American Big Game in its Haunts 



In the early days, Shelikoff's severe rule in 

 Kadiak actively encouraged the hunting instinct, 

 and the first Russian fur post was established at 

 St. Paul, named after one of Bering's boats, the 

 present town of Kadiak, by far the largest village 

 of the island, and situated on the eastern coast, 

 opposite Wood Island. It is said that the Russians, 

 after a few very prosperous years of indiscriminate 

 slaughter, recognized the great importance of car- 

 rying on the fur industry in a systematic man- 

 ner, in order to prevent entire extinction of the 

 game, and divided the lands and waters into large 

 districts. They made laws, with severe penalties 

 attached, and enforced them. Certain districts 

 were hunted and trapped over in certain years. 

 Fur animals were killed only when in good pelage, 

 and the young were spared. In this way hunted 

 sections always had considerable intervals in which 

 to recover from attacks. 



A solitary sea otter skin hanging up in the fur 

 company's store, at the end of the season, told us 

 plainer than words that these animals, formerly 

 so plentiful east of Kadiak Island, and along the 

 coast of Cook's Inlet, were almost extinct. Two 

 of our hunters were famous shots, and they liked 

 to talk of the good old days, when sea otter and 

 bear were plenty. One of them, Ivan, it is claimed, 



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