The Daily Alaska empire., 1927-12-06
COLLECTION Fl OR ALASKA COLLEGE
 ABOARD BOXER
Otto w. Geist Has Speci- mems from St. Lawr-
 ence Island

months on St. Lawrence Island where he excavated two Eskimo villages and collected between two and three tons of ethnolog- ical and anthropological speci- mems for the Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines. Otto w. Geist, was Juneau visitor while the Bureau of Education vessel Boxer was in port, enroute 1 to Ketchikan to spend Christmas with his brother, Joseph Geist. The specimens aggregate 100 cases and Mir. Geist also has geo. logical specimens, consisting chiefly of rock and mineral for nations from volcanic eruptions. MT. Geist will give an exhib.- tion Of his collection at the J. K. Hickman Store soon after his arr rival in Ketchikan. He expects to return north next month and will place the collection in the College.
 The two v'lloses vi.ch were excavated existed abort lao or 200 years ago MT. Gest said. They wsre less than a mile apart and the inhabitants were hostile neighbors. Mute testimony of en- counters between the people oe the two places was the finding of skulls, strewn over the ground separating the villages.
 Excavations. were made from one to five feet into the earth bv MT. Geist and the Esk mos who assisted in his work. Specimens consisted chiefly of hunting i'm plements. household articles, cere- mcnial instruments and mraca- lets. Nest of the articles are made of solid ivory on which are cut intricate designs. The ivory is now deep brown and black though MT. Geist said when it was made into implements of use land ornament, it was white. Many pieces could not be wrested from the frozen ground.
 MT. Geist when he went north on the Boxer last spring had plar aed to spend one month at St. Lawrence Island and then go to Nome where he would again go north. stopping at King, Sledge and Diomede islands and at Point Barrow. However. he suffered the misfortune of watch ing the seas every day for the ship that did not come. The
 only boats that called at the i.island during the period of five
 months he was there were two
 trading vessels which put in just
 two days after he arrived, too
 early for him to leave.
 He had only two months food supply with him and for three
 months subsisted on the food of the Eskimos, which was walrus and seal meat, and of the birds,
 cormorant, seagulls and auklets. Life was fairly comfortable with
 no serious mishaps and his work kept him interested during the :, long months MT. Geist said. Aid finally came to him Octo-
 her II last when the cutter
 Noithland put in for him, Con-
 mander James r. Hottel having turned the ship 100 miles off its scuthbound course to pick up MT Geist when he heard of the lat ter's plight
 The Northland was making a
 rush trip to Unalaska in answer to call to aid sickness at that
 place and MT. Geist not wishing
 to hold the ship while he packed and loaded his specimens, Com mander Hotel got in touch with Capt. S. c. l.. Whitlam of the Boxer who replied that he would
 be south in two weeks and would stop for MT. Geist and the latter boarded the vessel early last
 month. He is most grateful, he said, to Commander Hotel and ] Captain William.
 Shortly before he left the island the oldest man of the .n- habitants. Gs is the custom MT. Geist said, ordered a dance to be i, held in hcnor of the white man and during the ceremonies he