ANTHROPOLOGICAL WORK ON THE KUSKOKWIM 



RIVER, ALASKA 



By ALES HRDLICKA, 

 Curator of Physical Anthropology, U. S. National Museum 



The work of the summer of 1930 was devoted principally to the 

 Kuskokwim River, the second largest stream of Alaska and hitherto 

 unknown to physical anthropology. The Kuskokwim flows to the 

 south of the Yukon, from the McKinley range of mountains to the 

 Kuskokwim hay or bight ; and like the Yukon it has been partly peo- 

 pled by the Indian and partly by the Eskimo. In the thirties of the last 

 century it was discovered and sparsely colonized by the Russians. It 

 has at present a fairly large native and a small white population, the 

 latter consisting almost exclusively of traders, Government employees, 

 and. in the upper parts of the river, miners. It can only be reached 

 by the costly airplane, or over a broad and at times difficult portage 

 from the Yukon, or twice a year by a freight steamer from Seattle. 



The route chosen was that across the portage. The trip from Wash- 

 ington took a whole month, due partly to the delayed season. Head- 

 quarters were established at Bethel, and from there two trips were 

 made, one down the bay as far as Apogak, the other upstream as far 

 as Stony River. The rapidity and success of the work were due largely 

 to the long days, and to aid received through the U. S. Bureau of 

 Fisheries and the Government Bureau of Education. 1 



The natives themselves were all that could be desired. To make the 

 work on the living more intelligible and sympathetic to them, it was 

 combined with examination of the lungs and heart, which led to the 

 learning of collateral facts of decided value. And the pathological 

 factor was accentuated with much benefit also in making the skeletal 



1 Special grateful acknowledgments are due to Messrs. Calvin F. Townsend 

 and Charles MacGonagal of the Bureau of Fisheries ; to Mrs. Lulu A. Heron, 

 nurse, and Miss Anne Martin, teacher. Bethel, of the Bureau of Education ; to 

 the fine men and women of the Moravian Missions ; to the President and traders 

 of the Northern Commercial Company ; to Mr. Clark M. Garber, Superintendent 

 of the Bureau of Education Schools, at Akiak ; to Messrs. Samuelson, Brown, 

 Parent, and all the other traders along the river as far as this was covered ; to 

 Game Warden Hollson and Postmaster Link of Bethel ; to Mr. Jacobsen in the 

 same place ; and to Messrs. Hof stedt, Frederickson, Sergei, and all those other 

 friendly people of the river, white and also native, who aided me in my endeavors. 



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