40 ALASKA. 



was the sight of these sea-otter cloaks that excited the greed 

 and cupiditj' , and stimulated the adventurous trips made by the 

 first Eussian traders in the Aleutian Islands, and the weari- 

 some voyages of the English and French to the coast of Van- 

 couver's Island, and to the northward as far as Cook's Inlet, so 

 early as 178o-'SG. The beauty and value of the skin of the sea- 

 otter alone drew men, who, in spite of all danger, visited every 

 mile of the rugged coast of this Territory, nearly a hundred 

 years ago, in rude, clumsy ships and shallops, and depended 

 upon ruder nautical instruments, without charts, &c. 



The hardships endured and perils encountered by these hardy, 

 indomitable adventurers can be appreciated only by the seaman 

 of to-day, who may sail in their tracks, provided with a gener- 

 ally correct chart of a coast then absolutely unknown, in the 

 best sailing-vessels, fully equipped with perfect nautical instru- 

 ments, and yet this modern sailor cannot sleep day or night 

 with safety while he is on the coast or among the islands, so 

 severe is the trial. 



The first great demand by the natives in the Territory, as an 

 equivalent for their furs, was iron ; the English traders used to 

 make it up into thick wrought bands, about eighteen inches to 

 two feet in length, with a breadth of two inches, called " toes ; " 

 for one of these, at first, they readily procured a fine seaotter 

 or two, and a hatchet would obtain two or three ; tobacco, the 

 present great staple of trade, was then scarcely in demand, 

 but soon became so ; flour, when given by the Russians to some 

 Aleuts atOunalashka, in 1788, was taken by them up to a hill- 

 top and thrown by handfuls to the wind, the natives enjoying 

 the sight of the mock snow-storm spectacle much more than 

 the use of the material for food ; over on the mainland, when 

 crackers and sugar were given to some natives, at Nushagak, 

 they spit it from their mouths with disgust, wearing an expres- 

 sion of exceeding dislike for the strange food ; lead pleased 

 the Aleutians at first very much, it could be cut andJ'ashioned 

 so readily, but the most determined trials on their part failed, 

 of course, to make it retain a cutting-edge, and they finally gave 

 it up. 



By degrees, however, and quite rapidly, iron with form of 

 spear heads, axes, knives, kettles, &c., became a drug among 

 the people generally, and a taste for the wearing of cotton 

 and woolen goods, the use of tea and tobacco, caused the natives 

 of the Aleutian Islands to strain every nerve in hunting the sea- 



