24^ FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 



of iil-fame and debaucliery for Aleut women and bad men 1 — A. I iievoi 

 lieard anything of that kind, and I never saw anything- of tbat kind. 



Q. Did you form any conclusion as to the moral habits of the native 

 women and the whites who are living there amongst tuem in that re- 

 spect "? — A. No, sir ; but I presume it is much the same as in any other 

 semi-civilized nation where the women are probably approachable at 

 proper times and in proper ways. You hear a great deal of talk but I 

 saw nothing that led me to think that they were — well, their morals 

 are equal to those of the Chinese and Japanese and that sort of people. 



Q. Did you hear of any rapes being committed I — A. IsTo, sir. 



Cross-examination by Mr. Jeffries : 



Q. When you visited those islands you were in command of the Cor- 

 10171 ? — A. Yes, sir. 



Q. You were therein your ofiQcial ca^pacity? — A. Yes, sir. 



Q, You carried the United States flag and represented the Govern- 

 ernmentof the nation. Did the natives on these islands have an op- 

 portunity to communicate with you freely and lay before you freely any 

 grievances they had if they had any ? — A. Yes, sir. 



Q. Was any complaint of any sort made to you by any native as to 

 the treatment by the company or Government agents on the island ? — 

 A. No, sir ; I do not recollect of a single instance. If there was, it was 

 very trifling and it has escaped my memory, but I do not think there 

 was anything. 



Q. Are you acquainted with a native by the name of Peter Eezauzoff, 

 on the island of St. George? — A. I do not know, but I may be. 



Q. Do you happen to know whether the number of seals killed during 

 the time of your cruise, sny a larger or large proportion of them, were 

 females"? — A. I do not know about that. 1 know there were a great 

 many, but I do not know what proportion. 



Q.'^ Do you know about the habit of the female seals leaving the 

 rookeries and going south into the water for food and then returning to 

 the rookeries'? — A. I know they leave their rookeries and go away, but 

 what for I do not know. 



Q, What do you say as to having another vessel stationed at Oon- 

 alaska, a sort of man of- war and prison ship, on which to stow away the 

 crews of the captured vessels ? — A. That is highly necessarj^, and some- 

 thing of the sort should be had if these seizures should continue to bo 

 made. 



Q. How far is it from the seal islands to Sitka, where the United 

 States officers and conrt are? — A. Fifteen hundred miles. 



Q. Therefore, if you capture one or two vessels and take their cr^ws 

 to Sitka, that leaves the whole waters of the Bering Sea open to depre- 

 dations while you are going to Sitka and back ! — A. Certainly. 



Mr. Macd(3NAld. How long would it take you to go to Sitka and re- 

 turn ? 



The Witness. It would take the Corwin about three weeks. 



By Mr. Jeffries : 



Q. So the dei)redators would have that time to operate in between 

 your leaving and returning? — A. It would take at least three weeks to 

 go and come. 



Q. Then, necessarily, there should be one to remain and cruise around 

 while the other was uioving thojiie persons? — A. I think that at Oon- 

 alaska there should be a strong force kept to guard against danger, as 

 there are only half a dozen white jieople there, and during this time 

 most of the Aleuts are away. There is no reason why the catch at the 



