254 THE ASIATIC FUK-SEAL ISLANDS. 



a. Srednoi Rookery. 



It was in the summer of 1881 that Captain Snow, while on a sea-otter expedition 

 in bis schooner, the Otome, came across the rookery on Srednoi Sea Lion Eock, which 

 Saudman had just missed. When landing, he and his men found the seals utterly 

 fearless of them and they had to kill right and left to gain a foothold. The seals were 

 clubbed and skinned right there on the breediug ground. No sex or age was spared 

 and gradually the seals got shyer and went into the water, but the men had only to 

 conceal themselves and wait a little behind some rock and the seals would soon come 

 back. A little space having been now cleared tbe seals to be killed could be driven 

 away from the others, and so the killing went on without disturbing the rest. Two 

 thousand five hundred skins were thus secured, when the salt gave out. With his 

 precious cargo Captain Snow hurried back to Hakodate, laid in a new supply of salt, 

 returned to Srednoi and secured 2,500 more. In the meantime tbe natives of Ushishir 

 had also visited the rock and killed about 1,000 seals, but being obliged to leave 

 before they had been able to care for the skins on occount of a storm coming up, the 

 skins had been ruined. Finally, late in the season the schooner Kiva I/lizabeth, 

 belonging to a man called "Eussiau Johnson," arrived and took 1,700 skins, having 

 obtained the information as to the location of the rookery by two of Snow's men wbo 

 deserted in Hakodate. Altogether, therefore, at least 7,700 seals were killed that 

 first year on Srednoi Flat Eock. 



Snow went to England on a visit the next year, but too many now knew of the 

 existence of the rookery. No less than seven schooners proceeded to Srednoi in 1882. 

 The only way to work it was to combine. They consequently anchored up, went to 

 work, and divided the catch, each vessel getting 600 skins as its portion of the booty. 

 Thus over 3,200 seals of all classes were killed on Srednoi during tbe second year.' 



Just how many were killed on Srednoi in 1883 may probably never be known 

 exactly. It seems that only Japanese visited the rock that year. Captain Snow 

 writes me (January 28, 1898) that "no seals whatever were taken on Srednoi in 1883 

 by foreign schooners, as some 25 Japanese were established on the rocks close to the 

 rookery all through the season, and they killed everything that hauled up, securing 

 400 for the season." He himself called there twice that year— at end of June and 

 during the first week in July. 



In 1884 less than 700 skins were taken, by four schooners, as seen by the specified 

 statistical table given later on. 



Srednoi was now " practically cleaned out," for only 12 skins were obtained tbere 

 the next year, 1885, by Snow, and the rock does not figure in the annals of Kuril 

 Island raids until 1889, when 38 skins were obtained there. In 1890 it appears to 

 have recovered sufaciently to allow tbe Suisan Kaisha, the legal licensee, to club 200 

 seals, the last large killing done on this rock. 



A few seals linger around the old home yet. Some Srednoi seals have been killed 

 there by the Suisan Eaislia's people during recent years, thus in 1891 20, and in 1892 3. 

 One seal was killed there by the crew of the Ghishima Maru between September 26 

 and November 13, 1893 (according to Mr. Nozawa, in letter), and 5 seals were seen in 

 the water at Srednoi by Mr. Nozawa's assistant, who visited the rocks during the same 

 year. 



' E. P. Miner says that eight schooners exploitcrt Srednoi that year. He does not rempmber the 

 number of seals tlicy got, only that there were 1,000 in the iirst drive. (Fur Seal Arb., viii, p. 701.) 



