THE CHEMAWA AMERICAN
PAGE 4
THE ORIGIN OF ANTS
(Continued from page 1)
and listen to the stories they would tell about some
enemy they had fought the day or night previous.
At this time a stranger visited this Chief’s home,
as he had heard of these insects, beneficial to the
whole tribe. The purpose of this stranger’s visit was
to steal this bag of ants and take it to his people.
The first four days of his visit he wanted to get all the
information he could as to how to use this bag of ants.
The Chief was polite and kind enough to show the
visitor what the ants could do. The visitor was
astonished at their ability and made up his mind more
than ever to steal the bag of ants.
It was a custom of this tribe that each evening after
supper they would assemble at a certain place and
discuss things that were necessary to the welfare of
the tribe and while doing this the stranger escaped
with the bag of ants.
' Shortly after his escape the chief discovered that his
ants were gone. He paid no attention, as he thought
the ants would return.
The stranger traveled many miles and became so
tired that he could go no farther, so he rested for the
first time since the theft. This night he slept so
soundly that the ants carried him back to the Chief’s
home without him awakening.
The next morning the stranger was awakened in
the chief’s home, when the Chief told him that break
fast was ready. The stranger was surprised, thought
he was dreaming, but could not figure out how it
happened. He was angry and decided to try to steal
the ants again. Three times he got away with the
bag of ants and, though he went a little farther each
time, the next morning he would awaken in the
Chief’s home. By these defeats he was very angry,
so he escaped again with the bag of ants and traveled
many, many miles.
He knew he would not succeed if he made an
attempt to sleep, so he just kept on traveling, and
was soon near his home and' tribe. He met some
buffalo and he tried to untie the bag. It had been
tied up a certain way by the Chief and he could not
open the bag, so he took his long knife and cut it at
the end of the bag and announced loudly that they
were to kill one buffalo. Gut rushed the ants after
the buffalo. In his excitement the stranger lost the
beautiful bag. When the ants had done as the stranger
commanded they returned to him to be again placed
in the bag. He looked and looked for the bag, but
to save his soul he could not find it. As the ants
came rushing to him he opened up his buffalo skin
shirt and allowed the little creatures to jump in. So
they did, and bit the stranger on the sides, back and
neck. They were about to kill him, so he threw
them on the ground and ran away and left them. To
this day they live on the ground and will bite a man
if they get on him.
FISHING IN ALASKA
Joseph Kahklen
Alaska is noted for its fishing industries. It is
probably the leading industry of Alaska. The majority
of the people either make their living by fishing or
their living is derived from it.
There are several kinds of fishing, as king salmon
fishing, or trolling, herring fishing, halibut fishing
and purse seining.
Halibut fishing starts early in the spring. Those
of the halibut fishermen are Norwegians. There is
always a great demand for halibut in the market and
there is always “good money” in halibut fishing.
Later in the season, about the first of June, the
trollers go out to different fishing grounds to fish
for King salmon. These fish are rather hard to catch
and a person has to be experienced before it pays him
to go out. From good catches much money is made.
Every year many people, most of them inexperi
enced, sail from Seattle to Alaska to troll. Most of
them hardly make enough to pay for their gasoline.
The experienced ones make from $20 to $40 a day,
and sometimes more.
At about the same time the herring show up along
the coast. It is a very fine food fish. They are thick
in some places. When a big school is found the power
boats with their big seins will make a set around them
and one haul is always sufficient for a boat load. They
are then taken to a near-by cannery, where they are
either ground into meal which is used for fertilizer, or
packed into cans (cappered herring, which are a
healthful and delicious food).
During this time the salmon canneries will be pre
paring for the season’s packing.
About the middle of July the seiners go out to the
fishing “grounds.” The fishermen start early in the
northern part, near Kodiak, and travel down the coast
showing up later at Juneau and Baronoff Island.
There will be many fishing boats from different
places. There is rivalry between the boats, and the
first boat to find them makes the greatest catch before
the school is scattered.
Last summer I fished in a boat about fifty feet long,
well equipped, which made fishing much easier. The
seine was 200 fathoms long and 250-mesh deep. There
were five men on the crew. Each man had certain
things to do. No one liked to cook. I was detailed
to the job and was chief cook for awhile.
Seeing
that I was a poor hand at cooking hot cakes and other
things I was changed to engineering. (I don’t blame
them).