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Ae FB POR LT
UPON THE
CONDITION OF-AFFATRS
IN THE
TERRITORY OF ALASKA,
BY
HENRY W: EELIOTeE
SPECIAL AGENT TREASURY DZPARTMENT.
WASHINGTON:
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
1875. |
8¢i, ee
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of ie e? ad
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4 Bh 4
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LETTER TO THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY.
WASHINGTON, D. C., November 16, 1874.
Sir: In compliance with the provisions of the act of Congress
approved April 22, 1874, I have the honor to submit the fol-
lowing report upon the condition and importance of the fur-
trade in the Territory of Alaska; ‘‘the present condition of the
seal-fisheries of Alaska; the haunts and habits of the seal; the
preservation and extension of the fisheries as a source of reve-
nue to the United States, with like information respecting the
fur-bearing animals of Alaska generally; the statistics of the
fur-trade; and the condition of the people or natives, especially
those upon whom the successful AP ne of the fisheries and
fur-trade is dependent :”
The first measure suggested by my sei eeiencedi di this season
is one of reform in the present government of the Territory. It
is supposed that a useless outlay of money and labor is
not intended to be persisted in, when the same annual expend-
iture will give prompt and effective supervision over interests
in that region which seem now to be sadly neglected. The
present mismanagement of affairs in Alaska is not attributable
to any other cause than that of the universal ignorance prevail-
ing in the United States, at the time of the transfer, in regard
to the form of government needed, and since then no one seems
to have taken any intelligent or active interest in the matter.
In the following report, herewith submitted, I desire to draw
your attention to. the statements and suggestions contained in
the chapter devoted to this subject, and I trust that you may
be pleased to give them your approval.
The pecuniary value of the fur-seal interests of the Govern-.
ment renders it highly important that the Treasury Department,
now intrusted with its care and supervision, should possess
definite and authoritative information as to its proper manage-
ment—for its perpetuation in its original integrity, atleast. I,
therefore, take great pleasure in calling your attention especially
to the accompanying report upon the subject, which embodies
the results of three seasons’ (1872, 1873, and 1874) close per-
.
A ALASKA.
sonal observation and research on the ground, with maps and
illustrations.
In connection with the condition of the natives of the Terri-
tory, on whom the successful prosecution of the fur-trade is.
dependent, I have been led into a very careful study of the
history and habits of the sea-otter in this country, to the suc-
cessful hunting of which between four and five thousand Chris-
tian Aleutians and Kodiakers look for a means of livelihood.
Since the transfer, fire-arms, formerly proscribed, have been
introduced among the sea-otter hunters. This, in combination
with the keenest rivalry of opposition traders, makes it only a
question of a very short time ere these valuable and interesting
animals are exterminated, on the existence of which so many
christianized natives are totally dependent for all of the com-
forts, and many even of the necessities, of a semi-civilized
life. The remedy for this is a very simple and effective one, and
I beg leave to refer to my discussion of the subject in this
report under the head of the sea-otter and its hunters.
In my report it will be seen that I have given the Yukon,
Aleutian, and Sitkan sections close attention, having yet to
more fully examine the Kodiak, Cook’s Inlet, and Copper River
districts; that I have, in connection with Lieut. Washburn
Maynard, United States Navy, my associate during the past
season, carefully resurveyed the area and position of the breed-
ing-grounds of the fur-seal on the Prybilov Islands. We sur-
veyed Saint Matthew’s Island, which is contiguous and was
entirely unknown and uninhabited, in order to settle the ques-
tion, so frequently asked, and to which no definite reply could
be given, as to whether or not it was suitable ground for fur-
seals to land upon and breed, should these animals ever become
dissatisfied with their present locality; and that I have com-
piled, from Russian and other authorities, facts and statistics
as to the extent of the fur-trade in the early days of the Terri-
tory, so as to compare with the condition of this business at the
present, as I get it from traders and agents in the country gen-
erally. Of necessity, I have been obliged to use my judgment
in selecting and taking these figures, both from the written as
well as the verbal authorities. These I submit as being very
nearly correct, to the best of my knowledge and belief. The
remarkable increase in the catch of fur-bearing animals since
the change of ownership of the country is most striking, but
in perfect harmony with the strong contrast between the indo-
ALASKA. 5
Jent, make-shift management of the Russian-American Fur
Company in later times and that of our energetic, economical
traders.
_ The extravagant statements which have been made in regard
to the resources of this Territory, which, on the one hand, were
they true, would fit it for the future reception of a highly-civil-
ized population, while, on the other, it would be made a land
of utter desolation, worthlessness, and an entire loss of seven
millions of purchase-money, besides being a burden to the
General Government, these announcements, so often made
and reiterated throughout our country, have caused me to pay
great attention to the subject, and in this report I have endeay-
ored to give a concise description of the agricultural character
of the Territory as I have seen it, which thus far might be truth-
fully summed up in saying that there are more acres of better
land lying now as wilderness and jungle in sight on the mountain-
tops of the Alleghanies from the car-windows of the Pennsylvania
road than can be found in all Alaska; and whez it is remem-
bered that this land, wild, in the heart of one of our oldest and
most thickly-populated States, will remain as it now is, cheap,
and undisturbed for an indefinite time to come, notwithstand-
ing its close proximity to the homes of millions of energetic
and enterprising men, it is not difficult to estimate the value of
the Alaskan acres, remote as they are, and barred out by a
most disagreeable sea-coast climate, leaving out altogether the
great West and vast agricultural regions of British America ;
but then, directly to the contrary, it would be wrong to hint by
this statement, true as it is, that the country is worthless, for
on the Seal Islands alone the Government possesses property
which would not remain in the market many days unsold were
it offered for seven millions, and from which the annual
revenue is doubly sufficient to meet all expenditures for the
proper government of the whole Territory, if the matter was
correctly adjusted. Again, it should be understood that, be-
yond afew outcrops of Tertiary coal and small leads near Sitka
of gold and silver, with reports of native copper in situ, nothing
is known whatever of the mineral wealth of the Territory at
the present writing, as far as I can learn, but which I have
reason to think will develop into some value.
My opinion with reference to the fishing interests in the Ter-
ritory has been almost entirely formed by the accounts of old,
experienced fishermen whom I have met in the country person-
6 ALASKA.
ally engaged in fishing in these waters. The value and proba-
ble yield of the cod-banks of Alaska have been greatly overrated,
but it may be reasonably anticipated that the suecess attending
the canning of salmon on the Columbia River will stimulate the
prosecution of this industry at the mouths of all the large
streams and rivers of the Territory. .
In connection with my survey of affairs in the Territory, the
Seal Islands in especial, I have been most fortunate in being
associated with a gentleman so efficient and conscientious as
Lieut. Washburn Maynard, the officer selected by the Secre-
tary of the Navy, in compliance with the act of Congress, to
accompany me on this tour of investigation, and to report in-
dependently.
It is also fitting that I should speak in flattering terms of the —
high character of the service rendered us this season by Capt.
J. G. Baker, commanding the United States revenue-cutter
Reliance, who carried us with all care and expedition to such
points as we saw fit to designate, and which it was possible to
visit in a sailing-vessel, with the time allotted.
The several subjects within the scope of my report I have
arranged, and herewith respectfully present in the following
order, Viz:
CHAPTER I. THE CHARACTER OF THE COUNTRY.
II, THE NATIVES OR PEOPLE OF ALASKA; THEIR
CONDITION, &C.
III. THE DUTY OF THE GOVERNMENT IN THE TER-
RITORY OF ALASKA.
IV. TRADE IN THE TERRITORY AND THE TRADERS,
STATIONS, WC.
V. THE SEA-OTTER AND ITS HUNTING.
VI. THE CONDITION OF AFFAIRS ON THE SEAL
ISLANDS ; PRYBILOV GROUP.
VII. THE HABITS OF THE FUR SEAL.
VIII. Fiso AND FISHERIES.
1X. ORNITHOLOGY OF THE PRYBILOV ISLANDS.
APPENDIX.
I have endeavored in the preparation of this report to be
as concise as possible, perhaps so to a fault, but the enumer-
ation of the thousand and one little things that have combined
to form opinion, and indirectly influence one’s judgment, can
interest no one but the writer.
aad
ALASKA. 7?
On the subject of Alaska, it is safe to assert that no other
unexplored section of the world was ever brought into notice
suddenly, about which so much has been emphatically and
positively written, based entirely upon the whims and caprices
of the writers, and, therefore, it will not be at all surprising if
the truth in regard to the Territory does frequently come into
conflict with many erroneous popular opinions respecting it. |
With the hope that the results of my labor as presented in
the following report will meet with your approval and support,
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient
servant,
HENRY W. ELLIOTT,
Special Agent Treasury Department.
Hon. B. H. Bristow, |
Secretary of the Treasury.
CHAP TE Rr.
THE CHARACTER OF THE COUNTRY.
THE TERRITORY OF ALASKA.
So much has been said pro and con as to the natural wealth
and advantages of our new acquisition, the Territory of Alaska,
that the widest possible divergence of opinion has arisen upon this
subject ; on the one hand, we hear that here is a country no more
rugged or uninviting than is Sweden or Norway, where a high
civilization exists, with just as much natural adaptation for the
home of advancing humanity, with vast forests of the finest
ship-timber, with iron, copper, coal, and possibly rich gold and
silver mines, with valleys and plains upon which sheep and cattle
can be bred and raised without more than ordinary care, soabun-
dant is the grass and other vegetation ; that the climate is ex-
tremely mild on the seaboard, no more damp and foggy than
on the coast of Oregon, &c.; while, on the other hand, we are .
as gravely told that it is an area of total desolation ; that it is
locked up in the grasp of winter’s frosts for eight or ninemonths
in the year; that icebergs and snow fill the sea and drift in
fathomless rifts; that it is bare and barren, only moss and
Swale grass; that even the inhabitants there drag out a miser-
able existence on seal-meat, oil, and like food; and that it will
never become the home of white men, because there is no object
in the land that will draw them there save the small fur-trading
interests.
*There is truth in both declarations, but no such thing as a
happy medium can be struck between the two views; a fair,
dispassionate statement in regard to this matter, however, at
the time of the transfer of the Territory, could hardly have been
made, no citizen of the United States having the means or the
opportunity to form a proper judgment. The Russians did not
live here as a people, but as a company of fur-traders only,
with a single eye to the getting of skins; and the matter of
their subsistence while so doing was comparatively of little
importance; but it should be said that at all of their posts
throughout the Territory they fully tested the capabilities of
soil and climate for garden-products, and at many of them
10 ALASKA.
gave hogs and cattle a trial, with a deep interest in the success
of their experiments. The Russian American Company in re-
tiring from the country gave us a generally correct map of the
Territory, accurate figures as to the numbers and distribution
of the natives; but upon other points the most vague or else
conflicting data, and in this condition of knowledge we took
possession of the country. Its true status, therefore, and 2s
importance were simply unknown to our people.
Since that time, however, quite a number of advenieeae
traders, miners, fishermen, and the like have had their atten-
tion and interest centered here, and the resources of the country
in small sections have been keenly scrutinized with a view to:
what the country could or could not yield in supply of human
wauts.
THE DIVERSIFIED CHARACTER OF THE COUNTRY.
Everybody is familiar with the geographical position of
Alaska, with its extended area of coast-line, stretching from a
trifle south of the 55th parallel of north latitude, above Fort
Simpson, on the British Columbian Territory, far to the north-
ward and westward away into the Arctic Ocean and above the ~
arctic circle; and, in describing the character of this vast trend
of land, it should be divided into several natural districts, by
reason of the local difference between them.
The Sitkan district.—Starting from Portland Canalandrunning
north to Cross Sound and the head of Lynn Canal, the eye glances
over arange of country made up of hundreds of islands, large
and small, and a bold, mountainous coast, all everywhere rugged
and abrupt in contour, and, with exception of highest sum-
mits, the hills, mountains, and valleys, the last always narrow
and winding, are covered with a dense jungle of spruce and
fir, cedar and shrubbery, so thick, dark, and damp, that it is
traversed only by the expenditure of great physical energy,
and a clear spot, either on islands or mainland, where an acre
of grass might grow by itself, as it does in the little ‘‘ parks”
far in the interior, cannot be found. In these forest-jungles,
especially on the lowlands and always by the water-courses,
will be found a fair proportion of ordinary timber of the char-
acter above designated. The spruce and fir, however, are so
heavily charged with resin, that they can be used for nothing
but the roughest work; the cedar is, however, an excellent ar-
ticle. But back from the Coast Range here,on which our bound-
ALASKA. LE
ary-line is dotted, springs up quite a different country again,.
higher everywhere from the sea-level by thousands of feet, dry,
with not one-tenth part of the rain-fall, vast rolling plains or ta-
ble-lands and rounded mountain-tops, over which fire has swept
not many years ago, for the last time, as it has frequently done
before, utterly destroying the pine-forests, leaving nothing but
the blackened and bleached trunks piled upon and across one
another at the sport of fierce gales ; and springing up from be-
neath this desolation and shutting over it is a new forest of
young pine and poplars, with a large number of service-berry
and salal bushes interspersed. The valleys here widen out,
and contain large tracts of exceilent ground for cultivation,
with the significant objection, however, of being subject to
frosts so late in the spring as June 10, and so early in the
summer as the 20th of August. This, of course, excludes the
question of agricultural utility ; and although the grass grows
everywhere here in the valleys in the most luxuriant manner,
yet cattle cannot run out through the winters, which are here
bitterly cold; widely different from those a hundred miles only
to the westward across the Coast Range. Here, under the pow-.
erful influence of the great Pacific, winter is never anything
but wet and chilly, seldom ever giving the people a week’s
skating on the small lake back of Sitka. Day after day there
are high winds and drizzling rains, with breaks in the leaden
sky showing gleams of clear blue and sunlight; and here the
agriculturist or gardener has like cause for discouragement,
for nothing will ripen ; whatever he plants grows and enters on
its stages of decay without perfecting. It must, moreover, be
remarked that there is but very little land fit even for this un-
satisfactory and most unprofitable agriculture, 7. ¢., properly-
drained and warm soil enough for the very hardiest cereals..
There is not one acre of such tillable land to every ten thou-
sand of the objectionable character throughout the larger por-
tion of this area, and certainly not more than one acré to a
thousand in the best regions. Grass grows in small localities
or areas, wherever it is not smothered by forests and thickets,
in the vallevs over this whole Sitkan district; its presence,
however, is not the rule, but the exception, so vigorous is the
growth of shrubbery and timber; and even did it grow in large.
amount, the curing of hay is simply impracticable. Although.
the winters are mild, still there is not enough ranging-ground.
Cy *)
12 ALASKA.
to support herds of cattle throughout the year and have them
within control.
- Mount Saint Elias district—Reaching from Cross Sound to
Prince William’s Sound is a second and clearly-defined region,
exhibiting a bald, bare sea-front, with scarcely an island or a>
rock in its long stretch of over three hundred miles; little belts
of spruce timber skirt the lowlands by the sea, while that which is
hilly and mountainous is almost bare; grass and berries grow,
however, in great abundance. It is the most cheerless, but at
the same time the most interesting, portion of the Territory, not
from any other point of view, however, than that of the tourist
or geologist, who will find Mount Saint Elias the highest peak in
North America, and the superb mountains of Fairweather and
Cillon,and the country about them, covered, for miles and miles,
with mighty glaciers, a field of most instructive interest. An
immense mass of ice comes down into the head of Lynn Canal,
which, the Indians say, originates and travels from Mount Fair-
weather over fifty miles away. This glacier is some eight miles
wide where it faces the sea in the channel, and many hundred
feet in thickness, perfectly magnificent, and should be visited,
for, as yet, this region, like the most of our new Territory, has
not been trodden by the foot of white man, and seldom even by
the savage. Its exceptional presentation of timber, its long
reaches of rounded, low, barren hills, and relative scarcity of
both birds and animals, make this section about as uninviting,
on economic grounds, as any in the Territory, and the paucity
of Indian life within its limits speaks definitely for its poverty
as to game and fish. :
Cook’s Inlet district.—I refrain from giving the reports which
I received from this section, inasmuch as they are very contra-
dictory in many leading features; though, in a general way, the
ideas given me are undoubtedly correct. They represent the
country similar to Kodiak, with more timber.
The Peninsular and Kodiak Island.—This region, lying between
Nliamna Lake and the False Pass, between the head of the Pen-
insula of Alaska and contiguous islands, is the most valuable
section of the entire Territory, possessing the most equable cli-
mate, especially so at Kodiak, growing the best garden-sup-
plies of potatoes, turnips, W&c., the only place where hay can be
made, enough fora few head of stock, with anything likeacertain-
ty, from season to season; but the country comprised in this dis-
trict, which forms the southern and western half of the Peninsula,
iy
ALASKA, Id
does not possessany of the above-mentioned qualifications in the
same degree by any means. The island of Kodiak and the whole
district is, however, rngged and mountainous, with numerous
small lakes and tiny rivers or streams, up which a considerable
number of salmon run every year. Timber, of spruce and fir,
grows in fair quantity in the northern and eastern end of Ko-
diak, all the islands to the eastward, and down the Peninsula
as far as Chignik Bay ; it is not large, but in size for fuel, rough
building, &c. Grass grows most luxuriantly, especially on Ko-
diak, but the area suitable for its support is limited, there be-
ing no plains or dry and accessible valleys in which to cut and
cure it. There are many winters here in which cattle might
be keptin small numbers without exceptional care and expense,
i. é.,enough to afford milk and beef for a small settlement, and
also sheep and hogs. Little patches of land can be found
where a small garden will thrive consisting of potatoes, turnips,
&e.; but reaching down to the Aleutian Islands, and over them,
is a region bare entirely of timber and nearly so of shrubbery,
rugged, abrupt, and extremely mountainous, the surface broken
into patches set, as it were, on end; this is no country adapted
for agriculture, for the prevalence of foggy, dark weather would
render even the limited area that could be utilized with sun-
light unserviceable for the production of fruits and vegetables.
Soil there is sufficiently rich and deep, but it is too cold to ma-
ture or ripen garden-products, except in very favored locali-
ties where, as at Ounalashka, a few potatoes of inferior quality,
good turnips, and lettuce, are in the favorable seasons raised.
The Western Islands are all essentially voleanic, with scarcely a
trace of sedimentary rock to be found; consisting of high,
steep ridges and peaks of porpbyries and volcanic tufa, with
here and there syenitic granites. The vegetation, such as it is,
principally Hmpetrum nigrum, grows most rank and luxuriant
on the flanks and even the summits of many of these high
places, and the light, frail stems of this plant, which are of about
the size of strawberry-vines, the natives gather and bring down
from the hills in large bundles for fire-wood. The only shrub that
lifts its head above the earth, of value as wood, is a willow, (Salix
reticulata,) which growsin scattered clumps along the little water-
courses, twisted and contorted, yet of sufficient size to furnish
in early days strong and serviceable frames for native skin-
boats or ‘* baidars.” Scattered over the Aleutian Islands and
on the Peninsula are many small lakes, some of them quite
14 ALASKA. |
large. The Peninsular country is more rolling and level, on
the north shore especially so; for from Port Moller on up to the
head of Bristol Bay extensive flats make out from the high-
lands and stretch between them and the sea in width varying
from ten to sixty miles. |
There are a number of volcanoes in this district, such as that
of Makooshin, on Ounalashka Island, Akootan and Shishaldin,
on Oonimak, which, however, do not eject lava, but emit smoke, .
steam, and ashes, although in times past and within the memory
of man large stones have been thrown out by many of them,
and still earlier lavahas been poured out on Oonimak in immense
streams. The seared, rugged courses of the once liquid rock
make traveling on that island excessively fatiguing. Akootan,
on Akootan Island, and Makooshin are, perhaps, the most active,
or as lively as any in the Territory to-day. There has been no
disturbance on their account in the country for the last thirty
years to mention, but previous to that time many severe earth-
quake shocks have been recorded, and the growth of a new
island, Bogaslov, twenty miles north of Oomnak, in Bering
Sea, has been witnessed by the present generation, and I think
that the phenomena attending the appearance of this island far
out at sea and alone must have been coincident with the whole
history of the formation of the Aleutian Chain, and therefore I
may be excused for giving the substance of the story as told by
‘several of the Russian writers.
In the fall of 1796 the residents of Oonimak and Ounalashka
were surprised by a series of loud reports and tremblings of
the earth, followed by the appearance of a dense dark cloud,
full of gas and ashes, which came down upon them from the
sea to the northward, and, after a week or ten days, during
which time the cloud hung steadily over them, accompanied
with earthquakes and subterranean thunder, it cleared away
somewhat, so that they saw distinctly to the northward a bright
light burning above the sea, and, upon closer inspection in their
boats, the people found that a small island, elevated about 100
feet above sea-level, had been forced up and was still in the pro-
cess of elevation and enlargement, formed of lava and scoriz.
The voleanic action did not cease on this island until 1825, when
it left above the water an oval peak, almost inaccessible, 400 to
500 feet high, and four or five miles in circumference. It was
soon after this occupied by sea-lions and resorted to by sea-fowl,
ALASKA. 15
which were found here in 1825, when the Russians landed for
the first time, and the rocks were still warm.
“In this way and recently, geologically speaking, were the
Aleutian Islands formed from the Peninsula westward, includ-
ing the Prybilov Group and Saint Matthew’s, their appearance
marking the course of a line of least resistance in the earth’s
crust.
The Yukon District—In this division may be placed all that
country above the head of Bristol Bay and north and west of
the Peninsular Range of mountains as they extend far into the
interior, reaching to the arctic and far bey ond, an immense area
of desolate sameness, almost unknown, and likely to be so for
an indefinite time, the banks of the Yukon River being the
only track traversed as yet by white men into the interior.
This great range of country may properly be divided into two
sections, the hills or timber-lands and the plains or tundra. The
former seldom approach the waters of Bering or the Arctic Sea
nearer than fifty or sixty miles, and generally trend some two to
three hundred miles back. The general contourof the interior
is a vast undulating plain, with high, rounded granitic hills and
- ridges scattered here and there, on the flanks of which, and by
the countless lakes and water-courses, grow in tolerable abun-
dance sprace, fir, hemlock, birch, and poplar, with a large number
of hardy shrubs indigenous all the world over to these latitudes.
The summers short, but warm and pleasant; the winters long,
and bitterly cold and inclement.
The tundra, however, which fronts the whole coast-line of
this, the most extensive section of the Territory, is, indeed,
cheerless and repellant at any season; in the summer it is a
great flat swale, full of bog-holes, slimy, decayed peat, innumer-
able lakes, shallow, stagnant, and from all places swarm mos-
quitoes of the most malignant type, while in winter it is a wide
snow plain, over which fierce gales of wind, at zero tempera-
ture, sweep in constant succession, making travel as painfal
and dangerous as can be well imagined. In this season all ap-
proach to the coast is barred by a great system of shoals and
banks, which extend so far out to sea that a vessel drawing 10
feet of water will be hard aground, out of sight of land, off the
mouth of the Yukon. ,
There is a vast area of this district between the head of
Cook’s Inlet and the Arctic, and far back into the interior, that
is entirely unknown, but as traders are extending their routes
in all directions, this interior may in time be explored and noted.
16 ALASKA.
The Ounalashka District—Under this head may be placed the
Aleutian Islands; and as Illolook or Ounalashka Village is
the most important place among them, both with regard to
population and trade, and the best position as a port, its name
may be fitly applied to the whole region.
This great chain of rugged islands, enveloped during the
greater part of the year in fogs, and swept over by frequent
gales, that, in combination with the mists and currents, make
it a region dreaded by the mariner, abounds in sharp hills, and
hilly or bluffy mountainous masses. Nearly every island—and —
there are many, Small and large—is as it were set up on end,
with small patches of bottom-land here and there, in rare inter-
vals, at the base of the hills and mountains.
The appearance of any of these islands from a ship approach-
ing them during the summer, on a clear sunny day—and such
days are occasionally howe ae most attractive: a rich, dark
coat of vivid green clothes the valleys, hills, and mountains,
quite to the snow-line. In these narrow defiles and bot-
tom-land patches, the grass is most luxuriant, growing waist-
high, with low, stunted willow-bushes here and there in small
quantity ; and it is at first not apparent, when one strolls about
the country on such a day, that it is utterly worthless as an ag-
ricultural or stock-raising country. The mountains principally
consist of syenitic granites and porphyries, with sharp sum-
mits and abrupt slopes, and present numerous small water-
courses, with little or no valley-ground. The vegetation is rank
and luxuriant, and, in favorable seasons, the grasses ripen their
seeds well. Quite a variety of berries abound ; for example,
salmon, huckle, crow, and blue berries. The only timber is a
slight willow, nowhere larger than a man’s wrist, and not over
7 or 8 feet high, growing in small, scattered clumps, with
stunted specimens climbing way up the hill-sides. The thick,
dense carpet of crow-berry plants, into which one sinks at every
step ankle-deep, covers the entire country, and makes traveling
very tedious for a pedestrian. Several species of grass grow
everywhere in patches, and if more sunlight were to fall upon
these cold, moist places, where vegetation now springs up every
year in such quantities, but of such inferior quality, hay might
be cured, and it might be called a fair grazing-country; but al-
though the islands would amply support herds of cattle and
flocks of sheep during the summer-months, these animals
would generally need shelter and feed for three to five months
‘
.
ALASKA. in
as winter comes on, and far into the spring during late seasons,
when high winds rage and keep the snow in drifts. Bailey
might also be grown with a little more sunlight; and potatoes
might also be matured year after year in fair quantity, and a
good kitchen-garden established in the most favored sections;
but perpetual fogs and mists hang like palls over the land and
render it of no agricultural importance. ©
The summers are mild, foggy, and humid, with an average
temperature of 50° Fahrenheit, with winters also mild, foggy,
and humid, and an average temperature of 30°. Minifaum
thermometer here seldom or never falls lower than 10°; there
never has been recorded four consecutive weeks of temperature
lower than 3° or 5°. The weather begins to grow colder in
October, and does not become milder until April. The natives
here think that 12° to 15° is pleasant weather, but if it goes
down to 3° or 5°, itis to them, horribly cold. There are, how-
ever, exceptional seasons. For instance, the summer of 1831, in
July and August the thermometer did not rise above 359, and
evenings were not uncommon with as low a temperature as 129°.
Rain falls at all times and with all winds, but mostly in the
autumn, with southeast and easterly winds, and less with
southwest winds in winter.
Snow begins to fall in September, (and even in August,) and
does not cease earlier than May, although it frequently melts
as fast as it falls far into December. It is seen on the higher
mountains all the year round. The average snow-fall is from
2 to 5 feet; the high, driving winds make the snow intensely
disagreeable and impede traveling.
The cloudiness of the district is remarkable; there are not a
dozen cloudless days in the whole year; about thirty to fifty
fine days; and Veniaminov says, after living there ten years,
‘that the sun may be seen in a hundred to a hundred and sixty
days during the year.”
Thunder is seldom ever heard, and lightning never seen;
although the clouds seem to constantly suggest it. Auroras
are also almost unknown, and when seen are very faint.
The old Aleuts here say that in early times the snow was
deeper and the cold greater than it has been for some time
past, while, on the other hand, they assert that the winds are
getting stronger and harsher as time rollson with them. Veni-
2 AL
18 ALASKA.
aminov * says, ‘‘In all the time of my living here there was
not one day from morning to evening that was entirely with-
out wind, or was a perfect calm.” The winds blow here strong
from all quarters, strongest in October, November, December,
and March. The gales do not usually last more than three days
at a time, but they follow in quick succession in the seasons
above mentioned. |
There are a multitude of little lakes of fresh water on the
islands, and in nearly all of the small streams (for there are no
large ones) are found brook-trout of good quality.
In view of the foregoing, what shall we say of the resources
of Alaska, viewed as regards its agricultural or horticultural
capabilities ?
It would seem undeniable that owing to the unfavorable cli-
matic conditions which prevail on the coast and in the interior,
the gloomy fogs and dampness of the former, and the intense,
protracted severity of the winters, characteristic of the latter,
unfit the Territory for the proper support of any considerable
civilization.
Men may, and undoubtedly will, soon live here, in compara-
tive comfort, as they labor in mining-camps, lumber and ship-
timber mills, and salmon-factories, but they will bring with
them everything they want except fish and game, and when
they leave the country it will be as desolate as they found it.
Can a country be permanently and prosperously settled that
will not in its whole extent allow the successful growth and
ripening of a single crop of corn, wheat, or potatoes, and where
the most needful of any domestic animals cannot be kept by
poor people ?
The Russians, who have subdued a rougher country, and set-
tled in large communities under severer conditions than have
been submitted to by any body of our own people as yet, were
in this Territory, after some twenty years at least of patient,
intelligent trial, obliged to send a colony to California to raise
their potatoes, grain, and beef; the history of their settlement
there, and forced abandonment in 1842, is well known.
We may with pride refer to the rugged work of settlement
so successfully made by our ancestors in New England, but it
is idle to talk of the subjugation of Alaska as a task simply re-
quiring a Similar expenditure of persistence, energy, and ability.
* Zapieskie, &c., vol. 1, p. 98.
ae
ALASKA. 19
In Massachusetts* our forefathers had a land in which all the
necessaries of life, and many of the luxuries, could be produced
From the soil with certainty from year to year; in Alaska their
lot would have been quite the reverse, and they could have main-
tained themselves there with no better success than the present
inhabitants. Attention should be directed to the development
of its mineral wealth, which I have reason to think will yet
prove to be considerable, and effort should be made to stimu-
late and protect the present available industries of the fur-
‘trade, the canning of salmon, ce.
*“T have seen with surprise and regret, that men whose forefathers
wielded the ax in the forests of Maine, or gathered scanty crops on the hill-
sides of Massachusetts, have seen fit to throw contempt and derision on the
acquisition of a great territory naturally far richer than that in which
they themselves originated, (!) principally on the ground that it is a ‘cold’
country.” (W.H. Dall, Alaska and its Resources, p. 242, Boston, Lee &
Shepard, 1870.)
ples av aed Da Cs Egat ba
THE NATIVES OR PEOPLE OF ALASKA—THEIR
CONDITION.
THEIR LIFE IN THE PAST, IN THE PRESENT, AND PROSPECTS
FOR THE FUTURE.
In taking the subject of the condition of the people of Alaska
into consideration, the character of the country in which they
live should always be kept in mind, for the life of any people
is insensibly but surely molded by the climate and land in
which they are found: under favorable and genial influences
of soil and climate, a rude race may be raised from barbarism,
pass into civilization, and be sustained by these favoring sup-
ports.
The inhabitants of the Territory are divided into two decidedly
distinct races, widely different in habits and disposition ; one of —
these two classes consists of the Christian Aleuts, who live
upon the Aleutian Islands, the Seal Islands, the Peninsula of
Alaska, the adjacent Islands, and Kodiak; the Indians, occupy-
ing all the rest of the inhabited country, constitute the other. It
will be seen by a Russian table which I submit in connection
with this subject that quite a large number, in 1863, of the
natives, outside of the district above specified, are claimed as
Christians, but I cannot recognize the claim to-day; they kave
worn off what little Christianity they may have possessed ten
years ago, and there is no Christian influence, properly speaking,
in the Territory, outside of the Aleutians and the people of
Kodiak; these people are naturally fitted for the reception of
the principles of Christianity, or otherwise they would have
remained Indians, as the others, who are savages, have done.
The Russian Greek Catholic priests spared no effort in their
attempts to convert the Koloshians of Sitka and those of
kindred stock elsewhere in the Territory, but met with partial
2ilure in every instance.
The fact that among all the savage races found on the north-
west coast by Christian pioneers and teachers the Aleutians
are the only practical converts to Christianity, goes far, in my
ALASKA. | Ad
opinion, to set them apart as very differently constituted in
mind and disposition from our aborigines, to whom, however,
they are intimately allied. They adopted the Christian faith
with very little opposition, readily exchanging their barbarous
customs and wild superstitions for the agreeable rites of the
Greek Catholic Church and its more refined myths and legends.
At the time of their first discovery they were living as savages
in every sense of the word, bold and hardy ; but now, to all out-
ward signs and professions of Christianity they respond as
sincerely as our own church-going people.
The question as to the derivation of these people is still a
mooted one among ethnologists ; in all points of personal bear-
ing, intelligence, character, as well as physical structure, they
seem to form a link of perfect gradation between the Japanese
and Eskimo, although their traditions and language are entirely
distinct and peculiar to themselves; they, however, claim to
have come first to the Aleutian Islands from a “ big land to the
westward,” and that when they came here first they found the
land uninhabited, and that they did not meet with any people
until their ancestors had pushed on to the eastward asfar as the
Peninsular and Kodiak. ;
The Aleuts, as they appear to-day, have been so mixed with
Russian, Koloshian, and. Kamschadale blood, &e., that they
present characteristics in one way or another of the various
races of men from the negro up to the Caucasian. The pre-
dominant features among them are small, wide-set, dark eyes,
broad and high cheek-bones, causing the jaw, which is full and
square, to often appear peaked; coarse, straight black hair,
small, neatly-shaped feet and hands, together with brownish-
yellow complexion. The men will average in stature five feet
four or five inches; the women less in proportion, although
there are exceptions among them, some being over six feet in
height, and others dwarfs.
The number of these people, including those of Kodiak, who
resemble the Aleutians only as €hristians, having no other nat-
ural or blood affinity, is about 5,090, but when first discovered
by the Russians they were four and five times as many; at least
20,000 were living on the Aleutian Islands and the Peninsular in
1760; and from that time, in obedience to that natural law
which causes an inferior class to succumb to its superior when
brought into opposition, the Aleuts were quickly diminished in
number untilit became an object of care and solicitude on the
22 ALASKA.
part of the Russians to save them for the prosecution of the fur-
trade. In 1834 they numbered only about 4,000, Kodiak in-
cluded, and therefore they have not diminished nor increased
to any noteworthy degree during the last forty years. There
has been a slight increase, if any, up to the present time.
When first discovered they were livirg in large “ yourts” or
** o0-laga-muh” houses partially underground, which resemble
very much such a structure as our farmers put up for a root-
cellar, with the difference only of having the entrance through
a hole in the top, going in and out on a rude ladder or notched
timber post. Some of these yourts were very large, as shown
by the ruins to-day; one on Oonimak Island, north side, is
over 500 feet in length, with corresponding width, and one at
Koshegan, Ounalashka Island, the foundations still standing,
shows that it was 87 yards long and 40 wide; and an old
woman who was living only two years ago, remembered when
her people lived there, and called it “a handsome house.” In
these yourts they lived by forties, fifties, and hundreds as a
single family, with the double piece of protection and warmth,
where fuel was so scarce and precious.
For a full account of them as they existed when first visited
by the Russian priests I can do no better than call attention to
the history of their lives and condition, as published by Father
Veniaminov,* a noble missionary, and who made good use of his
time in recording faithfully the custom of a people which has_
been entirely changed by Christianity in less than one hundred
years. As an illustration, showing how exceedingly supersti-
tious they were in these early days, I may mention that there
is a small stream running into the northwest Lead of Beaver
Bay, Ounalashka Island, forming a very pretty little water-
fall, and near by it is a large mass of dark basaltic rock; the
water of this creek the Aleuts never dared to drink for fear of
instant death, and to the stone they paid homage, and revered
it as a devil petrified.
As they are living at this time, nearly every family is in
possession of a hut or ‘“ barrabkie,” built partly underground,
walled up on the sides, and roofed over with dirt and sod; a
small window placed at one end, and a low door at the other,
which opens into a low, dark alley, which in turn communi-
cates with the living-room by another small door. This living-
* A translation is published in Alaska and its Resources, W. H. Dall: Lee
& Shepard, 1870.
{
Y
7
:
]
ALASKA. 23
room is not large, seldom over ten feet square, and often not
more than seven or eight, with a hard earthen or wooden floor ;
the walls are neatly boarded upand sometimes papered and em-
bellished with pictures of church saints. Inthisroom the Aleut
spends most of his time when not hunting; shuts himself up —
in it with his family, builds a hot fire, lasting only a few
minutes, in the littlé stove or Russian oven, and either drinks
cup after cup of tea, or stupefies himself with ‘ quass” or
native beer, and lies for hours, and days even, in dull, stupid
enjoyment on his pallet. Ihave looked into a barrabkie where
there were twenty men, women, and children packed into a
living-room not more than ten feet square, all drinking tea,
with the perspiration rolling down in beady streams from
every face. Many of these huts are damp and exceedingly
filthy, while others are dry and cleanly; but the temper and
disposition of the Aleuts is that of improvidence and shiftless-
ness, and all exist, with a few exceptions, as a matter of course,
in a state of ignorance, though a great many read and write,
in consequence of their relationship to the church, the services
of which are recited in the Russian tongue, and as most of the
subpriests, deacons, &c., are recruited from the ranks of the
people themselves, (the boys only being educated for this pur-
pose,) a large proportion of them speak and read Russian well
enough for all ordinary use.
The manners and customs of these people. to-day, possess
in themselves nothing of a barbarous or remarkable character,
aside from that which belongs to a state of advanced semi-
civilization. They are exceedingly polite and civil, not only to
their trading agents, but among themselves, and visit one with
another freely and pleasantly, the women being great gossips;
but, on the whole, their intercourse is very quiet indeed, for the
topics of conversation are few, and, judging from their silent
but unconstrained meetings, they seem-to have a mutual knowl-
edge, as if by sympathy, as to what may be occupying each
other’s minds, rendering speech superfluous. It is only when
under the influence of beer or liquor that they lose their natu-
rally quiet and amiable disposition and fall into drunken
orgies.
Having been so long under the control and influence of the
Russians, they have adopted many of the customs of the latter,
In giving birth-day dinners, naming their children, &e. They
are great tea-drinkers, but seldom use coffee. On account
2A ABASKA,
of scarcity of fuel, they use a great amount of hard bread, soda
and sweet crackers, instead of buying flour and baking it.
They are remarkably attached to their church, which is well
adapted to them, and no other form of religion could be better
or have a firmer hold upon the sensibilities of the people.
Their chastity and sobriety cannot be commended.
As parents, they are very indulgent while their children are
infants or under the age of eight or nine years, but when this age
is attained by their offspring they become harsh disciplinarians
and task-masters, putting burdens upon young shoulders that are
heavy enough for adults, always exacting implicit obedience.
Though many children are born, the mothers are not successful in
rearing them, for they are extremely negligent in regard to air
and diet, irregular in their meals and slumbers, shiftless and un-
clean, and they frequently indulge in intoxication while nurs-
ing their infants. These vices cause an excessive mortality
among the children. The Aleuts are dependent entirely upon
themselves, except at the Seal Islands, for relief and aid in
case of illness, yielding. themselves to such treatment as they
can get with the utmost patience and resignation. They believe
generally in a mild form of Shamanism, or in the laying on of
hauds, which is practiced usually by old women.
The average Aleut:is a bold, hardy trapper, as he must be to
be successful as a sea-otter hunter, and this is the only profes-
sion or calling that his country can offer him. He is a patient,
steady workman, and sapplies as good manual labor as coulil
be desired, and such as is required in the country. The Russians
made sailors, pavigators, carpenters, blacksmiths, store-keepers,
&c., of this race; but since the transfer of the Territory there
are too many of our own people of that class idle for the Aleuts
to compete with, and who come directly into the country in re-
spouse to any demand for such labor, so that he falls back upon
the sea-otter as his sole support a ee a relapse into barbar-
ism. Competition in this business he has no occasion to fear
from the white man, who would never consent to spend the
same amount of skill and energy for the a which satisfy
the Aleutian hunter.
It will therefore be evident that the good condition of the na-
tive hunters of this Territory is a matter of great importance
to the traders who have ary deep interest in the fur-trade; and
it is not remarkable, in view of the clearness of the case, as above
stated, that the Aleuts to-day are existing in greater comfort,
ALASKA. | 25
in better houses, with greater facilities for hunting, and receive
better pay than they ever realized before for their skins. Of
this I am confident, by personal observation of the present, and
from a knowledge of the past derived from the archives of the
Russian company, and the history, meager but true, of the
early traders inthecountry. The enlightened and true business
policy adopted by the agents of the Alaska Commercial Com-
pany with regard to the improvement of the condition of the
hunters of the Aleutian Islands has already begun to bear its
golden fruit in an immensely-increased yield of sea-otters every
year. This statement is fully corroborated by a person of all
men in the whole country best qualified to pass an independent
and correct opinion, Father Innocent Shiesnekov, an intelli-
gent and pious Greek Catholic priest, in charge of the Aleu-
tians, who was born and raised on the ground, and with whom
I have had several interviews bearing upon the subject of this
chapter.
There is one general evil, not confined to this section of the
Territory, but more injurious to the people here than elsewhere,
and that is the curse of beer-drinking and the disorders which
arise constantly from its effects. These people have an inordi-
nate fondness for spirituous liquors, and as this is not permitted
to be made, vended, or brought into the Territory, the traders
among these natives keep such a sharp lookout for whisky-
schooners, that the traffic is thoroughly suppressed among the
Aleutians; and the people, therefore, determined to have some
means of ministering to their craving appetites for strong drink,
brew a thick, sour, alcoholic beer, by fermenting sugar, hops,
flour, dried apples, &c., together, in certain proportions, with
water, and many of them manage to keep intoxicated and stu-
pefied for weeks, and even months, at a time; beating their
wives and children, destroying their houses, and recently, on
Several occasions, committing murder. This practice sakes
every one of the settlements at frequent intervals, and always
after the return of a successful hunting-party, a scene of la-
mentable debauchery, which can only be stopped either by pro-
hibiting the sale or importation of sugar into the Territory, or
by empowering Government agents to inflict summary punish-
ment for the least criminal offenses growing out of intoxication.
No great severity in the punishment would be required, for it
must be said, to their credit, that they are naturally a law-abiding
26 ALASKA.
people, and the mere presence of an officer is, with few excep-
tions, enough to secure obedience.
For the present demoralization among the natives of the Ter-
ritory in this respect (and it is a vital one) the Government
alone is responsible. The people, during the last four or five
years, have indulged in all manner of excesses while under the
influence of beer, and have observed that, do what they will,
from beating their wives up to cold-blooded murder, there is
no authority in the laud to punish them; and this knowledge
tends to continue this unhappy state of affairs. This laxity is
an injustice toward the orderly and more soberly-inelined por-
tion of the communities, subjecting them to the control of the
leaders of drunken revels and toan immense amount of unneces-
sary suffering. The sea-otter traders would gladly pay, in the
form of a slight tax on the skins of that animal, more than
enough to afford a liberal salary twice over for the services of
some man armed with authority to suppress this demoralization
and attend to other urgent matters neglected on the part of the
Government.
From the Aleuts we pass to the consideration of the rest of
the people (Indians) of the Territory, who, by far the most
numerous, are living now as they were when first discovered,
over a hundred years ago; those of the north, belonging to the
Eskimo race and immediate derivatives, are quite amiable in
their barbarism when compared with the Koloshes and other
tribes of Indians proper in their neighborhood. Any steps that
may be taken for the elevation and improvement of the condi-
tion of these Indians in the Territory of Alaska, however well
intended, would be entirely abortive. If they work, and they
frequently do, on the coasters as seamen, and about the scund
and Victoria as laborers, wood-cutters, &c., the money neces-
sary for a debauch or a gambling game is the incentive. The
condition of any savage people is one that arouses the sympathy
of benevolent minds, and for its amelioration has absorbed the
best energies and resources of hundreds of brave, devoted men
who have labored in our country, but the result: of such labor
can only be successful under certain conditions of life and
mental constitution of a savage race not found in Alaska.
The Russian priests energetically struggled with these Indians
of Alaska, from Bering’s Straits down to Queen Charlotte’s
Island, backed up and cordially aided by the Russian-American
Company, which hoped to gain more control over the natives,
ALASKA, ait |
(and would have done so had the missionaries succeeded,) but
the result was most unsatisfactory. A thin varnish of decency,
honesty, morality, &c., was put on, but the subject had to be
revarnished every day or his evil nature would continue to
shine out.
From what we are led to plainly understand by the history
of well-directed and persistent efforts in the past, we can only
consider the present condition of the Indians of Alaska as
that of savages, and beyond the power of the Government or
of the church to change for the better. If they were a people
living in a country favorable to exertion and were merely lazy
and ignorant, then there would be hope with some assurance of
success in effecting a change for the better, but the case is
worse, for the obstacles are insuperable.
They are living in the manner customary with all Indians
who have an abundance of fish and game, and when they suffer
in any section of the Territory, as they frequently do, for want
of food, it is on account of the indolence and improvidence
during the seasons of plenty, for all of these people on the main-
land who, at regular periods of the year, have access to a most
lavish profusion of fish and the flesh of deer, are never caught
by a severe winter with a full supply of provisions on hand,
and exist through the long, cold spring-months most miserably,
often living upon their skin-garments, offal, &c. As an instance
of this improvidence, Captain Hennig, an old trader, cites the
following case: At the mouth of the Koishak River, which
empties into Bristol Bay between the Peninsula and the main-
land, the reindeer pass by swimming in large herds across in
September as they go in feeding to and from the peninsula; the
natives at this season run along the bank as the deer rise from
the water and spear them with great ease and in any number
that fancy or want may dictate. At one time Captain Hennig
counted here seven hundred deer carcasses as they lay rotting
and untouched save by the removal of the hides; not a pound
of meat of the thousands putrefying had been saved by the
natives, who would be living perhaps in less than five months
in a state of starvation.
These Indians are not steady, persistent hunters like the
Aleuts ; they are fickle, and have far less to gain by trade in
their estimation than the Aleutians, who, on the contrary, are
not satisfied with a small amount of tobacco and a few beads,
which are the staple commodities with the Indians, together
28 ALASKA.
with a little powder and ball. The Aleuts want good clothes;
they desire to dress their women and children well; they crave
tea, sugar, flour, &c., all of which are simply despised by the
savage, and, consequently, a little hanting will obtain all he ~
wants in return from the trader, and exertion beyond this, on
his part, appears to him simply absurd or ridiculous.
While the sea-otter trade in Alaska, therefore, is well devel-
oped, the fur-trade on the mainland is by no means of the
importance it might be made to assume were the hunting as
energetically followed up as is that prosecuted by the people of
Kodiak and the Aleutian Islands; the industry and energy,
however, of ourtraders will undoubtedly add largely every suc-
ceeding year to the yield, in creating desire among the Indians,
and thus stimulating exertion on their part in hunting so as to
insure its gratification. |
I shall not enter into a description of these Indians. Their
treacherous, indolent lives have been most accurately and fully
described by a score of writers; one of the earliest, that of
Portlock and Dixon, in 1786, 1787, and 1788, reads as if it had
been written from my own notes taken this season, so little
have they changed in the main of habit and disposition. Of
course, when the Russians were obliged, in 1832,* to commence
the liquor-trade with them in self-defense against American
adventurers and the Hudson Bay Company, and the small-pox
in 1835 swept like wild-fire through all the villages on the north-
west coast, destroying nearly one-third of them, the combination
of two such terrible evils, whisky and the plague, demoralized
and diminished them to such an extent that they never have
recovered their former strength, nor is it now probable that they
will recover it.
The number of Indians now living in the Territory is, accord-
ing to best authority and my judgment, between eighteen and
twenty thousand. Of this number, between ten and twelve
thousand belong to that district bounded on the north by Cook’s
Inlet and south by Fort Simpson ; the remainder inhabit that
stretch of country reaching from Bristol Bay to Kotzebue Sound,
and back into the far interior, where there are several tribes,
supposed to be quite numerous, about which very little is
known even by the traders.
On this coast-line of Alaska, between Bering’s Straits and
*This was stopped in 1842. A treaty was made between them and the
Hudson Bay Company.
ALASKA. 29
Fort Simpson, are found six distinct tongues through which
their relations of affinity may be traced, viz: the Aleutian; the
Kodiak ; the Kenai, or Cook’s Inlet ; the Yahkootat, or Mount
Saint Elias country ; the Sitkan; and the Kahgan, or Prince of
Wales Island.
The ALEUTIAN TONGUE is the language of the inhabitants of
the Aleutian Islands and part of the Peninsula; it is divided
into two dialects, one spoken by the Aleuts of Atka, and the
other by those of Ounalashka.
The KODIAK TONGUE is the root of all the dialects spoken
on the shores of Bering Sea, and still farther north and to the
east; it is the tongue spoken by the Choochkie of the Asiatic
side, and is divided into six distinct dialects, and these again
subdivided, so that the Kodiak root is the language of the fol-
lowing tribes:
The Malemutes, of Kotzebue Sound, Norton Sound, Port Clar-
ence, the Diomedes, King, Sledge, and Saint Lawrence Islands.
The Aziagmutes, of Saint Michael’s, part of the Pastol Bay
and as far north as Norton’s Sound.
The Agoolmutes, of the mouth of the Yukon River.
The Magmutes, between Cape Romanzov and Cape Avinov.
The Koskoquims, of Koskoquim Bay and River.
The Aglahmutes, of the Nushagak country, and part of the
Peninsula.
The Nunivaks, of Nunivak Island, who use a dialect almost
like the pure Kodiak, which is spoken on that island.
The Keyoukons, of the Middle Yukon River.
The Ingaleeks, of the Lower Yukon River.
The Choogaks, between Cape Elizabeth and the mouth of
Copper River, (taking all the south shore of the Kenai Penin-
sula and Prince William’s Sound.)
The KENAI TONGUE can hardly be called of Kodiak deriva-
tion; it is divided into four dialects:
The Kenai, of the Gulf of Kenai, or Cook’s Inlet.
The Maidnorskie, or people on Copper River.
The Kolchans, or people of the Upper Koskoquim River—
quite a large tribe, estimated at six or seven thousand.
The Kahvichpaks, a peopte on the Upper Yukon. In this dia-
lect are many words of Kodiak and Yahlutat.
The Kenai language is the most difficult of all the Indian
tongues, so abounding in a profusion of harsh, guttural sounds
that their own savage neighbors frequently try in vain to ac-
quire them when it is for their interest to do so.
30 ALASRA.
The YAHKUTAT TONGUE is spoken only by the people of Yah-
kutat, or that belt of coast between Lituya Bay and Copper
River ; it is divided into two dialects, viz: .
The Yahkutats, from Icy Bay to Grok Sound.
The Oogalenskie, from mouth of Copper River to Icy Bay.
The SITKA, or KOLOSH TONGUE, is spoken by all the Indians
from Lituya Bay to Prince of Wales Island, the Stickeen, and
without any dialects, although there are ciealt or ten dads and
they are relatively numerous.
The KAHEGAN, or PRINCE OF WALES, is spoken on that
island and iueen: Charlotte’s, and completes the list of lan-
guages in the Territory, as far as 1 can intelligently compile
and arrange them.
From the tables which I give at the close of this chapter, the
relative population of these different tribes can be recognized,
and by them it will be seen that, save where the Aleutians and
Kodiakers are living, together with a number of Russian haltf-
breeds or creoles, there are no organized or fixed settlements
in the Territory; the Indians roaming at will in the mountains
and over the plains during the summer, fishing and berrying
principally, until the severity of approaching winter drives them
back to underground houses in the north, and wooden huts and ~
large barracoons by the sea at the south, where, reeking in filth,
four and five months are passed in perfect comfort to them, pro-
vided that they have food—passed in sloth and sleep, with the
exception of a small proportion of them who are marten, mink,
and fox trappers. These men frequently yerform an astonishing
amount of labor, enduring incredible hardships, should they
happen to be ambitious, but this is a very rare quality.
The two leading stations in the Territory, (excepting the Pry-
bilov Islands,) both with regard to trade and population, are the
villages of Ounalashka and Kodiak, each with an Aleut and
creole population of four hundred, more than double the num-
ber occupying any other settlement, save that of Belcoy skie,
which has two hundred and forty- gota with a sea-otter trade
fully equal or superior to either Obnalashien or Kodiak. Then
following in order of trade and population, we have the villages
of Unga, of one hundred and sixty-two souls; Atka, of one
hundred and thirty-one souls; Oomnak, of one hundred and
nineteen souls; then comes Sitka, with a population to-day,
principally Russian half-breeds, of one hundred and eighty-six,*
* Not counting the troops, Government employés, or Indians.
ALASKA. oY
and no trade whatever to mention, and commercially of less
importance than any one of the following poirts, in addition to
the list above, viz: Koskoquim, Nushagak, and Saint Michael’s.
Even should trade ever be re-established in Sitka, it would con-
sist principally of the fur of marten, mink, and beaver, with
air-dried deer-skins ; but as matters now stand in the Territory,
there is no future for Sitka; a change only in the supervision of
the interest of the Government in that district can benefit it,
or make it worth the attention of a small trader to live there.
On this point I speak at length in my chapter on the duty of
the Government in this respect.
The snm and substance of my investigations with reference
to the condition of the people of Alaska during the past season
may be given briefly as follows: That the Indians are living
as usual, in nearly the same number and in the same condition
as when under Russian rule, with the marked and significant
exception that they have been under no restraint whatever by
government for the past five years, such as they were ac-
customed to have imposed upon them by the old régime, and
that this is rapidly making it troublesome and dangerous for
small traders to go in among them on the northwest coast.
Those in the vicinity of Sitka have become familiar with the pro-
cess of distillation of whisky from molasses, and make a large
amount of it openly, in addition to what they get by illicit
trading.
The Christian Aleuts and Kodiakers are in, if anything, a
better condition than at the time of the transfer; some sec-
tions, as at Ounalashka, in a greatly improved state, which is,
by the way, promised to all the rest in the course of a few
years, if proper, prompt steps are taken by Government.
But the condition of the small population of creoles, chiefly at
Sitka, is changed very much for the worse; they were store-
keepers, clerks, sailors, traders, artisans, &c., of the old com-
pany, and there is no longer any great demand for that labor
in the country, and not likely to be during their lives, at least;
' they are unfortunate in not having the training or the energy
to make good hunters, for this is the only industry the Terri-
tory holds out for them. To say that they are now in spirit
and purse poor, is true, but still they are not in any physical
misery, the abundance of fish and game preventing such a re-
sult. From my observation and knowledge of them, I can truly
state that they are now in a better condition in the Territory,
32 . SENSE A
living as they do, than chey would be anywhere else in our
country, with an exceptional case, of course, here and there, for
they are not distinguished by either energy or industry, as a
class. .
I have been assured by the Russian bishop having the spirit-
_ ual direction of affairs in the Greek Catholic Church, now es-
tablished in the Territory, that there is no intention on the part
of the home church to neglect its interest there; that he is at
the present time busily engaged in fitting a class of young
Russians for the work of priests and teachers in Alaska, by
giving them a thorough knowledge of the English language in
addition to the regular course of discipline usually necessary
for his church.
If we, on the part of the Government, attempt to teach them,
we shall soon have to feed some eight or ten thousand paupers.
All they need is to be sustained and protected in their hunting |
industries, as is indicated in the following chapter, and they
will take care of themselves.
Gea ET Re LPL.
THE DUTY OF THE GOVERNMENT WITH REGARD
TO THE TERRITORY AND ITS PEOPLE.
The measures which are now in force for the support of law
and order in the Territory are entirely inadequate and costing
much more than a correct and efficient system would. The
case is a plain one, and the facts. in regard to it are as follows:
The Territory of Alaska was received from the hands of a
powerful fur-trading organization which held absolute sway
over the entire domain, even to the life and death of the peo-
ple, and which had governed the land despotically for more
than sixty years. It was fully prepared at any moment to
carry out its orders, and was supported by a small fleet of sail
and steam vessels, and a regularly-organized troop of empioyés
and retainers, over two thousand in number, placed here and
there throughout the country, the headquarters being at Sitka,
for political reasons.
War and revenue-marine vessels, with duly-authorized officers
and agents, were sent to the principal stations, villages, and
ports, where they ran up our flag and loualy proclaimed the fact
to the people, or natives, that they were now free and independ-
ent; that no person or parties had the power to control or di-
rect their trade in furs, or any other matter to which they might
turn their attention; that crime of all description, theft, mur-
der, &c., would be promptly dealt with, and that the agents of
the American Government would visit them at irregular though
frequent intervals, or upon call, with these vessels fully prepared
to enforce andexecute the law. This was done in 1868 and 1869.
This is all that has been done, and to-day, as matters are con-
ducted, the country is as far from control by our Government
as though it were a foreign land, the agents of the Government,
both military and civil, being unable to exercise any effectual
supervision over the affairs of the Territory, or to enforce the
laws. a
The propriety of quartering troops in this Territory may be
seriously questioned ; for where any considerable body of na-
tives exist they will be found upon the seaboard and estuaries,
oe AE
34 ALASKA.
and the only way by which their villages can be reached is by
water. Traveling by land is simply impossible, so that to-day
the two companies of artillery at Sitka are entirely unable to
correct the most wanton outrage which the Indians might see
fit to perpetrate but a mile from their sentry-lines.
The practical result of quartering troops among people like
these in Alaska is bad. The communities thus visited were
net remarkable for sobriety, morality, or industry before the
coming of our troops, but after their arrival the change for the
worse, wherever the natives were brought in contact with them,
was very marked. Honorable officers find it sufficiently diffi-
cult to restrain their subordinates in camps and posts remote
from demoralizing temptation, but when their men are sur-
rounded by simple natives who will sell themselves for ram and
tobacco, the inevitable result follows of debauchery and intem-
perance. The history of the military occupation of this Terri-
tory by our Government, although brief, reflects no honor upon
the troops, and is a most unfortunate one for the natives with
whom they came in contact, so much so that all the posts
throughout the Territory have been discontinued except that
of Sitka, of which the law, I believe, compels a continuance,
and which, I trust, will be soon repealed for the relief of the
troops, the credit of the Government, and also a saving of un-
necessary expense to the public Treasury in moving the sol-
diers to and from the Territory and of subsidizing a mail-
steamer to carry their letters, &c.
The present statute, which provides ostensibly for the gov-
ernment of the Territory, authorizes the appointment of a col-
lector of customs and four or five deputies there, the former lo-
cated at Sitka, the others at Ounalashka, Kodiak, and Wran-
gel, where they are able only to conjecture as to the condition
of revenue details in their respective districts, for they are un-
able to leave their posts. The collector of customs can exer-
cise no adequate vigilance against the illicit manufacture and
trade in whisky, smuggling, &¢., with the sailing-cutter which
is allotted to this district. A small steam-vessel alone can fol-
low these traders and smugglers through the innumerable nar-
row and intricate channels and fjiords of the Aleutian and
Alexander Archipelagoes.
With the present sailing-cutter, no calculation can be made
with reference to her movements; she is at the mercy of wind
and tide; how long will be her trip to a given place, and when
ALASKA. 35
she will return, no satisfactory conjecture can be made; she
may be absent but. a few days, and the absence may be protracted
a month. If the natives were to seize a trader’s schooner a
hundred, or even fifty, miles away from Sitka, and were the col-
lector to get instant word of it, weeks might elapse before the
sailing-cutter could get upon the ground of the outrage, and
would even then be utterly unable to follow the outlaws.
There is no trading done at Sitka; the eight or ten thousand
Indians between Cross Sound and Fort Simpson trade entirely
in the inshore passages and channels with all sorts of men and
craft; what is going on no one knows, and, as matters now
stand, the collector and his deputies are certainly not to blame
if they never know.
As matters now stand, the town-site of Sitka is the only place
in the Territory where the merest shadow of ability exists on
the part of the Government to sustain law and order, protect
property, &c. The troops there stationed are utterly helpless to
- do anything outside of their station, and what is more, the Indi-
ans know it and laugh at them when they are reproached and
warned for misdemeanors. The collector of customs has a sail-
ing-cutter, which is of no earthly use, for she cannot be used
in the intricate inside passages, where the principal body of
natives live, and can at the best make a wide, shy visit to Ko-
diak or Ounalashka, or some such outside sea port, and then
is at the mercy of the most fickle and uncertain weather for
sailing, so that no calculation can be made upon her going or
coming.
The natives of the Territory have been living since the trans-
fer under no effectual government restraint—a sudden and per-
nicious change from the strict Russian régime ; for now every-
where in the Aleutian Islands and at Kodiak the natives are
in the habit of drinking “ quass,” or home-brewed beer, to such
an extent that it bids fair to ruin them unless checked. The
leaders in drunken orgies are getting perfectly reckless, for they
have noted the fact that during the past five years there has
been no punishment or notice taken by proper authority of
crime, including theft, wife-beating, and murder ; that there is
no such thing as the shadow, even, of suspicion or power on the
part of the Government, of which they have only heard and
know nothing. |
That these people have not behaved worse during the last
two or three years in their present life of unchecked license is
a
36 ALASKA.
a strong evidence of their naturally amiable and law-abiding
disposition, and it is manifestly wrong on the part of the Gov-
ernment to allow the disorderly element in the Aleutian ard
Indian communities to gathcr such strength by continued inat-
tention; for it is leading to the rapid demoralization of the
Aleutians, and is making it unsafe for white traders to venture
singly among the Indians. I therefore most earnestly call
attention to a plan for reform in the Territory, which will not
annually draw from the Treasury more than half of what is
received every year from the tax netted from the Seal Islands
alone. :
The annual revenue derived by the Government from the Ter-
ritory, about $300,000 net, is sufficient to support the proposed
system of government, and afford an unexpended balance,
every year, of from $100,000 to $150,000; and it would also
result, in a very few years, in adding greatly to the receipts.
The following is the plan, after much deliberation, which I
venture to propose : * ji
1. Withdrawal of the troops from the Territory.
2. The placing of the collector of customs at Kodiak where
he can live without the slightest danger of injury from savages,
although if left alone at Sitka he would be subjected to no ac- |
tual risk. There is no reason why the central point for the
action of the revenue-oficers should be at Sitka in preference
to either Kodiak or Ounalashka ; both of the latter being better
situated, with ten times the amount of trade, and double the
law-abiding population; but the deputy, now at Kodiak, might
be transferred to Sitka.
3. A small revenue-steamer should be provided, with a single
gun, and haviug compound engines, so that she will use but
three or four tens of coal per diem, and steam seven to eight
knots per hour, and fitted with spars to take advantage of
favoring winds. Such a vessel could move to any point on
brief notice. She should cruise steadily throughout the year, for
she would move in good, sheltered channels. The appearance
of this vessel, at frequent intervals, would be all that is
necessary to guarantee security of life and property to traders
throughout the entire district. Her cruising-trips would estab-
lish a prompt means of communication between posts ; and she
could visit Tongass or [Tort Simpson every two or three
*Always excepting the Prybilov Group of Seal Islands, which are well pro:
vided for by special acts of Congress, approved July 1, 1870, and March 5, 1872
ALASKA, a
months and obtain the mail for the Territory, which the reve-
nue-cutter stationed on Puget Sound should be detailed to
bring at preconcerted intervals of two or three months, and, by
so doing, give the Territory a mail-system.
4, The abolition of the present subsidized mail-steamer
which runs between Portland and Sitka. The handful of white
citizens there, only two of them citizens of the United States,
have no moreright to claim the privilege of a mail-steamer,
uhich now runs for their benefit exclusively, than have the in-
habitants of Kodiak, Ounalashka, or Saint Michael’s, or half a_
dozen other villages of greater population or of more impor-
tance in this Territory.
5. The appointment of an agent, a man of character and edu-
cation, who will have an opportunity to keep the Government
well informed of the exact condition of the people in the Terri-
tory and its resources, by reason of the facilities for travel
afforded by the revenue-steamer.
6. The extension of the jurisdiction of the courts of Oregon
or Washington Territory over this Territory, so that when per-
sons belonging to the Territory, guilty of murder, arson, &c.,
are arrested and sent down for trial, they can be punished,
and not permitted to escape, as they have been iu more than
one case already, for want of this jurisdiction.
7. The laws relating to our mining-lands might be so ex-
tended as to include the Territory of Alaska. Gold and silver,
copper, iron, and coal exist here, and there is no predicting
what the future may bring forth, for prospectors are constantly
at work. |
By placing matters in the Territory on such a footing as I
have described, at least some definite approach to a system of
law and order would be initiated. There would be a steady
and prompt means of communication between all the stations
where life and property exist. No whisky-smuggling or op-
pression of the natives could be carried on without its speedy
apprehension and suppression, and the petty crimes which are
so aggravating and demoralizing at present throughout the
Territory would quickly cease. The annual revenue now
derived from the Territory is more than sufficient to support
the whole system recommended.
Beyond the adoption of this plan, in my judgment, on
the part of the Government, nothing more is required by the
Territory and its people. Any scheme of establishing Indian
38 ALASKA.
reservations or agencies in this country, with an idle and mis-
chievous retinue of superintendents, chaplains, and school-
teachers, seems to me entirely uncalled for. The people here
are keen hunters and quick-witted traders, and need no help
or care beyond that I have indicated. Such of them as are
christianized bave long ago embraced the Greek Catholic faith,
and adhere to it with devotion. The rest, or Indians, as they
are called, are just as far from being in a Christian state of -
mind as they were when first approached by the Russian priests,
over a hundred years ago.
With regard to the education of the children of the better
class of the natives, that is, the Christian Aleuts, there appears
to be one invincible obstacle. The children, sperin g astrange
tongue, will not attend school, and their parents, as a body,
will either prevent or discourage them by positive command,
or by utter indifference. Ifthey are to be educated, their church
alone can do it. It now controls them perfectly in this matter
of education.
That the children will not attend school has been most
thoroughly tested already, not only by the Russians, but by
ourselves during the past four years on the Seal Islands. In
1835 a school was opened at Ounalashka, and presided over by
one of the most indomitable and excellent of men, Veniaminov,
who tells us that in this settlement of over 275 souls then, only
‘twelve boys could be brought together.” When more than
this is wanted by Alaska in the way of legislation by Govern-
ment, it will suggest itself in due time, and in reason.
fam. ta
Cree rnk TV .
‘TRADE IN THE TERRITORY, AND THE TRADERS,
STATIONS, STATISTICS, ETC.
Trade is devoted chiefly to furs, with occasional dealings
in oil and ivory ; itis divided among a few parties, the Alaska
Commercial Company having a large preponderance, by virtue
of greater resources and greater energy, than any or all of its
competitors combined; the sagacity of its traders, and the kind-
ness with which they treat the natives, have resulted in even
more than quadrupling the yield of furs in the Yukon and
OCunalashka districts, as reported by the Russian American Fur
Company at the time of the transfer. The operation of this
company is confined to the country west from Kodiak, embracing
the Aleutian Islands, where they at the present time have but
little competition; on the Yukon, Koskoquim, and Ounalash-
ka they are opposed by Charles Jansen, and by David Shirpser
at Beleovskie and Kodiak, ant a number of small traders and
whalers in Kotzebue Sound. The trade east of Kodiak, up
Cook’s Inlet, down the coast back of Sitka, to Fort Simpson, ~
is, so far as is known—for I was unable to examine this dis-
trict—given up to small traders who ply in and out in light
schooners, canoes, &c., and, doubtless, is quite extensive and
largely illicit, for the natives will not trade at Sitka for money ;
so the inference plainly is that they dispose of their furs for
whisky, &c., in the inshore passages, where smuggling can be
carried on.
When the Russian traders first opened up the country the
natives were every where found engaged in fierce intestine wars,
and not prosecuting the chase of fur-bearing animals more
than enough to supply themselves with skins for manufac-
ture into garments; depending on the sea for their principal
means of subsistence.
They used the skin of the sea-otter and beaver generally for
cloaks, employing usually three sea-otters for one cloak; one of
these skins was cut into two pieces and afterward sewed to-
gether, so as to form a square, and were loosely tied about the
shoulders with sinall leather strings, fastened on each side; it
AO ALASKA.
was the sight of these sea-otter cloaks that excited the greed
and cupidity, and stimulated the adventurous trips made by the
first Russian traders in the Aleutian Islands, and the weari-
some voyages of the English and French to the coast of Van-
couver’s Island, and to the northward as far as Cook’s Inlet, so
early as 1785~86. The beauty and value of the skin of the sea-
otter alone drew men, who, in spite of all danger, visited every
mile of the rugged coast of this Territory, nearly a hundred
years ago, in rude, clumsy ships and shallops, and depended
upon ruder nautical instruments, without charts, &e.
The hardships endured and perils encountered by these hardy,
indomitable adventurers can be appreciated only by the seaman
of to-day, who may sail in their tracks, provided with a gener-
ally correct chart of a coast then absolutely unknown, in the
best Sailing-vessels, fully equipped with perfect nautical instru-
ments, and yet this modern sailor cannot sleep day or night
with safety while he is on the coast or among the islands, so
severe is the trial. Th
The first great demand by the natives in the Territory, as an
equivalent for their furs, was iron ; the English traders used to
make it up into thick wrought bands, about eighteen inches to
two feet in length, with a breadth of two inches, called “ toes ;”
for one of these, at first, they readily procured a fine sea-otter
or two, and a hatchet would obtain two or three; tobacco, the
present great staple of trade, was then scarcely in demand,
but soon became so; flour, when given by the Russians to some
Aleuts at Ounalashka, in 1788, was taken by them up to a hill-
top and throwr by handfuls to the wind, the natives enjoying
the sight of the mock snow-storm spectacle much more than
the use of the material for food; over on the mainland, when
crackers and sugar were given to some natives, at Nushagak,
they spit it from their mouths with disgust, wearing an expres-
sion of exceeding dislike for the strange food; lead pleased
the Aleutians at first very inuch, it could be cut and fashioned
so readily, but the most determined trials on their part faiied,
of course, to make it retaina cutting-edge, and they finally gave
it up. |
By degrees, however, and quite rapidly, iron with form of
spear heads, axes, knives, kettles, &c., became a drug among
the people generally, and a taste for the wearing of cotton
and woolen goods, the use of tea and tobacco, caused the natives
of the Aleutian Islands to strain every nerve in hunting the sea-
ALASKA. Al
otter, and so effectually did they do so that the animals dimin-
ished in a very short time to but a fraction of their former
number; but the natives of the mainland, a very different class
of people, and incapable of living in as advanced a civilization
as the Aleutians, were never aroused, and never will be, to any
such activity by any legitimate effort to trade; they only covet
tobacco and rum, and a little of either, used as an Indian uses
them, goes a long way.
Therefore, while we may say that the fur-trade of the Aleu-
tian Islands and the Peninsula, as far as Kodiak, has been and
is to-day developed to its full importance, it is very evident
that, with regard to the rest of the Territory, the annual yield
can be and will be greatly augmented by the exertions of our
energetic and industrious traders who are now scattered in
keen rivalry over the ground.
By the very nature of the business, character of country,
and climate of Alaska, white men will never themselves do any
sea-otter hunting or mainland trapping; it rests solely with
the natives, and the annual yield depends entirely upon the
exertions which these people may be inclined to make as a
means of procuring coveted articles in the hands of the traders.
The hardship and privation to whicz the fox and marten trap-
pers, and especially the sea-otter hunters, are subjected while
in pursuit of their quarry are very great, yet not so great but
that white men could endure and would endure them did it pay
well enough; but it will be seen by reference to the tables
giving the fur yield of the Territory that in proportion to the
number of hunters, all of whom are more or less skillful, the
return is a small one, and would not equal the earnings of the
ordinary mechanic or day-laborer in our country, with the
marked exception of the wages of the inhabitants of the Seal
Islands, who live better and receive more pay than a majority
of our people who are dependent upon manual labor for support.
The life and labor of the trader on the mainland and islands
is one of much discomfort, and at certain seasons of the year
of incessant activity. A chief trader, though burdened with
much responsibility, lives quietly and comfortably at the re-
doubt or station where he is posted, the headquarters usually
of a very large district; but the tracing is all done by deputy
traders, who are under the control of this head officer. These
men start out from the post alone, perhaps accompanied by an
Indian, with a dog-team and sled, which is loaded with several
42 ALASKA.
hundred-weight of goods, such as are likely to be most prized
by the tribes they intend to visit for the purposes of trade,
usually tobacco, calico, beads, and powder and ball, caps, &e. ;
but the great bulk is generally tobacco. These men start in
the dead of winter, provided with nothing but a blanket, a
tent, a few. pounds of dried meat or fish, and tea, and go in
this way from tribe to tribe, from settlement to settlement,
until the intended circuit is made or the goods disposed of.
When the trader reaches a settlement he inquires if the
Indians there have any furs; if-so, he pitches his tent and
unpacks his goods under it, seats himself in the middle, near
an aperture in the tent, so that the natives may approach and
look in upon his assortment. Their skins are then passed
through the opening with an intimation of what is desired
from the trader’s stock in exchange. The trader examines the
skins, tosses them over into a common heap, and tears off the
cloth or passes out the tobacco as the Indians require; and
this continues till the business is concluded. :
If the trader finds at the close of his trading at any one or
more settlements that the bulk or weight of his furs is too great —
for removal on his sled, he gives the surplus into the care of
some one of the people, counting over to him in the presence
of the whole village all the skins. This man takes charge and
honestly guards them until the trader comes in person or sends
for them, and the whole community seems to feel as if their
reputation were at stake, for they will neither molest the
trader’s cache nor permit others to do so. This is certainly a
strange and most noteworthy characteristic of the Indians of
the great interior of Alaska, designated in this report as the
Yukon district.
The trading on the nortbwest .coast, however, from Puget
Sound up to Prince William’s Sound, was and is conducted in
a very different manner from that of the Yukon district. Here
the traders, large and small, employed vessels varying from
steamers of considerable size to sloops. Since, however, the
withdrawal of the Russian American Company from the Terri-
tory, and the steamer Labouchere of the Hudson Bay Com-
pany, but one trading-steamer remains upon this coast, viz, the
old Otter, the property of the last-named corporation. Sailing-
vessels, small schooners principally, monopolize the trade, and
of these there are eight or ten at least.
The practice of these trading-vessels is to cruise along the
ALASKA. 43
coast, running into the numerous canals, channels, and harbors
so characteristic of the region, where they come to an anchor,
within easy reach of the shore, and wait for the pvatives to
come off to them in their canoes laden with whatever they
may possess fit for barter. The trading itself is tedious be-
yond all measure. The natives will sit in their canoes
around the vessel for hours before showing the least atten-
tion or desire for business; then when it does begin the
haggling baffles description; each Indian after the other try-
ing to get a little more than his predecessor, no matter how
Slight or insignificant it may be. The traders of course dare
not, even to gain precious time, deviate from an invariable
rule or tariff in barter, and so the slow exchange goes on. The
Indians throughout this whole section are shrewd and artful
traders, and do not scruple to adopt any means by which they
can outwit or deceive the white trader, so that it is unfortu-
nately a case of diamond cut diamond wherever traders meet
the natives of the northwest coast to-day.
With the Indians of the Territory trade is carried on with-
out the use of coin, but on the Aleutian Islands, among the
Christian Aleuts, the people take cash for their furs and pay
over the counters of the different stores for their goods; and
this necessitates the keeping of accounts, since the traders
oiten find it to their advantage to give credit to a penniless
hunter. These accounts the Aleuts keep in very good shape,
and they are seldom in error over their reckoning.
The Russians pursued a different course from our people in —
conducting their trade in this region, where they were free from
the competition of rival traders. Baranov, the real founder
and maker of the Russian American Company, was a man of
indomitable energy and foresight, and gave the affairs of the
company his vigilant personal supervision everywhere and at
all times, but his successors were unlike him, and made no
exertion to pay dividends to the stockholders, or to pay debts.
All of these gentlemen, with one exception, General Vivia-
tovskie, were officers of the imperial fleet, and lived in official
rotation at Sitka, which was selected in preference to Kodiak
as a better position in which to menace and repel the advances
of the Hudson’s Bay people along the coast belonging to
Alaska. They were surrounded by a troop of subordinates,
living without regard to cost or expenditure of time or labor;
a fleet of fourteen or fifteen vessels, steam and sail. Indeed,
CS ALASKA.
no better commentary on the management can be made than
a reference to their archives, where in almost any one year,
look, for instance, January, 1863, (Techmainov, vol. ii, p. 224,)
at this table showing the number and distribution of the em-
ployés and dependents :
meee Russians, Fins, c Aleutes and
Districts. and foreigners. Russian crcoles. Kuriles. Total.
Men.| Women. | Men.| Women. | Men.| Women. | Men.| Women.
District of Sitka..... 418 50 210 300 36 31 664 381
District of Kodiak...) 129 1] 480 489 !1,010 983 |1, 619 1, 473
DistrictofOunalashka AUN See ene 131 125 749 835 E84 960
District of Atka -.-.. OF BPA Be Oy 106 | 367 342 | 463 448
District of Yulkon.... BOCES SNS Bee Sele Q5 Pat 14 11 71 32
District of Kuriles... NN | SRS RPE aes 4 5 | 126 108 131 113
Total seseesesce 536 51 | 944 1, 046 |2, 302 2, 310 |3, 822 “2 406
Or a grand total of 6,977 dependents of all classes, and of this
number over 1,200 were paid regular salaries, from the governor
down to the serf. ;
And yet, with this small army of servants and dependents, the
Russians, for the last forty years of their possession, did not
get one-half of the furs annually that our traders now secure
every year since their establishment in the Territory, while
there are not over two hundred men engaged in the whole busi-
ness at present.
Take the sea-otter trade for instance... The Russians called
it a fair season when they secured in the course of the year,
throughout the whole Territory, 350 to 400 sea-otters; many
years occurred in which less than 200 were taken; but during
the last two years 2,500 to 3,090 have been captured each sea-
son in the Aleutian and Kodiak districts alone; and I estimate
that not less than 500 have been taken from Cook’s Inlet down
to ort Simpson. This great increase in the development of
the business is simply due to the active personal supervision
of the present agents and traders.
In connection with this view of the trade and traders in the
Territory, it is proper to mention the operations of the Alaska
Commercial Company, as it has been the subject of comment
by the press. The whole matter appears to amount to this,
that the fur-trade of Alaska, (always excepting the Seal
Islands,) placed, as it is, in a fair field for competition, will
sooner or later be controlled by those who invest the most
mouey in the undertaking and send the best men for the work,
who make their stations more attractive to the natives, and
ALASKA. AD5
render communication between their wide-scattered posts more
frequent and regular. It will be more difficult every year for
small or inexperienced traders to do anything at the fur-trade
m this Territory, and the trade does not appear extensive
enough to support the operations of two companies, each with
as much capital invested as the one in question. The result
would be that one would have to withdraw. As far, however,
as the Government is concerned, the field for trade in Alaska
is free and open to all; a practical illustration of which is
shown in the following statement of affairs existing at Ouna-
lashka: |
Ounalashka is an Aleutian village of some four hundred
souls, men, women, and children; of these sixty are first-class
sea-otter hunters, and this is their profession. The Alaska
Commercial Company have erected three large warehouses
fronting a wharf, where their vessels unload and load; a large
store-house, filled with a most extensive selection of goods; a
very large dwelling-house for their traders; with office, court-
yard, stables for cattle and sheep, a blacksmith-shop, &e., all
finished in first-class style, and furnished thoroughly through-
out. The company have also erected and are building snug
cottages for their best hunters to live in; and there is a school-
house, where the native children are invited to attend, which
some do. In opposition to this, a young man is placed in a
small, weather-worn, rickety shanty, which is made to serve
as warehouse, store, and living-room for the agent; a most
meager stock of goods, no assortment whatever; and yet this
young man, who has not got one dollar to back him, came to
me and complained of the almost total] loss of bis trade, and
said in explanation that it was due to the fact that though the
natives wanted to trade with him, yet they were living under
the influence of fear to such an extent that they dared not do
it, and hence transferred their trade. I told him, after looking
about the place and talking with the natives and their priest
tor three or four days, that the only fear that these people of
Ounalashka had in the matter was a most whoiesome one; it
was the fear, coupled with an absolute certainty, that, as he
was situated for trade, they would not do as well at his estab-
lishment as they could at his opponent’s, and the dullest of
them could readily appreciate it; therefore, if any successful
opposition to the Alaska Commercial Company is to be made
in the Territory where it is established, money must, be freely
46 ALASKA.
expended in buildings and upon the people, who will go with
wonderful promptness and unanimity wherever they can make
the most in trade and are best treated, for they are keen and
shrewd.
I now pass to the consideration of the several trading dis-
tricts, and the character and quality of the furs obtained from
them respectively.
THE YUKON DISTRICT.
KKOTZEBUE SOUND:
The trade at this place with the natives is principally by
whaling-vessels, which are supplied with liquors; they fit out
and clear from the Sandwich Islands for the arctic, and take
advantage of the impunity with which they ean visit this port
and profit by this illicit occupation; for the natives here, as
everywhere else, are passionately fond of liquor, and a large
proportion of the best furs from the Lower Yukon, the region
south of Saint Michael’s, is picked out by Indian traders and car-
ried to this place, where they can be exchanged for whisky.
The trade, however, that belongs to the sound itself is not ex-
tensive; only a small number of Eskimo live here, in scattered
settlements along the coast, at the mouths of debouching creeks,
&c. The catch of fur-bearing animals is not large; the people
themselves live more by trading than by hunting, 7. e., trading
between the people living far to the southward and eastward
on the one hand, and the whalers and others, making profits as
middlemen.
NORTON’S SOUND :
A few Eskimo traders live here; the catch and yield of fur-
bearing animals unimportant. These people assist the Kotzebue
traders in getting their furs carried up and over to that place,
and many of them go over to Port Clarence with an assortment
of furs, beaver principally, where they meet the people from
the Asiatic side, who cross Bering’s Straits in the winter on the
ice by way of the Diomede Islands, with dog-sleds, loaded with
tame reindeer-skins, tanned, which are in great demand by the
natives of this district for manufacture into cloaks, coats, par-
kies, &c., while the Asiatics are equally desirous of getting any
and all kinds of fur, such as mink, marten, land-otter, beaver,
&e., but desire beaver especially.
ALASKA. 47
THE DIOMEDES, KinG’s ISLAND, SLEDGE ISLAND, AND SAINT
LAWRENCE—
Are inhabited by a few Eskimo, but there is no trade with
them worth mentioning; they have a little walrus-oil and ivory,
and a few red foxes, and occasionally get some whalebone.
SAINT MICHAEL’S:
This is a shipping-point only for the accumulated furs gath-
ered by the traders from the Lower and Upper Yukon, at Nu-
lato, Fort Yukon, and the Tannanah. The present annual yield
from these points is the largest and most valuable from the
mainland of Alaska. A vessel coming to Saint Michael’s in the
Summer will find from one hundred to one hundred and fifty
Indians; they have come in from long distances to the north-
west, eastward, and southward; but the fur-trading on the
Yukon River and its many tributaries is very irregular as to
time and place year after year, the traders constantly moving
from settlement to settlement. This year they may only get a
thousand skins where they got five thousand last season, and
vice versa. It is impossible to say where the best place for
trade will be, the catch in different sections varying every
winter with the depth of snow, the severity of climate, Sc.
NUNIVAK:
Trade here is small and unimportant, principally walrus-oil,
some ivory, and a few red foxes. |
CAPE ROMANZOV:
Traders come up from the Koskoquim and down from the
Yukon to this point, where they get some very good furs, mink,
marten, and foxes. AtCape Avinova, the district there is quite
celebrated for its marten catch, both in quantity and quality;
a large number of brown bear range here, where they subsist
upon berries, roots, reindeer, &c. The Indians live in small
huts and settlements scattered all along the coast down from
Saint Michael’s.
Koskoquim:
The trade is extensive, and done principally at Kolmakov
Redoubt, about one hundred and fifty miles up the river from
its mouth, and at a station some sixty miles below it. The
traders come down the river in June with their cargoes and
meet the ships. The principal trade is beaver, red foxes, mink,
48 ALASKA.
(plenty,) marten, land-otter, (abundant,) bears, brown and
black. The people of this district keep traveling all the year
round.
NUSHAGAK :
About the same as at Koskoquim, but the quality of sable
or marten deteriorates very much and rapidly as the trader
goes south from this region. Thepeople are also great travelers,
always on the move. This section closes the Yukon district,
which forms the western boundary of that of the Peninsula
and Kodiak. In this country, between Kotzebue and its south-
ern boundary back into the interior as far as a ye niles,
furs are gathered as follows: |
Beaver are taken of the very best quality andin the greatest
quantity, and an immense number of musk-rat skins, for the
trader must buy everything, (these musk-rat skins are princi-
pally shipped to France and Germany, for poor people wear
them;) of red foxes, quite a large number are taken. black
foxes are seldom obtained, perhaps three or four on an average -
during the year. Silver-gray foxes, a small number annually.
Mink and marten of very fine quality from Koskoquim to the
northward, but from this point to the southward this fur deteri-
orates rapidly. Land-otter, quite a large number of the best
quality. Black and brown bear, a few ; a small trade in swans’-
down. Hider-down, with profit, cannot be sold in San Irancisco,
but it is valuable in Russia. (German goose-down is used by
our upholsterrs in preference, as it is much cheaper and just
as good.) eindeer-skins are dried; quite a large number of
these which go east are tanned, and make a very superior
leather.
Figures to show the number of skins taken out of the coun-
try might easily be obtained were it under the control of a sin-
gle corporation, as it was under the Russian rule, but as it.is
now, With ten or a dozen independent traders, large and small,
all studiously concealing or purposely exaggerating their trans-
actions in order to draw or divert trade, the figures, were they
furnished, would be quite unreliable. The following table, how-
ever, showing the yield of this district during a period of
twenty years, between 1842 and 1861, as given by Russian au-
thority, may be deemed correct; and I was assured by Father
Shiesneekov, of Onnalashka, a Russian priest, born and raised
in this country, that the present yield of furs is at least four
AW oy eal
ALASKA. 49
times as great every year, compared with the table, owing to
the greater activity and energy of our traders:
Zable showing the number of skins taken by the Russian American Company from
the Yukon district, during the period between 1842 and 1861, twenty years.
& = 3 3)
2 S Ss = a
ro} = & A D> 2 =)
° y eo - cA I oO .
- sS + “ D = = > as cI
Pie ue Pre aks (hee es
aa 5 =) a a cs Eo 4 a)
Koskoquim .- ..| 32, 396 PETG se 2 OOS tes ei es SOTO see leases 327 93
Saint Michael's} 49,398 4, 954 8, 853 | -330 ASG68)) OP Shoe. <<: 52 1, C07 183
1,334 | 276
Total ...| $1,794 | 6,119 | 10,951 = 4, 668 | 13, 806 520 | 52
Guided by this exhibit, if I could rely on what has been
affirmed by the traders whom I have met in the Territory, the
catch in the Yukon district during the last three years has
averaged six times as much as the Russian annual average.
THE PENINSULAR AND KODIAK.
OAGASHIK :
This is the only trading-station on the north shore of the
Peninsula, and it is in itself inconsiderable ; the people have a
few red foxes, a few beaver, but quite a fair number of reindeer-
skins, the country being fairly alive with these animals; they
also are adjacent to the large walrus hauling-grounds in Bris-
tol Bay, and some ivory is secured by them; they have a few
brown bears, an occasional wolf-skin, and a little swans’-cown.
BELCOVSKIE:
A sea-otter post: the natives bring in the skins of these
animals, which they obtain at Saanach and the Chernobour
Rocks; the trade otherwise is unimportant—a few red foxes
and brown bears.
Saanach. A sea-otter post recently established: nearly two-
thirds of the sea-otters captured in the whole Alaskan district
are taken around this island.
Unga. A sea-otter post, with small tradein red foxes, black
and brown bears, &c.
Kodiak, or Saint Paul’s—Once the headquarters of the old
Russian American Company, but since 1825 it has been a
mere trading-post; a large number of sea-otter hunters make
it their home, and bring in their quarry for trade there; all the
trade of Kenai and Cook’s Inlet came in here under the old
4 AL
50 ALASKA.
régime, but it is now confined principally to the sea-otter trade ;
the Cook’s Inlet and Katmai trade is mostly engrossed by
trading-schooners plying between these places and Puget
Sound; the yield of this district under the Russian control
is given for twenty years, 1842-1861, inclusive, as follows:
Sea-otters, 5,809 ; beaver, 85,381; marten, 14,295; minks, 1,175;
musk-rats, 14,313; wolverines, 1,276; marmots, 712; wolves, 58.
In the Cooxk’s INLET DISTRICT, the MOUNT SAINT ELIAS and
SITKAN DISTRICTS, there are no well-established trading-posts,
the business being conducted on shipboard everywhere, the
natives coming off to the trading-schooners in their canoes.
At the time of the Russian occupation there was considerable
trading done at Sitka, but now it has fallen off entirely, the
natives of that place and vicinity going back into the inside
passages, where they can trade with whisky-schooprers in per-
fect security, as affairs are now conducted in the Territory.
A large variety of furs are brought in from the dense forests
and high mountains of this region—such as red, black, and sil-
ver foxes, brown and black bears, mink, marten, porcupines,
beaver, land and sea otter, fur-seal, hair-seal, deer, rabbits, |
squirrels, mountain-goats, ermines, and the hoary marmot or
whistler. ,
THE OUNALASHKA DISTRICT:
This embraces the whole of the Aleutian Archipelago, and is
given entirely to the sea-otters; there is nothing clse in this
section fit for trade save a few red and black foxes, and in it
are established six stations, viz: Ounalaska, the largest and
principal one, Akootan, Chernovskie, Oomnak, Atka, and Attou,
which are the homes of the sea-otter hunters, and where they
trade.
The stations enumerated in the foregoing districts comprise
all that are established in the Alaskan Territory.
THE VALUE OF THE FUR-TRADE.
With the exception of the Sitkan and Cook’s Inlet districts,
the gross value of the annual fur-production of Alaska can be
closely ascertained. I append to this head several tables from
Russian authorities in reference to the subject, and call atten-
tion to the fact that for the last ninety years or more, up to the
present date, the prices of the leading furs in our market to-day
are very much what they were then, with the exception of the
ALASKA. 51
fur-seal, which has been greatly enhanced in value by reason of
improvement in dressing, but the marten and the sea-otter
stand to-day at almost the same figures at which they were
bought and sold a hundred years ago in China, where the value
of money has remained the same; the native hunters, how-
ever, receive now three, four, and five times as much as they
were paid by the Russian American Company for their skins.
The following list may be taken as very nearly correct, and
shows the gross value of the fur-trade of the Territory to the
traders for the year 1873: .
100,000 fur-seal skins, at an average of $7..---.------.-.-..-.---- $700, 000
3,000 sea-otter skins, at an average of $75 .----.-..----.-------- 225, 060
50,000 skins from the Yukon district, assorted, atan average of $2. 100,000
30,000 skins from all the rest of the Territory, (this is a very un-
satisfactory estimate,) at an average of $2 --..-...---.-------- 60, 000
= TE LUE Boe ee a eee 1, 085, 000
Which is more than double the annual receipts of any one of
the best of the last twenty years of the Russian American
Company, so far as can be judged by reference to their state-
- ments, as is shown in the table at the close of this article.
It seems that the Seal Islands represent two-thirds of the
whole value of the fur-trade of Alaska, and that with the sea-
otter interest combined there is scarcely anything left.
Matters are now so arranged on the Seal Islands that the Gov-
ernment nets arevenue of $300,000 per annum, with the pres-
ervation of its interest there in all of its original integrity.
With reference to the sea-otter trade, [ think I clearly show
the necessity for protection from the Government in my dis-
cussion of the subject in this report, and, in regard to the
remaining interests, the country itself protects them.
52 ALASKA.
Table showing the yield of the different stations in the Territory of Alaska, from
the archives of the Russian American Fur Company, for a period of twenty
years, between 1842 and 1861.
n : : 2 D
a there E 3: he
a & 5 ay :
a as S : a 3 “
~~ oO ta =] rod | g =
Buliedviseie: Bly 4) gcd le
RD R id < <4 } mm | ee
15.300) yee er ae See oot 49, 398 ‘32; 396. |. 26.0)3. 2 3.|o=05.4| See eee 85, 381
Land-otterss.-cc-sscjesce=s 2. 4, 954 L165) |PSe to oee teen S294 SID eens =
Sea-otterm. oa uaids oon) 35s at ah ee ee ere 2, 242 | 1,188 5, 686 | 3, 611 5, £09
Warsealt. ooo coos 2 ee 9 | i pel eeinighs EBB PARAM Ee
Foxes, black.....-- 2) ssco0c).-|e- scsi ct] sen S. ecg: | Se bSe ae cee ee
Foxes, Silver.....---). 5 s-0-5| 222-22. 2 c)ocn ence. on] Seco ee oo) or
Waxes, ed oes Ke es ad, ae 10, 216 F500, 529k Siaee =| 19671 cera ere
Foxes; blne ..-. 22-2 er Na (Ur epee 320°} | 2,503") 1,685 | 22522 Se oe ae ee ee
MORES SwhitO <.5-).c5)s<ken see acameseets[eeesie ccs 23)|oecmaw on eeekee|: Sees See rs
Martens s<accqumeess|tanmen ae 8, 853 2, 098 |. .~ 2 wine] -- neni eee ene par ares be Se
avis i. sesh ee eas 8 330 || ose. oe d[lee oe ee r UB ey
WVOlhVGlTHOS 4. Saji oe bt Se ee FP Sone ee) ot 1, 276
PVG Aes ose e eee le oe eee 1, 007 327 |. 2.02622) cacc ce] eee eee eee eee
Wolves 2... .22...25035|- 5-2 00-8|cs esate gsiccchee sees Soe. bees |S) ae ae 58
IBGAUS Hears cece tens] sseeeces 183 93 4.2. . 2 ==). oe celeriac aera ors rete eines
Hea-llONs'. .. 5.2.2. .2.-| sce ck es] esc ce sec -]esecce 35s | oe. teens | eee ce ee eee eee eee
MtcSkenatsy- oe asim estliscne ces 4,668 ).|..5---<-.-||.-052-.2]e2 eee ee 14,313
Marmots 2.026... .2|s-s00ecel| sSsconse oo Soeg-o 8-56) cciee amo eles ks eee ee 712
Walrus-teeth .....-. 4160lbs} 116]bs.| 1,040 Ibs. |........|..--.. 21,640 Ibs|....~.|51,840 lbs
Cantera j422-3058 4s cones: 3,315 prs..| 6,836>prs. |...) <4) -2 2.51 eee eer
Table showing the exportation of furs by the Russian-American Company.
Period of Period of Period of
Variety of fur. 1797 - 1221, 1821 — 1842, 1842 - 1861,
(24 years.) (21 years.) (19 years.)
Sea-otter, adult and 1-year old skins ..--. 72, 894 25, 416 25, 899
Spa-ottentailsi. cs. -2. Ss sese ee cas see te Wee 34, 546 23, 506 25, 797
MEL GHUOES Seances ses soe sce eee oe 14, 969 29, 442 70, 473
PER SIA a ars areata ies de patent oie ween 1,232) 374. 458, 502 372, E94
MS OAVEIN Me Senor ekisstale Capinee he pmae omer 34, 546 162, 034 157, 484
Hpoxes black 73. -2 ect eee: no Soe ass 13, 702 17, 913
HOSES, CLOSSiO”r SILWER -ncce- ooetcee ss sece 21, 890 26, 462 ‘ 77, 847
FIRES POO 2 Sse ee eee eee Soe ae Ba (Sokee Se 30, 950 45, 947
Hoxes We aacaceasee oes ene eee eee 36, 362 55, 714 } 54. 134
Pongal WHS sn. 1.3 eft DASA 4, 234 13, 638 i
MARIE S sos anita: Boe eo cee sae en eee 17, 289 15, 666 12, 782
Minks: 22.2.2 Sos. Se eee Eee ees 4, 202 15, 481 72
AViGIGODINES = oass- os eciiemeegam eee we a ee oy | 1, 564 10
1 45). Soy ee ea iat aN ee ede Oe yc. Tp a Ay 6 ae 1, 389 4, 253 6, 927
SWRI GS ie Seco alc Sere ae eee eee tne Rone 121 201 24
AOATSE ces dioec ns Sods Soe eee aoe eae 1, 602 5, 390 1, 893
MES NONG) VOWNE «ozo antes a eee aie 21) |p ons ae ee
NGS Ker gant oe Sol os a eee ee Breces ee sg 4,491 6, 570
RW IRGS TOCUN =i on.2 5 ose eee Here ee cs 64,640 Ibs, |. 2-0 2.2 seeeeeeee 2€0, 040 Ibs.
CASTORMMA Sse ccct eGo ace Bo ewok oe Hae 20:1D5..)2 2. sons neo 4, 960 Ibs.
EVV aLe-DONGW- - vo sc Soot as nina cele cea sees 40, 040 IDS. | 2 ss se oceeeeee 138, 200 lbs.
The following shows the amount of food-supplies required,
independent of tea, tobacco, and liquor, for the annual subsist-
ence of the employés of the Russian-American Company,
(1863 ;) a year’s supply or more was always kept in advance in
case of an emergency, (from Techmainov :)
AWAGKA. 53
Wheat, 14,000 poods, at 3 rubles and 26 kopecks a pood, (or
36 pounds.)
Flour, 498 poods, at 6 rubles and 31 kopecks a pood.
Peas, 404 poods, at 4 rubles and 90 kopecks a pood.
Split wheat, 404 poods, at 4 rubles and 90 kopecks a pood.
Salt, 922 poods, at 3 rubles and 78 kopecks a pood.
Butter, 498 poods, at 20 rubles and 20 kopecks a pood.
Hams, 92 poods, at 59 kopecks a pound.
The rubles are paper, equal to 20 cents each. A pood is 36
pounds English, or 40 Russian pounds.
oe tne a
a ag aa
CU FLAP ew
THE SEA-OTTER AND ITS HUNTING.
The sea-otter, like the fur-seal, is another illustration of an
animal long known and highly prized in the commercial world,
yet respecting the habits and life of which nothing definite
has been ascertained or published. The reason for this is obvi-
ous, for, save the natives who hunt them, no one properly quali-
fied has ever had an opportunity of seeing the sea-otter so as
to study it in a state of nature, for, of all the shy, sensitive
beasts, upon the capture of which man sets any value, this
creature is the most keenly on the alert and difficult to obtain ;
and, like the fur-seal in this Territory, it possesses the enhanc-
ing value of being principally confined to our country. A truth-
ful account of the strange, vigilant life of the sea-otter, and of
the hardships and perils encountered by its hunters, would sur-
pass in novelty and interest the most attractive work of fiction.
When the Russian traders opened up the Aleutian Islands
they found the natives commonly wearing sea-otter cloaks,
which they parted with at first for a trifle, not placing any es-
pecial value on the animal, as they did the hair-seal and the
sea-lion, the flesh and skins of which were vastly more palata-
ble and serviceable to them; but the offers of the greedy
traders soon set the natives after them. During the first tew
years the numbers of these animals taken all along the Alen-
tian Chain, and down the whole northwest coast as far as Ore-
gon, were very great, and compared with what are now captured
seem perfectly fabulous; for instance, when the Prybilov Isl-
ands were first discovered, two sailors, Lukannon and Kaiekov,
killed at Saint Paul’s Island, in the first year of occupation,
five thousand ; the next year they got less than a thousand, and
in six years after not a single sea-otter appeared, and none have
appeared since. When Shellikov’s party first visited Cook’s
Inlet, they secured three thousand; during the second year,
two thousand; in the third, only eight hundred; the season
following they obtained six hundred; and finally, in 1812, less
than a hundred, and since then not a tenth of that number.
The first visit made by the Russians to the Gulf of Yahkutat,
ALASKA. 55
in 1794, two thousand sea-otters were taken, but they dimin-
ished so rapidly that in 1799 less than three hundred were taken.
In 1798 a large party of Russians and Aleuts captured in Sitka
Sound and neighborhood twelve hundred skins, besides those
for which they traded with the natives there, fully as many
more; and in the spring of 1800 a few American and English
vessels came into Sitka Sound, anchored off the small Russian
settlement there, and traded with the natives for over two
thousand skins, getting the trade of the Indians by giving fire-
arms and powder, ball, &c., which the Russians did not dare
to do, living then, as they were, in the country. In one of the
early years of the Russian American Company, 1804, Baranov
went to the Okotsk from Alaska with fifteen thousand sea-otter
skins, that were worth as much then as they are now, viz, fully
$1,000,000.
‘The result of this warfare upon the sea-otters, with ten hunt-
ers then where there is one to-day, was not long delayed. Eve-
ry where throughout the whole coast-line frequented by them the
diminution set in, and it became difficult to get to places where
a thousand had once been as easily obtained as twenty-five or
thirty. A Russian chronicler says: ‘* Tbe numbers of several
kinds of animals are growing very mnucb less in the present
as compared with past times; for instance, the company here
(Ounalashka) regularly killed more than a thousand sea-otters
annually ; now (1835) from seventy to a hundred and fifty are
taken; and there was atime, in 1826, when the returns from the
whole Ounalashkan district (the Aleutian Islands) were only ji7-
teen skins.” _ '
It is also a fact coincident with this diminution of the sea-
otters, that the population of the Aleutian Islands fell off almost
in the same proportion. The Russians regarded the lives
of these people as they did those of dogs, and treated them ac-
cordingly; they took, under Baranov and his subordinates, hunt-
ing-parties of five hundred to a thousand picked Aleuts, eleven
or twelve hundred miles to the eastward of their homes, in skin-
baidars and bidarkies, or kyacks, traversing one of the wildest
and roughest of coasts, and used them not only for the severe
drudgery of otter-hunting, but to fight the Koloshians and
other savages all the way up and down the coast; this soon
destroyed them, and few ever got back alive.
When the Territory came into our possession the Russians
were taking between four and five hundred sea-otters from the
56 ALASKA.
Aleutian Islands and south of the peninsula of Alaske, with
perhaps a hundred and fifty more from Kenai, Yahkutat, and
the Sitkan district; the Hudson’s Bay Company and other
traders getting about two hundred more from the coast of Queen
Charlotte’s and Vancouver’s Islands, and off Gray’s Harbor,
Washin gton Territory. .
Now, during the last season, 1873, instead of less than seven
hundred skins, as obtained by the Russians, our traders secured
not much less than four thousand skins. This immense dilfer-
ence is not due to the fact of there being a proportionate in-
crease of sea-otters, but to the organization of hunting-parties
in the same spirit and fashion as in the early days above men-
tioned. The keen competition of our traders will ruin the busi-
ness in a comparatively short time if some action is not taken
by the Government; and to the credit of these traders let it be
said, that while they cannot desist, for if they do others will
step in and profit at their expense, yet they are anxious that
some prohibition should be laid upon the business. This can
be easily done, and in such a manner as to perpetuate the sea-
otter, not only for themselves, but for the natives, who are de-
pendent upon its hunting for a living which makes them supe-
rior to savages.
Over two-thirds of all the sea-otters taken in Alaska are
secured in two small areas of water, little rocky islets and reefs
around the island of Saanach and the Chernobours, which
proves that these animals, in spite of the incessant hunting all
the year round on this ground, seem to have some particular
preference for it to the practical exclusion of nearly all the rest
of the coast in the Territory. This may be due to its better
adaptation as a breeding-ground. It is also noteworthy that
all the sea-otters taken below the Straits of Fuca are skot by
the Indians and white hunters off the beach in the surf at
Gray’s Harbor, a stretch of less than twenty miles; here some
fifty to a hundred are taken every year, while not half that
number can be obtained from all the rest of the Orezon and
Washington coast-line; there is nothing in the external appear-
ance of this reach to cause its selection by the sea-otters, ex-
cept perhaps that it may be a little less rocky.
As matters are now conducted by the hunting parties, the
sea-otters at Saanach and the Chernobours do not have a day’s
rest during the whole year. Parties relieve each other in suc-
cession, and a continual warfare is maintained. This persistence
ALASKA. bf
is stimulated by the traders, and is rendered still more deadly
to the sea-otter by the use of rifles of the best make, which, in
the hands of the young and ambitious natives, in spite of the
warnings of the old men, must result in the extermination of
these animals, as no authority exists in the land to prevent it.
These same old men, in order to successfully compete with
their rivals, have to drop their bone spears and arrows and
take up fire-arms in self-defense. So the bad work goes on
rapidly, though a majority of the natives and the traders
deprecate it.
With a view to check this evil and to perpetuate the life of
the sea-otter in the Territory, I offer the following suggestions
to the Department:
1st. Prohibit the use of fire-arms of any description in the
hunting of the sea-otter in the Territory of Alaska.
2d. Make it unlawful for any party or parties to hunt this
animal during the months of June, July, and August, fixing a
suitable penalty, fine, or punishment.
The first proposition gives the sea-otter a chance to live; and,
with the second, may possibly promote an increase in the num-
ber of this valuable animal.
The enforcement by the Government of this prohibition will not
be difficult, as it is desired by a great majority of the natives
and all the traders having any real interest in the perpetuation
of the business. A good deputy attached to the customs, whose
salary and expenses might be more than paid by a trifling tax
upon each otter-skin, say $1, could, if provided with a sound
whale-boat, make his headquarters at Saanach and Belcovski
and carry the law into effect. The trade of the Kodiak dis-
trict centers at the village of that name, and the presence of
the collector or his deputy will exert authority, and cause the
old native hunters and many of the younger who have reflec-
tion to comply with his demands. The collector then being
provided with the small revenue-steamer spoken of in my
chapter upon the duty of the Government toward the Territory,
can insure compliance with the instructions given him, and
punish violations.
This proposed action on the part of the Government is urgent
and humane, for upon the successful hunting of the sea-otter
some five thousand Christianized natives are entirely dependent
for the means to live in a condition superior to barbarism.
58 ALASKA.
THE HABITS OF THE SEA-OTTER, (Hnhydra marina.)
I have had a number of interesting interviews with several
very intelligent traders, and an English hunter who had spent
an entire winter on Saanach Island, shooting sea-otters, and
enduring, while there, bitter privation and hardship; and
chiefly from their accounts, aided by my own observation, I
submit the following: |
Saanach Island, Islets, and Reefs, is the great sea-otter ground
of this country. The island itself is small, with a coast-line
circuit of about eighteen miles. Spots of sand-beach are found
here and there, but the major portion of it is composed of enor-
mous water-worn bowlders piled up by the surf. The interior
is low and rolling, with a ridge rising into three hills, the mid-
dle one some 800 feet in height. There is no timber on it, but
abundant grass, moss, &c., with a score of little fresh-water
lakes, in which multitudes of ducks and geese are found every
spring and fall. The natives do not live upon the island,
because the making of fires and scattering of food-refuse alarms
the otters, driving them off to sea; so that it is only camped
upon, and fires are never built unless the wind is from the
southward, for no sea-otters are ever found to the north of the
island. The sufferings to which the native hunters subject
themselves every winter on this island, going for many weeks
without fires, even for cooking, with the thermometer down to
zero, in a northerly gale of wind, is better imagined than de-
scribed. :
To the southward and westward, and stretching directly out
to sea, some five to eight miles from Saanach Island, is a suc-
cession of small islets, bare, most of them, at low water, but
with numerous reefs and rocky shoals, beds of kelp, &c. This
is the great sea-otter ground of Alaska, together with the
Cherrobour Islets, to the eastward ibout thirty miles, which
are similar to it.
The sea-otter rarely lands upon the main island, but it is
found just out of water on the reef-rocks and islets above men-
tioned, in certain seasons, and at a little distance at sea during
calm and pleasant weather.
The adult sea-otter is an animal that will measure from three
and a half to four feet at most, from nese to tip of tail, which is
short and stumpy. The general contour of the body is closely
like that of the beaver, with the skin lying in loose folds, so
that when taken hold of in lifting the body out from the water,
ALASKA. 59
it is as slack and draws up like the hide on the nape of a young
dog. This skin, which is taken from the body with but one
cut made in it at the posteriors, is turned inside out, and air-
dried, and stretched, so that it then gives the erroneous impres-
sion of an animal at least six feet in length, with girth and
shape of a weasel or mink.
There is no sexual dissimilarity in color or size, and both
manifest the same intense shyness and aversion to man, coupled
with the greatest solicitude for their young, which they bring
into existence at all seasons of the year, for the natives get
young pups every month in the year. <As the natives have ©
never caught the mothers bringing forth their offspring on the
rocks, they are disposed to believe that the birth takes place
on kelp-beds, in pleasant or not over-rough weather. The fe-
male has a single pup, born about 15 inches in length, and pro-
vided during the first month or two with a coat of coarse, brown-
ish, grizzled fur, head and nape grizzled, grayish, rufous white,
with the roots of the hair growing darker toward the skin,
The feet, as in the adult, are very short, webbed, with nails
like a dog, fore-paws exceedingly feeble and small, ail covered
with a short, fine, dark, bister-brown hair or fur. From this
poor condition of fur they improve as they grow older, shading
darker, finer, thicker, and softer, and by the time they are two
years of age they are “prime,” though the animal is not full-
grown until its fourth or fifth year. The white nose and mus-
tache of the pup are not changed in the adult. The whiskers
are white, short, and fine.
The female has two teats, resembling those of a cat, placed
between the hind limbs on the abdomen, and no signs of more;
the pup sucks a year at least, and longer if its mother has no
other; the mother lies upon her back in the water or upon
the rocks, as the case may be, and when she is surprised she
protects her young by clasping it in her fore-paws and turning
her back to the danger; they shed their fur just as the hair of
man grows and falls out; the reason is evident, for they must
be ready for the water at all times.
The sea-otter mother sleeps in the water on her back, with
her young clasped between her fore-paws. The pup cannot
live without its mother, though frequent attempts have been
made by the natives to raise them, as they often capture them
alive, but, like some other species of wild animals, it seems to
6O - ALASKA,
be so deeply imbued with fear of man that it invariably dies
from self-imposed starvation.
Their food, as might be inferred from the flat molars of denti-
tion, is almost entirely composed of clams, muscles, and sea-
urchins, of which they are very fond, and which they break by |
striking the shells together, held in each fore paw, sucking out
the contents as they are fractured by these efforts; they also
undoubtedly eat crabs, and the juicy, tender fronds of kelp or
sea-weed, and fish.
They are not polygamous, and more than an individual is
seldom seen at a time when out at sea. The flesh is very un-
palatable, highly charged with a rank smell and flavor. —
They are playful, it would seem, for I am assured by several
old hunters that they have watched the sea-otter for a half an
hour as it lay upon its back in the water and tossed a piece of
sea-weed up in the air from paw to paw, apparently taking
great delight in catching it before it could fall into the water.
It will also play with its young for hours.
The quick hearing and acute smell possessed: by the sea-otter
are not equaled by any other creatures in the Territory. They
will take alarm and leave from the effects of a small fire, four
or five miles to the windward of them; and the footstep of man
must be washed by many tides before its trace ceases to alarm
the animal and drive it from landing there should it approach
for that purpose.
There are four principal methods of capturing the sea-otter,
viz, by surf-shooting, by spearing-surrounds, by clubbing, aud by
nets.
The surf-shooting is the common method, but has only been
in vogue among the natives a short time. The young men have
nearly all been supplied with rifles, with which they patrol the
shores of the island and inlets, and whenever a sea-otter’s head
_ is seen in the surf, a thousand yards out even, they fire, the
great distance and the noise of the surf preventing the sea-
otter from taking alarm until it is hit; and, in nine times
out of ten, when it is hit, in the head, which is all that is ex-
posed, the shot is fatal, and the hunter waits until the surf
brings his quarry in, if it is too rough for him to venture out
in his bidarkie.” This shooting is kept up now the whole
year round.
The spearing-surround is the orthodox native system of cap-
ture, and reflects the highest credit upon them as bold, tardy
si a é ¥e oe
SSS eS ee eS
ALASKA. 61
watermen. A party of fifteen or twenty bidarkies, with two
men in each, as a rule, all under the control of a chief elected
by common consent, start out in pleasant weather, or when it
is not too rough, and spread themselves out in a long line,
slowly paddling over the waters where sea-otters are most
usually found. When any one of them discovers an otter,
asleep, most likely, in the water, he makes a quiet signal, and
there is not a word spoken or a paddle splashed while they are
on the hunt. He darts toward the animal, but generally the
alarm is taken by the sensitive object, which instantly dives
before the Aleut can get near enough to throw his spear. The
hunter, however, keeps right on, and stops his canoe directly
‘over the spot where the otter disappeared. The others, taking
note of the position, all deploy and seatter in a circle of half a
mile wide around the mark of departure thus made, and pa-
tiently wait for the re-appearance of the otter, which must take
place within fifteen or thirty minutes for breath; and as soon
as this happens the nearest one to it darts forward in the same
manner as his predecessor, when all hands shout and throw
their spears, to make the animal dive again as quickly as pos-
sible, thus giving it scarcely an instant to recover itself. A
sentry is placed over its second diving-wake as before, and the
circle is drawn anew; and the surprise is often repeated, some-
times for two or three hours, until the sea-otter, from inter-
rupted respiration, becomes so filled with air or gases that he
cannot sink, and becomes at once an easy victim.
The coolness with which these Aleuts will go far out to sea in
their cockle-shell kyacks, and risk the approach of gales that
are as apt to be against them as not, with a mere handful of
food and less water, is remarkable. They are certainly as hardy
a set of hunters, patient and energetic, as can be found in the
world. |
The clubbing is only done in the winter-season, and then at
infrequent intervals, which occur when tremendous gales of
wind from the northward, sweeping down over Saanach, have
about blown themselves out. The natives, the very boldest of
them, set out from Saanach, and scud down on the tail of the
gale to the far outlying rocks, just sticking out above surf-wash,
where they creep up from the leeward to the sea-otters found
there at such times, with their heads stuck into the beds of kelp
to avoid the wind. The noise of the gale is greater than that
made by the stealthy movements of the hunters, who, armed
62 ALASKA.
each with a short, heavy, wooden club, dispatch the animals,
one after another, without alarming the whole body, and in this
way two Aleuts, brothers, were known to have slain seventy- |
eight in less than an hour and a half.
There is no driving these animals out upon land. They are
fierce and courageous, and, when surprised by a man between
themselves and the water, they will make for the sea, straight
without any regard for the hunter, their progress, by a succes-
sion of short leaps, being very rapid for a small distance. The
greatest care is taken by the sea-otter hunters on Saanach.
They have lived in the dead of a severe winter six weeks at a
time without kindling a fire, and with certain winds they never
light one. They do not smoke, nor do they scatter or empty
food-refuse on the beaches. Of all this 1am assured by one
who is perbaps the first white eye-witness of this winter-hunt-
ing, as he lived on the island through that of 1872~73, and
could not be induced to repeat it.
The hunting by use of nets calls up the strange dissimilarity
existing now, as it has in all time past, between the practice of
the Atka and Attou Aleuts and that of those of Ounalashka and
the eastward, as given above. These people capture the sea-
otter in nets, from 16 to 18 feet long and 6 to 10 feet wide, with
coarse meshes, made nowadays of twine, but formerly of
sinew.
On the kelp-beds these nets are spread out, and the natives
withdraw and watch. The otters come to sleep or rest on these
places, and get entangled in the meshes of the nets, seeming to
make little or no effort to escape, paralyzed as_it were by fear,
and fallin this way easily into the hands of the trappers, who
tell me that they have caught as many as six at one time in one
of these small nets, and frequently get three. They also watch
for surf-holes or caves in the bluffs, and, when one is found to
which a sea-otter is in the habit of resorting, they set this net
by spreading it over the entrance, and usually capture the an-
imal.
No injury whatever is done to these frail nets by the sea-
otters, strong animals as they are; only stray sea-lions destroy
them. The Atka people have never been known to hunt sea-
otters without nets, while the people ef Ounalashka and the
eastward have never been known to use them. The salt-water
and kelp seem to act as a disinfectant to the net, so that the
smell of it does not repel or alarm the shy animal.
CHAP PER Vd:
THE CONDITION OF AFFAIRS ON THE SEAL
ISLANDS, PRYBILOV GROUP.
THE DISCOVERY OF THE ISLANDS.
When the Russians first came into the country, in 1760-69,
the abundance of sea-otter skins and their immensely-greater
value than that of any others found, caused very little atten-
tion to be paid to the skins of fur-seals or those of other ani-
mals; but the great diminution of otter-skins toward the end
of 1777-78 raised anew the question, often asked the natives
but in vain, as to where the fur-seal bred, such numbers of
them were seen every year in the spring passing north and in
the autumn going south through the narrow channels, straits,
&e., between the Aleutian Islands. This regular routine of
travel followed by these animals every year pointed to some
unknown breeding-ground in Bering Sea, and search was made
for it, resulting in the discovery of the group under discussion,
in 1786-87, by Gebrman Prybilov, commanding a small schoon-
er, and serving one of the twenty-eight different trading-com-
panies and traders then about the Aleutian Archipelago. The
islands were without population, or the traces even of human
habitation.
The island of Saint George was first discovered and named
after the little vessel commanded by Prybilov,* and in the follow-
ing year, July, 1787, the island of Saint Paul was noticed by
the men stationed at Saint George looming on the northwest
horizon, twenty-seven miles distant.
Prybilov endeavored to keep the discovery to himself, but in
less than a month after his return to Ounalashka it was well
known. The competition there was so lively, that as many as
six companies established themselves at once on the Seal Islands,
and a number of irregular visitors now and then appeared. The
rapacity and shiftlessness of their management is well described
by a Russian historian, from whom [ bave translated extracts
bearing upon this subject, and which will be found in its proper
_*Prybilov died at Sitka while ia command of the ship “ Three Saints,”
March, 1796.
64 ALASKA.
place. In 1799 the Russian American Company received the
monopoly of all Alaska, and it at once organized a colony of
‘‘ one hundred and thirty-seven souls” at Sitka and Ounalashka,
principally natives of the latter place, and planted the settle-
ments which still exist on the islands, and after many years of
most faulty management of the sealing business they came to
regard it with so good an eye to its preservation and perpetua-
tion, that their rules and regulations in regard to these points
are still in force, no subsequent observation having suggested
an improvement on them until the date of the writer’s arrival
on the islands, April, 1872.
Too much credit cannot be given to certain agents of the old
Russian company, and a countryman of ours, in 1868~’69,* who
have by their attention and action saved this most interesting
and valuable exhibition of animal life from the wanton, improv-
ident destruction which has been visited upon the great fur-seal
rookeries of the Southern Ocean.
The fact that the fur-seals frequent these islands, and those
of Bering and Copper, on the Russian side, to the exclusion of
all other land, is at first a little singular; but when we come to
examine the subject we find that these animals, when they
come out to lie two or three months on the land, as they must
do by their habit during the breeding-season, require a cool,
moist atmosphere; also, firm and dry land, or dry rock, upon
which to take their positions and remain for the season; if the
rookery-ground is hard and flat, puddles are formed, making a
slime, which very quickly takes the hair off the animals; hence
they carefully avoid any such landing. If they occupy a sandy
shore, the rain beats the sand into their large, sensitive eyes, and
into their fur, so that they are obliged from irritation to leave.
The Seal Islands now under discussion offer very remarkable
advantages for landing, especially Saint Paul, where the ground
of basaltic rock and of voleanic tufa or cement slopes up grad-
ually from the sea, making a suitable resting-place for millions
of these intelligent animals, which lie out here two and three
months every year in perfect peace and contentment.
There is no ground of this character offered elsewhere in the
country, on the Aleutians, on the mainland, or on Saint Mat-
thew’s, or Saint Lawrence; the latter islands were surveyed
during the past season to settle this question, and the notes
will be found in the appendix.
* H. M. Hutchinson.
I
:
4
[
~ Oh gee a
ALASKA 65
I. DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLANDS.
The Prybilov group of fur-seal islands occupy the most iso-
lated portion of any land in Bering Sea, the three nearest land-
points to them being nearly equidistant; Saint Matthew’s
and Nunivok Islands, Cape Newenham, on the mainland, and
Ounalashka Island, all about one hundred and eighty miles off;
and in this location ocean-currents from the great Pacific, to
the southward, warmer than the normal temperature of their
latitude, ebb and flow around tkem on their way to the Arctic
and elsewhere, and give rise in this way during the summer
- months and early autumn to constant thick, humid fogs and
drizzling mists which hang in heavy banks over the islands
and sea, seldom breaking away to indicate a pleasant day.
By the middle or end of October, high, cold winds carry off
the moisture and clear up the air, and by the end of January
or early in February, usually bring down from the north and
northwest great fields of broken ice, not very heavy or thick,
but still covering the whole surface of the sea, shutting in the
land completely, and hushing the wonted roar of the surf for
a month or six weeks atatime. In exceptionally cold seasons,
for three and even four months the coast will be ice-bound; and
winters, on the other hand, occur, like the last one, (1873~74,)
in which not even the sight of an ice-floe was recorded, and
there was very little skating on the little lakes, but this is not
often the case. The breaking up of winter-weather usually
commences about the first week in April, the ice beginning to
leave or dissolve at that time or a little later, so that by the
Ist or the 5th of May generally, the beaches and rocky sea-
margins are clear and free from ice and snow; although snow
occasionally lies in gullies and leeward hill-slopes, where it has
drifted during the winter, until the end of July and middle of
August. Fog, damp, thick, and heavy, closes in about the end
of May, and this, the usual sign of summer, holds on steadily
until the middle or end of October.
The periods of change are exceedingly irregular in autumn
-and spring, but in summer the uniformity of the weather, with
cool, moist, shady, gray fog, is constant, and to this certainty
of favorable climate, coupled with the perfect isolation and ex-
ceeding fitness of the ground, is due, without doubt, the prefer-
ence for it manifested by the warm-blooded animals which
come here every year, * the practical exclusion of all other
ground, in thousands and hundreds of thousands, to breed.
5 AL
£
66 ALASKA.
The climate of these islands has received careful attention,
as will be seen by reference to the report of Mr. Charles P. Fish,
of the United States Signal-Service, to which reference may be
made for more detailed information upon the subject. I sim-
ply remark here that the winter of 1872~73 was one of great
severity, and, according to the natives, such as is very seldom
experienced; but cold as it was, however, the lowest marking
by thermometer was but 129 Fahrenheit below zero, and that
for a few hours only during a day in February, while the mean
of the month was 18° above. The coldest month, March, gave
a mean of 12° above, while the mean of a usual winter is no
lower than 22° or 26°; but the high north winds which I ex-
perienced during that winter were blowing more than three-
fourths of the timé, and made all outdoor exercise impractica-
ble. On a day in March, for example, its velocity was at the
rate of eighty-eight miles per hour, with as low a temperature
as —4°! Witha wind blowing but twenty or twenty-five miles —
an hour, at a much higher temperature, as at 15° or 16° above
zero, it is necessary to be most thoroughly wrapped up to
guard against freezing, if any journey is to be made on foot.
There are here, virtually, but two seasons, winter and summer.
To the former belong November and the following months up to
the end of April, with a mean of 20° to 28°, while the transition
to summer is but a slight elevation in temperature, only 15° to
20°; of the summer months July is perhaps the warmest, usually
with a mean of 46° to 56° in ordinary seasons.
It is astonishing how rapidly snow meits here at a single
degree above freezing, and after several consecutive days in
April or May at 34° and 36°, grass begins to grow, even if it be
under melting drifts and the frost is many feet in depth under
it. In the appendix I have placed a table, compiled from the
report of Mr. Fish, above referred to, as interesting in show-
ing the character of a very severe winter on the Seal Islands.
Theformation of theseislands was recent, geologically speak-
ing, and due to direct voleanic agency, which lifted them abruptly
though gradually from the sea-bed, building upon them below
the watev’s-level as they rose, and subsequently above, by spout-
holes or craters, from which water-puddled breccia and vol-
canie ashes and tufa were thrown. Soon. after the elevation
and deposition of the igneous matter, all voleanic action must
have ceased, though the clearly blown-out throat and smooth,
sharp-cat, funnel-like wails of a crater on Otter Island (one of
om”
ALASKA. 67
the group, six miles south of Saint Paul’s) would seem to
indicate quite recent action, and this is the only place on the
Prybilov Islands where anything has been discharged from a
crater at so late a date.
Since the period of the upheaval of the group under discus-
sion the sea has done much to modify and enlarge the most
important island, Saint Paul’s, while the others, Saint George
and Otter, being lifted abruptly above the power of water and
ice to carry and deposit sand, soil, and bowlders, are but little
changed.
SAINT PAUL’S ISLAND is the largest and far the most import-
ant and valuable of the wholegroup. Upon my firstarrival there
in April, 1872, I was surprised to find that no steps had been .
taken to babhinn an accurate or even approximately correct idea
of the size and shape of it. I at once set to work upon it, and
give herewith as the result of this labor the first definite figures
as to its dimension and area, together with a map showing the
outline and topography, with special sketches of the area and
position of each fur-seal ‘“‘rookery ” or breeding-ground.
The Reef Point of the island stands in latitude 57° 8’ north,
and west longitude 170° 12’, being the most southerly land.
The island is in its greatest length, between northeast and
southwest points, 13 miles air-line, and in greatest width a
littie less than six. It has a superficial area of about 33
square miles, or 21,120 acres, of diversified, rough, and rocky
uplands, small, rounded hills, which either set down boldly tothe
sea, or fade into wet, mossy flats and dry drifting sand-dune
tracts. It has 42 miles of shore-line, 164 of which are used
by the fur-seals en masse.
At the time of its first upheaval above the sea it must
have presented the appearance of ten or twelve little rocky-
bluff islets or points, upon some of which were craters, vomit-
ing breccia and cinders, but with little or no lava ov erflowing ;
the plutonic power after this ceased to act, and the sea com-
menced the work of building on to the Secleiap thus created,
and to-day so thorough and successful has it been in its labor
of sand-shifting, together with the aid of ice-floes, in their ac-
tion of grinding, lifting, and shoving, that nearly all of the
scattered islets, within the present area of the island, are com-
_ pletely bound together by bars of sand and bowlders, which are
raised above the highest tides by winds that whirl the sand up
68 ALASKA:
as it drives out from the wash of surf, and rocks lifted and
pushed up by ice-fields.
The sand which plays so important a part in tiie formation
of Saint Paul’s Island, and which is almost entirely wanting on
and around the others in this group, is largely composed of Lo-
raminifera, together with Diatomacea mixed in with the voleanic
base. It changes color like a chameleon as it passes from wet
to dry, being a rich steely-black at the surf-margin, then dry-
ing out to a soft purplish brown and gray, succeeding to tints
most delicate, of reddish and pale gray when warmed by the
sun and drifting with the wind. The sand-dune tracts on this
island are really attractive in the summer at certain times
when the weather is pleasant; the most luxuriant grass and a
variety of beautiful flowers exist in profusion on them.
As these sand and bowlder bars were forming on Saint Paul’s
Island, in making across from inlet to inlet, they inclosed small
collections of sea-water, thus giving rise to a number of lakes,
which nearly all become fresh ; in them are no reptiles or fish,
but a great number of minute Rotifera sport about in all of
them whenever the water is examined; several water-plants
and alge flourish, especially so in the large lake, which is very
shallow.
The total absence of a harbor in the group is much to be re-
gretted. The village of Saint Paul, as will be seen by reference
to the map, is located so as to command the best landings that
can be made from vessels during the prevalence of. any winds
other than southerly ; from these there is no shelter for vessels,
uuless they run around to the north side, where they are unable
to hold communication or to discharge. At Saint George mat-
ters are still worse, for all northerly, westerly, and easterly
winds drive the shipping away from the village roadstead, and
weeks often pass at either island before a cargo is landed at its
destination. The approach to Saint Paul during thick weather
is very hazardous, for the land is mostly low, and does not loom
up like Saint Gecrge through the fog; there are, besides, nu-
merous reefs making out, which are not found around the other
island. Captain Baker carefully sounded out these localities
last summer, while waiting for us, and I have placed the result
of this valuable work on my chart, so that the next captain of
a revenue-vessel coming here will be able to feel his way in
with some degree of security.
SAINT GEORGL’S ISLAND is next in order of importance and
}
|
eal nip
ALASKA, 69
size, and in regard to its size, shape, &c., I found the same
want of knowledge experienced at Saint Paul’s; a survey, which
I immediately made on my first arrival, June, 1873, gives to
the island a length of not quite ten and a half miles by four
and a quarter between points of the greatest width. It has an
area of about twenty-seven square miles; has twenty-nine
miles of coast-line, of which only two and a quarter are visited
by the fur-seals, and which is in fact all the eligible landing-
ground afforded them by the structure of the island, which
rises everywhere else, save at the village-front, abruptly from
the water, which breaks boldly at the bases of the lofty cliffs
all around. Nearly half of the shore-line of Saint Paul is a
sand-beach, while on Saint George there is less than a mile of
it all put together, viz, a few hundred yards in front of the
village, the same extent at the Garden Cove, southeast side,
and less than half a mile at Zapadnie, on the south side. Sev-
eral thousand sea-lions hold exclusive though shy possession of
half a mile of good landing on the east side.
“* Tolstoi Mees,” or Kast Cape, lies in north latitude 56° 37! 1/",*
and the west end, or “ Dalnoi Mees,” 56° 38/ 3”,* with west
longitudes of 169° 27’* and 168° 44’*, respectively, while the
village, on the north shore, is in 56° 39’ 16/7.6, 169° 19’ 6”.
On the north shore of the island, three miles west from the
village, a grand bluff wall of basalt and tufa intercalated rises
abruptly from the sea to a height of 920 feet at the reach of
greatest elevation, and runs clear around the island to Zapad-
nie, a distance of some ten miles, without affording a single
passage-way up from or down to the sea. Upon the innumer-
able ledges and in countless chinks and crannies millions vf
water-fowl breed during the summer-months.
The general elevation of Saint George, while not great, is on
an average three times as great as that of Saint Paul, which is
quite low, and slopes gently to the sea east and north. But
Saint George rises abruptly, with exceptional spots for land-
ing. The highest land on Saint George is 930 feet, and the
summit of the high bluffs before mentioned; that on Saint
Paul is Boga Slov Hill, 600 feet. All elevations on either island
10 or 12 feet above sea-level are rough and hummocky, with
miles out of the way, but the only ones available. That of the village was
determined by Lieutenant Maynard last summer, July 10, and may be con-
sidered accurate.
70 ALASKA.
the exception of the summits of a few cinder-hills. The suppiy
of water is abundant and good. The only living stream of
water on the Seal Islands is found on Saint George, a small
clear brook that empties into the Garden Cove; but the area
covered by fresh-water lakes on this island is very much less
than that of Saint Paul. |
Weathered out or washed from the basalt and pockets of
olivine on the islands are aggregates of augite, seen most
abundant on the summit slopes of Ahlucheyeh Hill, Saint
George. Specimens from the stratified bands of old, friable.
gray lavas, so conspicuous on the bluffs of the north shore of
this island, show the existence of hornblende and vitreous feld-
spar in considerable quantity, while on the south shore, near
the Garden Cove, is a large dike of a bluish and greenish-gray
phonolitic rock, in which numerous small erystals of spinel are
found. A dike with well-defined walls of old, close-grained,
clay-colored lava is close by the village of Saint George, about
a quarter of a mile east from the landing, in the face of breccia
bluffs that rise from the sea. It is the only example of its kind
on these islands.
The foundations of the islands, all of them, are basalt, some
compact, grayish-white, but most of them exceedingly porous
and ferruginous; and upon this solid floor are many hills of
brown and red basaltic tufas, cinder-heaps, &e. ‘ Polovina
Sopka,” the second point in elevation on Saint Paul’s, (550 feet,)
is almost entirely built up of red scorie and breecia. The
bluffs at the shore, ‘* Polovina Point,” show the hard basaltic
underpinning upon which the hill rests. The tufas on both
islands decompose and weather into fertile soil, which the
severe climate renders useless. There is not a trace of a granitic
or gneissic rock found in situ. Several metamorphic bowlders
have been collected, which were dropped upon the beaches by
ice-floes, brought down by the strong northwesters from the
Asiatic coast.
The black-brown tufa and breccia bluffs at the Hast Land-
ing, Saint Paul’s Island, rise abruptly from the sea there 60 to
80 feet, with stratified horizontal bands of a light-gray calcare-
ous conglomerate or cement, in which are imbedded sundry
fossils characteristic of the Tertiary age, such as Cardium gran-
landicum, decoratum, Astarte pectuncula, &c. This is the only
locality in the Prybilov Islands where any paleontological evi-
dence of. their age can be found.
ALASKA. t1
OTTER ISLAND ranks third in the group, and lies six miles
south-southwest from the “‘ Reef Point” of Saint Paul’s Island.
-Itis about a mile and a quarter in greatest length by less than
half a mile in extreme width. The east, south, and west shores
are bold and bluffy, not to be approached by men, and hardly
by seals, during rough weather; but the north shore, for most
of its extent, rises quite gradually from the surf; the beach is,
hewever, broken and rocky, with no sand. The highest point
is the summit of the bluffs on the west end, some 300 feet. A
small shallow lake lies near the north shore and landing; water
impure and uncertain. . |
On this islaud there is no breeding-ground occupied by the
fur-seals, but the non-breeding seals lie out here in large num-
bers off and on during the season.
WALRUS ISLAND, fourth and last, is of little or no commer-
cial importance, but a very interesting spot—a mere table-rock,
elevated but slightly above surf-wash, a quarter of a mile in
length and a bundred yards in width, and, like Otter Island,
has bold water all around, and, better still, entirely free from
reefs or sunken rocks. It lies six miles south-southeast from
northeast point of Saint Paul’s. There is no fresh water
on it. .
It is not resorted to by the fur-seals, but several hundred
male walrus.(Rosmarus) are found here most of the year, and a
few sea-lions breed there. On account of rough weather, fogs,
&c., the island is seldom visited by the natives of Saint Paul,
and then only during the egging-season, in June and July,when
the island is literally swarming with breeding water-fowl.
The opportunity afforded here of seeing the strange walrus-
herds to the very best advantage is not equaled by any other
place in the Territory. Here can also be plainly seen the move-
ments and habits of myriads of nesting water-fowl.
Vegetation on these islands, with the exception of the last
named, such as it is, is fresh and luxuriant during the growing
season of June and July and early August, but the beauty and
economic value of trees and shrubbery seem to be denied to
them by climatic conditions, though I am strongly inclined to
believe that any of the hardy shrubs and trees indigenous at
Sitka and Kodiak would grow here if transplanted properly on
some of the southern hill-slopes most favored by soil, drainage,
and position for shelter; but théy would never mature their
seed, owing to the want of sunlight to ripen, so that reproduc-
t2 ALASRA.
tion of their kind would not follow. There are, however, ten
or twelve species of grasses growing in every variety, from
close, curly, compact tufts on the seal-grounds, to tall stalks,
standing in favorable seasons waist-high; the “wheat” of the
north, (Hlymus,) togetner with over a hundr.d varieties of an-
nuals, perennials, sphagnum, cryptogamic plants, &c., all flour-
ishing in their respective positions, and covering nearly every
point upon which plants can grow with a living coat of the
greenest of all greens, as there is not sunlight enough to ripen
any deep tinge of yellow into it—so green that it gives a deep-
blue tint to gray noonday shadows, contrasting pleasantly with
the varied russets, reds, yellows, and grays of the lichen-cov-
ered rocks and the bronzed purple of the wild wheat on the
sand-dune tracts in autumn, and the innumerable blue, yellow,
pink, and white blossoms everywhere interspersed. Occasion-
ally by looking closely into the thickest masses of verdure our
common wild violet will be found. The floral display predomi-
nates greatly on Saint Paul, owing to the absence of the same
extent of warm sand-dune country on the other islands.
By the end of August and first week in September of normal
seasons, the small edible berries (Hmpetrum nigrum and Rubus
chamcemorus) are ripe, which are found in considerable quanti-
ties, the former being small, watery, and black, about the size
of an English or black currant, and the other resembling an
unripe and partly-decayed raspberry. They are the only fruit
afforded by the islands, and are of course keenly relished by
the natives.
There are very few insects on the Seal Islands. A large
fiesh-fly appears during the summer in a Striking manner, and
settles upon the long grass-blades which flourish on the killing-
grounds especially, settling by tens of millions, causing the
vegetation over the whole slaughtering-field and vicinity to
fairly droop to the earth as though beaten down by a tornado
of wind and rain. Our common house-fly is not present, and
those just mentioned never come into the dwellings unless by
accident. It does not annoy man or beast. There are no mos-
quitoes. A small gnat flits about, inoffensive, taking shelter in
the grass.
Aside from the seal-life on the Prybilov Islands, there are no
indigenous mammalia with the exception of blue and white
foxes, and the lemming, (Alyodes obensis,) which latter is re-
stricted, singularly enough, to the island of Saint George, where
~—
ALASKA. 73
it is exceedingly abundant. Its burrows and paths under and
among the grassy hummocks and mossy flats literally checker
every square rod of land there covered with this vegetation ;
and although Saint Paul’s Island lies but twenty-nine miles to
the northwest, not a single one of these active, curious little
animals is found there.
The foxes (Vulpes lagopus) are also, of their kind, restricted
to these islands, not being found elsewhere, except stray exam-
ples, which get cast away on the ice at At‘ou or Saint Mat-
thew’s, and find here among the countless chinks and crevices
in the basaltic formation comfortable holes for their accommo-
dation and retreat, feeding fat upon sick and pup seals, water-
fowl, and eggs during the summer, and living through the win-
ter upon the bodies of seals left upon the breeding-grounds and
the carcasses upon the killing-fields.
The islands are as yet free from rats, but mice have been
brought long ago in ships’ cargoes, and are a great pest in the
winter. .
As might be inferred from their formation, these islands pos-
sess no mineral wealth of economic value whatever.
Stock cannot be profitably raised here; the proportion of
severe winter is too great, as from three, at least, to perhaps
six months of the year they would require feeding and water-
ing, with good shelter. To furnish animals with hay and grain
is a costly matter, and the dampness of the growing or summer
season on both islands renders hay-cuaring impracticable.
Perhaps a few head of hardy Siberian cattle might pick up a
living through a rough winter on the north shore of Saint Paul
among the grassy sand-dunes there, with nothing more than
shelter and water given them, but the care of them would
hardly return expenses, as the winter-grazing ground would not
support any great number of animals, it being less than two
Square miles in extent, and half of this area being unpro-
ductive.
J am strongly inclined to think that reindeer would make a
successful issue with any struggle here that they might have
for existence, and be the source of an excellent supply, summer
and winter, of fresh meat for the agents of the Government and
the company who may be living upon theislands. The Rus-
Slans, as well as the present occupants of the place, were in the
habit of keeping, and still do keep, a few head of cattle, and a
number of hogs aud chickens throughout winters for table use,
74 ALASKA.
but it is without profit, except asaluxury. The natives take
their poultry into their houses, and relish their pork after the
hogs have fed fat upon seal-carrion, and therefore it is profitable
to them.
In the appendix will be found a detailed chapter upon the
ornithology of these islands, but the great exhibition of pinni-
pedia preponderates over every other form of animal life. Still
the spectacle of birds nesting and breeding, as they do on Saint
George’s Island, to the number of millions, flecking the high
basaltic bluffs, (a shore-line of that character twenty miles in
length.) black, brown, and white, as they perch or cling to the
cliffs in the labor of incubation, is a sight of exceeding interest
and constant novelty, affording the naturalist opportunity for
investigation into the most minute details of the reproduction
of these vast flocks of circumboreal water-fowl. Saint Pauls
Island, owing to the low character of its shore-line, a large por-
tion of which is but slightly elevated above the sea and is
sandy, is not. visited by such myriads of birds as are seen at
Saint George; but the small rock, Walrus Island, is fairly cov-
ered with sea-fowls, and the Otter Island bluffs are crowded to
their utmost. The variety .in these millions of breeding-birds
is not great, since it consists of only ten or twelve names, and
the whole list belonging to the Prybilov Islands, stragglers
and migratory, contains but forty species. Conspicuous among
the last-named class is the robin, which was brought from the
mainland, evidently against its own will, by a storm or gale of
wind, as must also be the case with the solitary hawks and
owls occasionally noticed here.
After the dead silence of a long ice-bound winter, the
arrival in the spring of large, noisy flocks of ‘‘choochkies”
(Phaleris microceros) is. most cheerful and interesting. Thése
are bright, fearless little birds, with bodies generally plump and
fat, and come usually in chattering flocks by the 1st to the 5th of
May. They are caught by the people, to any number required,
in haud scoop-nets, as they fly to and from their nests, made in
the cliffs and among bowlders. They are succeeded about the
20th July by large flocks of fat, red-legged turn-stones, likewise
edible, (Strepsilas interpres,) which come in suddenly from the
west or north, where they have been breeding, and stop on the
islands for a month or six weeks, to feed fat upon the flesh -flies
and their eggs, which swarm over the killing-grounds; these
handsome, red-legged birds go familiarly among the seals,
aay
ALASKA, 75
chasing flies, gnats, &c. They are followed, as they leave in
September, by several species of jacksnipe, (fringa and Chara-
drius,) which, however, depart by the end of October and early
in November, and when winter fairly closes in upon the islands,
the loud roaring, incessant seal-din, together with the screams
and darkening flight of innumerable water-fowl, are replaced
by absolute silence, marking out, as it were, in lines of sharp
and vivid contrast, summer’s life and winter’s death.
I have been unable to discover a single representative of the
reptiles on the islands, and a small list only of the fishes and mol-
luscans rewarded the most careful search. The presence of such
great numbers of seals in the water about the islands during
five and six months of every year renders all fishing abortive,
unless expeditions :are made seven or eight miles, at least, from
the land, with the exception of halibut, which the natives cap-
ture within two or three miles of the reef-point and south
shore during July and August; but the weather is usually,
after this season, too stormy and cold for the fishermen to
venture in their bidarkies during the fall or spring.
Ii THE NUMBERS OF FUR-SEALS WHICH ANNUALLY VISIT
THE ISLANDS.
Until my arrival on the Seal Islands, April, 1872,no steps
had been taken toward ascertaining the extent or the impor-
tance of these interests of the Government by either the Treasury
agent in charge, or the agent of the company leasing the islands.
This was a matter of no especial concern to the latter, but was
of the first importance to the Government. It had, however,
failed to obtain a definite knowledge upon the subject, on account
of the inaccurate mode of ascertaining the number of the seals
which had been adopted by its agent, who relied upon an
assumption of the area of the breeding “‘rookeries,” but who
never took the trouble to ascertain the area and position of
these great seal-grounds intrusted to his care.
After a careful study of the subject during two whole seasons,
and a thorough review of it during this season of 1874, in com-
pany with my associate, Lieutenant Maynard, I propose to show
plainly and in sequence the steps which have led me to a solnu-
tion of the question as to the number of fur-seals on the Prybi-
lov Islands, together with the determination of means by which
the agent of the Government will be able to correctly report
upon the condition of the seal-life from year to year.
76 ALASKA.
At the close of my investigation for the season of 1872, the
fact became evident that the breeding-seals obeyed implicitly
a fine, instinctive law of distribution, so that the breeding-ground
occupied by them was always covered by seals in an exact ratio,
greater or less, to the area to be held; that they always covered
the ground evenly, never crowding in at one place and scatter-
ing at another; that the seals lay just as thickly together where
the rookery was a small one of only a few thousand, as at
Naspeel, near the village, as they did where a atuliom of them
came together, as at Northeast Point.
This fact being determined, itis at once plain that just as the
breeding-grounds of the fur-sealon these islands expand or contract
in area from their present dimensions, so the seals will have in-
creased or diminished.
Impressed, therefore, with the necessity and the importance of
obtaining the exactarea and position of these breeding-grounds,
I surveyed them in 1872~73 for that purpose, and resurveyed
them this season of 1874; the result has been carefully drawn
and plotted out, as presented in the accompanying maps.
The time for taking these boundaries of the rookeries is
during the week of their gr. atest expansion, or when they are
as full as they are to be for the season, and before the regular
system of compact, even organization breaks up, the seals then
scattering out in pods or clusters, straying far back, the same
number covering then twice as much ground in places as they
did before, when marshaled on the rookery-ground proper;
the breeding-seals remain on the rookery perfectly quiet and
en masse for a week or ten days during the period of greatest
expansion, which is between the 10th and 20th of July, giving
ample time for the agent to correctly note the exact boundaries
of the area covered by them; this step on the part of the Gov-
ernment officer puts him in possession every year of exact data
upon which to base a report as to the condition of the seal-life,
as compared with the year or years previous. In this way my
record of the precise area and position of the fur-seal breeding-
grounds on Saint Paul’s Island in the season of 1872, and that
of Saint George in the season of 1873, correctly serves as a
definite basis for all time to come upon which to found author-
itative reports from year to year as to any change, increase, or
diminution of the seal-life. It is, therefore, very important that
the Government should have an agent in charge of these noyel
and valuable interests who is capable, by virtue of educatioa
ALASKA. Ce
and energy, to correctly observe and report the area and posi-
tion of the rookeries year by year.
With a knowledge of the superficial area of these breeding-
grounds, the way is opened to a very interesting calculation
as tothe number of the fur-seals upon them. For an estimate
based apparently upon good foundations, the following is the
plan by which I have been guided:
When the adult males and females (fifteen of the latter to
every one of the former) all arrive upon the rookery, I think a
space a little less than two feet square to each female is a large
one for that required by each animal, in obedience to its habit,
and may safely be said to be under the mark ; now, every female
or *‘cow” on its two feet square doubles herself, that is, brings
forth her young, and in a few days, or about a week after its
birth, she visits the water, and is not one-quarter of the time
on land again during the season. In this way it is clear that
the female seals almost double their number on the rookery-
grounds without causing the expansion of the same beyond the
limits that would be required by the adults alone; for every
100,000 breeding-seals will be found to consist of more than
§5,000 females and less than 15,000 males, and in a few weeks
after the landing of the females, they will show about 180,000
males, females, and young, on the same area of ground occu-
pied previous to the birth of the “ pups.”
Now the males, being treble and quadruple the size of the
females, require about four feet square for their use on this
same ground, but as they are less than one-fifteenth the number
of the females, they therefore occupy only one-eighth of the
breeding-ground of the 100,000 supposed, and this surplus area
of the males is more than balanced by the 15,000 to 20,000
virgin females which come on to this breeding-ground for the first
' time to meet the males; they come, rest afew days or a week, and
retire, leaving no young to show their presence on the island.
Taking all these points into consideration, I quite safely calcu-
late upon two square feet to every animal, big and little, on the
breeding-grounds. Without following this system of computa-
tion, a person may look over these swarming myriads of seals,
guessing vaguely and wildly at any number, from one million
up to Six or seven.
Below are the figures made from my survey of the area and
position of the breeding-grounds of the fur-seal on Saint Paul’s
18 ALASKA.
Island, July 10-18,1872. It is the first survey ever made on the
island :
Seals—$ 2 o
*¢ Novastoshnah,” or Northeast Point, has 15,840
feet of sea-margin, with 150 feet of average depth,
making ground fer eee en ee me aL: 1, 200, 000
‘Polavina” Rookery has 4, 000 feet of sea- -margin, |
with 150 feet of average depth, making ground
TOE tie. che. d pyeueiy Sitios sos & Sey 300, 000
‘* Lukannon” Rookery has 2, 270 feet os sea- -margin,
with 150 feet of average denen making ground for. 170,000
‘* Keetavie” Rookery has 2,200 feet of sea-margin,
with 150 feet of average depth, making ground
POD 5 = alee aes 2 ee eae Sno en vee ae oe ieee, ee er
‘¢ Reef” Rookery has 4,016 feet of sea-margin, with —
150 feet of average depth, making ground for.... 301, 000
*“Garbutch” Rookery has 3,660 feet of sea-margin,
with 100 feet of average depth, making groundfor. 183, 000
‘6 Nabspeel” or Village Rookery has 400 feet of sea-
margin, with 40 feet average depth, making hie
POT che Bios a emo nee a aoe eee a cee Se 8, 000
‘* Lagoon ” eee has 750 ae of sea-margin, with
100 feet of average depth, making ground for -. 37,000
‘¢Tolstoi” Rookery has 3,000 feet of Rees 9.
with 150 feet of average depth, making ground
POP ooo hes mee nite Sage dba ee nie ee 225, 000
‘ Zapadnie” Rookery has 5,880 feet of sea-margin,
with 150 feet of average depth, making ground
1D) ieee a “pees wtlicbese ogy creo cote loca) = ki ec es 441, 000
A. grand total for Saint Paul’s Island of males,
females, and young, Of. ...:.-¢-..aeceeeee 3, 030, 250
The breeding-grounds on Saint George’s Island, surveyed July
12-15, 1873, gave the following figures; also the first survey
ever made here: |
¢¢ Hastern ” Rookery has 900 feet of sea-margin, with
60 feet of average depth, making ground for .... 25, 000
‘Vittle Mastern” Rookery has 750 feet of sea-mar-
gin, with 40 feet of average depth, making ground
MN ona wean s ho 'c pe = apace Scene de See er rr 138, 000
“¢ North” Pagneie has 2,000 feet of sea-margin, with
20 feet of average depth, making ground for . 25, 000
Nites ie
oe
ALASKA. 79
“North” Rookery has 750 feet of sea-margin, with
150 feet of average depth, making ground for.... 52, 000
“ Starry Ateel” Rookery has 500 feet of sea-margin,
with 125 feet of average depth, making ground
ME ee ok ee FR SS ARN (SR 30, 420
“ Zapadnie” Rookery has 600 feet of sea-margin,
with 60 feet of average depth, making ground for. 18, 000
A grand total for Saint George’s Island of
males, females, and young, of.....-......- 163, 420
These figures show a grand total of 3,193,670 breeding-seals
and their young, and this aggregate is entirely exclusive of the
great numbers of the non-breeding seals, which are never permit-
ted to come upon the same ground with the females by the
males in charge. This class of seals, to which the killing is con-
fined, come up on the land and sea-beach between the rookeries,
going to and from the sea at irregular intervals during the sea-
son. It has no systematic, definite method, like the breeding-
class, of filling up to certain bounds and keeping so for several
weeks at a time, and is, therefore, beyond reach for ground
upon which to found calculation, and I can only give an esti-
mate based upon my close observation with especial reference
to this subject, and this is my conclusion :
The non-breeding seals, consisting of all the yearlings and all
the malesunder six or seven years, seem nearly equal in number
to the breeding-seals, and I put them down at 1,500,000 as a
fair estimate, and make the sum of the seal-life on the Prybilov
Islands over four million seven hundred thousand.
The seals after leaving these islands in the autumn and early
winter do not visit land again until the time of return, next
April, May, and June, to the grounds here, or those ct the Rus.
sian ‘ Copper” and “ Bering” Islands. They spread themselves
out over the vast North Pacific, following schools of fish, or fre-
auenting shoals and banks where an abundance of fishy food is
found. They can sleep with the greatest comfort and sound-
ness on the surface of the water, and in this state they are often
surprised by the natives of the northwest coast, all the way up
and down, from the Columbia River to Bering Sea. On the
killing-grounds at Saint George, June, 1873, the natives would
frequently call my attention to seals that they were skinning,
in which buck-shot were imbedded and encysted just under the
er:
80 ALASKA.
hide in the blubber. From one animal fifteen shot were taken,
and the holes which they must have made in the skin were
entirely healed so as not to leave a scar. These bullets were
undoubtedly received from the natives of the northwest coast,
anywhere between the Straits of. Fuca and the Aleutian
Islands, used by them in attempting the capture of the animals
some season or seasons previously. A small number of seals,
not definitely known, however, are taken by the Indians every
year along the coasts above mentioned, who surprise them
while soundly asleep in the water, either by shooting or spear-
ing. The number taken in this way every year will not average
5,000; Some seasons more, some seasons less.
That these animals are preyed upon extensively by killer-
whales, (Orca gladiator,) sharks, and other foes now unknown,
is at once evident; for were they not held in check by some
such cause, they would quickly multiply to so great an extent
that Bering Sea itself could not contain them, and the present
annual killing of one hundred thousand out of a yearly surplus
of over a million males does not, in an appreciable degree, dimin-
ish the seal-life, or interfere in the slightest with its regular
perpetuation on the breeding-grounds every year. We may
properly look upon this number of four and five millions of fur-
seals, aS we see them here every year on these islands, as the
maximum limit of increase assigned by natural laws. I think
I make this clear in my chapter upon the habits of these valua-
ble and interesting animals, without a knowledge of which it
is not possible for any one to fully appreciate the truth of these
generalizations. Before, however, the subject of the possible
increase or diminution of the seal-life is taken up for discussion,
it is best to consider the—
Ill. MANNER IN WHICH THE SEALS ARE ANNUALLY TAKEN.
Taking the seals.—By reference to the habits of the fur-
seal, it is plain that two-thirds of all the males that are born
(and they are equal in number to the females born) are never
permitted by the remaining third, strongest by natural selec-
tion, to land upon the same ground with the females, which
always herd together en masse. Therefore, this great band of
bachelor seals, or “ holluschickie,” is compelled, when it visits
land, to live apart entirely, miles away frequently, from the
breeding-grounds, and in this admirably perfect manner of na-
ture are those seals which can be properly killed without injury
ALASKA. 81
to the rookeries selected and held aside, so that the natives can
visit and take them as they would so many hogs, without dis-
turbing in the slightest degree the peace and quiet of the breed-
ing-grounds where the stock is perpetuated.
The manner in which the natives capture and drive the hol-
luschickie up from the hauling-grounds to the slaughtering-
fields near the villages and elsewhere, cannot be improved upon,
and is most satisfactory.
In the early part of the season large bodies of the young
bachelor seals do not haul up on Jand very far from the water,
a few rods at the most, and the men are obliged to approach
slyly and run quickly between the dozing seals and the surf,
before they take alarm and boli into the sea, and in this way a
dozen Aleuts, running down the long sand-beach of English
Bay, some driving-morning early in June, will turn back from
the water thousands of seals, just as the mold-board of a
plow lays over and back a furrow of earth. As the sleeping
seals are first startled they arise, and seeing men between them
and the water, immediately turn, lope and scramble rapidly
back over the land; the natives then leisurely walk on the
flanks and in the rear of the drove thus secured, and direct
and drive them over to the killing-grounds.
A drove of seals on hard or firm grassy ground, in cool and
moist weather, may with safety be driven at the rate of half a
mile an hour; they can be urged along with the expenditure of
a great many lives in the drove, at the speed of a mile or a mile
and a quarter even per hour, but this is highly injudicious and
is seldom ever done. A bull-seal, fat and unwieldy, cannot
travel with the younger ones, but it can lope or gallop as it
were over the ground as fast as an ordinary man can run for a
hundred yards, but then it falls to the earth supine, utterly ex-
hausted, hot and gasping for breath.
The seals, when driven thus to the killing-grounds, require
but little urging; they are permitted to frequently halt and
cool off, as heating them injures their fur; they never show
fight any more than a flock of sheep would do, unless a few old
seals are mixed in, which usually get so weary that they prefer
to come to a stand-still and fight rather than to move; this
action on their part is of great advantage to all parties con-
cerned, and the old fellows are always permitted to drop behind
and remain, for the fur on them is of little or no value, the
pelage very much shorter, coarser, and more scant than in the
6 AL
82 . ALASKA.
younger, especially so on the parts posteriorly. This change in
the condition of the fur seems to set in at the time of their
shedding, in the fifth year as a rule.
As the drove progresses the seals all move in about the same
way, a kind of a walking-step and a sliding, shambling gallop,
and the progression of the whole body is a succession of starts,
made every few minutes, spasmodic and irregular. Every now
and then a seal will get weak in the lumbar region, and drag
his posterior after it for a short distance, but finally drops
breathless and exhausted, not to revive for hours, days per-
haps, and often never. Quite a large number of the weaker
ones, ou the driest driving-days, are thus laid out and left on
the road; if one is not too much heated at the time, the native
driver usually taps the beast over the head and removes its
skin. This will happen, no matter how carefully they are
driven, and the death-loss is quite large, as much as 3 or 4
per cent. on the longer drives, such as three and four miles,
from Zapadnie or Polavina to the village on Saint Paul’s, and
I feel satisfied that a considerable number of those rejected
from the drove and permitted to return to the water die sub-
sequently from internal injuries sustained on the drive from
overexertion. I therefore think it improper to extend drives
of seals over any distance exceeding a mile or a mile and a
half. It is better for all parties concerned to erect salt-lhouses
and establish killing-grounds adjacent to all of the great haul-
ing-grounds on Saint Paul’s Island should the business ever be
developed above the present limit. As matters now are, the
ninety thousand seals belonging to the quota of Saint Paul
last summer were taken and skinned in less than forty days
within one mile from either the village, or salt-house on .North-
east Point.
Killing the seals —The seals when brought up to the kill-
ing-grounds are herded there until cool and rested; then
squads or “pods” of fifty to two hundred are driven out from
the body of the drove, surrounded and huddled up one against
and over the other, by the natives, who carry each a long,
heavy club of hard wood, with which they strike the seals down
by blows upon the head; a single stroke of a heavy oak
bludgeon, well and fairly delivered, will crush in at once the
slight, thin bones of a seal’s skull, laying the creature out life-
less; these strokes are usually repeated several times with
each animal, but are very quickly done. é
ae
.
ALASKA. 83
The killing-gang, consisting usually of fifteen or twenty
meu at atime, are under the supervision of a chief of their
own selection, and have, before going into action, a common
understanding as to what grades to kill, sparing the others
which are unfit, underage, &c., permitting them to escape and
return to the water as soon as the marked ones are knocked
down; the natives then drag the slain out from the heap in
which they have fallen, and spread the bodies out over the
ground just free from touching one another so that they will
not be hastened in “heating” or blasting, finishing the work of
death by thrusting into the chest of each stunned and sense-
less seal a long, sharp knife, which touches the vitals and
bleeds it thoroughly ; and ifa cool day, another ‘ pod” is started
out and disposed of in the same way, and so on until a thou-
sand or two are laid out, or the drove is finished; then they
turn to and skin; but-if it is a warm day, every “pod” is
skinned as soon as it is knocked down.
This work of killing as well as skinning is performed very
rapidly; for example, forty-five men or natives on Saint Paul’s
dnring June and July, 1872, in less than four working-weeks
drove, killed, skinned, and salted the pelts of 72,000 seals.
The labor of skinning is exceedingly severe, and is trying to
an expert, requiring long practice before the muscles of the
- back and thighs are so developed as to permit a man to bend
down to and finish well a fair day’s work.
The body of the seal, preparatory to skinning, is rolled over
- or put upon its back, and the native makes a single swift cut
through the skin down along the neck, chest, and belly, from
the lower jaw to the root of the tail, using for this purpose a
large, sharp knife. ‘The fore and hind flippers are then succes-
sively lifted, and a sweeping circular incision is made through
the skin on them just at the point where the body-fur ends ;
then, seizing a flap of the hide on either one side or the other of
the abdomen, the man proceeds to rapidly cut the skin clean
and free from the body and blubber, which he rolls over and
out from the skin by hauling up on it as he advances with his
work, standing all the time stooping over the carcass so that
his hands are but slightly above it or the ground. This opera-
tion of skinning a fair-sized seal takes the best men only a min-
ute and a half, but the average time on the ground is about
four minutes.
_ Nothing is left of the skin upon the carcass save a small
84 ALASKA.
patch of each upper lip, on which the coarse mustache grows,
the skin on the tip of the lower jaw, the insignificant tail, to-
gether with the bare hide of the flippers.
The blubber of the fur-seal is of a faint yellowish white, and
lies entirely between the skin and the flesh, none being depos-
ited in between the muscles. Around the small and large intes-
tines a moderate quantity of hard, firm fat is found. The biub-
ber possesses an extremely offensive, sickening odor, difficult to
wash from the hands. ‘It makes, however, a very fair oil for
lubricating, burning, &e. 3
The flesh of the fur-seal, when carefully cleaned from fat or
blubber, can be cooked, and by most people eaten, who, did
they not know what it was, might consider it some poor, tough,
dry beef, rather dark in color and overdone. Thatof the pup,
however, while on the land and milk-fed, is tender and juicy but
insipid.
The skins are taken from the field to the salt-house, where
they are laid out open, one upon another, “ hair to fat,” like so
many sheets of paper, with salt profusely spread upon the
fleshy sides, in ‘“‘ kenches” or bins. After lyinga week or two
salted in this style they are ready for bundling and shipping,
two skins to the bundle, the fur outside, tightly rolled up and
strongly corded, having an average weight of twelve, fifteen,
and twenty-two pounds when made up of two, three, and four
year old skins respectively.
The company leasing the islands are permitted by law to
take one hundred thousand, and no more, annually ; this they
do in June and July; after that season the skins rapidly grow
worthless by shedding, and do not pay for transportation and
tax. The natives are paid forty cents a skin for the catch, and
keep a close account of the progress of the work every day, as
it is all done by them, and they know within fifty skins, one
way or the other, when the whole number have been secured
each season. This is the only occupation of some three hun-
dred and fifty people here, and they naturally look well after
it. The interest and close attention paid by these Aleuts on
both islands to this business was both gratifying and instruct-
ive to me while stationed there.
The common or popular notion regarding seal-skins is that
they are worn by those animals just as they appear when offered
for sale. This is avery great mistake; few skins are less at-
tractive than the seal-skin as it is taken from the creature.
The fur is not visible, concealed entirely by a coat of stiff over-
|
.
|
|
ALASKA. 85
hair, dull gray, brown, and grizzled. The best of these raw
skins are worth only $5 to $10, but after dressing they bring
from $25 to $40; and it takes three of them to make a lady’s
sack and boa. In order that it may be apparent that there
is reason for this great advance in price over the raw quota-
tion, I take great pleasure in submitting a description of the
process, kindly furnished me by a leading furrier practically
and skillfully conversant with the subject, probably the only
person in the country long familiar with it. His communication
is as follows: ae
“ALBANY, October 22, 1874.
“Sir: The Alaska Commercial Company sold in London, De-
cember, 1873, about sixty thousand skins taken from the islands
leased by our Government of the catch of 1873. The remain-
der of the catch, about forty thousand, were sold in March.
This company have made the collection of seal from these
islands much more valuable than they were before their lease,
by the care used by them in curing the skins, and taking them
only when in season. We have worked this class of seal for
several years—when they were owned by the Russian Ameri-
ean Fur Company, and during the first year they were owned
by our Government.
‘¢ When the skins are received by ws in the salt, we wash off
the salt, placing them upon a beam somewhat like a tanner’s
beam, removing the fat from the flesh-side with a beaming-
knife, care being required that no cuts or uneven places are
made in the pelt. The skins are next washed in water and
placed upon the beam with the fur up, and the grease and
water removed by the knife. The skins are then dried by mod-
erate heat, being tacked out on frames to keep them smooth.
After being fully dried, they are soaked in water and thoroughly
cleansed with soap and water. In some cases they can be un-
haired without this drying-process, and cleansed before drying.
After the cleansing-process they pass to the picker, who dries
the fur by stove-heat, the pelt being kept moist. When the
fur is dry he places the skin on a beam, and while it is warm
he removes the main coat of hair with a dull shoe-knife, grasp-
ing the hair with his thumb and knife, the thumb being pro-
tected by a rabber cob. The hair must be pulled out, not
broken. After a portion is removed the skin must be again
warmed at the stove, the pelt being kept moist. When the
outer hairs have been mostly removed, he uses a beaming-
knife to work out the finer hairs, (which are shorter,) and the
86 ALASKA.
remaining coarser hairs. It will be seen that great care must
be used, as the skin is in that soft state that too much pressure |
of the knife would take the fur also; indeed, bare spots are.
made; carelessly-cured skins are sometimes worthless on this
-account. The skins are next dried, afterward dampened on the
pelt side, and shaved to a fine, even surface. They are then
stretched, worked, and dried ; afterward softened in a falling-
mill, or by treading them with the bare feet in a hogshead, one
head being removed and the cask placed nearly upright, into
which the workman gets with a few skins and some fine, hard-
wood sawdust, to absorb the grease while he dances upon them
to break them into leather. If the skins have been shaved
thin, as required when finished, any defective spofs or holes
must now be mended, the skin smoothed and pasted with paper
on the pelt-side, or two pasted together to protect the pelt in
dyeing. The usual process in the United States is to leave the
pelt sufficiently thick to protect them without pasting.
“In dyeing, the liquid dye is put on with a brush, carefully
covering the points of the standing fur. After lying folded,
with the points touching each other, for some little time, the
skins are hung up and dried. The dry dye is then removed;
another coat applied, dried, and removed, and so on until the
required shade is obtained. One or twoof these coats of dye are
put on much heavier and pressed down to the roots of the fur,
making what is called the ground. From eight to twelve coats
are required to produce a good color. The skins are then
washed clean, the fur dried, the pelt moist. They are shaved
down to the required thickness, dried, working them some
while drying, then softened in a hogshead, and sometimes run
in a revolving-cylinder with fine sawdust to clean them. The
Iinglish process does not have the washing after dyeing. |
“ T should perhaps say that, with all the care used, many skins
are greatly injured in the working. Quite a quantity of Hn-
glish dyed seal were sold last season for $17, damaged in the
dye.
‘‘The above is a general process, but we are obliged to vary
for different skins; those from various parts of the world
require different treatment, and there is quite a difference in
the skins from the Seal Islands of our country—I sometimes
think about as much as in the human race.
“ Yours, with respect,
“GHO. C. TREADWELL & CO.
“HW. W. EvLLiort, Esq.”
ALASKA. 87
From this subject of the manner in which the sealing-busi-
ness is conducted on the islands and elsewhere, we naturally
turn to the—
IV . PRESENT CONDITION OF THE SEAL-LIFE AND ITS VALUE.
A question frequently asked in regard to these islands is
this: ‘“‘At the present rate of killing the seals, it will not be long
before they are exterminated; how much longer will they
last?” The answer is, that as long as matters are conducted
on the Seal Islands as they now are, one hundred thousand
male seals, under the age of five years and over one, may be
safely taken every year without the slightest injury to the regu-
lar birth-rate or natural increase, provided the animals are not
visited by any plague or pestilence, or any such abnormal cause
for their destruction, beyond the control of man, and to which,
like any other great body of animal life, they must ever be sub-
ject.
From my calculations already given it will be seen that a
million ** pups,” or young seals, are born upon these islands every
year. Of this million, one-half are males. These 500,000 young
males leave the islands for sea, when they are between five and
six months old, very fat and hearty, having suffered but a tri-
fling loss in number (about 1 per cent.) while on and about the
islands, about which there are no enemies whatever; but atter
they get well down into the Pacific in quest of food, they form
the most helpless of their kind to resist or elude sharks,
killers, &c., and they are so diminished in number ‘by these
natural enemies, that when they return to the Prybilov Islands
in the following year, July, they will not present more than one-
half of the number with which they left the ground of
their birth the previous season ; that is, 250,000. By this time
these survivors of last year’s birth have become strong, active
Swimmers, and when they leave again, as before, in the fall,
they are as able as any others of their older classes to take
care of themselves, and at least 225,000 of them safely return
- In the second season after birth, and are very slightly diminished
after that during their natural lives of fifteen to twenty years
each ; and the same will hold good with the females.
Now, the number of bulls required for the annual stock of
_ 225,000 virgin cows, to be saved for this service every year, is by
their law and habit only one-fifteenth of the number of cows, as
on all the breeding-grounds one male will have on an average
88 | 7 ALASKA.
fifteen cows; but to make sure that we save two-year-old bulls
enough every season, we will more than double this proportion
and set aside one-fifth of the young males in question, and that
will leave 180,000 seals in good condition that can be safely
killed every year without the slightest injury to the perpetua-
tion of the stock itself. fie
In the above showing I have put the largest estimate npon
the loss sustained at sea by the youngest seals, too large I am
morally certain, but I wish to place the matter in the very
worst light in which it can be put, and to give the seals the
full benefit of every doubt. |
With regard to the increase of the seal-life, I do not think it
within the power of human management to promote this end
to the slightest appreciable degree beyond its present extent
and condition in a state of nature; for it cannot fail to be evi-
dent, from my detailed description of the habits and life of the
fur-seal on these islands during a great part of the year, that
could man have the same supervision and control over this
‘animal during the whole season which he has at his command
while they visit the land, he might cause them to multiply and
increase, as he would so many cattle, to an indefinite number,
only limited by time and means; but the case in question, unfor-
tunately, takes the fur-seal six months out of every year far
beyond the reach, or even cognizance, of any one, where it is
exposed to known powerful and destructive natural enemies,
and many others probabiy unknown, which prey upon it, and,
in accordance with a well-recognized law of nature, keep it at
about a certain number which has been for ages, and will be
for the future, as affairs now are, its maximum limit of in-
crease. ‘This law holds good evers where throughout the animal
kingdom, regulating and preserving the equilibrium of life in a
state of nature. Did it not hold good, these Seal Islands and
all Bering Sea would have been literally covered, and have
swarmed with them long before the Russians discovered them ;
but there were no more seals when first seen here by human
eyes in 1786—87 than there are now, in 1874, as far as all evi-
(lence goes. .
With reference to the amount of ground covered by the seals
when first discovered by the Russians, I have examined every
foot of the shore-line of both islands, where the bones, &c.,
night be lying on any deserted ground since then, and, after
carefully surveying the new ground now occupied by the seals,
ALASKA. 89
and comparing this area with that which they have deserted,
I feel justified in stating that, for the last twelve or fifteen
years at least, the fur-seals on these islands have not diminished,
nor have they increased as a body to any noteworthy degree;
and during all this time the breeding-grounds have never been
disturbed, and they have been living in a perfectly quiet and
natural condition. Without some natural check upon this life,
with a million of young born every year, during the last ten at
least, the annual taking of a hundred thousand males would
not in the slightest degree retard the increase which would set
in at once were it not for this check aforesaid.
What can be done to promote their increase? We cannot
cause a greater number of females to be born every year; we
do not touch or disturb these females as they grow up and live,
and we save more than.enough males to serve them. Nothing
more can be done, for it is impossible to protect them from
deadly enemies in their wanderings for food.
This great body of four and five millions of hearty, active
animals must consume an enormous amount of food every year.
They cannot average less than five pounds of fish each per
diem, (this is not half enough for an adult male,) which gives
the consumption of over three million tons of fish every year!
To get this immense food-supply the seals are compelled to
disperse over a very large area of the North Pacific and fish.
This brings them into contact more and more with their enemies
as they advance south, until they reach a point where their
annual destruction from natural foes is equal to their increase,
and at this point their number will remain fixed. About the
Seal Islands I have failed to notice the least disturbance amon ¥
these animals by anything in the water or out, and from my
observation I am led to believe thatit is not until they descend
well to the south in the North Pacific that they meet with
sharks and voracious killer-whales.*
In view, therefore, of all these facts, I have no hesitation in
saying quite confidently that, under the present rules and regu-
lations governing the sealing interests on these islands, the in-
crease or diminution of the life will amount to nothing; that
the seals will continue for all time in about the same number
and condition.
To test this theory of mine, I have put the Government in
*“<Tn the stomach of one of these animals (year before last) fourteen small
harp-seals were found.”—Nichael Carroll’s Report, Canadian Fisherves, 1872.
90 ALASKA.
possession of data which will serve as a correct guide from year
to year.
As the seals come to land boldly first and last, and are not wild
or wary, the breeding-grounds may and should be inspected
throughout, every few days, by the agent in charge, from the
time of the early arrivals in May until the period of general
departure in the autumn, in order that he may map down and
fix in black and white the precise boundaries assumed by the
breeding-seals for the season, giving the result at the close of
his labors of an accurate survey of the area and position of the
ground covered during the season by the cows, bulls, and pups
on the rookeries, so that he can at once detect any change that
may and is likely to occur in their hauling and numbers for the
next season. |
This is the only way in which an agent of the Government
_ can correctly report, year after year, as to the condition of the
seal-life on these grounds, detecting any increase or diminution
of the same as season succeeds season. This is a step impera-
tively necessary for a Government agent to take,.and should
not be neglected.
During the first week of inspection some of those arriving
earliest will frequently take flight to the water when approached,
but these runaways soon return. By the end of May, however,
they will hardly move to the right or left when you attempt
to pass through them. At this time, about two weeks before
the females begin to come in a body, they become entirely
indifferent to man or anything else save their own kind, and so
continue the rest of the season.
The seals upon the rookeries and hauling-grounds are not
affected by the smell of blood and carrion arising from the
killing-grounds or from the stench of blubber-fires which
burn in the native villages. This trait is well illustrated by
the attitude of the two rookeries near the village of Saint Paul’s.
The breeding-ground on the spit at the head of the lagoon is
not more than forty yards from the great killing-grounds, being
separated only from the seventy or eighty thousand rotting
carcasses by a slough less than ten yards wide. The seals can
smell the blood and carrion upon this field from near the time
they land in the spring until they leave in the autumn; while
the general southerly summer-winds waft to them the odor and
sounds of a native village not over two hundred rods south of
them. All this has no effect upon the seals, for the rookery, as
| 2 Re a
hn ile
> ,
ALASKA. 91
the natives declare, has been slightly but steadily increasing.
The seals everywhere on the breeding-grounds will become
speedily habituated to close observation when it is quiet and
undemonstrative, and take little notice of the approach of the
observer. | |
The seals will be found to change a little every year from
rookery to rookery, but the aggregate number will be steadily
about the same. The condition of the seal-life this season of
1874 compares very favorably with that of 1872, as will be seen
from extracts from my notes taken on the ground:
‘¢ NORTHEAST POINT, July 18, 1874.
‘Quite a strip of ground near Webster’s house has been
deserted this season, but a small expansion is observed on
Sea Lion Hill. The rest of the ground is as mapped in 1872,
with no noteworthy increase in any direction. The condition of
the animals and their young, excellent; small irregularities in
the massing of the families due to rain; sea-lions about the
same; none on the west shore of the point.”
“The aggregate of life on this great rookery is about the
same as in 1872, the ‘holluschickie,’ or killable seals, hauling as
well and as numerously as before. The proportions of the @if-
ferent ages among them, of two, three, and four year olds, pretty
well represented.” |
“¢ POLAVINA, July 18, 1874.
“ Stands as it did in 1872; breeding and hauling grounds in
excellent condition; the latter, on Upper Polavina, are changing
down upon Polavina sand-beach, trending for three miles to-
ward Northeast Point. The numbers of the ‘holluschickie’
on this ground of Polavina, where they have not been disturbed
now for some five years to mention in the way of taking, do
not seem to be any greater than they are on the hauling-grounds
adjacent to Northeast Point and the village, from which they
are driven almost every day during this season of killing.”
‘‘LUKANNON AND KETAVIE, July 19, 1874.
“Not materially changed in any respect from its condition at
this time in 1872.”
‘¢ GORBOTCH, July 19, 1874.
““ Just the same. Condition excellent.”
‘6 REEF, July 19, 1874.
_ “A slight contraction on the south sea-margin of this ground,
compensated for by expansion under the bluffs on the north-
west side. Condition excellent.”
92 ALASKA.
‘6 NASPEEL, July 20, 1874.
‘‘A diminution of one-half at least. Very few here this year.
It is no place for a rookery; not a pistol-shot from the natives’
houses.”
“6 LAGOON, July 20, 1874.
‘¢ No noteworthy change; if any, a trifling increase. Condi-
tion good.”
‘¢ ToLsTO!, July 21, 1874.
‘¢ No perceptible change in this rookery from its good shape
of 1872. The condition excellent.”
‘6 ZAPADNIE, July 22, 1874.
‘¢ An extension or increase of 2,000 feet of shore-line, with
an average depth of 50 feet of breeding-ground, has been built
on to Upper Zapadnie toward Tolstoi; the upper rookery proper
has not altered its bearings or proportions; the sand-beach belt
between it and Lower Zapadnie deserted by the breeding-seals
almost entirely, and a fair track for the holluschickie left clear,
over which they have traveled quite extensively this season,
some 20,000 to 25,000 lying out to-day. Lower Zapadnie has
lost in a noteworthy degree about an average of 20 feet of its
depth, which, however, is much more than compensated for by
the great increase to the upper rookery.
‘A small beginning had been made for a rookery on the
shore just southwest from Zapadnie Lake, in 1872, but this
year it has been entirely abandoned.” |
On Saint George asurvey gives for this season the following
in comparison with that of 1873:
‘“¢ ZAPADNIE, July 8, 1874.
‘This rookery shows a slight increase upon the figures of last
year, about 5,000. Tine condition.”
‘“ STARRY ATEEL, July 6, 1874.
‘No noteworthy change from last year.”
‘“ NorntH ROOKERY, July 6, 1874.
«** No essential change from last year; condition very good.” »
“ LITTLE LASTERN, July 6, 1874.
‘¢ A slight diminution of some 2,000 or so. Condition excel-
lent.”
‘¢ WASTERN ROOKERY, July 7, 1874.
‘¢ A small increase over last year of about 3,000, making the.
aggregate seal-life similar to that of last season, with the cer-
tainty of a small increase.
i
ALASKA. 93
“ The unusually early season, this year, brought the rookery-
bulls on to the ground very much in advance of the general
time; they landed as early as the 10th of April, but the arrival
of the cows was as late as usual, corresponding to my observa-
tions during the past two seasons.
‘The general condition of the animals of all classes is nes
excellent—they are sleek, fat, and free from any taint of
disease.”
In this way it must be plain that the exact condition of these
animals can be noted every season, and should a diminution be
noticed, due to any cause known or unknown, the killing can be
promptly stopped. Four years have passed, with the end of
this season, in which 100,000 young males have been annually
taken, and the effect on the seal-life cannot be seen; it has not
injured it, to a certainty, and it has not promoted an increase.
Two years more will make the matter conclusive, for then, if
the breeding-grounds are as well supplied with males as they
now are, then it will be evident that enough are saved every
year for that service.
We know pretty well now how many we can take without in-
jury, but we do not know how many more than 100,000 can
be. This problem of developing these interests to their full im-
portance should not be taken in hand for a few years yet, not
until the present system which I have drawn up for the watch-
ing of the rookeries has been in operation for three or four
years ; then, if it is advisable, on account of the superabun-
dance of male seal-life, and the market will stand the increase
of raw material, the killing may be very gradually increased
from year to year, but not over jive thousand each season. The
rookeries, like a barometer, will show a falling off of necessary
bulls when the killing has .reached a point where the increase
is detrimental. This can be seen at once by the proper persons
and the killing checked without delay, in ample time to pre-
vent harm.
In this chapter I have given a translation of Bishop Veniami-
nov’s history, the only one written, and very valuable as illus-
trative of the manner in which the Russians conducted affairs
ou the Prybilov Islands; but it is at once apparent that much
of if was written necessarily from hearsay and not based upon
fact or personal observation, hence many grave errors are con-
tained in it.
94. ALASKA.
THE PROPRIETY OF LEASING THE ISLANDS.
It will be remembered that at the time this question was be-
fure Congress much opposition to the principle of leasing was
made, on the yround that the Government would realize more
by taking the whole management of the business into its own
hands. As to what arguments were used on either side of the
question I am ignorant, but after a careful and impartial sur-
vey of the subject on the ground itself, and in the trade, 1 am
satisfied that those members of the House and Senate who, by
their votes June, 1870, directed the Secretary of the Treasury
to lease the Seal Islands of Alaska to the highest bidder, did
the only correct and profitable thing that could be done in the -
matter, both with regard to the preservation of the seal-life in
its original integrity, and its own pecuniary gain ; and to make
this statement of mine perfectly evident, the following facts
may be presented : |
First. When the Government took possession of these inter-
ests In 1868-69, the gross value of a seal-skin then in the best mar- .
ket, London, was less than the present tax and royalty paid upon
it by the lessees !
Second. By the action of the intelligent business men who
took tbe lease, in stimulating and encouraging the dressers.
of the raw material, and in combining with leaders of fashion
abroad, the demand for the fur has been greatly increased, and
the price of the raw material has doubled, so that while the
Government gets and nets nearly half of the gross sales, yet
the lessees have a good margin of 15 to 20 per cent. at least on
their capital, sustained entirely by their business capacity and
energy.
Third. The Government, should it attempt to manage this
business, could not secure the services of such men as those who
compose the business management of the Alaska Commercial
Company without paying salaries to four and five agents as large
or larger than that given to the President of the United States.
This, however, the Government might cheerfully do, did it
guarantee the selection and appointment of such men as those
above mentioned, but it does not follow under our system of
government, or any other that I know of, that a large salary
indicates a corresponding amount of ability on the part of its
recipient; an imbecile or a very common man is just as apt
ALASKA. 95
te secure itasnot. Ordinary men cannot conduct this business
successtully.*
Fourth. As matters now stand, the greatest and best inter-
ests of the lessees are identical with those of the Government ;
that is, the preservation and, if possible, the increase of the
seal-life; and if these lessees had it in their power, which they
certainly have not, to ruin these interests by a few seasons
of rapacity, they are too prudent to do so.
Fifth. The frequent changes made in the office of the Secre-
tary of the Treasury, who now, very properly, has the control
of the business as it stands, do not guarantee on his part the
close, careful scrutiny likely to be exercised by the lessees, who
have but one purpose to carry out; and the character of the
leading men among them is enough to assure the public that
the business is in responsible hands, and in the care of persons
who will use every effort for the preservation of the seal-life, as
it is their interest to do.
It is frequently urged with great persistency by misinformed
*Another great obstacle to the success of the business, if controlled entirely
by the Government, would arise in the disposal of the skins after they have
been brought down from the islands. The Government would need to offer
them at public auction in this country, and would be at the mercy of any
well-organized combination of buyers; the Government agents conducting
the sale could not counteract the efforts of such a combination as success-
fully as the agents of a private corporation, who can look after their inter-
ests in all the markets of the world and are supplied with money to use in
manipulation of the market.
On this ground I feel quite confident that the Treasury of the United
States receives more money, net, under the system now in operation than
it would by taking the exclusive control of the business; were any Gov-
ernment officer supplied with, say, $100,000, to expend in “‘ working the
market,” and intrusted with the disposal of 100,000 seal-skins, whenever he
could so do to the best advantage of the Government, and were this agent
a man of first-class business energy and ability, I think it quite likely the
Same success might attend his labor in the London market that distinguishes
the management of the Alaska Commercial Company; but the usual cry of
fraud and robbery that would be raised against him, however honest he might
be, would be such as to bring the whole business into positive disrepute or
constant suspicion. The Government officer in this matter is placed at a
great disadvantage should any such line of action be adopted, and the most
prolitable course is for the Government not to offer in the markets through
agents, but to pursue its present policy, levy a tax, and watch carefully the
condition of the seal-life from year to year, as the killing is increased and
the business developed to its full extent.
In this way Alaska may be made to yield, by a tax laid on its Seal Islands
alone, a very handsome rate of interest upon the money paid for the entire
Territory.
96 ALASKA.
or jealous authority that the lessees can and do take thousands
of skins in excess of the limit of law, and that this catch in
excess is Slyly shipped to China and Japan from the islands, &c.
To show the folly of any such move as this on the part of the
company, if even it were possible, I will briefly recapitulate
the conditions under which the skins are taken. The natives
do all the driving and skinning for the company ; no others are
permitted or asked to land upon the islands to do this work as
long as the inhabitants of the islands are equal to it. Every
skin taken by the natives is counted by themselves, as they
get forty cents per pelt for the labor; and at the expiration of
every day’s labor in the field the natives know exactly how
many skins have been taken by them, how many of these skins
have been rejected by the company’s agent because they were
carelessly cut and damaged in skinning, (usually about three-
fourths of 1 per cent. of the whole catch,) and they have it re-
corded every evening by those among themselves who are spe-
cially charged with the duty. Thus, were 150,000 skins taken,
or 200,000, the natives would know it as quickly as it was
done, and would demand their compensation for the labor; and
were any ship to approach the islands at any hour of the day
or night, these people would know it at once, and would be
aware of any shipment of skins that might be attempted. It
would be common talk among the three hundred and seventy
inhabitants, and thus leave it an open affair to any person who
might come upon the ground charged with investigation.
These people are constantly going to and from Ounalashka,
where they have intimate intercourse with bitter enemies of
the company, to whom they would not hesitate to tell the whole
state of affairs on the islands. Should anything, therefore, be
done contrary to the law, the act would be promptly reported «
by these people, even if the Treasury agents were in collusion
with the company, which, however, is simply out of the ques-
tion.
The Treasury agents count these skins into the ship, and one
at least of their number goes down to San Francisco upon the
vessel, where they are all counted out again by the custom-
house officers of that port. Of the one hundred thousand skins
annually taken, the company’s steamer ‘‘Alexander” usually
carries down between sixty and seventy thousand, while the
balance of the catch are put into the hold of a sailing-vessel
7 St 1 ere 1d ae
LY iat a il EN
5 ol IS cla De
i aS
ALASKA. 97
at Ounalaskha, and counted again and certified to by the Treas-
ury agent.
It will at once be seen by examining the state of affairs and
the conditions upon which the lease is granted, that the most
scrupulous care in fulfilling the terms of the contract is the
best and most profitable course for the lessees to pursue; that
it would be downright folly in them to deviate in the slightest
degree from the letter of the law, and thus lay themselves open
at any time to discovery and the loss of their contract; their
action can be investigated at any time by Congress, of which
they are aware. They cannot bribe these three hundred and
seventy-odd people on the islands to secrecy any more than
they can conceal their action from them on the sealing-fields ;
and any man of average ability can go among these people and
inform himself as to the most minute details of the sealing-
catch from the time the lease was granted, should he have rea-
son to suspect the honesty of the Treasury agents.
I therefore have no hesitation in stating that as far as the re-
lationship existing between the Alaska Commercial Company
and the Government is concerned, the best interests of the lat-
ter are honestly and faithfully served, simply because it is the
very best policy for the former so to do; that all the conditions
of the lease are most scrupulously complied with and observed,
and that the lessees hold themselves ready at any moment to
comply with any just and proper modification of the regulations
that time may develop. .
With regard to the profits of this company upon their yearly
catch of one hundred thousand seals, the agents of the Gov-
- ernment have no concern whatever; after they have observed
the faithful folfillment of the terms of the contract existing be-
tween the company and the Government, the amount of their
profit is a pure matter of business over which the lessees have
entire control, and in regard to which they should not be sub-
jected to impertinent inquisition.
; cee CONDITION OF THE NATIVES ON THE SEAL ISLANDS.
This has been wonderfully improved by the action of the les-
sees during the short time they have had control of affairs there.
The truth of this will be realized by any one who may take the
trouble to contrast the present condition of the people on these
islands with what it was previous to the granting of the lease,
and with that also of the people of their class who are now
7 AL
OR ALASKA.
living upon the Aleutian Islands and the mainland. The in-
quirer will learn that these people, now so well and comfort-
ably clad, fed, and housed, were at the time of the transfer of
the Territory so poor and ill-provided for that they could not
in many instances cover their nakedness; that they existed in
absolute squalor; whereas they are now living in snug houses,
such as our laboring classes occupy in the United States; that
they earn and receive in coin, in less than two working-months
every year, more than the same number of our common work-
iIngmen receive on an average for a whole year’s service; and
also that for all extra work other than of seal-skinning, such
as loading and unloading the company’s vessels, building, grad-
ing, &c., these people are paid by the day from fifty cents to
one dollar, according to the character of service rendered.
The agents of the company here do not pay the least atten-
tion tu or interfere with the private life and personal relations
of the people among themselves; and let me here state, to the
credit of these people, that the peaceful and harmonious man-
ner in which they live together as a rule, during nine idle
months at least every year, would contrast most favorably with
the lives of an equal number of our own working classes were
they suddenly brought to these islands and put on the same
footing. I will only hint at the insubordination and utter
worthlessness of such a community after six or eight months
of torpidity and isolation.
It is true that the natives here have an inordinate fondness
for liquor, and would destroy themselves were they not restrained
in this propensity by the difficulty of obtaining this demoraliz-
ing beverage, and hence the importance of the liquor prohibi-
tion, which should be rigorously enforced.
Only a small proportion of the present population are de-
scendants of the pioneers who were brought by the several
Russian companies in 1787~’88—a colony of 137 souls—recruited
principally from the Aleuts at Ounalashka and Atka. ‘Their
early life here was one of much hardship, and on several ocea-
sions they were in actual need. They lived in a co-operative
manner at first, in large barracoons or barrabkies, partly under-
ground, economizing in this way their limited supply of fire-
wood, being dependent upon the sea for such drift-timber as
might chance to lodge as the currents, deflected from the Yau-
kon and elsewhere, sweep around the islands; but during the
ALASKA. 99
past twenty-five or thirty years they have all come into the
general ownership and occupation of a hut to a family.
The Russian Fur Company, controlling the islands, maintained
on Saint Paul and Saint George a store and an agent, the
people supporting a priest and building a church upon each
island, and living in this manner very dirty, poor, and miser-
able, they were brought into contact with the Americans at
the time of the transfer of the Territory.
The people are now supplied without charge with a physi-
cian and medical stores on each island, and also a school; but
the school is not well attended except by the very young chil-
dren, principally the little girls, although every winter fifteen
or twenty of the boys and young men are taught the Russian
alphabet and church-service by three or four of the elder per-
sons. ‘The non-attendance at school is not to be ascribed merely
to indisposition on the part of the children and parents to at-
tend the English schools established by the Alaska Commercial
Company on both islands. The view expressed to the writer by
one of the oldest and most intelligent of the people may be
explanatory of their feeling and consequent action.
JT do not,” said old Philip Vollkov, “‘ have any objection to
the attendance of my children, nor have my neighbors to that
of theirs, on your (English) school; but if our boys and young
men neglect their Russian lessons, who is going to take our
places when we die, in our church, at our christenings, and at
our burials?” To any one familiar with the teachings of the
Greek Catholie faith the objection of Vollkov is well taken ;
but it is to be hoped that in the course of time, however, the
Russian church-service may be conducted in English, for until
then no satisfactory work can be done by an English school-
teacher among them in the way of education.
Up to the time of the transfer of the islands to the Alaska
Commercial Company the inhabitants all lived in huts or sod-
walled and dirt-roofed houses or barrabkies, partly under-
ground. Most of these huts were, and are, damp, dark, and
exceedingly filthy. Under the Russian régime the people gen-
erally here had some excuse for such squalor; but as the case
now stands it is due to the improvidence or shiftlessness of the
natives themselves if they are living in this unclean condition
and wear an appearance of discomfort. The use of seal-fat for
fuel causes the deposit upon everything within doors of a thick
coating of greasy, black soot, strongly impregnated with arank,
100 ALASKA.
moldy, and indescribably offensive odor. In early times they
were obliged to burn blubber very largely, having no other fuel
at command than the precarious supply of drift-wood that the
ocean-currents might bring them; but by the terms of the lease
they are now supplied with a santierenld quantity of coal to make
them quite comfortable during the winter.
Since the Alaska Commercial Company have taken posses-
sion of the islands, the natives are being quite rapidly put into
neat and habitable houses, and plenty of lumber is distributed
among those who have not as yet been removed to patch and
make comfortable their old huts, and at the expiration of three
more seasons the whole population of above eighty families
will be occupants of as many suitable houses, where they will
live more healthily.
The example of the agents of the company on both islands
and the assistant agent of the Treasury on Saint George during ~
the last three years, who have maintained perfect order, neat-
ness, and industry about their buildings and business, has been
a silent but powerful one for the better among the people. The
intercourse of these gentlemen with the natives is always court-
eous, pleasant, and often generous, when deserved; giving
the simple inhabitants a slow but steady elevation toward mo-
rality, sobriety, and industry, such as they never have had be-
fore, having been treated like so many animals by the Russians ;.
and the conduct of most of the United States revenue and mil-
itary officers and men stationed here between the transfer of
the Territory and the granting of the lease cannot be described
as other than disgraceful, their behavior being marked by drunk-
enness, debauchery, and brawls, their habits soon rendering
the name American offensive to even these simple people.
The population of Saint Paul is, at the present writing, 220
men, women, and children; that of Saint George, 138. It has
neither much increased nor diminished during the last fifty
years, but would have fallen off had not recruits been regularly
drawn from the mainland and other islands, the births not
being equal to the deaths. In view of the great improvement
in their condition, it may be reasonably anticipated that these
people will at least hold their own, even though they do not
increase to any remarkable degree.
As an incentive and encouragement for their good behavior,
they have been assured that as long as they are capable and
willing to perform the labor of skinning the seal-catch, so long
.
|
4
a
ALASKA. FOL
will they enjoy the exclusive privilege of participating in this
labor and its reward. As to the especial fitness of these people
for the labor connected with the sealing business, no comment
is needed ; nothing better in the way of manual service, skilled
and rapid, could be rendered by any other body of men equal
in numbers. They appear to shake off the periodic lethargy of
winter, and rush with enthusiasm into the severe exercise and
duty of capturing, killing, and skinning the seals.
Seal-meat is their staple food, and the village of Saint Paul,
220 souls, consumes about 400 pounds per diem, and they are
permitted every fall to kill about 5,000 pups, or an average of
22 or 23 to each man, woman, and child. The pups will dress
10 pounds. This shows an average consumption of 515 pounds
of seal-meat to each person during the year. In addition, the
natives eat a great deal of butter and sweet crackers. If these
_ people could get all they desire, they would consume about 500
pounds of butter and 450 pounds sweet crackers per week, and
indefinite quantities of sugar. Of this article, 150 pounds a
week is allowed them in this village. If unable to get sweet
crackers, they consume about 300 pounds of bard or pilot bread,
and, in addition to this, about 600 pounds of flour per week; of
tobacco, 50 pounds; candles, 75 pounds; rice, 50 pounds each
per week ; they burn over 600 gallons of kerosene oil during the
year; vinegar is used in limited quantities, about 50 gallons per
season; mustard and pepper, 4 to 14 pounds per week for the
whole village; beans they reject; split pease, a few; salt meats
they will take reluctantly if given to them, but will never buy
them ; they use a little coffee during the year, about 100 pounds ;
canned fruit they will purchase to any quantity, and would
bankrupt themselves to obtain it, if the opportunity were afford-
ed; potatoes they sometimes demand, as well as onions, but
these vegetables cannot be brought here to advantage.
The question will naturally be asked, How do these people
employ themselves throughout the long nine months in which
they have little or nothing todo? It may be answered that
they are entirely idle during most of this period. Some of the
men are, however, disagreeable exceptions, as they are enthu-
siastic gamblers, passing whole nights at their sittings, even
during the sealing-season, playing games at cards taught them
by the Russians and persons who have been on the islands since
the transfer of the Territory. But the majority of the men,
women, and children, being compelled to make no exertion to
102 . ALASKA.
obtain the necessaries of life—such as seal-meat, hard bread,
tea, &c.—sleep most of the time when unoccupied in cooking,
eating, and the daily observance of the routine of the Greek
Catholic Church. Their religious duties alone preserve them
from absolute stagnation; for, in obedience to its teachings,
they attend church quite regularly, make and receive calls on
their saints’ days, which are very numerous, and their birth-
days are generally enlivened with home-brewed beer, or ** quass,”
upon which all classes become more or less intoxicated. They
add to these entertainments of the emannimik the musie of the >
accordeon, an instrument of which they are very found; and a
great number of the women in particular can play indiffer-
ently a limited selection of airs, many of which are the old
battle-songs and ballads so popular during the rebellion, and
which the soldiers quartered here in 1869 taught them. From
the soldiers, also, they learned to dance various figures, and to
waltz. These dances, however, the old folks do not enjoy, and
they seldom indulge in them, unless under the influence of beer.
From the following statement it will be seen that these people
are doing better work every succeeding season; for example,
90,000 seals were taken this year in sixteen days less time than
it took to get 75,000 in 1871, viz:
In Saint Paul’s Island, 1871, 55 days’ work of 66 men secured
75,000 seals.
In 1872, 50 days’ work of 71 men secured 75,000 seals.
In 1873, 40 days’ work of 71 men secured 75,000 seals,
In 1874, 39 days’ work of 84 men secured 90,000 seals.*
This shows plainly that they are in better physical condition
than at first; it furnishes also wndeniable proof of the undimin-
ished supply of killable seals.
INHABITANTS OF SAINT PAUL, JULY 1, 1870, TAKEN FROM
PHILIP VOLKOV’S LISTS, AUGUST 8, 1873.
[The names in italics are either dead or absent from the island at the present writing.]
1. Philip Keemachneek. 6. Mareena, his wife.
2. Hffroseenia, his wife. 7. Alexsander, his son.
3d. Ivan, his son. 8. Sylvester, his son.
4. Danelo, his son. 9. Hefeem Anoolanak.
5. Vasseele Seedoolee. 10. Matroona, his wife.
*This inercase of 15,000 on Saint Paul was made this season with a
similar reduction on Saint George; the proportion of seal-life being smali on
the latter compared with the former.
a.
12.
13.
14.
15
16.
ive
18.
19.
20.
at,
22.
23.
24,
25.
26.
27.
28.
20.
30.
ss) ae
32.
33.
34,
30.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41,
42.
43.
44,
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
ALASKA.
Simeon, adopted son. 50
Marka Aveelyah. 51
Feeleechat, his wife.
Peter Peeshenkov.
Matroona, his wife.
Ivan Eemanov.
Anna, his wife.
Yeagor, his son.
Loobovy, his step-daughter.
Maxseem, his step-son.
Maria, his niece.
Nickolai Krukov.
Peter Krukov.
Avgrafeena, his wife.
Ivan Korchooteen.
Ooleeana, his wife.
Yahkov Koochootin.
Lookahria, his sister.
Natalia Makooleena.
Maria Paranchina.
Keesar Shabbylean.
A grafeena, his wife.
Neckon, his son.
Ripsimia Plottnikova.
Avdotia, her daughter.
Prokoopee Meeseekin.
Eveduxsia, his wife.
Avdotia Meeseekina, his
step-mother.
Anna, daughter of Meesee-
kin.
Deemeetree Veatkin.
Evelampia Veatkin.
Balakshin, (Benedict.)
Matroona, his wife.
Meexhae, his son.
Balakshin, 2d, (Benedict.)
Stepan Krakov.
Natalia, his wife.
Avdokia Seeribneekova,
(widow.)
Timofay, her son.
a9 4
woe oS
“1 S> Cl
Oo eo
103
. Olga, her daughter.
. Paraskeevee, her daugh-
ter.
. Akooleena, her daughter.
. Michael Barrhov.
. Malania, his wife.
. Agnes, his daughter.
. Daniel, his nephew.
. Avdotia Schepeteenah,
(widow.)
. Tahreentee, her son.
. Elarie, her son.
. Hee-une-iah, her daughter.
. Kerick Booterin, 1st chief.
2. Seeg-lee-teekiah, his wife.
. Patalamon, his son.
. Kerick, his son.
. Salomayee, his daughter.
. Ooleeta, his daughter.
. George Booterin, his son.
. Carp Booterin.
. Lookariah Booterin.
. Alexander Pancov.
. Porfeerie, his son.
. Avdotia, his step-daughter.
. Paraskeevie, his step-
daughter.
. Yakov Sootyahgin.
. Eeroadea, his wife.
. Feedosayee Saydeek.
. Anesia, his wife.
. Anna, his daughter.
. Feoktista, his god-mother.
. Dayneese Saydeek.
. Baiz yahzeekov, (Evlampia.)
. Anna, his wife.
. Maria, has daughter.
. Maroon Nakock.
. Paraskeevie, his wife.
. Gachar, his step-son.
, nephew.
. Paraskeevie, niece.
104 ALASRA.
89. Natalia Habaroova. 127
90. Pavel Habarov, her son. 128
91. Paul Shics-neekov, ( priest.) 129.
92. Meeh-ah-elo, his son. 130
95. Meeloveedova,Alexsandra, 131.
(widow.) 132
94, Simeon, her son. 133
95. Alexsandra, her daughier. 134
96. Antone, her son. 135
97. Marcia, her daughter. 136
98. Kerick Artamanov. 137
99. Olga, his wife. 138
100. Melania, his daughter... 139
101. Vasseleesee, hisdaughter. 140
102. Kah-sayn-yah, his 141
daughter. 142
103. Gearman Artamanov. 143
104. Anna Tarantayvah, 144
(widow.) 145
105. Anna, her daughter. 146
106. Stepan Bayloglazov. 147
107. Yealeena, his wife. 148
108. Sayrgee, his son. 149
109. Anna, his daughter. 150
110. Paraskeevie, his adopted 151
real a 152
111. Ermolie Cushing. 153
112. Faokla, his wife. 154
113. Faokla, his daughter. 155
114. Oolyahnah, his daughter. 156
115. Aggie Cushing, his son. 157
116. Antone Sootyahgen. 158
117. Oolyahnah, his wife. 159
118. Meetrofan, his son. 160
119. Meehaie, his son.
120. Yahkov Mandrigan. 161
121. Atfanashia, his wife.
122. Lookaylecan, his son. 162
123. Maria, bis daughter. 163
24, Oseep Pahomov. 164
125. Varvarah, his wife. 165
126. Maria Seedova, (widow.) 166
. Ahkakee, her son.
2. Alexea Neci#leasapae
. Akooleena, his wife.
. Christeena, his daughter.
. Agrafeena, his daughter.
6. Keer Saydeek.
. Yealeena, his wife.
. Maria, his daughter.
. Ivan Mandrigan.
. Tatahyahn, his wife.
. Vasseelee, his son.
. Marfa, his daughter.
. Feelat Teetov.
. Peter, his son.
. Yeaon, his son.
. Yeagor Arkashav.
. Alexsandra, his wife.
. Martin, his step-son.
. Nekolaie, his step-son.
. Stepan, his step-son.
. Kereek, his son.
. Arsaynee, his son.
. Tatayahnabh, ie
. Timofay Evanov.
. Fevronia, his daughter.
, Paymen Kooznitzov.
. Oseep Baizyahzeekov.
. Alexsandra, his wife.
. Paul, his son.
. Kahsaynyah, his step-
. Avdokia, his step-daugh-
2. Kahsaynyah, his daughter.
. Ivan Paranciin.
. Zaharrov Evemainov.
3. Keereenayah, his wile.
3. Fevronia, his daughter.
, daughter.
, daughter.
, daughter.
, daughter.
daughter.
ter.
a
——
*
a
5
wd
—
~
“
‘
167.
168.
169.
170.
i.
172.
173.
174.
~ 175.
176.
it.
178.
179.
180.
181.
182.
183.
184,
185.
186.
Si.
188.
189.
199.
Ot,
192.
193.
194,
195.
196.
197.
198.
199.
200.
201.
202.
203.
204.
ALASKA.
Ivan Hapov. 205.
Anna, sister-in-law. 206.
Alexsandra, his daughter. 207.
Ivan, his son. 208.
Yeagor Korchootin. 209.
Zachar Saydeek. 210.
Oosteenia, his wife. vi) UE
Vasseelee, his son. aD.
Marvra, his daughter. 218.
Nekon, his nephew. 214.
Feelip Saydeek. 215.
Stepan Skahvortsov. 216.
Philip Vollkov. ZAG.
Ellen, his daughter. 218
Matroona, his daughter. 219
Markiel Vollkov, his son. 220
Gavreelo Korchurgin. 221
Lukaylean, his son. 222
Ivan Sootyahgen. 223
Heeyoniah, his wife. 224
Aneesia, his daughter. 225
Emelian Sootyahgen. 226
Marko Korchootin. 227
Darevah, his wife. 228
Ivan, his son.
Zeenovia, his daughter. 229
Timofay Glottov. 230
Maria, his wife.
, his son.
Ivan, his son.
Yeafeemia, his daughter.
Traklin Mandrigan.
Ocsteenie, his wife.
Keon, his son.
Paul Soovorrov.
Vassa, his wife.
, his son.
Akyleena, his mother.
ONATR OPH
105
Agrafeena, his adopted girl.
Kefeem Korchootin.
Palahgayee, his wife.
Peter, his son.
Luka Mandrigan.
Eereena, his wife.
Neekeeta Yitchmaino.v
Christeena, his daughter.
Domenah, his daughter.
Taheesah, his daughter.
Ivan Yitchmamov.
Michael Korzerov.
Alexsandra, his wife.
. Stepan Korzerov.
. Paul Korzerov.
. Ivan Kozlov.
. Palahgayah, his mother.
. Feodor, her son.
. Hveducksia, her daughter.
. Platone Tarakanoy.
. Marfa, his wife.
. Akoolena, his mother.
. Kerick Tarakanov.
. Domian M. Kok, (John
Frater.)
. Oolyahnah, his wife.
. Anna, his daughter.
. Salomayah, Artomanov’s
daughter.
White men in charge.
. Dr. McIntyre.
H. W. McIntyre.
. Dr. Cramer.
. Jdohn M. Morton.
. Chas. Bryant.
D. Webster.
, & cooper.
, a carpenter.
106 ALASKA.
Annual division or cash settlement made by the natives on Saint
Pauls Island, among themselves, the proceeds of their work in.
taking and skinning 75,000 seals, at 40 cents per skin, $30,000,
with extra work connected with it, making $30,637.37.
Seventy-four shares, proportioned as follows: .
December 31, 1872.—37 first-class shares, at.... $451 22 cach.
23 second-class shares, at. 406 99 each.
4 third-class shares, at... 360 97 each.
10 fourth-class shares, at.. 315 85 each.
The shares do not represent more than forty-five able-bodied
men.
Annual division or cash settlement made by the people on Saint
George’s Island, among themselves, the proceeds of their work in
taking and skinning 25,000 seals, at 40 cents per skin, $10,000.
Aug. 1,1873.—17 shares, each 961 skins, or $384.40. $6, 294 80
2 shares, each 935 skins, or $374... 748 00 —
3 shares, each 821 skins, or $328.40. 985 20
1 share, 820 skins, or $328... ..... 328 60
3 shares, each 770 skins, or $308... 924 00
3 shares, each 400 skins, or $160... 480 00
Twenty-nine shares, or the twenty-nine laboring sealers; of
this number two are women. Only twenty-five of them are
able-bodied men.
The divisions above are the result of their own choice. They
make this apportionment among themselves without advice or
suggestion from the agents of the company. These people have
$3,320 on interest in the office of the Alaska Commercial Com-
pany at this date, and have credit on the books for $31,800;
and when the division is made up on Saint Paul at the regu-
lar annual time of settlement in December, $30,000 will be
added to the above exhibit. |
The people here are occupying, rent-free at the present time,
thirty frame houses built by and belonging to the Alaska
Commercial Company on the Seal Islands. Twenty of these
houses are new frame, 11 by 20 feet.
These people have their misers and spendthrifts, but it will
be seen that very few of them care much for saving their money,
inasmuch as only four or five of them have as yet taken any
steps toward such action. One man on Saint Paul has over
$1,800 saved, aud drawing interest at 9 per cent. to-day.
ALASKA. LOZ
THE HISTORY OF THE BUSINESS AS CONDUCTED BY THE
RUSSIANS.
[Translated by the writer from Veniaminov’s Zapieskie, &c., Saint Petersburg,
1842, vol. ii, pp. 568. *]
From the time of the discovery of the Prybilov Islands, up
to 1805, (or that is, until the time of the arrival in America of
General Resanov,) the taking of fur-seals on both islands pro-
gressed without count or lists, and without responsible heads
or chiefs, because then (1787 to 1805 inclusive) there were a
number of companies represented by as many agents or leaders,
and all of them vied with each other in taking as many as they
could before the killing was stopped. After this, in 1806 and
1807, there were no seals taken, and nearly all the people. were
removed to Ounalashka.
In 1808 killing was again commenced, but the people iu this
year wereallowed tokillonly on Saint George; on Saint Paul hunt-
ers were not permitted this year or the next: it was not until
the fourth year after this that as many as half the number pre-
viously taken wereannually killed. From this time (Saint George,
1808, and Saint Paul, 1810) up to 1822, taking fur-seals progressed
on both islands without any economy and with slight cireum-
spection, as if there were a race in killing for the most skins.
Cows were taken in the drives and killed, and were also driven
_ from the rookeries to places where they were slaughtered.
It was only in 1822 that G. Moorayvev (governor) ordered
that young seals should be spared every year for breeding, and
from that time there were taken from the Prybilov Islands, in-
stead of 40,000 to 50,000, which Moorayvev ordered to be spared
in four successive years, no more than 8,000 to 10,000. Since
this, G. Chestyahkov, chief ruler after Moorayvev, estimated
that from the increase resulting from the legislation of Mooray-
vey, which was so honestly carried out on the Prybilov Islands
that in these four years the seals on Saint Paul increased to
double their previous number, he could give an order which in-
creased the number to be annually slain to 40,000, and this last
order or course directed for these islands demanded as many
seals as could be got, but with all possible exertion hardly
28,000 were obtained.
hae this, when it was most plainly seen that the ae. were.
on account of this wicked killing, steadily growing less and less
* The italics are mine, and the translation is nearly literal, as might be inferred by the
idiom here and there.—H. W. E.
108 ALASKA.
in number, the directions were observed for greater caution in
killing the grown seals and young females which. came in with
the droves of killing-seals, and to endeavor to separate, if pos-
sible, these from those which should be slain.
But.all this hardly served to do more than keep the seals at
one figure or number, and hence did not cause an inerease.
Finally, in 1834, the governor of the company, upon the clear
(or ‘“‘handsome”) argument of Baron Wrangel, which was
placed before him, resolved to make new regulations respecting —
them, to take effect in the same year, (1834,) and, following this,
on the island of Saint Paul only 4,000 were killed instead of
12,600.
On the island of Saint George the seals were allowed to rest
in 1826 and 1827, and since that time greater caution and care
have been observed, and head-men or foremen have kept a care-
ful count of the killing.
From this it will be seen that no anxiety or care as to the pres-
ervation of the seal-life began until 1805, (¢. ¢., with the united
companies.)
It is further evident that all half-measures, seen or not seen,
were useful no longer, as they only served to preserve a small
portion of the seal-life, and only the last step (1834) with the
present people or inhabitants has proved of benefit. And if
such regulations of the company continue for fifteen years, (7. e.,
until 1849,) it may be truly said that then the seal-life will be
attracted quite rapidly under the careful direction of head-men,
so that in quite a short time a handsome yield may be taken
every year. In connection with this subject, if the company
are moderate and these regulations are carried out, the seal-
life will serve them and be depended upon as shown in this
volume, Table No. 2.
Nearly all the old men think and assert that the seals which
are spared every year, (‘‘ zapooskat kotov,”) ¢. e., those which
have not been killed for several years, are truly of little use for
breeding, lying about as if they were outcasts or disfranchised
always. About these seals, they show that after the seals were
spared, they were always less than they should be, as, for
instance, on the island of Saint George, after two years of sav-
ing or sparing of 5,500 seals, in the first year they got, instead
of 10,000 or 8,000, as expected, only 4,778.
But this diminution, which is shown in the most convincing
manner, (1,) is due to wrong and injustice, because it would not
ALASKA. 109
have been otherwise with any kind of animals—even cattle
would have been exterminated; because a great many here
think and count that the seal-mother brings forth her young in
her third year, 2. e., the next two years after her own birth. As
itis well shown here, the spared seals (** zapooskie”) werenot more
than three years old, and therefore it was not possible to dis-
cern the correct or truenumbers as they really were. Taking the
females killed by the people, together with all the seals which
were purposely spared, it was seen that the seal-mothers did
not begin to bear earlier than the jifth year of their lives. Illus-
trative of this is the following: | |
(a) On the island of Saint George, after the first “‘ zapooska,”
in 1828, the killing of five-year-old seals was continued gradu-
ally up to five times as many as at first; with those of five
years old, the killing stopped; then next year twelve times as
many six-year-olds were observed on the islands as compared
with their number of the last years, and with or in the seventh
year came seven times as many. This shows that females born
in 1828 did not begin to bear young until their fifth year, and
become with young accordingly; that the large ones did not
appear or come in six years, (from 1828,) as is evident, for in
the fifth year all the females did not bring forth.
b. Itis knownthat the male seals cannot become “ seecatchies”
(adult bulls) earlier than their fifth or sixth year; following
this, if may be said that the female bears earlier than the fourth
year.
ce. If the male seal cannot become a bull (‘‘seecatchie ”)
earlier than the fifth year, then, as Buffon remarks, ‘“ animals
can live seven times the length of the period required for their
maturity ;” therefore a seecatch cannot live less than thirty years,
and a female not less than twenty-eight.*
Taking the opinion of Buffon for ground in saying that
animals do not come to their full maturity until one-seventh
-* “This remark is sustained by the observation of old men, and especially
by one of the best creoles, Shiesneekov, who was on the island of Saint Paul
in 1817, and who knows of one “ seecatch,” (known by a bald head,) which
in that time had already a large herd of cows or females, surrounded and
hunted by a like number of females and strong, savage old bulls; therefore
it may be safely thought that this bull did not get his growth until his fifth
year, and at this time he could not have been less than ten years old ; and
this same bull came every year to the island and the same place for fifteen
years in succession, up to 1832, and it was only in the later years that his
harem grew smaller and smaller in number.”
:
:
:
:
110 ALASKA.
of their lives has passed, it goes also to prove that the female
Seal cannot bear young before her fourth year.
It is without doubt a fact that female seals do not begin to
bear young before their fifth year, i. ¢., the next four years after
the one of their birth, and not in the third or fourth. Certainly
we can allow that some females bear in their fourth year ; that,
however, is not the rule, but the exception. To make it more
apparent that females cannot bear young in their third year,
consider the two-year-old females, and compare them with “see-
catchie” (adult bulls) and cows, (adult females,) and it will be
evident to all that this is impossible.
Do the females bear young every year; and how often in
their lives do they bring forth ?
To settle this question is very difficult, for it is impossible to
make any observations upon their movements; but I think that
the females in their younger years (or prime) bring forth every
year, and as they get older, every other year; thus (according
to people accustomed to them) they may each bring forth in
their whole lives from ten to fifteen young, and even more.
This opinion is founded on the fact that never (except in one
year, 1832) have an excessive number of females been seen
without young ; that cows not pregnant hardly ever come to the
Prybilov Islands ; that such females cannot be seen every year.
As to how large a number of females do not bear, according to
the opinions and personal observations of the old people, the
following may be depended upon with confidence: not more
than one-fifth of the mature or “ effective” females are without
young; but to avoid erroneous impressions or conflicting state-
ments between others and myself, I have had but one season,
(‘‘trayt”) in which to personally observe and consider the multi-
plication of seals.
There is one more very important question in the considera-
tion of the breeding or the increase of seals, and that.is, of the
number of young seals born in one year, how many are males ; and
is the number of males always the same in proportion to the
Semales ?
Judging from the holluschickie accumulated from the “za-
pooska” in 1822-24 on the island of Saint Paul, and in 1826-’27
on the island of Saint George, the number of young males was
very variable; for example, on the island of Saint Paul, in three
years 11,000 seals were spared, and in the following three years
there were killed 7,000, 7. ¢e., about two-thirds of the number
ALASKA. 7 EDS
saved; opposed to this, on the island of Saint George, from
- 8,500 spared seals in two years, less than 3,000 were taken,
hardly one-third.
Why this irregularity? Why should more young males be
born at one time, and at another less? Or why should there
be years in which many cows do not bear young ?
According to the belief of the people here, I think that of the
number of seals born every year, half are males, and as many
females.
To demonstrate the above-mentioned conditions of seal-life,
the table, No. 1, has been formed of the number of seals annu-
ally killed on the Prybilov Islands from 1817 to 1838, (when this
work was ended.)
From this it will be seen that— ee:
1. No single successive year presents a good number of
seals killed as compared with the previous year; the number is
always less.
2. The annual number of seals killed was not in a constant
ratio.
3. And, therefore, in the regular hunting-season there is less
need or occasion during the next fifteen years to demand the
‘whole seal kind.
4, Fewer seals were killed in those years generally following
@ previous year in which there were larger numbers of the
‘‘holluschickie;” that is, when the-young males were not com-
pletely destroyed, and more were killed when the number of
~ Ape aaa ” was less.
5. The number of “holluschickie” is a true register or show-
sae of the numbers of seals; i. ¢., if the “holluschickie”
increase and exist like the young females, and conversely.
6. Holluschickie break from the (common) herd and gather
by themselves no earlier than the third year, as seen in the case
of the spared seals on the islands of Saint George and Saint
Paul, the latter from 1822-24, 1835~37, inclusive; the former
from 1826~—27.
7. The number of seals killed on the island of Saint George
after two years (“‘zapooska”) was resumed and gradually in-
creased to five times aS many.
8. In the fifth year from the first ‘‘ zapooskie” (or saving) it
became possible to count or reckon on the number remaining,
and six-year-olds began to appear twelve times as numerous,
and seven-year-olds came in numbers sevenfold greater than
112 ALASKA.
their previous small number; and, therefore, the number of
three-year-old seals was quite constant.
9. If on the island of Saint George, in 1826~27, the seals
had not had this rest, (“‘zapooska.”) and the killing had been
continued, even at the diminished ratio of one-eighth, in 1840
or 1842 there would not have been a single seal left, as appears
by the following table:
Seals. Seals
| Meco tee epee apne alae Sas Wie ES 5, 000 |. 1833 5. 2.3. . oceee eee ee 1,360
See ent ee en Sa 4,400 | 1834..020. 22502 ee 1,190
i pig tape D7 ass Dyk pa Long Mita RA ok 3, 020 } 1335 .. 2223 soe eee eee 1, 040
PSD Sear, ren ee ee 2; S16.) 1836. 2. Bee ee 850
RSQS. SAL Sion Pen eee eh ES 2,468") 18372: 1 eee 700
PESO). 2 so tek a ae ee ene 2,160 | 1888... -J22. 2a 580
Thor Poms ye eae Sree ce NP LY a 1, 890 | 1839.2. 228 2a ee 500
| Kors a ean © apy ERR GAY A Dr SS A 1,554) 1840... oe 2 ace eee 400
10. Following two years of “zapooska,” (saving,) the seal-life
is enhanced for more than ten years, and the loss sustained by
the company in the time of ‘ zapooskov” (about 8,500) is made
good in the long run. The case may be thus stated: If the
company had not spared the seals in 1826-27, they would have
received, from 1826 to 1838, (twelve years,) no more than 24,000,
but by making this zapooska regulation for two years they got .
in ten years 31,576, and, beyond this, they can yet take 15,000
without another, or any, zapooska.
11. And in this case, where such an insignificant number of
seals was spared on Saint George, (about 8,500,) and in such a
short time, (two years,) the result was at once significant every
year; that is, three times more appeared than the number
spared. The result, therefore, must be large annually on the
island of Saint Paul, where, in consequence of the last orders
or directions of the governor, already four years of saving have
been in force, in which time over 30,000 seals have been left for
breeding.
On this account, and in conformity with the above, I here
present a table, a prophesy of the seals that are to come in the
next fifteen years from 7,060 seals saved on the island of Saint
Paul in 1835.
On the island of Saint Paul, at the direction of the governor,
a “zapoosk” or saving was made of 12,700 seals; that is, before
the year 1834 there were killed 12,700 seals, and on the following
year, if this saving had not been made, according to the testi-
mony of the inhabitants, no more than 12,200 seals would or
eae. te ee
ALASKA. 113
could have been taken from the islands, it being thought that
this number (12,200) was only one twenty-fifth of the whole ;
but instead of killing 12,200, only 4,052 were taken, leaving in
1835, for breeding, 8,148 fresh young seals, males and females,
together.
In making this hypothetical table of seals that are to come,
I take the average killing, that is, one-eighth part, and proceed
on the supposition that the number of saved seals will not be
less than 7,060.
In the number of 7,060 seals we can calculate upon 3,600
females; that is, a slight majority of males. With the new
females born under this “‘ zapooska” I place half of those born
the first year, and so on.
Females, in the twelve or eighteen years next after their birth,
must become less in number from natural causes, and by the
twenty-second year of their lives they must be quite useless for
breeding.
- Of the number of seals which may be born during the next
four years of ‘“‘zapooska,” or longer, we may take half for
females. This number is included in the table, and the males,
or *“holluschickie,” make up the total.
From the II Table, observe that—
1. Old females, that is, those which in 1835 were capable of
bearing young, in 1850 must be canceled, (minus.) They prob-
ably die in proportion of one-eighth of the whole number every
year.
2. For the first four years of zapooska, until the new females
begin to bear, their number will be generally less.
3. A constant number of seals wiil continue during the first
six years of their zapooska; in twelve vears these seals will
double, in fourteen years they will have increased threefold ;
and after fifteen years of this zapooska or saving of 7,060, in
the first year 24,000 may be taker from them, in the second
28,000, in the third 32,000, in the fourth 36,000, in the fifth 41,000;
thus in five years more that 160,000 can be taken. Then, under
the supervision of persons who will see that one-fifth of the
seals be steadily spared, 32,000 may be taken every year for a
long time.
4. Moreover, from the production of fifteen years “‘ zapooska”
there can be taken from 60,000 to 70,000 holluschickie, which,
together with 160,000 seals, makes 230,000.
5. If this “‘zapooska” for the next fifteen years is not made
8 AL
114. ALASKA.
for the seal-life, diminution will certainly ensue, and all this
time, with all possible effort, no more than 50,000 seals will be
taken.
Here it should be‘said that this hypothetical table of the
probable increase of seals is made on the supposition of the
decrease of females, and an average is taken accordingly.
Furthermore, on the island of Saint Paul, in 183637, instead of
7,900 seals being killed, but 4,860 were taken. Henee it follows
that these 1,500 females thus saved in two years, and which
are omitted from the table, will also make a very significant
addition to the incoming seals.*
* TI give thischapter of Veniaminov’s without abridgment, although it is
full of errors, to show that while the Russians gave this matter evidently
much thought at headquarters, yet they failed to send some one on to the
ground, who, by first making himself acquainted with the habits of the
seals from close observation of their lives, should then be fitted to prepare
rules and regulations founded upon this knowledge. These suggestions of
Veniaminov were, however, a vast improvement on the work as it was con-
ducted, and they were adopted at once, but it was not until 1845 that the
great importance of never disturbing the breeding-seals was recognized.
He WE.
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116 ALASKA.
From this table behold that—
a. Every fifteen years, from 3,600 females, there can be received
in sixteen years 24,700 seals; in sixteen years still more ; and
in twenty years 41,640.
b. In the twenty-first year the incomers begin to diminish,
provided that if inthe mean time, or the following sixteen years,
a certain number of young seals are not left to breed; and
if every year a known number are left to breed, then in all
following years the yield will never be less than 20,000 every
year.
TABLE III.—Calculation as to the coming of the seals on the island of Saint
George, made up from two years, and based upon that experience, (1827-28. )
iL lle GS |
Lees es ve MN (Ne Grand
Year. | total
1926. |1827./1828.|1929.|1830.|1831.|1832.|1833.|1834./1835.|1836./1837.|
3 ees see
Te) te06 0 2 Te Re eats Peet 450| 700/ 700/ 700) 700! 700] voo|........
9 | 1827 |.......| Breeding |2,050|.....|.....].....]---.. 360| 600; 600! 600] 600| 600|........
Soir) eek, Ae faoht 27 1,700|1,500]1.200|1,000) 700! 550| 400/ 250] 100| 50)........
Females. .... | 2, 200 |2,050/1,700|1,500! 1 ,200)1,450|1,760|1,850)1,700/1,550|1,400|1,350).....--.
Holluschickie .| 2/200 |2050'1/6c0)1.500|1,200'1,45011.760|1,800)1,700!1,500|1.500|1,400|........
Motal cial 4, 400 |4,100'3,30013,000'2,400/2,90013,520 3,650 3,400)3,050:2,900 2.750) 30, 870
The actual taking of seals was as follows:
Seals.
An 18982 2.2 xtc tO Ses sae oda Pike: ea bo)
fmt S20. Sack ceed eee ee See ae ee Ree wcan @ OnOn
Wa SQOe eae Bie ecg ee ee wines els 2, 834
Pn Pew 5 Ben Dros a Seclied seen Jae seeoae oe 3, 084
Lana ES LR ae PES he oa get ee 2) Be 32 ves re - 5 296
L Si ec tis seem en stid cree aiirarieet inc | ote an es | ft og abe
In P8345 3 + at he pomuskwciic 2s pe neice one po! Sa, VonL
In 18838 Cees ol DS eo a eS ai, pay ORS
la USSG 2 ee hee eS AB Be as ites Je 2 - 2,550
MM S30 es ee hae Go see Ua de wh ce deere tee ee (cee te Syaeeees
Dota ios 2/2): sige ghee tes be ali phela se -.- 31,476
From this table it will be seen that up to 1838 my cal- Seals.
culation makes a yield of ..... pie AOE ae ia ee 30, 570
While the actual result was.............- bi Pe ee ol, 476
Difference of....-. aid wine Meee ae Sip se oe ep 606
The difference determines that the hypothesis upon which
the table is based is correct.
ALASKA. 117
A CONFERENCE WITH THE NATIVES OF THE SEAL ISLANDS,
JULY 20-26, 1874.
For the purpose of learning what these people might have to
say in regard to the seal business as it is now conducted, Lieu-
tenant Maynard and myself asked the chiefs to select those
men among themselves who knew most in regard to the matter,
especially those who had been most in the habit of noting the
rookeries, and have them meet us privately to hear what they
might feel disposed to do if they had anything to say in the
matter; and accordingly some fifteen of them, oldest and wisest,
including all the chiefs of Saint Paul and one that belongs to
Saint George, met us. We had a smart Russian creole for in-
terpreter, a sailor from our own vessel, and sat for two long
evenings with them in conference. The result may be summed
up as follows:
In regard to the condition of the seal-life, the natives are both
watchful and solicitous, but do not present any argument
against the annual killing of 100,000 young maies over one year
and under five, as is now conducted; that is, 90,000 on Saint Paul
and 10,000 on Saint George; but the Saint Paul people have a
very natural and strong feeling that they should alone reap the
benefit that arises from the increase in the number killed on
their island; that the $6,000, which is represented by the ad-
ditional 15,000 killed last summer on this island, should be
shared among themselves, and feel a little sore about having
the Saint George people come over here to do this work and take
the proceeds, which they did on their own island (Saint George)
last year. They do not think 90,000 any too many on Saint
Paul, if they alone shall kill the animals and take the reward ;
but suddenly, when it is found that they are to be paid only for
the original erroneous pro rata, 75,000, they become very fearful
of the result of killing 90,000, with as many five-year-old bulls
as have been killed this summer. As this solicitude is due to
no other reason than this very perceptible anxiety, its expres-
sion must be taken with some reservation. But this constant
anticipation of injurious results, even if there exist no grounds
for apprehension, is of great advantage to both the agents of
Government and the company; for the public may rest assured
that the first evidence of any decrease of seal-life on these rook-
eries of Saint Paul will be at once observed by the jealous eyes
of their many native keepers, even were there no agents of
ae
118 ALASKA.
cither party now in contro! capable of discerning it, which is not
likely, however, to be the case.
We explained to them, in return, that the law which limited
the killing on Saint George to 25,000, and on Saint Paul to
75,000, was based upon the imperfect information furnished by
the agents of the Government sent to the islands, and that kill-
ing 25,000 out of 100,000 on an island where there was not
one-twentieth of the number of seals that were on the ground
where the remaining 75,000 were taken, was entirely wrong, and
must be corrected, for the best interests of all parties concerned;
and that they had no right to profit at the expense of their
brethren on Saint George, who were expected, at the time the
law was made, to share equally with them the proceeds of this
labor, and in this spirit the defective law was framed. This
explanation appeared to relieve their minds.
They spoke to us with great satisfaction of the bettered con-
dition in which they are living as compared with the state in
which they lived but a short time since. A very perceptible
shade of gloom settled on the countenances of all when we as-
sured them that the Government could not permit any more
‘‘quass” or beer drunkenness among them. We set forth the
propriety of this course on the part of the Secretary of the Treas-
ury as justified by the following reasons: —
1. They are at present living without the restraint of police-
men and prisons, fines, &c., which we employ for the suppression
of such disorder in our own land, and it was best for them to live
sober and avoid the necessity of having such institutions.
2. That they were, by the great generosity of the Govern-
ment and the company, allowed to enjoy the sole privilege of
participation in the sealing-labor and its good reward, by which
they were enabled to live in such comfort and ease; that if they
indulged in drinking they would drop out from the skinning-
gangs, and be unable in a few years to attend properly to their
duty on the killing-grounds; that then the company would
have the power and would be justified in procuring others to do -
this work, and that then but a short time would elapse before
the labor of persons not addicted to drink would crowd them
and their children out of their comfortable possession.
In the course of our conversation with them in regard to the
events of early days on the island, they gave the following as
facts, relying on the “ vivid imaginations and faithful memories”
ALASKA. 119
with which they are credited by the man who, of all men, best
knew them, Veniaminov:
“ In 1835, on the ‘ Lagoon’ rookery, there were only two bulls ;
the cows were, however, in number excessive; about as many
as are on ‘Na Speel’ to-day, (2,000.) On ‘Zapadnie’ about one
thousand cows, bulls, and pups; at Southwest Point there was
nothing; two small rookeries were on the north shore of Saint
Paul, near a place called ‘Maroonitch;’ they have been de-
serted, however, by the seals for a long time; the oldest man
on the island, Zachar Seedick, aged 57, has never seen them
there; has only heard of it.
‘On Northeast Point there were seven small rookeries running
around the point; only fifteen hundred cows, pups, and bulls,
all told; this number inciudes the ‘holluschickie, which in
those days lay in among the breeding-seals, there being so few
bulls that they were permitted to do so. On‘ Polavina’ there
were about five hundred cows, bulls, pups, and ‘ holluschickie;’
on ‘ Lukannon’ and ‘ Ketavie,’ about three hundred; only ten
bulls on ‘ Ketavie,’ so few young males lying in all together that
they took no note of them on these rookeries; on the ‘ Reef’
and ‘Gorbotch,’ about one thousand only; of these some eight
hundred, ‘ holluschickie’ included, lying in with the breeding-
seals; there were about twenty old bulls only on Gorbotch, and
but ten on the Reef; on ‘Nau Speel’ there were about a hun-
dred. The village was here then as now.
“In 1845 we took the young males alone, respecting the
sexes for the first time; took only about twenty a day on North-
east Point; on the Reef, all the way from one hundred and
fifty to two hundred a day.
‘“‘In 1857 the breeding-rookeries were nearly as large as they
are now ; but have been rather gradually increasing ever since.
Prior to 1835 the village was up at the little fresh-water lake,
and the seals are reported, previous to this date, many years,
to have run all over the present village ground, very much as
they do at Zapadnie to-day.”
- In regard to the numbers of the fur-seal when the Russians
first took possession of the ground, in 1787, the present genera-
tion, descendants of these pioneers, have only a general vague
impression that the seals were somewhat more numerous in the
first days of Russian occupation than they are now.
‘With regard tothe probable truth of the foregoing statement
of the natives to us, I can only call attention to the fact that
the entire sum of seal-life, as given by them, is 4,100 of all
classes; now, Bishop Veniaminov publishes an authentic record
of the killing on these islands from 1817 to 1837, (the time in
which he finished his work,) by which it will be seen that in
this year of 1835, 4,052 seals were killed and taken; and if the
: account of the natives was true, that would leave on the island
| only 50 for 1836, in which year, however, 4,040 were killed, and
| in 1837 4,220, and there was a steady increase in the killing
| by the Russians up to 1850, when they governed their catch
;
| 120 ; ALASKA.
'
by the market alone. . |
This great diminution of the seal-life, setting in at 1817 and
running on steadily in decline until 1834, when it began to
. mend, is well accounted for by Veniaminov’s account. From
this it will be seen that after greedy Russian companies on
these islands had killed seals for over fifteen years in unknown
numbers without causing any great change in the ratio of num-
bers, a diminution began gradually to set in, which became
obvious in 1817, and attained its maximum in 183435, when
hardly a tithe of the former numbers appeared on the ground ;
but from that year change in the management, &c., promoted
an increase, and they steadily augmented up to their former
great numbers, by 1855-07 reaching a maximum at which they
have remained, as far as my investigations throw light on the
i subject ; a few years more of proper observation on the ground
| here will settle the matter to the satisfaction of all concerned.
A variety of reasons have been given for this diminution,
but the case is clear that as the animals to be slain were
selected at random on the breeding-grounds from males and
females, they gradually, in consequence of this incessant mo-
lestation, began to shun the islands, seeking some other land,
and there breeding, in spite of many natural difficulties; but
as soon, however, as the Russians began to respect the prinei-
ple of never driving or killing the females, the seals gradually
regained their confidence, and finally returned to these islands,
the most convenient and best adapted for their occupation in
the northern hemisphere. This was the reason for their dis-
appearance at that time, or they were suffering from the rav-
ages of some unknown distemper.
(1S 0 cd hal OR ee
THE HABITS OF THE FUR-SEAL, ETO.
THE SEAL-LIFE ON THE PRYBILOV ISLANDS may be classed
under four heads, as follows, viz:
The Fur-SEAL, (Callorhinus ursinus,) Kautickie of the Rus-
sians.
The SEeA-Lion, (Humetopias stellerii,) See vitchie of the Rus-
-sians.
The HAtr-SHAL, (Phoca vitulina,) Nearhpah of the Russians.
The WALRUS, (Rosmarus arcticus,) Morsjee of the Russians.
Of the above, the hair-seal is the animal upon which pop-
ular and, indeed, scientific opinion is founded as to what a seal
appears like, and has in this way given to the people a false
idea of its relatives, above enumerated, and has made it exceed-
ingly difficult for the naturalist to correctly discriminate be-
tween them; for, although it belongs to the same family, it
does not even have a generic affinity to those seals with which
it has been persistently confounded, viz, the fur-seal and sea-
lion, no more so than has the raccoon to the black or grizzly
bear, both being as nearly related to each other.
A detailed description of this seal, Phoca vitulina, is quite
unnecessary, aS species of the genus are common pets all over
the world where zodlogical gardens are established, and its
grotesquely stuffed skin is still more frequently to be met with.
lt differs, however, so completely in shape and habit from its
congeners on these islands, that it may be well, so as to pre-
serve a sharp line of distinction, to state that it seldom comes
up from the water more than a few rods, at the most, generally
resting at the margin of the surf-wash; it takes up no position
on land to hold and protect a harem, preferring the detached
water-worn rocks which occasionally project out a little above
the sea-level and are only wet entirely over by heavy storms;
and the animal when it is disturbed immediately goes to sea.
Upon these small spots of rocky, wet isolation from the main
island, and some secluded places on the north shore, the “ nearh-
pah,” as the natives call it, brings forth its young, which is a
-<
Lh atl ALASKA.
single pup, perfectly white, weighing about three or four pounds.
This pup grows rapidly, and weighs, in three to four months,
forty or fifty pounds, and at that time has a coat of soft, steel-
gray hair on the head, limbs, and abdomen, with the back most
richly mottled and barred lengthwise with dark-brown and
brown-black. When they appear in the spring, following, this
gray tone to their color has become a dingy ocher, and the mot-
tling appears well over the head and on the upper side or back
of the flippers, or feet, correspondingly dim.
There is no appreciable difference as to color or size between
the sexes.
They are not polygamous, as far as I have observed.
They are exceedingly timid and wary at all times, and in this
way they are diametrically opposed, not by shape alone, but by
habit and disposition, to the fur-seal and sea-hion.
Their skin is of little value compared with that of the fur-
seal, and their chief merit is the relative greater juiciness and
sweetness of their flesh to those who are in any way partial to
seal-meat.
I desire also to correct a common error, made in comparing
Phocide with Otaride, where it is stated that, in consequence
of the peculiar structure of their limbs, their progression on
land is “mainly accomplished by a wriggling, serpentine motion
of the body, slightly assisted by the extremities.” This is not
so; for, when excited to run or exert themselves to reach the
water suddenly, they strike out quickly with both fore feet,
simultaneously lift and drag the whole body, without any wrig-
eling whatever, from 6 inches to a foot ahead and slightly from
the earth, according to the violence of the effort and the char-
acter of the ground; the body then falls flat, and the fore-flip-
pers are free for another similar action, and this 1s done so
earnestly and rapidly that in attempting to head off a young
nearhpah from the water I was obliged to leave a brisk walk
and take to a dog-trot to do it. The hind feet are not used
when exerted in rapid movement at all, and are dragged along
in the wake of the body, perfectly limp. They do use their
posterior parts, however, when leisurely climbing up and over
rocks, or playing one with another, but it is always a weak
effort, and clumsy. These remarks of mine, it should be borne
in mind, apply only to the Phoca vitulina, that is found around
these islands at all seasons of the year, but in very small num-
bers. I have never seen more than twenty five or thirty at any
ALASKA. 12S
one time, but I think its principle of locomotion will be found
to apply on land to all the rest of its genera.
The scarcity of this species and of all its generic allies is
notable in the waters of the North Pacific as compared with
those of the circumpolar Atlantic, where the hair-seals are
found in immense numbers, giving employment every year to a
fleet of sailing and steam vessels which go forth from St. John’s,
Halifax, and elsewhere, fitted for seal-fishing, taking over
three hundred thousand of these animals each season, the
principal object being the oil rendered from them, the skins
having but small commercial value.*
THE FUR-SEAL, (CALLORHINUS URSINUS,)
Which repairs tothese islands to breed, &e.,in numbers that seem
almost fabulous, is by far the highest organized of all the Pinni-
pedia, and, indeed, for that matter, when land and water are fully
taken into account, there is no other animal superior to it from
a purely physical point of view; and few creatures that can be
said to exhibit a higher order of instinct, approaching even
intelligence, belonging to the animal kingdom.
Regarding a male six to seven years old, and full grown,
when he comes up from the sea in the spring on to his station
for the breeding-season, we have an animal that will measure
64 to 74 feet in length, from tip of nose to end of tail, and
weighing at least 400 pounds, and sometimes as much, perhaps,
as 600. (?) The head, which in comparison with the immense
thick neck and shoulders, seems to be disproportionately small ;
but as we come to examine it we will find that it is mostly all
occupied by the brain; the light frame-work of the skull sup-
ports an expressive pair of large bluish-hazel eyes, and a muz-
zle and jaws of nearly the same size and form observed in any
full-blooded Newfoundland dog, with the difference of having
no flabby, hanging lips; the upper lips support a white and
yellowish-gray mustache, long, and, when not torn in combat,
luxuriant, composed of heavy stiff bristles.
Observe it as it comes leisurely swimming on toward the
land ; how high above the water it carries its head, and how
deliberately it surveys the beach, after having stepped up on it;
*An excellent and, I have every reason to believe, correct descrip-
tion of this seal-fishery in the North Atlantic has been published by Michael
Carroll, who writes in a manner indicative of great familiarity with the
business.
'
ee ee ae ee
124 ALASKA.
it may be truly said to step with its fore flippers, for they regu-
larly alternate as it moves up, carrying the head well above
them, at least three feet from the ground, with a perfectly erect
neck.
The fore feet, or hands, are a pair of dark bluish-black flip.
pers, about 8 or 10 inches broad at their junction with the
body, running out to an ovate point some 15 to 18 inches from
this union, which is at the carpal joint, corresponding to our
wrist; all the rest of the fore-arm, the ulna, radius, and
humerus, being concealed under the skin and thick blubber
folds of the main body and neck, concealed entirely at this
season when it is so fat; but later, when flesh or fat has been
consumed by absorption, they come quite plainly into view.
On the upper side of these flippers, the hair straggles down
finer and fainter, as it comes down to a point close to and
slightly beyond where the phalanges and the metacarpal bones
are jointed, similar to the spot where our knuckles are placed,
and there ends, leaving the skin bare and wrinkled in places at
the margin of the inner side, showing five small pits containing
abortive nails, which are situated immediately over the union
of the phalanges with their cartilaginous continuations to the
end of the flipper.
On the under side of the flipper the skin is entirely bare from
the end up to the body connection, deeply and regularly wrin-
kled with seams and furrows, which cross one anes So as to
leave a kind of sharp diamond-pattern.
But we observe as the seal moves along that, though it han-
dles its fore limbs in a most creditable manner, it brings up its
rear in quite a different style ; for after every second step ahead
with the fore feet it arches its spine, and with it drags and lifts
together the hinder limbs to a fit position under its body for
another movement forward, by which the spine is again straight-
ened out so as to take a fresh hitch up on the posteriors. This
is the leisurely and natural movement on land when not dis-
turbed, the body being carried clear of the ground.
The radical difference in the form and action of the hinder
feet cannot fail to strike the eye at once. They are one-seventh
longer and very much lighter and more slender; they, too, are
merged in the body like those anterior; nothing can be seen of
the leg above the tarsal joint.
The shape of this kind flipper is strikingly like a human foot,
provided the latter were drawn out to a length of 20 or 22
ok eee ee ee a
ALASKA. 125
inches, the instep flattened down and the toes run out into
thin, membraneous, oval-tipped points, only skin-thick, leav-
ing three strong cylindrical grayish horn-colored nails, half an
inch long, back six inches from these skinny toe-ends, without
any nails to mention on the big and little toes.
On the upper side of this foot the hair comes down to the
point where the metatarsus and phalangeal bones joint and
fades out; from this junction the phalanges, about six inches
down to the nails, are entirely bare and stand ribbed up in bold
relief on the membrane which unites them as a web; the nails
mark the ends of the phalangeal bones and their union in turn
with the cartilaginous processes, which run rapidly tapering
aud flattening, out to the ends of the thin toe-flaps.
Now, as we look at this fur-seal’s progression, that which
Seems most odd is the gingerly manner (if I may be allowed
to use the expression) in which it carries these hind-flippers;
they are held out at right angles from the body directly oppo-
site the pelvis, the toe-ends and flaps slightly waving and curl-
ing or drooping over, supported daintily, as it were, above the
earth, only suffering its weight behind to fall upon the heels,
which are opposed to each other scarcely five inches apart.
We shall, as we see him again later in the season, have to
notice a different mode of progression, both when lording it
over his harem or when he grows shy and restless at the end
of the breeding-season, and now proceed to notice him in the
order of his arrival and that of his family, his behavior during
the long period of fasting and unceasing activity and vigilance
and other cares which devolve upon him, as the most eminent
of all polygamists in the brute world; and to fully comprehend
this exceedingly interesting animal, it will be necessary to refer
to my drawings and paintings made from it and its haunts.
The adult males are first to arrive in the spring on the ground
deserted by all classes the preceding year.
Between the 1st and 5th of May, usually, a few bulls will be
found scattered over the rookeries pretty close to the water.
They are at this time quite shy and sensitive, not yet being
satisfied with the land, and a great many spend day after day
before coming ashore idly swimming out among the breakers a
little distance from the land, to which they seem somewhat re-
luctant at first to repair. The first arrivals are not always the
oldest bulls, but may be said to be the finest and most ambi-
tious of their class; they are full-grown and able to hold their
126 ALASKA.
stations on the rocks, which they immediately take up after
‘coming ashore.
I am not able to say authoritatively that these animals come -
back and take up the same position on the breeding-grounds
occupied by them during the preceding season; from my
knowledge of their action and habit, and from what I have
learned of the natives, I should say that very few, if any of
them, make such a selection and keep these places year after
year. One old bull was pointed out to me on the Reef Gar-
butch Rookery as being known to the natives as a regular Vis-
itor at, close by, or on the same rock every season during the
past three years, but he failed to re-appear on the fourth; but
if these animals came each to a certain place and occupied it |
regularly, season after season, I think the natives here would
know it definitely ; as it is, they do not. I think it very likely,
however, that the older bulls come back to the same rookery-
ground where they spent the previous season, but take up their
positions on it just as the circumstances attending their arrival
will permit, such as fighting other seals which have arrived be-
fore them, We.
With the object of testing this matter, the Russians, during
the early part of their possession, cut off the ears from a given
number of young male seals driven up for that purpose from
one of the rookeries, and the result was that cropped seals were
found on nearly ali the different rookeries or ‘ hauling-grounds”
on the islands after. The same experiment was made by agents
two years ago, who had the left ears taken off from a hundred
young maies which were found on Lukannon Rookery, Saint
Paul’s Island; of these the natives last year found two on No-
vashtosh-nah Rookery, ten miles north of Lukannon, and two
or three from English Bay and Tolstoi Rookery, six miles west
by water; one or two were taken on Saint George’s Island, thir-
ty-six miles to the southeast, and not one from Lukannon was
found among those that were driven from there; and, proba-
bly, had all the young males on the two islands been driven up
and examined, the rest would have been found distributed quite
equally all around, although the natives say that they think
the cutting off of the animal’s ear gives the water such access
to its head as to cause its death; this, however, I think re-
quires confirmation. These experiments would tend to prove
that when the seals approach the islands in the spring, they
have nothing but a general instinctive appreciation of the fit-
ALASKA. 12%
ness of the land as a whole, and no especial fondness for any
particular spot.
The landing of the seals upon the respective rookeries is in-
fluenced greatly by the direction of the wind at the time of
approach to the islands. The prevailing winds, coming from
the northeast, north, and northwest, carry far out to sea the
odor or scent of the pioneer bulls, which have located them-
selves on different breeding-grounds three or four weeks usually
in advance of the masses; and hence it will be seen that the
rookeries on the south and southeastern shores of Saint Paul’s
Island receive nearly all the seal-life, although there are miles
of eligible ground on the north shore.
To settle this question, however, is an exceedingly difficult
matter ; for the identification of individuals, from one season to
another, among the hundreds of thousands, and even millions,
that come under the eye on a single one of these great rook-
eries, is really impossible.
From the time of the first arrivals in May up to the Ist of
June, or as late as the middle of this month, if the weather be
clear, is an interval in which everything seems quiet ; very few
seals are added to the pioneers. By the lst of June, however,
or thereabouts, the foggy, humid weather of summer sets in,
and with it the bull-seals come up by hundreds and thousands,
and locate themselves in advantageous positions for the recep-
tion of the females, which are generally three weeks or a month
later, as a rule.
The labor of locating and maintaining a position in the rook-
ery is really a serious business for those bulls which come in
_ last, and for those that occupy the water-line, frequently result-
ing in death from severe wounds in combat sustained.
it appears to be a well-understood principle among the able-
bodied bulls that each one shall remain undisturbed on his |
ground, which is usually about ten feet square, provided he is
strong enough to hold it against all comers; for the crowding
in of fresh bulls often causes the removal of many of those
who, though equally able-bodied at first, have exhausted them-
selves by fighting earlier, and are driven by the fresher animals
back farther and higher up on the rookery.
Some of these bulls show wonderful strength and courage.
J have marked one veteran, who was among the first to take up
his position, and that one on the water-line, where at least fifty
or sixty desperate battles were fought victoriously by him
128 ALASKA.
with nearly as many different seals, who coveted his position,
and when the fighting-season was over, (after the cows have
mostly all hauled up,) I saw him, covered with scars and gashes
raw and bloody, an eye gouged out, but lording it bravely over
his harem of fifteen or twenty cows, all huddled together on
the same spot he had first chosen.
The fighting is mostly or entirely done with the mouth, the
opponents seizing each other with the teeth and clenching
the jaws; nothing but sheer strength can shake them loose,
and that effort almost always leaves an ugly wound, the sharp
canines tearing out deep gutters in the skin and blubber or
shredding the flippers into ribbon-strips.
They usually approach each other with averted heads and a
great many false passes before either one or the other takes the
initiative by griping; the heads are darted out and back as quick
as flash, their hoarse roaring and shrill, piping whistle never
ceases, while their fat bodies writhe and swell with exertion and
rage, fur flying in air and blood streaming down—all combined
make a picture fierce and savage enough, and, from its great
novelty, exceedingly strange at first sight.
In these battles the parties are always distinct, the affenkive
and the defensive; if the latter proves the eae he with-
draws from the position occupied, and is never followed by his
conqueror, who complacently throws up oneof his hind flippers,
fans himself as it were, to cool himself from the heat of the
conflict, utters a peculiar chuckle of satisfaction or contempt,
with a sharp eye open for the next covetous buil or * see-
catch.”*
The period occupied by the males in taking and holding their
positions on the rookery offers a favorable opportunity in
which to study them in the thousand and one different attitudes
and postures assumed between the two extremes of desperate
conflict and deep sleep—sleep so sound that one can, by keep-
ing to the leeward, approach close enough, stepping softly, to
pull the whiskers of any one taking a nap on a clear place ; but
after the first touch to these whiskers the trifler must Jump
back with great celerity, if he has any regard for the sharp
teeth and tremendous shaking which will surely overtake him
if he does not.
The neck, chest, and shoulders of a fur-seal bull comprise
* « See-catch,” native name for the bulls on the rookeries, especially those
which are able to maintain their position.
ALASKA. 129
more than two-thirds of his whole weight, and in this long
thick neck and fore limbs is embodied the larger portion of his
strength ; when on land, with the fore feet he does all climbing
over rocks, over the grassy hummocks back of the rookery, the
hind flippers being gathered up after every second step forward,
as described in the manner of walking; these fore feet are the
propelling power when in water, almost exclusively, the hinder
ones being used as rudders chiefly.
The covering to the body is composed of two coats, one being
of short, crisp, glistening over-hair, and the other a close, soft,
elastic pelage, or fur, which gives distinctive value to the peit.
Aft this season of first ‘“ hauling up” in the spring, the pre-
vailing color of the bulls, after they dry off. and have been ex-
posed to the weather, is a dark, dull brown, with a sprinkling
of lighter brown-black, and a number of hoary or frosted-gray
coats ; on the shoulders the over-hair is either a gray or rufous-
ocher, called the *“* wig;” these colors are most intense upon
the back of the head, neck, and spine, being lighter underneath.
The skin of the muzzle and flippers, a dark bluish black, fading
to a reddish and purplish tint in some. The ears and tail are
also similar in tint to the body, being in the case of the former
a trifle lighter; the ears on a bull fur-seal are from an inch to
an inch and a half in length; the pavilions tightly rolled up on
themselves so that they are similar in shape and size to the lit-
tle finger on the human hand, cut off at the second (phalangeal)
joint, a shade more cone-shaped, for they are greater in diame-
ter at the base than at the tip.
I think it probable that the animal has and exerts the power
of compressing or dilating this scroll-like pavilion to its ear,
accordingly as it dives deep or rises in the water; and also, I
am quite sure that the hair-seal has this control over the meatus
externus, from what I have seen of it; but I have not been able
to verify it in either case by observation ; but such opportunity
as I have had, gives me undoubted proof of the greatest keen-
bess in hearing; for it is impossible to approach one, even when
sound asleep; if you make any noise, frequently no matter how
Slight, the alarm will be given instantly by the insignificant-
looking auditors, and the animal, rising up with a single motion
erect, gives you a stare of astonishment, and at this season of
defiance, together with incessent surly roaring, growling, and
*““ spitting.”
This spitting, as I call it, is by no means a fair or full expres-
9 AL
130 ALASKA.
sion of the most characteristic sound and action, peculiar, so far
as I have observed, to the fur-seals, the bulls in particular. It
is the usual prelude to their combats, and follows somewhat in
this way: when the two disputants are nearly within reaching
or striking distance, they make a number of feints or false
passes at one another, with the.mouth wide open and lifting
the lips or snarling, so as to exhibit the glistening teeth, and
with each pass they expel the air so violently through the
larynx as to make a rapid choo-choo-choo sound, like the steam-
puffs in the smoke-stack of a locomotive when it starts a heavy
train, and especially when the driving-wheels slip on the rail.
Ali the bulls now have the power and frequent inclination to
utter four entirely distinct calls or notes—a hoarse, resonant
roar, loud and long; alow gurgling growl; a chuckling, sibi-
lant, piping whistle, of which it is impossible to convey an ad-
equate idea, for it must be heard to be understood; and this
Spitting, just described. The cows* have but one note—a hol-
low, prolonged, bla-a-ting call, addressed only to their pups;
on all other occasions they are usually silent. It is something
like the cry of a calf or sheep. They also make a spitting
sound, and snort, when suddenly disturbed. The pups ‘ bdla-at”
also, with little or no variation, the sound being somewhat
weaker and hoarser than that of their mothers for the first two
or three weeks after birth; they, too, spit and cough when
aroused suddenly from a nap or driven into a corner. .A num-
ber of pups crying at a short distance off bring to mind very
strongly the idea of a flock of sheep “ baa-aa-ing.”
Indeed, so similar is the sound that a number of sheep
brought up from San Francisco to Saint George’s Island during
the summer of 1873 were constantly attracted to the rookeries,
*Without explanation 1 may be considered as making use of misapplied
terms in describing these animals, for the inconsistency of coupling ‘ pups”
with ‘‘cows” and “ bulls,” and “ rookeries” with the breeding-grounds of the
same, cannot fail to be noticed ; but this nomenclature has been given and
used by the English and American whalemen and sealing-parties for many
years, and the characteristic features of the seals suit the odd naming ex-
actly, so much so that I have felt satisfied to retain the style throughout as
rendering my description more intelligible, especially so to those who are en-
gaged in the business or may be hereafter. The Russians are more consist-
ent, but not so “pat.” The bull is called “ see-catch,” a term implying
strength, vigor, &c.; the cow, “ matkah,” or mother; the pups, “ kotickie,”
or little seals; the non-breeding males, under six and seven years, ‘ hollus-
chickie,” or bachelors. The name applied collectively to the fur-seal by
them is “ morskie-kot,” or sea-cat. >
ALASKA. bier!
running in among the seals, and had to be driven away to a
good feeding-ground by a small boy detailed for the purpose.
The sound arising from these great breeding-grounds of the
fur-seal, where thousands upon thousands of angry, vigilant
bulls are roaring, chuckling, piping, and multitudes of seal-
mothers are calling in hollow, bla-ating tones to their young,
which in turn respond incessantly, is simply indescribable. It
is, at a slight distance, softened into a deep booming, as of a
cataract, and can be heard a long distance off at sea, under
fayorable circumstances as far as five or six miles, and fre-
quently warns vessels that may be approaching the islands in
thick, foggy weather, of the positive, though unseen, proximity
of land. Night and day, throughout the season, the din of the
rookeries is steady and constant.
The seals seem to suffer great inconvenience from a compar-
atively low degree of heat; for, with a temperature of 46° and
48° on Jand, during the summer, they show signs of distress from
heat whenever they make any exertion, pant, raise their hind
flippers, and use them incessantly as fans. With the thermom-
eter at 00°-60°, they seem to suffer even when at rest, and at
such times the eye is struck by the kaleidoscopic appearance
of a rookery, on which a million seals are spread out in every
imaginable position their bodies can assume, all industriously
fanning themselves, using sometimes the fore flippers as ven-
tilators, as it were, by holding them aloft motionless, at the
_ Same moment fanning briskly with the hind flipper, or flippers,
_ according as they sitor lie. This wavy motion of flapping and
fanning gives a peculiar shade of hazy indistinctness to the
whole scene, which is difficult to express in language; but one
of the most prominent characteristics of the fur-seal is this fan-
ning manner in which they use their flippers, when seen on the
breeding-grounds in season. They also, when idling, as it
were, off shore at sea, lie on their sides, with only a partial ex-
posure of the body, the head submerged, and hoist up a fore or
hind flipper clear of the water, while scratching themselves or
enjoying a nap; but in this position there is no fanning. I say
“scratching,” because the seal, in common with all animals, is
preyed upon by vermin, a species of louse and a tick, peculiar
to itself.
All the bulls, from the very first, that have been able to hold
their positions, have not left them for an instant, night or day,
nor do they do so until the end of the rutting-season, which
them stay four months before going into the water for the first
and which gradually diminishes while they remain on it. But
132 ALASKA.
subsides entirely between the Ist and 10th of August, begin-
ning shortly after the coming of the cows in June. Of necessity,
therefore, this causes them to fast, to abstain entirely from food
of any kind, or water, for three months, at least, and a few of
time after hauling up in May.
This alone is remarkable enough, but it is simply wonderful
when we come to associate the condition with the unceasing
activity, restlessness, and duty devolved upon the bulls as
heads and fathers of large families. They do not stagnate, like
bears in caves; it is evidently accomplished or due tothe ab- —
sorption of their own fat, with which they are so liberally sup-
plied when they take their positions on the breeding-ground,
\ .
;
b
5
still some most remarkable provision must be made for the en-
tire torpidity of the stomach and bowels, consequent upon their
being empty and unsupplied during this long period, which,
however, in spite of the violation of a supposed physiological —
law, does not seem to affect them, for they come back just as |
sleek, fat, and ambitious as ever in the following season.
I have examined the stomachs of a number which were driven
up and killed immediately after their arrival in the spring,and ~~
natives here have seen hundreds, even thousands, of them
during the killing-season in June and July, but in no ease has
anything been found other than the bile and ordinary secre-
tions of healthy organs of this class, with the exception only of
finding in every one a snarl or cluster of worms,* from the size of
a walnut to that of one’s fist, the fast apparently having no effect
on them, for when three or four hundred old bulls were slaugh-
tered late in the fall, to supply the natives with “ bidarkee” or
canoe skins, I found these worms in a lively condition in every
paunch cut open, and their presence, I think, gives some reason
for the habit which these old bulls have of swallowing small
bowlders, the stones in some of the stomachs weighing half a
pound or so, and in one paunch I found about five pounds in
the aggregate of larger pebbles, which in grinding against one
another must destroy, in a great measure, these intestinal pests.
The sea-lion is also troubled in the same way by a similar
species of worm, and I have preserved a stomach of one of these
animals in which are more than ten pounds of bowlders, some of —
them alone quite large. The greater size of this animal enables
*Nematoda.
ALASKA. 133
it to swallow stones which weigh two and three pounds. Ican
‘ascribe no other cause for this habit among these animals than
that given, as they are of the highest type of the carnivora,
eating fish as a regular means of subsistence; varying the mo-
notony of this diet with occasional juicy fronds of sea-weed, or
_ kelp, and perhaps a crab, or such, once in a while, Stowell it
is small and tender, or soft shelled:
Between the 12th and 14th of June the first of the cow-seals
come up from the sea, and the bulls signalize it by a universal,
spasmodic, desperate fighting among themselves.
The strong contrast between the males and females in size
and shape is heightened by the air of exceeding peace and
amiability which the latter class exhibit.
The cows are from 4 to 44 feet in length from head to tail,
and much more shapely in their proportions than the bulls, the
neck and shoulders being not near so fat and heavy in propor-
tion to the posteriors.
When they come up, wet and duganing: they are of a dull,
dirty-gray color, darker on the back and upper parts, but in a
few hours the transformation made by drying is wonderful ;
you would hardly believe they could be the same animals, for
they now fairly glisten with a rich steel and maltese-gray luster
on the back of the head, neck, and spine, which blends into an
almost pure white on the chest andabdomen. But this beauti-
ful coloring in turn is altered by exposure to the weather, for
in two or three days it will gradually change to a dull, rufous
ocher below, and a cinereous-brown and gray-mixed above; this
color they retain throughout the breeding-season up tothe time ~
of shedding the coat in August.
The head and eye of the female are really attractive; the ex-
pression is exceedingly gentle and intelligent; the large, lus-
trous eyes, in the small, well-formed head, apparently gleam
with benignity and satisfaction when she is perched up on some
convenient rock and has an opportunity to quietly fan herself.
The cows appear to be driven on to the rookeries by an accu-
rate instinctive appreciation of the time in which their period
of gestation ends; for in all cases marked by myself, the pups
are born soon after landing, some in a few hours after, but
most usually a day or two elapses before delivery.
They are noticed and received by the bulls on the water-line
stations with much attention; they are alternately coaxed and
urged up on to the rocks, and are immediately under the most
134 ALASKA.
jealous supervision; but owing to the covetous and ambitious
nature of the bulls, which occupy the stations reaching way
back from the water-line, the little cows have a rough-and-tum-
ble time of it when they begin to arrive in small numbers at
first; for no sooner is the pretty animal fairly established on —
the station of bull number one, who has installed her there, he
perhaps sees another one of her style down in the water from
which she has just come, and in obedience to his polygamous
feeling, he devotes himself anew to coaxing the later arrival in
the same winning manner so successful im her case, when bull
number two, seeing bull number one off his guard, reaches out
with his Jong strong neck and picks the unhappy but passive
creature up by the scruff of hers, just as a cat does a kitten,
and deposits her on his seraglio-ground; then buils number
three, four, and so on, in the vicinity, seeing this high-handed
operation, all assail one another, and especially bull number
two, and have a tremendous fight, perhaps for half a minute or
so, and during this commotion the cow generally is moved or
moves farther back from the water, two or three stations more,
where, when all gets quiet, she usually remains in peace. Her
last lord and master, not having the exposure to such diverting
temptation as had her first, he gives her such care that she not
only is unable to leave did she wish, but no other bull can seize
upon her. This is only one instance of the many different trials
and tribulations which both parties on the rookery subject
themselves to before the harems are filled. Far back, fifteen or
twenty stations deep from the water-line sometimes, but gen-
erally not more on an average than ten or fifteen, the cows
crowd in at the close of the season for arriving, July 10 to 14,
and then they are able to go about pretty much as they please,
for the bulls have become greatly enfeebled by this constant
fighting and excitement during the past two months, and are
quite content with even only one or two, partners.
The cows seem to haul in compact bodies from the water up
to the rear of the rookeries, never scattering about over the
ground ; and they will not lie quiet in any position outside of
the great mass of their kind. This is due to their intensely -
gregarious nature, and for the sake of protection. They also
select land with special reference to the drainage, having a
great dislike to water-puddled ground. This is well shown on
Saint Paul.
IT have found it difficult to ascertain the average number of
ALASKA. 135
cows to one bull on the rookery, but I think it will be nearly
correct to assign to each male from twelve to fifteen females,
occupying the stations nearest the water, and those back in the
rear from five tonine. Ihave counted forty-five cows all under
the charge of one bull, which had them penned up on a flat table-
rock, near Keetavie Point; the bull was enabled to do this quite
easily, as there was but one way to go to or come from this
seraglio, and on this path the old Turk took his stand and
guarded it well.
At the rear of all these rookeries there is always a large num-
ber of able-bodied bulls, who wait patiently, but in vain, for
families, most of them having had to fight as desperately for
tne privilege of being there as any of their more fortunately-
Jocated neighbors, who are nearer the water than themselves ;
but the cows do not like to be in any outside position, where
they are not in close company, lying most quiet and content in
the largest harems, and these large families pack the surface of
the ground so thickly, that there is hardly moving or turning
room until the females cease to come up from the sea; but the
inaction on the part of the bulls in the rear during the rutting-
season only serves to qualify them to move into the places
vacated by those males who are obliged to leave from exhaus-
tion, and to take the positions of jealous and fearless protectors
for the young pups in the fall.
The courage with which the fur-seal holds his position, as
the head and guardian of a family, is of the very highest order,
compared with that of other animals. I have repeatedly tried
to drive them when they have fairly established themselves,
and have almost always failed, using every stone at my com-
mand, making all the noise I could, and, finally, to put their
courage to the full test, | walked up to within 20 feet of a bull
at the rear and extreme end of Tolstoi Rookery, who had four
cows in charge, and commenced with my double-barreled
breech-loading shot-gun to pepper him all over with mustard-
seed or dust shot. His bearing, in spite of the noise, smell of
powder, and pain, did not change in the least from the usual
attitude of determined defense which nearly all the bulls as-
sume when attacked with showers of stones and noise; he
would dart out right and left and catch the cows, which tim-
idly attempted to run after each report, and fling and drag
them back to their places; then, stretching up to his fali height,
look me directly and defiantly in the face, roaring and spitting
136 ALASKA.
most vehemently. The cows, however, soon got away from |
him; but he still stood his ground, making little charges on me
of 10 or 15 feet in a succession of gallops or lunges, spitting
furiously, and then retreating to the old position, back of which
he would not go, fully resolved to pais his own or die in the
attempt.
This courage is ail the more noteworthy from the fact that,
in regard to man, it is invariably of a defensive character.
The seal, if it makes you turn when you attack it, never fol-
lows you much farther than the boundary of its station, and
no aggravation will compel it to become offensive, as far as I
have been able to observe.
The cows, during the whole season, do great credit to their
amiable expression by their manner and behavior on the rook-
ery ; never fight or quarrel one with another, and never or sel-
dom utter a cry of pain or rage when they are roughly handled
by the bulls, who frequently get a cow between them and tear
the skin from her back, cutting deep gashes into it, as they
snatch her from mouth to mouth. These wounds, however,
heal rapidly, and exhibit no traces the next year.
The cows, like the bulls, vary much in weight. Two were
taken from the rookery nearest Saint Paul’s Village, after they
had been delivered of their young, and the respective weights
were 56 and 101 pounds, the former being about three or four
years old, and the latter over six. They both were fat and in
excellent condition.
It is quite out of the question to give a fair idea of the posi-
tions in which the seals rest when on land. They may be
said to assume every possible attitude which a flexible body can
be put into. One favorite position, especially with the cows, is
to perch upon a point or top of some rock and throw their
heads back upon their shoulders, with the nose held aloft, then,
closing their eyes, take short naps without changing, now and
then gently fanning with one or the other of the long, slender
hind flippers; another, and the most common, is to curl them-
selves up, just as a dog does on a hearth-rug, bringing the tail
and the nose close together. They also stretch out, laying the
head, straight with the body, and sleep for an hour or two with-
out moving, holding one of the hinder flippers up all the time,
now and then gently waving it, the eyes being tightly closed.
The sleep of the fur-seal, from the old bull to the young pup,
is always accompanied by a nervous, muscular twitching and
ALASKA. 137
slight shifting of the flippers; quivering and uneasy rolling of
the body, accompanied by a quick folding anew of the fore
flippers, which are signs, as it were, of their having night-
mares, or sporting, perhaps, in a visionary way, far off in some
dream-land sea; or disturbed, perhaps more probably, by their
intestinal parasites. I have studied hundreds of all classes,
stealing softly up so closely that I could lay my hand on them,
and have always found the sleep to be of this nervous descrip-
tion. The respiration is short and rapid, but with no breath-
ing (unless your ear is brought very close) or snoring sound ;
the heaving of the flanks only indicates the action. I have
frequently thought that I had succeeded in finding a snoring
seal, especially among the pups, but a close examination always
gaye some abnormal reason for it, generally a slight distemper,
by which the nostrils were stopped up to a greater or less
degree. 3 ‘ty
As Ihave said before, the cows, soon after landing, are de-
livered of their young.
Immediately after the birth of the pup, (twins are rare, if
ever,) it finds its voice, a weak, husky dblaat, and begins to pad-
dle about, with eyes wide open, in a confused sort et way for a
few minutes until the mother is ready to give it altention, and,
still later, suckle it; and for this purpose she is provided with
four small, brown nipples, placed about eight inches apart,
lengthwise with the body, on the abdomen, between the fore
and hinder flippers, with some four inches of space between
them transversely. The nipples are not usually visible; only
seen through the hair and fur. The milk is abundant, rich,
and creamy. The pups nurse very heartily, gorging them-
Selves.
The pup at birth, and for the next three months, is of a jet-
black color, hair, eyes, and flippers, save a tiny white patch
just back of each fore foot, and weighs from 3 to 4 pounds, and
12 to 14 inches long; it does not seem to nurse more than once
every two or three days, but in this I am most likely mistaken,
for they may have received attention from the mother in the
night or other times in the day when I was unable to watch
them.
The apathy with which the young are treated by the old on
the breeding-grounds is somewhat strange. I have never seen
@ cow caress or fondle her offspring, and should it stray but a
short distance from the harem, it can be picked up azd killed
138 ALASKA.
before the mother’s eyes without causing her to show the
slightest concern. The same indifference is exhibited by the
bull to all that takes place outside of the boundary of his se-
raglio. While the pups are, however, within the limits of his —
harem-ground, he is a jealous and fearless protector ; but if the
little animals pass beyond this boundary, then they may be
carried off without the slightest attention in their behalf from
their guardian.
It is surprising to me how few of the pups get crushed to
death while the ponderous bulls are floundering over them
when engaged in fighting. I have seen two bulls dash at each
other with all the energy of furious rage, meeting right in the
midst of a small “ pod” of forty or fifty pups, trampling over
them with their crushing weights, and bowling them out right ©
and left in every direction, without injuring a single one. I do
not think more than 1 per cent. of the pups born each season
are lost in this manner on the rookeries.
To test the vitality of these little animals, I kept one in the
house to ascertain how long it could live without nursing,
having taken it immediately after birth and before it could get
any taste of its mother’s milk; it lived nine days, and in the
whole time half of every day was spent in floundering about
over the floor, accompanying the movement with a persistent
hoarse blaating. This experiment certainly shows wonderful
vitality, and is worthy of an animal that can live four months
without food or water and preserve enough of its latent strength
and vigor at the end of that time to go far off to sea, and return
as fat and hearty as ever during the next season.
In the pup, the head is the only disproportionate feature
when it is compared with the proportion of the adult form, the
neck being also relatively shorter and thicker. I shall have to
speak again of it, as it grows and changes. when I finish with
the breeding-season now under consideration.
The cows appear to go to and come from the water quite fre-
quently, and usually return to the spot, or its neighborhood,
where they leave their pups, crying out for them, and recogniz-
. ing the individual replies, though ten thousand around, all to-
gether, should blaat at once. They quickly single out their
own and attend them. It would be a very unfortunate matter
if the mothers could not identify their young by sound, since
their pups get together like a great swarm of bees, spread out
upon the ground in “pods” or groups, while they are young,
ALASKA. 139
and not very large, but by the middle and end of September,
until they leave in November, they cluster together, sleeping
and frolicking by tens of thousands. A mother comes up from
the water, where she has been to wash, and perhaps to feed,
for the last day or two, to about where she thinks her pup
should be, but misses it, and finds instead a swarm of pups in
which it has been incorporated, owing to its great fondness for
society. The mother, without at first entering into the crowd
of thousands, calls out, just as a sheep does for her lamb, lis-
tens, and out of all the din she—if not at first, at the end of a
few trials—recognizes the voice of her offspring, and then ad-
vances, striking out right and left, and over the crowd. toward
the position from which it replies; but if the pup at this time
happens to be asleep she hears nothing from it, even though it
were close by, and in this case the cow, after calling for a time
without being answered, curls herself up and takes a nap, or
lazily basks, and is most likely more successful when she calls
again.
The pups themselves do not know their mothers, but they
are so constituted that they incessantly ery out at short inter-
vais during the whole time they are awake, and in this way a
mother can pick, out of the monotonous blaating of thousands
of pups, her own, and she will not permit any other to suckle.
Between the end of July and the 5th or Sth of August the
rookeries are completely changed in appearance; the systematic
and regular disposition of the families, or harems, over the
whole extent of ground has disappeared; all order heretofore
existing seems tobe brokenup. The rutting-season over, those
bulls which held positions now leave, most of them very thin
in flesh and weak, and I think a large proportion of them do
not come out again on the land during the season; and such as
do come, appear, not fat, but in good flesh, and in a new coat
of rich dark and gray-brown hair and fur, with gray and gray-
ish-ocher “wigs” or over-hair on the shoulders, forming a
strong contrast to the dull, rusty-brown and umber dress in
which they appeared during the summer, and which they had
begun to shed about the 15th of August, in commen with the
cows and bachelor seals. After these bulls leave, at the close
of their season’s work, those of them that do return to the land
do not come back until the end of September, and do not haul
up on the rookery-grounds as arule, preferring to herd together,
as do the young males, on the sand-beaches and other rocky
140 : ALASKA.
points close to the water. The cows, pups, and those bulls
which have been in retirement, now take possession, in a very
disorderly manner, of the rookeries; also, come a large number
of young, three, four, and five year old males, who have not
been permitted to land among the cows, during the rutting-
season, by the older, stronger bulls, who have savagely fought
them off whenever they made (as they constantly do) an attempt
to land. .
Three-fourths, at least, of the cows are now off in the water,
only coming ashore to nurse and look after their pups a short
time. They lie idly out in the rollers, ever and anon turning
over and over, scratching their backs and sides with their fore
and hind flippers. Nothing is more suggestive of immense
comfort and enjoyment than is this action of these animals.
They appear to get very lousy on the breeding-ground, and the
frequent winds and showers drive and spatter sand into their
fur and eyes, making the latter quite sore in many cases. They
also pack the soil under foot so hard and solid that it holds.
water in the surface depressions, just like so many rock basins,
on the rookery; out and into these puddles they flounder and
patter incessantly, until evaporation slowly abates the nuisance.
The pups sometimes get so thoroughly plastered in these
muddy, slimy puddles, that their hair falls off in patches, giving
them the appearance of being troubled with scrofula or some
other plague, at first sight, but they are not, from my observa-
tion, permarently injured.
Early in August (8th) the pups that are nearest the water on
the rookeries essay swimming, but make slow and clumsy prog-
ress, floundering about, when over head in depth, in the most
awkward manner, thrashing the water with their fore flippers,
not using the hinder ones. In a few seconds, or a minute at
the most, the youngster is so weary that he crawls out upon
the rocks or beach, and immediately takes a recuperative nap,
repeating the lesson as quick as he awakes and is rested. They
soon get familiar with the water, and delight in it, swimming
in endless evolutions, twisting, turning, diving, and when ex-
hausted, they draw up on the beach again, shake themselves as
young dogs do, either going to sleep on the spot, or having a
lazy frolic among themselves.
In this matter of learning to swim, I, have not seen any
“driving” of the young pups into the water by the old in order
Sig
‘a 74"
ALASKA. 141
to teach them this process, as has been affirmed by writers on
the subject of seal-life. |
The pups are constantly shifting, at the close of the rutting-
season, back and forth over the rookery in large squads, some-
times numbering thousands. In the course of these changes
of position they all come sooner or later in contact with the sea ;
the pup blunders into the water for the first time in a most
awkward manner, aud gets out again as quick as it can, but so
far from showing any fear or dislike of this, its most natural
element, aS soon as it rests from its exertion, is immediately
ready for a new trial, and keeps at it, if the sea is not too
stormy or rough af the time, until it becomes quite familiar
with the water, and during ail this period of self-tuition it
seems to thoroughly enjoy the exercise.
By the 15th of September all the pups have become familiar
with the water, have nearly all deserted the background of
the rookeries and are down by the water’s edge, and skirt the
rocks and beaches for long distances on ground previously un-
occupied by seals of any class.
They are now about five or six times their original weight, and
are beginning to shed their black hair and take on their second
coat, which does not vary at this age between the sexes. They
do this very slowly, and cannot be called out of molting or
shedding until the middle of October, as a rule.
The pup’s second coat, or sea-going jacket, is a uniform,
dense, light pelage, or under-fur, grayish in some, light-brown
in others, the fine, close, soft, and elastic hairs which compose
it being about one-half of an inch in length, and over-hair, two-
thirds of an inch long, quite coarse, giving the color by which
you recognize the condition. This over-hair, on the back, neck, -
and head, is a dark chinchilla-gray, blending into a white, just
tinged with a grayish tone on the abdomen and chest. The
upper lip, where the whiskers or mustache takes root, is of a
lighter-gray tone than that which surrounds. This mustache
consists of fifteen or twenty longer or shorter whitish-gray
bristles (one-balf to three inches) on each side and back of the
nostrils, which are, as I have before said, similar to that of a
dog.
The most attractive feature about the fur-seal pup, and up-
ward as it grows, is the eye, which is exceedingly large, dark,
and liquid, with which, for beauty and amiability, together with
142 ALASKA.
intelligence of expression, those of no other animal can be com-
pared. The lids are well supplied with eyelashes.
I donot think that their range of vision on land, or out of the
water, is very great. I have had them (the adults) catch sight
of my person, so as to distinguish it as a foreign character, three
and four hundred paces off, with the wind blowing strongly
from them toward myself, but generally they will allow you to
approach very close indeed, before recognizing your strangeness,
and the pups will scarcely notice the form of a human being
until it is fairly on them, whereupon they make a lively noise,
a medley of coughing, spitting, snorting, blaating, and get
away from its immediate vicinity, but instantly resume, how-
ever, their previous occupation of either sleeping or playing,
as though nothing had happened.
But the power of scent is (together with their hearing, before
mentioned) exceedingly keen, for I have found that I would
most invariably awake them from soundest sleep if I got to the
windward, even when standing a considerable distance off.
To recapitulate and sum up the system of reproduction on
the rookeries as the seals seem to have arranged it, I would say,
that—
First. The earliest bulls appear to land in a negligent, indo-
lent way, shortly after the rocks at the water’s edge are free
from ice, frozen snow, &c. This is generally about the 1st to
the 5th of May. They land first and last in perfect confidence
and without fear, very fat, and of an average weight of five
hundred pounds; some staying at the water’s edge, some going
away back, in fact all over the rookery.
Second. That by the 10th or 12th of June, all the ean on
the rookeries have been mapped out, fought for, and keld in
waiting for the cows by the strongest and most enduring bulls,
who are, as a rule, never under six years of age, and sometimes
three, and even occasionally four times as old.
Third. That the cows make their first appearance, as a class,
by the 12th or 15th of June, in rather small numbers, but by
the 23d and 25th of this month they begin to flock up so as to
fill the harems very perceptibly, and by the 8th or 10th of July
they have most all come, stragglers excepted; average weight
eighty pounds.
Fourth. That the rutting-season is at its height from the 10th
to the 15th of July, and that it subsides entirely at the end of
ALASKA. 143
this month and early in August, and that it is confined en-
tirely to the land.
Fifth. That the cows bear their first young when three years
of age.
Sixth. That the cows are limited to a single pup each, as a
rule, in bearing, and this is born soon after landing; no excep-
tion has thus far been witnessed.
Seventh. That the buils who have held the harems leave for
the water in a straggling manner at the close of the rutting-
season, greatly emaciated, not returning, if at all, until six or
seven weeks have elapsed, and that the regular systematic dis-
tribution of families over the rookeries is at an end for the season,
a general medley of young bulls now free to come up from the
water, old males who have not been on seraglio duty, cows, and
an lmmense majority of pups, since only about 25 per cent.
of their mothers are out of the water at a time.
The rookeries lose their compactness and definite boundaries
by the 25th to 28th July, when the pups begin to haul back and
to the right and left in small squads at first, but as the season
goes on, by the 18th August, they swarm over three and four
times the area occupied by them when born on the rookeries.
_ The system of family arrangement and definite compactness of
the breeding-classes begins at this date to break up.
Highth. That by the 8th or 10th of August the pups born
nearest the water begin to learn to swim, and by the 15th or
20th of September they are all familtar more or less with it.
Ninth. That by the middle of September the rookeries are
entirely broken up, oniy confused, straggling bands of cows,
young bachelors, pups, and small squads of old bulls, crossing
and recrossing the ground in an aimless, listless manner; the
Season is over, but many of these seals do not leave these
grounds until driven off by snow and ice, as late as the end of
December and 12th of January.
This recapitulation is the sum and substance of my observa-
tions on the rookeries, and I will now turn to the consideration
of the
HAULING-GROUNDS,
upon which the yearlings and almost all the males under six
years come out from the sea in squads from a hundred toa
thousand, and, later in the season, by hundreds of thousands,
144 ALASKA.
to sleep and frolic, going from a quarter to half a mile back
from the sea, as at English Bay.
This class of seals are termed “ holluschukie” (or “ bachelor
seals”) by the natives. It is with the seals of this division that
these people are most familiar, since they are, together with a —
few thousand pups and some old bulls, the only ones driven up
to the killing-grounds for their skins, for reasons which are ex-
cellent, and which shall be given further on. 3
Since the “holluschukie” are not permitted by their own
kind to land on the rookeries and rest there, they have the
choice of two methods of landing and locating.
One of these opportunities, and least used, is to pass up from
and down to the water, through a rookery on a pathway left by
common consent between the harems. On these lines of pas-
sage they are unmolested by the cld and jealous bulls, who
guard the seraglios on either side as they go and come; gener-
ally there is a continual file of them on the way, traveling up
or down.
As the two and three year old holluschukie come up in small
squads with the first bulls in the spring, or a few days later,
- these common highways between the rear of the rookery-ground
and the sea get well defined and traveled over before the arrival
of the cows; for just as the bulls crowd up for their stations, so
do the bachelors, young and old, increasce. These roadways
may be termed the lines of least resistance in a big rookery ;
they are not constant; they are splendidly shown on the large
rookeries of Saint Paul’s, cone of them (Tolstoi) exhibiting this
feature finely, for the hauling-ground lies up back of the rook-
ery, on a flat and rolling summit, 100 to 120 feet above the sea-
level. The young males and yearlings of both sexes come
through the rookery on these narrow pathways, and, before
reaching the resting-ground above, are obliged to climb up an
almost abrupt bluff, by following and struggling in the little
water-runs and washes which are worn in its face. As this
is a large hauling-ground, on which fifteen or twenty thousand
commonly lie every day during the season, the sight always, at
all times, to be seen, in the way of seal climbing and crawling,
was exceedingly novel and interesting. They climb over and
up to places here where a clumsy man might at first sight
say he would be unable to ascend.
The other method by which the “ holluschukie” enjoy them-
selves on land is the one most followed and favored. They, in
ALASKA. 145
this case, repair to the beaches unoccupied between the rook-
eries, and there extend themselves out all the way back from
the water as far, in some cases, as a quarter of a mile, and even
farther. I have had under my eye, in one straightforward
sweep, from Zapad-nie to Tolstoi, (three miles,) a million and a
half of seals, at least, (about the middle of July.) Of these I
estimated fully one-half were pups, yearlings, and “ holluschu-
kie.” The great majority of the two latter classes were hauled
out and packed thickly over the two miles of sand-beach and
flat which lay between the rookeries; many large herds were
back as far from the water as a quarter of a mile.
A small flock of the younger ones, from one to three years
old, will frequently stray away back from the hauling-ground
lines, out and up onto the fresh moss and grass, and there
sport and play, one with another, just as puppy-dogs do; and
when weary of this gamboling, a general disposition to sleep is
suddenly manifested, and they stretch themselves out and curl
up in all the positions and all the postures that their flexible
spines and ball-and-socket joints will permit. One will lie
upon his back, holding up his hind flippers, lazily waving them
in the air, while he scratches or rather rubs his ribs with the
fore hands alternately, the eyes being tightly closed; and the
breath, indicated by the heaving of his flanks, drawn quickly
but regularly, as though in heavy sleep; another will be flat
upon his stomach, his hind flippers drawn under and concealed,
while he tightly folds his fore feet back against his sides, just
as a fish will sometimes hold its pectoral fins; and so on, with-
out end of variety, according to the ground and disposition of
_ the animals. ,
While the young seals undoubtedly have the power of going
' without food, they certainly do not sustain any long fasting
periods on land, for their coming and going is frequent and
irregular; for instance, three or four thick, foggy days will
sometimes call them out by hundreds of thousands, a million or
two, on the different hauling-grounds, where, in some cases,
they lie so closely together that scarcely a foot of ground, over
acres in extent, is bare; then a clearer and warmer day will
ensue, and the ground, before so thickly packed with animal-
life, will be almost deserted, comparatively, to be filled again
immediately on the recurrence of favorable weather. They are
in just as good condition of flesh at the end of the season as at
the first of it.
10 AL
146 ALASKA.
These bachelor-seais are, | am sure, without exception, the
most restless animals in the whole brute creation; they frolic
and lope about over the grounds for hours, without a moment’s
cessation, and their sleep after this is short, and is accompanied
with nervous .twitchings and uneasy movements; they seem to
be fairly brimful and overrunning with warm life. I have
never observed anything like ill-humor grow out of their play-
ing together; invariably well pleased one with another in all
their frolicsome struggles.
The pups and yearlings have an especial fondness for sport-
ing on the rocks which are just at the water’s level, so as to be
alternately covered and uncovered by the sea-rollers. On the
bare summit of these water-worn spots they struggle and
clamber, a dozen or two at a time, occasionally, for a single
rock; the strongest or luckiest one pushing the others all off,
which, however, simply redouble their efforts and try to dis-
lodge him, who thus has, for a few moments only, the advan-
tage; for with the next roller and the other pressure, he gen-
erally is ousted, and the game is repeated. Sometimes, as well
as I could see, the same squad of ‘“holluschukie” played
around a rock thus situated, off ‘Nah Speel” rookery, during
the whole of one day; but, of course, they cannot be told apart.
The ‘“holluschukie,” too, are the champion swimmers; at
least they do about all the fancy tumbling and turning that is"
done by the fur-seals when in the water around the islands.
The grave old bulls and their matronly companions seldom —
indulge in any extravagant display, such as jumping out of the
water like so many dolphins, describing, as these youngsters
do, beautiful elliptic curves, rising three and even four feet
from the sea, with the back slightly arched, the fore flippers
folded back against the sides, and the binder ones extended and
pressed together straight out behind, plumping in head first,
re-appearing in the same manner after an interval of a few
seconds.
All classes will invariably make these doiphin-jjumps when
they are suddenly surprised or are driven into the water, turn-
ing their heads, while sailing in the air, between the “rises”
and “ plumps,” to take a look at the cause of their disturbance.
They all swim with great rapidity, and may be fairly said to
dart with the velocity of a bird on the wing along under the
water; and in all. their swimming I have not been able yet to
satisfy myself how they use their long, flexible, hind feet, other
ALASKA. : 147
than as steering mediums. The propelling motion, if they have
any, is so rapid, that my eye is not quick enough to catch it 5
the fore feet, however, can be very distinctly seen to work,
feathering forward and sweeping back flatly, opposed to the
water, with great rapidity and energy, aud are evidently the
sole propulsive power. } |
All their movements in the water, when in traveling or sport,
are quick and joyous, and nothing is more suggestive of intense
satisfaction and great comfort than is the spectacle of a few
thousand old bulls and cows, off and from a rookery in August,
idly rolling over, side by side. rubbing and scratching with
the fore and hind flippers, which are here and there stuck up
out of the water like lateen-sails, or ‘‘cat-o’-nine tails,” in either
case, as it may be.
When the “ holluschukie” are up on land they can be readily
separated into two classes by the color of their coats and size,
viz, the yearlings, and the two, three, four, and five year old
bulls. ;
The first class is dressed just as they were after they shed
their pup-coats and took on the second the previous year, in
September and October, and now, as they come out in the
spring and summer, the males and females cannot be distin-
guished apart, either by color or size; both yearling sexes
having the same gray backs and white bellies, and are the
same in behavior, action, weight, and shape.
About the 15th and 20th of August they begin to grow
“stagey,” or shed, in common with all the other classes, the
pups excepted. The over-hair requires about six weeks from
the commencement of the dropping or falling out of the old
to its full renewal.
The pelage, or fur, which is concealed externally by the hair,
is also shed, and renewed slowly in the same manner; but,
being so much finer than the hair, it is not so apparent. It was
to me a great surprise to ‘‘ learn,” from aman who has been
heading a seal-killing party on these islands during the past
three years, and the Government agent in charge of these in-
terests, that the seal never shed its fur; that the over-hair only
was cast off and replaced. ‘To prove that it does, however, isa
very simple matter, and does not require the aid of a micro-
scope. For example, take up a prime spring or fall skin, after
every single over-hair on it has been plucked out, and you will
have difficulty. either to so blow upon the thick, fine fur, or
148 ALASKA,
to part it with the fingers, as to show the hide from which it
has grown; then take a “stagey” skin, by the end of August —
and early in September, when all the over-hair is present, about
one-third to one-half grown, and the first puff you expend upon
it easily shows the hide below, sometimes quite a broad welt.
This under-fur, or pelage, is so fine and delicate, and so much
concealed and shaded by the course over-hair, that a careless
eye may be pardoned for any such blunder, but only a very
casual observer could make it. :
The yearling cows retain the colors of the old coat in the new,
and from this time on shed, year after year, just so, for the
young and the old cows look alike, as far as color goes, when
they haul up on the rookeries in the summer.
The yearling males, however, make a radical change, coming
out from their “ staginess” in a uniform dark-gray and gray-
black mixed and lighter, and dark ocher, on the under and up-
per parts, respectively. This coat, next year, when they come
up on the hauling-grounds, is very dark, and is so for the third,
fourth, and fifth years, when, after this, they begia to grow
more gray and brown, year by year, with rufous-ocher and
whitish-gray tipped over-hair on the shoulders. Some of the
very old bulls become changed to uniform. dull grayish-ocher
all over.
The female does not get ber full growth and weight until the
end of her fourth year, so far as I have observed, but does the
most of her growing in the first two.
The male does not get his full growth and weight until the
close of his seventh year, but realizes most of it by the end of
the fifth, osteologically, and from this it may be, perhaps, truly
inferred that the bulls live to an average age of eighteen or
twenty years, if undisturbed in a normal condition, and that the
cows attain ten or twelve under the same circumstances. Their
respective weights, when fully mature and fat in the spring,
will, I think, strike an average of four to five hundred pounds
for the male and from seventy to eighty for the female.
From the fact that all the young seals do not change much in
weight, from the time of their first coming out in the spring
till that of their leaving in the fall and early winter, I feel safe
in saying, since they, too, are constantly changing from land to
water and from water to land, that they feed at irregular but
not long intervals during the time they are here under observa-
tion. Ido not think the young males fast longer than a week
or ten days at a time, as a class.
ALASKA. 149
The leave evidences of their being on these great repro-
ductive fields, chiefly on the rookeries, such as hundreds of
the dead carcasses of those of them that have been infirm, sick,
killed, or which have crawled off to die from death-wounds re-
ceived in some struggle for a harem; and over these decaying,
putrid bodies, the living, old and young, clamber and patter,
and by this constant stirring up of putrescent matter give rise
to an exceedingly disagreeable and far-reaching “ funk,” which
-has been, by all the writers who have spoken on the subject, re-
ferred to as the smeil which these animals have in rutting. If
these creatures have any such odor peculiar to them when in
this condition, I will frankly confess that Iam unable to dis-
tinguish it from the fumes which are constantly being stirred
up and rising out from these decaying carcasses of old seals
and the many pups which have been killed accidentally by the
old bulls while fighting with and charging back and forth
against one another. ;
They, however, have a peculiar smell when they are driven
and get heated; their steaming breath-exhalations possess a
disagreeable, faint, sickly tone, but it can by no means be con-
founded with what is universally understood to be the rutting-
odor among animals. The finger rubbed on a little fur-seal
blubber will smell very much like that which is appreciated in
their breath coming from them when driven, only stronger.
Both the young and old fur-seais have this same breath-smell
~ at all seasons.
By the end of October and the 10th of November the great
mass of the “holluschukie” have taken their departure; the
few that remain from now until as late as the snow and ice will °
permit them to do, in and after December, are all down by the
water's edge, and hauled up almost entirely on the rocky
. beaches only, deserting the sand. The first snow falling makes
them uneasy, as also does rain-fall. I have seen a large haul-
ing-ground entirely deserted after a rainy day and night by its
hundreds of thousands of occupants. The falling drops spat-
ter and beat the sand into their eyes, fur, &c., I presume, and
in this way make it uncomfortable for them.
The weather in which the fur-seal delights is cool, moist,
foggy, and thick enough to keep the sun always obscured so as
‘to cast no shadows. Such weather, continued for a few weeks
in June and July, brings them up from the sea by millions ;
but, as I have before said, a little sunlight and the temperature
as high as 50° to 55°, will send them back from the hauling-
150 ALASKA.
grounds almost as quickly as they came. These sunny, warm
days are, however, on Saint Paul’s Island, very rare indeed,
and so the seals can have but little ground of complaint, if we
may presume that they have any at all.
I saw but three albino pups among the hundreds of thousands
on Saint Paul’s and none on Saint George. They did not differ
in any respect from the otber (normal) pups in size and shape.
Their hair, in the first coat, was, all over, a dull ocher; the flip-
pers and muzzle were a api -tone, and the iris of ohe eye sky-
blue. The second coat gives them a dirty yellowish-white ©
color, but it makes them exceedingly conspicuous when in among:
the black pups, gray yearlings, and * holluschukie.”
I have also never seen any malformations or ‘‘monsters”
among the pups and other classes of the fur-seal; nor have the
natives recorded anything of the kind, so far as 1 could ascer-
tain from them.
Another curious fact may be recorded, that, with the excep-
tion of those animals which have received wounds in combat,
no sick or dying seals are seen upon the islands. Out of the
great numbers, thousands upon thousands of seals that must
die every year from old age alone, not one have I ever seen
here. They evidently give up their lives at sea.
Fable showing the weight, size, and growth of the fur-seal, (Callorhinus ursinus, )
from the pup to the adult, male and female.
[The weights and measurements were taken by Mr. Samuel Falconer and the writer on the
killing-grounds at Saint George’s Island, in 1873.]
Gross :
Age. Length. | Girth. | weight of | Weight Remarks.
> e body of skin.
: Inches. | Inches. Pounds. | Pounds.
One week........ 12 to 14 | 10 to 103 6to 7 1i | A male and female, being
the ouly one of this class
handled.
Six months ...... 24 25 39 3 | A mean of ten examples,
males and females alike in
size.
Oneiyear..----.-. f 38 25 * 39 44 | A mean of six examples,
males and females alike in
size.
MwONyears- 1. .. 45 | 30 58 54 | A mean of thirty examples,
| all males, July 24, 1873.
Dhreewyears.... =. 52 | 36 87 7 | A mean of ‘thirty- two exam-
ples, all males, July 24,
1873.
Four years.....-- 58 | 42 135 12 | A mean of ton examples, all
males, July 24, 1873.
Five years.....-- 65 52 200 16 | A mean of five examples, all
males, July 24, 1873.
Six Vears!.<22-2% - 72 64 280 25 | A mean of three examples,
all males, July 24, 1873.
Eight to twenty | 75 to s0.| 79t075 | 40¢to500 | 45t050 | An estimate only, calculat-
years. ing on their weight when
fat, and early in the sea-
son.
a
ALASKA. 151
The females, adults, will correspond with the three-year-old
' males in the above table, the younger cows weighing frequently
only 75 pounds, and many of the older ones going as high as
120, but an average of 80 to 85 pounds is the rule.
The five and six year old males, when they first make their
appearance in May and June, are very much heavier than at
the time I weighed them in July; they are then, perhaps, when
fat and fresh, fully one-third heavier than the exhibit on the
table, but the cows and other classes do not sustain protracted
fasts, and do not vary much through the season.
152 ALASKA.
THE SEA-LION, (EUMETOPIAS STELLERI,) “‘SEE-VITCHIE” OF
THE RUSSIANS.
This animal, although much below the fur-seal with reference
to intelligence and physical organization, ranks next in natural
order, and can, as well as its more sagacious and valuable rela-
tive, be seen to better advantage on these islands than else-
where, perhaps, in the world.
By looking at the plate, a glance will show at once the
marked difference between this animal and the Callorhinus. It
has a really leonine appearance and bearing, greatly enhanced
by the rich, golden-rufous of its coat, ferocity of expression,
and bull-dog-like muzzle and cast of eye, not round and full,
but showing the white, or sclerotic coat, with a light, bright-
brown iris.
Although provided with flippers to all external view as the
fur-seal, he cannot, however, make use of them in the same
freemanner. While the fur-seal can be driven five or six miles
in twenty-four hours, the sea-lion can barely go two, the con-
ditions of weather and roadway being the same. The sea-lions
balance and swing their long, heavy necks to and fro, with every
hitch up behind of their posteriors, which they seldom raise from
the ground, drawing them up after the fore feet with a slide
over the grass or sand, rocks, &c., as the case may be, and
pausing frequently to take a sullen and ferocious survey of the
field and the drivers.
The sea-lion bull of Bering Sea, when full-grown and in
good condition, will measure off in length 11 to 12.5 feet from
nose to tip of tail, (which is seldom over 3 or 4 inches long,)
and girth 10. Unfortunately, I was not able to weigh one of
these big bulls, and can, therefore, only estimate this weight
- ata thousand pounds, while, perhaps, some of the largest and
finest old fellows will touch twelve to thirteen hundred; bat I
doubt it.
The sea-lion is polygamous, but does not maintain any such
regular system and method in preparing for and attention to
its harem like that so finely illustrated on the breeding-grounds
of the fur-seal. It is not numerous, comparatively speaking,
and does not “haul” more than a few rods back from the sea.
It cannot be visited and inspected by man, being so shy and
ALASKA. 1535
wary that on the slightest approach a stampede into the water
is the certain result. The males come out and locate on the
narrow belts of rookery-ground, preferred and selected by
them; the cows make their appearance three or four weeks
after them, (ist to 6th June,) and are not subjected to that in-
tense jealous supervision so characteristic of the fur-seal harem.
The bulls fight savagely among themselves, and turn off from
the breeding-ground all the younger and weak males.
The cow sea-lion is not quite half the size of the male, and
will measure from 8 to 9 feet in length, with a weight of four
and five hundred pounds. She has the same general cast of
countenance and build of the bull, but as she does not sustain
any fasting period of over a week or ten days, she never comes
out so grossly fat as the male or ‘*see-catch.”
The sea-lion rookery will be found to consist of about ten to
fifteen cows to the bull. The cow seems at all times to have
the utmost freedom in moving from place to place, and to start
with its young, picked up sometimes by the nape, into the
water, and play together for spells in the surf-wash, a move-
ment on tke part of the mother never made by the fur-seal,
and showing, in this respect, much more attention to its off-
spring. 5
They are divided up into classes, which sustain, in a general
manner, but very imperfectly, nearly the same relation one to
the other as do those of the fur-seal, of which I have already
spoken at length and in detail; but they cannot be approached,
inspected, and managed like the other, by reason of their wild
and timid nature. They visit the islands in numbers compara-
tively small, (I can only estimate,) not over twenty or twenty-
five thousand on Saint Paul’s and contiguous islets, and not more
than seven or eight thousand at Saint George. On Saint Paul’s
Island they occupy a small portion of the breeding-ground at
Northeast Point, in common with the Callorhinus, always close
to the water, and taking to it at the slightest disturbance or
alarm. |
The sea-lion rockery on Saint George’s Island is the best
place upon the Seal Islands for close observation of these ani-
mals, and the following note was made aos the occasion of
one of my visits, (June 15, 1873 :)
‘At the base of cliffs, over 400 feet in height, on the east
Shore of the island, on a beach 50 or 60 feet in width at low
water, and not over 39 or 40 at flood-tide, lies the only sea-lion
154 | ALASKA:
rookery on Saint George’s Island—some three or four thousand
cows and bulls. The entire circuit of this rookery-belt was
passed over by us, the big, timorous bulls rushing off into the
water as quickly as the cows, all leaving their young. Many
of the females, perhaps half of them, had only just given birth
to their young. These pups will weigh at least twenty to twen-
ty-five pounds on an average when born, are of a dark, choca-
late-brown, with the eye as large as the adult, only being a suf-
fused, watery, gray-blue, where the sclerotic coat is well and
sharply defined in its maturity. They are about 2 feet in length,
some longer and some smaller. As all the pups seen to-day
were very young, some at this instant only born, they were dull
and apathetic, not seeming to notice us much. There are, I
should say, about one-sixth of the sea-lions in number on this
island, when compared with Saint Paul’s. As these animals
lie here under the cliffs, they cannot be approached and driven;
but should they haul a few hundred rods up to the south, then
they can be easily captured. They have hauled in this manner
always until disturbed in 1868, and will undoubtedly do so
again if not molested.
‘¢ These sea-lions, when they took to the water, swam out to
a distance of fifty yards or so, and huddled all up together in
two or three packs or squads of about five hundred each, hold-
ing their heads and necks up high out of water, all roaring in
concert and incessantly, making such a deafening noise that
we could scarcely hear ourselves in conversation at a distance
from them of over a hundred yards. This roaring of sea-lions,
thus disturbed, can only be compared to the hoarse sound of a
tempest as it howls through the rigging of a ship, or the play-
ing of a living gale upon the bare branches, limbs, and trunks
of a forest-grove.” They commenced to return as soon aS we
left the ground.
The voice of the sea-lion is a deep, grand roar, and does not
have the flexibility of the Callorhinus, being confined to a low,
muttering growl or this bass roar. The pups are very playful,
but are almost always silent. When they do utter sound, it is
a Sharp, short, querulous growling.
THE DRIVE OF THE SEA-LIONS ON SAINT PAUL’S ISLAND.
The natives have a very high appreciation of the sea-lion, or
see-vitchie, as they call it, and base this regard upon the supe-
rior quality of the flesh, fat, and hide, (for making covers for
ALASKA. 155
their skin boats, bidarkies and bidarrahs,) sinews, intestines
&e.
As I have before said, the sea-lion seldom hauls back far
from the water, generally very close to the surf-margin, and in
this position it becomes quite a difficult task for the natives to
approach and get in between it and the sea unobserved, for,
unless this silent approach is made, the beast will at once take
the alarm and bolt into the water.
By reference to my map of Saint Paul’s, a small point, near
the head of the northeast neck of the island, will be seen,
upon which quite a large number of sea-lions are always to be
found, as it is never disturbed except on the occasion of this an-
nual driving. The natives step down on to the beach, in the little
bight just above it, and begin to crawl on all fours flat on the
sand down to the end of the neck and in between the dozing sea-
lion herd and the water, always selecting a semi-bright moonlight
night. Ifthe wind is favorable, and none of the men meet with
an accident, the natives will almost always succeed in reach-
ing the point unobserved, when, at a given signal, they all jump
up on their feet at once, yell, brandish their arms, and give a
sudden start, or alarm, to the herd above them, for, just as the
sea-lions move, upon the first impulse of surprise, so they keep
on. For instance, if the animals on starting up are sleeping
with their heads pointed in the direction of the water, they
keep straight on toward it; but if they jump up looking over
the land, they follow that course just as desperately, and noth-
ing turns them, at first, either one way or the other. Those
that go for the water are, of course, lost, but fhe natives follow
the land-leaders and keep urging them on, and soon have them
in their control, driving them back into a small pen, which they
extemporize by means of little stakes, with flags, set around a
circuit of a few hundred square feet, and where they keep them
until three or four hundred, at least, are captured, before they
commence their drive of ten miles overland down south to the
village.
The natives, latterly, in getting this annual herd of sea-lions,
have postponed it until late in the fall, and when the animals
are scant in pumber and the old bulls poor. This they were
obliged to do, on account of the pressure of their sealing-busi-
' ness in the spring, and the warmth of the season in August and
September, which makes the driving very tedious. In this way
I have not been permitted to behold the best-conditioned
drives, 7. e., those in which a majority of the herd is made up
154 | ALASKA:
rookery on Saint George’s Island—some three or four thousand
cows and bulls. The entire circuit of this rookery-belt was
passed over by us, the big, timorous bulls rushing off into the
water as quickly as the cows, all leaving their young. Many
of the females, perhaps half of them, had only just given birth
to their young. These pups will weigh at least twenty to twen-
ty-five pounds on an average when born, are of a dark, choca-
late-brown, with the eye as large as the adult, only being a suf-
fused, watery, gray-blue, where the sclerotic coat.is well and
sharply defined in its maturity. They are about 2 feet in length,
some longer and some smaller. As all the pups seen to-day
were very young, some at this instant only born, they were dull
and apathetic, not seeming to notice us much. There are, I
should say, about one-sixth of the sea-lions in number on this
island, when compared with Saint Paul’s. <As these animals
lie here under the cliffs, they cannot be approached and driven;
but should they haul a few hundred rods up to the south, then
they can be easily captured. They have hauled in this manner
always until disturbed in 1868, and will undoubtedly do so
again if not molested.
‘‘'These sea-lions, when they took to the water, swam out to
a distance of fifty yards or so, and huddled all up together in
two or three packs or squads of about five hundred each, hold-
ing their heads and necks up high out of water, all roaring in
concert and incessantly, making such a deafening noise that
we could scarcely hear ourselves in conversation at a distance
from them of over a hundred yards. This roaring of sea-lions,
thus disturbed, can only be compared to the hoarse sound of a
tempest as it howls through the rigging of a ship, or the play-
ing of a living gale upon the bare branches, limbs, and trunks
of a forest-grove.” They commenced to return as soon aS we
left the ground.
The voice of the sea-lion is a deep, grand roar, and does not
have the flexibility of the Callorhinus, being confined to a low,
muttering growl or this bass roar. The pups are very playful,
but are almost always silent. When they do utter sound, it is
a Sharp, short, querulous growling.
THE DRIVE OF THE SEA-LIONS ON SAINT PAUL’S ISLAND.
The natives have a very high appreciation of the sea-lion, or
see-vitchie, as they call it, and base this regard upon the supe-
rior quality of the flesh, fat, and hide, (for making covers for
ALASKA. 155
their skin boats, bidarkies and bidarrahs,) sinews, intestines
&e. |
As I have before said, the sea-lion seldom hauls back far
from the water, generally very close to the surf-margin, and in
this position it becomes quite a difficult task for the natives to
approach and get in between it and the sea unobserved, for,
unless this silent approach is made, the beast will at once take
the alarm and bolt into the water.
By reference to my map of Saint Paul’s, a small point, near
the head of the northeast neck of the island, will be seen,
upon which quite a large number of sea-lions are always to be
found, as it is never disturbed except on the occasion of this an-
nual driving. The natives step down on to the beach, in the little
bight just above it, and begin to crawl on all fours flat on the
sand down to the end of the neck and in between the dozing sea-
lion herd and the water, always selecting a semi-bright moonlight
night. If the wind is favorable, and none of the men meet with
an accident, the natives will almost always succeed in reach-
ing the point unobserved, when, at a given signal, they all jump
up on their feet at once, yell, brandish their arms, and give a
sudden start, or alarm, to the herd above then, for, just as the
sea-lions move, upon the first impulse of surprise, so they keep
on. For instance, if the animals on starting up are sleeping
with their heads pointed in the direction of the water, they
keep straight on toward it; but if they jump up looking over
the land, they follow that course just as desperately, and noth-
ing turns them, at first, either one way or the other. Those
that go for the water are, of course, lost, but fhe natives follow
the land-leaders and keep urging them on, and soon have them
in their control, driving them back into a small pen, which they
extemporize by means of little stakes, with flags, set around a
circuit of a few hundred square feet, and where they keep them
until three or four hundred, at least, are captured, before they
commence their drive of ten miles overland down south to the
village.
The natives, latterly, in getting this annual herd of sea-lions,
have postponed it until late in the fall, and when the animals
are scant in pumber and the old bulls poor. This they were
obliged to do, on account of the pressure of their sealing-busi-
‘ ness in the spring, and the warmth of the season in August and
September, which makes the driving very tedious. In this way
I have not been permitted to behold the best-conditioned
drives, 7. e., those in which a majority of the herd is made up
156 ALASKA.
of fine, enormously fat, and heavy bulls, some four or five hun-
dred in number.
The natives are compelled to go to the northeast point of the
island for these animals, inasmuch as it is the only place with
natural advantages where they can be approached for the pur-
pose of capturing alive. Here they congregate in greatest
number, although they can be found, two or three thousand of
them, on the southwest point, and as many more on “ See-
vitchie Cammin” and Otter Island. | .
Capturing the sea-lion drive is really the only serious busi-
ness these people on the islands have, and when they set out for
the task the picked men only leave the village. At Northeast
Point they have a barrabkie, in which they sleep and eat while
gathering the drove, the time of getting which depends upon
-the weather, wind, &c. As the squads are captured, night after
night, they are driven up close by the barrabkie, where the
natives mount constant guard over them, until several hundred
animals shall have been secured, and all is ready for the drive
down overland to the village.
The drove is started and conducted in the same general man-
ner as that which I have detailed in speaking of the fur-seal,
only the sea-lion soon becomes very sullen and unwilling to
move, requiring spells of frequent rest. It cannot pick itself
up from the ground and shamble off on a loping gallop for a few
hundred yards, like the Callorhinus, and is not near so free and
agile in its movements on land, or in the water for that matter,
for i have never seen the Humetopias leap from the water like
a dolphin, or indulge in the thousand and one submarine acro-
batic displays made constantly by the fur-seal. :
This ground, over which the sea-lions are driven, is mostly a
rolling level, thickly grassed and mossed over, with here and
there a fresh-water pond into which the animals plunge with
great apparent satisfaction, seeming to cool themselves, and
out of which the natives have no trouble in driving them. The
distance between the sea-lion pen at Northeast Point and the
village is about ten miles, as the sea-lions are driven, and occu-
pies over five or six days under the most favorable circum-
stances, such as wet, cold weather; and when a little warmer,
or as in July or August, a few seasons ago, they were some
three weeks coming down with a drove, and even then left a
hundred or so along on the road.
After the drove has been brought into the village on the kill-
ALASKA: 157
ing-grounds, the natives shoot down the bulls and then sur-
round and huddle up the cows, spearing them just behind the
fore-flippers. The killing of the sea-lions is quite an exciting
spectacle, a strange and unparalleled exhibition of its kind;
and I cannot do better than to refer directly and silently to my
illustrations of it. The bodies are at once stripped of their
hides and much of the flesh, sinews, intestines, (with which the
native water-proof coats, &e., are made,) in conjunction with
the throat-linings, (w@sophagus,) and the skin of the flippers, which
is exceedingly tough and elastic, — used® for soles to their
boots or * tarbosars.”
As the sea-lion is without fur, the skin has little or no com-
mercial value; the hair is short, and longest over the nape of
the neck, straight, and somewhat coarse, varying in color greatly
as the seasons come and-go. For instance, when the Ewmetopias
makes his first appearance in the spring, and dries out upon
the land, he has a light-brownish, rufous tint, darker shades
back and under the fore flippers and on the abdomen; by the
expiration of a month or six week, loth June, he will be a bright
golden-rufous or ocher, and this is just before shedding, which
sets in by the middle of August, or a little earlier. After the
new coat has fairly grown, and just before he leaves the island
for the season, in November, it will be a light sepia, or vandyke-
brown, with deeper shades, almost dark upon the belly; the cows,
after shedding, do not color up so dark as the bulls, but when
they come back to the land next year they are identically the
Same in color, so that the eye in glancing over a sea-lion
rookery in June and July cannot discern any noted dissimilar-
ity of coloring between the bulls and the cows; and also the
young males and yearlings appear in the same golden-brown
and ocher, with here and there an animal spotted somewhat.
like a leopard, the yellow, rufous ground predominating, with
patches of dark-brown irregularly interspersed. I have never
seen any of the old bulls or cows thus mottled, and think very
likely it is due to some irregularity in the younger animals
during the season of shedding, for I have not noticed it early
in the season, and failed to observe it at the close. Many of
the old bulls have a grizzled or slightly brindled look during
the shedding-period, or, that is, from the 10th August up to the
10th or 20th of November; the pups, when born, are of a rich,
dark chestnut-brown; this coat they shed in October, and
take one much lighter, but still darker than their parents’,
but not a great deal.
160 | ALASKA.
THE WALRUS OF BERING SEA, (ROSMARUS ARCTICUS.)
I write “the walrus of Bering Sea,” because this animal is
quite distinct from the walrus of the North Atlantic and
Greenland, differing from it specifically in a very striking man-
ner, by its greater size and semi-hairless skin.
These clumsy beasts are, at the present time, only to be seen
on Walrus Island, being so shy and timid that they have de-
serted the other islands as they were populated by man. In
early days, or when the Russians first took possession, a great
many walruses were found at Northeast Point and along the
south shore of Saint Paul’s Island, but with the landing of the
traders and sea-hunters the walrus abruptly took its departure,
and Walrus Island alone is now frequented by it, being isolated
and seldom visited during the year by the natives.
It is of small commercial importance; the ivory is of poor
quality, mostly porous, pithy, and yellow, while the oil is of a
low grade, and the hide is quite valueless. Butitis the main
support of the Esquimaux far to the north, where it breeds.
upon the ice, the females never coming down to the Prybilov
Group ;—only males are to be seen on Walrus Island.
On this little island I have enjoyed a fine opportunity of
studying and painting these uncouth animals from life, being
able to easily approach to within a slight distance from the
flanks of a herd of over five hundred walJrus-bulls, which lay
closely packed upon a low series of basaltic tables, elevated but
little from the surf-wash. I sat upon a small rocky ledge only
a few feet above and from four or five heavy bulls, being, how-
ever, on the leeward side.
I was surprised to observe the raw, naked appearance of the
hide, a skin covered with a multitude of pustular-looking warts
and pimples, without hair or fur, deeply wrinkled with dark
red venous lines, showing out in bold contrast through the
thick, yellowish-brown cuticle, which seemed to be scaling off
in places, as if with leprosy. They struck my eye at first in a
most unpleasant manner, for they looked like bloated, mortify-
ing, Shapeless masses of flesh; the clusters of swollen, warty
pimples, of a yellow parboiled flesh-color, over the shoulders.
and around the neck suggested unwholesomeness forcibly.
This walrus is sluggish and clumsy in the water, and is almost
ALASKA. 161
helpless on the rocks out of it, and can no more move on land,
like even the lowest of the seals, Phoca, than can the hippopot-
amus run with the antelope; the immense bulk and weight
compared with the size and strength of its limbs renders it
quite impotent for terrestrial movement. Like the seal, it
swims entirely under water when traveling, not rising, how-
ever, quite so frequently to breathe; then it “blows” not unlike
a whale. Ona cool, quiet morning in May, I watched a herd
off the east coast of the island, tracing its progress by the tiny
jets of vapor thrown off as the animals rose to respire.
The adult male is about 12 feet in length from nostrils to tip
of tail and has 10 or 12 feet of girth, and one bull, shot by the
natives on Walrus Island, July 5, 1872, was nearly 13 feet long,
with the enormous girth of 14 feet. The immense mass of
blubber on the shoulders and around the neck makes the head
and posteriors look small in proportion and attenuated.
The strange flattened appearance of the head will be better
understood by reference to the plate, where the nostrils, eyes,
- and ear-spots seem to be nearly placed on top of the head, the
nasal apertures especially so, opening directly over the muzzle,
oval, and about an inch in their greatest diameter.
The tusks, or canines, are set firmly under the nostril-aper-
tures, in a deep, massive, bony pocket, giving a broad, square-
eut front to the muzzle. They grow down, varying in size
and weight from 8 or 10 inches in length to over 2 feet, and
from five pounds to fifteen, usually bowed out somewhat in the
middle, the ends approaching quite closely. The larger tushes
_ have a diameter at the heel of a little more than 23 inches,
tapering down to less than half an inch at the tip.
The upper lips are thick and gristly, full of short, stubbed,
gray-white bristles, from one-half to three inches long. There
are a few bristles set, also, on the chin of the lower jaw.
The eyes are small, but prominent, placed nearly on top of
the head, protruding from their sockets like those of the lob-
ster. They are rolled about in every direction when the ani-
mal is startled. The iris and pupil is less than one-fourth of
the exposed surface; the sclerotic coat bulges out from the
lids, and is of a dirty, mottled coffee-yeliow and brown, with
an occasional admixture of white; the iris, light-brown, with
dark-brown rays and spots. The animal has the power to roll
the eyes when aroused, seldom moving the head more than to
elevate it; but the range of sight out of water is not well
bt AT:
162 ALASKA.
developed, at least, for, after throwing small chips of rock
down upon the walrus-bulls near me, causing only a stupid stare
and low grunts of astonishment, I rose gently and silently to
my feet, and stood boldly up before them, not more than ten
feet away, but I was not noticed; had I, however, given them
a little noise, or had I been standing hundreds of yards away
from them, to the windward, they would have taken the alarm
instantly, and tumbled off into the sea like so many hustled
wool-sacks, for their sense of smell is keen. :
The ears of the walrus are on tlfe same line at the top of the
head with the nostrils and eyes, the latter being midway
between. The pavilion is a slight fleshy wrinkle, or fold, not
at all raised or developed, and from what i could see of the
meatus externus, it was very narrow and small, but uney. are
quick and sensitive in hearing.
The head of the walrus male, full grown, is, on an average,
18 inches long between the nostrils and the post-occipital
region, and weighs from sixty to eighty pounds. I can only
estimate the gross-weight of a mature, well-conditioned bul! at
two thousand pounds. The skin alone weighs from two hun-
dred and fifty to four hundred pounds. It is two and three
inches thick on the shoulders and around the neck, and
nowhere less than half an inch deep.
It feeds exelusively upon shell-fish (Lamellibranchiata, or
clams, principally) and the bulbous roots of certain marine
grasses and plants, which grow in great abundance in the
many broad, shallow lagoons and bays of the mainland coast.
I have taken from the paunch of a walrus over a bushel of
crushed clams, shells and all, which the animal had but re-
cently swallowed, since digestion had scarcely commenced.
Many of the clams in the stomach were not even broken; and
it is in digging these shell-fish that the service rendered by the
enormous tushes becomes evident.
In landing and climbing over the low, rocky shelves at ‘‘ Mor-
serovia,” this animal is almost as clumsy and indolent as the
sloth; they crowd up from the water, one after the other, in
the most ungainly manner, accompanying their movements
with low grunts and bellowings; the first one up from the sea no
sooner gets composed upon the rocks for sleep than the second
one comes prodding and poking with its blunted tusks, demand-
ing room also, and causing the first to change its position to
another still farther off from the water; and the second is in
ALASKA. 163
turn treated in the same way by the third, and so on, until
hundreds will be packed together on the shore as thickly as
they ean lie, frequently pillowing their heads or posteriors
upon the bodies of one another, and not at all quarrelsome ; as
they pass all the time when on land in sluggish basking or deep
sleep, they seem to resort toa very singular method of keeping
guard, if I may so term it, for in this herd of three or four hun-
dred bulls under my eye, though all were sleeping, yet the
movement of one would disturb the other, which would raise its
head in a stupid manner, grunt once or twice, and before lying
down to sleep again, in a few moments, it would strike the
slumbering form of its nearest companion with its tusks, caus-
ing that animal to rouse up for a few minutes also, grunt and
pass the blow on to the next in the same manner, and so on,
through the whole herd; this disturbance among themselves
always kept some one or two aroused, and consequently more
alert than the rest.
In moving on land they have no power in the hind limbs,
which are dragged and twitched up behind; progression is
slowly and tediously made by a succession of short steps forward
on the fore feet. How long they -remain out from the water at
anyone time lam unable to say. Unlike the seals, they breathe
heavily and snore.
The natives told me that the walrus of Bering Sea is
monogamous, and that the difference between the sexes in size,
eclor, and shape is inconsiderable; that the female brings forth
her young, a single calf, in June, usually on the ice-floes in the
Arctic Ocean, above Bering Straits; that the calf closely
resembles the parent in general proportions and color, but
that the tusks which give it its most distinguishing expression
are not visible until the end of the second year of its life; that
the walrus mother is strongly attached to her offspring, and
nurses it later in the season in the sea; that the walrus sleeps
profoundly in the water, floating almost vertically, with barely
more than the nostrils above water, and can be easilv ap-
proached, if care is taken, to within easy spearing-distance ;
that the bulls do not fight as savagely as the fur-seal or sea-
lion, the blunted tushes of the combatants seldom penetrate
the thick hide; that they can remain under water nearly an
hour, or about twice as long as the seals, and that they sink
like so many stones immediately after being shot.
These animals are seldom molested on Walrus Island, the
164 ALASKA.
natives not making any use of their flesh, fat, or hides; and
when they are shot, it is usually but a wanton undertaking by
the people while visiting the island in June and July. For the
purpose of getting eggs, the natives come from the village on
Saint Paul’s twice or thrice every year, and only at this season.
As the females never come down to the Prybilov Islands, I
have not had an opportunity of observing them, and have in
this way not been able to see this animal as well as I could
wish. The reason why this band of males, many of them old
ones, Should be here by themselves all through the year is not
plain to me; the natives assure me that the females, or their
young, never have been seen around the shores of these islands.
Over in Bristol Bay great numbers of walrus congregate on
the sandy bars and flats, where they are hunted to a consider-
able extent for their ivory.* 3
From descriptions of undoubted authority, the walrus of the
North Atlantic is a much smaller animal than his relative in
the Pacific, and not nearly so timid. It is also covered with a
coat of short brownish-gray and black hair, while the male adult
of Bering Sea is almost entirely naked. The skins and skele-
tons of the two animals are now in the Smithsonian collection.
* No walrus are now found south of the Aleutian Islands, but not more
than thirty or thirty-five years ago small numbers of these animals were
killed now and then on islands between Kodiak and Oonemak Pass. The
ereatest number of them south of the arctic circle will now be found in
Bristol Bay and on the north shore of the peninsula.
The finest baidars that, I have seen in this country were the skin-boats
of the Saint Lawrence natives, which were made out of dressed walrus-
hides sewed with sinews. The flesh is exceedingly rank in taste and smell
when fresh, and, in fact, quite as offensive to the civilized palate then as
when putrid. The natives clean the small intestine and dry it, which gives
them a piece of light, transparent gut-parchment, over a hundred fcet in
length and five to six inches broad, that serves admirably as material for
water-proof coats and trousers; the fiipper-skin makes the toughest soles
for their hair-seal boots, while the hide itself answers for all styles of cord-
age.
aber) Ble oY Pi:
FISH AND FISHERIES.
THE FISHERIES OF ALASKA.
The value of the interests in the Territory classed under this
head has been greatly overrated by writers, who have created an
impression that there are extensive banks upon which cod may
be taken, of the same quality and with the same success that
attends the labors of fishermen on the Newfoundland Banks.
This is untrue; but salmon, herring, and halibut are abundant,
the salmon being the most valuable fishing interest, and only
one of real commercial importance on the whole northwest
coast.
There are not on this coast the variety and excellence of fish
that is common to the Atlantic seaboard, and the shad and
scup runs of the East are without a parallel in these waters.
There are but few species here that have an economic value in
regard to the subsistence of the natives, from Bering Straits
to Dixon’s Sound, viz: the salmon, cod-fish, sculpins or rock-
cod, (Sebastes,) and halibut. Of the first, there is, both in
quality and quantity, enough to warrant commercial activity
and importance; of the second, the quantity and quality
are insufficient, in a business point of view, provided even the
demand was always equal to the supply. Halibut might be
eured iu a small way; but the rock-cod and sculpins are worth-
less, except to the Indians, when unable to procure either
salmon or cod; the famous “ oolichan” is confined to the Nasse
River.
These fish are distributed throughout the Territory as fol-
lows ; and first in the order of importance is—
1. Salmon.—Almost every stream, big or little, that empties.
into the sea or its bays, throughout the whole Territory, islands,
and mainland, is visited atregular periods by one or more spe-
cies of this genus, in greater or less numbers, with the widest
range of variation in quality; the runs of this fish in May and
June up the large rivers in this Territory being enormous.
During the last ten or twelve years steps have been taken by
competent men on the Frazer River and the Columbia to util-
ize and turn to profit these great runs of the finest fish; but
the industry of salting them for exportation failed, and a new
166 ALASKA.
business—that of canning the fish—-is being engaged in exten-
sively on the Columbia River; and, it would seem, with a fair
profit, capital might be advantageously employed in the prose-
cution of salmon-canning at the mouths of all the principal
streams in this country, as there is enough of the raw material |
to employ a large number of men several months in the year in
its preservation and profitable disposition ; and I see no reason
why this industry should not become one of great importance
in the Territory.
The demand for canned salmon will grow in proportion as it
becomes known, for it is a superior article of food, either plain
as it comes in the can, or pickled quickly after opening.
2. Cod.—This fish is the most widely distributed of any belong-
ing to the waters of Alaska or the North Pacific and Bering Sea.
Tt will be found on soundings, wherever a hook may be dropped
in Bering Sea, south of the latitude of Saint Lawrence Island,
all around the Aleutian Islands, the Alaskan Peninsuiar, Ko-
diak, and becomes scarce and fails to the eastward as far as
Kenai and Copper River, and then from Sitka’and Prince of
Wales Island to Fort Simpson, where it is only caught for a few
weeks in the year, when running in’schools, passing usually up
toward the north.
The immense area frequented by this fish will be at once
appreciated by glancing at the map and noting the soundings,
which show that nearly the whole of Bering Sea bounded or
staked out by our islands is a single great bank, and that
large areas south of the Aleutian Islands, the Peninsular, and
Kodiak, are shoaled off in a similar manner. Nevertheless, the
catch and quality of Alaskan cod is much inferior to our east-
ern fisheries.
There is cod enough, however, of fair quality, to supply tlie
immediate home-consumption of a large population, should
there ever be such in the history of the Territory, but the fish-
ing-grounds are not valuable enough to induce capitalists to
engage in taking and curing fish for exportation. This matter
has been honestly tested. by experienced fishermen, who have
been trained on the eastern banks, and is therefore beyond
dcubt. At present, however, in securing the small supply re-
quired by local demand, the characteristic impatience of the
people of this coast is strikingly shown; for, even could they
sell their fish caught in the north at as good a rate as that of
the imported stock, they, as a class, would be dissatisfied with
the small profits.
ALASKA. 167
The coast-cod average in this Territory, “from the knife,”
about three to five pounds, and the deep or outer water cod, of
the same species, average about eight or ten, but they are not
as plentiful as the smaller. The best banks in the Territory
are those south of Unga Island, about the Shumagins and
south of Kodiak. The catch is best off Unga.
3. Halibut—Yound throughout the Territory on soundings
south of the sixtieth paralle! of north latitude. Halibut are
quite abundant and of excellent quality, but the climateis such
that the fishermen cannot properly dry or cure them for exporta-
tion, even in small cargoes. They are, however, not abun-
dant enough for exportation, and must therefore be regarded
as only of local importance.
The other fish—rock-ccd, sculpin, white-fish—peculiar to the
rivers, &c., which are found along the coast and in the bays
and estuaries, possess no special merit, and have no commer-
cial importance, but they are valuable factors to the natives’
existence.
It will be observed that the waters of the Territory of Alaska
are well stocked with fish for home use; in the salmon inter-
ests, the natural wealth is great, and will doubtless be utilized
Sooner or later by canning, but that the experiment of salting
cod and salting salmon has not been profitable for sale in the
Australian, South American, and even in our own market.
There are twelve to thirteen small cod-fishing vessels that
supply the San Francisco trade, but it is a significant fact
that out of this number nine or ten deserted the Alaskan
banks last season, and went on nearly two thousand miles
farther into the Ochotsk for their catch, where the fish are
superior in quality and more plentiful.
It will not be untrue to assert, from what is now known in
regard to the fishing-interests of Alaska, that there is nothing
there that can be considered parallel or at all equal to the runs
of cod, scup, shad, and mackerel of the New England coast,
save the periodic visit of salmon, which come in truly magnifi-
cent number and condition.
Tn the small harbor of Woods’s Hole, Mass., Professor Baird
caught in his nets, during one summer, over seventy species of
food-fishes. That cannot be done in the North Pacific, no matter
when or where the naturalist or fisherman may choose to try.
The variety and number of piscatorial life in this region is poor
indeed when compared with that of the North Atlantie.
CHAPTER AX.
ORNITHOLOGY OF THE PRYBILOV ISUANDS.
By Dr. ELtiott Covss, U.S. A.
(Based on Mr. H. W. Lliot’s manuscripts and collections.” )
Mr. Elliott’s manuscripts and specimens having been sub-
mitted to me for elaboration in the present connection, an
account of the birds of the islands is herewith rendered. His
collections furnish the data for most of the technical portions
of the memoir, while the biographical notices are, in substance,
his own; these are placed between quotation-marks. The
nomenclature and sequence of the species are adapted to the
present paper from the latest systematic work upon American
ornithology, the author’s “ Key to North American Birds,” in
which may be found a diagnosis of each species and variety
not herewith described. The numeral prefix of each species is
that which it bears in the author’s ‘Check-List of North Amer-
ican Birds.”
With the scientific names are given the English, ‘and, in gen-
eral, the Russian equivalents—the latter between quotation-
marks. In most cases the synonyms and references of special
pertinence are added.
GENERAL REMARKS ON THE BIRDS OF THE ISLANDS.
«‘ While a few species of water-fowl come to these islands in
innumerable numbers for the purpose of breeding, yet the list
of birds to be met with here is a small one. It is, however, of
exceeding interest to the naturalist, comprising many desiderata
searcely obtainable elsewhere. |
““Over fifteen miles of the bold, high, basaltic, biuff shore-
line of Saint George’s Island is fairly covered with hundreds of
thousands of nesting gulls (Rissa) and arries, (Uria,) while
*The scientific readers of this report will, 1am sure, approve of the refer-
ence of my MSS. to Dr. Coues for elaboration, as the revision of synonomy
has become a serious matter in regard to the nomenclature of natural science,
and, already, too many writers have added to existing confusion in this
respect by attempting to do that which others than themselves are much
better qualified for.—H. W.E.
ALASKA. 169
down in the countless chinks and holes over the entire surface
of the north side of this island millions of ‘ chooch-kies’ (Simo-
rhynchus microceros) breed, filling the air and darkening the
light of day with their cries and fluttering forms. On Walrus
Island the nests of the great white gull of the north (Larus
glaucus) can be visited and inspected, as well also as those of
the sea-parrot or puffin, (Fratercula,) shags or cormorants,
(Graculus,) and the red-legged kittiwake, (Larus brevirostris.)
These are all accessible on every side, affording the observer
an unequaled opportunity of noticing these birds through tlie
breeding-season, from its beginning in May until the end in
September.
*¢ Not one of the water-birds found on and around the islands
is exempted from a place in the native’s larder; even the
delectable shags, ‘ oreelie,’ are unhesitatingly eaten. by the peo-
ple, and indeed furnish, during the winter-season especially,
an almost certain source of supply for fresh meat. The large,
gaily-colored eggs of the ‘arrie’ (Lomvia arra) are gathered in
June and July, without stint, for use, and might be packed
away in lime-water by the barrel, so as to keep through the
year, if any provident or thoughtful action was taken in the —
matter. . Walrus, Island would alone supply the whole demand
from year to year. On the occasion of my visit there, July 5,
1872, six men loaded a bidarrah, capable of carrying four tons,
exclusive of crew, down to the water’s edge with eggs, in less
than three working-hours.
‘During the winter-months the birds are almost wholly
absent. They begin to make their first appearance, in any
number, for the season, early in May, and by the middle or end
of September the great body of the millions that have bred
during this time go to sea, and are not again noted, save a tew
stragglers now and then, until they re-assemble next May, for
the repetition of their reproductive processes. ‘The stress of
severe weather in the winter-months, driving snow-storms, and
floating ice-floes brought down from the north, which shut the
islands in, still, cold, and quiet, are cause enough for the dis-
appearance of the water-fowl.
‘‘The position of the islands is such: as to He somewhat ou+-
side of the migratory path pursued by the birds on the mainland,
and, owing to this reason, they are only visited by a few strag-
glers from that quarter, and also from the Asiatic side. One
~
170 ALASKA.
species, (Strepsilas interpres,) however, comes here every sum-
mer, for three or four weeks’ stay, in great number, and gets
so fat in feeding upon the larve found on the killing-grounds
that it often bursts open when it falls, after being shot on the
wing. Our rovin (7. migratorius) was seen by myself, near
Saint Paul’s Village, one cool morning in October, (the 15th,)
and the natives told me that it had been noticed before in this
way, never staying more than a few days or a week, and being
brought there, undoubtedly, by some storm or gale of wind
taking it up and off from its path over the mainland. In the
same manner hawks, owls, and numerous strange water-fowl
visit the islands, but never remain there long. |
‘¢ The Russians tried the experiment of bringing up from Sitka
and Ounalashka a number of ravens, with the view of stimu-
lating them to live and breed upon these islands, where they
would be almost invaluable as scavengers; but the birds inva-
riably, sooner or later, and within a short time, took flight for
the mainland or the Aleutian Islands. At the time of present
writing the Alaska Commercial Company have sent up to the
village of Saint Paul’s a number of domestic pigeons, and the
experiment will be tried with them.
‘The natives have always, and still do, keep a small number
of chickens; and, where poultry is taken into the winter living-
rooms of these people, they get return in eggs. But the main-
tenance of a hennery, owing to the long season of cold, stormy
weather, compelling the chickens to hunt shelter for weeks at
a time, is impracticable, regarded with a view of profitable
recompense for time and care.
‘‘Walrus Island is the most favorable spot, in this whole
Alaskan country, to observe the nesting and breeding birds of
Bering Sea. It is a low, lava rock, seven miles to the east-
ward of Northeast Point, with an area of less than five acres,
rugged and bare of all vegetation, save a species of close-grow-
ing curly grass. Here the Lomvia arra and many gulls, cor-
morants, sea-parrots, and auks come to lay their eggsin count-
less numbers. The face and brow of the low, cliff-like sea-front
are occupied almost exclusively by the ‘ arries, (Lomvia arra,)
which lay a single egg each, on the surface of the bare rock,
and stand straddling over it while hatching, only leaving at
irregular and short intervals to feed. JLundreds of thousands
of these birds alone are thus engaged about the 29th of June
ALASKA. 171
on this little island, standing stacked up together like so many
bottles, as thickly as they can be stowed, making all the time
a deep, low, hoarse, grunting noise. They quarrel among
themselves incessantly, and in this way roll thousands of eggs
off into the sea, or into crevices and fissures, where they are
lost and broken. ' |
“The ‘arrie’ lays but one egg. If this is removed or broken,
she will soon lay another; but, if undisturbed after depositing
the first, she undertakes the hatching atonce. The size, shape,
and coloration of this egg are exceedingly variable. A large
proportion of the eggs become so dirty, by rolling here and
there in the excrement while the birds tread and quarrel over
them, as to be almost unrecognizable. The shell is very tough,
and the natives, when gathering them, fill tubs, baskets, &c.,
on the cliffs, carry them down to the general heap collected
near the boats’ landing, and pour them out upon the rocks with
a single flip of the hand, just as a basket of apples would be
emptied; and, after this, they are again quite as carelessly
handled when loaded into the ‘ bidarrah,’ sustaining through it
all very little injury.
“The small grassy interior of the island, which is sharply
margined by the surrounding breeding-belt of ‘arries’ on the
Shore-line, is the only place, I believe,in this sea where the
great white gull (Larus glaucus) breeds. Among the little
grassy tussocks here, it builds a nest of dry grass, sea-ferns,
&e., very nicely laid up and rounded, and in which it lays usu-
ally three eggs, sometimes only a couple ; in exceptional instances
I have seen four. These big gulls could not breed on either of
the other islands in this manner, for the foxes there would have
the upper hand instantly; and the bird is too large to settle
on the narrow shelf-ledges of the cliffs, like the smaller gulls
and other water-fowls.
“The red-legged kittiwake, (Larus brevirostris,) and its cousin,
Larus tridactylus, build in the most amicable manner together
on the faces of the cliffs, associated with cormorants, sea-par-
rots, and auks, all together, and, with the exception of the
latter, the nests are easy of access.
“As we land, the ‘arries’ fly from their eggs off and around
for ashort distance, and then settle down into the sea in platoons
or files, swaying hither and thither with the movement of swell
and tide, trailed out over the water like great whip-lashes.
172 ALASKA.
‘Watch a boat as it approaches one of these swimming pha- ©
janxes and alarms it; out the birds sprawl, half swimming and
half flying, making a noise like ‘a shower of hail-stones falling
‘upon a roof, as the scare spreads from bird to bird, until.the
whole vast flock is beating the water with a hundred thousand
wings in almost vain endeavor to rise from the calm surface,
for these birds in still weather have great difficulty in taking
flight. They, however, succeed well and quickly when heavy
swells or little wavelets lift them. A gull, on the contrary, rises
gracefully and easily from the water, and, indeed, is the most
attractive bird on the wing of all water-fowl.”
‘‘T have time after time been struck by the wonderful temer-
ity of the foxes, (on Saint George’s Island especially,) while
secretly watching them as they were climbing up and down
‘the faces of almost inaccessible cliffs, seeking eggs. They go
onafull run or a Stealthy tread over the brows of cliffs that
fairly overhang the sea six and nine hundred feet below. They
always bring the eggs up in their mouths, and carry them back
from the brink of the precipice, where they leisurely suck them,
usually biting the shell out at the largeend. The ‘arrie’ suffers
the most from these enemies, which are the only natural foes
that the bird-kind has to contend with on these solitary isl-
-ands.”
1. Turdus migratorius, Lixn.—ILobin. “ Rap-o-loof.”
Casual, and rarely seen; never resident. (Spec., October,
1872.)
‘‘T was most agreeably surprised, one cool morning early in
October, while walking up on the Village Hill, Saint Paul’s
Island, to see a robin, a red-breasted robin, silent and gloomy,
hopping and fluttering before me. It had evidently been
brought to the island by the gale which blew two days pre-
viously, and was even now casting about for a good chance to
leave. In order that I might observe the length of time this old
friend of mine would stay with us, I did not shoot him, but
strolled out to the locality every morning and evening until the
end of the third day, whenI missedhim. The natives recognized
it as a chance visitor, though seen almost every year in this
manner. Two weeks later I observed a small flock of Afgiotni,
(red polls,) which were passing over the island, alighting here
and there to feed. They are regularly seen migrating to the
southward every fall.”
ALASKA. 173
50a. Anorthura troglodytes var. alascensis, (Bp.) Covrs.—
Alaskan Winter Wren. ‘* Limmer-shin.” |
Troglodytes aluscensis, BAIRD. Trans. Chicago Acad.,i, 315, pl. 30,
fig. 3, (1869.) Saint George’s Is.
Anorthura alascensis, COUES. Key N. A. Birds, 87, (1872.)
Anorthura troglodytes var. alascensis, COUES. TIbid., 351.
Troglodytes hyemalis var. alascensis, DALL. Proce. Cala. Acad:
Sci., (Feb. 8, 1873.)
This interesting local form of Anorthura differs from the ordi-
nary North American bird in its superior size and darker brown
colors, and in the much greater length and caliber of the bill.
In young birds the difference is less strongly marked. The
dimensions of an adult in Mr. Elliott’s collection are as fol-
lows: bill, along culmen, .08 ; wing, 1.90; tail, 1.30; tarsus, .62 ;.
middle toe and claw, .64. The corresponding dimensions of an
average Specimen of var. hyemalis are: .39, 1.80, 1.20, .62, .58.
“This brave little bird was first brought into notice by Mr.
Dall, who collected a single specimen while on the island in
1868, and sent it to the Smithsonian Institution. In his brief
note accompanying it he speaks of its being abundant there,
while I, in 1873, shot almost every one that I saw, and yet at the
end of the season, August 4,1 had but seven specimens. It
was Seldom seen, but then again in 1874 they were quite
numerous.
“Tt is not a migratory bird, but remains permanently upon
the island. Its nest is built in small, deep holes and crevices
in the cliffs. I have not myself seen it, but the natives say that
it lays from eight to ten eggs, in a nest made of soft, dry grass
and feathers, roofed over, with an entrance at the side to the
nest-chamber, thus being of elaborate construction.
‘“The male is very gay during the period of mating and incu-
bation, flying incessantly from plant to plant or rock to rock,
singing a rather shrill and very loud song, and making, for a
small bird, a great noise. |
““T shot the young, fully fledged, on the 28th of July, differ-
ing only from the parent in having a much shorter bill, and in.
a general darker and more diffuse coloration.
“Although Saint Paul’s Island is but twenty-seven miles to
the northwest from Saint Geerge’s, not a single specimen of this
little wren has been seen there. I made, during the whole sea-
son of 1872, unavailing search for it.
‘“¢ The native name, ‘ limmer-shin,’ signifies a ‘ chew of tobacco,’
£74 ) ALASKA.
and is given on account of the resemblance of this wee bird in
size and color to a tobacco-quid.”
Mr. W. H. Dall found this species to be resident and abun-
dant on the rocky cliffs of Amaknak Island, Ounalashka, where,
he says, ‘it is quite familiar and bold. It builds in the crevices
of the rocks, but I was not able to find the nest. It hasa
cheerful and melodions note, and is, to some extent, gregarious,
three or four being usually seen together. It was not seen in
the Shumagins, though it may occur there.”
144a. Leucosticte tephrocotis var. griseimucha, (BRpDT.)
CovurEs.—Gray-eared Finch. ‘‘ Pahtoshkie.”
Linaria griseinucha, BRANDT. ‘Orn. Ross., (1842.)”
Leucosticte griseinucha, Bp. Consp. Av., i, 537, (1850.)—Bp. et
SCHLEGEL. Monog. Loxiens 5, pl. xli, (young,) (1850.)—Bp. B.
N. Amer., 430, (1858.)—DatLet Bann. Trans. Chicago Acad. 1,
282, (1869.)—Coop, B. Cal. i, 161, (1870.)—Dauu, Pr. Cala.
Acad., (Feb., 1873.)
Leucosticte tephrocotis var. griseinucha, CouES. Key, 130, fig. 77,
(1872.)
Leucosticte griseogenys, GouLD. P.Z. 8., 104, (1843,) and Voy.
Sulphur, i, 42, pl. xxii, (1844.)
Leucosticte littoralis, Bb. Trans. Chicago Acad.,i, 317, pl. xxviii,
fig. 1, (1869.)—Coor. B, Cala. i, 163, (1869.)}—DaLu. Proc.
Cala. Acad., (Feb., 1873.)
Leucosticte tephrocotis var. littoralis, Cours. Key, 1380, (1872.)
(Cf, ibid., 352. )
Numerous beautiful specimens of the adults of both sexes in
high breeding attire, and others illustrating the earliest plu-
mage of the young, are in the collection. There are no appre-
ciable outward distinctions of sex. The bill at this season is
black, the ash and black of the head are pure and well defined,
the chocolate brown is rich, and the rosy tends to crimson.
The very young birds are dark, sooty gray, overlaid with brown;
a lighter and more rusty shade of the same edges the wing-
feathers, and the bill is in part light colored.
Although this form is much larger than typical tephrocotis,
and otherwise different in the pictwra of the head, we do not
find ourselves enabled to separate it specifically, since numer-
ous intermediate specimens attest its intergradation with the
former. Nor do we find it necessary to distinguish the slight
variety, littoralis, by name; we refer it to var. griseinucha, con-
sidering both forms as the single arctic representative of tephro-
cotis proper.
‘‘This agreeable little bird, always cheerful and self-pos-
ALASKA. bbres
sessed, is aregular and permanent settler on the islands, which
it never leaves. In the depth of dismal winter, as well as on a
summer’s day, the pabhtoshkie greets you with the same pleasant
chirrup, wearing the same neat dress, as if determined to make
the best of everything. Itis particularly abundant on Saint
George’s, where its habits may be studied to best advantage.
“The pahtoshkie nests in a chink or crevice of the cliffs,
building a warm, snug home for its little ones of dried grasses
and moss, very neatly put together, and lined with a few
feathers. The eggs vary in number from three to six, being
generally four. They are pure white, with a delicate rosy blush
when fresh ; and measure .97 by .67 inch. The young break the
shell at the expiration of twenty or twenty-two days’ incubation,
the labor of which is not shared by the male, who, however, brings
food to his mate, singing the while, as if highly elated by his
prospects of paternity. The chicks, at first, are sparsely cov-
ered with a sprinkling of dark-gray down, and in two or three
weeks gain their feathers, fitting them for flight, although they
do not acquire the bright rosy hues and rich brown of the
parents the first year. Between the old birds there is no out-
ward dissimilarity according to sex, the male and female being
exactly alike in size, shape, and coloration.
‘“‘'Phey feed upon various seeds and insects, as well as the
larve which swarm on the killing-grounds. They are fearless
and confiding, fluttering in the most familiar manner around
the village huts. In the summer of 1873, a pair built their
nest and reared a brood under the eaves of the old Greek chureh
at Saint George’s.
“The nests, of which I collected fifteen or twenty, are very
neatly made up of dry grass and moss, thick, and compactly
interwoven, placed on the faces of the basaltic and breccia cliffs
which rise from the shore-line of the islands. These disinte-
grating tufa and breccia bluffs afford a thousand and one little
pockets and crannies in which the pahtoshkie builds, secure
from molestation by prowling foxes. It has no song, but utters
a low, mellow chirp, alike either when flying or sitting. It is
most abundant on Saint George’s, where hundreds may be seen
at any time during a short walk along the north shore. It con-
sorts in pairs throughout the year, never going in flocks, and
seldom fiying or feeding alone.”
Mr. W. H. Dall remarks upon the abundance of the bird on
the Aleutians as well as on the Prybilov Islands. In August,
176 ALASKA.
he says, it has no song, ‘‘ except a clear chirp, sounding like
‘wéet-a-wéet-a-wée-weet.’ [t was on the wing a great part of
the time, avoiding alighting on the ground, but darting rapidly
in a series of ascending and descending curves, now swinging
on the broad top of an umbelliferous plant, now alighting on
some ledge of the perpendicular cliff, jumping from point to
point, seemingly delighted in testing its own agility.” He
found it particularly numerous in Ounalashka, where it is resi-
dent. A nest, which he discovered May 24, contained five
white eggs, fresh; it was placed in a crevice of a rocky bank,
about twelve feet above the beach, and was neatly built of
grasses, lined with a few feathers.
152. Plectrophanes nivalis, (L.) MEYER.—Snow Bunting. “Sna-
guiskie.”
Among Mr. Elliott’s many specimens in pure black and
white attire are a few, in the earliest plumage of the young,
probably never seen in the United States. The general color
is gray, overlaid slightly with a light-brown cast, the inter-
scapular feathers having a dusky center. The gray fades on
the breast into dull whitish, which occupies the rest of the
under parts. Most of the secondary quills are white, with a
dusky touch on the outer webs; the three inner ones, however,
are black, with broad, chestnut-brown edging. Three lateral
tail-feathers are mostly white.
‘The snow-bird is another permanent resident of these
islands, but one which, unlike the Leucosticte, is rather shy and
retiring, nesting high on the rocky, broken uplands, and only
entering the village during unusually severe or protracted cold
weather.
“The snaguiskie builds an elegant and elaborate nest of
soft, dry grass, and lines it warmly with a thick bed of feathers.
It is placed on the ground, beneath some lava-slate, or at the
foot of a bowlder. Five eggs are usually laid, about the 1st of
June; they are an inch long by two-thirds broad, of a grayish
or greenish white, spotted sometimes all over, sometimes at or —
around the larger end only, with various shades of rich, dark-
brown, purplish-brown, and paler neutral tints. Sometimes
the whole surface is quite closely clouded with diffuse reddish-
brown markings.
‘The female assumes the entire labor of the three weeks’
incubation required for the maturing of the embryos. During
ee ce
2,
r
E
this period the male is assiduous in bringing food, and, at fre-
quent intervals, sings his simple but sweet song, rising, as he
begins it, high up in the air, as the skylark does when caroling,
and, with the end of the stave, dropping suddenly to the
ground again. The young are early provided with a gray
downy coating, which is speedily replaced by a plumage resem-
bling that of the adult female, and, in less than four weeks
from the day of hatching, the little snaguiskie is as big as its
parents, and weighs more.
‘* The food of this species consists of the various seeds and
- insects peculiar to the rough, higher grounds it frequents. It
never flies about in flocks, and at this season cannot be called
eregarious, like the Lapland longspur, with which it is asso-
ciated on these islands.” )
ALASKA. LT?
153. Plectrophanes iapponicus, (L.) SeLpy.—Lapland Longspur.
“ Karesch-navie snaguiskie.”
We give a description of the breeding-plumage of the female,
probably not generally known: Upper parts of the body,
wings, an: tail almost precisely as in the male. Cervical collar
evident, but not sharply defined, nor sorich in color. Black of
the crown variegated with pale tips of the feathers ; white of the
supra-ocular and post-auricular lines tinged with buff; no con-
tinuous pure black on the sides of the head, chin, or throat;
sides of the head blackish, interrupted with grayish auriculars ;
throat similarly varied, but chin left nearly pure white, the
_ pattern of the black which occurs in the male being thus clearly
indicated, but interrupted and obscured; sides of the breast and
belly with disconnected, sparse, sharp, slender, dark-brown
streaks, instead of the pure black, continuous, broad and
heavy stripes of the male; otherunder partsasin themale. Bill
obscure yellowish, dusky at tip ; feet dark brown, but not black.
Dimensions slightly inferior to those of the male.
The eggs of the Lapland longspur are extremely variable in
coloration—few more so. They range from a nearly uniform
dark chocolate-brown, (much like those of a marsh-wren,)
through a lighter chocolate in innumerable dots on a grayish-
brown ground, to a peculiar brownish-white ground, variously
clouded and smirched with chocolate, and having, besides,
irregular sharp spots, scratches, and straggling lines of black-
ish brown. The general aspect of these eggs is like that of an
oriole’s or blackbird’s. They measure .80 to .90 in length by
12 AL
i
i
-
|
|
178 ALASKA.
.55 to .60 in breadth. The labels of various specimens before
us from Arctic America record a nest of “ hay,” lined with deers’ ~
hair, or feathers.
‘The longspur, a resident bird, is a delightful vocalist, sing-
ing all through the month of June in the most charming man-
ner, rising high in the air, and hovering on fluttering wings
over its setting mate. The song is only too short, lasting but
a few moments, though continually repeated. The bird is much
more shy and reserved than the common snaguiskie, rarely |
entering the village. It is most abundant on Saint Paul’s,
where, unlike the snowflake, it seeks the low, grassy grounds,
both for food and nesting, being never found among the rough
bowlders chosen for a home . the other species of Plectro-
phanes.
‘‘Two nests which I found were built in tussocks of grass, on
a low ‘hummocky’ flat, between the village and the main ridge
of Saint George’s, sheltered and half concealed beneath a dra-
pery of withered grass. In each case the mother-bird did not
fly away till I almost stepped on the nest, when she quickly |
disappeared, in perfect silence. One nest contained four, and
the other five eggs, rather smaller than a snowflake’s, and of a
rich, gray-brown color, with deep shades of brown running
over them in spots and suffused lines.
‘‘ These nests were not discovered until the 7th of July, at which
date the eggs in both were perfectly fresh. They were, proba-
bly, not laid until about the end of June. The young appear
in the same manner as those of P. nivalis. The males do not
assume the distinctive coloration of their sex until the next
season. The natives say that very severe weather sometimes
drives these birds away, although the other Plectrophanes is
never forced to leave.”
226. Corvus corax, L.—Raven. “ Var-rone.”
As noted in Mr. Elliott’s general imtroduction, the experi-
ment of introducing ravens was unsuccessfully tried by the Rus-
slans.
‘¢ The natives still claim that if a number of young birds were
brought here and raised, they could be induced to remain upon
the islands during the whole season; that the failure to keep
those ravens brought up from Danci ues several yeas ago,
was due to the fact of their being old birds.
‘‘At Ounalashka there is a Greek Catholic church, with a
small cupola, surmounted, as is usual, by a large crucifix. Upon
——
C ALASKA. | 179
this these ill-omened, croaking birds perch at all hours of the
day, tiefiling the cross and tinned dome-roof below them, with-
out exciting the slightest sense of the ridiculous or impropriety
among the people there, the stranger only being amused.”
341. Falco sacer, Forst.—Gyrfalcon.
Faico sacer, Forst. Phil. Trans. Ixxii, 423, (1772.)—Barrp.
Trans. Chicago Acad. i, 271, (1869.)—Couzss. Key N. A. Birds,
213, (1872.
Finding nothing definite in Mr. Elliott’s manuscripts respect-
ing this bird, we conclude that it does not reside on the islands,
where, however, its casual presence is attested by a specimen in
the collection labeled ‘Saint Paul’s, March, ’73.” Itis a young’
bird, apparently in its second year, which had doubtless wan-
dered or been forced out of its usual way.
However we may interpret the relation subsisting between the
various forms of Hierofalco, the name Falco sacer (FORST.) is
specially pertinent to the present one, and has priority over the
several designations more frequently employed.
‘““ Hawks, like owls, are occasionally seen on the islands, the
latter during the winter, especially. They do not remain long,
and never breed, although the natives on Saint George’s stoutly
assert that a ‘small brown owl’ breeds there. I made unavail-
ing search forit.” Very probably the hawk-owl, (Surnia ulula.)
396. Charadrius fulvus, Gu.—Golden Plover.
Charadrius fulvus, GM. Syst. Nat., i, 687, (1788.)
Charadrius pluvialis, Horsr. Trans. Linn. Soc., xii, 187, (1822.)
Charadrius xanthocheilus, WAGLER. Syst. Av., Charad. sp. 36,
(1827.)
Charadrius taitensis, LEss. Man. Orn. ii, 321, (1828.)
Charadrius virginianus, JARD. et SELB. III. 1i, pl. 85, (eire. 1830.)
Charadrius glaucopus, Forst. Descr. An., ed. Licht., 176, (1844.)
Charadrius virginicus, BLyTH. Cat. B. Mus. As. Soc., 262, (1849.)
Charadrius longipes, TEMMINCK. ;
Charadrius auratus orientalis, TEMM. et SCHLEG. Fn. Japonica.
Charadrius auratus, SCHRENK. Amur Reise, 410, (1860.)
Pluvialis fulvus, SCHLEGEL. Maus. Pays-Bas, Cursores, p. 50,
(1864. )
Pluvialis fulvus, taitensis, xanthocheilus, longipes, Be. Compt.
Rend., 417, (1856.)
The single specimen of golden plover preserved by Mr. Elliott
is of special interest and importance, since it is conclusively
determined to be the true Asiatic fulvus, and not the North
American var. virginicus. This discovery represents an addi-
tion to our Fauna, for C. fulvus has not hitherto been recognized
180 RS
r
as North American. We have made the comparison with
numerous examples before us from various Asiatic and Pacific
localities, finding the present specimen indistinguishable.
Length, about 9.50; wing, 6.40; tail, 2.60; tarsus, 1.60; middle
toe and claw, 1.10; culmen, .95. There is a yellowish suffusion
about the head, particularly along the superciliary line, which
is hardly to be noticed in the ordinary North American bird.
The specimen was taken on Saint Paul’s, May 2, 1873. “A few
stragglers land in April, or early in May, on their way north to
breed, but never remain long. They return in greater number
in the latter part of September, and grow fat upon the larve
generated on the killing-grounds, leaving for the south by the
end of October.”
406. Strepsilas interpres, L.—Turnstone. ‘ Krass-nie Ko-lit-skie.”
The numerous specimens all alike indicate an interesting
approach to the peculiar features of var. melanocephalus, in the
extent and intensity of the black areas on the head, neck, and
back. The chestnut, in fact, is reduced maimly to a scapular
patch, some edging of the feathers of the interscapular region,
and a diffuse area.on the wing-coverts. The upper parts of the
body are otherwise black, relieved by the broad, pure white
area of the lower back and rump, and varied with white on the
crown and cervix. The front, sides of head and neck, throat,
and entire breast are intense black, relieved by loral, gular,
auricular, and latero-cervical white areas.
‘¢The turnstone arrives in flocks of thousands about the third
week in July, and takes its departure about the 10th of Sep-
tember. It does not breed here. On its arrival it is quite poor
in flesh, but, feeding upon the larve and maggots of the killing-
grounds, it rapidly gains, and at length becomes extraordinarily
fat—so fat that frequently it bursts open as it falls to the ground
when shot on wing.
‘‘ Tt is a very handsome bird when in full plumage, with its
bright-red legs, snowy, black-banded breast, and back tinged
with brown and green reflections. Its well-known curious
actions, in pursuit of its ordinary food, have given it its name. |
I met with it at sea, eight hundred miles from the nearest land,
flying northwest toward the Aleutian Islands.”
410. Lobipes hyperboreus, (L.,) Cuv.—Northern Phalarope.
The egg of this species, not yet generally well known, pre-
sents the following characters, taken from the unparalleled
ALASKA. 181
series in the Smithsonian Institution, collected at various points
in the Yukon and Anderson River region: The ground varies
from dark greenish olive, or brownish olive, through various
lighter drab tints, nearly to a buffy brown, occasionally to a
light gray. The markings are usually heavy and bold, consist-
ing of large spots, and still larger blotches or splashes result-
ing from their confluence, mingled with dots and scratches in
interminable confusion. In general pretty evenly distributed,
they often tend to aggregate about the larger end, in rarer in-
stances forming a perfect wreath. In a few instances all the
markings are mere dots. Asa rule, the size and heaviness of
the markings bear some proportion to intensity of the ground
color ; the markings are dark bister-brown, chocolate, and some-
times still lighter brown. The longest and narrowest egg of
several dozen measures 1.50 by only .75; a short, thick egg
gives only 1.10 by .82; the average is about 1.20 hy .80. The
eges are three or four in number, oftenest the latter, and are
generally laid in June, oftenest in the latter half of the month.
They are deposited in a slight depression of the ground, vari-
ously lined with a little withered vegetation.
‘¢ A few stray couples breed upon the islands, nesting around
the margins of the lakelets. The egg I was unable to find, but
I secured several newly-hatched young ones which were very
pretty and interesting. They are only two or three inches long.
with a bill about a third of an inch in length, and no thicker
than an ordinary dressing-pin. The down of the head, neck,
and upper parts is rich brownish yellow, variegated with
brownish black, the crown being of this color mixed with yel-
low, and a long stripe extends down the back, flanked with one
over each hip, another across the rump, and a shoulder-spot on
each side. The under parts are grayish silvery white. This
bird, when startled, or solicitous for the safety of its young,
utters a succession of sonorous ‘tieet’ sounds, quickly repeated,
with long intervals of silence.”
All. Phalaropus fulicarius, (L..) Bon.—Red Phalarope.
The nidification of this species is similar in all respects to
that of L. hyperboreus, and the egg cannot be distinguished
with certainty in any given instance. They average, however,
somewhat larger—about 1.25 by .85. The largest specimen
measured 1.50 by .90; the shortest, 1.15 by .90. Numerous
specimens, in the Smithsonian collection, were taken early in
July, at Franklin Bay, on the arctic coast, by Mr, R. Macfar-
Jane.
one
182 ALASTOR.
‘¢Though much more abundant than the preceding, at certain
times, I am satisfied that the red phalarope does not breed here.
It is found, like the other, by the marshy margins of the lake-
lets, solitary or paired, but never in flocks. The earliest arrivals
occur in. June, but the birds re-appear in greatest number about
the 15th of August. They all leave by the 5th of October.”
426 bis. Wrimga crassirostris, TEMM. et SCHLEGEL.—Thick-billed Sand-
piper. ‘ Ko-lits-kie.”
Tringa crassirostris, TEMM. et SCHLEGEL. Fauna Japonica, 107,
pl. 64, (1846.) (?7)—Datut. Amer. Naturalist, vii, 635, (Oct.,
1873.)—CovuEs. Check-List, 85, No. 426 bis, (1873.)
‘The most interesting result, in some respects, of Mr. Elliott’s
ornithological researches is the determination of the occur-
rence of this species in abundance on the Prybilov Islands,
where it breeds. This discovery adds a species, previously un-
recognized as North American, to our Fauna. The announce-
ment was lately made by Mr. W. H. Dall, as above, upon the
strength of one of Mr. Elliott’s earlier specimens from Saint
Paul’s. This example was idertified by Mr. J. E. Harting,* of
London, well known for the extent and accuracy of his investi-
gations of the Limicoline groups, to whom it was transmitted
tor the purpose by the Smithsonian Institution. Mr. Elliott’s
later collections contain numerous specimens, among them sev-
eral newly-hatched young, hitherto probably unknown. No
description of the species having been published in this country,
we subjoin the following : |
Adult, in breeding-plumage. (No. 64249, Mus. 8S. I.—676, Coll.
H. W. E.—July 22, 1873. Saint George’s.)—With somewhat
the general appearance of a Tringa alpina, but the black area on
the under parts pectoral, not abdominal. Bill about as long as
the head, straight to the end,t compressed, stout, and high at
* Deferring to this excellent authority on Limicoline birds, and without
a copy of the work in which Zringa crassirostris was originally described,
at hand, we have presented it under the same name. But almost cer-
tainly it is not the bird described by Schlegel as Tringa crassirostris in the
Museum des Pays-Bas. The characters there given are those of a different
bird altogether. By no latitude of interpretation can they be rendered
applicable to the present species. In case our bird, here described in Ge-
tail, be found not the same-as the true Tringa crassirostris, it may appro-
priately be named 7. ptilocnemis, in allusion to the feathered tibia. We
consider it most nearly allied to Tringa maritima, next to which it may
take its place in the system.
tIn other specimens, and usually, the bill ise onsiderably longer, exceed-
ing the head, and decidedly decurved at the end.
=
,
ALASKA. 183
the base, with very long nasal fosse, reaching to within $ inch
of the tip, and deep at the base; the groove of the under man-
dible co-extensive in length, but linear throughout. Feathers
on side of under mandible extending beyond those on the
upper; the interramal feathers projecting still a little ways
farther. Legs very short, (much as in Tringa maritima ;) tibial
feathers reaching nearly or quite to the suffrago; tarsus shorter
than the bill, or than the middle toe and claw. Wings and
tail as usual throughout the genus.
A coronal area, the upper.back, interscapular region and
seapulars black, completely variegated with rich chestnut-
brown, paler ochery brown and whitish, the body of each
feather being black, with one or another or all of these various
edgings; the cordnal separated from the interscapular mark-
ings by a grayish-white, dusky-streaked cervical interval.
Lower back and ramp and upper tail-coverts blackish brown
or grayish black, only varied with an occasional chestnut-edged
feather. Wing-coverts grayish brown, with narrow white edg-
ing, the greater with broad, definite white tips. Secondaries
nearly all pure white, a few of the outermost, and innermost
also, with grayish-brown touches near the end. Primaries
grayish brown with white shafts, except at tip, and fading to
white on the inner webs toward the base; several of the inner-
most, also, largely white on the outer web, and with definite
white tipping. Central tail-feathers brownish black; next pair
abruptly paler, grayish; the rest white, or nearly so, with a
faint gray tint. Front and sides of head, superciliary line,
the tufts of flank-feathers, and entire under parts, white, inter-
rupted on the breast with a large but not perfectly continuous
nor well-defined blackish area, and marked on the upper breast
and sides with a few narrow, sharp, blackish shaft-lines, a
dusky auricular patch. Legs and bill dark. Length, appar-
ently about 9.59 inches; wing, about 5; tail, 2.50; Dill, 1.10
to 1.40; tarsus, .90 to 1.00; middle toe and claw, 1.05 to 1.20.
: The sexes are not distinguishable by any outward mark. We
have before us no specimen in complete fall-plumage; but one
taken June 9, still retaining at that date the past season’s
plumage, for the most part, enables us to predicate the
autumnal and winter vesture. The difference is entirely anal-
ogous to that seen in various other sandpipers. It consists in
the great development and intensity of the chestnut edgings of
the feathers of the upper part, to the restriction of their black
fields, and to the exclusion, nearly complete, of the pale ochery
|
.
;
184 ALASKA.
and whitish edgings which make up the characteristic variega-
tion of the breeding-plumage, in the absence of any dividing
cervical interval between the coloration of the crown and that
of the back, and especially in the strong, complete suffusion of
the sides of the head and the whole throat with tawny brown.
The pectoral area is only indicated by scattered blackish feath-
ers, being in the fall probably still more obscure, or rather re-
placed merely by a few dusky streaks or spots.
Newly-hatched young, (taken early in July.)—These interesting
little creatures, two or three inches long, are very prettily
marked. The down of the under parts is silvery white; that
of the upper is rich reddish brown, varied with black, and
with curiously sharp, whitish dots of definitely rounded
contour, appearing like spots of mildew. Each such spot is
about as large as a pin’s head, and, examined with a lens, is
seen to be the enlarged, circumscribed, brushy end of a downy
plume, whence several tiny bristles project. Mach such plume
is white basally, then black for a distance, ending in the whit-
ish tuft. The areas thus dotted correspond, consequently, to
the areas of black variegation; but there is, also, a black, un-
dotted loral spot, frontal line, and a few other markings. The
bill is mostly black, very short and slender; the legs are com-
paratively long and stout, and appear to have been light-
colored.
Nearly-fledged, not quite grown, young, (taken late in July.)—
Several specimens retaining down, or traces of it, about the
head and neck, otherwise completely feathered. The upper
parts are much asin the adults in the breeding-season, as to
the colors of the variegation, but the markings are in simple
curved lines rather than sharp V-shaped patterns, and the
edgings are much narrower. The edgings of the wing-coverts
have an ochery cast. The interior tail-feathers have rusty
edgings. The throat and breast are more or less suffused with
pale rusty ; there is no black pectoral area, but the jugulum,
breast, and sides have an indefinite number of suffused, dusky
markings.*
*In Mr. Harting’s letter upon the subject, handed us by Professor Baird, to
whom if was addressed, the following occurs, in substance: JT. crassirostris,
T. & S., Scu., M. P. B., Sclop., 1864, 28; Buak., Ibis, 1862, 315-330.—HasB.,
China, Japan, Java, Borneo.—Syn., Schaeniclus magnus, GOULD, P. Z.S8., 1848,
39; B. Aust., vi, pl. 33; Zringa magna, Br., C. R., 1856; Tringa tenuirosiris,
GouLp, Hdbk. B. Aust., ii, 1865, 250, (nec Horsr., Linn. Trans., xiii, 1820,
192, que Totanus stagnatilis, L.) “Temmick & Schiegei say, (1. c¢.,) ‘This
ee
—_ =
ALASKA. 185
The following measurements of a number of adult specimens
will illustrate the size and shape, and, to a great extent, the
normal yariations in dimension of the species:
Measurements.
| | Oi Git or s :
Gi ) S | + oe
Locality. 3 A A H | eh | a 26 =>
z obec he ta a |e ee
= N Oo n |e =e RS) Higa
| |
Saint George’s Island ...:| July 22| 64249] 676) @Q j; 5.10 | 2.50 | 1.12] 0.80; 1.08
Re cr wa July 22 | 64250}] 67 Q |} 5.20 | 2.60 | 1.28 | 1.00] 1.10
Dw ake! Sees July 4] 64251} 590} Q | 5.10 | 2.30 | 1.10 | 0.94} 1.16
ke eee eels TF) G4852)) 597 | 9 ..|-5. 00-0250?) 15202] -0. 95 8 1G
ict wal pee eee duly 7] 64253] 600 | OF | d.10 | 2,80 | £45100 |-, has
[or oS June19 | 64254] 462}; 92 | 5.15 |.2.75 | 1.40] 0.987] 1.68
1028 5e noe July 7| 64255| 602/ Q | 5.10 | 2.40] 1.30] 0.97] 1.12
Ope ee Ses hi July 7]| 64256} 601} 9 | 5.18 | 2.70 | 1.41 | 0.95 | .1.13
Tas Se ie Aa eae duly 7%] 61957) 596| 9 | 480} 2.50] 1.25 | 0.90] 1.12
“oa Ret |e July 4] 64258] 585]. 2 | 5.00} 2.50} 1.30] 0.96 | 1.15
eon July 4 | 64259] 587| @ | 5.05 | 2.40 | 1.25] 0.97) 1.07
io oe July 7 | 64260} 675 | o |°5.25 | 2.80 | 1.42] 0.95] 1.20
IDs Sakae culy Ll 64265). 5741. =. | 5.35 | 2.75 | 1.4011.00| 1.10
oo Le get e July 4| 64266} 588 | 92 -| 5.30] 2.70 | 1.45 | 0.98-| 1.20
iG. 250 ees July 7| 64267] 598| Q | 4.90 | 2.50-| 1.20 | 0.96) 1.14
iti £5 es July (7 | 64268 | 599 |...--- | 4.80 | 2.30 | 1,30 | 0.91 | -1.10
t ' |
“This is the only wader that breeds upon the Prybilov
Islands, with the marked exception of a stray couple now and
then of Phalaropus hyperboreus. It makes its appearance early
in May, and repairs to the dry uplands and mossy hummocks,
where it breeds. The nest is formed by the bird’s selection of
a particular mossy bunch, and there setting. It lays four
darkly-blotched pyriform eggs, and hatches within twenty days.
The young come from the shell in a thick yellowish down, with
dark-brown markings cn the head and back, getting the plum-
age of their parents and taking to wing as early as the 10th of
August; and at this season old and young flock together for
the first time, and confine themselves to the sand-beaches and
surf-margins about the islands for a few weeks, when they take
species belongs to the same type as the Knot, (7. canutus,) but is much more
robust in size, the bill is longer, the tarsi are longer, and the toes more ro-
bust,’ (this is a mistake;) ‘finally, it differs in the very different coloration
of the plumage, notably in the breeding-season.’” * * * “It seems to
me that the bird is in every respect a large dunlin, (7. cinclus,) which it re-
sembles much more nearly than it does canutus, not only in regard to the
structure of the bill and feet, but in the character of the breeding-piumage,”
&c. Now, our T. ptilocnemis bears a wonderful superficial resemblance to
an overgrown dunlin, but its affinities, as shown by the feathered tibiae, and
tarsus shorter than the middle toe, are entirely with T. maritimus, as already
said, and some plumages very closely resemble the extensively-whitened
winter-dress of the latter.
186 ALASKA.
flight by the 1st or 5th of September, and disappear until the
opening of the new season.
‘‘It is a most devoted and fearless parent, and will flutter in
feigned distress around by the hour, uttering a low piping note
should one approach its nest. It also makes a sound exactly like
our tree-frogs, and until I had traced the matter to this source,
I searched several weeks unavailingly for the presence of these
reptiles, misled by the call of this bird.”
A set of four eggs of this species, the full complement, taken
by Mr. Elliott,* June 19, 1873, on Saint George’s, are perhaps
the first specimens which have reached naturalists; certainly
the first we have had in this country. They appear to have
been nearly or quite fresh at the date mentioned. The egg is
rather a peculiar one; of all the sandpiper’s eggs before us, it
most resembles that of Zringa maritima. The shape is regu-
larly pyriform, as usual in this family. Measurements of the
four examples are: 1.55 x 1.08; 1.52 x 1.05; 1.50 x 1.08; 1.48 x
1.05. The ground is nearly clay-color, but with an appreciable
olivaceous shade; the markings are large, bold, and numerous,
of rich, burnt-umber brown, of varying depth, according to the
quantity of the pigment. These surface-markings occur all
over the shell. except the extreme point, and are solidly massed
by confluence on the larger half of the egg; all the markings are
strong, as if laid on freely with a heavily-charged brush. With
these surface-spots occur numerous shell-markings of the same
character, but, of course, obscure, presenting a stone-gray or
purplish gray shade; some of them look as if the color of the
surface-spots had “run” and scaked into the olivaceous drab of
. the general surface.
* The eggs were first discovered by Mr. George lt. Adams, agent of the Alaska
Commercial Company, Saint George’s Island. He, in order that they should
be identified, notified Mr. Elliott of their position, who immediately shot the
parent and secured the eggs. Mr. Elliott has had frequent occasion to ac-
knowledge the courtesy and facilities for natural-history work furnished by
the agents of the Alaska Commercial Company on both islands, Dr. H. H.
McIntyre and Mr. Adams, above mentioned. To the last-named gentleman
he is especially indebted for many desiderata. Mr. Samuel Falconer, assist-
ant agent, and Drs. Otto Cramer and Meany, physicians on the two islands,
are also among the few to whom Mr. Elliott’s grateful obligations are due.
From Dr. Cramer we have reason to anticipate a very valuable and interest-
ing paper upon the stomach and intestinal parasites of the fur-seal, which he
was engaged upon when Mr. Elliott took his departure from the islands,
August 10, 1873.
ALASKA. 187
436. Limesa uropygialis, GouLp.—White-rumped Godwit.
Limosa uropygialis, GoULD.—Bp. Trans. Chicago Acad., i, 320, pl.
32, (1869.)—DaLt and Bann. Ibid., 293.—Couss. . Key N. A.,
Birds 258, (1872.)
This well-known Old World species, lately added to our
fauna, as above, is readily distinguished by the black and
white barring of the upper tail-coverts. In winter the upper
parts are pale gray, with dusky shaft-lines, and the under parts
are nearly white—a condition never shown by our other species.
In full plumage, the white of the rump and upper tail-coverts is
more or less tinged with rusty, and the upper parts are brown-
ish black, everywhere variegated with rusty. Bills of different
specimens before us range in length from 33 to 44 inches; those
of the adults are mostly dark, but in the young fully the basal
half is light-colored—dull whitish in the dried state.
Mr. Elliott did not take the eggs of this species, but two
examples were secured by Mr. Dall, June 18, 1868, at Kuthk,
Alaska. These differ as much from each other as eggs of this
species do from those of other species. The ground of one is
quite greenish oiive; of the other, pale olive-gray. In the
former, the markings are all subdued neutral tints, apparently
insthe shell; in the latter, the markings are nearly all on the
surface, and quite bright chccolate-brown. In both cases the
markings are numerous and of indeterminate shape, mostly
small, and generally distributed, though tending to aggregate
at the butt, where alone they lose their distinctness in coalesc-
ing to form a splashed area. Size, 2.20 x 1.45; 2.25 x 1.50.
‘‘ Migratory only, never breeding here. Comes in a strag-
gling manner early in May, passing northward with little de-
lay, and re-appears toward the end of August in flocks of a
dozen to fifty.”
440. Heteroscelus imcanus, (GM.) CouEs.—Wandering Tattler.
Scolopax incana, GMEL. Syst. Nat., 1, 658, (1788.)—LatuH. Ind.
Orn., ii, 724, (1790.)
Totanus incanus, VIEL. Dict. Deterv., vi, 400, (1816.)
Heteroscelus incanus, COUES. Key N. A. Birds, 261, (1872.)
Tringa glareola, PALL. Zoog. Rosso-As., ii, 194, pl. 60, (1811.)
Totanus brevipes, VIEILL. Dict. Deterv., vi, 400, (1816.)—Cass.
Pr. A. N.S., viii, 40,. (1856. )
Heteroscelus brevipes, BAirD. B. N. A., 734, pl. 88, (1858.)—DALL.
Tr. Chic. Acad., i, 293, (1869. )
Totanus fuliginosus, GOULD. Voy. Beagle; Birds, 130, (1841.)—
Gexy, G. of B., in, pls 154.
Scolopax undulata, Forsr. Deser. Anim., ed. Licht., 173, (1844.)
18s ALASKA.
Totanus pulverulentus, MULL. Verhand., 153, (1844.)—ScHLEGEL,
Fauna Japan, pl. 65.
Totanus oceanicus, LESS. Comp. Buff., 244, (1847.)
Totanus polynesie, PEALE. Voy. Vine. and Peac.; Birds, 237,
(1848.) |
Totanus griseopygius, GOULD. B. Aust., vi, pl. 38.
Gambetia brevipes, fuliginosa, pulverulenta, oceanica, griseopygia,
BONAPARTE. ;
Two specimens are contained in Mr. Elliott’s collections.
Migratory regularly, but does not breed here. It comes every
year early in June, and subsequently re-appears toward the
end of July, when it may be obtained on the rocky beaches.
It never visits the uplands, and is a very shy and quiet bird.
443. Numenius borealis, (Forst.) LatH.—Esquimaux Curlew.
This curlew only visits the Prybilov Islands in the same man-
ner as the Limosa. It breeds, apparently in great numbers, in
the Anderson River region, to judge from the numerous sets of
eggs in the Smithsonian forwarded by Mr. R. Macfarlane. The
usual nest-complement is four, made up usually the third week
in June. The nest is placed on a barren plain, and made of
decayed leaves placed under the eggs in a depression of the
ground. The eggs vary to the great extent usual among
waders. The ground is olive-drab, either tending more .to
green, to gray, or to brown in different instances. The mark-
ings are always numerous and bold, of the dark chocolate,
bister, and sepia browns of different depths, together with the
usual stone-gray shell-markings. These always tend to agere-
gation at the larger end, or, at least, are more numerous on the
major half of the egg, though the distribution is sometimes
nearly uniform, and in no instance is the small end entirely free
from spots. In oneset the large end is almost completely occu-
pied by a denseconfluenceof very dark markings. The smallest,
and at the same time shortest, egg measures only 1.90 x 1.40;
the longest and narrowest, 2.12 x 1.33; an average egg is
2.00 x 1.45.
We may refer, in this connection, to a species of curlew lately
ascertained to inhabit Alaska, as one which may be expected
to occur also on the Prybilov Islands. This interesting addi-
tion to our fauna is the Vumenius femoralis of Peale—a species
about as large as N. hudsonicus, and somewhat resembling it,
but readily distinguished by the curious long bristly filaments
which tip the abdominal feathers, and ofher characters. ° A
ALASKA, 189
male specimen was taken by F. Bischoff at Fort Kenai, Alaska,
May 18, 1869, and is now in the Smithsonian. (See Vigors,,.
Zool. Journ., iv, 356; and Zool. Voy. Blossom, 28.)
A single specimen only of the Esquimaux curlew was taken
by Mr. Elliott on Saint Paul’s Island, June, 1872. None other
than this one was seen by him.
482, Philacte canagica, (SEvasT.) BANN.—Emperor Goose. Painted
Goose.
Anas canagica, SEVAST. Nov. Act. Acad. St. Peters., xiii, 346, pl..
10, (1800.)
Anser canagicus, BRANDT. Bull. Sc. St. Peters., i, 37, (1836.)
BraNnpt. Descr. et Ic. An. Rosso-As., 7, pl. 1, (1836.)
Chloephaga canagica, BoNaPp. Comptes Rendus, (1856.)—BarrD.. .
B. N. A., 768, (1858.)—DaLt and BANN. Trans. Chic. Acad.,
i, 296, (1869.)—Datt. Proe. Cala. Acad., (Feb., 1873.)
Philacte canagica, BANN. Proc. Phila. Acad., 131, (1870.)—
CouEs. Key, 283, (1872.)
A set of five eggs, taken by Mr. Dall in Ktselvak Slough,
June 20, 1868 are much elongated and nearly equal at either
end. The color is white, but with fine pale-brown dotting, giv-
ing a general light dirty-brown aspect. Specimens measure
3.00 X 3.10; 3.40 x 2.90, &e.
i “ Visits the islands only as a straggler, sometimes landing
so exhausted that the natives capture a whole flock in open
chase over the grass, the birds being unable to use their wings.
for flight. Ifound the flesh of this bird, contrary to report, free
from any unpleasant flavor, and, in fact, very good. The objec-
tionable quality is only skin-deep, and may be got rid of by due.
care in the preparation of the bird for the table.”
Mr. Dall’s interesting note may be appended, in further illus+
tration of the history of this species:
“This magnificent bird abounds in profusion in the Kiselvak
Slough, or mouth of the Yukon, to the exclusion of all other
species. My endeavors to reach that point being unavailing,
I was obliged to do my best to obtain specimenselsewhere. It.
is quite scarce around the Kwichpak Slough and on the sea-
coast. By offering a large reward, I obtained four fine speci-
mens from the marshes around Kutlik. It is the largest of the
geese of the country, and the delicate colors of the body, with
the head and nape snow-white, tipped with rich amber-yellow,,
are a beautiful sight. The eye is dark-brown; feet, flesh-color.
The eggs are larger and longer than those of A. gambeli, and
rather brown fulvous, the color being in minute dots. It lays
190 | ALASKA.
on the ground, like the other geese.- The Eskimo name is
NachowtWluk. The raw flesh and skin have an intolerable odor
of garlic, which renders it a very disagreeable task to skin
them, but when cooked this entirely passes away, and the flesh
is tender and good eating.
‘This goose arrives about June 1, or earlier, according to the
season. As soon as the eggs are hatched the birds begin to
molt. I saw half-molted specimens at Pastolik, July 29,
1867. It remains longer than any other goose, lingering until
the whole sea-coast is fringed with ice, feeding on Mytilus edu-
_ lis and other shell-fish, and has been seen as late as November
1 by the Russians. It usually goes in pairs, or four or five
together, rather than in large flocks. Its note is shriller and
clearer than that of A. gambeli or B. hutchinsi, and it is shyer
than the other geese, except the black brant.” f
According to Mr. Dall, the emperor-goose does not ¢ occur in
the Aleutian Islands from Ounalashka eastward.
485a. Branta canadensis, var. leucopareia, (BrRpT.) CouEsS.—
‘White-collared goose. ‘‘ Chornie Goose.”
Anser canadensis, PALLAS, nec auct. Zoog. Rosso-As., ii, 230, (1811.)
Anser leucopareius, BRANDT. Bull. Ac. Acad. St. Petersb., i, 37,
(1836.) BranpT. Descr. et Ic. Anim. Rosso-As., 13, pl. 2, (1836. )
Bernicla leucopareia, CASSIN. J11.'272, pl. 45, (1855.)—Bp. B.N.
A., 764, (1858.)—DaLy. Trans. Chic. Acad., i, 295, (1869.) #
Branta leucopareia, GRAY. Hand-list, iii, 76, No. 10580, (1871.)
Branta canadensis var. leucopareia, COUES. Key 284, Fig. 185 b,
(1872.)
There isno reasonable question that this is anything more than
arace of the common B. canadensis. The supposed specific char-
acters, not very tangible at best, are not entirely constant.
According to Mr. Dall, this goose is abundant on the coast
about the mouth of the Yukon, where it breeds, but it is rare
at Nulato or farther inland. The eggs were obtained at Pasto-
lik. :
‘¢ Occasionally straggles to the islands in small squads of ten
to thirty, evidently driven by high winds from their customary
line of migration along the mainland. Though not breeding
here, it spends, occasionally, weeks at atime on the lakelets
and uplands, before taking flight either north or Soin as the
season may be.”
488. Anas boschas, (L.)—WMallard.
‘A pair bred during the season of 1872, on Polavina Lakelet,
Saint Panl’s ‘Island, and several were observed later in the
ALASKA. Bis vi |
fall. The mallard was also noted on Saint George’s Island, but
it is certainly not a regular visitor of either island.”
492. Mareca penelope, (L.) Br.—Widgeon.
It is an interesting fact that the widgeon which visits the
Prybilov Islands is not M. americana, which would have been
anticipated, but the true Jf. penelope, as Mr. Elliott’s specimens
attest. |
“It is seldom seen, never in pairs, does not breed on the
islands, and apparently the few individuals noted during two
years’ observation were wind-bound or astray.
508. Harelda giacialis, (L.) Leacn.—Long-tailed Duck. “ Saafka.”
‘¢Common and resident. It breeds on the lakelets and sloughs
of Saint Paul’s, in limited numbers.
‘This isa very noisy bird, particularly in the spring, when,
with the breaking up of the ice, it comes into the open reaches
of water with its peculiar, sonorous, and reiterated cry of ah-
naah-nadh-yah, which rings cheerfully upon the ear after the
silence and desolation of an ice-bound arctic winter.”
The eggs of this species, according to the sets before me, are
Six or seven in number, of the usual shape and smooth texture
of shell; one set is more decidedly pale greenish than the other,
which is lighter, and rather gray, slightly inclining to creami-
ness. They measure 2.20x1.50, down to 1.90x1.40. One set
was taken June 22, the other July 5.
510. Histrionicus torquatus (L.) Bep.— Harlequin Duck.
‘“Common on and around the island shores, idly floating
amid the surfin flocks of fifty or sixty, or basking and preen-
ing on the beaches and outlying rocks. It may be seen all the
year round, excepting only when forced away by the ice-floes.
Its neat, however, eluded my search; and, although Iam quite
confident that it breeds on either the rocky beaches or the high
ridges inland, the natives themselves were equally ignorant of
its eggs.
** My experience of this bird, it will be observed, differs from
Mr. Dall’s, who states that it ‘is an essentially solitary species,
found, alone or in pairs, only in the most retired spots, on the
small rivers flowing into the Yukon, where it breeds’ (Trans.
Chicago, Acad., i, 298.) I did not find it particularly wild or
shy, and numbers are killed by the natives every fall or spring.
It is aremarkably silent bird; I heard from it no ery what-
192 ; ALASKA. | ‘2
ever during the whole year. It is amost gregarious duck; sol-
itary pairs never stray away from the flock. The females seem
to outnumber the males, two to one.”
511. Somateria stelleri, (PALL.) NEwr.—Steller’s Hider.
Anas stelleri, PALL. Spic. Zool., vi. 35, pl. 5, (1769.)
Clangula stelleri, BorE. Isis, 564, (1822.)
Fuligula stelleri, Be. Syn. B. U.S. 394, (1828.)
Macropus stelleri, NuTT. Man., ii, 451, (1834.)
Polysticta stelleri, EYTON. Hist. Brit. B., 79, (1836.)—Bp. B.N.
A., 801, (1858. )
Eniconetta stelleri, GRAY. List Gen. of B., 95, (1840.)
Harelda stelleri, Keys, et Blas. Wirb. Europ., 230, (1840.)
Heniconetta stelleri, AGAss. Ind. Univ., 178, (1846.)
Somateria stellerit, NEWT. P. Z.S., 400, (1861.)—Covss. Key, 291,,
(1872.)
Anas dispar, SPARRM. Mus. Carls., pl. vii, viii, (1786.)
Fuligula dispar, STEPH. Shaw’s Gen. Zool., xii, 206, (1824.)
Stelleria dispar, Bp. Comp. List B. Eur. and N. A., 57, (1838.)
sinas occidua, BONN. et VIEILL. Ency. Met., i, 130, (1823.)
“A few ot these ducks were observed, but not secured, on
Saint Paul’s, in the spring of 1872. Two were shot at the East
Point, Saint George’s, the same year. Itis only a straggler.”
As several experienced ornithologists have stated, Steller’s.
duck is a true eider in all essential respects. Various views of
_its systematic position which have been entertained are indi-
cated by the foregoing synonymy.
An egg of Steller’s duck, in the Smithsonian, from the Peters-
burg Museum, through H. E. Dresser, esq., collected in
Kamtschatka, measures 2.20 x 1.60, and is like that of the com-
mon eider in shape, color, and texture of shell.
534. Graculus bicristatus, (PALu.) Gray. Jed-faced Cormorant.
“*“Oreel.”
? Red-faced Cormorant or Shag, PENNANT & LATHAM. (Arct. Zool.,
11, 584; Gen. Syn. vi, 601. Kamtschatka.)
? Pelecanus urile, GM. Syst. Nat., 1, 575, (1788.)—LatTuH. Ind.
Orn. ii, 888, (1790.)
Phalacrocorax bicristatus, PALL. Zoog. Rosso-As., i1, 301, pl. 75,
f..2; (48th)
Graculus bicristatus, GRAY. Gen. of Birds. Hand-list, iii, 128,
No. 11129.—Bp. Tr. Chic. Acad., 1,321, pl. 33, (1869.)—DALL..
& Bann. Ibid., 302.—Couers. Key, 304, (1872.)
Urile bicristatus, Be., partim. Comp. Av., 11, 175, (1851.)
** Phalacrocorax pelagicus, Pat.” Zoog. Resso-As., ii, 303, pl.
76, (1811.)
The cormorant, which swarms on the Prybilov Islands, ap-
pears to be unquestionably the bird of Pallas, which is most
ALASKA. | 193
probably the red-faced cormorant, P. urile, of earlier authors.
In adult plumage it is readily recognized by the naked red
skin which entirely surrounds the base of the bill, somewhat
earunculate, and the blue base of the under mandible, as well
as by the other points noticed in the later treatises above
quoted. In the great confusion Sues aie among authors re-
specting the North Pacific cormorants, we do not venture to
cite several names more or less probably synonymous.
Several eggs of this cormorant, brought in by Mr. Elliott, are
covered with the white, chalky incrustation, in a maximum
amount of depth and irregularity, the shell being very pale
bluish beneath. They measure about 24 inches Jong by 13 wide,
being thus narrowly elongate, though little more pointed at
one end than at the other. They are all much soiled with the
filth of the nest. |
“This cormorant, the only one of its tribe visiting the Seal
Islands, is a common bird, and is found the whole year round.
The terrible storms in February and March are unable to drive
the “shag” away from the sheltered cliffs of the island, while
all other species, even the big northern gull, depart for the open
water south.
‘‘Tt comes on to the cliffs to make its nest and’ lay, the earliest
of the birds in this sea. Two eggs were taken from a nest on
the reef, Saint Paul’s Island, June 1, 1872, which is dver three
weeks in advance of the other water-fowl, almost without ex-
ception. The nestis large, carefully rounded up, and built upon
some jutting point or narrow shelf along the face of a cliff or
bluff; in its construction sea-ferns, (Sertularide,) grass, &e.,
are used, together with a cement made largely of their excre-
ment.
‘* The eggs are usually three in number, sometimes four, and,
compared with the size of the bird, are very small. They are
oval, of a dirty, whitish gray, green, and blue color, but soon
become soiled; for although the bird’s plumage is sleek and
bright, yet it is exceedingly slovenly and filthy about the nest.
The young come from the shell at the expiration of three
weeks’ incubation, without feathers, and almost bare even of
down. They grow rapidly, being fed bythe old birds, who
eject the contents of their stomachs, such as small fish, crabs,
and shrimps all over and around the nest. In about six weeks
the young cormorant can take to its wings, being then fully as
Jarge and heavy asthe parents; but itis not until the beginning
of its second year that it has the bright plumage and metallie
13 AL
194 ALASKA.
gloss of the adult, wearing, during the first year, a dull drab-
brown coat, with the brilliant colors of the base of the bill and
gular sae subdued.
‘* This shag isa bold and very inquisitive bird, and utters no
sound whatever except when flying over and around a boat or
ship, which apparently bas a magnetic power of attraction for
them. When they are hovering and circling around in this
way, I have heard alow, droning croak come from them.
** The cormorant cannot be called a bird of graceful action at
any place, either on the wing or cn shore. Its flight is a quick
beating of the wings, (which are usually more or less ragged,)
with the neck and head stretched out horizontally to the full
length. It is exceedingly inquisitive, flying around again
and again to satisfy its curiosity, but never alighting on a boat
or ship, though coming close enough sometimes to be almost
touched by hand. It is very dirty on the rocks, and does not
keep its nest in tidy trim like the gulls; but in regard to
its plumage, it- cannot be surpassed, or even equaled, by
any bird of Bering Sea for brilliant gloss and glittering
sheen. It fairly shimmers, when in the sunlight, with deep
bronze and purple reflections, as though clothed in steel armor.
‘‘ Tn their stomachs I have found almost invariably the re-
mains of small fish and a coil of worms, (Nematoda.)
“As this bird is found during the whole winter, in spite of
severe weather, perched on the sheltered bluffs, the natives re-
gard it with a species of affection, for it furnishes the only 'sup-
ply that they can draw upon for fresh meat, soups, and stews, °
always wanted by the sick; and were the shags sought after
throughout the year, as they are during the short spell of
intensely-bitter weather that occurs in severe winters, driving
the other water-fowl away, they would certainly be speedily ex-
terminated. They are seldom shot, however, when anything
else can be obtained.”
Diomedea brachyura, Temmu.—Short-tailed Albatross.
‘Twenty or thirty years ago, when whaling-vessels were
reaping their rich harvests in Bering and the Arctic Seas, the
albatross was often seen about the islands, feeding upon the
whale-carrion which might drift onshore. But with the decrease
of the whale-fishery the birds have almost disappeared. Only
a single individual was noted during my two years’ residence.
This was taken by Dr. Meany, on the north shore of Saint
George’s.
LASKA. 195
“Tt is common around Ounalashka Island, where I saw a
large number, on my way to San Francisco, in August, 1873.”
582a. Fulmarus glacialis var. rodgersi, (CAss.) CouEs.—Lodgers’s
Fulmar. “ Lupus.”
Fulmarus rodgersii, CAss. Proc. Phila. Acad., 290, (1862.)—CovugEs.
op. cit., 29, (1866.)—Bairp. Tr. Chicago Acad., i, 323, pl. 34,
fig. 1, (18 69.)—Dati et BANN. JbDid., 303.
Fulmarus glacialis var. rodgersi, CouES.—Key N. A. Birds, 327,
(1872.)
Distinguished from the ordinary fulmar by the restriction of
the darker slate- gray mantle, most of the wing-coverts and some
of the secondaries being white.
An egg of this fulmar, procured by Mr. Elliott, is much more
elongate than the only specimen of EF. glacialis before me, and
the shell is even rougher than in the latter, with innumerable
raised points and minute fosse. It measures 2.90 in length by
1.99 in breadth, and is scarcely more pointed at one end than
at the other. The color is white, much soiled, in this instance,
with adventitious yellow discoloration. The description applies
to the whole of a large series examined.
‘‘This is the only representative of the Procellarine I have
seen on or about the Prybilov Islands. It repairs to the cliffs,
especially on the south and east shores of Saint George’s,
comes very early in the season, and selecting some rocky
shelf, secure from all enemies save man, where, making no nest
whatever, it lays a single large, white, oblong-oval egg, and
immediately commences the duty of incubating. It is one of
the most devoted of all water-fowl to its charge, for it will not.
be seared from the egg by any demonstration that may be
made in the way of throwing rocks or yelling, and will even
die as it sets rather than take to flight, as I have frequently
witnessed.
“The fulmar lays by 1st to 5th of June. The egg is very
palatable, fully equal to that of our domestic duck—even
better. The natives lower themselves over the cliffs, and
gather a large number of eggs every season on Saint George’s
Island.*
* But it is hazardous work, and these people on St. George seldom gather
more than they want at the time of taking. The sensation experienced by
the writer, who has dangled over these precipices on a slight thong of
raw-hide, with the surf boiling three or four hundred feet below, and loose
rocks rattling down from above, any one of which was liable to destroy life,
is one not to be expressed by language, and which, I think, quite sufficient
excuse for the natives to be content with just as few eggs as possible.—H. W.E.
196 ALASKA.
“The Lupus never flies in flocks; it pairs early, and is then
exceedingly quiet. I have never heard it utter a sound save a
low, droning croak, when disgorging food for its young.
“The chick comes out a perfect puff-ball of white down,
gaining its first plumage in about six weeks. It is a dull gray,
black at first, but by the end of the season it becomes like the
parents in coloration, only much darker on the back and scap-
ularies. | i
‘‘ They are the least edible of all the birds about the islands.
Like others of the family, they vomit up the putrid contents
of their stomachs upon the slightest provocation.” |
540. Stercorarius pomatorhinus, VIEILL.—Pomarine Jdger. ‘“ Raz-
boi-nik.”
Larus parasiticus, Mey. et Wor. Tasch. Deutsch., 11, 490,(1810.),
' Larus crepidatus,GM. L.N., 1,602, (1788.) (Qu. tes Stere. striatus
Briss.)
Lestris striatus, EYTON. Br. Birds, 53.
Stercorarius pomarinus, VIEILL. Nouv. Dict. d’Hist. Nat., xxxii,
158, (1819.)—CovuEs. Proc. Phil. Acad., 129, (1863.)
Stercorarius pomatorhinus, COUES. Key, 309, (1872.)
Cataractes pomarinus, STEPH. Gen. Zool., xiii, 216, pl. 24, (1825.)
Coprotheres pomarinus, REICH, Syst. Av., 52, (1580.)
Cataractes parasita var. cantschatica, PALLAS. Zoog. Rosso-As., |
ii, 312, (1811.)
‘A rare visitor. The specimen secured was the only one
seen on the islands. It was found on the high, mossy uplands,
perched in a listless attitude on a tussock of grass.”
541. Stercorarius parasiticus, (BRUNN.) Gray.—Parasitic Jager.
Catharacta parasitica, BRUNN. Orn. Bor., 37, (1764.)
Larus parasiticus, LINN. Syst. Nat., i, 226, (1765.)
Cataractes parasita, PALL. Zoog. R.A., ii, 310, (1811.)
Lestris parasita, ILLIGER. Prod., 273, (1811.)
Lestris parasitica, Keys et BLas. Wirb. Eur., 1, 240, (1840.)
Stercorarius parasiticus, GRAY. Gen. of B., 10, 652, (1849.)—Lawr.
B. N. A., 839, (1858.)—Couzs. Pr. Phila. Acad., 133, (1863.)—
Datu et Bann. . Tr. Chicago Acad., i, 303, (1869.)
Lestris richardsoni, Sw. F. B.A., 11, 433, pl. 73, (1831.)
Stercorarius richardsoni, COUES. Proc. Phila. Acad., 135, (1863.)
Cataractes richardsoni, MACGILLIVRAY. Man. Orn., ii, 257, (1842.)
Catharacta coprotheres, BRUNN, Orn. Bor., 38, (1764.)
Lestris coprotheres, DEsMutrs. Traité Ool., 551, (1860.)
Stercorarius crepidatus, ViEILL. Nouv. Dict., xxxii, 155, (1819.)
(Not of Gmelin.)
Lestris crepidata, DeEGLAND. Mem. Soc. Roy. Lille, 108, (1838. )
Stercorarius cepphus, Sw. F. B.A., ii, 482, (1831.)
Lestris hardyi et spinicauda, Be. Consp. Av., ii, 210, (1856.)
ALASKA. 19%
“JT have seen but four or five examples of this species, which
aay be rated as an infrequent visitor. It may be found upon
the grassy uplands, where it will alight and stand dozing in an
indolent attitude for hours. No one of the three species of
Stercorarius was observed to breed here.”
Numerous eggs of this species from the barren grounds of
the Anderson River region, and the arctic coast to the east-
ward, offer the following characters: The ground color is as
various, and of the same shades, as that already mentioned
under head of Numenius borealis, and in fact the whole aspect
of the egg, markings included, is quite similar. But although
pointed, they have not the peculiar pyriform shape usual among
Iimicole. I find no specimens heavily marked at the butt,
though the tendency is to a wreath by confluence around
the larger end. In some specimens the markings are all small
and scratchy, and distributed with “uniform irregularity” over
the whole surface. A certain proportion of stone-gray shell-
markings always appears to accompany the various chocolate
and other browns of the surface. Specimens range from 2.40
x 1.70 to 2.00 x 1.50, averaging nearer the former dimension.
The eggs of the next species cannot be distinguished from
those of the present with certainty, since, though they average
less in size, the larger specimens overlap the measurements of
even average parasiticus. A fair specimen is 2.10 x 1.50; the
smallest examined measured only 1.90 x 1.40.
542. Stercorarius buffoni, (Borz.) Covurs.—Long-tailed Jiger.
? Catharacta cepphus, BRUNN. Orn. Bor., 36, (1764.)
Lestris cepphus, Keys et Bias. Wirb. Eur., i, 240, (1840.)
Stercorarius cepphus, GRAY. Gen. of B., iii, 652, (1849.)—Lawr.
B: N,
A., 840, (1858.)—CovEs. Proc. Phila. Acad., 243, (1861.)
? Harus parasiticus, LATH. Ind. Orn., ii, 819, (1790.)
Lestris parasiticus, TEMM. Man. Orn., iv, 501, (1840.)—Sw. &
Ricu. F. B. A., ii, 430, (1831.)
Stercorarius longicandatus, BRISSON.—VIEILL. Nouv. Dict.,
xxxii, 157, (1819.)
Lestris longicaudatus, THomp. Nat. Hist. Ireland, iii, 399, (1851.)
Cataractis longicaudatus, MACGILL. Man. Orn., li, 258, (1842.)
Lestris buffoni, Bore. Isis, 562-576, (1822.)
Stercorarius buffoni, CouEs. Proc. Phila. Acad., 136, (1863.)—
DatLet BANN. Trans. Chic. Acad., 1, 304, (1869.)—Cougs. Key
N. A. Birds, 310, 1872.
Lestris lessoni, DEGLAND. Mem. Soc. Roy. Lille, (1838.)
Lestris crepidata, BREHM. Naturg. Eur. Vog., 747, (1823.)
“Seldom seen. The specimen in my collection is one of
198 ALASKA,
the only two I ever observed on the islands. WhenI came
upon them, July 29, 1872, they were apparently feeding upon
insects, and upon a small black berry which ripens on the
highlands,” (the fruit of the Empetrum nigrum.)
543. Larus glaucus, Brtunn.—Glaucous Gull. Burgomaster. “Chilkie.”
‘‘ This large, handsome bird is restricted by reason to Walrus
Island alone, although it comes sailing over and around all the
islands, in easy, graceful flight, every hour of the day, and fre-
quently, late in the fall, will settle down by hundreds upon’
the carcasses on the killing-grounds. But upon Walrus Island
this bird is at home, and there lays its eggs in neat nests, built
of sea-ferns and dry grass, placed among the grassy tussocks
on the center of the island :—there are no foxes here.
‘‘Tfremains by the islands during the whole season. Though
it is sometimes driven by the ice to the open water fifty to a
hundred miles south, it returns immediately after the floe dis-
appears.
‘The ‘chikie’ lays as early as the 1st to 4th of June, depos-
iting three eggs usually within a week or ten days. These
eggs are large, spherically oval, having a dark grayish-brown
ground, with irregular patches of darker brown-black. They
vary somewhat in size, but the shape and pattern of coloring is
quite constant.
‘The young burgomaster comes from the shell at the expira-
tion of three weeks’ incubation, in a pure-white, thick coat of
down, which is speedily supplanted by a brownish-black and
gray plumage, with which the bird takes flight, having nearly
the size of the parent. This dark coat changes within the
next three months to one nearly white, with the lavender-gray
back of the adult; the legs change from a pale-grayish tone to
the rich yeliow of the mature condition, and the bill also passes
from a dull-brown color to a bright yellow with a red spot on
the lower mandible. .
“Tt has a loud, shrill ery, becoming soon very monotonous
by its constant repetition, and also utters a low, chattering
croak while coasting.
“Ttis avery neat bird about its nest, and keeps its plum-
age in acondition of snowy purity. Itis not very numerogs ;
I do not think that there were more than five or six hundred
nests on Walrus Island at the time of my visit, in 1872.”
oe eee
ALASKA. 199
502. Larus tridactylus var. kotzebui, (Br.) Cours.—Pacific Iitti-
wake. ‘Chornie-naushkie goverooskie.” |
Kissa kotzebui, Bp. Consp. Av., 11, 226, (1856.)—Cowuns. Pr.
Phila. Acad., 305, (1862.)—Cours. Pr. Phila. Acad., 207, (1869.)
Larus tridactylus, DALL & Bann. Tr. Chic. Acad., 1, 305, (1869.)
Larus tridactylus var. kotzebui, Cours, Key, 314, (1872.)
We have called attention, in our publications above quoted,
to the fact that the North Pacific kittiwake has the hind toe
better formed than that of the Atlantic bird; and this is the
sole basis of the supposed species.
Although thus so similar to the true Larus tridactylus that it
cannot be specifically distinguished, and also totally distinct
from the next species, there has been a strange confusion regard-
ing it. I do not venture now to add to the foregoing synon-
ymy several names more or less doubtfully here applicable. Bo-
naparte quotes as synonymous, Lissa nivea of Bruch, J.f. O.,
1855, 285; and also queries Rf. brachyrhyncha of Bruch, ibid,
1853, 103. Noone of the four species of Rissa described by
Mr. Lawrence, in 1858, in Baird’s work. pp. 854, 855, belongs
here. — 3
“This kittiwake breeds here by tens of thousands, in com-
pany with R&R. brevirostris, coming at the same time, but laying
a week or ten days earlier; in all other respects it corresponds
in habit, and is in just about the same number. It is a remark-
ably constant bird in coloration, when adult, for I have failed
to observe the slightest variation in plumage among the great
numbers here under my notice.
“In building its nest it uses more grass and less mud-cement
than the brevirostris does. The eggs are more pointed at the
small end and lighter in the ground-color, with numerous spots
and blotches of dark brown. The chick is difficult to distin-
guish with certainty from the brevirostris, and it is not until two
or three weeks have passed that any difference can be noted in
the length of bill and color of feet.
“Like Rissa brevirostris, the male treads the female on the
nest, and nowhere else, making a loud, shrill, screaming sound
during the ceremony.”
553. Larus brevirostris, (BRANDT.)—Short-billed or Red-legged Kitti-
wake. ‘*Goverooskie.”
_ Rissa brevirostris, BRANDT.—Lawr. B.N.A., 855, (1858.)—DaLu ©
& Bann. Tr. Chicago Acad., i, 305, (1869.)
Larus brevirostris, Cours. Key N. A. Birds, 315, (1872.)
ee
200 ALASKA,
Larus brachyrhynchus, GOULD. P.Z.S., (July 25, 1843.)—Gourp.
Voy. Sulphur, 50, pl. 34, (——.) Not of Ricuakrson.
Rissa brachyrhyncha, Bre. Consp. Av., ii, 226, (1826.)—CovEs.
Proc. Phila. Acad., 306, (1862.)
Rissa nivea, LAWRK. B.N.A., 855, (1858.) (Exel. Syn. Not Larus
niveus; PALL.)
This excellent species will instantly be distinguished from the
preceding by its short bill, and especially by its rich coral, ver-
milion, or lake-red legs, (drying straw-yellow.) There is no
possibility of confounding the two, although their synonymy
has become involved to such an extent that the task of disen- -
tangling it isalmost hopeless. The names above quoted are of
unquestionable pertinence here; several others that might be
quoted are preferably left untouched.
‘‘This beautiful gull, one of the most elegant of birds 0 on the
wing, seems to favor these islands with its presence to the ex-
clusion of other land, coming here by tens of thousands to breed.
It is especially abundant on Saint George’s Island. It is cer-
tainly by far the most attractive of all the gulls; its short, sym-
metrical bill, large hazel eye, with crimson lids, and bright-red
feet, contrasting richly with the snowy-white plumage of the
head, neck, and under parts.
“Like Larus glaucus, this bird remains about the islands
during the whole season, coming on the cliffs for the purpose of
nest-building, breeding by the 9th of May, and deserting the
bluffs when the young are fully fledged and ready for flight,
early in October.
‘‘It is much more cautious and prudent than the ‘arrié,’ for
its nests are placed on almost inaccessible shelves and points,
so that seldom can a nest be reached unless a person is lowered
down to it by a rope passed over the cliff.
‘* Nest-building is commenced by this bird early in May, and
completed, usually, not much before the first of July. It uses
dry grass and moss, cemented with mud, which it gathers at
the margin of the small fresh-water sloughs and ponds scattered
over the islands. The nest is solidly and neatly put up, the
parent birds working in the most diligent and amiable manner.
‘‘ Two eggs are the usual number, although occasionally three
will be found in the nest. If these eggs are removed, the female
will renew them, like the ‘arrie,’ in the course of another week
or ten days. They are of the size and shape of the common
hen’s egg, but colored with a dark-gray ground, spotted and
blotched with sepia-brown patclies and dots. Once in a while
3
a
ALASKA. 201
an egg will have on its smaller end a large number of suffused
blood-red spots.
‘‘ Both parents assist in the labor of incubation, which lasts
from twenty-four to twenty-six days. The chick comes out with
a pure-white downy coat, and pale whitish-gray bill and feet,
resting helplessly in the nest while its feathers grow. During
this period it is a comical-looking object. The natives capture
them now and pet them, having a number every year scattered
through the village, where they become very tame, and it is not
until fall, when cold weather sets in and makes them restless,
that they leave their captors and fly away to sea.
“This bird is very constant in its specific characters. Among
thousands of them I have never observed any variation in the
coloration of the bills, feet, or plumage of the mature birds, with
one exception. There is a variety, seldom seen, in which the
feet are nearly yellow, or rather yellow than red, and the edge
of the eyelid is black instead of scarlet; there is also a dark
patch back of each eye. The color of the feet is probably an
accidental individual peculiarity; the dark eye-patch and
absence of bright color from the eyelids may depend upon
season.”
606. Colymbus arcticus, (L.)—Black-throated Diver.
It is interesting to observe that this bird is the true C. arcticus,
and not var. pacificus, which might have been expected to occur.
This is sufficiently attested by the measurements of a fine adult
specimen, No. 498 of Mr. Elliott’s collection. Length, about 31
inches; wing, 12; bill, along culmen, 22; along gape, 4; its
depth at base, .80; tarsus, 5; middle toe and claw, 4. The
bill is quite stout, with the culmen convex throughout, showing
nothing of the slender, straight, or almost recurved shape char-
acteristic of var. pacificus.
We find nothing respecting this species in Mr. Elliotts MSS.
It was the only one seen by him. It was found dead, cast upon
the sand-beach at Zapadnie, Saint George’s Island, and brought
to Mr. E. by the natives, who Ciffered among themselves as to
whether they had ever noticed it before about the islands. At
all events, it is seldom seen there.
610. Podiceps griseigena, (Bopp.)—Med-necked Grebe.
As in the case of the last species, the present is of the typical
form rather than of the North American variety. The difference,
as stated in our synopsis, (Pr. Phila. Acad., 1862, 232,) lies in
202 ALASKA.
the size and coloration of the bill. In true griseigena the bill is
little, if any, over 1.50 inches along the culmen, or 2.00 along
the gape, and the yellow is either entirely restricted to the base,
or only extends thence a little on the edge of the under man-
dible. In var. holbolli the above-mentioned measurements of
the bill are respectively 1.90 and 2.40, and much or most of the
under mandible, with the cutting-edges of the upper, are yellow.
In the present specimen, the culmen measures 1.60; the gape,
2.15, and there is little yellow, excepting at the base of the
bill.
Eggs of the American red-necked grebe, from the Yukon
and other interior arctic localities, are rough, white, either
inclining to pale-greenish or with buffy discoloration, and of
the usual narrowly-elongate shape common in the family. They
measure from 2.10 to 2.35 in length by 1.25 to 1.45 in breadth,
the longer eggs not always being proportionally wide.
‘Tt is the only specimen seen during my residence upon the
islands. It has been observed before by the natives, who, how-
ever, affirm that it is uncommon.”
617. Fratercula cormiculata, (NauM.) Branpt.—Horned Puffin.
“Epatka.”
(?) Alca arctica, var. B., Latu. Ind. Orn., ii, 792, (1790.)
Lunda arctica, PALL. partim., Zoog. R. A., 11, 365, (1811.)
Mormon corniculatum, Naum. Isis, 782, pl. 7, f. 3, 4, (1821.)—
KitTL. Kupf. Naturg. Vog. pl. i, fig. 1—DatL & Bann.
Trans. Chic. Acad., i, 308, (1869.)
Mormon (Fratercula) corniculata, Bp. Comptes Rendus, 774,
(1856.)—Cass., in Ba. B. N. A., 902, (1858. )
Fratercula (Ceratoblepharum) corniculata, BRANDT. Bull. Se.
Acad. St. Petersb., ii, 348, (1837.)
Fratercula corniculata, GRAY. Gen. B., iii, 637, pl. 174, (1849.)—
Cougs. Pr. Phila. Acad., 1868.—Covurs. Key, 340, (1872.)
Lunda corniculata, SCHLEGEL. M. P. B., ix, Nerin., 28, (1867.)
Lunda (Ceratoblepharum) corniculata, BRANDT. Bull. Sc. Acad.,
St. Petersb,, vii, 242, (1869.) |
Mormon glacialis, GouLD, nec. LuacH. B. Eur, v, pl. 404,
(1837.).—Aup. Orn. Biog., iii, 549, pl. 293, (1835.)—Ip. B.
Amer., vii, 236, pl. 463.
An egg before me is noticeably more elongate than that of
F. arctica or of F. cirrhata, though not more pointed. The shell
is rather rough, and dead-white. We may anticipate that in
some instances a few obscure obsolete spots may appear, as
they occasionally do in the eggs of F. arctica, and, doubtless,
also show the usual discolorations in many cases. The pres-
ent specimen measures 2.75 by 1.75.
ST oper yy,
ALASKA. 203
‘* The eye never fails to be arrested by this odd-looking bird,
with its great shovel-like, lemon-yellow and red bill, as it sits
squatted in glum silence on the rocky clifi-perches, regarding
approach with an air of stolid wonder. It seems to have been
fashioned with especial regard to the fantastic and comical.
“ This mormon, in common with one other species, J/. cirrhata,
comes up from the sea, from the south, to the cliffs of the
islands about the 10th of May, always in pairs, never coming
or going in flocks. It makes a nest of dried sea-ferns, grass,
moss, &c., far back or down in some deep, rocky crevice, where
the egg when laid is generally inaccessible—nothing but blast-
ing-powder would reacl it.
‘It lays but a single egg, large, oblong-oval, pure white,
and, contrary to the custom of the gulls, arries, choochkies, &c.,
when the egg is removed the sea-parrot does not renew it, but
deserts the nest, perhaps locating elsewhere. The young chick I
have not been able to get—not until it comes out fledged and
ready for flight in August, when it does not differ materially
from its parent. The species leaves the islands about the 10th
September. .
“This bird is very quiet and unobtrusive; it does not come
in large numbers to the islands, for it breeds everywhere else
in Bering Sea. Its flight is performed with quick and rapid
wing-beats, in a straight and steady course. There is no differ-
ence between the sexes as to size, shape, or plumage.”
619. Fratercula cirrhata, (PAL.) STEPH.— Tufted Puffin. “ Tawpaw-
kie.”
Alca cirrhata, PALL. Spic. Zool., 7, pl. 1, ii, fig. 1, 2, 3, (1769.)
Iunda cirrhata, Patt. Zoog. R. A., ii. 363, p. 82, (1811.)—
ScHLeG. Mus. Pays-Bas, Urin. 27, (1867.)—Cours. Pr. Phila.
Acad., (1868.)
LIunda(Gymnoblepharum) cirrhata, BRANDT. Bull. Sc. St. Petersb.,
vii., 244, (1867.)
Fratercula cirrhata, Stepit. Shaw’s Gen. Zool., xiii, 40, (1825.)
Fratercula (Gymnoblepharum) cirrhata, BRANDT. Bull. Se. St.
Petersb., ii, 349, (1837.)
Mormon cirrhata, NacM. Isis, 781, pl. 7, f. 1, (1821.)—Cass. B.
N. A., 902, (1858.)—Daitt & Bann. Trans. Chicago Acad., i,
308, (1869.)
Fratercula carinata, Vicors. Zool. Journ., iv, 358.
Sagmatorhina lathami, Be. P. Z.S8., 202, pl. 44, (1851.)—CovEs.
Pr. Phila. Acad., (1868.)
Sagmatorhina labradoria, Cass. B. N. A., 904, (1858.)—DaLi &
BaNN. Trans. Chic. Acad., i, 309, (1869.)
204 ALASKA.
As Professor Brandt showed, shortly after the publication of
our Monograph, the Sagmatorhina lathami of Bonaparte (= 8.
labradoria, Cass.) is merely the young of this species, at an age
before the bill has attained its final shape and coloring. Of
this fact we became ourselves aware about the same time, from
examination of various specimens in the Smithsonian.
The genus, of course, falls,as well as the species. In our
Monograph we were so far wrong as to assign to it a second
supposed species, the Cerorhina suchleyt of Cassin, which is the
young of Ceratorhina monoceratda. ,
“Comes to the islands at the same time as F’. corniculata,
and resembles the Hpatkie in its habits generally. It lays a
single large white egg, of a rounded-oval shape. I was never
able to see a newly-hatched chick, owing to the retired and. in-
accessible nature of the breeding-places. Could Walrus Island
be visited frequent!y during the season, interesting observations
might be made there, for the nests are more easy of access.
The young tawpawkie, six weeks old, resembles the parents
exactly, only the bill is lighter colored, and the plumes on the
head are incipient. This is the only place where the birds can.
be daily seen and watched with satisfactory results. I took
eggs from over thirty nests in July. The natives say it is very
quarrelsome when mating, its cries sounding like the growling
of a bear as they issue from far down under the rocks that
cover its nest.”
The egg is much thicker and more capacious than that of
FF. corniculata, though no longer. The shell is rough, dead-
white, and, besides the frequent discolorations, shows in several
specimens very pale, obsolete shell-markings of purplish gray.
Several specimens measure as follows: 2.85 x 1.95; 2.80 x
1.92; 2.75 x 2.00; 2.65. x 1.55.
621. Phaleris psittacula, (Escu.) TemmM.—Parroquet Auk. “ Baillie
Brushkie.”
Alca psittacula, PALL. Spic. Zool., fase. v, 13, pl. 2, pl. 5, f. 4, 5, 6,
(1760. )
Lunda psittacula, Pati. Zoog. Rosso-As., ii, 366, pl. 84, (1811.)
Phaleris psittacula, TemMM. Man. Orn., i, 112, (1820.)—Covuxrs. Key
N. A. Birds, 342, fig. 222, (1872.)
Ombria psittacula, Escuscu. Zool. Atlas, iv, 3, pl. 17, (1831.)—
BRANDT. Bull. Sc. Acad. St. Petersb., ii, 348, (1837.)—Ib. Tbid., vii,
237, (1869.)—Cass. B.N.A., 410, (1858.)—EELtior. B.N.A., pt. i,
pl. 70.
Simorhynchus psittaculus, SCHLEG. Mus. Pays-Bas, ix, 24, (1867.)—
CoveEs. Proc. Phila. Acad., (1868.)
ALASKA. 205:
Not only on account of the form of the bill, which, though
singular among Alcide, is not more different from that of some
others than these are among themselves, but also in conse-
quence of a different mode of. life, to which the shape of the bill
fits it, as attested by various observers, we now place the bird.
in aseparate genus from Simorhynchus, under which we formerly
included it. The species is said to live chiefly upon bivalve
mollusks, such as Mytilus, &c., for opening which its bill is.
adapted; and Professor Brandt notes the curious analogy
afforded, in this respect, with Hematopus, as compared with.
allied Charadrine genera.
Mr. Gray adduces a reference to the unexpected occurrence.
of this species in Sweden.
‘This quaintly-beaked bird is quite common on the Prybilov
Group, and can be obtained at Saint George’s in considerable
numbers. It comes here early in May, and locates in a deep.
chink or crevice of some inaccessible cliff, where it lays a single
egg and rears its young. Itis very quiet and undemonstrative.
during the pairing-season, its only note being a low, sonorous,
vibrating whistle. Like Simorhynchus cristatellus, it will breed
in company with the ‘ choochkie,’ but will not follow that lively
relative back upon the uplands, the * baillie brushkie’ being
always found on the shore-line, and there only.
“ The egg, which is laid upon the bare earth or rock, is pure
white, oblong-ovate, measuring 24 by 15 inches. It is exceed-
ingly difficult to obtain, owing to the birds’ great caution in.
hiding, and care in selecting some deep and winding crevice in
the face of the cliff. At the entrance to this nesting-cavern the
parents will sometimes squat down and sit silently for hours at
a time, if undisturbed.
‘Tt does not fly about the islands in flocks, and seems to lead
a quiet, independent life by itself, caring nothing for the society
of its kind. The young, when first hatched, I have not seen,
but by the 10th to the 15th of August they may be observed
coming out for the first time from their secure retreats, and
taking to wing as fully fledged and as large as their parents.
“They take their departure from the 20th of August to the
1st of September, and go out upon the North Pacific for the
winter, where they find their food, which consists of amphipoda
and fish-fry. I have never seen one among the thousands that
were around me when on the islands ‘ opening’ the bivalve-
shells, such as mussels, &c., as stated by Professor Brandt. It
206 ALASKA.
feeds at sea, flying out every morning, returning in the after-
noon to its nest and mate.”
The egg of Phaleris psittacula is about as large as a small
hen’s “ which it resembles, although averaging more elon-
gate. The shape, however, is extremely variable; thus, one
measures 2.25 by 1.50, and another 2.35 by only 1.45, the latter
being remarkably narrow, elongate, and pointed. The shell is
minutely granular, and rough to the touch. It is white, un-
marked, but often found variously soiled and discolored, some-
times by mechanical effect, and sometimes by fluids of the
oviduct or cloaca. Mr. Elliott says, .“‘So effectually do these
birds secrete their eggs in the deep recesses of cliff crevices and
chinks that I was unable to obtain more than four perfect speci-
mens, although several hundred ‘ baillie brashkies’ were breed-
ing on the cliffs, each pair marked by myself, (in daily observa-
tion,) close by the village, at Saint George’s Island, during the
summer of 1873. Nothing, save blasting-powder, or similar
agency, can open the basaltic crevices in which the bird hides,
and, of course, resort to this action would also destroy the egg.”
622. Simorhynchus cristatellus, (Patu.) Merr.—Crested Auk.
* Canooskie.”
Alca cristatella, PALL. Spic. Zool. fasc., v, 20, pl. 3, pl. 5, figs. 7,
8,9, (1769.)
Uria cristatella, Patt. Zoog. Rosso.-As., ii, 370, (1811.) (Excl.
syn. <Alca camtschatica, LEPECH.)
Simorhynchust crisatellus, MERREM.—ScHL. M. P. B., ix, 25,
(1867.)—CovgEs. Proce. Phila. Acad., (1868.)—Cougs. Key N.
A. Birds, 342, figs. 223, 224, (1872.) |
Simorhynchus (Tylorhamphus) cristatellus, BRANDT. Bull. Se.
Acad. St. Petersb., vii, 223, (1869.)
Tylorhamphus cristatellus, BRANDT. Op. cit., ii, 348, (1837.)
Phaleris cristatellus, SterH. Shaw’s Gen. Zool., xiii, 47, pl. 5,
(1825.) (Nec TemM.)—ScHRENCK. Reise Amur-Land, i, vt.
ii, 500, pl. 16, figs. 4, 5.
Phaleris (Simorhynchus) cristatellus, Cass. B.N.A., 906, (1858.)
Uria dubia, Patt. Zoog. R. A. att ofl, ene or (Avis ptil. hyem.
sestita, sec. BRANDT.) ,
Phaleris dubia, BRANDT. Bull. Se. Acad. St. Potonebas li, 347,
(1837.)
Tylorhamphus dubius, BoNap. Comptes Rendus, xlii, 774, (1856.)
Simorhynchus dubius, Cowes. Proc. Phila. Acad., (1868.)
Alca tetracula, Pati. Spic. Zool. fasc., v, 23, pl. 4, (1769,) (Junior.)
Uria tetracula, Pari. Zoog. R. A., ii, 371, (1811.)
Phaleris tetracula, STEP. Genu. Zool., xiii, 46, (1825.)—BRANDT.
Bull. Sc. Acad. St. Petersb., ii, 347, (1837.)
ALASKA. 20M
Tylorhamphus tetraculus, BoNAP. Comptes Rendus, xlii, 774,
(1856.) .
Phaleris (Tylorhamphus) tetracula, Cass. B.N.A., 907, (1858.)
Simorhyncus tetraculus, Cours. Proc. Phila. Acad., (1868.)—
Cours. Key N. A. B., 342, (1872.)
Phaleris psittacula, TEMM. Man. d’Ornith., i, p. exii, (1820.)
Phaleris superciliata, AUD. Orn. per iv, pl. 402, (1839.) (Nee~
Licut.; nec Bp.) ;
‘¢ This fantastic-looking bird, conspicuous by reason of its curl-
ing crest and bright crimson bill, breeds in company with the
S. microceros, but in no number whatever compared with the
“choochkie’—a few thousand pairs only at Saint Paul's, and
relatively more on Saint George’s, of course.
‘Tt makes its appearance in early May, and repairs to ee
and holes in the rocky cliffs, or deep down under large bowlders
and rough basaltic shingle, to lay, making no nest whatever,
depositing the egg upon the bare earth or rock. But so well
do these birds succeed in secreting it that, although I was con-
stantly upon the ground where several thousand pairs were
_ Jaying, I was unable to successfully overturn the rocks (under
which they hide) and get more than four eggs, the result of
over a hundred attempts.
“The note of thé ‘canooskie’ while mating is a loud, clanging,
honk-like sound; at all other seasons they are silent.
“The Simorhynchus cristatellus lays but one egg, and the
parents take turns, I am inclined to believe, in the labor of
incubation and in feeding their young. The egg is rough, pure
white, but with frequent discolorations, and, compared with
size and weight of the parent, very large. It is an elongated
oblong-oval, the smaller end being quite pointed. Length,
2.10; width, 1.40.
‘*{ have not seen a chick, nor could I get any notes upon its
appearance from the natives, but I have shot the young as
they came out for the first time from their dark, secure hiding-
places, fully fledged, with exception of crest, being by this
time, the 10th to 15th August, as large as the old birds, and of
the same color and feathering.
‘The ‘canooskie,’ like its cousin, the ‘choochkie,’ has no sex-
ual variation in size or plumage. Males and females are, to all
external view, precisely alike.
“The bright crimson bill, however, varies considerably, not
in color, but in its relative strength and curve, the slenderer
bill not being confined, as far as I could see, to the young
208 ALASKA,
birds, some old ones having the light and more pointed
beak.”
We do not hesitate now to follow Professors Schlegel and
Brandt in uniting the dubia and tetracula with the cristatella of
Pallas. We were never satisfied of the distinction of the
former, and in our Monograph expressed the strongest doubts
of its validity as a species. The other, however, we fully be-
lieved, until recently, to be a good species.
624. Simorhynchus pusillus, (PaLu.) Coves.—-Least, or Knob-billed,.
Auk. ‘ Chooch-kie.” :
2? Alea pygnea, GMELIN. Syst. Nat., i, 555, (1788.)—(Nonne:
potius =. Alca camtschatica, LEPECH., juv.; bh. e. = S. cassini,
Nop. ?)
Phaleris pygmea, BRANDT. Bull. Se. Acad. St. Petersb., ii, 347,.
(1837.) (Excl. syn. A. pygmwa, GM.)
Tylorhamphus pygmea, Br. Comtes Rendus, xlii, 774, (1806.):
(=Uria pusilla, PALL.)
Symorhynchus pygmeus, SCHL. Mus. Pays-Bas, ix, 23, (1867. )
Uria pusilla, Patt. Zoog. R. A., ii, 373, pl. 70,(1811.) (Excl.
syn.)
Phaleris pusilla, Cass. Proc. Phila. Acad., 324, (1862.)
Phaleris (Ciceronia) pusilla, Cass. B. N. A., 909, (1858.)
Simorhynchus pusillus, COUES. Pr. Phila. Acad., (1868.)—BRrANDT..
Bull. Sc. Acad. St. Petersb., vii, 230, (1869.)—Cougs. Key N.
A. B., 343, figs. 227, 228, (1872.)
Phaleris corniculata, Escuscu. Zool. Atl., 4, pl. 16, (——.)
Phaleris microceros, BRANDT. Bull. Se. Acad. St. Petersb., ii,.
346, (1837.)
Phaleris (Ciceronia) microceros, Cass. B.N. A., 908, (1858.)
Ciceronia microceros, REICHENBACH. me
Simorhynchus microceros, COUES. Proc. Phila. Acad., (1868.)
Phaleris nodirostra, Bp. Comp. & Geog. List, 66, (1838.)
Ciceronia nodirostris, Bp. Comptes Rendus, xlii, 774, (1856.)
There is now no reasonable doubt of the identity of the
names above quoted, excepting Alcea pygmea, which remains.
unidentified. It may have been this species, but most probably
it was the young of S. camtschaticus, in the same state as the
young bird we recently called S. cassint. The strong doubt we
expressed in our Monograph respecting the distinction between
the microceros or nodirostris of authors and the pusilla of Pallas,
has been confirmed.
‘‘ This little bird is the most characteristic of the water-fowl
frequenting the Prybilov Islands, to which it repairs every
summer by millions to breed, with its allies, S. eristatella, (ea-
nooskie,) and the Phaleris psittacula,
‘‘ Tt is comically indifferent to the proximity of man, and can
a A
ALASKA. 209
be approached almost within an arm’s length before taking
flight, sitting upright and eyeing one with an air of great wis-
dom, combined with profound astonishment.
“Usually about the Ist or 4th of May, every year, the
choochkie makes its first appearance around the islands for the:
season, in small fiocks of a few hundreds or thousands, hover-
ing over and now and then alighting upon the water, sporting:
one with another, in apparent high glee, and making an inces-
sant low chattering sound. By the 1st to the 6th June they
have arrived in greatest number, and they then commence to
lay. They frequent the loose stony reefs and bowlder-bars on.
Saint Paul’s, together with the cliffs on both islands, and an
area of over five square miles of basaltic shingle on Saint
George’s. To the last island they come in greatest number..
There are millions of them. ‘They make no nests, but lay a
single egg each, far down below among loose rocks, or they
deposit it deep within the crevices or chinks in the faces of the
bluffs. |
‘Although, owing to their immense numbers, they seem to:
be in a State of great confusion, yet they pair off and conduct
_all of their billing and cooing down under the rocks, upon the
spot chosen for incubation, making during this interesting
period a singular grunting or croaking sound, more like a
‘devil’s fiddle’ than anything I have ever heard outside of’
city limits.
‘(A walk over their breeding-grounds at this season is exceed-
_ ingly interesting and amusing, as the noise of hundreds of
these little birds directly under foot gives rise to an endless
variation of sound, as it comes up from the stony holes and
caverns below, while the birds come and go, in and out, with
bewildering rapidity, comically blinking and fluttering.
“The male birds, and many of the females, regularly leave
the breeding-grounds in the morning and go off to sea, where
they feed on small water-shrimps and sea-fleas, (Amphipoda,)
returning to their nests and sitting partners in the evening.
“The choochkie lays a single pure-white egg, exceedingly
variable in size and shape, usually oblong-oval, with the smaller:
end somewhat pointed. I have several specimens almost spher-
ical, and others drawn out into an elongated ellipse; but the
oblong-oval, with the pointed smaller end, is the prevailing.
type. The egg is very large, compared with the size and weight
of the little parent. Average length, 1.55; width, 1.12. The-
14 AL
—— SSS ae
210 ALASKA.
general aspect is much like that of a pigeon’s egg, excepting
the roughness of the shell.
‘The chick is covered with a thick, uniform, dark-grayish-
black down, which is speedily succeeded by feathers, all darker |
than those of the parent, when it takes flight from the islands
for the year six weeks after. The parents feed their young by
disgorging, and when the young birds leave, they are as large
and heavy as the old ones. I am strongly inclined to think
that the male bird feeds the female while incubating, but have
not been able to verify this supposition by observation, as the
birds are always hidden from sight at the time.”
634. Lomvia troife var. californica, (Bry.) Covues.—Murre Guille-
mot.
Cepphus lomvia, Patt. Zoog. R. A., 1, 345, (1811.)
Uria troile, News. Pac. R. R. Rep., vi, pt. iv, 110, (1857.)
Cataractes californicus, BRYANT. Proc. Bost. Soc. 11, fig. 3, 5, (1861.)
Lomvia californica, CouES. Proce. Phila. Acad., fig. 16, (1868.)
Lomvia troile var. californica, CoUES. Key N. A. Birds, 346, (1€#2.)
All the Murres of the troile type we have seen from the North
Pacific agree in possessing a particular shape of the bill, readily
distinguishable from that presented. by the Atlantic birds.
While we would by no means insist upon, or even admit, that
this is a specific character, especially since we have no doubt
that some of the circumpolar colonies of these birds will show
an intermediate style, we think it as well to recognize the char-
acter by a varietal name. The shape is difficult to describe in
words: the gonydeal angle is stronger, pointed, and more pro-
tuberant, the gonys straighter and more decidedly ascending, ,
the culmen less deflected at the tip, and the commissure conse-
quently straighter than are these several points in true troile.
It is, in short, some approach to the configuration of the bill in
LL. svarbag, (briimnichii of authors.) .
‘‘ Limited numbers of the Californian guillemot are found
occasionally perched on the cliffs with the ‘arrie;’ they can
only be distinguished at a slight distance by a practiced eye,
for they resemble their allies so closely and conform so strictly
to their habits, that it will be but repeating the description of
the L. arra, given here, should I attempt it. The largest gath-
ering of these birds I have ever seen at any one place on the
islands was a squad of about fifty, at the high bluffs on Saint
George’s, last summer; but they are generally scattered by
ones, twos, and threes, among thousands and tens of thousands
of the arra.” |
ALASKA. 211
635. Lomvia arra, (PaLu.) Covrs.—Thick-billed Guillemot. ‘“Arrie.”
Cepphus arra, Patt. Zoog. R.-A., ii, 347, (1811.)
Uria arra, Cass. Proc. Phila. Acad., 324, (1862.)
(Also, Uria briinnichii, &c., of authors referring to the North Pacific
thick-billed bird.)
_ Itis an interesting fact that these specimens, unquestionably
of the “thick-billed” guillemot, do not exhibit the extreme
shortness and stoutness of bill shown by those of the North
Atlantic, the bill being almost exactly intermediate. With the
chord of culmen about 12 inches long, the depth of the bill
opposite the nostrils is hardly, or not, 3 of an inch, and thus.
much less than half as long, instead of about half as long.
‘The gape is about 3 inches. While the bill shows the dilated
and denuded basal portion of the maxillary tomium, character-
istic of the species, this raised, naked border is not yellowish,
but of a peculiar glaucous bluish-gray color. The tip of the
bill is less hooked than in true “ briinnichii,’ though more so
than in troile. The modification of the bill appears somewhat
singularly analogous to that which takes place in var. califor-
nica aS compared with true troile.
This bird is, of course, the true arra of Pallas, (a name ap-
parently derived from the Russian vernacular,) whatever be its
relationship to the Atlantic bird. We should not be surprised
if some of the circumpolar forms were to connect the extremes
of briinnichw and troile by insensible gradations.
‘The great egg-bird of the North Pacific, frequenting these
islands by millions. This Uria and one other, the var. califor-
nica, are the only birds of the genus found here, but the latter
is in comparatively no number whatever, not one being seen
where a thousand of the former are visible at once.
* They appear very early in the season, but do not begin to
lay until the 18th or 25th of June, and the natives tell me that
in open, mild winters these birds are seen in straggling flocks
all around the islands. I feel quite well assured that all the
individuals do not migrate from this sea and the vicinity of the
Aleutian Islands.
‘¢ They lay their eggs upon the points and narrow shelves on
the faces of the clifi-fronts to the islands, standing over the
eggs, side by side, as thickly as they can crowd, making no
nests. They quarrel desperately, and so earnestly, that all along
under the high bluffs on the north shore of Saint George’s hun-
dreds of dead birds are lying, having fallen and dashed them-
212 ASA.
selves to death upon the rocks while clinched in combat with
rivals in mid-air.
‘They lay but a single egg, upon the bare rock. The egg is
large and very fancifully colored, a bluish-green ground with
dark-brown mottlings and patches, but exceedingly variable in
size and coloring. The outline of the egg is pyriform, some-
times more acute. It is the most palatable of all the varieties
found on the islands, having no disagreeable flavor, and, when
pertectly fresh, being fully as good as a hen’s egg.
‘Incubation lasts nearly twenty-eight days, and the young
come out with a dark thick coat of down, which is speedily sup-
planted by the plumage and color of the old birds within six
weeks of hatching. They are fed by the disgorging parents,
apparently without intermission, uttering all the while a harsh
rough croak, lugubrious enough. .
‘‘The males and females have no sexual distinction as to size,
shape, or plumage. On Saint George’s Island, while the
females begin to set, along toward the end of June and first of
July, the males go flying around the island in great files and
platoons, always circling against, or quartering on, the wind,
at regular hours in the morning and the evening, making a dark
girdle of birds more than a quarter of a mile broad and. thirty
miles long, whirling round and round the island, and forcing upon
the most casual observer a lasting impression. The flight of.
the ‘arrie’ is straight, steady, and rapid, the wings beating
quickly and powerfully ; it makes no noise nor utters any cry,
save a low, hoarse, grunting croak, and then only when quar-
reling or mating.
‘This ‘arrie’ is a valuable bird to the inhabitants of the
Seal Islands, and, indeed, for that matter, is the only one that
has much economic worth to man in Bering Sea.”
Bele sN DEX. .
BeRoPY Dido Xi:
SAINT MATTHEW’S ISLAND, BERING’S SEA.
This island lies about 200 miles north-northwest from Saint
Paul’s, and is not large, being some 22 miles in length and ex-
cessively narrow in proportion. Hall’s, a smallisland, lies west
from it, separated by a strait less than 3 miles in width, and a
Sharp jagged rock stands out some 1,200 feet abruptly from the
sea, 5 miles south of Sugarloaf Cone.
Our first landing, early in the morning of August 5,was at the
slope of Cub Hill, near Cape Upright, the easternmost point of
the island; the air coming in from the northwest was cold and
chilly, and snow and ice were on the hill-sides and in the
gullies. The hill-sides and summits. were of a grayish-russet
tinge, with rich green swale-slopes runnin g down into the low-
lands, which are more intensely green and warm in tone there.
The island everywhere presents the appearance of a long
straggling reach of bluffs and headlands connected with bars
and lowland spits, at a small distance resembling halJf a dozen
distinct islands, when seen from the ship. |
The pebble-bar formed by the sea between Cape Upright and
Waterfall Heads is covered with a deep stratum of glacial drift
carried down from the slopes of Polar and Cub Hills, and ex-
tending over two miles of this water-front to the westward,
_where it is met by.a similar washing from that quarter. Back
and in the center of this neck are several small fresh lakes and
lagoons without fish, but emptying into them are a number of
clear, lively brooks in which are brook-trout of large size and
fine quality. A luxuriant growth of deep moss and grass inter-
spersed exists on the lowest ground, and occasionally strange
dome-like piles of peat lifted four or five feet above the marshy
swale appear likeabandoned huts, with a great variety of pretty
flowers, growing thickly everywhere on these places.
As these lowlands rise on to the flanks of the hills the vegeta-
tion changes rapidly to a simple coat of cryptogamic gray and
light russet, with a slippery slide for the foot wherever ascent
216 ALASKA.
of a steep place is made, water oozing and trickling almost
everywhere underneath. The swales frequently rise high, and
eross the hill-summits and ridges without any interruption in
their wet swampy character from valley to valley.
Here, on the highest summits, where no moss ever grows and
nothing but a fine porphyritic shingle slides and rattles under
tread, are bear-roads leading from nest to nest, or lairs, which
they have scooped out on the hill-sides and where the she-bears
‘undoubtedly bring forth their young, but it is not plain where
these bears, which are all around us by hundreds, spend their
winters. Jam inclined to believe that they do not stay on the
island ; but as soon as the floes come down from the north, driv-
ing off the seal and walrus, they leave the island and take to
this ice, keeping by the water’s edge, where their prey will be
found, and returning as soon as the season opens. Now
as we see them they are all eating grass and roots, digging or
browsing, or else heavily sleeping on the hill-sides. Their man-
ner of browsing is very similar to the action of a hog engaged
in grazing.
The action of ice in rounding down and grinding hills, carry-
ing the soil. and débris off into depressions and valleys, is most
beautifully exhibited here. The hills at the northern foot of
‘Sugarloaf Cone are bare and literally polished by ice-sheets and
slides of melting snow; the rocks and soil from the summits and
slopes are carried down and dumped, as it were, in numberless
little heaps at the base. Nowhere can the work of ice be seen
to better advantage than here, especially so with regard to the
chiseling power of frost on the faces of the porphyry cliffs.
The flora here is more extensive than on the Seal Islands, 200
miles to the southward, but the species of grass are not near
So varied; indeed, there is very little grass-land here. Wher-
ever there is soil it seems to be converted by the abundant
moisture into a swale or swamp, over which we traveled as on
a quaking water-bed ; but on the rounded hill-tops and ridge-
summits the smooth shingle makes good walking. The high
jJand everywhere here is paved with this fine shingle, that has
deen created by the disintegrating power otf frost, which evi- »
dently has an annual iron grip on the island.
The west end of the island differs materially from the east ;
the fantastic weathering of the rocks at Cathedral Point, Hall’s
Island, strikes the eye of the most casual observer as the ship
enters the straits going south. This eastern‘ wall of the point — .
ALASKA. PEF
looms up from the water like a row of vast cedar-trunks; the
sealing off of the basaltic porphyry and growth of yellowish-
green and red mossy lichens made the effect most real, while
a dense bank of fog lying just overhead seemed to shut out
from our vision the foliage and branches that belonged above.
The north cape of Hall’s Island changes like a chameleon when
approached, presenting with every mile’s distance a new and
characteristic feature.
At our anchorage in the straits (20 fathoms) we caught a good
supply of cod and halibut of fair quality. Great flocks of
murres (L. arra) came off from the cliffs, where they were breed-
ing, and settled in the water around the ship, as we had
anchored on a feeding-ground. Many walrus appeared around
the * Reliance,” amusing us greatly by the stupid alertness dis-
played when they rose head and shoulders out of the water and
discovered us; a short look and a snort, then, stern foremost,
they dropped into the sea out of sight, as though a trap-door
had been suddenly sprung beneath them.
The grass on Hall’s Island, like Saint Matthew’s, is confined
mostly to the swale, which runs from the valleys up to the very
highest ridges; patches of deep, rich green contrasting quite
pleasantly with the dull russet and ocher which covers every-
thing else.
Our visit at the west end of this island of Saint Matthew’s was
most interesting ; the rich, elegant coloring of the rocks and
fantastic arrangement of the basalt and porphyry at Statue
- Point caused an old sailor in our boat to cry out, ‘‘ That reminds
me of Constantinople, a regular Turk’s house!” and it certainly
did resemble Ottoman architecture. |
We found the ruins of the huts built by a party of five Rus-
sians and seven Aleuts who passed the winter of 1810—11 on
the island, but were stricken down with scurvy, so that all the
Russians died save one; the rest recovered and left the follow-
ing year.
The result of a careful examination of this island shows con-
clusively that the character of the gravel. spits and necks is
‘such as not to be fit for the reception of breeding-seals, as it
would be speedily converted by a rookery into a sheet of mud
and slime, and there is no other landing afforded save at the
base of cliffs rising abruptly from the sea. Seals also, if landing
here, would, independent of bear warfare, find a climatic disad-
vantage, for snow and ice do noé leave the landings until late
218 ALASKA.
in June; this was evident, although we had an exceptionally —
mild winter, for on August 12, patches of ice and snow were
on the beaches, and a considerable quantity on the hill-slopes,
without any regard to the sun’s position.
Vegetation on the island is varied and abundant where it is
able to grow, but the greater part of the country is either a
fine porphyry shingle or cold wet swale, so that grasses do not
thrive as they do on the Seal Islands; the small annuals and
perennials, however, are scattered in great variety, and where
the sand has been cast up at the barrabkie beach, west end,
it has mixed in with the drift-soil, and warmed it so that the
wild wheat (Elymus) was growing thick, with ears which gave
promise of ripening. Mosses and lichens are especially abun-
dant, the * tripe de roche” covering the high rounded summits
with its dark-brown tinge. The only berries, Hmpetrum nigrum
and Rubus chamemorus, were very common. The high summit
Slopes of Glacial Head, 1,670 feet, were fairly spangled with
- beautiful flowers, blue, red, white, and yellow. Three varieties
of the creeping willow (Salix) grow here in great profusion,
large masses of the leaves being collected in hollows, upon
which bears have made very comfortable beds; several of the
higher hills, contrary to the general rule, are well covered with
grass and flowering plants, such as the south slope of Upright
Ridge, 1,560 feet, all of Camp Hill, north slope of Pyramid
Ridge, &e.
\ Nowhere on the island can a well-defined crater-Summit or cra-
ter be found, unless the smoking cleft in the ridge of Pinnacled .
Rock will answer to that description; but this island is inaccessi-
ble, rising sheer and abrupt from the sea to a height of at least
1,200 feet. Its greatest width is not over 500 feet, and it ap-
pears to be made of reddish lava. Its sharply-serrated ridge
looms up from the southeast like a great brick cathedral in the
hazy glow of the morning sun; upon its steep sides myriads of
water-fowl breed, principally murres, (LZ. arra.) From the sum-
mit of Sugarloaf Cone, 1,520 feet, we can look upon its great-
est latitude, and view what appears to be a blackened crater
or smoky fissure between the two walls; one or two small rocks
convoy it, but the water is bold all around, as well as at Saint
Matthew’s, which can be approached with great safety from all
sides; there is, however, no harbor, bat the roadsteads are
food.
Polar bears breed here, and live chietly during the summer
EO
ymin — . =
7 7 ” rw
ALASKA. 219
upon roots, grasses, &e., eggs, birds, and an occasional walrus
or hair-seal. On Hall’s Island a small walrus was discovered
where the bears had eaten out the entire animal, leaving the
skin intact, tough and thick, untouched from the head down to
the posteriors, where it was broken in to get at the flesh; it
_ lay just like a bag, bones and all taken out, even to the head,
and polished.
No less than sixteen of these big beasts were seen at once
(ten upon the beach together) as the ship’s boat approached
the water-fall on Hall’s Island. Of course, it is impossible to
say how many “medvaidie” there are on Saint Matthew’s,
bdut it is safe to assert that there cannot be less than a hundred
and fifty to two hundred; but they must go off on the ice during
winter and early spring.
I do not think a full-grown polar bear, powerful as it is, can
successfully capture a mature walrus; the thick skull and hide,
immensely tough, of the latter would resist any sudden attack
from the former, and, the alarm once given to the walrus, the
bear could not prevent the clumsy but strong animal from
floundering into the water and safety. The bears, however,
can and do swim in between a young walrus and nue water and
secure it.
We shot some fifteen or twenty bears, all that we could use
or care for, relishing the meat very much, it being fully as good
and tender as the generality of beef. The bears were eusily
killed, never showing fightin any instance. They were in most.
excellent condition, fat and sleek. If caught napping or asleep,
they were easily approached, as the hunter could get within a
few yards before alarming them; but if they got wind of us,
they would turn and shamble off with considerable speed,
taking to the hills at once.
When surprised, the bear would arise and face us for a few
moments, and sniff and snort, making no other scund; but in
its deatb- nies after shooting it was silent.
I searched everywhere for its bones, skulls, &c., which should
be found, it seemed to me, bleaching on the hill. sides and in
the valleys, but, with the exception of one very old, battered
head, and a small one, nothing was seen on the island of this
character. At this season (August 9) the she-bears and their
cubs were by themselves, (they usually have two cubs,) and the
young he-bears going about in squads of twos, threes, and
fours, the old males sleeping and feeding apart.
PIG i ALASKA.
They sleep soundly, but fitfully, rolling their heavy arms and
legs about; for naps they prefer little grassy depressions on the
hill-sides and along the numerous small water-courses; and the
paths they made were broad and well-beaten all over the island.
These bears, when full grown, are exceedingly muscular and
very strong. One shot by Lieutenant Maynard measured eight
feet from tip of nose to tail, and could not have weighed less
than a thousand or twelve hundred pounds; it had a girth of
24 inches around the muscles of the fore-arm, when the skin
was removed, just back of the carpal joint, corresponding to
our wrist; it was fat, and had scars upon its head, which were
evidently received in fighting with its kind. No worms were
found in the intestines or stomach; the liver was speckled
with light grayish-green dots and patches.
Notre.—Lieutenant Maynard and myself surveyed this island, and made
a careful chart of it; Captain Baker gave us soundings, which accompany
the map. The only existing chart is a Russian one, and very inaccurate.—
H.W. i. :
SAINT LAWRENCE ISLAND.
This is the largest island in Bering Sea, and lies directly
south from Bering’s Straits about 180 miles; it is about 80 to
85 miles in length, with an average width of 15 to 20. The sea
has built on to it most extensively, in the same manner as on
the island of Saint Paul, but it is quite dissimilar in form and
climate. on
We made our first landing on this island early in the mornin g
of August 18, near Kagallegak, or opposite Poonook Islets,
and a baidar with a number of the natives, Mahlemute Eskimo,
came off to us as soon as we dropped our anchor.
We found the island, at this landing, to be made up of coarse
feldspathic red granite flats and hills, with extensive lagoons
and lakes. The skeleton of the island seems to be of these low
granitic hill-ranges, and between them stretch long, low, even
reaches of sand-beach for miles and miles. At Kagallegak the
eye Sweeps over extensive, level plains to the northward, upon
which the green Eriophorum angustifolium principally grows,
the ground, or “ tundra,” being wet and boggy; while, on the
sand-beach reaches, the “wild wheat” (Hlymus mollis) grows
abundantly, short and stunted.
ALASKA. 225
These great level, low areas, so peculiar to this island, are
made up of fine granitic drift, lined at the sea-margin with sand;,
the hills and hill-ranges are rich in color, with deep blue-black
patches caused by protrusions of trap; but no shrubbery what-
ever grows on those at the east end and north end of the island,
save the creeping salix, dwarfed and stunted—cryptogamic
plants chiefly. The main body of the range is composed of
reddish, coarse and fine grained feldspathic granite, with abun-
dant trap protrusions, which weather out and fall down upon
the flanks of the ridges in dark patches and streaks, contrast-
ing, at a distance of eight or ten miles, very sharply with the
main ground of pinkish rock, moss-grown, and colored here and
there with the greenish-russet tinge peculiar to such vegeta-
tion; this dark marking of the trap, at a little distance, appears
like low-growing shrubbery. Snow and ice lay in the gullies
and on the hill-sides. 3
The low plains have the russet yellowish green peculiar to
: the tundra of the north; the sand is a bright light brown.
: Smail streams flow down from the hills and empty into the sea
and lakes, in which we found a few parr or young salmon; the
lakes and lagoons are fairly stocked with a white-fish—nothing
else of this kind. .
« The entire expanse of the lowlands over which we traveled
was like a great sponge filled and overrunning with water, the
chief vegetation upon it being the beautiful tufted or plumed
grass, (ELriophorum,) bearing exquisite tassels of white, silken
floss ; this grass, in conjunction with several cryptogams, a few
scattered Rubus chamemorus and Empetrum, make up the rich
russet-green, flecked with gray-green spots, which mark these
great marshy tracts in the Alaskan country. There are many
places where this vegetation, during ages past, has decayed and
formed bog-holes or pools, into which the pedestrian will mire
down to his waist at a single step.
A small succinea, or land-snail, was very abundant on these
flats, near our landing at Northeast Point, and all along the
shore-line we saw an abundance of drift-wood, logs, and pieces,
most of it pine or spruce, a few poplar sticks, and a number of
unrecognizable twisted knots.
Very little alge, or sea-weed, or any marine life whatever, was
evident from the surf-castings; only a few mussels and small
conch-shells, (Fusus.) The beach is made up, in some places
_ a - — eS ae te or ie -
a me, Lm A At RY oe, a "
ee 3 a S aes) " ec _
Me = ail a,
’
222 ALASKA.
for long distances, of granite pebbles and bowiders, scattered
with some trap. ,
At Northeast Point the natives have quite a wood-cutting
camp, hewing and carving, and the chips are scattered all along
the beach-levels for miles; there are places here where the ice,
in some unusual season, has carried large logs and pieces of
drift-wood back full half a mile from the sea; and there they
lie to-day deeply imbedded in the swale, eee and decay-
ing. The ice-jams which liave taken place to effect this must
have been very severe.
The southwest point of Saint Lawrence is largely made up of
trap and porphyry, slate, &c.; the water very bold and deep.
The natives on the island cannot be much over three or four
hundred in number, and are living in five settlements, about
equidistant, around the coast. They are well formed and
hearty, genial and good-natured. They are of Mongolian cast
and build, strongly resembling Chinamen, only that nearly all
the men shave the occipital portion of the head instead of the
frontal, as practiced by the Celestials; the women, however, do
not shave their heads, and do their hair up in two braids hang:
ing down behind, tied up with beads, &c.
They met us in an unaffected, free manner, showing no fear
or hesitation, and, coming upon deck, commenced a vociferous ,,
ery for oe aia that alone; yet fe were civil and curious;
three or four women usually came in each baidar with them,
paddling like the men; the boats, about 14 feet long with 4 feet
of beam, consisted of a frame, very neatly lashed together, of
pine, with whalebone fastenings, over which walrus-hide was
stretched; they propelled it with paddles and oars, which were
also well made.
They live in summer-houses made of walrus-hides, weighted
down by logs and stones so as not to be blown away ; and close
by are the winter-houses, which are under ground, with a tun-
nel entrance.
The food of these people is whales’ blubber, cut in large
chunks, of the strongest, rancid odor; mullets from the fresh-
water lakes, and caught in nets of walrus-thongs; murres, small
waders, walrus and hair-seal meat, varied by geese and ducks.
They had no iron cooking-utensils; all wood, and made by them-
selves, using hot stones for boiling water. Seal and whale oil
they had cached both above and under ground; they preserve
all fish and bird offal and devour it raw, saving the skins of the
ALASKA. 223
latter, which they make up into “ parkies” or sacks for clothing;
this is, however, a poor garment when made of bird-skins; it
is always giving way at the seams, feathers flying, &c.; the
skin is usually turned outside and the feathers worn next to the
body. Furs are nearly all worn in this way; and the garments
worn were principally made of reindeer-skins, procured from
the Asiatics in exchange for wood and ivory and tanned hair-
seal. 7
They were poor, and had nothing for trade but clothing
made from the intestines of the walrus, walrus-teeth, and some
whalebone; but they had an ample supply of food, such as it
was, and their desire that we should taste of it was almost equal
to our determination not to do so.
They were exceedingly anxious to trade, fad I noticed that
the women seemed to have equal rank with the men, doing
more than half the talking, and barter solicitation; they evened
to be warmly attached to one another. The females ail had their
faces curiously tattooed in pale-blue lines on the cheeks and
chin, and the arms.
They had a few dogs, very large, with long, shaggy hair,
pointed ears, and short, bear-like tails; they were of a mild
and inoffensive disposition, and were highly valued by their
owners.
They took us to a place where they had six polar-bear skulls
placed on the sand, side by side, with a post at the head, which
they gave us to understand we could not touch; for I weed
to carry off one of the bear-skulls, which was 17 inches long
and measured 10 across the zygomatic arch; it was undoubt-
edly a grave where some one of their number had _ perished by
the agency indicated by the skulls. Bears, however, rarely
visit this island, and foxes are the only land-animals.
The natives were supplied with coarse, smooth-bore muskets,
which, I thought, they seldom used. All the birds, such as
murres and geese or ducks, are caught in large nets stretched
over the brows of cliffs, or across the lagoons. These nets are
very neatly made of walrus-hide.
No animals were seen by us in the water about the island
Save an occasional hair-seal thrusting its head out from the
sea. A few cod-fish were caught, and when the natives came
aboard, on the 18th, the cods’ heads and intestines lying in
the ship’s scuppers, where the cook had been cleaning the
224 ALASKA,
fish, were eagerly picked up and carried off by the Eskimo in
great glee, as if regarded as a prize.
Bird-life was not so extensive as at Saint Matthew’s, the
murres (Lomvia arra) predominating on the sea-front, while in
the lagoons were several large flocks of the emperor-goose (C.
canagica.) Tringa crassirostis, so common on the Seal Islands
and on Saint Matthew’s, was not seen here. A stone-chat (8S.
cenanthe) was observed, as also Budytes flava. The small Asiatic
tern, in large numbers, hovered over the lagoons. The turn-
stones here (S. interpres) have a much blacker, duller tone than
the variety on the Seal Islands. eu
Our observations here would make Saint Lawrence of the
same formation as the mainland on either side of the straits,
and just as old, but the islands of Saint Matthew’s and the
Prybilov group, as much more recent, and belonging to a differ-
ent epoch. Saint Lawrence is ice-bound and snow-covered too
large a portion of the year ever to become a fit place for the
fur-seal to breed; and it may be safely said that no land of
ours in the north is adapted to the wants of that animal ex-
cept that of Saint Paul and Saint George.
ALASKA. 225
PSEATISTICS AS TO THE NATI IVES.
List of natives living on the Aleutian Islands in 1833~34, taken from Bishop
Veniaminov’s “ Zapieska, ete.”
Number of 6 ae 4
| natives. 2 a B 2 z
: § = 3 =O
-Island. Name of settlement. B 2. ear
= = Shs “ee bees
= 5 OS ence
Sloe |e ba Pena
Ounalashka........ ELS) es ee ee meee ne rere OO 0G yh, AQG! Woh iby |S oe
DINERO AN KOs 6250s Solin ne See seme 6 9 Best | 12
MuAVSLEAVGKOD So ueco ot Ui. nk secu 16 21 Sela. |b of 20
PMAVSAVIOVSKOD . 22-5 eres os ceue sy 7 8 Pn lece Sh eaics 40
Mekoushensicol - 22.22 22.0.5. 5 15 20 Ba leet ral ata) 90
HOSHBMONSKOL 2. sos se sence eee nest 18 23 41} 8}| 9 140
Chernovskoi SSE eee ie, eee Bee 20 24 44; 4} 10 170 =
dkeahlechtenskol .<. 50-2 -6-.52- 6 8 ged 20
@Bobrovskoi..-.--.--.--- ee paar bese 21 20 41| 4; 6} 12-40
Total 9 settlements.........-- DV AAO 560; |S (n-- ec
Gomnak...-......-- etaccne oO cree es 38| 45} 83|13/ 12! 300
WEGOLECKSKON i272 -5 ent ck Ses shane Pe eal 15 26 [3-6 200
_ Total 2 settlements........--. 49| 60| 109 | 16 | 18|......
' BAAR eee PAPE DV IMOMSKON join cine wan ace nies 16 16 2 Sl A 120
. : (MEAG UEVSHOL: -- 22 a:4 2s. esa ee 19 18 att, Debs 160
PsayiueBeUskOl o2.. 3... -5--s6-- 7 9 a? pen aie 150
Total 3 settlements .......... 27( 43 80 14 ES ee ae
Markaes.. c: - 225. -. Sagnatitneskol. ...2....55-..2..- 17 Q7 AL BOD 6G 40
etiled..o. 5.6... Oonalgenskoi --.-.-.-...--------- 10 13 2} 3) 4 25
A vatanok.. 25% 2-5. Avatanakskoi eptee 2 Ses eo Bod 24 25 ot es ee) 150
Mogi. oo... 2-5 - OAkGpirmeei..-2--.-....-....... ‘ 6 7 df SS de 90
Meecilsa: 6 ics... < Teegaldenskoi pA eee 38 59 Cte e OS a4 375
Onemik . 22-2... =. | OSHEESHAIGEGHSKOL ....:..-20-.------ 38 53 GIP oi 4 375
: opal GSeublements:. 225522. 24eencos|sece == | bake SI ieee SA
Peninsula Alaska..| @Morzaivskoi ..........-..------+- 16| 29| 45| 7] 6| 460
4 TESS LN ECa ngs! EAT eee pea ee a 49 53 | 102 | 10 | 16 525
PE ARAOOSKOL 56-2 = <cesccsicoe oss 50% 28 31 Ho | 8.1 9 585
Total 3 settlements ........-- 93| 113 | 206 | 95 | 31 |.....-
4 braceg i) oe WANT ORAKOGIS 2525 2.0512. ee be i 52| 64| 116 | 13 | 15 650
Prybilov Islands . .- Saint Paul and Saint George. .... 88 12a tee 3 eS a
WMiSeEManeous, - 52 220.202. SP ooecsl os 10 18 BO! eecae ete tes a
—— Seeies etait! aes Sena
Total 3 settlements .......-.- eho aaa: ee asec ee ee eee
Making a grand total of 26 | | ant
settlements ..---.---.----.. 678 | 806 |1, 484 /157 |182 |......
ie tember, 1874.
“15 AL
Nore.—The mark ¢ is prefixed to all stations not existing at the a writing, Sep-
226 ALASKA.
List of people living on the Aleutian Islands, 1374, taken from Father Innocent
Shiesnekov’s record, September 2, [s74.
Creoles. | Aleuts.
Place. , | Total
Men. | Women. | Men. | Women.
Qumalash kai; ls ce cee COS Ok SL" Soc c Selsicre clas ete tific sree: cxel] eterere te ep een *23;
BD Yo \raua es AMS Meet ee tod WS act Cad SY eC AE a A 71 73 | 130 105 402
UPR Rah Aaa oe Boonen So SHER SSS em einai lie ti! 13 9 sae 49
NGO SIGS Cais seen See crcints hekale Aa Siero eee ence Ceara ee oe 31 43 74
CREM OVS. 2.02 ata oe =is5 5 atain sete nine sare eee ed Ye 3 32 3d 70
Omak ye aoe iS ee = te eee 4 3 52 60 |. 119
Bowlta is: ao niack aa lefeia eo eibis elas Mrbiaye miele Cisieiarsioe Sle ere cise eee | eo 52 58 110
PINS ONT SR a cts ee ee iaeere wearer lane Seat Rarer ters iareian ercete et leer 1 51 42 94
PA wetiten OKs or hs ciate aio ato wi cis is Ge Ale ietete a loiniaya,aietalscieccie eicei| cele ee 19 22 41
eeoakda Jak SO Sae eee eee akan deinen dlsee os tees sie ee 21 23 44
IPO PANTS AN SIRO tans he ler eh eee tae eres y eet es 14 12 62 52 140
AS SUT ais ae ye, Se a ese ek i Sal Bin CaN Sie ak a ke 333) 92 106 248
MOZNEESHEMSICOIS cee ee ok ore nae eretehae we eee 4 9) 5 @ Q2
Lee ie rs Oh AAAS Recta Rae Pra BRD cae Ore Sep 24 33 dl 54 162
AO OTUGSIKOIs ey scsr se eee ee So ae 16 OS) ec rleeeeeeeees : 25
Atka, 1872: mle
Neekolitefgteor 302. oo. Seat es Seco h oes | ae ee Pee 48 48 96
B77 CS 2 SAN ae ape ld | a ee oe hh 22 31 39 39 131
BA HUO Uke ce Batre Sores Rem nea cei cee nnte tel hare 2 ner 15 10 71 59 7155
*Chureh-workers, &c.
t Thirty-tive souls independent of this number went to Copper Island in 1872; twenty-
three came to Ounalashka also.
‘‘ In 1848 there were some 1,400 souls on the Aleutian Islands ©
west of the Peninsula; the small-pox then broke out, and over ~
500 died that season, leaving some 900, about which number —
still remain. In those days these people were very poor com-
pared. with their present condition ; they had but little money,
very little tea, bread, and sugar, and very few clothes.”—Father |
Shiesnekov, Ounalashka, September 2, 1874.* ,
The following table shows the population of Russiin America
in 1834, as given by Bishop Veniaminov : t
* This priest, who is a very intelligent and unassuming man, gave Lieu-
tenant Maynard and myself a long and exceedingly interesting account of
the manner in which the Aleuts were living under Russian rule,in order
that we might have a basis for comparison of the present, as we saw it, with
that of the past. The testimony of this gentleman I regard as of the great-
est value, for he knows more of the subject than any other man living who
can be found, as his whole life has been passed in this country, and his char-
acter as a prelate and a gentleman is highly respected by all who know him.
| Yeniaminov appears to have been the only Russian who, during the whole
oecup ation éf Alaska by that people, has given to the world anything like a
history of ihe country or a sketch of its inhabitants, that has ability or
the merit of truth. He is at present living, and ranks second to the Em-
peror in the Russian Empire, being the cna of the national church. He
must have been a man of fine personal bearing, judging from the descrip-
tion given of him by Sir George Simpson, ia met him af Sitka in 1842:
‘‘ His appearance, to which I have already alluded, impresses a stranger with
something of awe, while, on further intercourse, the gentleness which char-
acterizes his every word and deed insensibly molds reverence into love; and
ALASKA. 227
SERS ee ee Pctae aOR ries SAA) tcc ca 5, 000
SE IUNOET Stoo we ee ee a oie eet eee ene ELS spt? 300
REN Ste ee al gta Sa Mago 471
meninsula........ austere ct. Supe Sere ce wate Meare oe 1, 600
0 ee PERL CER RORET EL fences 1, 508
ee ete as si 2 Ys rep 7, G00
Yukon fiver ...... fk S # it ee SAE IESE cee not known
SRE sk Rie = ted Ss ke Den Sorc 706
Oogahlensie, (Mount Saint Elias, near)...........-. ae ere
CEIPEIMIELLION) (00's 2 5 oe 0s eb ie See ye ee not known
Kenai ....- - ai SE de EDI ORES ee peak Se 1, 628
Es 5 ak ae la RS ee Se oa pI eae a DE 402
IIE 9S on Le ei a we page ae oo 1, 497
ee ee es Soke ed on sears
RTI oe So zn'oig.n sk t not known
Ls a ae ae A ge ee 1, 295
Peeeeetetuaily kKnG@wn.- =>... -...-.--.-2-0-.- og be Sek 22, 800
Merete TES. = 5 ee ee ee ee 17, 000
Making a total, for the Territory, of some....-. 40, 0U0
The following is a list of the different tribes of Indians living
between Prince of Wales Island and Yahkutat, or Bering’s
Bay, Alaska, in 1837-38, (from Veniaminov, part III:) _
‘‘The numbers of these people (Indians) living in Russian
America between Prince of Wales and Bering’s Bay in 1835
was 10,000, but now (1838) not much over 6,000. The settle-
ments, and people in them, number as follows:
Souls.
Manhkatatskie, (Bering’s Bay) --...-..-..- Pyne: eee BS 150
Pememretee (| Witnya Bay)... ..- 2... wees sence eee 200
Laydanoprodevskie ......... aN Gein REL eaSihe Sian ty aoe Roe re
meebo (@ HNCHES)- 22. 265... e Sees cee ee eee 200
oo re eter rmattre Gen TS 100
Seethenskie, (Sitka) ...... oe Ree tag WD eta Pe taO
Hoetsnovskie, (Hootsino) .......-...-....--- eeuaaei t aOU
Bement sO atKeS). - 5 2 se ew eo ese task... 200
A a een Meee es... +150
MNEs oe. oe a wnlevalc os wae we Ss oe 300
at the same time his talents and attainments are such as to be worthy of
his exalted station. With all this,the bishop is sufficiently a man of the
world to disdain anything like cant. His conversation, on the contrary,
teems with amusement and instruction, and his company is much prized by
_ all who have the honor of his acquaintance.”
228 ALASKA.
Stohenskie, (Stickeen) ..........-. se :
Tangasskie, (Tongass) .oc.). 5202 Bepee pence trac Pe 150
Kaheganskie, (Prince of Wales Island)... -....2.- eee
hASeNSK1O. .. bce cae ue eee ee Pa a oo 5 2 oho ee ee ney
Soanabnskie..-...- Sree eee ais RACE
82) Ree ee Cable cao Me ke 5, 850
‘“A count equal to this may be made on the Nasse, Skeena,
&c., a country now under the control of the English, including —
Queen Charlotte’s Island at 8,000, makes the number of all the ~
KXoloshes (Indians) living in this country at this time (1838) |
25,000, and not less than 20,000.”
Table sbisieig the entire number of Christians* in the Territory of Alaska in 1863,
( Techmainov, p. 264.)
Name of people. Males. | Females.| Total.
ARGUS SLANG « .\-/0.5 Saleen ean cteim acs aalesls ba cielainciewie cisteiale ieee eee 576 208 784
CreOlES Loe ae icis-ai-aps( Sie oeeeinia oreie ls single oie ecto clea cite eee 853 823 1, 676.
Aleuts, (OQunalashka, Kodiak, and Atka) ........----..--.-- 2, 206 2, 185 4, 392
IC OUATE Se Ape cia kine diate a cca vic & alana a eteities eteele < aicie aria tse 430 907 937%
Wheogaehie: a. son. 228s cece ee one e wen Jedd eete ene eee 226 230 456
Ooglamutes Ree ols Saimiee tole tides Sciayiateicueie eine cieleteiciee atin eae eee 73 “is 148
Copper ARNT oe om atcle lis a, Wnieinlt er a ss ler areal acre ee 17 1 18:
Mao mUbes ea. teens Somers oicisin tals alan seee ote aia oie noes eee 18 1 19
CALPIBIOINGES «250 fi. Uiapiatelaln aie diets mime wtole's Oka Siaue Ee ree 19 oe 39
Aziagmutes SES SEE CEE A IGE dc SO DenCH em moue ap aidooaeaaboos. 105 101 206 ©
Koskoquims - Beis tt gual a cickeing a bok ais etiam eee eee 799 640 1, 395,
I EGANCIET SC Ie SO aE ee aos eB ARS Orato cc 226 153 379
SA RIB ADOS snd. wath Ga etn a emia cia weehepiaa clave tee 19 20 39
Ing PRICDRS). «oe coe ois Pet coe ee ate eeoe es Sah e cee emcee eee 263 213 476
ENC ees Jon Scie? we sed wae Bee Ae Bact cic dare Seis PS aid oe eee 97 93 190
AROIOSNES SF ois 2 Sa ee a cic isin were wei Giese SS ae ee nl le eee ee + 221 226 447
UNG GMIS OW hos ected ckaa caciwers ote auarante wiste ce ain ane Sane re inte 63 48 111
OQ AGES so a's pho see eee Ses & melee aaa ae plea ermine aie eee 1 1 2
otal oo iraigi carer cee Siete ate cintave eral Meyedn a eter ne re eee 6, 314 5, 714 12, 018
*The term ‘Christian’ here simply indicates the baptism of the Indians, with the
marked exception of the Aleuts. For instance, the 1,395 Koskoquims who permitted the
priests to baptize them, had then no more idea of the principles or practice of Christianity
than they have now; they received some trifling reward at the time, of tobacco, cloth,
&c., for submitting to the ceremony.
o wt Orne: }
ALASKA. 229
LETTER FROM Mh. DALL.
While in the Territory last season, I had the satisfaction
of meeting this gentleman, an employé of the United States
Coast Survey, and we had occasion to exchange views in
regard to the condition of the people. The opinions of Mr.
Dall were, in some instances, so different from mine that I
asked him to embody his conclusions in the form of a letter
in order that I might publish them, to show the contrast. This
he has done, and I take pleasure in making known the views
of Mr. Dall, and in appending a criticism based upon my
knowledge and judgment. I may say at the outset that, while
I concede for the sake of argument that Mr. Dall ‘has seen
more of the country than any other individual,” Lam not willing
to grant the plain inference that he has studied that which he
has seen more intelligently or patiently than others, who may.
have seen less, but still enough to form a correct opinion.*
OUNALASHKA, ALASKA TERRITORY,
U. 8S. Coast SURVEY SCHOONER YUKON,
August 31, 1874.
GENTLEMEN: At the instance of Mr. Elliott, I have addressed
to you the present letter, intended to embody the conclusions
to which I have been led during a long residence in this Terri-
_ tory, bearing on the subject of your inquiry.
For nearly ten years I. have been constantly engaged either
in the study of the subject or in active investigation in this re-
gion. ‘Three winters and more than seven years of this period
J have been actually resident in the Territory, and the duties
assigned to me have carried me to nearly every point in it
which is of any importance. I have consequently seen more of
the country than any other individual, and never having been
connected in any way with any trading company, it may be
*In making my comments upon this letter, I do not wish to appear in the
light of ‘laying down the !aw’ in every case, for it is a question well open
to argument as to the effect of any attempt to educate these people. A long
interview with General ‘Eaton, Commissioner of Education, upon this snb-
ject pleased me very much, for I found that he had a quite different idea
from the plan now followed of schools on our Indian reservations; indeed,
it was almost identical with the views of the Russian bishop in San Fran-
cisco, who has charge of the Greek Catholic church in this Territory. The
System of General Eaton will undoubtedly be found in his report for this
year. H. W. E.
230 ALASKA.
reasonably assumed that I have been in the position of an im-
partial observer, and that my views on the subject are not
without a certain weight.
I will endeavor to state as succinctly as practicable the
present condition of the Aleutian people and its relation to
their past condition, the position which they hold in regard to
the traders, and what action seems to me desirable on the part
of the Government to protect its honor and their rights from
invasion.
Briefly, the past may be summed up in the statement that
the Aleuts were found by the early Russian explorers a race
possessed of much intelligence, not without spirit, yet far less
warlike and aggressive than the Eskimo of Kodiak and else-
where, (who are usually confounded with the Aleuts,) and an
entirely different people in character and disposition from the
Indians of the coast or the interior. They were reduced by
the most barbarous and inhuman treatment to less than 10 per
cent. of their original numbers, and were regarded as the slaves
of the traders.
The first reaction against this system took place in 1794, and
then and afterward in 1799, 1805, and especially 1818, the
Russian government, recognizing its duty, interposed between
the Aleuts and the trading companies regulations intended to
curb the exactions of the latter and improve the condition of
- the former.
In 1824, Father Innocentius Veniaminoff, a noble and
devoted missionary, now primate of the Greek Church, began
his labors among the Aleuts, and to him is due directly most
of their improvement, mental and moral, since the time men-
tioned. In 1861 and 1862 the report of Imperial Commissioner
Golovin was prepared and submitted, and the result showing
that the regulations of the government had been more or
less unsuccessful in checking the rapacity of the traders, their
charter was not renewed.(1)
In the Russian plan, the Aleuts were in a condition of serf-
dom to the company which controlled the colonies. Yet the
company had its own obligations to fulfill toward them, and
when these were enforced, no Russian, except the commander
of a trading-post, could strike a native; the Aleuts were in-
sured a subsistence; the making of quass, a fermented liquor,
of which the basis is meal and sugar or molasses, was forbid-
den under heavy penalties, and intoxicating spirits were only
a i tat aaa
ALASKA. pid
furnished to the natives when actually engaged in heavy
manual labor for the company, and then in very limited quan-
tities. Schools were obliged to be maintained by the company,
in which the priests were usually the teachers, and though
these were of rather a poor character, yet the children who:
manifested more than usual ability were able to enter a higher
Seminary at Sitka, and to obtain in this manner a tolerable.
education, for which in return they were bound to the com-
pany’s service at stated wages for a term of years. A number
of individuals thuseducated(2) participated with credit to them-
selves in the exploration of the Territory, and commanded yes-
sels belonging to the company, or otherwise held positions of
responsibility. The entire race became cbristianized, their re-
‘ligion being of a low type it is true, but unmistakably earnest-
and devoted.
So much for the past. Under this system of tutelage the
Aleuts lost almost entirely the feeling of independence or the
capacity for independent action and self-guidance.
In describing their present condition, I must premise that no
one who has studied them at all has ever placed them in a light
_ which would class them with our wild and unruly Indian tribes,
and that the care and endeavors wasted on some of these should
not be taken as factors in forming a judgment of what is desir-
able or practicable to be done for the Aleuts. The latter are a
mild, intelligent, and docile people, always ready to submit to
authority, even if groundless or self-constituted.
1 have visited personally all the principal settlements in the
Pribiloff and Aleutian Islands, and with Ounalashka am especi-
ally familiar, having wintered here and been brought into tol-
erably close relations with the people during the last three
years.
The settlements can be assigned to four principal groups, ex-
cluding that of Attu, which I am informed is about to be aban-
doned. These are Atka, Ounalashka, Belkoffsky, and the Shu-
magin Islands. There area number of very small outlying set-
tlements, but ali of them are closely contiguous to one or the
other of these principal places.
‘The people of Atka are more enterprising and intelligent in
hunting, and have been less demoralized by contact with
traders ; the converse is true of Belkoffsky and the Shumagins ;
otherwise the uniformity of character and condition through-
out the Aleutian chain isremarkable. The people of the Pribi-
232 ALAS.
loff group have been under exceptional conditions for several
years. They have had schools, (after a fashion,) steady and
remunerative employment, a resident physician, and are able
to purchase provisions and other necessaries at a reasonable
price ; hence. they cannot be compared with the others who
have had none of these advantages. That the former show the
good effects of their situation, it is hardly necessary to state.
The relations between these people and the traders, or, more
strictly, with the one trading company which has at present an
overwhelming predominance throughout the Aleutian region,
are peculiar, and require a word of explanation.
The Aleuts, except on the Pribiloff Islands, gain a livelihood
by hunting the sea-otter and by fishing. None of the islands
afford any subsistence except that drawn from the sea. |
To hunt or fish, in fact to live, the Aleut is totally depend-
ent on his skin-canoe. To make this canoe he must have hair-
seal or sea-lion skins. T’rom various causes the sea-lions are
not now to be found, as formerly, within reach of the large set-
tlements, except on the Pribiloff Islands. This made no differ-
ence under the Russian rule, as the sea-lion skius were taken
under the company’s direction at the Pribiloff Islands, and were
then distributed to the various points where they were needed,
and were given to the Aleuts gratis. Now, on the contrary,
they are obliged to buy them, and to buy them of the company,
who hold the lease of the Pribiloff Islands, except in very rare
cases. As the company’s agents, in the natural course of busi-
ness, will sell these materials only to those natives who are
known to bring all their furs to the company’s store for sale, it
follows that the lease of the fur-seal islands carries with it a
practical monopoly of ali the fur-trade of the Aleutian nation,
that is to say, the sea-otter as well as the seal trade.(3)
Though questions may arise in the minds of those less famil-
lar with the subject than myself as to the necessity of this mo-
nopoly, it is sufficient to say that it isa fact, and, joined with
the very great profits of the seal-trade, gives such a weight to
a company possessing these advantages as to enable them to
kill out all opposition traders, or to reduce their business and
influence to a nullity. In point of fact, then, except in Belkoff-
sky and the Shumagins, where sea-lion are yet obtainable by
the natives without the intervention of the company, the latter
is in the possession of absolute and unchecked power over the
whole Aleut nation.
ee
a a
oe oe ee ae
ALASKA. : Bae
Before proceeding to discuss how this power has been exer-
cised, it is necessary, to call attention to certain characteristics
of the natives which your own observation will doubtless con-
firm. Like all races of a low degree of civilization, the attrac-
tion which intoxicating liquors, fermented or distilled, exercises -
over them is not equaled by any other influence to which they
are subjected. The manufacture of quass, which they derived
from the Russians, although prohibited by the regulations of
_the Russian company, has become a universal practice, and,
joined to the absence of any elevating influences, such as
schools, or the supervision of agents deriving their authority
from the Government, is rapidly and surely degrading the
character and increasing the mortality of the Aleuts. Where- .
ever opposition traders meet, they both connive at this
infamy, and in such places the deterioration of the
people is more marked and rapid. There are no grounds for
stating, nor is it my opinion, that the present company has
abused its position more than any other would do in the same
case; this, however, is not the question at issue, but whether
it is consistent with the honor of the Government and with its
duty toward a people who occupy the position of wards of the
United States to leave them in a condition where the grossest
tyranny is possible, and where gradual degradation and re-
lapse into barbarism is certain. Let us examine for a moment
the condition of the Territory. There is absolutely no law, no
means of protection, no redress for injury for any citizen of the
United States even, to say nothing of natives.(4) A number of
murders among the whites have occurred during the past few
years. Only one man was ever apprehended, and I am in-
formed that he was discharged by the courts of Washington
Territory for want of jurisdiction. That acts of injustice and
oppression have occurred between the traders and the com-
pany I have abundant evidence, though such things are not
likely to occur in the presence of a United States officer. Sup-
pose some act of gross injustice should oceur, in what way would
the unfortunate Aleut make his troubles known, if his long ex-
perience under the Russians, and disappointed hopes under the
various visits of United States officials, had not taught him
that the best way was to bear it in silence ?
If he desired to communicate with civilization, the only
mils are by the company’s vessels, and I have positive evi-
dence that they do not always respect even the sanctity of offi-
234 ALASKA.
cial communications intrusted to their agent for transmis-
sion.(5) |
Does he desire to communicate with the cutter during her
annual visit, (if he is fortunate enough to live in Ounalashka
when she does come,) he knows that a year must elapse before
any result can be attained, and meanwhile he will be subjected
to ill-treatment from the agent of whom he has complained,
intensified by the knowledge that complaint has been made.(6)
In old times each village had a tyone or chief elected by
suffrage, whose duty it was to be present at all trade, and arbi-
trate between the traders and the natives, and prevent any
cheating of the latter by the former. Now, the tyone is the
creature of the company, paid by them; if there are opposition
traders there are two tyones, and it is evident how impartial
must be their arbitration, and what is the character of the pro-
tection they afford. )
The Russians left these people with their self-reliance en-
feebled, but their intelligence and morals elevated to some
extent above their original condition. We have done nothing
to sustain them in this position, nor to cultivate their self-reli-
ance. |
I think I may say that inquiries on your part in relation to
specific acts of oppression would be quite fruitless. Those na-
tives who may have suffered have long since learned by experi-
ence that complaints result in nothing unless in an aggravation
of the original difficulty, and the tyone paid by the company
can always bring forward evidence such as his employers may
desire. I must again repeat, that it is not a question of punish-
ing actual offenses, but of providing against the perpetration
of them; and to await outrages so gross as to force their way
to our ears, before extending protection, is to wait till the stable
is empty before locking the door.
I do not blame the traders for doing little or nothing to ele-
vate or improve the natives.(7) It is not their business; and,.
even if they were willing to work against their own pecuniary
interest in this way, it still should not be left to them.
The description of men who gain their livelihood as fur-
traders are, with rare exceptions, unfit to be trusted with abso-
jute power over unresisting natives, notwithstanding the pos-
sible high character of the distant heads of the company who.
employ them.
Meer PEPE
ALASKA. 235
What then should be done to regulate the action of the two
parties ?
It is with some hesitation that I offer my opinion on so grave
a question. One thing I feel certain of: the manufacture of
quass should be put down, and no intoxicating liquor should
be allowed to enter the country on any pretext whatever.
I think it the duty of the Government to provide schools for
the younger people, who are growing up in ignorance, while
many of their parents can read and write in the Russian lan-
guage. These schools should teach the rudiments of English
education, ‘and should be free from any religious bias, as other-
wise they would fail. Attendance should be made compulsory.
But it may be said that this would require many officials and
great expense to get at the separated communities. I think I
can show that this need not necessarily be the case. Suppose
that the laws governing the Indian reservations were extended
over the Aleutian region. A beginning could be made at the
four principal places I have named, or at one or more of them;
and extended, or the plan modified, as experience would show -
desirable. The few outlying smaller settlements could be
reached from these, if not at once, at least eventually. Let the
settlement be declared a reservation, and the resident official
invested with the powers of an Indian agent, and supplemented
by a schoolmaster. Then the first would be in a position to.
arbitrate between the natives and traders in disputed pees
and to enforce justice on both sides.(8)
I have not arrived at that point where I should believe that
the Government habitually employs dishonest agents, though
long experience in Alaska might shake any man’s optimism.
At all events, it seems to me to be the duty of the Government.
to act in the matter, if only to save its own honor. I think
there is a duty involved aside from economical considerations.
The citizens, if not the wards of the United States, are entitled
to the protection of the law, and it should be extended to them.
Whether the method which I have suggested is the best or not
is a question to be decided by others, but I cannot see how
there can be two opinions about the duty of extending the pro-
tection of the laws and an opportunity for education to these
and other civilized inhabitants of this Territory.
That these are now wanting no honest or sane man can deny.
It would be very desirable, also, that the headquarters of au-
thority in the Territory be transferred to Ounalashka. It is
Do ALASKA.
the most important and central point; but even Kodiak would
be better than Sitka, which has now no importance and hardly
any business.(9)
Apologizing for having trespassed on your attention with so ©
Jengthy a communication, I will now close this letter with one
remark, which has no special connection with the foregoing, but
which I believe of some importance. This is, that it would be
very desirable that the officers of the United States employed
on the Pribiloff Islands should be prohibited from receiving
pay from, or rendering services for pay to, the company whom
practically they are placed there to watch. That this has oc- -
curred in several instances I am aware, and probably in some
cases without any improper intent on either side; but it is ev-
ident at once that it opens a wide door for scandal, if not for
fraud.(10)
I remain, with great respect, yours, very truly,
WM. H. DALL,
Acting Assistant United States Coast-Survey,
In charge Hydrograpiic Reconnaissance of Alaska.
Messrs. H. W. ELuiorr and
WASHBURN MAYNARD, JU. S. N.,
United States Commissioners.
COMMENTS UPON THE FOREGOING LETTER.
(1) The fact the Russian American Company, at the close ofits
third term ot twenty years, in 1862, was over two millions of sil-
ver rubles in debt. may have had a great deal to do with the
failure in getting a renewal of its charter. A losing business is,
not often persisted in a great while by either corporations or in-
dividuals. The extravagance and shiftlessness in the manage-
ment of affairs in Alaska by the officers of the Russian Ameri-
can Company, during the last twenty or thirty years of its exist-
ence, may alone have tended to the result.
(2) Here Mr. Dall, not directly perhaps, but plainly, gives us
to understand that a number of natives, Aleuts, were educated
‘in Russian schools, and *‘ participated with great credit to them-
selves in the exploration of the Territory, and commanded ves-
sels belonging to the company, or otherwise held positions of
responsibility.” Thisis a mistake; for these people, serving with
such credit, educated by the company in question, were not Aleuts,
but creoles, or half-breeds, and octoroons. There is no record of
any service rendered the Russian company by the Aleuts, other
ALASKA. S37
than that of good, honest manual labor, with the exception of
a certain Aleut named Oostigov, who at Sitka ‘was considered
_afairnavigator.” These people made good ordinary carpenters,
blacksmiths, coopers, locksmiths, and sailors—good enough for
the Russian service—but such a grade of labor will not satisfy
our traders or captains; and there is, therefore, no demand for
such upon these people, and there never will be, as long as the
country is under American control. We have in San Francisco:
to-day too many idle workmen of all grades better than the Aleuts.
could be made, and when such labor is wanted in Alaska, these
men will bé employed there. Removing the Russian Company
from the country leaves no future employment whatever for the
Aleuts, in the capacity above mentioned, no matter what may be
their educational advantages.
(3) That Mr. Dall can advance such an yield in regard
to the monopoly of the fur-trade of the Aleutian Islandsby the _
control of the sea-lion skins of the Prybilov Islandsis very strange,.
‘for the fact is, that any trader to-day who may deem tbe fur-
trade of that section worth the outlay necessary to fit up a small
schooner or sloop, and send it out every other season equipped
for sea lion hunting among the Aleutian Islands, on the north side
of the Peninsula and those islands south of it, can secure skins.
enough for the entire use of the whole Aleutian population! An
.annual outlay of only $2,500 is all that is necessary for an oppo-
sition trader at Ounalashka to place himself on the same foot-
ing, in this respect, with his present rival there. Whether the
fur-trade of that district is worth enough to warrant this small
expenditure or not is a. matter for the traders themselves to
settle, not us, bat the fact speaks for itseif. Even if there were
no sea-lions except on the Prybilov Islands, (which is not true,)
the traders who take any interest in this section are perfectly in-
dependent of the Alaska Commercial Company, for’ there are
thousands upon thousands of walrus not four hundred miles.
from Ounalashka, the skins of which can be made, with a little
more labor, quite as valuable for covering the bidarkies or canoes
of the sea-otter hunters; if anything, they are more durable,
_ and these walrus can be obtained as aan as so many hogs or
sheep.
(4) In this paragraph I concur; it is true.
(5) This is a case in which I think, or rather know, that Mr.
Dall casts an unworthy reflection upon the Alaska Commercial
Company without just ground. The facts are as follows: In
238 , ALASKA.
the spring of 1872 the Alaska Commercial Company sent a man
from San Francisco, on trial, to serve as assistant agent at
Ounalashka; he was found wanting, and in less than six months
from the time of his engagement he was dismissed from its
service as unfit and incompetent. Mr. Dall had given a letter
to the person in question, while that person was acting for the
company as assistant trader at Ounalashka, for transmission to
the postmaster at San Francisco. This letter contained a small
sum of money, (a twenty-dollar greenback, I believe,) and never
reached its destination. Iam, of course, not prepared to say
whether the man robbed the letter or not; but I should acquit
the company of collusion in so contemptible.a matter, even if
this man did do so. Then, again, Mr. Dall writes this letter with
the ship of an opposition trader laying over ten days at anchor
in the same harbor with us—no other vessels than those of the
company to carry the mails!
(6G) This is one of the reasons why I ask for a steam revenue-
vessel in this Territory: it is impossible for a sailing-cutier to go
about from place to place, as she ought to do.
(7) In this case I think I have shown, in a foregoing chap-
ter, that, contrary to Mr. Dall’s statement, it is to the direct
interest of traders to do all in their power to improve and elevate
the natives, and that the natives are to-day living, at Ounalashka
and elsewhere in the Aleutian district, in better condition than
they have ever lived before.
The traders, however, differ in their appreciation of this truth;
but two very successful traders in the Territory, Capt. E. Hen-
nig and M. Mercier, have given me good reason for making
this statement—so emphatic: a trader who does the best by the
natives will be the better served by them. Father Shiesnekov
makes a deliberate statement which I print in this appendix
(page 226) that conflicts with Mr. Dall’s decidedly, and as this
priest has spent over twenty-five mature years of active intelli-
gent labor among these people, his judgment is worth some-
thing, inasmuch as he *‘ has seen more of the country than any
other individual,” and no one can controvert the fact.
(8) This policy of Mr. Dall’s, of declaring four or five Indian
reservations in the Aleutian district, with an Indian agent and
schoolmaster in each, would, in my best judgment, amount to
nothing but discord and mischief. What security can the Gov-
ernment have for the disinterestedness and honesty of its Indian
agents? Are such agents to tell the traders in the country
ALASKA. 239
how much they shall pay the natives, or to advise the natives
how to meet the traders? Interference thus by the Government
with the relationship of the traders to the natives will surely
be bad; i.e, if the natives are fleeced now, they will, with
an Indian agent arbitrating, be doubly fleeced. The .poor
Aleuts are the gainers by having only one power, the traders,
to deal with, as at present, or they could not live as they do.
There is no middle ground here. If Alaska is an Indian reser-
vation, then there can be no white people there; if not, then
Government cannot interfere with legitimate trade.
With regard to the schoolmasters, were the Government able
to select and send the most zealous and excellent of their class,
they would find in this Territory a barren field. Let the Greek
Catholic Church continue its work; it is the only power that
can accomplish any good in the mental future of the Aleut.
(9) I think myself that Ounalashka is the best place, but
Kodiak is more central.
(10) I happened to be talking about this matter, in the
spring of 1872, with one of the persons, perhaps, of whom Mr.
Dall complains. It is, however, a very clear case, and the only
one that has occurred since the granting of the lease, and in no
way improper; but ‘as it opens a wide door for scandal, if not
for fraud,” I was assured by the company that the thing should
never again occur. The facts are these: During the sojourn of
one of the Government agents, stationed on the islands, this
gentleman took a deep interest in the language of the Aleuts,
being himself a linguist of fine accomplishment; the agent of
the company conceived the idea of getting him to teach the
school, on account of his knowledge of the Russian, which the
schoolmaster employed did not possess, in the hope that the
school would be more attractive to the native children. During
the winter, therefore, the Government officer voluntarily taught
school, although the attendance was small, for reasons which I
have given in the body of my report. The only other instance
where anything of this kind had occurred was in the case of
this same gentleman, who had with great labor and pains com-
piled an English and Aleutian vocabulary, which was deemed
by the Alaska Commercial Company to be of value for the use
of their traders, and they purchased it for some $100, I believe,
soon after the connection of this gentleman with the Seal
Islands was dissolved. But long before the date of Mr. Dall’s
letter the company’s agent informed me of this action on their
240 ALASKA.
part, and, at the same time, announced their determination to
do so no more, in consequence of its liability to misrepresenta-
tion. This Government agent left the Seal Islands in 1872, at
his own request, on account of the isolation and distance from
his family, and has been in Washington, employed in the Treas-
ury Department, ever since. Most likely, in this matter Mr.
Dall refers to transactions that took place on the islands before
the granting of the lease, and of which I have no knowledge
other than that of hearsay; but as to what has transpired on —
these islands since the inauguration of the present state of
affairs, I am fully cognizant; that which took place previous -
to this is now of no importance. It was a disorderly medley
_ of civil and military authority, and, as near as I can learn,
reflects no special credit upon any of the officers concerned on
the part of the Government.
7
4
¢
ee a ae er are
ALASKA, 24]
THE PRIBYLOV ISLANDS.*
“Under the name of the Prybilov Islands are known two small
islands lying in Bering Sea, between 56° and 57° uorth lati-
tude and 168° and 170° west longitude.
‘These islands were not known before the year 1786; mate
G. Prybilov, then in the service of a swan-hunting company,
first, in the Russian name, found them, but at the same time he
was not the first discoverer, because, as before said, (Part I,
ehap. 1,) on one of them (southwest side of Saint Paul) signs,
such as a pipe, brass knife-handle, and traces of fire were
found, indicating that people had been there before, but not
long, as places were observed where the grass had been burned
and scorched. But if we can believe the Aleuts in what they
. relate, the islands were known to them long before they were
visited by the Russians. They knew and called them ‘ Ateek’
after having heard about them.
** Hegad-dah-geek, a son of an Oonimak chief by the name of
Ab-kak-nee-kak, was taken out to sea in a bidarkie by a storm,
the wind blowing strong from the south. He could not get back
to the beach, nor could he make any other landing, and was
obliged to run before the wind three or four days, when he
brought up on Saint Paul’s Island, north from the land which
he had beencompelled to leave. Here he remained until autumn,
and became acquainted with the hunting of different animals.
Elegant weather one day setting in, he saw the peaks of Ooni-
mak. He then resolved to put to sea, and return to receive the
thanks of his people there; and, after three or four days of trav-
eling, he arrived at Oonimak, with many otter tails‘and snouts.t
“The islands were both at first without vegetation, with ex-
ception of Saint Paul’s, where there was a small tal-neek creep-
ing along on the ground; and on Saint George, if we believe
«Translated by the writer from Bishop Innocent Veniaminov’s work
“ Zapieska ob Octrovah Oonahlashkerskaho Otdayla. St. Petersburg, 1840.
(The only Russian treatise upon the subject found. The selections most per-
tinent to the subject are introduced alone in this translation.) H. W. E.
t Here Veniaminoy says that he does feel inclined to believe this story, as
the peaks of Oonimak can beseen occasionally from Saint Paul’s! Ihave no
hesitation in saying that they were never observed by any mortal eye from
the Prybilov Group. The wide expanse of water between these points, and
the thick, foggy air of Bering Sea, especially so at the season mentioned in
this story above, willalways make the mountains of Oonimak invisible to
the eye from Saint Paul’s Island. A mirage is almost an impossibility ; it
may have been much more probable if the date was a winter one.—H. W. E.
Gh AG
242 ALASKA.
the accounts of the first ones there to see, nothing grew, even
grass, except on the places where the carcasses of dead animals
rotted. In the course of time both islands were covered with
grass, a great part of it being of the sedge kind. On them are
two varieties of berries, &., &c. ie
‘‘The Aleuts serving the company here sustained the follow-
ing relations between themselves and it, to wit: Hach of them
worked without.solicitation and at whatever was found, and to
which they were directed, or that which they understood. Pay-
ment for their toil was not established by the day or by the
year, but in general for each thing taken by them or standing
or put to their credit by the company ; for instance, especially,
the skins of animals, the teeth of walrus, barrels of oil, &c.
These sums, whatever they might be, were placed by the com-
pany to their credit, for all general hunting and working was
established or fixed for the whole year fairly. The Aleuts in
general received no specific wages, though they were not all
alike or equal, there being usually three or four classes.
‘¢ In these classes, to the last or least, the sick and old work-
_men were counted in, although they were only burdens, and
therefore they received the smaller shares, about 150 rubles,
and the other and better classes received from 229 to 250 rubles
a year. Those who were zealous were rewarded by the com-
pany with 50 to 100 rubles. The wives of the Aleuts, who
worked only at the seal-hunting, received from 25 to 35 rubles.*
‘Animals on the Prybilov Islands.—Foxes and mice. Some-
times the ice brings bears and red foxes. The bears were never
alowed to live since they could not be made useful; and also
the red foxes, as they would only spoil the breed alrea dy exist-
ing, with regard to color of the fur.
‘“‘ Wur-seals, sea-lions, hair-seals, and a few walrus are the only
animals that may be said to nes to the Prybilov Islands.
“ Birds.—The guillemonts, (or arries ;) gulls; puffins; crested,
horned, and white-breasted auks; snow-finches; geese, (two
kinds ;) a few kinds of Tringa ; sea-ducks, black and gray. Most
of these birds come here to lay, and with them jagers, hawks,
owls, and ‘chikees, (big Laurus glaucus,) and the albatross is fre-
quently to be seen around the beaches.”
‘‘Sea-otters became scarce generally in 1811, and in the next
thirty years extinct.
*Compare this annual payment made by the Russians with the cash set-
tlement made every year by the Alaska Commercial Company, the present
lessee of these islands, as presented in the chapter on the condition of affairs
on the seal islands.—H. W. E.
PLS TSI See
ALASKA. 245
“ The fur-seals (‘sea-cats’) astonish us by their great num-
bers, as they gradually come up on to their breeding-places,
notwithstanding harsh and foolish treatment of them, continued
almost half a century (until 1824) without mercy.
“In the first years, on Saint Paul’s Island, from 590,000 to
60,000 were taken annually, and on Saint George from 40,000
to 50,000 every year. Such horrible killing was neither neces-
sary nor demanded. Theskins were frequently taken without
any list orcount. In 1803, 800,000 seal-skins had accumulated,
and it was impossible to make advantageous sale of so many
skins; for in this great number so many were spoiled that it
became necessary to cut or throw into the sea 700,000 pelts!
If G. Rezanov (our minister to Japan) had not given this his
attention, and put himself between the animals and this foolish
mavagement of them, it appears plainly to me that these crea-
tures would have long ago changed for the worse.
“Of the number of skins taken up to 1817, I have no knowl-
edge to rely upon, but from that time, and up to the present
writing, I have true and reliable accounts, which I put in the
appendix to this volume. From these lists it will be seen that
still in 1820, on both islands, there were killed more than 50,000
Seals, viz, on Saint Paul’s, 39,700; aud on Saint George, 10,250.
There were eye-witnesses to the reason for this diminution of
the seals, and it is only wonderful besides that they are still
existing, as they have been treated almost without mercy so
many years. The cows produce only one pup each every year.
They have known deadly enemies, and also are still exposed to
many foesunknown. From this killing of the seals they steadily
grew less, except on one occasion, which was on Saint George’s
Island, where an opportunity was given suddenly to kill a large
number; but the circumstances do not seem to be important.
On one occasion a drive was made of 15,000 male and female
seals, but the night was dark, and it was not practicable to
‘separate the cows from the males; and they were, therefore,
allowed to stand over until daylight should come. The men
put in charge of the herding of the drove were careless, and
the seals took advantage of this negligence, and made an
attempt to escape by throwing themselves from the bluffs over
the beach near by into the sea; but, as this bluff was steep,
high, rough, and slippery, they fell over and were all injured.
Now, for the first time, great numbers of seals were missed,
and why, it was not significant or apparent; but on the foilow-
ing year, instead of the appearance and catch of 40,000 or
244 ALASKA.
50,000, less than 30,000 were killed and taken, and then, too, —
the numbers of seals were known to diminish, and in the same
way, only greater, on the otherisland. For instance, in the first
years, on the island of Saint George, the seals were only five or
six times less than on Saint Paul, but in 1817 they were only
less than one-fourth; but in 1826 they were almost one-sixth
again. | :
‘‘The diminution of seals there (Saint Paul’s) and on the
other island, from 1817 to 1835, was very gradual and visible
every year, but not always equal.
‘‘The killing of seals in 1834, instead of being 80,000 or
60,000, was only 15,751 from both islands, (Saint Paul, 12,700;
Saint George’s, 3,051).” _
In the first thirty years, according to Veniaminov’s best under-
standing, there were taken “more than two anda half millions of
seal-skins ;” then, in the next twenty-one years, up to 1838, they
took 578,924. During this last taking, from 1817 to 1838, the
skins were worth on an average ‘no more than 30 rubles each,”
($6 apiece.) 7
‘cA great many sea-otters (Hnhydra marina) were found on
Saint Paul’s Island at first, and as many as 50,000 were taken
from the island, but years have passed since one has been seen
in the vicinity, even, of the islands.”
Table I, Part II, Bishop Veniaminov’s Zapieska, §:c., showing the seal-catch dur-
ing the period of gradual diminution of life on the islands from 1817 down to
1836, the year of scarcity, and from which date they have as gradually increased
up to the present number, their maximum limit in a state of nature, at which the
seal- life has stood during the past twenty years ; the killing has also been grad-
ually increased up to the present figure, 100,000 annually.
Taken from— 1817. | 1818. | 1819. | 1820. | 1821. | 1822. | 1823.
Saint Paul’s Island............ | 47,860 | 45,932 | 40, 300 | 39, 700 | 35, 750 | 28,150 | 24,100
Saint George's Island.......... 12, 328 | 13,924 | 11,924 | 10,520 | 9,245] 8319] 5,773
Motalbes CF fee at Peasy, Fy 60,188 | 59,856 | 52, 225 | 50,220 | 44,995 | 36,469 | 29, 873
Taken from— 1824. | 1825. | 1826. | 1827. | 1828. | 1829. | 1830.
Saint Panl’s Island ............ 19, 850 | 24,600 | 23,250 | 17, 750 | 18, 450 | 17,150 | 15,200
Saint George’s Island.......... 5,550 | 5,500] (*) | 41,950! 4,778 | 3,661] 2 834
Biota oes). Ce eee | 25,400 | 30, 100 | 23, 250 | 19, 700 | 23,228 | 20,811 | 18,034
Taken from— 1831. | 1832. | 1833. | 1884. | 1835. | 1836. | 1837.
Saint Paul’s Island ............ | 12,950 | 13,150 | 13,200 | 12,700 | 4,052] 4,040] 4,220
Saint George's Island.......... | 3,084 | 3,206 | 3,212] 3,051 | 2,528} 2,530] 2,582
Riga ene eres ee) | | 16, 034 | 16, 446 | 16, 412 | 15,751 | 6,580 | 6,590°| 6,802
|
* Left to breed.
Crand total for Saint Paul's Tsland, 2. ocitee eee en) a ea mnie =e eee 464, 259
Grand total for Saint George’s Island....--....--.--.- Me ee reer 114, 665
Tota] catch during nineteen years of diminution........... 573, 924
ALASKA, 245
Meteorological abstract for the months from September, 1872, to April 1873, in-
clusive, made by Chas. P. Fish, United States Signal-Service, at the office of the
Chief Signal-Officer, United States Army, division of reports and telegrams for
the island of Saint Paul, Bering’s Sea, for the benefit of commerce and agri-
culture.
Month of record. September.| October. | November. December.
|
Mean of barometer, corrected .......---. es ae 29. 512 29. 458 | 29. 488
Maximum of barometer, corrected. ...... 30. 46 30. 04 30. 23 | 30. 04
Minimum of barometer, corrected. ...-.-. | 28.87 28. 51 28. 62 28. 05
Monthly range of barometer, corrected... 1.59 1.53 1.61 1. 99
Greatest daily range of barometer, cor-
UpPh ei oh. 5 a ee eee | 97 97 . 87 . £0
Least daily rangeof barometer, corrected | . 03 . 04 . 06 . 03
Mean daily range of barometer, corrected. . 259 . 293 . 339 | . 249
Mean of exposed thermometer. ..-...----- | 449.2 36°. 0 34°. 3 | 26°. 6
Maximum of exposed thermometer.....- |). 29 45° 41° 31
Minimum of exposed thermometer .-...-- | Bye 22° 23° 4°
Monthly range of exposed thermometer.| 15° 23° oats 33?
Greatest daily range of exposed ther- | }
Lo. pp A eee | 11° 11° | 12° 11°
Least daily range of exposed thermom- |
ERP occ He eRe See ee pee ameeoee oe ee jo 1°
Mean of maxima of exposed thermom- |
ffl. 2: eee | 46°.8 38°. 7 36°. 2 Fi, SUOLT.
Mean of minima of exposed thermom- | | |
ClELG 5 See oon chi RSS asasee ee ae cee {- “41058 33°. 3 319. 5 24°
Mean daily range of exposed thermom- |
SED 52225555 25803 ene eee 2.0 5°. 4 4°.7 5°. 1
Mean relative humidity -.-.--.....---.--- | 85.6 ; &3. 9 86. 6 87.8
Maximum relative humidity -.........-.- i; 100 10 100 100
Minimum relative humidity....-...-.--. | 56 65 | 60 70
Dn) Sc IF. N. Ss N.
Number of miles traveled by wind ...--- 9, 138 11, 872 | 14,539 | 16,644
Mean daily velocity of wind...--..------ 304. 6 _ 383 484. 6 539.5
Mean hourly velocity of wind ........-..- 125% 16 20. 2 22.1
Maximum hourly velocity of wind......- 33 42 74 53
Proporion of cloudiness. --......-..-.-.. 92 84 193 | 84
Amount of rain-fall, in inches ........... | 2. 89 3. 08 | 2.38 | 2. 99
Greatest daily amount of rain-fall....--- ) 85 58 | = 317] . 42
Amount of melted hail and snow, (in- |
Clade mirain-fall) 625.225. 5ee sec e ne - 20 a= Oly . 82 2. 38
Number of days on which precipitation |
IAT ROP se lpn re Se wid 2A) = 30 29 . 27 27
Number of days on which hail or snow |
Oy ks: 2 ee rea | 4 15 Tea 24
| |
Month of record. | January. | February. | March. | April.
Mean of barometer, corrected ........--- | 29. 953 | 29.507 ; 29. 768 29. 769
Maximum of barometer, corrected. ...--- | 30.50 30. 51 | 30.31 30. 35
Minimum of barometer, corrected.-...--. | 29.32 28. 26 | 29.05 29. 00
Monthly range of barometer, corrected..| 1.18 2. 25 | 1.26 1.35
Greatest daily range of barometer, cor- |
URL J Sic. 2 deg rs eee | 58 95 | . 66 ay 6)
Least daily range of barometer, corrected. | es - 06 . 05 . 03
Mean daily range of barometer, corrected.| .191 | .421 | .219 . 242
Mean of exposed thermometer.......-.-- [se | 18°.6 | 12°. 6 23°. 9
Maximum of exposed thermometer.....- | 34° | 34° F350 35°
Minimum of exposed thermometer ...-.. 11° |=12e 1— 70 32
Monthly range of exposed thermometer .| 45° 4° ee aoe 32°
Greatest daily range of exposed ther- |
ULIEDLitc 2-2 2 Q20 280 | 20° Q40
Least daily range of exposed thermom-
LEP... Wiel ees axis 3° | * go go
Mean of maxima of exposed thermom- | |
BIRT .ncood$ ae nee Ses eee Oe ee | 18°79 | 22°.6 UR chee | le eteae
Mean of minima of exposed thermom- |
LoL a i Sa | 119.9 fot. |) 7054 19°, 4
Mean daily range of exposed thermom-
7 ae el 72.0 eset. |. 99.7 80.5
Mean relative humidity ...-.-..-..-...-.. ea. 86. 2 |} 81.8 84, 29
246 ALASKA.
Meteorological abstract, §c.—Continued..
Month of record. January. | February. | March. April.
Maximum relative humidity ...-......-. 100 100 100 100
* Minimum relative humidity. ...........- 53 49 46 63
(Pre vai limo waT dl ote eee eat eee lore oes tN BS) N. N. N.
Vumber ef miles traveled by wind...... 17, 903 16, 646 14, 512 18, 607
Mean daily velocity of wind............. 577. 5 594. 3 468.1 i
jfean hourly velocity of wind ........--. 24.1 24.8 19.5 25. 84
Maximum hourly velocity of wind....... 43 82 88 53
Proportion of cloudiness...........-----. 62. 8 74,9 68 73.6
Amount of rain-fall, in inches..........-. 0. 96 5. 78 eon iene
Greatest daily amount of rain-fall....... . 39 1.07 38 - 90:
Amount of melted hail and snow, (in-
chidedinirain-fall)! . hey ene phere .83 4, 87 1.21 1.77
Number of days on which precipitation
NCCGERE ME Leh APE Mose ok ay eer aeie lee 21 27 27 226
Number of days on which hail or snow ;
1 Ue ae ee cae aieremem es hash aan 20 25 27 26
NorTe.—It will be noticed that I have not spelled the name Behring in accordance with
the usual custom observed by English writers, who have thus given the phonetic value of
the Sclavonic characters used by the Russians in writing the name of this celebrated navi-
gator; but by reference to the following statement made by Professor Gill, of the Con-
gressional Library, it will be seen that the name in question may properly be spelled
‘‘ Bering.” Professor Gill says: ‘‘ The name of the navigator which has been conferred on
the strait separating America and Asia, is unquestionably spelled BERING and not BEHRING. .
I submit, in explanation, my reasons: 1st. The navigator himself was born in Jutland, and
a scion of a Danish family, whose members bore the name of Bering, and two represent-
atives of which had the same Christian name, viz, (1) Vitus Bering, born 1617, died 1675,
some time professor of poetry at Copenhagen, and (2) Vitus Bering, born 1682, died 1753, a
priest of Ollerup and Kirkeby. The form Behring, so far as I can ascertain, is unknown
in Denmark, (see Nyerup’s Dansk-Norsk Litteratur-lexicon, v. i, pp. 56, 57,1818.) 2d. The
form Bering is almost (but not quite) universally adopted in all non-English works; for
example, Biographie Universelle, (Michaud,) v. 4, p. 261, 1811, also, nouv. ed., v..4,.p. 28, 1854;
- Nouvelle Biographie Générale, (Hoefer,) v. 5, p. 527, 1855; Allgemeine Encyclopiadie der
Wissenschaften und Kiinste, (Ersch und Gruber,) v. 9, p. 136, 1822; Neues Konversations-
Lexicon, (Meyers,) v. 3, p. 238, 1862; Deutsch-Amerikanisches Conversations-Lexicon,
(Schem.) v. 2, p. 296, 1869, and numerous others. The exceptional cases, e. y. Pierer’s Uni-
versal Lexicon, Grande Dictionnaire Universelle du xix. siécle, &¢. In English dictionaries,
the true form Bering is adopted in the Brief Biographicai Dictionary, by Holes, 1865, and
the Dictionary of Biographical Reference, by Phillips, 1871, and is gradually superseding
the more familiar English form. An explanation of the reason of the origin of the name
Behring is found in the fact that it was originally derived from the Russian, without a
knowledge of its primitive source, and was the nearest English phonetic expression of the
Russian characters. Inasmuch, however, (1) as the original form of a name, without re-
gard to its pronunciation, is universally adopted in our biographies and bibliographies, and
(2) as the original form of the navigator’s name was Bering, such is the correct one, and
that which must ultimately supersede the other. It need only be added that Bering him-
self, and the Russians universally, (?) adopt that form when writing in English characters,
and that the Russian letter (‘e’) in his name, represented by ‘eh,’ is especially ordained by,
the Russians to be rendered by the Latin character ‘e,’ in accordance with the pronunciar
tion of the Latin and continental races generally.”
~l
ALASKA. 24
*
SKETCHES OF THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS.
[Taken from Veniaminov, Zapieska, part 1}, p. 134.]
ISLANDS OF THE FOUR MOUNTAINS—“ CHEETIERY SOPOCHNIE.”
KAYGAMILYAK is the longest; has a number of smoking
hills, sometimes burning. On the southeast side of the island
are the remains of what once must have been large settlements.
On these islands are arries (Lomvia arra) and a tundra goose,
which latter comes here to shed feathers and rear its young, and
on the rocks around the coast are sea-lions and hair-seals.*
TAHNAK is the largest of the group. On this island are red
foxes, with very coarse fur, and a few sea-fowl. In 1764, 100
Aleuts lived here or hereabouts. At this time (1834) the men
have nearly all been destroyed by the hand of Stepan Glottov,
and the women nearly all perished of hunger. What remains
of the Aleuts is on the island of Oomnak. This is the highest
one of the group under discussion. Hot springs are to be
found on the east side, and on the southeast side are the ruins
of old dwellings. Sea-otters are found about this place. A
small island lies to the west; it is round and full of bold hills,
steep. On the southeast side, in 1834, was a small settlement,
which the Aleuts say was occupied by a most savage and war-
like people. They were destroyed by Glottov. A few sea-lions
are found here. Near this is another small island, round and
full of high hills. There are remains of two settlements on it;
signs of sea-otter ; noone there, now; (1834;) sea-fowls, sea-lions,
and hair-seal.
UNASKA is quite large; high hills, cliffs, &e. On the east.
side is a voleano, which began in 1825 to burn; no hot springs
there ; no people there, though the relics of two old settlements
are seen. Birds breed on the cliffs; on the beach sea-lions, and,
at times, sea-otters. |
AMOOTOYON is another small island, round, bluffy, and moun-
*Last September, (1874,) Captain Hennig, while cruising with a party
of sea-otter hunters, discovered a warm cave on the northeast side ‘of this
island,in which he found eleven mummies well embalmed. A full and
interesting history of the matter was given to him by the natives, but
it is too long for insertion here. Those mummies are now in the Smithsonian
Institution, presented by the Alaska Commercial Company. These bodies
were put into this cave, according to the people, in 1724 or 1725.—H. W. E.
248 ALASKA.
tainous—the least important of this group; no bays, no streams,
nothing but arries, sea-lions, and, at times, sea-otters. Be-
tween this isiand and Unaska is a rock where a great many
sea-fowl breed, and sea-lions.
OoMNAK is the largest of the Aleutiaps. It has three high
‘mountains; is very hilly, with a number of large Jakes and
streams. In 1805 the people were able to take 2,000 salmon
‘every year, but now (1834) they cannot get more than 200 to
400; in the winter from 50 to 100.. On the northeast side of
the island, in the mountains, is a lake,on the bluffy beaches
‘of which amber is found. Everything grows on the island
that is peculiar to Ounalashka, save the willow. In the year
some 50 black foxes are killed, 80 cross, and about 40 red. On
the north shore and under Tuleeskoi Sopka is a large number
of sea-lions, hair-seal, and sea-otters, from 10 to 40 annually
killed. In older times the Aleuts used to get porphyry from
the north-northwest side of Tuleeskoi for their weapons. There
is less snow here than on Ounalashka. A great many hot springs
here; one on the north side is so hot that meat can be cooked
init. Under most of these springs is a subterranean noise.
Before the coming of the Russians on Oomnak there were
twenty settlements, some of them quite large, like the one at
Tuleeskoi, where there were so many people that they were able
to take at one time all the meat and blubber of a large whale.
At the present time (1834) there are only two villages, Raychesnoi
and Tuleeskoi, altogether 109 souls. The former lies on the
southwest side of the island, and a wooden church was built
here in 1826; 13 huts and 3 bath-houses, under the supervision
of Krukov, a creole, were built in 1834; 33 males and 45 females;
they had plenty of hens and raised at times potatoes; fish quite
scarce; crabs and sea-urchins abundant. They have plenty of
roots, but at times are without oil, and cannot then cook or use
the roots, and they frequently go a year without getting a
whale. In the winter they go to Samalga and kill from 3 to 10
sea-otters. Tuleeskoi, on the east side, in 1834, had 11 men and
15 women. In 1830 there were 35 settlements on this island, on
the south side, and on the island Yeagovskie. At Samalga in
o:den times (1794) there was a large settlement, 400 souls, but
all are scattered and gone now. On the south side is a beach
out upon which sea-otters used to come during the prevalence
of furious gales of wind from that quarter.
BoGA SLov ISLAND made its appearance first in 1796, (May,)
ALASKA. 249
and was finished in 1825; is oval-shaped ; no fresh water; sea-
lions breed there.
OUNALASHKA.—WMakooshin is the highest mountain on the
island ; 5,475 feet; volcano. No one remembers of its having
disturbed the settlement near it. In 1818 it made the earth
tremble and a loud noise, but nothing more ensued. It can be
ascended in August and September, when there is least snow
and the winds do not blow so hard. <A great many creeks and
streams on the island, running down from the high hills to the
sea; many pretty water-falls. There are twenty streams in which
fish run up from the sea, independent of the trout found in all of
them ; salmon, salmon-trout, ‘‘keezoog,” hump-backed salmon,
and “ hie-eks.” Lakes on theisland are nearly as numerous as
the streams, and are frequently found high up in the mountains;
many of them are very deep; one of them more than ten versts
in circumference, and in this one no bottom was found.
Gulfs and bays on all sides of this island, especially on the
~ north side, and more good ones than on any other island of the
whole Aleutian chain; three are on the eastern side, Beaver,
Captain’s, and Makooshin. The first ship entered Captain’s Har-.
bor in 1769, Captain Layvashava. At Oobiennah Bay a souad of
Aleuts destroyed a Russian ship. Jatreskenskayah Bay, a great
place for hump-backed salmon, and Paystrokovskie, two small
bays distinguished by the coming of a great many whales; and
from these bays to the west, about eight versts, are some small
lakes, but very deep; all these bays are good places for ships
to stand at anchor.
In Starry Gavan the first Russian ship entered in 1761.
Anglieskie Bay is where Captain Cook anchored. Chernovskie
is the finest harbor on the island, in the straits between Oom-
nak, and a dozen others, but of less importance. Kahlecta
Point received its name because in a little bay under it a great
many whales used to resort; this point is the land-mark for the
harbor of Ounalasbka. Cheerful or Jolly Point, so called by the
sailors who usually make it ina fog. It is made up of some
thirty differently colored strata or layers, horizontal, distin-
guishing it from all other capes or points ; from its very summit
down to the water’s edge, on one side, is a vivid green slope.
At Morkrovskie Point, to the southward in the hills, are the
remains of a fossil elephant, and a little farther, trending from
the southeast to the northwest, behold an elephant of the true
kind, lying quite horizontally, over 14 feet wide, and about 10
250 ALASKA.
above the water. At Aspeetskie Point the Russians found a
stone slate which belonged to one of the first chiefs. The Rus-
sians also called the people living near this place ‘‘Aspeet.”
The points on the southern side of Ounalashka are not well |
known ; they are not safe to approach, on account of reefs and
submerged rocks, which extend out to sea a long way, and the
water breaks very heavily on them and on the cliffs.
Vegetation on Ounalashka is found everywhere, except on the
summits of the highest mountains-and the faces of steep cliffs.
On the east side of the island, in Captain’s Bay and part of
Beaver Bay, the small willow grows best, berries, mushrooms,
&e.
Animals.—Foxes, mice, (brought by the Russians,) cows, and
rats; the latter came only in 1828, brought in the ship * Fin-
land,” and in less than two years they increased so that they
got over to Makooshin settlement, a distance of over fifty
versts, in spite of high, snowy ridges and high streams between,
and attacks by foxes. The foxes on this island yield to the
hunters about 500 annually; of these 100 are black, 250 cross,
and 150 red. Of the water-animals, in early times there were
great numbers of hair-seal, fur-seal, sea otter, and sea-lions,
but nowadays they come in such small numbers that from
them all hardly more than a hundred skins are taken per
annum. Sea-otters are found only on the southern side near
the beach, and in very small numbers, as they come from the
sea; sea-lions in less number and only in one place, on the
southern side, not far from Osofskie Bay, on a rock separated
from the beach by a narrow canal. Fur-seals used to come
into the bays here until the discovery of the Prybilov Islands,
and since then hardly a single one.
The island was not known earlier than 1760. In 1762 the
Russians, who first. discovered this place, were unhappily nearly
exterminated, and in revenge for this the natives were nearly
all destroyed in 1763 by Solovayiat, and the rest in the follow-
ing year.
' There are only two hot springs on the island; one on the
point near Makooshin settlement has a little run of water and
is not very hot; the other near a small lake back from Indian
Bay, five versts from Iloulook, has a temperature of about
57° to 60°.
From a lake known to and spoken of by the Aleuts, near
Makrovskot Gulf, high up in the mountains, under the cliffs on
ALASKA. 251
the eastern beach, is found the finest amber ; hair-seals go up
into the lake. .
Near Makooshin Gulf, between a long tufa or breccia place
or edge and Tarahsovskoyan Bay, in the mountains, isa lake on
the beach of which is found native copper; and above this, in
the mountains of the third range, also, is a lake, on the beach
of which is found hollow stones which rattle when shaken, and
in the cleft of a cliff or cave is secn the gleam of light, like
water. On the south side of the island, near Oin-nomaden Bay,
are two lakes also in the mountains, in one of which hair-seals
go, and on the beach under the cliffs are found shining stones.
In the mountains near Captain’s Harbor is a lake on the beach
of which white pearls were reported found, but in i812 men
were sent, in August, to look for them and found only ice.
In Beaver Bay, on the left side, near Agamgeek Bay, is a water-
fall tumbling down from high cliffs, the water of which the
Aleuts dare not drink for fear of death, and near this place
stands a stone which is honored as a petrified devil.
There is a stream under Makooshin Mountain, on the north
side, by the banks of which are iron bogs, and above them it is
said native copper is found; back from Makooshin Gulf, in the
mountains of the third range, mica (‘‘ sluda”) is found.
Before the Russians came, in 1762, there were on this island
twenty-four settlements. and altogether a great many people.
Even as late as 1805, there were fifteen counted settlements,
and in them 800 souls; but at present (1834) there are only ten,
and in them only 470; aud all of them placed, with one excep-
tion, on the west and northwest shores.
Illou-look is the head settlement. Solovayiah is said to
have lived here. Built here (1834) is a wooden church, with
bells; five bouses, three magazines or warehouses; five “ bar-
rabkies,” or huts, and one barn—all the property of the com-
pany. The head office for the whole Aleutian district is here,
under a chief trader and three store-keepers. Twenty-seven
yourts, or huts, belong to the creoles and Aleuts, 275 souls in °
number. (Male Aleuts, 90; females, 106; over them Russians
and ereoles, 75.) Here, with the exception of the Russian
American Company’s office at Sitka, was the first school. It
was opened the 12th March, 1835; started in 1834 by 22 males,
ereoles and Aleuts. In this school no more than twelve boys
could be brought together in 1835. There was a hospital with
eight sick men attended by a surgeon, and a home for orphan
Doe ALASKA.
girls, with twelve of them in it. Some of the company’s serv-
ants raised pigs, chickens, and ducks, and nearly all the house-
keepers had a garden, where they raised turnips and potatoes.
(In 1838, one hundred and twenty kegs were raised by the
whole settlement.) The ground for the first church was pre-
pared in 1825; church built in 1826; provided with bells, and
pictures in gilt frames; built by the Aleuts. .
The profits of this country, or settlement, in especial: from
ten to forty fur-seals are taken every year as they come down
from the north; the yield from the fish is not important; the
river which Pores down from the mountains in Natikenskoi
Bay is the best place, and sometimes the dog-salmon are there
in such numbers that it is difficult to get through the water.
It is said that the river which is by this ae used to be
the best for fish; it is now spoiled.
Cod-fish are caught a long way out, as far as twenty to eighty
‘¢sajens,”* and in late years in small numbers. <A willow grows
near the settlement, quite large, and, though the company
have annually repaired and built with it some sixty baidars
and over one hundred and twenty boxes, it is still abundant.
For cattle this place is not very profitable, because, around this
settlement, though grass grows earlier than elsewhere in the
district, snow falls and lies from five to seven months, and the
mowing has to be done in bad or hard places, and, on account
of the rare occurrence of sunlight and the frequency of rains,
hay-making is exceedingly difficult. Potatoes and turnips do
not thrive in a noteworthy manner. |
Natielcouskot settlement lies on the west side of Captain’s
Uarbor. It has two yourts and 15 souls, (6 males, 9 females.)
Paistrahkovskie is on the left side of Captain’s Harbor; five
yourts; 37 souls, (16 males, 21 females.) The mountain above
it has a bowl-shaped crater, and in it is a lake.
Vaysaylovskie lies on the left side of the point of the same
name; 15 souls, (7 males, 8 women.)
Makooshenskoi lies on the north side of Makooshin Gulf;
built here, a yourt, barrabkie, store-house, and bath-house
belonging to the company, and a trader stationed here. The
Aleuts possess six yourts and six barrabkies; 35 souls, (10
males, 20 females.) Not far from the settlement, back from the
mountains near the sea, pumice-stone is found. There were
five settlements near this place in ancient times, excepting
— ——
Se
* “¢ Sajen,” equivalent to seven feet.
He
Ha P
ALASKA. ar
Starrie-chovskaho, which existed up to 1805. They get from 80
to 150 foxes here, with varying grades of fur.
Koshegenskot lies inside of Koshegenskaho Gulf, on the left
side, on a very even place, near the debouchure of a stream.
The company has erected here a yourt, store-house, bath-house,
and a barn belonging to it, which has a trader here, who attends
to the business of all the southern part of the island. The
Aleuts have eight yourts, and are 41 souls in number, (18 men,
23 women.) There are not many fish here; in the best days
of salmon-running not over 500. Sometimes sea-lions lie on
the south side. A small number of hair-seals are killed on the
rocks. Roots in abundance. In 1833 the company introduced
cattle here.
Chernovskie, on the northwest side of the island, has four
yourts and 44 souls, (20 males, 24 females.) The harbor is
elegant, but not always without danger to sailing-vessels ; for,
if caught outside in the straits, without wind, they may be
earried against the cliffs of Oomnak Straits.
On the south side of Chernovskie stands a citadel, and to the
north, a distance of 20 versts, near an old settlement, was
found a copper chain, four links. This settlement is the poorest
on the island. The principal subsistence is mussels. There is
only one fish-stream, and that falls near the settlement.
Emagenskoi is in Captain’s Harbor, 8 versts northeast from
Iiloulook, on a little bay of the same name; 32 souls (15 males,
17 females) live here in four yourts.
Kahlechtenskoi.cThree yourts; 14 souls. A smail stream
here, where a great many fish are taken. Sometimes more than
2,000 salmon are secured: The natives frequently get whales
here: ;
Bobrovskie.—Forty-one souls, (21 males, 20 females,) four
yourts, and a few gardens; they get asmall number of salmon-
trout and dog-salmon in three small streams.
Lorka or Spirkin lies on the south side of the island, divided
from the mainland by a wide strait. This island stands out
bold and abrupt, high from the sea. On the north shore are a
few small bays; above one of them is the settlement, of six
yourts, 44 souls, (17 males, 27 females.) They have a few gar-
dens. Principal subsistence, sea-fish and mussels. On this
island is found a green stone, irony, or blackish, shiny red,
which the Aleuts require in painting their “kamlaykas.”’ *
* Skin shirts.
A A A et ll A ei A ta iit a
Se =
a eee
Sm o
— OO SE —
= —z xe ae en = =
= = se Pe eee ee
Hi |
HL
254 ALASKA.
On AMAKNAK ISLAND were three settlements before the com-
ing of the Russians in 1762, but now there are none; hogs run
from April to October; on the little island to the west, Ookna-
dak, was a small settlement. .
The KRAMEETSA ISLANDS are seven in number, lying between
Ounalashka and Oonemak, viz: Oonalga, Akootan, Akoon, Goloi,
Avatanak, Teegalda, and Oogomak. Atkootan is the largest and
most mountainous; the smallest and lowest is Oonalga, and all
of them have inhabitants save Goloi and Oogomak; all have
foxes save Goloi; the catch is from 180 to 250 yearly.
OoNALGA has a smalllake and three small streams, into which
only salmon-tront run. The berries are ‘ sheksa,” (Hmpetrum
nigrum,) Salmon-berry, and ‘‘moroshkie,” (dubus chamcemorus.)
Snow does not lie long here. The settlement is on the south
side, on the cliffs; 3 yourts, 23 souls, (10 males, 13 females.) The
little, bold rocky islands to the northeast of Oonalga are fre-
quented by hair-seals; on only one of them is a spring of water.
Ships can go all around these islands without danger; they are
free from rocks or shoals.
AKOOTAN, arough, rocky island, with a high voleano near the
middle; the beaches are few and far between, and but little land
fit for vegetation. Two lakes on it, with five streams; one bay
on the south side; a few fish:come into the streams. Berries
of all kinds grow here, peculiar to this country; (from 40 to 60.
foxes are killed here every year, the greater number red.) On
the northeast side, in a small bay, are hot springs, coming from
the mountains, with so high a temperature, that meat and fish
can be cooked in. them. On the very summit of the volcano are ~
found small, but deep, lakes, and the place where the volcano
breaks out strongly resembles the spout-hole of a huge whale,
the ridge of the mountain resembling the back and head of this
animal. |
In old times there were 7 settlements, with 600 people; in
1810 there was but one, and in the present time (1834) but one,
and this is on the north side, where a small stream runs down,
surrounded by high and rugged mountains. This is the small-
est settlement in this district, 13 souls, living on fish, which
come into the streams and alpine the beach.
AKOON lies near Akootan; it is smaller, and the mountains
not so high; one mountain, a the south side, always smokes,
but the smoke is never noteworthy. The beach is mostly bluffs.
rugged. The berries ‘“‘moroshkie” and “zemlianeeka” are
aS ee ae,
«
Se ee eS ee
ALASKA. 255
found. Plenty of lakes, four large ones and five streams, into
two of which fish run in small numbers. From 80 to 120 foxes
are annually killed. In 1830 the people here captured two
wolves; they must have been of only one sex, or they would
have increased; these animals are very disagreeable, for they
kill the foxes and spoil the traps. There were, long ago, eight
settlements on this island, with more than 500 people, but now
(1834) there are only three, with 85 souls, viz: Artelnovakie,
southwest side of the island, on a high bluff, with two yourts,
two barrabkies, and a bath-house, and a trader belonging tothe
company; the Aleuts have seven yourts, 32 souls, (16 males, 16
females.) The trader and afew Aleuts have a small garden.
They sometimes capture a whale. Raychesnoi is on the north
side, near a stream; five yourts built here and afew barrabkies,
37 souls, (19 males, 18 females.) Seeraidenskoi is inside of a
bay of that name, looking out on Avatanak; two yourts and
16 souls. The people in both of these settlements live by the
beach, depending upon it and a few hair-seals that may come
around. ;
AVATANAK ISLAND has onitssoutheast side a hot spring, only
open to view at low water. This is the only island where the
Aleuts find red chalk. Above this island, near Akootan, are
two remarkable rocks, ‘“‘Ooshenadskie.” On them in early times
sea-lions were found, and one of them from all sides resembles
a bell. This island lies between Goloi and Teegalda. From
two lakes rises quite a stream on the north side, and which in
old times was a great fish-place, and since the extermination of
the Aleuts there by Salovayiah’s comrade, Natoorbin, not a
fish has come since. On the south side of the island sea-otters
come, and on the island foxes of different colors, of which
twenty to thirty are taken per annum. In early times three,
not large settlements, were here; now thereis but one, on the
north side, and consists of five excellent yourts, and distin-
guished by their being all clean and free from blackness; 49
souls, (24 males and 25 females.) Vegetation here is not good.
When during my last visit to this place, in 1833, I saw the signs
or ruins of the yourt where Salovayiah and Natoorbin lived,
and a woman was living then who had been a witness to their
cruelty. A small island liesnear Avatanak which a few hair-
seal repair to, and on the east side of it is found red chalk.
TEEGALDA lies east of Avatanak. It is next in size to Akoo-
tan. There are 3 lakes here from 300. to 1,000 Sajens around, |
256 ALASKA.
and a small stream flows, from which about 1,000 fish are takea.
All berries are found here except the huckleberry. From 50 to
70 foxes are killed here every year. The greatest number of
them are black and black-haired. In the autumn and winter are
plenty of ‘“‘ beach-geese,” and in the spring “ toondra geese.”
On the southwest side of this island is found stone-coal, and in
the lake near the settlementis a red or golden ocher. In ancient
times there were five settlements, in them over 500 people, but
now there is only one, which les on the north side, with a pop-
ulation of 92 souls, (59 males, 53 females.) They have a fine
‘¢ kozarmie,” (barrack,) well built and always kept clean; five
yourts, a bath-house, and a few barrabkies. The number given
above of these people includes those who were brought over
from Oogamak in 1826. In this place are the ruins of an old
yourt, 30 sajens (210 feet) long. Opposite the town, on the
north side of the island, near Oogamak, is a number of steep,
high rocks (28) or islets. On them the big burgomaster-guli
breeds, and over 500 eggs are taken every year. On them are
three green places only, and on many of these islands lie hair-
seals, acd on one of the northern ones are sea-lions. Thisis the
chief supplying place for all these people here for winter-food.
On them are no lakes or streams. On the north side is a green-
ish red used by the Aleuts for painting their hats.
OoGAMAK.—No water save a small spring; asmall number
of foxes (7) killed annually. On theisland comesa larger num-
ber of hair-seals than are found on all the others. On the cliffs,
sea-parrots breed, and over 500 are annually shot; on the
low rocks sea-lions previously came in considerable numbers,
one of which traveled over and back from the south to the
north side of the island; a good many stay all winter. In early
times on the island there were many people, but they have been
growing less and less, so that now there are only 18.
OONEMAK.—This island was in old times the most densely
populated of all these islands; there were 12 settlements. In
1831 the ruins of a ‘ kozarmie” or barracks exhibited a length
of over 600 sajens, (4,200 feet,) and yourts were from 12 to 30,
and even 00 sajens. At the present time (1834) only one set-
tlement, Sheshal-dinskie, with 71 souls, (39 males, 41 females,) who
are poorest of all the Aleuts. They have but 2 yourts and 4
bidarkies, and the company has a trader here and two work-
men; they havea yourt, a barrabkie, and ‘ banio,” (or bath-house.)
Animals.—Mice or lemmings, minks, Parry’s marmot, rabbits,
5
ALASKA. 257
wolves, bears, deer, land-otter, and red foxes, hair-seals on all
sides ; sea-lions in small numbers; on the south and northwest
sides, where there are some lagoons, walrus are sometimes
found; on the beaches of this island sea-otters came twice,
first on the north beach, and second on the west. About the
north shore is a considerable number of whales. From 80 to 150
foxes were killed per annum, 1 to 3 wolves,and a few minks
_and land-otters constitute the real hunting. Bears are plenty,
but they are coarse and mostly red, (cinnamon.) The most
valuable thing is the whalebone; but little, however, of this
is found.
NOTES UPON THE ANIMALS OF THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS.
[Translated from Veniaminov’s Zapieska, 1840. ]
(Part 1, chap. xii, p. 68.) ‘The numbers of several kinds of
animals are growing very much less in the present as compared
with past time. For instance, the company here (Ounalashka)
regularly killed more than a thousand sea-otters, (annually ;)
now (1840) from 70 to 190, (in 1832-1833 there were 175 to
200, and a long time previous to this such a number was not
obtained ;) and there was a time (1826) when the whole returns
from the hunters of this Ounalashkan district were only 15
skins.” ‘*Thecompany on the island of Saint Paul killed from
60,000 to 80,000 fur-seals per annum, and in the last season, .
(1836,) with all possible care in getting, they obtained only
about 1,200. On the island of Saint George, instead of 40,000
or 39,000, only 33,000 (1,300?) were killed.”
(Part 3-p-020:) “The kind of deer here I have had a glimpse
at, and/I know that the large males do not weigh more than
three poods, * (108 pounds.) They go to several islands of the
Shumagin group, Oonemak, and all over the peninsula,
(Alaska.)
“/Bear.—Here all have patched and harsh fur, and are found on
Oonemak and the peninsula; they are also very quiet and sel-
dom go for man. The hunters are only afraid of those which
have torn ears. They eat meat, fish, and roots. At the time of
salmonrunningin the rivers, bears enciaies go thereand capture
Aish. The bears go into the water above their knees, stand up
| opposite the stream, and watch a fitopportunity when they can
*This is an error obviously; they will weigh from 216 to 324 pounds.—H.
dy AD,
“a ¢
52.4
—Q
3
5 ene
258 ALASKA.
grab or snatch the fish, which, when they see it near, they in-
stantly strike at it with their paws and most always hit; then
they either throw or carry their prey to the beach and return ~
to continue their work until they have as many as they want. c
With the last fish they go to the bank and begin to eat. After
killing the fishes the bears eat only the heads, because this is
the fattest part.
‘‘ Bears in the winter sleep in dens, anywhere under cliffs, in
holes, or caves; but I have heard tnat they have been some-
times seen walking about in the winter.
‘‘ Foxes may be divided into black, cross, and red, the greater
part red. They are caught in two ways, 7. ée, guns and traps;
the latter is the best method, and by it the most are secured.
Hunting-season is in the fall and winter, when they are in new
and full fur. Trapping-season begins about Sth October and
continues as long as the snow lasts.
‘‘ Blue foxes are confined to the Prybilov Islands, on Saint
George especially, where they annually kill about 1,500. Itis
said that when these islands were first discovered there was ~
naught but blue foxes there, of most excellent quality; buta _
few winters afterward came white foxes, which breed very
rapidly, and in a great measure spoiled the fur; that now the
fur which once was called blue is called smoky.
“‘Sea-otters are distinguished above everything on account of
_ their great value and small numbers. There was a time when
they were killed in thousands, now only by hundreds. There
are plenty of places where before there were great numbers of
sea-otters ; now. not one is to be seen or found. The reason for
this is most evident: every year hunted without rest, they have
fled to places unknown and without danger.
‘s Land-otters are found only on the Shumagins, Oonemak, and
the peninsula in this Aleutian district. They do not live in
the sea, but are found in the lakes and go close to the sea;
they have longer feet or limbs, and can run on land better than
‘any of the other animals (amphibious) of their class. Of the
number taken in this district there is no true record, but in the
best years they do not. get over 100. They are hunted, like
foxes, with guns and traps, but they are very strong and full of
life.”
ALASKA. 259
INDIAN TARIFF.
:
The following table shows the prices paid by the Russian-
American Company in the Alaskan Territory, where it had no
competition. (The quotations are in paper rubles=to 20 cents
each, (100 kopecks make a ruble;) a silver ruble is equal to
about 75 cents.)
180 | ~, | Now (1874) the natives
| 180 on 1827. | 1836. | 1850. si ah
|B. kop ee Sree
Sea-otter, prime ..............) 10 00 CO-| 30 60 | 50 00 | $40 each.
one year old ._...... 2 0018) 0b 15-00 bos on \arpeack.
six months old ..... 0 60; 2 00 3 00} 3 00 | $2.50 each.
Fur-seals, five to three years.-| 0 20; 0 50] 0 75 | O 75 | 40 cents to $3 each.
two toone year..... Oe 205 On 40k. Oe DOs (OF 50 0.
Martens, very best .-_.......- 02 20Fiw Oe5 0 50; 1 00) From $1.50 to $3 each.
Weavers DESb<~. 2... ssteens sce 1 20; 2 50} 4 00}; 4 O00| From 50 cents to — each.
Land- otter, Dest be ae eee 1 60| 3 20} 4 60); 6 00 | From $2 to $2.50 each.
Bears, big eee sot 2 00; 4 CO} 4 00} 5 00) From $3 to $5 each.
LES 32 - Eh oe eee 0 80; 3 00} 3 00.| 5 00} From $1 to $2.50 each.
le ae | O27 20 |esOiesOLr 0° 25a 0). 50 een 50 cents to $1.50
each.
Hoxes;extra black -...--. >.> - [Eee ee es 9 00 10 00 | From $40 to $100 each.
Ue) goo SOs i 0 20} 1 CO} 1.00} O 50 | 40 cents each.
Siiver xtra .=----...- 1 00} 3 00} 3 00} 3 90) From $3 to $10 each.
ned, extra ..~<<- Raa oe 0 75} 1 50} 2 00} 3 O00 From $1 to $1.50 each.
MViGlueSWexiie <2. -3.0f0-... 1 00| 1 00] 2 00; 4 00] From $2 to $5 each.
Wolverines, extra............ 0 20; 2 00); 2 00}. 4 00 Do.
Where this company had competition, however, the prices
ranged quite high, to wit: At Sitka, for sea-otter, 140 to 150
silver rubles; beaver, from 2 to 18 rubles; land-otters, 2 to
18; mainland-foxes, black, 2 to 36 rubles; silver foxes, 3 to
18; red, 2 rubles to 50 kopecks; martens, 50 kopecks to 3
rubles; lynx, from 3 to 9 rubles; bears, 1 to 18 rubles; wolver-
ines, 24 to 18 rubles; (these quotations are all in silver rubles.)
The value of staple furs of Alaska in the Chinese market
during 1799 was—
Sea-otter, prime, $75 to $100 each.
Fur-seal, prime, $3.50 to $3.75 each.
This is interesting, as the value of a dollar has not changed
since that time in that country, and sea otter sells to-day at
about the same rate as given.
Tew fur-seals are sold in this market now, but the great bulk
of the sea-otter catch of the Kuriles goes into China. They do
not possess the art of dressing the former well, and were in the
habit of wearing them simply tanned. The Chinese for all un-
260 ALASKA.
dressed furs, like marten, beaver, &c., offer one of the best
cash markets in the world; indeed, all the early trade of Alaska
went into China, both from Russian, French, and English
traders.
The following table shows the number of sea-otters aot fur-
seals secured off the coasts of California and Oregon by the
Russians during the period of their occupation of eee, or
Bodega, in California, from 1824 to 1834 inclusive :.
. | 1825. | 1826. | 1827. | 1828. | 1829. | 1830. | 1831. | 1832..| 1833. | 1834.
Sea-Obbers ..<.. 0-2-5 475 | 500} 287 9 1 18 12). 112 1| 187 220;
Sea-otters, young..|..---.|:-.--- 13 Sal eee ae 5 4 eateya Fatal einer 34 30
Fur-sealls. -.-.- 04s 1,050 | 455 | 290 |.....- B10.) “S87. see 205 | 118 ae sir sc
During the last forty years there have been no sea-otters to:
speak of taken on the Californian coast; and in 1835 the last
fur-seals, fifty-four in number, were taken on the Farallones, two
small rocky islets off the mouth of San Francisco Harbor.
Hunters along the coast of Oregon still continue, however, to
shoot a few annually, but at restricted localities, as on the
small reach of coast at Gray’s Harbor, where nearly all that are
now obtained from the whole district are found.
ALASKA, 261
THE FUR-SEAL ROOKERIES OF THE SOUTH AT-
LANTIC.
While the Callorhinus is found in such great numbers in the
North Pacific, there is nothing of its genus found in the waters
of the North Atlantic, and none to speak of in the South Pacific,
and to-day the whole number found elsewhere than Alaska is
quite small, though in early days, some hundred years ago,
when the fur-seal was first discovered on the South Shetland
Islands, they were so abundant and so ntanerous that hundreds
of thousands were annually taken—taken without the slightest
regard to sex or condition, although the skins were not of great
value then. So numerous were these animals that for over fifty
years an immense number, several hundred thousand skins,
were yearly secured in this reckless, ruinous fashion, and it was
not until the beginning of the last decade that the supply grew
so small that scarcely a vessel of the former fleets remained on
the ground; and last season, the winter of 1873—74, less than
15,000 were gathered from the ground upon which many mil-
lions of fur-seals were found forty years ago resting and
breeding.
The government of Buenos Ayres has from the first protected.
and cared for a small rookery of fur-seals under the bluffs at
Cabo Corrientes, on its coast, where some 5,000 to 8,000 are an-
nually taken, but the seals here have no hauling-grounds like
those on Saint Paul; they are taken with much labor under the
high cliffs of this portion of the coast. This is the only govern-
ment aid and care that the seals have ever received outside of
Bering Sea. The following extract shows the way in which the
fur-seals of the south came into notice :
‘Soon after Captain Cook’s voyage in the Resolution, per-
formed in 1771, he presented an official report concerning New
Georgia, in which he gave an account of the great number of
elephant-seals and fur-seals which he had found on the shores
of that island. This induced several enterprising merchants to
fit out vessels to take them ; the former for their oil, the latter
for their skins. Captain Weddell states that he had been cred-
ibly informed that during a period of about fifty years not less
than 20,000 tons of oil were procured annually from this spot
alone for the London market, which, at a moderate price, would
yield about £1,000,000 a year. .
262 ALASKA.
- “ Seal-skius are very much nsed in their raw state as articles
of apparel by the natives of the polar zones; when tanned,
they are used extensively in making shoes; and the Eskimo
have a process by which they make them water-proof, (?) so
that, according to Scoresby, the jackets and trousers made of
them by these people are in great request among the whale-
fishers for preserving them from oil and wet. But the-skins
are not only used in this raw and tanned state as leather; on
account of their silky and downy covering, they constitute still
more important articles connected with the fur-trade. Thus
considered, seal-skins are of two kinds, which may be distin-
guished as hair-skins and fur-skins; the former are used as
clothing and ornament by the Russians, Chinese, and other
nations, and the latter yield a fur which we believe exceeds in
value all others which have been brought into the market.
Many seals supply nothing but hair, while others in different
proportions produce both the hair, and underneath it soft and
downy fur. The majority, we believe, are to be considered
merely as hair-skins, similar to the bear or sable, and of these -
some are excellent of their kind and much prized.”—Hamilton’s
Amphibious Mammalia, Edinburgh, 1839.
With regard to the manner in which the business was carried
on down here we find in the Encyclopedia Britannica the fol-
lowing facts: ‘‘ From about the year 1806 till 1823 an extensive
trade was carried on in the South Seas in procuring seal-skins;
these were obtained in vast abundance by the first traders and
yielded a very large profit. The time was when cargoes of
those skins yielded five or six dollars apiece in China, and the
present price in the English market averages from 30 to 50
shillings per skin. The number of skins brought off from
Georgia cannot be estimated at fewer than 1,200,000; the
island of Desolation has been equally productive, and, in addi-
tion to the vast sums of money which these ereatures have
yielded, it is caleulated that several thousand tons of shipping
have annually been employed in the traffic.”
An English writer in 1839 calls attention to the deplorable
and ruinous management of affairs on the great rookeries of
the South Pacific in the following strong terms:
‘‘Tt may be considered superfluous to read a lecture to the
trader upon a matter so nearly touching his own interest; and
yet there is one point, at the same time, which forms so essen-
tial a part of my subject, that we cannot withhold a word or
ALASKA. 263
two. These valuable creatures (fur-seals) have often been
found frequenting some sterile islands in innumerable multi-
tudes. By way of illustration, I shall refer only to the fur-seal
as occurring in South Shetland. On this barren spot their
numbers were such that it has been estimated that it could
_ have continued permanently to furnish a return of 100,000 furs
a year; which, to-say nothing of the public benefit, would have
* yielded annually avery handsome sum to the adventurers.
But what do these men do? In two short years, 1821 and 1822, so
great is the rush that they destroy 320,000. They killed all, and
spared none. The moment an animal landed, though big with
young, it was destroyed. Those on shore were likewise imme-
diately dispatched, though the cubs were but a day old. These,
of course, all died, their number, at the lowest calculation, ex-
ceeding 100,000. No wonder, then, at the end of the second
year the animals in this locality were nearly extinct. Soisitin
other localities, and so with other seals, and so with the oil-seals,
and so with the whale itself, every addition only making bad
worse. All this might easily be prevented hy a little less bar-
barous and revolting cruelty, and by a little more enlightened
selfishness.
‘‘ With regard to this seal-fishery of the south, the English
and Americans have exclusively divided it between them, and
with very great profits. It has lately been stated (1839) that
they together employ not fewer than sixty vessels in the trade,
of from 250 to 300 tons burden. Thesevessels are strongly built,
and have each six boats, like those of the whalers, together
with a small vessel of 40 tons, which is put in requisition when
they reach the scene of their operations. The crew consists of
about twenty-four hands; their object being to select a fixed
locality from which to make their various batteaus. Thus it is
very common for the ship to be moored in some secure bay and
be partially unrigged, while at the same time the furnaces,
try-pots, &c., required for making the oil are placed on shore.
The little cutter is then rigged and manned with about half
the crew, who sail about the neighboring islands and send a
few men here and there on shore where they may see seals or
wish to watch for them., The campaign frequently lasts for
three years, and in the midst of unheard-of privations and dan-
gers. Some of the crew are sometimes left on distant barren
spots, the others being driven off by storms. They are left to
264 ALASKA.
perish or drag out for years a most precarious and wretched
existence.”*
This gives a very fair idea of the manner in which the busi-
ness was conducted in the South Pacific. How long would our
sealing interests in Bering Sea withstand the attacks of sucha
fleet of sixty vessels, carrying from twenty to thirty men each?
Not over two years. The fact that these great southern rook-
eries withstood and paid for attacks of this extensive character
during a period of over twenty years speaks eloquently of the
millions upon millions that must have existed in the waters now
almost deserted by them.
* Robert Hamilton, Amphibious Mammalia, Edinburgh, 1839.
ALASKA. 265
THOUGHTS UPON POSSIBLE MOVEMENTS OF THE
FURSEALS IN THE FUTURE.
As these animals live and breed upon the Prybilov Islands,
certain natural conditions of landing-ground and climate ap-
pear from my study of them to be necessary to their existence
and perpetuation. From my surveys made upon the islands to
the north, Saint Matthew’s and Saint Lawrence, and the authen-
tic corroborating testimony of those who have visited all of the
mainland-coast on our side as well as the islands adjacent, in-
cluding the Peninsula and the Aleutian Archipelago, I have
no hesitation in stating that the fur-seal cannot breed on any
other land than that now resorted to within our boundary-lines;
the natural obstacles are insuperable. Therefore, so far as our
possessions extend, we have in the Prybilov group the only eli-
gible Jand on which the fur-seal can repair for breeding, and on
Saint Paul alone there is still room enough vacant for the
accommodation of ten times as many as we find there now.
But we know that to the westward, and within the jurisdic-
tion of Russia, are two islands—one very large—on which the
fur-seal regularly breeds also, and though, from the meager
testimony in our possession, we are told that it is in small num-
bers only, still, if the land be as suitable for the reception of
the rookeries as is that of Saint Paul, then what guarantee have
we that at some future time the seal-life on Copper and Be-
ring Islands may not be greatly augmented by a correspond-
ing diminution of our own with no other than natural causes
operating? Certainly, if the ground on either Copper or Be-
ring Island is as well suited for the wants of the breeding fur-
seal as is that on Saint Paul, then I say that we may at any
time note a diminution here and find a corresponding augmen-
tation there, for I have clearly shown, in my chapter on the hab-
its of these animals, that they are not particularly attached to
the respective places of their birth, but that they land with
an instinctive appreciation of its fitness as a whole. The want
of definite knowledge in regard to the character of the Rus-
Sian islands is a serious drawback to any correct generalization
as to the limit of migration, and they ought to be examined in-
telligently with this view, for if these Russian islands do not
present any considerable area of eligible breeding-ground as on
Saint Paul, then we know that they will never be resorted to
OGG at oy ALASKA.
by any great numbers of the fur-seal, not at least while so
much good rookery-ground on the American side is vacant as
is the case now.
If we, however, possess virtually all the best-situated ground,
then we can count upon retaining the cseal-life as we now have
it, and in no other way; for it is not unlikely that some season
may occur when an immense number of the fur-seals which
have lived during the last four or five years on the Prybilov
Islands should be deflected from their usual feeding-range by
the shifting of schools of fish, &c., so as to bring them around
quite close to the Asiatic seal-grounds in the spring, and the
scent from those rookeries would act as a powerful stimulant
for them to land there, where conditions for their breeding may
be as favorable as desired by them. Such being the case, this
diminution which we would notice on the Prybilov group would
be the great increase observed here, and not due to any mis-
management on the part of the men in charge of these inter-
ests. Thus it appears to me necessary that definite knowledge
concerning the Commander Islands and the Kuriles should
be possessed; without it, I should not hesitate to say that any
report made by an agent of the Department as to a visible dim-
inution of the seal-life on the Prybilovs, due, in his opinion,
to the effect of killing, as it is conducted, was without good
foundation; that this diminution would have been noticed just
the same in all likelihood had there been no taking of seals at
all on the islands, and that the missing seals are more than
probably on the Russian grounds.
If we find, however, that the character of this Russian seal-
land is od to narrow beach-margins under bluffs, as at
Saint George, then we know that a great body of seals will never
attempt to land there when they could not do so without suffer-
ing, and therefore, with this correct understanding to start on,
we can then feel alarmed with good reason should we observe
a diminution to any noteworthy degree on Saint Paul.
I do not think, however, that we will be called upon to look
into this question for an indefinite time to come, though it may
come soon; but the seals undoubtedly feed in systematic rou-
tine of travel from the time they leave the Prybilov Islands un-
til their return, and therefore, in all probability, unless the fish
upon which they feed suddenly become scarce in our waters on
soundings, they (the seals) will not change their base as mat-
ALASKA. 267
ters now progress, but it cannot be considered superfluous to
call up this question for discussion and future thought.
In the mean time the movements of the seals upon the sev-
eral breeding-grounds of Saint Paul and Saint George should
be faithfully noted and recorded every year, and the question of
their increase or diminution will be soon settled beyond all
theory or cavil. This action on the part of the Government
agent up there is of the first importance. The counting of the
skins is done alike twice over, by the company in the presence
of the natives, and then again in San Francisco by the custom-
house officials there, and heavy bonds and self-interest would
prevent any attempt at transgression of law, even if an ap-
parent chance was offered; but the company is not bound to
submit a report every year to the Treasury Department upon
the condition of the seal-life there, and although it does take in-
telligent cognizance of this matter, still no weight could be at-
tached to any statement that it might make, for the simple rea-
son of the cry that would be raised of interested machination
if so done,
AN ACT to prevent the extermination of fur-bearing animals in Alaska.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States ef America in Congress assembled, That it shall be
unlawful to kill any fur-seal upon the islands of Saint Paul’s
and Saint George’s, or in the waters adjacent thereto, except
during the months of June, July, September, and October, in
each year; and it shall be unlawful to kill such seals at any
time by the use of fire-arms, or use other means tending to
drive the seals away from said islands: Provided, That the
natives of said islands shall have the privilege of killing such
young seals as may be necessary for their own food and cloth-
ing during other months, and aiso such old seals as may be
required for their own clothing and for the manufacture of boats
for their own use, which killing shall be limited and controlled
by such regulations as shall be prescribed by the Secretary of
the Treasury.
SEC. 2. And be it further enacted, That it shall be unlawful to
kill any female seal, or any seal less than one year old, at any
season of the year, except as above provided ; and it shall also
be unlawful to kill any seal in the waters adjacent to said
islands, or on the beaches, cliffs, or rocks where they haul up
from the sea to remain; and any person who shall violate
268 | ALASKA.
either of the provisious of this or the first section of this act,
shall be punished on conviction thereof, for each offense, by a
fine of not less than two hundred dollars nor more than one
thousand dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding six months,
or by both such fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the
court having jurisdiction and taking cognizance of the offense ;
and all vessels, their tackle, apparel, and furniture, whose
erew shall be found engaged in the violation of any of the pro-
visions of this act, shall be forfeited to the United States.
Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That for the period of
twenty years from and after the passage of this act the number
of fur-seals which may be killed for their skins upon the island
of Saint Paul’s is hereby limited and restricted to seventy-five
thousand per annum; and the number of fur-seals which may
be killed for their skins upon the island of Saint George’s is
hereby limited and restricted to twenty-five thousand per an-
num: Provided, That the Secretary of the Treasury may restrict
and limit the right of killing, if it shall become necessary for the
preservation of such seals, with such proportionate reduction
of the rents reserved to the Government as shall be right and
proper ; and if any person shall knowingly violate either of the
provisions of this section, he shall, upon due conviction thereof,
be punished in the same way as is provided herein for a viola-
tion of the provisions of the first and second sections of this
act.
Src. 4. And be it further enacted, That immediately after the
passage of this act the Secretary of the Treasury shall lease, for
the rental mentioned in section 6 of this act, to proper and
responsible parties, to the best advantage of the United States,
having due regard to the interests of the Government, the
native inhabitants, the parties heretofore engaged in the trade,
and the protection of the seal-fisheries, for a term of twenty
years from the 1st day of May, 1870, the right to engage in the
business of taking fur-seals on the islands of Saint Paul’s and
Saint George’s, and to send a vessel or vessels to said islands
for the skins of such seals, giving to the lessee or lessees of said
islands a lease duly executed, in duplicate, not transferable,
and taking from the lessee or lessees of said islands a bond,
with sufficient sureties, in a sum not less than $500,000, condi-
tional for the faithful observance of all the laws and requirements
of Congress and of the regulations of the Secretary of the
Treasury touching the subject-matter of taking fur-seals and
disposing of the same, aud for the payment of all taxes and
4
E
ia
ALASKA. 269
dues accruing to the United States connected therewith. And
in making said lease the Secretary of the Treasury shall have
due regard to the preservation of the seal-fur trade of said
islands, and the comfort, maintenance, and education of the
natives thereof. The said lessees shall furnish to the several
masters of vessels employed by them certified copies of the
lease held by them, respectively, which shall be presented to
the Government revenue-officer for the time being who may be
in charge at the said islands, as the authority of the party for
landing and taking skins.
Src. 5. And be it further enacted, That at the expiration of
said term of twenty years, or on surrender or forfeiture of any
lease, other leases may be made in manner as aforesaid for
other terms of twenty years ; but no persons other than Ameri-
can citizens shall be permitted, by lease or otherwise, to occupy
said islands, or either of them, for the purpose of taking the
skins of fur-seals therefrom, nor shall any foreign vessel be en-
gaged in taking such skins; and the Secretary of the Treasury
shall vacate and declare any lease forfeited if the same be held
or operated for the use, benefit, or advantage, directly or indi-
rectly, of any person or persons other than American citizens.
Every lease shall contain a covenant on the part of the lessee
that he will not keep, sell, furnish, give, or dispose of any dis-
tilled spirits or spirituous liquors on either of said islands to
any of the natives thereof, such person not being a physician
and furnishing the same for use as medicine; and any person
who shall kill any fur-seal on either of said islands, or in the
waters adjacent thereto, (excepting natives as provided by this
act,) without authority of the lessees thereof, and any person
who shall molest, disturb, or interfere with said lessees, or
either of them, or their agents or employés in the lawful prose-
cution of their business, under the provisions of this act, shall
be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall for each offense,
on conviction thereof, be punished in the same way and by like
penalties as prescribed in the second section of this act ; and all
vessels, their tackle, apparel, appurtenances, and cargo, whose
crews Shall be found engaged in any violation of either of the
provisions of this section, shall be forfeited to the United
States; and if any person or company, under any lease herein
authorized, shall knowingly kill, or permit to be killed, any
number of seals exceeding the number for each island in this
act prescribed, such person or company shall, in addition to
the penalties and forfeitures aforesaid, also forfeit the whole
270 ALASKA.
number of the skins of seals killed in that year, or, in case
the same have been disposed of, then said person or company
shall forfeit the value of the same. And it shall be the
duty of any revenue-officer, officially acting as such on either of
said islands, to seize and destroy any distilled spirits or spiritu-
ous liquors found thereon: Provided, That such officer shall
make detailed report of his doings to the collector of the port.
Src. 6. And be it further enacted, That the annual rental to
be reserved by said lease shall be not less than $50,000 per
annum, to be secured by deposit of United States bonds to that
amount, and in addition hereto a revenue tax or duty of two
dollars is hereby laid upon each fur-seal skin taken and shipped
from said islands during the continuance of such lease, to be
paid into the Treasury of the United States ; and the Secretary
of the Treasury is hereby empowered and aukhoseedl to make
all needful rules and regulations for the collection and payment
of the same, for the comfort, maintenance, education, and pro-
tection of the natives of said islands, and also for carrying into
full effect all the provisions of this act: Provided further, That
the Secretary of the Treasury may terminate any lease given to
any person, company, or corporation, on full and satisfactory
proof of the violation of any of the provisions of this act or the
rules and regulations established by him: Provided further,
That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to
deliver to the owners the fur-seal skins now stored on the
islands, on the payment of one dollar for each of said skins
taken and shipped away hy said owners.
SEC. 7. And be it further enacted, That the provisions of the
seventh and eighth sections of an act entitled ‘“‘An act to ex-
tend the laws of the United States relating to customs, com-
merce, and navigation over the territory ceded to the United
States by Russia, to establish a collection-district therein, and
for other purposes,” approved July 27, 1868, shall be deemed
to apply to this act; and all prosecutions for offenses com-
mitted against the provisions of this act, and all other pro-
ceedings had because of the violations of the provisions of
this act, and which are authorized by said act above men-
tioned, shall be in accordance with the provisions thereof; and
all acts and parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of
this act are hereby repealed.
SEc. 8 And be it further enacted, That the Congress may
at any time hereafter alter, amend, or repeal this —
Approved, July 1, 1870.
Manica: 271
BY-LAWS OF THE ALASKA COMMERCIAL COMPAN x;
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.
I. The corporate name of this company is the Alaska Com-
mercial Company, and its affairs are under the control of five
trustees, who shall hereafter be chosen by the stockhoiders
of the company on the second Wednesday of June in each year,
and who shall hold office until their successors are elected.
_ The annual meetings of the stockholders shall be held at the
office of the company. At all elections of trustees by the stock-
holders each stockholder shall be entitled to one vote for every
share of stock held by him on the books of the company.
Stockholders may vote by proxy. All proxies shall be signed
by the party owning the steck represented.
Il. The principal place of business of the company is San
Francisco, California.
Ill. The regular meetings of the board ne trustees will be
heid at the office of the company on the first Wednesday in
each month, at 12 o’clock m., and no notice of such meeting to
any of the trustees shall be requisite. Other meetings of the
board of trustees may be held upon the call of the president,
by notice, signed by him, of the time and place of meeting,
personally served on each trustee residing within this State, or
published in a newspaper of general circulation in San Fran-
cisco for ten days successively next preceding the day of such
meeting. Special meetings may be held upon notice, signed
by three trustees, stating the time and place of meeting, and
the purpose for which the meeting is called, having been duly
served on each trustee, or published in a newspaper of general
circulation in San Francisco for ten days successively next pre-
ceding the day of meeting, and no business other than that
specified in the notice shall be transacted.at such special meet-
ing. At all meetings of the board any three of the trustees
being present shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of
the business of the company. Adjourned meetings may be
held in pursuance of a resolution of the board adopted at any
regular or general meeting of the board. Any three trustees
elected at any annual meeting of the stockholders of the com-
pany, and being present at the close of such stockholders’ meet-
ing, may, on the same day, without notice to any of the trustees,
meet and organize the board by the election of officers, and
Mie, ALASKA.
may transact such other business as may come before the board
at such meeting.
IV. The officers of the company shall consist of a president,
a vice-president, and a secretary, who shall be chosen by the
board of trustees at their first meeting after the annual elec-
tion of trustees ; such officers to hold office one year, or until
their successors are elected.
V. The president, or in his absence the vice-president, shall
preside at the meetings of the board. In case neither are pres-
ent, the board may appoint a president pro tempore.
VI. All vacancies in the board may be filled by the board at
the next meeting after the existence of such vacancy, and it
shall require the affirmative vote of three trustees to elect. In
case of any vacancy occurring among the officers or agents of
the company, the same may be filled at any meeting of the
board.
VIL All certificates of the capital stock of the company
shall be signed by the president and secretary, attested by
the corporate seal of the company, and can be issued to the
parties entitled thereto or their authorized agent. All trans-
ters of stock shall be made on the books of the company by
the secretary, upon surrender of the original certificate or cer-
tificates, properly indorsed by the party in whose favor the
same was issued. No stock shall be transferred to any person
not a stockholder of the company at the time of such transfer,
unless the same shall have been offered for sale to the com-
pany, or stockholders of the company, and the purchase at the
fair cash or market value refused, except by authority of a
resolution of the board of trustees permitting such transfer.
VIII. The corporate seal of the company consists of a die of
the following words: “Alaska Commercial Company, San
Francisco, California.”
IX. The corporate seal, and all property, securities, inter-
ests, and business of the company, shall be under the control
and general management of the president, subject to the di-
rection of the board of trustees. The funds of the company
shall be deposited (from time to time, as they are received) to
the credit of the company, with a bank doing business in San
Francisco, to be designated by the president, and the said funds
can be drawn from such bank only by proper checks or drafts,
signed by the president or vice-president of the company. The
books of the company shall be kept by the secretary, who shall
ALASKA. | 273
aiso keep a correct record of all the proceedings of the board
of trustees had at their meetings, and perform such other
duties as the board of trustees may require.
X. The pay and salaries of all officers of the company shall
be determined, from time to,time, by the board of trustees.
XI. The president of the company shall have power to ap-
point and employ such general business agents, factors, attor-
neys, clerks, and other employés as he may deem proper and
requisite for conducting the business and affairs of the com-
pany; and he shall fix the pay, commissions, or salaries of all
such agents, factors, attorneys, clerks, and other employés,
from time to time, as circumstances shall require.
XII. All transfers of the capital stock of this company made
to persons not citizens of the United States, or made for the
use or benefit of any citizen or citizens of any foreign govern-
ment, are absoluteiy void.
XIII. Dividends from the net profits of the company may
be declared and paid by order of the board of trustees, in ac-
cordance with law. .
XIV. These by-laws may be altered or amended by the
board of trustees in the manner prescribed by law.
18 AL
DIA ALASKA.
REGULATIONS.
OFFICE ALASKA COMMERCIAL COMPANY,
San Francisco, January, 1872
The following regulations are prescribed for the Sueanee of
all concerned :
1. The general management of the company’s affairs on the
islands of Saint Paul’s and Saint George’s is intrusted to one
general agent, whose lawful orders and directions must be im-
plicitly obeyed by all subordinate agents and employés.
2. Seals can only be taken on the islands during the months
of June, July, September, and October in each year, except
those killed by the native inhabitants, for food and clothing,
under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury.
Female seals and seals less than one year old will not be
killed at any time, and the killing of seals in the waters sur-
rounding the islands, or on or about the rookeries, beaches,
cliffs, or rocks, where they haul up from the sea to remain, or
by the use of fire-arms, or any other means tending to drive
the seals away from the islands, is expressly forbidden.
3. The use of fire-arms on the islands, during the period from
the first arrival of seals in the spring-season until they dis-
appear from the islands in autumn, is prohibited.
4. No dogs will be vermitted on the islands.
5. No person will be permitted to kill seals for their skins
on the islands, except under the supervision and authority of
the agents of the company.
6. No vessels other than those employed by the company, or
vessels of the United States, will be permitted to touch at the
islands, or to land any persons or merchandise thereon, except
in cases of shipwreck or vessels in distress.
7. The number of seals which may be annually killed for
their skins on Saint Paul’s Island is limited to seventy-five
thousand, and the number which may be so killed on Saint
George’s Island is limited to twenty-five thousand.
8. No persons other than American citizens, or the Aleutian
inhabitants of said islands, will be employed by the company
on the islands in any capacity.
ee eee ee a
ALASKA, 275
9. The Aleutian people living on the islands will be em-
ployed by the company in taking seals for their skins, and
they will be paid for the labor of taking each skin and deliver-
ing the same at the salt-house forty cents, coin, until otherwise
ordered by the Secretary of the Treasury. For eae labor per-
formed for the company, proper and remunerative wages will be
paid, the amount to be agreed upon between the agents of the
company and the persons employed. The working-parties will
be under the immediate control of their own chiefs, and no
compulsory means will ever be used to induce the people to
labor. All shall be free to labor or not, as they may choose.
The agents of the company will make selection of the seals to
be killed, and are authorized to use all proper means to pre-
vent the cutting of skins.
10. All provisions and merchandise required by the inhabit-
ants for legitimate use will be furnished them from the com-
pany’s stores, at prices not higher than ordinary retail prices
at San Francisco, and in no case at prices above 25 per cent.
advance on wholesale or invoice prices in San Francisco.
11. The necessary supplies of fuel, oil, and salmon will be
furnished the people gratis.
12. All widows and orphan children on the islands will be
supported by the company.
13. The landing or manufacture on the islands of spirituous
or intoxicating liquors or wines will under no circumstances be
permitted by the company, and the preparation and use of fer-
mented liquors by the innabitants must be discouraged in every
legitimate manner.
14. Free transportation and subsistence on the company’s
vessels will be furnished all people, who at any time desire to
remove from the islands to any aes in the Aleutian group of
islands.
15. Free schools will be cegitaniia by the company eight
months in each year, four hours per day, Sundays and holidays
excepted, and agents and teachers will endeavor to secure the
attendance of all. The company will furnish the necessary
books, stationery, and other appliances for the use of the schools
without cost to the people.
16. The physicians of the company are required to faithfully
attend upon the sick, and both medical attendance and medi-
cines shall be free to all persons on the islands; and the ac-
276 gore ALASKA.
ceptance of gratuities from the people for such services is for-
bidden.
17. The dwelling-houses now being erected by the company,
will be occupied by the Aleutian Tamilies, free of rent or other
charges.
18. No interference on the part of agents or employés of the
company, in the local government of the people on the islands,
or in their social or domestic relations, or in their religious rites
or ceremonies, will be countenanced or tolerated.
19. It is strictly enjoined upon all agents and employés of
the company to at all times treat the inhabitants of the islands
with the utmost kindness, and endeavor to preserve amicable
relations with them. TF orce is never to be used against them,
except in defense of life, or to prevent the wanton destruction
of valuable property. The agents and employés of the com-
pany are expected te instruct the native people in household
economy, and, by precept and example, illustrate to them the
principles and benefits of a higher civilization.
20. Faithful and strict compliance with all the provisions and ~
obligations contained in the act of Congress entitled “‘An act
to prevent the extermination of fur-bearing animals in Alaska,”
approved July 1, 1870, and the obligations contained in the
lease to the compary executed in pursuance of said act, and
the regulations of the Secretary of the Treasury, prescribed
under authority of said act, is especially enjoined upon all
agents and employés of the company. The authority of the
special agents of the Treasury appointed to reside upon the
islands must be respected, whenever lawfully exercised. The
interest of the company in the management of the seal-fisher-
ies being identical in character with that of the United States,
there can be no conflict between the agents of the company |
and the agents of the Government, if all concerned faithfully
perform their several duties and comply with the laws and reg-
ulations.
21. The general agent of the company ‘will cause to be kept
books of record on each island, in which shall be recorded the
names and ages of all the inhabitants of the islands, and, from
time to time, ail births, marriages, and deaths which may occur
on the islands, stating, in cases of death, the causes of the
same. A full transcript of these records will be annually for-
warded to the home office at San Francisco.
22. Copies of these regulations will be kept constantly posted
ALASKA. 21%
in conspicuous places on both islands, and any willful violation
of the same by the agents or employés of the company will be
followed by the summary removal of the offending party.
JOHN F. MILLER,
President Alaska Commercial Company.
NotTre.—Sections 2 and 7 of the above 1egulations were based upon the
law of July 1, 1870; but since then Congress has given the Secretary of the
Treasury the power to fix the ratio for each island upon a more intelligent
understanding of the subject—and also to extend the time for taking from
the ist of June up to the 15th of August.—H. W. E.
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