The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-05-02
>EINDEER FAST CIVILIZING ALASKA NATIVES

in the ownership Of the store. The
profits last year were $4,000. Share
holders received cash dividends of IL
per cent. Another dividend of Is per
cent. was paid to customers. based on
the sum of their cash purchases.
"The medicine men among the Es-
KINDS vanished after the arrival Oh
the missionaries. teachers and rem
deer. I said that the Eskimos are
generous, honest and so on; also
should have said that they are very
religious. Anciently they had no re-
ligion. They believed in evil spirits
and attributed to them all accidents
and other misfortunes.
"If III an Eskimo called for a medi-
cine man, who was a rowing hunter
and fisher like himself and who prac-
tiscd healing as an incident in his lie.
Doubtless he was shrewder than the
rest. a sick Eskimo whom | knew
had barrel Of molasses. The medi-
cine man who attended him ordered
tina; molasses he stricken from his diet
for two years. II developed later thal
the medicine man got most OF the
molasses.
yet the medicine man did some
good, psychologlcally. He would beat
drum made Of walrus bladder
stretched across a hoop. chant and
then assure the patient that the
wicked spirit which caused the illness
had been driven away. The same ad-
vice In effect Is potent everywhere and
educated persons are paying hand
somely to get II and medicine men
living in fine houses and riding in au-
tomobiles are receiving the money.
But when the Eskimo accepted the
white mans religion his own medical
practitioner was driven out OF business.
would add In passing that the Eskimo
Christian, and nearly all Alaskan
Eskimos are Christians. might serve
as n model for Christians the world
over. For one thing. he goes 10
prayer meeting and will remain at
prayer meeting far into the night,
singing and relating his experiences,
unless the missionary turns out the
lights and tells him to go home.
IT am keeping we'll within tho truth
when I assert that the reindeer indus
try has made the Eskimos q civilized
and thrifty people. They have a sup
ply Of meat, when their game and Ash
fail, and they have skins out of which
TO make clothing for themselves and
coverings for their beds. Moreover,
they are selling meat and skins to
white men and are using the money
so obtained nationally.
IT suppose the trip made TO Point
Barrow was the worst OF all my ex-
periences IN Alaska" Mr.. Lopp re-
piled in answer 70 one OF my ques-
tons. I'VE believed the whalere were
starving and that weighed on our
minds constantly. Besides. the winter
was unusually cold and more than
once I feared all OF US would freeze to
death. Then. too the fawning season
, was drawing near and I knew what
would happen II II overlook us on the
road. Every moment. consequently.
was filled with anxiety.
| 1T took us thirty-six hours to cross
Kot1ebue Sound on the ice. I under
stood perfectly we'll that II the wind
were TO change we should be blown
out TO sea, IN which event we should
have been lost We got OF the ice
late in the night and laid our weary
bodies down TO rest.
| In the morning the deer were gone
We climbed a knoll and saw them sur
rounded by natives from q village
near by. The natives had rifles and
were getting ready 10 slaughter the
whole herd. They thought tho deer
were caribou. never having seen any
such animals before.
"A moment more and tho furnishing
whalers would have been past all
human help. But the ice In the bay
held fast to the shore, the Eskimos
didn't XIII our deer and the whalers
were saved"
| (Copvrioht, 1915. BY James r. MorrorN