5(1 ARYJa 
V 
159 
dare not hunt alone, nor in small numbers, on account of the hatred of 
the natives." * 
The whole story is a very painful one and most of it has lapsed 
beyond the possibility of recovery. The Russian traders were scarcely 
less barbarous than the Aleuts whom they eventually subdued and 
reduced into a scarcely disguised slavery. They were, however, pro- 
vided with firearms, while the natives had, whether for defence or for 
attack, only spears, darts, and such like primitive weapons. We have 
imperfect accounts from the Russian point of view of these transactions, 
but none from that of the natives who were the principal sufferers. We 
gather and with difficulty, only the fact that the Aleutian Islands were 
originally occupied by a numerous population, which before many years 
had became reduced by slaughter and by disease, introduced by the con- 
querors, to very scanty proportions. 
The Aleut race was decimated, but the fur trade continued, and 
has continued in one form or another up to the present day. Meanwhile 
the sea-cow became extinct, and it is to this fact particularly that I 
now wish to draw attention. 
It soon became habitual for the Russian traders to resort in the 
first instance to Behring Island in order to lay up a supply of salted 
meat for the farther voyage to the Aleutian Islands. The good quali- 
ties of the flesh of the sea-cow rendered it the chief object of pursuit 
for this purpose, and thus it happened that this nearly defenceless animal 
was constantly sought after and hunted. We have already seen that its 
range was very limited. Within historic times it appears to have been 
practically confined to the Commander Islands Behring and Copper 
Islands. Tradition speaks of the occurrence of the animal on the 
Kamtschatkan coast, and investigators have found reason to believe 
that it at one time frequented also the northern islands of Japan and 
the northern coasts of China. Its bones have been found on Attu 
Island, the furthest west of the Aleutian archipelago, but it is not 
certain that these may not represent merely carcasses which have been 
washed ashore there. From the accounts of Steller, it would appear 
*op. Cit. pp. 220 221, 
