44 THE ASIATIC PUR-SEAL ISLANDS. 



The statistical details relative to the hunt are as follows : 

 Copper Island fox hunt, Decemher 1-16, 1S96. 



Districts. 



1. Pestabani, nearGavan 



2. Gavan 



3. Zliiravoi 



4. Senkina — 



5. Karabelni 



6. Tchorni Mys ^ 



7. Glinka 



8. Peresheyek 



Total 



l)er of 

 traps. 



19 

 84 

 17 

 15 



115 

 28 



184 

 27 



Num- 

 ber of 

 guns. 



54 



Num- 

 ber of 

 huotera. 



Foxes 

 in traps. 



23 

 122 



25 



16 

 204 



42 

 311 



82 



Foxes 

 shot. 



Foxes 

 found 

 under- 

 neath the 

 bouses 



72 



Sex. 



Males. 



9 



no 



10 

 



115 

 18 



191 

 53 



Fe- 



21 

 91 

 17 

 12 

 95 

 29 

 152 

 35 



30 

 201 



27 



21 

 210 



47 

 343 



There was no fox hunt on Bering Island in 1896, but about 17 foxes were found 

 starved to death, 14 of which were accepted by the company. 



The blue foxes must now be taken in steel traps exclusively. Shooting them is 

 only excei)tionally allowable, and as the foxes mostly live near the coast it is also 

 forbidden to travel with dog sledges and to fire any shot near the coast after September 

 1 (old style). It was found that by digging them out of their holes females were 

 mostly obtained, and this method has consequently been prohibited. The dried skins 

 are sold to the compaiiy at a fixed price. As the natives are now paid 14 rubles for 

 each flrst-class fox skin and 7 rubles for each second-class skin, it will be seen that the 

 foxes are a valuable source of income to them. 



Owing to the ease with which the natives could procure seal meat for food, they 

 have paid but little attention to other means of subsistence, particularly as the ready 

 money obtained from the company for skins and work secured sufficient variation 

 from the company's stores, whence they also obtain their flour, hard bread, tea, sugar, 

 etc., not to forget canned provisions. As a result, the sea fishery does not yield what 

 it otherwise might. On Copper Island, however, the natives catch some cod and 

 halibut. They have a tolerably good boat harbor and many boats. On Bering Island 

 however, the lack of a sheltered harbor and landing-place is a great drawback. On 

 the other hand, the rivers and creeks of Bering Island are filled with salmon during 

 the summer months, thus yielding the natives an abundant supply of fish for 

 themselves and their dogs. The Saranna Eiver is particularly important in this 

 respect. The salmon are here caught in a substantial weir built across the river at 

 the village of Saranna. During each summer nearly all the women are kept busy 

 cleaning and drying from 60,000 to 100,000 salmon (pis. 60, 61). The weir is kept open 

 from Saturday night to Monday morning to allow fish to ascend the river and lake to 

 spawn. The bulk of the salmon put up belongs to the two species " Krasnaya riba," 

 or redfish {Oncorhynchus nerlca), and kisutch, or silver salmon [0. Msutoh). 



