The Alaska sourdough., 1911-12-05

of life often means death which we had hoped to avert.
 They are very glad to have medical attention up to the point where they themselves lose hope, but after that they resent any struggle to maintain life Frequently the patient recovers in spite of this cessation of medical care, and we are often told by the old people, somewhat proudly, of the num- Der of times they have been dressed for burial yet recovered.
 If a patient dies, the duty of the village worker is not ended It is the custom among the Indians to prolong the period before burial sometimes for many days, during this time the fam fly and relatives eating, drinking and sleeping in the same room with the dead, and perhaps with other sick members of the family. This custom according to the natives, indicates the respect that they hold for the dead, respect claimed by them not entertain ed by white people for their own dead, who by their haste in burial show wretched want of respect.
 In Douglas an Indian woman, we'll educated, who had become addicted to the excessive use of whiskey, mother of three children, apparently stricken with remorse after drunken spree on whiskey secured from some white boot logger, hung herself by the neck until dead, in the family woodshed. For nine days the body lay in state ' in >the house while the husband and father lay sick in bed surrounded by his child ren, members of the family, and rela- tlves who in this case attributed this disgrace of suicide among Alaskan na- tives entirely to the innocent husband. To expiate his offense the husband, sick as he was, for nine days went without food, according to the natives, under orders from the chief. The ex- tent to which pride in this case con trolled the punishment of the husband by the tribe, if such it was, is due to clannish or tribal honor analogous to the family pride among the civilized people. In this particular case the husband himself is an Indian of edu- cation and intelligence much above the average, yet he bowed his will to the force of tribal custom.
 The difficulty as we'll as the necessity will be apparent of showing the Alas kan native the danger of his alleg- lance to tribal customs in the matter of the keeping of the dead for extend ed periods before burial, and how diff cult it is to instill into his mind the duty that he owes to the living as we'll as to the dead.
 Another old custom which has bad physical effect on the Alaskan native is the practice of giving feasts or "feeds' The native expend in this way large sums of money and much illness re- suits from it. It is native point of etiquette never to leave anything on the table, and they often eat for sew eral hours and then take with them to their homes the remaining portion. Each one attempts to outdo the giver of the previous feast, in quantity at least.
 At these feasts the food consists chiefly of canned fruits, jams and CT chiefly of canned fruits, jams and crackers, and business men make it the occasin of selling large stocks of these supplies Although the missionaries and village workers can observe the in furious effects of overeating on these occasions, and the waste of money that might be well spent in other ways, it can not be expected that the traders will tell the natives that he ought 10 spend his money buying woolens, con- venient household utensils, or any household sanitary improvements-a