hood of land, and yet unable to discover it. But at length the fog lifted, and early in June land was sighted, which he called St. George. A party of hun ters were left on the island for the winter and they in turn discovered the larger island of St. Paul.

Over 500,000 skins were taken during the year, and the islands early began to be the "bank" from which Baranof raised the funds to carry on his gov ernment in Alaska. If he needed a ship's load of provisions and supplies for his colonies, all he had to do was to kill more seal and pay in seal skins. So great was the slaughter that the Government was compelled to interfere and in 1805 prohibited their killing for a period of five years. From 1820 to 1867, the year of the transfer, 42,000 skins were annually exported to England, the United States, and Canada.

The first years after the transfer of Alaska to the United States again witnessed an indiscriminate slaughter by different firms, until Congress was compelled to interfere and authorize the Treasury Department to lease the islands under suitable restrictions to a responsible company.

This was the origin of the Alaska Commercial Company of San Francisco, which has held the lease for the past twenty years, paying the Government annually a rental of $55,000, and a royalty of $2.62 on each of the 100,000 skins allowed to be taken. This produced a revenue of $317,500 per year. Last spring the islands were relet for another twenty years to the North American Commercial Company of San Francisco. By the terms of the new lease the Government will be the recipient of about $1,000,000 per year.

At 9:30 p. m. on June 18, the captain dropped anchor in Southwest Harbor, St. George Island. Being unable to land through the breakers, the next day the ship sailed around the southern end of the island and anchored at noon in Garden Cove. The chart said that there was a trail to the village, 2 or 3 miles distant. At the village they called it 4 miles; the young officers that walked it came to the conclusion that it was nearer 14 miles.

At 9:15 p.m. the anchor was weighed and we steamed northward for St. Paul Island.

Going on deck about 6 o'clock on the morning of June 20, the ship was abreast of St. Paul Island, in full sight of the village. Behind us was Otter Island with its bluff shore, and still further behind in the hazy distance the Island of St. George. To our right was Walrus Island, and to our left St. Paul, with its gentle slopes of green grass and moss, its bleak rocks and sand beaches covered in the season with the fur seal. To the right of the village were seen men driving a herd of seal to the killing grounds. Upon a hill near the village floated the stars and stripes, together with the flag of the North American Commercial Company, the lessees of the island. The stars and stripes also floated over the building occupied by Mr. Charles J. Goff, the United States Treasury agent.

From the bay the village presents a more pleasing and inviting appearance than any other in Alaska. The large houses occupied by the North American Commercial Company for their own use, the house of the Treasury agent, the Greek church and the priest's residence, the schoolhouse and the neat white cottages of the people, with their orderly arrangement by streets, ranged as they are on the gentle slope of a hill, make an attractive picture. Before we rose from an early breakfast, Messrs. Goff, Tingle, Redpath, and Elliott were announced. They had come to get their mail, which Capt. Healy had brought up for them. After breakfast I went ashore with Mr. Goff, who with his assistant, Mr. Nettleton, of Minneapolis, also Mr. H. W. Elliott, of Washington, and Mr. Tingle, the company's agent, did all in their power to make the day pleasant and profitable to me.

Soon after landing Mr. Goff announced that a killing had commenced, and we walked over to the grounds to witness the process. A band of 200 or 300 seals were huddled together in the care of keepers. From this band 15 to 20 seals would be taken at a time, and driven a few yards from the main band. Four or five men with long clubs then took charge of the small band, and selecting those of suitable size and age, killed them by one blow on the head. The men with clubs were followed by others with knives, who stabbed the seals to let out the blood. They were followed by the skin men, who took off the skin with the layer of fat adhering to it. These in turn were followed by those who separated the fat from the skin. The skins were then carried to the salting house, where they were carefully counted and salted down. While this was going on, a score of women and girls were filling skin bags with masses of fat, which were carried on their backs to their homes, and then fried out into oil (butter) for winter use. The flesh was also carried home, cut into thin strips, and hung on poles to dry.

After being dried, it is stuffed into the stomachs of the sea lion, which have been cleaned and prepared for the purpose. After filling it with the dried meat, seal oil is poured in, filling up all the vacant spaces. You then have a huge sausage between two and three feet in diameter. This is stowed away for winter use.

In passing through the village we saw women at work cleaning the intestines of the sea lion, very much as eastern farm-wives prepare intestines for sausages. After being cleansed they are hung out to dry; when dry they are slit lengthwise and form a band 3 or 4 inches wide and from 75 to 100 feet long. From these strips are made the famous kamileka, or waterproof coats worn by these people. These coats are much lighter, stronger, and dryer, resisting rain longer and better than the rubber goods of commerce. Among the Eskimo of the Arctic the larger intestines of the walrus are used, making a correspondingly wider band.

The Greek church at this place is the best painted and neatest kept of any that I have seen in the Territory. The silver candlesticks and other ornaments when not in use were kept from the dust by bag coverings. The church is rich, being supported by a certain percentage of the wages of the whole population. In the adjoining graveyard a large Greek cross made from 2-inch plank stood at the head of each grave. With but two or three exceptions, these contained no name or date, nothing to indicate who was buried there. A gentleman who has attended many of their funerals says he never saw any, even the nearest relative of the deceased, shed a tear or give any outward sign of grief. They say it is good to die. After the burial all the friends are invited to the former residence of the deceased to tea.

With Mr. Goff I also visited the company's schoolhouse. It is well built, commodious, and well furnished in its appointments. Owing to the opposition of the Greek Church, which does not wish the children to learn English, but little progress has apparently been made. The school has been in operation for twenty years, and yet I could not find a child who could converse in the English language, although I was informed that some of them understood what I said to them. I greatly regret that it was vacation time and that I could not see the school in session.

Mr. H. W. Elliott, who is here under appointment from the Secretary of the Treasury to report on the present condition of seal life, pointed out to me the location of the leading seal rookeries, and lamented the seeming fact that the seal were greatly decreasing in numbers. At dinner we were all the guests of Mr. Tingle; the principal fresh meat being roasted seal. I found it very palatable.

The population of the island consists of 5 whites and 217 natives. There are 23 boys and 41 girls between the ages of 5 and 17.

About 4:30, the tide favoring, we returned to the ship after a very enjoyable day on shore. At 5 p. m. the steamer got under way. We rounded the southern end of the island and fetched our course for Asia.

SIBERIA.

Siberia, the battle-ground of conquering Cossack and free-booting Promyshlenki in their century's march across Asia, is, in its northern and northwestern section, a dreary waste of low-rolling and frozen tundra or rugged, snowcovered and storm-swept mountains, the land of the fierce howling poorga, of wild beasts and scattered tribes of brave, hardy, and half-civilized people.

Its bleak, ice-skirted, snow-covered shore north of Kamchatka was our next landing place. Off this coast on the 5th of May, 1885, the whaling bark Napoleon was caught and crushed in the ice. The disaster came so suddenly that the crew had barely time to spring into the boats without provisions or extra clothing. There were four boats with nine in each. Four days after the wreck two of the boats were seen by the bark Fleetwing, and their crews rescued, five of them dying from the effects of the exposure. The remaining eighteen men after seven days' tossing about in the sea, took refuge upon a large field of ice, where they remained twenty-six days. During this time one-half of their number died from exhaustion and starvation. While on the ice all they had to eat were two small seals, which were caught. One of the men, Mr. J. B. Vincent, being unable to eat the raw seal, had not a mouthful of nourishment for eleven days. On the 7th of June the nine survivors again took to the boat, and in three days effected a landing on the Siberian coast, to the southwest of Cape Navarin. The day after they landed, five of the remaining died, being so badly frozen that their limbs dropped off. Rogers, the mate, Lawrence, a boat steerer, and Wal

ters, the cooper, were also badly frozen and helpless. These were cared for by the natives, who, though in a half-starving condition themselves, divided their living with them. The three men lived through the winter, subsisting on dried fish until March, when Lawrence died, followed the next day by Rogers, and shortly afterwards by Wallace, leaving Vincent the sole survivor of the party. Vincent, being in better physical condition than the others, was adopted by a family having a herd of domesticated reindeer, and therefore had more to eat. With them he remained for over two years until found and rescued July 15, 1887, by Capt. M. A. Healy, commanding the United States revenue marine steamer Bear.

While among the deer men, Mr. Vincent carved on a board with a knife the following message, and asked his new made friends on the coast to give it to the first ship they saw. On one side was "1887 J. B. V. Bk. Nap. Tobacco give." On the reverse side was "S. W. C. Nav., 10 M. Help Come." This piece of wood ultimately reached Capt. Healy and told the story, "1887, J. B. Vincent of the bark Napoleon, is 10 miles southwest of Cape Navarin. Come to his rescue. Give the bearer some tobacco for his trouble."

Capt. Healy was at Port Clarence when he received the message. With his usual promptness, he steamed over to the coast of Siberia, and after some difficulty in the fog, finally found and rescued the wrecked sailor.

During the following winter Congress made an appropriation for the purchase of presents with which to reward the natives for their care of Mr. Vincent and his comrades. Capt. Healy was delegated to distribute these presents, and for that purpose we were en route to Siberia.

Monday, June 23, opened very foggy, but about 8 o'clock the fog lifted, and Cape Navarin and the coast of Siberia were in full view. A more desolate and dreary scene it is hard to conceive of. A range of mountains with an elevation of about 2,000 feet lined the coast. Cape Navarin itself ended in a precipice 2,512 feet in height, the base of which descended into the sea. Although it was so late in June, the whole country was still covered with snow, except bare spots here and there. Sleds drawn by dogs and reindeer were still in common use. Even while approaching the coast, snow storms were seen sweeping through the cañons of the mountains. The temperature on deck at noon was 45. A sharp lookout was kept for the native village which was located upon the map, but which was not found upon the coast. At length two tents were seen on the beach, and abreast of them we anchored at 2 p. m. The Captain and Mrs. Healy, Lieut. Dimmock, and myself went ashore. The captain at once sent messengers in every direction on dog-sleds to gather the people together. The main distribution of presents took place on the afternoon of the 24th, and consisted of 1,000 yards of drilling, 500 yards of calico, 100 packages of glovers' needles, 8 dozen hand looking-glasses, 1,500 pounds of ship bread, 2 half-barrels of sugar, 2 barrels of molasses, 1 chest of tea, 6 dozen combs, 5 dozen packages of linen thread, 4 dozen tin pails and pans, 1 dozen iron pots, 2 kegs of nails with hammers, files, gimlets, saws, braces, and other carpenter tools, I dozen rifles and one-half dozen shotguns, 125 pounds of powder, 300 pounds lead, 2 bags of shot and 20,000 caps, 1,000 cartridges, axes, hatchets, and butcher knives, 2 dozen fox-traps, 4 dozen pipes, tobacco, snuff, 1 box goggles, one package fish-hooks and lines, beads, and 1 box children's toys. Total value, $1,000.

There are three tribes or families of natives on the Bering Sea coast of Siberia: the Kamtchatkans, occupying the peninsula of the same name, the Tchuctchees, Occupying the general region west of Bering Straits and the Gulf of Anadir, and the Koriaks, occupying the country between the former two. Our visit was to the Koriaks, although I afterwards met the Tchuctchees at East Cape. The Koriaks can be divided into three classes: the civilized ones that have come more or less under the influence of the Russian settlements in the interior, the coast men, who mainly subsist on the whale, walrus, and seal, and the deer men, who live off their herds of domesticated reindeer. The latter two classes are more or less nomadic and pagan. They are said to offer sacrifices of dogs.

We met the deer and coast Koriaks. They are a good sized, robust, athletic, and fleshy people, with prominent cheek bones, broad noses, black eyes, and a pleasant, good-natured expression. The men shave the crown of their heads, leaving a fringe of coarse, black hair round the forehead and sides, giving them the appearance of so many monks. They are said to do this that the flying of the hair in the wind may not frighten the wild reindeer when hunting.

The women wear their hair parted in the middle, the two braids hanging down the back. Some braid strings of beads around their necks or pendant from their

ears.

The women are very generally tattooed down the center of the forehead and along each side of the nose to the nostril, and elaborate designs cover the cheek. I also saw tattooing on the hands, wrists, and arms. One girl had two waving lines from the forehead to the nostrils, and nine in a fan shape from the lower lip to the chin. Another, with the other marks, had an "X"on the chin at each corner of her mouth. Occasionally the men were tattooed. I saw a husband and wife marked exactly alike. They were dressed exclusively in skins and furs. Neither on their persons nor in the construction of their tents, furnishings, or bedding did I see as much as a thread of wool or cotton. Their clothing, tents, and bedding are made from reindeer skins. Their food is largely dried reindeer meat, supplemented with whale and seal blubber. Their thread is reindeer sinew, and from the reindeer horns are made many household implements.

The dress of both men and women is made of a large skin shirt, so constructed that the fur can be worn outside or next to the skin, as may be desired, and a pair of skin pants with the fur inside. These extend to the knee. Those of the women are wide, so that when tied at the knee, they present a baggy appearance similar to Turkish trousers. Then a pair of fur boots soled with seal or walrus hide. The tops of the boots are tied closely around the bottom of the pants. Suspended by a string around the neck is a fur hood, which can be pulled over the head when needed. The babe is carried inside the parka, or fur coat, on the back of the mother. A belt around the waist of the parka keeps the babe from slipping down too far. The dress of the babe consists of a single garment of reindeer skin, but this garment combines hood, coat, pants, shoes, and mittens all in one. When dressed, only a small portion of the face of the child is visible.

The sleds are made of birch runners. Over these are a half-dozen arches made of reindeer horns. These arches connect the runners and support the floor of the sled. At the rear end of the sled is a slight railing to support the back of the traveler. No iron is used in making the sled; all the parts are firmly lashed together with whalebone strips or rawhide. The runners are shod with bone. Before these are harnessed six dogs in pairs, or two reindeer. The reindeer are also driven side by side. The harness of the reindeer is very simple, being a strap around his neck connected with a trace between his legs. The tents we saw are conical, like those of the Dakota Indians, the poles being covered with reindeer skins or walrus hides. In some portions of the country, where straight poles can not be had, whalebones are used for frames, and the tents are oval in shape. Within the tents for the sake of greater warmth are small inner inclosures made by hanging reindeer-skin curtains. These small inclosures are the sleeping places. As they follow their herds from one pasturage to another these tents are easily taken down, loaded on the sled, removed to the next camp and set up again.

They have two kinds of boats, consisting of a light frame of birchwoood, over which is stretched seal or walrus skin. The large, open boat is called by the natives oomiak, by the Kamtchatkans bidar. These will carry from 25 to 50 people. The smaller boat is intended for from 1 to 3 men, and is entirely encased in skin, except the openings left for the men to sit in. These are called kyaks, kaiak, or bidarka.

In hunting whales, walrus, and seals they use spears with ivory points set in bone sockets. Small birds and animals are trapped. Their gun is a miniature rifle with a barrel not over 2 feet long. To the stock are fastened by a hinge two light sticks, which are used as supports to the gun when firing. Powder and lead are so difficult to obtain and so expensive that the hunter runs no unnecessary risk in using it. It is said that sometimes they hunt to recover the bullet in order to use it again. I tried in vain to purchase one of these guns. They seem to have no chiefs, their organization being largely patriarchal. If one man accumulates more deer than his neighbors, he secures a certain amount of influence on account of his wealth. Poor men, who have no deer of their own, join his band, and assist in caring for his herd, in return for food and clothing. The only law that governs the community seems to be the natural law that is found in all barbarous tribes, that of retaliation. A few years ago a feud started between a band living on the coast, and a band of deer men living in the neighborhood, during which the latter band was exterminated.

They impressed me as a very unselfish people. In the distribution of the presents none seemed to think that someone else was receiving more than he. The more frequent expression of anxiety seemed to be that no one should bɔ overlooked. They also called attention to some who were unavoidably absent, and offered to take them their share. Evidently some of them had never been

upon a ship before, and they were naturally curious to look all over it. Sometimes when a family came off in their boat, at first only the men came aboard. After a while, as if gaining confidence, the women and children would venture. Frequently as soon as they were on deck they would sit down as if afraid to stand up. One woman reaching the deck in safety expressed her joy by throwing her arms around her husband's neck and they rubbed noses (their method of salutation in the place of kissing).

I secured from them for the museum of the Society of Natural History and Ethnography at Sitka, a number of things to illustrate their manner of living. There being a herd of some 1.500 reindeer a few miles up the coast, in order that we might visit them and the ship procure some fresh meat, after the distribution of the presents the captain got under way and sailed up to the reindeer herd, where he again anchored. Going ashore, we found the herd on the beach, some of them apparently drinking the salt water. The winter with its unusual amount of snow had been severe upon them, so that they were very poor. They were also shedding their hair and their horns were in the velvet, so they did not make a very impressive appearance. Off to one side two sleds were standing with two deer attached to each. Getting upon one of the sleds, by motions I made them understand that I wanted a ride, and a short one was given me. The reindeer were much smaller than I had expected to find them, the majority of them being not much larger than the wild deer of other sections. The captain purchased four deer, which were slaughtered and dressed for him. When getting ready to lasso the deer the owner's family seated themselves in a circle on the ground, where probably some rites connected with their superstitions were observed. Upon attempting to approach the circle we were motioned away. After a little while the men went out and lassoed a selected animal, which was led out on one side of the herd. The man that was leading it stationed himself directly in front of the animal and held him firmly by the two horns. Another with a butcher knife stood at the side of the deer. An old man, probably the owner, went off to the eastward, and placing his back to the setting sun seemed engaged in prayer, upon the conclusion of which he turned around and faced the deer. This was the signal for knifing the animal. With apparently no ef fort, the knife was pushed to the heart and withdrawn. The animal seemed to suffer no pain, and in a few seconds sank to his knees and rolled over on his side. While this was taking place the old man before mentioned stood erect, motionless, with his hand over his eyes. When the deer was dead he approached, and taking a handful of hair and blood from the wound, impressively threw it to the eastward. This was repeated a second time. Upon the killing of the second animal the wife of the owner cast the hair and blood to the eastward. I did not remain to the slaughter of the other two. While the animal was bleeding to death several women and girls gathered around and commenced sharpening their knives on stones preparatory to skinning the animal, which they proceeded to do as soon as the deer were dead. Engineer Meyers photographed the herd. At 4:15 on the morning of the 25th the ship was gotten under way and we started northward. After proceeding about 20 miles we ran into a large field of floating ice. The sun was shining brightly. Off upon the western horizon, clear-cut against the sky, glistening and sparkling in their covering of snow, were the Siberian mountains, while all around us, as far as the eye could reach, were great masses of heavy ice, rubbing and grinding against one another. We were six hours steaming through this ice. While in the ice the captain shot three, and secured two, hooded seal. Great numbers of waterfowl were in the open spaces among the ice.

It was here that the whaling bark Sappho was crushed and sunk in 1882, and the barks Rainbow and Napoleon in 1885, and the bark Ladoga in 1889. This last vessel escaped destruction and was repaired. Just to the northward, between us and our destination, St. Lawrence Island, in 1885 the bark Gazelle was crushed and sunk.

On Saturday afternoon, June 28, we sighted the snow-covered coast of St. Lawrence Island, and dropped anchor off the village Chib-u-chak on the northwest corner of the island. We are now in latitude 64 degrees north. The sun rises at 1:55 o'clock and sets at 10:05 p. m. Temperature at noon 40 degrees. This is the largest island in Bering Sea. It was discovered and named by Bering's expedition in the summer of 1728. In 1775 the island was sighted by Captain Cook and named Clark Island. On the 10th of July, 1817, it was visited by Kotzebuej's expedition in the Rurik, and in 1830 by Etolin in command of the brig Chicagof. Etolin found five native villages on the island. In 1878 the island was the scene of a great tragedy. Starvation and pestilence carried away over 400 of the people.