25 



ever, the nourishment is apparently not equal to the demand, for after 

 the trees have attained a certain height the tops die, and looking over 

 the forest from the sea it presents the appearance of hop poles. 



The lumbering is all done on the immediate coast, and the log s 

 rolled or skidded into the sea, and then boomed and drawn by tugs to 

 the mill. 



The population of Alaska by the last census, that of 1890, gives a 

 total of 32,000, of whom 4,300 are whites, 23,500 Indians and 2,400 

 Mongolians and others. There are less than 500 white women in the 

 whole country, at which fact I think a philanthropist would rejoice. 



The natives of south-eastern Alaska, with whom we are immediately 

 concerned, belong nearly all to the great Thlinket tribe. 



Everywhere in nature science is gathering facts. Facts are corre" 

 lated, and cause and effect studied. Under the term cause is included 

 the term environment. Environment plays a great part in both the ani- 

 mal and vegetable kingdoms. It is the key that has unlocked many of 

 the secrets of nature, and in skilful hands will further shed light on 

 nature's work. Thus has environment exerted its influence on the 

 Indians in moulding their habits, customs and character, and also, to 

 some extent, their physical traits. The island home of the Haidas in 

 the broad expanse of the Pacific has developed them into the highest 

 type of Indians on the coast. The Thlinket have, in general, thick 

 coarse, straight, black hair, large fiery eyes, a small, flat, broad nose, and 

 large cheek-bones. As much of their lives is spent in canoes, it has 

 impaired their powers of locomotion, and misshaped their legs, 

 rendering them decidedly awkward on shore. Their teeth are white, 

 but in old age become worn down by eating dried salmon on which 

 sand and grit have gathered in the process of drying. Many of the 

 females, in their youth, are quite rosy and comely. In complexion 

 both sexes are surprisingly light coloured, which is not due to any 

 admixture with whites, although admixture is not uncommon. It is 

 recorded that formerly they bathed frequently, both in summer and 

 winter, and thereby hardened their physique ; furthermore that the 

 children were daily bathed in the ocean ; this undoubtedly lesulted in 

 the survival of the fittest. From my observations, however, I think that 



