CATTLE AND SHEEP. 



45 



Table showi7ig number of fish dried and salted ly the inkaMtants of the Commander Islands during various 

 years between 1868 and 1896 {chiefly from Savitch, Otchet, 1893, p. 63). 



There is very little game uow to hunt on the islands. The natives are very fond 

 of the meat of the various sea birds, especially early in spring, and being provided 

 with modern breech-loading gun's and an unlimited supply of ammunition," the result is 

 that birds have become comparatively scarce — very much so, in fact — near the villages. 

 Ptarmigans [Lagopus ridgwayi) are, I believe, still numerous on Bering Island. 



During their lease Hutchinson, Kohl, Philippeus & Co. introduced a herd of 

 Kamchatka cattle on Bering Island and kept it at an expense entirely dispropor- 

 tionate to the benefits derived. The company has given up keeping cows, but the 

 cattle have passed into the hands of the natives, while the white families on the island 

 also have a few head to keep them supplied with milk. It has been supposed that 

 cattle raising might have a future on Bering Island, but past experience disproves 

 the prediction, at least with the present breed of cattle. It has even been suggested 

 "that these sturdy cattle might be advantageously introduced into the Aleutian 

 Archipelago," but aside from the fact that it requires a good deal of care and fodder 

 to bring them successfully through the winter, even on Bering Island, the breed is 

 highly objectionable from the fact that the cows refuse milk the moment their calves 

 are taken away from them. 



On the other hand, I firmly believe that with a suitable breed sheep raising could 

 be made a success, not only on the Commander Islands, but on the American Aleutian 

 Islands as well. The climate is not more severe nor more moist than on some of the 

 Scotch islands, or the Faeroes, where sheep raising and fishing are the main industries. 

 But of course, if an experiment is to be made, it must not be undertaken with sheep 

 from Califorpia or some other country with a climate differing widely from that of 

 the islands. It is imperatively necessary that a race like the Scotch black-face be 

 employed; otherwise, the experiment would bQ sure to be a failure; but with proper 

 precautions, and under the guidance of experienced men, I feel convinced that sheep 

 raising would be the proper solution of the food question in the Aleutian Islands. 



On Bering Island the sledge dogs would be an insurmountable obstacle to the 

 introduction of sheep. As a matter of fact, however, the dogs are now of but little 

 use and should be exterminated— the sooner the better. The increasing number of 

 boats h^ve made the dogs superfluous along the coasts and for inland transportation, 

 partic^larly from the main village, Nikolski, a road could be easily built to the North 

 Eookery. The introduction of a few Kamchatkan ponies would do the work much' 

 more satisfactorily, as proven by the success of the mules oil the Pribilof Islands. 



1 Mr. Kluge says the natives on Copper Island annually use 800 to 900 pounds of gunpowder. 



