The Kadiak Bear and his Home 



pens in winter, because it is during severest weather 

 that the otter freezes his nose, which means death. 

 The pelts from these frozen animals, however, 

 bring only a small price. 



In earlier days nets were spread beneath the 

 water around rocks shown by the hair rubbings to 

 be resting places of otter. The method was often 

 successful, as the poor beast swam over the trap in 

 gaining his rock, but when leaving dove well below 

 the surface, and was caught. This barbarous cus- 

 tom, together with the netting of ducks in narrow 

 passageways, has, fortunately, long been a thing 

 of the past. 



In Kadiak Village, we met a Captain Nelson, 

 the first man down from the north that spring, who 

 had sledded from Nome to Katmai on Shelikoff 

 Straits in two months. At Katmai he was held up 

 several days, his men refusing to cross the straits 

 until the local weather prophet, or astronom, as he 

 is called, gave his consent. Seven hours of hard 

 paddling carried them over the twenty-seven miles, 

 the most treacherous of Alaskan narrows. 



These astronoms are relics of an interesting 

 type, who formerly held firm sway over the natives. 

 They are supposed to know much about the 

 weather from reading the sunrises, sunsets, stars, 

 moon and tides, and often sit on a hilltop for hours 



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