CRUISE OF THE STEAMER COEWIN. 33 



whale-boat furnished by the company. Upon reaching Northeast Point, at 10 p. m., I learned 

 from the native watchman stationed there that the schooner had kept on to the northward. AVe 

 kept watch during the night, however, but did not see the vessel until daylight, when she was dis- 

 covered about twenty miles oft'-sliore, lying to. This showed that her people had a fixed purpose, 

 which could be no other than an intention to attempt a lauding for the [iiirpose of capturing seals, 

 and I watched the vessel closely. She was in sight until noon, when tbick fog set in, obscuring 

 the view. A fresh westerly gale i)revailed during that time. Late in the afternoon the wind mod- 

 erated and the weather cleared, but the schooner was not to be seen. We kept a bright lookout 

 that night also, and Ht lli.30 a. m. (September 1) discovered the schooner sailing down the eastern 

 side of the island, abont a mile offshore. I immediately called up the crew, launched the boat, 

 and set out in pursuit. After a pull of a mile and a half, I reached the vessel at 1 a. m. Sbe was 

 then anchored close insliore. 1 boarded her with my men and found the master of tlie vessel on 

 hoard. Ui)()u being (|uestioned, he freely admitted that he was there for the purpose of se;iliiig, 

 and that his boats had been sent ashore to make a catch. I then \>aited for the return of the boats. 

 The master nieanwliile jileadcd to be released, making various excuses, and saying that I would 

 "lose nothing" if I would let the vessel go. In a shoit time the three boats belonging to the vessel 

 came back loaded with seal carcasses. Having now secured all necessary evidence, I notified the 

 captain of the seizure of the vessel. It was not without trouble that 1 succeeded in overcoming a 

 manifest disposition to resist the seizure. 1 had now six white men to contend with, and some of 

 them were outspoken in their determination not to be arrested. They were beginning to arouse 

 a spiiit of resistance in the captain also, when I called him aside, formally notified him that I 

 seized his vessel in behalf of the Government of the United States, warned him against resistance, 

 and demanded the ves.sel's pai)ers. He immediately surrendered thein, and the other men then 

 resigned themselves to their fate. There was an occasional outbreak on the part of one or the 

 other of the more tur!udent ones, but nothing serious occurred from first to last. 



By the schooner's papers she was shown to be the Adele, of Hamburg, Gustave Isaacson, 

 master, with three officers and a crew of eighteen Japanese. In addition to the four white men 

 belonging to the vessel, I found on board two others whose presence was not accounted for except 

 by a verbal statement from the captain that they were passengers. They were ashore with the 

 others killing seals at the time I boarded the vessel. One of the passengers, Sullivan by name, 

 was more disi)osed to resist arrest than any of the others, saying that all he possessed " was in 

 the vessel." The Adilc, as exhibited by her papers, was built at Shanghai in 1877, and measures 

 " fifty British tons." She sailed from Yokohama April 9 last, having cleared for a hunting voyage 

 to the North Pacific, the Kurile Islands, and return. She was therefore out of the waters for 

 which she cleared, in addition to which she had no nanui i)ainted on the stern. 



Many of iIk- seals brought off' by the boats were thrown overboard in the attempt to get away, 

 but I secured twenty one, and afterwards had the skins removed and salted. The vessel con- 

 tained, besides, two hnndied and seventeen sealskins, ten sea otter skins, eighteen sea-lion skins 

 (poor), thirteen fox-skins, forty-two sacks of salt, foi ty-two mats of salt, and thirty-eight mats of rice. 



After daylight we got the vessel under way and proceeded to the village. The master and 

 officers of the vessel refused to have anything more to do with her management, and it therefore 

 became necessary to detain them as prisoners. As I could not hope to keep six wellarmetl men 

 under restiaint with my small force, and as the vessel did not afford any safe place for confine- 

 ment, I deemed it necessary to seinl them ashore to be kept there until your arrival. The agent 

 of the comiiany generously offered to provide quarters and food for them as prisoners, and the 

 special agent kindly volunteered to assume charge of tliem. The crew then refused duty. I 

 iletained five of them on board and sent the remainder ashore. 



Soon after our arrival at the village, word was received by telephone from Nortlieast Point 

 that a schooner was there engaged in the capture of seals, and that another vessel was ai)proai-h- 

 ing from the northward. It was necessary to drive off' these marauders as soon as possible, .so 1 

 procured a fresh crew of natives and started forthwith. As the Adele could not be left with safety, 

 owing to the want of any harbor, I considered it advisable to use her for tlie purpose of giving 

 chase to the others. 



Upon reaching Northeast Point I saw one schooner lying at anchor, about six miles oft' shore, 

 II. Mis COL' 3 



