— 22 — 



succeeded in increasing and in the twentieth years of 

 last century Behring Island produced about 200 sea-otters; 

 but this was the last considerably large quantity, the 

 sea-otter disappeared on the Islands; it again appeared 

 in the seventieth years on Copper Isl. where strong 

 measures of precausion were taken against the attempts 

 of the natives, as well as of those of foreign pirates; 

 until they succeed in having an annual capture of 200 

 sea-otters. Such a system of protecting the sea-otter 

 should be recommended to all kingdoms, in whose boun- 

 daries sea-otters are found. 



Here is another example of how easy it is to extir- 

 pate the sea-otter (who except in extreme necessity) 

 swims across the Ocean and serves as an example to 

 the Prybiloff Islands. Here for instance in the first year 

 of their discovery — 5,000 sea-otters were killed, in the 

 next year about 6,000, but for owing to this after 6 years 

 and until now the sea-otter has disappeared. The main 

 dwelling-place of sea-otters, also formerly was the shore 

 of north America and the Aleutian and adjacent Islands, 

 where however the number is still small. At the end of 

 the XVII century 120,000 skins were exported from 

 Prince William Sound and Alexander Archipel near 

 Vancouver. There were vessels killing up to 2,000 ani- 

 mals. Small vessels from Okhotsk brought from a voyage 

 of 5 — 7 years along the Aleutian Strait a capture of 

 2 — 7 thousand sea-otter skins. At the time of the for- 

 mation of the Russ. Americ. Co. the number of sea- 

 otters decreased so much, that in 1804 out of all the 

 places explored by them, only 15,000 sea-otter skins were 

 exported; in the following years up to 1840 there was 

 a continuation of severity, with the result, that there 

 was an entire disappearance of sea-otters on the Aleu- 

 tian Islands, then there were precautions taken of omitting 

 captures in some places for years, by which time Alaska 

 and the Aleutian Islands were given over to the Russ.- 

 Amer. Co. and they exported every year from 600 — 800 



