Douglas Island news., 1919-06-06
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Insertion Of Che Whlto Hhell or the dcntalium or hyQua, here called "sukli." This shell, which was in great demand among the natives of tho Territory from Prince Rupert to Nome. Is now rarely seen.
 The women were treated we'll and kindly but had much heavier bur dcns laid upon them i'm tho lino Of manual labor than those imposed upon tho women by the Kodiaks or Aleuts. The Renal naiyos were land travellers and the women were used as pack horses. In building their houses they employed different style Of architecture than the Alcut with his barabara or dirt house The Kenai home was always erected above ground of logs and roofcd with bark. the under side Of each log being hollowed out to nc tightly over the one below. The roofs were built with rafters, pitched sufficient ly Co shed the rain and melting snow and fireplace was reserved i'm the center with a small aperture direct ly above in the roof The door was a low. square hole at one end of the building. barely large enough Co ad- init a stepping person and generally bunp with n bcnr skin or a plank placed before it
 The floor was of natural earth, while around the sides of the room, a foot or two from the ground and wide enough to allow the occupants to stretch out upon at night, was a sort of rude staging upon which was laid grass, skins and mats for coy- ering. This was the most primitive style of dwelling. Those who had intercourse with the traders had wings added to their houses. or small box-likc additions, tightly framed. with an entrance only from the main structure. These little ad- ditions were used as sleeping apart ments and sometimes as bathrooms, and were often furnished with the luxury of a hewed log floor and had small windows Of transparent intes- tines or bladder of the bear.
 On the principal hunting grounds Of the Kenai natives could be found structures similar to those mention ed with additions built very com- pact and low. which served as shell tcrs for hunting parties or travellers in time of storm and cold. A party Of hunters could crawl into one Of the small shelters and keep up quite a degree Of temperature with their own animal heat for days, even if the storm was prolonged being at least safe from freezing, although the air was hardly of the best.
 The Kenaitcs in disposition were much more taciturn than their ln- mutt or Aleut neighbors, and were more dignidcd in demcanor They were ardent hunters, spending most Of their time and energy in the chase on land. where the fur bear ing animals peculiar to the country were numerous varied and valuable, and often made long journeys to the interior. up and through thc noun tain dcfilcs. and even over the sum mits and glaciers. erecting at every convenient camping ground the temporary shelters above referred Co. At localities where the tribes or families met for traGic or hunt ing they built a large structure. consisting Of two open sheds with sloping roofs facing each other, ale lowing the inmates to warm by one and the same fire. These people along the rivers and the northern portion of the inlet also built birch bark canoes, but when they came in contact with the Aleuts they bought bidarkys or skin boats for tho pur- pose Of fishing or navigating the salt water. Wooden canoes or dug outs arc not known to the natives west Of the mouth of the Copper river.
 The Kenai natives were expert fishermen and njoyed an abund- ance of piscatorial food, salmon of large size and quality running up their rivers, and trout and grayling crowding the hundreds of lakes in their country where they were caught through the ice. The fisher men descended to tidewater only when the king salmon or "Chavit- cha" came up from the sea in dense masses. or when big schools of white whale or beluga followed up the "oolichan" or candle fish until they were left high and dry by the re- ceding tide and fell easy victims to the natives.
 The variety of native mammals in these days was very great. Bears, both black and brown, the latter Of great size and ferocity frequently from ten to twelve feet in length, strongly suggestive Of the grizzly or the Rockies, were killed in great numbers by the hunters every year The deer are a species of the rein deer. and woodland caribou rangi- fer terandus) could be found in i'm ........ l....I.. ...,..n nIrrIn ma lr