The San Francisco call. [volume], February 03, 1907, Page 1, Image 1

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

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The San Francisco Sunday Call.
Magazine Section
Part 1
The "Farthest North"
Elopement
* :; "~l"!fr ' -.-,;\u25a0.- \u25a0•.-" : --.'i",-V- ;.. -:,\u25a0.-\u25a0;\u25a0,:•\u25a0\u25a0 >—-{.-• \u25a0i».'Jr. tl.--- \u25a0-\u25a0\u25a0;-..-?ii.-lv ~'
John G. Berry
lieutenant US. R C.3.
ITTOK lives at' Point Barrow, Alaska*
the most northern point* -of 2fprth'
America. In • the early \u25a0 . summer,
when the Ice pack moves o2, enough
%o : allow the whales to work ! north
. wbH . while still presenting an" Inpene
.trabie .front to this . .whaling =\u25a0 vessels, i
Ittck .goes' out on" the '^ Ice with his^
. \u25a0 'neighbors and pi uaje« harpoons Into '
: ' tb« ' wtiaJee. • An.d he fires \u25a0 bomb Brun.» .
. .sit ' thxm and xalcses \u25a0 three-Quarters of
". j^**w ' And' the. whales -go off . some
°. -where a&d die with harpoons or.: bombs -
\u25a0•:_.fai. tW vitals. /'\u25a0-.;/;.: '/' '\u25a0\u25a0 : \u25a0\u25a0 '.'-\u25a0' ';' -
'/'.'« ' But .Ittok doesn't care, so long 'a*
:;W catches a whale . once in a while.
-..When be does" get. one, his \u25a0' party dl- •
'.'"Tides up the whalebone and the bl-üb
\u25a0 b«r. Ittok takes his" share of theblub
;.-.ber sard dries it/for.hls" winter", food,.
...yrhn* the bone Is sold later to a whal
i-'^sSs; captain, missionary or other trader
/..ra* ranch less than Its value. The'prb
: \u25a0 e«ed» arts : expended.' for flour, ' calico,
-.- «artridg«s and. other necessities,, which
: the same people let him have at ex-.
.'\u25a0.- ifortsltaot '".prfees. ;\u25a0 \u25a0 . . . \u25a0 '. \u25a0 ; •." \u25a0 \u25a0'\u25a0.';•'. .. ':
• ; / -Of «o«rse, this means that Ittok must
. / usaader, along the verge of /starvation
::\u25a0 U»waad- : th» end of the winter.-; But he !
: /,:l»ns«d to that. His fathers and moth
': isars for (renerations have 'starved each
/" T«*r» ftr a season," .before" the- Ice loos
": .«ns around the short line of Point Bar-.
,;M>w./;;' [' -: •\u25a0./-:.: ;- V-i'yiy^ '\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0
:'\u25a0;\u25a0 Tramping through the snow : and over
-i the drifted ice floes is very wearing
: «n Bsukiuks. Now, no self-respecting'
. : Eskimo man will chew the skin , of/
. -/tTgaruk, the big hair seal, to make the
/*oles of his raukluks. That ls ; woman's
work. In fact. . most of the .work' of
ian Eskimo village is woman's \u25a0yrbrk. \u25a0•
When the schooner Vine was -unloaded
• kt Cape Smyth last summer, the. women
\u25a0Joined; with the men in lugging bags
./of flour, coal, salt, everything in "her
\u25a0 icargo/up to the, beach to stbrehouses
.! out of .reach of the winter ice; 'And
\u25a0/the only difference between the .labor,
of the women and" of "the .;men was
/that the burdens of the women wer »"
/: generally heavier. :./ /\ v '.. " - |
.••-• Henci it is desirable for aft- Eskimo
."'/jm-an :.tb'."i»'afryi ; '/ V/ /" v -.". •; •. "
;./ Tttok appreciated the advantages of
married life in; the Arctic. -He. hia
ootne to the" conclusion that Tereediok.'
'.the adopted ". daugtt'ttfr of old . A.ntono";
*9 and his "wife" Belle, ;"cou.ld ..sew skins,
'.' chew- boot soles "and -tote -coal .better
\u25a0 than my \u25a0 other ' youngr_ lady, i.n • hiJs set. .
i'" So he/ sougrbt the' company- of Te
'reedlojc;';- In the' wrestling bouts. of the
ittQk .ai-sv-ays/dld Ma yery. best
/when Tercedlok- .was near. He -affect-
[\u25a0'•A gayly' ornamented clothing. The
. iTariety^bf ctothing . at/ the - villa ge was :
"pot . great. * : But bright . red . calico" is
• tmzoh in'oVe alluring for an outer gar
c jnent tiian 4s blire dungar.ee or a gunny
" '•adc ' :.- " '.' /' ' \u0084' ./' '." : " //. :\u25a0-.'r;:
\u25a0';'• '•' Aad ..Tereediok stalled upon Ittok,
Bot h«r/ smile was cad. ' Her;- stern
guardlass, the Portuguese -An tone- and.
..- thm Eskimo Bellt, bad \u25a0-promised", her
band to another. , to . on* who ; had ' come
nearly three .years ago from ; St. Law
rence Island, away down to the south
ward, beyond Bering Straits. He came
'• from a land so • distant? that x the mid
night sun could be seen, only from the
tops of the higher mountains, and then*
ft^t for/a few days; ln /the} year.'
/jWbat right : had . thls ; interloper f rom .
the far, south ; to come; into; lttbk'S;yli-^
lage and to thrust his unwelcome bulk
between. him and/ his/ sweetheart?: * y
" Ittok and Tereediockldld ?*notfknow \u25a0
that, from the beginnings, of:)history,
rttrn parents have /continually/ tfiedftO;
tores; their daughUrs'' to 5 niafry,?eilrl-*
bla suitors. :Vor, did they^ know,* that
lovers have generally managed/ to' elude"?
.the vlgiiapee of, the." jailers. :-The/sltu
. ation was .absolutely"new.'to/both v /of '\u25a0
them., But they- met; itr In- the/s ame c
'old way. They eloped. ' '\u25a0' "•* ;;\u25a0 >9^ : ; : . "j
DifiScult Arctic Eloperrient % .; * ~~ -1 '
- ' An elopement is ; an easy thing- .w.hen
alj the accessories ; needed 'are,: a- i^df
der and- a -dark night. But Tereediok"
lived" in^a "one-story, hut .dvg r into /tha
.ground land covered »with' turf laid over \u25a0
the Jaw bones of ;A"iadder:
.was- distinctly <jut of place. "And* by \u25a0'
the" time/that *: they had^ finally^ decided i,
to steal ; away the" long ; winter" had;
passed- and- the s.un/'havlng-.; risen,.' re- i,
fused; to -set again "and. it was.dayllght'
all, night long. ".\u25a0•-;/; J-,./V v ' ,^ \u25a0--: \u25a0••.-//"s/
. Iso .Ittok \ thought ;-' and thought;' ./it 1
takes . ativ"Eskimo a (long iime./to-, think
anything. i Finally Tereediok,*who'had
been thinking too, suggested that Cap-/
tain Hamlet,- .who .was then /•coming
northon the United States revenue, cut-x;
\u25a0 ter" Thetis, might marry them.T .',"/,/ '{<
V Starry." '\u25a0 thVm ! \u25a0'\u25a0. Ittok - hadn' t . thought";
- of;* that: His \u25a0 parents'? had - never/ been '
\u25a0 married, 'nor.. their ; parents " before
•Had the>-.e been 'accurate' records , ln^the*
village, which there were not/ he' would*
: have.- known' that- -marriages had been
• very,". very rare in his family, history. ':'\u25a0
.: 'Tereedlok's-. family had - been. > equally »
unconventional,', if v ijo.t' more/so./ But T
she'- had heard that, white .men' and
white .women -married' one another." She
knew that .white .blood was suspected
to be In ;her own veins;, and/she^sov
represented "the case to, Ittok -that^ he ;
.fell in with the idea of a. regular * mar-;
riage, with; an elopement- to break jthe \u25a0
force of the: blow.
. -/The Arctic? steamer Thetis/ had been*
\u25a0", steadily pushing, her- way to Tthe' northl v
, Never had - «he seen » the * ice floes I piled ;
so* high. She had //carefully); threaded /•
her way through the /leads "between/,
Immense, floating f cakes of Ice, wound
dangerous / and . * incorrectly/-/ charted'
shoals as far as -j Point Belcher JandftheV'
Sea Horse islands. . There /a'solidlbair-.;?
rier of - ice extended, bo '. far; as r th« : The- !
• tis ' had been ; able r. to ,; find out, * clear/.;
across^.the /Arctic { Ocean; ?> She »had .al
ready runinto several -blind- leads^and/
in each tinstance^rhad been/ferced/to/
- scuttle /out : at t full ' speed * to \u25a0 keep • f romy
being crushed" as J thet iceVclosed^inCoas:
:her.-,/. -\u25a0\u25a0/:^/v ; 'S/--/;/:-/;';-/;/;:r;^//v
, On August/ 12,> isOS/j tbe/Thetls^lay^
off : Pln"goshu*garun;/ on«\of i^the, Bea
;Horses/*mp«red:fMtluja-B^ounded'.fleld :<
\u25a0.o< oiet.' ;.Tfne . field-"w as;, a^bqut -jaj^inile-..
.long, half a mJle' broad; and? was: hard/
and x fast -on the '• bottonVVpf •the^o.cean,.
where-cthe nwattr! was /seven /,
; deepi v And : this i was van '.Isolated^ cake,*/
left ; by^the " pack* 1 ' which ' had f dr If ted /.a '*
;>few,'milesjoff ''shored //-\u25a0 .' - !*s'V.»V H'-'Y'Viy' ' «T
: '^ Away-., to /tie \u25a0 northward- and *. inshore •
* a ;browh* speck showed; among , the ""daz-/.*.
sllng'f white'/ cakes V. of ;• lee /" and /slowly .
grew -into .: a skin-covered c umiak \ with >
; fur-clad - Eskimos, „ who -. swept • the > sea .
V^th.'^stfc^y^p'a^
: from £ Point ,; Barrow . they i had : come to ,
trade "their {furs andjivoryjon -the .The—
•.Mb. ,-- The "distance : .was {flfty^miles/^butf.
l-.theV Thetis/ would~give \ them* mor e /for ,
their: skins .. than t\the stations':
v'«r"v missionary' would i".tb,lnk s of ,givlng. ' .. .
> /Part of "the^ iourney- ; ha,dT > heen ;easy....
* lltl Iti l was^pleasant.;to'"sitl inithe, ; boat;,on -
those*-, longjjistretcbes'iwhere ..\u25a0 a^ narrow 1"
"; stream , ;of ., open { .water.yHay, , close '"to';
/the ;pebblyj beach r *aijd^their-;dog,. team.':
* raced i^aiongUhe^sJjore the .light*
; umiak^, trailed -Kaylyiiibehlnd.l, On rthe."
i-'dragglng : the *canoe7oveiv the many" and
[,wW«X*P^.^. ar . r^y r ?^js o^ e red'"wiih-"htimY *
l-'iopck^'aroiiißd^which^'they , must haul ',
V the jboat,"^with^here'^and f there^'a^cre- \u25a0*.
,Ta'sse, or", some mound Kwhere r taey mustl
tliftT'heri bodily;,. tV^aurinount /the . ob- .'
* •taela.V.V,'," t.'-*t .'-* ..,":-• '•.'. ,•',.\u25a0: - : v : ; ',/.;
ji'But^h'erlirjthay^were , at' last, seven /of <
" them^l dashed JaiongsTde'
IttUlship^andjjt
itbej rjjfursi* j t l/was^dlscov ered '• "•
|that^orie|of |the '-/eager /patidlefs • wVs , a*
f,woSan-^lt Dressed \u25a0 In ' ;
fa f hooded « parka'! of deerskin; " lined wltb?v
i'p^rinte^fcalicojfand^^^rn^with^the It ur -
?next^th~eTskln,^^ooses
ur^mUte^is. > she
a' sec-.
/©jnd-/g£ance]',wa;^
ithe v error. \ But ,th^iecond^look^dis'f"
; fS^^^^>e^bi«'e;^tatt^^^^w^r^-\j
[the/
\u25a0ounded chin.' -These mark* u'how&hur ,
:o be a : woman, :and to be worth. Cram
two to three of the native male inhabi
tants of the Arctic. zone v : . ' ". ' . ;
' First the Visitors had breakfast. If
fou stop at an Ihnuit village In ' yottr
travels •', ; you .are \u25a0 welcome t» there
icanty fare. -They expect, you t» «x- ]
tend the same- courtesies to th«m wh«a >
they visit, you. r And yon. always da ioi \
After* breakfast \u25a0 they." plunged into '
the- business of trading,- » bujfatsi
which is. at the same 'time their mo*t \u25a0
alluring recreation. ' The men of ttx»
rhetis'used the .few ianult word* at
their command with a " waatefulnes*
that .'waa not in keeping 'with, their
•canty \u25a0 store." ' But the . Eskimos prefar
to hoard whatever ' English words, if '
any, they "have acciuirejl,from' 4 flfteen |
years or so. of inissibnary school ..teach- !
•rs:?^, '\ '.\u25a0" ': \u25a0'_. \u25a0 .;.',-.:. :\u25a0 \u25a0 '\u25a0' .". . ' \'f\
It was- several .hours befor» At 00-;
•urred to" Ittok . that „ he was';one of
the central" figures of J a : • romance;- • It
was Tereediok:- who finally' drew- her
self reluctantly away from the- delights
of .trading and suggested that the.
umallk " be i asked" to -!marfy them. . 8o;
\u25a0with' tiieald "of Tommy, the Interpreter
from Cape 1 Princ© of Wales, '. they : went'
bashf tilly iinto the /presence of Captain
Hamlet.^ ~• : • "• o "^ -.»/•;••
'y It ? was ;. a - s urpr is« -to th* ' captain to
hive natives ask to be married. Hehad
Joined* many couples."^ principally whit*
beachcombers and • native women th«
boly ! « bands ; of; matrimony. l but.; always
heretofore atthelnstigation 'of th»^au,
thoritiesioß shore. •\u25a0 So" he was delighted
tdVgra'ntjtheiri request. ':„. ;:-.". ..; .•. ••;
- The 'captain sat* the time for the- wed-;
dlngVat \u25a0 2 o'clock i ln -the afternoon and
sent messengers all over the. ship with
verbal . \u25a0 invitations. _, Th eiT -Jthe . . ship's
company, took charge .of al»." th« ax-
Tangements. . Jt v. was* ', found;" -that-. th»
bride had come • f-romPp^nt'. Barrow
with her trousseau 6n herbacfc .Neither,
she nor Ittoft had a changei, of \u25a0clothing.
"What is the /use of lugging clean cloth
ing 1 around for a year -or so with no>.
chance to use it?. 1 " .• "-."•;• ;\u25a0'\u25a0\u25a0'. •."
Goyming the Bride • • ;V;^VV ; ".. . _.- •
So they found an old sktrt thathad
been .; brought from : San Francisco '_ t»
trade some native " f o-r ra , polar
beaxv skin ; or perhaps 'a Russian , tab t*
or two. They made her . a waist by
winding, part; of "a bolt" of spotted blnja
calico * about her •; and " pinning •it h«r«
and there to make it . look ; as mueh:vaa
possible like - a*" Delineator- wood-cut,"
The bridal veil • was "a mosQUjt© V nst;
wfien -theTThetis 'was stationed at Hon
olulu!;" \j * _'; '*'" : '\u25a0'*-' * ""l'-.T'i
;V*Th'e looked • very una«B«
f ortable : inj a cutaway coat and trous-"
era. part ! of. : "a white* shirt.'.conar, neck^
tie. oldVcampaign- stovepipe hat and* a
f ancy ; vestUhat 'he* mustn't touch with
.hisv hands-on account of the- .bbick
marks' that "'hands always make on
ibudWesta.^*^* -' \u25a0 '.., . - * .* •.
'X He 'placid on, the' finger • of* "his bride
iT'ringTwithi a\ sparkling gem, a ring
'that ; hadtattracted "the 'eye ' of «»».?*
the^crew^of-.the.Thetis^a's "'it* lay an the
counVer''of a st and-10 cent store in'oir
i«"zatl6n,; ana Captain ": Hamlet
nounced ' Ittok 'and Tereediok husband
and 'wife amid' thvclicklng of cameras
and .the" cheer of the 'shlpV company.
Then-: the principals had* to 'stand in
line :*a*nd\be :• photographed.. On the, right
; of.* the -picture is /VV. N-- lAnders,**As-'
sistant 'District^ Attorney for the Nome
district^* who 1 gave the bride away. J Next
comes v Tereediok." then"/ Ittok. I"^Next1 "^ Next to
Ittok , is "Captain' Q. C. Hamlet, XT- S.R.
~C, X S.*' commanding Ythe'-.U.'-'S. S. Thetis,
and United States Commissioner "for " the
" Northern District Of Alaska, ' who rep
\u25a0.resentsV the "newly discovered^ "law of
'Godfor man, -north of fifty-three.'* On
.the \u25a0 extreme lefV.'on the, other side of
the hose real, stands Mr. Thomas Illo
ryak;'Twh"o3e '.'name alone" shows his
[ f amliiarl ty f ' wiih '- both' th» and
•inniiit He" was the best
1 man.'" : He; is /one " : of -Mr. '.-TV"/- T.- lf>VV'jt
natives from .Cape Prine* of Wales and
now helps ; teach the school children at
rthatiSettlement. I^pp^underst^idsjthe
j'^atly esVjVa's /devoted ', his * lif e \ lo**them,
"has never. tried to use them for. his per
sonal fproflV; and." as -a^ result, rjba-,
Iti'ves sho^ progress andthe settlement
'7at^Cape*PrincV -.of ' Wales is* prosperous,
; clean *ancl happy.
1'J After ";..thV ceremony Captain Hamlet
/provided 'a', wedding, breakfast . of^ candy
and chVwlng'gum /for *be Eskimo
then'the^wedding party got
Uoto/^thejr? umiak^and" paddled merrily
1 toward^.the ; shore, the j brid* wielding
" on '\u25a0 Next Page.)