CONDITION OF THE NATIVES. 143 



lioused as the people of some of onr New En<j^- Under American 



control. 



land villages. They had school facilities, and 

 on Sunday they went to service in their pretty 

 Greek church, Avith its tastefully arranged inte- 

 rior; they wore the clothing of civilized men and 

 had polish on their boots. All these results are 

 directly traceable to the seal fisheries and their 

 improved management."-^ 



In this comparison of condition and in the i"'P^'ovcnient. 

 marked improvement following the American 

 occupation. Dr. H. H. Mclntyre also gives a 

 graphic account, wdnch is substantially the same 

 as the one above quoted." Mr. Samuel Falconer, 

 who reached the islands in 1870, and remained 

 until 1877, gives an account of the condition in 

 which he found the natives and the great change 

 which took place while he was located at the 

 islands. He says: "When I came there they 

 were partially dressed in skins, living in filthy, 

 unwholesome turf huts, which were heated by 

 fires with blubber as fuel ; they were ignorant and 

 extn miely dirty. When I left they had exchanged 

 theii skin garments for well-made, warm woolen 

 clothes; they lived in substantial frame houses 

 heated by coal stoves ; they had become cleanly, 

 and the children were attending school eight 



1 Vol, II, p. 8. 

 8 Vol. II p. 599. 



