After a nine days' trip the village of Nimyuk, the highest settlement on the "No Talk" or Inland River, was reached. This village consisted of four huts, containing thirty inhabitants. They subsist almost exclusively upon deer-meat, of which they had at least two thousand pounds on hand. The day of our arrival thirteen deer were killed, and in some of the caches were as many as thirty. We were greatly annoyed by the curiosity of these people, some of whom had never seen white men before, and by their superstitions. As it was their dancing season, no meat could be cut with an axe, and we were compelled to saw up a frozen deer—a difficult task. Neither could any meat be cooked in the house nor tea drawn. The work had to be done outside, and the things passed through the chimney-hole. These fancies are persisted in, in the belief that to do otherwise would drive the deer from the mountains. In some instances their superstitions can be overcome by the payment of a bribe.
On the 12th of April the writer of this article started on a trip across the country, the object being to reach the arctic coast if possible, and thus penetrate a portion of the Territory never crossed before. Previous to this I had made two trips one hundred miles to the northward, and cached dog-food for use on the final journey. I took with me at starting one white man, two Indians, fifteen dogs, and two sleds, and all the provisions the sleds could carry. The snow had commenced melting at midday, but at midnight the temperature fell as low as 25° below zero. A week's travel brought me to the village whose inhabitants make the trip to the arctic coast. As I intended journeying with these natives, one sled and the two Indians were sent back to the winter station. Many attempts were made during the winter to induce these people to cross this northern region, but they could not be tempted, saying it was impossible on account of the cold and scarcity of food. Northern Alaska can only be crossed at two seasons of the year: in the spring just before the rivers break up, and in the fall just as they close. The deer leave the mountains at these seasons and cross, thus settling the question of food. A few of the most interesting facts observed upon this trip are briefly related, as follows:
On May 1st twenty sleds left the village in the mountains on their annual visit to the coast. This caravan, stretching out over half a mile of country presented a peculiar spectacle, men, women, children, and dogs all pulling at sleds. When an Indian travels he carries all his possessions with him. Everybody was upon snowshoes, and numerous stops had to be made to allow the old people to catch up. During this trip an addition was made to the party in the person of a baby boy born on the march. One noon, while the caravan halted, some Indians hollowed a shelter out of a
