FUE-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA. 405 



(5) The great bar to immigration in the islands andmain-lancl north of the archipelago 

 is the impossibility of obtaining supplies. White men settling there must either 

 forego them and live as the natives do, or, at immense expense and risk, charter bouts 

 to bring them from the States, as there are no regular packets. Until there are set- 

 tlements large enough to jiay the packets, the population of these sections of the Ter- 

 ritory must remain small. 



(6) I saw a great deal of silver coin at each of the stations. It was all furnished by 

 the company's agent. I saw none that was mutilated or stamped. 



Such were my opinions, such my observations, in 1883. I have not changed the 

 former, nor have 1 any hesitancy about the accuracy of the latter. 

 I have the honor to be, yours, truly, 



P. F. Healy, S.J. 



P. S. — If you think that Mr. Sloss would like a copy of this letter, I beg of you to 

 have a copy sent to him, as writing is fatiguing to me. 



P. F. Healy, S. J. 

 General N. L. Jeffries. 



Carlisle, Pa., January 25, 188S. 

 DioAR Sirs : Please write me the probable date of sailing of your, vessels to Kodiak 

 and Oonalaska, that I may know when to forward the mail for the teachers. 



Permit me to assure you that I do not at all sympathize with the tirade of Gov- 

 ernor Swinefonl against your company. 



In my last annual report, sent to the United States Commissioner of Education in 

 Washington, D. C, last November, in several places I have made mention of the 

 assistance rendered the schools by your agents and employes. 



In public addresses and newsiJaper correspondence also I have not failed to make 

 mention of your assistance. 



I have never had any cause of complaint against the officers of the company. 

 I understand that Governor Swineford expects or hopes to lobby through this Con- 

 gress a Territorial legislature for Alaska. In the present condition of affairs in Alaska, 

 a legislature would place all the material interests of western Alaska in the hands of 

 a few adventurers in southeastern Alaska, the unfairness of which you can understand 

 as well as I. 



Very truly, yours, 



Sheldon Jackson, 

 United States General Agent of Education in Alaska. 

 Alaska Commercial Company, 



310 Sansome Street, S. F. 



Washington, D. C, January 26, 1888, 

 Mr. Leon Sloss, of San Francisco, Cal., being interrogated by N. L. Jeffries, attor- 

 ney for the Alaska Commercial Company of San Francisco, replied as follows : 



1. Q. What is your age, residence, and occupation ?— A. I am thirty years of age ; I 

 reside in San Francisco, and am a merchant ; I am also purchasing agent for the 

 Alaska Commercial Company. 



2. Q. Have you visited any part of Alaska Territory; if so, what part or parts, and 

 how often, and how long did you remain there?— A. I first visited Alaska in 1883 ; I 

 went to Kodiak, from there to Oonalaska, and from there to St. Paul and St. George 

 Islands, where I remained two months ; I returned again in 1884 and 1885 for the 

 same period. 



3. Q. Does your employment in the office of the Alaska Commercial Company afford 

 you an opportunity of becoming familiar with the business of the company 'and its 

 method of conducting it ? — A. It affords me every opportunity ; and I have also been 

 a director of the company. 



4. Q. What relation, if any, are you to Louis Sloss, the president of the Alaska Com- 

 mercial Compauy? — A. I am his son. 



5. Q. State whether or not you are at any time present at the meeting of directors 

 or managers of the company when its methods and business affairs are discussed and 

 determined. — A. I am usually present. 



6. Q. So far as you know or have learned from the opportunities afforded you, what 

 is the policy or action of the company in reference to the settlement of "the Terri- 

 tory ?— A. The conjpany affords every possible facility for its settlement, and carries 

 emigrants, miners, and missionaries on its vessels cheaper than the regular passage 

 rates to Sitka. 



