FUR-SEAL INDUSTRY OF THE COMMANDER ISLANDS 
317 
three natives of that island, who made a trip to Tolstoi Mys, noticed tracks of 
people who had piled up dry grass around the fox-hunting shelter hut at that 
place and set it on fire. The fire had gone out and the hut was spared. 
While these events took place on shore the naval guard was kept even busier. 
At the request of the Department of Agriculture in St. Petersburg the Russian 
Navy Department detailed the gunboat MamJiur to do guard duty around the 
Commander Islands. In spite of adverse circumstances she probably averted 
further attacks on the rookeries and achieved considerable success in protecting 
the remnants of the seal herd by compelling the pirates to leave the islands earlier 
than usual. During the summer months the Manzhur made six trips to the islands, 
seized one schooner and three boats, examined a long line of schooners, and con- 
fiscated a quantity of skins. Nothing will better illustrate the methods of the 
pirates as well as their recklessness and boldness even in the face of the naval guard 
vessel than a detailed account of some of these occurrences. 
During the second cruise to Copper Island the Manzhur, on June 26, seized the 
Japanese schooner Kofudzi Mavu about 23^ miles from Sikatchinskaya Bukhta. 
A boat belonging to this schooner was captured at the same time about 2 miles from 
shore. On board the schooner there were found and confiscated 3 sea-otter skins 
(one perfectly fresh and with flesh still partly adhering) 6 salted fur-seal skins, 2 
quite fresh, and 1 hair seal. The vessel was supplied with small 37-millimeter guns 
and military ammunition. 
On its fourth cruise the commander of the Manzhur was informed of the raid 
and shooting that had taken place at the Glinka rookeries on July 21. On the 31st 
of that month he therefore proceeded to the strait between Copper and Bering 
Islands in search of Japanese schooners, hoping by an examination of their muster 
rolls to discover which ones had taken part in the nocturnal affair. The first to 
be examined was the Ohitose Maru No. 2 {Dai-itchitose Maru). Unfortunately a 
confrontation of the crew with the muster roll was impossible, since 8 of her 10 
boats were hunting away out of sight at sea. However, one of the boats remaining 
on board as well as one arrested near by showed traces of having been hit by bullets, 
mute evidence of their having taken part in the shooting affair. An examination 
of the hold of the schooner revealed 59 skins of adult seals and 15 skins of black 
pups, some of them just turning gray, proof positive that they had been killed on 
the rookery, since the pups can not swim at that age. The skins were consequently » 
confiscated, but the schooner itself was released, as the search was made outside 
the 3-mile Territorial zone. 
^ j,, The next schooner examined was the Toei Maru. All its boats were away, and 
in the hold were found only 3 adult skins and 2 black pups. The skins were seized 
but the schooner was released. The Hashiman Maru was next searched, but no 
skins found. All her boats were away. While the search was going on shots 
from the direction of the coast were heard on the Manzhur. Leaving the schooners 
at once and steaming toward Copper Island, three boats were met and seized 
within the 3-mile limit, not far from the Bobrovi Kamni at the northwest extremity 
of the island. The first of them, which belonged to the Chitose No. 2, contained no 
skins, but in the last two, belonging to the Toei Maru, 3 freshly killed seals with 
the skins still on were found. It was at once decided to seize both schooners, but 
