ALASKA - PLACES AND PEOPLE

Seward's folly America's icebox so went some of the derisive comments from disgruntled citizens of the United States in 1866 the year that William Seward then Secretary of State arranged the purchase of Alaska from the Russians for a price of seven million dollars as the 49th state Alaska still has the distinction of having the lowest temperatures in the Union but it also ranks as one of the greatest bargains in history Anchorage the largest city in the new state has the one unmistakable feature of any American community automobile traffic it also seems to have typical American ingenuity as indicated by the use of one of Alaska's great symbols the totem pole to advertise a first or the state of the weather is revealed by the color of this sign green when it's fair red when it's bad in air minded Alaska whenever there's a confrontation of this sort the aircraft always has the right of way Anchorage is a thoroughly modern city as the building in the background suggests yet here we have the delightful contrast of salmon fishing going on practically next door to the center of town these Isaac Waltons use a method called snagging whereby they attempt to hook the fish without the aid of bait these youngsters seem to be doing all right with this technique but the adult doesn't seem to be having the same kind of luck the airplane is king in Alaska being an ideal means of transportation for its vast open territory at least one out of every two people here is a licensed pilot and even teenagers have their own plans a waiting period of five years is necessary to secure one of the parking spots around this lake Alaska's topographical giant Mount McKinley this magnificent peak is the highest point in the United States an ominous looking glacier crawling down from the great mountain makes an awesome sight from the air when some 1,200 reindeer were originally brought in from Siberia to be exploited as a source of food for the natives no one foresaw that such a comparatively small number would ever multiply into the great herds that now roam the tundra these animals are grazed and cared for in much the same manner as cattle in other parts of the world visitors to Alaska often wonder about totem poles no doubt believing that they represent pagan gods or have other religious meanings actually the poles have no religious significance at all they were first carved and directed by Indians with no written language interpretation of these carvings is not a simple matter it must be done by those with knowledge of the tribal myths this totem pole house at mudd bite is a Forest Service restoration project the pole directly in front of the house is called the wandering raven each figure on a totem pole may represent an entire aspect of Indian lore and the Raven is always an important carving this is the Raven pole at saxman Alaska under the Raven is a bear figure and below that to supernatural carvings The Raven is represented here as taking a journey beneath the sea the emptiness of the pole between the Raven and the Frog symbolizes the ladder used by the Raven to descend into the depths with the Frog as his guide here surprisingly the figure of Abraham Lincoln towers above the prized emblems of the tribe that erected it the very popular Raven figure tops that of the hawk this pole symbolizes the Indian clan of the giant rock oyster the showing of a man with his hand caught by the oyster commemorates a tragedy that gave the clan its name here is the wolf's house post representative of still another Indian house or clan the Loon tree totem represents a clan known as the COTS house people with its three bear cubs and a bear wife with a human husband this pole is symbolic of the adventures of the COTS people these people use them as symbols to document the important events in their lives the carvings may also signify lineage or clan Chryst's you you the prolific use of aircraft in Alaska has made travel across the state flexible and Swift this is st. Lawrence Island less than 36 miles from Siberia once a United States Army outpost its former military installations are now used by the native Eskimos the powered sled shown here has replaced the romantic dog sled indicating that this particular Eskimo has succumbed to the accommodation of modern technology the sight of Eskimo women with tattooed chins raises a provocative question the only other persons in the world with this type of facial adornment are the I news of northern Japan a mystery people believed to have a strong Caucasian strain in their ancestry these Eskimo women buy their clothes from mail-order houses the children shown here are not allowed to play outside until the age of four up to that time of their lives they see the outdoors only for an occasional breath of fresh air st. Lawrence Eskimos rely on dried reindeer meat for part of their daily diet both fresh and dried salmon are also staple foods on the menu along with a bird known as the puffins puffins are cliff Birds unknown anywhere else on the globe with rocky almost inaccessible haunts yet the natives are skilled as bagging the curing of these foods is quite simple in this hi Gianna care they are hung in the open until they dry out at walrus Island the population is no longer as great as it was in former humorous walrus was then subjected to much slaughter it is believed that modern conservation regulations will eventually restore the herds to their original numbers the manner in which the giant sea mammal moves itself on land is known as hauling the walrus has learned to fear man and will move out of the way at the approach of humans albeit somewhat sluggishly walrus hides have always been vital to the Eskimo who uses them in the construction of his boats point hope an eskimo whaling station that has been continuously occupied for more than a thousand years still relies on sled dogs for mobility the village has a population of 300 persons and approximately the same number of dogs these powerful Huskies are able to move sleds rapidly on bare ground as well as on snow and are therefore useful during the summer season as well as in the winter the Eskimo prizes his Huskies not only for their capabilities but also because ownership of a fine team is a matter of prestige the hunter often uses twice as many Huskies as he actually needs for his sleds since such a display is conducive to an Eskimos sense of grandeur in some of the dolls blue eyes are a strikingly beautiful feature you women help in cleaning the walrus hides which are to be used in the making of boats the dogs are the reason that all boats under construction must be kept high off the ground since the coverings that go out of the boat frames are fresh walrus hides the dogs would eat them if given the opportunity the painting of the completed vote will remedy this you a boy whose life will be lived in a world of hunting and fishing as a natural interest in the construction of boats this youngster watches his father worked carefully on the lasing at some later time the man's own life might depend on the strength of his boat it's unlikely that a graveyard such as this will be found anywhere else in the world whales killed during past centuries provided the huge bones that make up the fencing the cemetery so well built and cared for is a testimonial to the reverence with which these people treat their dead you here a group of Point Hope natives are starting their ceremonial drum dance this activity known as the skin toss derives from a ceremony that had to do with successful whale hunts after which the captain of the lucky boat hurled gifts to the crowd as he was flung aloft in transit from Point Hope to Seward the plane takes us above a splendid panorama of Alaskan terrain near seward a great run of chinook salmon is in progress this is an observation post from which the salmon returning from the sea to spawn can be counted by the Forestry Service a timer is set so that a proportionate count can be made these fish are now approaching the climax of their lives tenacious ly working their way against the rapid current of the stream they are heading back to where they began their to beget more of their own kind it makes no difference that their bodies become battered and torn nothing short of death is going to stop this epic journey from the sea the Ranger begins his cut this check made every year provides conservation experts with valuable data relating to preservation of the species here's a strange note a large and ominous footprint in Alaskan sand that of the giant brown bear and here he is monarch of all he surveys lumbering forward without a trace of fear for any other creature that walks the earth now we see a trio of bears looking very much like the well-known family in the fairytale these are obviously young Bruins not showing much skill as they try to catch salmon in the water the stream here is too deep for this but the Bears don't have enough experience to realize it lumbering and wallowing around like a group of clowns they seem to be having a good time anyway they finally give up now we have an old-timer an old troll at work this fella with years of know-how behind him has chosen a shallow spot at a rackets in the street where he can easily see and reach the passing salmon you here at the part of the stream where they were born the salmon return after seven years to spawn and die the redfish are the ones that still have to spawn the white ones have already spawned and are dying the end of a mysterious life cycle this is Seward on the day of its silver salmon Derby a fishing competition with ten thousand dollars in prize money a sum that has drawn fishermen from all over Alaska any man woman or child with a current sports fishing license may enter now the boats of the fishermen are assembled and ready for the start and there's the cannon shot that sends the boats off in a race for the best fishing spots these are locations that vary with each fisherman's point of view boats have stopped and the fishing has commenced in earnest fishermen eagerly await the first bite of the day this woman has one hooked she plays the fish and loses it you'll simply have to bait that hook again lady the first catch of the day gets the competition started small boy versus big fish but this is a rugged part of the world and its youngsters are strong and self-reliant this one has his fish hooked and is determined not to lose it and he doesn't here it comes into the boat a whopper the boy dispatches the fish with a quick knock on the head after the day's work is over each catch is weighed and the poundage noted every fish is carefully tagged the happy look of a woman who made a good catch the look of a woman who did it's been a long day Anna tiring one but win or lose these folks have been doing something they enjoy apparently the ladies weren't the only losers but this little fella seems content with the way things turned out he manages to get his catch onto a scale nine pounds of salmon pretty big catch for a six-year-old boy he doesn't need any reward for bringing it in the fish itself is prize enough for this youngster as he works diligently at cleaning in the rugged get it done spirit of all Alaska