ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 



417 



The contrast thus clearly drawn between the work at Northeast Point 

 last year, and this season of 1890, tells its own story. Down on the kill, 

 ing grounds at the village of St. Paul, the general manager, in 1889- 

 became alarmed at the prospect of failure to get the season's quota of 

 100,000 for both islands. He accordingly lowered, on the 13th of July, 

 the standard from a C-pound skin to a 4i-pound skin, thus taking in all 

 the "long" yearhngs and everything above to the 5-year olds. But 

 Webster, then at Northeast Point, stubbornly refused to kill anything 

 under a ''short" 2-year-old or opound skin. 



At the village, however, over 20,000 of these "long" yearlings were 

 knocked down, and taken after the 13th of July, 1889. That enabled 

 the shipment of that season's quota of 85,000 skins from St. Paul after 

 the 31st July. 



Daily record of seals taken at Zapadnie, St. George Island, seasons of 1S89-90, bettceen 

 the 10th of June and 20th of July. 



The following are extracts from the journal of the Treasury agent, 

 St. Paul Island, showing the dates of the first regular drafts made 

 upon the reserved male life at Zapadnie (Southwest Bay) and Polavina.' 

 These dates also declare the time of that exhaustion in part, of the regu- 

 lar sources of hitherto abundant supply at Tolstoi, Middle Hill, Lukau- 

 uou, and Zoltoi: 



June 9, 1S79. — Antone Meloviedov started with a gaug to make a drive at Halfway 

 Poiut. (P. 92.) 



June 10, 1S79. — The drive to-day (at Polaviua) resulted in the taking of 1,118 skius. 

 (H.G.Otis, p. 93.) 



June 11, 1S79. — Drive made from South-west Bay (Zapadnie) to-day and 1,462 skins 

 taken. (H. G. Otis, p, 93.) 



In this connection I am able to say that I personally observed, in 

 1872, the origin and progress of every St. Paul Island drive made up to 

 the village killing grounds; and again, Lieutenant Maynard and myself 

 followed the record of every drive made on both islands during the 

 killing season of 1874, " Middle Hill " had no name — was not known 

 to the whites as such in those days. Everything then westward beyond 

 it, Tolstoi and English Bay hauling grounds, beginning at "Neaihpah- 

 skie Kammen," or "hair-seal rocks," was called "Zapadnie" by both 

 whites and natives when alluding to that region. The " English Bay" 

 drives were all made from someways beyond the breeding Tolstoi seals, 

 where the holluschickie hauled out on what is now generally recognized 

 as the "Middle Hill" grounds. 



From this day on to the close of that sealing season's work, July 20, 

 Zapadnie was driven often, and Polavina also. But in 1880 only one 



' See detailed statement, Appendix, p. 195-197. 

 H. Doc. 92, pt. 3 27 



