ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 



449 



The report of luspector Murray, hereto annexed, and the other docu- 

 ments made a part of this report so completely set forth the present 

 condition and needs of the Territory of Alaska, as well as its past his- 

 tory, that little more is left to me than generalization. 



The subject matter naturally divides itself into several broad groups, 

 viz: (1) The fur seal, (2) the salmon fisheries, (3) other fur-bearing ani- 

 mals, (4) the land question, (5) the liquor question, (6) the Indians. 



I shall briefly consider these questions in order. It will be apparent 

 that many details do not fall within the jurisdiction of the Treasury 

 Department ; nevertheless I deem it expedient to state what I saw and 

 certain general conclusions thereon. 



1. THE FUR SEAL OF ALASKA. 



It is unnecessary to dwell, except very briefly, upon the history of 

 the Pribilof Islands, one of the breeding places of the northern fur 

 seal. Discovered about 1787 by Russians, they remained in the pos- 

 session of Eussia until ceded to the United States in 1867. From 

 1787 to 1805 there were a number of Russian companies on the islands, 

 and the seals were ruthlessly slaughtered without regard to age or sex. 

 In 1806 and 1807 killing was suspended and most of the Indians 

 engaged in the killing were sent back to Unalaska, whence they were 

 originally procured. From 1808 to 1834 killing was resumed with lit- 

 tle care for the preservation of the herd. By 1834 the herd was threat- 

 ened with extermination, and killing, except a limited number for food, 

 was prohibited until 1841. In 1835 the principle of killing only male 

 seals was adopted, and from that time on the herd was watched so 

 carefully that in 1867, at the cession of Alaska, about 5,000,000 seals 

 were on the islands, as many, as far as all evidence goes, as were there 

 in 1787. 



From the cession until 1871 the seal islands were free to all, and as a 

 result over 250,000 seals were taken in one season. After 1870, how- 

 ever, the catch was strictly regulated and the monopoly of killing seals 

 was leased to the Alaska Commercial Company for twenty years. At 

 the expiration of this lease a new lease was made to the North American 

 Commercial Company, which has not yet expired. 



From 1870 to 1886 about 100,000 male seals were taken on the islands 

 annually, without in any appreciable degree affecting the size of the 

 herd. From 1886 on, however, causes were at work which soon became 

 manifest in a rapid falling off of the seal herd, until in 1890 only about 

 25,000 could be taken on the islands as against over 100,000 in 1889. 



The following table shows the total number of seals killed on the 

 Pribilof Islands from 1870 to 1894, inclusive: 



Grand total of seals killed for all purposes on the FriUlof Islands from 1870 to 1S94, 



inclusive. 



Year. 



1870 

 1871 

 1872 

 1873 

 1874 

 1875 

 1876 

 1877 

 1878 



N amber. 



23, 773 

 102, 960 

 108, 819 

 109, 177 

 110, 585 

 106, 460 

 94, 657 

 84, 310 

 109, 323 



H. Doc. 92- 



-29 



Tear. 



1879 

 1880 

 1881 

 1882 

 1883 

 1884 

 1885 

 1886 

 1887 



Number. 



110, 511 

 105, 718 

 105, 063 

 99, 812 

 79, 509 

 105, 434 

 105, 024 



104, 521 



105, 760 



Year. 



1888 



1889 



1890 , 



1891 



1892 , 



1893 



1894 



Total 



Number. 



103, 304 



102, 017 



25, 701 



14, 406 

 7,509 

 7,390 



15, 033 



2, 047, 374 



