AT WRANGEL 21

with Teit. In sunny weather the town is extremely
pretty with the green islands to seaward, and the dense
primeval forest on the land side. When raining,
however, and that is the usual weather on the coast,
it was a dismal place indeed. I found a considerable
sprinkling of Scandinavians among the population,
and the local customs collector proved to be a Nor-
wegian. I also met several other countrymen of mine,
most of whom were in the fishing business.

One day Teit and I called on Shake, the chief of
the Wrangel Indians. Shake was a typical coast
Indian, mongol in appearance, and lived in one of the
usual box-like houses, with a couple of large Totem-
poles outside. The house contained only one large
room, and had a kind of low terrace running along the
walls. In the middle of the roof was a square opening
to let out the smoke from the hearth, which had once
been right in the middle of the floor, but had been
replaced by a small iron stove.

Otherwise there was a rare mixture of ancient and
modern things. On each side of the door were two-
large carved and painted Totems, and in the middle
of the room stood a modern lady’s toilet table with a
large looking-glass. I noticed further, an iron bedstead
and a gramophone, and under the roof was hanging an
electric bulb, while three or four Winchester rifles were
standing about in the corners, and finally I discovered a
young Indian in bed snoring lustily !

Teit was an old acquaintance of Shake’s, and they
conversed freely in the Chinook language, the Esperanto
of the North American Indians, which is understood
by nearly all the tribes.

We were allowed to inspect his boat-house and his