322 ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 



Flour f"r 50 pounds.. $1.50 



jjice per pouud... .08 



SoapV.V do ... . .05 



Matches per package.- .10 



Butter <^lo .30 



Mustard per bottle. _ .15 



Bottle pepper ^lo .10 



Coffee perponud.- .30 



Lard «^o . lo 



Beaus (lo -Oj 



Pease 'io .10 



Washboards each.- . 2.> 



Lamp chimneys (lo • 10 



Starch per poun d . . .10 



Brooms each . . $0. 30 to . 35 



Codfish line per pound.. .75 



Salmon are famished free under the terms of the lease, and this year 

 dried salmon were brought to the islands. To the general store sup- 

 plies were added canned fresh beef and canned tomatoes, at the request 

 of the resident agents, as it was believed these articles would contribute 

 to the health of the natives. 



Obsiacles to proper suhnhience of natives. — Tlie chief difliculty in the 

 way of properly subsisting the natives is not in the raw commodities 

 liunished,but lies (1) in their general inefliciency as cooks; (2) the habit 

 of quas brewing; and (3) their improvidence, the latter being due to 

 their aboriginal natures and to their large incomes in past years. 

 Given the same raw commodities, white ])eople would convert them 

 into a variety of palatable, nutritious dishes. 



Natural food resources.— Theve is a marked difference between the 

 general thriftiuess of the people of St. George and those of St. Paul. 

 On the former island each family has constructed a small storehouse, 

 and on inspecting them I found therein a good supply of dried seal 

 meat incased in the large, cured, air-proof stomachs of the sea lion, 

 arrie eggs preserved in seal oil, and coal-oil cans and other vessels 

 filled with the oil itself for winter use. Such a condition of aftiiirs 

 exists only in i)art on the island of St. Paul. It is true there is some 

 excuse iifthe fact that the supply of eggs thereon is scant, and that 

 the sea-lion rookeries are inconsiderable as compared with the more 

 extensive ones on the island of St. George. 



Curim/ seal meat. — In view of this the attempt was made on St. Paul 

 to cure the shoulders of the seals by a process similar to that by which 

 pork is treated. The company kindly contributed the use of an old, 

 abandoned boat, which was turned upside down and by a little con- 

 struction converted into a smokehouse. Colonel Murray took hold of 

 the matter vigorously, with the result that all the seal meat not immedi- 

 ately needed for the consum[)tion of the natives was put through the 

 process of smoking. It remains to be seen how readily seal meat will 

 lend itself to this process of curing. The result may be seriously 

 affected by the use of pine wood, the only available fuel. With the skill 

 developed in modern times in curing meats it seems as though some 

 method might be utilized or developed whereby wholesome seal meat 

 in ample quantity and iu a variety of forms might be provided for 

 winter consumption. 



Qiias hrcio'nui. — As previously stated, a serious obstacle to properly 

 subsisting the'uatives is their confirmed habit of quas brewing. When 

 it is remembered that every staple of liie can be and is em]doyed in the 

 ])reparation of this disgusting drink, it will be better understood how 

 difficult it is to enforce temperance and at the same time furnish the 

 necessary lood. In the pi-eparatiou i>f quas there can be used fioiiFj 



