178 VITUS BEKIITG. 



and on the adjacent Copper Island (Mednie) it is fre- 

 quently found, and is protected by just such laws as Nor- 

 denskjold demands for its preservation. 



The greatest number of marine animals here were 

 found to belong to the family of eared seals ( OtariidcB) ; 

 namely, the sea-lion (Eumetopias Stelleri), from which 

 oil is obtained, and the fur-seal {Callorhinus ur sinus), 

 which is still the world^s most important fur-bearing ani- 

 mal. Since the close of the last century, the Eussian gov- 

 ernment has with great care sought to protect this animal, 

 and has built up a national enterprise which yields a large 

 annual income, and which makes it possible for the Eusso- 

 American company which has a lease of the business, to 

 kill annually about 30,000 seals and still increase the stock. 

 On this point, too, Nordenskj old's statements are unreli- 

 able and misleading. He puts the annual catch much too 

 high, which, at the time, caused no slight trouble between 

 the Eussian government and the company.* 



On the whole, it seems humiliating to West Europe 

 that it is only decried and tyrannical Eussia that has 

 understood how to protect this useful animal. When 

 Eussian America, the present Alaska, in 1867 was sold 

 to the United States, some of the best seal fisheries, the 

 Pribyloff Islands, were a part of the purchase. The 

 United States has found it profitable to retain the Eus- 

 sian regulations for seal hunting, for those small islands 

 alone yield the interest on the sum paid for the whole 

 territory. 



*Dr. Stejneger, in "Contributions to the History of the Commander 

 Islands," published in Proceedings of U. S. Nat. Museum, 1882, p. 86, calls 

 attention to Professor Nordenskjold's erroneous statement, and gives the 

 exact figures.— Tr. 



