Lake Clark 



3 29 



It is called Chokotonkna River by 

 the natives, but several prospectors 

 who visited it had designated it as 

 Clark River. Portage or Achteedee- 

 dung Creek, which enters the north 

 side of the lake about half Way be- 

 tween Keeghik and the mouth of the 

 Tleekakeela, is the only stream on 

 which gold has been found. About 

 half a dozen men have worked on this 



The village consists of about a dozen 

 houses and caches of hewn logs, very 

 substantially and well made. About 

 half a mile back from the present village 

 are very ancient traces of a large vil- 

 lage of former times. In 1891 Schanz 

 enumerated 42 inhabitants of Keeghik, 

 which is perhaps twice the number now 

 there. Some were away at the time of 

 our visit, so we saw only about a dozen. 



Photo by Osgood 



Natives of Keeghik Village, Lake Clark 



creek and secured a few fair samples of 

 placer gold, but nothing that pays for 

 working. 



The natives of Lake Clark are col- 

 lected in one village situated on the 

 north side at the mouth of Keeghik 

 Creek. They universally call this set- 

 tlement Keeghik, although the name 

 Nikhak, which has been used, is known 

 to most of them. Keeghik is also the 

 original native name for Lake Clark. 



Nearly all are of mixed blood, usually 

 with considerable trace of Russian, but 

 their main derivation has been from pure 

 Indian tribes on the upper Kuskokwim 

 drainage and the Kenai tribes from the 

 head of Cook Inlet. Doubtless they 

 may safely be considered the western- 

 most representatives of the pure Atha- 

 bascan stock. Their language is now 

 as much or more mixed than their blood, 

 although the speech they profess as their 



