Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-22

and the destitute people-about 80 in
all, men, women and children-were
taken on board ship. The skipper held
a conference with the native chief, and
= was decided to select a new location
or a village.
An ideal harbor ws& picked out. and
the ships force practically built a new
village for these people. Fishing was
excellent in the vicinity, hunting for
fur-bearing animals during the Winter
was exceptionally good and it was felt
that very good job had been done.
Village Found Deserted.
The following year when the cutter
returned. expecting to see thriving
village, there was nothing to be found.
The natives had moved everything over
to the old location. This in spite of the
to the sea, they could fish only few
days of the year there and the country
behind the village was very mountain
! Gus and hard to hunt over. The chief
was asked why they had left such an
ideal location to return to poor one.
| Natives want to be near their dead, "
! he said simply
It is on the annual cruise through
the Aleutian Islands that we really got
to know the natives. On that trip we
! got as far west as Attu, which is only
400 miles from Siberia. We we're to
! take along Russian priest to perform
and confirm all the marriages OF the
last two years. and besides we had to
| take the yearly census of the villages.
deliver mail to all the hamlets in the
islands, carry food clothing and fuel
! for the native stores, set up medical
! ri he e1S
! tain, United States commissioner, was
to try all cases that had occurred since
the Summer before.
At daylight we set sail for the viii
lagos OF Keshaga. MascuShin and Cher
nofski, all located on the western side
of Unalaska Island. In each of these
places the natives are very poor The
main source of livelihood is salmon
fishing. For six yers they may have
fine runs of fish and the seventh will be
total failure. Then they have a try
ing Winter, and many die of starvation.
Upon arrival at each village a mass
Is arranged by the priest, who is al
ways met by the "chief" with much
ceremony at the waters edge. At this
mass the newly born are baptized,
couples are married and prayers are
offered for the dead. The priest then
visits all the "barabarars" and makes
his annual collection of furs and
money. The ships doctor accompa-
MES him. administering medical aid
wherever 1t is needed and taking a GEN.
suS The dentist establishes a tenn
porary dental parlor IN some shack and
patients are sent to him by the doctor
and priest. For a while his office is
the popular center of the village, but
not for long After the first tooth is
extracted his headquarters look like a
deserted mining camp in Death Valley.
The new stock for the native store is
landed on our arrival, but frequently 1t
is still on the beach when we sail. The
native says II cannot handle freight
until have presented my soul to God"
This Is generally an excuse for being
lazy, and these AleutS are the LATEST
people 1 have ever seen.
In one village where we took an in
ventory of the stock In the store we
found so pounds OF tea, a few shoe
strings, some face powder and rifles
but no food. I asked the chief what
his people had been eating. Some ma
tives eat dried raw salmon and drink
tea; other natives starve," he replied.
How long has this condition existed?
The chief casually waved his hand. "Oh,
three or four months" I noticed a
mother with 6-month-old baby in her
arms and asked what the baby ate
Baby eat raw salmon and drink tea"
After We had taken aboard their furs
for shipment to Seattle, we left for Nj
kolski. Unimak Island. There the same
procedure was followed. The chief was
asked the usual question about how the
natives had gotten along during the
Winter. Natives nearly starve," he re-
piled No food Our schooner drift
ashore six months ago and we wait for
Coast Guard TO pull it Of" There in
this harbor was their little 55-foot trad
ing schooner high and dry on the rocks.
Instead Of getting the vessel afioat again
themselves they were starving for lack
OF proper food until the cutter came to
their aid.
Disease Makes Inroads on Village.
1t was distressing to see how tuber-
culosis and, other disea ses had made in
roads on these once healthy people In
one generation alone the population had
dropped so per cent Much of this de-
plorable condition I credit to the white
man. Before his arrival they lived on
whale blubber; seal livers were consid-
cred a great delicacy. Now just take a
glance at the life they live in a thriving
village
Such village was Atka, a town of
about 20 natives, which is located 200
miles farther west. They had had a
good kill the last year and had received
good price for their blue. silver gray
and red foxes.
was surprised at their dress, No
parkies or moccasins were in evidence.
AS stepped out of the boat the chief
Snook hands, and his first remark near
ly hoored me. Captain" he said, ma
ives ask If you bring their parcel post
mail from Mr.. Sears Roebuck?" found
that they had been flooded with mail or
d"r catalogues and had been ordering
h -Sn-heeled shoes in which to climb the
mountains; silk stockings for walking
through the brush, expensive canned
goods, candies and what not.
Inc natives were sick and discon-
tented. They could not stand prosper
ity and had no place to go in their
fancy clothes. This mode of living had
been going on for several years, and the
Doctors report showed that the women
and girls were the worst offenders. our
dentist returned late that afternoon
looking Ike he had been pulled through
a keyhole backwards" The natives teeth
were deteriorating rapidly. He had
pulled 70 in one short session.