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Jack Hines
The likeness herewith presented is that of Mr. Jack Hines, a Kentuckian by birth. For five years he has inhabited and traversed the wilds of Seward Peninsula in quest of the gold which is always "over the next divide." His adventures and experiences would read like the most
dramatic fiction.
In regard to the native question, an important one in this country, Mr. Hines advances the
following theory: "As sure as civilization is destined to advance in this far Northland, just so sure
is the decline and fall of the native inhabitant inevitable. I have seen the native in his most thriving and progressive condition, i. e., when the
presence of the white man was not nigh to engender demoralization."
In his observations of the character and custom of the various tribes, the interesting fact is disclosed, that the strain which shows all the
characteristics of the North American Indian is more independent and loathe to deviate from the custom of its antecedents. The Eskimo who inhabits the coast is an aborigine, likewise is the Indian of the rivers and woodland. A vast difference is perceptible in the races. The Eskimo is susceptible
to the degrading influence of the unscrupulous white man; the Indian is not.
The primitive days of this country witnessed many a bloody warpath, and the legends of the Woodland Indian lead one to believe that the Eskimo was generally the
aggressor and likewise the vanquished.
There is probably no one in this country who is held in higher esteem by the natives than Mr. Hines; nor who understands them more thoroughly, nor who has a
more complete knowledge of their dialects and language.
Source: Nome and Seward Peninsula by
E. S. Harrison. Seattle: The Metropolitan Press, 1905.
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