THE FUR-SEAL ISLANDS OF ALASKA. 161 



possible repair. In such a clamp climate, naturally, a strong moldy smell pervades all inclosed rooms which are not 

 thoroughly heated and daily dried by fires ; and, in the spring and fall frost works through and drips and trickles 

 like rain adown the walls. The present frame houses occupied by the natives owe their dryness, their warmth and 

 protection from the piercing "boorgas", to the liberal use of stout tarred paper in the lining. The overpowering 

 mustiness of the hallways, outhouses, and, in fact, every roofed-in spot, where a stove is not regularly used, even 

 in the best-built residences, is one of the first disagreeable sensations which the new arrivals always experience 

 when they take up their quarters here. Perhaps, if it were not for the nasal misery that floats in from the killing- 

 grounds to the novice, this musty, moldy state of things up here would be far more acute, as an annoyance, than it 

 is now. The greater grief seems to soon fully absorb the lesser one; at least in my own case, I can affirm the result. 



Amiable character of the natives. — These people are singularly affectionate and indulgent toward 

 their ckfldren. There are no "bald-headed tyrants" in our homes, as arbitrary and ruthless in then- rule as are 

 those snuffly babies and young children, on the seal-islands. While it is very young, the Aleut gives up everything 

 to the caprice of his child, and never crosses its path or thwarts its desire; the "deetiah" literally take charge of 

 the house; but as soon as these callow members of the family become strong enough to bear burdens and to labor, 

 generally between V2 and 15 years of age. they are then pressed into hard service relentlessly by their hitherto 

 indulgent parents; the extremes literally meet in this application. 



They have another peculiarity : when they are ill, slightly or seriously, no matter which, they maintain or 

 affect a stolid resignation, and are patient to positive apathy. This is not due to deficiency of nervous organization, 

 because those among them who exhibit examples of intense liveliness and nervous activity, behave just as stolidly 

 when ill as their more lymphatic townsmen do. Boys and girls, men and women, all alike are patient and resigned 

 when ailing and under treatment ; but it is a bad feature after all, inasmuch as it is well-nigh impossible to rally a 

 very sick man who himself has no hope, and who seems to mutely deprecate every effort to save his life. 



Disposition to gamble.— The inherent propensity of man to gamble is developed here to a very appreciable 

 degree, but it in no way whatever suggests the strange gaming love and infatuation with which the Indians and 

 Eskimo elsewhere of Alaska are possessed. The chief delight of the men and boys of the two villages is to stand 

 on the street corners " pitching" half dollars ; so devoted, indeed, have 1 found the native mind to this haphazard 

 sport, that frequently I would detect groups of them standing out in pelting gales of wind and of rain, "shying" 

 the silver coin at the little dirt-driven pegs. A few of them, men and women, play cards with much skill and 

 intelligence. 



Children's sports.— The urchins play marbles, spin tops, and fly kites, intermittently, with all the feverish 

 energy displayed by the youth of our own surroundings ; they frolic at base-ball, and use "shinny" sticks with much 

 volubility and activity. The girls are, however, much more repressed, and, though they have a few games, and 

 play quietly with quaintly dressed dolls, yet they do not appear to be possessed of that usual feminine animation 

 so conspicuously marked in our home life. 



Attachment to the islands.— The attachment which the natives have for their respective islands was well 

 shown to me in 1874. Then, a number of St. George people were taken over to St. Paul, temporarily, to do the 

 killing incidental to a reduction of the quota of 25,000 for their island and a corresponding increase at St, Paul; 

 they became homesick immediately, and were never tired of informing the St. Paul natives that St. George was a 

 far handsomer and more enjoyable island to live upon! that walking over the long sand reaches of "Pavel" made 

 their legs grievously weary, and that the whole effect of this change of residence was " ochen scootchnie". Naturally, 

 the ire of the St. Paul people rose at once, and they retorted in kind, indicating the rocky surface of St. George, 

 and its great inferiority as a seal-island. I was surprised at the genuine feeling on both sides, because, as far as 

 I could judge from a residence on each island, it was a clear case of tweedle-dee and tweedle duin between them, as 

 to opportunities and climate necessary for a pleasurable existence. The natives, themselves, are of one and common 

 stock, though the number of Creoles on St. George is relatively much larger than on St. Paul; consequently the tone 

 of the St. George village is rather more sprightly and vivacious. 



Creature comforts. — As far as a purely physical existence goes, the American method of living on and in 

 the climate of the Pribylov islands is highly conducive to strength and health. Tea and coffee, seasoned with 

 condensed milk and lump sugar; hot biscuits, cakes, and ,waffles; potatoes, served in every method of cookery; 

 salt salmon, cod-fish, and coaned beef; mess pork; and, once a week, a fresh roast of beef or steaks; all the 

 canned vegetables and fruits; all the potted sauces, jams, and jellies; pies, puddiugs, and pastries; and the 

 exhaustive list of purely sea-faring dishes, such as pea and bean, barley and rice soups, curries, and maccarom; 

 these constitute the staples and many of the luxuries with which the agents of the Alaska Commercial Company 

 prolong their existence while living here in the discharge of then- duties, and to which they welcome their guests 

 for discussion and glad digestion. 



A piano on St. Paul in the company house, an assorted library, embracing over 1,000 volumes, selected from 

 standard authors in fiction, science, and history, together with many other unexpected adjuncts of high comfort for 

 body and soul, will be found on these islands, wholly unexpected to those who first set foot upon them. A small 

 Eussian printed library has also been given by the company to the natives on each island for their special 

 entertainment. The rising generation of sealers here, if they read at all, will read our own typography. 

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