Dear Mr. Reed:
I am very much interested in
registration of trap lines, es
pecially for the natives. Such
a thing is very important. I
understand that British Colum
1 ia has a law covering that
situation which works out very
well. The difficulty is that the
natives of Alaska object to
slaying on one line.. They be
lieve in leaving a line a few
years to let the fur increase
and then just when they wish
to use it some white man jumps
me line.
My answer to this was the
establishment of Tetlin reserva -
tion and the idea of teaching
the natives fur fanning. A de
pendable pen of mink near
their home would tend to stab
ilize the native home and double
his income. As soon as the
Tetlin natives get the idea,
then fur farming leases and
trap line leasee as you suggest
'•an b° issued and the native’s
rights will be safe from over
aggressive tacties of white trap
pers.
Tlie tetiir reservation is. as
you know, only a temporary ex
pedient to accomplish quickly
what you are edeavoring to ac
complish partially by registra
'ion of trap lines.
If the Tetlin reservation did
d'd nothing else than draw at
tention to thw need of protec
tion of the trap lines it would
be worthy of a monument, but
I expect if to do far mare by
pointing the way to training
the natives to increase their in
come and stability. The 23,000
natives we have in Alaska
should produce in a. few ye '..re,
by proper guidance, five or ten
fimes their present fur produc
tion.
Please advise if T can be of
ihiy assistance in this?
Very truly yours,
ERNEST WALKER SAWYER
SHE ALASKAN BROWN BEAR
-x
Occasionally there i s en
countered .in magazine or news
paper discussion of the subject,
.he opinion that the Alaskan
n-ov.n bear should be protected
against extermination. With
this almost anyone will agree,
not the statement usually is at
v need by a declaration to the
i fleet that the largest of all
twars—and the fiercest, by the
way- is an inoffensive fellow
unless provoked. We find this
vi> vV in the comment of the St.
' ouis Post-Dispatch relative to
> '.ic increasing of the area of
Tvat.mai National monument,
which is hailed as most fortu
nate for the preservation of the
Alaskan brown bear.
If there is such an opinion in
Alaska, where the bears actual
ly have their habitat, we never
have heard of it. On the con
trary, it is freely admitted by
A’rskans that the* animal is
held in much dread, and that
hr presence is a serious detri
ment to extended settlement.
Though the Alaskan brown bear
is a raging monster wiien
w oil licit: q, as terrible as any
I-’nown beast of prey, Alaskans
insist that it is not necessary
J o wound the bear before its
an?: or is roe seel. Indeed, they
will supply any number ot r
slances, for the aur.henticity of
which they freely vouch, of
wholly unprovoked and savage
attacks on man. It is added,
with o, somewhat rueful smile,
that prudence constrains the
unarmed individual to climb
11 e nearest tree, if he finds
himself in the proximity of one
o: them. Should no tree be
convenient, the results are oft
en exceedingly unfortunate and
hurl. It is difficult to under
stand by what process of invert
ed reasoning the champions of
he Alaskan brown bear set
aside the opinion of those who
know the animal.
Much is made, in the argu
ment for the good character of
*he bear, of the fact that he is
•primarily a vegetarian—quite
as though this must necessar
ily guarantee his pacifism at all
ordinary times. The African buf
falo, we would observe, also is
strictly a vegetarian, decended
from a long line grass-eaters
yet this animal is accounted by
hunters to be the most danger
ous game in the dark continent.
Diet has little or nothing to do
with it The question is one of
hict and ferocity. No creature
ever bore so terrible a reputa
4ion as does the Alaska brown
bear without in some part, des
erving it.
Sentiment, even for conserva
tion, _ should always be tempered
with sense There is a place
for such a creature as the Al
askan brown bear, of course—a
place *in which it should enjoy
a certain measure of security—
but" that place ought to be re
mote from the ^nds that man
has ’ occupied or designs to oc
cupy. This seems to be what
the Alaskans contend. It is not
unreasonable.—Oregonian.
x
NATIVES OF NICKOLSKY
ASK FISHING RIGHTS
-x
The natives of Nickolsky vil
lage have sent in a petition to
Uie delegate, asking that their
fishing rights in Unmak River
be restored to them, under the
impression that the river has
been closed to them for several
years past.
Commissioner o f Fisheries
Henry O'Malley, who recently
returned from an extended trip
to the west coast, states that
there has been no closure, and
that there is nothing to pre
vent the natives from taking
salmon in this river for local
food requirements or for use
for dog feed. They are not al
lowed to fish for exportation
purposes.