Burton Island (AGB 1) - Naval Cruise Book

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,X ., --fm , , W U1 xii? 23m KING ISLANDERS The Eskimos of King Island lead What to most of us on the BURTON ISLAND looked like a precarious life. Their village of Ukivok is perched on the steep rocky sides of King Island, there they spend all the year excepting a few of the summer months. The village has a church and a school among the many stilt-mounted homesg blpth of these important buildings can be picked out in the picture of the village on t is page. Fishing is the livelihood of these hearty folk. When the ship visits these Eskimos one of their first questions is understandably concerned with the whereabouts of the Walrus herds. - The Eskimos utilize almost every part of the Walrus and seals they hunt. The oil is used for fuel, the blubber for food, the seal skins for clothes, the Walrus skins for boat coverings and the Walrus tusks are carved into a variety of saleable souvenirs. On the Spring Cruise the King Islanders had a chance to display the ivory carvings to the BURTON ISLAND when the ship stopped for a short visit. During this trading session the Eskimo children were welcomed aboard to see a movie, a traditional treat for them when the 'cship that leans against the ice comes. Anyone needing dental treatment can get emergency help on board. During the summer months the King Islanders leave their island and travel to Nome across the Bering Sea in their skin covered boats. There they sell their ivory carvings to tourists. During the Nome interlude the dogs are left on the island to fend for themselves, the dogs are able to live comfortably on eggs they rob from nests along the cliffs. Looking back o-n these people in retrospection we rank them high in interest among the many unusual features of any Arctic cruise. .. A

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D , M. a , ' B6 E 1 2- 1 'Y' ' NOME LIBERTY Once the Fiwrst Division had planted the udeadmann, put the gangway over the side, and liberty had been declared there was no shortage of men who were willing to walk two miles for a beer. Ltjg. Ryder and Ltjg. Stichter with his UDT detachment preceded the liberty party with marker flags, ostensibly to show the way to Nome but in reality to show the way back from Nome to the ship for those not possessing all their faculties. It was an unusual experience walking two miles across shore-fast ice to go il liberty. All this ice-walking took place during the pring Cruise, by the time the ship had returned to Nome in the summer the ice had broken up enough to render any trans-ice migration-s unfeasible. Instead, the LCVP provided excitement for the liberty party since the waters were rough and cold, and the helicopters provided the excitement for a few others. I On both the Spring and Summer Cruises the Bering Sea Club seemed to be the hub of this small universe. Chrome Dome and his Frigid Five was the big drawing card, of course. This unique combination dedicated to refined music was made up predominantly from the BURTON ISLAND crew and patronized entirely by the BURTON ISLAND crew. An alert capitalist patroled the edge of the ice pack offering an unusual taxi service back to the ship. Lt. Ned Miller, the navigator on the Spring Cruise, and Tyler, TN on both cruises, were the only two that are known to have utilized the dog sled. ,l 'llllivllbl 1 I I W l Ml I XX ff agp 'iv so QT! j - '- ' bars and gambling houses never closed doors

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