ARCTIC ALASKA. 383 



After a nine days' trip the village of Nimyuk, tlie highest 

 settlement on the " No Talk " or Inland River, was reached. This 

 village consisted of four huts, containing thirty inhabitants. They 

 subsist almost exclusively upon deer-meat, of which they had at 

 least two thousand pounds on hand. The day of our arrival thir- 

 teen deer were killed, and in some of the caches were as many as 

 thirty. We were greatly annoyed by the curiosity of these people, 

 some of whom had never seen white men before, and by their 

 superstitions. As it was their dancing season, no meat could be 

 cut with an axe, and we were compelled to saw up a frozen deer 

 — a difficult task. Neither could any meat be cooked in the house 

 nor tea drawn. The work had to be done outside, and the things 

 passed through the chimney-hole. These fancies are persisted in, 

 in the belief that to do otherwise would drive the deer from the 

 mountains. In some instances their superstitions can be overcome 

 by the payment of a bribe. 



On the 12th of April the writer of this article started on a trip 

 across the country, the object being to reach the arctic coast if pos- 

 sible, and thus penetrate a portion of the Territory never crossed 

 before. Previous to this I had made two trips one hundred miles 

 to the northward, and cached dog-food for use on the final jour- 

 ney. I took with me at starting one white man, two Indians, 

 fifteen dogs, and two sleds, and all the provisions the sleds could 

 carry. The snow had commenced melting at midday, but at mid- 

 night the temperature fell as low as 25° below zero. A week's 

 travel brought me to the village whose inhabitants make the trip 

 to the arctic coast. As I intended journeying with these natives, 

 one sled and the two Indians were sent back to the winter station. 

 Many attempts were made during the winter to induce these peo- 

 ple to cross this northern region, but they could not be tempted, 

 saying it was impossible on account of the cold and scarcity of 

 food. Northern Alaska can only be crossed at two seasons of the 

 year : in the spring just before the rivers break up, and in the fall 

 just as they close. The deer leave the mountains at these seasons 

 and cross, thus settling the question of food. A few of the most 

 interesting facts observed ujDon this trip are briefly related, as 

 follows : 



On May 1st twenty sleds left the village in the mountains on 

 their annual visit to the coast. This caravan, stretching out over 

 half a mile of country^ presented a peculiar spectacle, men, women, 

 children, and dogs all pulling at sleds. When an Indian travels 

 he carries all his possessions with him. Everybody was upon snow- 

 shoes, and numerous stops had to be made to allow the old people 

 to catch up. During this trip an addition was made to the party 

 in the person of a baby boy born on the march. One noon, while 

 the caravan halted, some Indians hollowed a shelter out of a 



