228 INTRODUCTION OF DOMESTIC EEINDEER INTO ALASKA. 



had instructed the natives here how to make a whisky concoction out 

 of flour and molasses or sugar The old men have become quite 

 addicted to it, but the young men, strange to sa}', and to their credit 

 be it said, have not as a rule succumbed to the evil habit. 



October 1: The most superb day that I have ever seen, as far back 

 as memorj^ could recall. The contrast between the snow on the hill and 

 the green water, as seen from the shore, was ver}'^ fine. Took a walk 

 down the coast for several miles. A mirage gave to the Siberian 

 Mountains a greatl}' heightened elevation from my view point. The 

 deep blue of the zenith was beautiful. 



October 2: Sunda}^ school; a schoolboy, in the absence of more com- 

 petent interpreters, did his best to convey my brief remarks to the 

 other auditors. 



October 6; The attendance at school has been veiy irregular all 

 along. The food problem is a most serious one here, so that even the 

 children have to take up part of the burden of the household support. 

 They trap, and shoot ducks and gulls, and gather kelp and sea urchins 

 washed ashore on the bay east of the mountain. Wood gathering at 

 the same place frequently occupies their attention. None of the pupils 

 stay during the whole period of the school session; but after three 

 hours, as a rule, nearly all disappear, while others, belated, enter upon 

 their daily school tasks instead of the delinquents. The small size of 

 the schoolroom, which can hold really only about twenty pupils for 

 satisfactory school work, ma}' have been parth' to blame for the attend- 

 ance of only a small number of the children. It would be impossible 

 to put into the room even one more table. 



The food problem is doubtless the main cause for the detention of 

 the pupils from school. I have been frequently asked to supply the 

 children with food gratis, at my own expense. It is time, however, to 

 disabuse the mind of both parents and children here that school attend- 

 ance entitles the pupil to any award of food and the present of other 

 gifts. Dr. Jackson indicated to me very emphatically that I must not 

 comply with their requests, and from a consideration of economy, as 

 well as from a personal indorsement of the principle involved in cre- 

 ating a '"proletariat" at this place, I have strictly maintained this 

 polic}'. While the result has been a considerable decrease in the 

 attendance as compared with that during the previous term, I am sure 

 that it is one of the most valuable lessons — I refer to independence — 

 that the pupil and his parents could learn in connection with the Gov- 

 ernment school. In confirmation of this view of the situation is the 

 frequent repetition of a request for a present on the part of the boy 

 who has attended school for two or three days after a long absence, 

 and his markedly long absence after his request was politely, albeit 

 firmly, denied. 



