32 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
Scotcli 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 California or some other country witli a climate differing widelj^ from that of 
the islands. It is imperatively necessary that a race like the Scotch black-face be 
emi)loyed; otherwise, the experiment would be sure to be a failure; but witli xnoper 
precautions, and under the guidance of exxierienced men, I feel convinced that sheei>- 
raisiug would be the xtroper solution of the food question in the Aleutian Islands. 
On Bering Island the sledge dogs would be an insurmountable obstacle to the 
introduction of sheexi. As a matter of fact, however, the dogs are now of but little 
use, and should be exterminated — tlie sooner the better. The increasing number of 
boats have made the dogs superfluous along the coasts and for inland transxiortation, 
Xiarticularly from the main village, Nikolski, to the North Bookery. The introduction of 
a few Kamchatkan x^onies would do the work much more satisfactorily, as xn oven by 
the success of the mules on the Pribylof Islands. In the fall of 1882 a couple of horses 
were brought over from Petroxiaulski, let loose, and allowed to take care of themselves 
during the entire winter, which was a rather severe one. The winter gales swex>tthe 
level x>hrces nearly bare of snow and the horses found more than x^lentiful food in the 
dry grass thus exposed. So far from suffering hunger, thehoi ses in sxiring were found 
to be slick and Avell fed; in fact, in better condition than when they arrived on the 
island. They were afterwards sold to a native, but died later, a circumstance 
undoubtedly due to the ignorance or lack of care of the owner. 
The sledge-dogs are still one of the most interesting features of Bering Island. 
There must be at least GOO dogs in Nikolski, but while formerly they were allowed to 
run loose, and afterwards kept chained outside of the owner’s house, Mr. Grebnitski 
has of late years banished all the dog-x^eus to the sand-hills back of the village, much 
to the imxirovement of good order and comtort in the village. Each dog has a hole 
in the ground large enough for him to lie down in while chained to a stout X'ole near 
by. Here they x>ass their days howling or sleexung, when not out traveling. For 
traveling a number of them, mostly 11 or 13, are hitched in x^airs to a low sledge. A 
trained leader is tied on in front. This is an intelligent and valuable animal, and is 
guided entirely by the driver’s voice. In winter, on the snow, such a team will haul 
a load weighing 400 x>ounds, and I have traveled 40 miles in a day, though without 
any baggage worth mentioning. But they arc also used in summer on the bare 
ground. Of course, the rocky xdaces are avoided as much as x>ossible, and the summer 
tracks are xireferably located over the marshes and in the low xilaces. Qn frequented 
routes, as between Nikolski and North Rookery, or Saranna, the constant travel has 
worn deep ruts in the ground — in some places 2 to 3 feet deex). These ruts being veri- 
table ditches, drain the surroundings, and are, therefore, usually in a very slix)xiery 
condition, to which the droxRiings of the dogs add materially, making it fast if not 
]deasant traveling. Some of these routes are shown by dotted lines on the max) 
Bering Island (xilate 4). 
iMost of the dogs differ greatly from the Kamchatkan dogs, belonging, in fact, to 
an entirely different race. They have large, hanging ears, and were originally brought 
to the island from Okhotsk. Of late years teams of Kamchatkan dogs, which have 
erect, x)oiuted ears, and are very much like the ordinary Eskimo dogs, have been 
imported, as the original hang-eared dogs were degenerating from inbreeding, and 
now mongrels of all x)ossible shades and with cars of all possible shaxies are common 
