FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA 289 



him and seemed to be awful pleased to see Mm. There was a great cliange in the 

 natives for the better after Mr. Gavitt left the island. They all seem to be cheer- 

 ful and happy now, and we are getting along nicely now, with every prospect for a 

 pleasant and happy time for all tliis winter. 



I was sorry to have you leave without having seen you again as I very much wanted 

 to have a talk with you, and I wanted you to have examined Mr. Gavitt's journal 

 after he had made so many erasures ; it is not a journal that a sane man would write 

 and be proud of his writing. Mrs. Loud joins me in love and kind wishes to yourself 

 and all of your family, hoping this will find you arrived at your home and find all 

 well. I will write you again the next opportunity oft'ering. I wrote you to St. 

 Paul, but as you did not connect with the Bush you will receive it, no doubt, at San 

 Francisco. Ho))ing to hear from you by last vessel, 

 I am, very respectfullj^, 



A. P. Loud, 

 Assistant Treasury Agent, in charge St. George Island. 



Hon. George R. Tingle, 



Special Treasury Agent, in charge of Seal Islands in Alaska, 



care of Alaska Commercial Company, San Francisco, Cat. 



Q. Are there any other facts and circumstances within your knowl- 

 edge bearing upon these subjects that you remember now ? — A. Here 

 is the letter of Captain Loud, of July, which is in regard to Mr. Gavitt 

 and his conduct there. 



Q. Is it in relation to anything Mr. Gavitt has testified to here ? — A. 

 It speaks of his bad conduct on the island and particularly as to his 

 character. 



The Chairman. That is personal, and I have no desire to go into an 

 examination of his private habits. 



Mr. Jeffries. On behalf of the company we do not desire to make 

 an attack upon Mr. Gavitt or anybody else. 



The Chairman. We only want to get your evidence bearing on the 

 points to which Mr. Gavitt has testified. 



The Witness. The condition of the natives on those islands, as com- 

 pared with other parts of Alaska I touched at, is certainly very much 

 superior, and I attribute it wholly to their contact with the Alaska 

 Commercial Company's men and the Government agents who did their 

 duty. 



Q. Mr. Gavitt states that a native was reported to him for punishing 

 his wife. He says : 



Then I tried him and found him innocent. He wanted to prevent his wife from 

 going to the company house for immoral purposes. I lectured him and dismissed him. 

 Webster called him (the native) and told liim that if he did not permit his wife to 

 come to his room he would break his head. 



Was that circumstance brought to your attention ?— A. No, sir. Not 

 at all. I am perfectly satisfied that Mr. Webster made use of no such 

 language. He is not that kind of a man. 



Q. Have you ever known any instance of Webster or the company's 

 agents intimidating Government officers there ? — A. No, sir; the com- 

 pany agents are very careful not to run counter to the Government 

 agents. Their instructions from the company's home office are very 

 strict upon that point. They do not want any conflict with the Govern- 

 ment in any way, shape, or form ; they simply want them to go ahead 

 and perform their work under the law, which they do as far as I 

 know. 



Q. In a portion of his (Gavitt's) testimony he says that the island — 

 I suppose he means the whole island — is a sort of Government house 

 of prostitution, from one end of the island to the other, and that he re- 

 ported this to Mr. Tingle. What do you know about that ? — A. He 

 reported to me by letter dated June 3, upon which I made an investi- 

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