154 DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENCE. 



It appears that tlie three schooners, named respectively the Carolina, 

 the Onward, and the Thornton, were fitted out in Victoria, British Co- 

 lumbia, for the capture of seals in the waters of the Northern Pacific 

 Ocean, adjacent to Vancouver's Island, Queen Charlotte Islands, and 

 Alaska. 



According to the depositions inclosed herewith ^ from some of the 

 officers and men, these vessels were engaged in the capture of seals in 

 the open sea, out of sight of land, when they were taken possession of, 

 on or ahout the 1st August last, by the United States revenue cutter 

 Cor win — ihe Carolina in latitude 55o 50' north, longitude 108° 53' 

 west; the Onward in latitude 50^ 52' north, longitude 167° 55' west; 

 and the Thornton in about the same latitude and longitude. 



They were all at a distance of more than GO miles from the nearest 

 land at the time of their seizure, and on being captured were towed by 

 the Cor win to Oonalaska, where they are still detained. The crews of 

 the Carolina and Thornton, with the exception of the captain and one 

 man on each vessel detained at that i)ort, were, it appears, sent by the 

 steamer St. Paul to San Francisco, Cal., and then turned adrift, while 

 the crew of the Onward were kept at Oonalaska. 



At the time of their seizure the Carolina had 086 seal-skins on board, 

 the Thornton 401, and the Onward 900, and these were detained, and 

 would appear to be still kept at Oonalaska, along with the schooners, 

 by the United States authorities. 



According to information given in the Alaskan, a newspaper pub- 

 lished at Sitka, in the Territory of Alaska, and dated the 4th Septem- 

 ber, 18SG, it is reported : 



(1) That the master and mate of the schooner Tlioniton were brought for trial before 

 Jmlge Dawson, in the United States district conrt at Sitka, on the 30th August last. 



(2) That the evidence given by the officers of the United States revenue cutter 

 Coricin went to show that the Thornton Avas seized while in Bering Sea, about 60 or 

 70 miles south southeast of St. George Island, for the offense of hunting and killing 

 seals within that part of Behring Sea which (it was alleged by the Alaskan news- 

 paper) was ceded to the United States by Russia in 1867. 



(3) That the judge in his charge to the jury, after quoting the first article of the 

 treaty of the 30th March, 1867, between Russia and the United States, in which the 

 western boundary of Alaska is defined, went on to say: ''All the waters within the 

 boundary set forth in this treaty to the western end of the Aleutian archipelago and 

 chain of islands are to be considered as comprised within tlie waters of Alaska, and 

 all the penalties iirescribed by law against the killing of fur-bearing animals must, 

 therefore, attach against any violation of law within the limits heretofore described. 

 If, therefore, the jury believe from the evidence that the defendants, by thenisidves 

 or in conjunction with others, did, on or about the time charged in the information, 

 kill any otter, mink, marten, sable, or fur-seal, or other fur-bearing animal or animals 

 on the shores of Alaska or in the Behring Sea east of 1S3'^ of west longitude, the 

 jury should find the defendants guilty, and assess their punisliment separately at a 

 line of not less than 1200 nor more than $1,000, or imprisonment not more than six 

 months, or by both such fine (within the limits herein set forth) and imprisonment." 



(4) That the jury brought in a verdict of guilty against the prisoners, in accordance 

 with which the master oi' the Thornton, Hans Guttounsen, was sentenced to imprison- 

 ment for thirty days, and to pay a fine of $500 ; and the mate of the Thorn ion, Norman, 

 was sentenced to imprisonment for thirty days, and to pay a fine of $300; which terms 

 of imiirisonanent are presumably now being carried into efiect. 



There is also reason to believe that the masters and mates of the Onward and Caro- 

 lena have since been tried and sentenced to undergo penalties similar to those now 

 being inflicted on the master and mate of the Thornton. 



You will observe, from the facts given above, that the authorities of 

 the United States appear to lay claim to the sole sovereignty of that 

 part of Behring Sea lying east of the westerly boundary of Alaska, as 

 defined in the first article of the treaty concluded between the United 



I For inclosure see Senate Ex. Doc. No. 106, 50th Congress, 2d sess., p. 7, note. 



