62 



ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 



the latter nad airivod to make a drive and kill for fresh food for the 

 natives for the iirst time May 7, and only one more drive was made for 

 this purpose before the 1st of June, the time at which the Alaska Com- 

 mercial Company commenced taking the seals for their skins, after 

 which the natives subsist on the carcasses of the seals killed for this 

 purpose. 



There was on hand in the salt houses June 1, of the animals killed for 

 food for natives from July 17, 1874, to May 31, 1875, inclusive, 5,063 

 l^rime skins, to be counted as a part of the quota of 1875. 



The Alaska Commercial Company commenced taking seals for their 

 skins June 1, and continued up to July 22, taking in all 84,933 seals, from 

 which 84,800 prime skins were salted. These, when added to the skins 

 on hand June 1, as stated above, made a total of 89,923. 



This was all the Alaska Commercial Company desired to take for the 

 quota of 1875, as it has been their invariable rule to ship a little short 

 of the full quota and make up the deficiency iiom the skins of animals 

 killed for native food after the count at the islands has been verified by 

 the ofticial count of the customs officers in San Francisco. 



No seals are allowed to be killed on the island except by permission 

 of the Treasury agent in charge, and under the direction of the regular 

 chiefs. When seals are killed for native food, care is taken, as far as 

 possible, that only such as have skins of prime value are killed. These 

 skins are all taken to the salt houses where the agent of the Alaska 

 Commercial Company examines and accepts all that are of prime value, 

 and they are salted as a part of the quota of the following year. Those 

 rejected are thrown away as worthless. This waste is usually very 

 small, except during the time from August 15 to October 15, when the 

 seals are shedding their overhair, and the skins are of no value. An 

 account is kept in the record book in the Treasury agent's office of all 

 seals killed and for what purpose, and of all skins and what disposition 

 is made of them. All skins accepted at the salt houses are counted in 

 at the salting and again on their delivery for shipment by the Treasury 

 agent, and there is always a slight difference, but the counting on their 

 delivery is taken as the official count, as that is direct, while the count 

 of salting extends over the operations of the whole year. Appended is 

 a series of tables showing the number of seals killed, prime skins salted, 

 and those stagey or of no value. 



The information of the AlaskaCommercial Company's leasing the right 



to take seal was first made known at the island October 9, 1870, too late 



for sealing that year, and the skins of seals taken for native food from 



July 10 to December 30 were shipped May 19, 1871, amounting in all 



to 3,748. 



Fm- seals killed on St. Paul Island during ihe year 1871.^ 



'During the winter of 1871-72, S. N. Buyuitzky was in charge of the island, and the number of 

 young seals was not recorded. 



Seal skins shipped for tlie i/car 1871. 

 Per certificate dated August 11 41,080 



