ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 157 



Island of St. Paul, July 2S, 1882. 



This is to certify that 64,980 fur-seal skins have this day been shipped on hoard 

 the Alaska Commercial Company's steamer, St. Paul, whereof Capt. M. C. Erskine is 

 master, to be delivered to said company in San Francisco, Cal. 



Henky a. Glidden, Treasury Agent. 



Island of St. Paul, July 28, 1882. 



This is to certify that 100,000 fur-seal skins have this day been shipped on board 

 the Alaska Commercial Company's steamer, St. Paid, Capt. M. C. Erskine, master, 

 to be delivered in San Francisco, Cal. 



Henky A. Glidden, Treasury Ayeni. 



Special Agent Glidden; anriual report for 1882. 



Office of Special Agent Treasury Department, 



St. Paul Island, July 21, 1882. 



Sir: I have tlie honor to submit the following report of the sealing 

 business at the seal islands of Alaska for the year ended July 20, 1882 : 



The catch of fur seals, as will appear by the reports tabulated and 

 herewith submitted, has been very successful. The skins taken on this 

 island are of better size and quality than for many years. 



I visited St. George Island on the 18th instant and, upon examination, 

 found that the permission given by me in June to take 22,000 seals, as 

 the quota upon that island, was a mistake, as the number of killable 

 seals there was too small to allow the taking of more than 20,000. I 

 therefore changed the quota accordingly, restoring the number to be 

 taken from each island to where it was last year. St. Paul Island has 

 an abundance of killable seals left after the quota is taken. The num- 

 ber of skins taken on St. Paul is 80,000 and on St. George 20,000, mak- 

 ing the full quota accepted 100,000, and it is expected that the ship- 

 ments will include that number. 



The skinning has been done by natives of the islands, and the killing 

 also, except that done by the agents of the company, as is usual. The 

 saltiug, booking, and bundling lias been done, principally, by men 

 brought from Unalaska. It has not been possible for the natives of 

 the island to do more than the driving, killing, and skinning. The foct 

 is that the epidemic, of which I wrote you in June, took away 13 (and 

 3 or 4 more died previonsly and since the last season) of the working 

 force of the island, and some of them the very best men. It is becoming 

 quite a serious question whether the native people of the island will be 

 able to do even the killing and skinning in years to come. I have per- 

 mitted boys from 12 to 10 years of age to assist what they could, in 

 order to supply, so far as i)ossible, the deficiency in native labor. 



The number of seals appearing upon the rookeries and hauling 

 grounds does not diminish, but, from the best information I can get, 

 gradually continues to increase. 



The natives have generally done thi ir work well, and no trouble from 

 any attempted strike, like that of last year, has been experienced. In 

 one instance there was a manifest carelessness in cutting skins, for 

 which I imposed a fine upon each man of $1.50. The number held 

 responsible was 32, and the amount collected, $ i8, has been placed to 

 the credit of the general fund. There had been fines imposed and col- 

 lected by my predecessoi s amounting to $100, which was credited to 

 the same lund, making a total of 1118 realized in this manner. I have 



