The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-16
SPENT HONEYMOON
AMONG ESK|M0S
Lived With Tribe for Three
Years
BABY WAS ADOPTED
University Student and Wife Bring
Rare Relics to Museum When =.
They Return to Civilization.
Lived ON an Island
BABY WAS ADOPTED
From the Philadelphia Record.

From the Philadelphia Record.
How a white man and his wife spent
their honeymoon among the pagan Eski-
mos of Diomede Island, in Behring Strait,
halfway between Alaska and Siberia,
where the life of sledge dog is valued
more highly than that of a human being,
and continued to live alone in the midst
Of the savage tribe for three years, striv-
ing to overcome the ignorance and super
stition of the natives, fighting disease that
threatened to wipe out the entire popula-
ton, and acting as teachers. physicians
and Judges is told by Ernest William
Hawks, special student in the depart
ment of anthropology Of the University of
Pennsylvania, who was until few
months ago agent for the United States
government in the isolated and uneivil-
lied region.
Mr.. Hawks made exhaustive studies
along the line of anthropologica1 research
while among the savages. By chance lie
became acquainted with DR.. Gordon, a
well known scientist, who told of the
work being done by the university mu-
scum With the result that the govern
ment agent came to Philadelphia as soon
as his term of service had expired
Brought Relics to Museum
When he came to the university Hawks
brought with him as a gift to the mu-
scum a complete Eskimo dancing outfit,
which was presented to him by the chief
of the Diomede tribe at the conclusion
of an annual tribal dance. This is the
only collection of its kind in the posses
sion of any museum in the United States
Hawks gives the following account of his
experiences in the region, where for TWO
years he was the only white man:
Just before leaving for the piomede
Island, where my station was located,
married and took my wife with me into
the north. Neither of us had any definite
idea of what we were going into. being
ignorant of the island and the people. not
through our own fault, but because prac-
tically nothing was known concerning it
at that time.
1--WE arrived on a revenue cutter a short
time before the ice pack closed for the
year. In the fall, when the pack freezes
solid there is no possible communication
with the outside world. This condition
lasts for 8 months out of the -. The
aspect of the island is bleak in the ex-
treine; rocks, ice and snow are the CHIEF
features of the landscape for nine months
out of the year. You can imagine what
the yearly visit of the revenue cutter
meant to us, since it was our only link
with civilization
Race of Cave Dwellers
"They are cave dwellers, very super
stitious, like all primitive peoples, and
savage to such an extent that they value
the life of a good sledge dog above thai
of man. They have tribal custom O
slaughtering the aged men and useless q
the tribe. In the part of the island which
belongs to the United States we succeeded
in abolishing this abominable custom, bu
in the other half. which is Russian terri
tory, the custom still prevails.
drunkenness is very prevalent among
them. They make a native liquor o.
highly Intoxicating properties known a:
hosch', which is distilled from sour dougl