1\)8 INTRODUCTION OF DOMESTIC REINDEER INTO ALASKA. 



There is ii small structure l)aek of the mission house, eonsisting of 

 three or more pieces of wood placed in upright position, in the midst 

 of which there are some teeth of a human being, evidently ver}- old. 

 Abrahamsen was in the habit of throwing ashes and snow in that 

 place, and ouo day was warned ])y a native not to do so in the future, 

 stating that the sacrilege would l)e punished \)y a violent wind or, I 

 think. l)y personal injury to Abrahamsen. 



The Eskimos have apparently progressed as far as henotheism. and 

 this is a long advance from fetichism. 



1 have been told by one man that they worship only one God. the 

 same as that acknowledged ])y white men. But I doubt whether the 

 people as a whole are monotheists. The doctrine of Persian religion 

 in Ormuzd and Ahriman — the good and ])ad principles, or personifica- 

 tions or deifications — finds its analogy here. The devil receives a great 

 deal of attention. It is as important to purchase his good will, and 

 thus prevent his machinations, as it is to secure the favor of the Good 

 Spirit. Yet dualism does not exhaust the deities. There is the Moon 

 God, at all events, who is important. Sacrifices are made to him as 

 to the Good Spirit and the devil, especialh^ in order to bring about 

 favorable weather during th(^ hunting season. It has been denied l)^^ 

 some natives that the moon is a deity. The devil has numerous assist- 

 ants, who ar(> hardly deities, })ut rather imps l>y nature and reputa- 

 tion. One native claimed that the soul of every person who dies 

 becomes an imj) or "devil " of this sort. He may not have spoken advis- 

 edly, however, as another one denied it. It is exceedingly difficult to 

 penetrate the reticence of the people as to their religious belief, and 

 one can not accurately distinguish between the belief as it was lield 

 previous to the advent of a Christian missionary here five years ago 

 and the present modified l)elief. I should ])e inclined to deny fetich- 

 ism and even gross polytheism, which might be too hastily imputed to 

 them by a casual observer of their customs. 



There is an evident ])elief in the soul as distinct from the l)ody, and 

 of its survival after death in either God's house or the devil's house. 

 As to th(3 chances of a person going to the former, they appear to be 

 quite assured of them; but I am not certain how fai' their notions of 

 morality enter their estimate of the assurance of a blissful future life. 

 I am certain, however, that all sick persons are regarded as possessed 

 of the devil; and if di^ath ensues in consequence, the person is believed 

 to go to the devil's house in spite of a moral life hitherto, and there 

 endures an unending torment. If the native "doctor" is unsuccessful 

 in driving out the devil after repeated efforts, efforts for which he 

 receives in advance a large fee, the sufferer seeks death voluntarily b}'- 

 securing some one to shoot or hang him, or the person may take his 

 own life. He is believed, under these circumstances, to escape the 

 devil and go to the happy a})ode 



