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HOW THE. SiOXTsLKS' INTAKE F1KEL FOJZ THE
"WHALE FEASrZYRVBBINC ZTSO STICKS 'TVGErUSK
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k R. 11. 1.i am uni'hn or jonns nopmns univer
sity, wnnse proposition io rmnrniurm every
body over Hi yearn of afro recently stirred the
civilized world, la hundreds of years behind the
times.
Osier's proposition to kill all persons when
they reach the age of usclessness Is now and
has been for hundreds of years In practice
anion a people who never heard of Osier or his theory. These
people are the Korlaks. subjects of the czar of Russia, who live
In northeastern 8lberla, near Kamtchatka. and who, whether
because of this practice or not, have dwindled from 25.000 to
less than 12,1100 since they were found by white men. They
kill the old persons and the weaklings and the custom has
been In practice so long that the old people and the weaklings
regard with pride and pleasure their approaching deatb and
are honored above all others when they die.
Instead of chloroform the Korlaks use stones or spears,
and the condemned man. or woman, sits happily chanting a
wild song of welcome to death.
Disgrace to Die Natural Death.
The cusiom of killing the old persons is general, and It Is
considered almost a disgrace to die what the civilized world
oalls a " natural " death each Korlak looking forward to
being slain by his fellows and kinsmen with great pleasure.
These people are Russianized and are " Shamanlsts," or
Imperfect Christians of the Greek church. They live In great
poverty and "misery, subsisting on fish, whale grease, seal,
and berries neglecting utterly their Immense wealth of rein
deer, of which they own hundreds of thousands. A rich
Korlak, owning 30,000 reindeer, will not permit one to be
killed, though the whole tribe Is starving, as the reindeer
Is regarded as sacred and cannot be eaten or sold.
Because of the cold, the misery, the hunger, the Korlaks,
In the development of their economic life, decided that It was
for the best Interests of the majority, as well as a kindness
to the Individual, to kill the old nnd the helpless as soon as
they become unable to hunt the beluga, or white whale, to
fish, or to herd reindeer along the bleak tundras, or the
shores of the Kamtchatka or Bering sea.
Joseph N. Pay, n Pan Franciscan who was with Waldemar
Jochelson's Russlnn exploring party that spent four years
In northeast Siberia among the natives, witnessed one of
these Osier executions, and gives a graphic description of
the scene.
How the Old Are Slain.
" He had been the head man of the tribe," he said. .
Owner of 12,000 reindeer and forty dogs. He had led again
and again the fishing parties and had crossed the Ice In search
of the beluga to be his ' guest ' in his strange, greasy, smelly,
dirty underground house, the only entrance to which Is by
a pole down the chimney.
" He was a big man looking partly like the Mongolians
and yet more like our own Alaskan Indians. He was huge
for his tribe, almost 0 feet, and powerful, and he was nearly
50 years old.
" Rheumatism came and he was prostrated. For days
he could not move from his fur cot In the house, where fifty
persons lived Injfcthe dirt and cold and evil smells. Then, one
morning, he sent for them all, his children, his wives, the
head men of the tribe, and he said, simply: ' It Is time.'
" Had he not made the announcement the head men would
have made it within a few days but he knew, and it Is not
honorable among the Korlaks to live after one Is useless.
" The tribe wa scattered, for It was summer, and he knew
It would be nearly a month before the entire tribe had gath
ered back to the village, so he asked that he be permitted to
suffer his fearful tortures for three weeks more, so that all
his friends could see him die. The head men bowed and
granted the reprieve, and thereafter he was fed with the
choicest fish nnd the best of the brolle't skin of the white
whale and succulent pieces of seal skin, because he had been
a great man In his tribe.
No Sorrow Over Approaching Death.
" The women nor the children showed any. sorrow. He
was treated with more respect, that was all, and the entire
family busied Itself with preparations for great murder
the greatest murder, perhaps, that the tribe had seen In the
generation.
"The second week after sentence was asked for and
passed there was a great social gathering In the underground
hut of Tcukll, the condemned man, for that day the hunters
had captured a white whale. The men had been out on the
Ice for hours, watching with spears at the holes where the
whales come up to breath, sind finally one. the son of Tcukll,
harpooned the whale, and it was killed. The women saw the
men straining away to drag the heavy sled and the twelve
foot whale across the Ice, and then begun one of the strangest
ceremonies of ths Korlaks the welcoming of the whale, who
la treated as an honored guest. The women, hurrying down
the poles Into their underground houses, arrayed' themselves
In holiday garb, and, running back to the beach, danced a
wild dance, singing ' Ala-la-Ia-ho. nla-la-la-ho,' which means
A dear guest has come.'
" The guest was the whale, whose body Is cut up and eat
rn, but whose head Is returned to the sea to te!l his fellows
how kindly he has been treated and persuade them to come
rnd visit the tribe.
" The women danced around the whale, singing, for some
time, then ran home, changed clothes, and, returning, cut
him up, carrying the flesh and skin to Tcukll's hut. The
head of the honored guest was hung above the house, with
the bodies of two dead dbgs, garlanded with grass, beside It
to drive away the evil spirits.
v
Feast in Honor of Victim.
"That night the members of the tribe gathered as the
guests of the man who. In a few days, they were to kill, and
he, because his son made the kill, acted as host. Men, wom
en, and children poured down through the chimney, climbing
Into the Interior of the hut by a greasy pole, with footholes
In It, that served as a ladder, and they garlanded the head
of the whale with colored grasses to show It honor.
" Everybody talked In whispers, for fear of disturbing the
honored guest before the right time, and while they whis
pered they baked, or half baked, round 'puddings' with
berries In them. A sacred ftreboard was placed before the
fire, and the ceremony began.
" There were twenty-one families present each smelling
worse than the other and the twenty-one lamps of whale
oil, with the fire, made a wild scene. The starting of a fresh
fire by men rubbing wood together was the signal for the
beginning of the ceremonial. Then one woman from eu.cn
family went to each of the other twenty families and offered
piece of her pudding.
j " Then men, women, and all sang: 'Our dear guest has
come. Visit us often. We prepare nice food for you.' 1
" The host, who was to die In a few days, arose pain-
fully, Hnd, walking to the fire, threw a lump of whale fat In,
which flared up. and the host said, 'We are burning It In the
fire for thee.' The head failed to respond to the toast, and
the host smeared the sacred fire board with the fat.
"Then all fell to and ate fish dipped in siiiling whale
fat and broiled bits of whale skin. The men and women,
removed their fur coats snd sang and shouted.
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" The next morning the frozen head, decorated with
grasses, was surrounded by the natives. The old man who
was to die led the ceremony, and his two daughters, with
furs pulled over their faces so that they might not see the
sacred guest," pnmounced nn Incantation and the whale's
head was thrown into the sea to Invite his fellows to come
and visit the village.
" Tcukll, who was to die, led the procession, scarcely able
to walk, because of rheumatism, but proud In his position,
and he pushed the honored guest from the sledge Into the
sea.
" The old man fell three times coming back and his wom
en helped him down Into his hut, where he writhed In agony.
" The following Thursday he came from his hut to die.
Most of the hunters and herdsmen had returned to the vil
lage and all preparations for the execution were complete.
By his house stood a funeral pyre of wood, which he, his sons,
and the women had gathered from the beach, hunting for
miles, and from the tundra inland, dry, and some of It soaked
In whale oil. Piles of grasses were Inside It and around It.
" At 10 o'clock in the morning Tcukll came forth from his
house, trying to walk without showing his agony when the
rheumatism clutched him. His last efforts to make his fu
neral pyre greater than any other had added to. his misery
until his legs and arms were double their natural size and his
face was purple from agony. Yet he came singing a death
chant.
Heaven Where White Whales Come.
" His sons, his daughters, his women, his friends were all
mere and he was proud. He hud lived long and honorably,
according to his standards, and he was a ' great Christian,'
also, according to his standards. So all was well. He hud
smeared his body with whale oil, he had killed four of his
favorite dogs, so that they might guard him from evil spirits,
and he had no fears of the hereafter. He was certain that
he was going to a heaven, which was a strange mixture of
the heaven about which the orthodox missionary told his
father and a heaven In which white whales came voluntarily
to be slain In time of famine.
" Likewise his rheumatism was about to be cured and he
was happy.
"All Korlaks die standing, If they can stand, with their
faces toward their friends, the executioners; so Tcukll stood
between two poles, from which were suspended the frozen
bodies of his dogs, and he chanted.
" His son stepped1 forward and threw a stone, which
struck Tcukll a glancing blow and he sang louder for this
was the crowning triumph, not to be knocked down by the
first stone. A shower of stones fell on and around him. He
swayed from the shock, but sang on a wild chant.
Speared After Stoning to Death.
" He was having a grand death and was extremely "proud.
The whole tribe threw at him sons, wives, daughters, neigh
borsand they shared his triumph. It was a killing to talk
about for generations, and his sons threw harder and harder
for the honor of the family. He fell, singing still, and" then
spears were used-and Tcukll's rheumatism was permanently
cured, let us hope.
" The body was lifted with great ceremony upon the fu
neral pyre, the sons made fire with sticks, and threw whale
fat upon the pyre, for added honor. And. after It was all
over, the ashes were scattered to the winds by his proud
daughters, who went lionx boasting.
" They have no poorhouses In northeast Siberia and
scarcely food enough to surply the healthy and Tcukll would
have suffered more had he been permitted to live. Besides,
he was there to see that his friends did due honor at the obsequies."
7
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