FUR-SEAL FISHERIES OF ALASKA, 1909. 
49 
months. The prisoners, after sentence, were sent, on September 30, 
on the revenue cutter Rush, to Valdez, where their sentences will be 
served. 
At the time of the capture the facts were at once reported to the 
captain commanding the cutter Bear, with a request that search be 
made for the schooner to which the boats belonged, and the appre- 
hension of her, if found. Although both the cutters Bear and 
Manning afterward made such search, nothing thereafter was seen 
of the schooner, which clearly was liable to seizure. 
Numerous instances were reported by the native guards stationed 
on the rookeries of the approach of small sealing boats close to shore, 
during the temporary absence of the patrolling cutters. On several 
occasions, during thick fog, the noise of the sealers’ gun fire could be 
heard at the village plainly and almost incessantly for several days 
at a period. Because of the fog it was not possible to determine 
how close to shore the sealers were, but it is believed that they were 
within the 3-mile limit. On another occasion, while island boats 
manned by natives were fishing off St. Paul, they were surrounded 
in the fog by boats of the sealing fleet, the occupants of which were 
engaged in shooting at seals. The natives on this occasion had some 
difficulty in avoiding being shot by chance buckshot which were 
flying in all directions about them. 
Locality of operation . — The sealing fleet, as heretofore, centered at 
St. Paul Island, to the virtual exclusion of St. George Island. Unlike 
last year, however, the main body of the fleet operated to the south- 
westward of the island, whereas in 1908 the main body of the fleet 
hung off Northeast Point, with only a smaller portion off Southwest 
Point. Several schooners remained at anchor for some weeks 
between St. Paul and St. George islands. 
While the usual practice was for small boats to leave their vessels 
in the morning and to cruise all day in more or less haphazard fashion, 
it was noted that the crews of several adopted a much more systematic 
course. Their method was to ascertain the location of the 3-mile 
limit by bearings and to distribute themselves along this line with 
regular intervals between their boats. Maintaining these positions 
as nearly as possible, they waited for the seals to pass them while 
going to and from the islands. They carefully avoided entering the 
3-mile limit, but they were equally careful to lie as close to it as per- 
missible, depending upon the transit of the seals through their line 
for victims rather than upon their own efforts to move about in 
search of the seals. As seals constantly are going back and forth to 
and from the rookeries, it is obvious that all will be obliged to pass 
over the line representing the 3-mile limit. Notable among the 
schooners observing this method was the Toyai Maru 2, the crew of 
which in 1906 landed upon Northeast Point rookery and killed about 
