18 OKUISE OF 'IDE STEAMEK COtiWlIS. 



The wives of these natives, who are usuallj' treated with more coiisideratiou than we should 

 expect tliey wouhl receive from their savage lords, are frequently brutally beateu wheu liquor has 

 frenzied the men, and it was with unmixed pleasure that, on the single occasion where we were 

 calk'd upon to make a seizure this year, I noticed that the women recognized us as their friends, 

 used every exertion to assist us in our search, and seemed grateful that powerful friends were 

 among them who were ready and willing to do what could be done to soften the hardships of their 

 savage life. AV'hen I think that citizens of mj' own country have been the prime means of 

 adding this great burden to the load these simjde people have to bear, I feel that no exertion can 

 be too great and no vigilance too exacting if it will but bring to punishment these unprincipled 

 traders. If (•ai)tured, no leniency should be extended to them. 



The only trouble that has ever occurred between the whites and natives has been when the 

 latter were under the influence of liquor. There is a grain of consolation in the fact that 

 usually those who furnished the whisky were the ones to suft'er. 



In order that the Department may be fully informed of all phases of this nefarious trade, I 

 would state that some of the " whalers" had been .accustomed in the "between seasons" to pur- 

 chase in Honolulu, and in the summer to sell in these waters, a vile comjjound called Honolulu 

 rum, thus adding to their violation of the Indian trade law the crime of smuggling. This liquor 

 is useless as medicine, serving it to the crew would be a species of villainy, and its ])resence on 

 board should subject a vessel to seizure, as it virtually carries with it the intention to trade. Two 

 or three of the whaling captains openly boasted of having thrown overboard one to two hundred 

 gallons of this rum when they heard the Corwin had reached the Arctic before them. 



1 would respectfully recommend that the Department fix upon some quantity of liquor as 

 sufficient for ship's uses and medicinal purposes of these vessels ; that the present law in regard 

 to procuring a i)ermit to carry licpiora from a collector of customs be rigidly enforced, and that 

 masters of vessels be required to carefully account for every gallon they take on board. Vessels 

 then found in these waters without a permit or with more than the authorized quantity of liipior 

 on board can be seized and sent to San Francisco. 



At i)resent it is exceedingly difficult to determine what quantity of alcohol should subject a 

 vessel to seizure, and I should hesitate to break up what might be a profitable voyage for a small 

 quantity of liquor that perhaps might be considered reasonable by another. 



CENSUS OF ESKIMOS. 



It is almost irajjossible to arrive at anything like a correct estimate of the number of natives 

 in the Territory of Alaska. The people are migratory and during the open season of the year are 

 in the interior hunting. With the exception of Sheshii lik, a village near Hotbam Inlet, already 

 mentioned, the settlements are nearly dcpoimlated. The native idea of numbers is extremely 

 vague and no dependence can be placeil upon their estimates. As a result of my obser\ations, 

 covering a period of nearly fifteen years, I should say that there was not far from 3,000 of these 

 people living along the coast and about 20,000 altogether in the Territory. 



We can obtain more definite information in regard to the Aleuts and Creoles by means of the 

 Russian Church statistics. These people are gradually falling ofl' in numbers and there are now 

 about .3,800. This decrease is probably due to the introduction of new diseases, consequent njion 

 their as.sociation with whites and changes' in habits and methods of living. Whether or not they 

 will continue to decrease until they gradually become extinct, as has been the case with our east- 

 ern Indians, or finally reach a stage where their constitutions become accustomed to civilization 

 and increase again, is an interesting problem that only time, of course, can solve. That they take 

 more kindly than the native American to our methods of living is more than evident, and i(('rliai)s 

 with proper fostering care on the part of the Government they may become full^' civilized and the 

 race may be preserved. 



ATTOU ISLAND. 



Attou is no longer of any importance, and I would repectfuUy suggest that hereafter the ques- 

 tion of an annual visit there be left to the judgment of the commanding officer of this vessel. Its 

 principal importauce has depended on the number of otter taken there. Last year but twenty 



