Alaska -- Antiquities; Eskimos; Eskimos -- Anthropometry; Indians of North America -- Alaska; Indians of North America -- Yukon
This is a good site, above high water. Must be old. Pottery also
encountered occasionally by present occupants, but not one bead;
little if any river cutting here for a long period. Worth exploration.
Photograph another Indianlike Eskimo. Want to buy an old dish from an
Eskimo, border inlaid with six white stones, shaped like an oblong
lozenge with rounded corners, but he wants $20. Lunch all together,
some Eskimo included, at Tucker's, and then as the wind moderates and
the sun comes out, start for the Russian Mission. Mostly still clouds
and cool, with some rain in the mountains to the right.
Finds and inquiries made at Dogfish village make it positive that the
stone culture there is Eskimo, i. e., of the Eskimo of this region
who are probably not a little mixed with Indians. Their head is but
moderately oblong, not keel shaped. The majority, however, have Eskimo
features.
But the cupid-bow (double-grooved) axes are not known to have been made
by these people, and when used after being found or brought down from
farther up the river they apparently were broken. One such example was
seen already at Ruby--another one at Anvik--secured; and one found
yesterday at Mountain village. The axes here are most often oblong,
quadrilateral, without groove, or approaching the single-grooved axes
of the Indians in the States.
July 6. Proceed down the river toward Russian Mission, examining the
banks as closely as possible. Toward evening stop at "Gurtler's," a
short distance above the mission.
Mr. Gurtler is a German by birth; his wife is half Indian, of Ruby.
She, as well as her 14-year-old daughter, are neat, apt, and very
industrious, quiet and nice mannered. With an Eskimo woman, she cleans
and cuts up--a whole art of its own--on the average over 200 good-sized
salmon a day. Clean place, very good smoking house--much superior to
those up the river, except Tucker's.
Sleep in a clean bed of theirs; would much prefer my own and the hard
floor, but fear to offend.
RUSSIAN MISSION
Pack my stones and bones collected between here and Holy Cross, and
after lunch go to Russian Mission. Meet Mr. Cris Betsch, the trader,
and find him both friendly and anxious to help. Teacher and her mother
invite me to supper. Before that Mr. Betsch calls in a number of the
older men, and we have a talk about ancient things, but they know
nothing worth while beyond a few score of years at most; they give me,
however, some data and names of old villages.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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