268 ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 



people. It arises from some localism, undoubtedly, pertinent long ago, 

 but since forgotten. 



Lulainnon rookery. — "Lukannon;" so named after one of the Russian 

 pioneers, a sailor, who is said to have taken from St. Paul Island in 

 1787 over 5,000 sea otters, aided l)y another ])roiiiyslilenik, named 

 Kaiekov. In the following year tlieyonly secured 1,000, and since then 

 none have ever been taken from there to notice; while during the last 

 forty years not one, even, has been seen. 



Keetavie rookery. — "Keetavie," from "Keet," or Whale. When the 

 whaling fleets were active in these waters, 1849-1850, a very large right 

 whale, killed by some ship's crew, drifted ashore at the point here, and 

 has thus given this name to it. 



Tolstoi rookery. — "Tolstoi," or "thick." This is an indefinite name 

 which the Eussians use all over their geogra])hy of Alaska, just as we 

 employ "Deer Creek" or "Muddy Fork" in our topographical nomen- 

 clature of the West. This point at St. Paul is, however, a thick and 

 solid one; more so than any other headland there. 



Zapadnie rookery. — " Zapadnie," or "westward." One of the few bear 

 stories which the natives told me, in response to my queries as to the 

 presence of polar "medvaidskie" in early times, is located between 

 Boga Slov and Zajjadnie Point. There are one or two rude basaltic 

 caves on the slopes of this hill, into which the natives can squeeze 

 themselves by great effort; here, they have declared to me that, as 

 recently as 1848, a large polar bear lived and infested the island for 

 some time. It was iinally shot by n posse comifatvs of the people, who 

 were assisted by an English whale boat's crew that, noticing the skurry 

 on land, came ashore and joined in the hunt, armed with their lances. 

 No record is made of bruin on the Pribilof since the death of this one. 

 It undoubtedly was astray from St. Matthew Island, 200 miles to the 

 northward. Prior to this event, the natives count several bear tights 

 and routs — at Avide intervals, however — since the occupation of the 

 islands. 



Polavina rookery. — "Polavina," or "halfway;" so named because the 

 point and the old deserted village site «;ontiguous was nearly halfway 

 between Novastoshnah and the village. An officer of the Government, 

 C. P. Fish, United States Signal Service, in 1874, started out to meas- 

 ure anew the height of Polavina Sopka; he strapped a barometer to 

 his shoulders, and left the village early one July morning. The fog 

 thickened up that noon rather more solidly than usual, and when he 

 came down lie missed the sealers' well-defined trail between Northeast 

 Point and Lukannon, and brought up on the shore of that little round 

 lake just southwest of the point. He actually passed the whole of the 

 renmining daylight, six or seven hours, in walking around it, and 

 declared that he would never have left this unconscious circular tramp 

 had the fog, as is usual, not lilted just at late evening and given him 

 better bearings. He never knew or suspected until then that he was 

 walking in his own tracks. This is a true fog story. 



Noi'dstoshnah rookery. — "A place of recent growth;" so named from 

 the fact that in early times — 1787-1790 — Hutchinsons Hill formed an 

 island distinct and well defined from St. Paul. The people then used to 

 go from Vesolia Mista over to Northeast Point in boats. 



The St. George rookeries. — There is nothing peculiar to the 

 nomenclature of the St. George rookeries; they all bear English names 

 around the village, while " Zapadnie" is named simply as it lies west 

 therefrom, and "Starry Ateel" because it is near the site of au old 

 settlement on the island. 



