The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-12-03
ALASKAN SEAL PIRATES.
The Toughest, Most Unprincipled
Liars In All the World.


From the New York Sun.
An officer Of the United States Marine
Corps. or of the revenue cutter service.
who has ever seen service in the seal pa
troll or customs duty In Alaska will tell
you that of all the unprincipled and un-
truthful men In all the world the seal pi-
rates Of the westward are the worst. In
sitka they tell a story Of gang on a
steam schooner that put into little place
over beyond Kadiak. where a coal COM
pany had been operating a mine. The
mine was idle when the schooner came
along and no one was living In the com
pany house. 1t not being considered necss-
sary to keep a Waterman In that out OF
the world place. The company had built
q little railroad, about a third OF a mile
long, from the mine down to the water.
After the pirates had looted the house of
everything that could in any way be of
service to them. they took up the rail-
road. The rails and all the iron were put
aboard the schooner and the ties burned
up. Then the schooner put to sea. But
the captain wasn't satisfied. Before ne
had got very far he put about and went
back. A good stout cable was hitched
about the company building. II was haul
ed into the sea, and the schooner started
out with the house In tow. After two or
three days towing the pirates came 10
the conclusion that the game wasn't worth
the candle, so they cast the hawser Off
and left the house adrift.
The pirates are a plucl5y lot. They will
endure all sorts Of hardship and privation
with remarkable patience If they come
while they are doing what they want TO
do. They are impatient only Of restraint.
A year or two ago gang of them hauled
their little schooner out on bit of sandy
beach over beyond Cooks inlet 10 do some
caulking. Some seams had opened in her
bottom and she leaked badly They made
camp on the beach, and while the rest Of
the crew were at work two of the men
went back into the scrub to hunt for bear.
They kept going for nearly two DAYS be-
fore they found their game, and then killed
one Of two bears that they ran across, and
wounded the other The wounded bear
crawled Into clum of underground and
scrub and one OF the hunters went after
II. II he had known anything about the
ferocity OF the Alaskan brown bear he
would not have tried It, but he didn't.
When he came up with the wounded hear
1t was lying down, and the hunter ran up
to 1t and tried to cut its throat. The bear
mace a last desperate struggle, caught the
man by the right thigh and pulled the
flesh from the bone, breaking the leg.
The other hunter came along and killed
the bear. and then the question arose as 10
what was TO be done with the wounded
hunter. small creek ran near the place
where the man had been hurt, and to the
bank Of this stream the wounded man was
carried by his comrade He was placed IN
the ground with his back against a tree
near the water One Of his big boots was
pulled off and hitched by a stout cora r.
his belt Then the uninjured hunter start.
ed back for his shipmates. 1t was a two
days march to the beach where the
schooner lay, and when he got there he
found that the work on the boat was not
yet finished. They had to wait a dav for
a tide high enough so they could get the
schooner into the water and when maj
was done they found that she leaked AZ
badly that It was unsafe to try 70 take
her up the creek So she was hauled AM
again and caulked Temporarily. A. last
they got her into some sort Of shane. ana
put her into the water and worked thetr
way up TO where the wounded man mad
been LETT.
All this time the poor devil with the hor-
ribly Injured leg had been steadily haul-
ing water out Of the creek with his boot
for a bucket, and pouring Il over the
wound. 1t was warm weather. and the