THE BEAR WOMAN
By LELA OMAN
Ootoyuke, lying in the dark, j
could not believe her sense of j
smell. The odor that could belong
to one race of men: Indian! This
time of the year? She had to be
sure that the man was an Indian.
“Kah-nook sillah (how is the
weather)?” she asked after she
(pretended to stretch her ungainly
body as if she were disturbed
from a deep slumber.
“Ah (yes) ko-hoot ho-hoot.”
The man started to say something
in Eskimo dialect but ended his
sentence in Indian language. To
Ootoyuke, Indian dialect sounded
like an owl that did not quite
finish swallowing and impatient
with its hooting. The man, who
appeared to be quite young, went
to the glowing fireplace and
helped himself to a glowing em
ber and as sparks flew from the
disturbed fireplace he backed out
through the doorway.
Ootoyuke lay still for just a
short time and tip-toed to the
door flap and peeked out. There
she could see the man snowshoe
ing toward the darkness of the
forest. Upon reaching the trees
his form melted into its midnight
shroud. She quickly dressed and
ran for the nearest igloo and
climbed its snow-covered exterior
and shouted down to the sleeping
people.
\
“Sook-rouge! Sook-rouge! (Ar
my of men! Army of men!) They
can’t build a fire! One of them
came for a live ember!” From
igloo to igloo like one pursued
she raced. Finally she came to the
last one and raced back again to
see that everyone was aroused.
This time of night the sleeping
people sleep the hardest wlien
comforting warmth of the bed
ding wards off the cold that
strives to penetrate — when the
glowing fires die off to just
smoldering embers.
There in the grayness of the
flaky snow were the snowshoe
tracks.
Indians at this time were Eski
mos’ bitter enemy. These people
! knew that if the Indians were in
! their territory their purpose was
obvious enough. This time of the
year they would come only to
kill. Also, if they had come to
trade like some of them did, they
would have come right to their
campsite instead of stealing fire
from them.
“The one on snowshoes had a
good start ahead of us. If we go
slowly we will give them time
enough to build a fire.” Koak
gave instructions to his sons,
daughters and five wives.
They tracked the man who
came for the fire and soon after
they passed the patch of trees
they saw in the Clearing a big fire.
It blazed from the depth of a high
snowbank. They cautiously en
j circled it and from all sides ap
; proached. There was not a man
in sigh^ All the Indians were
warming themselves. They had
dug a large, deep hole in the snow
and were warming themselves
before making the attack. Just
before daybreak they would come
upon sleeping Eskimos and with
no effort would wipe out the
dwellers as they so often did.
The Indians had left their
weapons on the rim of the hole.
These, Koak and his people
grabbed and as they shouted and
howled they waved them at the
many men around the fire. The
Indians were taken by surprise.
They had not counted on this
sudden turn of event, tragically
for them, but soon realized that
they had been discovered. They
had come a long way to kill.
To those that encircled them
they looked very red. So eager
were they to feel the warmth of
the briskly burning young trees
they had „ stripped themselves
down to their waists. Their num
ber was great and could have
fought their way out but dark
ness all around them multiplied
j the actual number of the shouting
people.
They stood for a brief suspend
ed moment, and one of them
threw himself into the fire. Then,
realizing what one of them had
done, on the spur of the moment,
all the others covered the fire
with their bodies. The fire, as if
unwilling to burn humans, sub
sided, but soon it began to smold- J
er. To the horror of the onlookers, |
it soon blazed, illuminating the j
night air. The hole in the snow
bank was deep but the blaze was
above its rim as the fire burned
on.
“They did not have to come,”
was all Koak could say as they
solemnly stood around. For this
pight many brave men died. “If
it hadn’t been for Ootoyuke we
would have died instead.” He,
at this time, probably made a
mental note to buy an extra sue
mock (Russion tobacco) for Oot
oyuke when the trading season
came.
Accuemee
(The End'
SCORCHY SMITH _
/ since you've been ] f you're >
r HERE, SCOGCHY, YOU \/ WELCOME. JAY
HAVE CHANGEP THINGS! Y BUT IT WAS MY
WE CERTAINLY HAVE I PLEASURE, i
THANK YOU/ ASSURE J
y.. NOBODY'S N
BEEN HURT, NO
DAMAGE PONE -
^anp^,,
' JZ2&SL i i y
THERES NOTHING TO ^
FORGIVE, DUCHESS! THE
REASON I CAME UP NORTH
v\AS TO DO SOME HUNTING
^_WITH VPLJg FATHER/^
auAi ii .
r you'll stay
I wont yo<*
PATSY
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YEEK/1
-vTHEY 1
LOOK LIKE I
>
Alaska Statehood
Bill* Sponsored
By Three Senators
WASHINGTON, I*—An Alaska
statehood bill was introduced in
the Senate Friday by Sen. Langer
(D-ND), co-sponsored by Sens.
Kefauver <D-Tenn> and Magnu
son (D-Wash).
The bill would enable the peo
ple of Alaska to form a constitu
tion and state government and to
be admitted to the Union on an
equal footing with the states.
A bill to give statehood both to
Alaska and Hawaii already has
been introduced during this ses
sion of Congress.
And several bills involving the
two territories have been offered
in the House.
Other bills introduced in ' the
Senate Friday, involving Alaska
and Hawaii, included:
By Malone <RNev)—to provide
for “home ruje” in Hawaii thru
election of a governor and terri
torial secretary, appointment by
the governor of court judges and
justices, and formation of consti
tutional government.
By Langer—to provide for es
tablishment of the Admiralty Is
land National Park in Alaska,
authorizing appropriation of $50,
000 a year.
By Langer—authorizing negoti
ations with Canada for possible
construction of a new section of
the Alaska Highway, beginning
at Prince George, British Colum
bia, running northwesterly along
Route “A” which has been sur
veyed by the Alaska Internation
al Highway Commission and con
necting with the existing high
way at White Horse, Yukon Ter
| ritory.
■-—
WEATHER FORECAST
Compiled by the
U.S. Dept, of Commerce Weather Bureau
Forecast Nome: Partly cloudy
to cloudy with occasional light
snow today. Snow tonight and
Tuesday with E to NE winds
increasing to 20-30 mph tonight
and diminishing Tuesday. Warm
er today. Low temperature ex
pected tonight 14, high tomorrow
26.
Nome data of last 24 hours as
of 7 a.m. today: highest temper
ature 18, lowest 5. Max. wind 25
mph from the E. Sunrise at 9:28
a.m., sunset at 2:53 p.m.
A year ago today: high 18, low
1. Extremes this date since 1907:
highest 34 in 1922, low 32 in 1934.
Nome Directory
NOME ROTARY CLUB
Ben Young, Pres.
Joe Kroninger, Secy.
Thursday Luncheon
----
Northwestern Alaska
Chamber of Comerce
Meets Every Tuesday Noon
BOYD HARWOOD, President
ALASKA CHAPTER NO. 1
Order of Eastern Star
Meets the 3rd Monday of each month.
Beverly Morgan
Worthy Matron
Helen Dunbar
Secretary
LESLIE A. STEVENS
PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT
486 First Ave. West. Nome. Alaska
10 to 12 a.m. 1 to 5 pan.
Phone Main 82 — P.O. Box 208
ANVIL LODGE
No. 140
Charles F. Lewis, W.M.
Norvin W. Lewis. Secy.
Meets 1st and 3n* Thursday each month