374 TESTIMONY 



Deposition of John Maloicanshy, agent of lessees of Commander Islands. 



State of New York. 



City and County of New York, ss: 

 John Malowansky, being duly sworn, deposes and says: 

 I have been on the Commander islands every year since 1800. 1 

 Ex eri nee served for many years as the agent there of Hutchin- 



son, Kohl, Philipeus & Co., the former lessees of the 

 right to take fur-seal skins on those islands, and I am now the agent 

 of the Russian Sealskin Company, the present lessees. My winter res- 

 idence is in San Francisco; I am now on my way to Russia to report 

 to the Government and to my principals. 



Whenever there has been a heavy storm and swell about the islands 



in the fall of the year, i. e., in October or November, after the pups 



have learned to swim, a number of dead pups have 



Dead pups on Com- b eeil reported killed along the shore by the surf, but the 



miiiiler Islands. -, *■ , • • -i i i >™ 



number was always inconsiderable. These pups w«re 

 always grey pups; their bodies were always near the water's edge, 

 and never back on the rookeries. Within the last two years the 

 natives noticed, however, another class of dead pups on the islands; 

 these were always black pups, which were too small to have learned to 

 swim, and were found on the breeding grounds 200 yards from the 

 w r ater. Such dead pups have only been observed since the sealing 

 vessels began to take seals about the islands. This year the numbers 

 became so great that the matter was commonly talked about on the 

 islands and the natives made complaint to the governor. It was my 

 opinion and the universal opinion of all on the islands that these deaths 

 were caused by starvation, which resulted from the mothers having 

 been killed by the sealing schooners while out feeding. This was also 

 the opinion of the natives and others on the islands during all of last 

 season (1801). The matter was discussed with the British Bering Sea 

 Commissioners who were at Bering Island for about a day and a half in 

 September of that year. Snigerof told them about it, and I acted as 

 the interpreter at the time. The grey pups heretofore mentioned as 

 having been killed were always plump and in good condition, while 

 these black pups were in all cases very thin and emaciated, showing 

 evident signs of starvation. 



Seven vessels were seized this season (1802) by the Russian Govern- 

 . nient for sealing in the waters surrounding the Com- 

 a Tate^'peiagic mander Islands. They had on board about 2,700 skins, 

 catch all of which, as appeared from the bullet holes in them, 



had obviously been shot in the water. It was evident from the fresh 

 appearance of the skins and from the information I obtained from the 

 captains of the seized vessels that they were not taken in the spring, 

 but throughout the summer. I was present at the examination of all 

 of them at Petropaulovski, and looked at almost every one of them care- 

 fully, because I intended to purchase and did purchase a large number 

 of them for the Russian Seal-skin Company. They were also examined 

 at the same time by Mr. Grebnitski, Mr. Tillman, and a Copper Island 

 native named Ivan Chabarof. The latter is an expert in handling seal- 

 skins. He looked them all over and threw the males into one lot and 

 the females into another. He had no difficulty in telling them apart. 

 I have not the exact figures of the result with me, but I know that over 

 uinety per cent of the skins were females. 



