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Second Counc. Meet.......(4)

a very high price. They are worth $6 or $7, and he caught about 20 or 25 a year.

     Mice and lemmings are very scarce, the only abundant mammals in that country of any size is the ground squirrel [[underline]] (Citellus) [[/underline]].  Some seasons there are a good many mice, but last season I set 80 or 90 traps a night and got very few [[underline]] Nicrotus [[/underline]].  There are plenty of shrews, however.
     The Alaska Commercial Co. has practically monopolised the fur trade in the islands.  The company maintains a chain of stores there and the natives are afraid that if they sell the skins to outsiders the company will not sell them provisions in the winter time -- and I think their fear is well founded.  One man told me that they kept the natives in debt all the time so as to keep them hunting.
     This was formerly a center for otter hunting.  The otters get on the rocks to keep out of the storm, and the natives go out at night with torches and club them to death -- as high as 100 having been taken in one night.  Two sea otter were seen off Deer Island while I was there and the natives of Belkofsky got 2.  One was picked up on the beach near Morshovoi, and Mr. Applegate got 5 -- that I heard of.  The natives make it a practice in spring to walk along the shore and watch for otter which were smothered under the ice.
[[underline]] Dr. Fisher [[/underline]]:
Lampson disposed of something like 260 at the London sale this year, which is about 200 less than average sales of the last 5 or 6 years.

[[underline]] Mr. We^[[t]]more [[/underline]]:
     As an illustration of how afraid the natives are to trade with outsiders:  Capt. Andersen told me that at Unga a number of years previous, 2 natives brought in 2 sea otter skins and wanted to sell them to the company, asking $200 apiece for them.  The skins were worth it, but the company offered them only $150 for them and the men went away. Captain Andersen offered $200 apiece for them, but the natives would not sell, but went back and sold them to the agents of the Company for $150.

[[underline]] Prof. Lantz [[/underline]]: The best ones sell for $300 in London.

[[underline]] Wetmore [[/underline]]:  Among the blue foxes caught every year were a certain number of white ones.  They seem to run about 1 to 20.  I saw white fox skins on Atka.