IIHDLU'-EA] 



WRITER'S TRIP OX YUKON 111 



Barrow is n good-looking and rather important place. It stretches 

 about 2 miles along the low shore, in three clusters, the two main 

 ones separated by a lagoon. It has a radio station, a mission 

 hospital, and a school. There arc over 200 natives here, and also quite, 

 a few whites, including Mr. Charles Brower, the trader, observer 

 and collector, with his native wife and their family, the teacher, the 

 missionary and his family, and the nurses. 



The burial place here is the most extensive in the Eskimo territory. 

 Taking the older parts and the new, it covers over a square mile of 

 the tundra, beginning not far beyond the site of the hospital and 

 extending to and beyond a small stream that flows over a mile inland. 

 But the burials were grouped in a few spots, the rest being barren. 



This extensive burial ground is now about exhausted for scientific 

 purposes, except for such skeletons and objects as may have been 

 assimilated — i. e. buried — by the tundra. That such exist became 

 quite evident during our search, and they naturally are the oldest 

 and most valuable. We secured two good skulls of this nature. They 

 u ere completely buried, only a little of the vault showing, and had 

 there been time we should doubtless have found also parts of the 

 skeletons. The skulls were discolored brown. 



Of the later skeletal material we found but the leavings, the best 

 having been carried off by other collectors. There were remnants 

 of hundreds of skulls and skeletons, but for the most part so dam- 

 aged as not to be worth saving. Nevertheless our diligent midnight 

 search was not in vain, and we brought back four sacks full of speci- 

 mens, the Eskimo carrying his with the utmost good nature. The 

 destruction here is due to sailors and other whites and to dogs, foxes, 

 and reindeer. 



The reindeer herds, going in hundreds over the ground, help 

 materially to scatter and damage the bones. So, the older material 

 gone, while the more recent burials are, at least so far as the 

 younger element is concerned, quite worthless to science, containing 

 many mix bloods of all sorts — even occasionally with the negro 

 (men from the wrecked whaleboats). The collection now secured 

 was the last one possible from this locality, except through exca- 

 vation. 



Tuesday. August 10. The boat is now crowded. We lost one 

 woman and got three; also about five or six men — newspaper, movie, 

 radioman, a dog teamster, a trapper. Quite a variety, in every way. 

 and most are to go with us at least as far as Nome. They will have 

 t«i hang up two hammocks in our little cabin each night, and some 

 must sleep elsewhere. 



Packing the whole morning. Five boxes. My man of last night 

 helping, a fine, big young fellow. This aid in the work is a great 



