118 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION, 



RAIDING OF COMMANDER ISLANDS ROOKERIES. 



The rookeries of Bering and Ooiiper isUuuls have always been a sore temptation 

 to marauding schooners, especially those of the latter island, wiiere, in addition to the 

 far-seals, there was a fixir chance of obtaining a number of the costly sea otters, a 

 few of which would go a long way to pay for the expenses and lisks of inu:h an 

 expedition. The material is not at hand for an exhaustive list of all the attempted 

 and accomplished raids on the Commander Islands rookeries, but I shall give a 

 sutticiently detailed account to show that considerable damage has beeii done by the 

 pirates. 



Leaving out of consideration the possible raids during the flourishing times of 

 the whale ttshery in the forties, and coming down to recent days, we find that at first 

 the raiders were attracted to Copper Island by their knowledge of tlie plentiful 

 occurrence of the sea-otter on that island, a knowledge gained by many of them 

 during their visits to the islands during the ^'interregnum." We thus find the Amer- 

 ican schooner Three SiKtern, Captain Herendeen, caught on July 122, 1871), at anchor 

 off the Jforthwest Cape of Copper Island, the mate and sailors camping ashore near 

 the sea otter rookery. Twenty-nine skins of grown sea-otters and 10 sea otter pups 

 were taken from her, but also 123 fur-seals, which it was claimed, however, were taken 

 at sea. Instead of seizing the vessel, the authorities let her go with a warning. The 

 seal skins found on her proved that sea otter was not the only game looked for, and 

 in the same year, on August 10, an unknown schooner, off Glinka, attempted to laud 

 three boats, but the natives frightened them off. 



The year 1880 saw an increased activity on the part of the poachers, who were 

 much emboldened by their successes in the Okliotsk Sea and the Kuril Islands, As 

 early as July 7 the Three Sisters, of San Francisco, Captain Bei-kwith, was seen at 

 anchor off Glinka liookeries, killing seals; the crew was driven off by the natives 

 shooting at them, Mr. E. P. Miner (Brit. Counter Case, Apj)., p. 113; Fur Seal 

 Arb., VIII, p. 700) gives the following graphic account of this raid: 



She was chartered by H. Liebes & Co., aiul was supposed to be goius ""* "f a sea-otter and fur- 

 eeal huntiuj; expedition, but as a matter of fact all of us who shipped .as hunters knew- that thi^ vessel 

 had been fitted out for .a raid on the rookeries on the Conimander Islands. Early in July we started 

 from the Alaskan coast for the Commander Islands, and about the middle of the month landed on thu 

 west side of Copper Island. Wo lauded in the day time in a foj;. There were three l>oats. We had 

 killed about 800 seals before we were seen, but had taken none of them on board the vessel. A baid- 

 arka with natives iu it came along then, and we knew tliat warning woulil be given to the people on 

 the island, and we began skinning the seals. In about an hour what appeared to be lifty men came 

 across the island to where we were, and began liriug at us with blank eartridges. We started off at 

 once, but when some distance from laud began killing seals in the kelp. Then they fired on us with 

 bullets, and we went on the schooner. All the skins we got of the seals we killed was 153. Before 

 we made the raid on the seal rookery we had anchored at the north end of CojJiier Island, where sea- 

 otters are plentiful, and while there a baidarka full of natives came out to us and served a warning 

 on the captain, telling him that he must not hunt within 5 miles of the islands — the miles were, 

 I suppose, meant for Russian miles. We went from Copper Island to the Kurile Islands to look for 

 sea-otter, and after getting one sailed on the 4th August for San Francisco. 



On July 13, 1880, a schooner was reported at anchor close to the beach of North 

 Eookery, Bering Island, and being discovered had probably lint poor success. Not so, 

 however, with the schooner that raided the Glinka rookeries about two weeks later, 

 killing •' a number of seals, say about 400." This can hardly have been the Otsef/o, Cap- 

 tain Isaackson, flying the Dutch flag, which was boarded on August 6 by the steamer 



