54 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



the raiders, but apparently with but poor success, judging from the history to be 

 related further on. This failure is partly due to the fact that on account of the 

 severity of the season the guard has been taiien off before the middle of October. 



As remarked above, the island is included in the lease of the Commander Islands, 

 and Hutchinson, Kohl, Philippeus & Co. took possession of it in 1871. The llobbeu 

 Island part of the business was attended to chiefly by the scliooner Leon, Capt. John 

 0. Blair; mate, Mr. E. Kluge. The name of the schooner belonging to the new 

 company is the Bohrih (pi. 59&), Capt. D. Grienberg, master, who for many years was 

 lirst mate on the old company's steamer AleliKander II (pi. 59a), The skins have 

 hitherto been shijiijed to London via San Francisco. 



HISTORY OF ROBBEN ISLAND. 



The history of this little reef is very interesting and higlily instructive as showing 

 how nearly impossible it is to extiriiate the seals, either by harsh measures on shore or 

 by excessive raids from marauding vessels. 



The existence of seal rookeries on Robben Islaiul was probably first discovered 

 by some of the numerous American whalers frequenting Okhotsk Sea in the early 

 fifties. In a recent statement Oai)t. C Niebaum alludes to these early visits as 

 follows : 



From information gatliereil from various sources I learn that Kobben Bauk was first visited and 

 exploited by vphalers about 1852 or 1853, and that in two seasons tbey obtained some 50,000 or 60,000 skiua, 

 almost conii)letely " cleaning it out." I understand that for several years tbei-eafter the occasional 

 vessel which touched there found the rookeries practically deserted. (Fur Seal Arb., in, p. 203.) 



Captain Scammon (Marine Mammalia, pp. 150-152) gives an account of a visit 

 of a New Loudon bark to Eobben Island in 1854 or 18.55, which it may be well to 

 reproduce here: 



In the midst of the Crimean war an enterprisiug firm in New London, Conn., fitted out a 

 clipper bark, which was officered and manned expressly for a sealing voyage in the ( )khotBk Sea. 

 The captain was a veteran in the business, and many thought him too old to counnand, liut the result 

 of the voyage proved hira equal to the task. The vessel proceeded to RoUbcn Island, a mere volcanic 

 rock, situated on the eastern side of the large island of Saghalien. Many outlying rocks and reefs 

 are about it, making it dangerous to .approach ami affording but slight shelter for an anchorage. 

 Hero the vessel (of .about 300 tons) lay, with ground tackle of the weight for a craft of twice her 

 size. Much of the time fresh winds prevailed, accompanied by the usual ugly ground-swell, and in 

 conseijuence of her being long, low, and sharp the deck was at such times frequently flooded; never- 

 theless, she "rode out the whole season, though wet as a half-tide rock," and a viiluable cargo of skins 

 was procured, which brought an unusually high price in the European market on account of the 

 regular Russian siipply being cut off in consequence of the war. 



Eobben Island was thus " practically cleaned out" ; the whaling industry akso came 

 to an end, aiid the very existence of seals on the lonely rock was almost forgotten. 



At the breaking up of the great Kussian-American Company in 1869, many 

 enterprising citizens of California and Alaska turned their attention to the Pribylof 

 Islands and the Commander group; the Kuril Islands and the Okhotsk Sea attracted 

 the attention of Captain Limachevski. With a schooner manned by Aleuts (Kadiak 

 Islanders ?) from Urup Island, the station of the Eussian-American Company on the 

 Kuril Islands, he sailed, in 1809, to Eobben Island. During the 14 years of rest since 

 the Crimean war the seals had again multiplied to such an extent that they were 

 occupying the entire beach all around the rock, as in the days when flr.st discovered. 



I 



