THE CHEM AW A
AM ERICAN
25
W ashington .
I lacards U. S. D ept. of Labor, C h ild ren ’s B ureau, W ash in g
to n , D. C.
Baby W eek b u lletin —S tate College, P ullm an, W ash in g to n .
Suggestions M rs. N . S. M cCready, C hairm an H ealth Com m ittee,
Snohom ish, W ashington.
Very sincerely yours,
C H A R L E S M. B U C H A N A N ,
S u p erin ten d en t, etc.
A LA SK AN
IN D IA N S
At the recent C itizenship Day Celebration at H am pton In stitu te
T hom as B. Reed, of th e M iddle or Beaver T ribe, A nvick, A laska, was
th e main attractio n of the evening. H e en tertain ed the audience w ith
a w onderful dance of the M edicine Man, and also gave a talk on th e
custom s and superstitions of his people. T h e discerning sm ile w hich
covered some of his statem ents plainly indicated th a t his Indian sense
of hum or is very keen. In substance his rem arks follow:
“ My home is in A laska, about 400 miles up the Y ukon river and
about 125 miles inland. T h e In d ian s in th at part of the co u n try are
very tim id and backw ard. T hey still believe in and stick to th e ir old
custom s and way of living. F orm erly they lived in h u ts hollowed out
of the ground . T h e entrance was so low th a t people had to go in on
th e ir hands and knees, nor could they stan d erect when inside. T he
people have now moved to log cabins w hich they call th e “ w hite m a n ’s
h o u se .” In these houses there is usually one room about 18 by 20
feet, and som etim .s th ree or four families live in the sam e cabin. In
m any of these houses the floor serves as table and ch airs at meal tim e,
and as bedsteads at n ig h t.
T h e m ain food is m eat and fish. In the wintei a good m any people
do not cook the fish at all. In the sum m er berries, fru it, and roots are
added to th e diet. It is easy for these people to have ice cream at any
tim e.
I here is no cream about it, but tallow and berries are m ixed
w ith snow, som etim es fish is added, and when it is frozen it m akes a
fine dish.
“ In A laska the people have all kinds of-superstitious beliefs. T hey
m ust not throw away or bu rn any old clothing, for th at would be the
same as destroying a part of them selves. All fish bones m ust be taken
out into the m iddle of the river or stream and poured overboard.
E very bone will tu rn to a fish and th u s is the supply kept up. W hen