WHALES SEEN 8i 



north round Tolbachinsky volcano ( 1 1 ,000 feet). His 

 indications, however, were too vague to be of service 

 to us. He spoke of the wild rejoicings of the Petro- 

 pavlovsk population when the steamer is sighted by 

 them in Avatcha Bay. The whining of the dogs along 

 the beach, and the shouts and cheers of the boys, coulci 

 be heard on board ship at a distance of several miles. 

 This excitement is to be accounted for by the scarcity 

 of steamers and the expected arrival of Government 

 supplies for the whole year. As it was, we learnt later 

 that the wretched inhabitants had run out of last year's 

 provisions, having been reduced to tea without sugar, 

 and that fish had replaced bread. 



On the i8th of June we were steadily advancing over 

 a smooth sea, some sixty miles east of the first Kuriles. 

 Although we were supposed to be in the warm Kuro- 

 sivo current, the temperature was cold, and there was 

 no land in sight. On the rippling surface of the ocean 

 great numbers of whales spouted around us. One of 

 the mates related his six years' experiences on a whaler 

 in the Sea of Okhotsk, For years these seas had been 

 scoured by American whalers, and entirely monopo- 

 lised by them, when an enterprising Russian naval 

 officer. Count Kaiserling, succeeded in obtaining this 

 important monopoly from his Government, together 

 with a concurrent prohibition for foreigners. He had 



