76 FISHERY AND FUR INDUSTRIES OF ALASKA IN 1912. 



Native Population of the Pribilof Islands, June 30, 1912. 



VILLAGE WATER SUPPLY, 



The native and other inhabitants of St. Paul are obliged to seek 

 water for domestic purposes at wells over half a mile from the village. 

 The water used by the white residents is hauled in barrels with mule 

 team and stored in various tanks buried near the two residences. The 

 water to be used by the natives is placed in small kegs at the well 

 and then taken to the village in wheelbarrows. Rain water, of 

 course, is saved, but the quantity is wholly insufficient for the 

 natives' needs. The village is located on a little hill rising from a 

 small sand flat, the greater portion of which is only several feet 

 above sea level. Anywhere on this flat water may be found by 

 digging less than 8 feet below the surface. As the sea, however, 

 is only a few yards away, and as this flat has been used from time 

 immemorial as a killing field, the water found by digging into it 

 is not only brackish but quite greasy. The wells, about 3,000 feet 

 from the village, are located on the nearest spot where pure water 

 may be obtained by digging. 



To bring water from these wells to the village hill, about 3,500 

 feet of pipe is necessary, together with a pumping engine to force 

 the water through the pipes. While the ways and means of installing 

 such a system have been considered for many years, the funds 

 necessary to provide the material required were not available. 



In 1910, however, the Navy Department erected a radio station 

 on St. Paul Island, on the flat near the village. As the only draw- 

 back to the location was the absence of fresh water, the officers 

 charged with the construction of this station were desirous of install- 

 ing a pumping system to bring water to the radio buildings. 



Having a fund for the purchase of the requisite material, the 

 proposition was made by the Navy officers that if the natives would 

 supply the labor necessary, the Navy would furnish the piping and 

 ]nimping engine to bring the water from the well to the radio station 

 and beyond to the village hill. On the latter tanks could be erected 

 from which water could be piped to various places in the village. 



The natives agreeing to perform the labor, a quantity of piping 

 and a 5-horsepower gasoline pumping engine were brought to the 



