UPPER YUKON NATIVE CUSTOMS AND FOLK-LORE 



By FERDINAND SCHMITTER, 

 Captain, Medical Corps, U. S. Army 



The Indians at Fort Egbert, Alaska, where I was stationed in 

 1906, are considerably modified by contact with white men, although 

 many old customs remain as they were before the influences of 

 civilization were felt. 



An Eagle Indian village of about 200 inhabitants, 3 miles above 

 the post on the south bank of the Yukon River, proved of particular 

 interest in my research and observations of native customs and folk- 

 lore. These Indians are classified as the Vuntakutchin people of 

 the Athapascan family. 



My first inquiry was for a medicine-man, but I was informed 

 that there was none now in the vicinity, all of them having died 

 or left long ago. They were very reserved on this subject and it 

 was two years before I won their confidence, which I at last gained 

 by treating their sick and showing sincere interest in their customs 

 and mythology. One day I was told that a certain Indian named 

 Luke was a good medicine-man. Accordingly, securing the services 

 of the Indian Arthur as an interpreter, we visited Luke, who sheep- 

 ishly admitted that he had been a medicine-man, but had given it 

 up because the missionaries and police opposed the practice. After 

 a brief conversation Luke became enthusiastic and boasted of his 

 ability, making demonstrations which I will describe later. From 

 medicine the conversation soon ran into folk-lore, with which he 

 was intimately conversant. Arthur was of great service to me here, 

 and later furnished most of the folk-lore which he secured from 

 his father Simon and from the old folks of the village. 



Many of my notes in the present paper are left in their more or 

 less crude form, so as to illustrate the native way of thinking; for, 

 since they are intended as records of a people, they should remain 

 as nearly intact as possible. In reading the stories one must not 

 be annoyed by inconsistencies, for they are characteristic of the 

 people. Their "because" clauses, for example, are about as satis- 

 factory as those of a child. It will also be noted that most of their 

 stories begin, "Long time ago, when all animals were men," fol- 



Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections. Vol. 56, No. 4 



