RELATING TO SEALS KILLED ON ST. PAUL ISLAND, 1860-1866. 197 



will consequently be unable to prepare the whole quantity of fur-seal- 

 skins now required, I have to request that you will endeavor to take 

 and salt not less than 10,000 skins during the time occupied by the trip 

 of the vessel from St. Paul to Fort Michael and back, and to put them 

 on board of the vessel on her second visit to St. Paul. Last year you 

 sent only 14,000 dried skins, while the order was to send about 20,000. 

 In future you must endeavor to strictly fill orders. 



No. 9. 



Letter from the board of administration of the Russian American Com- 

 pany to the acting chief manager of the Russian American Colonies. 

 Written from St. Petersburg, March 8, 1865. 



In dispatches Nos. 1004, of November 8, 1864, 1110, of December 11, 

 1864, and Nos. 43, 79, and 81, of January 18 and 28, 1865, the board of 

 administration had the honor to notify you of its decision with regard 

 to the taking of sealskins. 



In sending you now for your information a copy of the contract con- 

 cluded with Messrs. Oppenheim & Co., of London, for the additional 

 sale to them, in the course of 1866-'67-'68, of 10,000 salted fur-sealskins, 

 it has the honor to request you respectfully to instruct the persons whom 

 it may concern to carry* out the following directions : 



1. To take as many as 53,000 sealskins in 1865 and 1866, and of these 

 to dry 23,000 and to salt 30,000; and in 1867 and 1868 to increase the 

 number of dried skins by 2,000 a year. 



2. Of this number you will send : 



(a) To London to Messrs. John Morris Oppenheim & Co. 30,000, to 

 wit, 20,000 to 21,000 contracted for with Messrs. Shepler & Co., two- 

 thirds of which must be salted and one-third dried, and 10,000 salted, 

 contracted for by them with Messrs Oppenheim & Co. 



(b) By way of Ay an to Irkutsk for the Kiachta market from 5,000 to 

 6,000 dried skins. 



(c) To Cronstadtin 1865 and 1866, 16,000, and in 1867 and 1868, 18,000 

 dried skins. 



3. In shipping (the skins) observe the following rules : 



(a) The 15,000 or 16,000 intended for shipment around the world to 

 Cronstadt must all be of the proper size, to wit: Large, medium, and 

 small young bulls and bachelors, without any mixture of grays. 



(6) In assorting (the skins) for Irkutsk, begin with the medium and 

 small bachelors and. add a small quantity of the largest grays. 



(c) (Set apart) about 6,000 dried skins for London, of the same size 

 as for Russia, but there must be no " yearlings," that is, small grays, 

 among them. 



(d) In salting the 25,000 skins called for by the two contracts and 

 intended for shipment to London, you must begin with the medium and 

 small bachelors and the third size of large grays, which, as you know, 

 are more than one year old. At the same time you must bear in mind 

 that the young bulls and the large bachelors must not be salted, as, 

 according to information received, salted skins are not fitted for the 

 London mode of dressing. 



