.
b
TUB SCBAlfTON TMBtTOESATtrBDAT- MOKNtRO; TOAY 2.' 1898.
flCQ'C ALAS5RI NATIVES
first Glimpse at tie Uterior f
Eskimo Hit, '
HUMANS THAT LIVB LIKE DOGS
Mr. BtohssMd Gltss EstsrtslslM
Description of His Initiation lata
Slwssh Honsehepltr-Ols
Espsrlesocs ia Alaska.
Written for The Tribune. "
At early day break we And ourselves
among charming acenery In StIMne
Strait, and after winding; around Eto
llne and Zarembo Inlands and some leas
er Islands a rem H able series of de
vious water-ways tintll th- eye ia be
wlldered with all their beauty, we refill
the ihirai:teri8tle Indian village of Fort
wangei. nn oia -itusstan muemtni
that stands at. tot head of Wangel Is
land and at the mouth of the Stiklne
river, one of 4he water ways that lead
to the Casslar gold mines of British
Columbia.
This fs a ' tumble-down, dilapidated
looking town and perhaps as uninvit
ing a spot as found anywhere on the
coast save for the few carloa'tles of
Indian huts,, graves and totem poles.
This melanoholv out post is a historic
land mark in Alaskan history, and lives
only In the glory of by-gone days. The
town was named for uaron wangei.
who -In 131 was the Russian governor,
who constructed a fort which has since
gone to decay. Here was the scene of
continual conflicts between the gover
ror of Russian America, and the eld
Hudion Bav comnany. In olden times.
whea the' latter encroached upon the
territory of the former, by traffic wiui
the natives, was driven back ana ae
tested by the Russians.
FROfcl WAR TO PEACE.
'After the purchase by our govern-
ment this fort was garrisoned by two
companies of United States troops,
. until 18JT, when kit troops were per
manently withdrawn from Alaskan ter
ritor). The clot-and dilapidated bar
racks and otneera' quarters as seen
from the steamer. give "evidence of
their occupation as a once stronghold,
They are now occupied by the Presby
terian missions. There la a government
house and postofflce here, and the mis
sion and school under the direction and
. control of Rev. Clarence Thwing, M
D., and wife, are in a flourishing con-
. dltlon, of which I will speak later. Dur
ing the gold excitement in 1862, it was
the winter rendesvous of 3.U00 gold mln
ers and also a destributing point for
supplies for the mining camps- of Brit
' lsh northwestern territory. When these
claims were exhausted the life and ac
tivity of Wangel disappeared and today
about forty whites and 200 to 300 na
tives occupy the samo log buildings
that were erected during the years
when cold was almost as plentiful as
salmon. When a military trading port
it was a center of Immorality and ignor
ance. With few exceptions the white
men were of the lowert type, had
brought and taught vice of ail kinds.
Introduced liquor and led the Indians
in diabolical oreles ana inhumanities,
Its commercial value now consists al
most entirely in the curio trade during
-the tourist season.' On the arrival of
every steamer, the wharf, the streets,
the Interior of almost every house, pre
sents an animated appearance by the
curio-hunting passengers thronging
them to the doors, in search of their na
tive wares. Looking over the town
the first object that arrests the eye are
the numerous totem poles and also the
memorial posts. Shorn of its old time
prosperity as a mining center this close
ly huddled town has an air of desola
tion, weird and wild, pitiful In the ex
tremeso unlike that of "New Metta-
CLOTH
NEW
Formal Opening 'Thursday, April 30.
Our store will be stocked with an unsurpassed lot of Men's, Boys' and Children's Clothing. Nothing old or out of date. Everything ab
solutely new and manufactured expressly for us. It. will be our aim to sell Better Clothing at Lower Prices than any other house in the city. We
will also carry a complete stock of
Our
P, J. GRIFFIN,- GUS
IVE GUARANTEE OUR GOODS AND PRICES
katta," Mr. Duncan's prosperous village
we have Just left. The first Impression
la to make on ashamed of the displays
of the human race. Hastening ashore
with our right hand friend the L.un-;
dell us camera we commence a tour of
Inspect loo and photography, wnere
did we go and what did we see? We
went everywhere ana saw, weu, every-
We visited the natives, we entered their
homes (hovels), we talked with them,
we saw their Idols, their miniature to
tems, we visitea weir sacreu ounw
places, we saw tnetr sica. even ayins.
. u nM K..I - mm lm,n ttlplr
meals, all In the worst possible condi
tion 01 nnn, squaiur aim viirumvv vuvi.
AMONG THE NATIVES.
From the steamer we follow a long
wharf, at the end of which is the old
Morehouse, and perhaps a half dozen
stores, a weather beaten stockade and
leaning Block house. Here the shrewd
81 wash are squatted In groups, say, of
a half dosen, their posture like that of
the lower animal the monKey. tney
are dressed in the most gaudy red,
white, blue and striped blankets and
adorned with personal ornaments that
even surpass in variety and brilliancy
the giddiest or tne gay. Mere are grim
women and cubby, chubby children.
with wild almond-shaped eyes and
painted faces. The women wear a la
brette a stiver, ivory, bone or wooden
ornament, that is thrust through the
under Hp, the- sixe of which indicates
their rank.. Here they all congregate
to S'U their curios and curiosities,
whfth comprise the native blankets,
red baskets, the Tyhee hat, the hali
but hook, the miniature totem pole, ca
noe paddles, painted in various colors;
the carved wand and rattles of the
Shaman," or medicine man, besides
souvenir spoons of carved horn, and
wooden bracelets and rings and baskets
laden with the choicest of every known
kind of field berries of Immense sixe. We
follow along the principal street on a
plank walk so badly dilapidated that
the middle of the street is preferable,
with grass growing a foot high on the
one -side and refuse firewood, strewn
on the other, while on the beach are
canoes and old schooner hulks. All
along the route and In front of ach hut
sit the women (mainly) - offering for
sale their unique handiwork. We noon
reach a series of Indian huts, each with
a demon-like totem pole beside It. Here
we pause to tell the story of the totem
and describe the interior of soma of
the many smellful households that we
visited. Here are found the best col
lection of these rude woiks of savage
art on our t,tlre trip. Alas! what
homes! How can I describe them?
Nearly . all cf them are Inferior In
cleanliness and orderliness and ap
pointments of any farm woodshed and
many far more dilapidated.
ESKIMO HOUSES.
Frequently a houpe shelters several
families, who herd together In a very
promiscuous manner. We will refer to
one or two only that we visited. We
were told It is a custom never tn knock
at the door of an Alaskan dwelling, so
Vf. entered house after house without
the faintest tap of warning. The doors
were often open, but never locked. The
itimutea were mainly in bed and re
ceived us without a trace of surprise.
We enter this soecial hovel about 3 a.
ni., before all the occupant had arisen.
Here were two or three families of six
old women, two middle-aged men and a
very old man. The children or the
younger members of the family were
:pld to be away fishing. Upon enter
ing a dull hase of smoke prevailed
the air, und the-olly smell of fish which
were hanrrmg from the low, dingy soot
covered rafters, being cured for winter
use, was stifling. This building, as is
tne usual rustom, consisted of a sing It
room, there are no divisions, or parti
tions and trivacy is almost impossible.
Cn the cround. In the center of the
room, is the Are place. The earth had
been 'left uncovered and coarse sand
and rebbles from the beacn had been
strewn over this place, say a yard
E
MffllS J. DAVIDOW; 222 LACKAWANNA
square. In the middle was a fire of
ticks recced about a kettle of flh.
probably, salmon, which was slowly
cooking. The smoke mad Us escape
through the roof, through double trap
dvors, opened in the center. a(coidi:i
to the erection of the wind.
On entering a squaw waa sitting on
the ground floor, ape-like, and "gnK
you very much as your domeeUo ani
mal would when you open the baru
door iu the morning." Fhe chatter in
gutteral tones to her liege lord, wh
carelessly looks at me from his bel
and grins and yawns and together with
him, his dogs by his side also yawn, but
hastens to dress as I point my camera
at him. Both nature and bed apear--l
as if they had just come out of a coal
mine.
Two or three Siwash were squatted
also In a circle around the fire. The
men who were dressed were clothed In
the cast-off apparel of the white man,
an-1 the women were tightly wrappei in
skirl or blankets. Around the sideB s
platform live or six feet wide and abnu:
four feet high was raised, whereon were
skins and blankets and a bedstead of
rude construction. From under them
were seen two coppery faces, with star
ing eyes, and a brood of children, and a
couple of shaggy foxy mangy dogs.
On the outer wall were ranged the
various possessions of the families in
old chests, which were said to contain
numerous blankets and several nonde
script articles, denoting their wealth,
which, in some instances, amounts to
several hundred dollars. The odor
was so stilling and the squalor was so
alarmingly dangerous that we did not
investigate further the board or lodg
ing and only lingered long enough to
purchase a horn spoon out of the family
pot and secure a tlsh-roe, which was
hung up to be dried and smoked for
winter use from the long rows of sal
mon and halibut, which were suspend
ed on a frame work of slicks. Here
were dried eagle skins, a series of hides
and a kind of sausage was stretched on
lines on one side, while In the corner
lay a pile of wood, snowshoes, fishing
nets and hunting paraphernalia, cans.
Btones, rags and old refuse generally.
Cats, dogs, men, women and children,
bed, bedding and cooking utensils were
in a jumblo and smoke was In every
nook. On our return trip and at
another place we visited, we spoke with
an old woman, who was sick and likely
to die. She was evidently very old, but
It was impossible to determine her age,
so wrinkled and smoke dried was she;
Indeed, she resembled a mummy rather
than a human being. Her skin was the
hue of tobacco and her natural ugliness
was intensified by a labret. This labret
consists of a piece of polished bone
about an Inch and a half long and over
a halt inch In width thrust through the
lower Hp, making it Impose 'Me to keep
the mouth closed and leaving . tooth
less gums fully exposed. It Is, ho. iver,
regarded as a mark of respectability.
Her ruling passion for business waa
displayed by offering to sell me her la
bret for "two dollar" and an idol, three
fuet high, for "five dollar."
There is said to be not a horse nor a
cow in Wrangel, but numerous goats
and many foxy, mangy dogs are seen.
On the beach are numerous old-fashioned
canoes, with their long beak-like
sterns and prows.
TOTEM POLES.
The totem pole is one of the greatest
curiosities of Alaskan homes. It Is the
gorgeous insignia of Alaskan nobility
a sort of ancestral emblem, formerly
held in high esteem, but fast disappear
ing. Ten years ago in Fort Wrangel
was a forest of these works of savage
art, and only a few comparatively, are
found here now. It is not easy and we
shall not attempt to explain the full
meaning of these strange carvings, but
all who see them are eager to learn
something of them and we will give our
readers a synopsis of what we have
learned. Many theories are given to
account for these totems. "They are a
genealogical chronicle, represented by
carvings." One says, "As family pil
lars and memorials of the dead they
Force of Assistants
EDWARDS,
mm
STORE!
Furnishings,
are interesting In so far as they Illus
trate the fact that all humanity, even
in its aboriginal and its barbarous
state, ad rt for its own protection cer
tain rules and laws of government."
Briefly told they are erected before the
houses and over the graves of the na
tives of high rank to show the distinc
tion of the living, or to commemorate
the dead. In most of thera there is a
cavity for preserving the ashes of cre
mated dead. The figures of animals
take the place of the inscriptions used
on monuments of the civilized world.
These pictures, figures, or carvings, are
read as easily by the Alaskans as the
lettering u?on the tombstones of the
present day. That owned by a chief is
ornamental on the ton with a figure
wearing a Tyhee hat, and upon this is
cut a series of rings corresponding with
the number of pot-latches" (a feast
with gifts) with which he had honored
his friends." The natives are divided
into families or classes. Each family
assumes rnme bird or animal as its em
blem. Thns-o in most frequent use.
found here, are the rpven, eagle, wolf,
bear, frog and whale. The bird Is
looked upon as sacred and never
harmed by the natives. The blackflsh
slcnlfy the marriuKes by the succession
of llgures carved on these. These poles
are made from tree trunks twenty, fifty
to eighty feet high and from three to
six feet in diameter at the base, taper
ing as they asc-end. The bark Is care
fully removed and they are gorgeously
carved on the front, and hollowed out
on -he back to make them easier to
handle. The Indians are very jealous
of these genealogical symbols. They
will allow members of the same tribe
to marry, but not those of the same
"badge" or totem though they may If
fromdlfferent "badges." These "badges"
extend through the entire race and
form a closer connection than the tribal
one. An Alaska man takes the totem
of his mother's family until he marries,
when he assumes that uf his wife's
family. His own son does not inherit
from him. but he is succeeded by his
younger brother, or his sister's son. A
"wolf" marries a "whale" and thus be
comes a "whale" himself. His son
(taking the mother's emblem) would
also be a "whale." But his sister would
remain a "wolf," no matter whom Bhe
married, and her son would (after his
maternal uncles) be the next represen
tative of the "wolf" family. After mar-
Hafio should trouble arise between the
families or a man and his wire, the man
ia obliged to range himself with his
wife and her relatives and fight against
bis own kindred.
FAMILY PRIDE.
I may say the totem pole custom leads
to extravagant display of family pride
among those who are well off. It Is as
much an evidence of prosperity for Mr.
Bear to erect a high pole, surmounted
with si! these horrid pictures, etc., as
it is for the wealthy with us to live
In a palace, and it Is usually the-Indian
who has a goodly supply of this world'B
goods who asnlres to the honors be
stowed upon him by the erection of
n totem. Still, any native can elevate
himself to distinction by giving a "pot
latch" and erecting a totem pole. A
"pot-latch" is a feast or series of feasts
in which the whole tribe Is Invited to
participate. These festivities last sev
eral days. The host provides all the
delicacies of the Alaskan market by
the canoe load. To these he adds the
villainous compound, which the white
man has taught him to make an in
toxicant distilled from molasses and
water, etc., even viler than that liquor
which the law denies to him.
The man who elves away the most Is
considered the grandest and most pow
erful one, and these ceremonials usual
ly reduce the giver to abject poverty,
but as he struggles through the hard
lines which necessarily follow his put
luich, lif has a satisfied pride to con
sole him. At the close of the feast
with the assistance of his guests, he
sets up his totem, pole at the entrance
of his hut.- A good sixed totem pole and
the ceremonies which precede its er
ection, cost from $1,000 to $3,000. The
family emblem also appears upon the
Al30
Include the Following Well-Known Gentlemen:
JOHN COLLINS, LOUIS ALLEN,
STRICTLY ONE PRICE. AND THAT THE
houses, boats, tools, clothing and even
the .grave of Its Individual members.
Some of the houses here have two totem
poles, one representing the male side
and the other the female side of the
house, the husband's family record and
the wire's genealogy. Indeed, "wo
men's rights" prevail among the Alas
kans to an extent that gives the tnotn-
er the prominent- place on the totem
instead of .the father. The number oi
figures represented on a pole desig
nates the number of generations
through which the owner can trace
back his ancestry. His own totem is
at the top. that of materna) grandpar
ents nex- below, and so on as far back
ns he Is familiar with his genealogy.
The natives generally carve their
household ir.iolenienta and even their
paddles and wooden-mounted fish
hooks into hideous shapes; this is espe
cially true of the Haidas, who are
very Ingenious and expert workers in
silver braclets, bangles, carved horned
spoons and black stone carvings, so
sought for by all tourists. In ad
dition to the totem poles in front
of their habitations here, there
are some curlouslv marked graves,
one that of a "Shaman." sur
mounted by a huse carving of a wolf.
Memorial posts are the culmination of
a series of curious customs. If a man
falls sick his relatives call for the
"shaman," or medicine man, and In
vite In his friends. Before the whites
came into this country the custom was.
If the sick man died, his body was
burned. While the Russians occupied
Alaska they tried to Induce the Thlln
ket Indians who Inhabit southeastern
Alaska to abandon this curious and sup
erstitious tribal custom of disposing of
their dead. Now they bend his body
in a sitting posture and enclose It In a
cedar box. Burials are seldom made
but the dead of the poor are taken to
some secluded spot, wrapped in skins,
with a slight shelter erected from
spruce bark, and there left to freexe In
the intense cold of these high latitudes.
Should death's victim be a chief or med
icine man, a small stoutly built and well
thatched enclosure is erected In which
the carefully swathed body Is laid to
gether with the Implements of his hor
rid calling and such other things as tn
life he prized most dearly: His canoe is
laid beside the little enclosure ready
In rase uf an emergency to sail away
with the Shaman, "to the land of the
hereafter." His totem pole Is aristo
cratic and his earnings for his Incan
tations over the sick ore the largest
and in his hands is absolute power.
even to inflict death with or without
any apparent reason. The writer was
presented with an Indian club, said to
have been buried In the grave of a
Shaman nearly fifty years ago and late
ly removed, also a "valued piece of an
old totem pole as it stands facing the
uninhabited residence of a noted enter
tain. I mlEht, If time and space per
mitted, enumerate ad-inflnltum, but a
signal from the Queen indicates that
our time has expired and soon we sail
for Juneau.
Amid all these relics of barbarism and
ancient customs and utter desolation,
nothing interests us so much as the
natives themselves, and for all their
present condition, the feeling is
strengthened that they can be, and will
be civilized and christianized, and thus
elevated to true manhood and woman
hood. THE BRIGHTER SIDE.
Thus far we have given our readers
the dark and depraved side of Fort
Wrangel. It is a mistake to imagine
that there is nothing more to see than
the native hut and totem pole. There
are among these natives those who
have been under the civilizing and
Christianizing Influence of the Presby
terian missionaries, Dr. Thwing and
wife, now stationed here, and these
have come out from among this super
stitious people and present a reverse
picture pleasant to behold. The happy
faces of these people as we saw them
at the mission, the appearance of their
own homes both without and within,
their habits and handiwork, the signs
MOW,
FUR
NEW
Hats,
of their progress In material and Intel
lectual ways, and the measure of their
development physically and spiritually,
are more Interesting anil worthy of ob
servation, by far. than the remaining
relics or their previous Ignorance and
benighted condition prior to the com
ing of the church and school. Rev.
Mr. Thwing says: 'There are hungry
hearts as well as hideous totems at
Fort WrangeL This people deserve the
aid. sympathy and encouragement of
the Christian world.
Resuming our voyage, we leave this
curious old Stiklne town and after
steaming westward for twenty-five
miles, encounter a most treacherous
bit of navigation called "Wrangel Nar
rows." This strait has been thorough
ly surveyed and the channel marked by
buoys, but this nineteen miles is the
most delicate bit of navigation on the
entire passage. Captain Carroll says
the passage must be made at high tide,
for even a hundred ton vessel drawing
but six feet of water at "half-tide"
could not make the passage on account
of ledges of rocks and boulders
stretched across its. entire length. In
some places It is not over a hundred
yards wide and very winding, and con
sequently it presents kaleidoscopic pic
tures. While danger need not be ap
prehended, as the waters do not surge
through it with the force and swiftness
of Seymour Narrows, yet it requires all
the alertness and skill of Captain Car
roll and his pilots to navigate It. We
were on the hurricane deck adjoining
the bridge, for no tourist should miss a
single part of this scenic passage and
watched and listened Intently. "Hard-a-port!"
"Starboard!" "Steady!"
"Hold!" and "Let her go!" are con
stantly heard from the captain, as he
cautiously paces the deck from side to
side, as our beautiful Queen floats
around these buoys that locate the hid
den reefs and shallow places. The oc
casion Is one that calls forth expres
sions of admiration from each passen
ger at the skill of the officers In charge
of the big steamer.
Through these narrows the tide var
ies from fourteen to twenty-three feet,
and salmon who enter here with the
tide manoeuver around to the foot of a
fall, leap Its eight foot rise at high tide
and swim to a mountain lake. Here nre
most luxuriant stretches of grassy
siopes, canea "scotcn Heather." which
embrace many lawn acres. These beau-
ii tuny woooeo snores, right in this re
gion or solitude, surpass anvthlnir In
the way of channlng and Impressive
scenery we have yet encountered, and
the landscape crows more and more
sublime the farther north we go; the
snow peas oecome more numerous and
seem nearer by; the blue of the foot
hills become more and more Intense and
tne crimson , and yellow ferns and
granses grow more luxuriant and pic
turesque. FIRST GLACIER.
Emerging from the Narrows Into
'Trlnce Frederick 8ound" new visions
of grandeur await our wondering gaze.
Here we get our first glimpse of an
Alaskan glacier, which bears the name
of Patterson and rises boldly 6.000 feet
above an inlet off St. Thomas Bay and
pours over and down a great slope,
showing a beautiful blue and white
front, and rises a solid ioe wall over
seven hundred feet high. Early navi
gators say It dropped frequent Icebergs
from its cliffs to the water. At the
front of "Horn Cliffs," at the foot of the
glacier, a magnificent water fall sets
off the scene. Its serpentine form is
seen winding over the mountains where
it is finally eclipsed by the towering
magnificence of "Devil's Thumb," a re
markable monolith pointing its spire
heavenward nearly 9,000 feet a land
mark seen for a great distance..
Here the tourist enjoys exquisite and
unique erects of glances of sunlight
from clouds to glacier. In the distance,
If the weather be pleasant, and the at
mosphere clear, can be seen "Stlkeen
Glacier," up the Stiklne river, near the
Canadian boundary, where Professor
John Muir says 1b "a Yosemite 100 miles
long," and where he counted 100 of the
300 glaciers from his canoe in 1879,
Caps,
B. T.
eooDS!
which drain directly Into th kHiklna
river. ' Le Coot-Glacier." laying oft
I Conte Bay. and "Balrd 0!dar.M off
Thomas Bay. which looms up 6.M1 (tat
Into the clouds;
DAILY BULLETIN.
Ot noon Captain Carroll posts the fol
lowing; bulletin:
ALASKA EXCURSION, 8EA80N OF
1Kb. l.NO. i).
Dally Time Table. Aug. 14. MM. Lt at
Moon; tit Degrees, v Minutes, Nona.
Long, at Noon, 13S Degrees, 23 lllnutea,
West. Distance run, K7 Miles.
V will sail through the followinr chan
nels during the next twenty-four hours. If
not detained by thick weather: Stephen B
Passage and Qastlnrau Channel. Will ar- -rive
at Juneau about p. m. and remain
until 7 a. m. tomorrow; cross to Treadwell
Mines, arriving 7.3D . m. Ball at )) a.
m. for Takon Glacier. Arrive at Takon
about 13.30 p. m where we will remain
several hours, taking on our supply of lca
Parsenger do not load at Takon Glacier.
(Signed) James Carroll.
Commander,
PRINCE FREDERICK SOUND.
Rounding Cape Fanshaw, our course
is through "Stephen's Passage" for
seventy miles to Juneau, the metropolis
of Alaska. This passage, proper, la
strait sixty-three miles long by four
teen miles wide at the widest place, and
narrows down to one and a half miles.
It Is filled with numerous Islands navig
able with safety only by daylight, and
having a depth from 100 to 200 fathoms.
The trip Is enlivened by the frequent
jump of salmon and the play and sport
ing of schools of porpoises and the
spouting of whales. The sound Is a fa
vorite breeding ground of whales, and
in these safe, deep waters one sees the.
leviathans frisking, and Infant spout
ers taking their first lessons. The fly.
Ing eagle, the leaping salmon, the spout
ing whales are difficult subjects for th
amateur photographer to handle. Ths
Indians In their frail looking canoes
are frequently seen gliding over the
water. Every one ot these little lnol
dents are hailed with enthusiasm and
form a part of the pleasure of ths voy
age. The glacier acenery Increases wlh In
terest as we proceed. On the westward
Is "Admiralty Island," a snow-capped,
wooded mountain range 100 miles long.
Half -of the way our view Is cut off by
"Glass Peninsular." Passing "Sum
Dum Bay" on the right (meaning the
noise of falling Ice) we behold a mag
nificent panorama of glnclersi - First is
Young Glacier, next Yosemite, near
Roaring Inlet, and at Tracy Inlet Is
Toyatte Glacier and continuing on to
within twelve miles of Juneau, Taku
Inlet opens to view a scries of glaciers
and waterfalls winding down and
through the mountains, visible for
long distance. Takou glacier Is ths
prominent one, showing an ice front a
mile wide and one hundred feet high.
A further description of this glacier
win appear later. Wo now enter Gas
tlneaux Channel, a rlver-llke body of
water that separates the mainland
from Douglass Island, and soon reach
the mining town of Juneau, the most
populous settlement In all Alaska, and
thus ends our fourth day's Itinerary.
J E. Richmond.
Qalckly.Thsrsaghly,
Forever Cared.
Four out of fivs who
suffer nervousness,
mental worry, attacks
of "the bines." but
paying the penalty of
early excesses. Vlo
tlins, reclaim yoor
manhood, regain your
vigor. Don't despair. Send for book with
explanation and proofs. Mailed (sealed) free.
ERIE MEDICAL CO., Buffalo, N.Y.
Etc.
HOLMAN.
VERY LOWEST