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Library Bureau Cat. No. 1137

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The original of this book is in
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There are no known copyright restrictions in
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http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924000936470

=

FRONTISPIECE.

A WAITING BEACH-MASTER, LUKANIN ROOKERY, SAINT PAUL ISLAND.

Drawn from life by Bristow Adams.

THE

FUR SEALS AND FUR-SEAL ISLANDS

j . OF THE

NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN.

BY

DAVID STARR JORDAN,
President of Lelana Stanford Jr. University,
COMMISSIONER IN CHARGE OF FUR-SEAL INVESTIGATIONS OF 1896-97.

a 2

WITH THE FOLLOWING OFFICIAL ASSOCIATES:

LEONHARD STEJNEGER and FREDERIC A. LUCAS,
OF the U. S. National Museum.

.

JEFFERSON F. MOSER,
Lieutenant-Commander, U.S. N., :
In Command of the U. S. Fish Commission Steamer Albatross. _

CHARLES H. TOWNSEND,

Of the U. S. Fish Commission.
’

GEORGE A. CLARK,

Secretary and Stenographer.

JOSEPH MURRAY,
Special Agent.

WITH SPECIAL PAPERS BY OTHER CONTRIBUTORS.

PART 1.

WASHINGTON:
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
1898.

~“

Nowo55
CONTRIBUTORS OF PAPERS ON SPECIAL SUBJECTS.

WILLIAM H. ASHMEAD,
NATHAN BANKS,

oO. FULLER COOK,
DANIEL W. COQUILLET,
WILLIAM H. DALL,
WILLIAM R. DUDLEY,
HARRISON G. DYAR,
ELMER E. FARMER,
PIERRE A. FISH,
CHARLES H. GILBERT,
ALBERT HASSALL,
MARTIN LINNELL,
JAMES M. MACOUN,

SH

SG/

L458 us

vi

JENNIE C. MILLER,
WALTER MILLER,
WILLIAM PALMER,
MARY J. RATHBUN,
WILLIAM E. RITTER,
JOSEPH N. ROSE,
EUGENE A. SCHWARZ,
ROBERT E. SNODGRASS,
WILLIAM A. SNOW,
CHARLES W. STILES,
WILBUR W. THOBURN,
FREDERICK W. TRUE.

_

PART I.

THE HISTORY, CONDITION, AND NEEDS OF THE
HERD OF FUR SEALS RESORTING TO
THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

BY

DAVID STARR JORDAN

AND

GEORGE ARCHIBALD CLARK,

ILLUSTRATED BY PHOTOGRAPHS, AND BY DRAWINGS FROM NATURE BY BRISTOW ADAMS.

151841

TREASURY DEPARTMENT,
Document No. 2017.
Division of Special Agents.

FEBRUARY 24, 1898,
Siz: I have the honor to submit herewith my final report as commissioner in charge
of fur-seal investigations for the seasons of 1896 and 1897.
Very respectfully, yours, :
DAVID STARR J ORDAN,
Commissioner.
Hon. LYMAN J. GAGE,
Secretary of the Treasury, Washington, D. C.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

PART I.

CHAPTER I.—INTRODUCTION: Page.
The occasion of the inquiry... ...--...-.2. 22-22 eee ee cence eee eee ee 17
The Act Of COMBTERS) ¢..4 is cicarimntntietinceiats sede aie Suku eee eee tele aagale ect ui 17
The commission ...... 2.2.2. 0.2200 cece ee cece eee eens cece cece cece eee 17
The scope of the work...... 2-2-2. un. - eee eee eee cee ee eee cece 18
The investigations............2-2. 22020 cece ee cee eee eee cee eee 19
The report ..-..-...---.-------------- clad atinn alone Seis eieeeneeearemeaie es 19
TtIMGFaTy;, 1896 ap ecamaeceiewcsamnemess sieintaids wien eenaceaeecenonseen os eecs 20
Thinerary;, 1897. onc ncin cecin temas neitaes peek ay cece oe ceeemegeaceecinge se cane 21

CHAPTER I1.—HisroricaL SKETCH: ‘
; Discovery and exploration.........--. 22-02 22-2 eee eee eee cee nee eee 23
Bering’s second voyage ..... 2.22. eee ence ee eee cece cece ete e eee 23
Discovery of Commander and Pribilof islands..............-...--...---- 23
The Russian-American Company....-.-.-------.-----+s-0eee eee ee eee ee 23
Its OLPANIZAION <\-'-10: .2:sisicieieeasic = des mminavernisleine dome Feisisiel siseueisee nies somercyeeis 24
The ukase of 1821 ...-.-..---- --- +--+ 2-2 22-2 e eee cree eee ce eee eee eee 24
The second and third charters ......--.. 2.22.0. 2220-2222 eee eee eee eee 24
The company’s management ........ --.. ---- -- 22 ee ee ene eee cee ee eee eee 25
dnjurious Methods)... occ jess sgee 58k aawitecmise adie sisi. Hoa eddaetend Gace 25
Protection of females: sc: ccccsecaxccsacas eases uses teoesseeeessiaeica aces 25
The herd at the close of Russian control .......----- Ralsnde Sieta ea otra Gye 26
The interregnum .......---.-2---- +--+ .0-- goteadecieces Re hE acaionga ese. 26
Professor Walls notes): +: ifsc edwdsdesinsdisigeigs tie saeewsue Seated cele serclon's 26
The number of seals killed --.----...-2. 022-2. 0-2-2 eee eee eee eee 26
Mrs, HOWe8/8 TOLER: 5. '<:5 ates ses eee chs Geico ctaacarene'en ns 8 Sesreeeie kip meaiied staking 26
The trading companies ....-..-.-. -------- 22 een eee e eee nee eee ee eens 26
The work of sealing -.....-.---. 1-2-2. 202 cee eee cee eee cee nee nee 27
Methods of driving....--. De uueees Seemcuideeed on eee Meee eramamasos eeu 27
Russian methods: 2.2. seen Ge cece tecisnie: wemmien Bees eesaesmciee cece’ 27
The killing not indiscriminate -..........----..-- puiemnice nese castes 28
American management . ..«...- 222-0. eee cee ee eee ee eee eee ee eee 28
The Alaska Commercial Company... -.-..--2-- 02-25 eee eee cee n ee eee eee 28
The first 1l0as6 2.25520 scceccwice caw acase cated eee otecenweee se weiiene aces 29
The North American Commercial Company.........---..-------+-------- 29
The present lease. .-..-------- +--+ --2- eee eee eee ee eee eee eee eee 29
The decline in the bachelor herd.......-.---..-.--2. 0-22 --+- eens eee eee 29
Land and sea killing ...-.-..----. -0-- -- 222 cee eee eee eee eee eens 29
The extension of sealing to Bering Sea........-. ---.--.- eee ee eee eens 30
The Tribunal of Arbitration ...........-.-- 0-2 eee eee eee eee eee 30
; The effect of the Regulations ...........--..-.--0- -- eee cee e eee ieinecisee 30

CHAPTER III.—Tnr Home or Tae Fur SEALs:

A. The Pribilof Islands.............. Gob aahmat aan soar. ceca Reena dmseootetias 31
THEIT-PCORTAPDY 0.0 oo ce os sccmcecn cee et see ctewin taco ues owesccese 31
St: Paul [slang x cccc0 cteceosamacntesaececioks ae eter caddie ereeeamewnciclc 81
St. George Wsland...cccccese castes cacaise sae nee sete enue seienuerigececs 31
Otter Islandi: cic scsi pee senen se acete ais Sees weed Scamientewe se ceacees 32
"Wealruie Island sa intasi0:0eisietere aisigyeis sieve cicinusicisisis « Siu cisisiane siete sid ereigeve visions cisle 32

6 TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IIIl.—TuHx Home or THE Fur Seats—Continued.

A. The Pribilof Islands—Continued. Page.

SIMU EG OCI ce.cyveacaudes. ysis seca ctere eee 2 Sait ublelensigveversidin Feige se emcees 32

MAG CUT CG siascscsesaii aaa siete sued dishacie s esiape ys winiahebteie Sretateayels sce yom. eeiete see ate 32

No good harbors. ..._....---. ---- 0-2 see ee cee eee eee eee eee 32

VGSOUATION » < scicietisicis, sideoiecisb tine a baie sje eiereicied Loins emcees eee sialic 33

The mammals . cc2occseesnsex ene ened aes ede dee ceersoee Bete meeenense 33

The B16 sone ceueaves der eeces oes dee eeu dan whee cece eyeeeieurt ceeees 33

Inhabitaits <4ssscu secceeeees er eunees weeles v sions sveeee vegahene cee ners 33

Conditions in Russian days...-.---..-----. -.-0. 2222-2 e ee eee eee 34

Conditions in American days .......-..---. 2-2 2-2. cece eee eee eee 34

The handling of the seals ........--..-2- 22-2 22-22 cece eee eee 34

The support of the Aleuts -........- 22.1222 eee eee eee eee eee 35

The Government agents......-..----. ------ 2-2 222 eee eee eee eee 35

B. The fur-seal rookeries....-...----.---.-------- Basal taiaiesid Siachie eaters iatace g tecenceo 36

The breeding grounds s22since nese se sc eux wes ewsmewienawciarce aces 36

The hauling grounds ......--..---------------21 eee eee eee eee eee 36

The ‘St; Paul ToOkerieSs.ce.cc0esccce wees vee sew etaeeeeeacsamamewacis 36

Vost0Chil ve cccasevcin cactus s nose tace cea amends eaieramnarseis elsieisle 36

MOYjOVi wsincce scene sieraae ve teen ceases toe ede ceeds aes Ree ees 37

POlOVIM Ges Se.coindaies cues eiee Stis oe Smee os Uae eae ee als 37

Dakeani i ie ciecceds cee aecieae drake atces qeaneeeedw bes eatene see eee 38

MET GO Wace c cid ispcte Scns cai cecrecians cia se Setae DS ECiSperer uewanee wieusinareehearetee 38

Reeti iis dwcencen census pesescc cena dee petebeetetse auenieTeeees 38

Sivutch Rock «secsessscs cts cee dtesy peed voawasoraees nesses ore 38

Gorbateh .¢ wx. edenssams saves ive cecaseuae pen ey eeewes nes cou eee 39

Ardiguen weqcosescee mee ald 2 sues bi seenceenee nde damenneees 2 east 39

SPU Kis se eee eeeeencas a ede bh ee teeee vases eeseneeecinn se ee de 40

Lagoon 2 222-22iserecsssse ity Sis 2 SR Sele Meee eye weal See ents 40

POlStOl veuions creas | cheese BOR eS s knee Ke eee PES eEn eHeS St BaweSs 40

AMPAONA. seceudicdcean onnials'es cee ene saxkewekedaseseseess nese saad se 40

Little Zapadnr «2222500800522 62s see ezekte veaucees atest eeabes 40

Lapadni Reefisc..2- sce. Hag 2iaiels's v geleise ees sedan ses tensecenecd 41

Marunich ely scisseciecneters.<scicacis shave saieisircetemes ees Oy ayas outs 41

The St, George rookeries...css.:001g, scene neapecevecsesseexeesads cee « 41

ZAPAA Ds ssietidas scoters Vorstesi ace vem ereesvessemeeemeueeneeen 41

Staraya-Artel oa sasisnndwrice deed wesc shee eieewerepens esaned ean: 41

NOP scl catgeae least ees serge phi hesee gee Akal eae 42

Little: Wastascchge sect acsge.ct's ae obeelen seb eiek en Venseeeeneunacd 42

ROD asc oraices cites eyeiateiae presale mieusioren alee eee hee wakes eaee 42
CaaPrTER IV.—THE FUR SEAL OR SEA BEAR:

Tits relatives sic siete caste ease weite Have see sich eeiodaesreeeawe sels 43

The sea bear and true seal.....-.-.-.----. cece ee ee ee eee eee 43

The fur seals of the Antarctic. .......--. 0222-22. cence eee ce ee eee 43

The fur seals of the North Pacific. .....-.. 2... -2-2.. 0.0. eee eee eee 44

Stellérs ACCOUNT c20 ices cneomasmanes pass aeeE Gane EERE R ake st scleeneneeeate 44

"The three, Nerds anise seen wie tin sieae eles c.asie oss ee gon ace eo eeMe Sean eueds 44

‘The: Pribilot Werd:.jcc028). cease covet eee cacy ee eedloseces ene eens 44

The Komandorski herd ..........2-22. +22 22-2 cee eens nee cee eee eee 44

The Robben Island herd .... 2... 222-222. - 222 eens ween cnn cece eee cece 45

‘Three distinct species. ...2.. 2.02. eee eee cece cece cence cone cece 45

CaOriiis SIMSON 5.6c jac aenecae ceeea $e eeud edaw de a keu ened cede cada uae 45

Callorbinns ursinus....... 2.222. 2.2222 eee eee cee nen nee eee ee eee 45

Callorhinus curilengis .-.. 2... ...22. 2.222. eee ee ce eee eee eee eee 45

The nomenclature of the fir seal .-... 22. ee eee ee eee eee eee cee 46

The categories of seals. ..... 0. -020c00sc00 cece se vege be neee sete neeees secs 46

MME ANGIO second eccesatecaedvemencccwaccscatec tue asta bes tem abet eaee 46

TABLE OF CONTENTS. 7
CHAPTER IV.—THE Fur Seat or Sea BEAR—Continued. Page.
The categories of seals—Continned. .
Pherfemial e isiasaercicial scene aie sd vic s eink sialvseebiswelessauia ee see eeanaaGewsar 46
The bachelor aciisias vases. oss sek cememersmamns ote gene que eaeemse ene 46
‘The-hialf Dua ais ox ccc serciceciae c's ak ceow sens watndeae dha Seek tae smeared 47
The idle: bulb wives cde soe swe see semhd satecareees denis we cone caeeesceas 47
The yearlings and virgins. ........-22. 2... .-2020 eee ee eee eee ee eee 47
The pups ...-.......-.. emeiaMNnsaes eb kee teem seeGeesseteved seeds 47
The migrations of the seals ........-- 2-2 22.22. eee ee eee eee ee eee wee 47
Their summer movements. ....... 22. 2-6. ee eee ee eee eee eee eee eee 47
The limits of migration 48
Its course and duration ...........-. sea nisiels eeeietinexeiios Meee st ste 2 wee 48
CHAPTER V.—Tue DalLy LirE OF THE ROOKERIES:

: The arrival at the islands. ...... 22-22. 122-2. eee eee eee cee eee 49
The: mal Sijsreiesecetevie a ceniadata a aes e saben soe eae oeee sRemes 49
Date of earliest arrivals -......... 22-200 eee cee ee eee eee eee ees 49
The oldest come first ..ccessccanee pas neces secees voneeeee ewes eee see 49
‘The bachelors .......--- 2.2022 222 eee cece ee cee eneeneees Boh es Sled 50
Statistics of killings ..o0 sie cicssccwcwee ses calsewe teegseedeccuecss vee 50
Beginning of the sealing season....-.....--..----- 2.2220 ---- 2 eee eee 50
The arrival of the COWS. ......---. 0.2200 cee eee cece eee eee eee 51
Their incoming gradual. ............ 2-22. -.-- eeeeee cee eee eee eee 51
Their arrival not the occasion of fighting.........-....-..2.--.------ 52
The method of landing ........----.-. 22-2 0-2-0 ee ee cee ee eee eee 52
Massed rookery formation. ........-.--.- .2-- eee eee eee ee ee ee eee 52
Daily rookery counts ....-....-.-------- 0222-1 eee ee eee ee eee ee eee 53
Synopsis of Kitovi rookery 53
The height of the season............-.---------- 2+ eee eee eee eee aires 53
Fluctuation of population -.....-. 2.2.0... 2-2. eee ee eee ee eee eee 54
Amphitheater of Kitovi ...-......-. 222-220-2020 eee eee eee eee eee is 54
Increase of families... :<:.2:0:0005 00 ccnees sos soe eee eeenesaecasaecas exes 54
What the height of the season means......-.-...-.---- 2-22 -2-2--e eee - 5A
The period currently misunderstood.......-.-.---- 22-0 e202 eee eee eee 55
The birth of the pup 55
The feeding of the cows 5d
Swimming seals -...2.2. 2-25 s2e.cas sec de civesien eee ted dine ne secdew sem aecien 5d
The seal digests its food in the water. -...........---------.---.---- 56
The evidence of the pups ....-.. .--- 2. 0. eee eee eee eee ee eee 56
The fasting of the seals. ....-...------------ +--+ 2222 ee eee eee ee eee 57
The Harem ccs ecemsiniecscisese.g nena ew nee wineaaened bee daw maces eam 57
Large harems. ..-...-.------ 222 2222s eee erence eee eee eee eee 5T
Harem sizes...--..------------- Beas i2 cca eees Bene Lak Kae a Madera A aetciets 58
Harem discipline. .......-.. Cichenede da anedaehemon saad came keweneas 5 58
The departure of the cOWS....-...-.2- -22- ene eee cee eee eee eee 58
Methods of discipline. .........--.-----. ---- 25 eee nee ee cee eee 59
The fighting of the bulls....-.--....----------------- 2222+ eee eee eee 59
The early fighting overestimated 59
No fighting over arriving cows... .......--.--- 222-2. eee cence eee ees 60
Fighting influenced by sexual instinct..............0...---.--2.---- 60
Manner of fighting <i... .0000 sees wee wiseienc satcccceasicne see sep eee eves 6L
Real fightin gs cccoce cine dies eee seeisiee sees eeucaermagaieme nie e's 4 se ves 61
The treatment of the cows.......--.---..--- eee eee eee eee eee eee eee 61
The wounds of the fur seal. ........---. 2-2-2 22-2 cece ee eee eee eee 62
The instinct for fighting.................2.2..2.---+-- paves eons cae 62
The noise of the rookeries .....-.-. 220+. .2e ee. cee e ee eee en eee eee 63

The sleeping staleicecescossae aes ss costs eseeseceseees sees x mince 63

8 TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER V.—Tue DalILy Lire or THE RoOKERIES—Continued.
The arrival at the islands—Continued.
PH GIT Ob bIbU OS ersic is erewig eset ne Be Sle seiatmaiede Wade Seale cemeds Semeed,
The coloration... 0<seise.- e322 sees secees aceeemeseenes eee
Phewpelag onc acne vieesiear-o- seaeueestencsves aed an aaacay sete peeeie Lites
The sta@y s€ason ... 6 .ccs0e ces csmean sec ce cee eee SiGe eens aa
The arrival of the younger seals.....-...-...-.-.----- eee ee eee eee
The breaking up of the breeding season....-...-----.----. ------- +
The condition of the bulls.-.......-..---. +--+. 2+. 2-02 eee eee eee eee
The food and feeding grounds.....-..----------- ---- eee ee eee eee
The ageof the fur seals «222. 2222 .0.0 ccaceeeeeees cote namee sen eee eee
The: fr s6al pup vasccoccvsocitccicen oases st ceseeeeeease snd aennaewens
The swimming of the pups .-.-......----. 2-2-2 2-2 eee eee eee eee
The excursions of the pups...--...-.-..----- 22-2. eee eee eee eee eee ee
Mortality among the seals -._...-.....---. 20 --- see eee eee eee eee eee
Death of pupsis.soscovscsy ae Gece s sekea ce stcemnseeeamesct Hass shee cee
The parasite, Uncinarias scc.:ccsc. o222s8 Sees ceece sews scenes cones
The connt of dead pups, 1896.....-..---. 222-2222 eee ee eee eee eee
Comparative COUN sos. o0d ewes eee eee dee eeeece eee emia
The departure of the seals..........--..--.-.--- omiatinke BEG DOR iyo See
The enemies of the seals .....-.- 22.220. eee ee cee tee cee ce eee
THE Groat Miller. ccccsmnssormagen severe cedsaacascnme cans shus sane aes
The departure of the bachelors and bulls.........--....--..---------
The swimming of the seals.... 2... 2-2. - 2-2 2-22 cee ee eee ee eee eee
TRG TACO F WEAVE vos wai om cisieysiavavariiw's 6 sem wereesd wjereisemvntinia dire erg wierereiere
Habits of the southern fur seals ....-...-...--..------- 222 eee eee ee eee
THEE MOV 6MENtSaie, vo3'0c Sites Soda Saeahdecaniecn sete ceed mannemcmciies
THEY d6 NOH MITALC... sc. oae02 cneccces eerie nese Seataieecniavenamwierte
Brecding NADIUS .caciavncacs eet Saeeseee ee sn pcan bdemacdeatian eemaiend
BreCdin S STOUNASS ocqjcitdescinebaas on ESSE Soe Skisel SedinEe ee ate kines
The fighting of the bulls....-. 1.2... ---- 2222. ee eee eee ee ee eee eee
Difference in time of birth............ 2.22... 2-22 oe eee eee eee
CHAPTER VI.—TuE CONDITION OF THE FuR SEAL HERD:
As: Past Conditions: ...26s scecesciussosacs soe sede oe deci eels tee eewe eee es
Acreage MEASUTEMENES 26. 6:05 0 sees sees bse cede we ed weeee cee sone ee eee
Their diheuley ssiccneaescasenscites aw dae ew exec secd-tineti viesice aide tinndanss
Absence of reliable surveys...-..-.---. --- +--+ eee eee eee eee eee

The irregular nature of

ChOespTOnN s.25 sc jassc obo ccs cic iecradnescinses

Chietly: suessw orks 2. a..ioe oy os .cgntiasitd acee ONY eta ko SESS Sadwete ews

Magnitude of the problem.........-.-
Early estimates .........
Captain Bryant’s estimate
The beginning of acreage measurements
Elliott’s estimate of 1872-74

Important assumptions.....-....-.-... 22-222 ee eee ee eee

The law of distribution

Assumptions incorrect. _
The true law of distribution
Stability of rookery conditions only apparent
Results of Elliett’s enumeration
The figures unreasonable
The methods of enumeration

The surveys can not be
The effect of inaccurate

Inadequate unit of space
A more rational unit. ...

verified
surveys

67

72,

WZ

78

78

TABLE OF CONTENTS. 9

, CHAPTER VI.—THE CONDITION OF THE FuR SEAL Hurp—Continued. Page.
A. Past conditions—Continued.

The estimate for Kitovi and Lukanin ............-.--..------26--5- 81
A measure of the overestimate..... 2.2... -2-2-2 2-22 e eee ee eee eee 82
The counts of Mr. Beaman .....-....---..------ 2-2 eee eee eee wees 82
Captain Bryant’s note .........2222.-2 222-22 e cee cee eee eee 82
Spilkivand Polovinay ..cnccecs saw sarisecae ges we oxic ciesae ane wanes 83
Personal estimates differ. .........--.2 2-220 ee eee eee eee ee eee 83
Elliott’s use of figures. ...-.. 0.222. 2-2 oe see ce eee eee nee eee 83
Mr. Tingle’s estimate...... 2.2. 22-22 2-22. cece ee cece cee eee eee 84
The estimate incorrect ..--.....-..-----.------ 2-2 ee eee eee eee 84
Elliott’s 1890 estimate...-... 2-2-2... 222 ee eee eee eee eee eee eee 84
This estimate unsatisfactory.......-.-....-..---------- eee eee eee: 84
The True and Townsend estimate for 1895..........-...--.--------- 85
The estimate must be doubled .....-.-.-..----------- +--+ eee eee eee 83
It anticipated the season ...........---2. 22-2 -e eee eee eee eee 85
Arbitrary reduction for massed rookeries......---..-.---.---------- 85
The éstimate revised <<< .22sccesensnae yasdae sos nae ooee eke eames 85
The important feature of the estimate ............----..2.--.------ 86
Mr. Crowley's estimate for 1895 ..........- wesasee Pedien ke Ce emis see 86
Colonel Murray’s estimate. .......--- 2-222 ee eee eee eee eee 87
Defects of this estimate. .......----.-------- ede Mee ss Vokes iwses 87
Contrast of estimates for 1895........ cece Dheee sees seu venipekawelaned 87
Contrast of acreage measurements. .-...--.----------------0-----e- 88
Summary of past conditions. ..-......:.--2-222 0222-5 eee eee eee eee 88
A reconstruction of earlier estimates. ............-------- +--+ ----+- 88
The earlier and later quotas ...--.. 20. --2+-eee eee eee eee eee ee eee 88
The quota dependent upon the breeding herd.... .- jesus, Saeed 88
Estimates of non-breeding seals .....-..----- 20. eee eee eee eee 89
The reconstruction still only an estimate 89
Completed estimate ..... ip ticiaie las Givin St is SEO ecetnarsieiecic cress wee eeeiseoss: 89
B. Present conditions. .... esa Neacnetatuia te i eieeleme saa eGaewioed SSeS Caan emana 90
The Census. gaisc c:sc:e.si00:0000 weer ee teen nee come nce n teen ee sees 90
Dts: UGH CHIGY: ince sc ois 2! sisis cieisie cee iereg Sante siaid de sien ddiemmewad esas eipeceis 90
Actual Coun ts - (os oi. ee ss se eeta see sie yececls agin 2S ee bee taues acta 90
Kitovi rookery taken as typical......-.-.--.----.--------- eee ------ 91
Census of harems and cowS.. .......----- 202 --e-e2 eee eee eee eee 91
Original counts for St. George - .... - igiaeldiote vince ae eRe aa iernaee od 91
Estimate for St. George ...--....---. ee eee eee eee eee eee eee atimieerters 91
This estimate unsatisfactory........--.----20 2222s eee eee ee eeee eee 92
The great excess of pupS ..-. ....------ 0-2. eee eee eee eee eee eee 92
COUDHOL PUPS) cca iare eseicisie Godersei eines ase cane vig sete eacadins 92
Correction for absent cows. .... ..-- ---. 2220 ene e nee n ween eee eee 93
Summary of breeding seals...-..-....----.-------------- soe) visisiawis oi 93
Revision of census of 1896 93
Corrections on St. George.....-..---.---------- age oe oe cece eeeees 93
Corrections:on St; Patllss.4 sce0 sea cece seins aeeaes ace eres ease ses 94
Sivuteh Rock 2s a2. cee sk yaeeisc ocd eohee thee cee ectaceeeas 94
The important error in the census of 1896...-...---...2..----22-2+- 94
Revised census of 1896 ......---- 2-0-2 2-2 ee cee eee eee eee eee eee eee 95
The value of this census ......----.2-.---.------ Satie td eitusecienne 95
The: Censisy Of 1990? 2.2 unc aas didgie teas Mewteene dais & cm Sed eed neewees 96
The count of pups in 1897 .... 2.22. ee eee cece ee ee eee eee eee 96
Comparison of counts of cows and pups......-.+..------.22 eee eee 96
Proportion of cows to pupS.-.....----- 2-06 2222 cee e eee eee ee eee 96
Average harem of Kitovi ...........-.0022 2-202 eee ee eee ee eee eee 97
Cengus of 1897 .......... Levamecdaoseet es id pidec oote ee eeeiel Severe 97

10

CHAPTER

CHAPTER

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

VI.—THE CONDITION OF THE FuR SzEaL Herp—Continued. Page.
B. Present conditions—Continued.
Wits “Valies2 ce scssa2iss 2 oad ceo cescet settee os eae ates <eeeetekisn se 97
The enumeration of nonbreeding seals ......-...-.-----.---- +202 -0-- 98
Idlevand Half billes22.2 cxsisee de cidaconssai ace8 54 522s 22 2a5 Fee de 98
ENG DACHELONS! 4 55.5.2 056 tcnhewditidas idee eteanh as accel 2ae Seeeee tek 98
Rejected seals s2s.v'se0 sje sicesacwoe mice tei awases tcimes eos cea nie 98
The one and two year old females.....-.........-.------ 2-2-2 ----6- 99
The losses among the young seals ..-.-..--.--.-----------.---2.------ 99
The estimates of nonbreeding seals.._.....--....---.-----.-2-2--00--- 99
The completed estimate for animals of all classes...2.-.......--..--- 100
Animals present, season of 1897 .........-.. 22-22-22 eee eee eee eee 100
Deductions for losses ...........-----------------+- ie bib Bplajeus Waleed eaves 100
Animals dead, season of 1897....-......------- 2-22 enn eee eee eee 100
The value of the estimate. ...........----. ---2 ee eee ee eee eee enn 101
The true basis of enumeration ......-...--.-.----. 2-2 eee eee ee eee eee 101
VII.—THE DECLINE OF THE HERD:
Russian management » 02sccccrs cence ce ccue See oes cee cue weed sees reece ees 102
Gradual improvement in methods ........--.-..2.--.--22 2-2 eee eee eee 102
The equilibrium of the herd ..............--2-2. 02-222 eee ee ee eee eee 102
The beginning of decline. -.<2.ccsseee secigee decoy sss dee thee vedere weal 102
The failure of the quota.... 22-220 22-222. .e eee eee cee eee eee eee eee 103
‘The breeding herd z.¢220se=00,c2c0s discs see see sede deve see dereneeeses 103
The quota since 1890 2.220206 ccsc22s vaciess So ee donee eee sede ee eee eee ce 103
Quota of 1894-95» acc secs scare esness essays she see eee es VEeeEe cence ecee 103
The evidence of decline .c<ses<a202 40230002 es vd vows seseseverse ee deans eiac 104
Abandoned grounds -... 2.1.2. .- 222.222. eee ee eee cee e ee cee eee nnee 104
Their extents o.0<% veeesecuaiess weed ave oes le kobe eweeed dene geceees 104
Grass-BTOWN AFCA8.2..2 2220 jee wneel dae eeee secu -rbe dee cee neces eeees 104
Time necessary to establish these areas ...............- eee Pere 105
Photographs 2 son cress tawesageses voces eemesse se dades ae edeuaeseuahs 105
Between successive seasons inadequate.....-..-.....-. 2-2-2222 2-e eee 105
Their value covering long periods.....-....--..2-----2eeeeeeeeee eee 105
Their record of the abandonment of territory ...........-.2..--...-- 106
Their limitations. cca ssceds veceest seca tecctsccncnaleneeneeanneos nein 106
Their relations to daily rookery counts.-.--...-----. 00.00.2222 00e0e- 106
The trne value of photographs.......-...-.. 2222-2220 eee e eee eee eens 107
TPOWNSEN d's: CLOSSES oan a. sscn's ae os see soba sastee eee eee wen cuenta dures 107
Shrinkage of breeding area _....-...---. 222-22 2222 cence eee cence 107
Tolstoi sand flat, Ardiguen, ete ....-.. 022... 2-2 eee le eee eee eee eee 107
Decrease of dead pups..-........... WES SER Sse Sicice aid eitcie brennan angrrants 108
Dead Pups, 1896-97 a recc cies oes soak ees tane sean ekssieisee unease cele one 108
Increased mortality among the cows.......22....022+ 000002 e-eeeeecee 108
The diminished quota. .... 2-222. 0.0.0. 0.0200 eee ce cece ween eee cee 108
The decline between 1896 and 1897 ........ 22-22. .222 ee eee eee eee 109
Comparative counts .-.......2.. 0202 .eee ee eee cee eee eee eee 109
ACETAL GOWNS: ocio ies ce) gals 2d be ees SERRE xe be wedals he qmmgeie sewcaes 109
Summary of percentages...... 22.22.0220. . eee eeeee eeee eeeee eeee 110
Decrease in the average size of harem...........22.....--. 0022 -0--e- 110
The:Count Of COWS 2.02.20. cee sexe Sisie we rnce deve ne stenee veces ons 110
The count of pups an absolute measure ._...........222-.----0.02-ee 110
LAGOON TOOKCTY so oicoccvesee ddiaie aba sid. Sieeitawieeee dew eene seed seen 111
The quotas of 1896 and 1897... .. 2.2... ek. cece eee eee eee eee 111
The quota of 1896 fixed ....... 22.2222. eee cee eee eee eee eee 111
The quota of 1897 indefinite ...... 222.0202 02 le eee eee eee eee 111
Killings for the quota, 1896-97 ....... 2.22. 02 e eee eee cece ee eee 112-113

TABLE OF CONTENTS. aus
CHAPTER VII.—TuHE DECLINE OF THE HERD—Continued. Page.
The evidence of decline—Continued. .
The quota of 1897 harder to get.....--.. 022222 een eee eee eee e ences 114
The quota a direct measure of breeding herd -..-....-..-..--..----- 114
The quota of 1897 and the Paris regulations. ............-.---------- 114
The total decline in the herd......-. 2.2. 222. eee eee ce eee eee ee 114
CnarTrr VIII.—TsE Cause or THE DECLINE:
Joint agreement of 1892 ...... 2-2-2. een eee eee ee nee eee eee eee 115
No competent natural cause. ....2. 222-2. eee ee ee ce ee ee eee 115
Natural causes of mortality constant......--....-2.. 00-202 eee eee eee eee 115
The real cause an artificial one ..-....-.-. 2222-222 eee eee eee eee ee eee 116
dvandvand:6ea: Killin g:..concccses sheeicictes desig ek eivietawstegadselads v see ee 116
A. Land killing—its methods .....-.--.- 2222222. e eee eee eee eee eee 116
Animals killedans. sconces cee ys oe ue Shek eeekiisetaas seleseeeees 116
Willing SeaS Omens faiaie'. isis cists te leterelosieteecicleesteowetetgs sche wee seeas oe 116
Phe Orivin goo cos sd lt asics cdo. stele siemens eisiers Aeteiele: dere h fae 116
PHO NGTIViG teas a jas Assit aetea nel eras cise einw ak Beane oetnctoeinei semen 117
Phe kiWlin gn sccewe eda ccied Seek eewereeeayeseica ween sec veawens 118
¥ TS AL OWS) sch cenvacnicme ewe arses de wives wea Seeanes Seamless eesee 118
The skinning of the seals......-.-...--2. 2-2 220 22 eee eee eee eee 119
Division of labor : 119
Treatment of the skins 119
The effects of land killing ..............----- 022-2. cee eee e eee ee 119
Removal of superfluous male life beneficial ...... oanelleried Sue hate 120
Possibility of overkilling ...-.....--..--.-..----- 2-2-2 ee eee eee 120
A hypothetical case...... 0.20.20. cee cee eee cece ee cee eee cee eee ees 120
Such killing not practicable ........-.-.-----. 22-22-2222 eee eee 121
Otter Island not driven .-........-.-----.+------ sibndicceyceet aces 121
DelectivG skiiG.~ a .seeserseseen se kes seancdadeeueaceeseeseices eases 121
Overkilling of males has not occurred ........-.-.---.----------- 121
Statistics of the quota............2--2. 0-22 eee ee eee eee eee 122
Land killing, 1870-97 ......--.. 222-2200 cee eee eee ee cece cere eee 122
Voluntary reduction of quota, 1876-77 122
Voluntary reduction, 1882-88...... 22.00. 02. ecee cece cece cee eee 122
No dearth of male life ..........-2...2--..------ i oeee nouns 122
Killing of males not a factor in decline -......... Nimes SeNEE Brad mista rete 123
Promatire KUMD G0 cas ceese scence aside eee castes wee ee semasicoes 123
Anticipation of Quotar..n.. 22.0 505 csncmmeccie seccec cece ease sesso ses 123
Table showing date of filling quota, ete .......-...-.-..-.-.------ 123
The killing of undersized seals..-......----.----.ee0ee eee eee cece 124
Such killing did not affect the herd ...... 2.000.220. 02 e eee eeee eee 124.
Premature killing wasteful but not injurious ........ sinigisiearersne see 124
Killing of pups wasteful.........--...--...----. 022-2 eee ee ae Sees 124
Absence of injury to the herd_...--.... 222.2222 ccc. eeeeeeeeeeeees 195
Methods on the Commander Islands........-...-:...----.-------- 125
Dr. Stejneger’s observations..........-...------ 02 eee eee e ee eee 125
The dearth of male life on Bering Island.........-.......---.---- 125
CHAPTER IX.—THE THEORY OF OVERDRIVING: :
Driving and its supposed results ......-. 22.0... 222. eee cece eee eee 126
The process of driving. ...--....-. 0-2. cece ence ee cece ee cee e cee e ee ee eeeee 126
The animal ATi ven sacsicvisirciecs leit wiv syoteig sianeies os cleus e sianwiereiaiete Waiclon se vie xt oles 127
The theory intangible ............---...02---.60- ib distuelsteseretaraosla velar cietaterecs 127
Its logical conclusion. oj:3202c:0s6 nese pocig- esis ste vie Scinstesin sieeid eaeecees oo 46 127

The drives and driveways .....-------.. eeeu cece ewe en ene fe aed weenie ie oe 128

12 TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IX.—THE THEORY OF OVERDRIVING—Continued. Page.
The Russian drives ......-..--------------- ++ seen cece ee cree cee e eee 128
The drive from Northeast Point.....------.----- eee e eee ee eee cee eee 128
The American drives «.cecsj0% eesecnes sees cess pees eees seesesceceeeeese assis 128
The drives greatly shortened .......--...-- .22 + Posie wecabsebs ed emeewaee 5 129
Reef Griveway 2 escsceseecdwlezed aaG 2 e+e sss cree rmesee sea eaeeaneeawescae 129
The character of the route........--.. ---- --2----- seen cence eee eee 129
Thé length of the drive soccsenssew escwee we 4s oe cxeeed cmwes eesscenaaeciess 130
Comparison of drives........---------+ +--+ -2 e222 eee eee eee eee 130
The Commander driveways .....--.------------- eee eee ene eee eee eee ee 130

ZaPadM «sae -hcacmaeadectseews wees tyeosees te seks <eveeceetseesaeamess 130

Palata, 223 otes seessaceeses deci eves e mans cov sex ¢eee ees eRe tees 1381
No evil results from these drives..........---.--------00 cee ee ee eee ee ee 131
Care exercised in driving ....-..-.-.. -.-.------- 2-2 e222 cence eee eee 131
The fur seal not ill-adapted to land travel.........----..----------.----- 131
The ‘‘ carcass-strewn ” driveways ....-.--------------2-22 22s eee ee eee 132
Fatalitieson the Orivesc.cc2 2: 2a:)s22s2222 20%. eeees seca ses saeseaede eases 132
Injuries to bachelors could not affect herd.....-........--.---.----.----- 132
The impossibility of sexual injury -....-..-.----...--------- +--+ ---2 ee 133
Voluntary movements of the males..--..--.----------------------+eeeee- 133
Driving not a factor in the decline .......-.. 2.2 .--- eee eee eee eee eee 133

CHAPTER X.—ALLEGED POSSIBLE CHANGE OF Hapsirs:

Migration to Commander Islands....-.........---- - 22-2222 eee eee eee 134
The fixity of habits. . css sscomsecostscnes eeee ewes sox eeeees Leen na tices 134
The seal’s low intelligence ..........-.-.---- +--+ +222 eee ee Giaishenatse ire nomists 134
Contact with man has had no effect -........-.---------- 222 eee e eee eee 185
Alteration of conditions .......--. 2-2-2. 22-2 222 eee eee eee ee ee eee 135
The bachelors of Bering Island ..._..-...------ 2-2. eo -- eee eee eee eee 135
Arbitrary selection of males ...........--.---- 0-22 eee eee eee ee eee eens 136
The eflees Of, CeeCline : . 22.0 neiecticcdiseus eaeure cee des s mage seine cemcdesecse 136
Possibility of driving the seals elsewhere --..--....--.--..---.---------- 136
The abandonment of Spilki....-.... 222.0222 ee ee ee ce eee cee ee 137
The presence of the village not the canse............----.--0--222------- 137
Exposed condition of Lagoon rookery .......-..-.--22 2-22 -222 eeee eee ee 137
The real cause of the abandonment --.....--.------. 2.222.022.2002 eee eee 137
Origin of Lagoon and Spilki.......-... 0.22. 2.22222 eee eee eee eee 138
Abandonment of Marunichen .._-..... 2-2. 022. eee) eee eee eee eee eee 138
Elliott’s theory for Sivutch rookery.-....--..-.---. 022-2. -2e. 202 eee eee 138
Sivntch overlooked in 1872-1874 ........222. 2-2... -- 2-22 eee eee eee 138
The notions of the Aleuts...... 0.2.2.2 222 22 eee ee eee eee ee eee 139
These notions shared by Government agents....-.-...-.....--.-2.2-.---- 139
The policy of seclusion detrimental .......-......22-..22222 222022 eee eee- 140
Intelligent inspection not wanton invasion........ Se eGee nests ceeaesy 140
Inspection not harmful ....-.-..-... 2.20.22 2 2 ee eee eee ee eee eee 140
Relations of man have not affected the seals .-..-.-.-..... 02222222222 eee 141
CHAPTER XI.—PELAGIC SEALING, OR KILLING AT SEA:
The nature of pelagic sealing ....... 2.2.2. .22222 0200 eee eee cee eee cece ee 142
The hunting of the Indians -....... 2.2.22. 22.0.. 200-2220. ee eee 142
Introduction of white men and vessels..-..-..-.....-..2.0222 220 cece neee 142
The expansion of the industry .._.....2.2. 222.202. ee eee ee ee eee eee 142
The nsevof firearms «.. 22.242. 22sesvese deeds device cet scdicsoemusandemeas - 143
The modus Vivendi 2c s2.s0.ees,2 see 'gees cp sete wecec aside acy bane woos vnicieietes 143
The regulations of the Paris award ........ 222.2202 2 eee eee eee eee eee 143
The sealing’ vessels ase aes Hissin c)n ¥ cieieivic din veiaie's nce mtenepvin.n nicte Sais Beleiele aeeste 143
Methods of séalin gia: + 422 sce4 av ccc-ciuis soleieetdisoae witnscamces aoeewswoes 144
The seals a8 FOUN 5 2 wci06! esc ice sessials posi necdemanees aaSeden Hoes aaa meee 144

TABLE OF CONTENTS. . 13

CHAPTER XI.—PELAGIC SEALING, OR KILLING at SEA—Continued. Page.
The shooting of the soals....... 2.222. ee eee ee eee eee eee eens 144
Loss resulting from shooting......-........222-- 2.2202 cee cece eee eee 145
The spear least wasteful........ 2... ..0222 0002 ele eee eee eee eee iene kine 145
Northwest Coast sealing 2.2.2.0... 202 cece ee cee eee eee eee cece ee eees 146
Boring S6a Sealing so. vec ccc 2 2 2 ce celaleige nea ceesioenesines sabes deve velelece 146
POlARIC CATO joo d siccecnciitirciorsiais chet Sate sdigeeeasd ee ca neaeees See Sate eels eset 146
Does not include seals killed, but lost..-......-..--.---- 2-2-2 eee ee eee e ee 147
Early sealing continued to Pribilof herd...........-..---------------- +++ 147
Suspension of land killing... ......--..-2222- 2222 e222 eee eee eee ee ne eees 147
Modus vivendi transferred sealing to Asiatic side. -...--..-----.-----+-- 147

: Decline of thecatch soos arsieicle sia cielo bee slot ae tastactg Goce <-cid He ose ee 148
Unfavorable weather not the cause... .........02. .. eee ene eee eee eee 148
Pelagic killing and land killing compared. ..........--..---- galls siosheterstst 148
Statistics regarding land and sea killing.........-.2...----+ 22-0 eee eee 149
The period from 1871-1882 ...... 2.22... 2 2-22 eee eee ee eee ee eee eee 149
Growth of the catch.......-.--2--.22-2.-00--- sled cicndiata ss wepniminteisetcecmen 149
Relation of gains and losses in the herd dnc SiasSreine loiwicwstie Sale hermes cioe ais efoure 149
Period subsequent to 1882. .... 2.212202. eee eee ee eee cee cee eee 150
Expansion of pelagic; decrease of land sealing........-..---.-----.------ 150
Cause of decline to be sought in breeding herd..............---.-----+-- 150
The beginning of the decline.............---..-.--.----- Jha sowoue aeeeee 151
Early pelagic sealing a mere check ........-...---2.-2 222. cece eee e enone 151
Irregular quota since 1890 ....- aust Sivimhanceeelald auclainiacemmelattare tess mae anie/tcr 151
Pelagic sealing and the Commander herd..............--0.-.---- 000+ ---- 152
Interrelation of pelagic and land catches... ......--..--.. 22-22 ee eee eee 153

CuaPreR XIJI.—TuHe Errect oF PELAGIC SEALING:

Pelagic sealing kills females......-..... -2.- 2-20 een ee cee ee cee eee ee 153
Pelagic sealing and the sealing of the South Seas ...-.......-.---....-.- 153
Methods of southern sealing...--..------- 0-2-2 eee ee ce eee eee eee eee 153
“Indiscriminate” not ‘‘excessive”...... GSS cia uo Sesh sajcielew edaes ctayersytyayaa 154
The preponderance of females ji 154
The sealing captains’ record of sexes taken.....--.-----.---------+ eee eee 154
Customs-house examination by experts.....--..------------0 ee eee enone 155
Contrast of sex returns. ..-.--.--------- +--+ --eee- eee eee ee edie erstaherstayaioe 155
The sex of salted skins easily determined. ............-.....------------ 155
Investigations of Alexander and Halkett.......-..------ +--+ --+- eee eee 155
Females more easily taken...-..--..---- 0-2 e205 eee eee eee cee eee eee 156
The capture of males not important 156
Possibility of equilibrium. ......---.----.-- 22. ce00 2222 ce eee cree ene eee 156
Equilibrium a theoretical fact -.-.....---.-----------++- Sem bbeawend wee 157

RS Death from old age. .... 02-2. 22. nee eee ee ee cee eee eee nee eee 157
A hypothetical case........-..------ atiiceerUizleeiae Hameed. <r geee eee aaa 157.
Possible abstraction of females. .:-...........---..-- Beak gered eee s 157

‘ Secondary loss of pups -......---- 2122 see eee eee e eee eee cee nee eee 2. 158
Pelagic catch still involves 16 per cent....-...-.--. saG 3d bce sees tees 158
Pelagic catch must still fall to one-third before equilibrium.....---..... 158
The equilibrium could not be maintained...-..--....--------- +--+ eee 159
Equilibrium exists only far below commer¢ial ruin..-.-.--.-.-.----+---+- 159
Destruction of unborn pups.....-..-.-- adie ielebesceeeaes eae aved seca cece 160
Females pregnant and nursing........------------20 2-25 eee eee eee eee 160
Pelagic sealing takes ‘compound interest....-...-.-.------------ +--+ +++ 160
Destruction of nursing pups....-...--.. 2.2225 22.2 eee ee eee eee eee eee 160
Pups dependent upon milk until December..-.....----.----..---.--+++-+- 160

The absence of excrément. .... .... 02202. eee nee cee eee eee cee eeee eee = 161
The supposed nonfeeding of females. .......-.. 20. -20ee- cece eee cere nese 161

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

XII.—Tux Errecr or PELAGIC SEALING—Continued.

Absence of food in stomachs... .-.. ---. 2-2 eee cee cae ene cece ee eens
The seal digests its food in the water ........----.---.---- 2-02 ---- eee eee
Absurd theory of indiscriminate nursing....-..2 202.2222 eee eee eee eee
Fur-seal mother and pup..-.---.---- 2-22 e220 cece eee e nee eee cece cnee
Mistaken observations......--..---- 02 cee nee cee cece eee eee eee cence
Supposed self-feeding of pups....-...--.-.-- 22+ cee e cece eee ee ee eee
The absurdity of the theory..........----- 2. + een en cee eee cee ee nee
Determination of the matter by killing pups ...-...... Sob auawie smnietensnese
Pups absolutely dependent upon mothers’ milk......-.........-...------

CHAPTER XIII.—THE STARVATION OF PUPS:

The count of starved pupS......------ 2-22 - ee eee eens cece cee eee eee
Beginnings of starvation .-.......-...---- 02-222 cree eee eee eee ee eee
Notes onistarving POPS ci. 2s. saw sce eewiceaaescscicn meses ocecwaceme

The Hungry Pup nies vocciccecccenmecs tenn ceiecere sieitisieias nie cians Se nielaediars

The breaking down sseiesc sw sscencds occ sho 3 shaw dein euee seme scemewss

The death of the starveling.......-.-.---. 2-20-2020 eee 2 eee eee eee
Difficulty of distinguishing early dead pups ..--...----..----..----.----
Many early dead pups disappear...... 2.22. 22. eee ee eee ee eee ee eee
Starving PUPS so. iesesis eee ces dame weiss aver dass ecee pois seisbe veces eck
The: work -of the fOXCG crcicccccawweiieciaw areas wardie apaigiocaria le cis nis waar ememcie
Dead pups, St. George Island ....-.-. 22-222 eee. bee cece eee ee cee eee
Reconstruction of St. George estimates ...........-..--2 22-2. 2202 eee
The detatled estimate. 222: 2.6200 acoc cee nee ecneeccica cecces cass oe sens
PUP StAbiStits. .cciccis, cu cine sescswesecicenensee date sere ceeaes vases eteRete
The count of starved pups in 1897. ...--...-.-2-2 eee eee eee ee ee eee
The removal of the early dead ....-.-. 0.222. ---- 22 eee eens eee cee ee eee
Estimate of starved pups for 1897.....-...-...-- ge ee
Importance of these figures. .-.. 1.2... 22-22. -22 02 eee eee wee ee eee
Destructive effects of pelagic sealing established..............-----..---
The CUMULALIVE CHOCE.. i. 6c cir ccowsseacusemimcedsiocc sioner cee enw sien cies’
Total effect of pelagic sealing. ..-.......-2-. 02-206 eee ee eee eee eee eee
Thereffect since 1883 ... nance nce ciewe dee ee eee aee's cnc eee ces ct eee eens
The effect under the Paris regulations. ........-....-..------.eeeee ee eee

CHAPTER XIJV.—EFFECT OF PELAGIC SEALING ON THE SEAL SKIN INDUSTRY:

International interest in the fur seals...... 2... 22.222 ee ee eee ee eee ee
United States interests ..-.. 222. 0.2. eee eee eee eee eee eee eee
WRUBSIAT: TNLEROBTB 2.556550: cieie:dini since cedis gueieok a apeiaig: baie Anes oo dees ee eele cin

Canadian pelagic sealing interests ........--......-. Sine wieiakideureL Benes He
Valuation of the fleet...-.........- 22-2. -00 2 eee eee eee cee eee
Pelagic sealing suicidal. ......--.. 2.2202 2-2 eee cece ee cence e cece ee eee eee
Effect of the declining catch........2..0022. 222 eee cece eee eee cee eee
Legality of pelagic sealing
Prohibition to Americans ........ 2.20. -22. 0222 eee eee eee cece eee
Distinctly a Canadian industry

XV.—THE RESULTS OF THE PARIS AWARD:

Ay The arbitration, «<2 :d2 2 2siecci tuned eseceeee ss tee taesadwieeddedesleee dee ean
The origin of the fur seal question
The seizure of vessels

Proposed measures of protection
Objection by Camad a ..... 560 sects cowesoeceisee sine Heeaias owen coenee
Renewal of negotiations ....-... 222.2222 eee ee cece eee eens
The counter proposition unsatisfactory
Proposals for arbitration

CHAPTER

CHAPTER

CHAPTER

TABLE OF CONTENTS. 15

XV.—TuHx RESULTS OF THE Paris Awalkb—Continued. Page,
A. The arbitration—Continued.
The: WOdYS VIVON! soci vsiscei canoes: dene secaneisewsi were walls smibh ieleiscn 179
The joint commission of inquiry........... 22-222 22-222 cence eee eee 179
The tribunal.............. 2 asp seeks Yeeweee Meee aeege ses wel Sheree 179
The joint report of the commission...-.....--.--------+---+. +--+ 179
The American contention ...-..--22.-2 202. ee eee ee eee eee eee 180
The British contention... 2... 20. cee. ee eens cee eee cece tees cee ene 180
Their comparative merits ............ satventeainiaitate qe tata dueeere 180
B. The regulations ....... 0.22 00. ce ee cece ee cece cece nee cece seen cece nees 180
ThE: Minor PPOVISIONS . oo:0.0.6 5 soe wes cee e new nesaicnes see seis came 180
The sixty mile ZONG 2.200 conics oc ewes cece euewewacamee sas fo disintssintelons 181
TheiGlos@:SOASOM cn tao siseisis elaine saeawic, alee Stinmemain Meviek oo cee 181
Regulations adapted to work of sealers. ..........-.--2---.-------. 181
The cost of enforcing the regulations.............-..---..----- 182
The failure of the regulations.............-.--2.-+2--0-------- 182
The redeeming feature of the regulations............---------- 182
The purpose of arbitrators ._.....--- 22-2. 22-2 eee cece eee eee 183
The obligation to protect and preserve ....-.-....--.-.0-20---- 5+ 183
XVI.—SUMMaRY OF CONCLUSIONS:
Statements Of fact... auc scnccnnee scenes oe ae weiss cad eaeeweeeene oe ewe 184-186
CHaPTER XVII.—THE REMEDY FOR THE DECLINE OF THE HERD:
Revision of the regulations not adequate ..---...- -.---.--..--0. cess eee 187
Pelagic sealing can not exist without the killing of females.............- 187
Total prohibition of pelagic sealing the only remedy.............-....--- 187
CHAPTER XVIII.—THE FUTURE ov THE HERD:
A reconsideration of the question ..... .... 2.222. -- 2-02 cee ene eee cee eee 188
A basis for the reopening of the subject .........--.. 2.2. ---. e202 eee 188
Findings of fact—the decline .....-. 22.2022 2 eee eee cece ee eee eee ee eee 188
Slow rate of increase in the herd......-...--.. 2-22. ee eee cence eee ee 188
Males can be killed with impunity --...-.. teavinsieia Derars dees eG. stereo eentacmutae 189
Excessive destruction of females.......... dite hegle g cieeleeaa ds saue seg esterece 189
Compromise findings...-..---.---- .----- --2- seen ee cece cence cee eee eee 189
The herd commercially ruined -...-..-...----. ---- - 2-2 cee e eee eee eee ee 189
Pelagic sealing incompatible with preservation .....--.-...-----... eee 189
The skin of the female to be contraband... .......2..---.--------------- 190
The proposed extermination by slaughter on the rookeries............... 190
Importance of the fur seal herd .......-.---. -- 22. eee eee ne cee eee eens 190
A strong nucleus remains ... 2... --- . 226 cee eee eee cece ne eee ene eens 190
XIX.—RECOMMENDATIONS: 2
Inadequacy of past knowledge. .....-...-... -2. eee eee e cece eee ceeees 191
The Government agents not investigators .......-.-. 2... ----4--20--2-+-- 191
Failure to understand conditions .....-..-.-..---- 222 ee eee eee eee eee 191
The -wild-animal policy 20... <2. ci secmecacnwasisweceia cae seen os sone csiies 192
Lack of faith in our methods.... .... 22-206 2220. cee ee nee cee eee eens 192
Wasteful management......-.------2-06 01-2 eee eee eee cee eee tenes 192
The two vital questions yet unknown .........---- +22 see eee eee ee eee 192
The fixing of the quota «2.2. - 1.4 = ssienesseecceieseces cence cees sees pee ee 193
Questions which require continuous study .....--.-..----...---. e222... 193
A fixed quota not desirable -.... 2... 2.2 0222 eee ee ee eee ee cee wees 194
The proportion of males needed . ...... 22. , -2 22 22 cece ee cece e cee eee e ee 194
Minor problems... c2:sateniea geri oe s1estece sinlaieie wrasse Sieie nel See sisate doen eek Sse 194
The herd should be placed in charge of a naturalist.........-..----....-. 194

pen teer: Te Sine id goee oleate cede eacadva ge pk ee enemas: S101

*

Table of killings..........-.. o hee eoeee cise Velde sole RSA SEES RCiE Eel wise ee Oe 197-207
Summary of totals .............. sialavalguayela sjajaleie aad Sears FG waieeniet wee cmeiemian 207

16 TABLE OF CONTENTS.

APPENDIX J,—Statistics—Continuced. ‘ Page.
Killings, Northwest Point-Zapadni .---.-..--- 02 ----ceeeee eee cece ene ee cence 207
Total seals killed—accepted, rejected ........ 22.2.2. eee een twee ee eee 208-209
Killings, 1896 ...---.--.---- +22 eee cece eee meee eter nn teem ee eee ee cnenee 209
Killings, 1897 scccos css secede deena secdecad tues ammo anaes eaieds ects sehen 210
Statistics of land and sea killing ..........-. 2-2-2200 ee eee cee eee eee 211
Daily counts of CoWS ...--.----- +--+. 2-20 eee eee eee cee eee ee cree eee cence 212
Comparative census ace. 0:2 seme se caisicins naaenemimmmacienie aided ese seem canes eee se 213
Pup statistics, 1896..--...--. 2.22. -eee cee eee cee ee eee cece eee eee 213
Dead. pups, P89F si.ccaais: 2’ steinicie aioe yeti che aieist.cccisnchiamicaiais sciald Byer aucrate acu cia ates © siecle Ssicte 214
American fur-seal catch, 1894 - W222 22 22cesc eee cine acieicicie cin cee cee eee ce eee 215
-Canadian fur-seal catch, 1894 -... 2... 2.2... 2222 eee ee cee eee cece cence eee 216
American and Canadian catch, 1895....-....----.-- 2-02 ee ee cee eee eee eee 217
American and Canadian catch, 1896. .... 2.222. 222. eee eee eee eee ee eee 219
American and Canadian catch, 1897.......----.---. 2-22-2222 ee eens eee eee 220-221
Statistics of pelagic catch...-.....2.0.20.22- eee e eee ec eee tees cee e cee eee 222-225
Percentage of females........-.- Sweeney Ge aeisex Ge aes et cee mbes 225
Value of pelagic: fleet: 2 sc... :c0cecmeanesiiiiena ea poie Auta ees eck wis okie chloe heiers 226
Cape: Horn s@als cece seis cecacimccmecraaranrcin mies cies 6 oie slelble aieyaie Sabie vetaier sinw es eictarers 226
Lobos 86al8 2.5.2 cssimsansananes seine ecamcacereaateensoaansasas aol dr bicieieis Tafa iets 226
“APPENDIX II.—Documents.
ModisViVendlnss caccceimen <etemun omee eed acntaimaues/s sais Melsinen cae wis sulle gation 227
Arbitration treaty 2.22. 2. 2cec.c cee mews met enamine nacinecis oa ov Siem cae eeemies 228-231
Award Ofth6 tM DUNB) wcnjcnicec cen weaeeranciermsamameanene Anse amesee.sy semieet 231-234
Thé T6gMIAtiONs . ....:::05.5 0 cece sacar eumnenacis cinsumceeee dase dees sea seein 234
Declarations. caecasisnctesemcan tases eacmoedvaesese. cree mane Shes ee see eeu acne. 236
Alaska Commercial Company’s lease..-.-.-. 22... 222. coos eee cee eee cee eee eee 236
North American Commercial Company’s lease .....-.-.---.--- 2200 ---0- 202 e eee 238
The conference of fur-seal experts .......... .-- 2-22 2 eee eee eee eee cee 240
Joint statement of conclusions ....... 22-22. 00222. eee ee ee cee cee eee eee 241
Furriers’ affidavits regarding sex. ..-.-.-.------- 20. 2-2 ce eee eee eee ee eee 244
The law prohibiting sealing by Americans... .-...-.-.. 22.22. 22--0 eee eee eee 246
APPENDIX ILL. —Illastrations:... «2.225024 005s sone ceewis since scdicecneeccesiteivs Geen ceciges cosas 247

CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION.

THE OCCASION OF THE INQUIRY.

The present inquiry into the condition and needs of the fur-seal herds of the North
Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea is the outgrowth of a belief on the part of the United
States that the regulations formulated by the Paris Tribunal of Arbitration for “ the
protection and preservation of the fur seal” had failed to accomplish their avowed
object. The inadequacy of these regulations was apparent at the close of the first
season of their operation, and each succeeding season has only rendered it more
conspicuous. Failing to secure the cooperation of Great Britain in the immediate
revision of the regulations, the United States in the spring of 1896 accepted the
proposal of Great Britain for a scientific investigation of the whole subject, to be
made independently by each nation, the results of such an investigation to form the
basis.of a reconsideration of the regulations at the end of the specified trial period ot
five years.

THE ACT OF CONGRESS.

The act of Congress under which the present commission of investigation for the
United States was organized is as follows:

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress
assembled, That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and is hereby, authorized to expend, from any
moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, a sum sufficient to provide for the employment
of persons to conduct a scientific investigation, during the fiscal years eighteen hundred and
ninety-six and eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, of the present condition of the fur-seal herds on
the Pribilof, Commander, and Kuril islands in the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea, said amount
not to exceed for both said years the sum of five thousand dollars.

The Secretary is also authorized to employ a stenographer in connection with this investigation
at arate of compensation not exceeding one thousand five hundred dollars per annum, and to pay his
compensation and expenses out of any moneys ‘in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated.

The President is authorized to detail, for the purposes of assisting in this investigation, any
officer or officers or employees of the United States Government, their actual expenses and the
expenses of the person or persons employed under the preceding paragraph to be paid by the
Secretary of the Treasury out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated.

The President may detail a vessel of the United States for the purpose of carrying out this
investigation.

THE COMMISSION.

In accordance with the above act, Dr. David Starr Jordan, president of Leland
Stanford Junior University, was appointed commissioner in charge of the investiga-
tion, and with him were detailed as associates Lieut. Commander Jefferson F. Moser,
commanding the United States Fish Commission steamer Albatross; Dr. Leonhard

17
151842

18 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

Stejneger, curator of reptiles, United States National Museum; Mr. Frederic A.
Lucas, curator of comparative anatomy, United States National Museum, and
Mr. Charles H. Townsend, naturalist of the Albatross. Mr. George Archibald Clark,
president’s secretary of Stanford University, was appointed secretary to the commis.
sion, and Col. Joseph Murray, of Fort Collins, Colo., formerly United States Treasury
agent at St. Paul Island, and reappointed in 1897 to the same position, was made
special assistant.

Great Britain named as her commission of investigation Prof. D’Arcy Wentworth
Thompson, of University College, Dundee, Scotland; Mr. Gerald E. H. Barrett-
Hamilton, of Dublin, Ireland, and Mr. James Melville Macoun, of the Geological
Survey of Canada. The Canadian government detailed Mr. Andrew Halkett to
make special investigation of the operations of the pelagic fleet.

THE SCOPE OF THE WORK.

In his letter of instructions to the commission, under date of June 13, 1896, Hon.
Charles Sumner Hamlin, then Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, outlined the
general scope and purpose of the investigation, as follows:

Your final report will be expected to relate more specifically to the group of seals which resort
to the Pribilof Islands, but the Asiatic herd may be investigated to such extent as seems advisable
in order to afford the opportunity for instituting comparisons from which important deductions may
be reached. F

The principal object of this investigation is tv determine by precise and detailed observations,
first, the present condition of the American fur-seal herd; second, the nature and imminence of the
causes, if any, which appear to threaten its extermination; third, what, if any, benefits have been
secured to the herd through the operation of the act of Congress and act of Parliament based upon
the award by the Paris Tribunal of Arbitration; fourth, what, if any, additional protective measures
on land or at sea, or changes in the present system of regulations as to the closed season, prohibited
zone, prohibition of firearms, etc., are required to insure the preservation of. the fur-seal herd.

Your inquiries should furthermore be extended, in so far as the time and circumstances permit,
to embrace the consideration of all important questions relating to the natural history of the seals,
both at sea and on the islands, with special reference to their bearing upon the sealing industry.

To this general plan of inquiry was appended the following list of specific
questions:

1. The effect of pelagic sealing in the North Pacific Occan and Bering Sea upon the fur-seal
herd, due account being taken of the classes of seals killed.

2. What effect, if any, has the annual removal of bachelor seals, which has taken place on the
Pribilof Islands, had upon the fur-seal herd?

The solution of these two questions involves a study of the eutire subject of the regulations of
the two sexes and the proportion of the male seals required to be preserved in order to maintain the
stability of the herd.

3. Whether killing on land or sea has interfered with the regular habits and occupation of the
islands by the herd, or has operated tu reduce the strength of the seal race as a whole by a natural
selection.

4. The propriety of existing methods of driving seals from the hauling grounds to the killing
grounds, culling, and other practices connected therewith.

5. The cause of the destruction of nursing pups upon the islands.

During the seasons of 1894 and 1895 about 20,000 and 30,000 dead pups, respectively, were found
upon the islands. You should specially consider the causes of their death, whether from starvation
or other cause, preserving specimens whenever practicable.

6. The extent, date, and cause of mortality on the islands of seals of all classes.

SUBJECTS FOR INVESTIGATION, 19

7. The breeding habits of the seals, with special reference to the age at which the females begin
or cease to breed, and the frequency of the breeding, whether annually or at longer intervals.

8. The condition of female seals taken at sea, as to nursing and pregnancy.

9. The distance which the several classes of seals go from the islands and the directions which
they take in search of food or rest at different times during the season.

10. The actual decrease, if any, in the number of seals in each class on the Pribilof Islands
which has occurred during the past year, and also since the year 1890, and since the year 1870. A
careful census of the rookeries should be taken this season for comparison with the enumeration
made in 1895 and previous years.

11, An examination of the question as to the character of the food of fur seals.

12, Whether the Pribilof Island herd of fur seals intermingle with the Asiatic herds of the
Commander or Kuril islands.

13. Whether nursing seals nurse other than their own pups on the islands.

THE INVESTIGATIONS.

Acting under these instructions the commission of investigation have made a
detailed inspection and study of the habits, condition, and needs of the Pribilof
Islands herd, with a comprehensive and almost equally exhaustive study of the herds
of the Commander and Kuril islands. The main results of our investigations for the
season of 1896 have already been published by the Treasury Department in the form
of a preliminary report.*

‘The work during the season of 1896 was sufficient to prove the depleted condition
of the herd and to point out the cause of its threatened destruction. It, however,
showed clearly that all preceding calculations as to the number of seals resorting to
the Pribilof Islands were useless for purposes of comparison, being grossly exaggerated

‘in the early years of American control, and as largely underestimated in the later years
through a misapprehension of the actual conditions of rookery life. It therefore
became impossible to form an accurate estimate of the relative conditions of the
breeding herd or of the rate of its decline. The work of investigation was therefore
continued during the season of 1897, and its supplemental results have been embodied
in condensed form in a second preliminary report} which has recently been published
by the Treasury Department. It now remains for us to bring into the shape of a
final report the completed results of our labors. In accordance with the broad scope
of our instructions we have endeavored, so far a8 opportunity afforded, to consider
“all important questions relating to the natural history of the seals, both at sea and
on the islands,” and the work has therefore become very voluminous.

THE REPORT.

This report naturally falls into four parts or divisions. In Part I the main
phases of the fur-seal controversy have been taken up and discussed at length, such
historical matters as seem necessary for a clear understanding of the matter being
added. In this general discussion the results of more detailed studies on ‘special
topics, which appear in Part III, are freely used and the original studies referred to
for more complete information. Part I, therefore, becomes a complete report in itself
of the investigation so far as the general condition, needs, and possibilities of the
Pribilof Islands herd of fur seal are concerned.

* Observations on the Fur Seals of the Pribilof Islands, Jordan, 1896.
+ Second Preliminary Report of the Bering Sea Fur-Seal Investigations, Jordan, 1897.

20 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

In Part IL is given the minute and detailed journal of daily observations of the
members of the commission. This record, being the chief basis for the conclusions
in the general report, becomes a most important part of the work. To it is appended
an abstract of the record in the log of St. Paul Island for the past twenty-seven
years, in so far as it pertains to the life history, aud habits of the seals.

The third division of the report contains the series of special papers and reports,
already referred to, which deal with various phases of the life history, movements and
the surroundings of the seals, and which have been prepared by different members
of the commission and by various specialists. These take up in minute detail such
phases of the subject as have important bearing on the fur-seal question.

In Part IV are included the reports for the seasons of 1896 and 1897 by Dr.
Stejneger on the Commander and Kuril islands, which form a continuation of his
more extended investigations in the season of 1895, the results of which have already
been published.* ‘To the reports on the Commander herd such reference as has been
necessary to throw light upon the condition of the Pribilof herd have been made in
the general discussion.

ITINERARY, 1896.

The United States Fish Commission steamer Albatross, with the American com.
mission and Professor Thompson and Mr. Macoun, of the British commission, left
Seattle on the morning of June 24, arriving at St. George Island, Bering Sea, on the
afternoon of July 8. July 9,10, and 11 were spent in and about this island making
general observations, photographing the rookeries, and counting the breeding seals.
The time between July 12 and 18 was occupied in similar work on St. Paul Island.

July 18 the Albatross steamed for Unalaska, leaving Mr. Townsend there and
taking Dr. Stejneger to the Commander Islands. July 30 to August 9 were spent
about these islands, August 22 to 26 about the Kurils, and August 28 to September 2
about Robben Island, reaching Hakodate, Japan, September 10.

On July 28 Mr. Lucas, Professor Thompson, and Colonel Murray visited St. George
Island, the first two returning to St. Paul on August 5. Mr. Townsend returned from
Unalaska August 8, and he and Mr. Lucas spent the time until the 12th at sea, on
board the Rush, boarding vessels of the sealing fleet.

August 8 to 14, inclusive, was occupied in counting dead pups on St. Paul.
A similar count was made by Mr. Lucas and Mr. Macoun August 16 to 21 on St.
George.

On August 16 Professor Thompson and Dr. Jordan left St. Paul Island in H. M.S.
Satellite for the Commander Islands, spending August 24 and 25 on the rookeries of
these islands aud returning to St. Paul on September 1, bringing with them Mr.
Barrett-Hamilton, another member of the British commission.

Mr. Townsend left St. Paul on the company’s steamer Homer for San Francisco
August 23, Colonel Murray returned from St. George September 1 and on the fol-
lowing day made experiments in branding pups on Lukanin rookery. Messrs. Lucas
and Barrett-Hamilton spent September 2 to 5 at sea on the Rush, among the pelagic
sealers.

*The Russian Fur Seal Islands, Stejneger; Bull. U. 8. Fish Com., 1896.

ITINERARY. 21

On September 8 Dr. Jordan, Professor Thompson, and Mr. Lucas sailed with the
Rush for Sitka and thence to Seattle, Messrs. Clark, Macoun, Barrett-Hamilton, and
Colonel Murray remaining on St. Paul.

On September 11 further experiments in branding were made. The starved and
starving pups on St. Paul were counted September 28 to October 1. A similar count
was made on St. George October 6. On October 7 Messrs. Clark and Macoun returned
to St. Paul, Mr. Barrett-Hamilton remained on St. George, and Colonel Murray went
to Unalaska. On October 22 the remaining commissioners left the islands on the
Bear and arrived in Port Townsend November 3.

ITINERARY, 1897.

May 22.—Mr. Clark sailed from San Francisco on the North American Company’s
steamer Del Norte May 22. Mr. Bristow Adams accompanied him as artist assistant
to the commission. Col. Joseph Murray, chief agent, Mr. John M. Morton, assistant
agent, and Mr. James M. Macoun, Canadian commissioner, were also passengers on
the vessel. The Del Norte arrived at Wood Island, Kadiak, May 31, and at Dutch
Harbor, Unalaska, on the morning of June 4. ,

June 7.—The Del Norte arrived at St. George Island, remaining at anchor dis-
charging cargo until the evening of the 11th, during which time all the rookeries of
St. George were visited and daily visits were inaile to North rookery, near the village.

June 12.—On the morning of June 12 Mr. Clark was landed on St. Paul Island |
and began daily observation of the breeding rookeries.

July 1.—Mr. Lucas arrived on the Rush at St. Paul July 1, Dr. Stejneger, who
accompanied him to Unalaska, having sailed direct from that port for the Commander
Islands on board the Grant. ,

July 7.—Dr. Stejneger was landed by the Grant on Bering Island.

July 9.—Mr. Lucas examined the rookeries of St. George Island. Mr. Chichester
accompanied him and photographed the rookeries for the United States Fish Com-
mission.

July 12.—The counting of the cows was begun on the rookeries of St. Paul and
the series of photographs for the United States Fish Commission made.

July 25.—Dr. Jordan arrived at St. George Island and, after visiting the rookeries
there, was landed on St. Paul July 28. :

July 30.—The count of live pups was begun on the test rookeries. Kitovi was

counted by Messrs. Clark and Macoun on August 2. This was followed by a count of
’ dead pups on the “death traps” of Zapadni and Tolstoi.

_ August 5.—Professor Thompson arrived at St. Paul on H. M.S. Rainbow from the
Commander Islands.

August 8.—Mr. Macoun left St. Paul on H. M. 8. Pheasant.

August 11.—Dr. Jordan and Mr. Clark left St. Paul Island on the revenue-cutter
Rush, arriving at Seattle in the evening of the 21st.

August 15.—Dr. Stejneger was transferred from Bering Island to Copper Island
on the Russian cruiser Koreets.

August 16.—Professor Thompson left the Pribilof Islands on H. M. 8S. Amphion,

August 18.—Mr. Lucas left St. Paul on the Del Norte, arriving.in San Francisco

August 31.

22 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

August 31.—Dr. Stejneger returned to Bering Island by the Russian cruiser
Yakut, leaving immediately for Petropaulski, where he arrived on September 4.

September 2.—Seals were driven from Reef, Lukanin, and Middle Hill and retained
in the Lagoon inclosure until the 9th.

September 9.—Beginning with this date Colonel Murray, on St. Paul, and Mr.
Judge, on St. George, branded fur-seal pups.

September 11.—Mr. Farmer and assistants in the work of electrical branding left
St. Paul Island on board the revenue-cutter Perry.

September 27.—Dr. Stejneger made a final visit to Bering Island to investigate
the starvation of pups, returning to Petropaulski on October 20, sailing thence home-
ward by way of Japan.

October 15.—Colonel Murray made a final counting of starved pups on Lukanin
and Kitovi rookeries of St. Paul Island.

A more minute daily record of investigations will be found in connection with the
journal of daily observations kept by the commission, and which appears in full
elsewhere in this report.

CHAPTER II.
HISTORICAL SKETCH.

DISCOVERY AND EXPLORATION.

The early discoveries and explorations in and about the waters of Bering Sea
followed as a result of the occupation of the eastern coast of Siberia by the Russians
in the latter part of the seventeenth century. The organized efforts to explore the
unknown seas beyond were begun in the reign of Peter the Great, and were completed
after his death by his successor, the Empress Catherine.

The first important expedition sailed in two vessels from Kamchatka in 1728 under
charge of Vitus Bering. One vessel discovered St. Lawrence Island and sailed through
the straits to the north; the other reached the continent of North America near the
mouth of the River Yukon.

BERING’S SECOND VOYAGE.

Thirteen years afterwards Bering set out with a second expedition which reached
America at Kayak Island, in the vicinity of Mount St. Elias. Upon the homeward
voyage the Commander Islands were discovered, and the ship on which Bering sailed
was wrecked on the island now called Bering. Here Bering died, and, after wintering,
such of the crew as survived made their way to Kamchatka in the spring under the
direction of the famous naturalist, Georg Wilhelm Steller.

DISCOVERY OF COMMANDER AND PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

This second voyage in 1741, making known the valuable fur resources of the
Commander Islands, stimulated the fur trade and led to many expeditions among
the islands of the Aleutian chain in search of other regions inhabited by fur seals.
During these voyages the herd of seals now known to resort to the Pribilof Islands
were encountered on their migrations through the passes of the Aleutian Islands,
and efforts were made to ascertain the shore to which they belonged. They were
followed to the northward and to the southward for this purpose, but without result
until, in 1786, Gerassim Pribilof, a navigator in the employ of one of the Russian
trading companies, finally succeeded in finding the group of islands which now bear
his name and are the home of the American fur seals. The island of St. George, so
called from the name of his vessel, was the first land found. In the following year
St. Paul Island was discovered.

THE RUSSIAN-AMERICAN COMPANY.

Immediately upon the discovery of the Commander Islands in 1741, and later upon
the discovery of the Pribilof Islands in 1786, numerous trading companies began to
develop their lucrative fur resources. The rivalry and competition which naturally
arose nearly resulted in the destruction of the fur-seal herds. To prevent this, the
entire fur trade of the Russian colonies passed into the control of a single powerful

23

24 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

organization, the Russian-American Company. This company was created in the year’
1799, by decree of the Imperial Government, and was vested for a period of twenty
years with exclusive privileges to trade along the shores of northwestern America,
between latitude 55° north and Bering Strait, on the Aleutian and Kuril Islands, and
the islands of the Northeastern or Bering Sea.

ITS ORGANIZATION.

The company’s chief place of business was originally at Irkutsk, but was after-
wards transferred to St. Petersburg. Its shareholders, exclusively Russians, numbered
members of the Imperial family and the high nobility. For purposes of administration
the Imperial Government and the directors of the company jointly appointed a chief
manager, who resided at Sitka, in Alaska, then called New Archangel. The powers
of this manager were absolute within the territory over which the company exercised
jurisdiction. Under him were subinanagers, overseers, and other agents. Reports
of the company’s affairs were required to be submitted to the Imperial Government.
Under its charter the Russian-American Company paid no royalty or rental to the
Government, but as its trade consisted chiefly in the exchange of furs for teas on the
Chinese frontier, the Government received indirectly large sums through the resulting
duties.

THE UKASE OF 1821.

On the 4th of September, 1821, the Emperor Alexander I issued an edict known
as the ukase of 1821, which provided for a set of rules and regulations controlling the
boundaries of navigation and trade on the coasts and waters over which the Russian-
American Company exercised jurisdiction. These regulations provided for the
prohibition of all foreign vessels from landing on or approaching within 100 Italian
miles of the coasts and islands belonging to Russia.* Shortly after the issuance of this
decree the Emperor renewed for an additional term of twenty years the charter of
rights and privileges of the Russian-American Company.

The ukase of 1821 involved Russia in a controversy, on the one hand with the
United States and on the other band with Great Britain, which resulted in the treaties
ot 1824 and 1825, the former between the United States and Russia and the latter
between Great Britain and Russia. These treaties left undisturbed the right of strict
control claimed by Russia “over all interior waters and over all waters inclosed by
Russian territory, such as the Sea of Okhotsk, Bering Sea or the Sea of Kamchaika,
as well as all gulfs, bays, and estuaries.” t

THE SECOND AND THIRD CHARTERS.

The second charter of the Russian-American Company was revised in 1829 to
conform to the treaties of 1824-25 and its provisions reconfirmed. In 1842 it was
again renewed for a period of twenty years, with all its exclusive franchises and
privileges. This third charter expired in 1862 and was uot renewed. The company,
however, continued to operate under it, pending a decision of the question of renewal.
But before a decision was reached the territory of Alaska was transferred to the
United States by the treaty of 1867.

* Appendix to case of U. S., Fur Seal Arb., p. 16 ff.
+ Appendix to case of U. 8., Fur Seal Arb., Letter No. 10, p. 63.

HISTORY OF THE FUR SEAL ISLANDS. 25
THE COMPANY’S MANAGEMENT.

At once upon assuming control of the islands the Russian-American Company
put a stop to tie ruthless slaughter which threatened the fur-seal herds with destruc-
tion. They, however, attempted to limit the extent rather than to reform the charac-
ter of the slaughter. They still continued to kill males and females alike. The injury

‘to the herd naturally continued, and in 1806 and 1807 it was found nécessary to
suspend killing in order to give the herd an opportunity to recuperate. In 1808 killin g
was resumed, but still without proper regard for the conditions of seal life.*

INJURIOUS METHODS.

Gradually, however, the habits and interests of the herd began to be better known
and cared for. In 1820, Yanovsky, an agent of the Imperial Government, after an
inspection of the fur-seal rookeries, called attention to the practice of killing the
young animals, leaving only the adults as breeders. He writes: “If any of the young
breeders are not killed by the autumn they are sure to be killed in the following
spring.”t From this course of action he concludes that the industry decreases every
year in volume, and may in the course of time be extinguished entirely. Probably as
aresult of this, in 1822, as Veniaminof tells us, provision was made for the reservation
of young seals for breeding purposes. This provision was hardly sufficient, however,
to accomplish the desired end so long as females of any age were killed. As a natural
result, another crisis in the history of the herd was reached in 1834, But it is not clear
whether this was due entirely to indiscriminate slaughter or to the combination of
this with disaster resulting from the continuance of the ice floes about the islands far
into the summer, preventing the cows from landing to give birth to their young and
grinding them to pieces in the ice itself. This latter possibility exists as a tradition
among the Aleuts, though in their minds it may have been confused with a subse-
quent catastrophe of a similar character recorded by the manager of St. Paul Island
in 1859. In any event, it seems very clearly established that in the year 1834 the
herd was in a most precarious condition. The natives were not even allowed to take
seals for food, and for a time all killing was suspended.

PROTECTION OF THE FEMALES.

At this time it seems to have become fully understood that if the herd was to
continue its females must be protected.§ Accordingly from this time on the taking of
seals was limited strictly to the males, “ But the managers of the fur-seal herds had
still something to learn. The requirements of the Chinese market were the only guide
to the class of skins desired, and as all sizes were taken the killing of males included all
ages from old bulls down to the gray pups. Gradually this wasteful killing stopped.
The bulls were no longer taken and the killing of gray pups was limited to such as
were needed for food and oil. ||

*Veniaminof, Trans. Elliott, Monograph, Fur Seal Isds., 1881, p. 140.

+ Appendix to case of U. S., Fur Seal Arb., Letter No. 6, p. 58.

{Appendix to case of U. 8., Fur Seal Arb., Letter No. 29, p. 87. The dire results here predicted
seem not to have been felt by the herd.

§ Appendix to-case of U. §., Fur Seal Arb., Letter No. 23, p. 82.

|| Appendix to case of U. 8., Fur Seal Arb., Letter No, 24, p. 82.

26 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.
THE HERD AT THE CLOSE OF RUSSIAN CONTROL.

Under these gradually perfected methods of operation the herd seems to have
prospered and increased so that in the year 1864, as we learn from the instructions*
to the agents of the Russian-American Company on the islands it was considered
possible to take annually 70,000 seals on St. Paul Island alone. The number for
St. George Island is not given. This in brief is the condition of the fur-seal herd as it
came into the possessiontof the United States. In definite facts and data there is but
little; but it may be taken for granted in the light of subsequent events that the herd
was in a condition of normal increase.

THE INTERREGNUM.

The year 1868, or the season following the transfer of Alaska from Russian to
American control, is generally known as the “interregnum.” It was impossible
immediately to provide an administrative system for the Territory, and a period of
lawlessness reigned on the islands. The state of affairs is thus described by Prof.
William H. Dall,j who visited the islands during the year:

PROFESSOR DALL’S NOTES.

During my visit to St. George Island in 1868, this vast territory of Alaska had just fallen into
the possession of the United States, and the Government had not yet fairly established more than a
beginning of an organization for its management as a whole, without mentioning such details as the
Pribilof Islands. In consequence of this state of affairs private enterprise, in the form of companies
dealing in furs, had established numerous sealing stations on the islands. During my stay, except on
« single occasion, the driving from the hauling grounds, the killing, and skinning was done by the
natives in the same manner as when under the Russian rule, each competing party paying them so
much per skin for their labor in taking them. Despite the very bitter and more or less unscrupulous
competition among the various parties, all recognized the importance of preserving the industry and
protecting the breeding grounds from molestation, and for the most part were guided by this
conviction.

THE NUMBER OF SEALS KILLED.

During this year a very great number of seals were killed on theislands. Estimates
vary, but it is evident that the number amounted to not far from 300,000. As this
subject has been frequently referred to and strenuous efforts made to connect the
heavy killing of this year with the subsequent decline of the herd, we feel justified
in quoting here at length the statement of Mr. Osborne Howes, now editor of the
Boston Herald, who spent the summer of 1868 on St. George Island as agent of one
of the companies. He says:

MR. HOWES’S NOTES.

I left San Francisco early in March on board a schooner cleared by Messrs. Parrott & Co., of
that city, for a trading voyage in Bering Sea and the coast of Kamchatka. Our schooner put into
Sitka on the way up and took on board a number of natives, sailing from Sitka to the Shumagin
Islands and thence into Bering Sea. It was the first vessel to reach the island, arriving at St. George
in the latter part of April. I was landed with the goods, and the schooner continued her voyage
toward the coast of Kamchatka. I immediately secured possession of the salt house and the services
of the natives for the season.

* Appendix to case of U. S., Fur Seal Arb., Letter No. 31, p. 89.
t Fur Seal Arb., vol. 2, p. 132.

METHODS OF TAKING FUR SEALS. 27

' THE TRADING COMPANIES.

In a few days a schooner representing the firm of Hutchinson, Kohl & Co. also landed repre-
sentatives on St. George Island. Not long after the arrival of this second schooner a third, in the
interest of the firm of Williams & Haven, landed men on the opposite side of the island, at Zapadni
rookery. This firm had headquarters on St; Paul Island. It was impossible for these separate
interests to carry on their operations independently, and they therefore placed their business under

-my charge. Drives were made alternately for the ditferent companies and the natives employed
in turn.

Before the season was well under way a fourth expedition was landed on the south side of the
island across the point from East rookery. There were three men in the party, and they set about
killing the seals on the rookery without driving them. The natives objected to this because it involved
the killing of females. The men were remonstrated with, but were obdurate. One was bribed off by
the promise of double wages, but the other two continued their work. They were finally taken
prisoners and sent off to Sitka by the first schooner that touched at the island. With them were
returned the men brought from Sitka, who -were found to be unsuited for the work. When the
captain of the schooner whose men were interfered with arrived in the fall for his cargo of skins he
was pacified by being allowed to take the results of one big drive made by the natives for his benefit:

THE WORK OF SEALING.

The work of sealing was carried out by the natives under the direction of their chief. Repre-
sentatives of the different companies did not concern themselves with the work of driving or killing.
They simply paid the natives so much per skin—30 to 35 cents—payment being made in trade goods.
The natives evidently followed the traditions of earlier days in their work. They seemed very jealous
and careful of the seals, avoiding any disturbance of the breeding grounds. Their objection to the
methods of killing on East rookery was based upon the ground that if the females were killed there
would be no seals in the years to come. It is my belief that not a single female was killed on St.
George Island during the season, except by the three men above mentioned. Occasionally a female
was included in the drive, but it was quickly detected by the natives and released.

Most of the seals killed were taken from North rookery and Zapadni. No-drives were made from
Staraya Artel. Only occasional drives were made from East rookery. All the animals were killed on
the ground below the village.

METHODS OF DRIVING.

The method of driving was to gather up the pods of bachelors from the different hauling grounds
and drive them back from the rookeries, dividing them into pods of 150 to 250, and bringing them
thus into the village. As the pods were being formed and driven in, the small and large seals
unsuited for killing were worked out and released. Each man knocked down his own allowance of
seals and skinned them afterwards, Sixty was considered the usual day’s work fora man. Practi-
cally all the seals driven up were killed. Not more than one seal in ten was rejected. The rule of the
companies was that skins too small, too large, or cut would not be accepted or paid for. The
sealers were therefore very careful in the work. A day’s killing averaged from 800 to 1,800. There
were about thirty available men among the natives.

Of the conditions on St. Paul I heard only indirectly through the representatives of Williams
& Haven, who in their work were evidently directed by instructions from the head station on St.
Paul, where the same methods were probably employed. The Williams & Haven and Hutchinson,
Kohl & Co.’s interests were supreme on St. Paul Island, and they divided the rookeries between them.

To the best of my recollection 115,000 were taken on St. George and 250,000 on St. Paul during
the season. Prior to this season it was understood that for several years no seals had been killed. In
1869 no skins were taken, except a few from seals killed for food for the natives. The privilege of
taking these skins was given to Hutchinson, Kohl & Co., who, owning the principal salt houses and
stores on the islands, were allowed to visit them to care for their property. Parrott & Co. senta
schooner to St. George to take off the skins which had been left over, but they took no new skins.

RUSSIAN METHODS.

The testimony of Mr. Howes, corroborating the evidence of Professor Dall, is
valuable for a double purpose. It gives us an idea of the final methods of handling

28 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

the seals which the Russians had evolved. It is evident that in these operations of.
1868 the natives were carrying out rules and methods which had become traditional
with them. One of these rules, as we learn from instructions to the officer in charge
of the islands in the year 1853, was the strict protection of females.*

THE KILLING NOT INDISCRIMINATE.

We are also justified in assuming that the killing as practiced in 1868 did not in
any way injure the herd, being confined as heretofore to the killing of the bachelors.
That so large a number were killed is in part accounted for by reduction in killing
in the years immediately prior to the transfer of the islands to the United States. A
surplus of the larger animals thus saved remained to be gathered in. It is further
evident that the killing extended down to the younger seals, doubtless including all
or most of the two-year-olds. This latter fact is given support by the absence of any
regular killing for the year 1869 and the small quota of 23,000 only which was taken
jn 1870. We are not aware that the usual number of seals could not have been
obtained in these years, but it may well have been that the quota for 1869 and 1870
had been anticipated to large extent in the year 1868. This much, however, remains
certain, that the absence of large killings in 1869 and 1810 removed any possible
injury which might have resulted to the herd from the too close killing of bachelors in
1868, and the fact that for fifteen years subsequent to 1870, 100,000 and more males
were to be obtained on the hauling grounds of the islands shows conclusively that not
only were the breeding females not disturbed in 1868, but furthermore that the supply
of male life was not so reduced as in any way to affect the life of the herd.

AMERICAN MANAGEMENT.

In the spring of 1869 Dr. H. H. McIntyre, the representative of the United States
Government, landed upon the island, establishing the authority of the Government,
and taking the necessary steps for the protection of the rookeries.

The period of lawlessness which marked the season of 1868 was thus terminated
in 1869 by Dr. McIntyre. He was appointed in 1868 and endeavored to reach his
destination in the fall of that year, but on account of the lateness of the season he
was forced to winter at Sitka.

THE ALASKA COMMERCIAL COMPANY.

In the meantime the Government had under consideration the most advantageous
method of managing its fur-seal industry. After a thorough consideration of all
recommendations and suggestions bearing upon the matter, it was decided to lease
the islands to a single reliable company under the immediate supervision and control
of agents of the Treasury Department, duly commissioned for that purpose. In
accordance with this decision in July, 1870, Congress passed an act authorizing this
course of procedure, and immediately afterwards the Secretary of the Treasury
advertised for bids for the lease of the seal fisheries for a period of twenty years.

Of the numerous offers received from various companies and associations, that of
the Alaska Commercial Company, with a capital of $2,000,000, was accepted as the
one most likely to promote the “interests of the Government, the native inhabitants,
the parties heretofore engaged in the trade, and the protection of the seal fisheries.”

* Appendix to Case of U. S., Fur Seal Arb., Letter No. 23, p. 82.

LEASES OF THE FUR SEAL ISLANDS. 29

THE FIRST LEASE.

Under the terms of this lease the company were given the right to take 100,000
male seals over one year of age during the months of June, July, September, and
October of each year. In 1874, by act of Congress, the number of seals to be taken
and the time of sealing was made subject to the control of officers of the Treasury
Department, and killing after August 1 was limited to the necessities of the food supply
of the natives. The use of firearms or of other methods of killing, tending to drive
the seals away, was prohibited, as was also the killing of the animals in the water.

In consideration for the skins so taken the lessees. agreed to pay to the Treasury
of the United States an annual rental of $55,000 for the islands, and a revenue tax of
$2.625 on each skin taken and shipped by them. In addition they were to furnish
free of charge to the inhabitants of the islands each year 25,000 dried salmon, 60 cords
of firewood, and a sufficient quantity of salt and preserved meats. The company was
also to satntatte a school on each island for at least eight months of the year, and
were forbidden to sell any distilled spirits or spirituous liquors.

THE NORTH AMERICAN COMMERCIAL COMPANY.

Under the provisions of this lease the affairs of the islands were conducted until
the close of the season of 1889, when it expired. The Treasury Department again
advertised for bids and again leased the islands for a term of twenty years to a new
company, the North American Commercial Company, their offer having been accepted
as most advantageous to the Government.

THE PRESENT LEASE.

The new lease differs-from the old to the advantage of the Government in the
following points: The rental of the islands is fixed at $60,000. The tax of each skin
is $9.624. Eighty tons of coal are furnished the natives. The quantity of salmon,
salt, and other provisions to be furnished can be fixed by the Secretary of the
Trensuny: The company furnishes free dwellings, churches, physicians, medicines,
employment to the natives, and cares for the aged, the widows, and the orphans.
The quota was fixed at 60,000 for the first year, and has since been subject to the
regulation of the Secretary of the Treasury.

THE DECLINE IN THE BACHELOR HERD.

During the‘ closing years of the lease of the Alaska Commercial Company a
marked decrease in the fur-seal herd had begun to be noted. In the opening year of
the new company’s lease the depleted condition of the herd became apparent in the
reduction to one-fifth in the original quota of 100,000 skins. Various factors entered:
into this decline, which it is not necessary here to discuss fully. These, as well
as the original cause of decrease in the herd, were at best but imperfectly understood
at the time.

LAND AND SEA KILLING.

To make the matter clear in the briefest possible space, at this point it is necessary
to review somewhat the history of the herd. Conjointly with the killing on land, as
practiced by the Russians and Americans, there had been going on from time imme-
morial killing of another sort now known as pelagic sealing. This was carried on at

30 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

first by the Indians off the Northwest Coast, going out in their canoes to capture the
seals in the course of their winter migration. The number of animals so taken was
at first merely nominal, and it was not until about the year 1879, when schooners were
first introduced to transport the canoes to their field of operations and care for them
there, that the industry began to make itself felt on the herd. The rise of pelagic
sealing thereafter was rapid, and in 1880 it was extended into Bering Sea. From
this time on the killing at sea steadily increased, and as the bulk of the catch was
composed of females the operations of pelagic sealing necessarily produced an
injurious effect on the herd, which disclosed itself first in the diminished product of the
hauling grounds already noted.

THE EXTENSION OF SEALING TO BERING SEA

At the first entry of sealing vessels into Bering Sea the United States acted on
the precedent established by Russia in the Ukase of 1821, seized a number of the
sealing vessels and confiscated them. Pelagic sealing being largely a Canadian
industry, this action at once started a controversy with Great Britain which extended
over the period from 1886 to 1890. Meantime the injurious effect of the slaughter of
large numbers of females was more and more evident in the herd, until in 1890 it became
alarming, the number of killable seals having decreased to one-fifth the usual number.

From the discussion of the seizures of Canadian vessels and the efforts of the
United States to secure protection to its fur-seal herd, resulted a treaty, in the spring
of 1892, remanding the whole matter to the consideration of a tribunal of arbitration
which should pass upon the legal questions involved, and if need be provide such
measures as were necessary for the proper protection and preservation of the herd.
Asa basis for such action, provision was made for a thorough investigation of the
condition of the herd by a joint commission of experts.

THE TRIBUNAL OF ARBITRATION.

This Tribunal of Arbitration met at Paris in the summer of 1893, and as a result
of its labors a set of regulations was formulated, the essential features of which
were the establishment of a closed zone of 60 miles in Bering Sea about the islands
and a closed season, from May 1 to August 1, within which all sealing was prohibited.

THE REGULATIONS.

During the pendency of the deliberations of the Tribunal, pelagic sealing was in
part suspended. The season of 1894 witnessed the first operations of the regulations,
and the resumption of pelagic sealing under them showed an increased catch over the
unrestricted killing of 1891. The United States became convinced at the close of the
first season that the regulations were inadequate. A protest was entered and Great
Britain was asked to consider their immediate revision. At the close of each subse-
quent season this protest and request were again renewed. Failing to obtain such
reconsideration the United States early in 1896 accepted the proposal of Great
Britain to prepare for a reexamination of the regulations at the end of the five-year
trial period, by subjecting the whole question to independent scientific investigation
on the part of the two Governments. The present report is the outcome of this
investigation so far as the United States is concerned.

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CHAPTER III.
THE HOME OF THE FUR SEALS.

A. THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.
THEIR GEOGRAPHY.

The little group of rocky islets known as the Pribilof Islands, from the name of
their discoverer, is situated in the Bering Sea, in latitude 57° north and longitude
170° west. They are isolated from other land, the nearest point to the south being
Unalaska Island, at a distance of 214 miles. Cape Newenham, on the mainland of
Alaska, at a distance of 309 miles, is the nearest point to the eastward, while St.
Matthew Island, 220 miles away, is the first land to the northward.

The islands are of volcanic origin, and are five in number—St. Paul, St. George,
Otter, Walrus, and Sivutch Rock. The first two only are of importance. The last
three are small islets lying about St. Paul Island and within about 7 miles of its
shores. The main islands are separated hy about 40 statute miles of water.

ST. PAUL ISLAND.

St. Paul, the largest island, lies in latitude 57° 07’ north and longitude 170° 17:
west.* It has an extreme length from northeast to southwest of 134 miles. Its
maximum width is 73 miles. It has a shore line of about 454 miles and an area
of 43 square miles. The surface of the island is in the main low. Rocky plateaus
alternate with low valleys, some of which contain ponds of fresh water. One of
these covers a space upward of 2 miles in length by half a mile in width, but is very
shallow. It is shut in by sand dunes, and lies along the narrow neck which joins
the rocky headland called Northeast Point with the main body of the island. In the
southeast end of the island is a salt-water lagoon, covering some 169 acres in extent,
and connected with the sea by a narrow channel some 75 to 100 feet in width. The
average elevation of the upland areas is not more than 150 feet, but a number of cinder
cones and voleanic craters rise to varying heights in the interior portion of the island.
Bogoslof attains an elevation of 590 feet, but Rush Hill on the west shore is the
highest, 665 feet. A number of shallow bays indent the coast line, bordered by long
stretches of sandy beach, behind which are areas of shifting sand dunes; but for the
most part the shores are bowlder-strewn and rugged, rising in sheer cliffs at the

headlands.
ST. GEORGE ISLAND.

St. George lies to the southeast of St. Paul at a distance of about 40 miles, in
latitude 56° 36’ north and longitude 169° 32’ west.* It has a total length of 12 miles
and a width of 44 miles. The area is about 35.9 square miles, and it has a coast line
of 30 miles. The central portion of the island is composed of an elevated ridge
containing one peak over 900 feet in height. The general altitude of the island

* Latitude and longitude of the village. a

32 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

is about three times as great as that of St. Paul. The coast line is for the most part
a succession of steep, rocky cliffs, breaking at intervals into short stretches of rocky
slope. High Bluff, on the north shore, with an elevation of over 1,000 feet being the
highest. The perpendicular cliffs and crevices among the bowlders in the upland
portions of the island are the homes of innumerable sea birds. There are practically
no sand beaches on the island, and the shore space available for rookery purposes is
limited. By blasting off the cliffs it might, however, be greatly extended.

OTTER ISLAND.

Otter Island is situated on the south of St. Paul Island and about 6 miles distant
from it. It is said to be the only island of the group which shows evidence of recent
volcanic action. Its area is very small, being less than 115 acres in extent. Its shores
are for the most part inaccessible. At the western end a cinder cone rises in a grassy
slope to the height of 300 feet and drops off in a sheer cliff ou the seaward side. At
the eastern end is the pit of a crater, connected by a subterranean passageway with
the shore. On the northern face the surface of the island slopes down into a low,
rocky beach of limited extent, the only one on the island.

WALRUS ISLAND.

Walrus Island lies about 7 miles to the east of St. Paul. It is a narrow ledge of
lava rock about half a mile in length. It reaches no degree of elevation, and in
stormy weather the breakers wash over it. It is the home of countless numbers of
sea birds and was formerly frequented by walruses. Sea lions occasionally land there.

SIVUTCH ROCK.

Sivutch Rock is a little crescent-shaped rocky islet about a third of a mile off the
southern shore of St. Paul. Its area is insignificant, but the island attains some
degree of importance through the presence of a small fur-seal rookery, which fills its
available space.

NO GOOD HARBORS.

There are no harbors of any kind about the islands of the Pribilof group. The
bays are small and very shallow. In calm weather, however, there is anchorage for
small vessels at various points. In stormy weather it is impossible to load or unload
vessels of any kind with safety. Dangerous reefs are found about both islands, and
navigation in their vicinity is subject to many risks.

THE CLIMATE,

The climate of the Pribilof Islands in summer is damp and chilly. Dense fogs
almost constantly envelop them, rain falls frequently, and the sun is seldom seen.
The summer temperature ranges between 40° and 45° F., reaching its highest point in
August. During June, July, and August but few clear days occur. In September
the cold winds sweep away the moisture from the atmosphere and bright days become
more numerous. On a clear day the islands are extremely picturesque. Toward the
end of October the storms become more violent, and in November winter begins, the
change of season being very rapid.

LIFE ON THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. 33

During the winter much snow falls, but it is swept away by the high winds which
prevail throughout the season. The winter temperature ranges from 22° to 26° F.
The waters about the islands do not freeze, but toward the end of the winter the drift
ice from the north floats down and incloses the islands, piling high upon the beaches
and in the bays under the action of the surf. It remains packed about the islands
until about the Ist of May, when it gradually disappears under the approaching
change of season.

VEGETATION.

The surface of the elevated portions of both islands is in summer clothed with
moss and grasses, in which are surprising numbers of showy wild flowers. Couspic-
uous among them are the Iceland poppy, monkshood, species of lupine, betony,
chrysanthemum, senecio, saxifrage, harebell, and many others. The lower parts
.of the islands are covered with a soil of black lava sand, in which flourishes a coarse,
rank, useless grass—the wild rye grass (Elymus mollis). Mingled with it is the coarse
putchki, a species of Archangelica, used by the Aleuts as a spice. The abandoned
hauling grounds. of the fur seals are rapidly invaded by two species of slender,
light-green grasses, Glyceria angustata and Deschampsia cespitosa, known as “seal
grass.” These contrast sharply with the coarse, dark-green rye grass and a luxuriant
species of wormwood, neither of which grow on land where seals have regularly
hauled. About the rookeries themselves the movements of the animals virtually
destroy all vegetation. There are no trees or shrubs. A small, dwarfish willow and
a species of crowberry are the only approach to them that are to be found.

THE MAMMALS.

The principal mammals of the Pribilof Islands are the fur seals, which have
their breeding grounds on the rocky beaches of St. Paul and St. George islands. At
certain points on the islands are sea-lion rookeries, and numbers of the animals are
at all times to be seen lying about among the fur seals. A smaller number of hair-seals
also frequent points about St. Paul Island. Formerly sea otters and walruses were
not uncommon, but they are now practically extinct. The blue fox is common to
both islands, and mingled with the blue foxes are a limited number of white ones.
Lemmings are found on St. George and shrews on both islands.

THE BIRDS.

Myriads of sea birds breed on the rocky cliffs of St. George Island. Among these
-are the cormorants, murres, and chutchkis, sea parrots and gulls. Walrus Island
is literally covered with these birds in the nesting season. Their eggs are gathered
by the natives in boat loads in the spring. About the little ponds in the interior
of the islands sandpipers abound. Phalaropes are numerous in the summer. Teal
and mallard ducks are found in the fall. Geese in limited numbers alight on St. Paul
to feed on the berries near north shore. White owls have been found on both islands.

INHABITANTS.

& :

At the time of the discovery of the Pribilof Islands, in 1786, they were uninhab-
ited. In order to obtain laborers to handle the seals, natives were brought over from

151843

34 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

the Aleutian Islands, and the first colony was established on St. George Island, near
Staraya Artel rookery, so called from this fact, the name meaning “old guild” or
association. Other villages were afterwards established on this island at Zapadni and
at Garden Cove.

In the course of time men were carried in similar manner to St. Paul Island, the
Aleutian settlements at Unalaska and Atka being chiefly drawn upon. The first
settlement on St. Paul was established at the foot of the large shallow Mishalke Lake
at the northern end of the island. Later settlements were located at Polovina and at
Zapadni of St. Paul.

CONDITIONS IN RUSSIAN DAYS.

When, in 1799, the Russian-American Company came into control of the islands,
the various settlements on St. Paul were grouped into one at Polovina. Afterwards
they were transferred to the present location of the village, in order to be near the
most advantageous landing places. In like manner, the villages at Garden Cove,
Zapadni, and Staraya Artel were gradually broken up and the inhabitants grouped
on the present site of the village of St. George, on the northern face of the island.

Of the condition of the Aleuts in these early days of Russian control Mr. Elliott
says:

They were mere slaves, without the slightest redress from any insolence or injuries which their
masters might see fit in petulance or brutal orgies to inflict upon them. Here they lived and died,
unnoticed and uncared for, in large barracoons, half underground and dirt roofed, cold and filthy.

This is probably not an extreme picture of the condition of the natives in Russian
times. The Aleuts at the present time look back to these as their halcyon days; but
this feeling may exist as the memory of indulgences which they are forbidden now.
It is certain that but little thought or care was bestowed upon them by their Russian
managers beyond seeing that they did the required work.

CONDITIONS UNDER AMERICAN CONTROL.

Under American control matters changed. The Alaska Commercial Company
early in the period of its lease erected suitable frame cottages, furnished with the
substantial comforts of life, which took the place of the cheerless and insanitary sod
houses, or barrabaras. A physician with the necessary medical supplies was stationed
on each island to care for the wants of the people. Churches were erected and pre-
sided over by priests of the Russian-Greek faith. Schools in which the English
branches are taught were established. Wood and coal took the place of the filthy
seal-blubber and driftwood fuel. The former exclusive diet of seal meat was supple-
mented by many of the staples and even luxuries of civilized living.

THE HANDLING OF THE SEALS.

All the work of driving, slaughtering, and skinning the seals, as well as the curing
of the skins, is done by the Aleuts under the direction of the agents of the lessees.
They are paid by the lessees for this labor at so much per skin. Under the old lease
this was 40 cents, and for the 100,000 skins regularly taken this gave a fund of
$40,000 for the support of a total population of between 400 and 450, of both sexes
and all ages. At the present time the price is 50 cents a skin, but the number
of skins taken has greatly decreased.

THE ALEUT PEOPLE. 35

The earnings of the natives are treated as a community fund, which is distributed
to the workers in several classes, according to their skill or experience. The amount
due to each family is credited to them on the books of the lessees and is drawn upon
by them through the island store as it is needed.

THE SUPPORT OF THE ALEUTS.

When, in 1890, the quota of seal skins fell to about one-fifth its former number, and
when it was still further reduced under the modus vivendi of 1891-1893, the income
of the Aleuts became so greatly reduced as to be inadequate to meet their wants. To
cover the deficiency the Government has each year since that time appropriated an
additional sum of money for their support. The liberal, not to say prodigal, character
of this allowance can be judged by the fact that for the season of 1896 these people
exhausted, in addition to their earnings, of about $16,000, from the taking of seal and
fox skins, the full Congressional appropriation of $19,500. They pay nothing for rent,
taxes, or for medical attendance, and during the greater part of the year their meat
is free. There are few laboring communities whose people can boast of such generous
conditions of support.

The original colony of Aleuts transported to the islands numbered, according to
Mr. Elliott, 137 souls. To these additions were made from time to time. In 1871
Captain Bryant tells us that the population of the two islands numbered 426 persons,
of both sexes and all ages. No new accessions have been made lately, and the
population has dwindled to slightly léss than 300 at the present time.

The Aleuts are a gentle and tractable class of people. They are courteous in
their manners and unusually skillful in their work. They have the usual aboriginal
weaknesses for rum and the vices of civilization, but as a result of the isolated
position of the islands, and the strict control which the Government is able, through
its officers, to exercise over them, the people of St. Paul and St. George are a
respectable and orderly class.

THE GOVERNMENT AGENTS.

The interests of the Government on the islands are in charge of agents of the
Treasury Department, who supervise the work of the natives, look after their wants,
and enforce the authority of the Government. The natives are allowed, in large
measure, nominally to govern themselves. They have a head chief and second chief,
who deal directly with the people, and are in turn dealt with by the Government
agents. The relations of the people with one another are controlled by a council of
the wise men, chosen, like the chiefs, by the people themselves.

On the whole, the lot of the Aleut on the Pribilof Islands is an unusually favored
one. He works but a few months in the summer and is liberally fed and clothed by
the Government. If the seal herd is again restored to its former capacity, he may in
time even become wealthy. The chief social drawback in his relations lies in the want
of consecutive work. The lack of anything to do through the long winter induces
laziness and gambling. Even useless work if continuous would be a real boon to the

Aleut.

36 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

B. THE FUR-SEAL ROOKERIES.
THE BREEDING GROUNDS.

Wherever there is a rocky beach of some breadth or a sloping rocky hill on the
Pribilof Islands the fur seals have located their breeding grounds, or “‘rookeries,” as
they are called. The best type of rookery ground is a moderate slope covered with
coarse rocks and descending to a beach of shingle or rounded bowlders. On these
beaches their gregarious habits cause the animals to crowd together in close-set
masses. The limits of the rookeries are defined by abrupt cliffs or headlands, which
cut off the beaches, by inaccessible cliffs that rise in the rear and by intervening sand
beaches. ‘They seldom exteud far back from the sea under any condition, as access
to the water is an essential feature.

THE HAULING GROUNDS.

Adjoining the breeding grounds and an essential part of each rookery are what
are known as the “ hauling grounds” of the bachelors, frequented by the young males
of the ages of 5 years and under, these classes being strictly excluded from the breed-
ing grounds. These hauling grounds are usually located on sandy beaches bordering
the breeding grounds or on the flat “parade” grounds above and in the rear of the
harems. In most cases the bachelors are forced to encircle the end of the breeding
grounds to reach their locations in the rear, but in some cases neutral strips or run-
ways are left among the harems through which the bachelors haul out unmolested.
Not infrequently the bachelors seek to use runways which are not recognized as
neutral, and they are summarily thrown out by the harem masters. This leads to
confusion and fighting among the bulls, and the consequent destruction of females
and young pups. In many cases the hauling grounds are at a considerable distance
from the breeding grounds, but even where they are located immediately in the rear
of the harems, a butter of idle or reserve bulls keeps them at a safe distance. The
young males have a wholesome and well-defined fear of the bulls, which experience
amply justifies.

In the present depleted condition of the fur-seal herd much ground once occupied
has been abandoned. The tendency of the animals, in obedience to their gregarious
instincts, is to crowd together, and as their numbers decrease the rookeries shrink
up. With the restoration of the herd these abandoned grounds will undoubtedly be
reoccupied. It is probable that the occupation of absolutely new ground could only
result from an overcrowded condition of the rookeries. Not all the available space on
the islands was ever ‘occupied even in the time of greatest expansion, as there are
long stretches of suitable beach line on which seals have never been known to breed.

THE ST. PAUL ROOKERIES.

The following is a brief description of the breeding rookeries of St. Paul Island,
beginning at Northwest Point :

1. Vostochni* (eastern).—This rookery lies on the northern face of the venuinls of
Northeast Point. It extends from the vicinity of Cross Hill, at the termination of the

* The different fur-seal rookeries have for the most part retained their picturesque Russian names,
It is very desirable that they should continue to do so, and it would be appropriate if Russian equiva-
lents were substituted for the few English names which have come intv use. In the spelling of the
Russian names we have followed the present accepted methods of transliteration under the advice of

THE ROOKERIES OF ST. PAUL. 37

great sand beach known as “North Shore,” to the tip of the point itself. It occupies
for the most part beaches of coarse bowlders, with occasional outcroppings of harems
on the flat ground above. The line of harems is frequently broken by short stretches
of sand beach, which are used by the bachelors as runways to reach their hauling
grounds. On the seaward slope of Hutchinson Hill, which forms the highest part of
the peninsula, the rookery becomes greatly widened and closely massed. Late in the
season harems were even found at the summit of the hill. 2

From this point to the end of the rookery the harems scatter along the bowlder
beach in a narrow band. About midway to the end is a small sea-liou rookery. At
the eastern angle of Hutchinson Hill and on the sand beach behind Cross Hill are the
most important hauling grounds of the rookery, though at the present time, owing to
the numerous breaks in the lines of breeding seals, small pods of bachelors are to be
found at a large number of other places.

2, Morjovi (of the walrus).—The line of division between this and the preceding
rookery is a purely arbitrary one. At the point there is a considerable break in the
line of harems and behind isa small hauling ground. The harems resume and follow
along the bowlder beach as before for a short: distance. Then a break occurs, with a
runway for the bachelors and another sea-lion rookery. Beyond this is the principal
portion of the rookery. It consists of a large body of harems closely massed and lying
back_.on the flat at the angle of the sand beach at Walrus Bight. Behind and to the
west of this mass is the great hauling ground of Morjovi rookery. Beyond the sand
beach scattering groups of harems occur on the sides of a long, narrow, tongue of land
jutting out to the eastward, called Sea Lion Neck. Another sand beach intervenes, and
the rookery ends in a considerable mass of harems grouped about a rocky point nearly
opposite Webster Lake, on the eastern side of the peninsula. An unimportant hauling
ground lies at the extreme end of the rookery.

Vostochni and Morjovi combined furnish the greatest continuous fur-seal rookery
on the two islands. Along their 3 miles of coast line are upward of 100,000 fur seals -
of all classes, about one-fourth of the total number on the Pribilof Islands. From
the‘summit of Hutchinson Hill a bird’s-eye view of the two rookeries can be had, and
the sight is a most impressive one. A greater number of fur seals (or for that matter .
any other animals) is to be seen here than for any other point in the world.

8. Polovina (halfway).—This rookery; as its name indicates, is located halfway
between Northeast Point and the village. The main part of the rookery lies massed
upon the beach and the flat above the cliffs that rise from the low reef of Polovina
Point and shade down with a gentle slope to the great sand beach which stretches
away 2 miles or more to Stony Point. At the angle of the sand beach the bachelors
make their way to the hauling ground in the rear of the massed portion of the rookery.

a competent Russian scholar, Mr. Alexis V. Babine, librarian of the University’of Indiana. Much
confusion in the records has arisen through the current use of a Russian and English name for the
same place, as fur example, Zapadni and Southwest Bay, Polovina and Halfway Point. We have in
each case tried to select the most suitable name for the purpose, and itis to be hoped that in the
future agents and others concerned will conform to the usage here adopted. We have given a separate
name to each of the three parts of what has been generally known as Zapadni. The great rookery
lying about the shores of Northeast Point has been divided for convenience at the tip of the point.
It has been thouglit best, because of the importance it has obtained through the frequent observations
made upon it during this investigation, to designate as Ardiguen rookery, a small detached breeding
area‘on Reef'peninsula.. .

38 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

Above Polovina Point extend steep cliffs with a narrow beach of shingle, along
which harems are scattered in detached groups. Occasional breaks or runways in
the cliff wall give access to the flat ground above, and at one or two points the harems
overflow on the level. At the last break in the cliff is a large hauling ground.
The cliff then closes in, and for a half mile leaves no room for the seals to lie. Again,
as at the southern end, the cliff shades off in a gradual slope to the sand beach, which
continues to the northward as far as Northeast Point. On this northern rocky slope
of the cliff is situated the small but picturesque rookery of Little Polovina, in reality
an overflow of the greater rookery. The Polovina rookeries have a population of
about 20,000 seals of all classes.

4. Lukanin (name of an early seal hunter).—From Stony Point to the southward is
the great sand beach of Lukanin. Atits end rises the rocky slope of Lukanin Hill,
along which the rookery of the same name lies. At the northern end is the hauling
ground of the rookery. It is a favorite resort for the very young bachelors, a greater
proportion being found here than on any other rookery. Part of the breeding ground
lies at the foot of cliffs, which are easy of approach, and as the rookery is near to the
village it has been made the subject of close study by numerous observers.

5. Kitovi (of the whale).—This rookery is merely a continuation of Lukanin, from
which it is separated by the purely arbitrary boundary of Lukanin Point. The
rookery lies along bold rocks, basaltic columns, and slopes of cinder and lava. It
is an ideal rookery ground, as the slight mortality of pups indicates, only about 109
dead pups being found in 1896 in a total of 6,049. The hauling ground of this
rookery is unimportant, probably because the bachelors haul out with those from
Lukanin. The few which haul out at Kitovi proper are found at the southern end of
the rookery, back of Kitovi Bay. Kitovi and Lukanin are in reality one great
rookery. They represent a total population of about 25,000 seals.

6. Reef (Russian, rifovoye).—At the southern end of St. Paul Island another long
narrow neck of land juts out, known as Reef peninsula. On the southern shore of this
peninsula is the great breeding ground known as Reef rookery. The harems lie along
the irregular beach for a distance of nearly a mile. In the central portion the seals
extend back in long, wedge-shaped masses for a considerable distance over the gentle
slope strewn with large bowlders.

In the rear of the central portion of this rookery is the great hauling ground,
which lies in a hollow between two rocky ridges. Connecting this hauling ground with
the sea are four runways, which divide the rookery into five large masses. In two of
these runways occur ponds of water, which fill by the surf in the winter and become
indescribably foul in summer, as the bachelors wallow through them.

Reef rookery is one of the largest on the islands. It is separated from its fellow
(Gorbatch) on the other side of the peninsula by a broad flat upland, known as the
“parade ground.” This parade ground occupies the highest part of the peninsula.
It extends back from the perpendicular cliffs at the westward end in a long easy slope
to the eastward, where it falls to the water’s edge at the beginning of the rookery.

This space was a favorite playground for the bachelors of the two rookeries in the
palmy days, and the wandering bands of seals kept its surface bare. A few bachelors
still haul across it, but for the most part it is to-day overgrown with grass and weeds.

7. Sivutch (sea ion) Rock.—About a third of a mile off shore from Reef rookery
is a small crescent-shaped rocky islet. Its southern side is an abrupt cliff, but to the

THE ROOKERIES OF ST. PAUL. 39

north it slopes back gradually to the water. This northern slope and such other
points on its surface as are accessible, are occupied by a small rookery of three or four
thousand seals. At either end of the islet isa hauling ground. On the southernmost
one the returning bachelors are said to haul out first in the spring.

Six miles farther off to the south lies the larger islet called Otter Island. This
is not a rookery proper, but contains a hauling ground, and is resorted to by bachelors,
prohably from the rookeries of Reef peninsula. A few seals still haul there, and
during the season of 1896 a single harem of five cows with their pups was found
among them. This is the first record of breeding seals having occupied Otter Island.
No trace of the harem was found during the season of 1897. The hauling ground,
which lies on the northern face of the island, is one of considerable extent, and in
former times a large number of seals evidently occupied it. About 200 were found
there at the time of our visit in 1896, and upward of a thousand in 1897.

8. Ardiguen (pile of stones) —On the western edge of Reef peninsula, and just
north of the ultimate point, is an isolated concave rocky slope and beach overlooked
by high parapet-like cliffs, above the general level of Reef rookery, to the surface of
which the breeding ground ascends at one point in a “slide.” The rocky beach, the
slide, and, in 1896, a part of the flat above were filled with harems. Other harems
extended along the narrow beach at the foot of the cliff, which everywhere rises sheer
from the western end of the peninsula. The wall-like rocks above the slide portion of
the rookery make it possible to watch the seals at close range without disturbing them.
It is the best point on the island for the observation of rookery life. Almost daily
observations, a record of which will be found in the Daily Journal (Part II), were made
upon it during the summer of 1896, and on this account it has been given a separate
name. It has heretofore been included in Reef rookery.

9. Gorbatch (the hump).—This picturesque rookery lies on the north shore of Reef
peninsula and faces Zoltoi Bay. The steep cliffs on the western end, at Gorbatch
Point, break down in a long cinder slope, which rises rather steeply from the
shingle beach to the parade ground above. Along the bowlder beach and the foot
of the slope the harems lie close together, extending back at one or two points in
wedge-shaped masses. On the flat rocks at the point marking the beginning of the
bay is a favorite sleeping place for a few sea lions, and near by is an isolated rock on
which a small group of hair seals are usually to be seen hauled out.

To the northward the cinder slope shades into a slope of smooth rock, and this is
succeeded in turn by a slope covered with great irregular bowlders. At the end of
this an abrupt cliff begins, and the rookery terminates in a long belt of harems on the
narrow beach at its foot. At the angle, where the cliff breaks down suddenly into
the sand beach of the bay, is the famous hauling ground known as Zoltoi, (golden)
(more correctly spelled Zolotoi), from its yellowish lava sands. This is the only
hauling ground for Gorbatch rookery, and in the days when the shores of the Reef

- rookery were packed with harems it was practically the only hauling ground for the
tworookeries. Across the neck of the peninsula, which is here very narrow, is a small
cove-like beach frequented by bachelors, probably from the Reef rookery.

The nearness of Zoltoi to the village (about one-fourth of a mile away) has brought
its herds under constant inspection. The earliest and latest drives are always made

from this point.

40 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

Reef and Gorbatch rookeries are in reality one great breeding ground. They
represent a total population, including Ardiguen and Sivutch Rock, of about 70,000
seals.

10. Spilki (the points)—This is the abandoned rookery space, which formerly
occupied the slope and beach of the hill back of the village of St. Paul. The
ground was occupied until about ten years ago as a rookery, when it was gradualiy
abandoned.

11, Lagoon.—This rookery is separated from the site of Spilki by a short stretch
of sand beach and the narrow channel connecting the salt lagoon with the village
cove. It is situated on a long reef of coarse bowlders, which has been gradually
pushed up by the ice until it has almost completely shut off the lagoon from the sea.
The rookery is a small one, having a population of only about 6,000 seals. There is
a small hauling ground on the rear or lagoon side of the reef, but no drives are made
from it.

12. Tolstoi (thick).—_From the angle of the reef on which Lagoon rookery is located
the cliffs rise abruptly, leaving but little beach. At the bold point of Tolstoi Mys
or headland the rookery of this name begins, extending along the southern curve of
Euglish Bay to the great sand beach at its foot. Fora considerable distance the
harems lie on the narrow beach at the foot of steep cliffs. About the middle of the
rookery the cliffs break down in a long concave slope strewn with angular bowlders.
Back of this are sand dunes, and the wash from them has produced at the foot of
the slope a broad sand flat just above the bowlder beach.

This sand tract of Tolstoi has a denser population than is to be found on any other
rookery ground on the island. In the height of the season the crowded area is the
scene of constant fighting among the bulls because of the crowding of the harems.
The breeding mass extends part way up the slope, and in the latter part of the season
the seals move back from the sandy flat, leaving it bare.

At the back of the slope among the sand dunes is a hauling ground for the
bachelors. To reach it they must encircle the end of the rookery. A more important
hauling ground is situated on the sand of English Bay, just beyond the rookery.
Halfway along the curve of the bay is another hauling ground, known as Middle Hill,
which is removed from any rookery and is probably more or less common to all the
breeding grounds about English Bay.

On the whole Tolstoi is the most interesting of the rookeries, and offers the
greatest diversity of conditions of life. It is also famous for the great mortajity
among the young pups born there. The view of the rookery from the sand dunes
to the eastward is exceedingly picturesque.

13, Zapadni (westerly).—This rookery, begins at the rocky cliffs of Zapadni
headland and extends along the convex shore to the sand beach of Southwest Bay.
It oceupies the usual bowlder beach and extends back along the gradually sloping
upland. The seals are in many places massed in shallow depressions and gullies
which seam the rocky slope. In these places, as on the sand flat of Tolstoi, many
pups are killed, At different places in the course of the rookery are runways through
which the bachelors haul out to their grounds in the rear. The principal hauling
ground, however, is at the angle of the rookery with the sand beach of Southwest Bay.

14, Little Zapadnii—The sand beach of Southwest Bay intervenes between this
rookery and Zapadni proper. It occupies a similar but smaller convex beach and

THE ROOKERIES OF ST. GEORGE. 41

hillslope toward the east. The surface of this little rookery is ragged and broken in
the extreme, making it an ideal breeding ground. At its eastern end is the single
hauling ground, reached through the open space that lies between this and. the
narrow breeding ground which occupies the reef beyond.

15. Zapadni Reef.—This rookery lies on a reef of bowlders similar to that occupied
by Lagoon rookery. The harems are grouped in scattered patches along the narrow,
rocky beach. At the end of the reef is a large hauling ground which is also more or
less common to the younger bachelors from the three Zapadni rookeries. Here the
sand beach of English Bay begins, which stretches around to Tolstoi rookery.

These three breeding grounds were originally one, but the decrease of the herd
has so separated them as to make it advisable to give them distinct names. Their
combined herd is next in size to that of Reef Peninsula, having about 60,000 seals of
all classes.

At a considerable distance above Zapadni headland is an isolated hauling ground.
for the older bachelors and half bulls, known as Southwest Point. A few still haul
out there, and a hair-seal rookery is situated on an islet offshore. The place probably
never contained a breeding rookery.

16. Marunichen (personal name).—This is an abandoned rookery ground on North
Shore. It was never an important rookery, and has long been deserted. The oldest
inhabitant of the village of St. Paul simply remembers hearing it spoken of when he
was a boy. No cause was assigned for its abandonment. . A herd of hair seals haul
out in the neighborhood of this old rookery.

THE ST. GEORGE ROOKERIES.

The rookeries of St. George are five in number. They are smaller and less
important than those of St. Paul, containing only about one-sixth of the total number
of seals on the two islands. On account of the rugged character of the coast line of
St. George its rookery space is limited and the conditions less varied. The harems lie
chiefly along broken cliffs, on basaltic columns, and bowlder-strewn slopes. Four of
the rookeries are grouped on the northern face of the island, while the fifth lies
isolated on the southwestern corner. Beginning with this last rookery, the following
is a brief account of the breeding grounds of St. George Island:

1. Zapadni (westerly)—This rookery lies along the rocky beach of Zapadni Bay,
ascending the slope of the long hill where the harems are lucated on flat benches of
rock. <A part of the beach line lies at the foot of the cliff formed by the breaking off
of the hill. In the rear of the lower or beach portion is the hauling ground of the
rookery, reached by two breaks in the mass of breeding seals and extending inland
some distance.

2. Staraya Artel (old guild).—This is a very picturesque rookery, lying in a narrow
belt along the steep slope of a hill which breaks off in an abrupt cliff on the seaward
side. The beach at the foot of the rookery is a limited one, and the lower harems are
situated on shelf-like, rocky projections which gradually shade into the even surface of
the hill slope, on which the harems are closely massed. The hauling ground of the
rookery lies in the hollow formed by the inward sweep of the hill. In the hollow is a
small pond, once a lagoon, which the reef-like beach has cut off. Over this beach the
bachelors haul out and lie on the bank of the pond.

42 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

3. North (Russian, severnoye).—This is the largest of the rookeries of St. George.
It is located about midway between Staraya Artel and the village of St.George. The
rookery is the nearest one to the village, and therefore well adapted for observation.
It lies throughout the greater part of its length on the narrow beach at the foot of
perpendicular cliffs. Through occasional slides or breaks in the cliff wall the harems
draw back to the hill slope behind. The bachelors have runways at both ends of the
rookery aid occupy the flat ground above and behind the cliffs.

4, Little Fast.—This is a rather small collection of harems located on the broken
slope formed by the breaking down of the cliffs, which from the village landing
eastward to this point rise perpendicularly. From this point the cliff curves inland
in a gradual slope, to appear again beyond east rookery at the eastern angle of the
island, Thesmall hauling ground of the rcokery is located at the eastern end. Little
East rookery resembles Little Polovina rookery of St. Paul Island both in size and in
its relation to the larger rookery of which it is a branch.

5, Hast.—From Little East rookery for a considerable distance to the eastward
the beach is low, and behind it lies a level plain covered with seal grass, and evidently
once hauled over by bachelors from both rookeries. East rookery begins in a long
line of scattering harems occupying the rocky beach. At the angle where the cliffs
resume, the harems are massed together on the slope and along the narrow bowlder
beach until cut off by the breaking out of the cliff.

The hauling ground of East rookery is in the rear of the first beach portion, and
is reached by several breaks in the line of harems. Along the beach portion of East
rookery the sea lions also haul out and lie among the fur seals, and at the point is a
small rookery located among the fur-seal harems. A larger and more important sea-
lion rookery is located on the southern side of St. George Island toward Garden Cove.

= se
So

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YOUNG MALE SEA LION.

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Drawn from nature by Bristow Adams,

CHAPTER IV.

THE FUR SEAL OR “SEA BEAR.”

ITS RELATIVES.

The fur seals, with their associates, the walruses and sea lions, constituting the
suborder Gressigrada* (Allen), are obviously related to the bears. The animals
comprising this group, among other characters, have plantigrade feet, the anterior
limbs modified as oars, and with rudimentary. claws, if any. The postariar limbs
bend forward at the knee and the long, webbed toes extend beyond the claws. Only
the anterior limbs are used in swimming. The head and neck can be elevated as
in the bear, and the external: ear is moderately developed. The animal can run or
lope along the ground as do ordinary mammals, and with considerable rapidity.

THE SEA BEAR AND TRUE SEAL.

Much misconception as to the nature and habits of the far seals has-arisen from
their supposed resemblance to the animals in the N orth Atlantic and elsewhere,
called “seals.” The fur seal, . however, has no close affinity with the suborder
Pinnipedia, ‘to which the true or earless ' seals belong.. The various forms of true or
hair seals constituting the group Pinnipedia have the feet not truly plantigrade, short,
with long claws. Only the posterior limbs are used in swimming, and these are not
susceptible of bending forward at the knee. The animal, therefore, can not walk or
lope at all, and only wriggles while on land. Its neck is short and it can scarcely
raise its jen. It has no external ear.

The internal structures of the animals show equally marked differences: The hair
seals, whatever their origin, must come from a different parent stock, and their.
relation to land carnivora is more remote. Beyond the fact that both fur seal and hair
seal are carnivorous mammals, feeding on fish and adapted for life in the water, the
two types have little in common. In both species the thick blubber under the skin
goes with the life in cold water. The resemblances associated with aquatic habitat are
only analogies and have no value in scientific classification. In structure, appearance,
habits, disposition, and method of locomotion, they are entirely distinct, and their
evolution as pelagic animals has been along separate lines.

THE FUR SEALS OF THE ANTARCTIC,

The fur seals of the world belong to two distinct groups or genera, closely related
to the sea lions. One of these, the génus Arctocephalus, is widely distributed over the
Antarctic oceans, where its members formerly existed in vast numbers along portions
of the coasts of South America, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, as well

*Called Remipedia in our preliminary report, page 12, but the name Gressigrada is earlier and

includes the same forms. fe

44 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

as many of the pelagic islands of the Antarctic regions.* Perhaps the most northern
extent of this genus is the herd which formerly existed in considerable numbers on
Guadalupe Island, and other islands in its vicinity, where a remnant probably still
breed hidden in the caves and recesses of their shores.

THE FUR SEALS OF THE NORTH PACIFIC,

The fur seals of the North Pacific belong to the second group, the genus Callo-
rhinus. It is resident upon certain barren and rocky islands in Bering Sea and the
Sea of Okhotsk, unknown to aboriginal man, and, so far aS we are aware, never
visited by man before the discovery of the Komandorski Islands by Vitus Bering in
1741 and the Pribilof Islands by Gerassim Pribilof in 1786. In addition to the
Komandorski and Pribilof islands, seals of the genus Callorhinus also occupy certain
islands of the Kuril group, and also the rocky islet known as Robben Reef, off the
coast of Saghalin.

STELLER’S ACCOUNT.

Our first knowledge of the fur seals of the North comes from the account of Georg
Wilhelm Steller (1709-1745), a German naturalist, who accompanied Bering on the
voyage which resulted in the discovery of the Komandorski Islands. During the
winter which the survivors of the ill-fated St, Peter spent on Bering Island, Steller
visited the south, or Poludinnoye rookery of this island and wrote an accountt of the
fur seals or ‘‘sea bears” as he called them.

On Steller’s description of the “sea bear” (Ursus marinus) of Bering Island,
Linneus based his description of Phoca ursina, or the bear-like seal. From the
Linnean name the fur seal of the North Pacific came to be called Callorhinus ursinus,
the type of the species being the Komandorski herd.

THE THREE HERDS.

The fur seals of the North Pacitic comprise three distinct herds, which do not
intermingle in any way, having distinct breeding grounds, feeding grounds, and
routes of migration.

THE PRIBILOF HERD.

The most important of the three herds is that which resorts to the Pribilof Islands.
These breed upon the islands of St. Paul and St. George during the summer, and in
winter pass down through the channels of the Aleutian Islands into the Pacific Ocean,
in their migrations reaching as far south as the coast of southern California and
returning along the west coast of North America.

THE KOMANDORSKI HERD.

The next herd in importance is that resorting to the Komandorski Islands. These
breed upon the islands of Bering and Medni, passing in winter down along the eastern
coast of Japan and returning by the same route.

*A full account of the southern fur seals will be found in Part III of this report.
tA translation of Steller’s account will be found in Part III of this report.

“THE SUBSPECIES OF FUR SEAL. 45
THE ROBBEN ISLAND HERD.

The third herd is resident in the Sea of Okhotsk on Robben Island, where a
considerable remnant still exists, and formerly occupied other rookeries, now virtually
extinct, on four islands of the Kuril group—Musir, Raikoke, Srednoi, and Broughton.
The mipnation route of this herd lies in the inland sea of Japan.

THREE DISTINCT SPECIES.

The fact that the seals of the Pribilof herd differ from those of the Commander
Islands in color, in form, and in character of the fur-has long been recognized. These
‘differences, though slight, are permanent and constant. As no intermediate forms
are known, and as the life courses of the herds are wholly distinct, apparently no
intermediate forms can exist. We may therefore hold that the herds represent
distinct species. As the Komandorski seals formed the type of Callorhinus ursinus,
the Pribilof seals may: be taken to represent a new species, to which the name
Callorhinus alascanus may be given, and the Robben Island herd, likewise different,
may be called Callorhinus curilensis.

CALLORHINUS .ALASCANUS.

The description of this new species or subspecies is given in full in a special paper
which appears in Part III. It may be noted here that alascanus may be known by the
stouter, broader head, by the thicker neck, by the prevalence of warm, brown shades
in the coloration of the females and the young males, by the more silvery color of the
gray pups, which have the whitish patches on the rump less than in wrsinus. In
general it shows a lack of sharp contrast between the coloration of the sides and belly.
The fur is of superior quality and exhibits sufficient difference to make it possible for
the dealers handling the skins to distinguish them by this means alone. In alascanus
the claws on the foreflipper are undeveloped, being represented by pits.in the. skin.

CALLORHINUS URSINUS.

The true ursinus has a slenderer head and neck. The females and young males
are sooty rather than brown, the light and dark shades being alike for the most part
without ochraceous tints. The belly is usually rather sharply paler than the back,
and the gray pup is more brownish and less gray than in the Pribilof animal, having
a pale patch on each side of the rump. The fore feet have two or three raaimentary
claws.

CALLORHINUS CURILENSIS.

The seal of Robben Island and the Kurils, differs from both of the foregoing in
the whitish color of the under fur. This is rusty brown in ursinus and alascanus. It
is said also to have a broader head than ursinus and to exhibit other differences in
the quality of the fur, distinguishing the seals of Robben Island from either of the
other herds.

In the following discussion our attention will be directed chiefly to a consideration
of the Pribilof Islands seals. In Part IV of thisreport the herds of the Komandorski
and Kuril islands will. be discussed in detail.

46 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

THE NOMENCLATURE OF THE FUR SEAL.

The eccentricities of the nomenclature of the fur seals have frequently been
noted. Attention is here called to the matter merely to avoid confusion. It is, for
example, incongruous that a “cow” should occupy a place in a “harem” on a
“‘rookery ” and bear a “pup,” which, if a male, should be known for the first four
years of its life as a “bachelor” and afterwards as a “bull.” Moreover, it is absurd
that this animal, which is in reality more like a bear, should be called a “seal,” thus
confounding it with a distinctly different animal. But these names are all so closely
identified with the animals and their history that it is useless to attempt to change
them, and so we may expect the “sea bears” of the North Pacific to continue to
produce “seal skins,” which, though originally and properly taken only on land, will
remain the product of a “fishery.”

The Russian names “sikatch” (grown bull), “polosikatch” (half bull), ““holostiak”
(bachelor), “matka” (mother), and “kotik” (pup) are in common use among the
Aleuts on the Pribilof and Komandorski islands. These words form their plurals
in i, thus: sikatchi, holostiaki. The Aleut names “atagh” or ‘“adakh” (bull),
“ennatha” (cow), “lakutha” (pup) are now used mainly by the native children.

THE CATEGORIES OF SEALS.

THE MALE.

The male fur seal or bull reaches full maturity at the age of about 7 years.
He is probably sexually mature at an earlier age, but does not possess the strength
and courage necessary to win and hold a place on the breeding grounds. The weight
of the adult bull is about 350 to 450 pounds. A typical animal measures about 6 feet
in length, has a girth over the shoulders of about 44 feet, and measures nearly 6
feet from tip to tip of the outstretched fore-flippers. In color the adult males vary
considerably, the general shade being blackish or dark brown, with longer hairs
or bristles of yellowish white. These are especially long and numerous on the
thickened back of the neck, forming the so-called “wig.” The bulls are excessively
fat on their landing in the spring, but grow gradually lean and thin during the season
on land, never tasting food or leaving their posts during the breeding season. Early
observers nade use of the appropriate name of “beachmaster” for the bull, aname
which deserves to be retained for its descriptive qualities.

THE FEMALE.

The female fur seal or cow is much smaller than the male. When fully grown she
measures about 4 feet in length, has a girth of 24 feet over the shoulders, and measures
4 teet from tip to tip of the outstretched fore-flippers. The cow has a soft, smooth
fur of varying shades of grey, the younger females being usually, though not
always, silvery white underneath the throat. The cow bears her first offspring at
the age of 3 years, but her full growth is not attained until a year or two later.
Her average weight is about 70 pounds. The name “clap-match,” used by early
explorers to designate the female, is now obsolete.

THE BACHELOR.

The young male or bachelor is very similar to the female in color, size, and
appearance until the end of the third year. In this year his skin is at its best. In

A “POD” OF PUPS ON LUKANIN ROOKERY, SAINT PAUL ISLAND.

FUR SEAL PUP.

Drawn from nature by Bristow Adams.

HEAD OF FUR SEAL PUP.

Drawn from nature by Bristow Adams.

is

\

(Lif
CYL
op

Lo

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AIRY \
NA

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= FEMALE FUR SEAL

HEAD O
Drawn from nature by Bristow Adams.

HEAD OF A TYPICAL ROOKERY BULL.

Drawn from nature by Bristow Adams.

A TYPICAL ROOKERY BULL.

Drawn from nature by Bristow Adams.

THE MIGRATIONS OF THE FUR SEALS. 47

the fourth year his neck begins to thicken and develop the “wig.” After the wig has
appeared the skin depreciates in value, until in the adult bull it has no value as fur.

THE HALF BULL.

In the fifth and sixth years the young male grows rapidly, and in size and
appearance approximates the adult bull, but lacks his strength and courage. He
is then known as a “half bull.” The males under 7 years of age are not allowed on
the rookeries, though they hang about the rear and in the water in front of them.
The bachelors are forced to herd by themselves in separate bands on the hauling
grounds.

THE IDLE BULL.

In addition to the half bulls there is a class of males called “idle” or “reserve”
bulls. These are in no way different from the breeding bulls, but on account
of the lateness of their arrival, the unfavorableness of their location, or because of
defeat in battle, they.have been unsuccessful in securin gharems. They take up their
places in the rear of the breeding grounds, or as near to them as they can get, and
there they fight among themselves, watching for opportunities to invade the harems of
their more successful rivals, and occasionally forming small harems by capture. Late.
in the season the idle bulls succeed to the posts vacated by the departing harein
masters and take charge of the late arriving cows and the 2- -year olds.

THE YEARLINGS AND VIRGINS..

The seals of 1 year old of both sexes are known as yearlings. There is no marked
difference between the males and females at this age. The yearling males are found
in the latter. part of July on the hauling grounds with ‘the older bachélors. The
females come late to the islands and spend much of their time on the rookeries among
the young of the year. They do not associate to any considerable degree with their
brothers on the hauling grounds. The females of 2 years old are known as “virgins,”
and come on the rookeries late in July and early in August to be served by the balls.

THE PUP.

The young of the fur seal or pup is black in color at birth, sometimes with a
brownish strip under the throat and with a large whitish spot in the axil. Its weight
at birth is about,11 pounds, and it is comparatively helpless, though it becomes able
to care for itself in a short time. Its head is large in proportion to its body and
proves a serious handicap in the early efforts of the animal to learn to swim, an art
which it does not possess at birth. When the pup is about 3 months old it sheds its
black coat and takes on a new one of gray. By this time it has learned to swim well
and weighs 25 or 30 pounds.

THE MIGRATION OF THE SEALS.
THEIR SUMMER MOVEMENTS.

In their annual movements the seals of all classes with few, if any, exceptions visit
each season the islands on which their breeding grounds are situated. The earliest
arrivals come about the 1st of May; the latest to depart go some time in December.

48 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

In the interval the offices of reproduction are accomplished. The females come and
go from the feeding grounds at intervals, caring for their young. The younger males
spend most of their time resting on the sand beaches, visiting the sea irregularly. In
November the females and young of the year leave the islands. The males, especially
the bachelors, remain until December and even January, in mild seasons probably not
all leaving the vicinity of the islands during the winter.

THE LIMIT OF MIGRATION.

The adult males and the older bachelors spend the winter in the Pacific Ocean,
somewhat below the Aleutian Islands, and eastward in the Gulf of Alaska. The
younger males go farther south. The pups probably reach the latitude of Cape Flat-
tery. The adult females go farthest south, being found as low down as the Santa
Barbara Channel, off southern California.

ITS COURSE AND DURATION.

The southward trip of the seals must be rapid and more or less direct to the
turning point. The females do not leave the islands much before the middie ot
November, but are taken in the latitude of southern California early in December. On
the return trip the movements of the animals are slower, the remainder of the winter
and spring being occupied in the northward journey along the coast, which they follow
at a considerable distance offshore. In December, January, and February they are
found off the coast of California. They are in the neighborhood of Cape Flattery and
Vancouver Island in March, April, and May; and in May and June they are found
in the Gulf of Alaska and along the southern coast of the Aleutian Islands. They
reach the islands at various dates according to the different classes of animals.

In this outline of the movements of the seals at sea only the general course of the
herd as a whole is traced. A more detailed account will be found in connection with
the migration chart prepared by Mr. Townsend and published in Part III of this
report. In Mr. Lucas’s account of the feeding habits of the animals, also in Part ITI,
the movements of the seals on their summer feeding grounds are more {fully given.

CHAPTER V.
THE DAILY LIFE OF THE ROOKERIES.

THE ARRIVAL AT THE ISLANDS.
THE MALES.

The adult males arrive first at the islands in the spring. Their appearance is
' governed largely by the movements of the drift ice, which packs in about the islands
late in winter and remains until the latter part of April, sometimes until late in May.*
In 1895, when the ice remained thus long about the islands, making the landing of
the bulls difficult, roads were cut in it, through which the animals hauled to reach
their stations.
THE DATE OF THE EARLIEST ARRIVALS.

The average date of the landing of the first bulls, as shown by the record in the
log of the islands, is about the 1st of May. Instances are recorded where the ani-
mals have landed on the ice and traveled in for a mile or more, taking up their places
on the snow-covered rookeries. The incoming of the bulls is gradual. They appear
almost simultaneously on all the rookeries, each being represented by one or two.t
The number increases, slowly during the early part of May, rapidly in the latter part.
By the middle of June, practically all of the regular harem bulls are located in their
places on the breeding ground. During the season of 1897 a count of bulls on North
rookery of St. George, June 7, gave 180, where 196 harems were found later in the
season. On Kitovi rookery of St. Paul, a count of bulls made on the 12th of June
gave 156, where 182 harems existed in 1896, and 179 later in the season of 1897.¢

THE OLDEST COME FIRST.

It is probable’ that the earliest bulls to arrive represent the veterans of many
seasons, and that those arriving subsequently come in the order of their ages. Thus
the young half bulls and the idle bulls as ‘a class do not locate about the rookeries
until the time of landing of the cows. They then haul out around the rookeries to
places in the rear, or fight their way through the territory of bulls already in place.
Some of them are doubtless successful in. displacing earlier arrivals, or in gaining
advantageous places on the breeding grounds. The young bulls for the most part
in the beginning of the season hang about the water front and try to intercept the
landing cows. It is only after the breeding season is well advanced that they are
seen in numbers about the rear of the rookeries, and even then they come and go
from the water: more or less regularly.

* See extracts from log of St. Paul, Pt. II, under date of May, 1895.
~ +See extracts from log of St. Paul, Pt. II, May of any season.
} Daily Journal, Pt. II, under date of June 12.

151844

49

50 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.
THE BACHELORS.

The bachelor seals begin to arrive at about the same time as the bulls. Their
first appearance about St. Paul is usually on Sivutch Rock. The average date of the
first recorded food drives is about the 20th of May.* This, however, is not the date
of their first arrival, but the one at which the animals are out in sufficient numbers to
make a drive worth while.

The older bachelors come first. This is shown by the excess of older seals that
are turned back in the earlier drives, and the larger percentage of killed in the
number driven. This can best be made clear by citing the statistics showing the
animals rejected, large and small, and the average per cent of animals killed, for the
different dates during the season of 1897, on St. Paul Island:

Statistics of killings, St. Paul, 1897.!

Rejected. Percent-
Date. ———— age
Large. Small. killed.
|
June 15.... 44 | 119 0. 65
18. 13u | 26 .67
556 | 184 48
402 214 64
376 | 214 57
288 224 58
107 '‘| 90 53
229 | 175 63
301 | 306 67
355 | 551 65
97 | 115 68
140 638 50
216 661 58
391 586 | 53
120 412 66
377 | 1,174 39
500 2, 047 34
161 698 24
352 1, 380 23
491 890 27
221 545 20
298 1,114 16
383 708 20
118 456 16
350 1, 440 19
159 | 376 15
|

' This record of rejected animals was, for the most part, kept by Mr. John M. Morton, whose duty as Treasury agent
required his presence constantly on the killing field.

From this table it is apparent that among the rejected animals prior to J uly 9,
those too large for killing predominated. The large percentage of animals killed for
the total number driven shows that the greater proportion of the seals on the hauling
grounds at this time were of killable age. After July 9 the smaller seals began to
predominate, showing the advent of the 2-year olds and yearlings. About the same
relative number of animals were killed in the later drives, but owing to the increase
of little seals, the percentage steadily diminished from a maximum of 68 per cent to a
minimum of 15 per cent.

THE BEGINNING OF THE SEALING SEASON.

It is not until the 1st of June that the regular driving for the quota begins. At
this time the 3-year-old seals, from which the skins for the quota as a rule are taken,

"Log of St. Paul, Pt. II, May of any season.

¢

ARRIVAL OF THE FUR SEALS. 51

begin to arrive as a class. About the middle of July the 2-year-old seals begin to
come in numbers, followed very soon by the yearlings, which swarm in large numbers
on the hauling grounds during the latter part of July. As the breeding season
advances the young half-bulls, which throng the earlier drives, withdraw from the
hauling grounds to the water front of the rookeries or take up places in their rear.

The arrival of the younger males in the latter part of July makes it advisable that
the driving for the quota should be completed as early in this month as possible. In
the early days of American control, when the seals were numerous, the quota was, as
a rule, filled before the 20th of July.

THE ARRIVAL OF THE COWS.

It is about the 10th of June that the adult cows begin to arrive.* Their appear-
ance, like that of the adult bulls, is very gradual. In 1897 a cow appeared on East
rookery on June 3; a second cow joined her on the 7th; no others had arrived on
the 10th. On St. Paul, the first cow arrived on the 10th; a second appeared on the
12th, and after this date a few could be found at almost every point where harems
were located the previous season. So quietly did the cows come in and take their
places that, though the rookeries of St. Paul were kept under the closest scrutiny, and
many new cows were found at each inspection, it was more than a week before the
landing of a single cow could be noted.

-

THEIR INCOMING GRADUAL.

This quiet and gradual incoming of the cows can best be illustrated by the record
of the daily count on Lukanin rookery:

Lukanin rookery, 1897.

Date. Cows

Thus, though cows began to arrive on this rookery on the 12th of June, by the
27th of June there was on the half mile of its shore front no more than 257 cows. At
this date few, if any, had begun to go to sea. When we contrast this number with
the total of about 3,000 cows which visited the rookery during the season, we get some
idea of the gradual arrivai of the breeding females. These figures must also correct
the long current notion that they come in a body or in a succession of great waves.

* For details of the landing of the cows here described, reference should be made to the Daily
Journal in Pt. II, under date of June 12, 1897, and following.

52 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

It is probable that with the cows, as with the bulls, the date of landing is influenced
by age, the oldest coming first. The fact that the young cows are first impregnated
early in August, coupled with the fact that pups are born as early as the 10th of June,
shows that there must be a gradual recession of the date of delivery, which may
reasonably be supposed to correspond to the increasing age of the breeding animals
themselves.

THEIR ARRIVAL NOT THE OCCASION OF FIGHTING.

The observations of the season of 1897 must also correct the tradition that the
first appearance of the cows is the signal for a general battle among the bulls for their
possession. Nothing could be further from the truth. There was in 1897 no general
disturbance at this time nor during the month of June. No general recognition of
the arrival of the cows was made by the bulls. The landing female reconnoitered the
shore, swimming backward and forward until she was satisfied of the location, and
then landed on the rocks, being taken in charge by the nearest bull. If the bull
discovered the landing cow and attempted to secure her, she escaped to the water if
she could; if not, she submitted to the inevitable, -and took up her place beside him.
Sometimes the escaping cow was overtaken by the bull and carried back. If the cow
escaped, she usually returned to the same place, and in time was located there.

THE MANNER OF LANDING.

This represented the method of the earliest arrivals. The choice of the cow was
limited to the place of landing. When a bull once obtained a cow, his harem became
the objective point for all cows landing in its vicinity. The landing cow came in
quietly and took her place among the others, in most cases without even the knowledge
of the bull whose circle she joined. When he became aware of her presence, he gave
her a cordial welcome, taking occasion to round up his harem and to show the new
arrival marked attention. As a result of this desire of the cow to join the crowd,
it happened that large harems were formed at favorite landing places which grew
constantly in numbers, though the shore front on either side remained for the time
being entirely wanting in cows. On all the massed rookery portions this became the
regular method of development. ;

MASSED ROOKERY FORMATION.

The large mass of breeding seals on Tolstoi sand flat* was originally a single
harem, which in the course of time numbered upwards of a hundred cows in charge of
a single bull. So long as the cows lay quietly resting before and after the birth of
their pups the single bull was able to control them all. But in time the task became
too great, and when the cows began to come in heat in numbers, he soon lost control
of them. The idle bulls about him entered the circle. He was unable to exclude
them, and in time a Jarge number of bulls controlled the mass in common, apparently
without clearly defined harems. With the podding and scattering of the pups and
the influx of new cows, the seals became spread out over larger areas, and new bulls
were taken into the circle until the tarthest limit of expansion was reached.

What was true for Tolstoi was true also for the great breeding masses on the
other large rookeries. Under Hutchinson Hill, the great mass occupying this space

* See plate opposite p. 40,

“HOV3d

‘raqgseqoryO 4q ydes30j}0Gg
YSO7MOG GNV LV 1d GNVS 3HL NOdN G3SSYW S1V3S 3HL DNIMOHS ‘GNV1S! 1NVd LNIVS ‘AYSHOOY IOLSTOL JO MIA V

THE HEIGHT OF THE SEASON. 53.

was, on June 28, represented by four of these monster harems located at intervals
along the shore and projecting but slightly above the bowlder beach. They were then
on the point of breaking, and already around the edges were numbers of small harems
of one or two cows which had plainly been stolen from the larger mass. In the
course of a few days thereafter the disintegration of these abnormal harems began, and
they became.broken up into numerous smaller families under hitherto idle bulls. The
seals later became spread back over the entire flat. A similar course of development
marked the formation of all the large masses on Reef rookery. ;
Where the rookeries occupied the narrow bowlder beach, as on Kitovi and Lukanin,
_-Lagoon or Gorbatch, the distribution of the harems was more regular, and when the
period of scattering and fusion came, they were united in a more or less even band
throughout the entire length of the rookery.

DAILY “ROOKERY COUNTS.

With a view of determining the relative condition of the rookeries from day to
day, daily counts were begun on Lukanin and Kitovi rookeries with the first arrival
of cows and were kept up throughout the season, or from June 12 to July 31. A part of
the record of these counts has already been given to illustrate the arrival of the cows.
The fall record will be found in Appendix I. The following is a synopsis of the count

-on a part of Kitovi rookery known as the Amphitheater:

Synopsis of Kitovi rookery, 1897.

Cows

Date. present.

THE HEIGHT OF THE SEASON.

These counts show that the population of breeding cows gradually increases from
the beginning of the season, about June 10, until a climax is reached about the middle
« July. It then decreases until at the close of the breeding season, about August 1,

numbers about one-half the maximum population present at any one time, or about

1e-fourth of the actual rookery population. There is a temporary fluctuation during
the first ten days of August, while the virgin 2-year-old cows are present on the
rookeries. For the rest of the season the adult population remains at about the
point reached at the end of July, probably varying more or less from day to day
according to the condition of the weather.

It had until 1896 been currently believed that at the period known as the “height
of the season,” say from July 10 to 20, rookery conditions were fixed and all or prac-

’ Leally all the breeding animals present. The counting of pups in August in 1896 first
dispelled this error, by showing that the pups outnumbered two to one the breeding
females counted in the height of the season.

54 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

FLUCTUATIONS OF POPULATION.

The daily counts of the breeding season of 1897 may here again be cited to give
an idea of the real condition of the rookeries at their maximum. The following figures
are for that part of Kitovi rookery called the Amphitheater, which contained,
according to the count of pups made on August 3, about 1,245 breeding females for

the season:
Amphitheater of Kitovi.

. Cows
present.

Date.

July 10
nS ee

Such is the height of the season. The actual count shows a difference of 6 per
cent between its beginning and its maximum and a difference of 38 per cent between
the maximum and its close, while between two individual days of the period there is
as great a difference as 20 per cent. é

INCREASE OF FAMILIES.

Nor is the fluctuation in individuals all that is to be noted in this consideration of
the height of the season. The following count of harems on this same breeding
ground shows equally important results:

Amphitheater of Kitovi, 1897.

Date. | Harems.
!
|
|

Tt is thus apparent that during this time of supposed rookery stability the
number of harems underwent quite as marked a change as did the number of indi-
vidual animals composing them. The daily observations of this breeding ground and
frequent photographs of its area show, moreover, that the extent of ground oceupied
grew steadily from day to day.

WHAT THE HEIGHT OF THE SEASON MEANS.

What the height of the breeding season really means, therefore, is a time in
rookery development when the stream of incoming cows about equals the stream of
outgoing ones. Itis the time when the greatest nuinber of cows are actually present
at one time. It marks the maximum of rookery development, which probably covers

FEEDING OF THE FUR SEALS. 55

no more than a single day. In observing the rookeries the eye can not adjust itself
readily to the change, and the result is that the period seems to comprehend several
days.

From about the 10th or 12th of June onward new cows are constantly arriving
on the rookeries. About ten or twelve days after her arrival each cow goes away to
feed for the first time. The first arrivals and first departures therefore run roughly in
parallel lines. A disturbing element is brought in by the return of cows from feeding
and their subsequent departure and return at intervals. All these various elements
result in a period of apparent equilibrium at about the 15th of July, which is the
height of the season.

THE PERIOD CURRENTLY MISUNDERSTOOD.

That this period of rookery development should have been misunderstood is not
strange, since the matter was never before tested by mathematical standards.
Events in rookery life, though recurring by the thousands, are difficult of observation.
Their very multitude distracts the observer. In the summer of 1897, at the maximum
period of rookery life, when thousands of pups were being born, the closest observa-
tions, extending at times through nine hours a day, failed to disclose the actual
birth of more than a dozen pups. Under this same close scrutiny it was a week
after the first landing of cows before one could be discovered in the act, and a much

~ Jonger period elapsed before the departure of one could be observed. General

observations of the rookeries have therefore only relative value unless they are
checked by figures. They can be trusted to show large results, but can not be relied
upon to indicate normal changes. To get definite results, exact enumerations and
minute observations are necessary.

THE BIRTH OF THE PUP.

Within a period of from six t» forty-eight hours after her arrival the cow gives
birth to her pup. After a further period of five to six days she comes in heat and is
served by the bull. Five to six more days pass, during which time the pup grows
rapidly and becomes able to take care of itself; then the mother goes to sea to
bathe and feed. Her first return is possibly en three or four days. Of her
subsequent returns no record has been possible, but from the gradual decrease in the
number of cows present after the height of the season is reached, it must be inferred
that the time of absence lengthens as the pup grows older and is able to remain
longer without food. As the cow does not leave the harem until after impregnation
it necessarily follows that adult cows whenever found at sea are pregnant.

TEE FEEDING OF THE COWS.

When the cows first enter the water after their long rest on the shore they exhibit
every evidence of genuine satisfaction and pleasure. They do not at once swim away,
but play about, rolling over and over in the water, scratching and rubbing themselves
with their flippers, getting thoroughly cleaned from the filth of the rookeries, This
done, the animals swim away to the feeding grounds.

SWIMMING SEALS.

During the breeding season a band of sleeping, playing, or swimming seals
skirts each rookery front. Some are plainly bachelors, but most are cows. This

56 TUE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

band of seals evidently represents the animals preparing to depart and those just
arriving. No one ever sees a seal landing directly from the sea; and one seldom sees
a. seal leave the rookery to go directly out to sea, though at a distance from land, as
on our trips to Otter Island, numbers of the animals were seen going rapidly out to sea
and coming in in the same direct manner. The incoming seal doubtless quietly
joins the outer edge of the group of swimming seals, becoming one of them in their
motions and pastimes, gradually working to the shore when ready to go on the rookery.
The departing seal, in like manner, evidently takes its place among the swimming
seals and when ready slips away from them on the outer side.

The tendency on the part of the seal on first going into the water to loiter and
enjoy a bath accounts for the delay of the departing seals; but in case of the arriving
seal something more definite must keep the tired animal, eager for her hungry pup,
from landing at once. The reason for this seems to lie in the feeding habits of the
animals. The bachelors, as has long been noted, are never found with food in their
stomachs, whether taken on first landing in the spring or later in the season. It has
been erroneously supposed on this account that they fasted more or less throughout
the season. In the summer of 1896, however, a large number of cows were either
directly killed or examined after accidental death and their stomachs also found to
be devoid of food. Tiven the stomach of a cow dead from choking on a fish bone was
empty. The cows are, of course, absolutely known to feed.

THE SEAL DIGESTS ITS FOOD IN THE WATER.

It seems necessary, therefore, to find some more rational explanation for the
absence of food in the stomachs of animals taken on land. This explanation seems
to be that digestion with the fur seal is completed in the water, and that if not so
completed before it reaches land, the animal loiters offshore until it is accomplished.
This explanation accounts for the empty stomachs of bachelors as well as cows. It
also explains the reason why the cows do not come directly on shore from the sea.
The fact that digestion is thus accomplished at sea also accounts for the relatively
small amount of excrement to be seen on the rookeries compared with the number of
animals. It is voided at sea.

THE EVIDENCE OF THE PUPS.

In the investigations regarding the feeding of pups carried on during the fall of
1896 some additional light was thrown on this subject. Where the animals were
killed while swimming or sleeping in the water, they were found almost without excep-
tion to be well filled with milk. Where they were killed on the rookeries, they were
as a rule empty or had little milk. The conclusion seems warranted that the little
fellows, after learning to swim well, spend most of their time in the water after feeding
and come on shore when hungry to await the return of their mothers. That their
presence in the water was connected with the digestion of their food was borne out by
the fact that in October, when hundreds of pups were playing and sleeping just off-
shore from the sand beaches of Zoltoi, Lukanin, and English Bay, the sands were
strewn with pup excrement washed up by the receding tide, together with the shells
and pebbles. :

THE FUR-SEAL HAREM. 57

THE FASTING OF THE SEALS.

Tt is of course known that the fur seals are probably capable of abstaining from
food for greater or less periods. Thus the cows evidently do not leave the rookeries
on their first landing within ten to twelve days. Whether such periods of abstinence
from food are regular or not, we do not know; but that the bachelors and cows
do not fast for any considerable part of the summer is plain, if for no other reason,
from the fact that they maintain a uniform condition throughout the season, always
showing a plentiful supply of blubber, but appearing in no better condition at one
time than another.

The bulls, on the other hand, which do undoubtedly fast, on coming ashore in the
early spring are loaded down with blubber, which is gradually absorbed, leaving the
animal thin and greatly reduced by the time the breeding season is over. There is
abundant reason why the bulls should fast, for it would be impossible for them to
leave their places, and nature has made provision for their necessities. A similar
provision seems to be made for the period of fasting which the newly weaned pup
must probably endure after going to sea on the winter migration, before it has become
proficient in the new art of fishing. During the months of October and November,
and up to the time of their departure, the pups grow excessively fat.

THE HAREM.

The unit of life on the rookeries is the harem. The rookeries themselves are
merely great bands or masses of harems grouped together along suitable beaches.
The average size of a harem, as found from the enumerations of 1896 and 1897, is about
thirty females to a single bull. The minimum and maximum limits range from a
single cow to 150. The single cow harems are formed generally in proximity to large
harems, and are as a rule the result of stealing on the part of idle bulls. Such bulls,
when the harem master’s attention is taken from his charges, rush in, seize and carry
off cows bodily. It is rarely that such pirate harems can be made to exceed a
single cow, as the animal must be held against her will, and in the effort to secure a
second the first one usually escapes. Sometimes, however, through the voluntary
desertion of cows from the large harems, it happens that these small harems rival the
original ones in size and are again subject to pillage by other idle bulls still further
in the rear. These small harems are found chiefly in the rear of and on the flanks of
the large breeding masses, such as on Tolstoi, Reef, and Vostochni.

LARGE HAREMS.

The excessively large harems are the result of accident or favorableness of loca-
tion rather than strength or prowess in the bulls. They are to be found in isolated
stations and where peculiar angles and turns of the breeding ground hem them in.
Thus on Gorbatch rookery a large bull held in his charge a group of 150 cows for a
week or ten days.* When allowance is made for abseutees, this harem must have
numbered between 200 and 300 cows. Behind this bull and his family were a score
of idle bulls lying about on the cinder slope. The secret of his success lay simply in
the fact that the harem occupied a triangular piece of ground bounded on two sides
by precipitous cliffs, and it was only necessary for the bull to guard the neck of land

*Daily Journal, Pt. Il, under date of July 15, 1897.

58 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

connecting with the slope. He, however, held the cows only during that period when
they are quiet and resting after the birth of their pups. When the animals became
restless and demanded attention in numbers, the large mass was presently broken up
into a number of smaller harems in charge of the rival bulls, which could no longer
be held in check.

HAREM SIZES.

But such large harems were exceptional, though harems numbering 50 cows were
not so rare where the conditions were favorable. The following is a section of Kitovi
rookery, counted by individual harems, which will give an idea of the diversity in
their size:

A portion of HNitovi rookery, July 18, 1896.

| 25 85 14 30 8 25 60 30 3 4 7
| 10 48 2 11 24 21 2 12 10 1 17
13 30 1 10 3 1 2 12 3 35 2
72 16 30 3 4 25 6 2 i) 25 2
45 24 7 12 11 20 7 18 9 36 6
aot 51 16 58 25 6 60 24 3 30 19
14 1 1 12 20 1 2d 5 20 25 12
15 21 9 2 7 4 15 20 25 14 9
| 20 3 1 10 15 2 24 7 2 2 40
/ 5 50 10 10 4 3 2 40 35 3 4
|

HAREM DISCIPLINE.

In the management of the harem the bull is an adept. Whether he has five cows
or fifty, he is master of the situation. His will islaw. Not that it is always tamely
accepted as such, but the result is the same. If a cow becomes restless and moves
about, a warning growl usually quiets her. If the movement is persisted in and an
attempt to escape evident, the bull is up at once with a show of fierceness and in
chase. He may simply strike the cow down with his open mouth. Often in doing so
his sharp canines tear a gash in her skin. He may even seize her in his mouth and
deliberately throw her or carry her back into the harem. If the cow thinks she has a
chance to get away, she may try to outrun the bull. If she miscalculates the distance,
he seizes her by the skin of the back and restores her, sometimes in a torn and bleed-
ing condition, to the family circle. As a rule, however, the cow avoids this seizure by
turning and facing the bull, biting him in the breast and neck. The bull then, by
gradually pushing her before him, forces her back into the fold.

THE DEPARTURE OF THE COWS.

These persistent efforts to get away are made by the cows who are ready to leave
for the water. The cows are not allowed to go until they are served. The bull’s
actions seem to be based upon a desire to be absolutely sure and to take no chances.
The cow, when forced against her will to stay, bides her time, and when the bull is
asleep she slips away unmolested. It frequently happens that she has to run the
gauntlet of a band of young bulls which are stationed along the water front and are
always ready to intercept the departing cow. The cow shows much skill and shrewd-
ness in outwitting them. Once in the water her superior quickness enables her to

DISCIPLINE OF THE BEACH MASTERS. 59

outswim her pursuers. In one or two instances a chase of this sort could be traced
for a half mile or more out to sea by the dolphin leaps of the animals as they rose
above the surface to breathe. These instances were chiefly to be seen late in June,
before the band of seals off the rookery front was large enough to furnish protection
to the departing cows.

METHODS OF DISCIPLINE.

In the ordinary discipline of the harem a grow] from the bull usually quiets the
cows. This growl is also forthcoming when the cows quarrel among themselves, as
they frequently do. Sometimes it is necessary for the bull to get up and quiet them
by chuckling and scolding over them, apparently ina tone of remonstrance.

At times, even when his cows are all asleep, the bull rouses himself up and by
encircling his harem and whistling, chuckling, and snarling starts the cows up and
crowds them together. No apparent reason for such action can be seen. Jt seems on
the face of it an unnecessary exhibition of authority, which, however, may servé some
purpose. Having rounded up his harem, the bull may return to his favorite sleeping
spot to resume his nap, or he may pick a quarrel with his neighbor.

THE FIGHTING OF THE BULLS.

At times the young bulls, in attempting to reach the rear of the rookeries without
going around, break through the line of harems. Their entrance into the rookery
confines sets everything in an uproar. Each bull into whose domain he comes attacks
the intruder and passes him along to the next. Occasionally some over-valiant bull
-goes too far from his harem. The idle bulls are on the alert and seize the occasion to
carry off cows. In very rare instances an idle bull may step in and take the whole
harem, whipping out its rightful owner when he attempts to return. So, over the
whole section of the rookery thus stirred up, fighting ensues and confusion reigns.
In the héight of the breeding season such incidents are of hourly occurrence.

THE EARLY FIGHTING OVERESTIMATED.

It is in the height of the season, and then alone, that the excessive fighting
among the bulls occurs. It-has been currently supposed that from the period of the
landing of the first bulls they were engaged in defending their positions in bloody
battles; that a truce resulting from these first contests for places was gradually
established; that this was broken on the arrival of the first cows, when a period of
desperate and spasmodic fighting began.

Such, however, was not the case in 1897, and has probably never been the case.
As the bulls spend the days, after the breeding season is over, in resting and sleeping
in good fellowship on the sand beaches, so they seem to spend the period of waiting,
prior to the arrival of the cows, in sleeping and resting. At the time of our landing
at St. George, on June 7, it could not be determined from the deck of the vessel,
anchored but a few rods off the rookery, whether it was occupied or not. With a
glass a few bulls could be seen. On close inspection the beach was found to contain
180 adult bulls evenly distributed over the rookery territory. When disturbed they
roused up and roared both at the intruder and at one another; but: they soon returned
to their sleep. There was no commotion, no excitement. When pressed too closely
they gave evidence of willingness to yield their ground. No test of whether they could

60 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

be driven off was deemed advisable. There was no fighting among them at that
time nor any apparent inclination to fight voluntarily. That no marked fighting
had occurred previous to this time was evident from the fact that but few wounds or
fresh scars could be seen upon the animals. In this regard they were in marked
contrast to their condition in the middle of the season, when the harem bull or idle
bull that did not show gashes about the breast and shoulders was the exception and
not the rule.

At this early date the bulls not only did not pay any attention to one another,
but even allowed the bachelors to occupy places among them and to haul out where
they pleased. Later in the season this could not have occurred. A bachelor or young
bull then appearing within range of an adult bull was violently attacked.

NO FIGHTING OVER ARRIVING COWS.

As the description of the arrival of the cows has already indicated, there could
be nothing more incorrect than the reported battles over them. To the first arrival
of the cow the bulls are utterly indifferent except where she becomes the object of
capture by a particular bull. Once in the harems, the cows receive little attention even
from their lords after the first brief welcome and absolutely none from other bulls.
This was but natural. The landing cows were heavy with young. These must be
born and a -périod of a week elapse before they could become an object of interest to
the bull. The attitude of the bull at the outset was one merely of defense or struggle
for possession. He was not influenced, as he was later on, by sexual excitement.

The real period of struggle and contest on the rookeries occurred after the 1st of
July, when the cows began to come in heat in large numbers. From this time on to
the close of the season more or less fighting could always be seen.

FIGHTING INFLUENCED BY SEXUAL INSTINCT.

When the breeding season was over and the bulls had returned to the sand beaches
from feediug, their fighting instincts were plainly gone and they could be gathered
up and driven about like the bachelors. In securiug specimens for dissection or other
purposes, two or three men could round up from 400 to 500 bulls on Zoltoi sands and
drive them over to the killing grounds. They could be handled and driven exactly
as sheep are. In the breeding season a dozen men ceuld not move one of these bulls
from his place or make away with him otherwise than by killing him. His courage
and fighting qualities are simply boundless in the defense of his harem. He will not
interfere with the observer who keeps at a reasonable distance, but when too closely
approached he will charge fiercely and quickly, and the adult bull on the breeding
grounds is about as dangerous as a bear. Judging from the way in which they tear
one another, a man would fare badly in their clutches. The bull, however, does not
follow up his enemy beyond a certain point, and always returns to his real or imagi-
nary harem. This makes escape an easy matter. The chief source of danger in getting
about among the bulls is in the possibility of slipping or stumbling on the rocks, or
ot running into the range of a sleeping animal while escaping from another. One can
not always easily distinguish, in the foggy atmosphere of Bering Sea, the idle bulls
from the stones among which they lie. That no accidents have occurred to the various
investigators from the attacks of bull seals is due to the wholesome caution and respect
which their courage and apparent capacity for mischief have inspired.

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A DEFEATED BEACH MASTER,

Drawn from nature by Bristow Adams.

FIGHTING OF THE BEACH MASTERS. 61
MANNER OF FIGHTING.

Much of the so-called fighting, especially among the harem bulls, is a species of
“bluffing” accompanied by a good deal of roaring and blowing, but ending without
injury. The signal for such a performance is a challenging roar on the part of some
bull and an answering roar from the challenged bull. The two animals approach
each other, and when at a certain distance apart, both strike out with that long
serpent-like stroke characteristic of the seal. In making the stroke the bulls let
themselves down with their breasts on the ground, and, after puffing out their musky
breath, which forms a cloud in the cool, muvist air, they right themselves and, standing
for a minute with averted heads, return to their places.

REAL FIGHTING.

These are merely exchanges of friendly greetings between the harem masters.
Between the harem masters and the idle bulls, or between individuals of the latter
class, the matter is more serious. The same preliminaries are gone through with,
but the stroke does not fall short and end in fiasco. The aim is taken for the
foreflipper at the angle of the body, and if it is true, a deep red gash is the result.
But the animals are expert in averting the attack by throwing the flipper under the
body. Failing in reaching the coveted point of attack, a compromise is made, each
animal seizing the other by the skin of the shoulder.or breast, wherever the hold can
be obtained. They then clinch and tug and strain in their efforts each to overturn
the other or to push him from his place. The strength of the powerful jaws is such
that not infrequently a great gaping rent in the tough hide is the result. If, however,
the hold is firm, and one animal is strong enough to push the other, this ends the
fight, the one yielding giving it up. If the animals are more evenly matched, after
each clinch they return to renew the struggle in a species of rounds, gauged by the
endurance of the bulls. They are soon fatigued on land, as they have difficulty in
getting breath, and any exertion must be of short duration.

That some of these fights are continued until one or the other of the animals dies
of exhaustion, is abundantly proved by the bodies of dead bulls found on the rookeries
and especially in that territory occupied by the idle bulls. On Zapadni rookery no
less than ten of these animals, freshly dead, were seen about the middle of July. The
bodies were torn and gashed, but none of the wounds were capable of causing death,
which probably resulted directly from exhaustion.

THE TREATMENT OF THE COWS.

The fights between the harem masters and the idle bulls are at bottom due to the
attempts of the latter class to steal the cows. When aun idle bull steals a cow, he
is usually attacked by her master. Sometimes he drops the cow, which returns
to the harem while the bulls settle the account. It sometimes happens, however,

-that the master or perhaps a third bull seizes the cow and she is pulled about until
one or the other hold loosens. Doubtless a certain number of cows are literally
torn to pieces in this way. One was seen on Kitovi rookery to lie limp and insensible
for five minutes after being thus treated. She afterwards crawled away, evidently
seriously hurt. That the number of cows killed by the bulls in their struggles or by
the rough treatment of the harem masters is considerable is shown by the fact that

62 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

no less unan 42 dead cows were found in the season of 1897 on Reef rookery, the
majority of which were so torn and mangled as to point to the harsh treatment of
the bulls as the probable cause. Other cows were found dead from similar cause
on all the rookeries. In 1896 131, all told, were thus counted.

The bulls are anything but gentle with the cows. Examples of their rough treat-
ment can at any time be seen on the rookeries. Living cows, cut and slashed and
torn, are everywhere visible. In most cases the injury is due probably to accident
rather than intention. In one case, however, on Lukanin rookery during the summer
of 1897, a bull simply bit and worried a stolen cow until he killed her. When first
seen she was considerably torn, having been stolen from a neighboring harem by her
master, av idle bull. She was restless and kept making constant efforts to escape.
The bull treated her roughly, but while observed was not seen to injure her seriously.
At every time the rookery was subsequently inspected, however, she was found to be
in worse condition, until after two days she was found dead. The bloody jaws and
front of her master showed plainly who was responsible. The body was recovered
and the skin taken and tanned as a specimen of the wanton cruelty of the bull.

THE WOUNDS OF THE FUR SEAL.

The attitude of the fur seals toward their wounds is striking. There is no attempt
to nurse, lick, or otherwise notice them. A bull, whose foreflipper is hacked and
bleeding, his every movement lacerating still farther the injured muscles, may be seen
rushing about, rounding up his harem, bidding defiance to every idle bull within
reach. A cow may be seen going about with a flap of skin 6 inches square torn from
her back. A pup was seen from whose side the skin and blubber.was torn and
hanging in a flap, leaving the intestines bare, and it was still a lively and apparently
cheerful pup. A bull in attempting to carry off a cow from a harem was attacked by
the owner of the cow. Instead of dropping her and defending himself he clung to
her and took his punishment, struggling on. The harem master seized him by the
exposed flank, and when he released his hold, after almost overturning the bull, the
blood gushed out from the holes made by his ugly canines. The thief escaped with
the cow and added her to his small harem of two. In his self-satisfied perambulations
about his family group he soon made a space of about 10 feet square crimson with his
blood. The next day the bull was just as pugnacious as ever, and even made an
attempt to steal a fourth cow. His wounds, of which he had many, were a source of
no apparent annoyance to him.

The thick coating of blubber under the skin with which the seals of all classes are
lined is doubtless not very sensitive, and this, not the muscles, is torn and lacerated.
The climatic conditions, the salt water, and the absence of flies render the healing of
the wounds rapid, and by the middle of August but few traces remain, except the
welt or scar in the skin which at times results from imperfect healing. The wound
which so many bulls receive at the angle of the foreflipper is usually kept gaping open
to such an extent by the movements of the animals that a perpetual scar remains.

THE INSTINCT FOR FIGHTING.

The fighting among the bulls has evidently been a feature of the breeding grounds
so long that it has become an instinct with the males. On every hauling ground the
bachelors of all ages are constantly going through in play the movements of their

‘SUIBPY AMOISIIg Aq aInyeU WOT UAeIG

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THE SKIN OF A COW TORN AND BITTEN TO DEATH BY HER BULL ON LUKANIN ROOKERY, SAINT PAUL ISLAND,
JULY, 189

SLEEP OF THE FUR SEALS. 63

elders. By twos they are striking for the foreflipper or dodging the blow, bracing and
pushing and struggling with each other. They pant and strain, rest for a time, and
then resume the contest.

This same thing is true of the little pups. As soon as they are able to play at
anything it is bull fighting. The little black head of the 2-weeks-old pup strikes
out for his neighbor’s foreflipper, which involuntarily tucks itself under the body, and
the little yellow teeth close on the fur of the neck and pull and tug until their owner
has put to rout its antagonist or been routed. In each case, while it is plainly play,
it is such dreadfully earnest play that one can only distinguish it from the fighting
of the bulls by its results.

THE NOISE OF THE ROOKERIES.

To appreciate fully this picture of the animated life of the fur-seal rookery one
must take into account the medley of sound that accompanies it. The bulls are giving
vent at intervals to their savage roars of defiance. In their more subdued efforts
to maintain discipline in the harem they are constantly whistling, chuckling, and
scolding in various notes. Mingled with all this is the shrill bleat of the female and
the answering call of the pup, which correspond to the voice of the sheep and the
lamb, though greater in volume. When it is undérstood that thousands of these
animals are calling and answering all the time, some idea of the uproar and confusion
incident to rookery life is possible. Nor is the din and noise peculiar to the day.
It can be heard at all hours of the night; in fact, the activity is, if anything, greater
at that time.

.

THE SLEEPING OF THE SEALS.

In the early days of the breeding season all the animals sleep much of the time.
The cows, as they come in from their long journey, spend most of the first ten days
they are constantly on land in sleeping. It is with the height of the season, when
the cows are landing in large numbers from their trips to the feeding grounds, that
the noise and confusion becomes so marked. But even then through it all a large
proportion of the animals are comfortably asleep. A harem may be seen in which,
for the time being, every animal from the old bull down to the pups is sound asleep.
Beside it may be a harem which is all confusion, every animal up and stirring, and
most of them calling. Still another harem has part of its occupants awake and
active, the rest asleep. On the hauling grounds, among the pups and among the idle
bulls, it is the same.

' The seals sleep very soundly at certain times. In counting the live pups it
frequently happened that a pod of 50 or 100 pups would be driven over a space on
which a half dozen or more pups slept undisturbed by the shuffling feet of their
companions. To the seal’s habit of sleeping soundly in the water the success of
pelagic sealing is largely due. The pelagic sealer, taking advantage of the habit,
is able to row close up to the sleeping animal and throw his spear into it or fill it
with buckshot.

The attitude of the seal thus sleeping in the water is interesting. It lies on its
back in a bowed position, the nose just peering above the surface, and, it is said,
always to the leeward. The hind flippers are raised aloft as a windbreak to keep the
animal in this definite position. In this attitude the seal can apparently sleep with

64 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

the greatest comfort, rocked by the gentle swell. In such calm days as occur during
the months of September and October the water off the rookery fronts and sand
beaches is literally black with the swimming and sleeping pups. Occasionally older
seals at this time, aud more frequently earlier in the season, are to be seen in the
same position.

THEIR ATTITUDES.

An interesting feature about the fur seal in its naps on the rookery is the
variety of attitudes which it assumes. The sleeping animals assume every conceivable
shape and position. One animal is stretched out at full length on its back, another
on its side, still another on its stomach. Again, the hind flippers may be tucked
up under the body, the foreflippers outstretched. These conditions may be exactly
reversed. Or the hind flippers may be waving lazily in the air like a fan. On a
day when the sun shines for a few minutes the seal lies prone upon the ground with
its flippers in the air. The sight of thousands upon thousands of the animals thus
stretched out, almost gasping for breath and with every hind flipper waving in the
effort to keep cool, is a most interesting one.

The seals enjoy the rocks. They do not care for a smooth and even bed. The
body has a wonderful power of adaptation to its rocky bed of water-worn bowlders
One cow finds a flat rock on which she curls up and lets her head hang over the side
at a most reckless angle. Another lies with her head elevated upou a rock, as though
on a pillow. A favorite position among the animals is to sleep sitting up with the
head thrown back and the body wavering with the respirations as if it would fall.
On vookeries where perpendicular cliffs form the back ground the animals are to be
found stowed away on little shelves and in little angles where it is a wonder they can
keep their positions at all.

THE COLORATION.

There is more or less diversity in the coloration of the various animals, which
lends interest to the picture of rookery life. The little pups are at birth shiny black
with a white spot in the axil. Some of them show a brownish shade along the throat
and belly. In September they shed their black coats and don coats of gray, which,
under the action of the weather, soon change into the brownish or combination brown
and silvery color of the adults.

On her first landing the adult female is dark, slightly olivaceous, gray. Under
exposure to the weather, and especially the sunshine, she turns to a rusty reddish
brown, somewhat darker on the back, lighter on the throat and belly. The great
uniformity of this coloration, as seen among the cows during June of 1897 before they
had begun to go to sea, confirms the belief that these darker colors, as a rule, go with
the older animals.

About the middle of July, the time at which the younger bachelors begin to
appear in greatest number, the rookeries also show large numbers of animals which
in their silvery throats and bellies contrast sharply with the animals already present.
Their backs present the same dark-brown shade, but the silvery gray underneath the
body is entirely different. Their small size, the black whiskers, and the lateness of
their arrival proclaim them to be younger animals. But not all the younger animals
are of this sort, as two virgin females killed side by side were each of a distinct type

THE FUR OF THE FUR SEAL. 65

of coloration. This makes it possible only to say that the older seals are more uniform
and darker in color, while among the younger seals there is more diversity. It seems
likely that the lighter colors in the young seals correspond to the brownish bellied
black pups. Among the bachelors the colors seem more uniform, though the younger
males show again a preponderance of the lighter shades.

The greatest diversity exists among the bulls. Among the harem masters there
are two general types, one almost black, the other reddish-brown. Both .styles of
coloration are associated with the older animals, but which is the older of the two is
not apparent. The younger bulls are, as a rule, gray.

But these three are only general types. There is the greatest individual varia-
tion among the bulls of all classes, and almost any combination of shades or mingling
of shades can be found. Much of the individual variation is due to the length of
time the animals have been out of the water; in other words, to the influence of
exposure. In the water and when wet there is but little difference in the coloration.
In rainy weather the animals are all of one shade.

THE PELAGE,

The diversity of color in the fur seal is confined chiefly to the outer or water hairs,
which project beyond the fur. The fur itself is fairly uniform. In the pups the water
hair is glossy black at birth and is replaced in two to three months by hair of gray.
In the females the water hair is more or less uniform in length, and the same is true
of the males until after the third year. From this time on the hair on the neck of the
male becomes longer and coarser, developing with the growth of the bull into stiff
bristles, constituting the mane, or “wig,” as it is called.

Beneath this water hair is the short, thick fur of the seal. In the preparation of
the seal skins these hairs are carefully removed, leaving only the short, thick fur. It
has been asserted that the pup is born without fur, having only the black hair, and
that it does not attain its full pelage until the second year. Thisis not the case. The
pup at birth has short fuzzy fur, which grows rapidly, and is of considerable length
when the animal begins to swim. By the time it is ready for the sea in the fall its
fur differs in length and thickness from that of the older seals only as the size of the
animal varies.

THE STAGY SEASON.

Between the middle of August and the middle of October the adult animals shed
their hair and get a new coat. During this season the skins of the seals are said to
be stagy, and they are not taken on land. The fact, however, that one of the most
important catches at sea is taken in August and September has led to some confusion.
It has been held by those interested that no stagy seals were found at sea, and from
this, by inference at least, it has been suggested that these animals are, for some
reason, @ different class. —

In his report for 1896, the Canadian commissioner, Mr. Andrew Halkett, quotes
the statements of a large number of sealers to the effect that they had never known a
stagy seal at sea and had seen very few in poor condition as to fur. Mr. Halkett
expresses his own opinion as follows:

' [have simply to say that nothing resembling a seal in poor condition, either as to hair or fur, was
seen by me, although some 800 passed through my hands,
15184 5

66 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

He adds the remark:

I have no difficulty to decide as to a bird in a molting condition or in full breeding plumage, or
a mammal when casting its hair, so that I cannot understand why it should be so difficult to tell a

stagy seal.

The trouble here arises from a inisunderstanding of what is meant by “staginess.”
It does not designate any marked difference in quantity of the fur. It has chiefly
to do with the condition of the water hair. During the months of August, September,
and October the water hairs are gradually replaced by a new growth. While this
new hair is growing and before it has attained its full length it sticks tightly, and is
very difficult to remove in unhairing the skin in the process of dressing.’ The practical
impossibility of removing all the short hairs depreciates the value of the skins. When
the seals are taken on the islands in June and July the skins are approaching the time
when these hairs are ready to fall out, and they are consequently more easily removed.
As a large part of the value of the skin is the result of the labor put upon it in
preparation, anything which tends to increase this labor decreases the value of the
pelt in the raw state.

To the eye of the casual or untrained observer the skin of the seal taken in
August or September does not show staginess. If the fur is parted, however, the
short hair can be seen among the fur and hidden by it.

Under these conditions it is not strange that sealers and others do not recognize
the seals as stagy. Staginess is a condition fully recognized and appreciated only
by the furrier. In deference to his wishes, the seals on the islands are not taken while
they are in this condition. As a result, for this reason among others, the island catch
is regarded as superior to the catch taken at sea. The pelagic sealer does not respect
the stagy season, and declares that he takes no stagy seals, but the price he obtains
for his skins clearly indicates that the furrier does not agree with him.

THE ARRIVAL OF THE YOUNGER SEALS,

There remains yet to be recorded the arrival of the young 1 and 2 year old
females. Their brothers, we found, arrive at the islands about the middle of July
and spend their time on the hauling grounds. Whether the young females come with
them to the vicinity of the islands or are associated with them on the migrations is
not known. But they do not associate with them to any great extent on the islands.

The 2-year-olds come to the rookeries about the first of August. They take
up their places in the old harems or in new and temporary ones in charge of young
bulls on the water front and in the rear of the regular breeding grounds. Here they
are served by the bulls and return to the water.

1 The difficulties in the way of treating stagy skins are well put in the following extract from
a letter by Mr. Isaac Liebes, of the firm of H. Liebes & Co., furriers, of San Francisco, Cal. :

“The short or water hair (in stagy skins) can never be entirely removed, and in attempting to
do so a great deal of the wool is pulled out with the hair, which of course deteriorates the quality.
Then again, the stumps of the hair being left in the leather (as they cannot be pulled out, but are cut
off), nakes the pelt stiff and harsh, so that after it is prepared the stagy skin can be clearly indicated
by the color and texture of the leather. The water hairs can never be removed from the thin sides of
the animal, where the fur is shorter than in the back, and in the process of machining, which these
skins undergo, the wool is separated so as to expose the stiff hairs, which are then cut out, but the
sides, being so short in fur, the machine cannot successfully separate the hair from the wool.”

CLOSE OF THE BREEDING SEASON. 67

The yearling females doubtless come to the islands in company with the 2-year
olds, but do not put in an appearance on the rookeries much before September, at the
time when the pups of the year are able to swim well and begin to make their first
excursions about the islands. For the rest of the season these young seals spend their
time playing among the pups and ranging like privileged characters over the rookeries.

That they do not, as has been supposed, frequent the hauling grounds with, the
males is doubtless due to the fact that these would. annoy them, for the instinct of
rounding up a harem and lording it over others is early developed in the young
male. A young yearling male may frequently be seen rounding up a pod of sleeping
or resting pups with all the gusto of an adult. The pups themselves not infrequently
attempt the same thing with their fellows.

THE BREAKING UP OF THE BREEDING SEASON.

As has already been said, about the 25th of July the old harem bulls, that have
fasted since the first of May, begin to leave and seek the feeding grounds. As they
withdraw, their places are taken by the idle bulls. This class of males does not locate
definitely on the breeding grounds much before the arrival of the cows. They have,
therefore, fasted a shorter period and are able to remain out the season.

By the 5th to the 10th of August all the able-bodied adult bulls have gone, and
the younger bulls, together with the bachelors, flock over the breeding grounds,
The bachelors have, during the breeding season, been strictly excluded from the rook-
eries, but with the departure of the bulls they take advantage of their new freedom,
and mingling with the cows and pups, they round up mimic harems and make them-
selves generally at home. In a few weeks, however, the novelty of the situation
wears off, and the bachelors return to their favorite lounging places on the sand
beaches.

THE CONDITION OF THE BULLS.

Much has been said of the wasted and broken condition of the harem masters as
they leave the islands after their long fast. It is true that they become reduced in
condition from their earlier state, but they are by no means so reduced or broken in
spirit as they are reported. During the season of 1897, in counting the pups on the
several rookeries it was necessary to enter them late in July or early in August and
turn off the adults into the water. These so-called weak and emaciated bulls were
found not only able but willing to fight us or one another to the last. In many cases
they could not be moved at all any more than in the height of the season. This was at
a time when these animals must many of them have been without food or water for at
least two months, Our experience taught us that so long as an adult bull is on the
breeding ground there is fight and courage enough in him to make him master of the
situation; it is when the breeding season is over and he has removed to the sand
beaches that he becomes tame and tractable.

The harem bulls on their first departure seek the feeding grounds and by the first
of September return, some of them to their former places on the rookeries, where they
plainly show their rejuvenation by their renewed combativeness, and also by their
efforts to round up and monopolize such cows as still remain about. Most of them,
however, haul out on the great beaches along North Shore, English Bay, and Lukanin,
to sleep during tlie rest of the season, going to and coming from the feeding grounds
as they feel like it.

68 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

THE FOOD AND FEEDING GROUNDS.

The feeding grounds of the fur seals in Bering Sea lie to the south and west of the
Pribilof Islands, just off the 100-fathom curve, at a distance of from 100 to 200 miles.
In the migrations the seals seem to follow in a general way this same curve

The food taken by the seals in Bering Sea consists mainly of squid, pollock, and a
small smelt-like fish known only through the bones found in the stomachs of the seals.
Ou the migrations along the coast squid is again the chief diet, though occasional
salmon, herring, and rockfish are taken. This subject is more fully treated by Mr.
Lucas in Part ITI.

THE AGE OF THE SEALS.

Of the age of the fur seals we know practically nothing, but one striking thing
about the fur-seal rookeries is the absence of any animals which seem to be aged or
decrepit. On certain sand beaches and out-of-the-way places animals in poor condi-
tion were seen, which at first glance seemed to correspond to the class of aged and
infirm among other animals, but on dissection they were found without exception to
show injuries which fully accounted for their condition. Some had dislocated joints,
broken bones, injuries to the spine, buckshot wounds, and like troubles. None were
suffering from old age.

Nor is this a thing to be wondered at. The severest strain which the fur seal
undergoes 1s the winter migration in Bering Sea and the North Pacific. An animal
weak or-broken down from old age or injuries of one sort or another would succumb
first to the hardships of the sea and would not return. To the breeding rookeries and
hauling grounds are returned each spring only those animals which have possessed
the hardihood and strength to survive the adverse conditions of the winter. These
may be relied upon, unless overcome by accidents, to maintain themselves during the
summer, to be again sifted out in the struggle for existence which the ensuing winter
renews.

THE FUR-SEAL PUP.

Of all the different classes of animals the pups are the most conspicuous and
interestiug. For the first two months of their lives they are always present on the
rookeries where they are born. Their black coats contrast sharply with the gray
stones and with the brown fur of their mothers. For a few days after the pup
is born it is watched over by the mother with a moderate show of interest, which
manifests itself chiefly in supplying it with nourishment and keeping it out of the
way of the clumsy bull. But before long the little fellow grows independent and
leaves the family circle, seeking the lee of a sheltering rock at a distance from the
harems. There it spends its time sleeping and playing with its companions.
Whether this “podding” of the pups is a matter of choice or the outgrowth of the
instinct of self-preservation, the result is good, for it keeps the little fellows out of
the way of the fighting and trampling bulls. From the time when the pup joins
the pod it receives no attention from the mother except on her return from the sea,
when she feeds it. Her absences are at first brief, but as the pup grows older they
lengthen out. The pup gorges itself with milk while the mother is ou land and goes
hungry until her return.

THE SWIMMING PUPS. 69

When it is about a month old the pup seeks the water’s edge, and after paddling
about for a time in the tide pools gradually learns to swim. This art, in which it
becomes wonderfully expert, it finds evident difficulty in acquiring.

THE SWIMMING OF THE PUPS.

Many accounts have been given of the way in which various classes of animals are
supposed to assist the pups in learning to swim. If these have any foundation
whatever it arises from a misinterpretation of the fact that the young bachelors, and
probably the yearling cows as well, play with and tease the pups in their first
attempts to swim. Bachelors were thus often seen to shove the little pups off the
rocks into the water, or even to attempt to catch and duck them. But the purpose
was not to assist the pups.

What first starts the pup to the water is not clear, though why any other reason
than the mere fact that it must eventually learn to swim and. that the water is at
hand, should be necessary, is not clear. It. may be that the first pups seek the water
following the example of the departing cows. But, once a.single pup has made the
experiment, every pup in its section of the rookery soon follows the example. °

The pup seeks first the secluded and protected tide pools, of which numbers can’
be found along the rookery fronts. Here it paddles about, gradually seeking the open
water, but keeping close to the shore. lts chief difficulty at the outset is to keep its
disproportionately large head above water. In a very short time it becomes perfectly
at home io the water and spends most of the daytime in it. As the pups are accus-
tomed to play on shore, so they play in the water, rolling over and over each other,
diving for shells, shaking strips of kelp, pieces of sticks, feathers, or anything that
comes to hand, just as young dogs might.

THE EXCURSIONS OF THE PUPS.

By the middle of September, when the pups have learned to swim well, they sud-
denly develop a roving spirit and pass back and forth between neighboring rookeries,
and there is a continuous band of pups coming and going between them. Thus, such
a belt of pups was found in the early part of September to extend from Kitovi rookery
past East Landing to Reef rookery, nearly a mile distant. Another followed around
the cliffs back of the village connecting Gorbatch with Lagoon. Lagoon was in like
manner connected with Tolstoi head, and a band of pups stretched on along the water
front of English Bay, uniting Tolstoi and the Zapadnis.

At certain points intermediate between these terminals, the pups hauled out in
groups of varying sizes and slept on the rocks, apparently remaining there for days
and days at atime. But after the. pups were branded on Kitovi rookery, observa-
tions on a pod of these pups hauled out under Black Bluff showed that while the
number in these distant places remained nearly constant, the individuals came and
went regularly. The pups doubtless returned to the rookery to meet their mothers,
timing their visits with her return.

Toward the close of the month of September these excursions of the pups ceased

‘as suddenly as they began, and the pups remained about their respective rookeries
and in the waters adjacent to them, sleeping: on shore-when hungry, sleeping and
playing in the water when full of milk.

70 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

MORTALITY AMONG THE SEALS.!

On the rookeries but a slight mortality occurs among the adult seals. A few of
the cows are killed in various ways, chiefly in the struggles of the bulls for their
possession. A total of 131 of these dead cows was found on the rookeries of the
two islands last year. A score or more of bulls were found dead at the same time,
evidently as a result of contests with one another. But this loss in a herd of
nearly 160,000 adult animals is insignificant.

DEATH OF PUPS.

Among the pups the mortality is more striking. The average fur-seal pup after
it is a few weeks old is not an easy animal to kill or injure. In our experience we
have seen them stand hard knocks and even come from under the feet of the bulls
uninjured. We have seen them tumble off and go bounding down the cliffs like
rubber balls without apparent injury. But when the little pup is only a few days old
it is a very different matter. In the rushes of the clumsy bull in his efforts to defend
or discipline his harem a certain number of the little fellows are crushed to death
before they are old enough to get away and pod by themselves.

THE PARASITE UNCINARIA.

In our investigations of the subject of mortality among the pups in 1896, which
were begun late} we assumed that the chief cause of death among the 11,000 pups
counted before the middle of August was the trampling of the fighting bulls. The
more thorough investigations of 1897, however, prove this an error. The principal
cause of death was found to be a small parasitic worm of the genus Uncinaria, which
infests sandy areas where the seals are crowded and the ground has become filthy.

The embryos of the worm are taken in from the fur of the mother by the nursing
pup and develop in the intestines, sucking the blood and causing the pup to die of
anemia. It is an infantile disease, and those which do not die before the middle of
August outgrow it and survive. After that time these natural or accidental causes
of death have but little effect on the pups, though, as we shall see later on, another
and more serious cause of death presently begins, namely, the starvation of the young
due to the loss of the mother at sea. For this man is solely responsible.

THE COUNT OF EARLY DEAD PUPS IN 1896.

This early mortality among the pups was made the object of a careful enumera-
tion in 1896. A full record of the count by rookeries will be found in the statistical
appendix to this report. The following counts of the “death traps” where the injury
of the worm was greatest will give some idea of its destructive effects:

Record of pups, 1896.

: Pups dead

Rookery. Pups born. (August).
Tolstoi (main, including sand flat) 11, 775 1, 495
Papad ni ccesvecaasnsnascnaweneuraesiesveies vt 17, 648 3, 095
ROG Ef oocecdcecisicerinsate siawerseinanac' crescents 15, 258 950
Gorbateh ccssews vecsweweeeuseeracoemesstwavesnesownteoses 9, 142 712

' This subject is more fully treated in a special paper by Mr. Lucas in Part 1II.

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“L68L NI IOLSTOL NO SdNd avaa

‘puesumoy, Aq ydess0q0qg
“mwpuzzuQ WHOM 3HL 4O SHOVLLV AHL WOUS GV3d SdNd ONIMOHS ‘LSNONV NI AYSWOOY IOLSTOL 3HL JO LV1d GNVS SHL 40 NoILuOd Vv

ENEMIES OF THE FUR SEAL. 71

On the island of St. George a complete census of the dead pups for both seasons
was made. This will illustrate the relative death rate on typical rookery ground from
more or less accidental causes. The worm is practically absent from the rookeries of
St. George, which are all located on bowlder beaches. On these rookeries there were
born in 1896 about 19,000 pups; in 1897, 16,000. The following is the count of dead
pups by rookeries:

Comparative counts of dead pups, St. George.

Rookery. 1896. 1897.
259 244
31 84
112 93
199 112
135 15
736 558

THE DEPARTURE OF THE SEALS.

At the first approach of winter, usually in November, the cows and pups go away
together. The pups are doubtless weaned at this time, as they nurse and subsist:
solely on their mothers’ milk until the time of their departure. Following the example
of their elders, they doubtless soon learn to subsist on fish. They have a hard time
of it the first season by reason of the difficulty of securing food and because of the
severity of the winter storms. It is pretty clearly ascertained that only about
one-half return the second spring, and that not more than one-third of those born
reach the age of 3 years.

THE ENEMIES OF THE SEAL.

What enemies the seals encounter on their migrations we do not know. Doubt-
less the greatest cause of destruction among them is the storms of winter, and these
affect most strongly the old or injured and the young and inexperienced, which
possibly fail to secure the requisite amount of food.

Much has been said about the ravages of certain species of sharks. It is not
known that any shark preys upon them, in the north at least. The Great Killer
(Orea orca) is a known source of loss about the islands. Whether the killers attack
them in the open ocean or not is not known, though it is probable that they do not
to any great extent.

THE GREAT KILLER.

Killers were seen in schools of from three to seven plying about the islands in
the latter part of September, undoubtedly destroying many pups. These big fish
swim into the bays, which fairly swarm with seals, old and young, at this time.
Their course, as they move along the rookery fronts, is marked by hovering gulls,
which alight to pick up the fragments. The seals seem absolutely stupid in presence
of the danger.

On one occasion after a raid by these killers the carcass of a mangled cow
was found washed up on Zoltoi Sands. On another occasion a killer in heavy surf
followed the seals into Village Cove and became stranded on the rocks, but another

72 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

heavy roller enabled it to get away before steps could be taken to killit. One of its
mangled victims, a large gray pup, was washed ashore, and an opportunity was thus
given for its examination.

The killers are reported to visit the islands also in the spring at about the time
of the landing of the cows, and a few were seen early in June in the spring of 1897.
Whatever may be said of these animals, and the destruction they may cause, their
feeding on the fur seals can not be considered as more than incidental, else they would
remain about the islands all summer. They probably do not depend upon the seals in
any way for food. :

THE DEPARTURE OF BACHELORS AND BULLS.

The bachelors still linger about the islands after the departure of the cows. They
are taken for food by the natives all through the month of December and at times far
into January. On mild winters they are to be seen about the islands all winter.
Thus, in the season of 1896-97, a food drive was made on December 14, and seals were
reported on Sivutch Rock on December 30, January 7 and 29, February 6 and 16.
Nineteen seals were killed for food on the rock on March 2.

But as a rule November closes the stay of the seals on the islands, and, class by
class, they set out on their winter migrations.

THE SWIMMING OF THE SEALS.

The fur seal is wonderfully adapted for its long winter residence in the water.
Its movements are as quick and graceful as those of a fish. In swimming it uses the
fore flippers only. The hind flippers are held flat together, projecting backward like
a rudder, and they may serve the animal in that capacity.

There are abrupt cliffs on St. Paul Island from which the motions of the swimming
seals can be watched. A stone thrown near a submerged seal causes it to turn about
and dart away with lightning speed. So rapid are its movements when thus disturbed
that it is impossible to distinguish the motion of the flippers, which are powerful
enough in the case of the bull to make the water boil in foam.

THE RATE OF TRAVEL.

In traveling rapidly the seal alternately rises clear of the water and dives under
it in a series of compound curves. The dolphin-like leap, ‘‘ breaching” as it is called,
enables the animal without loss of time to recover its breath. How fast the seals can
trave] is not known and can probably not be computed. They have, however, been
seen to follow and swim with apparent ease about vessels going at from 10 to 12 knots
per hour. Under force of circumstances they could doubtless reach a higher rate
of speed, but whether it could be continued through long distances can not be known.

Observations of the movements of a branded cow on Lukanin rookery in 1897
seemed to indicate that in her earliest absences she was gone from three to four days.
As the feeding grounds in Bering Sea are upward of 100 miles distant from the
islands some idea of the distance she must have traveled can be gained. She would
doubtless spend some time on the feeding banks eating and resting. This trip the
females make regularly throughout the summer at intervals of from five to ten or more
days, Further evidence of the rapidity with which the seals travel can be seen in

THE SOUTHERN FUR SEALS. 73

the fact that, though the females do not leave the islands much before the middle of
November, they are taken off the coast of Southern California in December. Their
trip down through the ocean must be rapid and more or less direct.

HABITS OF THE SOUTHERN FUR SEALS.

It may be worth our while to contrast with the foregoing account of the fur
seal of the north some account of the life history of the fur seal of the Southern
Hemisphere, the species of Aretocephalus, from the recorded observations of such
early explorers and sealers as Delano, Fanning, Wedell, and Morrell. Dr. J. A. Allen
has brought together in a paper, which appears in the Proceedings of the Paris
Tribunal the important notes bearing upon this subject.! Without quoting in detail
we may here give a brief summary of ‘these observations.

THEIR MOVEMENTS.

The adult males land first in November, taking up their places on the rookeries
“and awaiting the arrival of the females, which come in Decémber to bring forth their
- young. They come and go, caring for their young, until about the 1st of February,

when the pups are left to shift for themselves.

In February the younger males or bachelors come on shore to shed their hair
which is accomplished by about the 1st of May. ‘This period corresponds to our
stagy season. The bachelors then take to the water and do not return on shore much
before the 1st of July. For a month or six weeks they come and go regularly,
abandoning the shore at the end of this time until some time in August. For the rest
of the season mixed herds, young males and females, occupy the shores, coming and
going at intervals, until the old males begin to arrive in November. The young
then retire. ,

This seems to be the round of life for the various classes as recorded. There
is no lucid account of what becomes of the adult males and females after the offices
of reproduction are accomplished. The bulls are reported as fasting from the time of
their arrival until the breeding season is over, when they leave thin and lean, to return
the following season plump and fat.

THEY DO NOT MIGRATE.

It is asserted that the seals do not migrate, though the record of observations
seem to indicate that certain classes of the animals are absent from their breeding
places for longer or shorter periods. While some of the animals are about the shores
at all seasons, the evidence seems to show that they are of different classes and have
different periods of movement.

BREEDING HABITS.

The offices of reproduction are accomplished on land. The female bears, as a
rule, a single pup, though suggestions of the possibility of twins and even triplets
are offered. The young are helpless at: birth and learn to swim about a month
afterwards. It is freely suggested that the mothers teach them. The pup at birth is
covered with black hair. It gets its fur and changes its black hair for a coat of gray
in a month or six weeks.

1 Appendix U. S. Case, Fur Seal Arb., Vol. I, p. 375.

74 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.
BREEDING GROUNDS.

The seals occupy for their breeding places narrow bowlder beaches at the foot
of high cliffs and extend their harems into the crevasses and channels in the cliffs
through which streams flow. In places their breeding grounds extend inland one or
two hundred yards. The animals clamber over the rocks, reaching places inaccessible
toman. They have good powers of locomotion, and the young walk on all fours.

In climatic conditions the home of the southern fur seals resembles that of
the northern, though there is not the same marked difference between summer and
winter. Doubtless there is no migration because no necessity for it. An average
annual temperature of from 40° to 45° is recorded, which is about the summer
climate of the Pribilof Islands. The sky is almost constantly overcast. Rain falls
daily.

The fur seals of the south are gregarious and herd closely crowded on their
rookery grounds, class by class. The young males are forced to withdraw by them-
selves in the breeding season.

THE FIGHTING OF THE BULLS.

The bulls struggle with one another for possession of the cows as they land.
Each harem has from fifteen to twenty cows. These are jealously guarded and are
not permitted to leave. The bulls fight valiantly against intrusion, whether by one
of their own number or by man.

There is the same disparity between the males and females. The former is
recorded as 6 to 7 feet long, the latter about 4, with a corresponding difference in
weight.

They are found sleeping and playing in the water, just as the fur seals of the
north are, and it is reported easy to approach and spear them.

DIFFERENCE IN TIME OF BIRTH.

It may be worthy to note in this connection that Capt. W. L. Noyes, who visited
the Galapagos Islands during the summer of 1897, found cows with pups already
born in July on Wenman Island, just north of the equator, whereas cows on other
islands of the same group to the south of the equator, killed in September, contained
pups still unborn and apparently not to be born until October or November. The
seals of these islands are reported by others to bring forth their young at all seasons.

There is, however, no essential difference in the habits of the seals of the two
hemispheres. The differences in date of the stagy season and of the breeding season
are matters dependent upon the climate. The absence of migration periods so marked
as in the case of the northern seals is due to the absence of such harsh conditions as
the winter of the north exhibits.

CHAPTER VI.

THE CONDITION OF THE FUR-SEAL HERD.

A. PAST CONDITIONS.

We have given in the preceding sketch a brief description of the more prominent
general features of the life history of the fur seal. This is only a brief summary of
the record of daily observations made by the commission, and which is given in full
in a subsequent part of this report. Many of these topics also are discussed in
greater detail in special papers contained in Part III. We may now pass to a
‘discussion of the main questions involved in the fur-seal controversy and made the
principal object of this investigation. The first and chief of these relates to the
condition of the fur-seal herd, past and present.

ACREAGE MEASUREMENTS.

Until the season of 1896 all estimates as to the number of seals have been based
upon acreage measurements of one sort or another. In the early days, when the
rookeries were teeming with seal life, it is probable that any other method of enumera-
tion would have been exceedingly difficult, if m0 impossible. At any rate, no other
method was tried.

We may say at the outset that acreage measurements of rookery population are
exceedingly unsatisfactory. It is no easy task to find the area of a given rookery.
Its length or sea front is easily ascertained, but its average width is at best purely a
matter of conjecture. It spreads out over the level ground, shrinks away from a sand
beach, climbs up hills in gullies, extends over cliffs, breaks at a cove to permit bachelors
to land, thins out among rocks, and widens in great amphitheaters. Its lower boundary
fluctuates with the tides; its inland extension grows daily with the arrival of late-
coming cows, and the whole outline is changed in a few days as the bands of virgin
2-year-olds come into the ranks late in July.

THE DIFFICULTY OF ACCURATE RESULTS.

To measure a rookery, it is necessary to determine its boundaries from a distance
in the breeding season, and after the departure of the seals to go on the ground and
make the necessary measurements. It is impossible to approach the breeding mass
in the height of the season near enough to locate landmarks by which the person
making the measurements is to determine what he is doing. The best that can be
done is to take the natural features available, a stone here or a break in the bank, or
a log of driftwood there, and trust to being able to relocate them later on. The occu-
pancy of the seals themselves leaves no permanent trace. Behind the rookeries for a
considerable distance the ground has exactly the same appearance as that occupied
by the seals, and late in the season the rookery population, where possible, moves
back over its rear boundary, taking up a new position. Only natural landmarks can

15

16 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

therefore be taken, and in a mile of rookery space the number of distinguishable
marks of this sort is exceedingly small. Where stones exist, there are thousands of
them practically indistinguishable. On bare slopes, as on Gorbatch, Vostochni, and
Polovina, there are no natural landmarks whatever.

THE ABSENCE OF RELIABLE SURVEYS.

If perfectly recognizable artificial landmarks could be placed at every angle, turn,
and projection of the belt of breeding seals, or if these points could be taken from a
distance by instruments and then reproduced with certainty in the same manner after
the animals have left the ground, accurate results might be obtained. Nothing of
this kind, however, was done, at least no landmarks remain to show for it.

THE IRREGULAR NATURE OF THE GROUND.

But a determination of the rookery borders is not the only difficulty. The
character of the ground is extremely variable. It lies at every conceivable angle
and slant. ‘There are narrow, rocky beaches hemmed in by perpendicular cliffs.
There are long slopes of jagged bowlders. There are sand flats and cinder slopes.
On the bare places the seals still mass together as closely as they can be crowded,
and on the rocky areas they lie about among the rocks as best they can. Their
distribution over the rookeries is as irregular as the nature of the ground.

It is in general true that the greater the number of females the more extended are
the boundaries of the rookeries; but it is also true that with the decrease of the
number of seals the population of the rookeries grows sparse without a corresponding
decrease of dimensions. It is probable that when the seals were more numerous
they were as evenly distributed over the ground as its nature would permit, and
the greater part of each rookery was closely massed; but at the present time their
distribution is very irregular, as unequal as the arrangement of the trees in the
forest. On some of the rookeries, as on Tolstoi sands, in the breeding season the
seals lie as thick as swarms of bees. On other rookeries, as the Lagoon, detached
harems sprawl over the rocks and individual seals are greatly scattered. Nor are
the mechanical imperfection of these estimates all. The counts of live pups made
during the seasons of 1896 and 1897 show that at the time when these past estimates
were made not more than half of the cows are present at any one time.

ACREAGE MEASUREMENTS CHIEFLY GUESSWORK.

In a word, the acreage measurements of the rookeries in the past have been based
chiefly upon guesswork. More guessing has been done in determining the space to
be assigned to individual animals, and finally the rookery population sought to be
enumerated has at best represented only about half the actual number of animals
belonging to the herd. The last element of uncertainty was not known until 1896, it
having been assumed up to that time that during the period between the 10th and
20th of July all or practically all the animals belonging to the breeding herd were
present upon the rookeries.

THE MAGNITUDE OF THE PROBLEM.

It is easy to find in the magnitude of the problem an explanation for the adoption
of such a faulty method. It is not so easy to find an excuse for implicit reliance

ESTIMATES OF NUMBER OF FUR SEALS. 77

put upon its results. The parts of rookeries which can be counted to-day are so
circumscribed by cliffs and the narrowness of the beaches that to make.a count of
them, even at the time of the greatest density of their population, would have been
but little more difficult than it is to-day. More seals were present on a given area,
but the area was no greater. The counting of these areas would of course not have
relieved the difficulty as to a complete census; but a definite and exact enumeration,
even of so small and accessible a breeding ground as Spilki, in 1874, could not have
failed to clear up many of the problems which have tended to increase the confusion
in past conditions.

EARLY ESTIMATES.

In considering the various estimates of earlier times, we purposely pass over that
of Bishop Veniaminof. It is too vague and unsatisfactory to be of any value. It
is, moreover, a prophecy of future results, based on assumed premises, rather than a
measure of actual conditions, Furthermore, it was made at a time (about 1834) when,
as we know, the herd had reached from some cause or other a state of approximate
annihilation.

CAPTAIN BRYANT’S ESTIMATE.

After the islands came into the possession of the United States the first attempt
to reach an estimate of the number of seals was made by Capt. Charles Bryant, agent
of the Government, sent in 1869 to investigate the condition of the herd. Captain
Bryant sums up his method of enumeration as follows:!

There are at least 12 miles of shore line on the island of St. Paul occupied by the seals as
breeding grounds, with the average width of 15 rods. There being about twenty seals to the square
rod, gives 1,152,000 as the whole number of breeding males and females. Deducting one-tenth for
males leaves 1,037,800 breeding females. :

He estimates the number of seals on St. George at one-half the number on St.
Paul. He further makes a rough estimate of the number of nonbreeding males, but
he does not work itoutor give a total. In comparing the estimate of Captain Bryant
with the subsequent estimate of Mr. Elliott it must be noted that the young are not
included.

THE FIRST ACREAGE ENUMERATION.

This estimate is crude both in its methods and in its results, but it certainly
contains the germ of all subsequent acreage estimates of the seals. It was made and
its results were published at least two years before the work of Mr. Elliott, which
was begun in1872. Whatever credit, therefore, belongs to the invention and execution
of this method of arriving at the population of the rookeries must rest with Captain
Bryant. His enumeration, though but a rough approximation, and probably so
considered by him, brought for the first time the fur-seal herd within the range of a

numerical estimate.
ELLIOTT’S ESTIMATE OF 1872-1874.

The next attempt at enumeration was made in 1872-1874 by Henry W. Elliott,
special agent sent by the United States Treasury Department to investigate the con-
dition of the herd. He followed the same general method inaugurated by Captain

1 Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 1870, Vol. II, p. 106.

78 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

Bryant, finding the shore extent and width of the rookeries and allotting a certain
space to each individual animal. He, however, worked out the plan in much greater

detail.
IMPORTANT’ ASSUMPTIONS.

In Mr. Elliott’s census two important assumptions are made at the outset. The
first is that the time when the rookery population has reached its ‘exact margin of
expansion, at the week of its greatest volume, or when the rookeries are as full as
they are to be during the season, is between the 10th and 20th of July every year; not
a day earlier and not many days later.”!_ Mr. Elliott assumes as a result of this obser-
vation that at the period in question all, or practically all, of the animals were present
and would be included in an enumeration made at that time.

THE LAW OF DISTRIBUTION.

He then assumed? “an imperative and instinctive law of distribution, recognized
by each and every seal,” in obedience to which “the breeding grounds occupied by
them were invariably covered with seals in exact ratio, greater or less, as the area
upon which they rested was larger or smaller;” that the seals ‘always covered the
ground evenly, never crowding in at one place here to scatter out there;” that “‘on a
rod of ground under the face of bluffs, which hem it in from the sea, there are just as
many seals, no more nor less, a8 will be found on any other rod of rookery ground
throughout the whole list, great or small.”

BOTH ASSUMPTIONS INCORRECT.

One who is familiar with the nature of the breeding grounds can not help feeling
that in the formulation of this Jaw Mr. Elliott did not have the picture of the
rookeries before him. Had he traveled over the length and breadth of the rookeries,
as was done in 1896 and 1897, he never would have proposed such a law. That there
should be as many seals to the square rod on the jagged and broken lava blocks of
Kitovi, or on the broken slopes of Gorbatch, where the animals are now and must have
then been separated by bowlders weighing tons, should be the same as on the smooth
sand flat of Tolstoi or the level slope of Hutchinson Hill is on the face of it impossible.

THE TRUE LAW OF DISTRIBUTION.

The law of distribution which the fur seal obeys is very simple. The gregarious
instinct of the animals leads them to crowd together as closely as possible. They are,
therefore, even now to be found in as close proximity as the nature of the ground will
permit. Where the ground is broken and interspersed with angular bowlders they
are necessarily farther apart than where the ground is free from obstructions. It is
probable that in Mr. Elliott’s time the seals, because more numerous, were more evenly
distributed, but the nature of the ground would never permit the same distribution
everywhere. ,

STABILITY OF ROOKERY CONDITIONS ONLY APPARENT.

For the first assumption Mr. Elliott has some justification. During the period in
question rookery conditions are to the eye of the observer apparently stable and fixed.

! Elliott, Monograph Fur-Seal Islands, 1881, p. 50. 2Tbid., p. 49.

ESTIMATES OF MR. ELLIOTT. 79

That they were so was held as a tradition from Elliott’s time down to 1896. It was,
however, a great mistake to assume, as has been done, that at that time all the seals
were present. Counts of live pups! made in the seasons of 1896 and 1897 show that at
the height of the season not over half of the cows are actually present at any one time.
The apparent stability of the rookeries is due to the fact that then the arrivals and
departures among the cows for a time practically balance each other at their maximum
point. But daily counts of the rookeries show that the stability is in no sense real,
there being from day to day even then a variation of from 10 to 30 per cent in the
rookery population.”

RESULTS OF MR. ELLIOTI’S ENUMERATION.

But of these things Mr. Elliott was not aware. He was content to assume that
all the cows were there and, moreover, though he could not locate the virgin 2-year-
olds, a class of animals numbering, in his estimate, 225,000, which were not present
until long after it was made, he did not hesitate to assume that they were included.
He was also content with his impossible law of distribution. It only remained for him,
therefore, to find the area of breeding ground occupied and to divide it by the unit of
space to be assigned to each individual animal, to arrive at the rookery population.
As a result he found, in his estimate of 6,386,840 square feet of rookery ground on the
two islands, “room,” as he puts it, ‘for 3,193,420 breeding seals and young.” °

THE FIGURES UNREASONABLE.

Waiving, for a moment, the method of obtaining these figures, we may remark
that they are not easy to understand. Of this total of “breeding seals and young,”
Mr. Elliott, in thg same connection, tells us that 1,000,000 are “young.” There must
then be an equal number of mothers, or 2,000,000 adult breeding females and their
pups. To this must be added the young 2-year-old cows which are included, though
not present. Mr. Elliott has himself given us an estimate of these. Considering
that of the 1,000,000 pups born 500,000 are females, he says that “at least 225,000 of
them safely return in the second season after birth.” This, therefore, gives us a total
of 2,225,000 females and young in the complete estimate of 3,193,420, leaving 868,420
animals which can only be accounted for as breeding bulls. This is impossible, and
yet no other explanation of the discrepancy is at hand. Mr. Elliott estimates, in a
separate category, all the nonbreeding males and the yearling females, finding
1,500,000 of them. Of the breeding bulls, as a class, Mr. Elliott does not give usa
separate estimate in 1872, but in 1890 he tells us they numbered 90,000 at that time.

THE METHOD OF ENUMERATION FAULTY.

But if these figures were in themselves reasonable, we must still take exception to
the method by which they were obtained. We have already spoken of the general
difficulties in the way of acreage measurements. On his method of surveying the
rookeries Mr. Elliott has given us practically no data. He dismisses the subject
with the remark “that there is no more difficulty in surveying these margins than
there is in drawing sight along the curbs of a stone fence surrounding a field,” a
statement which is not by any means self-evident to anyone who has visited the

1See page 109. *See page 54. %Elliott, Monograph of Fur-Seal Islands, 1881, p. 61.

80 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

fur-seal rookeries. The surveys of the rookeries themselves can not be verified, for
the conditions have changed with the reduction of the herd, and no permanent land-
marks were left. Not even of the survey of 1890 is there left a single recognizable.
stake or stone to show that it ever existed. All that is left of either survey is
the unsatisfactory estimate of the seals based upon it. These surveys should
have formed the basis for subsequent comparisons of the condition of the rookeries.
As such they would have been extremely valuable, but all traces of them have
disappeared.

THE SURVEYS CAN NOT BE VERIFIED.

It is therefore not possible for us to verify Mr. Elliott’s surveys of the rookeries,
but his maps giving the shore lime of the islands are available as a measure of’ his
work as a surveyor. Of these maps Captain Moser, in his hydrographic report! on
the islands in 1896, made certain tests. Of Mr. Elliott’s shore line he says: “It was
a bad misfit * * * and rarely stood the test of an instrumental angle.” He
further says of the topography of the maps that ‘it is so vague and indefinite that
it is next thing to impossible to do anything with them; I should call them sketches.”
If this is true of the fixed and permanent shore line, it is not to be supposed that
the changing rookery margins, which were necessarily noted from a distance in the
summer and measured in winter, after they had melted away, were more correctly
located.

THE EFFECT OF INACCURATE SURVEYS.

The correctness of the survey of the rookeries is of vital importance to the
accuracy of this enumeration. This importance does not lie in ascertaining the
mere length of a given rookery. This can be easily obtained, and’ in any event a
mistake of a few feet or of a hundred feet in the length is comparatively insignificant :
but the width of the rookery is another matter. To each one of seven of the ten
rookeries of St. Paul Island, Mr. Elliott ascribes an even average width of 150 feet.
Two of the remaining breeding grounds have a width of 100 feet each, and the third
40 feet. Therefore, for the 40,000 feet of rookery shore line on this island, 35,000 have
an average width of 150 feet.2, Suppose there is an error of but 1 foot in this average
width, it is multiplied throughout the entire distance. According to the method of
the computation involved this would mean the addition or subtraction of 17,500
animals, depending upon the side upon which the error falls. Again, suppose the
average width was 140 or 160 feet, this would mean a difference of 175,000 seals one
way or the other, as the case might be.

AN INADEQUATE UNIT OF SPACE.

But aside from the question of accuracy in the surveys themselves, Mr. Elliott
has assigued an impossible space to each individual seal. His unit of space is 2
square feet to each animal, young or old, or 4 square feet for the cows, ignoring the

! Hydrographic Notes, Captain Moser, Part III.

® Whatever the average width of each rookery may have been, it is certain that it was not the
same for all. Neither now nor at any past time have Tolstoi, Polovina, Vostochni, the Reef, Kitovi,
Lukanin, and Zapadni had the same ‘average width.” The 150 feet is a guess, and that only.

ESTIMATES OF NUMBERS. 8t

pups. The average adult female i is 4 feet long, and measures an equal distance from
tip to tip of her outstretched fore- flippers. In a standing position she would need at
least 3 square feet, but as the cows are constantly moving about, and coming and
going to and from the sea, it is impossible to limit one to such a space.

A MORE RATIONAL UNIT OF SPACE.

During the past two seasons an effort was made to test the unit of space which
the average seal occupies. A count of 650 closely crowded dead bodies on Polovina
killing ground showed that each body occupied a space of 13§ square feet. The
arrangement and proximity of these bodies corresponded very nearly to the condition
of the massed rookery where the animals are stretched out sleeping. On Ardiguen
rookery a harem containing thirty-three sleeping cows and pups was observed on a
flat space circumscribed by stones in such a way that its boundaries could be definitely
located. ‘Later in the season, when the seals had abandoned the spot, it was measured
and found to give 8 square feet to each animal, old and young. This may be regarded
as an example of extreme massing, as the animals could not have been packed closer
together. The great sand flat of Tolstoi, the most densely massed rookery ground on
the islands, was roughly measured late in the season of 1896 and found to contain
about 140,000 square. feet. Each of the 11,000 animals estimated for this area
would therefore have a space of about 13 square feet. Messrs. True and Townsend,
in 1895, found the average space for each individual adult seal in unmassed areas,
as_on Lagoon or Tolstoi cliffs, to be 46 square feet. For the massed areas a space
one-half as great; or 23 square feet, was arbitrarily assumed.

It is true that Mr. Elliott justifies, in part, his small unit of space by certain
references to thg coming and going of the animals. He asserts that after the pups
are born the individual cows are not on “their allotted space one-fourth of the time,”
and that the females “almost double their number on the rookery ground without
expanding its original limits.” But Mr. Elliott failed to grasp what this really
meant. He sees in it only justification for the unit of space which he has assigned
to the individual animals. It should have called his attention to the fact that the
breeding seals which he saw before him, and which he was attempting to enumerate,
were. but a part and not the whole of the rookery population.

THE ESTIMATE FOR KITOVI AND LUKANIN ROOKERIES,

When we leave the general features of this estimate and come to consider its
details we find still less reason to be satisfied with it. Of all the rookeries Kitovi and
Lukanin have been most minutely studied and counted during the seasons of 1896 and
1897. Their present conditions are absolutely known. They may be taken as typical
examples. To these two rookeries in 1874 Mr. Eliott ascribes a total population of
335,000 “breeding seals and young,” or 158,000 breedin g females, and, using his
estimate of 15 cows to an average harem, 10, ‘000 active bulls. At present there are
318 bulls, or less than one-thirtieth the former number, and 9,000 breeding females,
less than one-seventeenth the former number.

To anyone who understands the situation of these rookeries this is simply absurd.
It would be impossible to plat 10,000 harems on the space they occupy at present or

151846

82 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

which they occupied at any time past. Mr. Elliott’s own maps show, when compared
with present conditions, that no such reduction has occurred. His average width of
150 feet for these rookeries proves the same thing. With such figures nothing can be
dene. Mr. Elliott must have been wholly devoid of mathematical sense or else must
have failed to appreciate what his figures really meant. No other hypothesis will
account for them.

A MEASURE OF ELLIOTT’S OVERESTIMATE.

It happens that in the log of St. Paul are two references to these rookeries which
throw light on their early condition and help us to penetrate the haze of exaggeration
which Mr. Elliott has thrown about them.

Under date of May 24, 1880, Mr. J. W. Beaman, then agent on St. Paul, records
in the log! of that island that he made “an inspection of Kitovi and Lukanin rook-
eries; 112 bulls were counted on Kitovi and 142 on Lukanin, with a possible error in
the count of 25 to 50.”

On the 24th of May by no means all of the bulls were in place, but a reasonable
proportion of them may be supposed to have been. Mr. Elliott tells us himself that
all the bulls were located by the 1st of June. This, however, the observations of the
season of 1897 disprove. A count of North rookery of St. George on June 7 gave 180
bulls, where about 200 harems existed in 1896 and where 196 were found a month later
in 1897. Even on the 12th of June a count of bulls on Kitovi rookery gave only 156,
where 182 harems had been in 1896 and where later, in 1897, 179 harems were found.

THE COUNT OF MR. BEAMAN.

These recent counts justify us in assuming that a large proportion at least of the
bulls were on the ground by the 24th of May, and although we can not say just what
proportion the bulls counted by Mr. Beaman bore to the whole number on this rookery
for the season of 1880, we may rest assured that had there been any such number as
10,000, or even 5,000, taking the average harem, which recent observations show to be
correct, there would have been at least between 1,000 and 2,000 of them in place on
that date. ‘

Referring again to the log, we find that in 1879, the preceding season, bulls began
to arrive on Lukanin rookery on May 2, and on May 17 there were 60 of them. This
number is not greatly out of proportion to the 142 found a week later the following
season, and argues still more strongly against the supposition that bulls by the
thousand would occupy that rookery in June. 7

CAPTAIN BRYANT’S NOTE.

In this connection another note in the log of St. Paul Island has significance. In
the fall of the year 1876 difficulty was experienced in securing the normal quota of
pup seals for food. Captain Bryant, commenting on this, says: “Ordinarily Kitovi
rookery alone would have supplied the necessary pups”?—four or five thousand. As
only males were killed, and as a liberal allowance must be made on account of the
swimming of the pups for the impossibility of reaching all the males, the inference

' Extracts from the log of St. Paul, Pt. II, date of May 24, 1880.
*Tbid., date of November 23, 1876,

ESTIMATES OF NUMBERS. 83

plainly to be drawn from this is that at the time in question Kitovi rookery by a most
liberal estimate had about 20,000 breeding cows. Mr. Elliott would have us believe it
had nearly 160,000,

SPILKI AND POLOVINA.

Two more examples may be cited in this connection. Mr. Elliott ascribes to Spilki
rookery a population of 8,000 cows and pups in 1874 and something like 260 bulls,
This was a small rookery under the hill behind the village of St. Paul, afterwards
abandoned. It is recorded by Agent Beaman in the log for the year 1879! that this
rookery on June 20 (a date at which all the harem bulls must have been in place) had
23 bulls. This is less than one-tenth of Mr. Elliott’s estimate.

In the same year Mr. Beaman records, under date of June 10, that there were “a
couple of thousand bulls” on Polovina rookeries, where Mr. Eliott estimates fully
10,000 in 1874.

While these entries do not give us definite proof as to the early condition of these
rookeries, yet they clearly and conclusively show that Mr. Elliott's figures are grossly
exaggerated.

PERSONAL ESTIMATES DIFFER.

To sum the whole matter up, we are unable to accept Mr. Elliott’s estimate as
representing anything more than an individual opinion greatly overdrawn by a too-
vivid imagination. The value of individual opinions in matters of this kind is well
shown by a comparison of the estimate of Mr. Elliott. with that of Lieut. Washburn
Maynard, who was on the islands in 1874, with him. Lieutenant Maynard estimates
the total population of the rookeries at 6,000,000, as against Mr. Elliott’s figures of
4,700,000. A difference of a million one way or another seemed to be a matter of no

moment.

LOOSE USE OF FIGURES.

That Mr, Elliott himself did not originally attach close and definite meaning to
his own estimate is evident from the discrepancy already referred to, whereby he
assumes in his total of 3,193,420 “ breeding seals and young” that only 1,000,000 are
pups. Further, on the basis of this birthrate, which is an understatement of his own
estimate, he finds that after making due allowance for an “extreme estimate of loss
sustained at sea” there will still be left “180,000 seals in good condition that can safely
be killed every year.” The quota never exceeded 100,000, and the turning back
annually of 80,000 young males to grow up as bulls would by 1880 have given the
island a stock of approximately 800,000 bulls. This, of course, never occurred, for
the simple reason that no such number of males in excess of the quota ever existed
on the islands.

In making the above criticisms of Mr. Elliott’s census, it has not been our purpose
simply to tear down and condemn work which in many respects under the circum-
stances deserves commendation; but a disposition has of late been manifested to insist
upon the absolute correctness of these figures, and in setting them aside it becomes
necessary for us to give reasons for such action.

‘Extracts from log of St. Paul, Pt. II, date of June 20, 1879.

84 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

MR. TINGLE’S ESTIMATE.

The next estimate of the seals was made in the year 1886 by Mr. George R.
Tingle, then Treasury agent on St. Paul Island. Mr. Tingle purported to measure the
breeding areas in the early spring when unoccupied, and then to compare them with
the ground occupied in the summer to make the necessary corrections. He found a
rookery space of 12,715,500 square feet, with a population of 6,357,750 breeding seals
and young. Mr. Elliott’s rookery space had been 6,386,840 square feet, with a
population of 3,193,420 breeding seals and young. Mr. Tingle, however, took
exception to the estimate of space assigned to the individual animals, believing it
too small. He therefore reduced his estimate by one-fourth, or to 4,768,430, still
an increase of 1,574,900 over Mr. Elliott’s figures. ,

'

THE ESTIMATE INCORRECT.

The absurdity of this estimate makes it hardly worth considering. At the time
it was made the herd was well on the way of decline. One element in the estimate
may perhaps be cited as indicative of its value as a whole. The rocky beach at the
foot of the cliffs, between the termination of Gorbatch rookery and the angle of
Zoltoi sands, was made a separate rookery, with a population of 11,000 seals. The
ground has never been occupied as breeding territory. Whatever may have been
the purpose of this enumeration, it certainly did not give the facts in the case.

ELLIOTT’S 1890 ESTIMATE,

In the year 1890 Mr. Elliott again. visited the fur-seal islands and madé another
estimate of their population. He employed the same methods used in 1872-1874,
He found the seals occupying breeding territory to the extent of 1,918,786 square
feet... In his former estimate the ground occupied contained 6,386,840 square feet.
Applying his original space unit to the area of 1890, Mr. Elliott found a population
of 959,393 “breeding seals and young.”

.

THE 1890 ESTIMATE UNSATISFACTORY.

For this second estimate we can only say that it is as bad, if not worse, than the
first. All that we have said regarding the census of 1872-1874 applies with equal
force to the census of 1890, for, as Mr. Elliott tells us, “it is made in precisely the
same time and method.” We may call attention specially to the fact that notwith-
standing Lagoon rookery is found to be reduced from 37,000 animals to 9,000, the
shore front of the rookery bad been doubled in length, being 750 feet long in 1872-1874
and 1,500 in 1890. No explanation is offered or suggested for this extension. On the
island of St. George, which has at the best only a limited extent of breeding territory,
and this probably fully occupied in 1872-1874, Mr. Elliott in 1890 more than doubles
the length of all its rookeries. On East rookery alone he expands the water front
from 900 feet in 1872-1874 to 3,240 in 1890. Asaresult of this expansion he finds that
though the seals have become reduced to one-fourth on St. Paul Island, on St. George
the reduction has only been to one-half.

'Blliott’s estimate for 1890 is 500,000 square feet less in extent than that of Messrs. True and
Townsend for 1895. Dealing with the more accurate maps and when the herd was at least a half
smaller, they found 2,616,063 square feet of rookery space as against his 1,918,786.

ESTIMATES MADE BY TRUE AND TOWNSEND. 85

It .is not possible for us to. suggest any explanation or justification for the vagaries
which these estimates of Mr. Elliott show, and they need not be further discussed
here. _In an appendix to the recent republication,! by order of Cougress, of reports
of agents and others connected with the fur-seal islands, they have been considered

at length in connection with the subject-matter of the reports of which they are
a part.

THE TRUE AND TOWNSEND ESTIMATE FOR 1895.
Thay:

The most recent computation of the seals by acreage measurements is that made
by Messrs. True and Townsend in 1895. In this a decided improvement was made in
securing the space unit occupied by the individual seal. Instead of using an arbitrary
estimate, a count of the cows was made on Kitovi and Lagoon rookeries and on parts
of Lukanin and Tolstoi. The area of the counted districts was then taken from the
current maps, and the average space occupied by the individual seals found. For the
4,110 cows counted, this average was found to be 46 square feet, ranging from 65
square feet on Lagoon rookery to 29 on Tolstoi. As the spaces counted were all of
the scattered or “unmassed” sort, an arbitrary reduction to one-half of this space, or
23 square feet, was made for the crowded or “ massed” breeding grounds.

Taking these averages and applying them to the acreage extent of the breeding
grounds as obtained from the current maps of the rookeries, an estimate of the popu-
lation of all the rookeries was arrived at. The total number so obtained was about
75,000 adult breeding seals. ‘To make it comparable with the former estimates of Mr.
Elliott we may add the 70,000. pups, making a total of 145, 000 “breeding seals and
young.”

THE ESTIMATE MUST BE DOUBLED.

In this enumeration it was assumed that, at the time the census was made, all, or
practically all, the animals were present, including the yearling and 2-year-old females.
The effect of this assumption we have already alluded to in connection with Mr.
Elliott’s estimate. The fact is that at no time during the season are more than half
the cows present. The estimate must therefore be doubled at least to make it
represent actual.conditions.

IT ANTICIPATED THE SEASON.

But as a matter of fact, for the estimate of 1895 this will not be sufficient. The
counts on which the estimate is based were made before the real maximum of popula-
tion on the rookeries was reached. The counting was done between the 8th and
10th of July, whereas the investigations of 1896 and 1897 show that the maximum of
population is probably not reached until about the 15th of.the month. Mr. Townsend
himself, in referring to the estimate of 1895, remarks that “the rookeries may not
have (as yet) reached their breeding height.”

ARBITRARY REDUCTION FOR MASSED AREAS,

‘
Another weakness in this estimate lies in the arbitrary reduction to one-half in
obtairing the space for the massed rookeries. Our investigations on this point seem

1 «Seal and Salmon Fisheries, and General Resources of Alaska,” vol. 3.

86 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

to indicate that the space unit for massed breeding grounds should be smaller. But
for the underestimate which may therefore be involved on this account we can offer
no correction. For the underestimate due to the early date at which the count was
made we can make a rough estimate. The daily count on Lukanin rookery for the
season of 1897 shows that between the 8th and 15th of July there was an increase of 15
per cent in rookery population. This would increase the figures for 1895 as originally
given to about 80,000, and after doubling for absentees the corrected total would
be about 160,000 breeding females. The inclusion of the yearlings and 2-year-old
females does not affect the total, as they were not present, and no allowance need be
made for them.

THE ESTIMATE REVISED.

This total of 160,000 females, or giving to each female a pup and adding the
estimated number of breeding bulls, making 325,000 “breeding seals and young,” is
probably within 10,000 of the facts for the season of 1895. That it comes thus near
the truth, however, is the result of accident rather than good management. The
corrections which, in the light of subsequent experience, we have been able to make,
are vital to its truth and change the results radically. The original results could not
have been trusted alone, and were wholly misleading.

THE IMPORTANT FEATURE OF THE ESTIMATE.

The really important feature in the estimate of 1895 is the count of cows in which
it originates. This was a distinct step in advance, in that it approached a rational
basis. In the application of the unit of space to the rookeries not counted the method
was unfortunate. The area of breeding ground was taken from maps in themselves
imperfect, on which the rookery outlines were sketched by the aid of the eye. The
rookery boundaries, as we have shown, are constautly changing as the season
advances, and there being no definite landmarks to guide the observer, it is impos-
sible that the outlines should be correctly located. The enumeration is therefore
carried into the region of pure speculation and has only the value of the individual
judgment of the person tracing the maps.

It is fair to say, however, that nothing definite and exact was claimed for the
census of 1895, as Mr. True’s own words, iu commenting upon it, will show. He says:
“T do not think that any estimate can be made which will approximate the truth
more than remotely,” and he continues to say that the chief use of such calculations is
“the elimination of fanciful estimates of the number of seals.”

MR. CROWLEY’S ESTIMATES FOR 1895.

In leaving the estimates of 1895 it is necessary to refer to two other calculations
of rookery population ‘made for the same year on a different basis. One of these is
by Mr. J. B. Crowley, chief agent in charge of these islands. He finds, as he says,
by actual count, a total of 99,936 breeding cows and 5,552 breeding bulls. When we
make the necessary doubling of this estimate of cows and add the pups we have a
total of about 305,552 ‘breeding seals and young.” Of the methods or details of this

ESTIMATES OF NUMBERS. 87

enumeration we know nothing beyond Mr. Crowley’s statement! that “the breeding
seal herd has been reduced to such proportions that it can now be counted with
comparative accuracy.”

COLONEL MURRAY’S ESTIMATE.

The other calculation is one given by Colonel Joseph Murray.? He finds 5,000
bulls and 200,000 cows. Here again we have no details and only know that his
method of enumeration was to count the breeding bulls and then to apply to each an
average harem of 40 cows. This average size of harem is so large as to make it
unnecessary to double for the absentee cows. We have, therefore, simply to add the
necessary 200,000 pups and we have a total of 405,000 “ breeding seals and young.”

DEFECTS OF THIS ESTIMATE.

That Colonel Murray’s count of bulls is more than a rough approximation its
author has never claimed. That in greater part it is incorrect is clear from the fact
that, while it was begun about July 18 it was not completed before August 21.- Our
investigations show that a count of harems after July 25 can give no idea of actual
conditions. In examining the count, as given, moreover, our attention is attracted to
the fact that on Lagoon rookery he finds only 50 harems, whereas Mr. True and Mr,
Townsend, counting separately, found between 115 and 120 harems in the same season.
While having manifestly suffered additional decline, it still had in 1897 115 harems.
On the other hand, for a total of about 300 harems on Kitovi and. Lukanin rookeries,
counted by Messrs. True and Townsend, Colonel Murray records 500. These differ-
ences tend to show that the latter’s count is made in round numbers, no account of
anything less than 50 being taken.

CONTRAST OF ESTIMATES FOR 1895.

To give an idea of the nature of these various estimates for 1895, it is worth while
to contrast them in tabular form:

Estimates, season of 1895.

| Bulls. Cows. |
: |
True and Townsend ne 4, 402 70, 428
Mr. Crowley.....--.------- bona 5, 552 99,936 |-
Colonel Murray’ sicscieccccawss cies ess sein sweisssnsenecisiin see cis 5, 000 200, 000 |

It is not a gracious task to call attention to these widely variant and conflicting
estimates put forward by authorized agents of the Government, and published simul-
taneously; but as they have been used by.the British Commission to weaken the force
of the more accurate and conclusive statistics of 1896, they must be shown in their
true light as rough efforts at approximation, not corrected by other data.

CONTRAST OF ACREAGE MEASUREMENTS.

In leaving the subject of acreage measurements it will serve our purpose, as
showing the unsatisfactory nature of the results thus obtained, to compare for a

1 Sen. Doe, 137, Pt. I, p. 35. 2Sen. Doc. 137, Pt. I, p. 372.

KR

88 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

moment the various estimates that have been made on this basis. They are as

follows:
Acreage estimates of fur seals, Pribilof Islands.

By whom made. Area. Animals. Remarks.

Square feet.

Bryant (1869) .....----- 23, 328, 000 1,128,000 | Breeding seals.
Elliott (1872-1874) 6, 386, 840 8,193,420 | Breeding seals and young.
Tingle (1886)........... 12, 715, 500 4, 768, 430 Do.
Elliott (1890)..-..------ 1,918, 786 959, 393 Do.
Trne and Townsend
(1895) sa ccicie ce see encies 2, 616, 063 70,423 | Cows only, including one

and two year olds,

SUMMARY OF PAST CONDITIONS.

To sum up this discussion of past conditions, we may conclude that the estimate
of 1869 by Captain Bryant is only a rough approximation, and gives but little idea of
the real condition of the herd. Mr. Elliott’s estimate of 1872-1874 is scarcely less
unsatisfactory, being, as we now know, nearly twice too great. His 1890 estimate,
through the arbitrary curtailment of the breeding territory occupied, is nearer the
truth, but still far from it. The estimate of Mr. Tingle is wholly untrustworthy. The
estimate of Messrs. True and Townsend for 1895, when subjected to the obvious
corrections and additions, which later observations show to be necessary, is very
near the facts.

A RECONSTRUCTION OF EARLIER ESTIMATES.

In view of what has just been said, it becomes evident that the early estimates,
made shortly after the herd came into the possession of the United States, can not be
relied upon. There is abundant proof that the estimates are grossly exaggerated, but
data is wanting to enable us to determine the real facts. Some estimate of these early
conditions is, however, necessary, and no better method for obtaining it is available
than a theoretical reconstruction of the herd on the basis of the present known
condition of its breeding seals. To assist in this we have the record of the bachelor
herd, as indicated in the history of the quota for the first twenty years of American
control.

THE EARLIER AND LATER QUOTAS.

From 1871 to 1889, inclusive, the hauling grounds of the Pribilof Islands yielded
100,000 skins annually. The seals for the greater part of this period were obtained
before the 20th of July. Itis the testimony of those connected with the work that
there were always killable seals left at the close of the season, and we know that the
rookeries never lacked the necessary supply of male life.

During the present season a quota of slightly more than 20,000 seals was obtained
after coutinuing the driving until the 10th of August and killing closer than ever
before. In other words, at the present time the hauling grounds are not capable
under like conditions of supplying one-fifth the number of killable seals to-day that
they were able without difficulty to furnish for 13 years prior to 1884,

THE QUOTA DEPENDENT UPON THE BREEDING HERD.

The bachelor herd is directly dependent upon the breeding herd. It is nominally
taken from the surviving 3-year-old males and is directly related to the birthrate of
three years prior to its taking. Three years ago, or in 1894, therefore, the birthrate

ESTIMATES OF NUMBERS. 89

of pups was between one-fifth and one-sixth of what it was in the period from 1871
to 1880. The breeding herds of the same years bear the same relation to each other.
The present total of breeding females on the islands is about 130,000. We may infer,
therefore, that in the period 1871-1880 there were about five acs as many, or in the
neighborhood of G00; 000 breeding females.

ESTIMATE OF NONBREEDING SEALS.

Of the bachelors or nonbreeding seals no satisfactory estimate has been or can be
made, but it is evident from the data now available that about one half the seals are
lost in the first migration at sea, while the number is still further reduced to one-
third, possibly to less, before the age of 3 years is reached. From this we can ina
rough way calculate that in connection with the quota of 20,000 bachelors we have a
total of approximately 400,000 animals, including breeding Femniden, their young, and
all other classes. This is a ratio of 20 to 1 between the entire herd and the herd of
killable seals, and would, when applied to the herd of 1871-1880,. give a total of
about 2,000,000 animals of all classes.

THE RECONSTRUCTION STILL ONLY AN ESTIMATE,

In putting forward this reconstruction of past conditions we are well aware that
it is. still only an estimate. We have, however, in making it the advantage of
definitely known premises to start from, and the results harmonize fully with the
conditions of our problem.

COMPLETED ESTIMATE,

Assuming the figurés we have arrived at, we find that they work out’in harmony
with the recorded facts of the quota for this period. Thus, with a birthrate of 600,000
pups, we may assume one-half, or 300,000, to survive to the age of 1 year, and 200, ,000
to the age of 3 years. One-half of these were males and were killed to fill the ques.
We know, of course, that not all the surviving males were killed, and therefore that
either the birthrate of pups was greater by 25,000 to 50,000. than the one assumed, or
that the ratio of loss was slightly less than one-half and one-third. The computation
is not intended to be exact, and can not be made so, but it is sufficient to show the
direction in which the truth lies, and is conclusive enough to show that during the
time of the herd’s greatest expansion its breeding females numbered about 600,000, a
figure sufficiently exact for all practical purposes.

Adding an equal number of pups annually and 20,000 breeding bulls, we havea
total of 1,400,000 “breeding seals and young,” for the period in which Mr. Elliott
estimates 3,193,420.'

4 We must insist that the calculations in the preceding paragraphs are intended merely as rough
approximations to show the early condition of the herd. Such discrepancies as exist between these
figures and those tentatively put forth in our Preliminary Report for 1896 are the result of more
mature deliberation. The attempt of the British Colonial Office (see letter of Mr. Wingfield to
Foreign Office, Corr. on Seal Fisheries, Brit. Blue Book, No. 4, September, 1897, p. 121) to make capita.
out of them is wholly unwarranted. The statements both here and in the former report are couchec
in sufficiently guarded language to leave no doubt in the mind of the candid reader. We merely
wish to show that since the herd formerly yielded 100,000 skins annually and now yields but 20,000,
it must once have been approximately five times as large as now. On the other hand we infer that it
could not under the circumstances have been seven or ten times as large. These figures represent ai.
attempt, more or less imperfect, owing to the complexity of the problem, to give concrete expressiot
to this undeniable fact.

90 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

B. THE PRESENT CONDITION OF THE HERD.
THE CENSUS.

In the work of the present investigation of the fur-seal herd the most important
consideration was the making of as accurate an enumeration as possible of the number.
of animals. This has always formed an important part of every investigation in
the past. But, as we have seen, the results have been anything but satisfactory. The
great multitude of the animals, when the herd was five times as great as at present,
may have left no other result possible. At the present time, even with the herd so
greatly reduced, the task of making a complete census of all the rookeries is by no
means an easy one, as the details of our work, which will be found in the Daily
Journal, will indicate.

ITS DIFFICULTY.

Without going into detail here, we may mention among the difficulties of the
problem the fringe of idle bulls, savage and immovable, that skirts each rookery, the
danger of stampeding the rookeries themselves, the broken and irregular nature of
the ground, and, finally, the constantly shifting nature of the rookery population.
These are some of the merely mechanical difficulties. But more serious for us than.
any of these was the fact that at the outset the conditions of the problem before us
were not at all understood. It had been currently accepted that during a period
between the 10th and 20th of July the breeding rookeries were at their height and
practically all the animals present. Upon this supposition all previous estimates had
been based. With this idea in mind we began our work, only to find as we advanced
that the supposition was unfounded. ,

For the smaller rookeries of St. George, and such rookeries as Kitovi, Lagoon,
Zapadni Reet, and the cliff portions of Polovina and Tolstoi, it was found possible to
make a count of the individual animals by harems. This was accordingly done. On
the greater rovukeries, as those of Northeast Point, Reef, and Zapadni, no count of
individuals was possible, and for these rookeries only harems were enumerated.

ACTUAL COUNTS.

Our count of individual cows in 1896 covered about one-fifth of the rookery space
on St. Paul Island, embracing 1,245 harems, with a total population of 16,679 cows,
or an average of 13.4 cows to each harem at the height of the season. The average
harem of the individual rookeries and parts of rookeries counted ranged from 11 in
the lowest to 17.3 in the highest. The lower averages represented thin and scattered
portions of rocky breeding ground, and none of the counted area contained any of
the massed conditions characteristic of portions of the larger rookeries. The highest
average belonged to Kitovi rookery, the largest continuous rookery space counted.
It contained 3,152 cows in 182 harems, an average of 17.3 cows to the harem. The
conditions of this rookery as a whole being more typical of the general conditions
prevailing on the larger rookeries, its average was taken as a basis for computing the
population of those rookeries on which only harems could be counted. The appropri-
ateness of this average was the more apparent as on North rookery of St. George
the 129 harems accurately counted gave an average of. 17 cows to the harem.

CENSUS OF ROOKERIES IN 1896. “91

KITOVI ROOKERY TAKEN AS TYPICAL.

Applying then the average of Kitovi to the rookeries of St. Paul on which indi-
vidual counts could not be made, we obtained the following tentative census for this
island:

Census of harems and cows, St. Paul.-

Rookery. Pee Harems.| Cows.
FRitOVi @ 2.20. cece eee cece ee cece cette ene e eee July 13 182 38, 152
Lukanin -.....---.--....25---- -+| July 20 47 | 2,543
Lagoon a ...-....-.... é --| July 13 120 1,474
Tolstoi (main)........ ASRS Diarra ees dacislawtoieleieic duly 14 389 6, 729
Tolstoi (clitts) a ...... wigicieraminis epsisiaisincioisiaiciie July 14 108 1, 498
OI ONYD sow ch cai iniracnedesuniasamencnbnnce tiaeisa® July 14 583 | 10, 085
Little apa. Sipe a wie din wigia 6 Seinen wide Siaetaie July 14 210 2, 400
Zapadni Reef -.| July 14 176 2, 256
Gorbatch.. July 16 302 5, 224
Ardiguen a July 16 27 550
Reef. .... July 16 504 8, 710
Sivutch Rock --| Aug. 12 63 1, 090
PONG, CBR) scscicnsiass inesindnramuiesa eins gieinean ae July 23 |: 138 | . 2,387
Polovina (cliffs) a. Seiten ate ertclaoud Here maweeaaaadenal July 15 86 1, 268

Polovina( Little): .t.cc.e0sccseausr sesesciececnacnces 45 _ 179 2!
Vostochnibd 975 | 15,879
Morjovib..... is 5 4 293 4, 328
Total. 4,348 | 70,36]

‘

a@Cows and harems counted,
b Cows and harems counted in part only. All other rookeries were counted only by harems.

ORIGINAL COUNTS OF ST. GEORGE UNSATISFACTORY.

The rookeries of St. George had been counted on the 8th, 9th, and 11th of July
before the counts on St. Paul were made. Later experiences led us to doubt the
trustworthiness of these earlier counts, and, furthermore, the condition of the rookeries
of St. Paul being different from that witnessed on St. George, it seemed likely that
at the time of our first landing on the latter island, the season had not yet reached
its height.

This view was strengthened by the fact that while the original count gave to St.
George only one-tenth as many seals as were found on St. Paul, the former island had
farnished more than one-fifth of the quota of killable seals. In the latter part of July
we made a more careful count of bulls on Zapadni and North rookeries, which gave
a much higher number of families than were shown on the original estimates. Finally,
when live pups were counted on Little East Rookery, they were found to exceed the
cows counted on the 9th of July by 4 to 1.

ESTIMATE FOR ST. GEORGE.
Having these matters in mind, in preparing the estimate for St. George Island
last season, a compromise was reached in which all these elements had a share. This

estimate was as follows:
Census of cows and harems, St. George.

Rookery. ° Harems, Cows.

225 3, 891
761

“8 i 135 2,335 |
Staraya Artel..... piieistiiok 75 1, 297
ZAPAGDA oi ain cian ccsinenniew oe enwsacwsie reese seieniecnee sinwrecrees 182 3, 148

DOG 2 win ants sicisie cigre ais aie ciara ata nie din wiersiaidscierareisie sielesis acai 661 11, 432

92 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

THIS ESTIMATE ALSO UNSATISFACTORY.

In the light of our experience of the present season, however, this estimate for
St. George still proves unsatisfactory. It was found that in the first hasty view of
Little East rookery on July 9, 1896, a considerable portion of the breeding ground was
hidden from view by the cliffs, because the most advantageous observation point was
not selected. The proportion of killable seals furnished by St. George in 1896 proved
wholly misleading because in 1897 the island furnished only one-ninth of the quota.
The observations of the present season also show that a count of harems after the
25th of July gives no idea of the real condition of the rookeries at the height of the
season. On rookery ground under inspection during .1897 for this purpose it was
found that between the 13th and 25th of July, while the number of cows diminished
one-third the number of families had been increased one-seventh through the ingress
of young and idle bulls following the breaking yp of the harem system.

But this information was not at hand when the census of 1896 was prepared on
August 1, and the estimate seemed to represent as nearly as possible the actual
conditioi of the breeding herd at the time known as the height of the season.

THE GREAT EXCESS OF PUPS.

As our observations on St. Paul continued, and especially when we came to enter
the rookeries to count the dead pups, our attention was attracted to the fact that the
pups seemed to be much more numerous than the estimates of cows in the height of
the season would warrant. This was particularly noticeable on the sand flat of
Tolstoi.

To test the matter a careful count of the live pups on Kitovi rookery was made on
August 15. This rookery bad been taken as the typical one in making up the census
and the most accurate count of cows was made uponit. A total of 5,940 live pups
were found. To this number 109 dead pups counted a week before were to be added,
making a total of 6,049 pups for a rookery where 3,152 cows had been counted on the
13th of July at the Guppaced inaximum of its expansion.

COUNT OF PUPS.

The counting of live pups was continued on all parts of rookeries where cows
had originally been counted. In some cases the counts could not be made accurately
because the pups were beginning to swim well and took to the water. Where the
counts were most satisfactory the proportion of live pups to cows was about 1.90 to 1.
The proportion on Kitovi was 1.91, and here the count was made under favorable
conditions because a heavy surf kept the pups from going to sea. Where the lowest
percentages were found the least accurate counts had been made.

The following is a detailed statement of the count of live pups:

Count of live pups, 1896, St. Paul Island.

Rookery. Cows. Pups.
WRIGOV, w ceie sig arsine sinteisicaisaisieieiais esp cre 22 edecidscidie pememe¥ inane c 3, 152 6,049
‘Yolstoi (cliffs) . a 1, 498 2, 664
Zapadni Reet . 3 2, 256 3, 862
Lagoon ..... ...- 2 1,474 2,484
Polovina (cliffs) .. = 1, 268 2, 496
Vostochni (part) ..... 5 stedieseicisislayeis Liss bebe 2, 887 4,412
Morjovi (part) ...-.--2...---2--.- ise ois 1,194 2, 289

ROA inain satan we actinns Pewee eeenwen eeneiaay teANE Tey 13,729 | 24, 256

CENSUS OF ROOKERIES IN 1896. 93
“CORRECTION FOR ABSENT COWS.

_ Averaging the various. counts it seemed . that the proportion of live pups to. the
apparent ‘number of cows present in the breeding season was 1.75. Our experience
during the season of 1897 shows that this was ‘too low, and that it would have been
better had the simple conditions of Kitovi rookery been taken as typical of the other
rookeries, using its proportion of 191 tol, :

On the basis of our count of live pups the previous census was corrected by the

addition of 75 per cent to allow for absent cows in the height of the season. Tn this
way the completed preliminary : census put forward in 1896 was made. It is as follows:

Summary of breeding seals ( counts and estimates) 1896.

Rookery. Harenis.|',Cows | Actual

(count). total.
ST. PAUL. :
Kitovi.. 182 8, 152 6, 049
| Lukanin 147 2,543 4,450
Lagoon . 120 1,474 2, 484
Tolstoi (main). ai 389 6,-729 11,775
g aolsiol | CGLUFES). sesje: cis retirs oe ata arenes setdateraicinomine reece - 108 1,498 2, 664
Little Zapadni 210 2, 400 4, 200
Zapadni Reef 176 2, 256° 3, 862
eH | Gorbatch - 302 5, 224 9, 142
; Ardiguen . 27 550, 652 N
Reef .....-.- - 504 8, 719 15, 258
Sivutch Rock...............--.------ see-ee eens 63 1, 090 1,907 |
Polovina (main). ween ticle He sie wieleides wiarwinleima eigimlamnsc j 138 2, 387 4,177
| Polovina ‘cliffs).... é 86 1, 268 2, 496
Polovina. (little)... 45 779 1, 363
Vostochni 975 15, 879 27, 148
293 4,328 7,773 |

44 761 1, 350
135 2, 335 4, 086
182 3, 148 5, 509

661 11, 432 20, 023
Grand total - egictin Seirelgne WJesiaas sctceceasSuce 5, 009 81, 793 143, 071

Bobrovi (Otter Island) had 1 harem, containing 5 cows and 5 pups.

REVISION OF CENSUS OF 1896.

Asalready intimated, the estimate for St. George Island for 1896 is not satisfactory.
That Little East rookery was considerably underestimated is evident from a closer
gnspection of this breeding ground during the season of 1897. The original count
gave only 27 harems, but. probably included no more than two-thirds of the rookery.
As there were bit few idle bulls about this rookery, the count of bulls made late in
July can not be far out of the way here, and in the absence of a better estimate it
may be allowed to stand. F

CORRECTIONS ON 87. GEORGE.

On Zapadni and North rookeries, however, the number of harems counted in the
latter part of July can not be accurate. When the rigid harem system breaks up and
the original harem masters begin to leave, the idle bulls (of which there were many
about these rookeries) enter the breeding grounds, increasing the number of families,

94 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

though the actual population has been diminished by the more frequent and pro-
longed absence of the cows. The number of bulls therefore found for those two
rookeries on July 31 can not be accepted as representing the number of families in the
breeding season and must be reduced.

CORRECTIONS ON ST. PAUL.

The need for revision in the census of St. Paul Island is not so great; but our
experience during the past season shows that in all probability the harems on Zapadni
and Tolstoi rookeries were slightly overestimated and those on the main part of
Polovina underestimated.

Zapadni rookery occupies a long gradual slope back of the more abrupt bowlder
beach. This slope was filled with savage bulls, making close approach in 1896 impos-
sible. The count of harems was made from a boat offshore and was not corrected by
a count from behind. From this point of view of the water the whole field could not
be inspected, and the figures of last year were felt to be merely a rough approximation.
The estimate for those not clearly seen was certainly too large. This year the rookery
had shrunk so largely that observation points from the rear, commanding the entire
breeding ground, could be reached. In like manner the estimate of Tolstoi for 1896
was made under difficulties, which were more satisfactorily overcome in 1897.

On Polovina the conditions were similar to those on Zapadni. The main part of
the rookery lies on a gradual even slope, behind which the idle bulls were coflected in
such numbers as to prevent near approach, while there was no opportunity to inspect
the rookery from the water. This year the conditions were so changed as to permit
of much closer inspection, and although the mass of breeding seals had plainly
shrunk at every point, practically the same number of harems were counted, making
an addition of harems necessary.

SIVUTCH ROCK.

A third correction must be made in the estimate of Sivutch Rock. The original
estimate of this rookery was made after an inspection of the rock with a field glass
from the plateau of the Reef, which showed 27 bulls in charge of harems on the
northern face. At the time of the count of dead pups in August a landing was
effected and an attempt made to estimate the number of harems, as the rookery
seemed plainly greater than our original estimate allowed for. Sixty-seven bulls
occupying harems were then found, though it was plain that the rookery was wholly
disorganized. This season Sivutch Rock was inspected from all sides in a boat at
the height of the season and an adequate notion of the extent of the rookery obtained.
Harems were found on the southern side and in places where their presence was not
suspected in 1896. The total number counted in 1897 was 102. It is therefore
necessary to largely increase the original estimate for this rookery.

In balancing these under and over estimates, however, they practically neutralize
each other and leave the total for St. Paul for 1896 about what it was. For St. George
Island also the difference resulting from the revision is not great, being only about 600
cows.

THE IMPORTANT CORRECTION IN THE CENSUS OF 1896.

But the chief error in the census of 1896, and this applies to both islands, lies in
the percentage of correction to be added for absent cows. This has already been

REVISED CENSUS OF 1896.” 95

referred to. Instead of the average correction. of 75 per cent, one of 100 per cent
would have been more nearly correct. However, since in the original census of 1896
and in the census of 1897 Kitovi rookery has been taken as typical of the rookeries as
a whole, we may use its percentage of correction, 91, in the revision. After making
this correction and such alterations in the estimates of harems as experience shows to
ee we have the following revised and completed census for the season of

Revised census, 1896.

: ST. PAUL.
Pups
Rookery. Harems.| | (cows):
Kitovi. 182 6, 049
Tagoon .. 120 2, 484
Polovina ( 86 2, 496
pated Reef. 176° 3, 862
Lukanin.... a ee oie os 147 4, 880
Tolatoi! . cca ccsesece siataccanccaneemse - we : 467 15, 504
Zapadni® .......--. 22 ---- ees eeen acne nee fa ie 543 18, 027
Little Zapadn: eMenise 2 2 a 210 4, 584
Gorbatch .. a ag : “is 302 10, 026
Ardiguen. . nae RvieuenEe a rEReRGES sal fuc24 6 . $896
Reef -....-. Giaisie pie insinie ewe iSiieiaig aie : 504° |. 16, 732
SEV UG Doo sc aisicrsisieracthis did ns Seca eldac mule oe aromeis' siti - 105 3, 486
Polovina5. . 153 5, 079
Little Polov. 45 1, 494
Vostochni 975 32,370
Morjovi 293 9,727
Total cases sumenicanye cawewsnnceeseeenoeetoneaeceioses 4, 385 187, 696
ST. GEORGE.
North? vccccesceesewesewcscdiveceseee robowdlais Wiettraldtararajspeia.ciaie 200 6, 640
Little East -|. . 44 1, 350
East ....... = 135 4, 482
Zapadni? ..... ro Bee 143 4,747
Staraya Artel : ! 75 2, 490
Total 597 19, 709
RECAPITULATION.
| §t.Paul.... 4, 835 137, 696
St. George - f 597 19, 709
Grand total.........---+- uz Sy geseeweeyeuatcevaseeys * 4,932 | 157, 405
s : sceaes

1A reduction of 30 harems from the original estimate.

2A reduction of 40 harems. .

3The original count of 650 pups used in the census pf 1896 was made from the cliffs above the rookery under
circumstances which wake it certain that it is an underestimate It is therefore discarded.

4 An increase-of 42 harems.

6 An increase of 15 harems. . \

6A decrease of 25 harems.

7A decrease of 39 harems.

’ THE VALUE OF THIS CENSUS.

This elaborated and corrected census of 1896 gives our best possible judgment as
to the conditions on the rookeries of St. Paul and St. George during the season of
1896. Therevision and alteration which have been found necessary make the estimate
more or less unsatisfactory. But no other result could be expected. The census was
a growth and an experiment from the start. The conditions under which it ought to
have been made were not understood until the time was passed. Notwithstanding

96 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

all this the total results as here given are close enough to the actual conditions for all
practical purposes. The total of 157,405 breeding seals means between 150,000 and
160,000. No closer accuracy is claimed for the figures, and noneis needed. The margin
of error can not be greater than this.

THE CENSUS OF 1897.

In making the census of 1897 no such difficulty as that encountered in 1896 was
met with. From the start we had a clear idea of the problem and were guided by the
experience obtained in the work of the former season. The first thing to be done was
to make a full enumeration of the breeding harems on all the rookeries at the height
of the season. The remaining step was to obtain an average size of harem by making
a count of live pups on some typical rookery space. Accordingly between the period
of July 13 and 20 the count of harems was made. For purposes of comparison the
cows actually present on rookeries counted last year were recounted this year on
the same dates. .
THE COUNT OF PUPS IN 1897.

The count of pups was made between the 28th of July and the 3d of August.
A comparison of the number of pups with the number of cows counted showed clearly
the inadequacy of our correction of 75 per cent for absent cows in the original census
of 1896. These counts of cows and pups for 1897 are as follows:

Comparison of counts of cows and pups, 1897.

Cows
Rookery. present. Pups
Kit Whose aiziaie ponds netdiaceadeSas de aes aleee tice nade ns samara! - 2,436 5, 289
Lagoon ......-..---.-- wee 1,319 2, 598
eae Reef........- rer Sia aia 1, 049 3, 041
Polovina (cliffs) mise TAT 2, 200
ALU SUN oscec.cnis meesteeasesiesnssesees ecsiecasaeceseeed eeeecie 470 736
Little Hast: «scccccccssaceccesieesectssseemisccn seemeeeerecede 497 1,190
MOtAl scices ahocciesicdsaw skichsaswhaisepenivigeelaisewacscae 6, 518 15, 054

THE PROPORTION OF COWS TO PUPS.

These counts seem to show that the cows belonging to any rookery for the season
are about 2.61 times as numerous as the cows found present at any one time in the
height of the season. But an examination of the figures for Zapadni Reef and for
Polovina cliffs indicates an abnormal condition of things on these rookeries. In both
cases the pups outnumber the cows nearly three to one. It would seem likely that
the weather or some other cause had on these rookeries produced an unusual effect
for the day when the counts were made.

In view of this apparently abnormal condition in part of the rookeries counted,
it has been thought best in the census of 1897 to waive the general average results
and take the simple conditions of Kitovi rookery as again typical. We find from a
comparison of this rookery for the two seasons that its condition is apparently
normal. In 1896 there were 182 harems, 3,152 cows present on July 13, in the
height of the season, and 6,049 pups in August; in 1897 there were 179 harems, 2,436
cows actually present on the same date, and 5,289 pups in August.

CENSUS OF ROOKERIES, 1897. 97

THE AVERAGE HAREM OF KITOVI.

Dividing this total of 5,289 by 179, the number of harems, we find the average
harem of Kitovi rookery to contain 29.5 cows. This harem is applied to all the
rookeries on which only counts of harems were made. Where pups were counted, the
figures so obtained are used without change. The oniy difference in the method of
computing the census of 1897 from that of 1896 is in the dropping out of the
intermediate step of completing the provisional census of cows and afterwards
adding the necessary correction for absentees. This step, now that the conditions
are known, becomes superfluous. Constructed on this basis the following is the
completed census of breeding seals for the two islands for the season of 1897:

Census, 1897.

ST. PAUL.
Pups
Rookery. Harems. (cows).
Ritoviteriesess adacsseticusesese ceeds cas¥usaiatencs meesecacas 179 5, 289
Lagoon .--...----- 115 2, 598
Polovina (cliffs) - 61 2, 260
Zapadni Reef. - 114 3, 041
i 139 4, 100
393 11, 593
458 18,511
176 5, 192
308 9, 086
33 736
454 18, 393
102 3, 009
143 4, 218
Little Polovina 40 1,180
Vostochni... E 910 26, 845
Morjovi J 233 6, 873
Total 3, 858 112, 864
ST. GEORGE.
SEEN acces eig haste dence sites takes ck U arc alan sf] 196 | 5,702 |
Little East ..- 2.2.2. ccneccee ccc ce nce tener cream econ ene eeae 46 1,190
East......-- i 128 3, 776
Zapadni 183 3, 923
Starie Artel. 57 1, 621
| Total 560 16,352 |
| SEC Dail 282d st ewes snodemetdaeauseeonnidseacesscaneeesea 2, 858 112, 864 |
| St. George..-...---.cecnen cece cent eee cceenceeeecenereneeees 560 16, 852
Wouiil oacieavaseus ie nceaisne st cenbtas tewaaierassouererase 4, 418 | 129, 216

‘

THE VALUE OF THE CENSUS FOR 1897.

Whatever doubt or uncertainty may exist regarding the census of 1896 there is
none with regard to that for 1897. No estimates were made. The count of harems
was complete for every rookery. The count of pups was carefully and accurately
made. While not claiming infallibility for these figures, the margin of error is slight.

15184——7

98 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

From this census we have therefore a total of 4,418 breeding bulls and 129,216
breeding cows for the season of 1897. Each of these cows bore a pup during the
season. There were therefore a total of 262,850 “‘breeding seals and young” at one
time or another on the rookeries of the Pribilof Islands during the past season.

Thus far our census of the fur seals can lay claim to accuracy, but it does not
cover all classes of animals, and when we attempt to extend it beyond the breeding
herd to include idle bulls, bachelors, and yearling and 2-year-old females, we must
leave facts and begin to theorize.

THE ENUMERATION OF NONBREEDING SEALS.

During the season of 18 6 a rough approximation was made of the class of males
kuown as idle bulls. The number found in close proximity to the breeding grounds
was estimated at about 3,000. No attempt was made to include animals located on
various sand beaches and such hauling grounds as those of Sivutch Rock, Zapadni
Head, Lagoon, etc. The enumeration of this class of bulls was therefore only partial
at best. On certain rookeries where they were counted last year, counts were made
this year for comparison, but beyond this nothing was done or could be done. Onlya
general estimate of idle bulls can therefore be given, but the number would seem to
be not far from 5,000, or in round numbers, a number equal to those occupied.

IDLE AND HALF BULLS.

In addition to these idle bulls the hauling grounds and the water front were full
of young half bulls, 5 and 6 years of age, which had not yet even attempted to secure
places on the rookeries. From the killing grounds during the present season 8,000 of
these animals were turned back from the drives. As some of the young bulls may
have been driven two, three, and even four times from the same hauling ground, this
number can not be taken at its face value. But in corners of many of the hauling
grounds, in the runways on the Reef and in the various ravines on Zapadni, large
numbers of these animals were not disturbed at all, while the water front of all the
rookeries was lined with them. A fair estimate of the young bulls would not fall
far short of 10,000. This class represents chiefly the natural reserve which has
accumulated from the escape of the animals of killable age since 1893. The idle buils
as a class and the oldest of the half bulls are the aftermath of the modus vivendi.

THE BACHELORS.

But these animals are not numerous and their record is not important. It is
concerning the bachelors below killable age and the cows below breeding age that we
ought to have exact information, but can not get it. It is impossible to count the
yearling and 2-year-old bachelors. They do uot arrive at the islands until late in
the season. They occupy their hauling grounds very irregularly, coming and going
from the water according to pleasure and the state of the weather.

REJECTED SEALS.

From the killing grounds during the present season 15,000 animals too small to
kill were turned back. As in case of the young bulls, some of these, perhaps many,
were driven and redriven; several drives being made from each hauling ground

ESTIMATE OF YOUNG FUR SEALS. 99

during the season. The actual number represented by this total of rejected animals
can not be exactly determined. From this it would seem necessary to suppose that
by no means all the younger seals appear on the hauling grounds during the killing
season. In fact the records of the drives show that it is only after the middle of
July that the yearlings begin to arrive in numbers. The older bachelors appear
earliest, and by the time the killing season is over the great majority of the killable
seals are secured, leaving the population of the hauling grounds almost exclusively
yearlings and 2-year-olds.

THE 1 AND 2-YEAR-OLD FEMALES.

What has been said about the 1 and 2-year-old bachelors applies equally well to
the same class of females. These do not appear on the islands before the 1st of
August. The 2-year-olds come on the breeding grounds and are scattered about
among the harems, spending a few days and leaving. They come and go at intervals
during the rest of the season, playing among the pups in company with their yearling
sisters. It will never be possible to enumerate these younger classes of seals.

THE LOSSES AMONG YOUNG SEALS.

One element of uncertainty regarding all the younger classes of seals lies in the
absence of any definite information regarding the losses they sustain at sea during
their early migrations. We know that such loss must be great, but that is all. From
all the data at hand it seems certain that not more than one-third of the pups born in
any particular year survive to killable or breeding age. This percentage must have
been still smaller in the earlier days, when the herd was more crowded and occupied
to greater extent the sandy areas. Doubtless, when the herd was at its maximum, in
the seventies, not more than one-fourth of the pups reached the age of 3 years.

It is fortunate that no vital importance attaches to the exact number of these
younger animals. The important matter is the number of breeding animals, and this
we have. But it is worth while to construct an estimate of the younger classes, if.
such a thing can be done, and in the quota of the year 1897 we have a basis for fairly
satisfactory results.

THE ESTIMATE OF NONBREEDING SEALS.

During this season a quota in round numbers of 20,000 skins was taken on the
Pribilof Islands. This number included some 2-year-olds and some 4-year-olds, but as a
rule the animals taken were 3-year-olds. Some3-year-olds were left over, and some that
would have been 3-year-olds in 1897 had been killed as 2-year-olds in 1896. We might
even the matter up and say that the quota practically represented the normal quota
of animals of 3 years old. ‘But as there are elements of uncertainty in the problem, to
be on the safe side and for the purposes of argument, we may suppose that there was
a maximum of 25,000 3-year-old males which did or should have survived in 1897 from
the birth rate of 1894. An equal number of females survived from the same year.
These young breeders, which came upon the rookeries to bear their first pups in 1897,
have already been included in the estimate of breeding cows.

As nearly as we can judge, the total birth rate for the year 1894 was approximately
200,000. Of these, under normal conditions, about one-third, or something like 65,000,

100 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

should have survived. The difference between this number and the 50,000 which we
have found to actually survive is accounted for by the starvation of pups in 1894.
Treating in the same manner the approximate birth rate of 170,000 pups in 1893,
we find that, after making the deductions for loss through natural causes and from
starvation, probably 40,000 returned as 2-year-olds in 1897.
Of the 160,000 pups born last year treated in like manner, probably 60,000
appeared in 1897 as yearlings.

THE COMPLETE ESTIMATE FOR ANIMALS OF ALL CLASSES.

This completes our estimate of the younger classes of seals. The figures are
merely rough approximations and are to be considered as such. They, however,
point in the direction of the truth and are probably not far fromit. Putting these
various estimates in tabular form we have the following completed estimate of all
classes of animals on the rookeries of the Pribilof Islands for the season of 1897:

Animals present at one time or another, season of 1897.

Breeding females ..........-.----. 22-220 e-ee eens aisles ee setuleeee aeeeee abies 129, 216
Pups born... - 2-22-22 2 cn cone nee ee ee cece cee renee cone cree e meee cee e eecaeee 129, 216
Active bulls icceencedsecidenenns secede seceergisses Pigeeis ob stbb SoBe eee eswer eases 4, 418
Idle bulls (approximate)... ....... 2.22. cee cee scene eee cee ee eee eee ee eee eee 5, 000
Half bulls (approximate) .......---------. ------ eee ne eee eee ee ee eee eee 10, 000
Three-year-old males (approximate). -.-....--..----- 2-2 eee eee eee eee eee eee 25, 000
Two-year-olds of both sexes (approximate).....-...---------22 -e ee ee eee eee eee 40, 000
Yearlings of both sexes (approximate)... 0.220... eee. eee cece ee eee eee ee eee eee 60, 000

POU scrate winiacavhis pce rape craiayeid) ature eta's ie ssiafeid sie wiSianpersibia) Sipletacalewwawiarelehebrelshae ieiskaemes 402, 850

In round numbers, therefore, there were on the Pribilof Islands at one time or
another during the season of 1897 400,000 seals of all classes. We wish to again
emphasize the fact that these figures, in so far as they refer to other classes of animals
than the breeding seals and young, are mere approximations.

DEDUCTIONS FOR LOSSES.

These animals were of course not all alive at the close of the season. Their
number had been reduced from various causes, as the death of nursing pups, pelagic
sealing, and the filling of the quota. These losses to the herd may be estimated as
follows:

Animals known to have died from various causes, season 1897.

Pups, from Uncinaria, trampling, etc ............---+- +--+ eee. eee eee estimated -. 7, 750
Pups, from starvation. -.....-.2- 0-22-20 2 cece eee ee cee ee eee eens do.... 14, 000
Bachelors (quota). c0c2+.sesse vice sed sec aweceeeneve vines cee etn ceee ciwarceeccewien 20, 890
Pelagic catch (Bering Sea). .... 2... +222... eee cece ee teen cee ee cece cece eens 16, 464

Total 2 secuvnbsictdenisamsie suis nisiee vs ves oes isbedves Getistene sesame ss cesaians 59, 104
Total alive during season ..--.. 22.2. 22 cece ce eee eee ee ee eee ---- 402, 850
Wotal deads sc'st sab vies sidg seeoasbaee eee eset eicacide te eked cose sie sderade aes 59, 104

THE COUNT OF PUPS. 101

THE VALUE OF THE ESTIMATE.

The weakness of the foregoing estimate lies in the tigures for the nonbreeding
animals. It is worked out merely because such an estimate is asked for in our
instructions. The figures, however, satisfy the conditions and we believe approximate
the truth as closely as it can be reached at the present time. For the estimate of
breeding animals, which is really the important thing, we have no apology to offer.
It is practically exact.

To eliminate the last element of uncertainty in arriving at a full enumeration of
the herd it is only necessary to continue the census of the breeding herd each year
for a certain period. Knowing the number of pups born in 1896, in 1899 it will be
possible from the quota of that year to tell with reasonable exactness the number
which survive to killable age. With each succeeding year the data will become more

-exact, and in the future the Government can know exactly what quota to expect and
what the condition of the hauling as well as of the breeding grounds is. Given the
birth rate of any year and the quota of three years later can be determined. In ~

like manner from the quota of any year the birth rate of three years previous can be
determined.

THE TRUE BASIS OF ENUMERATION.

The only reliable basis of enumeration has been found and demonstrated. This
is a count of live pups. The pups as a class are fixed in their places on the rookery
for the first six weeks of theirlives. Their mothers may come and go, but they remain.
It is not necessary that all the pups on all the rookeries be counted. It would be
impossible to make a count on the larger rookeries. But if some typical rookery, as
Kitovi, be counted each year to obtain the average size of harem, and then the harems
be counted on all the rookeries about the 15th of July, the average harem of Kitovi
being applied to them, a census exact enough for every purpose can be obtained.
From this census and the quota itself the completed estimate for the nonbreeding
animals can be made up.

CNAPTER VII.
THE DECLINE OF THE HERD.

ITS HISTORY.

It necessarily follows from the foregoing review of past and present conditions
that the fur-seal herd of the Pribilof Islands has largely declined since it came into
the possession of the United States. That this decline is still in progress is shown
by the decrease in breeding seals between the seasons of 1896 and 1897 and in the
diminished quota. We may now take up in detail a consideration of this decline and
endeavor to trace its history and find its cause.

RUSSIAN MANAGEMENT.

Of the condition of the fur-seal herd before it came under American control in
1867 we have but little definite information. That it had a varied history we know,
The excessive slaughter which threatened its existence in 1799 was stopped by the
advent of the Russian-American Company. Under the earlier years of its régime,
however, the seals were indiscriminately slaughtered, females as well as males, the
only difference being that it was limited slaughter.

GRADUAL IMPROVEMENT IN METHODS.

Gradually the habits and needs of the herd began to be understood by the
Russians and more conservative methods came into vogue. After some catastrophe
which involved the herd about the year 1834, of which the cause is not clearly
known, the killing of females was prohibited, and for twenty or thirty years before
the transfer to the United States in 1867 the killing was limited, as now, to the
superfluous males. On coming into the control of the United States the herd was in
@ growing and prosperous condition.

THE EQUILIBRIUM OF THE HERD.

From the growing ease with which the quota was filled in the years 1871-1875,
as shown by the gradual recession of the date at which the required number of skins
could be obtained, we may infer that the herd even increased somewhat. For a few
years longer, or until 1880 or thereabouts, the herd appears to have remained in a state
of equilibrium, or at least a state in which there was neither marked increase nor
decrease. It is probable that during this period the annual increment of breeders
was practically balanced by the various checks acting upon the herd, chief. among
which were the natural mortality among the young upon land and the natural death
of adult females at sea from old age.

THE BEGINNING OF DECLINE,

About the year 1884, and more particularly after 1886, a decline began to be

observable, gradual at first, then more rapid, becoming in the year 1890 alarming.
102

THE QUOTA OF KILLABLE SEALS. 103

This decrease in the herd was first felt in a shifting of the hauling grounds and
afterwards in a growing scarcity! of the killable seals frequenting them. From the
year 1871, a quota of 100,000 skins. had been annually taken. After 1883, the
date at which this number could be obtained from the hauling grounds became
relatively later, requiring more frequent and later driving. Finally it was necessary
successively to lower the grade of killable seals, until in 1889 to get the quota of
100,000 nearly the entire bachelor herd, down to and including most of the yearlings,
was taken. In 1890 the collapse came, when only 21,000 skins could be secured.

THE FAILURE OF THE QUOTA.

The sudden drop from a quota of 100,000 in 1889 to 21,000 in 1890 of course does
not represent a correspondingly sudden drop in the breeding herd. In the latter
the decrease has been gradual but steady, the.deficiency in breeding cows lessening the
birthrate of pups, which in turn diminished the annual increment of 3-year-old breeders.
It also indirectly affected the hauling grounds by diminishing the supply of bachelors,
and this was the effect which first made itself felt. As seals of the proper age
became scarce the quota was filled by lowering the age to 2 years and afterwards by
including the larger yearlings, thus anticipating the quota of succeeding yéars. Such
a course of action would not have been indulged in except for the fact that the lease
under which the islands were then held was approaching its expiration.

“THE BREEDING HERD.

The fall in the bachelor herd served to call attention forcibly to the condition of
the breeding herd, a matter which up to that time had received no attention, interest
being centered solely in the quota of the bachelors. Since 1890 the breeding herd has
been more or less constantly under investigation, the results of which, however, owing
to misinterpretation of some of the important facts of rookery life and development,
leave us confused and uncertain as to the actual number of animals constituting the
breeding herd during these years, though they leave no doubt as to its continued

decline.
THE QUOTA SINCE 1890.

In the meantime events conspired to confuse the hitherto definite results obtained
from the history of the quota. During“the years 1891-93 land killing was limited
under the modus vivendi to 7,500 annually. After this long rest, when it would have
been natural to expect an increased quota, only a limited one was taken, a fact which
seems to arise rather from restrictions in the methods of driving than from the lack
of seals. We find from the table of daily killing (Appendix I) that during 1894-95
only two drives each were made from the various hauling grounds in the killing
season. Middle Hill was not driven from at all. in 1895, nor English Bay in 1894,
The quotas of 16,000 aud 15,000, respectively, for these years do not therefore give any
definite information as to the normal condition of the bachelor herd.

THE QUOTAS OF 1894-95.

The probable failure to take the full quota in 1894~95, aided in 1896 to further
confuse matters when normal driving was resumed. In this latter year every im-
portant hauling ground was driven from at least three times and some of them four

-1 See. table of drives and hauling grounds, p. 123,

104 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

times, there being 19 drives, including 31 hauling grounds. In 1894 but 14 drives
were made from 15 hauling grounds and in 1895 12 drives from an equal number
of hauling grounds. The quota of 30,000 taken in 1896 was therefore affected in a
measure by the nature of the killing of the seasons immediately preceding. The
quota of 1897 is more nearly normal, but with the years immediately preceding it
can not properly be compared.

But if these matters have tended to confuse the data which might have led to a
definite measure of decline, they do not obscure the fact of decline. This is every-
where distinct and unmistakable.

THE EVIDENCE OF DECLINE,

ABANDONED GROUNDS.

To the eye of the observer perhaps the most striking proof of decline is in the
abandoned rookery spaces. On the rear and on either side of the present rookery
areas are great tracts of ground which were once occupied, but which are now grass-
grown. The evidence of former occupation is to be seen in the felt-like matting of
hair over the surface, in the smooth condition of the stones, worn by the moving
animals, and especially in the peculiar vegetation covering the area. These abandoned
grounds are now covered with fine yellow grass, known as “seal grass,” which grows
here and nowhere else.

GRASS-GROWN AREAS.

On some of the rookeries this grass-grown area shows three distinct stages.
Close to the space at present occupied is a narrow belt of ground, which is still occasion-
ally wandered over by the seals, and on which the grass is just beginning to spring up
in spots protected by stones. This area shades imperceptibly into the absolutely
bare region now regularly occupied. Behind this space lies an area of dark green
grass, covering ground not now entered by the seals. The luxuriant growth of this
grass is due to the fertilizing matter in the more recently abandoned grounds.
Beyond this there is an extensive area of thinner yellowish grass of the same general
character, its less vigorous growth probably connected with the impoverished condition
of the soil.

THEIR EXTENT.

On several of the rookeries these three areas are clearly defined, and on all of
them the yellow-grass area is very extensive. On the hauling ground of Lukanin
rookery measurements made during the season of 1896 show the area of dark grass to
be 16 feet in width and the area of yellow grass 64 feet. The area on which the grass
is just starting is less definite, and can not be measured accurately. The outward
line of the yellow-grass region marks the extreme limit of ground at any time occupied
by the seals. The dark green area marks a stage of more recent abandonment.

On certain hauling grounds the area of abandoned territory is anywhere from ten
to twenty times the area at present occupied. This, however, does not mean that
there has been a corresponding decrease in the bachelor herds. Observations show
that a small band of bachelors can in a few days denude a large grass-grown area if
they begin to wander and sleep upon it. Five or six times the present number of
bachelors would doubtless denude all these areas.

VALUE OF PHOTOGRAPHS. 105

These abandoned areas, while they do not give exact information regarding the
amount of decrease, certainly do offer unmistakable evidence of a large decrease.
The presence of the dark green grass area shows also that part of the decrease has
been recent, while the area where the grass is just starting indicates that it is still
going on.

THE TIME NECESSARY TO ESTABLISH THESE AREAS.

The period necessary for these grass-grown areas to become established was the
subject of much debate in 1892. In that year a small plot of ground, then entirely
bare, was marked off with cairns of stones. It is now closely filled with the charac-
teristic “seal” grass and other vegetation, including saxifrage and wormwood. This
furnishes proof that within four, or at most five, seasons an area abandoned by the
seals may become grass-grown. The yellow-grass areas are therefore not of too
remote date to be identified with the decline of the herd, which began to make itself
felt about the year 1884, thirteen years ago.

PHOTOGRAPHS.

A second evidence of decline is to be found in the comparative condition of the
rookeries as shown by the annual series of ‘photographs which have been taken
each year since 1892. On certain rookeries, which lie for the most part within
circumscribed limits on bowlder beaches, differences are not clearly marked; nor
do the photographs of one year compared with the year immediately preceding or
following it show very definite results. But when we compare photographs of Tolstoi,
or Reef, for example, for 1896 or 1897 with photographs of the same rookeries for 1892,
the evidence of decline is marked and unmistakable. In Appendix III will be found
examples of these and similar photographs, to which reference should be made.

PHOTOGRAPHS BETWEEN SUCCESSIVE SEASONS INADEQUATE.

That a comparison of photographs for two successive seasons should not show
definite results is not strange, considering the shifting and changing character of the
rookery population and the broken nature of the ground the seals occupy. By way
of illustration, the estimated decline between the season of 1896 and 1897 was in the
neighborhood of 15 per cent of the breeding herd. This would mean the absence of
20,000 animals. But as only half of the cows are ever present at one time even at the
maximum height of the season, the actual absence of seals involved could not exceed
10,000. There are more than 8 miles of rocky and broken shore line occupied by the
breeding seals throughout which this loss must be distributed. That it should not be
perceptible to the eye at any one point or be capable of measurement in a photograph
is but natural.

THEIR VALUE COVERING LONG PERIODS.

But while it is in general true that the photographs of one season compared with
those of the next do not show definite results, we must make one exception. A
comparison of the series of photographs fer 1894 with those for 1895, wherever the
conditions are favorable for showing anything, show a marked diminution in the
latter year. In Appendix III some examples of these photographs will be found.

106 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

It is evident that between these two seasons the decrease in the herd was more
strongly marked than between any other two seasons. The reason for this is of
course plain and will be referred to again in its appropriate connection. In a word,
the resumption of pelagic sealing in 1894, nearly doubling as it did the draft of the
preceding year on the herd, naturally showed itself very strongly on the rookeries
in 1895. ,

PHOTOGRAPHS OF ABANDONED TERRITORY.

There is one way in which the photographs of successive seasons show definite
results, and this is in the recording of the absolute abandonment of breeding ground.
Thus on the flat at the head of the “slide” on Ardiguen rookery there were 78 cows
in the season of 1596 and none whatever in 1897. This fact is clearly recorded in the
photographs of the two seasons. Photographs of the large breeding masses on Reef
rookery, Tolstoi, and Vostochni, which are calculated to show most plainly the effects
of shrinkage, give clear evidence of the fact even between two successive seasons.
This evidence might not, however, in view of the daily fluctuations in rookery popula-
tion, be so clear if it were not corroborated by more definite proof.

THEIR LIMITATIONS.

There are, on the whole, many reasons why photographs are at best unsatisfactory
guides to the actual condition of the rookeries from year to year. In the first place, it
is difficult to take them on exactly the same dates on account of adverse weather
conditions, and to be of value for comparison between two successive seasons they
should be so taken. Again, the period during which photographs of any value can be
taken is short. It falls within a few days before or after the 15th of July, which was
found in the season of 1897 to be the maximum date of rookery population. But
between this maximum and the population of the 8th of July there had been an
increase of 20 per cent, while on the other hand from the maximum of the 20th of the
same month there was a decline in population of 38 per cent.

THEIR RELATION TO THE DAILY COUNTS.

To take a concrete example: The population of the Amphitheater of Kitovi, as
counted at its maximum on July 15, showed 703 breeding cows present. On the 14th
its population was 536, a difference between the two days of 20 per cent. Photographs
for these two days of this rookery in the breeding season of 1897 would have indicated
20 per cent of difference, if they indicated anything. Suppose similar conditions for
the year 1896, and that a photograph taken on the 14th of July in one year is to be
compared with one taken on the same date of the next, or vice versa. Such a com-
parison would clearly be misleading. The result would be more striking if the
comparison was made between a photograph in one season for the 15th and one in
another season for the 20th. If we continue the comparison we find that by the 31st
of July our population of breeding cows has declined 46 per cent from its maximum.

Here, however, comes in another element of confusion in the use of photographs.
The pups have been growing in the meantime and are becoming more and more
conspicuous. They are always at least twice as numerous as the cows, and in a
distance photograph they can not be readily distinguished from their mothers. It
therefore happens that a photograph taken on the 3lst of July for the Amphitheater

EVIDENCES OF DECLINE. 107

of Kitovi, when only about half as many cows were present, shows to the casual
observer vastly more animals than one taken on the 15th. This condition of things
continues throughout the remainder of the summer, the cows becoming more scarce
and the pups more conspicuous.

THE TRUE VALUE OF PHOTOGRAPHS.

It is not the purpose of this discussion to belittle the value of photographs.
They have their place and importance, but it is not their function to measure the
decline which the fur-seal herd is at present suffering, or has suffered in the past from
year to year. By a comparison of photographs taken at widely different dates, some
of them in July, others in August, Professor Thompson, in his report for 1896, sought
to prove that no decline had occurred in the herd between the seasons of 1896 and
1895. In view of this fact it becomes necessary for us to define the importance and
limitations of photographs as a measure of decline in rookery life.

Photographs, in our judgment, are of value only as showing the large results or
changes which come through long periods of time. The photographs of the rookeries
of the Pribilof Islands show us plainly that its herd of seals has suffered a heavy
diminution since 1892. Those for the years 1894 and 1895 show clearly the disastrous
results of the resumption of pelagic sealing under the regulations of the Paris award.
Between the seasons of 1896 and 1897 photographs can only be trusted to record
change where breeding ground has been actually abandoned. Of the magnitude of
the decrease which the herd has suffered in the past five years photographs afford
abundant evidence, but they give no measure either of the total decrease nor of its
rate from year ta year. Finally, for comparison only photographs taken at middle of
July can be used.

TOWNSEND'S CROSSES.

One of the most definite evidences of decline is to be found in the shrinkage of
certain large breeding masses on such rookeries as Tolstoi, Zapadui, and Vostochni.
This is most plainly shown in the relation of the breeding masses to certain crosses
which Mr. Townsend, in 1895, painted to mark their outward extension. During
the season of 1896 these crosses were in no case reached at the corresponding period.
In some cases the breeding masses fell away from them from 50 to 100 feet. In 1897
the shrinkage was measured by yards where in 1896 it was measured by feet.

SHRINKAGE OF BREEDING AREA.

Another positive evidence of decrease is to be found in the disappearance of
certain small patches of breeding seals noted and marked on the rookery maps of
1895, but which were not to be found in 1896. One of these groups of harems was at
the southern end of Vostochni. Two others were at the extremities of the breeding
ground, known as Zapadni Reef.

TOLSTOI SAND FLAT, ARDIGUEN, ETC.

In 1897 this abandonment of breeding territory was still more noticeable as a
result of the minute inspection of the two seasons. On the sand flat of Tolstoi but a
small fraction of the area occupied in 1896 was covered this year, and practically no
seals were on the slopes behind. At the head of the “slide” on Ardiguen last year
were three harems, aggregating 78 cows, a8 seen on the 14th of July. Making the
necessary allowance for absentees, there must have been an actual total of at least

108 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

150. This year not a single cow located permanently on this territory, and the three
bulls, corresponding to the harems of last year, remained idle throughout the season.

Another point where the shrinkage was piainly marked was at a prominent
observation point known as “Old John’s Kock,” about which during the summer of
1896 a large harem clustered; the ground was fully occupied between it and the water.
This year the breeding seals did not reach within 100 feet of this rock at any time
during the season. Again the absence of breeding seals from the runways and breaks
in the cliffs of Lukanin rookery, another observation point frequented during both
seasons, was very marked.

Similar examples might be cited from all the rookeries closely observed. Such
abandonment of rookery ground can have but one explanation, namely, decrease
in the breeding herd.

THE DECREASE IN DEAD PUPS.

A striking, though indirect, evidence of decline in the breeding herd is brought
out by the marked decrease in the mortality among nursing pups in the breeding
season. On all the massed rookery portions the population of breeding seals was
much sparcer during the season of 1897. On the sand flat of Tolstoi and in the
gullies of Zapadni only a small portion of the space occupied in 1896 was occupied
in 1897. We are not, therefore, surprised to find the following contrast:

Dead pups, August 10.

| Rookery. 1896. 1897.
Tolstoi Sand Flat and adjacent beach.........-..-..--------- 1, 495 593
Zapadni Gullies and adjacent beaches .......-...----.------- 1,314 689
GoOrbately aocc siscee sys eee'se micas eaminsmue meme daciated Serue: seiszsizs 712 382
Reef: s..e.cceussvacs dexeeeeeweea ves jsiviet Suetewsiuhide wslewisiy yaaa 950 642

These counts were made where the death rate had to do directly with the
crowding of the seals on certain defective breeding spaces.

THE INCREASED MORTALITY AMONG COWS.

In this connection may bo cited one farther evidence of decline. On Reef rookery,
where 25 cows were found dead in 1896, 42 were found in 1897. The diminished supply
of cows led to fiercer struggles for their possession and consequently the death of a
greater number. The deaths of cows on the breeding grounds are due chiefly, if not
wholly, to the rough treatment by the bulls.

THE DIMINISHED QUOTA.

But the most clear and positive evidence of decline is found in the reduction of
the quota of killable seals. The sexes are equal at birth. They must be subject to
like natural enemies and hardship. Whatever tends to diminish the bachelor herd
must in like measure affect the number of 3-year-old cows which each year take their
places as breeders on the rookeries.

For twenty years after the islands came into the possession of the United States
it was possible to take each year a quota of approximately 100,000 young males.
During at least thirteen years of this period this quota could be obtained easily and
without exhausting the hauling grounds. This year it was more difficult to get a
quota of 20,000 skius than it was in 1880 to get one of 100,000. The inference is obvious.

ACTUAL COUNTS OF PUPS. 109

THE DECLINE BETWEEN 1896 AND 1897.

As a result of the investigations of the past two seasons we are able now to sub.
mit definite and final proof not only of the fact of decline, but also an approximately
accurate measure of its rate.

COMPARATIVE COUNTS, 1896-97.

During the season of 1896 a very accurate estimate of the total number of harems
on the two islands was made. On certain rookeries and parts of rookeries careful
counts of the individual cows present were made at the height of the season and on
approximately the same dates each year. Afterwards a thorough enumeration of the
live and dead pups on the same breeding grounds was made. We have had occasion
to criticise and revise our detailed census of 1896, but this revision does not affect the
actual counts for that year, which we have no occasion to alter.

These comparative counts for the two seasons are as follows: !

Actual counts, 1896-97.

Harems. Cows. Pups.
Rookery.
1896. | 1897. | 1896. | 1897. | 1896. | 1897.
BKitovi......... Sarslemiosieniee.cs 182 179 | 3,152] 2,486] 6,049 | 5, 289
Lagoon ...-- a 120 115 | 1,474] 1,319] 2,484 2, 598
‘Lolstoi (cliffs) 108 98 1,498} 1,286] 2, 664 (a)
Zapadni Reef. . 176 114} 2,256 | 1,049 | 3,862 3, 041
Polovina (cliffs) 86 61 | 1,266 747 | 2,496 2, 200
Little East?. . (b) 33 (b) 497 | 1,350 1,190
SIDI Nha care cask newnrscnee 27 33 550 470 | .(b) 736

aNot counted. :
bCount of 1896 rejected as obviously incorrect.

\These figures are the joint work of Mr. Clark, of the American commission, and Mr. Macoun, of the British
commission. They were accepted by Professor Thompson, though made in his absence, as he did not arrive in time to
witness the work. After the departure of Mr. Macoun and ourselves from the islands Professor Thompson, assisted by
Mr. Lucas, undertook a recount of the live pups. Mr. Lucas’s action in the matter was one purely of courtesy, no
responsibility for the work of enumeration having been assigned to him by the commissioner in charge.

In the recount on Kitovi rookery Professor Thompson found 5,534 live pups; Mr. Lucas, 5,577. In a single portion,
of the rookery Mr. Lucas found 1,318 pups, whereas Professor Thompson found only 1,247. No effort was made by
recounting or otherwise to remove discrepancies. The mean ef the two counts, or 5,555, was assumed as the total. To
this the dead pups being added, a total of 5,760 pups tor this rookery was found as against 5,289 originally counted.

Afterwards a recount of Zapadni Reef was made. Here, following the same methods, a total of 2,786 pups was
found as against the total of 3,041 of the original count. No further recounts were attempted.

Professor Thompson has seen fit to substitute the results of his recount on Kitovi rookery for the official one,
rejecting as unsatisfactory his recount of Zapadni Reef. A comparison of the two counts shows plainly why.' Had
Professor Thompson substituted both counts, or better yet, had he completed the recount on the remaining rookeries and
used the completed results, his action would have been less open to oriticism.

The results of the recounts are in no seuse binding upon the American commission. They bear on their face the
evidence of their faulty character, which is strengthened by the admission that one at least is in error. It may be said
that Mr. Macoun does not share with his colleague the faith which is placed in the recount.

We may say that in these recounts no precaution was taken which was omitted in the original count. The
conditions of the count by Clark and Macoun were more favorable. The pups were ten days younger, were less active, and
were not going into the water. The count was made in a continuous session of five hours, whereas in the recount the
rookery wus abandoned for a period at noon, giving room for tho possibility of shifting among the pups.

The grave objection to the recounts, however, rests in the fact that neither Mr. Lucas nor Professor Thompson had
had any considerable experience in the work of counting. On the other hand Messrs. Clark and Macoun made their count
on Kitovi rookery after having counted 10,000 live pups in 1897 and nearly 25,000 in 1896, to say nothing of 27,000 dead
ones and great numbers of cows and harems.

There is no work in which experience and adaptability count for more than in the counting of the live pups. The
original counts, therefore, stand to the recounts as the work of experts to that of amateurs. It is with great reluctance that
we refer to this matter, and we would not mention it were it not that Professor {hompson has used it to cast discredit on
tigures undoubtedly accurate and trustworthy. Even with his substitution there is still left by his own accepted figures a
positive decline of 9.1 per cent. The difference between this and 12 per cent is of no real importance except that the use of
the discrepant figures serves needlessly to weaken the apparent force of evidence drawn from actual enumerations.

110 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.
SUMMARY OF PERCENTAGES.

From these figures we may draw the following summary of percentages:

Percentages of decline as shown by counts.

| | | Percent-
Count of— 1896, | 1897. | age of |
; decrease.

|
699 633 9.5

10,198 | 7,307 28, 34

16,241 | 14,318 11.8 |

Harems ---

The results in this limited count of harems are not so striking as in the completed
count of harems for each season on all the rookeries. These were 4,932 in 1896 and
4,418 in 1897, a decrease of 10.41 per cent.

DECREASE IN THE AVERAGE SIZE OF HAREMS.

In connection with this marked decline in the number of breeding families it may
be noted that on Kitovi rookery, which we have taken as typical of rookery conditions
in general, there is also a marked decrease in the size of the individual harem. In
1896 the apparent size of harem, as shown by a count of cows, was 17.3; in 1897 it was
13.6, a decrease of 21 per cent. As this rookery was counted on exactly the same date
and under like conditions these figures may properly be compared and are significant.

THE COUNT OF COWS.

The count of cows, which shows a decrease of 28.34 per cent, is less certain but
i8 still significant. Owing to their constant coming and going, the number of females
on therookeries in the height of the season varies greatly from day to day. This will
be clearly seen by reference to the daily counts of cows on Lukanin and Kitovi rookeries
during the season of 1897, which will be found in Appendix I. The count of cows
and pups, as recorded above in the case of Zapadni Reef and Polovina cliffs, where the
latter were three times as numerous as the cows, furnishes a good illustration. At
the same time, while the decrease shown by the comparative counts of cows can not be
taken at its full value, the fact of large decline thus shown can not be ignored.

THE COUNT OF PUPS AN ABSOLUTE MEASURE.

The final and absolute measure of decline, however, is to be found in the counts
of pups. As we have seen, the number of harems fluctuates. The cows come and go,
and throughout the breeding season the rookeries are undergoing constant change.
With the pups this is not the case. They are fixed upon the rookery to which they
belong at least for the first six weeks of their lives. A count of these animals, living
and dead, is an exact index to the number of breeding cows which have during the
season appeared upon the breeding ground in question.

THE QUOTA OF KILLABLE BACHELORS. 111
LAGOON ROOKERY.

For the whole number of pups counted, and the area covered is varied enough to
be typical, we find that there has been a decrease of 11.8 percent. By reference to the
count on Lagoon rookery, however, it will be seen that instead of a decrease since 1896
there has been an increase of 3 per cent. This increase is apparent rather than real
for both the number of cows and the number of harems present on this rookery in
the height of the season had decreased. As a matter of fact we know that the
count of Lagoon rookery for 1896 was much less accurate than that for 1897 because
in the latter year it was made under more advantageous conditions. Weare convinced,
therefore, that the count of 1896 is somewhat in error.

If we drop Lagoon rookery from the calculation the percentage of decrease, as
shown by our count of pups, rises practically to 15 per cent. We do not insist upon
this, and are willing to abide by the figure of 12 per cent which the completed count
shows. The difference between 12 per cent and 15 per cent is immaterial. The fact
remains that by the count of pups, which is the surest basis of knowledge as to the
condition of the herd, the birthrate, and consequently the -herd of breeding females,
has suffered since the season of 1896 a decrease which can not be less than 12 per
cent, and which we have good reason to believe is as high as 15 per cent.

THE QUOTAS OF 1896 AND 1897.

There remains one further element of comparison between the seasons of 1896
and 1897 to complete the proof of the decline in the fur-seal herd. This is the com-
parison of the quotas of the two years.

THE QUOTA OF 1896 FIXED.

In 1896 30,000 skins were obtained, the quota being fixed at that figure. It is
probable that a few thousand more killable seals could have been taken had the quota
been an indefinite one. On the other hand, however, a number of 2-year-old seals
were taken, which to a certain extent anticipated the quota of 1897. To the best of
our knowledge these two elements in the quota of 1896 balance one another, and we
may consider its total as fairly representative of the hauling grounds of that year.

THE QUOTA OF 1897 INDEFINITE.

In 1897 the quota was left without definite limit to secure the utmost product of
the herd, the rookeries being already grossly overstocked with male life so far as the
need for breeding purposes was concerned. The driving was therefore done more
thoroughly and continued for a longer period, extending until the 10th of August,
whereas in 1896 it was terminated on the 27th of July. To make the conditions sur-
rounding the quota of 1896 and 1897 clear, we may here insert the statistics regarding
the killings of the two seasons.

112

THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS. .
Killings for the quota, 1896.
ST. PAUL ISLAND.
Hauling ground. Date. Sous avelilled

Foodskins «...0+-use secon esciversceacesensssees seieesaceeeneey
DDO 5 ja: cis’ oj Scie Sdinictalesei dednsinje(e meine niet Seite wae
Zoltoi - -
Watchmen. -
Northeast Point -
DO disece tercmicigcsiegaaieeeeeen eeccaneaceen
RSCf secccces vies vere ceesecmercdecs seees tse sees oe
English Bay, Middie Hill, Tolstoi...........-.--.-
aos Oboes sezeicecenraceis sycnesamckeens
Zoltoi, IG WAN UD sia i0.neivin ante tis civics ewainaainle peeaecces
CAPAAU -cesecereescuiskewsasciaasencescesemaceeeeaes
POLO VIN 2a 515 siojstacnie se acres ncee nd cates erin testi ea cetie
Reef, Zoltvi-.-
Ni es Point.......--
Reef, Zoltoi.....-.------+-------+----ee seen ee eee e eee
Tolstoi, Middle Hill, English igre meee
Northeast Point ..........2..222-02 eee cece ee eeee
Osta preacre me inicig Seciaie wteiclaiaiare ot. ciwreiieiercawiencjech,
PolOvitia vere cm sper ececsoreens Denese awe sect
Lukanin, Kitovi, Zoltoi, Reef ............------.--
Middle Hill, Tolstoi, Lukanin...................----
Total: caccunoe douse csscapien seices oS aeeewedssmeesetaatoant
ST. GEORGE ISLAND.
F Animals | Percent-
Hauling ground. Date. killed. lagekilled.
Food skins .....-....--.----- pibismetceateiaimamaiad ersintceetoloncinreiiclarca ROT? {cnt toy
East rookery .-.-.----------------+eeeeee eee eee 576 0. 32
Zapadnl <-ccreciversecnasdeeev etait secteseeenese 568 .76
arth and Staraya Artel ......--.--...----------- 999 .72
804 - 62
333 . 68
700 . 56
614 .57
221 40
487 -46
221 +27
308 17
6,158 beacciccinces

KILLINGS FOR QUOTA OF 1897.

Killings for the quota, 1897.

ST. PAUL.
Percent-
Hauling ground. Date. Number age

killed. killed.

Pood SKING ...cccccsensennecscccenecnencuevccuccece wow ewe Autumn and spring..| 1,701 |.........-
eet ..-...- UNG 1G ccc cewconesesie 492 0. 65
os tee dieu sane simi ad UE LE es cerrenaigeocaiews 316 . 67
Zoltoi, Reef, and Lukanin...... -| June 23...-....--..---- 708 -48
Tolstoi, Middle Hill, English Bay June 26 ..-...-.-..---- 1, 098 . 64
Northeast Point .......-.....-- June 30... orcs 790 57
De 2 ere 708 £58
WAY Bieiataivciecsmenisls 208 .53
| DULY Biacescnccnccr ewes 103 .63
|| DOU Y 6 cs ciaisis ce srreceine 1, 230 . 67

el aly iBiza ge octeeeiece. 1,713 65 |
eb Daly 0) cove som eserecemy 456 - 68
July 12 0.22. ceeee eee 804 -50
»| July 14.2... eee 1, 249 +58
Zapadni .......... cs «| July 16 ............... 886 53
Middle Hill and English Bay. «| DULY TT scoseancvccwnn 297 - 66
Lukanin, Zoltoi, and Reef.-. af PMY 1D acc ccmecnnese ~ 988 89
Northeast Point .. -| July 22 -.----...-.---- 1, 322 = B4
Polovina..-.... . | DULY 2B wizcsarae sais aeisinsn’s 274 224
Lukanin and Reet’ a} SLY 24 ceccnverwovenns 526 «23
Zapadni ............ | Duly 26 2.2... 2ee eee 514 227
Tolstoi and Middle Hill. -| July 27 .......-.....-. 199 20
Northeast Point.-..-. -| July 29 ....-....-.---. 268 -16
os DOs: cae « «| Saly 30 o.cccaseccwsas.c 276 20
Polovina...... -| July 31 -..--........-. 108 -16
Reef and Lukanin........-. August 1 ..........-.- 418 -19
-| August 5 ......---.... 101 -15
A ee eee ee re eee ee August 7 .......02.0-. 172 20

Total seceeevineee eset ersteied ecw ceases Seki mein biel tesla Nees Wario cine 18,520 |.-........

ST. GEORGE.
ied
Percent-
. Number
Hauling ground. Date. . age
ee killed. | yiNfea.

Zapadni.....
Food skins
Staraya Artel.........
Food skins.....-..-...
East .....-..----
Food skins....-..-..----.---
North and Staraya Artel .-.
East -.-.-----------------+--
Food skins-.
Zapadni.......-..---- jameene set
East, North, and Staraya Artel .
Food skins..:....../.-------+-

East, North, and Staraya Artel .
WO0d Sng... sncenncdwkensss

Total...

-| August 11....

151848

113

114 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

THE QUOTA OF 1897 HARDER TO GET.

It must be evident from a study of these figures that the quota of 1896 was in
every way easier to procure than that for 1897. In the latter year the driving was
continued ten days longer on St. Paul Island and sixteen days longer on St. George.
The lowest percentage of animals killed in any drive on St. Paul in 1896 was 35; in
1897 it was lowered to 15 per cent. On St. George the lowest point reached in 1896
was 17 per cent; in 1897 it was 12 per cent. The reduction in the percentage of seals
killed marks the degree of exhaustion of the hauling grounds.

THE QUOTA A DIRECT MEASURE OF THE BREEDING HERD.

This comparison of the bachelor herd of 1896 and 1897 is a direct measure of the
condition of the breeding herd in the years 1893 and 1894 when these killable seals
were born. It is not a measure of the condition of the breeding herd of 1896 and 1897.
To understand why the Joss in the breeding herd for the season of 1894 as compared
with that for 1893 was nearly 30 per cent, while the present rate of decrease is but
‘15 per cent, it is only necessary to consider that in 1894 pelagic sealing was resumed
in Bering Sea after the modus vivendi and the herd that year suffered its greatest loss,
amounting to 60,000 seals, whereas in 1893 its loss was only 30,000. This fully accounts
for the great difference between the decrease for the season of 1897 in the fur-seal herd
as measured by the product of its hauling grounds and as measured by its birth rate
for the same season. The pelagic catch which affected the breeding herd between
1896 and 1897 was about one-half as great as that which affected the breeding herd
between 1893 and 1894. In other words, the pelagic catch of 1894 was double that
of 1893, while the catch of 1897 was about one-half that of 1896.!

THE QUOTA OF 1897 AND THE PARIS REGULATIONS.

Not only does this marked decrease in the quota emphasize the fact of decline in
the herd, but it fixes more clearly than ever the responsibility upon pelagic sealing,
and forcibly condemns the regulations of the Paris Award, in the opening year of the
operation of which the loss which it indicates was sustained.

THE TOTAL DECLINE IN THE HERD.

In this comparison of the quota of killable seals with the breeding nerd of the
year in which its individuals were born, we find the necessary basis for an estimate of
the total decline which the herd has suffered. The killable seals found in 1897 bear a
direct relation to the breeding herd of 1894. Jn like manner the quota of 100,000 skins
taken in 1880, for example, bears a direct, and we may suppose, proportionate rela-
tion to the breeding herd of 1897. The breeding herd which could without difficulty
furnish 100,000 killable seals in 1880 must have been at least five times as great as the
herd which can to-day with difficulty furnish 20,000. And when we take into account
the increased effort required to secure the latter quota, we may assume that the total
decline in the herd really lies between four-fifths and five-sixths of its maximum size.

'This fact is overlooked by Professor Thompson when he asserts ‘‘that the ratio of the catch
(quota) of 1897 to that of 1496 is not a fair proportionate measure of, but is largely in excess of the
actual diminution of the general herd.” (Report of 1897, p. 11.)

CHAPTER VIII.
THE CAUSE OF THE DECLINE.

JOINT AGREEMENT OF 1892.

At the joint meeting of American and British investigators in 1892, preceding
the Paris Arbitration, an agreement was reached that “since the Alaska purchase a
marked diminution in the number of seals” on the Pribilof Islands had taken place,
and that this diminution was “the result of excessive killing by man.” But when an
attempt was made to analyze what was meant by “excessive killing” each commission
took a different view. The commission for the United States claimed that it was the
slaughter at sea of female seals that was responsible; the commissioners for Great
Britain held that land killing was chiefly, if not wholly, responsible.

As has already been shown, the decline admitted in 1892 has continued to the
present time and is still going on. It only remains for us now to locate if possible
the cause of the decline, to distinguish between land and pelagic killing.

NO NATURAL CAUSE COMPETENT TO EXPLAIN THE DECLINE.

{t may be remarked at the outset that the investigations of the past two seasons
have brought to light no natural cause of injury to the herd which can be connected
with its decline. The subject of mortality among the fur seals is discussed in detail
in Part III of this report. It is only necessary here to say that among the adult seals
no mortality was found which was not due, directly or indirectly, to contests among
the bulls, or to rough treatment of the cows by the bulls. In the case of the very
young pups an hitherto unknown but apparently customary cause of death, due to the
ravages of a parasitic worm infesting crowded and sandy breeding areas, was found
to be responsible for a large number of deaths. In the case of very young pups a
certain number are also trampled to death by the bulls. The number dead from these
causes in 1896 as counted amounted to 11,000. Doubtless a considerable number were
overlooked.

NATURAL CAUSES OF MORTALITY CONSTANT.

_ It may be said, however, that both these causes of death are as old as the herd
itself, aud were more active when the herd was in its prime. They are directly related
to the crowded condition of the rookeries and are, therefore, to-day, at a minimum.
The photographs! taken by the British commissioners in 1891 and 1892 show that the

'A photograph taken in 1891 by Dr. George M. Dawson shows a part of the sandy northern end
of Tolstoi rookery thickly strewn with dead pups, evidently killed by the worm. The photograph
will be found among -the illustrations in Appendix II. In the following year Mr, Macoun reports
finding by actual count 4,000 dead pups on the sand flat of this rookery. These facts, tending to
show the presence of breeding seals and their young in territory far beyond the present confines of
Tolstoi rookery, are also valuable as proving the great shrinkage of this rookery since 1891.

115

116 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

deaths from Uncinaria were greater then in proportion as the herd was greater. The
whitened boues of pups on Tolstoi sands, in areas not occupied in 1891, show plainly
that it antedates even that time, and there is no reason to suppose that it did not exist
throughout the period when the herd was inits prime. It was probably the determining
check which prevented the herd’s indefinite increase. We may infer from the fighting
and struggling of the limited number of bulls at present on the rookeries that in a
state of nature, when the males were practically equal to the females, the destruction
from such fighting among all classes of seals must have been enormous.

THE REAL CAUSE OF DECLINE AN ARTIFICIAL ONE.

We may therefore assume that the cause or causes which have lead to the decline
of the herd are not inherent in the herd itself. In short, we may come at once to the
conclusion arrived at in 1892 that interference by man, and that alone, is chargeable
with the decline.

LAND AND SEA KILLING.

There are two ways and two only by which the acts of man have come to affect
the fur-seal herd. These are (1) by killing on land, which has been practiced ever
since the islands were discovered in 1786, and for the last half century, at least,
without change; and (2) killing at sea, which has been practiced to a limited extent
by the Indians off the west coast of America from a very early date, but which since
about 1880 has been greatly extended by the introduction of sailing vessels under
the management and direction of white men. We may consider first the operations
of land killing and their effect on the herd.

A. LAND KILLING—ITS METHODS.
ANIMALS KILLED.

Land killing on the Pribilof Islands has since about the year 1835 been confined
strictly to the removal of a definite number of young males, chiefly 3-year-olds,
with occasional “long” 2-year-olds and “short” 4-year-olds, which approximate the
3-year-olds in size. At times the average size of seals killed has varied from this
standard, leaning to the larger seals and again to the smaller animals, as the demands
of the market or the condition of the hauling grounds have dictated.

KILLING SEASON.

The regular killing season on the islands lies between the 1st of June and the 1st
of August. During the period from about the middle of August until about the
middle of October the skins of the seals are not in prime condition, being stagy, as
it is called, owing to the shedding of the hair. After the middle of October killing is
resumed to a limited extent to furnish meat for the natives. In like manner the seals
are killed for food as soon as they arrive in the spring, usually early in May. These
food skins are accepted as part of the quota and are included with those taken in the
regular killing season.

THE DRIVING OF THE SEALS.

The young bachelor seals, which are the class taken for their skins, haul out on
the sand beaches or in the rear of the rookeries and at a distance from them. In the

A DRIVE FROM THE REEF. 117

early morning the natives visit such hauling grounds as have been selected, and,
surrounding the animals, drive them inland to the point where they may conveniently
be slaughtered. As illustrating this process of driving, we may quote the following
record taken from the field notes of the commission:

THE DRIVE.

The drive from Gorbatch and Reef rookeries this morning (July 15) was witnessed by Dr. Jordan,
Professor Thompson, Dr. Stejneger, Mr. Lucas, and Mr. Clark. Captain Moser and Lieutenant Garrett,
of the Albatross, were also present. Mr. Crowley, Treasury agent, conducted the movements of the
visitors. Fifteen Aleuts made up the driving party.

We left the village at 2 o’clock in the morning. It was then light enough to make one’s way
without difficulty. After a few minutes’ walk we reached Zoltoi sands, a beach about one-fourth of
a mile from the village, at the angle of which the bachelors from Gorbatch rookery haul out to reach
the rocky slope above. The drivers ran in quickly between the seals and the sea and soon had the
animals rounded up in a large pod. From a similar hauling ground on the shore just across the neck
of the peninsula another pod was in like manner rounded up. The two pods combined were left in
charge of three men to be driven across the sands to the village killing ground a few hundred yards
beyond.

We then proceeded to the extreme point of the Reef peninsula. The hauling ground of Reef
rookery lies in the rear of the breeding ground and has four well-marked runways connecting it with
the sea, on which no harems are located. A line of idle bulls keeps clear a considerable space between
the hauling ground and the rookery. From the head of the various runways and in the intervening
. space pods of sleeping bachelors were rounded up, the Aleuts passing between the idle bulls and the
bachelors and turning the latter up the bank to the flat parade ground back of the hauling ground.
Here the pods were all united in one large group and the drive started on its way. It was 3 o’clock
when we reached the point, and by 3.30 the drive was in motion.

After passing over a short space of ground, scattered at wide intervals with irregular bowlders
and having a gentle slope, the drive came into the level grassy plain of the parade ground. Here the
herd, which numbered about 1,500 bachelors, was separated into two parts for greater ease and safety
in driving. While one pod was allowed to rest the other was driven slowly forward in the direction
of the village. Three men were now assigned to each pod, and the rest of the drivers allowed to
return to the village to make ready for the killing. We followed the first herd.

Over the green turf of the parade ground the drive moved along quietly and without difficulty.
The drivers took their positions one on each flank to repress any lateral movements, and the third
brought up the rear. There was no noise or confusion. In general the seals were allowed to take
their own time and go at their own pace. Those in the advance acted as leaders, and the rest of the
flock followed naturally after them. At the beginning the seals showed some reluctance in leaving
their hauling grounds, and made ineffectual attempts to break away. But after the drive was under
way they moved forward apparently as a matter of course. When the leaders showed an inclination
to take the wrong course the men on the flank simply stood up and raised a hand, which was sufficient’
to turn them back ‘into the way. For the most part the men kept out of sight of the seals.

The seals on the drive do not keep up a continuous motion. They take ten or a dozen steps and
then sit down like dogs to rest and pant, resuming their way when they find that their companions
have gone on. The leaders set the example, and as they are rested by the time the rear members of:
the herd have come to a standstill, they move on and are ready to stop by the time the rear guard
have started. The result is that some part of the herd is moving all the time and the progression is
continuous.

There is'a tendency on the part of the young seals to go faster than the older ones, of which
a large number were included. By a gradual sifting process the old fellows fell to the rear, and on
several occasions pods of from a dozen to twenty were cut off and allowed to return to the sea.

All the seals and especially the larger ones showed signs of fatigue. They appeared to be hot
and excited, and a cloud of steam rose constantly from the moving animals. This steam had a strong
musky smell. When the herd stopped, individual seals would often sprawl out on the ground, raising
their hind flippers and waving them fan-like evidently in an effort- to cool off. After resting a

118 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

moment the seals were ready to move on apparently refreshed. Continuous exertion is evidently hard
on them, but they quickly recover from exhaustion. As soon as the flock comes to rest for a few
moments’ breathing, they begin to bite one another and push in an unconcerned fashion until they are
reminded by the absence of their companions that they must keep moving.

The seals were not urged forward, but were allowed to take their own time. When the herd
was brought to rest for a few minutes, the rear driver started them on by clapping his hands or by
rattling a stick on arock. Our presence evidently urged the seals, and made the drive really harder
than it would ordinarily have been. The Aleuts seem to have a way of handling the seals that they
understand.

A short distance brought us to the end of the grassy plain and into an area of ground filled with
embedded bowlders, These were for the most part flat and worn smooth. It looked like hard ground .
for the seals, but in reality they seem to get over it better than the flat ground. On the flat there
was constant crowding, while here the rocks kept the seals apart. The animals are really more
familiar with the rocky ground, their breeding rookeries with few exceptions being on the rocky
beaches.

After passing over aslight ridge, where the passageway became narrowed by projecting cliffs and
where there was a good deal of crowding and scrambling, the drive left the bowlder-strewn path and
passed into a valley overgrown with tall Elymus grass and lying between rows of sand dunes also
grass-grown. ‘The seals seem to be refreshed by the moisture of the grass, which was wet with dew
and rain.

This grassy plain led into the top of the bowlder-set slope above Zoltoi sands, from which the
earlier seals were driven. The seals passed down this slope without difficulty and came into the level
sand flat. Here the first really hard work of the drive began. Theseals seemed to find their greatest
difficulty in walking on the yielding sand. Their flippers take hold of the rocks like rubber, but slip
back in the sand. No rocks prevented the animals from crowding. They stepped on each other’s
flippers, became much excited, and seemed generally worried.

But in a few minutes the sands were passed and the herd emerged into the grass-grown killing
ground. As soon as the seals came to a standstill, they seemed to forget their troubles. At once
they began biting, snarling, and blowing at one another as though nothing had happened. They
were then turned into the little lake beside the killing ground to cool off, and were herded up on
the bank to rest until their turn came to be killed.

It was 5 minutes after 5 when the first herd reached the killing ground. The second arrived
three-quarters of an hour afterwards, having taken more time on the way.

THE KILLING.

After the seals have sufficiently rested and cooled off the killing is begun. The
large drove of animals is put in motion in the direction of the spot where the killing
is to begin. Two men close in on the moviug animals and cut off a small pod of from
twenty-five to fifty, turning the main body back. This small group is driven up
within reach of a number of men armed with clubs, These “cull” out the “killable”
seals (3-year-olds, large 2-year-olds, and small 4-year-olds) by striking them on the
head, allowing the nonkillable seals (yearlings, small 2-year-olds, and all “wigged”
seals) to escape and make their way back to the sea. As soon as one pod is knocked
down, a second is cut out and driven up. This process is continued until the drove
is exhausted.

THE ALEUTS.

-The operations of the killing ground are carried out by the Aleuts, under the
immediate direction of the native chief, who is in turn subject to the direction of the
agent of the lessees. The latter supervises the clubbing and indicates the proper
grade of animals to be selected. The drives are authorized by the agent of the
Government, and he is required to be present on the killing grounds to look after the
interests of the Government as the owner of the herd.

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EFFECTS OF LAND KILLING. 119

With the knocking down of the killable seals and the release of those not suitable,
the work of handling the seals on land ceases to have any effect on the life of the
herd. The processes of taking and curing the skins have been so well described by
Mr. Elliott and others that it is hardly necessary to redescribe them, but for the
sake of completeness a brief summary may be given.

SKINNING THE SEALS.

As the animals are clubbed they are stretched out in order, with space for the
skinners to work about them. The skull of the fur seal is its weakest point, and the
blow of the club renders the animal instantly unconscious, if it does not kill it
outright. It is immediately stuck to the heart with a knife, which serves the double
purpose of insuring death and bleeding the avimal.

THE DIVISION OF LABOR ON THE KILLING FIELD.

The Aleuts, by whom the various operations are carried on, follow at present a
systematic division of labor, working in four sections, the operations of “clubbing,”
“sticking,” “flippering,” and “skinning” going on simultaneously. .The clubbing and
skinning are done by the most skillful and experienced of the men. The beginners do
the sticking and flippering. This last process involves the cutting of the skin loose
from about the nose, tail, and flippers, and slitting it through the median line of the
belly. When this is done the animal passes into the hands of the skinner, who
removes the pelt with a few quick strokes of the knife, spreading it out flesh side
downward on the grass to cool.

THE TREATMENT OF THE SKINS.

The skins are gathered up in wagons and counted into the salt house, where they
are salted in tiers, with the flesh side up, layers of salt alternating with the skins.
After lying thus for five or six days they are taken out and resalted in reverse order.
They remain in this salt for about ten days or two weeks, when the process of curing
is complete, and they are taken out, wrapped in neat bundles, each containing two
skins, and tied securely, ready for shipment.

The skins are then counted into the bidara, which is to lighter them to the ship, and
are counted for a third time into the hold of the vessel. At San Francisco they are
placed in casks and shipped to London, where they are dressed and dyed and finally
distributed to be manufactured into garments. _

THE EFFECTS OF LAND KILLING.

Owing to the polygamous habit of the fur seals, the greater part of the male life
born is superfluous for breeding purposes. For the 130,000 breeding cows found on
the rookeries of St. Paul and St. George islands in the season of 1897, 4,418 bulls were
adequate, or at least out of fully 10,000 adult bulls ready and willing to serve harems,
only this number were able to obtain them. Therefore only 1 bull in 30 is absolutely
necessary under present conditions. That this limit could be materially lowered
without positive danger to the herd is conclusively shown by the history of the
Russian herd on Bering Island, where the observations of the past three years, as
detailed by Dr. Stejneger, show that a male fur seal is capable of attending to the
wants of between 100 and 200 cows.! ,

'Stejneger, Prel. Report, 1897, p. 11.

120 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

REMOVAL OF SUPERFLUOUS MALE LIFE BENEFICIAL.

Moreover, the removal of this superfluous male life is not only possible, but is
really beneficial to the herd. As already indicated, the only deaths among adult
bulls and cows discovered upon the rookeries of the islands resulted from the strug-
gles of the bulls among themselves or to obtain possession of the cows. In the death
of young pups also this fighting and struggling of the bulls is a small but by no means
insignificant cause of loss. In 1896 the great early mortality among nursing pups was
wrongly ascribed to the trampling of the fighting bulls. But while the more complete
and satisfactory investigation of 1897 shows another and more important cause, there
still remains a considerable loss from this source. This loss is now insignificant
compared with what it was in the wild state of the herd. When the number of adult
males and females was practically equal, the destruction both among the cows and
among the pups must have been enormous. It undoubtedly rivaled the ravages of
the worm Uncinaria in its destructive work and combined with it to offset the natural
increase of the herd.

POSSIBILITY OF OVERKILLING.

While as a general principle the removal of these superfluous males is beneficial
to the herd, excessive removal would undoubtedly lead to disastrous results. The
percentage of males required for the needs of propagation is small, but it is essential,
and if reduced too low or cut off entirely the effect must be injurious. Such excessive
killing would be felt in the scarcity of bulls, from which cause, through inadequate
service, the usual increase of pups would not be born and the herd must ultimately
begin to fail. Itis on this ground that land killing becomes a possible source of
danger to the herd.

A HYPOTHETICAL CASE.

To understand how such killing would act, let us take a hypothetical case. If in
any given year absolutely every 3-year-old male was killed to fill the quota, this
would involve the absence of representatives of this class of seals from the reserve of
bulls for the replenishment of the rookeries in subsequent years. It would not affect
the breeding bulls, nor the reserves of four, five, and six years. These latter would
supply the deficiency in the breeding stock caused by old age for at least ten years, and
it would take that period at least to show the effect of the close killing. If it was
not repeated, no influence would be felt. The 7-year-old bull of the following year:
would simply enter the rookeries as a 6-year-old.

But suppose the killing was continued through a series of years, every 3-year-
old being killed, the reserve would in time be cut off and the stock of breeding bulls
would die out. It is impossible to say how long it would take to produce this effect,
because we do not know the length of the life of the bull. We may infer, however,
that it is not less than fifteen years, and therefore the injurious effects of this exces-
sive killing begun in any given year and continued indefinitely would not be seen
within ten years at least.

This is only a hypothetical case, but it shows what is meant by too close killing
of mnales in filling the quota. The killing of males, which would produce immediate
and disastrous results, must strike at the adult males. To destroy this class or any
considerable number of them would at once weaken the herd. But there would be
no object in such killing, and it has never been thought of.

‘NO OVERKILLING OF MALES. 121
SUCH KILLING NOT PRACTICABLE.

In the hypothetical case above cited we have supposed that every male of a given
age could be taken. While in theory this is possible, in practice it could probably
never be done. There are certain hauling grounds, such as Lagoon, Zapadni Head,
Otter Island, Sivutch Rock, and. Southwest Point, from which the seals are not and
have never been driven. The young males frequenting these are left undisturbed,
and it is safe to suppose that the majority of them pass killable age before the sexual
instinct draws them to the vicinity of the rookeries from which seals are driven.
Furthermore, there are always little pods of bachelors in the turns and corners of the
rookeries which either can not be reached or are too insignificant in number to be
followed up.

OTTER ISLAND NOT DRIVEN.

Otter Island, one of these hauling grounds from which seals are never killed,
must have been a source of reserve male life throughout the history of the herd.
From the records in the log of St. Paul of the days when a guard was stationed
there to prevent raids, we know that anywhere from two to ten thousand bachelors
hauled out there regularly. During the past summer at least 1,000 young males were
found at the time the island was visited. There were also from 500 to 800 males of
this sort on Sivutch Rock at the time of its inspection in 1897. These young males
are not disturbed, and from these hauling grounds alone an adequate supply of
reserve male life might be expected to-day if none whatever escaped otherwise. In
the earlier days when the herd was larger their yield was also larger.

DEFECTIVE SKINS.

One other matter in this connection-is worth mentioning. From the killing field
at every killing a considerable number of young males, otherwise strong and vigorous,
are rejected because of some defect in the skin, chiefly bites or scars of imperfectly
healed wounds. These males go to swell the quota of reserve male life.

-

OVERKILLING OF MALES HAS NOT OCCURRED.

So far we have considered the possibility of too close killing of males. Let us

examine the facts in the case. At the time the herd came into the possession of. the
United States it was in a prosperous condition, probably increasing, and it main-
tained a maximum condition of expansion for a number of years. We need therefore
not go back of the transfer of the rookeries to the United States in considering the
causes of decline.
From the year 1871 a nominal quota of 100,000 male seals was taken each year to
and including 1889. Since 1889 the quota has fluctuated as a result of various causes.
To and including the year 1890 there were killed, in addition to the normal quota each
year for food for the natives, from 3,000 to 5,000 male pups. There was further a large
killing of males for food in the stagy season and of animals too young to furnish
skins of the desired grade for the quota. Siice 1890 the killing of pups has been
stopped, as also the killing of stagy seals.

122 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.
STATISTICS OF THE QUOTA.

The annual killing of male life on the fur-seal islands during the period of the
first lease we find has averaged about 105,000 per year. The following table gives
the total killings of males for all purposes whatsoever for the period in question:

Land killing, 1870-1889.

Land Land | Land | Land |
Year Killing. | Year killing. Year. killing. || Year killing. |
= |-—- ——=-]—— ee ip =
1870 eecece 23, 773 i I8Tdsseec 106, 460 1880....-. \ 105, 718 1885.....- 105, 024
1871...... 102.960 | 1876...... 94,657 «1881... | 105/063 |) 1886.....- 104) 521
1872...-.- 108,819 | 1877...... 84,310 |) 1882... 2 2. 991812 || 1887....-. 103, 760
1873...... 1091177 || 1878.22... 109,323 |) 18831... 79,509 | 1888.....- 103, 304
P WSThscoed 110, 585 | ities 10.411 | 1884..2°22 105,434 | 1889...... 102) 617 |
I H fo Aas sites: i.

VOLUNTARY REDUCTION OF QUOTA IN 1876-77.

From an examination of this table we find that between the years 1871 and 1875,
inclusive, an average of 107,500 male seals were annually killed on the islands. In
1876-77 this average was reduced to 88,500. Some question had been raised by Cap-
tain Bryant,' then agent in charge of the islands, as to the effect of the killing of this
full quota. He had even recommended that it be reduced. This may have influenced
the contraction in the quota, but it was not insisted upon by the Government and was
voluntary on the part of the lessees. The fact that in 1878 killing was resumed and
continued at an average of 105,000 for four years shows clearly enough that the alarm
about the quota felt by Captain Bryant was without foundation. The temporary
reduction for the two years could not have influenced the herd. But in these two
years we have a right to assume that at least 38,000 young males of the age of 3
years were allowed to escape and grow up as an addition to the reserve of bulls.

VOLUNTARY REDUCTION IN 1882-83.

In 1882 and 1883 we find a similar reduction to 88,700 of the quota of male life
from the preceding average of 105,000. This contraction was, as we know, purely vol-
untary on the part of the lessees and due to the overstocked condition of the seal-skin
market. That it was not due to any scarcity of seals is clearly enough shown by the
fact that the killing was in 1884 resumed and continued at an average of 104,400 until
the year 1889.

The point we wish to make clear is that the 38,000 inales in this first extraordinary
reservation made in 1876-77, 3 years old at the time, were 7 years old, or ready for
harem duty in 1880-81, and 10 years of age, or in their breeding prime in 1885-86,
when the decline in the herd was well begun. Likewise, the second reservation of
32,800 young bulls was ready to replenish the rookeries in 1886-87, and they were
still in their prime in 1889 and subsequent years when the decline was in the height.

NO DEARTH OF MALE LIFE.

That the young male life represented by these annual killings from 1871 to 1889
should have been produced upon these rookeries is in itself abundant proof that
there was no dearth of breeding males. In its prime 25,000 bulls were ample for the

'See extracts from the log of St. Paul, Pt. I], under date of June 10, July 25, August 4, ete., 1875.

ANTICIPATION OF THE QUOTA. 123

needs of the heard. By the extraordinary reservations of male life which we have
just noted more than sufficient bulls were supplied to the rookeries from and after
1880 to meet their needs. This was in addition to the regular reservations which
were made from year to year and, further, in addition to those which escaped naturally
on hauling grounds not driven. ~

In the history of this period, as recorded in the log of St. Paul Island, there is
nothing to show that the breeding grounds were not amply stocked with bulls, and
on the killing grounds systematic provision was made for the necessary reserve of
male life.

KILLING OF MALES NOT A FACTOR IN DECLINE.

When we consider all these things in connection with the difficulties which we
have shown to stand in the way even of a deliberate attempt to kill too closely, we
believe ourselves fully justified in asserting that land killing has not, through too
close killing of the males, been a factor in the decline of the herd.

PREMATURE KILLING.

It remains to be noted that there is another class of close killing which, while it
does not injuriously affect the herd as a whole, produces effects which are unfortunate
and which may appear to be harmful although they are not so.

We have said that from 1884 to 1889 an average of 104,400 male seals were killed
on the islands each year. This would seem to indicate a normal condition of the
herd, while as a matter of fact we know that during this period the herd was rapidly
declining, and the immediate drop from 100,000 skins in 1889 to 21,000 in 1890
proves it.

ANTICIPATION OF QUOTA.

To understand how this killing could be thus maintained it is only necessary to
remember that the quota of killable, or nominally 3-year-old seals, is culled from a herd
of bachelors which contains also the quota of two subsequent years as 2-year-olds
and yearlings. When in 1885 the killable seals began to gradually become scarce
upon the hauling grounds, it at first became necessary to drive oftener, to include
more hauling grounds, and finally to increase the period of driving. This matter can
be made clear by the following table:

&
Table showing date of filling quota, number of hauling grounds and drives, St. Paul Island.

Date ; Hauling | Number
Year. uota | grounds of
lled.! driven.?| drives.?

July 17 i 78 38
July 20 99 34
--| July 20 86 36
-| July 19 81 39
--| July 21 | 101 42-
--| duly 27 | 106 63
-| Daly 26 | 117 74
July 24 | 101 66
July 27 | 102 73
July 31° 110 | - 74

1 Date at which last regular drive for the quota was made. is : ,
2Several hauling grounds are included in a single drive; as, for example, Tolstoi, Middle Hill, and English Bay are
regularly included in one drive.. :

124 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

THE KILLING OF UNDERSIZED SEALS.

For a time these more vigorous methods had the desired effect, but the scarcity
of bachelors as a result of the decreasing birth rate made it necessary finally to lower
the age for killable seals so as to include first the 2-year-olds and in the end many
of the larger yearlings,! in order to secure the requisite 100,000 skins. By these
methods it happened, in 1889, that practically the whole bachelor herd of four years
and under, down to the yearlings, was wiped out. The result was the abnormal drop
to 21,000 in the quota of 1890.

SUCH KILLING DID NOT INJURE THE HERD.

It is evident, however, that this sort of killing is not inimical to the breeding herd.
It simply destroys the superfluous bachelors through premature killing. It is an
anticipation in the quota of one year of the product of the next. That even the close
killing of 1889 did not endanger the herd is clearly shown in that it was possible to
secure, iu 1890, 21,000 seals of killable age. This fact alone shows that in the nature
of things it is impossible to get all the males of a certain age in any given year.
That there were 21,000 seals which were of killable age in 1890 may be taken as
showing, indirectly at least, that, in like manner, other older bachelors escaped, which,
in the interval between 1889 and 1890, had passed to the “wigged” stage, where
they were no longer suitable for the quota. Of this class Mr. Elliott records in his
1890 report the turning back of 1,112 from a part of the killings of that year.

PREMATURE KILLING WASTEFUL, BUT NOT INJURIOUS.

It is not the intention here to justify the methods of killing employed in the
closing years of the lease of the Alaska Commercial Company. Such killing ought
never to have been allowed. It would not have occurred had not the termination of
the lease been approaching, as it would have been wholly against the interest of the
lessees. But it is not conceivable that such killing could ever affect the life of the
herd, as it would necessarily bring to ruin the business of taking seal skins on Jand
long before it could produce any effect on the breeding herd.

KILLING OF PUPS WASTEFUL.

Nor can the wasteful practice of killing pups for food and killing seals when
stagy, which unnecessarily augmented the draft on the male life of the herd, be
passed over without condemnation. The magnitude of this waste may be inferred
from the following synopsis taken from the records :?

Seals killed whose skins were wasted, 1871-1890.

Pups, (Or PO0d) v0c05 0 eeeene tencueeeemsceeeeueegibvsigios sates ogee sh Seek sede eewecece 95, 628
Food skins: (T6j6Cted) ccc. scece sete s uses onessqualt dau aes ds eddansmdedeccecse 27, 790
Bachelor skins (rejected) .. 2. 0... c..sec cee ce cce cies ccen socinee aeccce seers ceacecac 30, 798

Ota) esihsd sa site Www enmaedicaugericahdoesiiag age ks eens cosceddcwe seus emsueben 154, 216

' Letter of Dr. McIntyre, Senate Doc. 137, Pt. I, p. 345.
See Appendix I.

METHODS ON THE COMMANDER ISLANDS. 125

ABSENCE OF INJURY TO THE HERD.

This condemnation, however, must rest solely on the basis of the waste involved.
It resulted in no injury to the herd because there were still enough males, and to
spare. In spite of the unnecessary draft on its male life, and in spite of the prema-
ture gathering of its product in the closing years of the old lease, the male life needed
for the breeding herd never failed. The breeding grounds are to-day grossly over-
stocked with adult breeding bulls which can not be less than 8 years of age,-and
many of them must be older, their birth dating from the very period when the closest
killing took place. In addition to these the rookeries are being flooded by a swarm
of younger bulls as a result of the partial suspension of killing under the modus vivendi

of 1891-93.
METHODS ON THE COMMANDER ISLANDS.

Over the whole subject of land killing, as conducted on the Pribilof Islands, a flood
of light is thrown by a comparison with the methods in vogue on the Commander
Islands. On Bering Island, for some years past, no killable bachelors have been spared,
and the proportionate number of bulls is very far below what it has been under the
closest killing on St. Paul and St. George. On Poludinnoye (South) rookery, Bering
Island, for example, there were in 1895 five bulls, in 1896 three bulls, for between 500
and 1,000 females. Yet this number, assisted, doubtless, by immature bulls, has been
shown to be entirely adequate for the impregnation of all the females. According to
Mr. Barrett-Hamilton of the British commission, so far as could be seen, every cow on
this rookery had a pup in 1896. This observation was confirmed by Dr. Stejneger and
Captain Moser, who visited the rookery at about the same time.

DR. STEJNEGER’S OBSERVATIONS.
In his report for 1895,! Dr. Stejneger observes:

On that rookery (Poludinnoye) the disproportion between the two sexes was excessive in 1895.
According to reliable information, the number of bulls on the whole rookery did not exceed five.
Judging from what [I saw of this rookery during two visits, I should place the number of breeding
females at about 600, possibly only 500.2 It would be a comparatively easy matter to observe this
year (1896) whether the number of pups born be very markedly small in proportion to the number of
females hauling out.

THE DEARTH OF MALE LIFE ON BERING ISLAND.

For the three bulls which had charge of the 600 or more cows on South rookery,
Bering Island, in 1896, Dr. Stejneger found in 1897, by actual count, 526 pups.
Considering the proportion of seals which must have died during the winter of old age,
and those which were taken by pelagic sealers, this birth rate shows clearly enough
the capacity of the three bulls. For this rookery, which in 1897 contained at least
526 cows, there were but two adult bulls and a young half bull.

Such reckless killing as that practiced on the Commander rookeries is by no means
to be commended nor to be imitated, but in the face of the absence of injurious results
from it, it becomes impossible to charge against the more moderate and conservative
killing of the Pribilof Islands any share of responsibility for the decline of the herd
breeding upon their shores.

1 Russian Fur Seal Islands, 1895, p. 64.
2Dr. Stejneger’s estimate of 500 to 600 cows was made under the supposition that the cows seen
on the rookery represented practically all belonging to it. It was not until 1896 that it was discovered

that not over half the cows are present at one time.

CHAPTER IX.
THE THEORY OF OVERDRIVING.

DRIVING AND ITS SUPPOSED RESULTS.

From the foregoing it must be clear that land killing has never produced a scarcity
of male life for breeding purposes, and has not therefore been a factor in the decline
of the herd. This would naturally end the matter, were it not for the prominence
which certain absurd theories have received. These we must consider in some detail.

It is to Mr. Henry W. Elliott, who was sent in 1890 to investigate the condition
of the fur-seal herd, that we are indebted for the theory that overdriving is a cause of
injury to the herd. In his report Mr. Elliott has elaborated this theory at great
length. It is plainly not the outgrowth of his investigations, but their guiding
hypothesis from the beginning to the end.

Mr. Elliott, instead of seeking in the breeding herd the cause of its decline,
impressed by the great diminution of the bachelor herds, confined his attention solely
to them. The condition of this class of animals is only an incident to the life of
the herd. The causes affecting it necessarily originate in the breeding herd.

He found, what is undoubtedly true and has been from the first, that the young
males began a course of driving from the hauling grounds to the killing grounds at
the age of 1 year. They were rejected because too small. The following year they
appeared in the drives again as 2-year-olds, and were again rejected for the same
reason. In the third year they were, so far as driven, killed. The fourth and
subsequent years found those which escaped as 3-year-olds unsuitable for killing on
account of the incipient wig, and they were accordingly again rejected, as certainly
as they appeared in the drives.

This course of driving resulted, according to Mr. Elliott, in the death of practically
all the animals released, or else the impairment of virility in those which survived.
The only recruits which the breeding males received therefore was an insignificant
number of debilitated males, whose sexual powers were lost. In this way the herd
had been destroyed. This, in brief, is the theory of overdriving.

THE PROCESS OF DRIVING.

Let us examine for a moment this process of driving and the animal which has
to undergo it. As we know, very few of the yearlings get into the drives till after
the middle of July, when the sealing season is nearly over; therefore, not many of
the seals are driven at this age. In the second and subsequent years they come
earlier and are driven more frequently. The seals on each hauling ground are
gathered up about six times in a season; but as in each drive new killable seals
are found which certainly have not been driven before during the season in question,
we may assume that the rejected seals themselves are not all driven each time. In
fact, we must assume that in the years immediately subsequent to 1890 the seals of
the age of 3 years that escaped to grow up were uot driven at all; otherwise they
could not have survived.

126

ALLEGED EVILS OF DRIVING, 127

THE ANIMAL DRIVEN.

If we suppose that any rejected seal is driven fifteen times in five years we
have made a liberal estimate. This means an average of 15 miles of land travel for
each animal, for the drives on the islands do not average more than a mile in length.
The seals, as we have already seen in the description of the drive, are allowed to take
their own time and rest frequently on the journey. The animal, moreover, is not ill
adapted to land travel. It is not a fish, but a bear which has become adapted to life
in the water. It can and does voluntarily climb cliffs which a man would find
difficulty in scaling. It makes considerable journeys of its own accord. When on
its hauling grounds, it is constantly in motion, pitted against its fellows in contests
‘requiring violent exertion. On its migrations it is capable of swimming thousands
upon thousands of miles and buffeting the storms of an unusually tempestuous sea.
Such is the animal which is supposed to be fatally, or at.least permanently, injured
by. an average of 3 miles of land travel annually in five years. The conclusion is
preposterous.

THE THEORY INTANGIBLE.

When we come to scrutinize Mr. Elliott’s theory, we can not find a tangible bit of
evidence to support it. There was no dearth of bulls in 1890. He found 12,000 bulls
on the rookeries, with more to. spare idle on the sand beaches. This was a number
entirely adequate to the needs of the herd. The presence of idle bulls showed there
were more than enough. It is true he asserts that the bulls were impotent. Why
they should seek the rookeries in this condition is not explained. Furthermore, Mr.
Elliott has not, in support of this charge of impotency, recorded the dissection of a
single animal, the only way by which the fact of impotency could be ascertained.

Mr. Elliott declares that no fresh male life existed in reserve to replenish this
wornout stock. In the face of this statement he records, however, in his data for the
killings he witnessed, the rejection of more than 1,100 young half bulls, which are
just the class he says does not exist. He lays great stress upon the strain and
exertion which the few miles of land travel produces in the driven seal, and asserts
that practically none of them survive it. Of the thousands rejected under his eyes
ou the killing grounds in 1890, he records but a single instance of death resulting
from this cause, and inasmuch as no autopsy examination is recorded, we have only
his opinion in the matter and must dissent from it.

When we attempt to fit this theory of overdriving to the conditions during the
period prior to 1890, we meet with no great success. That the driving in these years
did not kill the 2 and 1 year old animals driven is shown by the fact that these
seals appeared each year as 3-year-olds to be driven. From the younger males so
released each year and from these alone could the killable seals of subsequent years
come. That the bulls serving the rookeries in these years were not impotent is shown
by the number of young males which the hauling grounds were able to supply. The
thousands of yearlings which he has recorded as turned back from the killing grounds
in 1890 show clearly enough that the bulls were not impotent in 1888. Subsequent
events show as clearly that the bulls he saw in 1890 were not impotent.

ITS LOGICAL CONCLUSION.

This contention as to the effects of overdriving, pushed to its logical conclusion,
means that animals are killed by it which persist in appearing afterwards distinctly

128 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

alive; others are rendered impotent which are yet able to fill the rookeries with pups.
The whole matter is too absurd for serious consideration, and might be passed by
with the silent contempt it deserves were it not for the fact that it was accepted
by the British commissioners in 1891 and made the chief foundation of the British
contention before the Paris Tribunal of Arbitration.

In view of this fact, it has seemed necessary to give more attention to the theory
than it deserves.

THE DRIVES AND DRIVEWAYS.

As other effects than those contemplated by Mr. Elliott’s theory, for example, the
driving of the animals away from their breeding haunts, the stampeding of the
breeding rookeries, etc., have been associated with the methods of handling the seals
on land, it will be useful for us to consider the subject in detail as it came under our
observation during the past two seasons. We have already given an account of the
process of driving.

At the outset it is well to contrast the driving of the present time with that of
the past.

THE RUSSIAN DRIVES.

In the early Russian days the drives were all long and tedious. On St. Paul,
everything was brought to the village, at the extreme southern end of the island.
Thus the seals from Northeast Point had to travel a distance of about 12 miles; those
from Polovina and Zapadni, respectively, 5 and 6 miles. On St. George Island the
seals were driven over the rocky ridge from Zapadni, a distance of about 6 miles,

Days and nights were occupied in these long drives. The seals were allowed to
take their own time, resting frequently, the natives watching and guarding them in
relays. Of the time taken by the drives from Northeast Point in the Russian days
we have no record, but in the year 1888, in January, according to the log of St. Paul
Island,' a food drive of 500 seals was made to the village from this point, and it
gives us some idea of what such a drive meant.

THE DRIVE FROM NORTHEAST POINT.

The seals were driven in in two sections, the time on the road being, respectively,
eighty-two and one hundred hours. No deaths are reported to have occurred. The
instructions to the men were to be “careful and go slow, if it took a week, and to kill
and bring in all that perished on the way.” The seals are reported as arriving in
good condition. Drives of sea lions have in recent years also been brought from
Northeast Point to the village.

THE AMERICAN DRIVES.

Under American control the long drives were done away with. Salt houses were
established at Northeast Point, at Polovina, at Zapadni of St. Paul, and one had
already been established at Zapadni of St. George in 1868. The seals on these
rookeries are to-day killed near the hauling grounds, and their skins are salted and
cared for there. From Northeast Point the skins are loaded directly ou the vessel.
From Zapadni of St. George they are packed across the island by the natives on their
backs.

1 See extracts from the log, Pt. II, date of January 20, 1888.

CHARACTER OF THE REEF DRIVEWAY. 129

THE DRIVES GREATLY SHORTENED.

The drives have been still further shortened by the location of new killing grounds
still hearer to. the rookeries, and to-day the longest drive on St. Paul is not over a
mile in length, while several are less than half a mile. On St. George, except in the
case of Zapadni, the drives are the same as in the old days, everything being brought
to the village. North rookery, however, is within half a mile of the village killing
ground, and this is the largest of the rookeries. From Staraya Artel and from East
rookeries the drives follow a course upward of 24 miles in length in opposite directions
from the village. On these driveways there are marshy places and occasional ponds
of fresh water in which the seals are allowed to cool off. These drives, therefore,
though long, are easier than shorter drives would be under ordinary conditions.

REEF DRIVEWAY.

The Reef drive on St. Paul, though only about a mile in length, is in fact the
hardest of the drives. It contains all the different conditions to be met with on any
of the drives, and therefore a detailed description of its course will answer for the rest.

Reef drive begins at the very point of Reef peninsula. The hauling ground of
Reef rookery lies in the rear of the central portion of the breeding ground in a hollow
between two rocky ridges, one dividing it from the rookery itself and the other
leading up to the flat ground of the “parade ground.” The hauling ground has
four runways connecting it with the sea. From the heads of these runways and
from the central portion of the hauling ground the straggling bands of bachelors are
gathered up and driven to the flat of the parade ground above. Here on the level
the different groups are united in one great pod.

THE CHARACTER OF THE ROUTE.

After the drive is formed the first 90 yards of its course lies over practically level
ground, sloping very gradually toward, the east, the direction to be taken. Toward
the end of this first section the ground becomes strewn with large bowlders, suffi-
ciently far apart, however, to offer no obstructions to the seals.

The course then leads out into a level, grassy plain, 325 yards in length, with a
scarcely perceptible slope to the east. The ground is level, free from stones, and the
damp seal grass makes going easy. In this plain the larger drove of seals is usually
divided into two smaller ones for convenience in driving.

Beyond the grassy plain is a bowlder-covered area, the rocks imbedded in the
soil, fat and worn smooth. This area was once hauling ground, perhaps breeding
territory in the palmy days of the herd. Between the stones are patches of yellow
seal grass. At the ridge, about midway in this rocky stretch, the course is narrowed
by piles of rocks, traces of the original cliff which formed the ridge. In this
narrowed passage there is a tendency to crowd, due to the desire of the seals to go
in a mass wherever they go. The whole length of this rocky area is about 262 yards.

From the rocks the driveway leads up a gentle sand slope to a plain lying between
two rows of grass-grown sand dunes. This plain is 400 yards in length and furnishes
very easy going for the seals. Its surface is covered with a heavy growth of rye
grass, which is always wet with rain or dew, and serves to cool off the seals.

151849

130 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

At the end of the grassy plain the course drops down over a short ledge of rocks,
some 3 feet in height, to a bowlder-covered area of about 200 yardsin extent. This
area at first level falls in a gentle slope at the end to the level of Zoltoi sands. .The
bowlders are large, smooth, and flat, and the interspaces are filled with lava sand.

Along the 400 yards of level sand beach is the hardest part of the drive. The
seals slip and sink in the loose sand. They do not mind the rocky and grass-grown
areas, but the sand worries them. This sandy area leads by a narrow passage, lined
on either side by sand dunes, to the grassy plain between East Landing and the little
pond at the foot of the village. This is the village killing ground.

THE LENGTH OF THE DRIVE.

The total length of Reef drive as paced off is about 5,031 feet. Its greatest
elevation is not over 75 feet, and the slopes are very gentle. The drive is usually
made in about two hours. In the preceding pages is given a detailed account of a
drive over this course witnessed on July 15.

On none of the other drives of Pribilof Islands are there rocky areas such as
those described on the Reef. On Tolstoi and Middle Hill are short stretches of sand,
but they are of limited extent. With these exceptions, the driveways on St. Paul
are comparatively level and grassy throughout. The same is true for the long drives
of St. George.

COMPARISON OF DRIVES.

It is only necessary to contrast this drive from Reef, the longest and hardest on
St. Paul Island, though less than a mile in length, with the 12 miles which the seals
were forced to travel from Northeast Point in Russian times, or with the 5 and 6 miles
of travel from Zapadni and Polovina of St. Paul, and Zapadni of St.George. That
no injury resulted to the seals from these early drives is clear from the condition in
which the herd was when it came into the possession of the United States.

THE COMMANDER DRIVEWAYS.

To appreciate the ease of the Pribilof Islands drives it is only necessary to
contrast them with those of the Commander Jslands. The following description. of
the driveways of Medni Island is quoted from Dr. Jordan’s record in the Journal for
August 25, 1896:

Zapadni driveway.—'The drive from Zapadni goes up from the stony beach between two towers of
rocks, climbing the gorge of a little brook which cuts into the bowlders and clay of the hillside, an
excessively hard, rough little gully, very difficult for a man to climb, there being small cascades and
wet clay in its course: The way is marked by road skeletons. After an ascent over ground of this sort
for 300 or 400 feet, more or less, the drive goes up through steep, grassy slopes, some of them of soft
clay, somewhat cut into rough steps by men’s boots. The veneral character of the ground is unre-
lieved, although more or less broken by cross gullies and ridges. ‘he final ridge is 760 feet above the
sea, On the Glinka side is a long slope, at first quite steep, everywhere grassy, and rather easy, but
marked with road skeletons, as it is very long. The rye grass grows rather longer below, and a little
stream has deep depressions, which serve as death traps, as the skeletons show, when the seals fail
in piles one over another. Above Glinka is a stecp slide of yellow clay, from which the village is said
to have received its name. This slide must be a hard place for the seals. The seals (few in number)
that are released because too young or too old are allowed to go down to the sea, whence they go back
to the west again. 7

THE PALATA DRIVEWAY. 131

Palata driveway.—The drive from Palata is now rarely made, as the seals have grown so few.
They are killed all along the beach, and the myriads of flies about the decaying carcasses must be the
source of great annoyance to the breeding seals. ‘he drive ascends from the parade ground on the
top of the landslide. This was formerly occupied by bachelors, but there are no separate droves of
bachelors now. They are scattered in little clumps about and between the rookeries. The drive then
for about 100 feet ascends a grassy cliff so steep that steps have been dug in it to facilitate climbing.
Then follows some 700 feet of irregular but very steep slope, in which the easiest depressions are
sought, though the hill is everywhere about as steep as a man can climb, and one who goes up it must
cling to the grass. Above this slope the drive reaches the back of the knife-like ridge that separates
‘Palata from Zapalata. This widens out into an easy, level plateau for about 20 rods, marked with
road skeletons. The elevation is about 850 feet by Dr. Stejneger’s map. Then follows a steep climb
up gravel and clay, with scanty grass and heather, worn into steps, the driveway bounded on the
southwest by a slanting precipice that lies above Sabatcha Dira. A steep shoulder of heather and
small plants is followed by a final climb into the clouds to the summit of the pass, 1,220 feet above
the sea. From the summit an abrupt descent leads down a distance of about 500 feet by a zigzag
trail as steep as a horse could pass over, strewn with gravel and covered with low flowers, to the bed
of a swift little brook. This stream flows down into a grassy basin, the slopes becoming less and less
steep, the rye grass and putchki growing taller. At the junction of this stream, flowing into the little
brook from the west, the drive merges into the one fram Zapadni. The drive from Palata is not in
any place so difficult as the gully just above Zapadni, but it is half higher and twice as long, a trip
one could not take on horseback, nor would it be easy to lead a horse over it. Comparing it with
conditions on St. Paul, the Palata Pass is as steep as the cone of Bogoslof, twice as high, and is
without water. Compared with the severest drive on St. Paul, it would stand as the ascent of Mount
Blanc to a walk in the park. It is a very fatiguing trip for a man. It took me, walking rapidly,
thirty-eight minutes (deducting stops) from Palata to the grassy level, 860 feet; thence twenty-eight
minutes to the top, 1,220 feet; fifteen minutes down the upper slope, and fifteen more to Glinka.

NO EVIL RESULTS FROM THESE DRIVES.

And yet, notwithstanding the severity of the drives of the Commander Islands,
no harm has resulted to the breeding herds of these islands which can be traced to
this cause.

CARE EXERCISED IN DRIVING.

Many drives were witnessed during the past two summers on St. Paul Island.
In connection with none of them was seen warrant for the harrowing tales of animals
dying of exhaustion and fright by the wayside or smothering under the feet of
their terrified companions. In the drive of July 15, numbering 1,500 seals, from the
Reef not a seal fell by the way or showed: signs of dangerous exhaustion. Many
were plainly fatigued by the journey, and when allowed to rest sprawled out panting
on the ground. But after resting, when the drive was ready to move on, they were
ready and able to go with it.

THE FUR SEAL NOT ILL ADAPTED TO LAND TRAVEL.

The fur seal’s only difficulty in land traveling is the inconvenience occasioned by
its thick blanket of blubber. In the water and in a moist cool atmosphere this does
not trouble it. But under the action of dry hot air it experiences great difficulty in
making the least exertion. Combined with all this is the fact that the great oar-like
feet, of the seal make it clumsy, and undoubtedly its muscles become tired quickly
under the unwonted exercise of walking instead of swimming.

When a seal becomes exhausted and is unable to continue the journey it is killed
on the spot. This is not because the animal is necessarily permanently injured. If

132 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

left to recover it would doubtless make its way to the sea. But to save time and
avoid possible loss of the skin the animal is at once killed and skinned, the pelt
being brought in by the drivers. These skins are called ‘“‘road” skins and the
carcasses left to be eaten by the foxes soon become the “road skeletons” of which so
much has been said.

THE “CARCASS-STREWN” DRIVEWAYS.

So mueh had been said about the carcass-strewn driveways that it seemed worth
while to verify or disprove the matter by personal observation. Accordingly, after
the killing season of 1896 was over, each and every one of the driveways of St. Paul
Island were traversed and closely inspected. ‘'wo skeletons were found on the Reef;
two others were found in the course of a small food drive, brought over from Lukanin
to the salt house at the foot of the cove. This latter drive was evidently carelessly
made, as its small size and the short distance made any casualties unnecessary. The
deaths on Reef driveway each occurred on separate drives, and neither occurred on
the drive witnessed on July 15. On none of the other driveways were skeletons
found. Scattered bones were found here and there, but these were common to all
parts of the islands in the vicinity of killing grounds, having been carried away by
the foxes. Four deaths are therefore known to have occurred on the drives of
St. Paul Island during the season of 1896, which aggregated 24,000 animals killed,
besides many driven up but rejected as of unsuitable age. It is safe to say that in
the handling of no similar body of animals, of no matter what kind, would a smaller
percentage of deaths by accident occur. Moreover in the few cases involved the
animals were at once relieved from suffering, aud their skins were saved.

FATALITIES ON THE DRIVES.

During the season of 1897 a much greater proportion of accidents occurred on
the drives, the number of seals dying probably reaching a total of 25 out of about
20,000. This was due in large measure to the unfavorable weather of this season,
At times the sun came out warm and occasioned considerable suffering among the
animals driven. In the books of the islands is kept a record of the skins of animals
dying on the drives. The list isa small one. Of the 21,000 seals killed on the two
islands in the. year 1890, only 11 are recorded as dying by the wayside. This
moreover is the year and the driving on which Mr. Elliott has based his theory of
the evil effects of overdriving.

INJURIES TO BACHELORS COULD NOT AFFECT THE HERD.

But even if the young males were driven to death on the driveways it would not
affect the herd of fur seals any more than the slaughter of steers would affect a herd
of cattle. It would be cruel and inhuman to do it, but the responsibility would rest
with the person doing the driving, and the evil effect would end with the life of the
animal so tortured. If the animal as a result of the ordeal of driving goes back
weakened in physical strength and vigor, it either recovers from such injury or dies, if
not at once, then in the next migration. No seal physically injured in any serious
manuer survives the harsh sifting process of the northern winter, which sends back
only those perfect in every way and fit to survive. We may therefore assume that
if a seal returns to the hauling grounds the next spring, he has fully recovered and is
physically able to repeat his experiences.

DRIVING NOT A FACTOR IN THE DECLINE. 133

THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF SEXUAL INJURY.

There remains, then, but one further point, namely, the possibility of the male
seal becoming sexually injured as a result of driving while still retaining his physical
vigor. The organs of generation in the male fur seal are carried like those of the
dog or similar animals, and owing to the peculiar character of the hind legs of the
seal they appear to be in an exposed and dangerous position. It would seem as

if the testes must come in actual contact with the ground when the animal is in
motion. A hasty observation might lead to the supposition that to force an animal
in this condition to travel several miles over rocks and stones would produce direct
injury to these organs. Whether or not this is the source of Mr. Elliott’s theory of
the impairment of the virility of the bulls through dverdriving we do not know, but
if this did not suggest the theory it is hard to understand what did.

VOLUNTARY MOVEMENTS OF THE MALES.

The violent voluntary movements of the adult bulls on the rocky floors of their
breeding grounds would be sufficient answer to this contention. No efforts required
of the seals on the drives are any harder than those they undergo of their own
accord. But without relying upon this, the investigations of the past two seasons
show that the testes of the male seal are under direct control of the animal, and when
he is in motion are drawn up into the body, where they are absolutely protected.'
Thus there is no possibility for direct injury to the generative organs of the male
from driving.

DRIVING NOT A FACTOR IN THE DECLINE.

Therefore, after a full consideration of the subject of driving in all its bearings,
we are inevitably brought to the conclusion that it is not and has not been a factor
in the decline of the berd. It would be possible under thoughtless or unfeeling
management to make the operation the source of great physical suffering to the
animals concerned, and the driving should be, as it evidently is, always under humane
and intelligent supervision. The interests of the herd, however, are not concerned
in the presence or absence of such care. The treatment of the bachelors on the drives
_and killing grounds of St. Paul Island no more affects the breeding rookeries than
would inhuman treatment of horses on the street-car lines of San Francisco aftect the
breeding herd of the Palo Alto stock farm.

It is not necessary for us to consider certain alleged sdurces of injury to the
herd through stampedes occasioned by fright on the rookeries or through raids by
seal poachers. These and many other more or less imaginary causes of injury to
the herd were used to support and strengthen the main contention of the British
case before the Paris Arbitration that land killing was the cause of decline. But
these causes, if they ever actually existed, could produce only temporary results, as
they were themselves necessarily temporary in their nature and action. The decline
of the herd, to whatever it may be due, has been constant, and for it must be sought
a permanent cause.

1See observations in the Daily Journal under date of October 11 and 19, 1897.

CHAPTER X.
ALLEGED POSSIBLE CHANGE OF HABITS.

MIGRATION TO COMMANDER ISLANDS.

It may be worth while here to note certain supposed possible changes of habits
on the part of the fur seals as a result of the interference of man. Much has been
said at the Paris Tribunal and elsewhere regarding the danger of driving the seals
from their haunts on the Pribilof Islands to seek other shores. There is no such
possibility.

It has been a tradition in the history of the fur seals that the Commander Islands
were originally occupied by seals which had abandoned the Pribilof Islands. This
tradition has not the slighest foundation. Doubtless all came centuries ago from one
parent stock, but as the two herds exist to-day they are distinct races or species and
do not intermingle in any way. Notwithstanding this, it has within recent times been
thought possible that under exceptional circumstances we might expect an exodus of
seals from the Pribilof Islands to the Russian islands. Even so late as the present
year it has been asserted that Pribilof seals were taken on the Asiatic side, the
alleged cause of their going there being the fact that they had been branded on their
native rookeries. These stories are all very absurd and rest upon no basis of fact or
knowledge, but, in view of the persistency with which they have been urged, it will
not be out of place to consider the habits of the animals in the light of such possible
results.

THE FIXED HABITS OF THE SEALS.

The habits of the fur seal are strongly fixed. From the natural ruthless
destruction of all seals in which the geographical instinct or the instincts of feeding
and reproduction are defective results the extreme perfection of the few instincts
which the animal possesses. The life processes of the fur seal are as perfect as
clockwork, but its grade of intelligence is low. Its range of choice in action is very
slight. It is a wonderful automaton, and the stress of the migrations will always
keep it so.

THE SEAL’S LOW INTELLIGENCE.

By iatellect or intelligence in this sense is meant the power to choose among
different possible courses of action. External influences and internal impulses
produce certain impressions on the nervous system of the animal. By the automatic
instinct the response which follows is directly related to the cause, and there is no
choice among responses. So much influence, so much rebound. By the operations
of instinct each individual in given conditions will act just as any other individual
will. Intellect, however, implies individuality. One animal will choose to do this,
another that, adapting action to certain needs and circumstances. A fur seal will do
what its ancestors have had to do to perfection. If he is forced to do anything else
he is dazed and stupid.

134

EFFECTS OF CONTACT WITH MAN. 135

As a result of all this the habits of the fur seal are fixed and immutable. No
better illustration of this can be cited than the fact that-after having been driven
from their hauling ground, culled over, and subjected to the excitement of the killing
grounds, bachelors have been known to return quietly and take up their places on
these same hauling grounds as if nothing had happened. During the past two
seasons seals have been repeatedly watched as they were released from the killing
ground at the village, swim away directly through Zoltoi Bay, round Reef Point, and
haul out on the hauling ground of Reef rookery from which they had been driven
perhaps three hours before. And this thing goes on throughout the season and has
been going on for half a century. The seals have no remembrance of past events.
Once in the water they are solely governed by the instinct which leads them to haul
out at the particular point where they are accustomed to rest. That they have been
so recently disturbed there is merely an incident of which they remember nothing.

CONTACT WITH MAN HAS HAD NO EFFECT.

The far seals on the Pribilof Islands have been constantly in contact with men
during more than a century. At times, in its early history, the herd has come near
annihilation as a result of man’s rapacity and improvidence. -But neither this nor the
more systematic and reasonable treatment which has been accorded them in recent
years has affected in the least the habits of the animals. So far as we know, the fur
seals of a century and a half ago did exactly what their descendants of to-day are
doing. There is nothing in present conditions nor in the conditions of the past to
warrant the assumption that in the future they will cease to do the, same thing.

At the approach of winter they depart on their migrations. With the returning
spring they unfailingly arrive class by class and go through the routine of their daily
life. There is no evidence that any phase of their life activity has changed since man
found them. None have been found to seek other,Shores. It is probably not possible
for man to drive them from their breeding haunts. Their rookeries are their home,
and to them they will return so long as they live.

ALTERATION OF CONDITIONS.

Some slight alteration in the conditions of life among the fur seals have neces-
‘sarily resulted from the interference of man. Land killing has lessened the number
of bulls, reducing their turbulence, In the natural state of the animals, when the
adult males were practically equal in: number to the females the fighting among
them must have been something terrific. To-day, when the adult bulls are only about
one-thirtieth of the number of females, the amount of fighting indulged in is sufficient
to show that the male fur seal has lost none of his belligerent qualities.

THE BACHELORS OF BERING ISLAND.

From the excessively close killing of the males on the Russian islands, a curious
result has been brought about. On North rookery of Bering Island,.for a number of
years, every male that could be found had been killed. As a result, there were in
1895 not more than 6 adult bulls to a herd of about 1,000 breeding females. On this
rookery the bachelors were found to occupy places among the breeding seals instead
of hauling by themselves, as under normal conditions. In this, however, we are not
to assume a change of habit. It is the instinct of the male to seek the breeding

136 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

ground. On his return as a yearling force of habit draws him there. As he grows
older sexual instinct exerts its influence. . Eventually, if he is not killed, he arrives
at the age when his strength enables him to win a place and rule a harem of his own.

It may therefore be said that the natural habit of the bachelor is to get on the
breeding ground or as near it as possible, the fear of the bull alone keeping him
away. And he has good reason to stand in dread of the harem master. At the close
of the breeding season, as soon as the old males go away to feed, the bachelors scatter
over the rookeries and enjoy their new found freedom until the bulls return. If the
bulls were allowed to increase on Bering Island, they would certainly drive out the
bazhelors and restore the normal conditions.

ARBITRARY SELECTION OF MALES.

There is not the slightest evidence that the race of fur seals as a whole has been
in any way affected by the arbitrary selection of males for killing. Only strong,
vigorous males can maintain themselves on the rookeries, and those allowed to live
are neither more nor less vigorous than the others would have been.

Effects resulting from variations in the character of the breeding males can not
be great, and would not, if they existed, make their appearances for many generations,
perhaps not for centuries. Careful supervision might possibly make effective artificial
selection of males, and such experiments, whether leading to practical results or not,
are worth trying. But whatever may be done in the future, it is certain that the
character of the herd has not been changed by the action of man in removing its
superfluous male life.

It must be remembered, in this connection, that a strong selective influence is
exercised by the migrations in the sea, Only the vigorous members of the herd
survive the experience of winter. No decrepit individuals have been known to come
back in the spring. The rough sea of the north tells no tales, and it sends back to
the islands only those fit to survive.

THE EFFECT OF DECLINE.

The decline which the fur-seal herd has suffered within the past decade has so
diminished its stock of breeding females that the rookeries have contracted in area
and at the same time become more sparsely populated. The harems are more isolated
and distinct. The bulls have more room and are farther removed from their neighbors
or the idle bulls. These alterations, however, represent mere adaptation to changing
conditions and are not indication of changes in the habits of life.

THE POSSIBILITY OF DRIVING THE SEALS ELSEWHERE.

Most of the dire evils charged to man’s interference are vague and intangible.
Before the Paris Tribunal much was urged by the British representatives about the
danger of the methods of land killing driving the seals to seek other breeding haunts.
But no proof was adduced of such result. Perhaps the best illustration of this class
of vague possibilities is found in Mr. Elliott’s monograph.!

The subject of how best to manage the fur-seal islands had been under discussion.
In objection to the plan of the Government itself controlling the taking and selling
of the seal skins Mr. Elliott, assuming that such a course would involve the sailing of

' Seal Islands of Alaska, 1881, p. 27.

ABANDONMENT OF SPILKI ROOKERY. 137

“a thousand ships to be present at the sale,” exclaims that “the rattling of their
anchor chains and the scraping of their keels on the beaches of the two little islands
would alone drive every seal away and over to the Russian grounds in a remarkably
short space of time.” The quality of seamanship implied in the second feature of this
dire calamity is a fair indication of the value of the prophecy as a whole. .

x

THE ABANDONMENT OF SPILKI ROOKERY.

_ There are, however, a few of the alleged injurious effects of contact with man
which can be located and considered. One of these is the abandonment of the small
breeding ground formerly occupied by seals under the cliffs behind St. Paul village.
This breeding ground, though out of sight of the village, is very close to it. The
claim is made by Mr. Elliott that the children and idlers from the village, by playing
with the fur-seal pups and teasing them, gradually brought about the abandonment
of the rookery.

The abandonment of Spilki was gradual and finally culminated in 1886. The
old bulls came and took up their places, but finding no cows they withdrew. In
1872-1874 Mr. Elliott reports this breeding ground, in common with all the others, in
good condition and full of seals. In 1890 he found it deserted. His conclusion was
that the seals, under the annoyance of the natives, had withdrawn elsewhere.

THE PRESENCE OF THE VILLAGE NOT THE CAUSE.

It is sufficient answer to this theory to say that the village of St. Paul has existed
on its present site, and consequently in the same proximity to Spilki rookery, ever
since 1824. For fifty years, therefore, according to Mr. Elliott’s own testimony, no ill
effects on the seals had been produced by the presence of the villagers.

MORE EXPOSED CONDITION OF LAGOON ROOKERY.

In further opposition of this theory we may mention the example of Lagoon rookery,
which lies just across the little cove from Spilki. It is in plain sight of the village and
but little farther away from it. All the traffic of loading and unloading the ships passes
before it. Moreover, this rookery existed undisturbed for years and years with the
operations of the great common killing ground of the island going on within plain
sight of its inmates and only a few yards away. For a time all the seals on the island
of St. Paul were slaughtered on the flat beside the narrow channel of water, about
one hundred feet in width, separating Lagoon rookery from the killing ground.

No clearer proof could possibly be asked than the example this rookery shows,
of the utter disregard for the presence and actions of man manifested by the fur seal.

THE REAL CAUSE OF THE ABANDONMENT.

When we come to seek a more rational cause for the abandonment of Spilki rookery,
it is not hard to find. The rookery was but a small one at best, as the ground it
occupied was limited. Mr. Elliott ascribed to it in 1872-1874 about 275 harems and
about 4,000 breeding cows. We know that as a matter of fact this estimate is largely
exaggerated. The log of St. Paul Island shows that in 1879 its breeding families
numbered 29. There was at that time no hint given of abandonment or unusual
diminution of the rookery. With the decline of the herd, which began a few years
later, and may have been begun earlier, this rookery suffered diminution with the

138 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

others. In 1890 Mr. Elliott found that the herd on St. Paul had diminished to about
one-fourth. A proportionate reduction for Spilki would have diminished it to less
than a dozen families.

To one who understands the gregarious nature of the fur seal there is no surprise
excited by the abandonment of so small a rookery as this. The conclusion is inevi-
table that when reduced to a mere handful of harems, the animals moved over to the
larger Lagoon breeding ground across the cove.

ORIGIN OF LAGOON AND SPILKI.

We do not know which of these two rookeries was first established, but it is
reasonable to suppose that the one originated as an overflow of the other, as both are
limited in extent. As the rocky spit on which Lagoon rookery is established appears
to be of recent formation, it may be that Spilki was the original breeding ground. But
in any case the simple explanation of the abandonment of Spilki is found in its small
size originally, the known fact of decrease in the herd, and the gregarious instinct of
the animals. When the remnant became too small to exist as a unit, its individuals
moved over to the Lagoon, to be with the crowd.

THE ABANDONMENT OF MARUNICHEN.

In further support of this, we may cite the only other example of absolute abandon-
ment of breeding territory on the islands. On the north shore of St. Paul formerly
existed a small rookery which has long since disappeared. Even the oldest inhabitant
(Kerick Artimanof) merely remembers it was talked of in his childhood. His expla-
nation that it was a small rookery and never looked upon as important gives the key
to the situation. Its breeding seals abandoned their isolated position to be with the
crowds on the shores of Northeast Point or Zapadni. Interference on the part of man
can not be offered as a reason for its abandonment, for there is no more isolated and
inaccessible place on the island.

ELLIOTT’S THEORY FOR SIVUTCH ROOKERY.

In his 1890 report Mr. Elliott explains the presence of a breeding rookery on
Sivutch Rock by saying that the seals had been so harassed by the severe methods of
driving employed on Reef rookery that they had sought on its surface a place where
they might rest in peace. He says that prior to the beginning of the severe driving in
1882 the seals had instinctively avoided this place because of its exposed position and
the probable destruction of the young by the storms which sweep over it. In short,
he assumes a few seals had chosen to waive the instinct of self-preservation and to
locate themselves in a dangerous position simply because of temporary annoyance.

We have already spoken of the strong instinct of the fur seal and its lack of
reasoning powers. Such an explanation as this is wholly inconsistent with both. If
the animal possessed any such powers of discrimination as here assumed, there would
never be a second drive made from any hauling ground on the islands.

SIVUTCH OVERLOOKED IN 1872-1874.

We are inclined to believe that Mr. Elliott in 1872-1874 simply overlooked the
presence of this rookery. He says nothing about it in his earlier report. In 1890 he

NOTIONS REGARDING THE SEALS. 139

Says it did not exist then at the earlier date.! Inspection of this rock on several
ocvasions during the seasons of 1896 and 1897 shows that it has probably always been
occupied as a breeding ground. It is certainly well adapted as such. It is not wind
swept or dangerous to breeding seals. The high ridge of Reef peninsula protects it
from the northern and western storms, while Otter Island breaks the force of the
storms from the southwest. Furthermore the drowning of pups by storms is one of
the rarests of accidents.

The occurrence of a breeding ground on Sivutch Rock is perfectly natural. The
ground is adapted for rookery purposes. It is within a few hundred yards of the shores
of Reef rookery, and lies directly in the line followed by the seals in approaching it.
There is no need of seeking a more complex explanation. It would be a matter of
greater surprise if it did not contain a rookery.

THE NOTIONS OF THE ALEUTS.

Most of the absurd notions current regarding the seals have their origin in the
minds of the Aleuts themselves. At least they possess such notions now, though
originally they may have adopted them from the earlier restrictions which were once
in vogue on the Pribilof Islands, and some of which are still enforced on the Com-
mander Islands. Some of these rules are the following: The prohibition of the use
of tobacco on the rookeries, of the wearing of hobnailed shoes, or of the lighting of
fires when the wind was in such a direction as to carry the smoke into the vicinity
of a rookery. ,

The Aleuts may be excused for their beliefs. Their training and experience is
limited. They have had nothing to do with domestic animals, and have never had
opportunity to test the theories they hold regarding the seals. It was plainly the
belief of these people that direful results would follow our work of the past two
seasons on the islands. One intelligent native declared that the scarcity of the seals
was due to the tramping of investigators about the rookeries in recent years. Another
complacently declared that the rookeries were all right, because the old bulls came
back regularly and in large numbers. ,

THESE NOTIONS SHARED BY GOVERNMENT AGENTS.

That the fears of the natives have been shared in to a certain extent, at least, in
the past and are still held by the agents in charge of the islands, is evident. Thus,
we find recorded in the log of St. Paul Island, under date of June 11, 1891, the opinion
that the “constant and persistent running over the rookeries of Elliott last year at
this time may be charged with a large part of the falling off of seals driven.” Again,
under date of November 11, 1895, the opinion is recorded that the “daily scientific
and photographic investigations” of the summer have demoralized the rookeries.
During the season of 1897 serious objections were made to the experiments in electrical
branding as conducted in the vicinity of the rookeries because of supposed injurious
effects which might result from the noise of the gasoline engine, yet the animals
themselves paid not the slightest attention to the engines or to the branding operations.
Most of them have not even yet noted the existence of man.

1 See extract from log of St. Paul, Pt. II, under date of August 18, when Captain Bryant reports
many seals hauled out there.

140 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

As a result of this spirit which has pervaded the management of the rookeries
the policy of the past has been virtually to keep the fur seal herd in a wild state, it
being shut out from all sight or contact with man except in so far as it was necessary
to disturb it to secure the product of the herd.

THE POLICY OF SECLUSION DETRIMENTAL.

This mistaken policy bore its fruit. From the timeof Mr. Elliott's investigation in
1872-1874 until the collapse of the herd in 1890 the history of the rookeries is a blank,
so far as any real knowledge is concerned. What was needed was a thorough and
systematic study each year of the condition of the breeding herd. It is safe to say
that had this been done, the error, falsehood, and confusion which so effectually stifled
the truth before the Paris Tribunal of Arbitration, and caused that bewildered court
to legalize pelagic sealing, would not have been possible.

Under this policy of seclusion the herd melted away to one-half of. its size before
it was known that any danger threatened it. Year by year thousands of the young
died and rotted on the rookeries as the result of the ravages of a dangerous parasite,
which should have been recognized and measures taken, if possible, to suppress it.
Others of the young died of starvation on the rookeries, proclaiming not only the fact
but the cause of the decline of the herd, but they were unnoticed. Had the fur-seal
herd been treated as any valuable herd of animals are and should be treated,
its habits, needs, possibilities, and limitations studied from year to year from the
beginning, it is safe to say that there would now be no fur-seal question. For
the difficu'ties of the situation to-day the policy which deferred to these groundless
fears of what might result from examination and disturbance of the animals is in a
measure, at least, responsible.

INTELLIGENT INSPECTION NOT WANTON INVASION.

It is, of course, not contended that the precautions taken against wanton invasion
of the rookeries by the natives and by casual visitors are not wise and necessary.
They should never be wanting, but they should never include or influence the officers
in charge of the herd. We make a clear distinction between mere disturbance and
intelligent inspection and supervision. It is possible to visit the rookeries daily and
study them closely, to count their families and to photograph them, without disturbing
the breeding seals in the least. After the breeding season is over and the harems
have broken up, the rookeries can be entered, the animals driven off, and their grounds
inspected without harm.

INSPECTION NOT HARMFUL.

In the work of the past two seasons it was assumed that the herd could be
inspected and disturbed to any extent necessary. Whatever would throw light on
its condition was unhesitatingly carried out. The breeding grounds were under
constant inspection from the beginning to the end of the breeding season and until
almost the departure of the animals from the islands in the fall. On all the rookeries
the seals were twice driven off into the sea. They returned immediately to their
places and resumed their usual routine as if never disturbed. On the rookeries most
frequently visited the animals came apparently to ignore our inspection. They were
manifestly less troubled by our presence than on rookeries seldom visited.

EFFECTS OF CONTACT WITH MAN. 141
RELATIONS OF MAN HAVE NOT AFFECTED SEALS.

In short, our experience leads us to believe that not only has contact with man
produced no injurious effect on the herd, but, on the contrary, more intimate and
constant contact under intelligent direction would tend to render the seals more
tractable, and certainly open the way to the improvement of their condition. It will
never be possible to house and feed the fur seals, but their breeding grounds can be
drained of the filth which now breeds death to the young. These breeding grounds
can be extended and improved. An exact enumeration of their number can be made.
The males to serve the breeding grounds can be selected and more ‘closely limited,
thus obviating loss of revenue on the one hand and injury to the herd on the other.
In other words, much if not all that can be done with other animals is possible with
the fur seal. :

To sum up this matter of the relations of man to the animals on the islands: We
find that the killing of males as carried on, at least since the islands were transferred
to the United States, has not been so great as to endanger the breeding stock; that
the methods of handling the seals on the drives and killing grounds has not been
such as to permanently injure those surviving them. In a word, the interference and
operations of man have in no way contributed to alteration of the life habits of the
fur seal and are in no way responsible for its decline and threatened extermination.

CUAPTER XL.
PELAGIC SEALING, OR KILLING AT SEA.
THE NATURE OF PELAGIC SEALING.

We may now pass to a consideration of the second way in which man has come in
contact with the fur seals, namely, by hunting and killing them at sea. Pelagic sealing,
as it is called, means the taking of seals at sea, either on their migrations or on
their food excursions to and from their breeding grounds. It is necessarily indiscrim-
inate in its character, animals of both sexes and every age and condition being taken.
The animals are killed both by the spear and with firearms.

THE HUNTING OF THE INDIANS.

From the earliest times the natives in the vicinity of Cape Flattery and Vancouver
Island have been accustomed to hunt the fur seal in their dugout canoes, going out
from shore for this purpose a distance of 10 to 30 miles. It is probable that this
hunting has existed as long as Indians have occupied these regions and fur seals have
annually passed their shores. The taking of the fur seals was at first doubtless asso-
ciated with the hunting of the sea otter, and it has been suggested that the flesh of
the seal rather than its fur was the original object of its capture.

With the decline of the sea otter and the various land furs, the skin of the fur
seal came to have a value and found its way into the markets through the hands of
the traders. In time the taking of fur seals became the object of special attention,
and the plan was developed of transporting the Indians and their canoes to the
sealing grounds by means of sailing vessels, thus enabling them to carry on their
operations consecutively and over a wider area.

THE INTRODUCTION OF VESSELS.

This first use of vessels in hunting the fur seals dates from about the year 1872,
and for several years the number employed was small, probably not exceeding five or
six before 1879. By their means the hunters were able to reach a distance of from 75
to 100 miles from shore and to follow the herd on its northward journey to the breeding
grounds. From 1879 onward the number of vessels engaged in pelagic sealing
increased rapidly. In 1880 the fleet numbered 16 vessels, making another bound to
34 vessels in 1886, this second increase being due to the opening up of Bering Sea
in 1883,’ when the schooner City of Sun Diego took a catch of between 2,000 and 3,000

skins there.
THE EXPANSION OF THE INDUSTRY.

After the introduction of vessels there was a steady expansion of the territory
covered by sealing operations. The fleet gradually began to go south of Cape Flattery

1 Since this was written there has come into the possession of Mr. Charles H. Townsend the log of
the schooner San Diego (often confused with the City of San Diego, another vessel), which shows that she
took a catch of seals in Bering Sea in 1880. See Mr. Townsend’s paper on Pelagic Sealing, in Part III.

142

METHODS OF PELAGIC SEALING. 143

to meet the herd before it reached that point, and the hunters followed its course
from the mouth of the Columbia River to the passes of the Aleutian Islands, finally
entering Bering Sea, and continuing their operations on the summer feedin g grounds
of the animals.

THE USE OF FIREARMS.

Before the year 1886 Indian hunters were used exclusively, and the primitive
methods of the spear and the canoe were employed. But with the great increase of
the fleet it was necessary. to employ white hunters, and as these could not compete
with the Indians in the use of the spear, firearms were introduced, the rifle first, and
afterwards the shotgun loaded with buckshot. The use of the rifle resulted in a great
loss by sinking of the seals killed. The shotgun proved more effective, though many
seals were still lost, especially at first, before the hunters bad learned to avoid piercing
the lungs.

The development of pelagic sealing in Bering Sea after 1886 was a steady growth,
though the number of vessels fluctuated on account of seizures by the American
authorities. In 1891 the fleet numbered 115 vessels.

* THE MODUS VIVENDI.

In this year a modus vivendi was declared, closing the waters of Bering Sea to
pelagic sealing. The measure was put into force too late in the season of 1891 to
prevent the fleet from entering upon its work. It had, therefore, at best only a
deterrent effect. As a result of being warned out of the sea, certain vessels crossed
over to the Asiatic side and obtained seals there. On this account, notwithstanding
the fact that the modus vivendi was renewed in 1892 and made effective, the pelagic
fleet in that year was increased to 122 vessels. More vessels engaged in sealing on
-the Asiatic side, and in 1893, still under the modus vivendi, the bulk of the sealing
was transferred to the Commander herd, 66,000 skins in all being taken from Asiatic

waters. ;
THE REGULATIONS OF THE PARIS AWARD.

Bering Sea was opened again in 1894 under the regulations of the Paris Tribunal
and the largest catch ever made in these waters was taken: Since this date sealing
has continued under certain limitations, the chief of which are a closed zone of 60
miles about the islands and a closed season from the 1st of May to the 1st of August.
The decline in the-herd has effected a decline in pelagic sealing itself. During the
season of 1897 less than half the vessels engaged in sealing in 1896 entered the sea
and the catch from all sources for that season was but little more than one-half. From
a fleet of nearly 100 vessels in 1894 the sealing vessels have diminished to less than

30 in 1897.
THE SEALING VESSELS.

The vessels comprising the pelagic fleet are sailing schooners ranging in size from
25 to 125 tons burden. Each vessel carries a crew of from ten to fifty men with from
half a dozen to twenty boats or canoes. Boats are used where white hunters are
employed. The Indians use their own canoes.

Each boat is manned by three men, two hunters, armed with rifles or shotguns
or both, and a rower to manage the boat. The Indians hunt with two men in a canoe,
one a steerer to manage the craft and the other the hunter to throw the spear.

144 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.
METHODS OF SEALING.

When the schooner comes into sealing territory and the weather is favorable, her
boats or canoes are lowered and sent in search of seals. They go to the windward and
at slightly different angles; the vessel follows under slow sail trying to keep in
sight of the boats. Night or the approach of bad weather drives in the boats
with their catch of the day whatever it may be.

THE SEALS AS FOUND.

Seals at sea are designated in three different classes. When found in motion they
are called “travelers.” When at rest they are called. “sleepers.” Sometimes resting
seals are awake, but listlessly floating on the water, and from the movement of their
flippers they are said to be “‘finning.”

METHODS OF CAPTURE.
THE SPEAR.

In favorable weather seals are found sleeping between the hours from 9 o’clock in
the morning until 5 or 6 in theevening. In stormy weather the seals can not rest and
so sleep more soundly in the first good weather after a storm. Sleeping seals are as
a rule taken with the spear. Mr. A. B. Alexander has given us the following graphic
account of the operation :!

At the end of an hour we saw our first seal about a quarter of a mile ahead. The canoe was
kept off under its lee, the sail taken in, and everything put in readiness for action. Cautiously we
paddled toward the prey, care being taken not to make the slightest noise. We approached within
about 40 feet when the seal began to grow restless, as if it was dreaming of danger. The hunter
stood braced, spear in hand, and with true aim he hurled it with all his force at the sleeping object.
In an instant the scene of repose was changed into one of intense excitement and pain. Witha jump
the seal instantly disappeared below the surface, but not to escape, for when once a spear becomes
fastened to an object it seldom pulls out. Soon it came up to breathe and renew its desperate
struggle for liberty. It stood in the water facing us, with its body half exposed as if taking in the
situation, and with a kind of low piteous growl, as though it realized its end was near, it renewed the
contest. It fought madly, diving, jumping, and swimming with great speed, first in one direction,
then in another, sometimes on one side of the canoe and then on the other, the Indian all the time
holding the spear rope, trying to draw the seal near the canoe so as to strike it on the head with the
killing club. In its frantic efforts to escape, it bit at the line several times, but soon abandoned the
idea of gaining its freedom in such a manner and again resorted to jumping and diving. The loss
of blood soon caused it to grow weak, and after a fight, which lasted perhaps five minutes, it ceased
to struggle altogether and was hauled to the side of the canoe and dispatched with the club.

THE SHOOTING OF SEALS.

Traveling seals are taken by shooting. Sleeping seals are of course shot also, but
with these animals the spear is more effective since they are frequently found sleeping
in groups. To shoot into one of these groups means the taking of but one animal, and
the report startles all the other seals in the vicinity. With the spear but little noise
is made.

Where the traveling seal is jumping clear of the water, “breaching,” as it is called,
the rifle is used, as the shot must be made at longer range. Where the seal is within
close range or can be approached, as when it is asleep, the shotgun discharging buck-
shot is used. The aim is for the head or breast of the animal.

'Proc. Fur Seal Arb., Vol. 9, p. 346.

SHOTGUN AND SPEAR. 145

The following description of the methods of taking seals is given by Lieutenant
Quinan,' of the revenue-cutter Corwin, in relating his experience in a canoe with
Indian hunters off Sitka Sound, May 1, 1892.

We had pulled several miles without seeing anything, when suddenly the steersman gave the
canoe a shake and pointed in silence to a seal 75 yards distant. * * * The bowman took in his
oars and substituted the paddle, and the canoe glided noiselessly toward the unconscionsseal. When
within 40 yards of it the after paddle alone was used and the bowman stood ready with the shotgun.
* * * During all this time not a word was spoken, and so noiselessly did the canoe glide that we
got within 10 yards of it and the hunter fired, pouring a charge of buckshot into its breast. The seal,
to my great astonishment, was not killed, but gave us a surprised look, and instantly dived out of
sight. It rose again 50 yards off, gave us another look, and asecond time disappeared. Then followed
a chase to windward, the Indians dexterously applying their paddles in that direction. Three times
it disappeared and reappeared before it was finally shot and captured. Even then it was necessary
to use the club to kill it. One hook with the gaff, a sudden pull, and the unfortunate seal was in the
tanoe.

LOSS RESULTING FROM SHOOTING,

‘It is plain that by the method of shooting a certain percentage of loss results
from the wounding of animals and also from the sinking of animals before they can
be recovered. That many of the wounded animals escape is shown by the consid-
erable number of bachelors on the hauling grounds which carry buckshot in their
bodies. At each killing the natives gather up a collection of slugs. That other
animals escape only to die later on may reasonably be inferred. In the summer of
1896 several seals wounded by shooting were known to die after coming ashore on
the rookeries.2, What the percentage of loss may be which thus results can not be
determined. The hunters themselves can not tell what effect their shots produce,
where the animal is not recovered. It may escape unhurt, may have been slightly
wounded and thus likely to recover, or so seriously injured as to cause it to give up
later on and die.

The greatest loss probably results from the use of the rifle. Where the range
is considerable and the animal is killed instantly it sinks out of reach before the boat
can get it. With the shotgun the same result is likely to occur, but the range being
shorter not so many animals are lost. Of late years the loss of shot seals has been
greatly diminished, because it has been found that when the animal is shot in the
head or neck and the lungs left full of air the body does not sink so rapidly.

THE SPEAR LEAST WASTEFUL.

With the spear the loss must be very slight. Where the animal escapes by the
tearing out of the spearhead it doubtless recovers, but these instances are rare.
That some animals escape through the breaking of the line attached to the spear-
head is shown by the number of these weapons picked up on the rookeries. Two
spearheads with the lines attached were found fastened in the rocks on Zapadni
rookery of St. Paul in 1896. The lines had become fast and the animals had torn
themselves loose. During the past season a cow came ashore on St. Paul with a
spearhead through her back which, while it did not kill her, left her crippled and
useless. *

1Proc. Fur Seal Arb., vol. 9, p. 351.
2 See Daily Journal, Part II, date of July 25, 1896.
3See Daily Journal, Part II, date of August 15, 1897.

15184——10

146 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

Of the two methods of killing the seals at sea the spear is the surest and results
in the least waste. Both methods have their special fields, however, and the
regulations under which pelagic sealing is now carried on, as if designed expressly
for the pelagic sealer, recognizes them clearly. Thus, when the seals are on their
migrations and consequently alternately traveling and resting both firearms and
spears are allowed. For the traveling seal the gun can be used; for the sleeping
seal the spear. On the feeding grounds in Bering Sea only the spear is allowed.
There the animals are found almost exclusively sleeping or feeding. The noise of the
gun would be a positive disadvantage, as it would startle all the seals in the vicinity.
From the point of view of the herd both methods are deadly, the difference being
merely one of degree.

NORTHWEST COAST SEALING.

Pelagic sealing is carried on in two distinct areas and at two distinct seasons.
While the seals are on their return migration along the American shore they are met
by the pelagic fleet off the coast of California at about the latitude of Point
Conception. From here northward to the vicinity of Middleton Island the herd is
followed by the pelagic fleet. Formerly seals were also taken along the.coast of the
Alaskan peninsula to the passes by which they entered Bering Sea. At present
the closed season begining in May shuts off this catch.

BERING SEA SEALING.

In Bering Sea sealing is carried on in the summer feeding grounds of the fur
seals. These grounds are located from 100 to 200 miles distant from the islands and
lie chiefly to the westward and southward in the deep water off the 100-fathom curve.
They are frequented chiefly by the female seals which leave the rookeries at regular
intervals during the summer to feed, returning to nourish their offspring.

It is not necessary here to go into greater detail regarding these matters nor to
mention the sealing grounds of the Commander Island herd. These matters are all
taken up in detail by Mr. Townsend in a special paper which appears elsewhere in
Part III of this report.

THE PELAGIC CATCH.

In the statistical appendix to the present volume will be found a detailed table of
the pelagic catch from the various hunting grounds. From this table we may here
give the following summary:

Total pelagic catch in all waters, 1868-1897.
Pribilof herd:

North west Coat «2. os.u2 cies ve cc tiie siienas vend mead se ceu sagedaedannadess 395, 880
Boring SOA» seve viwe seceiees secieegenscisse bases eee see Lids, veaeendeeuaeanes 240, 908
636, 788

Commander herd: Japan and Russian coasts -....... 2... 2.222202 cece cece eens eee 256, 259

TOUAl scenes oases tned Hake the eae Saaeiveaaueineieems Seea Gece pce seen denedawee 893, 047

EFFECT OF MODUS VIVENDI. 147

In addition to this total there are 95,000 skins which have been taken, but for
which the definite locality of capture has not been determined, making a grand total
of 988,047 animals, or approximately 1,000,000 seals, known to have been killed at sea
from the combined Russian and American herds.

THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE SEALS KILLED BUT LOST.

The figures just given include only animals actually secured and whose skins were
brought to market. No attempt has been made to form any estimate of the number
-of animals which escaped to die of their wounds, or of those killed outright, whose
bodies sank before they could be secured, The loss arising from these sources is
considerable even at the present time, where firearms are used, and in the early days
of their use it must have been very great.

EARLY SEALING CONFINED TO PRIBILOF HERD.

Until the year 1891 all pelagic sealing was confined to the Pribilof herd, and prior
to the year 1883 all the seals were taken off the Northwest coast. After 1883 sealing
in Bering Sea was added. In 1891 a modus vivendi was declared on June 15, designed
to close Bering Sea.' This measure was renewed in the two succeeding years, pending
the results of the Arbitration Tribunal. It may be remarked in this connection that
the importance of this modus vivendi of 1891-1893, in its relation to the herd, was not
great. Its promulgation in 1891 was too late to make it effective, as the fact that the
herd lost 19,000 more seals at sea in that year than in 1890 abundantly shows. In 1892
it merely checked the increase of the catch, leaving it still 6,000 more than it was
before the measure was put into effect. In 1893, when the catch fell to 30,000, which
was but 10,000 less than the catch of 1890, the herd derived some benefit. Of course,
jf we take into account what the herd might have lost through the increase of the
‘catch in'this period, the benefit to the herd was greater. But it was at best only a
postponement of the loss, as in 1894 the catch rose immediately to 61,000—double that
of 1893—and was in ‘1895 still 16,000 greater than the catch of 1890 ; its decline since
that time has been due to the diminishing herd. j

THE SUSPENSION OF LAND KILLING.

On the other hand the suspension of killing on land only released young males to
grow up which are now, as idle and superfluous bulls, a menace to the rookeries. In
the case of the pelagic sealers the measure only postponed the time of taking the seals,
as the females which escape in one season are still avaiiable the next, while on land
the young males released were irrevocably lost to the Government and the lessees,
because before normal conditions were.resumed they had taken on the wig of the half
bull, and their’skins became of no value. The suspension of land and sea killing,
therefore, during the modus vivendi, was at best of very doubtful value.

MODUS VIVENDI TRANSFERRED. SEALING TO ASIATIC SIDE.

The modus vivendi, however, had this effect: It influenced a certain number of
sealing vessels to try their luck on the Asiatic side of the Pacific Ocean. These, in

1See footnote to page 144 of this volume. —

148 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

1891, took a small catch of 8,000 seals from the Commander herd. In 1892, when the
ciodus vivendi was renewed and made effective, a larger number of vessels crossed.
over at the close of the spring sealing off the Northwest Coast; and in 1893, Bering Sea
being again closed, the greater part of the sealing was transferred to the Asiatic side.
The growth of the catch from the Commander Island herd was very rapid. Beginning
with 8,000 skins in 1891, it numbered 66,000 skins in 1893.

THE DECLINE OF THE CATCH.

During the period from 1868 to 1880 the pelagic catch was merely nominal, ranging
from four to five thousand skins yearly. With the year 1881 it increased steadily
until 1894, when the maximum was reached in a catch of 141,143 skins. Since that
year it has rapidly declined to a total of about.39,000 skins in the season of 1897.

The following table will make clear the fact of this decline:

| Year. | Pribilof Commander

herd. | herd ae
61, 838 79, 305
56, 291 37, 035
43, 917 24 191
24, 321 18, 801 |

UNFAVORABLE WEATHER NOT THE CAUSE OF DECLINE.

The decline in the pelagic catch has been explained by the sealers as due to
unfavorable weather! and ill luck in locating the animals rather than to any lack of
seals. It is unnecessary here to discuss the matter at length. Reference to Mr.
Townsend’s notes and tables of daily catches, published in Part ITI of this report, will
show clearly enough that no marked difference has existed between the weather
conditions of recent seasons and those of earlier ones. The real cause of the decline
in the pelagic catch, of course, is the depleted condition of the herd. With a herd
reduced to less than one-fifth its original size it could not be reasonably expected
that the usual number of animals could be found at sea.

PELAGIC KILLING AND LAND KILLING COMPARED.

It will help us to arrive at a just appreciation of the relation of pelagic sealing to
the history of the fur-seal herd if we compare its catch with that taken on the islands.
In the following table we have this comparison fully set forth. There is given, in
addition to the total number of males killed for all purposes, the date at which the
quota was each year filled, the number of hauling grounds which it was necessary to
drive from, and the number of drives required. These are taken from the records of
the islands. The statistics of the pelagic catch are taken from the official data of the
Treasury Department, which is given in full in Appendix I.

' Ber. Sea Quest., Dept. Marine and Fisheries, Ottawa, 1896, Venning, p. 16.

STATISTICS OF LAND AND SEA KILLING. 149

Statistics regarding land and sea killing, 1871-1897.

Date | Hauling | Number * «
Year. uota sounds of sary oP es
ed.! riven.! | drives.! and. AY BOA:
July 28 46 43 102,970 | 16,911
July 25 43 30 108,819 | 5,336
-| Fuly 24 51 37 109, 177 5, 229
-| July 17 61 41] | 110,585 5, 873
P .| Duly 16 55 37 106,460 | 5, 038
-| Aug. 18 36 30 94, 657 5,515
-| July 14 44 32 84, 310 5, 210
...| duly 18 54 35 109,323 | 5, 544
-.| July 16 val 36 110, 411 8, 557
-| July 17 18 38 105, 718 8, 418
July 20 99 34 105, 063 | 10, 382
-| July 20 86 36 99,812 | 15, 551
July 19 81 39 79,509 | 16, 557
July 21 101 42 105, 434 | 16, 971
July 27 106 63 105, 024 | 23, 040
July 26 117 74 104,521 | 28, 494
July 24 101 66 105, 760 | 30, 628
.| July 27 102 73 103, 304 | 26, 189
July 31 110 74 102, 617 | 29, 858
July 204 87 55 28,059 | 40, 814
5 12,040 | 59, 568
7,511 | 46, 642
7,396 | 30, 812
16,270 | 61, 848
14, 846 | 56, 291
30,654 | 43,917
Aug. 19,200 | 24,321

1 These figures refer only to the hauling grounds of St. Paul.

2 These totals include alli males killed for any purpose on the islands.

3In 1876 the killing was closed at an unusual date, said to be on account of an exceptionally late season.
4Closed by order of the agent in charge.

*Years of the modus vivendi.

THE PERIOD FROM 1871-1882.

For purposes of study we may divide this record into two sections, the first
covering the period to and including 1882. During this time we find that the number
of animals taken on land as well as at sea was each year relatively constant, the former
being maintained at a maximum, the latter at a minimum. We find that from 1874 to
the close of this period the requisite number of killable seals could be procured at such
an early date as to clearly indicate that no difficulty was experienced in filling the
quota. During the whole of this time the number of drives and hauling grounds
driven from was uniform and normal. In short, all the evidence goes to show that the
herd was in a state of practical equilibrium, neither increasing nor diminishing to any
marked degree. The reduction of the number of animals killed on land in the last
year of this period has already been discussed in its appropriate place. It has no
significance here. ;

THE GROWTH OF THE CATCH.

It will be seen, however, in the record of pelagic sealing that from a normal catch
of slightly over 5,000, covering a period of eight years, it advanced to 8,000 in 1880 and
to 15,000 the closing year of the period. This latter fact is significant.

RELATION OF GAINS AND LOSSES IN THE HERD.

We have already shown that the condition of the fur-seal herd is determined by
the relation of its gains and losses. Its losses are of two kinds, natural and artificial.
We may class as natural those losses arising from old age, accidents of the sea, or the

150 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

struggles on the rookeries. The sole artificial loss to which the herd has been sub-
jected is that resulting from pelagic sealing. We may assume that the natural losses
of the herd were in these early days, as now, constant and uniform. With the small
added loss resulting from pelagic sealing they balanced the gain of the herd due to the
influx of young breeders. It may be that the loss entailed by the pelagic catch was
the final determining check on the herd’s increase. As we have seen, in the last year
of the period we are considering, this pelagic catch was trebled.

PERIOD SUBSEQUENT TO 1882.

If now we take into consideration the period subsequent to 1882 we find that this
increase in the pelagic catch was maintained and steadily augmented until at its
maximum in the year 1894 it exceeded by twelve times the normal size of the catch in
the former period of equilibrium. On the other hand, we find the Jand catch which was
maintained at its normal rate until the year 1889, suddenly fell to one-fifth its size in
1890, and has remained there since.

EXPANSION OF PELAGIC, DECREASE OF LAND SEALING.

From a study of these statistics two important facts are made clear: First, that
there has been since 1880 an enormous expansion of pelagic sealing; second, that there
has been in the same period a marked decrease in the product of land sealing. From
what we know of the nature of the two industries and their effect on the herd we are
prepared to find these two facts related to each other as cause and effect.

We need not repeat here the proof that land killing has had nothing to do with
the decline of the herd. It must be pointed out, however, that land killing is strictly
dependent upon the condition of the breeding herd. The quota of any given year
represents the male animals which survive to the age of three years from a given
birthrate. As the quota of males is, so will be the increment of young breeders which
the herd receives. A diminished quota therefore means a diminished gain to the
breeding herd for the same year.

CAUSE OF DECREASE TO BE SOUGHT IN THE BREEDING HERD.

Naturally, the cause of any diminution in the supply of killable seals must be
sought for in the condition of the breeding herd three years previous. From this fact
it becomes apparent that for the cause of the enormous reduction in the bachelor herd
seen in the quota of 1890 we must look back to the year 1887, and inasmuch as the
decline in the bachelor herd was great and alarming in 1890, the depletion of the
breeding herd in 1887, when the seals for this quota were born, must have been equally
great and striking. The date of the decline in the herd must, therefore, fall prior to
the year 1887.

* From what has been said about the relation of the bachelor herd to the breeding
herd it must also be plain that no serious diminution had occurred in the birth rate
prior to 1882, else it would not have been possible to maintain, as was done until 1889,
by any possible means the killing of 100,000 animals of no matter what age or size.

THE BEGINNING OF THE DECLINE.

We may therefore assume that the decrease in the breeding herd began some-
where between 1880 and 1887. It is impossible to locate the exact date. We have

EFFECTS OF PELAGIC KILLING. 151

assumed the years 1882-1885 as the approximate date, because in the latter year it
Was necessary to greatly increase the number of drives and the number of hauling
grounds driven from to get the regular quota. This will be apparent from an inspec-
tion of the preceding table. The cause of this scarcity of killable seals must neces-
sarily date back three years, or to 1882. Moreover, within this period occurred the
extension of the operations of pelagic sealing into Bering Sea. Again, in the year
1882, the pelagic catch was trebled in size and thereafter continued to increase, while
from the steady retardation of the date at which the quota could be filled and the
increased number of drives necessary, the bachelor herd as steadily declined.

PELAGIC SEALING AS A CHECK FROM 1871-1880.

During the long period from 1871 to 1880, we may infer that the pelagic catch
had no influence on the herd except perhaps with other causes tu neutralize possible
increase. With the rise of the catch to 15,000 in 1882, we may assume that the strain
was too great and that the equilibrium was broken. The further increase to 24,000
in 1885 intensified the decline, and when in 1887 the pelagic catch reached 46,000 it
became serious.

In estimating the influence of the pelagic catch in these early days it must
always be borne in mind that the catch as recorded is only a part of the loss which
the herd sustained through pelagic sealing. It will never be possible to estimate the
loss, due to the killing of animals which were not recovered, but that it was great we
have no reason to doubt, and it must not be left out of the account.

IRREGULAR QUOTA SINCE 1890.

Since the year 1890 the results of land killing can not be taken as an index of the
condition of the herd from year to year. In the years 1891-1893 land killing was
arbitrarily contracted under the modus vivendi. The quotas of 1894 and 1895 were
influenced by the changed methods of driving practiced in these years, and by the
heavy pelagic catches of 1890 and 1891 resulting in the starvation of pups in these
years. The quotas of 1896 and 1897 have been in turn slightly influenced by the
protection afforded by the modus vivendi, which reduced in a measure the pelagic
catch of 1892 and 1893, thus saving pups from starvation. The results of the heavy
pelagic catches of 1895 and 1896 have yet to show themselves in the coming quotas
of 1898 and 1899.

PELAGIC SEALING AND THE COMMANDER HERD.

We may here, for the sake of illustration, compare similarly the land and sea
catches from the Commander herd. Pelagic sealing began on this herd in 1891. As
the fleet was a large one, its results have been more rapid and disastrous than in
connection with the Pribilof herd. The following are the comparative figures:

Pelagic catch of Commander herd, 1891-1897.

Sea Land Sea Land
[ Year. killing. | killing. Year. killing, | killing. |

8,432 | 36,815 |] 1995............... 37,035 | 17,719

26,752 | 31,244 |} 1896.............-. 24191 | 13,516

66, 143 32, 786 DBOT. .ccinieeicierme nace 13, 801 11, 385
79, 305 27, 287

152 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.
THE INTERRELATION OF PELAGIC AND LAND CATCHES.

The relation of the pelagic catch to the land catch is here well illustrated. The
catch in 1891 was small. Its effect on the bachelor herd was slight and together with
the larger catch of 1892 accounts for the reduction from 36,000 to 31,000 in the land
catch. Bearing in mind the fact that the really important effect of the pelagic catch
of any year is only seen in the herd of killable seals after three years, we are prepared
to find the first marked reduction in 1895, and are not disappointed. The quota of
1895 is less than half the quota of 1891. Since 1894 the pelagic catch from the
Commander herd has rapidly declined, showing how pelagic sealing has exhausted its
own resources. Its catch of 1897 on the Asiatic side is about one-sixth the size of
its catch for 1894.

In the case of the Pribilof herd the result has not been so striking. As against
61,838 seals taken in 1894 we have 24,321 taken in 1897. But the results of the
modus vivendi, the closed zone and the closed season are seen in this herd. The
Commander herd has had no modus vivendi or closed season, and the protected zone
has been but one-half as great as that of the Pribilof herd.

The example of the Commander herd strengthens the evidence in the case of
the Pribilof. With the former, as with the latter, the decline of the herd and the
expansion of pelagic sealing practically go together. If no other proof was available
than what these figures adduce we must be forced to the conclusion that pelagic
sealing has been the cause of the decline.

CHAPTER XII.
THE EFFECT OF PELAGIC SEALING.

PELAGIC SEALING INVOLVES THE KILLING OF FEMALES.

In the foregoing discussion we have assumed for the time being that pelagic
sealing has been the cause of the decline in the fur-seal herd. The relation of the
land catch to the sea catch is such as to lead inevitably to this conclusion. But there
remain other and better reasons for holding pelagic sealing responsible for the
decline.

As has been already shown, only males are killed on land; the females are not
disturbed. On the other hand, at sea animals of every age and condition, and of
both sexes, are taken. In the water it is impossible to distinguish the sexes, and all
animals seen are killed if possible. On land the habits of the animals are such that
the males can be readily separated and handled without disturbance to the females.

PELAGIC SEALING AND THE SEALING OF THE SOUTH SEAS.

With the above contrast between land and sea killing in mind, we may pause for
a moment to consider the strange proposition put forward in the British contention
before the Paris Tribunal, that “the methods practiced on the Pribilof Islands and
those practiced in the southern hemisphere” were parallel in results. This was in
answer to the contention by the United States that pelagic sealing was essentially
the same as the sealing which destroyed herds of the Antarctic. On the contrary,
say the British commissioners in 1891, the history of the rookeries of the south seas
proves incontestably that “excessive slaughter on shore in the entire absence of
pelagic sealing results in commercial extermination.” !

The absence of pelagic sealing in the southern hemisphere has nothing to do
with the matter. 1t would be absurd to expect pelagic sealing there when there was
nothing to prevent the sealers from landing and directly invading the rookeries.
It is safe to say that there would have been no pelagic sealing in the northern
hemisphere had it been possible for any who might choose to do so to land and kill
females on shore.

METHODS OF SOUTHERN SEALING.

In the case of the rookeries of the southern hemisphere, men armed with clubs
or firearms were landed on the rookeries, who killed all the animals they could
secure, making no distinctions as to sex, age, or condition. In a day or a week they
returned to complete the work of destruction if it was not complete at the first trial.
It must appear from a candid contrast of such slaughter that it has nothing in
common with land killing on the Pribilof Islands beyond, perhaps, the fact that
in both cases the killing is done on shore and with a club.

‘Rep. of Brit. Comm., Fur Seal Arb., vol. 6, p. 217.
153

154 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

Suppose that a crew of 25 or 30 men were landed in July on Reef rookery of St.
Paul; that these men entered the breeding grounds and slaughtered every animal
they could reach, keeping up the operation day after day as new animals came ashore
or until no more were found, returning the following season to pick up any remnant
which might be left. This would be the method of slaughter in the southern
hemisphere transferred to the northern.

“INDISCRIMINATE,” NOT “EXCESSIVE.”

The trouble with the contention of the British commissioners lies in the use of
“excessive” for “indiscriminate.” It was not the contention of the United States
that the land killing of the south seas was identical in method with open-sea killing
in the north, but rather that the results were identical. Both were indiscriminate
killing, and, as a result, it was to be expected that the fate of the southern rookeries
would overtake those of the north if such slaughter were continued. That the herds
of the north have lasted longer than those of the south is simply the results of their
protection on land. Were it possible for the pelagic sealers to land on the Pribilof
and Commander islands, they could accomplish in one season what it has taken a
dozen years to accomplish contending with the uncertainties of the sea.

PREPONDERANCE OF FEMALES.

Before the Paris Tribunal, and even subsequent to it, the claim has been made
that land killing was excessive in its reduction of male life, and had been in large
measure, if not wholly, responsible for the decline. We have already discussed the
latter part of this contention and shown its untenable character. ‘The fact, however,
is freely admitted that the killing on land had greatly reduced the male life of the
herd. The investigations of the past season, showing that about twenty-nine males
out of thirty born are destined to be superfluous, indicate how this has been possible
without affecting the herd. Since the islands came into the possession of the United
States nearly 3,000,000 male seals have been taken on land, while no females whatever
have been killed.

The point we wish to make clear is, that with such an abstraction of male life it
naturally results that the herd as a whole under normal conditions must show a large
excess of females. Notwithstanding this self-evident fact, it has been persistently
contended by those interested in pelagic sealing that the pelagic catch contained no
preponderance of females; that in fact the sexes as found and taken at sea were
practically equal.

THE SEALING CAPTAINS’ RECORD OF SEXES TAKEN.

To illustrate this, we may say that under the regulations of the Paris award it
was made obligatory on the captains of sealing vessels to keep a record of the sexes
of all animals taken. It was manifestly absurd to suppose that men engaged ina
business like pelagic sealing would take the trouble to report accurately facts which
must injure their business, The result has been that whenever the sex returns have
been supplied by the sealers themselves the sexes have been reported so nearly equal
that the proportion of females has on the average rarely exceeded 55 per cent. What
we have said regarding the relation of land killing to the proportion of the sexes is
sufficient proof of the falsity of these returns. But we also note that during the

THE SEX OF PELAGIC SKINS. 155

period covered by these returns by the sealers, showing an excess of no more than
5 per cent of females, it was possible to secure only 81,000 males on land, whereas
187,000 animals, males and females, were taken at sea. That 45 per cent of this latter
number should have been males is simply out of the question.

CUSTOM-HOUSE EXAMINATION BY EXPERTS.

Fortunately, however, we are not forced to rely merely upon inference or upon
the reports of interested parties for our information in this matter. For the past four
seasons the United States Government has provided for the examination, by experts,
of the pelagic catches of American vessels in the custom-houses on their landing.
These returns are as follows for the seasons 1894-1897 :

Experts’ sex returns for American catch.

-

1894, Per cent. 1896. Per cent.
Northwest coast.....-..--------.-----. 88 | Northwest coast..--.....--.-..-.------ 93
Bering Sea on 2 sessed seine senses ereeneny 69 | Bering Sea. sce ceed . sistas saciceciececers 75
1895. 1897
Northwest coast. ......-.---.---.--- -... 74 | Northwest coast....-...-.--.---------. 93
Bering Sea: asic sed ssicencscsesce mane 3

CONTRAST OF SEX RETURNS.

With these figures may be compared the percentages furnished by the logs of the
captains of the Canadian sealing fleet, which we are forced to use, as Great Britain
has refused to permit the inspection of the Canadian catch in port. No returus for
these vessels are available for the Northwest catch until the spring of 1896, when the
percentage of females is given as 40. With it may be compared the expert report of
93 per cent for the American vessels on the same grounds in the same season. For
the three seasons, 1894-1896, the Canadian reports for the Bering Sea catch are
respectively 55, 55, and 61 per cent females. The vessels of the American fleet were
engaged during the same time and side by side withthe Canadian vessels. The latter
average 52 per cent of females and the former 80 per cent. Comment is not necessary.

This high proportion of females in the pelagic catch is borne out by the expert
examinations of furriers in London. See affidavits in Appendix IT.

THE SEX OF SALTED SKINS EASILY DETERMINED.

It may be remarked that it is entirely feasible to determine the sex of the salted
skin, as reference to Mr. Townsend’s paper on this subject published in Part II will
show. There is, therefore, no doubt of the accuracy of the results of the custom-house
examinations.

THE INVESTIGATIONS OF ALEXANDER AND HALKETT.

With a view to studying the operations of pelagic sealing in 1895, Mr. A. B.
Alexander was detailed to make the cruise on one of the pelagic sealing vessels.! The
results of his observations are published elsewhere in this report and contain the most
complete account of the methods and operations of pelagic sealing yet obtained. Mr.
Alexander found in the catch of the Dora Sieward, numbering about 1,500 seals, 62

1A complete account of the cruise will be found in Part III of this report.

156 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

per cent of females. The following year Mr. Andrew Halkett, making a similar
investigation for the Canadian government, found in the catch of the same vessel
also in Bering Sea the percentage of females to be 84.'

The difference between the results of these two investigations shows that the
proportion of the sexes may vary considerably from season to season and between
different vessels. It must not be forgotten, however, that these reports are based on
the catches of individual vessels. The returns for the fleet of 18 American vessels in
1895 gives the percentage of females as 73, while for the fleet of 13 vessels in 1896 it
is 75 per cent. It is probably not possible to determine more definitely the exact
proportion of females, but these figures are sufficient with the known preponderance
of the female sex to show that the proportion is large.

THE FEMALES MORE EASILY TAKEN.

It may be noted that the habits of the animals are such as to make it probable
that were the sexes equally numerous at sea the females would be taken in greater
numbers. In the spring of the year off the Northwest Coast the female is heavy
with young, and consequently more sluggish than the young males. In Bering Sea
it is the mother driven by the necessity of nourishing her offspring that is found
constantly on the feeding grounds. In either case her necessities and habits leave
her the easy victim of the pelagic hunter.

THE CAPTURE OF MALES NOT IMPORTANT.

We have not taken into account the fact that a certain number of males are
necessarily taken by the pelagic sealers. It is unnecessary todo so. With the males
taken in this way we have no concern. Their capture decreases the profits of the
lessees of the islands and the revenue of the Government, but does not affect the berd
any more than does the killing of males on land. It is for this reason that they may
be left out of consideration in this discussion.

The important matter is that of the animals taken at sea by the pelagic sealers
from 62 to 84 per cent are females. It may be remarked here that we are not con-
cerned to make this percentage of females high. Were it a fact that among the
animals taken at sea the males were in the excess of the females, the difference would
be merely one of degree. So long as females in any number are taken, the herd is
injured, and the injury is greater in proportion as the number killed is greater.

POSSIBILITY OF EQUILIBRIUM UNDER PELAGIC SEALING.

Much has been said of late by those interested in the retention of pelagic sealing
about the tendency to equilibrium which is to be found in the rapid falling off of the
pelagic catch. In 1896 Professor Thompson of the British Commission professed to
believe that this equilibrium had then been reached, and that we might under present
conditions hope for a perpetuation of the numbers of the herd as found in that year.”
The investigation of 1897, showing a marked decrease from the condition of 1897,
demonstrated clearly that this was a mistake, a fact which Professor Thompson
admits in his 1897 report.

'See Halkett MSS., Report 1896.
?Thompson, Mission to Bering Sea, 1896, p. 35.

THE EQUILIBRIUM THEORY. 157

‘THE EQUILIBRIUM A THEORETICAL FACT.

There is, however, a certain amount of truth in this idea of equilibrium, and we
may inquire what it is and what will be the condition of the herd and of the industry
of pelagic sealing when it is reached.

As already indicated, the condition of the fur-seal herd is determined by the
relation of its various losses to its single source of gain, the yearly accession of young
3-year-old breeders. From the history of the herd in the period from 1871 to 1880
we know that the various losses which the herd suffered about balanced its gain, and
there was neither increase nor diminution. From the nature of the losses which the
herd is subject, to we may infer that in its less crowded condition within the past
few years, they have been somewhat mitigated. This would be especially true of the
loss through the parasitic worm and through fights and struggles on the breeding
grounds. Under normal conditions in its present state, the herd might be expected
to increase by a slight margin each year. That it does not so increase is due to
the action of pelagic sealing. The measure of this possible increase in the herd is
the margin of difference between the number of 3-year-old females which enter the
breeding grounds in any season and the total number of deaths resulting to the adult
breeding herd from old age and the incidents of the sea.

DEATH FROM OLD AGE.

If we assume for the breeding female an average life of thirteen years, this
would give a breeding life of ten years, and the death rate from old age must each
year amount to about 10 per cent of the breeding herd. On the other hand, it is
clear from the proportion between the breeding herd of 130,000 and the quota of
20,000 for the present year that the proportion of pups which survive from any birth
rate to the age of 3 years is about one-third to one-fourth of the total number. The
quota of the present time is therefore roughly a measure of the gain of the herd, as
an approximately equal number of young females must survive.

A HYPOTHETICAL CASE.

As an illustration, let us assume for any given year a total breeding herd of
180,000 cows. Of these 150,000 would be adults and 30,000 young cows coming into
the herd for the first time as breeders and representing the normal gain of the herd.
Assuming that, as a result of storms at sea, old age, and attacks of enemies, 10 per
cent of the herd are lost in the winter migration, this would mean the absence of
18,000 animals for the succeeding season, to cover which and provide for continued
increase the herd receives a gain of 30,000 young animals. The net gain to the herd
is, therefore, 12,000 breeding females. This is a liberal estimate of gain.

THE POSSIBLE ABSTRACTION OF FEMALES.

If the killing of female seals produced only the direct loss entailed by their
absence, this removal of 12,000 females from the hypothetical stock of 180,000
breeders would leave the herd in a state of equilibrium. But for each life thus lost
results the death of an unborn pup, and with such part of the 12,000 females as are
taken in Bering Sea nursing pups die also. This secondary loss is felt later in a

158 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

diminished accession of breeding 3-year-olds. In other words, the yearly increment
of 30,000 could not be maintained, and as a matter of fact the taking of 12,000
females would cause the herd to decline.

THE SECONDARY LOSS OF PUPS.

We can estimate approximately this secondary loss. For the 12,000 females
killed an equal number of unborn young are destroyed, and if one-half of them are
killed during the summer, 6,000 additional young will starve; in all, 18,000 young are
lost. But as only one-third of them would naturally survive to the age of 3 years, and |
but one-half of these would be breeders, the total loss would be about 3,000. This,
at least, must be deducted from the 12,000, leaving 9,000 females which can be taken
from the herd and still leave it in a state of equilibrium. The abstraction of females,
therefore, which the herd of 180,000 breeding females can stand without declining, is
not to exceed 5 per cent.

We do not put this percentage forward as absolute. Its value rests solely upon
the percentage of young which survive to the age of 3 years. We have assumed that
one-third so survive, and this is probably a maximum, but for the purposes of the
calculation it will answer.

To determine whether or not the effect of pelagic sealing is such as to warrant the
supposition that a state of equilibrium has been or is likely to be reached soon, we
have only to refer to the pelagic catch for the year 1896. The summer catch of 1896
in Bering Sea numbered 29,500, of which 84 per cent were females. The spring catch
of the same year was 14,400, of which 93 per cent were females, making in all 38,000
females from a herd of about 160,000, approximately 24 per cent, with additional loss
to appear in 1899 from the destruction of young life.

PELAGIC CATCH STILL INVOLVES 16 PER CENT OF ALL FEMALES.

In view of the heavy falling off which pelagic sealing has undergone in 1897, we
may carry out the computation for this season also. There were taken in the spring
of 1897 off the northwest coast 7,857, of which 93 per cent, or 7,300, were females. In
Bering Sea 16,454 were taken, of which, using the percentage of 1896, which is low, 84
per cent, or 13,800 were females, making in all for 1897 21,000 females. This for
a herd of 130,000 is 16 per cent. It is evident that pelagic sealing must still fall
considerably before equilibrium is reached.

IT MUST FALL TO ONE-THIRD BEFORE EQUILIBRIUM COMES.

In short it would appear that the pelagic catch must fall to about one-third its
present size before the decline in the herd ceases. It is doubtful whether such a
reduction will result. The haunts of the seals are too convenient. The same vessels
may not go out each year, but enough will be ready to risk the chance of a remuner-
ative catch to keep the herd on the down grade. The very reduction of the fleet
in one season will stimulate the business for the next, each vessel hoping that its
neighbors will drop out, thus leaving a clear field. Itis probable that so long as the
herd exists there will be a sufficient number of adventurous spirits to prey upon it
and continue its decline. The history of the repeated unsuccessful attempts to secure
seals on the rookeries of the south seas fully illustrate what may be expected in the
north. If the spirit of adventure is sufficiently strong to lead to the fitting out of a
schooner, a8 was done in 1897, to visit the Galapagos Islands on the possibility of

EQUILIBRIUM MEANS COMMERCIAL RUIN. 159

taking seals there, we may not expect that the more accessible haunts of the seals of
‘the North Pacitic will be abandoned.

THE EQUILIBRIUM COULD NOT BE MAINTAINED.

In a theoretical sense there is a state of equilibrium of the herd which is com-
patible with a limited amount of pelagic sealing. The condition of this equilibrium
we have just discussed. We know it must be too low to leave any profit either in
pelagic sealing or in land sealing. Pelagic sealing, already unprofitable, must be
reduced to less than one-third its present extent before this state of equilibrium is
reached. No manner of protection could enforce the necessary limits to such pelagic
sealing and they are not self-adjustable. Furthermore, the herd under such conditions
would not be worth protecting on land. Any such protection must be maintained at
a loss to the United States. To remove it from the herd even for a short period of
time would leave the breeding haunts of the animals open to invasion, and the
destruction so vigorously begun at sea would be speedily completed on land.

EQUILIBRIUM EXISTS ONLY FAR BELOW COMMERCIAL RUIN.

Thus, while an equilibrium is possible, it must not be forgotten that it exists only
far below the point of commercial profit, and must prove unsatisfactory either to the
interests of the United States or to those of the pelagic sealer.'

1This equilibrium of the fur-seal herd is a mere figure of speech, a juggling with words for
diplomatic purposes. In the conclusions of the recent conference of experts at Washington the
possibility of this theoretical equilibrium was acknowledged by both sides, because self-evident
whatever the conditions. But the fact was not considered in any way pertinent, as ‘‘equilibrium” in
this sense is only another name for commercial destruction. This admission that pelagic sealing
tends to cease as the herd dies ont has however been used by the Canadian Government as a pretext
for declining to take immediate action in the fur-seal matter. (See Senate Doc. 40, Fifty-fifth
Congress, second session, 1897, p. 65.)

This theory of equilibrium has received an attention wholly undeserved. In his report for
1896 Professor Thompson suggested that the equilibrium was then reached. He was forced in the
investigatious of 1897 to admit that the herd had suffered a measurable decline since 1896. Not-
withstanding this fact we find the following statement in the concluding paragraph of his report
for 1897: “A remedy has already been automatically applied in the reduction of the pelagic fleet to
less than one-half its numbers of a year ago. The tendency is to equilibrium. The total pelagic
catch for this year is not likely to exceed 20,000, against 36,000 last year, and it may be that with a
catch so greatly diminished the point of equilibrium has at length been attained.”

It is certainly remarkable that Professor Thompson should speak of commercial destruction as a
“remedy” for zoological destruction. This is another way of saying that ‘‘death cures all ills;”
but that mode of cure does not satisfy the friends of the patient. It is, moreover, not true that the
point of equilibrium is reached, nor can it be reached until the catch at sea falls to less than
one-twentieth of the actual number of breeding females. Pelagic sealing must therefore decline to
one-third its present catch before the equilibrium is reached.

The British Government is not unaware of these facts, but to give them due recognition in
action would interfere with the national policy in this matter. This is to permit the Canadian
sealers to get out of the fur-seal herd everything they can before the failure of the herd forces the
alleged industry wholly out of existence. In other words, one chief function of British Imperialism
is to serve as a “fence” for greedy colonies over whose actions she has no control. We find no more
fitting words to characterize the attitude of Great Britain toward this fur-seal question than the
words of Professor Nicholson, of Edinburgh: ‘‘There can be no question, in the light of history,
that the political instinct of the English people—or to adopt the popular language of the moment, the
original sin of the nation—is to covet everything of its neighbors worth coveting, and it is not
content until the sin is complete.” \

160 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.
THE DESTRUCTION OF UNBORN PUPS.

Hitherto we have considered only the direct loss to the breeding herd resulting
from the killing of females. There is, however, an important secondary loss resulting
from the destruction of the young. Not only is the adult female, with the possibility
of future increase through her, lost to the herd, but the times and seasons of her
slaughter are such that her unborn and her dependent offspring must alike die
with her.

PREGNANT AND NURSING FEMALES.

The investigations of the commission as to the condition of female seals taken in
Bering Sea are given in detail in a special paper on the breeding habits of the seals,
by Mr. Lucas, in Part III of this report. We may here quote a brief summary of
the results :

A total of 176 females taken during the seasons of 1895 and 1896 between August 10 and September
3 were examined, and may be considered as fairly representing the age and condition of seals taken at
sea, Of these 176 there were 14 yearlings, sixteen 2-year-olds, and 146 over 2 years old. All over 2
years old had brought forth young the season in which they were taken, and 151 of those 2 years old
and upward were pregnant. The total number of seals examined whose condition was at all uncertain
was 11, and 7 of these were 2-year-olds examined before August 22, which might have been
impregnated later in the season.

PELAGIC SEALING TAKES COMPOUND INTEREST.

Thus pelagic sealing eats into the life of the herd at compound interest. The
rookeries in 1897 showed a direct diminution from the loss of females killed during
August and September of 1896 and the spring of 1897. This direct loss was supple-
mented by the aftereffects of the premature destruction of the young born in
1894, which manifested itself in the diminished quota of killable seals and in the
eorrespondingly diminished increment of young breeders. In like manner the
future will show the continued effects of the destructive industry. For the pups
starved to death in 1896 and those starved in 1897 the rookeries must suffer in 1900
and 1901 whether pelagic sealing continues or not.

DESTRUCTION OF NURSING PUPS.

As the starvation of pups has been the source of a great deal of discussion, it will
be necessary to consider the matter in some detail. It was strongly contended in the
British case before the Paris Tribunal that no such result as the starvation of the pup
followed from the killing of the mother at sea. The claim of the United States that
the pups were left to die of hunger was denominated in the same connection as “a
contention wholly novel.” It was further asserted that “it is not known that the
breeding females go to sea for food while their pups are dependent upon them.”!

PUPS DEPENDENT ON MILK UNTIL DECEMBER.

In the investigations of the season of 1896 these subjects received special
attention. It was found that the pups continued to nurse their mothers as Jate as the
5th of December, being up to that time wholly dependent upon milk for nourishment.

' British Counter Case, Fur Seal Arb., Vol. 9, pp. 179 and 183.

FEEDING OF THE SEALS. 161

Of pups killed for examination during September and October -some were found
to contain from one to two quarts of rich milk, the result in each case of a single meal.
That the mother seal, an animal averaging 70 pounds in weight, should continue for
upward of four months to nourish her young in this manner without feeding is suffi-
ciently absurd on the face of it. But the results of Mr. Townsend’s and Mr. Lucas’s
examination of adult females taken on the feeding grounds in Bering Sea, proves
absolutely that the nursing females go to sea to feed.

+

THE ABSENCE OF EXCREMENT.

In support of the theory that the females do not leave the rookeries to feed while
their pups are dependent upon them, the British commissioners of 1891-92 cited the
“absence of all excrement on the breeding places.” What the investigators of 1891-92
did or did not see we do not know, but during the past two seasons excrement was
seen in quantities both on the breeding grounds and on the hauling grounds, as were
also spewings containing the bones and flesh of fish. It is true that the aggregate
amount of excrement seen is small in proportion to the number of animals, but this is
due in all probability to the fact that the fur seal digests its food for the most part, if
not wholly, before coming ashore, and as a natural result most of the excrement is
voided in the water.

THE SUPPOSED NONFEEDING OF FEMALES.

A second proof adduced in support of the nonfeeding of the females was that no
food had been found in the stomachs of the limited number of these animals examined
up to that time. It was known that the stomachs of the bachelors were found to be
empty at all times during the season. It was further absolutely known that the adult
bulls fasted during the breeding season. From analogy to the bulls and from the
absence of food in their stomachs it was assumed in a general way that the bachelors
also fasted, and by carrying the chain of analogy one step farther it was assumed that
the cows fasted also.

THE ABSENCE OF FOOD IN STOMACHS.

It is true that the stomachs of adult animals of all classes are wholly devoid of food
when examined onland. Investigations on this score were made in 1896 and 1897 on a
large number of bachelors and many cows. Some of the latter were killed immediately
on coming ashore expressly to throw light on the question. But no food was found,
not even in the stomach of a cow found choked to death on a fish bone. These
facts, however, can not be expected to weigh against the conclusive evidence of the
stomachs of both females and bachelors taken on the feeding grounds in August.
That the fur-seal bul] should fast is necessary. He comes on land in the spring
loaded down with blubber in preparation for it, and grows excessively thin before
the season is over. The cows and bachelors show no such provision. They maintain
an even and moderate condition throughout the season. They could not do so if
they fasted.

15184——-11

162 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

THE SEAL DIGESTS ITS FOOD IN THE WATER.

For the absence of food in the stomachs of the seals we must find a simpler
explanation, and this seems to be that they remain in the water to digest their food.
If itis not fully digested when the animal reaches the islands on returning from the
feeding grounds, it loiters offshore swimming about, sleeping, or playing until digestion
is completed.

This assumption also explains other things. For example, the band of idle seals
hovering off the rookery fronts; the fact that the cows are not seen to come directly
in from the sea; and the fact that pups killed in the water, sleeping and sporting in
the same way, were found full of milk, while those killed on land were, as arule, empty.

THE ABSURD THEORY OF INDISCRIMINATE NURSING.

But not content with establishing the fact that the mother seals did not leave the
rookeries while their pups were dependent upon them, the British commissioners went
on to show that if they did go away and were killed the pups did not necessarily starve,
because they could obtain nourishment from other cows. In short, it was contended
that the female fur seals in contrast to all other animals, nursed their young in common.
This theory was supported by a series of ostensibly minute but faulty observations,
which gave an air of plausibility to it.

FUR-SEAL MOTHER AND PUP.

The fur-seal mother displays little affection for her own young, but she displays
less for her neighbors’. When she wants her pup, she calls lustily for it, and, finding
it, lies down and nurses it without further ceremony. The pup when satisfied goes
off and does not seek its mother until it is again hungry. As the majority of the
mothers are absent at sea, the majority of the pups are always hungry. They are
willing and ready to flock about the calling cow, who has difficulty among so many in
attracting the attention of her own pup. The savage treatment she accords these
strange pups makes them keep at a safe distance, and is clear enough proof of her
unwillingness to care for them.

MISTAKEN OBSERVATIONS.

The mistakes that have been made in this matter have resulted from a misunder-
standing or a misinterpretation of very simple actions. When the cow lands, she is
likely to be met at the shore by half a dozen hungry pups waiting for their mothers.
They flock about her and she snaps and snarls at them, calling her pup in the intervals.
In due time it responds and joins the crowd of expectant pups. The mother recognizes
it for a brief instant by shaking her head and smelling over it. This is all the
attention it receives. She at once sets out to find a suitable place in which to rest.
She may travel back the full length of the rookery, taking up her place in one of the
rear harems. The pups may all follow her for a short distance, but gradually give up
and return to the water front, all but her own pup, which persists, and in the end is
allowed to nurse.

To omit from the observation the brief and simple recognition of the pup by the
mother destroys its accuracy. This is exactly what the Canadian commissioner in
his observations of 1892 did. He then tried to prove that a cow would nurse any
pup if it was only persistent enough. His interpretation of an incident like the one
cited above was that the pup which ultimately succeeded in nursing was a strange
pup, whose persistency was finally rewarded:

THE FOOD OF THE PUPS. 163

It is not necessary to go into greater detail. In the daily journal are recorded the
observations of the commission in this matter. It is not a matter of great moment,
but from the prominence which this absurd proposition was given it has been necessary

to discuss it.
THE SUPPOSED SELF-FEEDING OF PUPS.

But not content with proving that the mother did not leave the pup, and that if
she did, the pup could easily find a foster mother, the British commissioners insisted
that the pup could shift for itself and gain sustenance independent of any mother.
This theory has been thus stated by Mr. Macoun:

From the time the pups first go into the water, they are to be seen with pieces of seaweed in their
mouths, and there is no reason for doubting that from this time until they leave the islands a

considerable portion of their food is composed of seaweed, picked up along the shore or in the water
adjacent to it.

THE ABSURDITY OF THE THEORY.

What nourishment an animal, whose natural diet for the time being is milk, and
which is destined ultimately to feed on fish, could find in seaweed is not readily
apparent. But this objection seemingly offered no difficulty. It may be observed
that this theory rests again on a misinterpretation of very simple facts. The pup fur
seal, like a young dog, loves to play with anything it finds at hand. It is a common
sight, therefore, to see a pup swimming about witha yard or more of kelp streaming
from its mouth. If observed closely, other pups will be found tossing dead shells,
pieces of sticks, or even pebbles. A pup was observed to play for an hour with a small
feather. It is as reasonable to suppose that the pup feeds on the feather or the shell
as on the seaweed. They are all objects of play; nothing more.

This theory naturally went a step further, and assumed that crustacea and other
animal life in the waters about the rookeries was drawn upon to supplement the
seaweed diet of the pups. The leathery tunicates which are found strewn in large
quantities upon the sand beaches of St. Paul after a storm have been looked upon as
palatable and nutritious food for pups. It is supposed that these are the “tender
algoid sprouts” of which Mr. Elliott makes mention as serving as food for pups.

DETERMINATION OF THE MATTER BY KILLING PUPS.

There being but one way to settle such a question as this, namely, to kill and
examine the stomachs of the pups themselves, this method was adopted and thor-
oughly carried out during the months of September, October, and November, in 1896.!

‘Mr. Macoun, of the British commission, was present while these investigations were made, an'L
examined the stomachs of the pups killed. The stomachs in some cases contained milk, in others
none. One stomach well supplied with milk contained two small amphipods; one had a small tunicate
mixed with pebbles; another contained part of a soft-shelled crab; several had shreds of seaweed.
mixed with milk. All the stomachs contained the characteristic pebbles. This was the sum total of
material aside from milk found in the stomachs of twenty pups killed from day to day and under cir-
cumstances most favorable for determining whether they were feeding or not. Mr. Macoun on the
spot agreed that the examinations were sufficient and that there was nothing found to warrant the
supposition that the pups had begun to feed for themselves. Notwithstanding this, in discussing
the matter in his 1896 report, he makes the following grossly misleading statement:

“Tn addition to milk, it will be seen that the stomachs examined contained (1) seaweed, (2)
ascidjans, (3) smal) crustaceans, (4) soft-shell crab. That these were found with one exception only
in stomachs which contained no milk, goes to show that the yonng seal when hungry avail themselves
of the food that is to be found in abundance in the places most frequented by them.” (Macoun, 1896
Report, MSS.) :

164 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

A score or more of pups were killed under circumstances specially fitted to throw
ligtit on the subject, and their stomachs, with those of others dead from starvation
and other causes, were found to be devoid of all food except milk.' Pups killed as
late as the 5th of December were found full of milk, and at that time the cows were
nursing their pups as at earlier times in the season. Owing to the mild weather, this
was nearly a month later than the usual time for the departure of the cows and their
young, and the pups had evidently not yet been weaned.

PUP ABSOLUTELY DEPENDENT UPON ITS MOTHER’S MILK.

It would necessarily follow from these considerations that the fur-seal pup is
dependent upon its mother’s milk for nourishment throughout the entire season and
until its departure with her from the islands. This fact, taken in connection with the
killing of nursing females at sea,is enough to settle the question of whether pups
starve to death; but that there should be no mistake, the subject of starvation, as
shown in its direct effect on the pups themselves, received special attention, and may
be here considered somewhat in detail.

1 See fuller discussion in Mr. Lucas’ paper on the Feeding of the Seals. Part III.

CHAPTER XIII.

THE STARVATION OF PUPS.

THE COUNT OF STARVED PUPS.

The fact of the death of pups by starvation has long been noted, and for several
seasons prior to 1896 partial enumerations of deaths supposed to be from this cause
have been made. In the light of the early mortality due to the ravages of Uncinaria,
which was found to have occurred prior to August 1, and consequently prior to the
beginning of pelagic sealing, these figures were unsatisfactory, as they plainly
confused the two causes of death. The earlier mortality has already been referred
to and is discussed in detail by Mr. Lucas in his treatment of the general subject of
mortality among the seals.!

At the time of the count of early dead pups between August 8 and 14 a few were
found to have plainly starved. It is probable that some of these in the later days of
the count were the first victims of pelagic sealing. A mother taken at sea on the Ist
day of August might have been absent for some time, and her pup would naturally
succumb within a shorter period than would be required for one more recently fed.
The majority of the early deaths from starvation, however, were undoubtedly caused
by separation of mother and pup by the wandering away of the latter when very
young or by the death of the mother from accidental causes on the rookeries. A
considerable number of dead cows were found on the rookeries, whose pups would
naturally starve unless otherwise killed.

THE BEGINNINGS OF STARVATION.

The first direct evidence of the destructive work of pelagic sealing was seen in
1896, at the time of the count of live pups on Kitovi rookery, August 15. In counting
the live pups they were separated into pods and allowed to run off in narrow lines to
make counting possible. The weaklings naturally fell behind, and a group of from
three to six starving pups followed in the wake of each pod. The victims of starva-
tion could from this time on be seen in increasing numbers as the rookeries were daily
inspected. The following notes on the starvation of pups are extracted from the
daily journal of the commission.

NOTES ON STARVING PUPS.

In the first stages of starvation the doomed pup was to be recognized by a growing thinness.
The ordinary pup is plump and fat, and its sides stick out with milk while its mother isonland. A
thin pup might, of course, mean only a hungry one, which would recover itself in a few days after
its mother’s return. If the mother did not return the pup continued to grow thinner. A premature
grayness began to show about the eyes and mouth. The eyes assumed a wide and staring look,
giving the animal a hunted appearance.

1 Paper on ‘‘Causes of Mortality,” by Mr. Lucas. Part ITI.
165

166 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

THE HUNGRY PUP.

While the pup was merely hungry, it called frequently for its mother. It hung about the water’s
edge as if awaiting her there. It would even follow a wet cow back for a distance from the water,
but, on being repulsed, it would return to its position. In one or two instances starving pups were
seen to attempt to nurse sleeping cows, but never with success.

While their strength remained the starving pups played about as usual with their healthy
companions; always, however, with an effort. They went into the water, and that they swam
farther at times than their strength warranted was evident from the fact that occasionally they
landed to die on the rocks at considerable distances from the rookeries to which they belonged.
Thus two pups came ashore in the little cove across the neck from Zoltoi and died there in 1896.

THE BREAKING DOWN.

After the first stage of sharp hunger was passed the little animals seemed to weaken physically.
They lay about on the rocks, sometimes sleeping, but always easily startled. When aroused, some
would run away, crying in terror; others would turn at bay and bite savagely at the boots of the
disturber, perhaps only to fall down helpless the next instant. In crossing the sand flat of Tolstoi,
which was deserted by the living seals in September, a dozen or more of these gaunt little specters
would start up from among the dead and stumble away, crying piteously. ;

One day, on the ‘‘death-trap” gully of Zapadni, a little sleeping starveling was aroused with
difficulty. When it caught sight of the intruder it fell in a fit of terror, then stumbled off in a
frantic manner, only to fall in convulsions, which ended in unconsciousness. This pup was about to
die. It was as thin as a shadow.

THE DEATH OF THE STARVELING.

When undisturbed, the starving pups in the last stages showed little evidence of pain. They
looked utterly miserable, but indifferent and stolid. Their healthy companions occasionally attempted
to play with them, but they either resented the interference or else ignored it. For the must part
they were left to themselves. Toward the end they slept most of the time. This sleep merged into
unconsciousness and torpor, from which they could not be awakened. Death finally came after a brief
period of convulsive shuddering and gasping, in which the animal bitthe ground and voided quantities
of black, tarry feces

DIFFICULTY IN DISTINGUISHING EARLY DEAD PUPS.

It was not possible at the time of the first count of dead pups in August to remove
the bodies from the rookeries, and it was believed then that when the time came for
counting the starved pups it would be possible to distinguish between the earlier and
later dead. As the season advanced, however, it became evident that it would not
be possible to make the distinction. Those dying in September could easily be
separated from those which died in July, but no distinction could be drawn between
those which died between the 1st of August and the 10th and those which died
between the latter date and the 20th of August. When the count of starved pups
was made about October 1 it was necessary, therefore, to count every carcass to be
found at that date. From the total thus counted those dead before the middle of
August were deducted to determine the number of additions which had resulted from
starvation.

Of the details of this count a full record will be found in the daily journal and
need not be repeated here. A total of 20,331 dead bodies were found on St. Paul
Island and 897 on St. George. As against this total of 21,228 dead pups found in
October, 11,045 were found in August, which, being deducted, left 10,183 pups shown
by the actual count to have died of starvation.

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DISAPPEARANCE OF DEAD PUPS. 167

MANY EARLY DEAD PUPS DISAPPEARED.

In considering this count, however, several facts must be noted. It was found
that a large number of the pups originally counted in August had wholly disappeared
or been reduced to loose bones. This was particularly true on the sandy areas and
where the dead lay in the route of the living seals as they passed back and forth to
the sea. An effort was made to establish a correction for this loss, and 20 per cent!
of the original number counted in August was fixed upon as likely to cover as nearly
as could then be determined bodies which had so disappeared. Making allowance
for this correction the total number of starved pups, as shown by the enumeration,
would be increased to 12,392.

STARVING PUPS.

It was further evident from the outset that all the pups about to die of starvation
had not yet died. It was impossible, however, to delay the count longer, and so, to
overcome this new difficulty, an effort was made to count the starving pups among
the healthy ones as they were driven from the rookery preparatory to the counting of
the dead. The best estimate, which was a very unsatisfactory one, gave 1,546 as the
number of pups whose appearance indicated that they were certain to starve. This
number was doubtless very inadequate, as later observations on the rookeries in the
same season showed that pups continued to starve until as late as the 20th of October,
twenty days after the count was completed on St. Paul Island. Makiug, however, the
addition of the dying pups just mentioned, as shown by the actual count, we have the
number of deaths justly chargeable to starvation increased to 13,930.

THE WORK OF THE FOXES.

Another fact in connection with the actual count must be noted. On the Island
of St. George, as already indicated, the total number of dead pups found in October
was 897. In August the number found was 735. On some of the rookeries of this
island, however, a much smaller number of dead was found in October than was
found in August. The condition of the St. George rookeries was so peculiar that we
may give here in detail both counts. They are as follows:

DEAD PUPS, ST. GEORGE ISLAND.

Dead pups,| Total dead

Rookery. August, ups, Octo-
‘ ie 1806.” | ber 6, 1898.
259 145
135 194
199 527
112 45
31 16
736 897

1The investigations of 1897 show clearly that this estimate of 20 per cent to cover the disap-
pearance of dead bodies between August and October is far below the facts. Our experiences with
Kitovi and Lukanin in 1897 would indicate that 50 per cent would not have been an excessive
estimate. Many of the carcasses are washed away in the storms. Every one on which the skin is
- broken is quickly reduced to bones by the gulls and foxes. Furthermore, many bodies are necessarily
overlooked as they lie hidden among the rocks.

168 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

The explanation of this condition of things is that on the rookeries of St. George
the blue foxes,! of which there are many, had eaten all the pup carcasses without
exception. The final count had to be made simply by skulls, or spinal colums, or such
parts of the animals as could be positively identified.

RECONSTRUCTION OF ST. GEORGE ESTIMATES.

It is unnecessary to remark that these figures for St. George can not be used as
they stand. Some sort of estimate must be made to take their place. No fairer basis
for such an estimate exists than to apply to the rookeries of St. George the ratio of
dead pups found in October on St. Paul. On this island the ratio of dead pups found
in October to the total number estimated to have been born was 11.19 per cent.? This
would necessitate the addition of 1,362 pups to make the conditions of St. George
comparable with those on St. Paul. This amount, together with 150 pups which were
removed from the rookeries of both islands during the breeding season for purposes
of dissection, makes the total death rate subsequent to the middle of August, and
directly chargeable to starvation, aggregate 16,019.°

THE DETAILED ESTIMATE.

This total, as will be seen by the explanations already given, is not entirely
satisfactory, but itis a real one so far as it goes, and fully 12,000 of itis an actual count,

1In Mr. Macoun’s report for 1896 this undoubted fact, which he saw with his own eyes, is
needlessly questioned. If the foxes, as was the fact, had completely destroyed the 897 carcasses
which he counted, it is begging the question to assume, as he does, that they, aided by the elements,
could not have destroyed the 1,362 additional pups necessary to make the conditions of St. George
agree with those of St. Paul.

2 This percentage is computed on the original census of 1896, not on the revised figures substituted
in 1897.

“A strong effort has been made by Professor Thompson and by Mr. Macoun in their reports of
1896 to weaken the force of these definite results regarding the starvation of pups. Not finding it
possible to deny the fact of starvation or its importance, they have endeavored to minimize its effects
by insisting that the causes of early mortality continued into and were at work in the period of
starvation. Nothing could be more misleading than this. The early causes of death are Uncinaria,
trampling, starvation through early separation from the mother, drowning, accidents. All these
have to do with the weakness and helplessness of the very young pups, and must necessarily cease
with the close of the breeding season. The pups die from or outgrow the worm before September 1.
In fact, this cause is practically inoperative after August 20. Pups are only trampled in the first few
days after birth, and they are only lost from their mothers, if at all, at this time. They certainly do
not drown after they have learned to swim, which they do by the middle of August. The period of
death from starvation lasts from August 15 to October 20. The causes of the early and later mortality
were absolutely distinct, and that the latter was due practically without exception to starvation
needs no demonstration to those who made the count of the dead and dying pups on the rookeries of
St Paul in October, 1896.

STATISTICS OF STARVED PUPS. 169

the accuracy of which ean not be questioned. The following table will give in detail
the statistics of the estimate:

Pup statistics—summary.

Dead.

Starved.| Starving.
Rookery. born. a August.| October. i

ST. PAUL ISLAND.

FONG woiaeaiseeccse vices aacdeneeijamcuie aaneder 500 42
Lukanin 874 27
Lagoon ....- 238 51
Tolstoi.. .. Bey a 554 191
Zapadni -. a Srey eeerearcrainiomisiaisia 1, 300 154
| Little Za ia 559 64
Zapadni 223 18
Gorbatch 1,166 126.
Ardiguen 76
Reef ..-... 1, 836 300
Sivutch Rock. : 34 31
Polovina ....... wee sOeDekEeGdsseees 920 55
Little Polovina. . acpi mhlereeieibiwtenusiars 72 22
WOStO Ghat j:..2:22)2 ceesesncaistwind asics waa cmccis. 1, 525 329
MON OVA scion sen -cneeecieshnns tecanteheanue ee 445 109
Total siciaje xiaisicinuiz sisi catsimrcisieitainiscrsercmarsiats 10, 022 1,527
Addition of 20 per cent for loss between i
August and October counts .........--.--- 2, 061
Starving pups to be added as starved........ sie 1,527
Addition for bodies taken for dissection ....|--- 150

Total starved....-.-...-02-0---0e eens 13, 760

6, 809 259 145 762 {i
Staraya Artel 2, 269 135 194 253. 3
Zapadni. 5, 509 199 527 617 4
East...-. 4, 086 112 15 457 4
Little Eas 1, 350 31 16 151 1
"Total 2c see sseetamaviwee ve sceersen ete 20, 028 | 736 897 | b2,240 19
Starving pups added as. starved.............)...---s00- enjecerteetes|ereeceee ee] UM [eee ee eee ee
Motels ocecetn adds mop acmmemedeestaveca|Geseaseeeece |S aiaeddeciee [piei'se id DEIR) Was cae eened
Grand total for both islands........... 143, 071 | 4 045 | 21,228 | 16,019 1, 546

a These are the figures of the original census of 1896 as published in the preliminary report of
that year.
-b The figures herein given for starved pups on the rookeries of St. George are estimates based
upon the conditions of St. Paul.

STARVED PUPS IN 1897.

The investigations of the season of 1897 have made the count of dead pups in
1896 seem still less satisfactory. It may be said that the dead pups lie concealed
among the rocks, and as they quickly wear away under the action of the elements and
the trampling of the living animals they are not easily seen in the hasty inspection,
which alone is possible in counting them. A good illustration of the probable
inadequacy of the counts of dead bodies is shown by the results on Kitovi rookery.
A count of this breeding ground, made with a good deal of care on the 3d of August,
disclosed. 126 dead bodies. When a week or ten days later the carcasses were actually
gathered up and removed from the beach, the closer inspection disclosed 202 dead.

‘This inadequacy of the counts of dead pups in 1896 is, however, of such a nature as
to make the case all the stronger, because it leaves an under. rather than an over,
estimate.

170 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.
THE REMOVAL OF THE EARLY DEAD.

In the work of the present season a distinct step in. advance was made in the
enumeration of the starved pups. One element of confusion in last year’s count
resulted from the difficulty in distinguishing between the early and the later dead.
To obviate this the pup carcasses on Kitovi and Lukanin rookeries were carefully
removed on August 12, before the starvation from pelagic sealing began. Frequent
counts of the dead, as they accumulated from and after the 12th, were kept up until
the 10th of September, and the accessions, all plainly due to starvation, were found to
be fairly constant from day to day. These counts will be found in the daily journal,
under date of September 6 and 10.

On October 15 a count by Colonel Murray of the dead on. these two breeding
grounds gave a total of 1,057. These had died after August 12, and may be taken as
a very exact measure of the contribution of these two rookeries to the general quota
of death caused by pelagic sealing.

THE ESTIMATE OF STARVED PUPS, 1897.

There were in round numbers about 9,500 pups born on Kitovi and Lukanin
rookeries in 1897. The number starved was therefore about 11 per cent of the
birth rate. Applying this percentage to the total birth rate of the islands, the total
death rate from starvation in 1897 must have been approximately 14,000. In 1896
the percentage of females taken in Bering Sea was 84. From the greater scarcity of
males this year and the closer killing practiced on the islands, we are justified in
assuming that the percentage for this year could not have been below 90 per cent.
This would give a total of about 15,000 females killed. The difference of 1,000
will account for the small proportion of virgin two-year olds, and the adult cows in
the pelagic catch, which had already lost their pups through natural causes.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FIGURES.

These data regarding the results of starvation are very important, and from them
we can review our findings of last year. Applying a proportionate relation of starved
pups to the pelagic catch of 1896, we find that the estimate for last year should have
been about 24,000 instead of 16,000.

It is not desired, however, to press either of these calculations too closely. The
percentage of the two rookeries counted may be slightly too high for the other
rookeries. It certainly is too high for those rookeries on which the early mortality is
great.

THE DESTRUCTIVE EFFECTS OF PELAGIC SEALING ESTABLISHED.

But the mere matter of the number of pups which starve is not important. The
essential thing is that a very large number of pups do starve. This is settled beyond
cavil. As we know the pups are wholly dependent upon their mothers’ milk for
nourishment until fully a month after pelagic sealing ceases, it follows necessarily
that the pup dies as a result of the mother’s death, if it has not already died from
other causes. That more than 16,000 pups, which had otherwise escaped accidents on
the rookeries in 1896, and about 14,000 in 1897 died of starvation is sufficient proof of

EFFECTS OF PELAGIC SEALING. 171

the destructive effects of pelagic sealing. This artificial and added source of loss
among the young pups is all the more impressive when taken in connection with the
previous loss which they suffer from natural causes.

THE CUMULATIVE EFFECT OF PELAGIC SEALING.

We are now ready to consider finally the full effects of pelagic sealing on the fur-
seal herd. It is apparent that a large proportion of the fur seals taken at sea are
females; that every female above the age of 2 years is pregnant, and that when taken
in Bering Sea she has a pup dependent upon her whose death results from her own.

Using an average of all the data available, the proportion of females in the
pelagic catch is about 80 per cent, or, to be on the safe side, and for the sake of ease
in computation, we may consider it to be 75 per cent.

THE TOTAL EFFECT OF PELAGIC SEALING.

In the earlier discussion of the pelagic catch we found that a grand total of
988,047, or approximately 1,000,000 seals, had been taken at sea since 1868 from all
the herds of the North Pacific. With this data at hand we may make the following
tabulation of the losses thus suffered by the fur-seal herds of the Pribilof and
Commander islands:

Loss in all waters through pelagic sealing, 1868-1897.

Animals actually secured (in round numbers)....-----..---------+ seeeee ce eeee 1, 000, 000

Animals shot, but lost (undetermined).

Unborn pups destroyed with females (75 per cent of above)...... Mestiecopeade 750, 000

Nursing pups starved (proportion of females killed in Bering Sea).-.......---- 180, 000
Motal saacte nse sacs steaieeecce Wola loca ieee eee eee sake cee 1, 930, 000

Though the second item in the above enumeration is not and can not be
determined, it is nevertheless an important one and must be borne constantly in mind.
During this period it is significant to note, as bearing upon the proportion of the sexes
at sea, that approximately 3,000,000 males were killed on land during the equivalent

period. ,
THE EFFECT SINCE 1883.

But inasmuch as land killing was at its maximum during the first fifteen years of
this period, and pelagic sealing only nominal, the effect of the latter will be more
strikingly apparent if the comparison be based upon the results since 1883, when the
pelagic catch in Bering Sea began. This computation for the Pribilof herd alone
would be as follows:

Loss to the Pribilof herd through pelagic sealing since 1883.

Animals actually secured ........-.- -22- 20 eee eee eee ee eee cee eee cee eee 536, 000

Animals shot, but lost (undetermined).

Unborn pups destroyed with females (75 per cent of above)....-...--..-------- 402, 000

Nursing pups starved. ........---- -e2e eens cece ee teens cee cee eee eee ee eee 180, 000
T otal Sites ae ecto nd an ebite ses Shoe iecdeeeenee ede ae cohen 1, 118, 000

Total land killing covering the same period. .....-..-----..--------2-0-- 842, 000

172 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.
THE EFFECT UNDER THE PARIS REGULATIONS.

From these figures we begin to appreciate the effect which pelagic sealing has
had on the fur-seal herd. At the risk of repetition it is worth while to carry this
computation one step further and see what has been the condition of things since the
regulations of the Paris Tribunal went into effect. The following is the result:

Loss to the Pribilof herd through pelagic sealing since 1894.

Animals actually secured). scc22e0cesceanes noe oes sees seeeas cesnc ences ast eee ees 187, 000

Animals shot, but lost (undetermined).

Unborn pups destroyed with females (75 per cent af above).......-...----.---- 140, 000

Nursing pups starved (proportion of females killed in Bering Sea)......-...--- 122, 000
Total scnsscxeueeeacivene mae ee sgene 652d CneS Hee SR EREdeEN MRED Meee oie ve asks 449, 000
Total land killing, same period..........---2. 22-2. 02-202 2222 ee eee eee eee 80, 000

It is scarcely necessary to add anything to this arraignment of pelagic sealing.
In its known effects, coupled with the absence of any other known cause, we must
adjudge it the efficient cause of the decline. The fur-seal herd has declined and is
declining solely because of the slaughter of its gravid and nursing females and the
premature destruction of their offspring. It naturally follows that these figures
constitute an equally striking and conclusive condemnation of the regulations of the
Paris award.

CHAPTER XIV.
EFFECTS OF PELAGIC SEALING ON THE SEAL-SKIN INDUSTRY.

Thus far we have considered solely the effect of pelagic sealing on the fur-seal
herd. It is worth while, however, to look at the effect also on the general seal-skin
industry. In former days the supply of seal skins came in part from the. southern
hemisphere; but these herds are practically extinct, except for a few thousand skins
taken at certain protected points. The fur-seal skin industry is therefore practically
dependent for its existence on the preservation of the seal herds of the North Pacific.

INTERNATIONAL INTEREST IN THE FUR-SEAL HERDS.

The United States and Russia on the one hand, and Great Britain on the other, are
vitally interested in this industry, the former nations because of their property rights
in the seals and the revenue they should derive from the safe and legitimate killing
of males on land; the latter nation through the interest of her citizens in the city of
London engaged in the dressing and dyeing of seal skins. Practically all the seal
skins of the world are prepared in London. Practically all the seal skins of the
world are supplied by the herds frequenting the Pribilof Islands and Commander
Islands and belonging to the United States and Russia.

UNITED STATES INTERESTS.

Speaking more directly for the interests of the United States, it may be said that
during the first twenty years of its possession of the islands our Government derived
an annual revenue of $317,500 in tax paid by the lessees of the rookeries. During
this period the annual quota averaged 100,000. With a like quota and the more
advantageous terms of the present lease with the new company, the United States
ought now to be receiving a revenue of $1,000,000 annually from its fur-seal herd;
but instead it receives an income scarcely sufficient to meet the cost of patrol in the
enforcement of the regulations for the protection of the herd.

The United States has also other interests than its revenue under the lease. For
example, it derives a revenue from the importation of prepared skins brought from
London to the American market. Seventy-five per cent of the dressed seal skins find
their ultimate market in the United States. On the 75,000 skins which American
dealers should now be importing were conditions normal, the United States should be
deriving an annual income of $375,000. In the manufacture and sale of seal-skin
garments American citizens have an important interest.

Putting these various elements together, it will be seen that under normal con-
ditions the United States should be enjoying to-day an income of about $1,375,000!
from its fur-seal herd, whereas it receives less than one-fifth this amount.

1 Case of United States Fur Seal Arb., Vol. I, p. 272.
173

174 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.
RUSSIAN INTERESTS.

The interest of Russia lies solely in the revenue which she should derive from
the taking of seal skins on her islands. Her citizens are not to any extent engaged
in the sale and manufacture of the garments made from the skins.

THE INTEREST OF GREAT BRITAIN.

Great Britain’s interest in the fur-seal-skin industry is next in importance to that
of the United States. There was invested in the city of London, in 1892, a capital of
$5,000,000 engaged in the work of dressing and dyeing seal skins.’ Between 2,000
and 3,000 skilled workmen were employed in the business. This capital and labor,
on account of their highly specialized nature, can not be advantageously turned
into other channels. The extermination of the fur-seal herds means the ruin of the
seal-skin industry.

THE CANADIAN PELAGIC SEALING INTERESTS.

It is worth while here to contrast the value and importance of the so-called
industry which is opposed to these several interests. In the report of the British
commissioners fer 1892? we find this statement: ‘The estimated value of the British
Columbian vessels employed in sealing, with their equipments, as they sailed in 1892,
was $359,000.” This valuation may be looked upon as an extreme one, and the vessels
have deteriorated since. Mr. T. T. Williams? gives the value of the Canadian sealing
fleet of 24 vessels in 1889, including outfits, as $173,350. The average value per vessel
would according to this be approximately $7,200. For the 49 vessels in 1892 the
average valuation would be $7,300. A recent estimate by Capt. C. L. Hooper‘ of the
value of 19 of these vessels engaged in sealing in 1896, but not in 1897, was in round
numbers $45,000, which would give an average valuation of $2,400 per vessel, a figure
probably much nearer present conditions.

VALUATION OF THE FLEET.

Applying this later valuation to the entire sealing fleet of 1896—21 American
and 66 British vessels—we have as opposed to the important interests of the United
States. and Great Britain a capital of not to exceed $208,000. This should be
contrasted with the capital of $5,000,000 invested in the preparation of the seal skins
in London and with the revenue of $1,375,000 a year which the United States
should by right be enjoying. Taking the average number of men employed per vessel
in 1889 and 1891, we find that for the fleet of 87 vessels in 1896 there was a total of
2,000 white men and Indians. With these should be contrasted the 2,000 or more
skilled workmen engaged in dyeing and dressing the seal skins in London.

The pelagic fleet in 1896 took, all told, about 70,000 skins, worth $7 apiece, or a
gross income of about $490,000. It is not easy to estimate the expense of fitting out
such a fleet, but if we take out of this gross earning of a little less than half a million
the wages of 2,000 men for from three to six months, in addition to the provisions for

‘Case of United States Fur Seal Arb., vol. I, p. 273,
2Proc. Fur Seal Arb., vol. 6, p. 35.

3 Fur Seal Arb., vol. 3, p. 499.

48ee Appendix.

EFFECTS OF PELAGIC SEALING. 175

the voyage, the profit of the pelagic investment is small. In fact, it is not a matter of
profit at all, but one of loss. The true nature of the business was plain in 1897, when
only 38 vessels as against 87 in 1896 engaged in sealing.

PELAGIC SEALING A SUICIDAL INDUSTRY.

This effect of pelagic sealing upon itself is interesting and important. The true
character of the industry can be seen from the following tabulation of its product
under the regulations of the Paris award:

Pelagic catches, 1894-1897.

North- Bering

west Coast. Sea.
DBS oe severctslensssivic a ciciarare ats ore raieseeiaal Slane sel Ne misislais tele vials eo sia 24,101 31, 585
WB98. oscsemisimSneaiaeaisciviees eareeiceieceemceteanes ode wees 12, 122 @ 44, 169
1896) seeeisicseeactecemies avin aeteare Mee eerceemm ey Somes) 14, 417 29, 500
1897 oso: comeweies seen: Saskeweae wees ged eeeesecines (Seen cee 7, 857 16, 464

a In 1895 there were 59 vessels engaged in sealing, as against 37 in 1894.

* Not only is pelagic sealing a destructive and wasteful industry, but it is suicidal
in itsnature. Itis at best but an insignificantindustry. It threatens the destruction
of vastly more important interests and with them its own interests. Pelagic sealing
preys upon its own capital. The more successful it is the quicker will come its ruin.
Its bankrupt condition to-day is clearly shown in the declining catch and the
withdrawal of its vessels.

THE EFFECT OF THE DECLINING CATCH.

As the business of pelagic sealing is, so is the fur seal-skin trade. Pelagic sealing
has until this year in a measure supplied the deficiency occasioned by the decrease in
the land catch. The combined land and sea catches of 1897, however, number all told
only about 60,000 skins. The pelagic catch alone in 1894 furnished 140,000 skins.

The uncertainty and especially the inadequacy of the supply of skins has seriously
affected the seal-skin market, which as a result is badly demoralized. The effect of
the shortage of supply in seal skins makes it necessary to substitute other furs. This
tends to drive the seal skin out of fashion, as the substitute becomes itself fashionable.
Concerning this phase of the question we may quote the words of one of the best
informed dealers in fur-seal skins who said in a recent interview:

The seal skin will probably never go out of fashion so long as the supply is fully adequate to the
demand. But ifthe supply were to be cut off or reduced too low, it would be necessary to supply the
demand from other furs and seal skins would go out of fashion. What is worse, with the change of
fashion the men now employed in curing the skins would have to seek other lines of work and would

“be lost to the business. When it was again attempted to bring the seal skin into fashion, it would be

necessary to train up a new set of men. For many years after the resumption of the curing of
seal skins the results would be so poor and unsatisfactory that they could not be sold to anyone
familiar with the present grade of skins. It is not likely therefore that, if the seal skin was lost to
fashion now, it could be brought back within the present generation.

THE LEGALITY OF PELAGIC SEALING.

Such is the nature of pelagic sealing, the sole cause of the threatened destruction
of the fur-seal herd, the sole obstacle which stands in the way of its restoration.

176 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

Much has been said of the legality of pelagic sealing, and to this we take no
exception. Pelagic sealing is perfectly legal, but this legality was fixed by a tribunal
which was so confused by false testimony and ignorant and worthless affidavits, that,
while attempting to formulate measures for the protection of the seals, it legalized
the very cause of their destruction. But the whitewash of respectability which was
thus put upon pelagic sealing can not hide its true character. Judged by its methods
and results, it is merely a species of legalized barbarism. Pelagic sealing is simply
a public nuisance which can now only be disposed of by an international agreement.

THE PROHIBITION OF PELAGIC SEALING TO AMERICANS.

It is with a great sense of relief that we find ourselves able to record the recent
action of Congress in the prohibition of the practice of pelagic sealing by our own
citizens and the exclusion of skins of females from our markets. This step should
have been taken long ago. It must be remembered that until the passage of this
law' Americans as well as Canadians have been engaged in slaughtering the fur
seals. Of the 87 vessels which took seals during the season of 1896, 21 were American.
And not only have our citizens helped to destroy our own herd, but they have crossed
the Pacific and have been instrumental in depleting the herd of friendly Russia.
American enterprise has also had the leading part in the practical extermination of
the fur-seal rookeries of the Kuril Islands, belonging to Japan.

PELAGIC SEALING DISTINCTLY A CANADIAN INDUSTRY.

Henceforth, however, our hands are clean and we can with dignity and assurance
urge that other nations take steps to put an end to the business. Pelagic sealing—
with its slaughter of gravid females and the starvation of their dependent young,
with its waste of a noble and valuable animal life, with its threatened destruction
of varied and important commercial enterprises and of the sole source of supply of a
commodity of utility and value to mankind—is from this time on distinctly a Canadian
industry and under the fostering care of Great Britain. If she permits its continuance,
the odium must rest with her.

' See text of this law in Appendix II to the report.

CHAPTER XV.

THE RESULTS OF THE PARIS AWARD.

A. THE ARBITRATION.

Before taking up the question of what benefits have resulted to the fur-seal herd
from the regulations formulated by the Paris Tribunal of Arbitration, it will be worth
our while to review briefly the history of the fur-seal controversy which led up to the
Tribunal.

cBE ORIGIN OF THE FUR-SEAL QUESTION.

It was not until after the extension of pelagic sealing into Bering Sea, first by
unlawful raiding of the rookeries, begun about the year 1879, and afterwards, by
the invasion of the summer feeding grounds of the herd in 1880, that there came to
be a fur-seal question. The first recorded pelagic catch in Bering Sea is that of the
schooner City of San Diego in the year 1883.!

THE SEIZURE OF VESSELS.

In 1886 a large fleet of sealing vessels was engaged in Bering Sea, and of these a
number were seized by the United States vessels detailed to guard the islands,
among them three Canadian schooners, the Carolina, the Onward, and the Thornton.
The fleet was still further increased in the following year and more seizures were
made. Against the seizure of Canadian vessels Great Britain protested, and from
the resulting correspondence the fur-seal question, as we now know it, arose.

EFFORTS TO SECURE INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION.

Realizing the danger which threatened its fur-seal herd in the rapid expansion of
pelagic sealing, and especially in its extension to the waters adjacent to the breeding
grounds, the United States, in 1887, opened up a correspondence with the Govern-
ments of Germany, Sweden and Norway, Russia, Japan, and Great Britain with a
view to such international cooperation as should secure the protection of the herd.
Secretary Bayard, in his letter to these several Governments, called attention to the
fact that “the unregulated and indiscriminate killing of the seals in many parts of the
world has driven them from place to place, and by breaking up their habitual resorts
has greatly reduced their numbers.” He predicted a similar result to the seals of the
northern hemisphere, unless steps were taken for their protection. Nothing came of
this correspondence.

PROPOSED MEASURES OF PROTECTION

In the year 1888 Secretary Bayard proposed to Great Britain that by mutual
arrangement among the nations interested there should be established a close season

1 See foot note to page 142,
a 177

1518412

178 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

for the fur seals beginning with April 15 and ending with November 1, and also a
closed zone covering the waters of Bering Sea between the one hundred and sixtieth
degree of west longitude and the one hundred and seventieth degree of east longitude,
north of the fiftieth degree of north latitude. This proposition was assented to by
Lord Salisbury on behalf of Great Britain, with the stipulation, in deference to the
wish of the Government of Russia, that the provisions of such an arrangement should
be extended to the waters of Bering Sea in which the Commander Islands are situated
and also to the Sea of Okhotsk. This extension was agreed to by the United States.

OBJECTION BY CANADA.

When the negotiations looking to an agreement on this basis were on the point
of a successful termination they were suddenly brought to a standstill by objections
on the part of Canada. Great Britain declined to further consider the matter
without the consent of Canada, which could not be obtained.

THE RENEWAL OF NEGOTIATIONS.

In view of this state of affairs United States vessels in 1889 renewed the seizure
of sealing vessels. This action had been waived the preceding year in view of
the favorable progress of the negotiations. In the spring of 1890, Great Britain
suggested that the tripartite arrangement which was dropped in 1888 be resumed.
This suggestion was accompanied by a change on her part of the original proposition.
It was now asked that an inquiry be made by a mixed commission of experts, and
that pending the results of their labors pelagic sealing should be prohibited in the
waters of Bering Sea, the sea of Okhotsk, and adjoining waters, during the months
of May and June and during the months of October, November, and December, and
at all times within a radius of 10 miles of the breeding islands.

THE COUNTER PROPOSITION UNSATISFACTORY.

To appreciate the nature of this counter proposition it must be borne in mind that
the summer months excepted from this close season are the only ones in which the
breeding seals are regularly in Bering Sea. Secretary Blaine, who had succeeded
Secretary Bayard, in declining this proposition, called attention to its radically
different nature from the one originally accepted. The unreasonableness of the
proposition seemed, in Mr. Blaine’s estimation, sufficient warrant for breaking off
the negotiations, but as he intimated they were continued by the United States in
the hope of reaching a better understanding.

PROPOSALS FOR ARBITRATION,

After much fruitless correspondence in an effort to secure the suspension of
pelagic sealing pending further negotiations, Mr. Blaine, on the part of the United
States, submitted a series of propositions which, in his opinion, might furnish the
basis of an arbitration looking to the final settlement of the matters in dispute.
These propositions were six in number. The first five provided for a determination
of the questions of jurisdictional rights in Bering Sea exercised by Russia and
transferred to the United States, and of the property rights and rights of protection
which the United States possessed over the seals when beyond the ordinary
territorial waters about the islands.

COMMISSION OF INQUIRY. 179

In the event of an adverse decision for the United States on these legal
questions, the final proposition provided that the court of arbitration should take up
a consideration of the rules and regulations necessary for the proper protection of
the herd when at sea and beyond the jurisdiction of the United States. These
propositions, after amendment and discussion, were finally accepted as the basis of
au arbitration and were embodied in a treaty between the United States and Great
Britain, signed on February 29, 1892, and duly ratified. This treaty is printed in
Appendix IT of this report.

THE MODUS VIVENDI.

While the discussion of the treaty was under way, and in view of its probable
consummation, a modus vivendi was agreed to in June, 1891, which closed Bering Sea
to pelagic sealing and limited the land catch on the islands to a nominal figure for
the support of the natives depending upon the fur seals for food. The promulgation of
this measure was too late in the season to make it possible of enforcement, the pelagic
fleet having already gone to sea. After the signing of the treaty in the following year
this modus vivendi was renewed and continued in force until the conclusion of the
labors of the arbitration convention. The text of the agreement will be found in
Appendix II.

THE JOINT COMMISSION OF INQUIRY.

In the progress of the discussion leading up to the convention of February, 1892,
it was decided that a commission of experts representing each Government should
visit the seal islands and report on the habits and condition of the fur-seal herd with
a view to the information of the arbitration convention. To expedite matters this
commission was tentatively designated and entered upon its work in the summer of
1891, being officially recognized after the treaty-was finally agreed to in the spring of
1892.

THE TRIBUNAL OF ARBITRATION.

In accordance with the provisions of the treaty of 1892 the Tribunal of Arbitration
duly convened at Paris in February, 1893, and concluded its labors on the 15th of
August. Its decision of the legal questions involved being adverse to the United
States, the Tribunal proceeded to formulate regulations for the protection and
preservation of the fur seals.

JOINT REPORT OF THE COMMISSION.

Before taking up a detailed consideration of these regulations it will assist us in
our understanding of them to consider briefly the results of the investigations on
which: they were based. The joint commission of investigation representing the
United States and Great Britain, after its visit to the islands in the summer of 1891,
met at Washington in the spring of 1892, and after much discussion found itself
unable to agree upon any facts of importance beyond the general proposition that
the fur-seal herd had largely declined and that man was responsible for the decline.
Accordingly, each commission of investigation submitted a separate report to its
Government. These reports became the basis of each nation’s contention before the
Tribunal regarding the condition and habits of the fur seals,

180 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.
THE AMERICAN CONTENTION.

The Americam contention was in brief that the decline of the herd was due to
pelagic sealing; that pelagic killing was indiscriminate, the female sex predominating
in the catch; that these females when killed off the Northwest Coast in the spring
were gravid, and when killed on their feeding excursions in Bering Sea were nursing,
and left dependent pups upon the rookeries whose death resulted from starvation.

THE BRITISH CONTENTION.

The British contention, on the other hand, held that the proportion of females in
the pelagic catch was comparatively unimportant and composed chiefly of barren
cows; that nursing females did not leave the islands while their pups were
dependent upon them; that in case they did so leave and were killed, their young
could be nursed by other cows or could subsist on food procured from the sea.
Having thus disposed of the contention of the United States, a counter proposition
was set up that land killing as practiced on the islands rather thau sea killing was
responsible for the decline of the herd.

THEIR COMPARATIVE MERITS.

It is not the intention at this point to discuss the comparative merits of these
contentions. They have been fully treated in the preceding pages. It is sufficient
here to say that subsequent events have conclusively proved the essential truth of
the American contention and the falsity of the British counter claims. From the
conflicting evidence brought before the Tribunal, it is not strange that the regulations
formulated by it—which are a blind effort at compromise—are an utter failure for the
purpose for which they were intended.

B. THE REGULATIONS OF THE AWARD,

The regulations are published in full iu Appendix II to this report, together with
a more extended account of the Tribunal of Arbitration itself. We may here briefly
suinmarize the provisions of these regulations as follows: (1) the establishment of a
closed zone about the Pribilof Islands of a radius of 60 miles; (2) a closed season
from the 1st of May to the 31st of July; (3) the restriction of pelagic sealing to
sailing vessels and undecked boats and canoes; (4) the requirement of a special license
and flag by sealing vessels; (5) a record of the place, number, and sex of seals taken;
(6) a proficiency requirement on the part of those engaging in the business; (7) the
exemption of Indians on the Northwest Coast from the provisions of the regulations;
(8) a provision for the reconsideration of the regulations at the end of five years if
found to be inadequate. These regulations were put into operation by appropriate
legislation both by the United States and Great Britain in the spring of the year 1894,

THE MINOR PROVISIONS.

The minor provisions of the regulatious we need not dwell upon. Sailing vessels
are doubtless the only ones which cav profitably be used in the business. The license
and flag are no doubt useful, but immaterial. The prohibition of firearms in Bering
Sea is a provision wholly in the interests of the sealers. The proficiency requirement
borders on the ridiculous. Exemption of the Northwest Coast Indians is just and

EFFECTS OF THE REGULATIONS. 181

proper, but thé discrimination against the Aleuts on the shores of Bering Sea is
unjust. These requirements, one and all, have absolutely no bearing upon the welfare
of the seals.

The requirement regarding the record by the sealing captains of the sex of
animals taken was a useful one, as providing a means for the securing of valuable
data bearing upon the effects of the regulations. The method was, however,
unfortunate, and for the very natural reason that it could not be expected. that the
sealers would take the trouble to make honest reports which must be injurious in the
highest degree to their business. The sequel shows, as we have already pointed out,
that they can not be depended upon for correct information.

THE SIXTY-MILE ZONE.

The remaining provisions are more vital. The 60-mile zone about the islands has
a positive value in keeping vessels at such distance from the rookeries as to make
successful raiding impossible. When we have said this regarding the protected zone,
we have stated its only importance. The feeding grounds of the seals lie far outside
of its limits. On the journeys to and from the grounds the seals do not loiter much
in the protected area. A protected zone, to be of any value, should cover and
include the feeding grounds to which the nursing females resort.

THE CLOSE SEASON.

The provision for a close season is of more importance, though even its value is
by no means great. It shuts off that catch which was formerly made in May along
the southern shore of the Alaskan Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands. This catch
was unusually destructive, because the females were growing heavy with pup. Under
the regulations these animals, which have escaped from the hunters off the coast in
March and April, are allowed to continue their way in peace to the islands. During
June and July they are protected, but as they then spend a large part of the time on
shore the protection is not so important as it seems.

REGULATIONS ADAPTED TO WORK OF SEALERS.

As if suited to the needs of the sealers and against those of the seals, the sea is
opened on the 1st of August at the time when, under the necessity of furnishing
nourishment for their growing offspring, the mother seals are forced to spend the
greater part of the time on the feeding grounds. To understand fully the destructive

‘force of this month of August, it is only necessary to observe that in the spring the

herd is constantly moving on, and there is more or less difficulty in locating it. In
Bering Sea the seals frequent certain feeding banks regularly, coming and going at
intervals. If a seal is not taken at her first trip, other opportunities will occur on her
second and subsequent trips. The sealer has only to wait for her, and in the meantime
go on taking other seals.

The close season, therefore, offers little protection to the female fur seal. It
permits her to escape at one place and time only to allow her to be taken at another
and more favorable time and place. It saves her from death before the birth of her
offspring only to leave her liable to be killed after it is born and to subject her
offspring to death by starvation.

182 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

To the pelagic sealer the close season offers no impediment and entails no loss.
He ean rest assured that the seals he is prevented from taking in the North Pacific
will be more easily taken in Bering Sea in August, when the storms of the early
summer are over and the conditions in every way more favorable. In the meantime
he is given opportunity to refit his vessel, or he may cross over to the Asiatic side at
the beginning of the close season and prey upon the Commander herd before returning
to Bering Sea in August.

On the whole, it is difficult to see how a more comfortable and convenient set of
regulatious could have been prepared had the pelagic sealers themselves drawn them
up. Itis difficult to see how they could be made more destructive to the herd if that
had been their deliberate intent.

THE COST OF ENFORCING THE REGULATIONS.

It is not enough, however, that these regulations legalize the destruction of the
herd. They are necessarily maintained at a tremendous cost. The Government of
the United States paid for the maintenance of its patrol in the North Pacific and in
Bering Sea during the period from April to October, 1896, the sum of $176,380.16.
The cost to Great Britain for her share in the patrol was smaller, but yet a
considerable sum.

THE FAILURE OF THE REGULATIONS.

It is scarcely necessary to state that the regulations of the Paris Award have
proved a signal failure. As has already been shown, the herd has continued to
decline steadily under them. The herd suffered its greatest loss under the first year
of their operation, when 61,000 animals were taken at sea. In the year 1896, of the
catch taken in Bering Sea, 84 per cent were females, practically all of them pregnant
and having nursing pups dependent upon them. Between the seasons of 1896 and
1897 the breeding herd suffered a diminution of from 12 to 15 per cent, notwithstand-
ing the fact that the pelagic catch had largely declined through the exhaustion of the
herd. To this it is only necessary to add that under the rigid patrol which has been
maintained the regulations have been strictly enforced and fully complied with. No
further condemnation of these measures for the “protection and preservation of the
seals” could be expected.

THE REDEEMING FEATURE OF THE REGULATIONS.

The one redeeming feature about the regulations is the final provision for their
reconsideration and revision. The only difficulty here is that the trial period fixed at
five years was too long. One season would have been sufficient to test them. They
were calculated to show their quality at once. As a matter of fact it was clearly
demonstrated by the recorded catch of the first season of their operation that they
had stimulated rather than retarded pelagic sealing and consequently had heightened
the decline of the herd. That a fleet of 87 vessels in the first year of the operation
of the regulations should have been able to take 61,000 seals, whereas 115 vessels,
in 1891, before pelagic sealing was interfered with, took but 59,000, was clear enough
evidence that the regulations had only altered matters for the worse.

OBLIGATION TO PROTECT THE SEALS. 183
THE PURPOSE OF THE ARBITRATORS.

The final provision of the regulations has another feature of importance—it
defines the purpose of their formulation. This is “the protection and preservation of
the fur seals.” It is fortunate that the Tribunal of Arbitration placed this matter on
record, as otherwise its work in framing these measures would be without justification
and its own sincerity could be called into question. Truth enough to condemn every
feature of the regulations was placed before the Tribunal, but the real issues were so
thoroughly confused by the statements made in opposition that the outcome was a
matter of chance. This is the only explanation which can be offered for the irrecon-
cilable difference between the evident purpose and the actual achievement of the
regulations.

THE OBLIGATION TO PROTECT AND PRESERVE.

This statement of the purpose of the Tribunal has another important bearing. It
leaves no doubt that the obligation to protect and preserve the fur seals was laid upon
. the two nations concerned by their acceptance of the decision. From all this it must
follow that at the close of the trial period of five years, if not before, the United States
and Great Britain must take up seriously the reconsideration of these regulations,
and by their emendation or-by the substitution of more adequate measures provide
for what was plainly the object of the Tribunal of Arbitration, namely, the protection
and preservation of the fur-seal herd.

CHAPTER XVI.

SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS.

Before passing to a consideration of the final topic, the remedy for the condition
of the herd, we may give the following brief statement of the chief facts concerning
the fur-seal herd which have a bearing on its future protection and preservation.
This statement, while in a sense a summary of the preceding discussions, was
originally prepared by Messrs. Hamlin and Jordan, the American delegates to the
recent Fur-Seal Conference at Washington, for the use of the conference. <A few of
the estimates here given may be open to difference of opinion, but in general the
accuracy of these statements has not been questioned and can not be:

STATEMENTS OF FACT.

The delegates of the United States present for the consideration of the meeting
of experts the following statements of fact regarding the condition of the fur-seal
herd resorting to the Pribilof Islands:

1. Since the year 1885 the fur-seal herd, as measured by its rea females, has
steadily declined in numbers at a rate varying from year to year.

2. The best available measure of this decline is found in these facts:

(a) During the period between 1871 and 1885 no difficulty was experienced in
obtaining each year 100,000 male seals of recognized killable age by the 20th of July.

(b) In 1896 only 30,000 killable seals were taken after continuing the driving
until July 27, and in 1897 only 20,890 were taken after continuing the driving until
August 11.

3. From this and other data it would appear that the berd of breeding females on
the Pribilof Islands in the years 1871-1885 must have been about five times as great
as at present, or from 600,000 to 700,000 in number.

4, The natural life of the female fur seal is estimated at from ten to fifteen years.
Assuming thirteen years as an average, each female would have ten years of breeding
life. If this be true, 10 per cent of the breeding females die of old age each winter in
addition to the unknown losses from other causes. The stock of breeding females is
recruited solely by the accession each year of 3-year-old cows.

5. The natural death rate among the young fur seals, especially among the pups,
is very great. At present about two-thirds die from natural causes before they reach
the age of 3 years, or killable age for the males and breeding age for the females.

6. The chief natural causes of death among the pups are:

(a) Ravages of the parasitic worm, Uncinaria, infesting sandy breeding areas.

(b) Trampling by fighting or moving bulls and cows.

(ce) Starvation of pups strayed or separated from their mothers when very young.

(d) Ravages of the great killer (Orca).

(e) Drowning in the storms of winter.

184

STATEMENTS OF FACTS. 185

The natural losses from other causes are relatively small.

7. Counts and estimates show that the number of breeding females bearing pups
on the rookeries of St. Paul and St. George in 1896 was about 157,000 and in 1897
about 130,000. .

8. On certain rookeries pups were counted during both seasons. Where 16,241
were found in 1896, 14,318 were found in 1897, a decrease of about 12 per cent. The
harems on all the rodkaries were counted during both seasons. In 1896 there were
4,932; in 1897, 4,418, a decrease of 10.41 per cent. The cows actually present on
certain rookerisa at the height of the season were counted both seasons. Where
10,198 were found in 1896, 7,307 were found in 1897, a decrease of 28.34 per cent.

9. It is not possible to state absolutely the decline in the actual number of
breeding cows from 1896 to 1897, but it is not far from 15 per cent.

10. The number of killable seals taken on the islands in 1897 shows a decrease of
about 30 per cent from the number taken in 1896. This represents approximately the
decrease in the 3-year-old breeders which entered the rookeries in 1897, the number
of males and females born being practically equal.

11. Land killing is not now a factor in the decline of the herd, and has not been
since the islands came into the possession of the United States. It has not caused
injury to the breeding herd either by undue reduction in the number of males or by
impairing their virility, or in any other way.

12. Land killing has tended to increase the size of the breeding herd by the
reduction of the number of adult bulls and their consequent fighting, which results
in the destruction of females and pups.

13. No appreciable part of the decline of the herd is due to illegal killing or killing
in defiance of the regulations of the Paris award.

14, The reduction in the breeding herd has been due to the killing of females at
sea, with the resulting starvation of nursing pups and the destruction of unborn pups.

15. Pelagic sealing necessarily involves indiscriminate killing of males and.
females. The greater proportion of the animals taken in the pelagic catch are females.
The statistics for the American catch, obtained by expert examination in the custom.
houses, show an average of 78 per cent for the years 1894, 1895, and 1896. The
examination of pelagic skins in London confirms this percentage.?

16. The natural increase of the breeding herd is about 163 per cent each year, being
one-half of the surviving 3-year-olds. The natural death rate from old age each year
is not far from 10 per cent. The death rate of adults from other causes can not be
accurately estimated. The killing of females by the hand of man therefore can not
reach 63 per cent of the total number each year without involving the decline of the
herd. Ifthe herd is to be restored, the killing of female seals should not be permitted.

17. As neither land killing nor sea killing now yields a profit for the money
invested and for the money spent in protection, the fur-seal herd is therefore, from a
commercial point of view, virtually destroyed. But this has not involved the
biological destruction of the herd. Under wise protection it may regain its former
numbers.

1To this may be added the testimony of Mr, Halkett, obtaineds ince the original preparation of
this statement, showing the percentage of females in the Bering Sea catch for 1896 to be 84 per cent.

186 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

18. In our judgment all facts in any way vital to international action regarding
the protection and preservation of the fur-seal herd are now in the possession of both
Governments.

19. These facts show that the herd has largely declined from its original condition
and from its condition in 1891 and in 1894; that it is still declining, and that the
cause of the decline is the slaughter of females involved in pelagic sealing.

20. The regulations of the Paris award have proved ineffective to protect and
preserve the herd. They have not prevented its decline, which has continued and
must continue in spite of them. They can not bring about a restoration of the herd,
as they permit the killing of females in numbers vastly in excess of their natural

increase.

CHAPTER XVII.

THE REMEDY FOR THE DECLINE OF THE HERD.

We have thus covered the first three divisions of our subject. We have found
the seal herd diminished to between one-fifth and one-sixth of its original size and
still declining. The cause of this decline is simply and solely the slaughter of females
at sea. The imminence of the danger thus threatened to the herd may be judged by
the extent of the loss which has already been inflicted and by the fact that at che
present time the berd is commercially ruined both on land and at sea. The regulations
provided for the protection and preservation of the herd are utterly ineffective.

REVISION OF THE REGULATIONS NOT ADEQUATE.

The fourth division of our inquiry must therefore be short. It follows, of course,
that some radical change is necessary. This can not be brought about by alterations
in the present regulations or the substitution of new ones. It is not a question of the
regulation of pelagic sealing, but of its abolition and the cessation of all traffic in the
skins of females. The nature of the problem is such that the killing of seals at
sea in any form and under any restrictions that can be made effective is wholly
incompatible with the preservation and restoration of the herd.

PELAGIC SEALING CAN NOT EXIST WITHOUT THE KILLING OF FEMALES.

_ Itis impossible to distinguish the sex of the animals at sea and so exempt the
females. It is immaterial whether the animal is shot or speared, so long as itis killed.
It makes no difference whether the female is killed when heavy with young on the
migrations or whether she is left to bring forth her young and is then killed, leaving
the young to starve. The herd could be commercially ruined in the single month of
August on its feeding grounds in Bering Sea, even if all other sealing were prohibited.
It Bering Sea were fully closed, the concentration of the operations of the fleet off
the Northwest Coast would be sufficient to maintain the continued, though perhaps
slower, decline of the herd. So long as pelagic sealing exists in any form or at any
time or place, females will be killed, and their continued slaughter means the ultimate
destruction of the herd, biologically as well as commercially.

THE TOTAL PROHIBITION OF PELAGIC SEALING THE ONLY REMEDY.

In a word, there is no remedy for the present decline of the herd, nor hope for its
restoration and preservation, except in the absolute and permanent prohibition of

.. pelagic sealing.
pelag. g is

CHAPTER XVTIII.

THE FUTURE OF THE FUR-SEAL HERD.
A RECONSIDERATION OF THE QUESTION.

With the season of 1898 will close the five-year trial period of the regulations
of the Paris Tribunal of Arbitration. These regulations were, as we have seen,
formulated for the “protection and preservation of the fur seals.” In the treaty
of 1892, under which the arbitration was convened, “the preservation of the fur
seal in, or habitually resorting to,” Bering Sea was expressly designated as part of
the object of the convention. Furthermore, in the declarations which the tribunal
made to the respective governments concerned we find that “in view of the critical
condition to which it now appears certain that the race of fur seals is reduced” it
was recommended that all killing of seals, whether on land or at sea, be prohibited
for an agreed period of years. From these references, it must be clear that the
avowed purpose and intention of the Tribunal of Arbitration was to accomplish
the protection of the fur-seal herd. It is equally clear that the responsibility for.
carrying this purpose was placed upon the nations concerned in the arbitration and
which accepted its decision.

A BASIS FOR THE REOPENING OF THE SUBJECT.

In approaching a reconsideration of the regulations the two nations have now
a much clearer knowledge of the conditions surrounding the problem. As a result
of the recent conference of American, British, and Canadian fur-seal experts at
Washington, an agreement as to facts was reached sufficiently broad and conclusive
to show the true condition of the herd, the cause of its decline, and the remedy.
This joint agreement will be found in full in Appendix II of this report. We may
here briefly summarize its conclusions:

FINDINGS OF FACT.

THE DECLINE.

First, it is found that the fur-seal herd has declined largely from its condition in
1884 down to the date of the inspection of the rookeries in 1897. This means that
the herd has continued to decline under the regulations. The decrease is stated as
equal to from two-thirds to four-fifths of its maximum size. Between the seasons of
1896 and 1897 the rate of decline is found from the most.reliable data to be between
9 and 12 per cert. For this same period the pelagic catch has itself declined fully
one-half.

SLOW RAVE OF INCREASE IN THE HERD.

Second, it is found that the natural death rate among the seals, especially the
young, is high, so that but one-half to one-third of those born attain the age of three
years. This means that the rate of increase in the fur-seal herd under the best of
conditions is slow.

188

THE RUIN OF THE HERD. 189

MALES CAN BE KILLED WITH IMPUNITY.

Third, it is agreed that owing to the polygamous habit of the fur seal, coupled
with an equal birth rate of the sexes, it is possible to remove a large number of males
with impunity, and that the operations of land killing as now conducted do not affect
the virility of the males-or fail to leave an adequate supply of male life for breeding
purposes. As land killing has always been confined to the males, and as its operations
are to-day what they have been since the herd came into American control, except in
so far as they have been improved, this means that land killing is not and has not
been a factor in the decline of the herd.

EXCESSIVE DESTRUCTION OF FEMALES.

Fourth, it is agreed that pelagic sealing involves the killing of males and females
alike without discrimination, as the sexes coexist in the sea; that the proportion of
females taken in the pelagic catches of recent years has been from 62 to 84 per cent;
that the females so taken are in large part pregnant and nursing, their death involving
the death of their offspring. It is agreed that this abstraction of breeding females,
which in recent years has been largely in excess of the natural increment of the herd,
has. gone too far, and-has caused the diminution found in the herd. In other words,
put in plain terms, this means that pelagic sealing has been the cause of the decline
in the fur-seal herd. -

COMPROMISE FINDINGS.

It is also agreed th a limited number of females, within the natural increment
of the herd, may be killed without causing actual diminution. It is found that in
the rapid decline of the pelagic catch there is a tendency toward equilibrium at this
point of safety. Itis further found that as a species the fur seal is far from being
exterminated, and that under the present conditions of protection such extermination
is not probable. These statements are self-evident truths, though wholly irrelevant
to the question. We have already discussed this supposed equilibrium. The supposed
safety of the herd as a species is made to depend upon the maintenance of a costly
patrol, which would naturally be abandoned by the United States if it saw no hope
of the restoration of its industry.

THE HERD COMMERCIALLY RUINED.

Finally, it isagreed that the herd in its present condition yields butan inconsiderable
return either to-the lessees of the islands or to the owners of the pelagic fleet. In a
word, it is agreed that the fur-seal herd has declined until it is commercially ruined
both on land and at sea; that land killing is not responsible for this decline, and that
pelagic sealing is responsible.

PELAGIC SEALING INCOMPATIBLE WITH PRESERVATION OF HERD,

We have shown clearly enough in our discussion of the methods and conditions
of pelagic sealing that the continuance of the industry in any form is incompatible
with the preservation and restoration of the fur-seal herd. In taking up a
reconsideration of the matter there is but one thing to do, namely, abolish pelagic
sealing; in other words, remove the cause of the decline. This is the task which must
confront the United States and Great Britain as well at the close of the season of 1898.

190 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.
THE SKIN OF A FEMALE TO BE CONTRABAND.

As to ways and means for accomplishing the desired end we have nothing to
offer. We are glad to be able to call attention to the action of our Government in the
passage of the bill forbidding the citizens of the United States to engage in pelagic
sealing. We may suggest that should Great Britain enact and enforce a similar law
this would end the matter. If the fur-seal herd is to be preserved its breeding females
must be protected from slaughter. To make the skin of a female fur seal a contraband
article, subject to seizure and confiscation when brought into a port of a civilized
nation, will protect her from slaughter.

THE PROPOSED EXTERMINATION BY SLAUGHTER ON THE ROOKERIES.

We have had occasion, in the preliminary reports of the commission, to denounce
a method of settling the fur-seal question, which has already received more attention
than it merits, namely, the extinction of the herd by the slaughter of the animals on
their breeding grounds. We trust that the day is passed when such a proposition
would be tolerated. The measure is an abominable one, without a single redeeming
feature. It would condense into one wholesale act all the objectionable features in
pelagic sealing, against which we, as a nation, have been from the first contending;
and it would lodge upon us alone and for all time the odium for the extermination by
a barbarous method of a noble race of animals. The United States can not afford to
shirk her responsibility for the protection and preservation of the fur seals by any
such makeshift. It remains for the two great nations interested in the welfare of the
fur-seal herd, and under obligation to look after that welfare, to find a way of settling
the problem that shall be effective and honorable. :

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FUR-SEAL HERD.

We have already had occasion to refer to the importance of the fur-seal herd as
a property investment, adding to the wealth and comfort of mankind. Great Britain
and the United States both share in the profits to be derived from the legitimate
product of the herd, the former through the interests of her citizens in the preparation
of the seal skins for the market, the latter through the revenue she derives under her
lease.

In its present condition the fur-seal herd is sadly reduced. Under the expensive
conditions of protection necessitated by the existence of pelagic sealing the profits of
its product on land are eaten up. But even now, if the present expensive patrol could
be waived, the return from the herd would be by no means insignificant. Under the
quota of 1897 the revenue to the Government can not be far froin $250,000, 5 per cent
on an investinent of $5,000,000.

A STRONG NUCLEUS REMAINS.

The nucleus of the herd which remains is strong and vigorous. Under proper
conditions it will increase, and in fifteen or twenty years should equal its maximum
condition. This would mean, under the present lease of the islands, a revenue in tax
alone of $1,000,000 annually. But with proper protection the product of the herd
from the start would increase and grow as the herd grows, becoming greater each
year, until normal conditions were again reached.

CHAPTER XIX.

RECOMMENDATIONS.

Assuming that the fur-seal herd will ultimately receive that protection which it
deserves, it is in order for us to make certain recommendations and suggestions which
naturally grow out of our investigations of the past two seasons.

INADEQUACY OF PAST KNOWLEDGE.

We have had occasion in our present discussion to point out the faulty and
misleading character of much of the information which has been published concerning
the fur-seal herd. It is not necessary to recur to it here. We must, however, note
the fact that between the first two investigations instituted by the Government a
period of fifteen years elapsed, during which there was absolutely no provision made
for obtaining information concerning the real condition of its breeding herd.

THE AGENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT NOT INVESTIGATORS.

After the investigations of Mr. Elliott, covering the period from 1872 to 1876,
the herd was given over to untrained men, who were not prepared to conduct the
investigations necessary to understand the nature of the trust they were set to guard.
To make matters worse, these men were speedily replaced by others equally inex-
perienced as soon as, by reason of practical contact with the affairs of the islands,
they begau to acquire some knowledge of their duties. The result is that the herd
passed unnoticed from its state of maximum prosperity into one of rapid decline, and
was reduced to one-half its size before the Government or its agents were made aware
of the fact.

THE FAILURE TO UNDERSTAND THE CONDITION OF THE HERD.

How little the situation was understood in 1889 by the officers of the Government
may be seen from the fact that in that year the agent in charge of the islands
recommended that the quota of killable seals be reduced from 100,000 to 60,000, when,
as a matter of fact, the hauling grounds were only capable of furnishing 20,000, as
the year 1890 disclosed.

Through lack of experience in dealing with animals, or because influenced by the
crude notions of the natives, the agents of the Government, early in the history of the
herd, established the traditiou that the seals were virtually wild animals, which must
be left severely alone if they were not to be driven away. Accordingly, they instituted
stringent rules against the visitation and molestation of the breeding grounds. These
rules were not only enforced against the natives and casual visitors, but for the most
part they were so rigidly adhered to by the agents themselves that they too remained

in practical ignorance of the real condition of the herd.
191

192 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

THE WILD-ANIMAL POLICY.

This policy, which systematically treated the fur seals as wild animals, bore fruit
later on, when the theory of exclusive ownership in the seals became vital to the
interests of the Government. This theory, being wholly incompatible with its
management of the herd, was legally untenable. It is safe to say that had the
United States looked after its herd with the care and attention that a cattleman on
the plains would bestow on his stock, the theory that ownership in the fur-seal herd
must be shared with the pelagic sealer would not have been established. Had the
United States in 1886, instead of seizing sealing vessels under a shadowy right of
jurisdiction over the waters of Bering Sea, branded a mark of ownership upon each
female, cleansed the rookeries from worm-breeding sands, and then seized the vessels
that destroyed its property, it is probable that to-day there would be no fur-seal
question.

LACK OF FAITH IN OUR OWN METHODS.

But so little attention had the Government paid to the condition of its herd and
the results of its own methods of handling the animals, that it was possible in 1891,
for those interested in maintaining pelagic sealing, to set up the counterclaim that
our own methods were responsible for the depleted condition of the herd, and the
Government found itself unable to successfully combat the charge. Indeed, it would
seem that it was not itself assured of its own innocence, otherwise the useless
repression of driving in 1894 and 1895, after the modus vivendi, is without explanation.
In these years, after three years of rest, the full product of the hauling grounds should
have been taken. Instead of this we find that the taking of seals was limited to two
drives from each hauling ground in the season, this change being made with the
avowed purpose of avoiding injury and disturbance to the rookeries.

WASTEFUL MANAGEMENT.

We ust again, at the risk of repetition, call attention to the financial loss which
the management of the fur-seal herd in the first twenty years of our control involved.
From the published records of the islands we find that no less than 154,000 animals,
either too young to furnish skins or whose condition was such that the skins were
not available, were killed and their pelts wasted. Had these animals been killed in
the proper season or been allowed to grow to the proper age, the revenue in tax alone
from these skins would have been $460,000.

Why this waste was permitted we can not understand unless it be that the
matter was never properly urged upon the attention of the Government. It seems
certain to us that had the agents in charge of the islands ascertained the uselessness
and wastefulness of this proceeding it would never have been allowed to continue.
This money would have paid five times over for competent and systematic
investigation of the herd from the day it came into control of the United States to
the present time. It would in all likelihood have averted its depletion and all the
expensive litigation and friction which the fur-seal question has involved.

THE TWO VITAL MATTERS YET UNKNOWN.

There are two important matters which the Government ought to understand in
order to handle its fur-seal interests intelligently, and these two vital facts it has not

QUESTIONS RELATING TO THE QUOTA. 193

yet ascertained. They should have received first attention, and they should have been
determined twenty years ago. These are: First, the proportion of males necessary to
attend to the needs of the breeding female herd; second, the proportion of young
seals which survive to the age of 3 years.

Without knowing the real facts in regard to either of these matters, the Govern-
ment assumed to fix a definite quota and to maintain it through twenty years. As a
matter of fact, we know from the history of the herd that for the greater part of this

-time this quota was too small and that a large additional product of male life was
wasted. For another part of the time this quota was too great, and this led to waste
of another sort by involving the premature killing of the yearling and 2-year-old
bachelors. Since 1894 the Government, acting on the advice of its agents, who
clearly did not understand the situation, has each year assumed to fix in advance
what quota should be’ taken.

THE FIXING OF THE QUOTA.

Let us take as a concrete example the quota of 1897. As a matter of fact, the
number was left indefinite and at the discretion of the commission, so that the full
product of the hauling grounds was taken in so far as that was possible. But suppose
the quota had been fixed at 15,000. In that case the loss to the Government in tax
under its lease would have been $65,000; or had it been fixed at 20,000, the loss
would still have been $9,000. One or the other of these figures would certainly have
been chosen had the advice of anyone relying on such data as were available in 1896
been taken. The quota actually taken in 1897 was 20,890.

So long as mere personal judgment is trusted in these matters any quota that
may be fixed in advance must be a very conservative one. The Government must
avoid, on the one hand, the too close killing of the male life. On the other hand,
it must see to it, at least in the present depleted condition of the fur-seal catch,
whether on land or at sea, that the full product of its bachelor herd is gathered and
utilized. It must therefore face this problem: If in fixing the quota the figure be
placed too low, say 1,000 below the number of skins which could be taken with
impunity, the Government loses $10,000 in tax, and the lessees an equal, if not greater,
amount. If the margin of uncertainty is greater or less, the loss is proportionately
increased or diminished. It would manifestly be disastrous were the limit of safety
systematically exceeded by a like number.

QUESTIONS WHICH REQUIRE CONTINUOUS AND EXPERT STUDY.

The questions involved in the safe and intelligent gathering of the annual quota
are of such a nature that they can not be determined in a single season, nor in two,
possibly not definitely in five; nor can the matter rest when they are once determined.
The investigations of the past two seasons have, however, laid the foundation for
this work. If the census of the breeding herd, begun in 1896 and improved upon in
1897, is continued for two or three seasons it can be made practically exact. The
birth rate of the present season is accurately enough established. If, as can safely be
done, the full product of the hauling grounds is taken from now until the season of
1900, it can then be determined with reasonable accuracy, from the quota of 3-year-old
males of that year, what percentage of the young survive to killable and breeding age.

15184—-13

194 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

FIXED QUOTA NOT DESIRABLE.

With this fact once determined, the rate of the herd’s increase is known, and also
the size of the quota that can safely be taken. From any given birth rate, then, the
quota of the third year following can be very definitely determined. It will probably
never be wise to again fix a hard and fast quota, but a maximum and minimum limit
within close range can be fixed, and this should serve the purposes of the lessees as
well as of the Government. ;

THE PROPORTION OF MALES NEEDED.

The second problem of importance, namely, the proportion of males needed on
the rookeries, is perhaps more easily determined. It will, however, be well to verify
it by continued observations and experiments. The investigations of the past two
seasons show clearly that with the present breeding herd of 130,000 cows 4,500 adult
bulls is a number entirely adequate, even though twice that number are ready and
willing to do service. But the mere fact that the rookeries are so evidently
overstocked with bulls makes it desirable that this subject should be further studied
before final judgment is taken.

The importance of the second problem, however, does not lie in its solution, but in
its practical application. Knowing the proportion of males necessary for breeding
purposes and the proportion of males which survive to killable age, the practical
question is, how to see that the necessary reserve is set aside each year to replenish
the breeding stock as it deteriorates through old age and other causes.

MINOR PROBLEMS.

We have mentioned these two important problems which directly concern the
taking of the product of the herd. They are absolutely essential. There are other
questions of a minor nature, such as the more definite determination of the movements
of the seals, and their ages. There is also an important work to be done in the
improvement of the breeding grounds, their extension, their drainage, and the purging
of places infested with the parasitic worm.

THE HERD SHOULD BE PLACED IN CHARGE OF A NATURALIST.

It is not necessary to go into greater detail. We have probably said enough to
wake clear the wisdom of the one important recommendation which the present
comission strongly urges upon the Government at this time. This is the placing of
its fur-seal herd permanently in charge of a competent naturalist and practical man
of affairs, whose business it shall be to visit the islands each year in the breeding
season and to study the condition of the herd and ways for its improvement; to
determine the size of the quota which shall be taken, and supervise its taking; in
short, to make the needs, possibilities, and limitations of the fur-seal herd his life
study. By such a course the Government can hope to have at hand at all times that
expert advice and assistance that have been so signally lacking in the past and
which are so essential to the proper administration of its future interests.

This superintendent of the herd should not take the place of the present agents,
but should be an additional officer, and his duties should lie wholly with the herd.
The agents, as at present appointed, should continue to deal with the natives and

A SUPERINTENDENT OF THE HERD. 195

with the lessees. Their only connection with the herd should be as executive officers
to carry out the suggestions and plans of the superintendent.

We have gone into detail in this matter simply for the purpose of emphasizing its
importance. What such a man should or should not do must be left to his judgment,
the fact of his competency being assured. His study and ingenuity will undoubtedly
show other or more important ways in which he might serve the interests of the
Government.

Under proper protection the fur-seal herd may be expected to become again in
time a valuable interest of the Government. Its condition to-day, as a result of the
investigations of 1896 and 1897, is very thoroughly known. With this knowledge as
a foundation, and assisted by the excellent survey, which has just been completed, of
the breeding grounds, it should be possible henceforth for the Government to be at
all times possessed of complete and accurate knowledge as to the condition of the

fur-seal herd. Itis to be hoped that the proper steps will be taken to insure this
result.

APPENDIX I.

STATISTICS PERTINENT TO THE PRECEDING DISCUSSION.

TABLE OF DAILY KILLINGS OF FUR SEALS FOR ALL PURPOSES ON THE PRIBILOF
ISLANDS FOR THE YEARS 1875, 1880, 1886, AND 1889 TO 1897, INCLUSIVE.

INTRODUCTORY NOTE.

The complete table of daily killings for the period 1870 to 1889, prepared by Col.
Joseph Murray, having been published in Senate Doc. No. 137, Seal Life, Part I, 1896,
and recently republished in “Seal and Salmon Fisheries and General Resources of
Alaska,” House Doc. No. 92, 1898, it has not seemed necessary to repeat it in full here.
From this table we have taken the record for the years 1875, 1880, 1886, and 1889.
The first of these years is intended to illustrate the normal driving in the period of
equilibrium during the years 1871 to 1880. The record of the year 1880 is given to
show that no radical change had yet occurred. With it is contrasted the record of
1886, when, the killable seals became scarce through the decline of the breeding herd,
and it was necessary to multiply the drives and hauling grounds driven from to
secure the necessary quota of skins. The record of 1889 is introduced to form a
contrast to that of 1890. The driving in neither year shows normal conditions. The
record for 1890 and following is a continuation of Colonel Murray’s set of tables,
taken from the official records of the islands. In the names of the rookeries we have
used the spelling adopted in the present report.

ST. PAUL ISLAND, 1875.

Total * Total
Date. Rookery. males Date. Rookery. males
killed. killed.

.

6 1,201
9 1 203
16 5 692
498 7 | Zoltoi and Reef .. 711
9 7 | Southwest Bay .. -| 1,560
20 7 | Northeast Point .......-...- 27
143 10 | English Bay, Southwest
657 Bay, Tolstoi .........-...- 1, 456
492 12 | Reef and Zoltoi ............. 631

1 Seals taken in this and subsequent years ries to June 1, when the regular sealing season began, were for natives’
food. Such of the skins as were of suitable grade were accepted and became a part of the regular quota.

2 Where, as in this initial drive of the season, two or more names are joined, it means that adjacent or convenient
hauling«grounds were united in a single drive. Thus Zoltoi is always driven with Reet, because the route of the longer
drive crosses Zoltoi hauling ground. In like manner Tolstoi, Middle Hill, and English Bay are so situated as to be
conveniently driven together. 197

198 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

ST. PAUL ISLAND, 1875—Continued.

Total Total
Date. Rookery. males Date. Rookery. males
killed. |! killed.
1875. | 1875.
June 12 | Northeast Point ..........-- 4,065 || July 14 | Tolstoi and bie Bay..-.| 1,810
14 | Tolstoi and English Bay.... 9 15 | Lukanin and Kitovi .. - 748
16 | Halfway Point ............. 2,115 16 | English Bay ...-.. -| 2, 700
16 | Tolstoi and Reef.......-.-.- 07 16 | Zoltoi.........-. 1, 205
17 | Lukanin...........--....--- 452 17 2 7,439
18 | Southwest Bay, English Bay 3, 303 22! 557
19 | Zoltoi 1, 363 28 159
19 | Northeast Point 5,252 || Aug. 4 235
22 | Tolstoi 1, 830 14 192
22 | Zoltoi 1,150 21 159
24 | Englis 3,009 || Sept. 2 210
is 25 | Lukanin 262 12 143
26 | Northeast Point 7,349 21 |. 146
26 | Southwest Bay ..-.........- 4,047 30 153
28. | Reef ssccscctessicceceneesessae 1,527 || Oct. 12 |. 115
30 | Zoltoi and English Bay..... 8,927 || Nov. 5 172
July 2 | Lukanin, Kitovi, Zoltoi ..... 2, 534 17 1,990
3 | Northeast Point ....-....-.. 5, 024 29 | Southwest Bay ..... 24
6 | Zoltoi and Lukanin.... = 1, 248 Pups killed for food? . -| 3,745
8 | Mnglish Bay .....-...-..-.-. 3,370 || Dec. 2 | Northeast Point .... : 15
9 | Tolstoi and English Bay.... 2, 093 4 | Tolstoi ......scenccasccceen> 694
10 | Lukanin and Kitovi......... 1,125
10 | Northeast Point -..........- 5, 937 Totalicnscessesssecee.nis 94, 960
13 Zoltoi...... Sisiscistesienenceeser 1, 565
ST. GEORGE ISLAND, 1875.
1875. 1875.
June 1) Staraya Artel...ccssecseee-- : 302 || June 30 | Staraya Arteland North....| 1,412
9 j.-... OO crisis eccike cian Beaters 256 || July 5 | East 717
G1 | aS ties c2:c2icie sis mces sie cioe wars 177 7 1,019
14 | Staraya Artel and North.... 307 12 1, 073
16 | Bastivcccsxacscesensceedease 358 14 676
18 | Staraya Artel and North.... 334 17 177
19 | Southwest Bay .......- rele 1, 294 1, 500
23 | Hastics. oacesaenexd saewererace
24 | Staraya Arteland North... 540 311, 500
Pe S| ee 692

1The killings subsequent to July 17, at which time the quota of the season was filled, were for natives’ food, and, as
in the case of the killings before the regular season began, the skins so taken when suitable were included in the quota of
the following year.

2Prior to the year 1891 it was customary each fall to allow the killing of a certain number of young male pups b
the natives for food. Before leaving the islands in the fall the pups become very fat, and as their diet is exclusively mil
up to that time, the meat was dearly prized by the natives. The method employed in taking these pups was to drive them
up from a given rookery, sort out the males and drive them to the killing grounds for slaughter. ‘Their skins were of no
value. The wasteful practice was discontinued after 1890. For details regarding this matter, reference may be made to
extracts from the log of St. Paul, Part II, under date of November in any season.

3St. George had furnished 27,000 male seals up to the close of 1873, when the quota was arbitrarily reduced to 10,000.
The driving of this year was adapted to the reduced quota. In 1887 the quota of St. George was raised to 15,000, and the
driving increased accordingly.

DAILY KILLINGS.

ST. PAUL ISLAND, 1880.

Total Total
Date Rookery. males | Date. Rookery. males
killed. || killed
1880. a
May 14!| Southwest Bay .. 209 651
; Reef 225 1,!77
19 1, 654
216
1,497 2,221
ee 926
English Bay, Tolstoi . - 889 1, 428
12 | Southwest and English 10 | Zoltoi, Kitovi, Lukanin..... 1, 221
2 BBY Bs ciccesiosis.awe atesio ees cecicn 763 5-10 | Northeast Point ............ 7, 073
14 | Halfway Point. * 1, 204 12 | Zoltoi, Kitovi, Lukanin. -... 817
15 | Reef and Zoltoi 765 13 | Tolstoi and English Bay ...| 1,763
16 | Zapadni and English Bay... 990 14 | Reef, Zoltoi, Lukanin, Ki-
17 | Kitovi, Zoltoi, Reef......... 18 POV ix sasisis siicowatsimaeesics 2, 640
18 | Tolstoi and English Bay... 1,619 15 pea Ba: -| 1,884
19 seal Bay and Middle 16 | Middle Hilland Lukanin...| 2, 461
MDs caisisrasisasrs: s/2cie.cja d= 802 17 Zales Soro oe ee epee ee
14 : 28 ortheast Point . . ‘ :
19}| Northeast Point ............ 8, 279 30 | Halfway Point . 228
21 | Halfway Point. .... 1, 459 31 | Zoltoi-....... 218
22 | Kitovi, Zoltoi, Reef.. d 253
23 | Tolstoi and Middle Hill..... 160
24 | Reef, Zoltoi, Kitovi........- 189
25 moguee Bay and Middle 195
ill 239
3 26 227
21 260
26, 193
28 | Halfway Point......----.--- 4410
29 | Kitovi, Lukanin, Zoltoi 2 :
30 | Tolstoi and Middle Hill..... 2,297 || Dec ROOL acoso: sarccese wees secs 1,176
July 1 |.-.-- OO waseiss ceeees asian sasiaet ws :
a Bay and Middle
Gl sacinmmesemae sds ees asians
3 | Kitovi, Zoltoi, Reef. .
3 | Northeast Point ... a
5 | Halfway Point .............
ST. GEORGE ISLAND, 1880.
1880.
14 || July 6 | East......... 1, 483
é 23 7 | Southwest Bay . 1,814
82 AS bie ccivviazceacsereainres seis 949
338 During season perished on
564 vives’ ........-.--..- 28

East .
North
Sout
ast -
North
: Kast .

East.
5 | North

hwest Bay
Southwest Bay

2 | Southwest Bay ......

do
North and Staraya Artel....

Southwest Bay ....-.......-

and Staraya Artel....

and Staraya Artel..-.

and Staraya Artel. .

199 .-

1The hauling ground here as elsewhere designated as Southwest Bay, is identical with Zapadni in later years. In

like manner Halfway Point and the later name Polovina are synonymous.

the English equivalent.

. “Southwest Bay and Zapadni are the same rookery.

3A record was

nm each case one name is Russian and the other

ept of the animals which were overcome by exhaustion, or accident, and had to be killed and skinned

on the drive. For this season, involving the handling of 20,000 seals killed, to say nothing of those driven and rejected,
the number lost seems to have been 28.

200 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

ST. PAUL ISLAND, 1886.

Total | Total
Date. Rookery. males Date. Rookery - males
killed. killed.
i
1886. 1886.
Jan. 21} Sea Lion (Sivutch) Rock! .. 84 || July 9 En lish Bay, Middle Hill,
29 | Southwest Bay ..........-.- 49 Tolstoi 1, 563
May 5 | Northeast Point .-.......--. 7 9 | Northeast Point .. 636
Breeze O' zsa-sisisle ated arersiaiarchatuarseeiy 10 | Reef, Zoltoi, Kito
17 | Southwest Bay and Reef. 300 MMs. censseeesesccassewk: 1, 133
10-17 | Northeast Point 49 12 | Halfway Point. . s 1, 044
29 | Reef 153 12 | Northeast Point ......-..... 1,501
June 4?|..... do 562 13 | Southwest Bay and South-
Tolstoi, pene ee Bay, Sow west Point 1, 442
west Bay......- 1, 323 14 ar em Bay and M
9 | Halfway Point...-. ne” .:): i | eee eee = G0 Esc reeeeerts 1,074
10 | Reef and Zoltoi.....-.. ei 634 14 | Northeast Point - 602
11 | English Bay .....-.-..- 2 214 15 | Zoltoi, Reef, Kitov ; :
14 | Lukanin, Reef .....---..----. 427 Di cvesorieerstovevercsens 1, 957
14 | Northeast Point 1,343 15 |} Northeast Point = 899
15 | Southwest Bay -.--..- 1, 166 16 | Halfway Point.... E 937
15 | Northeast Point 1,116 16 | Northeast Point...-........ 1,013
16 English Bay, Middle Hill, 17 | Southwest Bay and Sonth-
VOIStONl sje srstean ccenarrase 850 west Point 2 2, 057
16 | Northeast Point .-........-. 585 17 | Northeast Point 407
17 | Halfway Point....-.....---. 833 19 | Reef and Zoltoi..- 2,312
17 | Northeast Point............ 761 19 | Northeast Point = 753
18 | Reef and Zoltoi-....-.-.--.. 651 20 | English Bay, Middle Hill,
18 | Northeast Point .........-.. 376 Tolstoi 3,140
19 ane Bay, Middle Hill, : 20 | Northeast Point - 801
Wolstol os cacuiimcsnscieacs.e! 1, 064 21 | Halfway Point ..- -| 1,476
19 | Northeast Point ....- a 371 21 | Northeast Point.........-.. 312
21 | Southwest Bay -.-..-. 1, 891 22 | Southwest Bay and South;
21 | Northeast Point .....-. 1,161 west Point “ 2,015
22 | English Bay and Tolst0i.... 4,007 22 | Northeast Point ‘ 923
22 | Northeast Point ......- 659 23 | Reef, Zoltoi, Lukanin, Ki
23 | Halfway Point. 1,770 FY eee ERD 3, 147
23 | Northeast Poin 955 23 | Northeast Point...... z 739
24 | Zoltoi..-....----- 1, 555 24 | English Bay and M
24 | Northeast Point .....-- 5 498 Bill verseeeaececce 1, 625
25 | Reef, Zoltoi, Halal Bay, 24 | Northeast Point
Middle Bill, Tolstoi.....-. 2, 158 26 | Halfway Point, Southwest
25 | Northeast Point 581 Bay. ukanin, and Zoitoi.| 1, 993
26 |. 00. wcsienceseces 441 || Aug. i 15
28 Southwest Bay... a 1,070 152
28 | Northeast Point 5 926 134
29 | English Bay, Tolstoi, Zoltoi. 1, 503 96
29 | Northeast Point ...........- 794 || Sept. 148
30 | Halfway Point -. - 490 146
30 | Northeast Point ....-.-. 1, 056 148
July 1] English Bay and Tolstoi.... 1, 319 || Oct. 144
1 | Northeast Point ......- S 1, 202 152
2 | Southwest Bay ...-. = 856 || Nov. 768
2| Northeast Point... - 566 445
3 | Reef and Zoltoi...... 1, 263 900
5 | English Bay and Tolstoi-... 1, 163 Tu
5 | Northeast Point ....- a 1, 180 379
6 | Halfway Point. . : 942 289
6 | Northeast Point ... 866 || Dec. 380
7 | Zoltoi, Reef, Lukanin 1,969 191
7| Northeast Point... 1, 187 ——
8 | Southwest Bay .. 1, 466 88, 085
8 | Northeast Point . 952
|

1 The killings on Sivutch Rock occur only at intervals in the winter or early spring when no seals are left on St. Paul.
The natives go to the island in boats, killing the seals and bringing the carcasses home for food. No seals are killed on the
rock in the breeding season.

?The relative number of drives between June 4 and July 26 in this year should be noted in contrast to the number
required in 1880 between June 1 and July 17. The extension of’ the season of driving ten days is also significant.

DAILY KILLINGS. 201

ST. GEORGE ISLAND, 1886.

| Total A Total
Date. Rookery. males Date. Rookery. males
killed. killed.
1886.

39 || July 14 888
102 15 712
4 19 663
81 21 855
1, 480 22 527
779 23 295
1,438 |} Aug. 2 14
843 2 11
742 9 66
343 17 42
306 23 70
288 || Sept. 6 76
632 | Oct. . 26 759
482 28 24
620 || Nov. 8 527
503 18 3
650 12

867
745 16, 436

= ST. PAUL ISLAND, 1889.
1889, 1889.

May 22 | Sea Lion (Sivutch) Rock. ... 124 || July 13 | Southwest Bay ..... 1, 006
25: | RCL. ins cce ee tenes. sia 41 13 | Northeast Point .- 793
28 |....- WO ap sicciec 234 15 | English Bayand M 3, 085
31 | Northeast Point . 133 15 | Northeast Point .... 1, 838

June 5'| Reef 201 16 | Reef, Zoltoi, Lukanin. 1,911
10 |...:: 120 16 | Northeast Point ........ 1,156
12 | Tolstoi .... ] 947 17 | Halfway Pointand Lukaniu.| 1, 931
14 | Zoltoi and Reef.. 762 17 | Northeast Point ............ 948
15 | Southwest Bay .. 340 18 Tae onte English Bay, Mid-

17 | Halfway Point... 5 895 dle Hill.:.......2..--... 2, 046
17 | Northeast Point ..- = 1, 054 18 | Northeast Point .. 1, 282
18 | English Bay, Tolatoi, Mid- 19 | Southwest Bay - 2,017
dle Hill........ - 1,161 19 | Northeast Point .. 834
18 | Northeast Point - 1,270 20 | Reef and Zoltoi. 1,913
1D), ence OO se cassuer iat 494 20 | Northeast Point 243
19 | Reef, Zoltoi, Lukanin . 1,561 22 | English Bay, M
20 253 Lukanin...... 1, 943
21 1, 205 22 | Northeast Point 350
22 23 | Reef, Zoltoi, Kitov 1,122
1, 355 23 | Northeast Point... 740
24 | Northeast Point . 154 24 | Halfway Point . 1, 384
24 | Reef and Zoltoi......-...... 2, 578 24 | Northeast Point. 616
25 | Halfway Point and Lukanin. 979 25 | English Bayand M: 1, 756
25 | Northeast Point ........-... - 1,407 25 | Northeast Point . 1
26 | English Bayand MiddleHill. 1,314 26 | Southwest Bay . 680
26 | Northeast Point...........- 441 26 | Northeast Point 1, 483
27 | Southwest Bay .. 311 |f 27 | Zoltoi and Lukanin. 1,105
27 | Northeast Point 844 29 | English Bayand Mid 1, 643
28 | Reef, Zoltoi, Kitov: 1, 349 |}, 29 | Northeast Point 1, 624
23 | Northeast Point 479 30 973
29 335 30 615
29 1, 038 31 538
July 1 1, 200 31 160
1 , Zoltoi, Luka 1,023 ||} Aug. 6 163
2} Halfway Point. 834 14 131
2 | Northeast Poin 968 22 141
8 | English Bay, To 31 179
dle Hill...... 1,841 || Sept. 9 141
4 | Reef, Zoltoi, Lu 1, 706 18 110
4 | Northeast Point 1, 559 25 107
5 1, 255 || Oct. 5 120
5 1,524 15 103
6 26 132
1,302 || Nov. 4 1, 169
6 376 19 1, 460
8; Reef, Zoltoi, Lukanin....... $14 21 347
8 | Northeast Point ............ 914 27 192
9 | English Bay and Tolstoi.... 1,314 27 10
9 | Northeast Point ..........-. 641 30 240
10 | Halfway Point.......-...... 654 || Dec. 11 F 243
10 | Northeast Point............ 800 :
; 12 | Reet and Zoltoi............- 20041) | | Total.........2....00. “87, 394

1 The driving in this season was not essentially different from that in 1886, except that it was continued until the 31st
of July. That what was difficult in 1886 had not become an impossibility in 1889 was owing to the fact that in the latter
year the as or skins to be taken was lowered, so that the younger bachelors down to the yearlings were taken. Even this
resource failed in 1890.

202 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

ST. GEORGE ISLAND, 1889.

‘ Total Total
Date. Rookery. males Date. Rookery. males
killed. killed.
1889. 1889.
May 22 | North and East...........-- 60 || July 22 | Zapadni .....ssseeeee-.----- 500
East . 156 23 | North, East, Staraya Artel.. 628
Be 207 24) Zapadni ......-.----.--..-.. 279
it hie 244 25 | North, East, Staraya Artel..| 1,430
18 | Staraya Artel, North, East-- 7173 d 942
21, | Was tiaces aciias ciara cinta 176 568
22 | North and Staraya Artel 284 North, East, Staraya Artel.. 515
24) Zapadni ...........-. 596 || Aug. 10 | North...............--..-... 55
25 | East and North... 496 19 oseinince do .- 56
27 | Zapadui .....-..-- 223 | 30 |..-.- do . 48
29 | Staraya Artel and 429 | Sept. 7 | Kast... 64
July 1] Zapadni.......2..2.--. 167 7 eee do .. 50
2 | North, East, Staraya A a8 275 30 | North....... ri 33
Dil ie cisss d 418 || Oct. 11 |....- OO icc wwe: ; 37
8 | Zapadni 229 21 | Staraya Artel : 32
10 | North, East, Staraya Artel.- 270 31 | North...-....- 4
Vt AAPA MT sos a icaisin. cient dsieidnie me 192 || Nov. 6 |..... 1G veidicteane . 606
13 | North, East, Staraya Artel.. 667 DD: | occiacuve 0 scseceen 417
15 | Zapadni ........--....---.-- 371 25 | Staraya Artel............... 61
16 | North, East, Staraya Artel.. 1, 028
18 | Zapadni .....----.---....... 439 ROGAL s-cccieyere cuieiewigwercs 15, 225
19 | North, East, Staraya Artel.. 1, 140
ST. PAUL ISLAND, 1890.
1890.1 1890.
Jan. 27 | Sea Lion (Sivutch) Rock.... 175 || July 9 | Southwest Bay..........--- : 163
May 21 |..- .do 131 9 | Northeast Point .. + 271
28 | Southwest Bay 119 10 | Reef.............. a 378
June 6 | Reef 116 10 acl 112
TH epces c 574 12 | English Bay, Middle Hill,
13 | Tolstoi . 182 olstoi, Lukanin, Kitovi.. 633
16 | Reef 317 13 | Halfway Point ae 211
17 | Northeast Point... 16 13 | Northeast Point -. 658
17 | Halfway Point 167 14! || RECE eis zest Peepers 104
18 | Tolstoi and Middle Hill .... 274 15 | English Bay, Middle Hill
18 | Northeast Point 78 olstoi, Lukanin, Kitovi.. 315
20 | Reef and Lukanin 339 15 | Northeast Point .........-.. 245
20 | Northeast Point 438 16 |..... Olen eciengeiaGnnanisemecietes 312
21 | Southwest Bay ..-...-...... 292 17 | Polovina, Lukanin, Kitovi .. 372
21 | Northeast Point -........... 96 17 | Northeast Point 485
23 | English Bay and Lukanin-. 521 | 18 Jo<04- OOo -ccsceseeeecees 405
23 | Northeast Point..........-. 179 18 | Zapadni ..-...-..--... 236
24 | Reef and Zoltoi-..... . 426 19 | Reef and Zoltoi-. 556
24 | Northeast Point.-.... . 205 19 | Northeast Point 445
25 | Halfway Point .-. 266 220 English Bay, Middle <
25 | Northeast Poin 166 Tolstoi, Kitovi, Rocky
26 | Southwest Bay .....-.... 117 Point ...-....... Se 780
27 | English Bay and Middle Hill 396 20 | Northeast Point .. 556
27 | Northeast Point 230 28 | Lukanin.......... 129
28: |) ROOF -cicccnc.ses sex 206 || Aug. 5] Reef.....- 123
28 | Northeast Point 79 14 | Lukanin.. 124
30 | Tolstoi, Middle Hill, Eng- 23 | Reef....:. 155
lish Bay, Kitovi 209 80 |.---- do ...- 110
30 | Northeast Point ..-.- : 98 || Sept. 6 | Lukanin........ 83
July 1 QOL cccceccesssccee. 246 13 |..... do... e 93
1 | Northeast Point ....- 131 22 | sae DOs eto eerciens 110
2 | Halfway Point. ...... 242 29 | Middle Hill ei 109
2 | Northeast Point ...-.. 96 |; Oct. 4] Lukanin........ : 109
3 | Southwest Bay ...... : 183 14 | Middle Hill... : 114
3 | Northeast Point 2 180 Cae ees (LO: sesyaieinsd ove 95
4/ Tolstoi, English Bay, Mid- ‘ 29) | oczs'ex do ........ 134
dle Hill ; 494 || Nov. 4 | Lukanin...... : 515
4 | Northeast Point -.- 321 6 | Reef .......... . 989
Bi || Reef oicsn'nonjatsciar'e : 526 10 Jaze 00 esevexss 536
5 | Northeast Point 2 74 1 eee do .....- 324
7 | English Bay, Middle Hill, 14 | Middle Hill. : 255
olstoi, Lukanin, Kitovi.. 411 || Dec. 41] Reef............ 283
7 | Northeast Point ...... 336
8 | Halfway Point... 261 ethl nner weanunnene xa 21,920
8 | Northeast Point ............ 379

1The contrast here visible between 1889 and 1890 is by no means a measure of corresponding decrease in the breeding
herd. Tho fact is that the fictitious quota of 1889 was made up largely of yearlings which belonged properly to the quota
of 1891. In like manner the quota of 1889 and the preceding year had largely absorbed the legitimate quota of 1890. It is
probable that had the quota been reduced in proportion to the decreasing birth rate, and been confined to the regular ages
of animals, the normal quota of 1889 and 1890 would have been between 50,000 and 60,000.

2In this year driving for the season was closed on July 20 by order of the Government agent, it being evident that
pe rearte of 60,000 skins could not be secured, or in fact any considerable number in addition to those taken prior to

at date.

DAILY KILLINGS.

ST. GEORGE ISLAND, 1890.

Total Total
Date Rookery. males Date. Rookery. males
killed. killed.
1890.
32 || July 15 | Hast............. wciassioraiaaiys 132
37 16 | Staraya Artel and North ... 119
109 18 | East Fe 71
71 Star 641°
218 527
t 118 || Aug. 97
19 | East and Little East........ 181 52
20 | Zapadni ...-....--.......... 394 42
23 | Staraya Artel and North . 164 55
25 | East and Little East.... 184 63
28 | Staraya Artel and North 189 || Sept 18
30 | Zapadni ..........-... 1289 38
July 1] East and Little East........ 149 || Oct. 32
3 | Staraya Artel and North ... 238 42
5 | East and Little East........ 57 59
7 | Zapadni ...---......-....... 58 || Nov 579
8 | East and Little East........ 24 525
9 | Staraya Artel and North ... 193 |i Dec. 79
11 ASG eco jacauealewanes.eeesee 60 147
12 | Staraya Artel and North ... 103
14 | Zapadni .........-.......--- 53 6, 139
ST. PAUL ISLAND, 1891.)
1891.
233 || July 15 | Lukanin.............. same 122
114 21 178
463 27 ~ 248
11 | Zapadni and Reef. 718 || Aug. 3 118
11 | Northeast Point -.-. 1,112 5 407
12 | Zapadni .... 428 10 100
13 | Northeast P. 430 || Nov. 2 81
13 | Middle Hill.. 232 9 87
15 | Northeast Point ............ 866 14 142
16 | Reef ....... 0.0202 eee eeenne 842 19 188
17 | Southwest Bay ............. 186 21 2
18 OOF oaccsc exeas sae smiseiieeee! 1, 027 24 133
20 | Middle Hill................- 119 25 | Reef...... 102
25 | Reef ...cca-sccce-eenencnnece 215 Ds 2 core do... 162
29 |...-- Ce ee ee 400 || Dec. 5 | Northeast 3
July 8 |....- OO eeeccticeseccc saicncce sa 100
18 |..... Os wisicisinicte cicineiggisicciesiecs 121 Total. .o-.ec-cisevavcce 9, 579
ST. GEORGE ISLAND, 1891.
1891. 1891.
May 12 17 || Joly 24 | North ...............000-0-- 72
22 23 || 25 | Hast, and Little Kast ....... 181
29 85 || Aug. 1 North, and Zapadni......... 26
June 9 442 || 6+]. 2025 dO seseeenjecan : 15
10 274 || ‘13 | East .. 83
15 101 LE. Newwae d 55
17 235 || Sept. 24 | North 36
19 48 || Oct. 23 |..... do .. 104
29 25 28 | Staraya Ar 25
30 153 || Nov. 18 | East (by marauders)........ 2
July 1 105 98} NOTER Foe ccetconcsaaceecan 71
3 30 For watchmen’s food ....... 26
6 119 Sees
16 54 Dotal cxicgevev dedssuees 2, 461
20 54

1 The years 1891-93 cover the

203

eriod of the modus vivendi during which land killing was limited to the nominal figure
of 7,500 seals a year to supply food. for the Aleuts. The excess over this figure in 1891 is due to the fact that tho skins
taken prior to the date of the agreement, June 15, were not included in the limited quota allowed, this being held by the
agents to begin on the date of the agreement. As a result of this unnecessary restriction of land killing the rookeries are
now grossly overstocked with bulls.

204 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

ST. PAUL ISLAND, 1892.

Total | Total
Date. tookery. | males Date. Rookery. males
killed. | | killed.
|| _ 1992.
83 | Aug 9 16
155 || Nov. 11 | Reef. 111
126 12 | Tolstoi and Middle Hill. 151
132 19 | Middle Hill 143
119 22 | Reef.......-. 56
497 22 | Zapadni .....-. 12
469 26 | Halfway Point .- 10
450 28 | Zapadni ...-..-... 158
534 || Dec. 5 | Reef...........---..-------- 113
274 16 | Zapadni
Lukanin and Zoltoi. 403 PON tee ae ise szunadicn sed 25
4 | Middle Hill......... 354 16 | Road skins ......-.-......-- 5
8 | Halfway Point ..... 293 —_———
9 | Middle Hill......-.......... 320 Total sjcescjececvese sce 5, 009
ST. GEORGE ISLAND, 1892.
1892.
17 || Oct. 25 | Zapadni ............----.--- 21
36 26 | North, East, and Staraya
. 103 Artel 30
a 111 28 50
; a 149 || Nov. 1 15
22 | East and Little East......-.- 318 2 53
30 | Staraya Artel........-.. ae 189 3 54
oaly’ TC |) Wags cascc ciicineniacs vnieseswis 190 9 11
i4 | Staraya Artel and North -.. 310 11 54
21 | East, North, near, and Sta-
raya Artel.........-..--.- 483 BON soscs coseceenivercavseins 30
Aug. 2| North .........-.. pene 103
10 | North and East 124 Total ....-..-.....---- 2, 502
Oct. 20 | North, East, and Staraya
ATtO]ciesccsiaiesnieeeer ses 51
ST. PAUL ISLAND, 1893.
1893. 1893.
May 19 | Reef.........--- 192 || Joly 21 | Lukanin and Zoltoi......... 1,044
June 1 do * 147 27 | English Bay....-.... 88
14 || Aug. 2) Gorbatch and Lukanin. : 252
9 395 5 | Halfway Point....... ‘i 255
16 471 7 Sohtol: rere elem aye! 43
26 736 |; Nov. 2|....-do...-... 69
26 1 7 Miaale Hill 82
July 6 E 489 14 | Reef..-.... 178
6 | Northeast Point 4 22! laeee's oO. E 208
10 | Lukanin....-....-.-.--. 171 27 | Tolstoi ..-.-......... Z 188
Northeast Point and Sou 30 | For watchmen to date ...... 67
10 west Bay 3
14 | Middle Hill 215 Dotal cececweusedwewe 5, 500
17 | Halfway Point 198

ST. GEORGE ISLAND, 1893.

1893.

49 || Oct. 20] North ........... 30
132 23 | Zapadni......... : 77
197 27 | East and North 47
278 || Nov. 6 | Northand Staraya Artel 38
555 17 do 31

90 44

92
171 1, 896

65

DAILY KILLINGS. 205

ST. PAUL ISLAND, 1894.

Total Total
Date. Rookery. males Date. Rookery. males
killed. killed.
1894.1 1894, és :
May 9 | Sea Lion (Sivutoh) Rock.... 87 || July 23 | Northeast Point 370
23 | Tolstoi and Reef.......- 104 28 Nes nex 1, 025
25 909
30 154
Aug. 1 287
272
Nov. 6 132
21 147
25 | Tolstoi and Reef.......-.--- 87
2B | snes OO. viicsceetexcwassmewee. 218
Dec. 4 | Tolstoi, Lukanin, and Reef. . 474
For watchmen to date...... 80
Total ......-..0..2..-- 13, 298
ISLAND, 1894.
1894.
40 || July 26 | Zapadni ...................- 178
126 |) Aug. 6 Little East and North . 152
826 |} Oct. 20 | North 58
468 26 | East ....- 19
303 |} Nov. 6 | Nort 35
ae Watchmen’s food for season. 62
249 ROA). 2sassccsaociccases 2, 972
ST. PAUL ISLAND, 1895.
1895.2 1895.
May 27 | Watchmen, Northeast Point 6 || July 27 | Lukanin.......ccceeeee 286
a) See ree te ee 7S | Aug. 1 | Reef... cs 200 . 185
June 1 | Watchmen, Northeast Point 3 10 | Watchmen to date. 18
4 Of coors sececseses emearirees 76 | Cet. 31 | Watchmen .... 3
8 | Watchmen, Northeast Point Nov. 1] Middle Hill 106
13 | Tolstoi .-......-.-.....--.-. 184 9 atchmen . 6
16 | Watchmen, Northeast Poin 2 12 | Tolstoi 158
20 | Northeast Point..... we wees 1, 961 19 | Watchmen . 4
24 OOL cceencnas ss 1, 548 22 | Reef.....-. 57
26 | Halfway Point 575 25 | Middle Hill 96
July 1] English Bay... 751 25 | Watchmen . 4
2 | Zapadni ... 861 26 | Reef .....-.. 78
3 oats eee 364 || Dec. 1] Watchmen . 10
9 | Northeast Point. 960 2 eef...... 127
10 |..:.-do .-....... 431 5 | Tolstoi . 81
15 | Reef......-.- 1, 138 6 | Reef...... 169
17 falfway Point 324 12 | Watchmen ...... 9
19 | Zapadni ......... 834
22 | Northeast Point ............ 827 Votalsccrssvesegescese 12, 324
ST. GEORGE ISLAND, 1895.
e
1895. 1895.
May 25 | Great Hast...scscesseeeeen-- 16 || Oct. 15 | North ...seseseccccceseeeee- 7
June $ | North 2. .2is.cccnccrcnacn ees 25 19 ; Zapadzi (by guard) . 1
oY eee QO) is s:eisis sais einisistaie te diese . 139 21 | North ............ 29
24 | Staraya Axtel ohogenicsse se aa a8 zapaunt Pare ss 18
24 | Zapadni (by APA) iecsccmaee 2 apadni (by guard) . 3
26 Gicat and Little East....... ! 471 29 | North .........-.... 16
29 | Zapadni (by guard)......... 2)! Nov. 2 Zapadni (by guard). 3
July 1/ North 156 2: | HaBt cacucicconcmanaesexecsiad 27
8 | Zapadni ...-......--.. Davao 232 9 | Zapadni (by guard)......... 2.
8 | Zapadni (by guard).... ei 3 12.) North) :o sets oa ciesencmamseieies 8
‘11 | Great and Little East....... 538 17 | Zapadni (by guard).......-. 4
20 | Zapadni (by guard) Lyoiwlah Faia) 3 26 | North .............06 wiesaawe 30
22 | Staraya Artel and North.... 279
30 | Zapadni (by guard)......... 7 Total wsesac svodstecmean 2, 522
Aug. 6/..... GO co crcnccvavsecceresens 18 :

1 The reduced number of drives to be noted in this and the following year was due to the action of the Treasury agents
in limiting the number of drives from each rookery to two for the season. This musieien, pale was followed to avoid
the supposed sb eae effects of dats ing a concession which should never have been made. The result was a disad-

t )

vantage rather nm an advantage to the herd. . f 4 i
2 See note to 1894. Here again the driving was limited to two drives at long intervals in the regular season.

206 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

ST. PAUL ISLAND, 1896.

Total Total
Date. Rookery. males Date. Rookery. males
killed. killed.
1896.1 1896.
May 13 | Sea Lion (Sivutch) Rock.... 121 | July 14 | Northeast Point..........--/ 1,169
26 | Tolstoi 102 15 | Reef and Zoltoi... 849
June 8 | Reef.. 149 | 16 | Tolstoi, Middle Hill, English
19 | Zoltoi ie : 283 BS Yecscsssaucutecioasis setts 1, 138
23 | Northeast Point. 2 1,414 21 | Northeast Point.-. errs 808
Ee ees do 1, 408 QO exajzicin do ........ ese 1,047
27 | Reet F 2, 076 23 | Polovina, 585
29 English Bay, Middle Hill, 25 | Lukanin, Kitovi, Zoltoi,
Tolstoiz.. ss202sc.005 205% 1,398 Reef sacsscccsssig.ccacccnss| 1,630
July 2] Northeast Point..... 1,396 | 27 Madale Hill, Tolstoi, Luka-
B ilscieee QO wa ceceeeectawews $ 1,109, 621
6 | Zoltoiand Lukanin.-. : 1, 535 14
7 | Zapadni...-.. ....---- r 784 || Oct. 15 59
8 | Polovina-.. 961 || Dec. 31 1,545
10 | Reef and Zolt 1,271 !
13 | Northeast Point. 1, 045 \ 24, 517
ST. GEORGE ISLAND, 1896.
1896. 1896.
May 18 | North ..ssccccssesseeeeseenee 1B || duly 21 | Heats. cccceeensegeneneeeeee 221
BL. |e ieee 0 -ieis res enacts - 46 24 North and Staraya Artel ... 308
June 11 |..-..do.........-..- 100 |; Oct. 20 ]..... ‘ 59
19 | East's. sccesscoeve se 2 576 21 Vansaal Sekdot 5 18
24 | Zapadni ...........--.. 2 568 31 | Watchmen .-.- S 6
26 | North and Suineys Artel 999 || Nov. 2] North and Staraya 22
29 ast.--....... 804 14 Weleenee 15
July 2] Zapadni 333 28 8
6 | North and Staraya Art . 700 30 17
7 | Hast and Little East. -... 5 614
9 | Zapadni ..........-.---.- : 221 6, 137
13 | N meth Bud Staraya Artel ... 487
ST. PAUL ISLAND, 1897.
1897.? 1897. :
Mar. 2 19 || July 14 | Northeast Point 1, 249
17 29 16 | Zapadni 886
May 11 90 17 | Middle ai English Bay 297
22 36 19 | Reef, Zoltoi, Lukanin . 988
June 15 492 22 | Northeast Point .- 1, 322
18 316 23 | Polovina..-... . 274
23 aka: 708 24 | Reef, Lukanin 2 526
26 | Tolstoi, Middle Hill, Eng- 26 | Zapadni........... i 514
Tish Bay sesp.- as sccies ase siy 1, 098 27 | Tolstoi, Middle Hill. e 199
30 | Northeast Point 790 29 | Northeast Point .. . 268
July 1/!.-... DOs heiicniseteciateess 703 30 |..... 0: eeisa scien E 276
2) Lukanin. F 208 31 | Polovina...... 108
5 | Reef, Zoltoi 703 || Aug. 2/ Reef, Lukanin - 418
6 | Tolstoi, Middle Hill, Eng- 5 | Middle Hill, English Bay .. 101
ish Bay joccossisccnseesiseea 1, 230 P| AROOP rice ate csdcecig dislnwecsisetsis 172
8 | Northeast Point --........-. 1, 713 —_
9 | Polowinades<2+ sccvseseeseesce 456 Total to date....-...... 316, 993
12 | Reet, Lukanin ...........--- 804
i

‘In this year more normal driving was permitted, but the increased quota is not wholly due to this fact. In the
season of 1896 the hauling grounds felt the beneficial effects of the modus vivendi of 1893. No pups starved to death in
that season and the result was a larger proportion of survivors. A part, also, of the seals which the limited operations
of 1895 tailed to secure were doubtless taken into the quota of 1896.

2 The quota of 1897 was left indefinite under the direction of the commission, and the driving was planned with a view ©
to making the quota represent the full product of the hauling grounds. For the same reason the killing was continued
into August.

3 This total, a8 well as that for St. George Island following, does not include such seals us may have been killed for
food in the fall of the year 1897.

SUMMARY OF KILLINGS. 207

ST. GEORGE ISLAND, 1897.

see Total Total
Date. ““" Rookery. males Date. Rookery. males
killed. killed.
1897.

22 |) July 10] Watchmen 6
45 13 | Staraya Ar’ 253
4 16 | East.... 209
150 ||. 19 | Zapadni 108

4 22 | East, North and Staraya
2 Artel 391
140 31 10
2); Aug. 2 S 179
70 4| North and Staraya Artel...-. 153
“4 10 | Watchmen................-. 23

227 10 | East, North and Staraya
ATO] scaposceveccesesexteas 207
“Total to date..-..--...- 2, 207

Summary of total killings for all purposes on Pribilof Islands, 1870-1897.)
Date St.Paul. | St Total Date St. Paul.| St. Total
- : *| George. x y . "| George. Z

15, 314 8, 459 23, 773 88, 861 16, 573 105, 434
81, 803 21, 157 102, 960 88, 880 16, 144 105, 024
81, 819 27,000 | - 108, 819 88, 085 16, 436 104, 521
81, 987 27, 190 109, 177 89, 092 16, 668 105, 760
98, 1389 12, 446 110. 585 86, 270 17, 034 103, 304
94, 960 11, 500 106, 460 87, 394 15, 225 102, 619
83, 157 11, 500 94, 657 21, 920 6, 139 28, 059
67, 810 16, 500 84, 310 9, 579 2, 461 12, 040
88, 519 20, 804 109, 323 5, 009 2, 502 7,511
88, 221 22, 190 110, 411 5, 500 1, 896 7, 396
84, 779 20, 939 105, 718 13, 298 2, 972 16, 270
83, 774 21, 289 105, 063 | 12,.324 2, 522 14, 846
79, 834 19, 978 99, 812 24,517 6, 137 30, 654
63, 295 16, 214 79, 509 16, 993 2,207 19, 200

1 This table includes all males killed for any Denese on the islands, pups, stagy seals killed for food and seals whose
skins were not pted the ] The totals here given are taken for the year beginning January 1 and ending
December 31, and therefore do not correspond to the totals as represented by the quota.

2To date of August 7 on St. Paul; of August 10 on St. George.

Record of killings on Northeast Point (St. Paul) and Zapadni (St. George) rookeries, 1871-1897.

Nore —These figures are in part taken from the ToueHom table of killings. Where this does not distin guish the

rookeries ned, the information is taken from the log o: ‘aul Island. The results from these two isolated rookeries
are interesting and important in that they show the same relative conditions as are shown by the herd as a whole.
Total ae. Total
Total Total
4 Date. 4 -
si zapadn.| Northeast ate Zapadni.| Northeast
20, 113 3,873 | 19,532
26, 082 4,325 | 26, 911
26, 3876 4,017 | 29, 602
31, 569 4,063 | 31,834
35, 193 4,015 28, 349
20, 014 1, 330 16, 592
20, 266 509 2, 820
22, 961 92 10
29, 212 17
25, 865 481 4,090
18, 294 287 4,193
21, 482 1,122 9, 396
213, 423 6.321

23, 068 ‘

1The average quota from Northeast Point for twelve years (1871 to 1882) was 24,500. With very much closer killing
it only yielded this year about one-fourth this amount. f
bin this year 2s well as the year preceding the quota was contracted to about 85,000 for commercial reasons.

208 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

Fur seals killed on the island of St. Paul, for all purposes, from 1870 to 1889, both inclusive.

(Compiled from tables on file in the Treasury Department.]

Seals killed for skins for | Totals of bachelors killed,

Seals killed for natives’ food. lesaeee. accepted, and rejected. Grand |
cals killed
J Year. ; ‘ . : . . seals kille
Pups Bache- se Si Bache- gg eg Bache- oa aa for all pur-
lors. | cepted. | jected. lors. cepted. | jected. lors. cepted. | jected. | Poses.

| 2,800 | 6,449 |........ 6, 449 6, 065 6, 017 48 12, 514 | 6,017 | 6,497 15, 314
i 2,877 | 2,341 | 2,290 51 75, 585 74, 628 957 77, 926 76,918 | 1,008 81, 803
5,121 | 6,916) 5,365] 1,551 69, 782 69, 576 206 76, 698 74,941 | 1,757 81, 819

5,489 | 2,090) 1,198 892 74, 408 73, 884 524 76, 498 75, 082 | 1,416 81, 987

4,897 | 4,874 4,225 649 88, 368 88, 258 110 93, 242 92, 483 759 98, 139

8,745 | 6,282 | 5,784 498 | 84, 933 84, 860 73 91, 215 90, 644 571 94, 960

3,958 | 5,061 | 3,064] 1,997 74, 13: 71, 137 1 79, 199 77,201 | 1,998 83, 157

5,007 | 4,041 2,853 | 1,188 58, 76: 58, 732 30 62, 803 61,585 | 1,218 67, 810

5,206 | 4.718 | 3,632 | 1,086 78, 595 78, 570 25 83, 313 82,202 | 1,111 88, 519

5, 071 5,970 , 3,898 | 2,072 77, 280 77, 280 |.....-.- 83, 250 81,178 | 2,072 88, 321

4,413 | 4,466 3,408/ 1,418 75, 900 75, 872 28 80, 366 78,920 | 1,446 84,779

sis eatinavanal 7,538 | 6, 068 1, 470 76, 236 76, 169 67 83, 774 82,226 | 1,537 83, 774

sigsara een 5,175 | 3,362] 1,813 74, 659 74, 581 78 79, 834 77,943 | 1,891 79, 834

2,982 | 3,168) 2,194 974 57, 145 57, 070 75 60, 313 59, 264 | 1,049 63, 295

2,741 3,907 | 2,582 | 1,325 82, 213 82, 086 127 86, 120 84,668 | 1,452 88, 861

| 2,788 | 3,184] 2,508 676 82, 908 82, 866 42 86, 092 85, 374 718 88, 880
i 2,824 | 3,081] 2,480 601 82, 180 82, 150 30 85, 261 84, 630 631 88, 085
} 2,177 | 4,207 | 3,975 232 82, 708 82, 679 29 86, 915 86, 654 261 89, 092
2,178 | 3,762; 3,700 62 80, 330 80, 314 16 84, 092 84, 014 | 78 86, 270

2,280 | 3,400 | 2,570 830 81, 712 81, 698 14 85, 112 84, 268 844 87, 392

-| 67,554 | 90,630 | 64,796 | 25, 834 /1, 463, 907 |1, 461,427 | 2,480 |1, 554, 537. |1, 526,212 | 28,314 | 1, 622, 091

NotE.—The above statement includes all seals killed from all causes, either intentional or accidental, incident to
the taking of seal skins on the island of St. Paul.

Fur seals killed on the island of St. George, for all purposes, from 1870 to 1889, both inclusive.

[Compiled from tables on file in the Treasury Department. ]

Seals killed for natives’ food. Seals ee for skins for | Totals of bachelors killed, Grand

essees. accepted, and rejected. totals of
Year. x ‘ i ° : z Seals
6 Bach. | Skins | Skins | pace. Skin Skins | pache. | Skins | Skins | killed for
Ups. | lors. ac- |. re- lors, | _ 2¢: _ Te- lors. ac- _ Te. all pur-
cepted. | jected. cepted. | jected. cepted. | jected.; poses.

7, 259 7, 259 |.....--. 8, 459

19, 067 19, 067 |........ 21, 157

25, 000 25,000 }........ 27, 000

: 25, 000 25, 000 27, 190

{ 10, 000 10, 000 12, 446

10, 000 10, 000 11, 500

10, 000 10, 000 11, 500

15, 000 15, 000 16, 500

19, 304 18, 988 20, 804

| 20, 684 20, 322 22, 190

1 19, 609 19, 395 20, 939

| 20, 258 19, 869 21, 289

19, 978 19, 811 19, 978

15, 214 15, 143 16,214

15, 073 14, 843 16, 573

15, 064 14, 990 16, 144

15, 150 14, 991 16, 436

15, 312 15, 196 16, 668

16, 056 15, 903 17, 034

14, 154 13, 921 15, 225

{
Total...| 28,064 | 9,054 | 7,198 | 1,856 | 818,128 | 317,550 ° 628 327,182 | 324,698 | 2,484 355, 246

Note.—The above statement includes all seals killed from all causes, either intentional or accidental, incident to the
taking of seal skins ou the island of St. George.

Fur seals killed on the islands of St. Paul and St. George, for all purposes, rom 1870 to

STATISTICS OF KILLINGS FOR 1896.

1889, both inclusive, being a summary of the two foregoing tables.

- St. Paul | St. George y
Island. | island’ | Tot#l.
Seals killed for natives’ food: s
PS) gence dens see ee ssea ees aeced 67, 554 28, 064 95, 628
Bachelors.............. 7 90, 630 9, 054 99, 684
Skins accepted ...- f 64, 796 7,198 71, 994
Skins rejected a@ ..........--....000.-0. 25, 8384 1, 856 27, 790
Seals killed for skins for lessees:

ACHCLOTS 3..)-ici aise ne nev oe wcisigrese eres 1, 463, 907 318, 128 1, 782, 035
Skins accepted .. 1, 461, 427 317, 500 1, 778, 927
Skins rejected a 2, 480 628 3,108

Total of bachelors killed, pted, and

rejected: !
PACRIONS ecene ce rimereiaracens en semen 1, 554, 537 327, 182 1, 881, 719
Skins accepted .. $ 1, 526, 212 324, 698 1, 850, 910
Skins rejected a 28, 314 2, 484 30, 798

Grand total of seals killed for all
PULpOSeS.....-..----- eee eee eee eee 1, 622, 091 355, 246 1, 977, 337

@ We have had occasion to call attention to the waste which these figures show, due to the killing of pups and seals

whose skins were unsuitable for use.

Statistics of regular killings for the quota, 1896.

Note.—These tables refer only to the drives of the regular killing season. The totals do not include the accumulated
food skins of the autumn and spring which became a part of the quota.
of exhaustion of the hauling grounds for the two seasons can be obtained.

ST. PAUL ISLAND.

From these figures an idea of the relative degree

| Middle Hill, Tolstoi, Lukanin ................---.

gicke Rejected. Percent-
Date Rookery. ue ~ age
* | Large. Small. | killed
1896.
Tune 19 | Zoltol .......sccccccnncasanenscaeressonenrcccscane 283: | wiaisainsiegins
20 | Watchmen 2-2. <cijoccccctie we cieccincinwees ceecisenens 2. | ecedeeene
23 | Northeast Point ree a il aes
24 |.----dO......-...-.-.- 1, 408 |.-..-.....
27 | Reef..........----- pais Mee ceyecelticiein cia Bin eivulelojaisiarwralsian’ 2,076 |......--..
29 | English Bay, Middle Hill, Tolstoi..... ade aie ecinee 1,398 |.......-..
duly 2) Northeast Point. ...--0+0-ss0cweseveusseeerenceans rn
Bh ascies OG n cc iseivak tetcasaceetncicedsede sod Saicisisiecionss D199 eawacssess)
6 | Zoltoi, Lukanin ...........-.-..-.-02eeee eee eee ee 1,585 |....--2.2.
7| Zapadni TBA scarsicteti mls
8 | Polovina .. QOL si raiaisis cic
10 | Reef, Zoltoi AQT eis emacs
13 | Northeast Point 1,045 \ 1.159
14.3. : 1,189 ’
15 | Reef, Zoltoi : 849 548
16 | Tolstoi, Middle Hill, English Bay ...-...........- 1,138 279
21 | Northeast Point 803 811
22 | owe nn WO <cesees cee : F047 i siseies estes)
28" | POLO VAN ses icraie ctsseisaeiaroe es sess indeceieeeresuncies ser 585 313
25 | Lukanin, Kitovi, Zoltoi, Reef ............-........ 1, 630 1, 008
27 621 457

North and Staraya Artel
East.... fas

St. Paul Island
St. George Island ...

15184—— 14

>

210 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

Statistics of regular killings for the quota, 1897.

ST. PAUL.
: Kejected.! Percent- | Weight
Date. . Rookery. euimats age ae
’ | Large. Small. killed. | skins.?
1897. Pounds.
June 15 | 1 492 144 119 GB hs scsetetsraibia
18 | Zapadni ...........-.----- fs 316 130 26 67 9
23 | Zoltoi, Reef, and Lukanin...........-.. 708 556 184 48 7.7
26 | Tolstoi, Middle Hill, and English Bay - 1, 098 402 214 64 A
30 | Northeast Point .........--..-..--.+--- 790 376 214 57 vi
July 1|...-- 10.2 i's as 703 288 224 D8: lssszeucexc
2 | Lukanin....-.-. 208 107 99 53 7.7
5 | Reef and Zoltoi-- 703 229 175 63 7.8
6 | Tolstoi, Middle Hill, and English Bay .- 1, 230 301 306 67 7.6
8 | Northeast Point ...........-.-....--.-- 1,713 355 551
9 | Polovina.-....-.. 456 97 115
12 | Reef and Lukanin. 804 140 638
14 | Northeast Point - 1, 249 216 661
16 | Zapadni ciaietele aes 886 391 586 53 7.8
17 | Middle Hill and English Bay. 297 180 412 66 8
19 | Lukanin, Zoltoi, and Reef. .- 5 988 377 1,174 39 7,
22 | Northeast Point.........- * 1, 322 500 2, 047 34
H 23 | Polovina... ...-- a 274 161 698 24
| 24 | Lukanin and Reef 526 352 1, 380 23
| 26 | Zapadni .........-..-.-- 514 491 890 27
27 | Tolstoi and Middle Hill. : 199 221 545, 20
29 | Northeast Point..-..... at 268 298 1,114 16 |.
BO | secon OO: nor sscrase sere 7 276 383 708 20
| 31 | Polovina .-..-. 108 118 456 16 7.9
Aug. 2} Reef and Lukanin......-... 418 350 1,440 19 8
5 | Middle Hill and English Bay. : 101 159 15 ieua
| FREGE oe sjo5 sce enmietas cere steers ome cie 172 200 486 20 Hf
Total veusaxeineseusis ever sesey 16,819 |..-....--- lestietiawes|| semaines

June 16 | East
| 19-24 | Food skins.
25 | Zapadni ...
July 1 | Food skins...

3 | Staraya Artel .
3 | Food skins...

8-10 | Food skins....---..-....

13 | North and Staraya Artel .

16 | East ..-.------------+---

17 | Food skins.

19 | Zapadni ....-.-..---.---------.--

22 | East, North, and Staraya Artel ..

24-31 | Food skins.......-..--..---------
Aug. 2 | East..-..-.------..-----
4 | North and Staraya Artel .

5-9 | Food skins....-.......--..-....--
10 | Kast, North, and Staraya Artel ..
11 | Foodskins............-..--...---

5 GS arta], Tes baa ges esere seeps ciclaleta es achavatatn oie ta ocean cera we nts clare tdzaare ie crcl de lapterd bain Baemeneree
St. George Island

MIRO As Ssaieudisusiavsscteseseuceathe care a)e)h hate daishnaras aie toneae ie Mied ousea wis aaah ee ca omnis ee Sada aieee, Seka ec aranwayaemon

1'The total number of animals rejected during the season can not be taken as indicating the number of bachelors not
of killable age left, as many of these were driven several times and many of the younger seals doubtless do not come to the
islands at a duvine the killing season. The small seals will be taken into the quotas of 1898 and 1899; the large seals go to
swell the already overstocked reserve of breeding male lite. Until this excess of male life is reduced to normal conditions
an effort should be made each year, a8 was done in 1897. to exhaust the supply of killable seals.

2The weight here given is that of 100 skins weighed in lots of 10 each.

3This includes all animals killed. The skins of 131 animals were rejected by the lessees.

LAND AND SEA KILLING. 211

Statistics regarding land and sea killing, 1871-1897.

Note: A study of this table clearly indicates the decline of the herd since 1884, as measured on
its hauling grounds, and shows in the expansion of pelagic sealing the cause of this decline.

Date | Hauling | Number “Ve. A
Year. uota enna of | rey 5 alleth
filled.a | driven. | drives. a |O7 {@NG.0 | ab Sea.

102,960 | 16,911

£30, 654 | 43,917
F19,200 | 24,321

a These figures refer to the race grounds of St. Paul.

b These totals include all males killed for any purpose on the islands.

e In 1876 the killing was begun at an unusual date, said to be on account of an exceptionally late season.

d Closed by order of the agent in charge.

e Years of the modus vivendi.

Jf These figures as originally published (28,964 and 20,890) in an appendix to the report of the fur-seal conference are
slightly in error because of confusion resulting from an effort to eliminate certain food skins taken in the fall of the year

preceding.
NOTES ON FOREGOING TABLE.

1. The figures refer to the Pribilof herd.

2. The dates given for the filling of the quota refer only to St. Paul Island. The same is true of
the data regarding the number of drives and hauling grounds.

3. The totals for land killing represent all males killed for any purpose—the filling of the quota
and the supplying of food for the natives. They therefore include pups and seals whose skins were
rejected because stagy or otherwise unsuitable. The figures are taken from the list of daily killings!
prepared by Colonel Murray, and, in accordance with the method adopted by him, they begin and end
with January instead of with August, the date at which the quota is begun and ended.

4. The totals for the pelagic catch are taken from the statistical tables? published by the
Treasury Department for 1896.

5. The later date at which the quota was filled in 1871-1873 is due to the fact that in these years
part of the quota was taken the preceding fall. After 1893 the regular driving for the quota was all
done in June and July.

6. From the log of the islands it would appear that the season of 1876 was a peculiar one, the
movements of the animals being some two or three weeks behind that of preceding years.

7. The contraction in the killing on land in 1876-77 and 1882-83 was voluntary on the part, of
the lessees.

8. In 1891-1893 land killing was limited under the modus vivendi. Bering Sea was closed for
the same reason in 1892-93, but pelagic sealing went on off the Northwest Coast.

9. The driving for the year 1890 was closed on July 20 by order of the Department.

' Published to 1890 in Senate Doc. 137, 1895.
2 Fur-seal catch, season of 1896. Treas. Dept. Doc, 1932, 1897.

212

Note: These counts show clearly the gradual development of rookery population during the
The cows begin to arrive about the 12th of June.
reached about July 15, from which time on there is a gradual decrease'of population due to the

breeding season.

THE FUR SEALS OF

THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS,

Daily counts of cows.)

lengthening absence of the cows on their food excursions.

The maximum of population is

Date.

June 12

duly 1..

Amphitheater of Iitovi.

Cows Cows
present. Dates ' present.
| Record of harems—Continued.
0: | Daly 1B sass cd cn satansceetocccensence 46
Ol °° (Qbistcskaeeige taeeemesceeaaeeeds 53
2
3 Lukanin rookery.
‘ DUNG 12 oscisnaneenteaasSeees sweeesed 1
spe ;
7 15. 5
é 16. eet 6
23 ie ae 11
37 18. : 1
45 20. e
56 21. : 37
76 re : 52
et a
37 ie
168 oe 131
210 oa 176
246 |, 27. 207
290 || Sa 257
362 || 29. % =
414 || 30.
as July 1. a eee eheas
2. : 880
550 3
585 o : 939
2587 . is 1, 088
660 S ‘| 1,197
6. = 1, 264
703 ,
ioe oe - : ri 371
654. - : , 931
ee 9. 21,541
703 10. 1, 680
{ 11. 1, 755
678 12 ,
698 . ae a at Og
566 i : 1, 736
556 aE 1, 841
429 is. eng
528 7 827
416 | 7 325
469 | is 328
465 19 228
426 30 are 210
463 ae ae ald
406 33 : 215
304 55 259
414 24 e 212
427 oe. : 196
375 o .- 186
26... oe 148
27... 157
28. sez 177
1 29.4 149
3 30... é 127
10 6) Seo rc, eee sian 124
35

1 Weather clear; no storms or surf, except one day when rain fell, causing a larger number of cows to take to the

water and making it difficult to distinguish those present from the rocks.

2Rain.

3After July 14 it became impossible, on account of the scattering of the cows, to continue the count for the entire
roukery without too great loss of time, and so a section of 18 harems was singled out and the count continued on it.

BREEDING SEALS AND DEAD PUPS.

Comparative census, 1896-97. \

Note: These figures represent in detail the final estimates of the Commission as to the number of
breeding seals on the rookeries of the Pribilof Islands for the seasons in question.

213

1896 (revised). 1897.
Rookery.
Harems.| Cows. Harems.; | Cows.
ST. PAUL.
Kitovi...... 182 6, 049 179 5, 289°
| Tuagoon ....---.......---- 120 2, 484 115 2, 598
Polovina Cliffs..-........ 86 2, 496 61 2, 200
Zapadni Reet - . 176 3, 862 114 3, 041
ukanin . 147 4, 880 139 4, 100
Tolstoi 467 15, 504 393 11, 593
Zapadn are 543 18, 027 458 13, 511
Little Zapadni...... 2.202. - 22. cece ween eee eens 210 4, 584 176 5,192
Gorbatch .. afeeetmata walkiaieeieietoe cat: 7 302 10, 026 308 9, 086
ATAIBNON sock. i coeeesacacoset castes esseesesbiseesnes 27 89 33 736
Reef .... es eypiseaicis eiscciais icra Sass Siesclees 504 16, 732 454 18, 393
SEVURGN os .c cise seaeieseat decreed Saceaweneasaasenecers i 105. 3, 486 102 3, 009
Polovina. . e@easeicinstaiigdw.atet Swawa nese 153 5, 079 143 4, 218
Little Polovina:.. .. 0... 222526secese ces oewe eceseccs . 45 1, 494 40 1, 180
Vostochni ... pi avbiaglnipiegjcuesia we nisisiey atenioie 4 975 32, 370 910 26,845 | -
Morjovi..........-- sad eeieOenckGrxmesaurteweesexeuisaeins ot 293 , 727 233 6, 873 ‘
TOGA asc isiniaicinscieschsvoiare cleitinipinciajsid SG MRR ESE uae 4, 3u: 137, 696 3, 858 112, 864
200 6, 640 196 5, 782
44 1, 350 46 1, 190
East .-.... 135 4, 482 128 3, 776
Zapadni .... 143 4, 747 133 38, 923
Staraya Artel 15 2,490 57 1, 68L
Total 597| 19, 709 560 16, 352
. |
St. Paul 4,335 137, 696 3, 858 112, 864
St. George 59’ 19, 709 560 16, 352
Grand total ‘ 4,982). 157,405 | 4,418) 129, 216 |

Pup statistics, 1896—Summary.

Note: The dead bodies of pups were originally counted in August. These together with the
accessions through starvation were recounted in October, the earlier counts being deducted to
determine the number starved. .As the period of starvation was not yet completed, a count of those

plainly dying was made, and these are designated as ‘“ starving.”

Dead.
Rookery. ———————— | Starved. | Starving.
| August. | October.
: f
ST. PAUL ISLAND. :
Kitovi . 2.20.22 eee ee ee ee eee ee eee ee renee ences enaeee 109 609 500 42
Lukanin ....-...20--2 02. e cece cence eee eee ener ee eee 205 579 374 27
LR OOD aie aie ties sis ais wiseramierein cw sinivieine areisiae e12-wigitieee eieioiaie n Bees 78 316 238 51
OBO sa ce se oe ree camraean ares se acmtcnmins a afereeeececnss 1, 895 2,449 554 191
ABADI is eeeeinns vote seine te cicciewlstes aaeeaaaMesaameseae ase 3, 095 4, 395 1, 300 154 ¢
Little. Zapad dl... se seecinwceacavenciere sta easjaaiejar cjeaies se sae 134 693 559 64
Zapailnl Reel .<0s.<-r--2ierawnnns ndod CARROTS SEER USA DMO SINY 104 327 223 18
Gorbatelt:cscaccsassccenwigvesiciacisisecinnaind mer sac eeeetereee es 712 | , 1,878 1, 166 126
Ardiguen .---.----2-- 2.2 eee cece eee eet eee eee eee e eee 78 76 8
ReOf xscwe sch oraseectemiosienecmastwaneseawatoasetenerss nase 950 2, 786: 1, 836 300
Sivatel! Rock csscasceertezeneuteceis weegeacgienibeeeaa sedans 50 284 234 31
POlOVING is occ euainsec ie inn heise Haeieeaeeeesesie esiseereenemee ein 635 1,555 920 55
Litéle: Polovinh «2. cicceciccnon deca cba tnseeseeceeraweses sees 47 119 72 22
Vostochni..... - 1, 808 3,313 1, 525 329
MOrjOViswsnesne+saocosesscsnsestesde canes cneseeeess tees 485 950 | 445 109
» MObalic accsecsiens mieee ee asced cwesceeenciee seen nese’ ee 10, 309 20, 331 | 10, 022 1,527
1 Addition of 20 per cent for loss between August and Octo- ' ‘
, ber counts ....-----.22 +. een eee e eee eee eee eens s DOG L. ssa jaassreegais!
Starving pups to be added as starved .... 1, 52% \esccssexise: ,
‘Addition for bodies taken for dissection ......-.-----.----- V5O sl sinsestesiodiesed
Total starved .....000.--cne cec eee cee e een n ec cnemnns lean teneeeelncaceeres | 13760 \eccesckeie oe

1The estimate of 20 per cent here made for the disappearance of carcasses between August and October is shown by
the experiences of 1897 to bean underestimate. Yifty per cent would have been nearer the fact.

214 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

Pup statistics, 1896—Summary—Continued.

Dead.
Rookery. —_—————| Starved. | Starving.
August. | October.
ST. GEORGE ISLAND.

North 259 145 762 7

Staraya Artel. 135 194 253 3

Zapadni 199 527 61 4

East... -. | 112 15 457° 4

Little east i 31 16 i51 1

ROtAL edhe acprepee een oben dich cea oat emaes i oaacen 736 897 | 12,240 19
Starving pups added as starved..-........-..--------.----- | Leseieasies: ava. [ere a at existe 19! | seapricceere's
MPOtal: 2c sasi.t doscecatsheaatsenue ids Socleceseeseendeces tN eetecdses ee | 2,259 |...

1 The figures herein given for starved pups on the rookeries of St. George are estimates based upon the conditions
of St. Pe The foxes had eaten not only the carcasses of the earlier dead pups on St. George, but also those of the
starved pups.

Dead pups before August 10, 1896-1897.

=
Rookery. 1896, 1897.
ST. PAUL.
Kitovi ........05 Peet rs sala ate iia ahRishate pare tdielepasiarsbie Malcersiets aluie betywieyonna Suaieedloersstomneg eyes 109 202
Ts A POON caveie is eps paressiaserersre pepe anys aiseaes visi sotparslemisgrestaee ema meee eer 78 70
ILWK aN ateeenc esse vewscemeaetyesteae seeeeeeeens sess ceeeewewpaesemeccs 205 252
LOLS C01 2:-5..5 -is conve s eens eed Gas te apeek ss oe eee eee ea ERS e Eels. 1, 895 1592
Zapadni..- 38, 095 2689
Little Zapadn 134 (3)
Zapadni Reef - 104 70
Gorbatch....-. 712 382
A POI SION secre sicrcciececinapsaiecianre siete Reciees eee eo aad mieiale weeinclataweciee 2 10
Reef sxe ancusernaccses wanise ene sirkiecaieate slawinisteuiaisinews canon wares 950 642
Sivutch Roel: :cescasescccussecossesats sepesenaieseccesestecanikeis teas, ' 50 (3)
POLO WIN as a5 peas less i ai ie eae s ed ike Wore OER ERROR Sere al 635 (3)
Witte: BolOv imac sccscscis.s's sheicssycisdsate vce sscizis’ ois orassrain lejetniovars Sie'esswinegleleisleiee heres cs 47 (3)
Vos bOCh niesjerierscre Seorsincoe haiareiieess erase wave lniomayslomiaicic Sarereis oe eemundeielelsaieaje a 1, 808 (3)
MNJ OVE 5s aintsesccsisrsercie cist cizia ¢ as aiciennie Sie wie twaictsieca ys ecaeiaw ase a ela ee aeein heme ainemetieve vies 485 (3)
Haat: sasce2cedsee as 3 112 93
Zapadni...-...-..- a 199 112
Staraya Artel : 135 15
Total siccesc.caaisce ssa isesesscie sitinweisteiecinanw ina is aise git aS Syaare Sree is aims isiasateccioters 736 558
Grand total ocmsceccctmiaciie ca wsqemianccdioesinslepeiad te PAteumeueve en med 2 heeee cris 11, 045 |.....--..-

1Only the sand flat was counted, on which were 1,495 pups in 1896.
2Only the gully knownas the ‘‘ death trap’’ was counted.
8 Not counted in 1897,

’ PELAGIC SEALING.

PELAGIC SEALING CATCHES, 1894-1897.

‘Note: The detailed catches of the American and Canadian sealing fleets for the period 1894-1897
are here given to illustrate the absence of beneficial effect from the regulations of the Paris Award
under which the pelagic sealing industry has been conducted since 1894, and incidentally to show the
decline of the herd as manifest in the declining catch. The latter fact taken in connection with the
diminishing fleet shows the growing unprofitableness of the pelagic industry.

Fur-seal catch of American vessels for 1894.!

[Prepared by A. B. Alexander.] .

Vessel.

Northwest

Japan
coast.

Copper

coast. Island. Sea.

AMON csnsccginviemenciese seaweed cwdeteauseoe :

Anna Matilda. «2c .250000 cccees cee cee sec
Alle 1. AlQOts asscxexssauvenensaeve aossaere
Bonanza

Bowhead
Cc. G. White

me feted ajslere ciscnaim arate

Epping POP cmicece jens

Edward E. Wepstet: -
Ella Johnson......

H.C. Wahlberg -.
Henry Dennis. ...
Herman .......

Jane Gray .....----.------ + eee ee:
Kate and Anna ....-..---..------.++-

ary H. Thomas?....
Mascot4 ...........
Mattie T. Dyer...
Mathew Turner’.
Penelope.......
Prescott ...

Willard Ainsworth ..
Winchester..........
Amateur® ..-
Columbia®. a a
C.C. Perkins®..
Deeahks ®..-.
Dart®......+..cccc0e-
Felitz®....-....--

James G. Swané
Puritan

41, 000

1Senate Doe. 137, 1895.
.2'This vessel had not yet returned.
3Lost; number of skins not known.

4Lost; 535 skins taken; none saved.
5 Lost; skins not saved.
®Indians from Neah Bay.

216 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

Fur-seal catch of Canadian vessels for 1894.!

[From official sources.]}

| Crews. Catch.
Vessels. Tons. British| y, an. Bering Sea. Total.
White, | Indi- | Colum- | °222™"| Copper |-——--—----—
ans.| bia | const. Island Male. | Female

{

i
Enterprise ......--.--- 69 | 1, 568
Rosie Olsen... = 39: 1, 899
Unnbrina ......- 99: 2; 801
Oscar and Hattie - 81° 1, 909
Diana . 150 | 2, 394
Brenda 100 2, 726
Arietis 86 | 1, 288
Casco.......-- 63 | 1, 926
Dora Siewerd... 24 2, 584
Walter A. Earle 68 | 2) 148
POWs seecones owes 159 1,557
Agnes Macdonald : 107 | 2,178
W. P. Hall........ : 99 | 710
Mermaid ....... F 73 | 2,108
City of San Diego. 46 | 1, 554
Mary Taylor.... 43 | 1,124
Libbie - 93 1,210
May Be 58 | 1, 122
Mary Ellen . 63 | 2, 452
Miva csencsccex ; 92 | 1, 437
W.P. Sayward 60 : 641
Penelope ...-.-. 70 | 1, 892
OPA: sednessess 60 | 1, 270
Carlotta G. Cox. 76 | 1, 947
Triumph .-.....- ae 98 : 4, 56)
tto ..-.-- 86 | 1, 637
E. B. Marvin 96 | 2,118
Sapphire - 109 ' 2, 640
‘Annie E. Paint . 82 | 2, 028
Geneva....... 92 ; 1, 650
Teresa... 63 | 1, 222
Sadie Turpel . 56 i 1, 954
Ocean Belle... 83 | 804
Maud S..- 97: 1,429
Aurora........-.- 41 8 931
Florence M. Smith.. 99 : 117
Beatrice ...-....-- 66 5 1,518
Mascot .- 40 | 4 1, 103
Favorite...-.... 180 | 5 1, 846
Annie C. Moore. et 13 8! 2, 256
Labrador ..... a 25 53 868
Wanderer a2 25 2 400
Pioneer....- 66 24 1, 681
Saucy Lass. 38 7) 838
Borealis .... 37 6° 1, 452
Katharine 82 6: 1, 328
Ainoko.. 7 5 2,124
Kate.. 58 5 946
Shelby . 16 5 411
Venture ........ 48 3 909
Walter L. Rich. 76 9: 2, 440
Mountain Chief. 23 1) 175
Fisher Maid .. a 21 : 92
Minnie ....... 6 46 6, 2, 153
San José E 3L 5) 869
Kilmeny ... 19 2 684
Henrietta .. al 5 1,082
C.D. Rand. . ws 51 7 357
Beatrice ......-...-.... 49 21 eajees -| 1,703
Canoe catch by Indians |.-....-. focrereet tees d 3, 989
Total 22220-2455 3, 866 | 11,705 | 14,636 | 94, 474

‘Senate Doc. 137, 1895,

PELAGIC SEALING. 217

Catch of American. vessels enyaged in pelagic sealing during the season of 1895.!

7 Japan | Russian | American | Bering | i
Nesael, waters. | waters.| coast, Sea. | Total. |
i
J. Eppinger.. laelifa eraee/a(a cine evar 452 1,377
aia teratcravesa ad 430 1, 067
E, os Wobster at, 270 1, 036
AMON. 300605006 : silts 142 358
Mattie T. Dyer...... i nculnsieasions 149
Emma and : 507 776
Bonanza .. 289 1,215
Bowheall ns sscssstamnsaasimssasmecesavexnceses| BOB Trcapracenc| BB bagwconcece 4,
Winchester...-..... caacenaclt (6800) 97402); | - BBD eer 923
Sophia, Sutherland ..........--..0----.-e-------| BDH [.-ee.e-8-| A eee 309
Columbia ....... a 544 913
James G. Swan... 1, 084 1. 308
Stella Erland.... 841
Puritan 10
Teazer.. 87
6
35
34
209
843
674
49
41
24
99.
391
329
1,197
q i 1, 048
| Jane Gray a3 a 1,297
eee : 426
| W. Ainsworth ........ 3 1, 681
M.M. Morrill... 984
Louis Olsen. -. ate : 1, 009
; Ida Etta 2.0.0... eee eee ee 1, 058
Total 20 scucsconecies teat ecchomeecte dence 10, 817 1, 250 2, 269 8,251 | 22, 587
¢
1 Report of Secretary of Treasury, 1895, pp. CLXXI-1I.
Fur-seal catch of Canadian vessels for 1895.)
Crew. Catch
g : & | Bering Sea.
: B43 + os |—_——_—_————_
Vessel. Tons. 32 a ae
3 = O66 2 a =
a|¢ a | ae o | BS 3
2/8/3813] 2s 8 ot ra ot a
bi amt ~ Sem 3 88 o S
elei2i/a ie | # if"! 3 | E >
EF\/&!a/ds!la4 5m |e a = a
Agnes McDonaid.... 8 8 1,973
Ainoko........ . 2 1, 319
Amateur = 65
Annie C. Moore...... 1, 647
Annie F, Paint ...... 2, 022
Arietis .... 1,106
AULOTAE ...-------0-6- 821
Beatrice (Shanghai) .. 1, 676
Beatrice (Vancouver) 202
Borealis -.-......+--- 1, 648
renda ....-- 881
Cc. D. Rand... 784
oe G. Cox 1, 567
“ Casco.....-..-- 1, 659
City ‘San Diego .. 613
iaDa...--..s0- 1, 164
Director ....-.. 688
Dora Siewerd . . 2, 082
E. B. Marvin... 1,332
Enterprise. ...- 1, 950
Favorite ...-..-.- 1, 797
Fawn...... hie nies ca 1, 024

1 Annual Report Department Marine and Fisheries, Canadian Government, 1895.

218 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS

Fur-seal catch of Canadian ressels for 1895—Continued.

Crew. Catch.
] :
| g Be. Bering Sea.
So; od ow
Vessel. Tons. Sa a 8
F . | OS 5 Bo a
g|2 | a9 = SA e
© a “a A = ‘a 4 ‘:
= cI 4 3 As @ He o a a
3 6 ei) oe me 3S a S
F/ala id] a Ss |e a i a
Fisher Maid ......--. 21 1] 12
Florence M. Smith ... 99 41
Fortuna ..- 974) AB |secce
Geneva -- 92 | 29 became
Henrietta. . - 31 7 8
Kate ....... 58 6] 21
Katherine .- 81 7| 21
Kilmeny . 18 3 8
Labrador 25 4) 1)
Libbie ....- 92 8] 21
Mary Ellen 63 | 10} 20
Mary ‘aylor. 43 | 18 }....-
Mascot... 40 7| 16
Maud $ .. 97 9) 32
58 7, 28
ie 73 | 24 )....-
46 8 18
Mountain Chief...... 23 | 2/ 16
Ocean Belle........-. 83; 23 |.....
Oscar and Hattie..... 82 9) 24
OUO scevesecess smsere 86 8 | 32
Pachwellis- s 19) |eseee 14
Penelope. 69 5 | 24
Pioneer ...- 66 | 24 |....-
Rosie Olsen 89 Bases lt secs
Sadie Turpel. 56 | 19 |.....
Sapphire. 108 8) 37
San Jose... 31 5 | 20
Saucy Lass ate 38 6} 21
Shelby ..... 2 TG") 10) te eaye
21) 4) 10
63 8 | 17
aoe 98 8, 43
99 | 25 ).....
60 | 19 ).....
63 7 | 25
i errata 92} 23 |....-
Walter L. Rich . 76 9) 24
Wanderer ......-...- 25 2; 10
Indian canoes catch xj sine sefe ets baie
Totaliscccicawee% 3, 892 | 705 854 | 210 | 421 | 9,853 | 18, 687 6, 281 | 15,949 | 19,969 | 70,739

PELAGIC SEALING. 219

Fur-seal catch for 1896.!

AMERICAN VESSELS.

Catches.
Vessel. North. | J@#pan ;
: and Berin
Robe: Russian | Sea. | Total.
coasts,
PNG OT as caiate'S sicye sca al che cis wip jae cahaase mos seaeasce neeadceee sea 99 821
BOliN F808 oes ond ss csescecamaaiwiaed acaecdeuponse 228 865
Col Mba wcsicgscsie acceniccosaccqscadauetaemsweree 244 648
©. Cs Per kang) ce caeianciocnmaiecmemaciesneueweesen see 39 39
Deeahks (Tadian) soca ccscavscewasseuwneavencencce ae A 88 623
NS bs cjazrcee cro a ort NiSIe oie cinings, dwimciciniasd wis e'ayd drerapeieann'eecodn oie dafouinecenmen dl 935
ASG OM ops sharers 2c sea ciosecciaiasS grate Scin'g pind Hae Rw Baw dec eRrameNEm iaeeeaeete 340
J. Eppinger..................- 1, 361 1, 361
DBO GIN a c53 van se meinsanca con ose tnatnamascacecngas saaecie asl capaacmeee 734
Jas. G. Swan..........-.0..+ 120 213
POOR os one cevnevew rag eunnqex 140 140
Kato and Arth..cscssnasexs 2es66eeedadencuscbannnce 595 595
Biowise, Dy coccs seicteigyiwienduyaiee Depeicieis awd ass haadiersielms acpisarteel msitiamuciamma 685
DA DL NOGUI soiccnin un onicenaveese we sie neneceerseuwauaees) Bl learereraie wie 904
PU cision ea acmucenieydu/PaawainGlaw keh tacdae eeioiewecs: 24 24
PORGIONG. oc ncstam ananaaanavanacxmadasussiinsadeniestene 400 400
RAY io ceevsannameeowctanaicuececccareea scseicteesls al Siew sieinrees 938
Sb, Lawrence vic ssiscecrc.cgnganecoom geaeectan eomaenteeneeeecseeclus cece oe 855
BIORS occowan pansaamannnsncderty 32 32
OAS OP ee se wis eaiesieae dees a -8 117 117
Willard AinB WOT o cccencangoneevisncenerransmomarwnencaslcaasexexen 926
Indian canoes, etc... 22... 22 2e eee eee ec ee cee eneeerenueenes 227 227
. Twenty-one vessels.....----2 22.220 e eee e eee e ne ee eee 3, 714 12, 432
1 Statistical tables, fur-seal catch, Document No. 1932, Treasury Department, 1897.
CANADIAN VESSELS.!
Commander seal | pripiiof seal herd.
Total.
Vessel. Japan | Russian North. Bering
coast. coast. Goaat. Sea.

Stele pigeietnys Spmpesaieierersieieis) 723
827
Aimoko ... 567
Allie J. Alg: 1,118
Amateur........-.--.---.- 109
Annie C. Moore. a eats 1,519
Annie E. Paint ........-.. sie 225 1, 040
ATlCtis coca eieecnjeceeciese i ee io 1,472
AMTOTA:, «35:05:52.2 20ciesseex se 360 437
Beatrice (Shanghai). -... 913
- Beatrice (Vancouver). -. 455
Borealis..1...--.-..2.+4+ 632
2 Rati ss csewnsuesxeecncn e : e 5 569
Carlotta G. Cox......-.--... ; 1, 456
Carrie C. W.....--.-...----- 3 1,072
1, 010
613
1, 092
1,076
1, 109
1, 203
662
1, 087
1, 878
1, 043
Fisher Maid (wrecked) . 63
Florence M. Smith... Oe

a
950
1, 033
§22
215
100
399
1,095
b Mary Mllon .2cccc.c-0200-2 -ecscsssonvessawses aes 536

1 Thompson Report, 1896, pp. 26-37.

220 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

Fur-seal catch for 1896—Continued.
CANADIAN VESSELS—Continued.

Commander seul | pripilof seal berd.
‘Vessel. j Total.
Japan | Russian ao Bering
coast. | coast. Conn: Sea.
Mary Taylor.. 520
Mascot ..... 25 2 \ 609
Maud S§8..- ‘ 602
Mermaid é o 1, 285
Minnie -.-.- . 970
Ocean Belle ...-. ' 316 900
Oscar and Hattie 942
i 1, 220
602
: 200
t 152
Penelope...-. 1, 352
Pioneer .-..--... 1, 268
Sadie Turpel.. : E 863
Sapphire =e: sac caine sin aesasewae seria ccaewsien ou [eedesces ‘ 1, 420
San Jose (wrecked, 4 skins lost). . aie 835
Saucy Lass 235 » 1,026
Selma....... a 1 185
South Bend. Batis : 429
. Teresa.... 714
Triumph . 1, 376
Umbrina. . 1, 081
Venture -. 71L
Vera. ..--- 836
Victoria ..-. ¥H 1, 065
Viva (seized) . . 677
Walter L. Rich - ni 492
Zillah May ..- 28 821
Indian canoes......-.--------------- +e eee ee eee eee 2, 353
Sixty-eight vessels ...........-..---------- 18, 246 | 1. 028 10, 703 25, 700 | 55, 677
1 |
SUMMARY OF CANADIAN VESSELS.
DAPAD CORSE: «= 2s <cceacaccesswias cawiesa cis Maeve bei wewige ee tinciowe aes tussle sec saeice Beste neces 18, 246
Russian COaS tircecsie sinc as eepe hee wig Reatitesiqeinennet cies gacedeewise ss ora gies aglowe 2. Degeome eisrsiteederee 1, 028
Commander seal herd s22.6 202. scece se neees tees eeeeenceses seseshancewe bese euscessecdeyeeeses 19, 274
Northwest: GOasyis.<.2isc cic, sicreicare yids Reicraiase cisigie dieeeis aura a Siatera wie-d Dia iors pote tGyases bead epnoisid diciis Slee Sia OME Sey, 10, 708
Bering Sea. sosesisseeiessie.n sinie aceite aint sain. sense aicitai tere Hale e gos Mideieie iets Peron eie eee Rmeeleeemeneeemeiseee’ oe 25, 700
Pribilof seal hord so: sacie con cctcuceceere ssecsaece ceeeaeccseneeccoees 3 UnisGulebeeckinwasces 36, 403
Canadian vessels 55, 677
American vessels . . . 12, 432
Ota cascceerssac deve eeaieseelducula met cesumeicdaees Saranac retens cashoce Meets eseosecole sa 168, 109

Pelagic fur-seal catch of American vessels, 1897.

i Northwest | Bering | Russian /

Vessel. coast. | Sea. coast. |

Total.

Fisher Bros. ....
as and Anna.

. Eppinger. --
Toulas 3 5 eee
Jas.G. Swan ..
Columbia -..-.-

Bering Sea..-.--
‘Teaser . -
Rattler
Elsie.......---

St. Lawrence......

i Total svsccaeacscedes osdercntesetsneecetereeeiees eels 1, 758 857 1,275 | 4, 648
L i
1In addition to this total for the year 1896 there was a catch of 2,623 skins made by Japanese vessels on the Asiatic

side.
2There was a difference of 6 in the catch of this vessel between the statement of the master and inspector at
Astoria.
3The Eppinger took 319 skins, all females, south of the award area, and the Louisa D. took 445, 47 males and 398
females, in the same waters. !

PELAGIC SEALING.

Pelagic fur-seal catch of Canadian vessels, 1897.

Northwest| Bering | Russian
Veseel: coast. sea. el coast. | Total
Pioneer 878
(CPD. Rand 2a. searosn scar sicedeinsk palaces isciesinsece temas ses, 302
Mary Me ih ose. ceercieenysce are Stee se caisane sinioe pimrsiccimewersiesciese 290
Alige Jy Al gals iosiseccecesees seswsiccesvsiewes teceeeenexecd 640
ATIGUIS) oie sese weesesncuteseseee Secha oetmeee nee Sodee sted 1, 064
Amateur. . 20
Enterprise 558
Beatrice .. 737
Teresa ...- 848
Victoria .... aareriets aaieaa te eeeS 776
Mary Taylor.....-..--------- 944
E.B. Marvin ..........--------- 1, 250
WOW) co co ease ssacisieccigincicsemenee 491
Ainoko ..... 1, 331
Dora Siewerd........--..---.-- , 339
Minnie... cee ces ees cee eee 996
City of San Diego...-..-.....-- 463
Triumph: secs esesesezcass aise): 1,760
Ocean Belle.......-..----.----- 959
RAN OT UE © jooissiaiecaicicteinis isis arsiciavesein gps ciesereistere jo ele RS Be ieipiaielnjaraiainnis fis gies selnciqye’ 553
Otto ...... dhe weeraiens 1,021
Penelope. ..eiec 2s sccccccsctecs 822
Sadie Turpel.........----------- 20-22-20 ee ee eee eee eee lene e ee eee eee 899
Sapphire.....-....--------- 98
Zillah May. - z 827.
Annie E. Paint. ..-.-.--..--.--- 1, 298
Borealis ......-----.-.--------- 626
| NDIA 2 erasers eicid die sisinciscindinses ras peel EME, 1, 008
Mermaid ...... 1, 123
Charlotta G. C 1, 438
VOL a eee hercic crercwiee sis aucenseeainaeteane ieise eames vmaiveinemdis leemem cena 540
Director's 2020202002220 sacees sceaewsions eeeceses: S28 widine 1, 052
Ca8C0 a i2o2hecesent sess smosecmaaniecesceaieeseoswsiciescsees 1, 064
DADE: asics carsn-ceshsiseesesaxees were ecmetereeaeeeeeeds 25
Agnes MeDonald a. nc. ncncnn ne nnradanseeian seWhneNa aeons RIE RE NSE 489
GOT CVA cas: in cess rece chm psisyoecepa sic ciate foperatascisic Recia esdiaisiese'opaslatoenals [MR alc 804
Higher: Main wacisziccscaicsacnciae sie ciniesiewie sie eemasioe se ese tees, 27
Motintnin: Chil: osicccncmcsccscsuscdcosicncadcaesassanecce 12
Pach Wells 22s: cero: cijse pewesiasce socckteniswaecnccmsreeen 24
Indian: Canoe sa sa asececcewsieis cessancacaseceseese cjosveneee ‘i 1,018
otal cccssa us cc tiecesnis Semester secine sess nceeesecees 6, 100 15, 607 8,703 | 30, 409

American vessels
-Canadian vessels..-.......--

221

1In addition to this a catch of 3,823 skins was taken by Japanese vessels on the Russian coast.

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SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

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NOTES ON PELAGIC CATCH. 223

PELAGIC SEAL CATCHES, 1868 TO 1897.
AUTHORITIES FOR FIGURES USED IN FOREGOING TABLE.
[In quoting from Fur-Seal Arbitration Papers the first edition is always referred to.]

'Fur-seal Arbitration. App. to U. S. Case, vol. 1, p. 591.

2Catches for years 1868 to 1879, inclusive, is made up of Northwest coast catches (Fur-Seal
Arbitration; British Commissioners’ Report, p. 207 et seq.); Indian canoe catches (British
Commissioners’ Report, pp. 207, 208), and skins obtained through the Hudson Bay Company’s trading
stations (British Commissioners’ Report, p. 213).

3Catches of pelagic sealers and Indian canoes (British Commissioners’ Report, pp. 207, 208), and
returns from Hudson Bay Company’s posts (British Commissioners’ Report, p. 213). :

4San Francisco custom-house records: Deputy Collector Jerome’s letters of February 26 et seq.,
1892, on filein Treasury Department.

5 Catch of schooner City of San Diego (British Commissioners’ Report, p. 208).

6Catches of pelagic sealers in North Pacitic and Bering Sea (British Commissioners’ Report, p.
209), and returns from Hudson Bay Company’s posts (British Commissioners’ Report, p. 213).

7 Catches in North Pacific from all sources (British Commissioners’ Report, pp. 210, 213).

8 Marketed catches from Bering Sea (British Commissioners’ Report, p. 210) plus 2,000 skins seized
on schooners Onward, Thornton, Carolina, and San Diego (H. H. McIntyre’s manuscript report to Alaska
Commercial Company, a copy of which isin possession of Department).

9 British commissioner’s estimated catch of American vessels in all localities (British Commissioners’
Report, p. 212).

10 North Pacifie catches (British Commissioners’ Report, pp. 210, 213).

Marketed catches from Bering Sea (British Commissioners’ Report, p. 210) plus 8,910 skins
seized in Bering Sea and unaccounted for by British commissioners; 11,901 skins were seized that
year (United States Counter Case, p. 337), and the British commissioners, on page 210 of their report,
account for 2,991 of them.

12North Pacific catches (British Commissioners’ Report, pp. 211, 213).

13 Bering Sea catches (British Commissioners’ Report, pp. 211, 212).

14 North Pacific catches (British Commissioners’ Report, pp. 211, 213).

56 This figure, 27,450, is the sum of the figures 22,530 and 4,920, the origin of which will be found
under note 16. The British commissioners, on page 18 of their report, give the approximate total catch
as 68,000.

'6In a letter from the British foreign office to the Secretary of State, dated May 17, 1895, the
Bering Sea catch of British vessels for 1891 is quoted at 29,146, Ithas been found by this Department
that these figures represent the total catch in Bering Sea—thatis, including seals killed off the western
side, in Russian waters, aa well as off the eastern side, which afterwards became the award area, This
is borne out by the fact that it appears by the British case before the tribunal at Paris that 41 vessels
were warned out of the American side of Bering Sea between June 29 and August 15, 1891, under the
modus vivendi of June 15 of that year. It is certain that many of these vessels crossed over to the
Russian side of Bering Sea and continued sealing until the close of the season.

Statistics made by Mr. Alfred Fraser, now in possession of the Treasury Department, show that
8,432 skins were thus taken on the western side of Bering Sea in Russian waters. Ofthese, 6,616 were
taken by British vessels and 1,816 by American vessels. We should, therefore, deduct from the British
figures (29,146) the sum of 6,616, leaving 22,530 as the British catch in the award area—that is, the
eastern side of Bering Sea—for the year 1891.

It further appears from Mr. Fraser’s figures that the American catch in Bering Sea in 1891 was
6,736, of which 1,816 were taken in Russian waters and 4,920 in the award area. Adding to tho
corrected British catch, 22,530, the catch of the American vessels, 4,920, we have 27,450 as the total

catch of British and American vessels in that part of Bering Sea known as the award area for the
year 1891.

In the report of the Committee on Ways and Means to accompany H. R. 8909, Fifty- third Congress,
third session, Report No, 1849, the catch in Bering Sea for the year 1891 was given as 23,041, on the
authority of the Treasury Department. These figures included only the returns of British reac, as
no reliable returns as to American vessels were then in the possession of the Department. The result
was reached by deducting from the estimate given by Consul Meyers in his report (United States
counter case), 28,605, a number of skins estimated to have been taken off the Russian coast. This

224 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

estimate was reached by a careful examination of all catches referred to in the affidavits and other
papers in the case and counter case of the United States and Great Britain, excluding those which
were claimed to have been taken off the Russian coast.

That the British returns (above cited), 29,146, include seals taken on the western side of Bering
Sea, from the Russian herd, will appear, as above stated, from the fact of the warning of said vessels,
under the modus vivendi, and their subsequent crossing to the Russian coast.

The report of the minister of marine and fisheries of Canada for 1891 credits none of the catch
to Russian waters. In 1892, however, said report credits 14,805 skins out of a total of 53,912 from
said Asiatic shores. The fact that this large catch was made in 1892 points strongly to similar catches
in the year 1891, which are confirmed by the above-mentioned evidence.

17Obtained by subtracting the total of 27,450 and 8,432 from 68,000.

18See United States counter case, page 408.

“Taken from Alfred Fraser’s estimates for American sealing fleet in Asiatic waters. Skins
entered in United States ports.

The smallness of the number, 2,199, suggests that either many of the vessels after clearing
sailed directly for the Japan coast, or else the catches off the Northwest coast were transshipped at
Japan ports.

21The American catch for 1893 is based upon statistics compiled by A. Fraser and on file in the
Treasury Department. The United States consul at Victoria states (Consular Reports No. 161, p. 279)
that American schooners in 1893 transshipped at Yokohama and Hakodate between 17,000 and 18,000
skins. This is further confirmed by the report of the Canadian department of marine and fisheries
for 1893, page clxviii, which gives the catch of American vessels landed at Hakodate as 18,587.

2 The figures for the catches of Canadian vessels are taken from the report of the Canadian
department of marine and fisheries for 1893, page elxvii.

The London trade sales for 1893 account for the disposition of 109,669 pelagic skins.

**Compiled from the reports of collectors at ports of entry on the Pacific Coast. These reports
are on file in the Treasury Department.

The figure 23,710 is obtained by taking the 6,836 skins noted under the caption ‘ Locality
undetermined” in the letter of the Secretary of the Treasury to Congress dated January 21, 1895
(Fifty-third Congress, third session, Ex. Doc., 243), and dividing them between the Asiatic and
American herds in-similar proportions as the other skins landed at United States ports in United
States sealing vessels during 1894. The result would be: American herd, 6,152; Asiatic, 684. Adding
6,152 to the catch on the Northwest coast (12,398) already given and the Bering Sea catch (5,160)
already given, we have the total 23,710.

26 Made up of skins as per records of collectors of customs on the Pacific coast, which credit 1,500
to Asiatic waters; 684 skins, previously referred to in note 25, and the 20,000 skins which it is
estimated were transshipped in Japan (Ex. Doc. 243, Fifty-third Congress, third session. ‘Notes
concerning catch for 1894,” p. 4).

7 Taken from report of Canadian department of marine and fisheries for 1894, page 9.

The figures 26,425 include one American vessel, whose catch was 84 skins.

The figures 49, 843 contain the catches of three American vessels, which aggregated 490 skins.

The facts in the two foregoing paragraphs are given in a report of Fisheries Commissioner
Costigan to the Governor-General of Canada, under date of January 9, 1895, page 9.

23 Reports of collectors of customs at American ports of entry on the Pacitic Coast.

“Official statement sent by United States Consul Roberts, at Victoria, under date of November
15, 1895, and on file in the Treasury Department.

The pelagic catch for 1895 is further increased by a catch of about 10,000 skins taken by
vessels clearing from Japanese ports.

31From returns of United States inspectors who examined skins landed in United States ports.

From official returns of collector of customs, Victoria, British Columbia. Skins not inspected.

In averages per vessel relating to Northwest coast catch, the canoe catches aro not included.
British Columbia canoe catch, 2,353, included in Canadian Northwest coast total.

Total catch of American and Canadian vessels for 1896 further increased by a catch of 3,392
skins taken by vessels clearing from Japanese ports, and of 1,497 skins taken by natives in the passes
of the Aleutian Islands.

% All log entries relating to American pelagic catch sworn to by masters of vessels, but most of
them changed as to proportion of females upon examination of catches by inspectors of seal skins.

PERCENTAGE OF FEMALES. 225

~ %6Proportion of females in all Canadian returns taken from statements by ma.ters of vessels.

Catches not officially inspected as to sex.

37Data concerning catches of American vessels in all waters for 1896 are based on reports trom
United States custom-houses, supplemented by information collected by Mr. C.H. Townsend; data
concerning catches of British Columbia vessels, furnished by the Canadian collector of customs at
Victoria; catches in 1895 of vessels belonging to Japanese ports, furnished by United States consular
officers in Japan. Catches of similar vessels in 1896 are from unofficial sources, are incomplete, and
less than number actually taken. ;

% Total catch of American vessels is increased by the catch of 224 skins taken by the Prosper off
the Galapagos Islands and by 319 skins taken by the Eppinger, and 445 taken by the Louisa D, south
of the award area.

\ . :
Total sealing vessels in award area.

i aes. bcdbooa | Geoe. 1 aa |
Readeitarfsucde| 38 30, 32 18
Canadian ........-. 35 32 49 59

iL Total ........ 64 62 al 7 of

Total sealing vessels in Asiatic waters.

Eo Siein bieisisreiais a3l 35 17 8
Canadian ..--.-..-. 38 36 25 28
By.) es 10 9

Total ........ 69 71 52 45
= a Estimated. xe

Total sealing vessels in Asiatic and American waters.

|
American.........- 28 35 35 ' 21
|
Canadian .......-.. 56 60 62 66
|
Japanese .------...)-------- +e |---- eee eee 10 ; 9
)
Total .....--. 84 95 107 9

Percentage of females in pelagic catches in 1894, 1895, and 1896.
NORTHWEST COAST.
British? give no figures.

British give no figures.
British vessels, 40 per cent.

1894.—American vessels,! 88 per cent.
1895.—American vessels, 74 per cent.
1896.—American vessels, 93 per cent.

BERING SEA.

British vessels, 55 per cent.
British vessels, 55 per cent.
British vessels, 61 per cent.

1894,.—American vessels, 69 per cent.
1895.—American vessels, 73 per cent.
1896.—American vessels, 75 per cent.

1 Statistics for American vessels were obtained from examination of the skins in the customs house. '
2Statistics for British vessels were furnished by the captains. The vessels of the two fleets were engaged side by

side in the same area and at the same time,

1518415

226 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

Estimated value of Canadian vesséls engaged in pelagic sealing in all waters, season of 1896, but not 1897,
cleared from Victoria.

First Doane Esti- | Esti- | Estimated
cost, for age, Num. | mated | mated] hae 3
1 q ag - ‘
Name of vessel. ons allow Age. |at5per| ber of value vue
ge ing cent | boats of boats} of ves-
$75 per per " | at $50 |sel and Num
ton. Bana each. | boats. Der. Value
Carrie, C. W 91.8 | $6,885 9 | $3, 786 3 $150 | $3, 936 15 | $375
San José ... 30.58 | 2,293 40 3 2 100 329 8 200
Saucy Lass. 37.82 | 2,836 5 | 2,127 2 100 | 2,227 11 275
Libbie.....-.. 93 6, 975 53 | 5,928 3 150 | 6,070 14 350
Walter L. Rich. 76 5, 700 20 (3) 11 550 | 1,120] (4) (4)
Oscar and Hattie. 81 6, 075 13 | 2,120 3 150 | 2,276 13 325
Ocean Rover ..- 55 4,125 3,919 2 100 | 4,019 9 225
Ventura -| 48.4 3, 630 515 907 3 150 | 1,057 8 200
ate ..------- -| 58 4, 350 35 3 2 100 535 12 300
South Bend -. -| 20 1,500 16 300 2 100 400 5 125
Dolphin «| 72 5, 400 15 | 1,350 3. 150} 1,500 13 825
Doris.-.-. -| 59.79 | 4,484 52] 4,035 2 100 | 4,135 14 350
Ada...... -| 90 6, 750 17; 1,012 2 100 | 1,112 11 275
Selma «| 21.44] 1,608 4) 1,286 1 50 | 1,336 5 125
Florence M. Smith ...| 98.69 | 7,401 55 | 5,550 9 450 | 6,000 (4) 4)
Viva ---| 92 6, 900 12 2,760 8 400 | 3,160 (4) (4)
Mascot 3, 090 65 | 2,317 2 100 | 2,417 200
Aurora 3, 075 9) 1,691 5 250 | 1,941 75
Ida Etta 5, 192 13) 1,817 7 350 | 2,167 | (4) (4)
Total, 19 vessels ....-.-------. 22-2 eee ee ene ee cee eee rece en eee ees $45, 737
Average per vessel (approximately) «| $2, 400

1Prepared by Capt. Calvin L. cao hae R.C.S., commanding Bering Sea patrol fleet.
2Canoe values estimated separately.

3 Vessels 18 years of age or over are estimated at 10 per cent of their original cost.
4Not known.

6 Estimates.

NotTeE.—Repairs made to any of these vessels would increase the value proportionately, and would be subject to the
5 per cent deduction for age the same as the hull.

Sales of Cape Horn! salted fur-seal skins.

Nore.—These figures show the comparatively insignificant yield of these southern rookeries as compared with those
of Bering Sea.

Year. Skins. Year. Skins. Year. Skins. Year. Skins.

1876 6, 306 1882 11,711 1888 4, 403 1894 62
1877 7, 631 1883 4, 655 1889 3, 021 1895 1, 888
1878 8, 227 1884 6, 743 1890 2, 450 1896 2, 510
1879 12, 180 1885 3, 404 1891 3, 114 1897 1, 265
1880 17, 562 1886 909 1892 6, 292
1881 138, 164 1887 2, 762 1893 2,131

1 The skins taken off Cape Horn not under any government contract.

Salted Lobos Island! fur seals sold in London.

!
Year. Skins. Year. Skins. Year. Skins. | Year. | Skins. |
| |
1873 6, 956 1880 14, 836 1887 11, 068 1994 | 12,145
1874 8, 509 1881 13, 569 1888 20, 747 1895 | 12,017
1875 8,179 1882 13, 200 1889 8, 755 1896 | 14,019
1876 11, 353 1883 12, 861 1890 18, 541 1897 | 12,791
1877 18, 066 1884 16, 258 1891 15, 834
1878 12, 301 1885 10, 953 1892 12, 202
1879 12, 295 1886 18, 667 1893 18, 624 |

1 The skins taken by a Uruguayan company on the Lobos Islands off Montevideo.

APPENDIX IL.

DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE FUR-SEAL QUESTION.

AGREEMENT BETWEEN tHE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE
GOVERNMENT OF HER BRITANNIC MAJESTY FOR 4 MODUS VIVENDI IN RELA-
TION TO THE FUR-SEAL FISHERIES IN BERING SEA.

For the purpose of avoiding irritating differences, and with a view to promote the
friendly settlement of the question pending between the two Governments touching
their respective rights in Bering Sea, and for the preservation of the seal species, the
following agreement is made without prejudice to the rights or claims of either party:

(1) Her Majesty’s Government will prohibit, until May next, seal killing in that
part of Bering Sea lying eastward of the line of demarcation described in Article No.
1 of the treaty of 1867 between the United States and Russia, and will promptly use
its best efforts to insure the observance of this prohibition by British subjects and
vessels.

(2) The United States Government will prohibit seal killing for the same period
in the same part of Bering Sea and on the shores and islands thereof, the property
of the United States, (in excess of 7,500 to be taken on the islands for the subsistence
and care of the natives), and will promptly use its best efforts to insure the observance
of this prohibition by United States citizens and vessels.

(3) Every vessel or person offending against this prohibition in the said waters
of Bering Sea outside of the ordinary tcrritorial limits of the United States may
be seized and detained by the naval or other duly commissioned officers of either
of the High Contracting Parties, but they shall be handed over as soon as practicable
to the authorities of the nation to which they respectively belong, who shall alone
have jurisdiction to try the offense and impose the penalties for the same. The
witnesses and proof necessary to establish the offense shall also be sent with them.

(4) In order to facilitate such proper inquiries as Her Majesty’s Government may
desire to make, with a view to the presentation of the case of that Government before
arbitrators, and in expectation that an agreement for arbitration may be arrived
at, it is agreed that suitable persons designated by Great Britain will be permitted at
any time, upon application, to visit or to remain upon the seal islands during the
present sealing season for that purpose.

Signed and sealed in duplicate at Washington this 15th day of June, 1891, on
behalf of their respective Governments, by William F, Wharton, Acting Secretary
of State of the United States, and Sir Julian Pauncefote, G. C. M. G., K. C. B.,
H. B. M., Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary.

[SHAL.] WiLuiAM I, WHARTON.

[SEAL. | JULIAN PAUNCEFOTE.

227

*

228 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND GREAT BRITAIN
CONCLUDED FEBRUARY 29, 1892.

The United States of America and Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland, being desirous to provide for an amicable settlement of
the questions which have arisen between their respective Governments concerning
the jurisdictional rights of the United States in the waters of Bering’s Sea, and
concerning also the preservation of the fur-seal in, or habitually resorting to, the said
sea, and the rights of the citizens and subjects of either country as regards the taking
the fur-seal in, or habitually resorting to, the said waters, have resolved to submit to
arbitration the questions involved, and to the end of concluding a convention for that
purpose have appointed as their respective Plenipotentiaries :

The President of the United States of America, James G. Blaine, Secretary of
State of the United States; and

Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Sir
Julian Pauncefote, G. C. M.G., K. C. B., Her Majesty’s Envoy Extraordinary and
Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States ;

Who, after having communicated to each other their respective full powers which
were found to be in due and proper form, have agreed to and concluded the following
articles :

ARTICLE I. The questions which have arisen between the Government of the
United States and the Government of Her Britannic Majesty concerning the
jurisdictional rights of the United States, in the waters of Bering Sea, and concerning
also the preservation of the fur-seal in, or habitually resorting to, the said sea, and
the rights of the citizens and subjects of either country as regards the taking of fur-
seal in, or habitually resorting to, the said waters, shall be submitted to a tribunal of
arbitration, to be composed of seven arbitrators, who shall be appointed in the following
manner, that is to say: Two shall be named by the President of the United States,
two shall be named by Her Britannie Majesty ; His Excellency the President of the
French Republic shall be jointly requested by the high contracting parties to name
one; His Majesty, the King of Italy, shall be so requested to name one; and His
Majesty the King of Sweden and Norway, shall be requested to name one. The
seven arbitrators to be so named shall be jurists of distinguished reputation in
their respective countries; and the selecting powers shall be requested to choose, if
possible, jurists who are acquainted with the English language.

In case of death, absence, or incapacity to serve of any or either of the said
arbitrators, or in the event of any or either of the said arbitrators omitting or declining
or ceasing to act as such, the President of the United States, or Her Britannic Majesty,
or His Excellency the President of the French Republic, or His Majesty the King of
Italy, or His Majesty, the King of Sweden and Norway, as the case may be, shall name,
or shall be requested to name forthwith another person to act as arbitrator in the place
and stead of the arbitrator originally named by such head of a state.

And in the event of a refusal or omission for two months after receipt of the joint
request from the High Contracting Parties of his Excellency, the President of the
French Republic, or His Majesty, the King of Italy, or His Majesty, the King of
Sweden and Norway, to name an arbitrator, either to fill the original appointment or
to fill a vacancy as above provided, then in such case the appointment shall be made
or the vacancy shall be filled in such manner as the High Contracting Parties shall
agree,

THE ARBITRATION TREATY. 229

Arr. IT. The arbitrators shall meet at Paris within twenty days after the delivery
of the counter cases mentioned in Article IV, and shall proceed impartially and
carefully to examine and decide the questions that have been or shall be laid before
them as herein provided on the part of the Government of the United States and Her
Britannic Majesty, respectively. All questions considered by the tribunal, including:
the final decision, shall be determined by a majority of all the arbitrators.

Each of the High Contracting Parties shall also name one person to attend the
tribunal as its agent to represent it generally in all matters connected with the
arbitration.

ART. III. The printed case of each of the two parties, accompanied by the
documents, the official correspondence, and other evidence upon which each relies,
shall be delivered in duplicate to each of the arbitrators and to the agent of the other
party as soon as may be after the appointment of the members of the tribunal, but
within a period not exceeding four months from the date of the exchange of the
ratifications of this treaty.

ART. IV. Within three months after the delivery on both sides of the printed
case, either party may, in like manner deliver in duplicate to each of the said
arbitrators, and to the agent of the other party, a counter case, and additional
documents, correspondence, and evidence so presented by the other party.

If, however, in consequence of the distance of the place from which the evidence
to be presented is to be procured, either party shall, within thirty days after the
receipt by its agent of the case of the other party, give notice to the other party that
it requires additional time for the delivery of such counter case, documents,
correspondence, and evidence, such additional time so indicated, but not exceeding
sixty days beyond the three months in this article provided, shall be allowed.

If, in the case submitted to the arbitrators, either party shall have specitied or
alluded to any report or document in its own exclusive possession, without annexing
a copy, such party shall be bound, if the other party thinks proper to apply for it,
to furnish that party with a copy thereof; and either party may call upon the other,
through the arbitrators, to produce the originals or certified copies of any papers
adduced as evidence, giving in each instance notice thereof within thirty days after
delivery of the case; and the original or copy so requested shall be delivered as soon
as may be, and within a period not exceeding forty days after receipt of notice.

ART. V. It shall be the duty of the agent of each party, within one month after
the expiration of the time limited for the delivery of the counter case on both sides to
deliver in duplicate to each of the said arbitrators and to the agent of the other
party a printed argument showing the points and referring to the evidence upon
which his Government relies, and either party may also support the same before
the arbitrators by oral argument of counsel; and the arbitrators may, if they desire
further elucidation with regard to any point, require a written or printed statement
or argument, or oral argument of counsel, upon it; but in such case the other party
shall be entitled to reply, either orally or in writing, as the case may be.

AgrT, VI. In deciding the matters submitted to the arbitrators, it is agreed that
the following five points shall be submitted to them, in order that their award shall
embrace a distinct decision upon each of said five points, to wit:

1. What exclusive jurisdiction in the sea now known as the Bering Sea, and.
what exclusive rights in the seal fisheries therein, did Russia assert and exercise prior
and up to the time of the cession of Alaska to the United States?

230 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

2, How far were these claims of jurisdiction as to the seal fisheries recognized
and conceded by Great Britain?

3. Was the body of water now known as the Bering Sea included in the phrase
‘Pacific Ocean,” as used in the treaty of 1825 between Great Britain and Russia;
and what rights, if any, in the Bering Sea were held and exclusively exercised by
Russia after said treaty ?

4. Did all the rights of Russia as to jurisdiction, and as to the seal fisheries in
Bering Sea east of the water boundary, in the treaty between the United States and
Russia of the 30th March, 1867, pass unimpaired to the United States under that
treaty?

5.-Has the United States any right, and if so, what right of protection or property
in the fur-seals frequenting the islands of the United States in Bering Sea, when such
seals are found outside the ordinary 3-mile limit?

ART. VII. If the determination of the foregoing questions as to the exclusive
jurisdiction of the United States shall leave the subject in such position that the
concurrence of Great Britain is uecessary to the establishment of regulations for
the proper protection of the fur-seal in, or habitually resorting to, the Bering Sea,
the arbitrators shall then determine what concurrent regulations outside the jurisdic-
tional limits of the respective Governments are necessary, and over what waters such
regulations should extend, and to aid them in that determination, the report of a
Joint Commission to be appointed by the respective Governments shall be laid before
them, with such other evidence as either Government may submit.

The High Contracting Parties furthermore agree to co-operate in securing the
adhesion of other Powers to such regulations.

Art. VIII. The High Contracting Parties having found themselves unable to
agree upon a reference which shall include the question of the liability of each for the
injuries alleged to have been sustained by the other, or by its citizens, in connection
with the claims presented and urged by it; and being solicitous that this subordinate
question should not interrupt or longer delay the submission and determination of the
main questions, do agree that either may submit to the arbitrators any questions
of fact involved in said claims and ask for a finding thereon, the questions of the
liability of either Government upon the facts found to be the subject of further
negotiation.

ART. IX. The High Contracting Parties have agreed to appoint two commis-
sioners on the part of each Government to make the joint investigation and report
contemplated in the preceding Article VII, and to include the terms of the said
agreement in the present convention, to the end that the joint and several reports and
recommendations of said commissioners may be in due form submitted to the arbi-
trators, should the contingency therefor arise, the said agreement is accordingly
herein included as follows:

Each Government shall appoint two commissioners to investigate conjointly with
the commissioners of the other Governments all the facts having relation to seal life
in Bering Sea, and the measures necessary for its proper protection and preservation

The four commissioners shall, so far as they may be able to agree, make a joint
report to each of the two Governments, and they shall also report, either jointly or
severally, to each Government on any points upon which they may be unable to agree.

THE PARIS AWARD. 231

These reports shall not be made public until they shall be submitted to the arbi-
trators, or it shall appear that the contingency of their being used by the arbitrators
can not arise. :

ART. X. Each Government shall pay the expenses of its members of the joint
commission in the investigation referred to in the preceding article.

ART. XI. The decision of the tribunal shall, if possible, be made within three
months from the close of the argument on both sides.

It shall be made in writing and dated, and shall be signed by the arbitrators who
may assent to it.

The decision shall be in duplicate, one copy thereof shall be delivered to the agent
of the United States for his Government, and the other copy shall be delivered to the
agent of Great Britain for his Government.

ART, XII. Each Government shall pay its own agents and provide for the proper
' remuneration of the counsel employed by it, and of the arbitrators appointed by it,
and for the expense of preparing and submitting its case to the tribunal. All other
’ expenses connected with the arbitration shall be defrayed by the two Governments in
equal moieties.

ART. XIII. The arbitrators shall keep an accurate record of their proceedings,
and may appoint and employ the necessary officers to assist them.

ART. XIV. The High Contracting Parties engaged to consider the result of the
proceedings of the tribunal of arbitration, as a full, perfect, and final settlement of all
the questions referred to the arbitrators.

ART. XV. The present treaty shall be duly ratified by the President of the United
States of America, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate thereof, and by
Her Britannic Majesty; and the ratification shall be exchanged either at Washington
or at London within six months from the date hereof, or earlier if possible.

In faith whereof we, the respective Plenipotentiaries, have signed this treaty and
have hereunto affixed our seals.

Done in duplicate at Washington the twenty-ninth day of February, one thousand
eight hundred and ninety-two.

[SEAL. ] JAMES G. BLAINE.

[SEAL.] JULIAN PAUNCEFOTE.

AWARD OF THE TRIBUNAL OF ARBITRATION CONSTITUTED UNDER THE TREATY
CONCLUDED AT WASHINGTON THE 29TH OF FEBRUARY, 1892, BETWEEN THE UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA AND HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN OF THE UNITED KINGDOM
OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.

{English version.]

Whereas by a treaty between the United States of America and Great Britain,
signed at Washington February 29, 1892, the ratifications of which by the Governments
of the two countries were exchanged at London on May 7, 1892, it was, amongst other
things, agreed and concluded. that the questions which had arisen between the
Government of the United States of America and the Government of Her Britannic
Majesty, concerning the jurisdictional rights of the United States in the waters of
Bering Sea, and concerning also the preservation of the fur seal in or habitually

232 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

resorting to the said sea, and the rights of the citizens and subjects of either country
as regards the taking of fur seals in or habitually resorting to the said waters, should
be submitted to a tribunal of arbitration to be composed of seven arbitrators, who
should be appointed in the following manner, that is to say: Two should be named by
the President of the United States; two should be named by Her Britannic Majesty;
Tlis Excellency the President of the French Republic should be jointly requested by
the high contracting parties to name one; His Majesty the King of Italy should be so
requested to name one; His Majesty the King of Sweden and Norway should be so
requested to name one; the seven arbitrators to be so named should be jurists of
distinguished reputation in their respective countries, and the selecting powers should
be requested to choose, if possible, jurists who are acquainted with the English
language;

And whereas it was further agreed by Article II of the said treaty that the
arbitrators should meet at Paris within twenty days after the delivery of the counter
cases mentioned in Article IV, and should proceed impartially and carefully to
examine and decide the questions which had been or should be laid before them as in
the said treaty provided on the part of the Governments of the United States and of
Her Britannic Majesty, respectively, and that all questions considered by the tribunal,
including the final decision, should be determined by a majority of all the arbitrators;

And whereas by Article VI of the said treaty it was further provided as follows:

In deciding the matters submitted to the said arbitrators, it is agreed that the following five
points shall be submitted to them in order that their award shall embrace a distinct decision upon
each of said five points, to wit:

1. What exclusive jurisdiction in the sea now known as Bering Sea, and what exclusive rights in
the seal fisheries therein, did Russia assert and exercise prior and up to the time of the cession of
Alaska to the United States?

2. How far were these claims of jurisdiction as to the seal fisheries recognized and conceded by
Great Britain?

3. Was the body of water now known as Bering Sea included in the phrase Pacific Ocean, as used.
in the treaty of 1825 between Great Britain and Russia; and what rights, if any, in Bering Sea were
held and exclusively exercised by Russia after said treaty?

4, Did not all the rights of Russia, as to jurisdiction and as to the seal fisheries in Bering Sea east
of the water boundary, in the treaty between the United States and Russia of the 30th of March, 1867,
pass unimpaired to the United States under that treaty?

5. Has the United States any right, and if so, what right, of protection or property in the fur
seals frequentins the islands of the United States in Bering Sea when such seals are found outside the
ordinary 3-mile limit?

And whereas by Article VII of the said treaty it was further agreed as follows:

If the determination of the foregoing questions as to the exclusive jurisdiction of the United
States shall leave the subject in such position that the concurrence of Great Britain is necessary to
the establishment of regulations for the proper protection and preservation of the fur seal in, or
habitually resorting to, Bering Sea, the arbitrators shall then determine what concurrent regulations,
outside the jurisdiction limits of the respective Governments, are necessary, and over what waters
such regulations should extend;

The high contracting parties furthermore agree to cooperate in securing the adhesion of other
powers to such regulations;

And whereas by Article VIII of the said treaty, after reciting that the high
contracting parties had found themselves unable to agree upon a reference which
should include the question of the liability of each for the injuries alleged to have been
sustained by the other, or by its citizens, in connection with the claims presented and

THE PARIS AWARD. 233

urged by it, and that “they were solicitous that this subordinate question should not
interrupt or longer delay the submission and determination of the main questions,”
the high contracting parties agreed that “either of them might submit to the
arbitrators any question of fact involved in said claims and ask for a finding thereon,
the question of the liability of either Government upon the facts found to be the subject
of further negotiation ;”

And whereas the President of the United States of America named the Hon. John
M. Harlan, Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and the Hon. John T.
Morgan, Senator of the United States, to be two of the said arbitrators; and Her
Britannic Majesty named the Right Hon. Lord Hannen and the Hon. Sir John
Thompson, minister of justice and attorney-general for Canada, to be two of the said
arbitrators; and His Excellency the President of the French Republic named the Baron
de Courcel, senator, ambassador of France, to be one of the said arbitrators; and His
Majesty the King of Italy named the Marquis Emilio Visconti Venosta, former minister
of foreign affairs and senator of the Kingdom of Italy, to be one of the said arbitrators;
and His Hajesty the King of Sweden and Norway named Mr. Gregers Gram, minister
of state, to be one of the said arbitrators;

And whereas we, the said arbitrators so named and appointed, having taken upon
ourselves the burden of the said arbitration, and having duly met at Paris, proceeded
impartially and carefully to examine and decide all the questions submitted to us, the
said arbitrators, under the said treaty, or laid before us as provided in the said treaty
on the part of the Governments of Her Britannic Majesty and the United States,
respectively ;

Now we, the said arbitrators, having impartially and carefully examined the said
questions, do in like manner by this our award decide and determine the said ques-
tions in the manner following; that is to say, we decide and determine as to the five
points mentioned in Article VI as to which our award is to embrace a distinct decision
upon each of them:

As to the first of the said five points, we, the said Baron de Courcel, Mr. Justice
Harlan, Lord Hannen, Sir John Thompson, Marquis Visconti Venosta, and Mr.
Gregers Gram, being a majority of the said arbitrators, do decide and determine as
follows:

By the ukase of 1821 Russia claimed jurisdiction in the sea now known as Bering
Sea to the extent of 100 Italian miles from the coast and islands belonging to her;
but, in the course of the negotiations which led to the conclusion of the treaties of
1824 with the United States and of 1825 with Great Britain, Russia admitted that her
jurisdiction in the said sea should be restricted to the reach of cannon shot from
shore, and it appears that from that time up to the time of the cession of Alaska to
the United States Russia never asserted in fact or exercised any exclusive jurisdiction

in Bering Sea or any exclusive rights in the seal fisheries therein beyond the Seay
limit of territorial waters.

As to the second of the said five points, we, the said Baron de Courcel, Mr.
Justice Harlan, Lord Hannen, Sir John Thompson, Marquis Visconti Venosta, and
Mr. Gregers Gram, being a majority of the said arbitrators, do decide and determine
that Great Britain did not recognize or concede any claim upon the part of Russia to
exclusive jurisdiction as to the seal fisheries in Bering Sea outside of ordinary terri-
torial waters.

234 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

As to the third of the said five points, as to so much thereof as requires us to
decide whether the body of water now known as Bering Sea was included in-the
phrase “Pacific Ocean,” as used in the treaty of 1825 between Great Britain and
Russia, we, the said arbitrators, do unanimously decide and determine that the body
of water now known as Bering Sea was included in the phrase “ Pacific Ocean” as
used in the said treaty.

And as to so much of the said third point as requires us to decide what rights, if
any, in Bering Sea were held and exclusively exercised by Russia after the said treaty
of 1825, we, the said Baron de Courcel, Mr. Justice Harlan, Lord Hannen, Sir John
Phiempson, Marquis Visconti Venosta, and Mr. Gregers Gram, being a majority of the
said arbitrators, do decide and determine that no exclusive eas of jurisdiction in
Bering Sea and no exclusive rights as to the seal fisheries therein were held or
exercised by Russia outside of ordinary territorial waters after the treaty of 1825.

As to the fourth of the said five points, we, the said arbitrators, do unanimously
decide and determine that all the rights of Russia as to jurisdiction and as to the seal
fisheries in Bering Sea east of the water boundary, in the treaty between the United
States and Russia of the 30th March, 1867, did pass unimpaired to the United States
under the said treaty.

As to the fifth of the said five points, we, the said Baron de Courcel, Lord Hannen,
Sir John Thompson, Marquis Visconti Venosta, and Mr. Gregers Gram, ein g a majority
of the said arbitrators, do decide and determine that the United States has not any
right of protection or property in the fur seals frequenting the islands of the United
States in Bering Sea when such seals are found outside the ordinary 3-mile limit.

And whereas the aforesaid determination of the foregoing questions as to the
exclusive jurisdiction of the United States, mentioned in Article VI, leaves the subject.
in such a position that the concurrence of Great Britain is necessary to the establish-
ment of regulations for the proper protection and preservation of the fur seals in or
habitually resorting to Bering Sea, the tribunal having decided by a majority as to
each article of the following regulations, we, the said Baron de Courcel, Lord Hannen,
Marquis Visconti Venosta, and Mr. Gregers Gram, assenting to the whole of the nine
articles of the following regulations, and being a majority of the said arbitrators, do
decide and determine in the mode provided by the treaty that the following concurrent
regulations outside the jurisdictional limits of the respective Governments are
necessary, and that they should extend over the waters hereinatter mentioned; that
is to say:

REGULATIONS

ARTICLE 1,

The Governments of the United States and of Great Britain shall forbid their
citizens and subjects, respectively, to kill, capture, or pursue at any time and in any
manner whatever the animals commonly called fur seals within a zone of 60 miles
around the Pribilof Islands, inclusive of the territorial waters.

The miles mentioned in the preceding paragraph are geographical miles, of 60 to
a degree of latitude.

ARTICLE 2.

The two Governments shall forbid their citizens and subjects, respectively, to kill,
capture, or pursue, in any manner whatever, during the season extending each year

THE REGULATIONS. 235

from the 1st of May to the 1st of J uly, both inclusive, the fur seals on the high sea, in
the part of the Pacific Ocean, inclusive of Bering Sea, which is situated to the north
of the thirty-fifth degree of north latitude and eastward of the one hundred and
eightieth degree of longitude from Greenwich, till it strikes the water boundary
described in Article I of the treaty of 1867 between the United States and Russia,
and following that line up to Bering Straits.

ARTICLE 3.

During the period of time and in the waters in which the fur-seal fishing is allowed,
only sailing vessels shall be permitted to carry on or take part in fur-seal fishing
operations. They will, however, be at liberty to avail themselves of the use of such
canoes or undecked boats, propelled by paddles, oars, or sails as are in common use as
fishing boats.

ARTICLE 4,

Each sailing vessel authorized to fish for far seals must be provided with a special
license issued for that purpose by its Government, and shall be required to carry a
distinguishing flag, to be prescribed by its Government.

ARTICLE 5.

The masters of the vessels engaged in fur-seal fishing shall enter accurately in
their official log book the date and place of each fur-seal fishing operation, and also
the number and sex of the seals captured upon each day. These entries -shall be
communicated by each of the two Governments to the other at the end of each fishing

Season.
ARTICLE 6.

The use of nets, firearms, and explosives shall be forbidden in the fur-seal fishing..
This restriction shall not apply to shotguns when such fishing takes place outside of
Bering Sea during the season when it may be lawfully carried on.

ARTICLE 7,

The two Governments shall take measures to control the fitness of the men
authoriz: d to engage in fur-seal fishing. These men shall have been proved fit to
handle with sufficient skill the weapons by means of which this fishing may be

carried on.
ARTICLE 8.

The regulations contained in the preceding articles shall not apply to Indians
dwelling on the coasts of the territory of the United States or of Great Britain, and
carrying on far-seal fishing in canoes or undecked boats not transported by paddles,
oars, or Sails, and manned by not more than five persons each in the way hitherto
practiced by the Indians, provided such Indians are.not in the employment of other
persons, and provided that, when so hunting in canoes or undecked boats, they shall
not hunt fur-seals outside of territorial waters under contract for the delivery of the
skins to any person. .

This exemption shall not be construed to affect the municipal law of either
country, nor shall it extend to the waters of Bering Sea or the waters of the Aleutian

Passes.

236 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

Nothing herein contained is intended to interfere with the employment of Indians
as hunters or otherwise in cunnection with fur-sealing vessels, as heretofore.

ARTICLE 9,

The concurrent regulations hereby determined with a view to the protection and
preservation of the fur seals shall remain in force until they have been in whole or in
part abolished or modified. by common agreement between the Governments of the
United States and of Great Britain.

The said concurrent regulations shall be submitted every five years to a new
examination, so as to enable both interested Governments to consider whether in the
light of past experience there is occasion for any modification thereof.

DECLARATIONS MADE BY THE TRIBUNAL OF ARBITRATION AND REFERRED TO THE
GOVERNMENTS OF THE UNITED STATES AND GREAT BRITAIN FOR THEIR CONSID-
ERATION.

[English version.]
I.

The arbitrators declare that the concurrent regulations, as determined upon by
the Tribunal of Arbitration, by virtue of Article VII of the treaty of the 29th of
February, 1892, being applicable to the high sea only, should, in their opinion, be
supplemented by other regulations applicable within the limits of the sovereignty of
each of the two powers interested and to be settled by their common agreement. -

IT.

In view of the critical condition to which it appears. certain that the race of fur
seals is now reduced in conseqttence of circumstances not fully known, the arbitrators
think fit to recommend both Governments to come to an understanding in order to
prohibit any killing of fur seals, either on land or at sea, for a period of two or three
years, or at least one year, subject to such exceptions as the two Governments might
think proper to admit of.

Such a measure might be recurred to at occasional intervals, if found beneficial.

III.

The arbitrators declare moreover that, in their opinion, the carrying out of the
regulations determined upon by the Tribunal of Arbitration should be assured by a
system of stipulations and measures to be enacted by the two powers; and that the
tribunal must, in consequence, leave it to the two powers to decide upon the means
tor giving effect to the regulations determined upon by it.

TERMS OF THE ORIGINAL LEASE OF THE SEAL ISLAND WITH THE ALASKA COM-
MERCIAL COMPANY.

This indenture in duplicate, made this 3d day of August, A. D. 1870, by and
between William A. Richardson, Acting Secretary of the Treasury, in pursuance of
an act ef Congress approved July 1, 1870, entitled “‘ An act to prevent the extermina-
tion of fur-bearing animals in Alaska,” and the Alaska Commercial Company, a

THE FIRST CASE. 237

corporation duly established under the laws of the State of California, acting by John
F. ‘Miller, its president and agent, in accordance with a resolution at a meeting of its
board of trustees, held January 31, 1870, witnesseth:

That said Secretary hereby leases to the said Alaska Commercial Company,
without power of transfer, for the term of twenty years from the 1st day of May, 1870,
the right to engage in the business of taking fur seals on the islands of St. George
and St. Paul within the territory of Alaska, and to send a vessel or vessels to said
islands for the skins of such seals.

And the said Alaska Commercial Company, in consideration of their right under
this lease, hereby covenant and agree to pay for each year during said term, and
in proportion during any part thereof, the sum of $55,000 into the Treasury of the
United States in accordance with the regulations of the Secretary to be made for
this purpose under said act, which payment shall be secured by deposit of United
States bonds to that amount, and also covenant and agree to pay annually into
the Treasury of the United States, under said rules and regulations, an internal-
revenue tax or duty of $2 for each seal skin taken and shipped by them in
accordance with the provisions of the act aforesaid, and also the sum of 623 cents for
each fur-seal skin taken and shipped, and 55 cents per gallon for each gallon of oil
obtained from said seals, for sale in said islands or elsewhere, and sold by said
company; and also covenant and agree, in accordance with said rules and regulations,
to furnish, free of charge, the inhabitants of the islands of St. Paul and St. George
annually during said term 25,000 dried salmon, 60 cords of firewood, and a sufficient
quantity of salt and a sufficient quantity of barrels for preserving the necessary
supply of meat. ‘

And the said lessees also hereby covenant and agree during the term aforesaid to
maintain a school on each island, in accordance with said rules and regulations, and
suitable for the education of the natives of said islands, for a period of not less than
eight months in each year.

And the said lessees further covenant and agree not to kill upon said island of
St. Paul more than 75,000 fur seals, and upon the island of St. George not more than
25,000 fur seals per annum; not to kill any fur seal upon the islands aforesaid in any
other month except the months of June, July, September, and October of each year;
not to kill said seals at any time by use of firearms or means tending to drive said
seals from said islands; not to kill any female seals or seals under 1 year old; not to
kill any seal in water adjacent to said islands, or on the beach, cliffs, or nuGKE, where
they haul up from the sea to remain.

And the said lessees further covenant and agree to abide by any restriction or
limitation upon the right to kill seals under this lease that the act prescribes or that
the Secretary of the Treasury shall judge necessary for the preservation of such seals.

And the said lessees hereby agree that they will not in any way sell, transfer, or
assign this lease, and that any transfer, sale, or assignment of the same shall be void
aud of no effect.

And the said lessees further agree to furnish to the several inasters of the vessels
employed by them certified copies of this lease, to be presented to the Government
revenue officers for the time being in charge of said islands, as the authority of said
lessees for the landing and taking of said skins.

238 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

And the said lessees further covenant and agree that they or their agents shall
not keep, sell, furnish, give, or dispose of any distilled spirituous liquors on either of
said islands to any of the natives thereof, such person not being a physician and
furnishing the same for use as inedicine.

And the said lessees further covenant and agree that this lease is accepted, subject
to all needful rules and regulations which shall at any time or times hereafter be made
by the Secretary of the Treasury for the collection and payment of the rental herein
agreed to be paid by said lessees for the comfort, maintainance, education, and
protection of the natives of said islands, and for carrying into effect all the provisions
of the act aforesaid, and will abide by and conform to said rules and regulations.

And the said lessees, accepting this lease with a full knowledge of the provisions
of the aforesaid act of Congress, further covenant and agree that they will fulfill all
the provisions, requirements, and limitations of said act, whether herein specifically
set out or not.

In witness whereof the parties aforesaid have hereunto set their hands and seals
the day and year above written.

[SEAL.] WILLIAM A. RICHARDSON,
Acting Secretary of the Treasury.
[SEAL. | ALASKA COMMERCIAL COMPANY,

By JoHN F. MILLER, President.
Executed in presence of—
J. H. SAVILLE.

COPY OF CONTRACT BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE NORTH AMERICAN
COMMERCIAL COMPANY, UNDER WHICH SAID COMPANY IS GRANTED THE
EXCLUSIVE RIGHT OF TAKING FUR SEALS UPON THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS IN
ALASKA.

This indenture, made in duplicate this twelfth day of March, 1890, by and between
William Windom, Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, in pursuance of
chapter 3 of title 23, Revised Statutes, and the North American Commercial Company,
a corporation duly established under the laws of the State of California, and acting
by I. Liebes, its presideut, in accordance with a resolution of said corporation adopted
at a meeting of its board of directors held January 4, 1890, witnesseth:

That the said Secretary of the Treasury, in consideration of the agreements
hereinafter stated, hereby leases to the said North American Commercial Company
for a term of twenty years, from the first day of May, 1890, the exclusive right to
engage in the business of taking fur seals on the islands of St. George and St. Paul,
in the Territory of Alaska, and to send a vessel or vessels to said islands for the skins
of such seals.

The said North American Commercial Company, in consideration of the rights
secured to it under this lease above stated, on its part covenants and agrees to do the
things following, that is to say:

To pay to the Treasurer of the United States each year during the said term of
twenty years, as annual rental, the sun of sixty thousand dollars, and in addition
thereto agrees to pay the revenue tax, or duty, of two dollars laid upon each fur-seal

THE PRESENT CASE. 239

skin taken and shipped by it from said islands of St. George and St. Paul, and also
to pay to said Treasurer the further sum of seven dollars sixty-two and one-half
cents apiece for each and every fur-seal skin taken and shipped from said islands, aud
also to pay the sum of fifty cents per gallon for each gallon of oil sold by it made
from seals that may be taken on said islands during the said period of twenty years;
and to secure the prompt payment of the sixty thousand dollars rental above referred
to, the said company agrees to deposit with the Secretary of the Treasury bonds of
the United States to the amount of fifty thousand dollars, face value, to be held as a
guarantee for the annual payment of said sixty thousand dollars rental, the interest
thereon when due to becollected and paid to the North American Commercial Company,
provided the said company is not in default of payment of any part of the said sixty
thousand dollars rental.

That it will furnish to the native inhabitants of said islands of St. George and
St. Paul annually such quantity or number of dried salmon, and such quantity of salt
and such number of salt barrels for preserving their necessary supply of meat as the
Secretary of the Treasury shall from time to time determine.

That it will also furnish to the said inhabitants eighty tons of coal annually, and
a sufficient number of comfortable dwellings in which said native inhabitants may
reside; and will keep said dwellings in proper repair; and will also provide and keep
in repair such suitable schoolhouses as may be necessary, and will establish and
maintain during eight months of each year proper schools for the education of the
children on said islands, the same to be taught by competent teachers, who shall be
paid by the company a fair compensation, all to the satisfaction of the Secretary of
the Treasury; and will also provide and maintain a suitable house for religious
worship; and will also provide a competent physician or physicians, and necessary
and proper medicines and medical supplies; and will also provide the necessaries of
life for the widows and orphans and aged and infirm inhabitants of said islands who
are unable to provide for themselves ; all of which foregoing agreements will be done
and performed by the said company free of all costs and charges to said native
inhabitants of said islands or to the United States.

The annual rental, together with all other payments to the United States provided
for in this lease, shall be made and paid on or before the 1st day of April of each and
every year during the existence of this lease, beginning with the 1st day of April, 1891.

The said company further agrees to employ the native inhabitants of said islands
to perform such labor upon the islands as they are fitted to perform, and to pay
therefor a fair and just compensation, such as may be fixed by the Secretary of the
Treasury, and also to contribute, as far as is in its power, all reasonable efforts to
secure the comfort, health, education, and promote the morals and civilization of said
native inhabitants.

The said company also agrees faithfully to obey and abide by all rules and regula-
tions that the Secretary of the Treasury has heretofore or may hereafter establish or
make in pursuance of law concerning the taking of seals of said islands, and concerning
the comfort, morals, and other interests of said inhabitants, and all matters pertaining
to said islands and the taking of seals within the possession of the United States. It
also agrees to obey and abide by any restrictions or limitations upon the right to kill
seals that the Secretary of the Treasury shall judge necessary, under the law, for the
preservation of the seal fisheries of the United States; and it agrees that it will not

240 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

kill or permit to be killed, so far as it can prevent, in any year a greater number of
seals than is authorized by the Secretary of the Treasury.

The said company further agrees that it will not permit any of its agents to keep,
sell, give, or dispose of any distilled spirits or spirituous liquors or opium, on either
of said islands, or the waters adjacent thereto, to any of the native inhabitants of said
islands, such person not being a physician and furnishing the same for use as a
medicine.

It is understood and agreed that the number of fur seals to be taken and killed for
their skins upon said islands by the North American Commercial Company during the
year ending May 1, 1891, shall not exceed 60,000.

The Secretary of the Treasury reserves the right to terminate this lease and all
rights of the North American Commercial Company under the same at any time, on
full and satisfactory proof that the said company has violated any of the provisions
and agreements of this lease, or any of the laws of the United States, or any Treasury
regulation respecting the taking of fur seals, or concerning the islands of St. George
and St. Paul, or the inhabitants thereof.

In witness whereof the parties have set their hands and seals the day and year
above written.

[SEAL. | WILLIAM WINDom, Secretary of the Treasury.
[SEAL | NortH AMERICAN COMMERCIAL COMPANY,
By I. LIepeEs,

President of the North American Commercial Company.
Attest:

H. B. PARsons, Assistant Secretary.

THE CONFERENCE OF FUR-SEAL EXPERTS.

The Conference of Fur-Seal Experts, representing Great Britain, Canada, and
the United States, convened at the city of Washington, November 10, 1897. The
following were the delegates: On the part of Great Britain, Prof. D’Arcy Wentworth
Thompson; on the part of Canada, Mr. James Melville Macoun; on the part of the
United States, Hon. Charles Sumner Hamlin and Dr. David Starr Jordan.

Mr. Hamlin was chosen president of the Conference, and Mr. George A. Clark,
secretary of Stanford University, and Mr. Robert N. Venning, of the department of
marine and fisheries of Canada, were appointed joint secretaries.

Hon. John W. Foster, special commissioner in charge of the fur-seal matter for
the United States, and Sir Louis H. Davies, minister of marine and fisheries for
Canada, and Mr. C. I’. Frederick Adam, of the British legation, attended the sessions
of the Conference.

After due deliberation, on November 16, the Conference agreed to and duly signed
the following joint statement of conclusions:

JOINT STATEMENT OF CONCLUSIONS RESPECTING THE FUR-SEAL HERD FRE-
QUENTING THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS IN BERING SEA.

The undersigned, duly empowered delegates, engaged during recent years in the
investigation of the condition and habits of the fur-seal herd frequenting the Pribilof

JOINT STATEMENT OF CONCLUSIONS. 241

‘Islands in Bering Sea, viz, on behalf of the United States, Charles Sumner Hamlin and
David Starr Jordan; on behalf of Great Britain, D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson; on
behalf of Canada, James Melville Macoun, have met in conference under instructions
from our respective Governments. Under these instructions we were directed “to
arrive, if possible, at correct conclusious respecting the numbers, conditions, and
habits of the seals frequenting the Pribilof Islands at the present time as compared
with the several seasons previous and subseque:t to the Paris award.”

As a result of such conference, now completed, we, the above-named Charles
Sumner Hamlin, David Starr Jordan, D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson, and James
Melville Macoun, find ourselves in accord on the propositions contained in the
following joint statement of conclusions respecting the fur-seal herd frequenting the
Pribilof Islands, and make this our report:

JOINT STATEMENT.

1. There is adequate evidence that since the year 1884, and down to the date of
the inspection of the rookeries in 1897, the fur-seal herd of the Pribilof Islands, as
measured on either the hauling grounds or breeding grounds, has declined in numbers
at a rate varying from year to year.

2. In the ‘absence for the earlier years of actual counts of the rookeries such as
have been made in recent years, the best approximate measure of decline now
available is found in these facts: :

(a) About 100,006 male seals of recognized killable age were obtained from the
hauling grounds each year from 1871 to 1889. -The table of statistics given in
Appendix I shows, on the whole, a progressive increase in the number of hauling
grounds driven and in the number of drives made, as well as a retardation of the date
at which the quota was attained during a number of years previous to 1889.

(b) In the year 1896, 28,964 killable seals were taken after continuing the driving
till July 27, and in 1897, 19,189 after continuing the driving till August 11.1 We have
no reason to believe that during the period 1896 and 1897 a very much larger number
of males of recognized killable age could have been taken on the hauling grounds.

The reduction between the years 1896 and 1897 in the number of killable seals
taken, while an indication of decrease in the breeding herd, can not be taken as an
actual measure of such decrease. A number of other factors must be taken into
consideration, and the real measure of decrease must be sought in more pertinent
statistics drawn from the breeding rookeries themselves.

3. From these data it is plain that the former yield of the hauling grounds of the
Pribilof Islands was from three to five times as great as in the years 1896 and 1897,
and the same diminution to one-third or one-fifth of the former product may be
assumed when we include also the results of huuting at sea.

4, The death rate amouig the young fur seals, especially among the pups, is very
great. While the loss among the pups prior to their departure from the islands has
been found in the last two years to approach 20 per cent of the whole number born,
and though the rate of subsequent mortality is unknown, we may gather from the

!'The nominal quota of 30,000 for 1896 and of 20,890 for 1897 included food skins taken in the fall
of 1895 and 1896. (These figures, 28,964 and 19,189, are slightly in error and shouid read respectively
28,365 and. 18,961.) :

15184-—_16

242 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

number which return each year that from one-half to two thirds have perished before
the age of three years—that is to say, the killable age for the males and the breeding
age for the females.

5. The chief natural! causes of death among pups, so far as known at present, are
as follows, the importance of each being variable and more or less uncertain:

(a) Ravages of the parasitic worm Uncinaria, most destructive on sandy breeding
areas and during the period from July 15 to August 20.

(b) Trampling by fighting bulls or by moving bulls and cows, a source of loss
greatest among young pups.”

(c) Starvation of pups strayed or separated from their mothers when very young
or whose mothers have died from natural causes.

(d) The ravages of the great killer (Orca), known to be fatal to many of the young
and perhaps also to older seals.

At a later period drowning in the storms of winter is believed, but not certainly
known, to be a cause of death among the older pups.

6. Counts of certain rookeries, with partial counts and estimates of others, show
that the number_of breeding females bearing pups on St. Paul and St. George was,
in 1896 and 1897, between 160,000 and 130,000, more nearly approaching the higher
figure in 1896 and the lower in 1897. °

7. On certain rookeries,where pups were counted in both seasons, 16,241 being
found in 1896 and 14,318 in 1897, or applying a count adopted by Professor Thompson,
14,743 in the latter year, there is evident a decrease of 9 or 12 per cent within the
twelvemonth in question. The count of pups is the most trustworthy measure of
numerical variation in the herd. The counts of harems, and especially of cows
present, are much inferior in value. The latter counts, however, point in the same
direction. The harems on all the rookeries were counted in both seasons. In 1896
there were 4,932; in 1897 there were 4,418, a decrease of 10.41 per cent. The cows
actually present on certain rookeries at the height of the season were counted in both
seasons. Where 10,198 were found in 1896, 7,307 were found in 1897, a decrease of
28.34 per cent.*

8. It is not easy to apply the various counts in the form of a general average to
all the rookeries of the islands. We recognize that a notable decrease has been suffered

'That is to say, not including losses ensuing from the killing of mothers at sea.

The number of dead pups counted on the rookeries between August 8.and 14, in 1896, was 11,045.
It is recognized that this number is an underestimate, inasmuch as a greater number must have been
overlooked than were counted twice. It is also recognized that the great majority of these pups
died from the attacks of the worm Uncinaria.

2The importance of this source of loss we now. find to be much less than was supposed to be the
case from the investigations made in 1896. (See Reports for 1896, Jordan, p. 45; Thompson, p. 20;
Macoun, MSS.)

*For detailed account of the census of 1896, see Jordan, Preliminary Report for 1896, p. 15;
Thompson, Report for 1896, p. 19; Macoun, Report, 1896, MSS. For a discussion of suggested
correctious to the census of 1896, see Jordan, Final Report, 1897. For details of the census of 1897, see
Thompson, Report, 1897; Macoun, Report, 1897; Jordan, Report, 1897. A correction to be made in
the census of 1896 arises from the agreed assumption that the total number of breeding females was
1.75 times the number seen in the height of the season. Later observations show that the actual
total is at least twice the maximum number ever seen at once on a rookery.

‘The extreme irregularity of the number of cows present on the rookeries from day to day and
the conseyuent invalidity of any comparison of their number is shown by the counts made on Lukanin
and Kitovi rookeries during the season of 1897. See Appendix II. :

JOINT STATEMENT OF CONCLUSIONS 243

by. the herd during the twelvemonth 1896 to 1897, without attempting, save by setting
the above numbers on record, to ascribe to the decrease more precise figures.

9. The methods of driving and killing practiced on the islands, as they have come
under our observation during the past two years, call for no criticism or objection.
An adequate supply of bulls is present on the rookeries; the number of older bachelors
rejected in the drives during the period in question is such as to safeguard in the
immediate future a similarly adequate supply; the breeding bulls, females, and pups
on the breeding rookeries are not disturbed; there is no evidence or sign of impairment,
by driving, of the virility of males; the operations of driving and killing are conducted
skillfully and without inhumanity.

10. The pelagic industry is conducted in an orderly manner and in a spirit of
acquiescence in the limitations imposed by the law.

11. Pelagic sealing involves the killing of males and females alike, without
discrimination and in proportion as the two sexes coexist in the sea. “The reduction
of inales effected on the islands causes an enhanced proportion of females to-be found
in the pelagic catch; hence this proportion, if it vary from no other cause, varies at
least with the catch upon the islands. In 1895 Mr. A. B. Alexander, on behalf of
the Government of the United States, found 62.3 per cent of females in the catch of
the Dora Siewerd in Bering Sea, and in 1896 Mr. Andrew Halkett, on behalf of the
Canadian government, found 84.2 in the catch of the same schooner in the same sea.
There are, no doubt, instances, especially in the season of migration and on the course
of the migrating herds, of catches containing a very different proportion of the two
Sexes.

12. The large proportion 6f females in the pelagic catch includes not only adult
females that are both nursing and pregnant, but also young seals that are not
pregnant, and others that have not yet brought forth young, with such also as have
recently lost their young through the various causes of natural mortality.

13. The polygamous habit of the animal, coupled with an equal birth rate of the
two sexes, permits a large number of males to be removed with impunity from the
herd, while, as with other animals, any similar abstraction of females checks or
lessens the herd’s increase, or, when carried further, brings about an actual diminution
of the herd. It is equally plain that a certain number. of females may be killed
without involving the actual diminution of the herd, if the number killed do not
exceed the annual increment of the breeding herd, taking into consideration the
annual losses by, death through old age and through incidents at sea.

14, While, whether from a consideration of the birth rate-or from an inspection
of the visible effects, it is manifest that the take of females in recent years has been
so far in excess of the natural increment as to lead to a reduction of the herd in the
degree related above, yet the ratio of the pelagic catch of one year to that of the |
following has fallen off more rapidly than the ratio of the breeding herd of one year
to the breeding herd of the next.’

1 Statements on which to base an estimate of the relative numbers of these several classes are
necessarily incomplete, but the following notes may serve as a partial guide: Townsena, Report, 1895,
pp. 46,47; Alexander, Report, 1895, pp. 142, 143; Macoun, Report, 1897, MSS.; Lucas, Report, 1897, MSS.

2 The catch of the pelagic fleet, Canadian and American, in 1897 in Bering Sea was 16,657 seals.
In the summer of 1896 it was 29,500. The aggregate catch which directly influenced the herd of 1897
was 38,922, a number made up by adding to the summer’s catch of 1896 the northwest coast catch in
the spring of 1897. Up to the present time, accordingly, the pelagic catch already taken (16,657), and

244 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

15. In this greater reduction of the pelagic catch, compared with the gradual
decrease of the herd, there is a tendency toward equilibrium, or a stage at which the
numbers of the breeding herd would neither increase or decrease. In considering
the probable size of the herd in the immediate future, there remains to be estimated
the additional factor of decline resulting from reductions in the number of surviving
pups caused by the larger pelagic catch of 1894 and 1895.

16. The diminution of the herd is yet far from a stage which involves or threatens
the actual extermination of the species, so long as it is protected in its haunts on land.
It is not possible during the continuance of the conservative methods at present in
force upon the islands, with the further safeguard of the protected zone at sea, that
any pelagic killing should accomplish this final end. There is evidence, however,
that iv its present condition the herd yields an inconsiderable return either to the
lessees of the islands or to the owners of the pelagic fleet.

Note: The tables referred to in this joint statement as Appendix I and II are already printed in
Appendix I of this report (pp. 211 and 212) and need not be repeated here.

AFFIDAVITS OF DYERS AND DRESSERS OF FUR-SEAL SKINS.

The following affidavits of dyers and dressers of fur-seal skins, submitted to the
conference of fur-seal experts, may here be placed on record:

QUEEN STREET, London, L. C.

I, Geo. Rice, of the city of London, England, make oath and say that I carry on the business of
a dyer and dresser of furs and seal skins in this city; that I have been engaged in the seal-skin trade
for over thirty years and have personal and practical experience in the various processes of dressing
and dyeing skins; that I employ 500 men in my business; that of the seal skins that have been taken
in the waters of the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea by sealing vessels I have dressed or dyed the
skins of the pelagic catch of 1894, 85,000 skins; 1895, 70,000 skins; 1896, 50,000 skins.

That I personally and through my expert employees have had every opportunity of examining
these skins; that a part of them, being those of pups or young seals, are not with certainty
distinguishable as to sex, but the greater portion of the skins can be readily determined; that of
these latter, embracing the pelagic catches of 1894, 1895, 80 per cent, and of 1896, 70 to 80 per cent,
were the skins of females; that of the skins of adult seals in these catches, the skins of males were
rarely found. I further say that I make this declaration in the interest of truth and for the
information of those who are concerned in making regulations for the preservation of the seal herd,

and I make this solemn declaration conscientiously believing the same to be true.
Gro. RICE.

Sworn to at ‘The Elms,” Edmonton, in the county of Middlesex, this 26th day of October, 1897,

before me.
ALFRED HODGKINSON,

A Commissioner for Oaths.

i, Edmund Wischhusen, of 138 New North road, Islington, in the county of London, seal dresser
and unhairer, solemnly and sincerely declare as follows:

1. I have been engaged in the seal-skin trade for over thirty-five years. I have actually worked
on seals for the last forty years, and on the Bering Sea seal ever since they have been brought to
market. I have had personal and practical experience in the various processes of dressing and
unhairing seal skins during that period. I have been regularly employed as an expert by the largest

operating directly against next year’s supply, is 57.22 per cent less than the pelagic catch which
operated against the supply of ‘1897 (see, also, Appendix I); or, if we compare merely the summer
catches, inasmuch as the possible spring catch of 1898 is an unknown factor, we have a reduction of
43.46 per cent. (Later and more accurate returns show the figures here given for the pelagic catch of
1897 to be slightly in error. The Bering Sea catch should be 16,464 and the complete catch 39,110.)

SEX OF SALTED SKINS. 245

fur merchants in London to examine the skins as they arrive from the pelagic sealers, at Messrs.
C. M. Lampsons & Sons’, of 64 Queen street, in the city of London, at the Hudson Bay Company’s
premises in Lime street, and at Messrs. Culverwell & Brooks’s, at St. Mary Axe. “These are the only
firms to whom seal skins have been sent for sale during the last few years. I inspect them in order
to determine the quality and condition of the skins, and it is my business to report to the merchants
from time to time the quality of the skins, and the merchants act on my report. From my personal
inspection in this way I am able to say that fully 80 per cent of the skins which have arrived from
the pelagic sealers during the last three years are the skins of female seals, Of the 135,000, or
thereabouts, of the pelagic northwest catch of 1894, fully 120,000 came under my notice and were
examined by me; and of the 102,000, or thereabouts, of the like catch of 1895, about 100,000 came
under my notice and were examined by me; and of the 70,000 forming the like pelagic catch of 1896,
the whole parcel came under my notice and were examined by me.

2. There is absolutely no difficulty whatever in distinguishing the sex of the adult seals, as,
apart from all other distinctions (and there are several, as for instance, a difference in thesize and shape
of the head and also in the color), the distinction in the breast is very marked, those of the females
being very large and prominent, and those of the males hardly distinguishable. It requires no expert
to distinguish the sex. In niost instances the hair round the nipples of the female seals has been
worn off by the young pups.

The only reason there is a doubt as to the sex of the remaining 20 per cent of the skins is that
about this proportion are the skins of very young animals in which, the breasts and heads not being
fully developed, the sex is not so easily distinguishable, but this only applies to young pups and not
in any way to adult seals. :

There is no difficulty whatever in identifying the Bering Sea seals from those caught on the coast
of Japan and round or in the vicinity of the Copper Islands. -

And I make this solemn declaration, conscientiously believing the same to be true, and by virtue
of the provisions of the statutory declarations act of 1835.

E. WISCHHUSEN.

Declared at No. 138 New North road, in the county of London, on this 26th day of October, 1897,
before me. :
JOHN VENN, Notary Public.

Nore.—Attached thereto are the official certificates of John Venn, notary public, of the city of
London, and William M. Osborne, consul-general of the United States, with their official seals.

I, Walter Edward Martin, of 4 Lambeth Hill, in the city of London, member of the firm of
C. W. Martin & Sons, of the same place, fur dyers and dressers, solemnly, sincerely, and truly declare
as follows:

I am a British subject. I have been in the business of dyeing and dressing fur-seal skins in
London about twenty-five years, and have personally handled many hundreds of thousands of such
skins, and I have in consequence a special knowledge of seal skins.

T have at various times made a special examination of the skins of the northwest (pelagic) catch
of seals (a very large number of which come through my firm’s hands) with a view to ascertaining
whether they are the skins of male or female seals, and I say that of the seals caught,in the Bering
Sea and in the North Pacific Ocean by the pelagic sealers fully 80 per cent of them are female seals,
and I believe a still larger proportion. The remaining 20 per cent are mostly skins of young pups in
which the sex is not very distinguishable, and a few large bulls, not more than about 3 per cent of
the entire parcel.

With regard to adult seals, there is no difficulty whatever in detecting the skins of males and
the skins of females. The breasts are very prominent in the female seals, and it requires no expert
to detect which is the skin of a male seal and which the skin of a female seal, and very often round
the breasts of the females the far has been worn away. The regulations of the arbitrators, made in
August, 1893, at Paris, with regard to pelagic sealing have not tended to in any way diminish the
proportion of female seals to males killed by the pelagic sealers, and the large majority of the skins
of the pelagic catch still bear traces of the seals having been killed by means of shot.

There can be no doubt whatever that a continuation of the present system of slaughtering such
a large proportion of the female seals in the open ocean, with the consequential death of such a large
proportion of pups, as is admitted by Prof. D’Arcy Thompson in his recent report to be due to pelagic

246 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

sealing, and the death of the mothers is fast tending to exterminate the seal from the ocean, and that
unless some steps are promptly taken to stop pelagic sealing, which under the present conditions can
not be profitable to the sealers, the herd ‘will soon be entirely exterminated and destroyed, and I
submit that the only means of preserving the seals from entire extinction is to absolutely put an end
to pelagic sealing, which it ought not to be difficult to bring about by mutual agreement, due regard
being had to the interests of all parties concerned.

And I make this solemn declaration, conscientiously believing the same to be true, and by virtue
of the provisions of the statutory declarations act, 1835.

WALTER MARTIN,

Declared at No. 4 Lambeth Hill, in the city of London, this 16th day of September, 1897,
before me.

Joun D. VENN, Notary Public.

NotE.—Attached thereto are the official certificates of John Venn, notary public, of the city of
London, and William M. Osborne, consul-general of the United States, with their official seals.

PROHIBITION OF THE KILLING OF FUR SEALS IN THE WATERS OF THE NORTH PACIFIC
OCEAN, AND OF THE IMPORTATION OF FUR-SEAL SKINS TAKEN IN SUCH WATERS.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT,
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY,
Washington, D. C., December 30, 1897.
To Collectors and other Officers of the Customs:

The following act, prohibiting the killing of fur seals in the waters of the North
Pacific Ocean, and the regulations made thereunder are published for the information
and guidance of all concerned:

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of
America in Congress assembled, That no citizen of the United States, nor person owing
duty of obedience to the laws or the treaties of the United States, nor any person
belonging to or on board of a vessel of the United States, shall kill, capture, or hunt,
at any time or in any manner whatever, any fur seal in the waters of the Pacific
Ocean north of the thirty-fifth degree of north latitude and including Bering Sea and
the sea of Okhotsk. 3

Src. 2. That no citizen of the United States, nor person above described in
section one, shall equip, use, or employ, or furnish aid in equipping, using or
employing, or furnish supplies to any vessel used or employed, or to be used or
employed in carrying on or taking part in said killing, capturing, or hunting of fur
seals in said waters, nor shall any vessel of the United States be so used or employed.

Sec, 3. That every person guilty of a violation of the provisions of this Act, or
of any regulations made thereunder, shall, for each offense, be fined not less than two
hundred dollars or more than two thousand dollars, or imprisoned not more than six
months, or both; and every vessel, its tackle, apparel, furniture, and cargo, at any
time used or employed in violation of this Act, or of the regulations made thereunder,
shall be forfeited to the United States.

Src. 4. That if any vessel of the United States shall be found within the waters
to which this Act applies, having on board fur-seal skins or bodies of seals, or
apparatus or implements suitable for killing or taking seals, it shall be presumed
that such vessel was used or employed in the killing of said seals, or that said

PROHIBITION OF SEALING. - 247

apparatus or implements were used in violation of this Act until the contrary is
proved to the satisfaction of the court.

Seo. 5. That any violation of this Act or of the regulations thereunder may be

‘ prosecuted either in the district court of Alaska or in any district court of the United
States in California, Oregon, or Washington.

Skc. 6. That this Act shall not interfere with the privileges accorded to Indians
dwelling on the coast of the United States under section six of the Act of April sixth,
eighteen hundred and ninety-four, but the limitations prescribed in said Act shall
remain in full force.

Sec. 7. That this Act shall not affect in any way-the killing or taking of fur seals
upon the Pribilof Islands, or the laws of the United States relating thereto.

Sec. 8. That any officer of the Naval or Revenue-Cutter Service of the United
States, and any other officers duly designated by the President, may search any
vessel of the United States in port or on the high seas suspected of having violated
or of having an intention to violate the provisions of this Act, and may seize such
yessel and the offending officers and crew and bring them into the most accessible
port of the States and Territory mentioned in section five of this Act for trial.

Szc. 9. That the importation into the United States by any person whatsoever of
fur-seal skins taken in the waters mentioned in this Act, whether raw, dressed, dyed,
or manufactured, is hereby prohibited, and all such articles imported after this Act
shall take effect shall not be permitted to be exported, but shall be seized and’
destroyed by the proper officers of the United States.

Src. 10. That the President shall have power to make all necessary regulations
to carry this Act into effect.

Approved, December 29, 1897.

REGULATIONS.

1. No fur-seal skins, whether raw, dressed, dyed, or otherwise manufactured, shall
be admitted to entry in the United States unless there shall be attached to the invoice
a certificate, signed by the United States consul at the place of exportation, that said
skins were not taken from seals killed within the waters mentioned in said act,
specifying in detail the locality of such taking, whether on land or at sea, and also the
person from whom said skins were purchased in their raw and dressed state, the date
of such purchase, and the lot number. Consuls shall require satisfactory evidence of
the truth of such facts by oath or otherwise before giving any such certificate.

No fur-seal skins, whether raw, dressed, dyed, or otherwise manufactured, shall
be admitted to entry as part of a passenger’s personal effects unless accompanied
by an invoice certified by the consul as herein provided.

All far-seal skins, whether raw, dressed, dyed, or otherwise manufactured, the
invoices of which are not accompanied by the certificate above prescribed, shall be
seized by the collector of customs and destroyed as provided for in section 9 of the act
of December 29, 1897.

2. Every article manufactured in whole or in part from fur-seal skins, the invoice
of which is presented as aforesaid to the consul, shall have legibly stamped thereon
the name of the manufacturer and the place of manufacture, and shall be accompanied
by astatement in writing, under the oath of said manufacturer, that said skin or skins

248 THE FUR SEALS OF THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS.

used in said article were taken from seals not killed at sea within the waters mentioned
in said act, specifying the locality in detail, and also the person from whom said skins
were purchased in their raw and dressed state, the date of said purchase, and the lot
number. ,

3. When an application is made to a consul for a certificate under these regulations
the invoice and proofs of origin presented by the exporter shall be submitted to the
Treasury agent designated for the purpose of investigation, and the consul shall not
certify any such invoice until such agent shall have made his report.

4, All articles manufactured in whole or in part from fur-seal skins and imported
into the United States shall have the linings thereof so arranged that the pelt of the
skin or skins underneath shall be exposed for examination.

5, All fur-seal skins, whether raw, dressed, dyed, or otherwise manufactured in
whole or in part, whether imported as merchandise or as part of a passenger’s effects,
shall be sent to the public stores for careful examination and inspection to prevent
evasion of the law.

6. All garments nade in whole or in part of seal skins and taken from this country
may be reentered on presentation of a certificate of ownership from the collector of
eustoms of the port of departure, which certificate shall have been obtained by the
owner of the garment by offering the same to the collector for inspection before leaving
this country.

7. Nothing in these regulations shall affect the right of any officer of the customs
to inspect and seize any fur-seal skin or garment imported which he may find to have
been imported in violation of said act.

L. J. GAGE,
Secretary of the Treasury.
Approved :
WILLIAM McKINLEY.

APPENDIX IIL

ILLUSTRATIONS.

The plates herewith presented are designed to show the fact of decline in the
fur-seal herd during the period covered by the operations of the regulations of the
Paris Award. The number of examples might be multiplied indefinitely, but it is not
necessary to do so.

. Plate 1.—This is a view in panorama of a portion of Kitovi rookery on St. Paul
Island known as the Amphitheater. The photographs were taken on the 15th of July,
1894, when the season was at its height and the maximum number of breeding seals
for the season present.

Plate 2.—This is a view of the same breeding ground taken on the 13th of July,
1897, a date which practically coincides with that in plate 1. The contrast for the
two seasons is too obvious to require comment.

‘Plate 3.—This represents a section of the small breeding ground on Reef Peninsula
known as Ardiguen. The date is July 15, 1894. By the aid of a glass six harems,
aggregating more than 100 cows, can be distinguished. This plate should be compared
with plate 5, to follow.

Plate 4. ” This view of the same breeding ground for July 20, 1895, is introduced
to show the progress of the decline, by comparison with the season of 1894, as shown
in plate 3. Ordinarily the shrinkage between successive seasons is not clearly marked
in photographs, but the seasons of 1894 and 1895 are exceptional in this regard. The
unusual loss which the herd suffered in the first season of the operation of the
regulations of the Paris Award—61,000 as against. 30,000 in 1893—showed itself
distinctly on the breeding grounds in 1894, as indicated in this and other photographs
which might be cited.

Plate 5.—This third view of the upper section of Ardiguen for July 13, 1897, when
compared with plate 3, shows the most unmistakable evidence of rookery decline,
being completely abandoned. In 1896 there were three harems in this territory. The
seals represented an overflow due to the crowded condition of the beach, with which
it is connected by a narrow ravine. In 1897 there was room for all the seals below.

Plate 6.—This plate shows a bird’s-eye view of Zapadni rookery of St. George,
taken on July 19, 1895. With it should be contrasted the view of the same rookery
in plate 7.

Plate 7.—This view of Zapadni rookery was taken on J) uly 11,1897. It shows the
group in the foreground of plate 6 entirely gone. The large group at the foot of the
slope has shrunk perceptibly, as has also the one at some distance beyond. The

farthest group shown in 1895 is practically broken up in 1897.
249

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PLATE VIII.

VIEW OF AREA MADE BARE BY THE MOVEMENTS OF THE SEALS IN 1892, GRASS-GROWN IN 1895. (TO BE COMPARED WITH PLATE IX.)

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*X| aivd

INDEX. :

Abandonment of— Page.
preeding territory ...-........----.--+- 104
cause Of. ...-------------------e- e+e 137, 138
Marunichen..........-.--------------- 138
Spillet sic eceesewe nce te eee-cave cates 137

Acreage measurement—
contrast of .......2-..2-22. cece ee cee e ee 88
difficulty of ...---.....------ - 2-5 -e eeee 15
summary of ........-----------2- eee 88

Act of Congress......---- 2-22-2222 2-22 eee 17

Actual counts.......-....---.----------- 90, 109

Adams, Bristow. ....-....---.--------+-++- 21

Affidavits of furriers ...-....---.--.----+--+ 244

Agents, Government --..--.---.------ we. 35,191

Alaska Commercial Company......-------- 28
lease Of ...--. -. 22-202 eae eee e eee ene 29, 236

Alaska, transfer of......-...-----+-------- 24

Aleuts, condition of ...-....--.------+--+-- 34
notions of. ....------------------- eee 139

Alexander, A. B.:
investigations regarding sexes. -.-..--.- 155
spearing of seals......--..------------ 144

Alleged change of habits ..--...-..-------- 134

Allen, Dr. J. A. 22.0 2-22 eee eee eens eee e eres 43, 73

* American contentions .......------------+- 180
American fur-seal catch:
1894 ...2...--- 2d Daiced bee es nes saeeien ee 215
A895 vce cic cemeise pone weenie eames Ress 217
TV89G suis cece cies usaecceerdeseeseeees 219
VS9T ai rcrcionine See eecs mince seid ewe sie 220

American citizens prohibited from sealing 176, 246

American management .. ---.-- eee 28

Amphitheater of Kitovi:
count Of... -.....----- 2-0 eee eee eee 54, 212
harems On. .... --+- ese ---- ee cee tees 54
synopsis of counts. ..---.-------------- 53

Antarctic segls .--..-.----- -----+ eee 2 eee ee 43

Arbitration Tribunal ...-.--.--------- 30, 177, 231
award of .....----------+----eeeeeeeeee 231
declarations of ...--.----------+---+---- 236

» regulations Obst ccc sale de ceeiese see's 180, 234

Arbitrary selection of males....-.-.------- 136

Arbitration:
proposals for....-----.----2+2-----++°: 178
treaty Of......------ seen cece ee renee 179, 228

Arctocephalus .......--------------e eee eee 43
Ardigven s..-sasses cesncceeeeeswenss ~---. 39, 107
Arrival of seals <2 s.02sccc.cecsscnecies oeien 49
Atlantic seals -..-. 22-2. cee eee eee e ee cones 43
Average harem......-.-------------- 0-2-0 90
| Babine, Ai V sccisine sane secnee seesacscce coae 37
Bachelor, the 22... se22 tco0sesncssceeceese 46
Bachelors:
Vanding Oftscass sess sscedeccesaceccse 49
of Bering Island ........-......--.---- 135
Bachelor herd, decline of ....-......-..---- 29
Barrett-Hamilton, G. E. H ......--..------ 18, 125
Basis of enumeration........-..----------- 101
Bayard, Secretary .......-.---.22-------0-- 177
Beaman, J. W., counts’ of......-..--------- 82, 83
Bering Island ......-.-------------+-+--- ..- 119
dearth of bulls on....-.....-..-.------ 125
Bering Sea, sealing in ....-.---.---.----- 1438, 146
Bering, Vitus, second voyage of.......--..- 23
Blaine, Secretary .....-.------------+---++- 178
Breeding grounds..........-----.--+-+---- 36

Breeding seals:
estimate of .... 2.222. cee eee ents eee 89

summary Of ...-..---- +--+ -20---02 ----- 93
Breeding season:

breaking up ...-..-----------+-0------ 67

height of, .. -0. s-02--- sessed soawee ses 53, 54

British contentions........-...------------ 87,
153, 154, 159, 161, 162, 163, 168, 180

Bryant, Capt. Charles .....---..---------- 77, 139
estimate for 1869 ...-....---.--------+- WW
note on Kitovi ...-...----.------------ 82

Buckshot in seals ..-.--...---.------++---- 145

Bull, the -..... 2... --0ee0 cee e ne eee eeee eee 46

Bulls:
condition of. ..-.-. .----- +--+ --0+--+e-e 67
COUNT. OF... a -cieenddasiene ceed cceteawers 100
discipline of .....-..-------- +--+ +-+--- 58
fasting of ........2---+------ eee eee eee 57
fighting of ..-....-..---- segaauine 52, 59, 60, 61
no lack Of........--22 enone eee eee 122, 127
not impotent.... ..-------------- aki cictes 127
proportion of, to COWS ..-..-.---- +--+ 119, 194
scarcity of, on Bering Island..-..-..----- 125
superfluous ...-..--------- +222 eee eee 120

II INDEX.

Callorhinus— Page.
AIASCANUS aa3samsaboe de «ehcuesce se cecine = 45
curilensis ...-....- Dra Minieia emcmuassde ace 45,
MTSINUS: oc203 cmos wessen se coeteeae nee ce 45

Canada:

Interests Of .a.0-.icsimee veces taeies oot eeee 174
objections of ....-..-..---.------------ 178
sealing industry of .......-.----------- 176
Canadian fur-seal catch:
1894) .crustas wes Seis Sale ee Tent ead anes 216
T8O5: caesag ve signe oecid heeeewerseseci 217
1896 oen\jesaousstee tek ciiooee cases 219
ASOT ease renga cdiateisie qh aeien vinsciaaeceacis 221

Cape Horn seals.....-..------------------ 226

Carcass-strewn driveways.---------------- 132

Catastrophe of 1834......-...--.---------- 25

Categories of seals.......----.------------ 46

Cause of decline.......--..----.-------- 116, 150
not killing of males...-.....---------- 123
pelagic sealing...-.....--..----------- 153

Census of 1896........-..---------------- 93, 213
chief correction in......--...---------- 94
overestimates in.-...---...----------- 94
revised table of......-----.---------- 96, 213
TOVISION: Of vee o222 see seweendedeseesceee 93

Census of 1897.......-----.----.------ 96, 97, 213

Census of breeding seals, tentative—
for St. George....-.---.--------------- 91
for’ Sts Pal oui: veda coreecine weeiees gaeaied 91

Chinese markets, standards of........-.--- 25

Clark, George A.-.-..-------------------- 18, 109

Closeseason ....---..---------- +2202 ----- 30, 181

Closed ONG sae. ceeeee ce cessesewssiicne aoe = 30, 181

Commander Islands:

Giscovery Of s20 0. cceccecssssecescsccnes 23
driveways of.......----..----- 22-2 eee 130
suggested migration to....-....---.---. 134

Commission, the ..--....----..---.-------- 17

Comparative census, 1896-97 ...........-.- 213

Conclusions, summary of..........---.--.- 184

Condition of herd:

Past csceee ces ons oseves Si tieesieldis raya Sed 75
PYIOSONt a6. cs cue te ecce mee wewosesiss... 90

Conference of experts..........--..----. 188, 240
findings Of; 2220 s2eesseessce ses sce 188, 241

Counts of cows and pups:

VS9B cies canes wiscnnmescisidacicinie eects 92
1B9F eames tacices eee ecewmetane eas 96
COUNT IN.1895 secccweweecececiewe scusass 85, 86

COW 5 MO scteieine sain tetas see sien cds cleccticiestes dans 46

Cows:
daily counts of.-.--.-.-----.------ 51, 53, 212
dead)... sess coke seer eens aaeeesascesccc 62
departure Of o... 22. )cosecedsecesiesvas 58
FOCGING OF ek Soe vee as Bec icpeeeate cictcls 55
increased mortality in 1897.......-... 62, 108
landing of ......---.-------.------- 51, 52, 60
treatment by bulls.-....--...----.22-. 61

Custom-house examination of skins ....... 155
Daily counts of 1897 ........----- 51, 52, 58, 54, 212
Dall, Dr. W. H., notes of_........---.------ 26
Dawson, Dr. G. M...--.------------------- 116
Dead pups:
COUDLS Of 3. 20-222% ee se enews cece dees 213, 214
decrease of, in 1897........---.-------- 108
early death of....-...-------..-.------ 70, 166
eaten by foxes ..........-..------.+-4- 167
losB'of bodies. = -\-.s:21-4 252026 -ciescicce ses 167
on St: Patil: soes peeead -eericeticieek sacs 168, 169
on St. George....-.---------.----- 71, 168, 169
on death traps ..----.----- 2.2. -------- 70
removal Ofvecessxs esc: geeceecenesees 170
total for 1896..-..-..-.-..------------- 70, 169
Death traps:
contrasted counts .....-..--------.--.. 108
TP6COLd Of: ee020 zeseeeceereeaeecceseeeses 70
Decline:
beginning Of o.o2052 2242s e deaee oceee= 102, 150
COUSO°OL 22 sen oceeeceeseei dees edeezee one 115
evidence Of. 22 .2.222ce2 veieesescdeeen ss 104
history Of sew sceecevevaees exe sesyessis 102
in quota of 1897....-..-.. Vesneeeseasex 108
percentages of .......--.---.-----.---- 110
total extent of ......-.---.---.---2---- 114
Defectiveskins2.a200 vecedereexeseserestses 121
Discovery and exploration ...-..----...... 23
Discipline of the harem .......-.........-- 58, 59
Dora Siewerd, cruises of .........-..------- 155
Drive; thesvsts cucesaneneecseneseenedecc cs 117
Driving:
animal driven.... 222.2222. --2-2------- 127
PLOCOSS Of secu sewer cee rdeesceteccceee 126
Drives:
absence of sexual injury .....----.---- 133
Ame@ricania222eep i ides eeve ct eecececedce 128
care exercised on..---.-..-.-..2--.--.- 131
comparison of......--..-----.-...-.-.- 130
fatalities on...-.. 22222222222. eee eee 132
from Northeast Point.......-....-.--.- 128
from Reels svidcecd tariaseniccceecees 117, 129
not a factor in decline................. 133
on Commander Islands .............--. 130
RUSSIAN i550 Wels vads caihe yoedis ean wesc 128
shortening of....._.-......-.2.2.--22.-- 129
Early rookery estimates—
Of T8095 os-p2ceiezcnses feiseneaeee an ccKe 17
of 1872-1874... 2.222... e ee ee eee ieee 17
OL 1886 sass pecan oekes ekcenuecee seeks 84
Of TS90 2 2 eco 22a cee teed memes teases 84
OF L805 i eaiecitceeeeesaca tacm ven etecs 85, 86, 87
reconstruction of...............2..02-- 88, 89
valle Of. . 2000 seie ceed cons secnes 82, 84, 86, 88
East rookery....2...2-22..2.. 0002 J ecee nese 42
Effect of pelagic sealing...-.....-......... 153

INDEX.

Page.
Elliott, H.W........-... 34, 35, 77, 79, 126, 186, 188
estimate of 1872-1874.................. 77
estimate of 1890.............2.... 22... 84
SULVEFROL i cacccotset codecs week eee 79, 80
unit of space..--..--.. 2.22.02. eee ee 80
Empty stomachs, explanation of........... 161
Equilibrium of herd.......-............. 102, 158
under pelagic sealing..--...--...... 158, 159
could not be maintained. -...-......... 159
exists below commercial ruin.......... 159
Estimates of 1895:
contrast Of ....2. 0.222.222. eee eee ee 87
Crowley’ siccsinnncic suwecueekekecweceen 86
Murray ....-. heieediaimiewthewew Sete a eee 87
_ True and Townsend .....-.-.. iP asicemats 85
Estimates of 1897:
bachelors:....ccce cen ate eve se caeees 98
bulls.......-..-- EReNeE eee mee eo oeeee 98, 100
cows and pups -----...--..-...-..--.- 98, 100
idle and half bulls -...... oie Senne aes 98
seals of all classes present..........-.. 100
seals dead during season -............- 100
seals alive in October. -..-.....-. .... 100
yearlings and virgins...............--. 99
Excrement of seals.......-....------------ 161
Fasting of seals....-........--------.--+-- 57
Females, protection of .....-...--------..+- 25
ease of capture......---- 2-2-2222 eee 156
effect of killing ............---2.-.-- 171, 189
POOMIN GOL: sue sings wnt coede. ociseee cece 161
Mei BOF sais ivicis! csieivicis ofelctaials theres 25, 153, 156
percentage in pelagic catch.......... 155, 225
possible abstraction of ..........---. 157, 243
preponderance of........--.....---.--- 154
skins should be contraband..........-. 190
Fighting, of bulls. ....-.-..----.---- 52, 59, 60, 61
due to sexual excitement.......-..-- ie 60
Instinct fOPs<o2<<<2s0e0 eves sen eses oes 62
Findings of fact.......---------+--------- 188, 242
Firearms, used in sealing ....--.-----.----- 143
Fixity of habits.......--..-.-------.------ 134
Food and feeding grounds. ...-..-.....---- 68
Food, digestion of...-....----------+------ 56
Fur-seal herd:
condition of.......-.----------- 26, 88, 89, 100
‘ importance of....--..------.---.---+-- 190
international interest in.....-.----.--- 173
Fur seal or sea bear ...---..-----.----+---- 43
Fur-seal question, origin of...-......-.---- 177
Future of the herd...-.....--....--..----- 188
Gains and losses of the herd...---.-.------ 149
Galapagos Islands ..--....--....---.-.++-- 74
Gorbatch rookery .......-.----------00-0+- 39
Grass-grown areas. ......--0------2 enon eee 104
Great Britain, interests of........---....--. 174
Great killer, the....-.....--...-------.---- 71

III
Page.
Gressigrada, suborder of. .........-.....--. 43
Growth of pelagic catch. . con eeteeneeeees 149, 150
Guadalupe Island .............22222..2---- 44
Halkett, A...-2..22-.... fees Sinica ae 18, 65, 185
report on proportion of females........ 155
remarks on stagy skins............-..- 65
Hamlin, Chas.8.......... seeiebicldecaurs cei 18, 241
Harbors, absence of.-.....-....-..2.2.--- 32
Harem, thé sc005-<nsicewaseskisencencjnce aca « 57
Harem 61268 5. segaaeinue cased veer. vances 58
Harems, count on amphitheater............ 54
SUMMALY Of vec iios oes cakesiwscecs see sen 96, 97
Hauling grounds........--..-...2. 02-22... 36
NOt driven... ec eeeecsseeses eee wee 121
number driven, 1871-1889 ...-.......... 123
Historical sketch. ......-...-2...-222002004 23
Home of the fur seals.-...........2..222.. 31
Hooper, Capt. C.L.... 222.22. ee eee ee 174, 226
Howes, Osborne...-...-....---.----2-0 2-2 26
Hunting by Indians..-...............2-02- 142
Hutchinson Hill ...-.. 2.2. .022 022222 ee 37
Ice, obstruction by ...........-------...+-- 25, 49
Idle bulls, estimate of.-.............-.-2-- 100
Indiscriminate killing......--.....2......- 154
Inquiry, occasion of.......--...----..---+6 17
Inspection, effect of.....-.-..-......-----. 140
NCO OF. eins sce oe ccceslwaccsoseedsey 194
Instructions -...--....---- 2-2-2. ee eee i 18
Interregnum :
Dall’s note on....-...---.- 2-22-22 --ee 26
females not killed in-.......-......2-. 28
Howes’s notes. ....-.-.-.-20.-----2 2-0 26
methods of killing .........-..-2..---. 27
number of seals killed -..-.....-..--.. 26
Introduction ..........---. 202-22 -----.-2-- 17
Investigation, the...............2..220 222. 18, 19
Itinerary :
NSOG icc cesicie cacsumeretieiegsececase jee 20
1897 wc cdoceccuesisesetsiases suse cones 21
Jordan, Dr. David §...........----..----- 17, 130
Joint agreement of 1892.....-.....-.-.--.. 115
Joint commission of 1892......-...-.-..-.. 179
Joint report of experts, 1897 -.......---- 188, 240
Killable seals ...........--2.---------0-+-- 116
Killing season ....-....-.-..------ +0200. 116
Killing:
indiscriminate ..........---2 2.2.2. -.-- 154
premature .......----- 22-20-24 - ee eee 123
Wasteltlcccccic sec ciscacwueecewesine seus 124
Kilerasc.s oe: so sts Adlsinerseleiou cic tisemeneisses 71
Killings:
at Northeast Point........-.-....-..-. 207
at Zapadni (St. George)......--....-.- 207
comparison for 1889 and 1890.......... 124
for f000 sss scisaa cicex sacs ceceserieme 25, 121, 124
land and sea....--.. 2-0-2. -s eee eee 116, 211

IV
Killings—Continued. Page.
on Commander Islands......--.------- 125
operations of...---.-.------.-------- 118, 119
percentage killed at.......-.---..----- 50
rejected seals at...-..-.---.-----+----- 50
summary of......-..------------ 207, 208, 209
Killings, daily tables:
1875 ccoceeceeest Swibe osisws veeaiiwe sated 197
1880s occ .ccdeeeannceases teceeead £é4 eke 199
1886 isevsccccicccsseles sees ee etheets ves 200
A889) sccaiestui sods wasecscosueddeeeeesess 201
1890 2 ccv.c Mutesins Sieececcmsetemeer des 202
1891) ccisarccaceanccionsnonesetecceeme Sees 203
199298 5s secizeea sense ees tee cetet os 204
1894-95 cio cece sits acic ences evewlebece wus 205
AS96907 seep ca vietaiececsecsesSceece cess 206
Kitovi rookery....-...---.---------------- 38, 49
average harem of......-.-...---------- 90
taken as typical. .....--.---.-.-2-.---- 90
Komandorski (Commander) herd..--.----- 44
Kuril Islands, the.......-----..-.--------- 45
Lack of knowledge in past......-.-------- 191
Lagoon rookery ...--.-..----------+--+--++ 40
apparent increase on ...--.--..-------- 111
Land and sea killing:
History: Of eves ce acicsieeesioe ese sees 29
statistics of ...--.-.-..--.-----+----- 149, 231
Land killing:
confined to males...-.....----.-----.-- 116
Cf 6Cb OF aac s caieectcves cs aizcds coe cease 119
IN 1869 2s. sseskeseceseeaseas tee ek seen 27, 28
suspension of....-.....-----.----+------ 147
Law prohibiting American sealers......... 246
Liebes, Isaac, note on stagy skins......-.-. 66
Little East rookery...--..--.-----.---.---- 42
Little Zapadni rookery:.-.-...-.---.-.-.---. 40
Lobos Island seals......-.----------------- 226
Lucas, F.A.........----- +--+. 18, 48, 109, 160, 165
Lukanin rookery......---..----+-----2---- 38
CONDMOL niiscia ceeis ceeee comes calc sere stale 51, 212
Management:
American ...... -.-. 0-2-2. eee eee eee ee 28
RUSSiat secs enaie seseeseeenstavens close 25
wasteful ......-.-.---.-.-----------. 123,124
Macoun, James M._........------ 18, 109, 163, 168
Males, killed with impunity .-........-.. 189, 248
Martin, Walter L., deposition of ...-......- 245
Marunichen......-..-..---- +2222. eeee eens 41
abandonment of.......-.-.------------ 188
Massed rookeries..-...-.-----.-------- +--+ 52
Maynard, Lieutenant...........-..--..--.- 83

McIntyre, H. H....-.-..---.-------.-----. 28, 144

Middle: Hill... escvee aceon ceec nese ss 40, 103
Migrations....-..-..---.----+-e-26----6 47
period and limits of..-.--.-...2-2.---. 48
Modus vivendi...........--.--.----- 143, 179, 227
effect of .....---.-------. 222. eee eee eee 147
text of...-.----. ee eee ee eee eee eee 227

INDEX.

Page.
Morton, John M....-....--.-----------+--- 22
Moser, Capt. Jefferson F ......-..-..------- 17
Murray, Col. Joseph.....----.-------- 18, 170, 197
estimate for 1895........---.-.-------- 87
Naturalist, need of ...-...-----.- Ppiseeteicae - LOL
Natural mortality.----....--- 70, 115, 157, 184, 185
Need of continuous expert study ..--....-.- 193
Nomenclature of the seals.........---.---- 46
Nonbreeding seals:
estimate of in past........---.-------- 89
estimate for 1897 -....-......---------- 97, 98
North American Commercial Company, lease
Of sa ak ivsnakces sivctecseecweeweeeeeess 29, 238
Northeast Point:
killings at ......-.----.----- 2 ---- eee 207
rookeries of .........----- Reis ee soieiSlaraia afer 37
North Pacific, seals of ....-..---.---.------ 44
North rookery.....-.---------------+------ 42, 49
Noyes, Capt. W.L ...----.----------------- 74
Old age, death from........-----.----.----- 157
Old Johns Rock. .....--.---.------0--- ---- 108
OLCA OfCE 2 ..22236.c2ee cnet seer seeb ee see UW
Otter Island.......- sefejerecle elk Boers seed Ses 32, 56
bachelors on ....-..-----.------++----- 39
DaTeM OD vccecic vccce cee cess cesses tecces 39, 93
Overdriving:
has not occurred ..........-.---.-+----- 127
Theory Of Sesser secse canccseceedeiieses's 126
Overkilling:
has not occurred ........-------------- 121
impracticability of........---..-..--.. 121
possibility of:. /jo2.2.cee ei gcciee seca gee 120
Palata drive ..... ..-....-.- ere irelesie aces 131
Parade ground of reef ....--....--.-------- 38
Parasites of seals.........-..-------------- 70
Paris QWaTd . ccec06 ce nececccesceccesectetee 231
TOsultNOfe csi setoss eases eee ees 177
Parrott & Co., expedition of........--.-.-. 26
Patrol; Cost Of 2 .eccpseecies sates csi ean 182
Pelage of fur'seals........----....2-..----- 65
Pelagic fleet, value of.............22.---- 174, 226
vessels sealing in award area .......-.. 225
Pelagic catch:
compared with land catch. ............ 148
decline Of... s.cceccecccecee senane ves 148, 175
from Commander herd ...-......---- 148, 151
BRO WED Of ae acsisis civicid-s oteeie.awecescees 149
relation to land catch ..-... 2.22.2... 152
percentage of females in -....... 154, 155, 225
statistics of ........222. 02 -ee ee eee eee 149
summary of..............---..22...- 146, 222
summary since 1894 .._.....2.2. 2.22... 175
Pelagie s0aling ccc cate cccnce sce decicwson 142
Asiatic waters .........22-0....2-20 147, 151
a Checks oie oiseneaateceneeesouees uc 151
a suicidal industry..................-. 1%

INDEX. Vv

Pelagic sealing—Continued. Page.
a Canadian industry ---....-.... 2.2... 176
by Indians..........---..----------.- 30, 142
by white men ......-...-----. 2-2... 30, 143
catch of, since 1894 .........-.--....- 215-221
cumulative effect of .......-..-..-----. 171
destruction of pups by.....--....-....
entry into Bering Sea ...............- 30, 142
expansion of ...... 0-2-2. -.e-2. eee eee 150
in Bering Sea ....... 202. - 2-2 eee eee 30
Legality Of ..0ia soenies ccaeeis saeaws sonece 176
loss from, total............--.. -------- 171
loss since 1883. .......--....--.------6- 171
loss under the regulations..........-.. 172
of northwest coast........-...---.---- 146
possible equilibrium under ............ 156
prohibited to Americans. .......-....-. 176
prohibition necessary -........----.--- 187
slaughter of females ............---- 187, 189
summary of statistics ........--....-.- 222
vessels engaged in.........-----.---- 148, 225
Period of equilibrium, 1871-1880. -.......-.. 102
Personal estimates .....----------.---.---- 83
Phoca Ursina...-.. 2-202. cece eee eae ee noes 44
Photographs:
of Tolstoi in 1891........--..----..---- 115
limitations of .. 106
relation to counts .....-.....-.----:--- 106
value Of. ..---- -- 2-25 22-202 eee ne eee 105, 107
Pinnipedia, the........--....---.-----e-0-- 43
Policy of seclusion ....-...---.--+.---.---- 140
Polovina rookery -..---..------ jeooeesinaees 37
early estimates of .......---.---------- 82, 83
Polygamous habits of seals .....-.--------- 119
Population of rookeries:
difficulty uf estimate.........-..------ 76
fluctuation of. ........-.---.---.------ 54
Present condition of herd............---- 90, 100
Promiscuous nursing of pups, theory of. .. 162
Proportion of bulls to cows...-.-.--------- 119
Protection :
proposod measures .....------- F sisieia: wield 178
counter proposition ....--...---------- 178
Pribilof, Gerrasim.....-.--..---------- +--+ 23
Pribilof herd. ....--..--2----------+------ 44
Pribilof Islands:
ATOM Of 22. 202 ae cea e ee cone cere cee eee 31
birds of. ..-.---------- enone ee eee eee 33
Climate .....----2- 02 eee eens cone noes 32
discovery of ...--.-------- +--+ +--+ -+°+ 23
geography of.....-.--------+---+0---++ 31
inhabitants of. .....--.-------+e--- eee 33
latitude and longitude of......-------- 31
mammals .....--.----- ---- ener eee eee 33
vegetation... ..-.---0-+ --- 2-0 eee n ee nee 33
Pups:

Pups—Continued. Page
counts of, 1896 ....-...--.- +... 2-02 92
count of, 1897 ...-.---.-... 2-22-22 -2ee 96
dosth Of 2.42.5 /bcuaeseceeseccs peewee 70, 158
dead unborn .......--......----...---- 160
dependent upon milk..-......----...... 164
estimate of starved......---..-..---- 169, 170
@XCeSS OVE COWS ....-. 2-2-2222 ae eee 92, 96
excursions of.......------2-----.eeeene 69
Killing Of wsasidesic ve ceceweneesicccencse 25, 124
Play Of secse soos ces see eee dicedecnc sce 163
Podding Of 22622 c0c000 seeses cuss cee. ee 68
starvation of ...-........------------ 160, 165
StALVING socesas: excasevecessesel sees 166, 167
stomach examinations................. “163
supposed feeding of .....-.-.......-..- 163
swimming of ....--....2.----.2-------- 69
trampling of ......-.-. 222.222.0222 - 22 115

Pup; the 22. occstanecdev sues x eeee eee ees oe 47

Questions still unsettled ...........-..--.. 193

Quinan, Lieutenant, account of shooting

BO AMS is0:o sicin waters siaiaine sfoswrcn wigeeesesiaia sinters 145

Quota:
anticipation of......-.-...------- ere 123
contraction of 1876-77 and 1882-83. .... 122
data regarding.............--2..-2---- 123
date of filling..........---.-..------.- 123
decrease of in 1897...............----- 108
REINS OF oan csesniwnsececteere socewess 193
failure of, in 1890............---...---- 103
irregular since 1890......-...---..---.. 151
measure of breeding herd -...-.-...... 114
of 1871-1889 ............-.- fase zt cucannnee 88
of 1890 and since......-.2...---..2---- 103
Of 1894-95 . 222 wwe cen cce secenn cece ween 103
of 1896-97........---- 88, 111, 112, 113, 209, 210
relation to breeding herd........---... 88

Recommendation.......----..----.-------. 191

Recounts of live pups.....-...-----.....-- 109

Report, divisions of ......-.-..-.--.-----.- 19

Reef driveway ....-------------e-0 +--+ 2005 129

Reef rookery .... 2.2.02 caccee ceceae ceenes 38

Regulations of Paris award..........-... 143, 234
adapted to work of sealers -........... 181
effect Of... cce--ee-- ee eeee Nidlalcloia einvsjeisrets 30
failure of. .....+200,----+ ee 222 eee eee 182
obligations of...-....---.-.-.--------- 183
purpose of ......-----------+-----. +265 183
revision not adequate ..........-...--. 187
trial period of.......-----..---..------ 182

Rejected seals .... 2.0. e202. seen eee eee enee- 98
BEING . 200 ee nne seen wenn eee cee cece cee 124

Remedy for decline..............------+--- 187

Remipedia ........---- c2eeee cen e cence ee eens 43

Revised census of 1896.....--...----.------ 95

Revision of early estimates:
Of 1872-1874... oc eee eee wane wen eenee 88, 89
Of 1895..,0..i0< -iccawssecrcamecs Seas te sees 86

VI
Page.
Rice, George, deposition of.........-..---- 244
Robben Island herd.......--.-.22-2..22--- 45
Rookeries, the ..--.-.-..........-.--------- 36
determination of boundaries........... 76
formation Of 22: h2s0sceses secu ees ee 52
inspection of.-.---...-...-2. 2222-2642. 139
JifG ON ene dees wee ceencsmsieooeseese 49
NAMES OF 262 seceeee ecg resionges cesses 36
NOISE: Of e229 3 secSh pied ehesleki se sidisaees: 63
obstructed by ice .-..-...-----..------ 49
uustable population of ......-......--. 78
Russia, interests of...-....--..2----.----.-. 174
Russian-American Company --.-..-..-. 23, 24, 25, 26
Salisbury; Lord e202 sc nsee ses eee euies 2 eaieis 178
San Diego, the ..---.------.----..--.-.46-- 142
Sealing season, beginning of ........-.--. 50, 116
Neal Pass. cscs eseccaysencssersdd ets chess 33, 104
Seals, species of .....----.-----------2----- 45
ability to travel.......----.-2-2.---- 127, 131
ALO OL ssceesderiieeceas Soe tee see ecilicet 68
OLTiVal Of oe oececues-Gaeseetyice tacit eis 49
attitudes of ...--.-----..----2 22-22 eee 64
COPTOACHIN Ga cSt tes esd Mcweecess 144
categories of ........---- Jaeidierrecncereeiels 46
COLTON: Of e..0:cncicesisee ene vee costes 64
departure of -..........----2 2.222.200 71
OOMICS Of a siasejeisecininrc sna aeissaweas-ccine val
fasting of -....-.- Senet renee seas 57
fixed habits of ...........-2..2--2.---- 134
(Annies eset antus.ecavesseseeceee 144
individual space occupied -.......-.... 80, 81
IDJUTICS 40: cecccoes ceewesvarsieas esse 68
law of distribution -..............-2.. 78
low intelligence of ........-.-.-..---.. 134
migrations of ........-...---.--2.-22-- 47
mortality among ........-.-...---.--.- 70
mortality among young ...--...-...-.- 99
not affected by man...-.-.-.2--..... 135, 141
nomenclature of.-.-.....--.---------.- 46
Parasites-Of oi255. 3262 ee eneeee ese aee 70
possibility of driving elsewhere....... 136
Fatevot travel ccwics2.i<ccyeesewusewanesds 72
BHOOUNE Of vss. ccie'vis oec's de seaeecenemes 144
SR16C PCTS” se. sweet oad te veep eS 144
sleeping Of p22 ee. secs itech ease se 63
spearing of....-....- ne ea ene 144
stayiness, meaning of..-.-..--......... 66
swimming of.....-..-----.222. 22.2202. 72
MGPAVOLlOTS!”: oie ccueceeesccerecentouced, 144
WRI Ol occ onesie wacaduawoouescead 62
Sealskin industry, demoralized condition. 173, 175
Sealing of the South Seas ---.-..22........ 153
Seizure of vessels ..---.........2..22222.. 30, 177
Sex of salted skins...-...-2...22..02..0... 155
Sex returns:
Alexander’s report ..-.....----2...2... 155

INDEX.

Sex returns—Continued. Page.
Halkett’s report. ...-..------.--------- 156
sealing captains’ ........-...---..----- 154
customs experts’ .......-..-----.-+----- 155

Shooting, loss through.....-....-..-...---- 145

Shrinkage of breeding area........-------- 107
APOIBUCN) ooo ese a cok ccisceiebessecasioes 107
Tolstoi sand flat ......--.. 2... -222---- 107

Sivutch Rock 2.26 sccscce rcs Ge seeecees 32, 38
estimate of...... 2-22-20. ---- 22 ee eee 94

Sivutch rookery, cause of occupation..--.. 138

Skins:
defective... sc2vececicceekaxnsescreccds 121
TOJOCEE. <3 peas sous secebeevi ves ses ease 124
treatment of ......-...-.--------2. 2-6. 119
BLABY ascatney dices d ccs danse Weeswcenaeeen 124

Slaughter of the seals.........-. Ags sckesee 190

Southern fur seals, habits of..........----. 73

South rookery, Bering.........-.-.--...--- 125

Spearheads on rookeries......-..--...----. 145

Spilki, abandonment of....--..-....-..-.-- 137
COUNG OF csccecsevekesscatsscenecuneses 83

St. Paul:
count of cows......---.---..-2--.----- 91
count of harems.......-.-...--..------ 91
description of......-.2..-2-2---.---+-- 31
TOOKEri6S) Of os... cis gestesescenesanse aces 36

St. George, description of...-...-..-..----- 31
tookeries of ....---. 2222-22-22 e002 ee ee 4L

HtaSy BOABON. < cse:s fos s Sees aeinewe esd sees 65

Starvation of pups.....-.--.---.---.---.-- 165

Starved pups, count of....---..-.-..----. 166, 169
estimate for 1897 .........----..-..-- 169, 170

Starving pups, notes on ..-....-........- 166, 167

Steller, George Wilhelm .......-...---..... 44

Stejneger, Dr: Vi ccsc2cctecus daxegcisaiee 17, 119, 125

Summary of killings.......-........ 207, 208, 209

Superfluous males........--.......-...-.-. 120

Texts:
affidavits of furriers .................. 244
Alaska Commercial Company’s lease... 236
arbitration treaty ....-..............-. 228
declarations of tribumal..........-.... 236
joint conclusions of experts ........... 240
law prohibiting sealing ............... 246
inodus vivendi ........2....22. 222.0024 227
North American Commercial Company’s

led8G i occu veseceecses Hheseaed ewes 238

Paris award ........2......222..2202--- 231
regulations, the --..........0220..20... 234
Theory of overdriving ................-... 126
Thompson, Prof. D’Arcy W ...... 18, 107, 109, 114,
156, 159, 168

Tingle, estimate of 1886 _...........2..-... 84

Tolstoi rookery ..-... 2.0.2.2... 0222-22022. 40
photograph of, 1891...... 2... 22.....22. 115

INDEX. VII
i Page Page.
Townsend’s crosses.........-... Sicesekeeda 107 | Veniaminot scncsscccie ewes aecvsceeerscc-ee- 25,77
Treaties: Vostochni rookery .------------- +--+ --++++ 36
1B24H 25 ocwixo sd nakosbsasiasicete wena ieee 24.) Virgin COWS i sieseciseus vache cores seeciciene 47
1867 ....... apie nintedupticinciactiteisuls sees 24 | Walrus Island ....-. 2.2222. --ee eeee cee ees 32
1802 was eww aereciedsiodiee cine wean aCe 179, 228 | Wasteful killing -.....-.-2------0- 22-2 ee 124
Trading companies: Walliams, Lib wag eiixcnes ce sosmieekanccaieeee 174
Parrott & Co .2. 060022005 cede sees seceee 27 | Weather, effect on sealing ....-...-...----- 148
Williams & Haven.......- os doze saci 27 | Wingfield, reference to letterof......-..... 89
Hutchinson, Kohl & Co....-......-..- 27 | Wischhusen, Kk dmund, deposition of ....... 244
Tripartite agreement of 1888 ....-.....-.--. 178 | Yanovsky, report of ...-.....---.---------- 25
True and Townsend, estimate of 1895...... 85) "Veatlings-<c cco. snpsesacesadecosaeeceetaee WAT
Ukase of 1821..-........--.- 222 ---- 02-2 24 | Young seals, losses among ..-.--..-.------+ 99
Uncinaria.......-..-...----+------------- 70,116 | Zapadni (Medni) drive ........-..2-2-.---- 130
Undersized seals, killing of.......-....---- 124 | Zapadni rookery.......--..--.------+++--- A0
United States, interests of ........-----.-.- 173 | Zapadni (St. George)...-....-.--------- wen #1
Unit of space: i KAUINGS OF 22. occ: secs cacne seeose secs 207
Bott's: 0:20 20 case sone soos wedeseencs.< 80) | COMO os contin ckae cece arsed swe 39

True and Townsend’s .......-...---..- 81, 85

1518417
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