National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1884-01-05
TIE AMERICAN AIEuTs.


A Description OF Our Subjects I'm the
Alaskan Fur Islands.
Hon Louis II. Kimmell, of Lafayette, Ind.
government agent at st. Georges island,
Alaska, is at homo on visit. In an inter-
view in the Indianapolis Journal he says
"The natives subsist on seal meat, the meat
of the sea lion and on gulls eggs. In Juno
and July the island is literally covered with
gulls. They lay great quantities Of eggs,
which are gathered Uy thousands. The eggs are
palatable when fresh, but the natives are not
particular in that sense. If they are over
ripe or have chicks in them they are pre-
forred, being then used In q sort Of omelet,
which they consider their choicest dish. So
with the meat Of the seal and the sea lion
the stronger IL smells the better they like IL.
Gathering gulls eggs looks hazardous,
but the natives say there has never
but one accident producing death &C.
CURED to any one engaged in it. Two
mon, or as often q man and woman, go to-
gether, taking with them long rope. One,
lying down with his feet braced against the
solid earth or a stone holds one end Of the
rope, while the other descends sometimes near
| 1000 feet over the sheer face of cliff, and
thon, swinging from side to side, gathers the
eggs. The accident occurred through native
going out alone and fastening the rope to q
stake or stone. He was found dead at the
| foot of o cliff, the rope broken. The breaking
of the rope was credited to the blue foxes,
who were charged with having gnawed it In
two. Each winter the Aleuts trap from 1,5OO
to 5000 of these foxes, for which the company
| pays so cents each. The skins, cured, readily
bring SO and 50 apiece.
"The Alouts have no great variety OF
amusements They pitch half-dollars, and
arc expert at II. They also play ball. There
are no rules in tho game, which appears TO
be nothing moro than knockabout. As there
| is no timber on tho island-not q tree--there
is no uniformity in their clubs, anything
goes, any kind Of a stick or a seal rib. They
are intensely FOND Of cards, and arc always
playing Russian card game, which l do not
pretend to understand, mover having tried to
learn it. A while ago they were about at
their wits end to continue their card playing.
Their packs were about played out, the spots
worn OIL. They had seen mo drawing and
coloring, and came with their well-worn
cards to put new spots on them.
1t wouldn't do for the ladies here to sec
the waste of sealskins that have seen-to
see the Aleut women in their fur clothes made
of pup seals, which are finer, but, because Of
their size, not as valuable as the scalskins Of
commerce.
They do not estimate things as we do,
those misguided Aleuts, and they actually
prefer bright calicoes and brass jewelry ia
sealskin and pure gold. Men and women
are fond of dancing, the women especially
Their dances are uncouth aud barbarous, but
their waltzing is really exceedingly graceful
aud they like to dance every Sunday after.
noon after coming from their Greek chapel
They are indebted 10 the Russian sailors and
soldiers for their waltz, as they are for their
religion and their diseases. Civilization ha:
almost done for them as 1t has for the Sand
witch Islanders. There is no leprosy among
them, but they have scurvy, and, as Sc
quence Of syphilis, they have loathsome skin
diseases. They have gandular swelling in
the neck, which seldom leaves them without
a scar Speaking of dancing, Christmas, In
the Greek church, according to the Russian
calendar, which is old style, comes tw elvt
days later than with us. Last year they had
permission to use the government house, and
beginning with their Christmas, they danced
every night for two weeks. They are inordi-
nate tea drinkers; that, too, they learned Of
ths Russians, and they keep the tea kettle OF
day and night. That is tho strongest bev
erage they have, as not drop of spirits Il
allowed by the government on the island
Under the Russians they had plenty o.
whisky, "vodki," as the Russians and Alout
call it, and they have no good will towarC
this paternal government for deprivini
them of it. The men, generally, ar,
} aboutlsfve feet two inches IN height
the women shorter. 1t is q mstak
to suppose them similar to our Indians
They are not copper colored. Thei
features are Mongolian; they heve high cheel
bones, broad noses, and slant eyes. Some o
them are dark while others have skiing mucl
like the Chinese. The effort of the compan.
TO educate their children is not likely to com
to much. The education is compulsory anC
in English, but even after the children hav,
learned to read and have left school they hav,
refused to read or speak word Of English
, In consequence Of their dirty way Of livinI
and their generally diseased condition, the,
die young. The men seldom live to be 81
years old the women live somewhat longer
There is, however no crime among them ex
cept adultery, and that is not considered
crime there. They are married in the Greel
church, but the marriage tie is hardly OBJ
served ut all. We keep them all togetho
upon the island and in frame butts, their un
( derground houses having been destroyed or
account Of their flthiness and to get rid o
the domestic animals, with which they fairly
swarmed. All the guns on the island are il
charge of the government agent. and never
more than three natives at time are al
lowed to have guns.