My Big Bear of Shuyak 



Paramonoff Bay for two days. The morning after 

 the storm broke we made a four o'clock start. 

 There was a strong favoring breeze, and we made 

 a sail of one of the blankets. The baidarka fairly 

 flew, but it was rather ticklish work, as the sea was 

 quite rough. Early that afternoon we turned into 

 the narrow straits which lie between the islands of 

 Afognak and Shuyak. Shuyak is uninhabited, but 

 some natives have hunting barabaras there. 

 Formerly this island contained great numbers of 

 silver gray foxes. A few years ago some white 

 trappers visited it and put out poison. The result 

 was the extermination of all the foxes upon the 

 island, for not only the foxes that ate the poison 

 died, but the others which ate the poisoned car- 

 casses. The hunters obtained but one skin, as the 

 foxes died in their holes or in the woods, and were 

 not found until their pelts were spoiled. This is a 

 fair example of the great need for Alaskan game 

 laws. 



At the present time Shuyak is rich in bear and in 

 land otter, and I can imagine no better place for a 

 national game preserve. It has lakes and salmon 

 streams, and would be an ideal place to stock. 



The straits between Shuyak and Afognak are 

 extremely dangerous, for the great tides from 

 Cook Inlet draw through this narrow passage. 



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