Us 
St. Georges islands as special reservations of the government, 
they have been under the control of officers of the revenue ser¬ 
vice, sent there for the purpose of executing the laws prohibiting 
the landing at or killing of fur seals upon them. During my 
official visit there in the beginning of the present summer, and 
whilst engaged in investigating the affairs of the natives, as well 
as the manner in which the troops had performed their duties, 
I learned that, under one pretext and another, privileged parties 
had been permitted to land and remain on those reservations, 
and had been allowed to kill the animals at pleasure. During 
last summer at least 85,000 seals were killed on the two islands ; 
probably more than that number. The pretexts under which 
this was authorized was that of enabling the natives to subsist 
themselves without expense to the government. In an economi¬ 
cal point of view this would seem quite right, but the facts are 
that the natives are cooped upon these islands, where they are 
compelled to work for those private parties or starve ; in other 
words they are to-day in a complete state of slavery. Competition 
in trade has been universally established, and is now pretty well 
understood by the natives and traders throughout the country ; 
wherever the former can paddle his canoe, or the latter penetrate 
with his goods, such is the case. These isolated islands of St. 
Paul and St. George in Behring sea , the richest possessions in 
natural wealth , considering their small area on the continent , form 
the only exceptions. The natives are peaceful, honest, and 
capable of transacting ordinary business quite well, and would 
doubtless improve themselves if they had a fair chance, hut 
their present complete enslavement and robbery by an unscrupulous 
ring of speculators , will ever prevent such progress.” — Report of 
Brevet Maj. Gen. Commanding Department of Alaska, to Sec. 
of War, Aug. 20, 1870. 
If the visible or invisible treasures on the north-west coast, 
or in the waters adjacent, are subject to the caprice of Congress ; 
the acquisition of Alaska is of little value to our people; if 
Congress can thus barter the rich seal rookeries to a few favo¬ 
rites, it may, with an equal show of right, trade off the enormous 
rich salmon fisheries in those waters ; if our national represen¬ 
tatives in Congress assembled, can, in any way , or for any con¬ 
sideration, lease any branch of national industry in or around 
Alaska, they can also grant away Cassius’ ledge, Jeffrey’s bank, 
the shoals of Georges, and all the most valuable fishing grounds 
