Travels Among the Dena: Exploring Alaska’s Yukon Valley

392 Pages·2001·5.94 MB·English

by  Frederica de Laguna

TRAVELS AMONG THE DENA

TRAVELS
AMONG THE DENA
Exploring Alaska’s Yukon Valley
FREDERICA de LAGUNA
A McLellan Book
university of washington press
Seattle & London
This book is published with the assistance of a grant from the
McLellan Endowed Series Fund, established through the generosity of
Martha McCleary McLellan and Mary McLellan Williams.
Copyright © 2000 by the University of Washington Press
Printed in the United States of America
All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording,
or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
de Laguna, Frederica, 1906–
Travels among the Dena : exploring Alaska’s Yukon Valley / Frederica de Laguna.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN0-295-97902-x (alk. paper)
1. Yukon River Valley (Yukon and Alaska—Description and travel. 2. Koyukon
Indians. 3. Ingalik Indians. 4. de Laguna, Frederica, 1906– Journeys—Yukon River
Valley (Yukon and Alaska) I. Title.
F912.Y9 D43 2000
917.98’6—dc21 99-054538
The paper used in this publication is acid-free and recycled from 10 percent
postconsumer and at least 50 percent preconsumer waste. It meets the minimum
requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—
Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSIA39.48-1984.
this book is dedicated
to the memory of
my companions on the yukon,
armond john eardley,
kenneth gorton,
and norman reynolds,
who have preceded me
up the great river

CONTENTS
List of Maps and Plans xiv
preface
xvii
A Note on Spelling Athabaskan xx
to alaska
1. 3
The Undertaking 3
On the Track of the First Americans 3
The Party 5
Outfitting 5
Meeting in Seattle 7
Freight Problems 7
The Voyage 9
The U.S. Geological Survey 9
Stories About the Chandalar Kutchin 11
Prince William Sound 14
Excursion to Fairbanks 15
A Stop at Anchorage 15
Matanuska Farmers 16
The Alaska Range 17
Fairbanks: The Campus Site and Ester Creek Placer Mine 19
Hindsight 23
getting started
2. 25
Nenana on the Tanana River 25
Our First Camp 25
Building the Skiffs 27
vii
viii contents
The Dena and Their Neighbors 30
The Early Explorers and Other Sources 30
Athabaskans of the Middle and Lower Yukon Valley 32
Neighboring Tribes and Distant Relatives 34
The Tanana Indians in Early Reports 36
The Nenana Indians of 1935 39
Friendly Visits 39
Recording Myths and Other Lore 42
A Wedding Feast and Dance 43
adventures on the lower tanana
3. 47
Amateur Boatmen 47
Last Jobs and Loading the Skiffs 47
Swift Waters 47
Further Adventures: An Unplanned Bath 50
Titus Alexander of Baker Creek 54
Telegraph and Telephone in the Wilderness 56
Hot Springs Slough and Hot Baths 58
Harper Bend: The Murder of 1878 61
Harper Bend 61
Early Traders 61
Schwatka’s Version of the Murder 62
Mercier’s Version of the Murder 63
McQuesten’s Version of the Murder 65
A Sequel to the Murder 66
The Mouth of the Tanana 67
Nuklukayet or NukuloRoyet 67
The Trading Grounds in 1867 68
The End of the Trading Grounds 70
tanana mission and the yukon above
4. 72
Tanana Mission and Town 72
Tanana Mission 72
A Little Ethnography 73
A Little Archaeology 76
The Yukon Above Tanana Mission 77
contents ix
The Kutchin 77
The Fort Yukon Indians, 1847–50 77
The Fort Yukon Indians in 1867 82
Tanana Station 88
the middle yukon:
5.
tanana mission to ruby
91
The Tozi 91
A Vain Hunt 91
Trading Posts in the Tanana–Tozi Area 93
Nuklukayet #3: The Old Station in the 1880s 94
From the Tozi to the Nowitna 97
New Old Station: Mosquito Troubles 97
Kalland 100
The Palisades: Boneyard of the Ghosts 100
The Birches: A Possible Homicide? 102
Mouse Point 103
The Nowikakat Trading Grounds 105
Zagoskin at Nowikakat, 1843 105
Dall and Whymper at Nowikakat, 1867 106
Nowikakat Canoes 108
The End of a Long Day 110
the middle yukon:
6.
ruby to bishop rock
113
Ruby 113
Dago Kid Brown’s Dog Ranch 114
Rabbits 117
The Melozi River 118
Old Melozi 119
Charley Knox’s Mother-in-law from Nulato 119
Old Louden to Bishop Rock 121
Fish Camps 121
Old Louden 124
Captain Jacobsen at Old Louden, 1882 125