The Wrangell sentinel., 1927-02-10
Eskimo Girl Tells
 of Life on Island
 In the Boring Sea

The author of the following arti- ele on St. Lawrence Island natives, reprinted from the Verstogian. is Ethel Sage. an Eskimo girl whose home is at KiYilina. She was a member of the Sheldon Jackson h. dian Training School last year and is now assistant teacher in the U. s. Bureau of Education school at Barrow.
 In the year 1924 Mir. Nickerson was sent by the Presbyterian church as a missionary to Gambell on St Lawrence Island and Mrs Niekerson was sent there as a teacher by the Bureau or Eduea- tion l was sent there as Mrs Nickerson's assistant. The school had an enrolment of fifty-fiye. The population of Eskimos on that island was about four hundred
 The beliefs, marriage customs, and homes of the St. Lawrence Is land Eskimos are entirely different from those of the mainland Eski= mos but they have very much the same habits and customs as the sfz berian Eskimos.
 The Eskimos of the mainland are trying to live more like white people but white people are not al- lowed to go to St. Lawrence Island for the winter, except as teachers.
 They use the same kind of ma terials for their clothing but they have a style all their own. The women wear blouses like parkas, of calico with six inch flounees on the bottom over their deer skin parkas, which comes down to their knees. The deer skin parkas have hoods fringed with dog skin which stands out from their faces. This is the most popular fur for parkas. because in winter the breath does not freeze into icicles upon it. Un= derneath the parkas the women wear fur suits shaped at the bot tom like boomers. The mukluks are different from ours in that they are lined near the top with thick hairy deer skin.
 They live differently from the de- scription given in most books They have houses of walrus skin and those who can afford to buy lum- Der to build their houses have frame houses. Snow houses are comparatively unknown. Inside the large house is a smaller house eov- cred with grass and skin. This has a deer skin curtain in front with two holes just large enough for a face. These holes are used for ventilation. In this room sew eral families live, eating and sleep ing there, all getting along peace ably. It is so hot and badly yenti- lated that they often go almost naked while indoors. Every mar ried woman has her own seal oil lamp on which to cook meals. This lamp also furnishes light.
 The people live upon the flesh of the seal, the walrus, the whale, and the reindeer with sugar, tea and very little of bread which is baked in school. The women cut the boiled meat or frozen meat into small pieces and place it in a wooden bowl. To eat this they use their fingers in place of forks.
 According to their marriage custom the young man has to work six or seven years for his wife be- fore he can marry her and then sometimes he fails to get her Poly gamy is sometimes practieed.
 The girls and women have been tattoed on their faces and hands to make themselves beautiful, as they think.
 One of their beliefs is that in ev- cry child is the soul of one of its ancestors. Therefore, they will never punish their children for fear of insulting some respected grandfather or grandmother. The. children are taught not to play with the Eskimo ball made of deer skin filled with reindeer hair just before the hunting season for fear of driving the whales. seal and walrus out from the shore. Before the whaling season opens the men offer sacrifices to the moon by throwing meat into the air.
 Several men are witch doctors and their way of trying to cure the sick is by beating the drum and singing a song used especially for this purpose.
 In the month of June, while l was there more than fifty Siberian Eskimos arrived at Gambell to trade and to play games. The first sunshiny morning the men formed a circle and ran around dropping out of the circle when tired. They wrestled with upper part of the body bare and threw each other down on the ground. In the even- ing the midnight sun made the light as bright as day.
 They had an Eskimo dance in one of the largest rooms Eight musicians sat in a row, playing drums shaped like tambourines, made by stretching skin tightly over a hoop about two feet in di- ameter. Each man pounded his drum with a rod and sang chang ing the expression of his voice ac- cording to the story of the song. The first dance was given by two sturdy young men. All wore gloves of skin. The dancing was largely
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