FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF Aj^ASKA. 47 



is something that would be difficult to preveut. There are some days 

 during the unloading or loading of cargoes on the vessel that these peo- 

 ple are disinclined to work, for the reason that it is a religious day with 

 them, although it may be a matter on which their year's supply of food 

 is dependent. You have to resort to rather harsh measures to compel 

 them to assist in the discharge of a cargo, which is very necessary, for 

 the reason that there is no harbor, and they have to take advantage of 

 fair weather to discharge a cargo. 



Their habits as a rule are, perhaps, as good as they could well be 

 under the restrictions that they have. The Government agent, if he 

 does his duty, is always on the lookout for the manufacture of anj'thing 

 that would be an intoxicant, as that is their greatest evil; and even 

 with a close scrutiny and watchfulness, these people, if they can get 

 dried apples and sugar, will make and brew an intoxicant. It is some- 

 thing which they relish more than anything else, and it has been found 

 necessary to even deny them sugar. 



Q. Is the sale of intoxicating drinks strictly j^rohibited by the com- 

 pany and Government agents ? — A. It is; but has not always been so. 

 There is, in my judgment, no reason why the drinking of quass could 

 not be suppressed, and there is only one way to do it, and that is by 

 taking away from them these luxuries and sugar. 



Q. That is, the material to make it of"? — A. They will make it if they 

 can buy sugar. The company keeps supi)lies of"^ all kinds— clothing, 

 food, groceries, provisions, canned goods — everything that they would 

 need and require; and they can go there and buy them on credit until 

 the end of the seal season, and then their pay is allotted to thera. Right 

 in that connection, I think it would be very well to state how that is 

 done. When I was there the chief of these people took it upon himself 

 to make this allotment. 



Q. Of the pay? — A. Yes, of the pay ; and I found among these peo- 

 ple that they are human, like other people; and there is favoritism, 

 more or less; and I found the more intelligent ones, those who really 

 were the head and front of the organization, or whatever it might be, 

 are the ones that receive the first-class shares. That, I think, that year 

 was $385. I may be wrong, but that is a matter of recollectiou.'^ A 

 few received that, and then came the second class. They are divided 

 into three classes, and the second class receives something like $250, 

 and the third class $185. Mr. Wardman and myself discussed that, 

 and we concluded it was a very improper thing to leave that to the 

 people, because every year some faithful men were entitled to receive 

 more than they did receive, and some others, on account of this favor- 

 itism more than anything else, were paid more; some $385 and some 

 $185. They were entitled to just as much as the others. I believe, 

 now, that out of that grew the recommendation for a change, and now 

 the company's men and the Government agent and a representative of 

 the people make the allotment. 



Q. All three?— A. Yes, sir; instead of leaving it to the chiefs. 



Q. It was a sort of board of arbitration?— A. Yes, sir. And that, I 

 suppose, is the rule now, and it is working very successfully, because 

 the Government agent is just as well aware of who is entitled to a first- 

 class share as anybody else, and so is the company's man. They know 

 who are the best men and who are doing the most work. 



Q. They try to make the allotment or payment, then, on a basis of 

 real merit?— A. Real merit of the man and the amount of work he does. 



Q. How much do the company pay f— A. The company pay 40 cents 

 a skin for every skin taken, and then they pay these people a dollar a 



