ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 447 



settlement in the fall. As I did not have the opportunity to return by 

 that route, I could not call at Metlakahtla as I intended, so Mr. Dun- 

 can very kindly sent me the following letter: 



METLAKAHTLA, ALASKA, October 15, 1895. 



My DEAR MR. MURRAY : Your letter dated Unalaska, September 11, only reached 

 me the latter part of last week. It had been detained at Kitchecan over a week 

 through the lack of courtesy of the postmaster there. 



On my arrival home last May, after the pleasant trip in your company to Sitka, I 

 culled a meeting of our people and propounded to them the several knotty questions 

 you li:id suggested for our consideration. Last night we held another meeting, to a 

 lafee hour, on the same business, and I was much pleased with the sensible way the 

 natives took part in the discussion. 



Question 1. " How to secure possession of Annette Island to our people and to such 

 other Indians as may join them from surrounding bands, whether by individual or 

 community title." 



Our answer to this question is a unanimous voice in favor of a community title, 

 and the town council being empowered to grant allotments of land for legitimate 

 purposes to individuals as circumstances may arise calling for such action. 



By this plan the present unity and regulations in the community could be pre- 

 served, whereas if individual titles of 160 acres were granted by the Government, 

 the holder of each allotment being thus independent of the community, conflicting 

 interests might result in a rupture which would be very prejudicial to the character 

 and progress of the settlement. 



Question 2. "How can the rights of the natives to the salmon streams be best 

 secured and maintained ?" 



Our answer is, that, pending the Indians arriving at full American citizenship and 

 responsibility, the Government might proclaim all salmon streams Indian reserva- 

 tions or Government property, and only allow fishing in them to proper persons and 

 under proper regulations. 



Such a law would prevent canning companies from taking exclusive control of the 

 salmon streams, and might be made an important factor for bettering the condition 

 of the natives. 



At present Alaska is in danger of losing one of its greatest food supplies, through 

 cannery operations. The Indians are born fishermen, and being permanent residents 

 of the country fishing should, to a great extent, be in their hands, not as employees 

 only, but as vendors of the salmon to the canneries. 



Question 3. "How best to preserve salmon life in Alaska I w 



Our answer to question 2 partly applies as answer to this. I will, however, 

 ^numerate our views : 



(1) Let the salmon streams be declared Government property, and the fishing in 

 them be absolutely controlled under Government regulations and by Government 

 agents. 



(2) Only permit a certain number of salmon to be taken from each stream, the 

 number being decided by the capacity of the stream. 



(3) Allow no modern barricades to be used in the streams, and even the simple ones 

 which have always been used by the natives ought to be removed on Saturdays in 

 each week. 



(4) A limit should be placed to the pack of each cannery. I think 20,000 cases 

 should be the limit. If, however, canneries can keep on increasing their pack and 

 extending their time each year, as at present, fewer salmon each season will be left 

 for reproduction. 



(5) No cannery should be allowed to work on Sunday, and if fishing was forbidden 

 after noon on Saturday till midnight Sunday of each week Sunday labor would 

 cease. We strictly keep to this rule at Metlakahtla. 



Question 4. " How best to suppress liquor traffic?" 



(1) Our answer is, give the present liquor law a fair trial, and to that end every 

 liquor saloon in Alaska should be suppressed and every drop of liquor now in it 

 should be destroyed. 



(2) Any person found smuggling or selling liquor in Alaska should be fined and 

 imprisoned. 



(3) Do away with the juries at the trial of liquor cases. Let the judges or com- 

 missioners appointed by the Government decide, upon certain given evidence, on the 

 guilt of the persons arrested for offenses against the liquor law and an appeal 

 allowed only to the supreme district court. 



(4) Let every person found intoxicated be imprisoned, and in the case of natives 

 the sentence to be commuted if the prisoner will give information leading to the 

 conviction of the person or persons who supplied him with the liquors that intoxi- 

 cated him. 



