Nome tri-weekly nugget., 1919-03-03

.demic by Acting Superintendent
 Evans. returned to Nome Saturday
 evening after spending two months in
 the Cape settlement attending to the
 stricken natives Both men are in excellent health and report that the
 Situation at Wales is excellent. The
 influenza has entirely disappeared and
 most of the natives who survived the
 epidemic are in good health. The dead have all been buried and approx | imately one hundred and fifty natives
 are residing at Wales and in the ad- | jacent villages north and south of that point. Both men agree that only for
 the timely arrival of the relief party from Nome and Teller the decimation ] among the natives would have been far more severe. They also concur in the view that had the required re-
 lief been forthcoming earlier than | it was, the chances are that far greater number would have been say ed. They say the natives Were in d most hopeless and pitiable state at the 1 time of their arrival. nearly all being
 obsessed with the notion that death was inevitable.
 1 After the government party arrived. however, the natives immediately commenced to renew their courage
 and but few deaths occurred. As re- ported by Messrs sam Torkleson. Tom
 Jensen, and others who were at the
 Cape during the same period, the re-
 lief party was greeted on arrival by
 scenes of the most narrowing charao-
 ter. The de d lay everywhere ana
 practically every igloo in the village contained ,:e or more G rpse. Dis
 membered fragments of human re-
 mains were founG in the possession of !ravenous dogs and numerous bodies animals. Before attempting to bury
 the dead the relief party with. Mr Ashton as chief medical dispenser, de-
 voted itself almost wholly to caring
 for the numerous sick natives The
 stricken creatures responded to care
 in excellent manner and with only a
 few exceptions all recovered within q
 short period The arrival of the re- l lief party was hailed with joy by tho nhnr nf party were frequently told that they had given up all hope of succor. After getting the sick natives on their feet. the dead were buried and the surviv-
 ors made as comfortable as possible under the circumstances. The relief work was seriously handicapped by adverse weather conditions at times. Severe storms and extreme cold wer,
 marked features of their stay in the district and travel was frequently im- possible for days at q time. In spite
 of the obstacles, an ample supply of provisions and other commodities were freighted to the Cape from Tel Ter and the natives are well provided land well cared for. On the road down. Messrs Brandt and Ashton stopped at the York settlement and report that
 the Christianson family were in good
 health, and are happy in the posses
 sion of new baby, which arrived some days before the. returning Nome ties reached the settlement. Like all
 others connected with the relief party,
 AIessrs Brandt and Ashton are deserv- ling of the very highest praise for their heroic labors, which were undertaken |voluntarily and without though of re-
 ward Ashton, particularly. was able
 to be of inestimable benefit to the
 stricken natives through his knowl-
 edge of hospital dispensation and his
 previous experience in caring for the
 Eskimo during the Nome epidemic.