THE RUSSIAN FUR-SEAL ISLANDS. 31 



The blue foxes must now be taken in traps exclusively. Shooting them is entirely 

 forbidden, and as the foxes mostly live near the coast it is also forbidden to travel 

 witli (Idk sledges and to fire any shot near tbe coast after September 1 (old style). 

 It was found that by digging them out of their holes females were mostly obtained, 

 and this method has consequently been prohibited. The dried skins aie sold to the 

 company at a fixed price. As the natives arc now paid 14 lubles for each first-class 

 fox skin and 7 rubles for each second-class skin, it will be seen that tlie foxes are a 

 valuable source of iucome to them. 



Owing to the ease with which the natives could procure seal meat for food, they 

 have paid but little attention to other means of subsistence, particularly as the ready 

 money obtained from the company for skins and work secured sufficient variation 

 from tlie company's stores, whence Ihey also obtain their flour, hard bread, tea, sugar, 

 etc., not to forget canned provisions. As a result, the sea fishery does not yield what 

 it otherwise might. On Copper Island, however, the natives catch some cod and 

 halibut. They have a tolerably good boat harbor and many boats. On Bering Island 

 however, the lack of a sheltered harbor and landing-place is a great drawback. On 

 the other hand, the rivers and creeks of Bering Island are filled with salmon during 

 the summer months, thus yielding the natives an abundant supply of fish for them- 

 selves and their dogs. The Saranna IJiver is particularly important iji this respect. 

 The salmon are here caught in a substantial weir built across the river at the village 

 of Saranna. During each summer nearly all the women are kept busy cleaning 

 and drying from C(»,U(»0 to 100,(100 salmon (pis. GO, Gl). The weir is kept open 

 from Saturday night to Monday morning to allow fish to ascend the river and lake to 

 spawn. The bulk of the salmon put up belongs to the two species "Krasuaya riba," 

 or redttsh {Oncorhynchus nerka), and kisutch, or silver salmon (0. l-is^ttch). 



There is very little game now to hunt on the islands. The natives are very fond 

 of the meat of the various sea birds, especially early in spring, and being provided 

 with modern breech-loading guns and an unlimited supply of ammunition,' the result is 

 that birds have become comparatively scarce — very much so, in fact — near the villages. 

 Ptarmigans {Lafiopus ridgirai/i) are, I believe, still numerous on Bering Island. 



During their lease Hutchinson, Kohl, rhili])pens & (Jo. introduced a herd of 

 Kamchatka cattle on Bering Island and kept it at an exjiense entirely dispropor- 

 tionate to the benefits derived. The company has given up keeping cows, but the 

 cattle have passed into the hands of tlie natives, while the white families on the island 

 also have a few head to keep them supi)lied with milk. It has been supposed that 

 cattle-raising might have a fut>ire on ISering Island, but past experience disproves 

 the prediction, at least with the i)reseiit breed of cattle. It has even been suggested 

 "that these sturdy cattle might be advantageously introduced into the Aleutian 

 Archii)elago," but aside from tlie fact that It requires a good deal of care an<l fodder 

 ti) biing tliem successfully through the winter, even on Bering Island, the breed is 

 highly objectionable from the fiict tliat the cows refuse milk th(^ moment their calves 

 aie taken away from them. 



On the otiier hand, I firmly believe that with a suitable breed sheep-raising could 

 be made a success, not only on the Commander Islands, but on the American Aleutian 

 Islands as well. Tlie climate is not more severe nor more moist than on some of the 



' Mr. Kluge says the natives ou Copper Island annually nse 800 to 900 pounds of gunpowder. 



