9 2 TWO DIANAS IN ALASKA 



few professional hunters of white persuasion. As a 

 sample of what is still done in this way by certain 

 men of the country, I may mention that I saw the 

 return of a well-known professional hunter with three 

 boats containing the horns and skins of moose, 

 sheep, caribou, all killed in a celebrated game district. 

 And this, moreover, a part in which now all the 

 species of game mentioned are strictly protected from 

 the few wandering sportsmen who occasionally find 

 their way to far distant Alaska. 



The greatest annual function amongst the dwellers 

 on the coast, is the capture and drying of salmon 

 for winter use. For this purpose whole settlements 

 of men, women, and children adjourn to the banks 

 of some river where the salmon ascend during the 

 summer months in countless millions, the men 

 using nets, spears, and every kind of appliance to 

 capture the fish, the women and children remaining 

 in their temporary camp to clean and dry the catch. 

 The latter process is simple, as the fish are merely 

 cleaned, split open, and the heads removed. They 

 are then hung in rows on rails, ropes, or trees to 

 dry in the sun and wind. 



The terrible smell arising from the offal, carelessly 

 thrown in heaps near the dwellings, is so overpower- 

 ing that the average white man is glad to escape as 

 soon as possible from a visit to one of these camps. 



When found in immediate proximity to American 

 trading posts, salmon canneries, or mining camps, 

 the inhabitants of native settlements show a tendency 



