134 



PIBKHIA. 



InuJe in sealskins. The business was so profitable that already in 1849 a special manufactory 

 was founded in London which to this day turns out false sealskin materials. The decision 

 taken in 1867 by the Russian (jovernmcni in regard to the cession of its North American 

 possessions with fiarl of the Aleutian Islands, nai/idy thi.' Pribylovs, to the United States, 

 put an <'nd to the nionupoly of the Russian-Anicncan Company. Dc|irived of its best fishery 

 upon the Pribylov Islands it could not count on its former profits and therefore resolved to 

 wind up its allairs, making various claims against the (jovernment for breach of contract 

 before its termination. In satisfaction of these the Government was obliged to buy all the 

 company's shares, while A, Filipeus, carrying on trade in the Far East, acquired the latter's 

 property in the ports of Kamchatka and the Sea of Okhotsk. 



The Russian-American Company during the lirst peri(jd of its activity from 1799 to 

 IHU!, that is, 23 years, took upon the Commander, and other islands, 1,232,374 fur sealskins; 

 during the second period from 1822 to 1841, that is, 20 years, 458,502 skins; and during the 

 llnrd period from 1842 to 1861, that is, 20 years, the catch was 338,600 skins. 



During the last years of its existence the company considerably increased its activity, 

 and finally in the last year, 1868, the slaughter of seals reached unheard of dimensions. 



On the termination of the activity of the company, the seal industry and trade in 

 furs in those remote localities remained without Government control, in consequence of which 

 the inhabitants of the Commander Islands were left without regular supplies. Interesting 

 himself in their fate, the local Governor-General Korsakov proposed to M. Filipeus to under- 

 take to provide the islands in question with the necessary provisions. At the same time in 

 St. Petersburg lively negotiations were being carried on in reference to the concession of 

 the seal industry in the Far East to a new lessee. There was no lack of candidates, but 

 the choice fell to the American house of «Hutchison, Cool and Co» which half a yctir 

 before, on the 3rd of August, 1870, under the title of the ^Alaska Trading Company* had 

 concluded a contract with the Government of the United States of Xorth America for the 

 right of caching fur seals on the islands of St. George and St. Paul, forming part of the 

 territory of Alaska. On the whole the contract with America consisted in this that the com- 

 pany paid the treasury 55,000 dollars a year, and in addition two dollars per skin, under- 

 taking at the same time to engage in catching the seals only during certain named months 



