ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 645 



this, tUe family felt grateful to the great medicine mau among them 

 because he was able to keep the evil spirit from spreading itself and 

 killing the woman. In this case only one family was kept in bondage, 

 but it often happens that a whole neighborhood suffers, since these 

 medicine meu predict all kinds of misfortunes if anyone in the village 

 does this thing or that, no matter how necessary it may be to the sup- 

 port of life. 



By bringing civilized physicians to accessible places, this annoyance 

 would soon be put down and in the near future it would disappear, but 

 to rob these ignorant people of something without giving them some- 

 thing else in place of it would doubtless be improper. In addition to 

 all this it should also be remembered that Port Clarence is the only 

 suitable harbor in this region. It is a central and favorable trysting 

 place for the fleet of the whalers who might also get some help from a 

 physician located here. 



In regard to the manners and customs of the Eskimos, I have nothing 

 to report at this time, i^artly on account of my short sojourn here and 

 on account of my ignorance of the language. I have had no oppor- 

 tnnity of studying the character of the people sufQciently to get any 

 intelligent description of them. All I can say is, that they are experts 

 in small thefts and in begging, and- 1 suppose that their poverty is the 

 extenuating circumstance. 



The law against the importation of rifles and fixed ammunition does not 

 seem to be of much use in this part of Alaska, as it is only a dead letter. 



In your instructions I have seen nothing stated in regard to fuel and 

 therefore we had to procure this as best we could. Driftwood was hauled 

 to the station for fuel, and for this purpose only is it serviceable, but if 

 we do not get a considerable supply of driftwood this summer and every 

 summer — a fact which I doubt — we will be placed face to face with the 

 reality of being utterly destitute of this absolutely necessary article 

 in this latitude. The driftwood we found was plainly the result of the 

 drifting of many summers. It would surely be no pleasant surprise in 

 this region to be found without fuel, where the wind and the cold come 

 with an unconditional demand to be respected. It has already become 

 necessary to get the fuel from places 10 to 12 miles distant. All that 

 could be found near at hand has gone up in smoke, and the supplies 

 to be found even within a range of a dozen miles is hardly sufficient 

 for another year, and when it is gone the further supply will have to 

 be brought from the other side of Point Spencer, where doubtless some 

 fuel can be found, but the distance will be so great that it will require 

 two days for each journey, and this transportation can be carried on 

 only while the ice is perfectly safe; that is to say, during the severest 

 part of the winter. We must also bear in mind that fodder for the 

 reindeer must be carried on these journeys, as there are no pastures on 

 bare and weather-beaten Point Spencer. 



When we take into consideration that the Eskimos are gradually 



