PERIOD FOLLOWING THE TREATIES. 27 



it had requested the governor-general of East- Evidence of 



surveillance over 



ern Siberia, "in order to save the Company from Berin g Sea 

 injury caused by such occurrences, to issue in- 

 structions, making' it the duty of such armed 

 cruisers as his excellency may have at his dispo- 

 sition to patrol the colonial seas, especially 

 around the Commander Islands," where the for- 

 eign whalers were reported to assemble in great 

 numbers in the summer season. Continuing, the 

 board directed the chief manager "to fit out a 

 Company's cruiser, independently of the naval 

 cruiser, and to instruct it to cruise in those places 

 where, on close investigation, it may appear nec- 

 essary." 1 



On the 20th of March, 1853, the board of 

 administration of the Russian American Com- 

 pany wrote to the chief manager, giving full 

 directions as to the disposition to be made of 

 the colonial fleet in that year. One vessel was 

 to "be sent at the end of April to cruise and 

 keep a watch over the foreign whaling vessels 

 in the southern part of Bering Sea and along the 

 Aleutian group," and this vessel was to cruise 

 throughout the above district continually, enter- 

 ing port only in cases of necessity. Another 

 vessel was to proceed to the northern part of 

 Bering Sea and there do duty as a cruiser "to 

 keep watch over the foreign whalers and the 

 1 Post, p. 200. 



