IIIIbl.lt KAl 



WRITER'S TRIP ON YUKON 55 



At Kaltag Eskimoid features already predominate and some of 

 those seen are fully like Eskimo. 



There is a tradition of an Asiatic (Chukchee) attempt at Kaltag 

 once. 



Later in the afternoon photograph some natives and go with 

 Mr. Midler, the storekeeper, and Mr. McLeod, the intelligent local 

 teacher, on the latter's boat, "hunting"' along the banks up the 

 stream. Meet an old Indian (Eskimo type) paddling a birch-bark 

 canoe, said to be the only canoe of that sort now on the Yukon. 

 About three-fourths of a mile above the village see caved bank and 

 find a skull and bones — " split " old burial of a woman. 



A canoe coming, so we all go farther up the beach, pretending to 

 examine stones. It is only the l>oy who brought me, however, going 

 home with some planks, and he grins knowingly. 



After that we locate three exposed coffins, two undisturbed and 

 covered with sod. These two, for fear of irritating the natives, are 

 left. But the third is wrapped only in birch bark. It was a power- 

 ful woman. With her a bone tool and a white man's spoon. With 

 the burial that had tumbled out of the bank there were large blue 

 and gray beads and three iron bracelets — reserved by the teacher. 



I gather all the larger bones and we put them temporarily in a 

 piece of canvas. It is hard to collect all — the men are apprehensive- 

 it might be dangerous for them if detected. Everything smoothed 

 as much as possible, and we go across the river to examine two fish 

 nets belonging to the trader. One of these is found empty ; but the 

 other contains five large king salmon, 15 to 20 pounds each, three 

 (irowned, two still alive. The latter are hooked, hoisted to the edge 

 of the boat, killed with a club, and, full of blood, thrown into the 

 boat — great, stout, fine fish. To secrete our other findings from the 

 natives the storekeeper gets a large bundle of grass and ties it to 

 my package. We shall be bringing " medicine." 



Arrive home, only to learn that against our information the river 

 boat has left Tanana on schedule time, is now above Koyukuk. and is 

 expected to arrive at Kaltag before 8 p. m. Hurriedly pack, a few 

 more photographs, supper, and the smoke of the steamer begins to 

 be visible. In a little while she is at the bank, my boxes are brought 

 down, a greeting witli old friends on the boat — the same boat 

 (Jacob*) on which I went from Nenana to Tanana — and we start off 

 for Anvik. 



Mr. Midler, the trader at Kaltag. German by birth, has a young, 

 fairly educated Eskimo wife, a good cook, housekeeper, and mother 

 of one child. The child is an interesting white-Eskimo blend. 



In his store Mr. Midler showed me a good-sized heavy bowl of red 

 -tone with a figure seated in a characteristic way near one end. The 

 specimen was said to have come from an old site on the Kaiuh and 



