The Ordway new era., 1912-06-14

BELL Of st. Lawrence Island.
Alaska, who have been spend.
~ Ing n few weeks In the states.
are enjoying their second va.
cation since 1901. when they went
there to engage In social work among
the Eskimos. Their work is similar
to that OF DR.. Grenfell. though their
isolation Is even greater than that OF
the workers on the coast Of Labrador.
Situated In the Behring Sea. two
hundred miles from Nome and forty
miles from Siberia. In the shadow OF
the Arctic Circle. st. Lawrence Is in
accessible eight months In the year.
and the other four the only connec.
ton with the outside world Is the
arrival Of the United States revenue
cutter. the supply ship. and chance
whaler now and then. and on one or
two occasions gasoline boat from
Nome.
The island is n government reindeer
reservation and the most remote sta.
tion OF Alaska except Point Barrow.
which is the northernmost post office
in the world. Yet Point Barrow has
a reindeer mail service three times In
the winter. while st. Lawrence has
but one regular mail year
"As you know" said DR.. Campbell.
Il am employed by the government to
teach the Eskimos and superintend
the care Of the reindeer For FIVE
years my wife. who had been reared
In Southern California. where she
never saw snow fall. was the only
white woman on the island. but when
We returned from our first vacation
the government sent with us lady
assistant teacher.
There is no authority on the isl.
and" continued the doctor. religious
or civil" The man who catches the
most whale may be called chief. but
he has no more control than others.
The devil-doctors have a certain kind
OF power through their sorceries. by
working on the fears and superstitions
OF the people. but not otherwise. The
language Is not that OF the Eskimos
OF the mainland. but OF Siberia"
Or. Campbell has done what no
man has ever done before. for he has
reduced their vocabulary to a written
language-nnd has published n book.
let containing the alphabet. pictures
OF simple objects and translations
from the Bible. It is a language OF
many syllables. A sentence Of six
English words Of one syllable each
has twenty.three syllables in Eskimo
Tho Whole Thing.
In tho absence Of mayor. council
school board. police force. lighting
water and sanitary commissioners
banker. architect and builder. black
smith and the rest. DR.. Campbell Mt
tends to any such matters ms may
arise In addition to being physician
surgeon. school teacher. preacher. ant
reindeer superintendent. He has ,
most able assistant in Mrs. Campbell
who has thrown herself. heart ant
soul into the work.
what do we teach the natives. p
asked Mrs. Campbell. 20. everything
from how to wash their faces. to ,
knowledge OF God" she explained
''They must be taught the simples
things-to cook and sew and was]
their clothes and care for the childre,
and clean their houses and keep thei
bodies free from vermin.
But few OF them have stoves I,
which bread can be baked, and 10
fuel for these the men 20 in thei
boats nifty or seventy-fve miles 10
drift wood"
Mrs. Campbell was trying one tim
to persuade the women to discard IN
Saiome indoor costume-whIch. Fl
their case often consisted Of littl
more than n string Of beads. in fayo
OF the American costume She wa
told we're too poor. If you'll give II
clothes we'll wear them" Upon he
ing told they should trade their waite
boots to the whalers for clothing In
stead Of tobacco. they said well, OH
stomaths like tobacco''
Besides the time and peril of secu
Ing the seal skins. and curing then
and making the thread. II takes
woman two or three days to make
pair OF boots and five pair of thes
they will trade for box OF tobacco.
said Mrs. Campbell
The first few years there was
great deal Of drunkenness. but be
tween the doctor and the government
II has been almost entirely elm
mated"
Once when DR. Campbell searche