82 REPORT ON THE INTRODUCTION OF 



and trade for furs and occasionally whalebone. The ships seldom run 

 in here on their return from the Arctic in the fall, for they usually stay 

 there until driven out by the ice, and when they once get turned toward 

 home they spread all sail and lose no time in getting away from the 

 frigid waters of the northern sea. 



But one vessel stopped here last year on its way south, the Mary D. 

 Hume, which had spent two winters at Herschel Island, the most 

 northeastern point ever visited by a whaling vessel. She arrived here 

 on September 6, and left on the following day. This ship had met 

 with a most profitable voyage, their catch amounting in value to several 

 hundred thousand dollars. 



Among the fifty or more vessels that come into Bering Sea each 

 year, the one most welcomed by the few whites and natives as well, is 

 the U. S. revenue steamer Bear, commanded by Capt. M. A. Healy. 

 In the past twelve seasons Capt. Ilealy has spent two or three mouths 

 each year cruising about, visiting the different missionary and trading 

 stations, and his vessel has often been the asylum for unfortunate sea- 

 men, and the only hope and protection afforded the whites scattered 

 along the coast. When he thought a Avhite man, who had been left at 

 some native settlement, was liable to be molested by them when he was 

 completely at their mercy, some of the leading natives were summoned 

 aboard the ship and then told he would hold them responsible for the 

 white man's safety until he returned the following year. This was as 

 good as an insurance policy on his life, and the natives were certain to 

 see that no harm came to him. When the Bear is in" the vicinity of a 

 native village, it swarms with natives, and, although they stand in 

 mortal dread of her guns, they are kindly treated, and given to under- 

 stand harm will only come to them if they molest any of the whites 

 living among them. 



Besides receiving valuable assistance from the men on the Bear in 

 the erection of the frame building and supplying us with many things 

 that had been overlooked in our stores, both myself and assistant 

 received a number of little kindnesses from Capt. Healy and also fronj 

 his wife, who was aboard the ship last season, that contributed very 

 much to our comfort during the long winter months in which we were 

 left alone. To the officers of the Bear we are also under many obliga- 

 tions for favors received, and of a character that would not admit qf 

 anything in the way of recompense, but in expressions of gratitude. 



As I concluded the last paragraph I happened to look toward the 

 south and saw a low, oblong-shaped mound rising out of the water, and 

 it marks the location of what is known as King's Island. It stands 

 solitary and alone, and is inhabited by about 200 natives, who are com- 

 pletely isolated from the rest of the world for eight months in the year. 



The natives depend upon the seal and walrus almost entirely for their 

 living, and, as occurred two years ago, if their catch is small they are 

 left on the verge of starvation. At the time referred to the Bear called 



