144 H. P. STEENSBY. 
especially towards the east, attain considerable heights, and do not leave room 
for a lower coast land. Such only occurs round the mouths of the Suchitna and 
Copper Rivers, and is like the river valleys of these, which form the only pas- 
sages to the interior of the mainland, both inhabited by Indians. 
Among the islands which are of a similar rocky nature as the mainland, 
the most important is Kadiak, the population of which may be regarded as being 
the type of these Pacific Eskimo. The climate is coldly temperate and damp. 
The sea, which is controlled by warm sea currents, never freezes, and even in 
the bays the strong tides prevent the forming of an ice covering. The southern 
mountain slopes to the east of Cooks Inlet are covered with beautiful forests, 
and the same is the case everywhere in Kadiak and the islands in the more pro- 
tected valleys, whereas the south-east side of Aliaska is devoid of forest. The 
mammals of the continent do not play any röle for the Eskimo of this region, 
as the Indians are in possession of the mountain districts and the river valleys 
where reindeer, mountain-sheep, and elk may be hunted. Thus the Eskimo 
are reduced exclusively to river and sea fishing, as also hunting of the aquatic 
mammals. As long as they have been known salmon and cod, which were caught 
in great quantities and, when dried, stored for winter supplies, have been their 
principal article of food. When the Russians arrived, three kinds of aquatic 
mammals were hunted: seals, whales (especially a species of Balænoptera), and 
the sea-otter. For hunting the two last-mentioned the two-man kayak (the 
baidare) was used. At the whale hunting a lance with a broad-bladed point of 
slate was used. When the hunter, who sat in the bow of the boat, had flung his 
lance, the object was to make a hasty retreat. During the animal’s writhings 
the slate point broke off and remained in the wound. The prey was left entirely 
alone and to its fate, until one day it was washed ashore. Naturally many may 
be lost in this manner; but for the rest the hunters believe that wounds caused 
by slate spears prove fatal more quickly than those caused by iron, and they 
have stuck to the slate-blades obstinately. With sea-otter hunting, the hunter 
always used a bow and arrow, the latter really being a small harpoon, the point 
of which was connected with the shaft by a line. The hunting was not carried 
on by single baidares, but as a battue, in which about one hundred boats took 
part. Originally sea-otter hunting was of shght importance to the natives com- 
pared with later times, when the Russians bought up the skins. Then the hun- 
ting of the sea-otter was taken up to such a degree that in the course of some 
decades it became almost exterminated. 
Originally it was also possible to hunt Eared Seals here, but now, at any 
rate, they have disappeared. Of the real seals, according to NELSON and TRUE, 
Phoca vitulina is the only kind which occurs in large numbers. Besides in the 
Bering Se, ait is also common along the Pacific Coast east and south of the Aleu- 
tian Islands as far as the southern point of the Alaska territory. At Kadiak seal 
hunting takes place exclusively from a kayak, and from HOLMBERG’s report it seems 
to be evident that the bladder-spear plays a predominant rôle. Sometimes the 
hunter places a stuffed seal on the rocks as a decoy, and himself remains hidden 
in the neighbourhood until a seal has been enticed to creep out of the water. 
