Kodiak Diary
(continued from nave 2)
himself a cave where he lived un
til he built a hut where he spent
more than forty years of his life.
Around this hut he cleared a
•pace of ground for a garden and
always worked in it himself. All
that Father Herman produced
by his labor he used for the main
tenance and clothing for native
orphans his wards, and also for
books for them.
He wore the same kind of
clothing both summer and win
ter. Instead of a shirt he wore a
reindeer jumper. His whole ap
parel was modest and of course,
poor and course.
A small bench covered with
reindeer skins served him for a
bed, two bricks for pillows. He
had no blanket, he used a bare'
board to cover himself with. He
named this board his blanket,
leaving a request to be covered
with it after his death.
He ate very little. When invit
ed out to eat he would just taste
the food set before him and re
main dinnerless. In his own home
a very small portion of fish and
vegetables composed his whole
dinner.
His body exhausted with lab
or prayer and fasting was farth
er afflicted with 15 pound iron
chain fetters which he wore next
to his body constantly. These
iron chain fetters are still treasur
ed in the Kodiak church.
In speaking of the exploits of
Father Herman his disciple, Ig
natius Aligiaga, an Aleut, adds,
'‘Yes, it was a hard life that Ap
pa (grand father) lived, and no
one can imitate his life”. Some
people asked the old man: “Fath
er Herman, how can you live in
the woods alone?” He answered,
“No, I am not alone there, God
is there as he is everywhere. His
holy Angels are there, can any
one be lonely with them? With
whom can a discourse be more
pleasing, with men or Angels?
Of course with Angels.”
He loved the poor abined and
unfortunate Aleuts as his own
children. Here are a few lines of
his letter to Yanofsky. the man
ager of the Russian American
Company that clearly illustrate
the warm love of Father Herman
for the natives: “I, the most
obedient servant of the people of
this country and their nurse,
standing before you in their be
half with tears of blood, write
to you my request: Be our father
and protector. We are not ac
quainted with eloquence, but
with dumb aad childish tongue
say, wipe away the tears of the
defenseless orphans, cool the fev
ered unhappy hea ts, let us un
derstand what consolation is.”
The old man conducted his
life in accordance with the dict
ates of his conscience. He always
interceded for those who were
unfortunate to fall from grace
of those in power, he defended
the wronged, helped those in
need from h's own poor worldly
possessions—and the Aleuts of
both sexes as weil as children
flocked to him for advice and
consolation. Some asked for in
struction and advice, some came
with complaints of oppression,
some came seeking protection
from abuse, some for assistance.
All received consolation possible
under the circumstances of the
times. Father Herman specially
loved children; he lavished his
affection upon them, giving them
sweetmeats and crackers that he
baked with his own hands and
the little ones loved to come to
him and be petted by him.
(continued next week)
The hour you are born in this
town depends on the doctor who
superintends and fills out the
birth certificate — one doctor
uses Kodiak Standard Time, the
other, War Time, between which
there is one hour’s difference.
An Army doctor, who recently
supervised the birth of a local
child, also using War Time, filled
the time of arrival in as of 11 25
pm on June 30.
The mother, finding it out,
asked that it be changed an
hour to Kodiak Standard Time,
making it 12:25 am on July 1.
Her reason: the father’s birth
day is during the first week in
July, also.
“Besides,” she said, ‘then 1
ean get by just making one
birthday cake for the two!”
And don’t go trying to figure
out who this concerns. We’ve
changed the dates so you won’t
be able to.
Major R. W. McDonald,
formerly stationed at Fort
Greely and a member while here
of the local Rotary club, left
recently and first word of his
new whereabouts was received
this week by local friendB, In a
letter headed “No date, New
Guinea, In a Plane, he writes:
A note while en route (home)
to the Air base, after a very in
teresting flight ovei Mac
Arthur’s objective.
My traveling companion and
I have not spent over a day in
any one place here and have
! really seen the places that you
read and hear about “down
under”.
One of the highlights was a
trip on a PT boat where we
made the news shooting up two
barges and two sea planes pulled
back into the bushes; we gather
ed six slugs in our little boat,
too.
It is going to be rather quiet
when we return by way of Am
ph b. school that is held on an
island that is not quite all ours.
I hope everything is fine with
you and the town.
He wrote the note in pencil
explaining with a P. S.—The
altitude caused my pen to fail.
In another letter to Kodiak
he mentions “Here in New
Guinea one can find all the
tropical beauty you want and
many, many diseases that no
one wants.”
Trivia:—A new enterprise has
been added' to Kodiak, a shoe
shine parlor in the vacant lot
between the Lyric and Pinch s.
Run by a young boy, it has two
boxes to put the feet on and two
barrels to put the customer on.
The left one is for brown cus
turners, the right one for blsek,
Price—seven and a half cents s
shoe. —We have received a re
port straight from the Frank
Kempton—Norman Slones Live
stock Enterprises Unincorporat
ed that they have some new
shotes. As soon as we find out
what shotes are we must print
something about it. —Speaking
of livestock, we hear Maurice
Briggs rode his new stallion, an
American Saddler purebred,
into town from his place on
Spruce Cape just to show the
editor but the editor was out. Ii
you come into the office some
day and there’s a horse in it
you’ll know why. You will be
able to recognize the horse by
its intelligent look.-—Every oc
cupation has its standard gag
for novices. Beginners are sent
out on impossible errands look
ing for sky books, cement stret
chers, paper stretchers, white
lamp-black and left-handed
monkey wrenches. This week a
clerk in a local joint was sent
for a paper stretcher. From Ray
Martin she inquired and was
(continued on page 11)
Economy Transfer
0 Garbage 0 Hauling
Clyde L. Galbre&th
Kodiak Timber Co.
Robert V. Scheele
representing Kodiak
Post Office Box U* Kodak
dS<.
They work Alaska’s richest claim
Catching and canning salmon—is Alaska’s
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STAN3&^3 OF CALIFORNIA