[357] According to a communication made to me by Mr. Henry W. Elliot, who, in order to study the fur-bearing seals in the North Behring Sea, lived a considerable time at the Seal Islands (Pribylov's Islands, &c.) on the American side, and has given an exceedingly interesting account of the animal life there in his work, A Report upon the Condition of Affairs in the Territory of Alaska, Washington, 1875, the statement in my report to Dr. Dickson, founded on oral communications of Europeans whom I met with at Behring Island, that from 50,000 to 100,000 animals are killed yearly at Behring and Copper Island, is thus probably somewhat exaggerated.
[358] Original accounts of the wintering on Behring Island are to be found in Müller's Sammlung Russischen Geschichte, St. Petersburg, 1768, iii, pp. 228-238 and 242-268, (Steller's) Topographische und physikalische Beschreibung der Beringsinsel (Pallas' Neue Nordische Beyträge, St. Petersburg and Leipzig, 1781-83, ii. p. 225), G.W. Steller's Tagebuch seiner Seereise aus dem Petripauls Hafen. . . und seiner Begebenheiten auf der Rückreise (Pallas' Neueste Nordische Beyträge, St. Petersburg and Leipzig, 1793-96, i. p. 130; ii. p. 1).
[359] According to Müller, whose statements (based on communications by Waxel?) often differ from those of Steller. The latter says that the flesh of the sea-otter is better than that of the seal, and a good antidote to scurvy. The flesh of the young sea-otter might even compete with lamb as a delicacy.
[360] To judge by what is stated in Steller's description of Behring Island (Neue nord. Beytr., ii, p. 290) no one would have dared to attack "diese grimmigen Thiere," and the only sea-lion eaten during the winter was an animal wounded at Kamchatka and thrown up dead on the coast of Behring Island. The fin-like feet were the most delicate part of the sea-lion.
[361] According to Müller's official report, probably written for the purpose of refuting the rumours regarding Steller's fate current in the scientific circles of Europe. According to the biography prefixed to Georg Wilhelm Steller's Beschreibung von dem Lande Kamtschatka, herausgegeben von J.B.S. (Scheerer), Frankfurt and Leipzig, 1774, Steller had in 1745 begun his return to St. Petersburg, and was already beyond Novgorod, when he received orders to appear before the court at Irkutsk. After a year he obtained permission to travel to St. Petersburg, but when he came to the neighbourhood of Moscow, he received a new order to return, and for farther security he was placed under a guard. They had travelled a good way into Siberia, when he froze to death while the guard went into a public-house to warm themselves and quench their thirst.
[362] As early as Schelechov's wintering at 1783-84 the foxes on Behring Island were principally white. During Steller's wintering, over a third of the foxes on the island had a bluish fur (Neue nord. Beytr., ii, p. 277). In the year 1747-48 a fur hunter, Cholodilov, caught on Behring Island 1,481 blue foxes and 350 sea-otters, and the following year another hunter returned with over a thousand sea otters and two thousand blue foxes, which probably were also caught on Behring and Copper Islands (Neue Nachrichten von denen neuentdeckten Insuln, Hamburg u Leipzig, 1766, p. 20). In the year 1751-53 Jugov caught on the same island 790 sea-otters, 6,844 black and 200 white foxes, and 2,212 sea-bears (loc. cit. p. 22). In 1752-53 the crew of a vessel belonging to the Irkutsk merchant, Nikifor Trapeznikoff, caught on Behring Island 5 sea-otters, 1,222 foxes (colour not stated), and 2,500 sea-bears (loc. cit. p. 32). It thus appears as if the eager hunting had an influence not only on the number of the animals but also on their colour, the variety in greatest demand becoming also relatively less common than before.
[363] From this little work, compiled from the original journals (Cf. Coxe, Russian Discoveries, 1780, p. vi.) we see that the undaunted courage and the resolution which, matched with other qualities not so praiseworthy, distinguished the Promyschlenni during their expeditions of exploration, tribute-collecting, and plunder from the Ob to Kamchatka, did not fail them in the attempt to force their way across the sea to America. It happens yearly that a ship's crew save themselves from destruction in the most extraordinary craft, for necessity has no law. But it is perhaps not so common that an exploring expedition, wrecked on an uninhabited treeless island, builds for itself of fragments from its own vessel, indeed even of driftwood, a new one in order to sail out on the ocean to discover new fishing-grounds or new wild tribes, willing to pay "jassak" to the adventurers. This however happened very frequently during the Russian voyages of discovery and hunting to the Aleutian Islands from 1745 to 1770, and it was remarkable that the craft built in this way were used for years, even after the return from the first voyage.
[364] The sea-cow does not appear to have ever occurred on the Aleutian Islands; on the other hand, according to Steller, dead sea-cows have sometimes been cast ashore on Kamchatka, where they even obtained from the Russians a peculiar name kapustnik, derived from the large quantity of sea-weed found in their stomach. It appears to me that this name, specially distinctive of a graminivorous animal, appeals to indicate that on the first arrival of the Russians at Kamchatka the sea-cow actually visited occasionally the coasts of that peninsula. It is probable that in former times the sea-cow was to be met with as far south as the north part of Japan. Some scientific men have even conjectured that the animal may have occurred north of Behring's Straits. This however is improbable. Among the mass of subfossil bones of marine animals which we examined at Pitlekaj the bones of the sea-cow did not appear to be present.
[365] Von Baer's and Brandt's numerous writings on the sea-cow are to be found in the publications of the St. Petersburg Academy.
[366] That the hide of the sea-cow was used for baydars is evident from the short extract given from Korovin's voyage. On hearing this "creole's" account I inquired whether there were not to be found remaining on the island any very old sea-cow skins that had been used for baydars, but the answer unfortunately was in the negative.