126 



THE ASIATIC FUR-SEAL ISLANDS. 



young ones, but the proportion betweeu the two classes will probably never be known. 

 Four sets of figures are given for the catch in these three years, as follows: 



It is doubtful whether any of these figures are exact, but as they agree pretty 

 well, and as the third set represents the official figures of the Eussian administrator, 

 they may be taken as authentic' 



Upon the arrival on the scene of the agents of Hutchinson, Kohl, Philippeus & Co. 

 in 1871, it was found that the indiscriminate slaughter during these three years had 

 again done sensible injury to the rookeries. Says Mr. 0. F. Emil Krebs, who stayed 

 on Copper Island from 1871 to 1881 (Fur Seal Arb., iii, p. 195) : 



Upon my arrival at the island, in 1871, the native chief told me that the seals were not aa 

 plentiful as they had been formerly. I announced that we intended to secure 6,000 skins that year. 

 They protested that it was too many, and begged that a smaller number be killed for one vear at 

 least. We, however, got the 6,000 skins, as proposed,' and an .almost constantly increasino- nnmber in 

 every subsequent year as long as I stayed on the islands, until in 1880 the rookeries had so developed 

 that about 30,000 skins were taken, without in the least injuring them. 



The history of the gradual increase of the yield of the rookeries during the 

 following twenty years, and the subsequent decrease until the present day, is plainly 

 shown in the following tables. It should be remarked that the lower figures of 1876 

 1877, and 1883 are due not to a lack of seals on the rookeries, but to the fact that the 

 company did not desire more (in 1883, in fact, not as many as they were obliged to 

 take).^ The following comparison of the Commander Islands and Tiuleni catches 

 with those of the Pribilof Islands demonstrates the correctness of this statement: 



Comparison of the catches at Commander Islands and Tiuleni with, those at Pribilof Islands. 



Commander 

 I Islands 

 andTiuleui 



1874 

 1875 

 1876 

 1877 

 1878 

 1879 



Skins. 

 31,300 

 36, 279 

 26, 960 

 21, 533 

 31,340 

 42, 740 



Pribilof 

 Islands. 



Skin.s. 

 107, 932 

 101, 249 

 89, 478 

 77, 956 

 101, 394 

 106, 908 



Year. 



Commander 



Islands 

 and Tiuleni 



1880 

 1881 

 1882 

 1883, 

 1884 



Skins. 

 48, 504 



43, 522 



44, 620 

 28, 699 

 53, 263 



Pribilof 

 Islands. 



Skins. 



100, 634 



101, 734 

 101, 736 



77, 063 

 101, 013 



1 1 may here correct a mistake in the oft-mentioned table presented by the British Bering Sea 

 commissioners (Eep., p. 214). They run a line between the years 1869 and 1870 and mark it "Alaska 

 Commercial Company's first term began." As a matterof fact the term (and only term) of Hutchinson, 

 Kohl, Philippeus &, Co., the term and company meant, did not begin until 1871, and the catch of 27,500 

 skins during 1870 is, therefore, to be credited to the merchants trading during the interregnum. 



2 Only 3,614 of that number were shipped in 1871 ; the remainder in 1872. 



» In corroboration of this statement I may quote the one by Moxon that "Messrs. Lampson in the 

 catalogue of March, 1893, placed a notice in red ink to the effect that the catch would in the oomino- 

 season be reduced by 40,000 skins." (Fur Seal Arb., vm, p. 869.) As a matter of fact, tlie reduction 

 effected by the company amounted to exactly 40,594 skins. 



