76 THE ASIATIC FUR-SEAL ISLANDS. 



officer. The proclamation and the presence of patrolling men-of-war had evidently 

 some restraiuiug effect upon the pirates in so far as the Commander Islands were 

 conceriiud, but" the result was only that the raiders concentrated their eftbrts on 

 Eobben Island. At least 13 schooners hovered about that rock in 1882, ^ and, embold- 

 ened by the previous success, it is alleged that they actually carried the island by 

 armed force. As the greatest loss to the island usually was inflicted after the 

 guard ship had left in autumn, most of the raided seals being females and young 

 ones of both sexes, it was determined that the guard should winter there, and the 

 men consequently remained when the Leon sailed. Shortly after, 6 schooners anchored 

 off the island and each landed 10 well-armed men. The Aleuts, thus outnumbered, 

 did not dare to resist, and were locked up in the house. The crews of the schooners 

 then quite leisurely went about the clubbing of the seals. It is probably to this raid 

 that B. P. Miner, schooner Otome, refers when stating that the raiders "landed and 

 killed about 12,000 seals" ^ (Fur Seal Arb., viii, p. 701). The natives, being thoroughly 

 intimidated and seeing the smoke of a steamer, took to their boat and made for it. 

 It proved to be Philippeus's supply steamer Kamchatlca, on its return trip along the 

 Okhotsk coasts. The men were taken to Korsakovski, a port near the south end of 

 Saghalin, and wintered there. 



This is the story of the kossak and natives. On the other hand, it has been 

 asserted that they were bribed. So far as the result is concerned it matters very little 

 which story is the true one. The rookery was now becoming so depleted by illegal, 

 reckless, and indiscriminate slaughter that it was seriously considered by the authori- 

 ties wliether it would not be the better ]iolioy to kill off the few remaining seals and to 

 abandon the island. If the seals were not killed by the company they were taken by 

 the raiders, extermination was sure to follow, and it was only a question who were 

 going to have the skins — the legitimate lessees, who were paying for the privilege and 

 acting under contract with the legal owner of the island, the Eussian Government, or 

 the pirating poachers, who knew well that they were doing lawless acts, and who, 

 moreover, also knew that their penalty for the criminal business, if caught, would be 

 confiscation and, possibly,- hard work in the mines of Siberia. Under those circum- 

 stances it is hardly to be wondered at that the decision was to disregard the distinc- 

 tion between sex and age in the killing by the lessees, as it was done by the poachers. 

 This was undoubtedly done in 1883, and it is quite possible that some of the men, 

 when more seals had been clubbed than the little gang could properly skin, in their 

 zeal may have slashed the skins to prevent the raiders, who were continually hanging 

 around, among them the schooners Mrth Star, Helena, and Adile, from profiting to 

 the extent of even having the seals clubbed for their benefit.^ It is utterly unjustifi- 

 able to characterize the proceeding as "barbarous" in contradistinction to that of the 

 poachers. The number of seals thus killed has been grossly exaggerated. Some of 



1 Snow gives the figures of the catches of 9 Yokohama schooners as follows for 1882 : Diana, 

 450 seals; Hehma, \,1W ; ^da, 450; Oiome, 450; ^Jma, 1,700; Felix, oOQ; Jd^?e, 800; Alexander, m; 

 Rose, 1,500; total, 8,560. "The Otome was not at Robben Island that year although she is credited 

 with 450 skins from there. This is correct, nevertheless. She remained in Shikotan [Kurils] as store 

 ship for three of the, others and so got a share." 



2 " 12,000 killed is an exaggeration ; less than one-half is nearer the truth." (Snow, letter Janu- 

 ary 28, 1898.) 



^Snow's figures are as follows: Uoae, 474 seals: Felix, 350; Helena, 456; Adhle, 350; Diana, 348; 

 Ada, 320; Otsego, 320; Alma, 320; Mary C. Solim, 320. 



