ALASKA FISHERY AND FUR-SEAL INDUSTRIES, 1931 75 



transferred from St. Paul Island to Unalaska, and three bureau 

 employees and one native were taken to Seattle. 



The Penguin left Seattle for the Pribilofs on October 12, carrying 

 a fidl cargo and two natives. St. George Island w^as reached on 

 October 28 after a A'ery stormy passage which necessitated a number 

 of stops en route. At Unalaska 9 passengers were taken aboard for 

 transfer to St. Paul Island. Of these, 3 were connected with the 

 naval radio station at the island and 6 were natives. The vessel 

 left for Seattle on October 30 and stopped en route at a number of 

 villages along the Alaska Peninsula to return native workmen to their 

 homes. Seventeen employees of the bureau at the islands were 

 retm*ned to Seattle, and Warden Charles Petry and 2 others were 

 picked up at Seward for transportation to the States. The vessel 

 reached its destination on November 15 and was moored in Lake 

 Union for the remainder of the year for minor repairs and general 

 overhauling. During the year the Penguin cruised 28,550 nautical 

 miles. 



ROADS 



St. Paul Island. — In 1931, road construction on St. Paid Island 

 was confined chiefly to the Big Lake and Northeast Point roads. 

 On June 4 work was commenced in surfacing the Northeast Point 

 road with scoria from a scoria deposit in Polovina Hill. A total 

 of 1% miles of this road was surfaced during the season. It is believed 

 that it will be possible to reach Northeast Point by truck during 

 the sealing season of 1932. The scoria-surfaced road now extends 7 

 miles from the village. 



The work on the Big Lake project comprised the grading of the 

 sand dunes for a roadbed along the shores of the lake, and the laying 

 of road lumber that had been distributed at strategic points in the 

 previous season, A plank road 1% miles long was constructed. 



St. George Island. — In September and October considerable prog- 

 ress was made in the extension of the road from St. George village to 

 North and Staraya Artil rookeries. It is the purpose ultimately to 

 make Zapadni rookery a terminus of this road. Planks were used for 

 surfacing, as in the previous year. A total of 5,660 feet of road has 

 been constructed from the village toward North rookery, and of this 

 distance 3,900 feet is surfaced with road planks. 



The scoria found on St. George Island is considered too fine for 

 road work, as it has a tendency to wash away unless mixed with gravel 

 or rock. Therefore, for the section of the road connecting Staraya 

 Artil rookery with Zapadni rookery the shale rock that is present in 

 the immediate vicinity will be used for road surfacing. 



BUILDINGS 



St. Paul Island. — The building that houses the new electrical plant 

 was completed during the winter and machinery was installed. Con- 

 siderable additional equipment is still necessary to make full use of 

 the plant for the village lighting system. 



An overhead carrying system was an improvement in the newly 

 completed extension to the sealskin washhouse. The carriers facili- 

 tate the handling of skins during blubbering operations. The over- 

 head system is also equipped with carriers for blubber removed from 

 the skins. Well-lighted and draftless working rooms are provided for 

 seal blubberers in the building. An electrically operated wringer to 



