In the Alaskan wilderness . inhabitants of Alaskaat the present time would fall very far belowthese figures. Both the interior tribes and theEskimo have disappeared very rapidly and con-tinuously since the discovery of the cause of the disappearance of the Tinnehhas been the presence of white trappers, tradersand prospectors on the rivers. The disappear-ance of the Eskimo, which began with the dis-covery of the country by the Russians, wasaccelerated by the first cruises of the whalersinto the Arctic. In both cases the trouble hasbeen greatly aggravated since the discovery ofgold
In the Alaskan wilderness . inhabitants of Alaskaat the present time would fall very far belowthese figures. Both the interior tribes and theEskimo have disappeared very rapidly and con-tinuously since the discovery of the cause of the disappearance of the Tinnehhas been the presence of white trappers, tradersand prospectors on the rivers. The disappear-ance of the Eskimo, which began with the dis-covery of the country by the Russians, wasaccelerated by the first cruises of the whalersinto the Arctic. In both cases the trouble hasbeen greatly aggravated since the discovery ofgold on the rivers of the interior and on thebeaches of Bering Sea. It has been notoriousthat the attitude of the white men has been thatthe native has no rights which they are boundto respect. The name of the river, Kuskokwim, is an Eskimoword, the Minkhotana call it the Tichininik. Itis natural that in this case the Eskimo nameshould be the one to survive because only itslower course has been known, and because at196 ?<\. BIRCHBARK BABY-CARRIER the time of its discovery by the Russians in 1832,the Eskimo had taken possession of and occupiednot less than two hundred miles of its these aggressions the Tinneh, reduced instrength, withdrew towards the headwaters wherefor a time they maintained themselves in strengthand sustained the reputation for ferocity that Ihave already alluded to. At what time theravages of disease first struck them it is impos-sible to say, but it is probable that the beginningsof these visitations corresponded with the appear-ance of the Russians on the coast and the conse-quent affliction of the old enemies of the Tinneh,the Eskimo. Diseases introduced with terribleeffect among the Eskimo were no doubt carriedto the far interior where they swept away theIndians in their distant fastnesses. In 1848 aterrible epidemic of smallpox swept over Alaska,and since that time successive visitations ofdisease, becoming more frequent, have nearlyleft the c
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