VIII THE LAST OF THE BERING SEA 157 



which may make his fortune if he only advertises it 

 sufficiently. One thing is certain, that ages ago the old 

 inhabitants of the country frequented these springs largely 

 for some purpose, since to-day there are a large number of 

 excavations in the ground which look as if they had once 

 been covered by native " barabaras," the dug-out huts still 

 in use throughout the country. Around these holes are 

 ranged a large semicircle of the remains of old clam-shells. 

 Clams are very plentiful on the shore near by, and it 

 appears that the people inhabiting this settlement must have 

 eaten a great number of these shell-fish, and being too lazy 

 to carry away the refuse, threw the empty shells out at the 

 front of their barabaras and let them lie in a heap, even as 

 they are to be found there now. 



The second camp at Portage Bay contained two men 

 who had crossed to the mainland to kill caribou for the 

 mining settlement at Unga. This is quite a lucrative trade, 

 and an easy one at which to make money at certain times 

 of the year. Also it is one which threatens to exterminate 

 the game far more quickly than will be done by the few 

 specimens annually killed by sportsmen in Alaska. Mention 

 is made elsewhere of this subject, but I may further remark 

 here that I have known an instance, which came under my 

 personal notice, of one man returning to Unga Island with 

 seven caribou in his boat at one time, most of these being 

 females, and at that time when killed all with fawns by their 

 side. Needless to say, the latter had also to be killed, or to 

 be left to starve to death. 



