HUNTING THE SEA OTTER. 33 



The news which Baker brought on his return was 

 by no means reassuring. The unmistakable reluctance 

 on the part of the Hakodate custom house officials to 

 give us our clearance papers, and the remissness of the 

 Governor of Nemoro in failing to deliver the iron knees, 

 which but for our builder's ingenuity would have been 

 absolutely necessary for the construction of the Snowdrop, 

 have already been touched upon ; these matters, taken 

 in conjunction' with the late colonising movement and 

 the high-handed conduct of Russia, had been a subject 

 of frequent discussion among us ; and as we were 

 aware, before leaving Yokohama, that considerable diplo- 

 matic correspondence, coupled with strong protests on 

 the part of the Japanese, had been going on with Russia 

 respecting the Kurile Islands, it was extremely probable 

 that the former, who are a spirited and warlike race, 

 might, without actually declaring war with their more 

 powerful neighbour, take such steps as to avoid any 

 further annexations by bringing these islands under their 

 more immediate protection ; in fact, it was no secret at 

 the time that Russia had endeavoured first to filch them 

 and then to purchase them from their lawful owners. So 

 that when Baker informed us that it was the intention 

 of the Japanese to send up an expedition to the larger 

 islands of Kunashir and Yetorup, to the latter of which 

 we were bound, we were not taken by surprise ; but 

 when he added that they had determined to put a stop 

 to all otter-hunting, we felt that things were getting 

 serious for us. 



True, we were aware that, according to international 

 law, their jurisdiction could not extend beyond a radius 

 of three miles from the coast, and that the sea otter 

 is as often as not found considerably outside that 

 limit. But this was poor consolation at the best, for 

 with light winds, constant fogs, and powerful currents, 

 we might be weeks without knowing our whereabouts, 

 unless within easy reach of the shore ; in which case, 



D 



