0 Details may be found in A. M. Nikolsky, Sakhalin lsland and Its Vertebrate Fauna.
7 Wolves keep far away from dwellings because they fear do- mestic animals. As this may appear incredible, I cite a further example: Busse writes that when the Ainus saw a pig for the first time, they were terrified. Millendorf informs us that when sheep were first raised along the Amur, the wolves did not bother them. Wild deer are especially numerous on the western shore of the northern part of the island. During the winter they gather on the tundra, but in the spring, according to Glen, when they go down to the sea to lick salt, they can be seen in vast herds on the broad plains in this part of the island. As to birds, there are limitless numbers of geese, various species of ducks, white grouse, wood grouse, hazel grouse, curlews and woodcocks. The migration lasts until June. I arrived on Sakhalin in July, when there was deathly silence in the taiga. The island seemed lifeless, and I had to take the word of observers that the Kamchatka nightingale, the tit- mouse, the thrush and the siskin may be found here. There are many black ravens, but no magpies or starlings. Polyakov saw only one country swallow on Sakhalin, and in his opinion it arrived on the island by accident after losing its way. One day I thought ] saw a quail in the grass, but upon looking more closely ] saw a pretty tiny animal which they call a chipmunk. This is the smallest mammal in the northern districts. According to A. M. Nikolsky there are no house mice. Reports relating to the early days of the colony mention "food particles, sawdust and mouse holes."
R One writer describes a Japanese seine which "spanned an area of three versts in the sea and, being strongly anchored to the shore, resembled a funnel through which herring were systemati- cally extracted." Busse says in his notes: "The Japanese sweep- seines are often seen and extremely large. One seine encircled an area of 70 sazhens offshore. I was amazed when, having pulled the seine to ten sazhens from shore, the Japanese left it in the water because at ten sazhens the seine was so full of herring that even with the combined labor of 6o workmen, they were unable to pull the seine any closer to shore. . . . When placing their oars in the oarlocks, the rowers threw a number of herring out of the boat, complaining that the herring made it difficult to row." The herring run and the catch by the Japanese is described in detail by Busse and Mitsul.
,J Marine Gazelle ( 1 88o), No. 3-
The fishing industry is very poorly organized on the Amur, although there is a vast wealth of fish. The reason would seem to be that the fishing entrepreneurs are too miserly to import spe- cialists from Russia. For example, they catch huge quantities of sturgeon bur are completely unable to prepare the roe so that it resembles Russian caviar, at least in outward appearance. The art of the local entrepreneur stops with curing the keta and goes no further. General L. Deyter wrote in the Marine Gazette ( 1880), No. 6, that it was believed that a fishing enterprise was formed at one time on the Amur by a group of capitalists, and the busi- ness was built on a large scale, and the owners served caviar to cach other at a cost, according to his informant, of 200 to 300 rubles per pound, paid in silver.
Fishing can be a supplement to homesteading and can provide some profits for the exiles now living at thc mouths of small rivers and by the sea. Good nets must be provided, and only those who lived by the sea in their homeland should be settled on the seacoast.
At present, the Japanese boats which arrive in Southern Sa. khalin for fishing pay a duty of seven kopecks in gold per pood. All products of fish are similarly taxed^^.g., manure fertilizer, herring oil and cod liver oil—but the profits from all these taxes do not amount to 20,000 rubles. This is almost the only profit we obtain for the exploitation of the wealth of Sakhalin.
In addition to keta, other species related to the salmon run periodically in the Sakhalin rivers, such as the humpbacked salmon and fish locally known as kundzha, goy and chevirsa. Trout, pike, brcam, carp, gudgeon and the smelt, which is called ogurechnik [cucumber fish] because it has the strong odor of a fresh cucum- ber, are always found in the fresh waters of Sakhalin. Besides her- ring, the salt-water fish caught here are cod, plaice, sturgeon and the goby, which is so big here that ir swallows a smelt whole. In Alexandrovsk one convict deals in delicious long-tailed crustaceans which are locally called chirims or shrimps.
The sea mammals existing in large quantities in Sakhalin waters are whales, sea lions, seals and sea bears. When we were approaching Alexandrovsk on the Baikal I saw many whales swimming and frolicking in pairs in the strait. Near Sakhalin's western bank a lone crag called Danger Rock rises above the sea.
An eyewitness on the schooner Yermak wanted to examine the rock, and wrote: "One and a half miles before reaching the rock we saw that the crag was occupied by some exceptionally large sea lions. The roaring of this enormous wild herd astounded us. The animals had grown to such a fabulous size that from the dis- tance they seemed to be crags themselves. The sea lions were cwo sazhens large and greater. . . . In addition to the sea lions, the crag and the sea around it teemed with sea bears" (Vladivostok, 1886, No. 29).
The possible dimensions of the whaling and seal-hunting busi- ness in our northern seas are demonstrated in figures quoted by one of our writers. He says that according to the calculations of American owners of whalers in the fourteen years previous to 1861, sperm oil and whalebone worth two hundred million rubles were shipped from the Okhotsk Sea (V. Zbyshevsky, "Observa- tions on the Whaling Industry in the Okhotsk Sea," Marine Miscellany, 1863, No. 4). h should be noted that in spite of their brilliant future, these industries will not bring additional wealth to the penal colony just because it is a penal colony.
According to Drem's testimony, "seal-hunting is a vast, merci- less slaughter carried out with vulgarity and extreme insensibiliry. This is the reason why they do not 'hunt seals,' but use the expres- sion 'to beat seals.' The most savage tribes hunt in a far more humane manner than a civilized European." When they slaughter the sea bears with cudgels, their brains splatter on all sides and the eyes of the poor creatures jump out of their sockets. The exiles, especially those sent here for murder, should not be per- mitted to participate in similar spectacles.
!2 On account of the sea cabbage and the comparatively mild climate, I consider the southwestern shore to be the only area on Sakhalin where a penal colony is possible. In 1885 an interesting paper relating to the sea cabbage was read at one of the meetings of the Society for the Study of the Amur Region. This was writ- ten by the present owner of the business, Y. L. Semenov, and pub- lished in Vladivoirok ( 1885), Nos. 47 and 48.
13 At the present time these craftsmen can earn money only by working for the officials and the rich exiles at the posts. The local intelligentsia deserves an accolade for always paying generously for services rendered by the craftsmen. Stories are told about the doctor who kept the shoemaker in the infirmary, pretending that he was ill so that he could make boots for his son, and about the official who assigned himself a dressmaker to sew clothes for his wife and children free of charge, but these stories are regarded as unhappy exceptions to the rule.
14 According to information given by the agricultural inspector.
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XIX Convicts' Food - What and How the Prisoners Eat - Clothing - Church - School - Literacy