SEA-OTTER HUNTING IN THE KURILS 293 
larly for food. They had no idea of the value of 
the skins, and readily parted with them for a few 
old clothes, tobacco, soap, etc. Two or three of the 
foreign schooners obtained between them about a 
dozen or more skins in this way. 
It was not until 1874 that the Japanese author¬ 
ities took any definite action to develop the in¬ 
dustry, and then they set about it in such a clumsy 
and unpractical way that but comparatively poor 
results were obtained. In 1874 there were twelve 
foreign vessels hunting in the vicinity of Yetorup, 
nine of which came from California, and three from 
Japan. The Japanese sent up a couple of vessels— 
the gunboat Osaka Kan and the Kaitakushi steamer 
Capron Maru —to try and drive away these foreign 
hunters, but they were not altogether successful, 
partly owing to diplomatic difficulties, and partly 
because most of the hunting was done outside the 
limit of territorial waters (three miles). I may here 
mention that the otters when disturbed near the 
coast go offshore some five or six miles or more, 
and lie up during the day, going in at night and in 
stormy weather to feed. I saw 44 schools ” of sea- 
otters numbering from a score or more to over a 
hundred on many occasions during the years 1873 
to 1878 off the coast of Yetorup. Some of the 
foreign vessels took little or no notice of the warn¬ 
ings and threats of the Japanese, and continued 
their hunting throughout the season ; but others, 
after being boarded and warned several times, left 
earlier than they would otherwise have done. The 
total catch of these twelve foreign vessels for the 
season was approximately 1,350 skins. 
Two small schooners and a sloop were lost in 
