Puslapio vaizdai
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astray in, this wilderness of the Yukon comparatively deep water immediately off mouths.

During the past summer an officer of the Coast Survey traversed the front of the Yukon delta, the first white man who had ever followed this shore. He was accompanied by three men, and the party, with all their provisions and camp outfit, was carried in an open canoe and a small row-boat. At the river mouths there is

Eskimo and Fish Trap.

the coast, but between these the distinction between land and sea is very indefinite, and the mud-banks laid bare at low tide may be a mile or more in width. Even with a canoe drawing but a few inches of water it was often impossible to get closer to the shore than a mile, so that to make camp it was necessary to pack outfit and provisions on the men's backs, sinking at every step knee deep in the thick blue mud. Even ashore, however, the difficulties were not past. For long stretches this coast is but a few inches above ordinary high tide. On account of its shallowness this part of Bering Sea is subject to extraordinary tides. When the wind blows strong from the northeast the water goes with it, leaving extensive bare flats and shoals along the shore, while with an opposite wind the water piles up in Norton Sound, flooding the lower portions of the delta coast, as is evidenced by the line of drift-wood nearly always to be seen some distance inland. One night the party was rudely awakened by the water running through their tents, and went out to find the tide over the bank on which they were camped. After that they took the precaution to elevate their beds. The usual tides along this shore are not great, averaging only about four feet; it is a curious freak of nature that at the south

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one.

Contented and Independent.

mouth of the Yukon there are two tides a day, while at the north mouth there is but This coast being so low and with no vegetation but marsh grass, it is often impossible to see land even at the short distance at sea at which the Eskimos travel in their skin boats. To guide them therefore to the entrances to the sloughs, and to the better camping-grounds which may sometimes be found a short distance back, they set up great conical stacks of drift-logs on end, and grouped variously so as to distinguish each locality. Thus have the natives long preceded us in placing aids to navigation in northern Alaska. On a bright day the mirage sometimes produces startling effects in these shoal waters; a drifting snag will appear to be a schooner, and a white gull will look like a waving flag.

All the natives of this coast are Eskimos, though the miners call them Indians. The interior is peopled with true Indians, and the dividing line is some distance back. Up the river one sees the birchbark canoe of the Indian, but near the coast the seal-skin kayak of the Eskimo. The writer, who has seen these people of the north on the Greenland and Labrador coasts on almost the opposite side of the Pole, was struck by the similarity in the character and appearance of the people, as well as in their implements, mode of life,

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gle for life, but their common origin seems to be proven by the fact that their languages are similar in their grammatical construction and have identical names for the more important articles. The Eskimo language is remarkably complex, considering the few needs and simple life of these people. It consists of object names, from which an almost infinite variety of words may be formed by adding suffixes; these terminations take the place of verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. It is needless to say that the resulting words are rather unmanageable to an American, particularly when combined with the guttural and unusual sounds of the Eskimo tongue.

The Eskimos of the delta region are among the poorest and most primitive natives of the continent. Although nature affords them a livelihood, they find little that is of value to others, and consequently have small means wherewith to trade. The result is that they are seldom brought into contact with other races. The possessions of these people consist of their skin boats, sleds, dogs, dried fish, seal-skins, oil and log huts. Their ingenuity seems to have been developed only in connection with the most necessary pursuits of their lives. One does not find among them the skill in carving possessed by their more northern brethren, nor the desire for ornamentation displayed by the Greenland Eskimos both in their dress and

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no longer recognizable as fish, are eaten. Enormous quantities of ducks and geese frequent the delta marshes in the fall, and afford the poor Eskimos a welcome change of diet. When the winter storms begin to come the Eskimos migrate from the coast, where an unusually strong westerly wind may at this season cause a tide that will flood them out, and follow up the streams to their winter homes on higher land. The winter is their festive season, devoted largely to dancing and visiting. Each village has its kazheem, a community house used both for dancing and for the hot steam baths of which they are fond. In the spring they are again at the coast for the sealing season; the hair seal is a most important animal to them, furnishing clothing, covering for the boats, food, and oil. Their method of burial is peculiar. The body of the deceased is doubled into a short box about three feet long, and this is set up above the ground on posts, and

completely exterminate the first Norse settlements in Greenland. There appears to be little doubt that in the former case, at least, the provocation was great. delta Eskimos are perfectly honest and remarkably free from quarrels among themselves. Although sometimes living together in large villages, they get along without chiefs or local government of any kind. They are strong respecters of custom; for instance, one finding some desirable drift-logs on the shore has but to place by them a vertical stick to have undisputed possession until it suits his convenience to come for them. They apparently have no religion.

Though entirely unfamiliar with our ideas of cleanliness or comfort, one cannot but respect them for their simple and uncomplaining life among such adverse conditions. An Eskimo gliding swiftly along in his graceful kayak is the picture of contentment and independence.

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O MY garden! lying whitely in the moonlight and the dew,
Far across the leagues of distance flies my heart to-night to you,
And I see your stately lilies in the tender radiance gleam,
With a dim, mysterious splendor, like the angels of a dream!

I can see the stealthy shadows creep along the ivied wall,
And the bosky depths of verdure where the drooping vine-leaves fall,
And the tall trees standing darkly with their crowns against the sky,
While overhead the harvest moon goes slowly sailing by.

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