The World

The Russians Fire on Schooners That Poach in Their Waters.

[Special to The World.]

VICTORIA, B. C., Sept. 16.—The San Francisco schooner City of San Diego reached here with 600 sealskins on Saturday night from Cooper Island, on the Russian side of Behring Sea. Its commander reports an eventful trip. It was warned off St. Paul Island at the end of June and made for Cooper Island. There it fell in with eight other schooners, and all of them together raided the island, catching and skinning seals. Over forty boats landed from the schooners and got off safely. The following day, August 2, they went ashore again in company with twenty-five boats from other schooners and again started raiding. A thick fog covered their operations, when a volley of about forty shots rang out above them, and all made for the boats, leaving hundreds of dead seals on the beach. Eight boats were struck. A black hunter named Talbot, from the schooner Webster, jumped from the bow in fright and was drowned. Hunter Vairn, from the Annie, was shot dead on the beach. All the boats got aboard the schooners safely and lay out five miles from the shore, considerably scattered. At 5 o'clock the same evening a Russian war ship made for them, and Captain McLean of the Hamilton Lewis, with the object of giving the other schooners time to get away, ran straight for and dodged the vessel. It was two hours before the Russians got him, and by that time the other vessels had got away. The Hamilton Lewis was towed to the island. All the hunters on the San Diego express grave fears as to the probable fate of the crew, as they say that several shots were fired at the Russians in the skirmish that morning, and probably some soldiers were killed. The Alta reports that the Oscar and Hattie were chased to Behring Sea by the Mohican for twenty hours for the purpose of warning it off. It got away and made for Behring Sea.