150 
IN FOBBIDDEN SEAS 
to a foot in length. We caught two bucketfuls 
with our hands. How did these fish reach such an 
inaccessible place ? The insignificant streams above 
contained no fish, and to ascend from below was 
impossible. 
At the end of August we left Shiashikotan, and 
made our way south, reaching Yetorup again on 
September 14. We hunted until the 25th of the 
month, getting sixteen more otters, and then left for 
Shikotan, to clean up before sailing for Yokohama. 
On September 24, when out hunting, a breeze 
sprang up, and, thinking it would not last long, I 
resolved to land and haul the boats up for a while. 
There was considerable surf on the rocky beach 
where we wanted to land. I was the first to make 
the attempt. Unfortunately, a heavier swell than 
usual capsized the boat as I ran in on the top of the 
breaker. The boat turned end over end, and her 
stem caught a rock, tearing out all the plank-ends 
on one side and splitting one of the planks in her 
bottom; but, as everything had been lashed fast, 
nothing was lost. We hauled the boat up, and, after 
making a fire and drying our clothes, we set to 
work to patch it up. Fortunately, I always carried 
some copper nails and tacks, and a small hammer 
and other tools, so, refastening the plank - ends 
and nailing a strip of canvas over the split plank, 
we made the boat temporarily serviceable again. 
Later on towards evening we were able to get off, 
but had a great deal of bailing to do on our way 
back to the schooner. The other boats returned on 
board without attempting to land. In South-East 
Bay, Shikotan, we thoroughly aired and dried our 
skins, filled up with wood and water, and cleaned 
