AMONG THE ESKIMO

Evening Star, Issue 23325, 22 July 1939, Page 13

AMONG THE ESKIMO

LIFE ON ARCTIC ISLAND OTAGO MAH'S EXPERIENCES MISSION WORK AMONG SNOW AND ICE From life as a boy on a farm on the Taiori Plain to work among Eskimos in a mission station on an island north .of Alaska is a story that suggests adventure, hardship, and fortitude. Such, indeed, has been tho experience of a young man from Otago who is a Jesuit mission priest and who writes to Ins sister in Dunedin, from Ignalit, Little Diomede Island, via Nome, Alaska. “ I don’t know how much you know or don’t know about Diomede Island,” writes Father Cunningham, S.J., for such is his name. “It is not on any tourist itinerary, and consequently is not advertised very much. 1 would nob recommend it as a tourist resort, though it has its good points. You can easily find it on any good map of the Arctic, or even North America. It isn’t very big, just about two miles by one mile, and rises straight up out of tho ice. It has no vegetation, flowers, or trees. Except for the dog, there are no land animals. _ It fact, the island is just a big rock, irregular in shape, and, except for one slope, rises straight up. The village is on that slope, itself by no means gentle, rather at an angle of 55deg. The largest flat place is the floor of my church, 40ft by 20ft. Tho church rests on rocks on one side, and 15ft piling on the other. It was quite a job to land and carry up the lumber for building the church. ICE ALL AROUND. “ Except during August and September tho waters around the island are never free of ice. The island itself, 1.200 ft high, is never free of snow. It is impossible to climb to the _top_ of the island without alpine climbing equipment. Besides, the Eskimos have a superstition against climbing up. They say that lost souls wander around up there, and 7 the natives have a healthy fear of tho dead. In the , summer months millions of Arctic birds nest among tho rocks. Some of tho eggs are good to eat, and the birds themselves are quite palatable. The nicest of all are only about the size of starlings, and by the time you skin them they have got so much smaller. It takes about -half a dozen to make a square meal. Seagulls, too. nest on the island, and their eggs are best of all. . ' “ All our living comes from the sea. Except when the weather is exceptionally bad tho men hunt every clay. Seals are plentiful all’ winter, walrus very plentiful in October, and again in June and July; and other animals like oogruks (a kind of seal) and sea lions are occasional all during winter. Polar bears are not uncommon. All these animals are oily, and the oil is used for tho native lamps, which provide heat and light in the igloos and more so as an all-round cindiment for the various meats. The meat .of all the abovementioned animals is good, except, perhaps, for the polar bear meat. At least I don’t like it, though the natives are very fond of it. PRIMITIVE LIFE. “ I live exactly like the natives as regards food, and spend one day a week, sometimes two, hunting. I am a better rifle shot than most, but by no means as skilful with a harpoon, or at travelling over moving ice. Out of consideration for my gentle upbringing on a Taieri farm, I allow myself bread, which I bake myself, and tea. For three years now I have not tasted egers, milk, butter, jam, or vegetables. Still, the native diet must be healthy, as, except for frozen limbs or broken fingers, T have not had a day’s sickness. “ Nearly two weeks since I started this letter I imagine it will be all done in instalments. However, instalments of any kind are an American fashion, and there’s nothing like keeping up with current developments in the world of custom and fashion. The new year began in dark and in awfully cold weather. The sun, of has not been seen for some time, and cold weather is something one must expect up here; hut this year it has been more so, so to speak. We have been denied even the twilight usual at midday during winter, and the temperature has gone down to an all-time low mark. It’s just impossible to stay more than half an hour out of doors at a time. The warmest since Christmas has been 30 below zero—i.e., 62deg of frost and a 40-mile-an-hour north wind has been blowing that cold into every hole and corner in tho village. Let’s hope it doesn’t last too long. Hunting has been impossible, of course, and the supply of meat and oil is getting dangerously lowi “ On days like these, when it’s too cold to be out much, the men spend their time building or mending skin boats or carving ivory. They are very skilful with tools and can do wonders with a walrus tusk or piece of driftwood. The skin boats are very seaworthy, made of driftwood frame and covered with walrus skin. They are of various lengths, the longest being about 40ft. I have a 14ft one, light enough to carry myself, and I can pack along nearly half a ton of stuff with me. Last summer I went the 180 miles to Nome in it.

“ The ladies’ work consists of making the olotlies, keeping house, and looking after the numerous children. _ The clothes are mostly made of hairseal, and it is quite warm and windproof. I dress like the natives when out of the house, and on the ice have been mistaken for one of themselves by some Siberian neighbours. Housekeeping presents no great difficulties. The bouses are all very small, and contain no furniture except the seal-oil lamps and a few cooking utensils. ’Housebuilding is easy. One simply makes a bolo in tho side of the island, lines it with driftwood and walrus skin, makes a tunnel entrance, and tho job is finished. Tim roof is level with the ground and contains the window, tho latter being simply seal or walrus gnt stretched tight. A barricade of some sort is built around this to prevent the dogs from chewing on it. One must also watch that the dogs don’t eat the skin on the boats, roofs, hunting lines, etc. The dogs are a problem, and there are hundreds of them. FRIENDLY ESKIMOS. “ I find the Eskimos quite friendly and they make good Catholics. I am the first resident priest here, and now all save three families are Catholics—and some individual members of those three belong. Contrary to what one usually finds, the men are more fervent and regular than the women. The children come to catechism classes regularly every day, and are anxious to learn. The language is becoming much easier, though it’s still hard enough to translate certain abstract notions and phrases into a language that contains no such notions or phrases. Still, it’s coming along and is getting easier every day. I can now translate tho

Sunday Gospel straight from English or Latin into Eskimo without any preparation aforehand. Still, there’s lots to learn and it would take a bigger brain than the Lord was pleased to give mo to completely master it. Father Lafortune, who has been amongst the King Islanders these last 30 years, tells mo he is still learning. But he’s a humble man and doesn’t give himself tho credit he should.

“Wo had some excitement last June, when some Soviet officers arrested mo on the neighbouring island, which belongs to Russia. They wonted to take mo over to tho mainland, where I should be shot, and it was only through tho loyalty of tho natives with mo that I managed to get away. The Soviets have now put a price of 1,000 roubles on my head, but so far no one has tried 1 to claim it. If I see anyone with that look in his eyes I am going to shoot first and bo hard to catch afterwards.

“ I don’t know how long I will be here, but as far as I am concerned it can be for ever. I have to go back to the States for one more year of study. We Jesuits never seem to be finished studying, but that’s the only change I can foresee. It’s true tho life here is monotonous, cold, and) the people are not tho nicest of companions. One is cut off completely, the language is hard, and the food not of the best, but still there are advantages. We are not troubled by strikes, wars, or rumours of war. There can be all sorts of political upheavals but we don’t worry, and the continual ups and downs that bother most communities worry us not. Still, at times the flesh might yearn lightly for the comforts and companions of other years; but again if we have any luck at all we enjoy those in a better world. _ “ Tho letters of all the legionaries, the boxes of woollen goods’, and the chocolates arrived safely. Nothing deteriorated' on the way. I sent tho stamps to a place in the U.S.A. where they clean and sell stamps to help Alaska, and they promise me substan-tial-help from the sale of New Zealand stamps. The money order more than covered the charges (Customs and exchange) to bo paid. That was very thoughtful of you. I often receive boxes the value of which is less than the Customs to be paid. Your gift would have been very much appreciated) even if you didn’t send tho money order to cover charges. TOUGH PAGANS. “ You may rest assured the chocolate will be eaten by no one but myself. I always like to have a piece on hand when hunting on tho ice and when wo are out in skin boats hunting walrus during the summer months. A piece of chocolate is a nice dessert after tho rough, raw, and rather unpalatable fare that the Arctic provides. I can live on the Eskimo fare all right—in fact, I have had nothing else these last two years—but the stomach yearns at odd moments for something easier on the palate. Woollen goods, especially for children, are always welcome, as also your own excellent idea of chocolate. Phonograph records also come in mighty handy. “ I don’t know why all you girls take such an unselfish interest in my work, but the Lord will reward you for it. and you can all say that you have helped substantially in converting tho pagans on Diomede Island—and tough pagans some of them are, too. However, I have hopes for them all. There are only three who are perhaps beyond redemption. Still, you never know what the Grace of God can do. I am amused at your suggestion that the local Eskimos move to a warmer climate. They would be lost outside Diomede. I often tell them about other places on tho earth, but they don’t grasp anything they don’t see. The rest of the world to them is ‘ Nallunaitoac ungasitoaclu,’ vague and far away. But Diomede isn’t such a.bad spot. It’s true it’s not the ideal picnic ground, and it’s cold and there are no trees or flowers, and the food is rough, the work hard and cold, and ice and more cold and ice—but what of it? One can be accustomed to anything, and!, personally, I would as soon be hero as any other place. “ I hope you will excuse all mistakes in spelling and had English, as I am becoming unaccustomed to that language. I always feel nervous when writing to people attending school. I imagine them saying: ‘ How_ did that chap ever get through the sixth standard? ’ If those thoughts come to your mind, just consider that 1 know the Eskimo language better than you do, and then, again, it’s such a long time since I was in the sixth standard.”