FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 215 



This was written by Treasury Agent George Marston May 18, 1S77 

 I found that in ]I877, records of the opinion of tbe Government officer 

 as to the conduct of affairs by hira in the Government house. Mr. 

 Chairman, you must take into consideration that these officers are there 

 under oathj indorsed by what are supposed to be the first men of the 

 hind. The comi)any's men are sailors and men they can pick up as 

 best they can, and, as I have said before, they have been taught by the 

 Government agents not only that everything belongs to them, not only 

 the seal, but the rocks the seal are on. It comes to this by the officers 

 not doing their duty, and one cause of that is that the system is treat- 

 ing officers the same as if they were in the State of New York, when 

 they do not see them for a year or fifteen mouths. The reports are 

 pigeon-holed and no attention is paid to them. 



Here are two reports showing a conflict between myself and a supe- 

 rior officer. While some agents of the company people, on the island, 

 might be pleased with this state of affairs, I can not bring myself to 

 believe that Mr. Sloss and the other gentlemen of the company with 

 wives and daughters, would object to a man for trying his best to cor- 

 rect this miserable state of affairs which 1 found on the island. Well, 

 this man Tingle has done that and is only doing what other officers have 

 done before him. 



Q. What were the particular conditions you were trying to correct? — 

 A. When I got on the island there were no rules at all. You had to 

 find out everything to be done from the company peoi)le. 



Q. Did you have any instructions from the Treasury Department? — 

 A. No, sir; I had none. When I left, I had some idea of matters up 

 there and asked the Secretary about instructions, and he asked me to 

 write my own instructions. I did not do so. I went on up there and 

 found not a scratch of a pen anywhere except a record from day to day. 

 Merely when it rained and when the sun shone and the state of the 

 thermometer and things of that kind, but as to the government of the 

 people, there was nothing. You had to learn for yourself. 1 adopted 

 some rules, as I wanted to teach the people a lesson. Here are some 

 rules I wrote. They were set aside when my back was turned, by Tingle 

 and Manchester. They said I had no law, and you will see they are 

 marked void. I was very slow in doing this, and day by day i talked 

 to the people because I did not want to give n,uy sudden shock to the 

 compan}^ men. I thought 1 could win them to my way of thinking. 



Q. A gentleman swore here to-day that Mr. Kirk told him he would 

 knock down any man who interfered with him 1 — A. If he told him that, 

 it was a lie ; but I will take that back. It must have been exaggeration 

 of his; he never said such words tome. If the Government agents, 

 I repeat, would do their conscious duty and not place themselves so 

 much under obligation to the comj)any, by accei)ting free transporta- 

 tion, etc., and swearing afterwards that they paid their way, they would 

 be much help to the poor natives. 



The witness here appended the following paper: 



Kules and regulations governing the Island of St. George, as prepared hi/ T. F. Eyan. 

 Order No. 1. 



The use of fire-arms is forbidden between May 1 and December 1, except as per- 

 mitted by the Government officer. 



No. 2. 



The driving and killing of seals for food, except i)nps, will not be permitted between 

 August 20 and November If) (then report to the Treasury for orders as you did in re- 

 gard to bulls)— [ Void. Conform to the law. j 



