208 FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 



intercourse between the natives and the com])any house ; but I never 

 beard ot any outra.ues or anytbing of that kind. Women went to the 

 company house freely. 1 would see them in there and the men also 

 came and went into the company house as they pleased ; but I never 

 lieard of any troubles. Nothing was brought to my attention in that 

 respect. 



Q. Were any complaints made by the native fathers and husbands 1 — 

 A. The only complaint that was ever made to me was by a native 

 woman. She came to the Government house and complained that a 

 native's sou, a young fellow about sixteen or eighteen years, had been 

 trying to get her daughter to go out in the grass for, as she intimated, 

 immoral purposes. I told her the only remedy L knew for that was to 

 watch her daughter as the other i)eople had to tlo; that 1 had nothing 

 to do with it. That is the only complaint that ever came to me in that 

 direction. 



Q. Do you know Mr. Webster"? — A. Yes, sir. 

 Q. He is a company's agent ? — A. Yes, sir. 



Q. What is his age, and how long has he been there? Do you know? — 

 A. Well, I have known him ever since I began going u[) there. I 

 first saw him on St. Paul in 1879, when I was in the steamer Rush ; I 

 made a cruise up there in that year and I saw him then. I saw him 

 afterwards on St. Paul, and he wintered on St. George one winter. The 

 next winter Mr. Eedpath was agent. Mr. Webster is an old " shell- 

 back," a white-headed old man. He was an old whaler. He was up 

 there before the Alaska Commercial Uomi)any. He had been whaling 

 up m the Ochotsk Sea and in the Arctic Sea before the United States ac- 

 quired Alaska. 1 think he was in the Arctic Sea in 1854; but lam not 

 sure about the date. He was a querulous old man. He was dyspeptic 

 and the winter he was upon St. George when I was there he was con- 

 fined to bed a great part of the time, in fact, it was thought he would 

 never stand another winter on the island; the doctor thought he would 

 not, but he insisted on sticking to it. I never had any trouble with Mr. 

 Webster. If I found him growling, I would turn him and give him a 

 "blulf." Whenever I wanted anything done, I would go to him and 

 tell him what I wanted and he would do it. I think if I had wanted 

 to buy a stove he would have sold me one without any words or con- 

 troversy. 



I believe I never asked or ordered anything done but what he ex- 

 pressed his wilbnguess to do it, except once. That was when I wanted 

 to seize the schooner Alexander, and had left Mr, Kirk aboard till I 

 talked with Webster. I would not seize her formally unless Webster 

 svould take her, because I did not want her to go on the rocks there. 

 There was no harbor there. I went ashore and told Mr. Webster that 

 if he would take her over to the other island or down to San Francisco 

 and deliver her to the United States marshal, 1 would seize her. He 

 said he would see the Government damned first. He said he had had 

 one experience of that kind and that one was sufficient. He said he 

 never got anything from the Government for his time or services on 

 that trip, and that he never would take another schooner down. Then 

 1 asked him lo let Mr. Kirk go and he said i.o, that Mr. Kirk was the 

 only assistant there and he could not spare him; so I concluded to let 

 the schooner go. That is the only instance in which I had any contro- 

 versy with him that I recall now!^ We did not have any words about 

 that ; he simply said he would not go. 



Q. Was there any act on the part of Webster or other company em- 

 ployes in the way of obstructing the authority of the Government 



