THE JAPANESE POACHERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13285, 18 September 1906, Page 3

THE JAPANESE POACHERS.

FunTHER details of the incident of the shooting of Japanese, seal poachers in Alaska (reported in our cablegrams) were contained in exchanges. An American paper says: — Twelve ' Japanese pirates, captured •by American guards at the St. Paul Island seal rookeries on July 17, may he executed at Juneau for the crime of piracy. lie men have been lsound over to await, the action of the Federal Grand . Jury, although the present, charge against them is merely killing' seals unlawfully and entering a United States reservation without permission. The charge, it, is stated, will be changed to piracy, which is punishable by death. That the 12 captives were guilty of piracy is the statement- of Edwin W. Sims, solicitor for the Department of Commerce and Labour, who arrived at the St. Paul fur seal rookeries two days after the piratical raid by the Japanese.

Speaking of the shooting at the rookeries, Sims said :

"There . were two days of active raiding by the Japanese, who had four schooners and possibly five. On Monday, July 16, during a dense fog. the guards heard firing at- various points around the island, indicating that- the raiders were shooting seals in the water. Government Agent Lembkey investigated and captured six Japanese as they landed from a boat to kill seals. These surrendered without a fight.

" Later in the afternoon continuous firing was ; heard around the island.

"On Tuesday two native guards found ■three Japanese landing from a boat. Two of the raiders were armed. The native guards ordered the Japanese to surrender, but instead they jumped into their boat and started to pull off shore at a rapid rate. One shot of warning was fired, but the Japanese continued to get away. Then the guards 'fired to kill. Two of the Japanese were killed 'outright and one was wounded. The boat drifted to shore, and the wounded man was cared for.

"The same afternoon Lembkoy and a party of 15 guards surprised five boats filled with raiders. The men started to row away, carrying their plunder with them, when the guards fired, killing three outright. One fell dead in the boat, another was soon to float away in the surf, and a third was thrown ,'overboard from the schooner. .Twelve raiders were captured. The schooners then weighed anchor and got away.