FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 161 



Q. How is their condition as compared to what it was before the ces- 

 sion of the territory to the United States by Russia '?— A. 1 can only 

 speak from what I have read, and from the records and conversations 

 with the okl natives of the islands. 1 have of course investigated the 

 subject, as far as I could. Old Kerrick Booteriu, the most intelligent 

 native of the islands, told me that under Russian rule he was the 

 highest salaried man on the islands, received the highest pay. That he 

 was the head cari)enter and the highest he ever received from Russia 

 in one year was $60. That man now receives about $000, or a little 

 over, in cash. He has charge of the boats, and is one of the first-class 

 men. That is a fair comparison between the Russian and the American 

 rule. He told me that the ])ay of the natives for taking and delivering 

 skins to the side of the vessel was 10 cents a skin. They were not sup- 

 plied by Russia to any great extent in those days. There was a very 

 sciinty supply of tea; about 45 poundsof flour per annum was furnished 

 each iiead of a family. They lived in what they call "barrabkies" and 

 '^ barrakoous," large buildings made of earth in which they spent the 

 winter. A large number would get into a building, so as to keep warm, 

 and save fuel. They built but one fire. Others Avould live in these 

 sunken houses, 3 or 4 feet under ground and 4 feet above ground, cov- 

 ered with sod. ,WUen this company took charge of the islands it took 

 these people up out of the dirt houses and put them in comfortable 

 frame cottages, and they have furnished them ever since, without cost 

 to the natives. 



By Mr. Felton : 



Q. You say that under the law they are required to count the skins 

 at the island! — 1\.. Yes, sir. 



Q. That would seem to be the pi^oper place for it? — A. Yes, sir. 



Q. Then there was a time when they took the count at San Francisco ? — 

 A. Yes, sir; under Secretary Sherman. 



Q. And now they take the count at the islands '? — A. Yes, sir. 



Q. ]Jo you know any discrepancy between the count taken at the isl- 

 ands and that taken at San Francisco at the time the San Francisco 

 count was used f — A. Nothing that would indicate fraud. 



Q. I do not want to put it in that shape. In other words, did the 

 count at San Francisco ever turn out to be less than the count at the 

 islands"^ — A. Very often, 



Q. The count at San Francisco was sometimes less and very often 

 more f — A. A few skins both ways. That change was not made on ac- 

 count of any suspected fraud or any material discrepancy. It was 

 found, after figuring it up, that there was an excess of a few skins by 

 this San Francisco count over the island count, and the Treasury made 

 an order to take the San Francisco count, because it was a few skins 

 more in the aggregate, and they thought possibly it might be better or 

 the most nearly correct; but I imagine that the real reason was that the 

 Ahiska Commercial Company desired to pay on the greatest number of 

 skins that was counted, iu order that there might be no question. 



Q. Then the aggiegate of the counts as taken at San Francisco 

 figured a few more, and ui)on that the company ])aid ? — A. Yes, sir; the 

 company paid on that. At tlietime I made tlie recommendation for the 

 change, so that the count upon which the tax is paid should be the 

 Treasury agent's count on the islands as the law requires, my reason 

 was that the company, if it lost a cargo of skins by the sinking of its 

 vessel, would be ol)liged to pay the tax upon those skins loaded at the 

 islands, and under the old order of things there might be a question, if 

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