THE ALASKAN FISHIXG-GEOUJ^DS. , 107 



left on the beach to follosv ou i'oot, which thej do, keepiug- up a continued and most dismal howl. 

 If the wind comes in ahead, and the natives desire, for any reason, to continue their journey, they 

 paddle in near the shore, harness their dogs, and attach them to the oomiak, after the manner 

 of a canal-boat and horses, settle themselves in the boat, and saying ' uakouruck' (good !), go 

 on their way at the rate of four or five miles an hour with no other eftbrt than steering with the 

 paddle."' 



Fish hooks and lines also ibrm an important part of the oomiak outfit, since iish, especially 

 in summer, are so largely depended upon for food. 



Seal, walrus, and whale, as well as belufja, are important objects of Ihe chnsc in this division, 



but as the methods pursued are the same as wo find farther north wc will refer to this subject 



again. 



king's island to point barrow. 



For this extent of territory Mr. Petroif gives a total population of twenty-nine hundred and 

 ninety. For convenience of treatment I shall subdivide the region into several smaller parts, 

 taking up Port Clarence, Kotzebne Sound, and Arctic Alaska north of Kotzebue Sound, separately. 



i. Port Clarence and TiciNiTY.-*-AYe must include here King's Island, one of the most 

 remarkable human habitations in any country, with a reputed population of one hundred souls 

 on its inhospitable cliffs. The shores are all bold, and the contour is jagged and broken. Here, in 

 summer-houses of walrus skins, and winter burrows in the face of the cliffs, live a class of seal 

 and walrus hunters who are said to be the bravest sailors in Alaska. I have heard it stated that 

 men are sometimes lifted up in their kyacks by their comrades and thrown from the cliffs clear 

 of the surf, which must roll almost incessantly around those ragged rocks. Clad in a water-proof 

 kamlayka, or shirt made of the intestines of walrus, the hardy islander is thrown out to battle 

 with the waves that would surely ingulf a less skillful sailor. Captain Hooper says that the 

 kyack of these people is covered with walrus hide. The bidarras have the same kind of covering, 

 and while at sea, transporting trading goods, etc., a cover protects the cargo from bi-eaking 

 waves. The flesh of seal and Avalrus forms the principal food of these natives, but in summer 

 a part of them may be found at Port Clarence and on the east side of the bay of which this 

 harbor forms a portion, engaged in trading and fishing. 



The skins of walrus and hair-seal are converted by these men into "luvtak" which form 

 boat-covers; these are carried off to the mainland for trade. The throat of the seal is made up 

 by the King's Island natives into water-proof boots, which are in great demand for the use of 

 whalers, and their seal skni boots are largely disposed of to the same parties. The Cape Prince 

 of Wales men are fishermen and whalers. 



In the shallow, freshwater lagoons, so plentiful on the spit protecting the western side of 

 Port Clarence, there are great quantities of sticklebacks. The King's Island people, who were 

 here at the time of our visit, brought to us whitefish [Coregonus Lauretta), smelt {Osmerus dentex), 

 herring {Glupea mirabilis), and "wachna" {Tilesia gracilis). They were well provided with oil in 

 seal skin bags, fishing-lines, hooks, and sinkers. The sinkers were made of soft stone resembling 

 slate, often of two colors, one light and the other dark, abrui>tly divided. A hole was drilled at 

 each end and a shallow groove was made to receive the line. The holes were drilled by means 

 of a piece of steel or iron rotated by an ivory or bone drill-bow supplied with a string of sinew. 

 The commonest form of line was made of narrow strips of whalebone neatly fastened together. 

 The hook is often an ivory or bone imitation of a fish, and sometimes two, sometimes four, are 



'Report of Cruise of Corwin, November 1, 1880 (1881), p. 28. 



