey the ma
tives usually dubbed together. The
traders, taking advantage of the great
demand for flour and molasses, 50 in
'flated prices that it took many val
liable furs to procure even small
supply of the commodities.
The preparation of the mash is very
simple. consisting only of mixing 10
gether one part each of flour and mo-
lasses and four parts of water. This
mixture is allowed to stand Ill the
warm atmosphere of one of the filthy
huts for several days until 1t ferments.
The distilling apparatus, which is car
ried from place to place as needed,con-
sists N an old five-gallon coal oil tin,
an old gun barrel and a wooden tub.
The fermented mash is put into the
coal oil tin, and the gun BARREL when
serves as the coil, leads from the tin
through the tub, which is kept full
of cracked ice. Then fire is built
under, the tin, and as the vapor rises
1t is condensed in the gun barrel by
the ice in the tub. Drop by drop the
liquor comes out of the end of the
gun barrel and is caught in tin cup
or wooden bowl or whatever happens
to be at hand.
Naturally the process of distilling Is
painfully slow, but while 1t is In pro-
grew the natives who have an inter-
est sit around and with suppressed
eagerness wait for sufficient guam
tity of the spirit to condense to al
low them to drink The native who
has the greatest claim drinks first,
and This spurs every one to hurry
along the process as much as possible.
1t takes a long time to distill half
pint of the liquor, but it makes W.
in strength what it lacks In bulk,
and very little suffices to make
drunk come" as the natives express
it.
Hardly had started to confiscate
the stills and mash than warning was
borne along to the other natives. As
consequence, when reached villages
where knew moonshining was prac-
ticAh, no evidence could be found
New York World.