70 INTRODUCTION OF DOMESTIC REINDEER INTO ALASKA. 



Tlic river, which is iit this place about .seventy yards wide, with a 

 good, strong- current, furnishes excellent, clear, cool water for drink- 

 ing and washing purposes, and drains the village as well as the sur- 

 rounding countr3\ 



I find the Lap people at the station a hardy race, able to undergo 

 almost an unlimited amount of exposure and liardshi[) in this severe 

 climate. The fact that two families have lived in tents during the 

 whole winter, camping from place to place, as the herd moved from 

 one pasture groiuid to juiother, proves the assertion to be true without 

 a doubt. Of low stature, they are nevertheless strong and rugged, 

 mostly free from hereditary diseases, and sensible as to their dress. 

 The costumes of the men and women differ ))ut little, both being 

 clothed in a loose deer-skin coat, reaching to the knees; tight leggings 

 and shoes, both of which are made from skin taken from the reindeer's 

 legs, covermg the lower part of their bodies. Their feet are Avrapped 

 in drj^ grass, which has been cut and cured in the' fall. Often, during 

 the coldest weather, this soft, bruised grass alone is used within the 

 shoes — no stockings being needed. At the union of the shoes and leg- 

 gings a long l)and of bright colors, woven by the women, is tightly 

 wound around the ankle, and it serves not only to keep the shoe in 

 place, but it keeps out the snow and Avind. 



The men wear four-cornered caps, with the top stuffed with feathers, 

 while the women have close-fitting ones trimmed with narrow lace. 

 The colors of the caps are varied, yellow, red, and blue predominating. 

 All wear handkerchiefs, scarfs, or small shawls around their necks. 

 The men have a neckcloth, at each end of which is a pocket, in which 

 they carry small article's. The belt is another article universally 

 worn, to which is attached a heavy hunting knife, used for an untold 

 numl)er of purposes. 



There is no change in fashion, the little children even having clothes 

 the exact count(M'[)art of those of their parents, only smaller. Cloth- 

 ing ill adapted to this climate is unknown to them; nevertheless, the 

 inevitable exposure has given m<> many an opportunity of relieving 

 pain. 



My practice has included the Government emploj'^ees, the natives, 

 the resident whites at Unalaklik, and the miners who have required mv 

 assistance. The natives have applied for medical aid and medicine 

 quite freely. Patients have come to me from long distances. The 

 Yukon Indians ha\e been in my ofiice for medicine, while natives from 

 Kings Island, the Diomedes, and points along the shore have brought 

 me their sick ones. Those near at hand have been visited frequently 

 during their sickness. Miners traveling from the Yukon to Cape 

 Nome have passed the station, and a good many have required medi- 

 cine or medical aid. J. B. Logan, while on his way to Cape Nome, 

 was taken sick with croupous pneumonia and was confined at the station 



