FUR-SEAL INDUSTRY OF THE COMMANDER ISLANDS 327 
On July 25, 1917,' there was another drive on North Kookery, Bering Ishmd, 
in which 152 bachelors were killed. On the succeeding day the following count 
was made; .•{ „j nildi»nn.}l 
Count of seals on North Rookery, Bering Island, July 26, 1917 , 
i)iJ«ri'HU»/l : Class of seals "'ivOT^l >8ftO^) '>loi 
'• '' " ■ ■ ■■',[) tn li. 
Reef 
Sivutohi 
Kamen 
In water 
or on 
outlying 
rocks 
■; r 
Total 
— ' ' — -S,/'-, ,\,: 
Bulls - 
no 
39 
171 
1,317 
1, 161 
30 
14 
1 
2 
99 
216 
5 
124 
40 
173 
1,416 
1,377 
35 
210 
Half bulls : - - - 
Bachelors - 
Cows .-. l.. . 
Dead black pups __: ' J 
210 
fin 
! Total 
2, 828 
337 
210 
3, 375 
'Tit Tm' 
On the same rookery a drive on August 3, 1917. yielded 87 bachelor skins, 
minimum wesight 6 pojinds, maxim^jn weight 9 34 pounds, ,and 1 cow skin weighing 
6 pounds. :r i!T!!r-r/.<ntii mi; \)H^rn\': • •■ ;/. ,, ,. 
'J,(!li! i /lie, 'f/JiilXt^H THE COMMANDER ISLANDS AFTER 1917 ,„i , ^n'n. i i^^r; ! ! n 
■ While' the 'somewhat exaggerated expectations were not realized, nevertheless 
there had been noticeable progress, and the outlook for the future was undoubtedly 
promising. Commercial killing had been resumed and with proper management 
from then on should have become a steadily increasing source of revenue. The 
total of 810 skins taken was obtained from those age categories of seals that were 
practically nonexistent five years before. In 1911 in order to obtain 200 skins it 
was necessary to kill 200 cows; in 1917 four times as many young bachelors were 
killed without difficulty, and not only with no danger to the future welfare of the 
herd but to its decided advantage. Evidently the restoration of the Commander 
Islands fur-seal herd was only a question of time. Unforeseen complications, how- 
ever, intervened to the great detriment of the herd. 
^'^^ With the Russian revolution of March 15, 1917, a new chapter in the history 
of the seal herd was inaugurated. The immediate result on the islands was the 
retirement of the old officers. In 1920, after the Bolshevik Soviet Republic had 
taken over the Russian Government, Pietr Aleksandrovitch Khramof, as the head 
agent for the fisheries and sealing industry, was sent to the islands. He arrived at 
Bering Island on September 6 and afterward made his headquarters ,on Copper 
Island. He was young, enthusiastic, and energetic, but without experience. 
On October 24, 1920, two Bolshevik representatives of the Communist Govern- 
ment , of Kamchatka in Petropaulski arrived. They stayed on Bering Island long 
enough to organize a Communist Government and then departed. ^ \^ ' ^ 
IvL the spring of 1921 two representatives of the Soviet of the E astern 'Repubfic 
were landed at the islands. To them the natives of Bering Island delivered the 
furs taken during the winter of 1920-21, to be converted into supplies of various 
kinds. According to the official receipt issued to the fisheries agent on May 27, 
1921, the following furs were taken: 614 good blue fox skins, 2 damaged blue and 
6 white fox skins, besides 4 whole skins and 1 damaged skin of gray fur-seal pups 
and 1 skin from a full-grown seal found dead. 
