The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-04-25
HOW SEALERS CAN MAKE
KILLING WHILE WAR GOES ON

| great repeating rifles with the soft nosed
| bullets that they use for seal
There are enraged men on a cruiser II
Vladivostok who have prayed steadily tc
get hold of an especial one of these
poachers and his ship; for they will
never forgive him.
When that poacher and that cruiser
first met it was near Bering Island The
poacher lay under a riding sail off the
land, while all the crew were wading
around ashore among murdered seals,
covered with blood as they skinned the
carcasses in mad haste.
They had made great kiliing-won-
derful even for those wonderful seal
roosts. But on the line of the horizon
keen eyes had sighted smoke. And
smoke in those waters meant cruiser.
. Some poachers might have cut and
run. But these poachers hung on, fill
ing their boats with bleeding pelts and
hustling them aboard Not till the Rus
sian ship was plain in sight did they
tumble aboard themselves and stand out
for the open sea.
They had cut it bit too fine. AS the
Russian headed toward them, both sides
realized that the cruiser would head off
the schooner in another mile; and, fast
as the booming sails were driving her,
steam was sure to win against canvas
in mile race.
The cruiser, tearing along, threw a
shot across the poacher's bow. At once
the schooner came about and headed
straight toward the warship. The latter
stopped her engines and waited, for nat
urallv all aboard thought that the seal
thieves seeing themselves caught, had
decided to surrender.
On came the schooner flying. The
Russian lay still waiting. Suddenly,
within hundred feet of the Prov of
the cruiser, the schooner went about and
was off again like the wind, running
wing and wing.
The sudden nlaneuver took the Rus
sian by surprise. Before the astounded
and Infatuated officers could get under
way again and acquire speed, the irnpu-
dent schooner was fa4 ahead.
A LONG CHASE.
Twice the Russian fired a blank shot
as he went in pursuit. but the pathetic
request remained unheeded A third shot
sent a solid steel projectiie through the
poacher's rigging but did no harm. A
fourth and fifth shot went wide.
The Russian, eager to save the valu
able prize, thus wasted half hour in
fraitless attempts to cut away the Inasts
Of the thieves without damaging the
hull; and the poachers were on the point
of making their escape when the wicked
wind played prank ON them. 1t headed
them bit and then died away just
enough to give the cruiser the advan-
tage.
At the end of another quarter of an
hour cruiser and schooner were almost
abeam.
At that moment when the Russians
were rubbing their heads, the American
turned again. ran straight at the cruls-
er's side and rammed her.
was swung enough to make the, blow a
glancing one. Otherwise the iInpudent
attempt might have succeeded. As It |
was, the deck of the schooner was filed
in moment with Russian sailors. and
the schooner, made fast ingloriously to
a tow rope, was being dragged south |
ward along the Siberian coast.
That night the warship and her prize !
anchored in a little bay in the Gult of /
Kamtschatlla Ten big. husky Russian |
sailors sat on GUARD over the Americans |
on the deck of the schooner. The cruis- |
err lined with sentries. lay at anchor /
Within a few hundred feet and between |
he schooner and the exit from the cove. I
The Americans, penned together in the !
cabin, could hear the songs and laughter /
OF officers and crew on the cruiser cele-
brating their rich haul.
I'm THE MORNING"
Next morning when the dawn came