The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, April 9, 1899, Page 21

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, APRIL 9, 1899. 21 THEY WASH THE FEET | OF THE PIOUS ELECT Singular Daily Life and Strange Ceremonies of the Dunkard Colonists in Southern California. = - —— R ST R or or- tne quiet che wome ir little mar he men's t {mmed in rov the white- of the room our aged men now-white s sat sep- en by long, narrow fmmaculate linen B few Invited visi- opprassive silenca one side and lis- Sened r a full half hour no one spoke. The ge out of doors was ame In upon the sol- aged men deliberation measured a ents er would be observed in imitation ster in Jeru- sisters, of the M 1 men and women went out, pres- pearing each with a small tub The men in turn fect. The women mselves. Down tubs were carried to another. The brothers ther removed their boots nd awaited the moment ishing. When his next t had performed the of- in his bare feet and washed and wiped er rother on the right. the brother's feet he rever- ese words: Chis do I tionately for my brother Master did.”” The tubs d th wels passed slow! the lines of Dunkard men. At the same time the ters were pi- ously performing a like service for one sther. There was no sound save the f water, removal of boots and almost fnaudible benedic- ns of the brothers and sisters for one sther respectively. Occasionally a brother or a sister, moved by the spirit of the occasfon, saluted one of the same eex with a silent kiss. Some men and we- men wept in the intensity of the occa- When the feet of the last brother and sister had been washed and the shoes had iis e feet and girding 1bs were carried he moment of his ow: T along foot-w and_wiped the one anot en put on, ver. wels -and s bring and d of bread. The b eyes and think, > food on the white benches are cs d othe > the there was a tubs ymi 1\ bowl. A another silent a signal every hes. The. brother: and silently extend the owship d at the the kiss of. brotherk rformed at the ie sisters. In silenc resume the seat four aged ministers break and pitchers of unfermented w ought in. The sacred comm ministered. The bre ts Is then passed re is passed and fef moment of pi follo ord g a re about 300 Dunkards in Sout ornia, and nearly all live in and the denominational colony at sburg. They have a college ther ey are an unusually clannish sect. are always remarked by tot uthern California for their ster verity of garb and their stra customs. call themselves brothers ard si Christ. The brot kiss when ta i e of one another, and so do the ce at the Lords. K brothers kissing a fare. Il to a departing brother. No Puritan of stern Oliver Cromwell's time could held amusements in greater abho; than do these folk. Thi selves and their children so fir rt from ft that they probably . ted and distorted idea of the r of the worid. Any attempt to liow in the sl and man 1 poa as an wful lapse into sin. They allow no pub- ey to be expended for their poor Jless members, -but provide for them hemselves. 1 Pennsylvania and Kansas the Dunk- rds are known as Drunk The Rus- current an Mennonites and the Amish sect of the plains of Kansas and Nebraska are close allied to the Dunkards. The sect had its origin in Germany, in the of the eighteenth century, when plous men, dissatisfied with the p and vain formalities of the estab. 1 churches, entered Into a covenant to reject all spl I authority beyond that contained in the New Testament. That th might be consecrated in their holy purpose they repaired to the tiver and were there buried with Chriat aptism—each one being Immersed or dipped three times, in accordance with their interpretation of the mode pre- scribed by the Ggspel. This form of bap- tism to this day constitutes one of the peculiarities of the religlous practices of the Dunkards, and upon which their name is founded—being derived from the Ger- man tunken. meaning “to dip.” Meeting with persecutions in Europe peace-loving sect, whose sole desire s to return to the primitive ways and bellefs of early Christlans, accepted the friendly invitation of William Penn to settle In his colony in the new world. By the year 1720 the entire fraternity found itself settled in the vicinity of German- town, near Philadelphia. From this point the Dunkers gradually spread out into other sections of the country. The Bible is read literally by the Dunk- ards. There's no allegory there. Six Bi. ble days means six days, and all that science says and K modern preachers in other sects say is pure blasphemy. Woe to him who tries to trip a veteran Dunk- ard in the preaeise phrasing of a Bible verse. The New Testament is the sect's inspired and infallible guide In every phase of life. -They have no patience with speculative theology, and while they are intense arguers of thelr religious belief they are seldom interested In anything else. Few of them ever vote and politl- cal argument is Scarcely tolerated. They follow Christ's life closely. Because Christ saluted his disciples with a kiss, the Dunkards kiss one another in solemn benediction. They believe heartily in non- resistance. They will not go to law and they will not prosecute one who Wrongs them without the consent of the church, th Southern California Last Week. another. One after another removed rother on the left had per- Gospels describe the As he laved the rother in Christ as the At the same time the Christ’s injunction liter- g their petty troubles to . Differences be- wife and fill-feeling y adjusted by the 1d and are common hor a creed which palliates the ng of human blood, and they will e all their pc sions rather than do military service. arms and weapon nse of any kind. Several years ago Dunkard was put out of 3 he had gone ht s. of brot sther may | t order. A Dunk- 1 marriag be dissolved only leath wn the The church keeps its poor, as the common famil <k are the elder: & with 1 extireme cases a doctor is usu. alled in. They are strictly tem- and, in fact, are the oidest pro! bition organization in the United States Hinal sin of the Dunkard doctrine ary expenditure of money and of prospe or wealth. To sect prescribes a uniformity five-vear-cld br ire sometimes d serious- minded parent . and the sight at turg of five and six year old tod- g boys wea black coats, moun:zed with v with black- girls, is ai- and decoration are not toler- Dunkard is ever alert for fear © some unconscious vanity. at reason he does not build fine do_unnecessary traveling, get a superior education and develop any ac- complishments. Very mi Dunkard homes have no reading matter, but sev- eral Bibles, and possibly a patent medi- cine almanac. Secular newspapers and magazines are unknown quantities in a large t of the homes of the richest kards The rules of government of ake 1t questionable for a mem- > a portrait taken or a portrait ¢ thelr religious be- % of life. They give T rnother of the do that. word of ho ir. property. . 1f {h and worthy the church discuss the or sister's cise in opsn meeting will he n whether to ex- weak vessel” financial or pther help. Junikard is an abomination to the sect, but a k and wort is sometimes tenderly nursed thr generation. A young Dun rd who proves his in- dustry and honesty of purpose can have almost unlimited credit .In a Dunkard community. The sect s very proud that it never lets a member get In the poor- house, and that one of its members in a jafl is almost unknown. They have no =alaried preachers, but they are wonder fully genercus with gifts. Thelr places of worship are Purl 1y plain, ‘and their services are somewhat like the Quakers’. Meditation on the way to a life like Christ’s is a prime feature of their Sun- day services. : Work, economy and humility are the goals always kept before a devout Dunk- ard. They have no knowledge of the joys of as degenerate mankind in other know them. A Dunkard wha plays dominoes, checkers, and above all, sin- ful games with cards or billiards, would be warned to desist or suffer expulsion. A Dunkard who danced would not be dal- lied with even that long. Plenics and church socfables are tabooed. The Dunk- ards have never found that Christ said anything concerning such institutions. A quiet ride to church in queer, square-cov. ered wagons is about all the relaxation that is allowed the members. To this must be added visiting at one another's homes. Friendly communfon of this sort is thelr delight; nor is it confined to neighborhood calls, for to it Is due one of the sect’s most Interesting customs. Here s a little story which might be called the sin of vanity. A young orphan girl, after the death of her parents, found her home with a rich old uncle, a most zealous member.of this peculiar sect ana a firm believer in all thelr eccentric doc- trines. He was a very old man now, and these beliefs had been so fostered in his mind and were now so hardened there that he thought the only salvation for the soul lay in such adherence. The girl was the daughter of a favorite sister and he loved those of his own blood. He was willing to give her the advantages of edu- cation and gentle tratuing and make her hefress to his wealth if she would make his religion hers and conform her young life to these ascetic ~doctrines of self- denial and repression. But listen. She had a palr of liquid brown eyes, quantities of waving brown hair and a singularly white, transparent skin. These defeated the course of early plety. Many were the arguments against the sin of vanity and conformity to the ways of wordliness launched against her soul. ‘Some of them almost convinced her that she was pliable of mind and sweet of temper—but, oh, how ugly she looked in a little Dunkard bonnet! If they would only let her wear a-hat. ot came about that when this maiden looked in ‘the mir- ror and was confronted by that pair of eyes—more eloquent to her than quires of sermons—she_asked herself questions. And then a man fell in love with her, a man who did not care in the least if she wore hats with innumerable feathers—in- deed, who had no prejudice against any form of feminine vanity. And one Sun- day the people of the little village looked out from behind their blinds to see a strange sight. There was little Miss Mary walking with her beau, with a hat on her head and a magnificent feather waving deflantly in the air, She had, too, a new dress, and it was cut with no Pu- ritanical severity, but after the latest fashions from Paris, which had in the course of time reached the village, and her jacket had the correct sort of sleeves; and there she was, looking sweet and lovely and not at all wicked. But her uncle was as hard-hearted as {f he was The Richest Man in Greenland. From a Special Photosraph Taken Just Outside His Home, In the first chapter of a novel, and he cut her off forever as his heiress. She was not mentioned In the wiil. Why 1800 Is No a Lzap Year. The year 1900 will among the | Jears days, five hours an long; eleven minutc vear to make the y and every fourth year not be counted The year is 365 forty-nine minutes are taken every ar days fong, we have an extra This was Jullus Caesar's arrangement. Where do those eleven minutes come from? They come from the future, and are paid by omitting a leap vear every one hundred years. But if leap vear is omitted regul cvery one aundredia Year, in the courge of four hundred years it Is found that the eleven utes taken each year will not only have been pald b but @ whole will have Dbeen given up. So_Pape Gregory who improved on Caesar's calendar | . decreed that every centurial year sible by four should be a ieap vear after So we borrow eleven minutes every year, more than paying our bor omitting three leay turial years, and square matters by hav- ing a leap year in the fourth centurial vear. Pope Gregory arrangement is 8o exact, and the borrowing and naying Dback balance so closely, that we borrow mere than we pay back to the extent of one day in 2865 years S L An expedition recently sent out from wings bag by S I taree cen- England to the Murrav TIsiagnds has brought some interesting Sn,nrmafion about the islanders. These primitive peo- ple, it appears, cannot count higher than two. ‘“‘Netat” is their word for one and “net »r two. When they want to say three they say ‘‘one-two'’ (netats-nets). and wher want to say four they say “two-tw <). Higher figures than these they express by means of their bodies. Thus, they be- gan to count from the little finger of the left hand and proceeding thence to the other fingers they successively reach the wrist, the ar the shoulder,” the collar- bomne, the chest, the right shoulder, the right arm, the right wriet and finally the fingers of the right hand. TIn this way they can count as high as thirty-one. ‘When they want to express a higher number than this they can only use the word “gaire’” which signifies many. This anclent method of counting, however, Is fast disappearing, thanks to the stren- uous efforts which the English are mak- ing to teach the islanders the ordinary rules of arithmetic. Kthnologists there- fore ave especially glad that information about this ancient method of counting has come to them just as i’ was on the point of disappearing forever. —_—— Peddler—Wouldn't you like some mot- toes for your house,” mum? It's cheer- ing to a husband to see a nice motto on the wall when he comes home. Mrs. de Jagg—You might sell me one if ou've got one that says "Better Late ‘han Never.”—New York Week} OWNS TEN WIVES AND A GLASS WINDOW Rapid Rise of the Richest Native of Greenland and How He Became the Vanderbilt of Epectal to The Sunday Call. HEN the Arctlc whaling fleet returned from the north last season it brought word that Kor-ko-ya had placed a new window in his house. As a matter of news In ordinary building circles this would pass unnoticed, but to those who have traveled where the sun shines at midnight the intelligence is extremely Interesting For a decade of years the growing opu- lence of or- known as “the Eskimo been watched with great curiosity by the whalers and the occasional explorer. .He has long been known as a thrifty man, as thrift goes in the Arctic regions, but it is only of late that his fortune has as. sumed really wonderful proportions. It is said that he now owns no fewer than ven kayvaks and a full score of bone-tipped double-bladed paddles. His gtock of blubber for consisted of over . ing 100 pounds each. Ir he sold to traders half s Ing in part payment the new ready mentioned. His thirty dogs are all crossed with ths Newfcundland breed, which makes them especiall luable for hauling purposes, and of a better flavor an article of diet In time of famire. Of sealskins, fox- skins, bearskins, raw elderdown, feathers, whalebone, narwhal ivory and reindeer hides he has enough to keep him in plenty for some ars. Ten Strong Jawed Wives But it fs ddition to this s many, rece window al- in wives that he sidered richest. on the western has ten, all part and able to keep Kor-ko-y soft and pliable stock of clothing ever The impertance of this will be understood when the Eskimo cus tom of chewing sk s is unde ood. Tp In the polar circle, where a man's blood freezes and parts of him drop off at the touch of the icy blast, it Is a difficult matter to Ieep the untanned gkins from hardening and crac There is only one process known to the Eskimo, that of chewing. It is neces sary to perform th ration ever two or three months, and it is a t of the wives' duties. It is for that reason that an Eskimo selects his future help- mates, not for beau comeliness of fig- ure, nor for gentleness of disposition, but for the size of their teeth and the strength of their jaws. Wives are bought, sold and exchanged among the Eskimo. The price fluctuates like that of wheat or corn, or stocks on Wall street. A father with a growing daughter will be approached by a neigh- bor and offered one, two or three dog: for her, according to her maxillary pow ers. Sometimes a blue foxskin or a dozen strips of blubber may enter into the bar- gain, but dogs are generally the factor used. From this it can be seen that Kor- ko-ya's plurality of wives is considered proof of his wealth among his friends. There are other evidences which will be described later. Kor-ko-ya was born In 1841 at a small native settlement a short distance north of what is now the Danish town of Jultanshaab, in Greenland. He left his home at an, early age and crossed Baf- fin Bay, making his igloo with tribo famous as hunters of sea was known to some of the early expior- ers, and acted as head gulde and chief teamsman to them. He attracted notice even in his teens as a tbrifty yvouth, and rom that time became prominent among the Eskimo. Baving is an unknown art to the Indians of the Arctic regions, and it is seldom they accumulate enough even to last them “Bring the OChild, Julianshaab. Certaln rules mbent upon throughout the long winter. of the tribes make it incu them to help their needy neighbors, and for that reason the individual members neglect to lay by stores for the morrow. Kor-ko-ya became an exception. He was a skillful hunter and a shrewd trader, and before he was 20 his main igloo became the center of the village, in regard to fi tings and attractiveness. The tribe to ich he had attached himsclf was one the lar and most influential of that t of the country, and by his twenty- fth vear Kor-ko-yah was recognized as the head of it. It is said that men came 200 m o consult him in : ffairs of the e and trade. Lawyer and Weather Prophet. His method of giving advice was char- acteristic of him. He charged for his services, and graded his schedule of fees very like that of a lawyer in a civilized commur In that he was wise, several hundred years beyond his generation. His neighbors and men of other tribes worked for nothing and then stole as a recom- pens manded pay in advance, and if he d the lce would break early and it aid he would meet the questioners with s simple truth: Kor-ko-ya told what was in his knowl- edge, but he could not tell the doings of Kokola, the great sea-woman, who pass- eth all understanding. She held the ice after it s ready to break.” If persistence was shown he would «i- lently offer to return the foxskins. They were never taken, because to incur the wronble, trouble a-plenty in that region. hich goes to show that the wily Eskimo as only following the practices of men clow the ice belt. Whalers have been known to refer to Kor-ko-ya as ‘‘that Es- kimo boss.” Be that as It may, the fact remains Kor-ko-ya waxed rich as the years ed. To comfortably house his wives, dogs and his possesstons during the t cold each winter requires an igloo of greater pret e than the usual run of Eskimo ice.huts, Like the wealthy men of other climes who have seen thelr fortunes grow, he was content at first with sleeping room in an ordinary igloo. As a young man he lived amid the squalor and stench of a hut sheltering a dozen people of both sexe He kept his solitary dog with the others, occupying the tunnel leading from the outside into the igloo, and he was fain to have his clothing softened by the ancient teeth of an old woman who did it for gain displeasure of Kor-ko-ya meant nd Life During the Great Famine. In those da he fished and hunted and speared from ring until night, and brought in such trophies of his skill that people be to talk of him. During the time of the great famine, when the Es- kimo werse compelled to travel so far south to secure food that the sun burned them, Kor-ko-va killed in single com- bat a lean white bear whose hunger had given it the ngth of ten, and then calmly gave t of his share of the eagerly coveted meat to a nelghbor whose been broken by a sl r this act of charity men said Kor- ko-ya was under a spell and th white glare had entered his brafn. A few months later, when plenty began to come and the jce broke and tk dotted the edge of the spreading w one of the tribe living in that village lipped into a crevice hunting and was t. He left a widow and a small babe at the breast, and, according to the cus- Too,” Said Kor-Yo-Ka, “There tom, it came to pass that she set forth to kill the chil The widow set forth to kill her babe as she had seen other widows do in her time. She was of the age when a hus- band Is necessary for sustenance. She could not work because young women did not labor save for their lords. And she could not marry with a child, be- cause no man would take her thus bur- dened. It was meet and right and the law of custom to kill her babe. How Kor-ko-ya Won His First Wife. The trodden snow about the igloos held the greater part of the village when she started on her errand. There were Sor- rowing faces, and some of the spectators beat their breasts as they watched her thread the narrow ways. She was comely of feature, but grief made her old, and as she staggered on hugging the tiny bundle in her arms she secemed as a stranger to the spectators. Kor-ko- igloo was on the outskirts of the village. As the widow passed it he appeared and gazed into her face. Then he stopped het “Lutangwa,” he said simply, “will you make an igloo with me?” Those who heard marveled. An Eskimo never asks a woman to marry him; it is he who grants the favor. And Lutangwa was not a bargain. Her teeth were rather scant, and she had suffered with a trouble 1t one time. Then, to make it more won- lerful, Kor-ko-ya was a hunter whose ame was growing. And he had. some blubber and bear meat already stored in the ice nearby. The widow nodded. Her stupefaction was too great for words. After a mo- ment she recalled her errand and started to move away, but Kor-ko-ya stopped her again. Where is Lutangwa going?” he asked. The woman made a gesture toward the child in her arms. Then she looked up at the stolld Eskimo with all her mother love reflected in her face. She had no hope that the rigorous custom would be broken for her sake, but the babe was her all. “Come with me, Lutangwa,” sald Kor- ko-ya. But my child—" Kor-ko-ya teok her by the arm and led her to his igloo, into which they disap- peared. There was no comment made by the spectators. They doubted the test mony of thelr eves, and it was not until they saw Lutangwa installed with the suckling babe in the skin pouch at her back that they realized the truth. From that time what Kor-ko-ya did was accepted as inspired. When he built a hut of stone and moss instead of his neighbors considered it was all fight— for him. When he made a tube of bits of stray wood and inserted it in the roof for the purpose of ventflation they com- mented not, but when, In time, he bought a cabin window from an ice-bound whaler, paying for it many fox and reindeer skin and placed it in the wall of his igloo, the news spread far and wide that Kor-ko-ya was dead and that the soul of a white man's devil had come in his place. But he continued on {n the tenor of his way and hunted and fished and saved and waxed rich. As the years passed his fame spread and men came from beyond the water to see his riches and to step in- side his hut to look out through the glass window and to go outside to look in. He became well known to the hardy whalers, and to-day his doings form a subject of comment and interest in more than one country. And this why the news that he had placed another window in his house was carried 'lever 2000 miles o ice and water, to be discussed over pipe and ale in a dozen clvilized seaports. Is Room for Both.”