88 
IN FORBIDDEN SEAS 
officials of the Kaitakushi who were stationed at 
Onebetsu. Onebetsu, I may mention, is a fishing- 
station, and consisted at that time of an Ainu grass 
house, a wooden storehouse, and a wood pile. 
Three Japanese had been sent to superintend the 
otter-hunting, and were supposed to go out in the 
boats themselves, which they seldom did, however, 
leaving it to the Ainu and a Japanese who had been 
a sailor on one of the foreign hunting vessels. They 
used short Spencer carbines for hunting, poor weapons 
for the work. They said they had seen no other 
vessel on the coast, and that their instructions were 
to warn vessels not to hunt within the three-mile 
limit. We told them we should leave as soon as 
we had repaired our damage and had a suitable breeze. 
We did not get away for several days, as there was 
too much wind outside. Our Japanese friends on 
their daily visits appeared to appreciate foreign 
food immensely, and were not at all anxious for us 
to leave. 
On December 3 we went out and killed one 
otter. The weather, however, was quite unfit for 
hunting, and, the wind strengthening, we were 
compelled to return to the schooner. By midnight 
the wind increased to a gale, and we had to get under 
way and seek better shelter on the farther side of 
the bay. It was necessary to make one tack, but 
owing to our being under reefed sails in a heavy 
sea, and our anchor buoy, a log of wood, in spite 
of efforts to clear it, being foul of our keel, we could 
not “ go about.” There was no room “ to wear,” 
so we had to let go both anchors and trust to riding 
out the gale. At times the seas broke right over the 
bows, great masses of water sweeping from one end 
