for your door
for your fireside
ond for you
THE ' {
BREAKERS
BAR
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IA Legend of Kotzebue
By LELA OMAN
“Hoo - hoo - hoo, careful, care
ful, now.” Ahngott-koo'k (medi
cine doctor) held the struggling
caribou with his lasso. “No, no,
I wait!” While giving instructions
to his “Big Wife.” First wife and
the first lady of the house was
called “Big Wife.” She was aim
ing at the heart of the caribou
with her bow and arrow. Three
other wives waited tensely for the
struggle to 'be over. They would
help when the caribou was ready
to be pulled up out of this dun
geon-like room, which was large
as a kahskey (Eskimo auditorium)
Nine other caribou were milling
around the lassoed one helplessly
looking for an exit. Finding no
escape, they were desperately go
ing around faster than ever. Their
sleek bodies and antlers held high
looked beautiful to the trap own
ers.
Every fall Ahngott-kook and
his four wives dug a large hole
where the government cold stor
age is now located in Kotzebue.
No- one besides these five inhabi
tant of Kotzebue knew the exis
tence of this trap which flew at
night and caught animals, ten at
a time. Ahnott-kook gave it power
that he had inherited from his
parents—ancient power that was
carried on for many centuries un
til it was so powerful that he
could do' many unbelievable
things through it.
Each morning Ahngott-kook and
his four wives always peered into
the trap anxiously, from the open
I ing. Sometimes they were greeted
i by growling polar bears or a pack
of wolves, who whistled at them
through their nostrils hungrily.
Seals and sea lions were also
picked up as they came up for a
breath of air.
Ahngott-kook enjoyed many
comforts which his good luck be
stowed upon him through the fly
ing trap. All his caches on stilts
were full of furs, and the food
storage dug into the permafrost
contained many good things to
eat. His many children were
dressed in expensive furs. Four
wives were no exceptions as jew
elry lovers. They wore necklaces
of white and blue beads. Their
thickly braided hair was heavy
with these valuables that were
brought in by Diomede traders
from Siberia. Also at their pierced
ear lobes hung strings of the same
that touched their proud shoul
ders.
True to form of greed, Ahngott
kook’s ambition did not stop here.
His visions of the future were
much richer than this. When the
summer comes he must buy some
more beads for his wives from
the Diomede traders who came
annually.
While money was unknown,
these Siberian blue and white
beads were used in buying furs,
jade, axes, shuttles, slate oolues
(women’s knives), and wooden
and earthen buckets by Diomede
Islanders who passed many off
them on to Siberia in exchange
for the beads. The most valued
bead was transparent greenish
blue, the size of the finger tip and
well worn out in appearance. One
such bead was equivalent to a
thousand dollars worth of fur.
But, alas, the people up here did
not count in dollars at this un
dated time.
Many beads of this value had
unwritten stories behind them. If
the beads themselves could tell
tales their would be stories of
murder and tortuous cruelty com
mitted by men to possess them.
Or beautiful stories of what they
had seen as they were handed
down from generation to genera
tion before they were finally sold
to natives in Alaska. New own
ers heard very few of these stor
ies and passed them on to their
own people. Many a long even
ing was spent living over the past
of these precious possessions in
brightly lit kahs-keys (Eskimo
auditoriums). Simple tales made
more colorful and exciting by hu
morous, exaggerating and expert
story tellers.
Kotzebue, Alaska, is one of the
oldest trading centers in the Es
kimo world. Many people from
the Diomede Islands in skin boats
came. Traders and their families
»- ..\
To Our Many Friends
We are sorry that we are
unable to enjoy the Christinas
season with you and want you
to know that we miss you very
much. Knowing so many won
derful people made our two
years in Nome a pleasure we
will never forget.
We Wish You A
Very Happy Christmas
And New Year
Don, Irene
and Vicki Hendersot
340 South Lillian
Barstow, California
WIEN ALASKA AIRLINES, INC.
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