Curious Customs of the
Kuskokwim Indian Tribes,
as Told by Duke E. Stubbs
Seward <5atewav.
D. E. Stubbs, trader and pioneer of
j the Kuskokwim river district, who ar
rived in Seward several days ago to lo
, cate in this section, has some curious
and interesting tales of that little
t known district. Mr. Stubbs has been
located at the old native village of Kol
znakof, several hundred miles above
Bethel, where -for years be has lived
with the natives, studied their lan
guage and customs, and acquired their
* confidence. The result of his investi
gations is that the old Eskimos are
years ahead of the whites in their man-'
i ner of living, and that the Kuskokwim
Eskimo are honest, industrious and de
pendable: quick in their likes and dis
likes, and lacking malice, envy and
jealousies of the whites.
The life of the Eskimo, according to
Mr. Stubbs, is ideal from a socialistic
standpoint, whole tribes living -in har
moDy, with every bit of property owned
. and shared in common by the people as
a whole. Their chiefs or head officials
are selected by ^popular vote, as are
their subchiefs, and these men exert a
powerful moral linfluence on the lives
of those under them. Whilelbaving no>
visible authority, they are the means
. of much good. . Following the election
of the chiefs, who are not appointed
for life, as in other tribes, the natives
meet in the kashim, or community
house, where questions touching upon
members of the tribe as a whole are
•freely- discussed. Mr. Stubbs asserts
that the natives are a humorous,
friendly race, great on joshing or play
ing jokes on each other, and fine trail
, companions, being very courageous,
not easily fatigued, and able to with
• stand any amount of hardships.
Having no written language, and
their spoken language consisting of but
; a few hundred words, the natives are
great story .tellers* tin telling their
tales the relator uses what Is called a
atory knife. These knives are made
from ivory, with a woven willow han
dle, and the blades are divided into]
-■ectioDS, with hieroglyphics carved on
■both sides of the blades. The narrator
-aits down in the sand and divides it off
Into certain squares or parallelograms,
. in each of which he inscribes hiero
glyphics similar to those on the knife.
<*He then weaves his-tale from the
i ■ translation from those hieroglyphics.
•'; These knives are greatly venerated,
and it is very difficult for a white man
to secure one of them. Mr. Stubbs se
cured several, which he sent to the
Museum of North American Indians,
HeyetFouodation, where they are now
- -on exhibition, f
The language of the Kuskokwim In
dians is very flowery, and they are fond
of rolling phrases. They have no posi
tive form of language, but approach
*. affirmation in a roundabout manner,
r For instance, if a white man asks a na
tive if he has seen a schooner or ship
, come into the. mouth of the river he
-will reply:
‘•'If such a vessel is in the hay mine
eyes have not seen it.” !
l If asked if another natives eyes have
~ seen a schooner in the bay,,* h©i will
reply: i
“If any other man’s eyes have, aeon a
vessel in the river my brain does not
know it.” j s
Their language ia .poetical and -ver
bose, with many adjectives and qounr.
The men are fine artisans, each village
having its snowshoe,maker, its mane
facturer of sleds*nits maker of boat9,
f and its odd jobs man, each one a , spe
cialist* and ssch, expert^ ip bi,s; Jiae.
They use no method of mens r«iment
but the eye and the spaa of the hand,
yet their work is accurate and delicate
to a degree. Their principal tool is the
knife, made of a piece of steel trap
spring, ground to a fine edge, with a
curved needle point. They use this
tool in the manner of the Japanese,
working toward them instead of away
from themselves, as does a white man.
Their eyesight i3 trained to an aston
ishing degree, they being able to read
the signs of tho trail where a white
man would see nothi-Dg.
The natives are indefatigable hunt
ers, and kill the black bear with a
short spear, held in the hand. Their
method is to surprise the bear sudden
ly., and-when ha rears up to ascertain
the commotion they plunge the spear
into his chest and flee. The bear drops
to his forefeet, driving the spear into
his heart. The natives emphatically
deny that a bear attacks on his hind
feet, but-claims that he arises to see
more distinctly, as his eyesight is very
poor. They have little fear pf either
'black or brown bear and attack them
with impunity, often going into their
dens with their short spears a».J
knives.
Mr. Stubb9 believes that the natives
are dealt too harshly with by the white
man’s law, as their morals and concep
tions of right and wrong are totally at
■variance with those of the white man.
For instance, he tells of how honest
they are amongst themselves and rare
ly steal from each other. Their ideas
of wrong are like a child’s. Many
cases where Indians have been arrest
ed for-stealing arise from the fact that
it Is an age-old Eskimo custom that
when a man dies his property belongs
to the man who finds it. This custom
has brought about considerable friction
with the whites who have had boats
and other property lost or dropped on
the trail. The Indian had no knowl
edge of guilt, but was following his
customs. They cannot understand the
white man’s -views, and go to the pen
totally ignorant of what they were sent
for.
They are a happy race of people, and
are without guile. If they have plenty
of food, a warm place to sleep and
, clothing to wear, what more can they
need, or want? They b".ve nothing but
their simple wants to provide for, and
nature is lavish in her gifts to her un
tutored sons.
_ According to our informant, the Kus
kokwim is one of the most wonderful
rivers in .the world. It stretches in
land one thousand miles without rapids
or a rock to block navigation, and
ocean-going steamers have penetrated
as far in as, McGrath with ease, small
boat navigation extending several hun
dred miles further. Its bars swarm
with cranes, geese and ducks; the
woodaare full of ptarmigan, grouse and
rabbits; • the moose, caribou, bear,
sheep <and goat are plentiful, while
many an Indian squaw is bedecked in
furs a princess might envy. Tne banks
are high ,aud covered with a thick
growth of timber; wild flowers bloom
in profusion and the air is scented with
their odors.
; Speaking of the many curious things
to be seen in this little-explored re
gion, Mr. Stubbs tells of one lake lo
cated in a mountain region that comes
down between the Nushagak and Kus
kokwim rivers, of large size, in the
pellucid waters of which are found
large schools of goldGsh, so numerous
as to give the waters a deep orange
tint when they pass. Very few white
men have ever cast their on this
unnamed, uncharted lake, but the few
who have are lavish ia praise of the
beautiful scenery. The only p?ute
feasible is by way of the TLkchesk £iver
and down its tributaries.
Another curious anomaly of nature is |
a fish resembling the wbitefiBb,,qrhich |
has a gizzard resembling that of a
■chicken, its oraw being filled with sand
and pebbles. This gizzard is ■ connect
ed with the ttomaoh of the fish by’ a
snail intestine, the food passing from
the gullet directly into the gizzard.
The flesh of this fish is said to be white
and most delicious, resembling that of
the whitefish in taste. It is caughtin
vast cumbers by tbe few white trap
pers and traders, aDd the gizzards are
a delicacy equal to that of the chicken.
The climate of this region is most in-.
vigorating. The summers are warm
aodL^cUghtful, and at this time the
Eskimos gather on the shores of the
lakes in the beautiful groves of birch
and prepare their fish and berries for
the wioteiv It is a season of plenty.
Fureof alltkinds are numerous, the dis*
triet beings, trappers paradise.
Timothv Scanlon, aged 44, for many
years a miner in the Fairbanks dis
trict, died recently in Seattle.
For Sale—Hand. sewing machine. In
quire Times office.
Receiving and sanding hours at the
McGrath station are as follows:
Week Days—10 a. m. apd 4 p. m.
Sundays and holidays—9:45 a. m. and
4:30 p. m.
i» '!? . ' ..■ ■.-ya. ■ ■ ^ "
General Merchandise
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Virgin Wool Clothing,
Logger Shirts
Cruiser Coats Short Jtfaskijiaw Coats
Woolen Pants
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mmm lumber so.
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" McGrath, Alaska
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Via Inside Passage
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for the Kuskokwim. Send, in Your Orders. |
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