Fourth in importance among the resources of Alaska must be ranked timber. It is not at present, however, an actual source of wealth, since its exportation is prohibited by the United States Government and even the utilization of the forests for local use for lumber and fuel is much restricted.
The whaling industry is conducted by New Bedford and San Francisco firms, chiefly north of Behring Strait, but cannot properly be included among the resources of Alaska. During the season of 1890 the product of this industry amounted to 14,567 barrels of oil, 226,402 pounds of whalebone, and 3,980 pounds of walrus ivory, besides considerable quantities of beaver, bear and white fox furs.
"In this survey of the wealth and resources of Alaska the observer is struck," says Mr. Petroff, in the census report, "with one rather discouraging feature: that all these vast resources, the products of land and sea, are taken out of the country without leaving any equivalent to the inhabitants. The chief industries, such as salmon canneries, cod fisheries, mines, and the fur trade, are carried on with labor imported into Alaska and taken away again, thus taking out of the country the wages earned. Every pound of subsistence for these laborers, as well as all of the clothing they use, is carried by them into Alaska. The shipping of Alaska, which has become of considerable value, is also carried on wholly by non-residents of the Territory, and this state of affairs extends even to the important tourists' travel to the south-eastern district of Alaska. Not only the passage-money, but the whole cost of subsistence of these tourists during their stay in Alaska goes to the California owners of the steamship lines. To give an idea of the magnitude of this traffic it is only necessary to state that the number of tourists' tickets sold each season exceeds 5,000, each ticket representing an expenditure of not less than $100, making a total of $500,000.
"The insignificant payments for furs and labor to natives are absorbed entirely in the purchase of small quantities of food and raiment. The spectacle of so vast a tract of country being thus drained continually for twenty-three years without receiving anything to speak of in return, cannot probably be equalled in any other part of the United States and perhaps of the world. At the same time the only prospect for a change in these circumstances by immigration and settlement of people who could supply the demand for labor and develop the industries as residents of the country would appear to be still in the far-distant future."
The fur-gathering industry still holds the foremost rank in Alaska, and the most important of its products are the pelts of the sea-otter and the fur-seal. It is among the Aleutian Islands that these animals are chiefly taken. The otter is widely distributed throughout the archipelago. But the fur-seal is taken almost exclusively upon the Pribyloff or Fur-seal Islands, where they resort in incredible numbers. The taking of these interesting animals is controlled by the Alaska Commercial Company, which has enjoyed a monopoly of the lucrative trade since Alaska came into the possession of this country. The actual work of killing the animals and removing the skins is done by the native Aleutians, in the Company's employ, and the operation, albeit sanguinary, is highly picturesque.
In former times, says Mr. Ivan Petroff, the Aleutian hunters prepared themselves for sea-otter expeditions by fasting, bathing and other ceremonies. The sea-otter was believed to be possessed of a very strong aversion to the female sex, and consequently the hunter was obliged to separate himself from his wife for some time prior to his departure, and also to prepare the garments he was to wear, or at least to wash with his own hands such of his garments as had been made by women. On his return from a successful hunt the superstitious Aleut of former times would destroy the garments used during his expedition, and before entering his hut dress himself anew from head to foot in clothing prepared by his faithful spouse during his absence. The hunting garments were then thrown into the sea. One old man stated, in explanation of this proceeding, that the sea-otters would find the clothing and come to the conclusion that their late persecutor must be drowned, and that there was no further danger. With the spread of the Christian religion among the sea-otter hunters most of these superstitious ceremonies were abolished, but even at the present day the sea-otter hunter occupies a prominent position in the community and enjoys great social advantages. Anything he may want which is not in the possession of his own family will be at once supplied by his neighbors, and weeks, and even months, are spent in careful preparation of arms, canoes and implements.
The mode of hunting the animal has not essentially changed since the earliest times. A few privileged white men located in the district of Ounga employ firearms, but the great body of Aleutian hunters still retain the spear and in a few instances the bow and arrow. The sea-otter is always hunted by parties of from four to twenty bidarkas, each manned by two hunters. From their village the hunters proceed to some lonely coast near the hunting-ground, either in their canoes or by schooners and sloops belonging to the trading firms, a few women generally accompanying the party to do the housework in the camp. In former times, of course, this was not the case. The tents of the party are pitched in some spot, not visible from the sea, and the hunters patiently settle down to await the first favorable day, only a smooth sea permitting the hunting of sea-otter with any prospect of success. In the inhospitable climate of Alaska weeks and months sometimes pass by before the patient hunters are enabled to try their skill. A weatherwise individual, here yclept "astronome," generally accompanies each party, giving due notice of the approach of favorable weather and the exact time when it is best to set out, and few Aleuts are bold enough to begin a hunt without the sanction of this individual. At last the day arrives, and after a brief prayer the hunters embark fully equipped, and in the best of spirits exchange jokes and banter until the beach is left behind; then silence reigns, the peredovchik or leader assumes command, and at a signal from him the bidarkas start out in a semicircle from fifty to one hundred yards distant from each other, each hunter anxiously scanning the surface of the water, at the same time having an eye upon the other canoes. The sea-otter comes up to the surface to breathe about once in every ten minutes, the smooth, glossy head remaining visible but a few seconds each time.
As soon as the hunter spies an otter he lifts his paddle as a signal and then points it in the direction taken by the animal, and the scattered bidarkas at once close in a wide circle around the spot indicated by the fortunate discoverer. If the animal comes up within this circle the hunters simply close in, gradually beating the water with their hands to prevent the escape of the quarry; but very often the wary animal has changed his direction after diving, and the whole fleet of canoes is obliged to change course frequently before the final circle is formed. As soon as the otter comes up within spear's throw one of the hunters exerts his skill and lodges a spear-head in the animal, which immediately dives. An inflated bladder is attached to the shaft, preventing the otter from diving very deep. It soon comes up again, only to receive a number of other missiles, the intervals between attacks becoming shorter each time, until exhaustion forces the otter to remain on the surface and receive its death wound. The body of the animal is then taken into one of the bidarkas and the hunt continues if the weather is favorable. On the return of the party each animal killed is inspected by the chief in the presence of all the hunters and its ownership ascertained by the spear-head that caused the mortal wound, each weapon being duly marked. The man who first struck the otter receives from two to ten dollars from the owner. The skins of the slain animals are at once removed, labelled and classified according to quality by the agents of the trading firms and carefully stored for shipment. It frequently happens that a whole day passes by without a single sea-otter being sighted, but the Aleut hunters have a wonderful patience and do not leave a place once selected without killing some sea-otters, be the delay ever so long. There are instances where hunting parties have remained on barren islands for years, subsisting entirely on "algæ" and mussels cast from the sea. On the principal sea-otter grounds of the present time, the Island of Sannakh and the neighborhood of Belkovsky, the hunting parties seldom remain over four or five months without securing sea-otters in sufficient number to warrant their return. Single hunters have sold sea-otters to the value of eight hundred dollars as their share of such brief expeditions, but payment is not made until the return of the party to their home station.
As soon as the result of a day's hunt has been ascertained, the chief or leader reminds the hunters of their duty toward the Church, and with their unanimous consent some skin, generally of a small animal, is selected as a donation to the priest, all contributing to reimburse the owner. The schools also receive donations of this kind, and the skins thus designated are labelled accordingly and turned over to the trading firms, who place the cash value at the disposal of the priest. Rivalry in the business of purchasing sea-otter skins has induced the various firms to send agents with small assortments of goods to all the hunting-grounds, as an inducement to the members of parties to squander some of their earnings in advance.
The method of killing the sea-otter is virtually the same in all sections frequented by it.