80 PERIOD SINCE THE CESSION. 



Action of Con- By the act of March 3, 1869, Congress pro- 

 gress, 



vided ''That the islands of St. Paul and St. 



George, in Alaska, be, and they are hereby, de- 

 clared a special reservation for Government pur- 

 poses;"^ and on July 1, 1870, an act of Congress 

 was approved, entitled "An Act to prevent the 

 extermination of fur-bearing animals in Alaska,"^ 

 particular reference being had to the fur-seals 

 of the Pribilof Islands. 



By the use of the term '4n Alaska" in the two 

 foregoing acts, Congress clearly recognized the 

 fact that Bering Sea was a part of the territory 

 of Alaska, for the islands therein referred to are 

 situated at a distance of two hundred miles from 

 the mainland. 

 Action of the The executive branch of the United States 



Executive. 



Government, in carrying out the foregoing con- 

 gressional legislation, has uniformly held that the 

 United States have authority to protect their 

 sealing interests throughout that portion of Ber- 

 ing Sea contained within the western boundary 

 referred to in the treaty of 1867. 



On the 12th of March, 1881, the Treasury De- 

 partment so interpreted the law in a letter written 

 to Mr. D. A. Ancona, collector of customs at San 

 Francisco.^ Speaking of this western boundary, 



1 Vol. I, p. 92, (15 Stat., 348.) 



2 Vol. I, p. 92, (16 Stat., 180.) 



3 Vol. I, p. 103. 



