INTRODUCTION. 
After the purchase of Alaska by the United States in 1867, the 
Pribilof Islands, which were a part of the purchase and of immense 
value as one of the breeding grounds of the northern fur seal, were set 
aside as a government reservation and placed under the administra- 
tion of the Treasury Department. In 1870, under authority from 
Congress, the Secretary of the Treasury leased for twenty years to 
the highest bidder, which was the Alaska Commercial Company, the 
sole right to take sealskins on these islands. During this period the 
income to the Government was $6,010,565, representing 1,840,364 
sealskins taken by the lessee. In 1890 the contract with the Alaska 
Commercial Company having expired, the sealing privilege was again 
leased for twenty years, the highest bidder in this case being the 
North American Commercial Company. The number of skins taken 
during this period was 339,180, for which the Government has received 
$3,752,415. In 1903, with the creation of the Department of Com- 
merce and Labor, the administration of the seal islands was trans- 
ferred from the Secretary of the Treasury to the Secretary of Com- 
merce and Labor, who, on December 28, 1908, placed their general 
management under the direct control of the Commissioner of Fisheries. 
Under the terms of the contract, which expired May 1, 1910, the 
lessee paid $10.22| for each sealskin taken, the Government deter- 
mining the number and classes of seals that should be killed each 
year and supervising the killing through its agents stationed on the 
islands. The company employed the natives to kill the seals, pay- 
ing them a stated amount per skin, and in addition furnished them, 
annually, dried salmon, salt and barrels for preservation of the meat 
supply, 80 tons of coal, comfortable dwellings, schoolhouses, teachers, 
physicians, and medicines ; it furnished also all the necessaries of life 
to the widows, orphans, and aged and infirm inhabitants. To sup- 
plement the natives’ earnings, the United States Government appro- 
priated $19,500 each year for their fuel, clothing, and food. 
The lessee purchased also, under yearly contract, skins of the 
arctic foxes, which are found chiefly on the island of St. George. 
The trapping of these animals and the selection for killing are under 
direct charge of the government agents. The entire revenue from 
the foxes ($5 for each blue pelt and $1 for each white) is applied to 
the support of the natives. 
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