240 ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 



For a loiiff time he was in close vicinity to one of the islands subse- 

 (uiently named after him, bnt three weeks elapsed before he conld get 

 a sio-ht of the same through the surrounding fog. At last fate or good 

 fortune, coming to the assistance of an enterprising man, raised the 

 curtain of the fog, and the eastern headland of the island ( To^^'^oafees) 

 nearest to the Aleutian Archipelago rose up before the navigators, hil- 

 ing them with inexpressible joy. This island was named by them, alter 

 their ship, St. George. The "predovchik" {or leader) o the expedr 

 tion,Yeafeem Popov, with all the hunters on the vessel, landexi and 

 remained on the newly discovered island; but the vessel, fading to hnd 

 any harbor, returned to winter at tlie Aleutian Islands, carrying away 

 a few fur seals and sea otters. The hunters who remained on the island 

 of St George sighted, on the 29th of June {JHstinian calendar) ot the 

 following year (the day of the apostles Peter and Paul), an island 

 to the northward, which they at once named Peter anci Paul, but the 

 name of Peter was subsequently dropped from common usage. Ihese 

 islands have borne, since their discovery, a variety of names. At hrst 

 they were called simply '^Novie" (netv); the Pribdof ; and the ''pre- 

 dovchik" named them Laibdevskie (the principal shareholder of the 

 company was Laibedev). Shellikov named them "Zubovie" {this was 

 the name of the minister of interior at that time, who was a partner and 

 shareholder also); but among the hunters they attained the appellation 

 of "Saiveruie" («'>'-^^'^'-'0 on account of their situation ''^rth ot Una- 

 laska, and "Kotovnie," or seal islands. At the present time 1838) 

 they are otten called simply "The Islands" in the colonies {i e., Alaska 

 and Kamehatla). The name of Pribilof, as the one most justly applied, 



should be used throughout. , ^ mi u ^ i^ox. 



The change from summer to winter is abrupt. The number of clear 

 days is exceedingly small. The sun is rarely visible between the 1st of 

 May and the middle of August, and during nearly all that time it is 

 impossible to see beyond the distance of a few fathoms (" sajeens''). i^or 

 this reason these islands are so difticult to find, that out of twenty ships 

 only one succeeded in reaching them by a straight course. Ihey are 

 visible only during easterly winds for a brief period, * * - but the 

 constant winds probably counteract the exhalations {from the carcasses). 

 Under the present circumstances (1838) it would be impossible to remedy 

 the trouble: to kill the animals at a greater distance trom the village 

 would require an increased number of laborers to pack the skins and 

 meat : and if the carcasses were burned, the smoke Avould piobably drive 

 awav the animals, while there is neither soil nor labor sutlicient to bury 

 or t3 burn them. The latter process would also deprive the inhabitants 

 of their fuel, as they employ bones and putrefied meat for cooking pur- 

 poses, in place of wood. . , „ 

 The food supply is ample even to luxury, especially on the island ot 

 St Paul. The labor is severe, but only temporary, and the inhabitants 

 have a great deal of time for themselves. A majority ot tliem employ 

 their leisure hours very well, teaching themselves and their cluldren 

 the rudiments of the Kussian and Aleutian grammar and with such 

 success that of late, under the administration of the Creole, Shiesueekov, 

 nearly all the males on St. Paul have learned to read. These people are 

 not only richer, but more active and energetic in their labor as well as 

 in theii pious faith, than are their Aleutian brethren elsewhere; and 

 aitogether the inhabitants of St. Paul may be called the first among 



^^ojflTccount of the value of fur-seal and sea-otter skins shipped from 

 these islands since their discovery, and up to the present time (1Mb), 



