58 RUSSIAN CORRESPONDENCE RELATING TO 



No. 6. 



Letter from the Board of Aflministration of the Russian American Com- 

 pany to Captoin-LirufcHaHt and Knight M. I. Mnrarief Chief Man- 

 ager of the Bussia7i American colonies. Written from tSt. Petersburg^ 

 Mareh 15, 1831. 



Mr. Yanovsky, in his report uiKler date of February 25, 1820, No. 

 41, describing liis iuspectioii of the fur-seal industry on the islands of 

 St. Paul and tSt. George, remarks that every year a greater number of 

 young bachelor seals is being killed, while for propagation there re- 

 mained only the females, sekatch,^ and half sekatch.^ Consequently only 

 the old breeding animals remain, and if any of the young breeders are 

 not killed by autumn they are sure to be killed in the following spring. 

 From this it naturiiUy results that the industry decreases every year in 

 volume, and that in course of time it may be extinguished entirely, as 

 can clearly be seen from experiments made. In order to avert such 

 disaster it would be to our great advantage that for one year no seals 

 at all should be killed. Then strict orders should be issued that the 

 annual take of seals should not exceed 40,000 on St. Paul and 10,000 

 on St. George. Mr. Yanovsky thinks that under such rules the fur 

 seal will not continue to diminish. The board of administration of the 

 Company, while acknowleging the justice of these remarks, would desire 

 that these measures be emph>yed only in case of a failure to discover 

 other seal rookeries on islands to the northward and southward of the 

 Aleutian chain, which it is hoi)ed to discover. In the meantime, on 

 the islands of St. Paul and St. George, every third year the first "pri- 

 val"^ oidy should be worked on one of the islands, in turn. For in- 

 stance, if on one island the first "luival" is spared, killing from this 

 "prival" is done on the other; and, again, when a period of rest is ob- 

 served on the second island, all three "privals" are worked on the first 

 island to make u\\ the annual catch determined upon for both islands. 

 In this way the people will not be idle during any year, since they can 

 easily be carried to whichever island is designated for working all three 

 "privals." 



If, however, the islands to the northward are discovered, and are 

 found to be available for sealing, we may, in conformity with Mr. Yan- 

 ovsky's opinion, instruct the officials of St. Paul and St. George to work 

 them every fifth year, limiting the annual catch in the interval on St. 

 Paul Island to 40,000 and on St. George to 10,000. We must suppose 

 that a total suspension of killing every fifth year Avill efi'ectually stop 

 the diminution of the fur-seals, and that it will be safe at the expiration 

 of the close season to resume killing at the rate mentioned above. By 

 strict observance of such rules, and a prohibition of all killing of fur- 

 seals at sea or in the passes of the Aleutian Islands, we may hope to 

 make this industry a iiermanent and reliable source of income to the 

 Company, without disturbing the price of these valuable skins in the 

 market. Great care must be taken to prevent the burning of skins 

 subjected to artificial drying. This process nuist not be resorted to with 

 salt wood (driftwood), and if no other can be obtained, the greatest 

 care must be taken to regulate the fires. The non-observance of strict 



1 Bulls. 



* Young bulls. 



^Tlie word "])rival" means the larger waves of an inroniing tide, and it is used 

 upon the assuni])tion that the seals are landed upon the islands in three distinct wavos 

 or "privals." The meaning of the text is not quite clear at this point. 



