48 FUR-SEAL FISHEKIES OF ALASKA. 



day for any other labor they perform. They do not seem inclined, how- 

 ever, to do anything except sealing. They are ten months in idleness, 

 and have little inclination to do anything else except sealing, even 

 though they are paid for it. There are some of these people who save 

 their money, and have considerable sums to their credit, on which the 

 company pay them a rate of interest — how much I do not know — but 

 they pay them interest on it. About one-half of them spend all they 

 earn. That is, they do not exactly spend it all because the Government 

 keeps back, I think, if they are married men, enough to keep them 

 for the year. In other words, they instruct the Alaska Commercial 

 Company to withhold from these people who are improvident a cer- 

 tain sum of money, amounting, perhaps, to $3 a week, out of their wages 

 for emergencies. There are about one-half of them who gamble away 

 their money by pitching half dollars. 



Q. With whom do they gamble ? — A. Among themselves. 



Q. Do any agents, or officers, or employes of the company gamble 

 with them? — A. ISTo, sir. I never have seen anything of that kind at 

 all. In fact, there is no affiliation of that kind ; it would be repugnant 

 to a white man to affiliate with them in a social way, or in any shape or 

 form. 



Q. They do not get their money away from them by that means 1 — A. 

 No, sir ; they only gamble among themselves, and it has been suggested 

 a number of times that the Government ought to j)revent that ; -but that 

 seems to be impracticable and out of the question for the reason of their 

 ten months' idleness, when they have nothing whatever to do and no 

 amusement except that ; and as long as they keep it among themselves 

 and a sufficient sum is withheld to keep them from want, they might as 

 well squander their money among themselves, as it all comes back. Of 

 course some of them get the worst of it, and a few older ones, who are 

 more expert at gambling, have the bulk of the money in the spring. 

 Then they spend it all freely ; it comes back and circulates among their 

 own people, and there is nobody harmed by it in any way. 



Q. What prices do they have to pay for supplies they buy from the 

 company. Did you examine into the prices charged there? — A. The 

 prices that they pay amount to about 25 per cent, increase over the actual 

 cost at wholesale at San Francisco. The goods are all marked upon 

 that basis. I did examine into that very carefully, and know the price 

 of goods and what they sold for. I would estimate it was in the neigh- 

 borhood of 25 per cent. That pays merely the cost of transportation, 

 and these people, a great many of them, buy everything they see in 

 sight, if the company would sell to them ; the company's ageut knows 

 the peculiarity of each and every individual on the island. They know 

 who save their money and who spend it, and if they find any one is 

 spending more money than they ought, they will not sell to them. They 

 are inclined to buy whole pieces of goods, and silk handkerchiefs by 

 the dozen, but they do not sell to them in that way ; they just divide it 

 up so that each one may have a little, that they may not spend all their 

 earnings in that way. 



Q. Well, under the contract with the Government, the company is 

 required to provide a certain amount of supplies and fuel, either wood 

 or coal, food and salt fish, or something of that kind. Did you observe 

 as to the observance of that part of the contract? — A. I was not there 

 at the time these supplies were issued. They were issued later in the 

 fall; but I do know that they were issued and that there is no com- 

 plaint, and the company in fact make it a rule not only to carry out, so 

 far as I could observe, every provision of the law, but they go even fur- 



