252 ALASKA INDUSTRIES. 



incousistencies wliich I have pointed out above. Tims, tbese German 

 translations of the Russian have given us " Moscow," wIumi i here is no 

 sound of " W " in the liussian language or suggestion of it in that 

 facile and extensive alphabet of nearly forty letters. In the case of 

 Moscow, I presume we must be guided by the authority and example of 

 Gibbon, who declares that " some words, notoriously corrupt, are fixed, 

 and, as it were, naturalized in the vulgar tongue. Tlio prophet Moham- 

 med can no longer be stripped of the famous though improper appella- 

 tion of Mahomet. The well known cities of Aleppo, Damascus, and 

 Cairo would almost be lost in the strange descriptions of Haleb, Dam- 

 ashk, and Al Cahira." 



High time to coerect such blunders.— But, in all kindness, I 

 submit that the name of Bering has not been so firmly travestied as 

 has tbat of the Arabic chief, and ought not to be passed down mis- 

 spelled on the map of the great sea and straits which perpetuate and 

 commemorate his being; and it is high time such numberless outrage, 

 as "Wolga" for " Volga," " Kiew " for " Kiev," ^'Azow " for "Azov," 

 "Pribiloft" for "Pribylov," " Werst" for " Verst," be corrected in all 

 future i)riutingof Eussiau nomenclature. 



the law PROTECTINa THE SEAL ISLANDS. 



AN ACT to prevent the extermination of fur-bearing animals in Alaska. 



Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of RcpresentaiU-es of the United States of America 

 in Conqress assembled, That it shall be unlawful to kill any fur seal upon the islands 

 of St. Paul and St. George, or in the waters adja'^ent thereto, except during the 

 months of June, July, September, and October, in each year; and it shall be unlaw- 

 ful to kill such seals at anv time by the use of firearms, or use of other means tend- 

 ing to drive the seals away from said islands: Provided, That the natives ot said 

 islands shall have the privilege of killing such young seals as may be necessary for 

 their own food and clothing during other months, and also such old seals as may be 

 reijuircd for their own clothing and for the manufacture of boats for their own use, 

 which killing shall be limited and controlled by such regulations as shall be pre- 

 scribed bv the Secretary of the Treasury. 



Sec. 2.' And he it fnrther enacted, That it shall be unlawful to kill any female seal, 

 or any seal less than one year old, at any season of the year, except as above pro- 

 vided'; and it shall also be unlawful to kill any seal in the waters adjacent to said 

 islands, or on the beaches, cliffs, or rocks where they haul up from the sea to remain ; 

 and any ].erson who shall violate either of the provisions of this or the lirst section 

 of this act shall be punished, on conviction thereof, for each offense, by a fine of not 

 less than two hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars, or by iuiprison- 

 meiit not.exeeeding six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment, at the discre- 

 tion of the court having jurisdiction and taking cognizance of the offenses; and a,ll 

 vessels, their tackle, apparel, and furniture, whose crew shall be found engaged in 

 tbe violation of any of the provisions of this act, shall be forfeited to the United 



Skc. 3. That for the period of twenty years from and after the passage of this act 

 the number of fur seals wliich may be' killed for their skins upon the island of St. 

 Paul is hereby limited and restricted to seventy five thousand per annuni; and the 

 number of fur seals Avhich may be killed for their skins upon the island of St. George 

 is hereby limited and restricted to twenty-live thousand per annum: Provided, That 

 the Secretary of the Treasury may restrict and limit the right of killing, if it shall 

 become necessary for the ])re8eryation of such seals, with such proportionate reduc- 

 tion of the rents reserved to the Government as shall be right and proper ; and if any 

 person shall kuowiugly violate either of the provisions of this section he shall, upou 

 due conviction thereof^ be punished in the same way as is provided herein for a vio- 

 lation of the provisions of the first and second sections of this act. 



Skc. 4. That immediately after the passage of this act the Secretary of the Treas- 

 ury shall lease, for the rental mentioned in section 6 of this act, to proper and 

 responsible parties, to the best advantage of the United States, having due regard 

 to the interests of the Government, the native inhabitants, the parties heretofore 

 eniJ-ao-ed in the trade, and the protection of the seal fisheries, for a term ot twenty 

 years' from the 1st day of May, 1870, the right to engage in the business of taking 

 fur seals on the islands of St. Paul and St. George, and to send a vessel or vessels to 



